Black Cherry 51

Hellooo Bloggerettes! Today's post features my favorite OPI, Black Cherry Chutney, used previously for my Fancy Wallpaper look. She's the perfect Fall/Winter shade of burgundy. To snazzy it up I added Nfu Oh 51, the rainbow shimmer/flakie in a bottle. 

The last picture are my nails under water to show the rainbow effect. It's so hard to capture on camera. The second photo really shows how perfect this combo is for this time of year! I began with 2 coats of Rejuvacote, 2 coats of Black Cherry Chutney, 1 coat of 51, and topped it off with a thick coat of Seche Vite. What do you think of this combo?

Thanks for looking!

Pretty & Polished Review

Hey there Bloggerettes! I've been busy taking care of the sad news I mentioned in my previous post but I am happy to be back with a review of one of my favorite Indies. Chelsea over at Pretty & Polished was kind enough to let me review 3 polishes from her latest line. And as if she read my mind they were the 3 I really wanted to try! You go, Glenn Coco!

First up is my absolute favorite, Mannequin Hands. She is a shimmery nude based polish with small baby pink hexagon glitter. I actually wore this as a full mani for a few days. I started off with 2 coats of Rejuvacote, 3 coats of Mannequin Hands, and 1 thick coat of Seche Vite. Mannequin Hands runs a bit thin to achieve the jelly effect but 3 coats covers the nail with no visible nail line. The glitter laid flat and spread like buttah. This polish is a definite must have and isn't just any ol' nude shade! Removal was also a breeze, a plus with any glitter polish. Available in both mini for $4.75 and full size for $7.50.

Second in line is S'no Man's Land. Unfortunately for me, this was my least favorite of the three. S'no Man's Land features a shimmery white base with micro iridescent glitter and small to large white hexagon glitter. The white hexagons are gorgeous! I'd love to see them used in another one of her lovely glitter combos. For this swatch I tried out the Elmer's Glue base, followed by 3 coats of S'no Man's Land, and 1 coat of Seche Vite. I suggest using Gelous prior to top coat as it is a bit hungry. I also suggest using white underwear due to visible nail line. In the bottle it looks beautiful, like fresh snow, but on the nail not so much. The peel off base made removal easy as pie! Available in both mini for $4.75 and full size for $8.

And lastly we have It Gets Better. Chelsea has made several beautiful polishes for different causes with proceeds going to charity. It Gets Better was made for the It Gets Better Project, for LGBT awareness. 50% of the profits will be donated to this project. A beautiful message for an equally beautiful polish. She features a shimmery mint green base she has dubbed crelly (jelly/creme), with multi colored small hexagon glitter. I used my Elmer's Glue base, followed by 2 coats of It Gets Better, and 1 coat of Seche Vite. The formula worked perfectly for this combination of base with glitter, they in no way overwhelmed each other letting each part shine through. She applied like a breeze and the glitter laid flat and was not hungry. My glue base made this another easy removal. It Gets Better is only available in a full size bottle for $9.

Pretty and Polished is available through her Etsy. Mannequin Hands and S'no Man's Land are still available in both sizes and It Gets Better is currently sold out. What polish was your favorite or least favorite?

Products featured in this post were sent for review.

Violet Lightening

Hello Bloggerettes! It's been a dreary rainy day here in Florida and a migraine has been my only friend today. So I decided to get my hair done. Today was just a cut and style but tomorrow will be COLOR! I'm excited to have someone else work on coloring my hair instead of me. There's nothing worse then staining your nails and face various shades of hair dye when you have a beauty blog, haha. 

Anywho, today's look features a funky french using Color Club Ultra Violet, a neon purple with green/blue shimmer, and Sally Hansen Lightening, a yellow creme. This is also the beginning of a new nail shape for me. I have really been loving the claw like shape often seen on Lady Gaga and Rihanna so I'm slowly working into that transition.

 2 coats of Lightening, 1 coat Seche Vite.

 Don't mind my janky thumb, lol.

I started off with 1 coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats Lightening, 1 coat of Seche Vite. Once dry I applied tape to achieve my pointed funky french, followed by 2 coats of Ultra Violet, and 1 last coat of Seche Vite. I originally wanted to try a triangle tribal design but failed hard on my thumb and did my best to fix it without removing polish. You win some you lose some and this mani was pretty fun on it's own! 

Also, check out my new ring in the last picture! Isn't it beautiful? I found this beauty down in one of my off the wall shops in St.Augustine and instantly fell in love. She's a drusy quartz crystal and she's all mine! They say drusy crystals dissipate negative thoughts and emotions which is always a plus. As always I wish there was a polish to match! Sigh...lacquer head problems.

Thanks for looking!

A Dusky Masquerade

G'morning Bloggerettes! I have the immense pleasure of laying on my couch watching my favorite movie 'Tangled' because I'm sick. Yay...not, lol.  Todays mani features Barry M Dusky Mauve, a dark purple with pink shimmer, and Picture Polish Masquerade, a duochome micro glitter rainbow dream. 

 2 coats Barry M Dusky Mauve, no top coat. Look at that shimma!

Look at dem angles! The glitter shifts at every twist and turn, love it. I began with 1 coat CND Stickey, 2 coats Barry M Dusky Mauve, 1 coat Picture Polish Masquerade, and 1 thick coat of Seche Vite. Masquerade is a nice dense well balanced glitter, perfect for layering. However I noticed Dusky Mauve gave more of a brown appearance once coated with Masquerade, but still gorgeous. Now I'm off to a big bowl of ice cream to soothe my ever so sore throat!

