Adventure Island

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing well :)

Monday's post included a sneak peak which was this :

With that being said, the answer to the sneak peak is Sinful Colors Adventure Island Collection!

Those who guessed correct were Liz and tahillia! :D

Does anyone like the idea of the sneak peak feature? I don't know if I would continue doing this - so leave a comment on that!

~*~*~

Anyways, today wasn't the ideal day for swatching since it's cloudy and I think it rained, LOL I slept until 2pm so yup :X I haven't really gotten a lot of sleep lately so these days when I'm not working, I try to get as much sleep as I can. I've also been staying up a lot longer which has become "normal" and routine for me although I'd like to change that.

So here are my indoor swatches of Sinful Colors Adventure Island Collection. I actually didn't see the display for these in the Rite Aid in my neighborhood but rather stashed with their regular core collection until I spotted them ~ which look awfully familiar to OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Collection. I don't have the OPI POTC Collection but I plan on ordering the mini collection to compare.

Adventure Island is a dusty grayed out yellow green creme. This is shown in 2 coats of Adventure Island and a layer of top coat. My mom saw me swatch this and she absolutely disliked the color but I don't think it's that bad LOL. As I continued to look at it, it looked pretty nice. 

Open Seas is a dusty light jade green creme which is shown in 2 coats and a layer of top coat. I like this color mainly because it looked similar to OPI Mermaid Tears which I have yet to get my hands on. This was my favorite polish of my purchase that I was most excited about.

Seaweed is a dusty green-gray creme with tons of gray, which is shown in 2 coats and a layer of top coat.

Star Fish is a dusty pink creme but my picture makes it look vibrant than the actual bottle color. This is shown in 2 coats. I wasn't really excited for this polish when I held the bottle in my hands at Rite Aid but after swatching it on my nails, I LOVEE it!!♥ It definitely became a favorite for me. :B

Verbena is a lightly dusty purple creme shown in 2 coats and a layer of top coat. This is also a very nice color that came out nicely and also another favorite. It makes me think of a lighter version of OPI Funky Dunkey. 

Lastly, here's a little nail art that I couldn't help but doing. You've seen this nail art a while back that I did but here's another color combination of it :)

CHOCOLATE DRIPS!

I remember seeing people do chocolate covered strawberries which reminded me and inspired this nail art but no strawberries here.. unless it's a strawberry milkshake with chocolate/fudge syrup haha! For the chocolate I used OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys. 

Hope you all enjoyed and happy polishing! :)

<3katherine


P.S. - I just remembered it's 3 days past my blog's 2nd birthday so I'll host a giveaway but it might take me a while to gather a prize package. But do stay on the look out ;)

French Twist

Hello :) Hope everyone's weekend is going well! My nails art short again - close to nubbins because my ring finger nail broke (after I saved it from nearly being torn when trying to move a sofa with crazy glue and a tea bag) so I filed the rest of my nails down to have it even. I wish they would grow asap! Anyways, onto today's post I'll be showing is Zoya Caitlin and Dove from their French Twist promotion that they had. It took almost 2 weeks since I ordered for it to get to me but I can understand since they probably had thousands of orders just for two free polishes. 


Here's Zoya Caitlin - Zoya describes Caitlin as a smoky purple-tinged medium gray with a creme finish. The picture shows Caitlin with 2 coats and 1 layer of top coat.

Here's Zoya Dove - Zoya describes Dove as a light neutral gray with a glossy creme finish. The picture shows Dove in 2 coats and 1 layer of top coat.

Here's where the nail art comes to play with the promotion of French Twist I decided to try that out and  here's the finished look! There's Dove on my middle and pinkie finger and it's lined with Caitlin at the tips. Caitlin is the base color for my index and ring fingers and it's lined with Dove at the tips. I love the twist of the typical French manicure! :) I'd definitely like to try out other colors as well~

Hope you all enjoyed and happy polishing! :)
<3katherine

Katy Perry

Hey everyone! Today's post is about some long overdue pictures of OPI Katy Perry Collection and because today I saw America's Best Dance Crew's episode dedicated to Katy Perry I decided to post them. I've swatched them before but wasn't satisfied. I've taken them again and I'm not very happy with them but I'll probably end up doing them again! >< I thought it was a good opportunity to take them that day because the sun was still out after I got home from work. Unfortunately, after the first polish, the sun was setting so I had to take indoor light pictures. But hopefully you'll still enjoy seeing them again and please excuse my dry hands :( and my crappy pictures! I really need a new camera arghhhh!!

OPI Last Friday Night

blue based jelly with silver round glitter and silver microglitters. The swatch is 3 coats and 1 layer of top coat.

Below is a comparison of OPI Last Friday Night (index and ring), Sinful Colors Hottie (middle) and Confetti Party Palace Blue (pinky). SC Hottie has a deeper base color and more silver microshimmer than OPI Last Friday Night and Confetti Party Palace Blue has less shimmer and lighter blue base. 

