Glamorous Geek Chic

Huemorista Nail Lacquers

2011-05-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Just a quick post to tell you of a great way to win some nail polish!

If you haven't heard of Huemorista Nail Lacquers, it's this wonderful Esty shop run by Jayna. She makes her own lacquers and sells them in 3 piece sets.

Her collections are amazing! Her most recent one features jellies!!

How can you win some of her lacquers? Just go to her facebook page for Huemorista and hit the like button! At 200 likes she will randomly select a winner! Only 7 more likes to go!

Check out her lacquers and like her page!

Kayla

Quick Update

2011-04-30T21:18:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long! There's been a lot going on and so little time to get anything done!

My nephew was born two weeks ago! He took over my whole family's life! He's super adorable!

This is Henry Liam!

I've got the pictures of the next drawer in my collection done, they just need some quick photoshopping and they'll be up. Expect them soon!! Thanks for being patient, I know I haven't been a consistent blogger as of late.

Kayla

P.S. I updated the giveaway section in my sidebar! Check it out for some great giveaways that end soon! You don't want to miss out!

Random NOTD

2011-04-12T12:44:00.000-05:00

Hey! Just giving you a quick NOTD shot. It was taken while standing knee deep in river water. We're flooded again this year and I was taking pics of the water when I decided to grab a picture of my nails!

It's Revlon's Powder Puff with Wet n Wild's Party of Five Glitters on top.

I needed something fun to cheer everyone up in this flood. Hope you enjoyed this quick post. I'm going to try and get the next drawer in my collection up later today!

My Collection Part 1 (Lots of pics!)

2011-04-05T21:52:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! I know this is late, and I'm sorry. I'm not going to give excuses, I'm just jumping right into it. This is the first part of my five part series on my collection! Each part will be a drawer in my helmer. This excludes my top drawer which is accessories and such. It is extremely unorganized at the moment. Maybe by the end of the series it will be organized and ready for it's blog debut. My collection contains 277 nail polishes! Which is about 100 more than I thought I had! This is not including stripe art polishes. This collection has only been growing for about a year now and I am amazed at how many I have! Wow!

We will start with drawer 2 which contains OPI, Sephora by OPI, Nicole by OPI and Essie. Let's start with a drawer picture:

Oops, my Nic Stick rolled out of the shot!

OPI definitely hogs the drawer with 36 full sized bottles and 7 minis! Let's check out swatches for each one! I have two nail wheels completely filled up. All swatches are 3 coats unless stated otherwise. Here's a full look at OPI Wheel 1:

ooooh ahhh

And now close ups:

1. Hoodoo Voodoo?!

2. Mod About You

3. Banana Bandana

4. You Don't Know Jacques! (Matte, top coat on top half)

5. Russian Navy (Matte, top coat on top half)

6. Suzi Says Feng Shui

7. Jade is the New Black

8. Damone Roberts 1968

9. Parlez-vous OPI?

10. Done Out In Deco

11. Bronzed to Perfection

12. Clubbing 'til Sunrise

13. Yoga-ta Get This Blue!

14. Eiffel for This Color

15. Smok'n in Havana

16. Kinky in Helsinki

17. Cheyenne Pepper

18. Cuckoo for this Color

Full view of OPI Wheel 2

So pretty!!

19. DS Illuminate

20. DS Extravagance

21. DS Mystery

22. My Private Jet (scattered holo)

23. My Private Jet (teal flash)

24. Glitzerland

25. Black Shatter (over Nicole by OPI Shell me the Truth)

26. Sahara Sapphire

27. The Color to Watch (4 coats)

28. DS Classic

29. Extra-va-ganza

30. Mad As A Hatter

31. Absolutely Alice

32. Glow Up Already

33. Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

34. Last Friday Night (4 coats?)

35. Teenage Dream

36. Bring on the Bling

OPI Minis:

1. Holiday Glow

2. Shim-merry Chic

3. Comet Loves Cupid

4. Rumple's Wiggin'

5. What's With the Cattitude?

6. Ogre the Top

7. Fiercely Fiona

That is my OPI collection. Small but absolutely wonderful! :)

Next up: Nicole by OPI

1. No Limits (Matte/top coat on top half)

2. Respect the World (Matte/top coat on top half)

3. Wink of Twink (holo top coat, 4 coats)

4. Shell Me the Truth

5. Form One Line (Nic's Stick)

Next up: $OPI

1. Under My Trench Coat

2. Call Your Mother

3. 212-Sephora

4. Dating the Drummer

Finally, Essie:

1.Imported Champagne

2. Demure Vixen

3. Mint Candy Apple

4. Lapis of Luxury

5. Playa Del Platinum

6. Splash of Grenadine

7. Turquoise & Caicos

Well, that's drawer 2! Do I have any of your favorites in this drawer? It's home to quite a few of mine!