Thanks for looking!

Summer Grapefruit

Hi there Bloggerettes! I'm having a rough day but wanted to show off a cheerful Summer mani! Today I'm featuring Julep Hayden layered with Zoya Rica. Hayden is a bright orange peach creme while Rica is a gorgeous coral with gold shimmer. The combination reminded me of a freshly cut grapefruit, pretty even though I hate grapefruit, lol. 

2 coats of Hayden, no topcoat.

I started off with 1 coat Gelous, 2 coats Hayden, 1 coat of Rica, topped off with Seche Vite. Sadly I experienced some lame shrinkage but the color was gorgeous. Nubbins are no fun but my nails are finally growing! Ever since I mixed up my vitamin intake my nails have become a lot thinner than I am used to so I need to remedy this asap. Well, I'm not feeling so great so it's going to be an early night for this usual insomniac!

Heart Breaker Review

Hey Bloggerettes! I was super excited when Sugarpill announced they were making a third eyeshadow palette as part of their Heart series. Heart Breaker has four bright matte shades; Acidberry a neon chartreuse, Velocity a bright navy blue, 2am a bright red based purple, and Mochi a mint shimmer. The formula of this palette is not as opaque or smooth as the colors featured in the Burning Heart and Sweetheart palettes. With a good base the colors really shine.

The back of Heart Breaker's packaging. 

 Heart Breaker's front flip cover. When opened the otherside is a mirror.

Clockwise; Acidberry, Velocity, 2am, and Mochi.

 The top half has no base, bottom half is Urban Decay Primer Potion; Acidberry, Velocity, 2am, and Mochi.

As you can see when no base is used the colors are chalky. This is easily remedied with a good base like Urban Decay Primer Potion. I also really like using Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk for these colors. Along with Heart Breaker I picked up a pair of Saint eyelashes for a sweet $5! Cheaper than the lashes at drug stores and much better quality. 

I did a quick look using Mochi and Saint eyelashes after I received the palette. I'm also wearing Dollipop eyeshadow for blush! Other shadows used are from Urban Decay Naked 2 palette which I picked up the day before.

As a huge fan of all things Sugarpill and Shrinkle I am pretty happy with Heart Breaker and Saint lashes. When I do my make up I always use a base so it doesn't bother me that the shadows are less than stellar otherwise. I definitely plan on trying more lashes in the future as well as getting another pair of Saint. Heart Breaker is currently in stock for $34, $5 shipped.

Burning Heart, Sweetheart, Heart Breaker palettes.

Sigma Paris Palette

 Hey Bloggerettes! It's been a hot minute since I last did a make up related post but I am coming back with a doozie! This post is all about the new Limited Edition Sigma Paris palette. The Paris palette was a collaboration between Sigma and a few well known Bloggers who were inspired by monuments in Paris. Very cool! It's made up of 8 eye shadows, 2 blushes, 1 highlight, an angled blush brush, and an eye shadow brush. My only complaint is the lack of a bronzer for conturing. Otherwise this is the perfect palette for day, night, every day, and travel!

The palette comes with a little pamphlet with details about the Bloggers, locations, and of course the makeup.

The sleeve, it looks like a cute little package!

The front of the palette. Mosaic details and filigree, very pretty.

The back. Ingredients and a list of the Bloggers who worked on this project. I have been a fan of XSparkage, Petrilude, and MACNC40 since I was 14 back in the LiveJournal days! Crazy, huh?

The palette is a flip top with a large mirror. The brushes have little cubbies, eye shadow brush on top, blush brush on bottom.

 Eiffel, black with rainbow sparkle. Seine, navy blue shimmer.

Closeup of Eiffel! Reminds me of Sugarpill Stella.

 Louvre, matte darkened teal. Orsay, bright teal with gold shimmer. 

 Elysees, burgundy brown shimmer. Notre Dame, brownish mauve.

Triomphe, duochrome brown to green. Versailles, champagne gold shimmer. Perfect highlight color.

Top swatches have Urban Decay Primer Potion Primer, bottom swatched Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk. L-R; Eiffel, Seine, Louvre, Orsay, Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe, Versailles.

 Top swatches have Urban Decay Primer Potion Primer, bottom swatched Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk. L-R; Eiffel, Seine, Louvre, Orsay, Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe, Versailles.

 Top swatches have Urban Decay Primer Potion Primer, bottom swatched Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk. L-R; Eiffel, Seine, Louvre, Orsay, Elysees.

Top swatches have Urban Decay Primer Potion Primer, bottom swatched Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk. L-R; Orsay, Elysees, Notre Dame, Triomphe, Versailles.

 Lumiere, a light gold shimmer highlight.

 Peche, matte peach blush.

 Rouge, a light matte plum blush.

No base, L-R; Rouge, Peche, Lumiere.

The softest brush in the universe!

Holographic engraving!

I've been using this palette everyday! It has so many looks and everything applies like BUTTAH.lol. Here's a cute looks I did using Eiffel, Louvre, Orsay, Elysees, Triomphe, Versailles eyeshadows and Lumiere highlight and Peche blush.

The Limited Edition Sigma Paris palette retails for $59. I used coupon code 'xsparkage' and received $10 off. Do you own the Paris palette? What do you think of it?