OPI Last Friday Night topped with OPI Black Shatter

OPI Not Like the Movies

green, purple, gray multichrome with shimmer. The swatch is 3 coats and 1 layer of top coat.

Here's a comparison of OPI Not Like the Movies and Wet N Wild Fast Dry Gray's Anatomy. OPI NLTM is on my index and ring fingers and Wet N Wild GA is on my middle and pinky fingers. NLTM is a deeper and more opaque than Gray's Anatomy. It also has the silver microshimmer that Gray's Anatomy doesn't have.

OPI Not Like the Movies with OPI Black Shatter

OPI Teenage Dream

light pink base with silver round glitters and silver microglitters. The swatch is 3 coats and 1 layer of top coat.

OPI Teenage Dream with OPI Black Shatter

OPI The One That Got Away

fuschia with a glass flecked finish. The swatch is 3 coats and 1 layer of top coat; but you can use 2, I just had some missing spots

OPI The One That Got Away with OPI Black Shatter

hope you enjoyed these long overdue pictures and sorry for the crappiness :(

<3katherine

Cult Nails

Hey everyone! Quick update on my giveaway counting, I'm about half-way done... I believe! Lol and more than 234+ entries including additional entries and minus a few disqualified entries so far. I'm taking a break from studying for 2 exams I have on Thursday to post these long overdue swatches. You've definitely seen them tons of times, but here's my pictures! This set of pictures were actually my re-take of the original pictures that I was not satisfied with. Luckily there was better lighting in this picture and it looks a lot clearer than the original. Hopefully there will be better weather like this more often when my nails grow out. And don't worry I've taken in consideration and thought about what YOU would like to see on my blog. I hope to post about how I take care of my nails in the near future, when my nails grow out because I hate nubbins!

By now, I'm pretty sure that you've heard of Cult Nails, which is a nail polish company a blogger by the name of Maria of R3daily created. She created 4 nail lacquers and she just recently opened up pre-orders for her 2nd collection. And if you haven't gotten the first 4 nail lacquers maybe this will help you decide!

First nail lacquer up is Iconic. Maria describes this as a berry red with gold shimmer and red flakies.  The swatch displays 2 coats and 1 layer of top coat. What a total beauty ;) It worked with 1 coat for me but I used 2 in the swatch just in case.

Next up is Living Waters, Maria describes this as deep navy blue with green and blue micro-glitter. The swatch displays 2 coats and 1 layer of top coat. THIS IS AN AMAZING COLOR - I love ittttt!!<3 This polish was actually Maria's version in creating another nail blogger's color in creating how water looks at night with the shimmer. Definitely a must have and very unique in the nail polish world, in my opinion! I've actually worn this color for swatch and 2 mani's. :P

And here's My Kind of Cool Aid, which Maria describes as purple/gray with a shimmer; a "gravender" :P. The swatch displays 2 coats and 1 layer of top coat. This is definitely a different gray than what I'm used to seeing, which are normal or dusty grays.

Finally, the last one is Quench, which is described as a red polish with a very glossy finish. It definitely can work with different skin tones and the color changes depending on the lighting.

Overall, I love the formula which is B3F and organic =) and the drying time is quick as well. I'm very satisfied with Cult Nails and I'm definitely going to get the next collection!

Hope you enjoyed and I'll definitely try to finish with the giveaway entries as soon as I can (after exams?)
<3katherine

Crackled Anchors

Hey everyone! I've been a little busy with school work and I'm still trying to enter in all the entries because there's a lot more entries than I expected :P Currently, my nails are nubbins because I've been having a lot of breaks a lot so I cut them short. But in the meanwhile, I have a lot of nail pictures backed up so I'll be posting them in the meanwhile. :) Although you've probably seen them before, I hope you'll still enjoy :)

First is China Glaze Anchors Away Collection, I only got some of the collection, not all :P

* I believe everything was two coats, but maybe 3 for white cap. :)
1. Ahoy!

2. First Mate

3. Pelican Gray

4. Seafoam Spray

5. Starboard

6. White Cap

Then I added China Glaze Crackle Collection over them

7. Ahoy! + Lightning Bolt

8. First Mate + Crushed Candy
9. Pelican Gray + Fault Line

10. Seafoam Spray + Broken Hearted

11. Starboard + Cracked Concrete

12. White Cap + Black Mesh

Then I did another Anchors Away + Crackle combinations

13. Ahoy + Black Mesh

14. First Mate + Fault Line

15. Pelican Gray + Cracked Concrete

16. Seafoam Spray + Crushed Teal

17. Starboard + Lightning Bolt

18. White Cap + Broken Hearted

Hope you enjoyed & happy polishing :)
<3katherine

Fail Mani

So I've been MIA because of finals! :( Studying my butt off and I hope it pays off! Anyways, a while back when I had my first giveaway some people suggested that I should post up fail mani's as well because sometimes not all mani's go the way you want it to! I had this idea for a Christmas/Winter theme where it was white but gray-ish base with glittery top coat over it to make it look like snow. Well, that was a complete fail!