Stay tuned for Drawer 3!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! And some info!

2011-03-17T10:20:00.001-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I hope you are showing off your favorite green polish today!! My 'going naked' plan didn't work out. It lasted 2 weeks but then the temptation grew as I rearranged my collection and I caved. My nails are looking okay. I think if I repaint them every day they should be fine and free of chips that cause more damage. Since I caved I have a green NOTD to show you!!

I love Ireland and anything related. I took a class a few years ago that ended with a trip to Ireland. It was amazing. Breathtaking. I may move there one day. I couldn't let today go by without showing my Ireland love! So here's my green NOTD, I threw in some orange as well (Ireland's flag is green, white and orange). I hope you enjoy!

Indoors, no flash

Indoors, flash

The sun is hiding today, so no natural light. Ugh, so annoying! :)

For this NOTD, I used Essence Show Your Feet in #10 In the Jungle as a base. Then I randomly taped off different ares on each nail (except my middle) and applied two coats of Sinful Call You Later. This glitter polish is gorgeous. It has at least 2-3 different green glitters in it, as well as a gold glitter. It's the perfect St. Patrick's Day glitter! For the orange detailing I used Milani Nail Art in Orange Graph.

Earlier this week I posted a 'sneak peek' with some pictures of a bunch of nail wheels. Those nail wheels are painted with every polish of my collection. Starting this week (either Friday or Saturday) I will do a weekly post of part of my collection until we reach the end. I'll show you the inside of my helmer and the nail wheel swatches. I think I'm going to break it up according to drawer or brand. Haven't completely decided yet. I'm excited to show you! I discovered that I have a lot more nail polish than I thought I did!! Craziness! :)

Check back soon for the start of my collection! Meanwhile, go drink some green beer!

Kayla

Sneak Peek

2011-03-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to give you a hint of what I'm posting later this week...

Going naked for awhile.

2011-02-21T20:15:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

Lately I've been breaking my nails so much that the ends are peeling slightly. Anyone who has experienced this knows that peeling can take a little while to go away. And nail polish doesn't always help protect the nail especially if it chips. My job requires me to use my hands a lot and handle things like heavy shelves. This makes my nail polish chip so easily that it's been hard to keep them from peeling and breaking. It's added onto the damage.

I've decided to go with naked nails for a while. They have been filed down and I've applied only Sally Hansen Nail Nutrition. I wanted to put a treatment on that you massage in, instead of something that goes on like a clear topcoat which can chip and peel off. It would just add to the damage. And I am using cuticle oil as well! A healthy cuticle makes a healthy nail! :)

For my upcoming posts, I wanted to know what you would like to see. I have a feeling I know the answer but I will go ahead and poll you anyways. I'll just list some options and you can go ahead and comment on what you would like to see.

1. I have a stock pile of old swatches that for whatever reason never made it on to the blog. I can start posting them along with some new ones I did last week.

2. Makeup! Swatches, LOTD, etc. Just makeup! Switch to makeup while my nails get back to beautiful.

3. Fashion. LOTD, etc. I like clothes, and I could probably ramble on about it for you. :)

4. Geek out! Talk to us about the geeky things in your life! It is in my blog name....

5. Switch it up! Swatches, makeup, geek, etc. just do it all!

I was going to come up with some more random funny options like lion taming videos or something but I'm so tired today that I couldn't! Lame! I failed on the funny. Let me know what you think or I'm just going to torture you with cute videos from YouTube or something.

Thanks guys! I always value your opinion! You make my world go round *Aww, cheesy moment*

Kayla

Essie in Target March 6th!

2011-02-05T21:05:00.002-06:00

I know quite a few bloggers have discovered Essie in their local Wal-Marts recently. I haven't. :( I also know that a lot of people don't like shopping at Wal-Mart. There's good news: Target is launching their Essie displays in store starting March 6th.

Target has newsletters for employees that roll out every month and give updates on new items coming to the stores. I randomly chose to browse it on my break (yes, I work at Target), and discovered this lovely bit of news. I've been dying to see the new Essie bottles and displays! Now, it will be coming right to me! Exciting! And I don't have to venture into the dreaded Wal-Mart. :)

As of right now, Target has the old Essie core line that they've always carried. You know, the generic reds, mauves, pinks and nudes, but no fun colors. So this is exciting to me, I love the idea of having more to chose from and I'll be able to pick some colors I haven't been able to find in any salons in town (Sew Psyched!).

Anyone else super pumped for this?

First sun I've seen in months...

2011-02-03T22:58:00.000-06:00

And my camera dies. Seriously? And I was even wearing a holo nail polish. It was just asking for its picture to be taken while it sparkled in the sunshine. China Glaze Techno Teal is gorgeous in the sun, I wish I could show you. I love the Tronica collection. Unfortunately my salon had slim pickings, and I was only able to grab two. My wallet appreciated it.

Funny story from today!! I thought we were being invaded by space spiders!! No lie. Why? Well, I was just about to turn down my driveway when I noticed something strange happening on the road ahead of me. There was a car stopped and it (at first) looked like there was a dog walking in front of it. I was far enough away that details were hard to make out and it was a heavily shaded area.

Then the "dog" turned slightly and the shape changed drastically. It looked like a spider with two pointy protrusions coming out from each side of its body. A giant spider. Insert terrified four letter words here. I had come to a complete stop and was staring. Would you like a better visualization? Here, I drew you a picture.

Terrifying. hahahahaha. Not so much in my drawing. But just add sci-fi special effects in your imagination and you've got what I saw. After about thirty frightful seconds of staring I figured out what it was.

No, it was not a space spider invading my neighborhood.

It was two turkeys fighting. Back and forth across the road. They caused a bit of a traffic jam. Oh and a picture to show you what it actually was:

What, you expected an actual picture? Dead camera, remember? Silly. So after I realized what it was, I also realized I was holding up traffic and needed to turn. It was the craziest thing. If I had been closer I wouldn't have had the space spider freak out, but without detail they looked like one creature. Plus I have an overactive imagination and a love of everything sci-fi, and that adds to a situation.

Hopefully there will be more sun tomorrow and I can get some swatches done for you. The quality of pictures taken inside are just no good. I need a solution for the cloudy days that frequently occur here. Until then I will entertain with hilarious space spider stories.

Hope you enjoyed!
Kayla

CSN Giveaway Winner!

2011-02-03T21:33:00.000-06:00

Apparently no one wants to win if there's no nail polish involved. ;) Just 17 entries this time around! That's okay, those 17 people have great odds of winning now!

I used Random.org to select a winner. And out of 17 entries it picked lucky number 11. And who was number 11?

shala_darkstone!!!

Congrats!!! I will send you an email right now! Please respond within 48 hours, or I will chose a new winner!

Thank you everyone for entering! :) I loved seeing what you would purchase with the gift card! Awesome choices....makes me want to go shopping. That's not good because I get paid tomorrow. This could end badly...

Giveaway! $45 CSN gift card(U.S. & Canada only) (CLOSED)

2011-01-19T19:39:00.001-06:00

This giveaway has ended! Keep checking back, there'll be plenty more to enter!

Hey guess what?!?

I have a giveaway for you!! I apologize in advance because there is no nail polish involved, but it's still a really great giveaway! I'm excited!! :)

CSN stores has kindly provided a $45 gift card to spend at any of their stores. If you're not familiar with CSN stores, let me fill you in: They are like a virtual mall with over 200 stores making up their website! They have an amazing variety of items from shoes to modern decor. It's pretty much an online shopping heaven!

I just have a couple of rules before you start entering:
1. CSN can only ship to the U.S. and Canada, sorry international friends. We'll have an international giveaway soon!

2. I'm not requiring that you be a follower, but it is appreciated and will earn you a bonus entry!

3. Leave a comment telling what you would buy with $45 to CSN and include your email and whether or not you are a follower!

Giveaway ends on February 2nd, 2011.

Good luck!
Kayla

1 year old.

2011-01-18T15:29:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I thought I would start up blogging again on my blog's birthday. That's right it's been a year since I started up GGC. Crazy how time flies...

The rest of this week is going to be great. I've got a giveaway coming up tomorrow, just a small one to get things kicking again. And I'll finish off the week with some swatches. I was hoping to swatch the new Katy Perry collection, but it hasn't hit my town yet. I'm on a call list so as soon as it gets here, I will have it. Instead I will be swatching some old OPI polishes. I was one of the lucky 150 fans to win in the Facebook giveaway and my prize set arrived today!!! So expect those swatches starting tomorrow!!