What I used:
Catrice London's Weather Forecast
China Glaze White Out ("sponged" with a bounty LOL)
Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor
China Glaze Nova

hope you enjoyed & happy polishing! (:
<3katherine

Essie Batch

• Smokin' Hot - Break the rules with this stone-cold fox gray that burns hotter than any flame.
• Masquerade Belle - Fascinating, mysterious and seductive, this black ruby sparks the imagination and inspires intense devotion.
  
• Silken Cord - You've got the world on a string with this stunning risqué red wrapped around your fingers.
• Hot Coco - Paint on this tawny sepia and channel the roaring '20s for a look that's timelessly flawless.
• Luxedo - Suit up in this deepest plum and boldly go where no man has gone before.
• Going Incognito - Your identity may be secret, but your style and panache are impossible to conceal with this deep emerald green.

Which are your favorites? Or which ones are you looking forward to?

Today I will have a few swatches from Essie, including the Winter 2010 Collection's Going Incognito. :)

Essie Going Incognito

a foresty emerald green creme. The swatch is 2 coats and 1 coat of top coat. I love this green! The formula and application was excellent. The color is really nice too! :)

Essie Sew Psyched

According to Essie it is a cashmere-soft sage pewter. It's more like a dusty deeper jade creme with a small shimmer. The swatch is 2 coats and 1 coat of top coat. Awesome color! Formula and application is really good. :)

Essie Wild Thing

red fushia base with slight glitter. The swatch is 2 coats and 1 coat of top coat. The color is very chic. Excellent formula and application.

Essie Jackie Oh My

a pale off white with shimmer. The swatch is 4 coats and 1 coat of top coat. The formula was a bit opaque but the application was great. :)

hope you enjoyed,

<3katherine

Jackelin $0.50!!

So I stopped by Walgreens today after work and after I bought a palette at Inglot for a swap, and I saw these babies for 2 for $1! I must confess that I saw these before but didn't bother with them because they lack color range! :( and they looked old because the polish separated. But these 2 were the good ones out of the batch.

On the left we have, Jackelin Allure and on the right we have Jackelin Pear. Allure is a grayed out blue with silver shimmer but it's very pigmented like they added fyrinnae in it to make this polish. The swatch is 2 coats of Allure and 1 coat of top coat. Pear is a metallic bronze with a green tone to it. Pear was on the harder side to capture but you can see the color perfectly from the bottle color. The swatch is 3 coats of Pear and 1 coat of top coat. Pear is a little opaque, but you could've gone with 2 coats but I decided to do 3 because a small VNL.

If anyone is interested in any Inglot Cosmetics (they don't sell their products online), I will gladly agree to a swap or custom purchase for you. Just write me an email & I'll email the store for a price quote. Please note that if you want the Freedom Eyeshadow Palettes, let me know how many eyeshadows, the number & it's color family and back up colors in case the store doesn't have a color that you wanted.

The reason I started putting it out there that I'm willing to get custom Inglot Cosmetics is because of a MUA swap. If you're more comfortable swapping with me on MUA just write me a message to itsofluffy (that's my MUA username).

I'm bringing this up because Inglot in the US is only available in 2 stores, one in NYC which is an hour train ride from my home and I work & go to school in the city so I'll be there frequently.

hope you enjoyed,

<3katherine

Something Sweet

Hello there! :) I'm posting my current manicure/nails! I received this nail polish in a swap and ever sine I got it, I've been wanting to try this!

China Glaze Something Sweet

it's a pastel light pink with hints of lavender and a slight hint of gray because it isn't as bright as Wet N Wild's Tickled Pink although it seems very similar (I'll be doing a side by side comparison soon for these two cute pinks). I started off my manicure with base coat, 2 coats of Something Sweet and 1 coat of Seche top coat on my pinkie, middle fingers and my thumb. (*Note: the pictures of the manicure isn't as accurate. The closest to the actual color is the pictures of my manicure+nail art. My camera's wonky on certain colors x___x & notetoself:savemoneyandbuynewcameraandmakelightbox)

To add a little "nail art" to my manicure, I decided to do simple white stripes. I used Kiss Nail Art in White for the stripes, although they aren't perfectly straight, they look amazingly cute! I finally topped it off with Essie's Matte About You on my ring and index fingers. :) How cute is that? It reminds me of those round peppermint mints that are red and mainly white. :P

hope you enjoyed,

<3katherine

My Favorite: Dots

I did these when my nails were long, which was a while ago. I haven't gotten around to posting these and other swatches because there are more important updates haha. :)

Again, design credits to Pan; I think I really like doing this when I don't feel creative. :P

The base for my ring finger is Essie Playa Del Platinum (2 coats), which I finally got my hands on and I love it. The dots are Essie Splash of Grenadine, OPI Alpine Snow and OPI You're Such A Kabuki Queen. I used a dotting tool to make the dots :)

The other nails are Essie Splash of Grenadine (2 coats).

we can do this! 5 more followers ;) until giveaway♥

hope you enjoyed,

<3katherine