Thank you for celebrating my blog's first birthday with me! You mean the world to me! I <3 you! :)

Kayla

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:11:00.000-06:00

I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have a wonderful holiday! And those of you who don't, just have an amazing Thursday! :)

I wanted to quickly say Thank you! from the bottom of my heart. I never imagined that I would have so many loyal followers ever! Especially since I've had so much happen recently where the posts have been few and far between. I feel the love! :)

I'm hoping to start up the blogging shortly, so do not fret! I still have a passion for it and will try to come back full force!

For now I leave you with one of my favorite recent NOTDs. I called it "Bling Dynasty". Because I'm a geek. Anyways, it's American Apparel Dynasty with Wet N Wild Fireworks sponged over the top half. Enjoy!

Weekend Away with My Bestie

2010-10-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

Hello Lovelies!
A quick update for you: my grandma is getting out of the hospital within the next two days! We are all excited and relieved! It's been a loooong two weeks!

Today I am headed to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area with Abby, my best friend. We will most likely partake in some shopping and I may return with some goodies to share with you all! I promise to do a haul post right away. I've decided to get motivated and get posting more frequently! Yay!

I promised a new giveaway and that will be posted early next week (think Tuesday-ish). Thanks for sticking around while I sort out my life! I love you guys, even if we've only exchanged pictures of manicures on various blogs! haha that sounded a lot less strange in my head.

Random side note: I found an old Cover Girl crackle polish at my local Dollar Tree. Unfortunately, it was all dried up. I thought I would get it and try to revive it. Thinner seems to be doing little, if anything, to it. Anyone have any suggestions, this is the first time I've attempted it and I'm not 100% sure how to do it.

Stay Glamorous

Or Geeky...whichever you prefer! ;)

Kayla

Worst Week Ever

2010-10-17T16:37:00.001-05:00

Wow. This week has not been fun. Right now my grandma is in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery repairing a complication from a surgery she had just this summer. I've spent every available minute in her hospital room, keeping her company.

*Edit* Oh great, my mom just informed me that my grandma will be having a second emergency surgery. Most likely tomorrow.

On Tuesday, my dad was in the ER from a fall/dehydration. Scariest night of my life. My mom and I thought he was having a stroke. I've never had to call 911 before and I hope I will never have to again. He's "perfect" in the words of the doctor. And we all wish he would have used different wording because my dad brings it up any chance he can!

There's been more drama and chaos but I won't go into any more details. Just wanted to let you know what's been going on and why there hasn't been a post. Hopefully soon I will get more time to make a better post, something with nail polish in it. I'll talk to you all soon.

Networking!

2010-10-03T22:30:00.000-05:00

Hey GGs! That's short for glam geeks, FYI. ;)

Just a quick post today. I've been wanting to catch up on following everyone's blogs but haven't had the time lately. So, if you have a blog that you would like me to follow, drop a link in the comments and I'll head on over and hit that shiny button labeled follow.

I'm also looking for more interaction on Twitter (I've had it for ages and still haven't gotten completely into it, so I need your help) Just DM me or tweet @glamgeekchic, so I can follow you and keep up with everyone. Or try to keep up. :P

Do a lot of you have Facebook pages for your blogs? I've seen that lately, and though I don't think my blog has quite the popularity needed for one yet, I would love to check some out!

Yay, social networking! I think it may be taking over my life.

P.S. I'll be posting a giveaway soon, yes another one. No nail polish this time though, but still great! And I have some new polishes to show off/review! Exciting!!

Viva La Nails--Review

2010-09-28T22:15:00.000-05:00

Hey! How was your Tuesday? Mine was okay. I didn't have to work today (yay) but I had class all day (boo). Another plus, Glee was on! Loved it, as usual! Anyways, on with the post..

I have a review for you today! Viva La Nails! They sent me the Blogger Nail Art Sample Pack full of nail art goodies! Now, if you've been with me from the beginning you'll know that I'm not one for nail art. I have the ideas, just not the follow through! However, they sent me such a variety so I was able to try out different types and figure out what I could do!

I sat down with all the stuff and felt overwhelmed, extremely overwhelmed. Feeling that way I decided it was best to pick one of each kind of art and go for it.

I am a changed woman. Why did I think nail art was so difficult? Granted, it may not be a Picasso painting on my nails, but I enjoyed it and I think for my 'first' try it was pretty darn good. Without further ado, I present my nail art:

Take one: Star shaped sequins and small round ones. Both holographic, and lovely. Easy to apply, easy to remove. Loved them!

Take Two: One of everything! Thumb: Small blue sequins Index: Black rhinestones Middle: Crushed Shells Ring: Small Gold rhinestones, large gold rhinestone Pinky: Water decal

Another view. The crushed shells are the only ones I really had trouble with.

Close ups:

I was confused by this:

Not sure how to use that for nail art. I tried but it did not work. It was one big fail full of goopy feathers. Or rather, feather. Fail.

Viva La Nails has a large variety of great nail art items. Check them out! I'm definitely going to try a lot more nail art now that I'm such a pro. Or semi-pro. Meh.

A little birdie told me..

2010-09-14T18:54:00.000-05:00

Hello!

So I was looking through random tweets on Twitter, and I found one that really caught my attention. Nyx Cosmetics tweeted:

Hint hint: I hope you're all signed up with @Hautelook by this time next week! ;)

I don't know about you, but this makes me really excited! I love discounted makeup! If you haven't heard of HauteLook, it's a great site that offers up to 75% on certain items from different brands. Each brand is featured for a few days and it's only select items but you can certainly hit the jackpot if you get to the sale early enough.

I suggest joining because there's always a beauty sale going on and there's always other amazing sales on clothes, jewelry, home decor, etc.

If you haven't been joined yet, here's your chance! Nyx sales are always great! Plus The Body Shop and Butter London have sales going right now (ending Weds. 8am).

HauteLook

Happy Shopping! :)

Kayla

Beauty Tips That Changed My Life

2010-09-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

There are many beauty tips that I could list here, but these are the ones that truly make a difference in my life.

1. Use a toothbrush to work cuticle oil into the cuticle. Results are amazing. My cuticles never look better than when I use my trusty toothbrush. Uh, it's not the same one I use on my teeth. That would be nasty. I suggest separate ones. ;)

2. Only use products from the same line for face wash/moisturizer/etc. My skin has never looked better! The chemical war on my skin is no more!

3. A paintbrush is amazing for cleaning up your nails. If you look at my first swatches...yikes! Now, I can not paint my nails without cleaning them up to perfection. Or as close to perfection that I can achieve.

4. Eyebrows aren't supposed to be identical twins. Just sisters. Do you know how hard I tried to get them to be exactly the same! Ugh! It's great not having to worry about that anymore.

5. Switch it up! Wearing the same eyeshadow or whatever day in and day out gets old. Have fun with makeup, hair styles, clothes, and, of course, nail polish!

Okay, now it's your turn. Tell me about the beauty tip that changed your life, or your beauty habits, at least. Leave a comment and maybe I'll compile a list from everyone and we can share our amazing tips with the world!

Kayla

Giveaway Winner!!!

2010-09-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

The moment had finally arrived!! I received 209 entries (a-ma-zing!) and gained a bunch of new followers (double amazing)! I'm gonna keep this short and sweet.

The winner of 10 polishes (6 ChG Vintage Vixen and 4 OPI Swiss) is:

Megan Harmeyer!!!

Congrats!!! She was entry number 88, the number Random.org picked for me! Megan, I'm sending you an email tonight, please respond within 48hrs. If I don't hear from you, I'll pick a new winner.

Thanks to everyone who entered, it was a lot of fun for me! I only wish I would have received more manicure entries! I only received two! Sad face.

In the coming week I've got some reviews planned! Thanks for following!

Kayla

Reminder

2010-09-04T22:25:00.000-05:00

Hey!

Just a quick reminder that giveaway entries need to be in by the end of tomorrow. That's September 5th! I want to see at least 10 more entries. I'm at 190, and I want to hit 200! It would be fabulous!!! Thanks to those who are new followers! I hope you stick around and enjoy!

Check back September 6th to find out who the winner is!!! I hope its you! Yeah, you!

Kayla

e.l.f Beauty Books

2010-08-23T21:40:00.000-05:00

Hello! Welcome new followers and thanks to everyone who has entered the giveaway!!! I already have over 65 entries! I'm so excited!!! Whoo! :)

Today, I'm going nail polish free and bringing you a review on some e.l.f products! The Beauty Books are palettes that e.l.f has released for a limited time. They're kind of a back-to-school accessory. In fact, the packaging looks like little notebooks! And since tomorrow is back to school for me, I thought I'd share my favorite new school supply with all of you (all 115 of you! 115! Freakin' amazing! I hope you all enjoy my blog, because I already love you all! :P)!

There are three different palettes: Natural Eye, Smokey Eye, and Eye Brights. Each palette comes with 12 eyeshadows, a sponge applicator, and a black eyeliner pencil. Each palette has a guide on the inside cover, explaining how to get the "perfect" eye makeup. Not bad tips, but I like to get creative on my own. I guess I'm just a rebel.

When my friends and I spotted these at Target, we were skeptical. We had tried e.l.f eye shadow before and been unimpressed. We decided to sneak a quick swatch of some colors from each palette. Whoa. Pigmentation was extremely better than the single shadows purchased in the past. I grabbed one of each palette and hit the checkout lanes. (Note: I purchased these at a Super Target that already carried e.l.f products, the Target in my home town is not a super and does not carry e.l.f on a regular basis and did not have the back to school end cap filled with goodies. I'm guessing that only some Targets will end up having these palettes).

The Natural Eye palette has the exact colors you would think it would. Browns, taupes, creams, and some mauves and pinks. It's the perfect palette for creating a beautiful natural look. Excellent pigmentation, silky smooth texture (except on colors with glitter in them), and great ability to blend. This palette is wonderful for every day looks.

Close up of Natural Eye.

Swatches in sunlight

No sun. No Flash.

The Smokey Eye palette is equipped with the best shades to make a black smokey eye or a brown smokey eye. The have the same amount of pigmentation as the Natural eye and the same texture. I was hoping for more gun metals and greys in this palette but overall I like the fact that it's got a broader range of color. Here's the closeup:

Direct Sunlight

Sunlight. The one color matches my skin tone almost perfectly!

Flash. Look at the glitter in these shadows! Holy cow! haha

Eye Brights has to be my favorite. The colors are gorgeous! It has the same color payoff as the other two palettes but it has more variety of colors. The greens are amazing. I love them! Here, look at them. I can't say anymore, just look!

Sun. The blue is actually a duochrome type color. It has a green flash to it. Stunning.

Sun. None of my pictures do this palette justice. It's slightly depressing. Everything is gorgeous. And I think that may be the same skin tone-matching shadow as in the Smokey Eye palette.

Flash. Beauty. Yummy. *drool*

There are some shades in each palette that do not give as mush color payoff as the rest but it's generally the lighter colors. However, you can build them up. There is a down side to these palettes. I cannot get the colors to last all day. I use an eye primer, which has never let me down before, and when I get home my eye makeup has faded. I've also used a finishing spray. That didn't help either. I need to experiment with these some more. There has to be a solution. I only noticed it a couple of times so maybe those were flukes? Hmm.

Well, I'm going to go paint my nails for school tomorrow. Haha. I hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week. I will see you later!

PS: If you haven't entered my giveaway, do it now! Okay, you have until September 5th, but I still think you should enter right now! :)

Wanna win some nail polish? Giveaway Closed!

2010-08-15T21:23:00.001-05:00

Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!

Hey, I'm back for real this time! And I'm starting off with a giveaway! I thought it would be the best way to apologize for being away for so long and I'm feeling generous.

There is only one prize this time around and it includes polishes from the China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection and the OPI Swiss collection! Here's some pictures to drool over:

OPI L-R: William Tell Me About OPI, Ski Teal We Drop, Diva of Geneva, and Yodel Me on My Cell

China Glaze L-R: Swing Baby, Jitterbug, Emerald Fitzgerald, Goin' My Way?, First Class Ticket, and Riveter Rouge

Here's how you enter the giveaway:

1. Be a follower and leave a comment on this post. Your email should be included for contact if you win!

2. Extra entries can be earned.

One extra entry can be earned by blogging, tweeting, or by some other way of spreading the word. You may earn an extra entry for each of those if you chose to do more than one. You must give me a link or retweet me (@glamgeekchic).
You can earn 5 extra entries by emailing me a picture of a manicure inspired by the Vintage Vixen or Swiss collection. You can even combine them and do a Vintage Swiss Vixen or something! :) Must be a new mani and only one entry can be submitted. I will post all the entries for fun! Email: glamgeekchic@gmail.com.

3. Giveaway ends September 5th, 2010. That's about three weeks to get in your entries! On that date I will draw a name using some random generator site and announce the winner on the 6th!

Good luck! I'm so excited to give these gorgeous polishes away! So pretty! *drool*

I'm Back!!

2010-06-23T22:45:00.000-05:00

Hello, how's everyone doing? I know it's been quite a while since I posted something! I've had a lot going on! I've finally adjusted to my new work schedule and I'm loving it. Not really loving getting up at 5:30am but oh well! I'm not staying with my Grandma anymore. She's recovering quickly from her surgery and so I moved back home. She's an amazing woman. Very inspiring!

I've got a few posts lined up, including my Zoya Exchange haul, swatches from my swap with Fleur's Nails & Stuff, another nail art tutorial, and a new nail art contest. So please keep coming back for those fun posts!

Love and Nail Polish,
Kayla

Finding the Time...

2010-06-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Sorry that it's been over a week since my last post! I meant to post earlier but my life has been hectic! I haven't had the time to even polish my nails in the last four days!!

I recently got a sort of promotion at work, so I'm working full time and only have Wednesdays off and every other weekend off. Before this I worked mostly nights, but now I'm working mornings. I'm still adjusting to this so I've been extremely tired lately and it's hard to work up the energy to post or paint my nails! As I'm adjusting, the posts will happen more and more!

My Grandma had surgery on Thursday and is still in the hospital through tomorrow morning. I've been spending my weekend off up in her room keeping her company. I would have loved to paint my nails but I figured it would be frowned upon in a hospital! When she gets released I'm going to stay at her house with her until she gets a little more mobile. It may be difficult for me to post for the next couple of weeks but I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out. She has internet but her computer is so outdated that I can't stand to use it. I may have to bring over mine...

Anyways, last post you told me you wanted some nail art and who am I to deny you some nail art?

Since jaljen asked for simple nail art, I did as simple as I could. And I'm going to tell you how to achieve it!

Here's the finished look:

And here's what you need:

A basecoat, one light color, one dark color, a bold accent color, top coat and blue painter's tape.

First, paint your nails with the light color. I used Damone Roberts 1968. My favorite mint green! I used two coats.

Clean up if you want, I did, and apply your topcoat. Let it dry. I added the top coat to make sure the tape didn't take off the polish.

Next, take a piece of tape and tape off the bottom half of your nails at a diagonal. Paint the exposed top half of your nail with your dark color. I used Rimmel Black Satin. A dark brown would also look nice with mint green.

Remove the tape after the polish dries. I only used one coat of the dark polish, but depending on what color you chose you may need more.

Again, cleanup and apply top coat.

Here's where it may get tricky for you. You want to take two pieces of tape and tape off your nail so that only a small triangular piece of nail is showing. Make sure it's on the dark color, coming from the lower side. It should be wider towards the bottom and thinner at the top. Also, the section should only go about half way across.

Paint that part with your bold accent color, I used Essence Nail Art Twins in Romeo, a great silver shimmer. Once it dries, peel the tape off, clean it up, do any touchups (I had to straighten my lines with a dotting tool), and apply top coat for the last time.

Voila! You've completed your nail art!

I hope you enjoyed this look! If you do any variations, I'd love to see them! Email me pics! :)

Have a great night!
Kayla

P.S. I received Romeo in a swap with Tina from Fleur's Nails & Stuff! She was super sweet and got me amazing polishes! Go check out her blog!

I'm so indecisive!

2010-05-27T01:23:00.000-05:00

Bonjour! How is everyone doing?

Here's the deal. I need your help. I'm trying to decide what my next couple posts should be. So I'm gonna ask what you would want to see. I have some polishes to swatch, I think they're all ones you've probably seen before, or I could try out some nail art designs. What do you think? I have some packages on the way so I will have some haul posts soon. Leave me a comment about what you want to see within the next couple of posts and I will make it happen.

By the way, I think I'm going to start up another nail art contest for June. I've got to work out the details still but keep an eye out for it!!

That's all for now!! Except: YAY! I've passed 70 followers! Thank you so much! You all make me smile!

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 5--Last One!

2010-05-22T00:19:00.000-05:00

This last e.l.f polish is the main indicator that the brand is trying to go for the current trends. Mint Cream is exactly what you would think it to be! A gorgeous mint green that leans a little towards sea foam green. Not sure how it stacks up against other mint greens but if you all want a comparison, tell me in the comments and I'll dig up all my mints and swatch it up!

Inside, no flash

Outside, direct sunlight

I really wish you could all smell these!

Mint cream was a thin polish as well. It was opaque in 3 coats.

E.l.f was really consistent in the formula for these polishes. Which is great, you know what your getting! Compared to e.l.f polishes I've purchased previously, these five seem kinda thin. However, they were easy to work with and had great shine without top coats! They dried pretty quickly, but tip wear was apparent after less than a day. Overall, for $1, they're fantastic! I really loved these colors, except Innocent, and recommend trying them out!

*Disclaimer*

Though I did receive these polishes for free, they were a gift combined with a purchase and therefore considered paid for by myself. I have given my honest opinion and will not receive any compensation for that opinion.

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 4

2010-05-21T01:20:00.001-05:00

Alright, this color will definitely be used in a comparison post!

Smoky Brown is seems to be a lot like OPI's You Don't Know Jacques. I'll definitely do some comparison swatches and get back to you. It's a gorgeous brown that looks like milk chocolate on the nails. I seriously think I have dipped my hands in chocolate when wearing colors like this! ;) Smoky Brown is the perfect professional color but also can be fun to wear! Being so similar to YDKJ is great because if it's a dead on dupe, well it costs a fraction of the price of YDKJ!

Inside, with flash

Inside, no flash

Outside, sunlight

*Covered my thumb because it had lots of bubbles! First times it's happened. I'm pretty sure it was because of two things: my room was extremely humid and the sun was setting and I needed outdoor pics! Super fast nail painting happened that day!

Another pic with lilacs..they smell so good!!

Smoky Brown was the only one of the set that gave me application problems, namely bubbles. I applied it quickly and in my room where it was super hot. Even so, none of the other ones bubbled. The formula was the same, kinda thin but not so watery you can't use it. The only difference was that it was opaque in two coats versus three or four. Pictures above are three coats. I really love the color! Definitely recommend it, simply gorgeous! I will check back in with a comparison soon!

I've saved the color I think most of you will like for last! I'll post Mint Cream tomorrow night!

Kayla

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 3

2010-05-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

Click HERE to view Part 1

HERE for Part 2!

Next stop on our journey through the new e.l.f polishes is Lilac. Lilac is a pastel dusty purple that in the bottle looks like OPI's Done Out in Deco with a tiny bit of Parlez-Vous OPI? mixed in. I knew that I would like the color the moment I saw it. Seasoned GGC followers will recall my love for dusty purples. I can't get enough of them!

In the bottle, Lilac looks to be a creme but when it was on my nails the consistency and drying reminded me of a jelly. It certainly does not look like a creme on the nails. Though, that is not bad. It actually looks pretty darn good on the nails.

Indirect light, no flash

Look at that shine! (No Top Coat)

This picture is true to color.

Direct Sunlight

Direct Sunlight with some Lilacs!

Indoors, flash

Lilac was a very sheer polish when applying the first coats. These pictures are 4 coats, no top coat. It needed four simply because of its jelly-like consistency, it made thin areas really stand out. Three coats can even it out and look fine but I like to add a security blanket of an extra coat. Smooth application but a little thin, however out of all the polishes this one was the least messy. By far my favorite!

I know a lot of you like purples, too. How does Lilac compare to your favorites?

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 2

2010-05-17T22:51:00.000-05:00

Click HERE to view Part 1!

Welcome to Part 2 of the e.l.f series! Today's featured polish is Innocent.

In the bottle, Innocent looks like a nude polish that has a slight hint of pink in it. You can definitely tell right away that it's going to be a sheer. It's the kind of color I would tend to stay away from just because sheers are a hassle.

I started out swatching on just my thumb to find out if I wanted to do a full on manicure. After two thin coats I just decided to do a full mani. I wish I hadn't.

Remember when 'mannequin hands' was big? I hated it then, and I hate it now. Innocent has proven to be way to close to my mannequin hands! Yuck! I'm sure someone with darker skin, even just a tan, could pull Innocent off, but I can't. I took one picture and quickly took it off.

Ick. Definitely not my color.

As far as application goes, it applied just fine. Same consistency as Desert Haze, a little thin but not bad. This was about 4 coats, I think. After the second one I stopped caring because it looked terrible.

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 1

2010-05-17T00:31:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

This week is going to be a series! Whoo, lots of posts! Yay!

I recently received an email from e.l.f, with a code for their 5 new nail polish colors free with a $20 order. Uh, done. :) I got the package in the mail on Friday. And I'm so excited to show you guys their new colors! (Plus two bonus polishes I bought to get to $20! :D) I was sad to find that I couldn't share the code because it's already expired! I'm a bad blogger for not checking that earlier! Next time, I'm posting the code right away!

The colors are all very "trendy", and include a mint green, lilac, dusty brown, gray-taupe, and a soft pink. Clearly, e.l.f is trying to hit all the favorites. I'm not hating them for it! The colors are gorgeous in the bottle...but do they impress on the nails? Here's a sneak peek at what you'll see this week.

All this week I will do a post dedicated to each polish and give you the info on them. At the end of the week, I'll let you know how I feel overall.

First up? Desert Haze.

Desert Haze looked gray in the email and on the website so I was a little disappointed when I got it and it was more of a nude/taupe. I swatched it anyways, fully believing it would look awful and I would hate it. I don't hate it. In fact I love it. It's quite gorgeous. Desert Haze is definitely a color you could wear to work and people would comment on the gorgeous, unique color. In my opinion, it's chic and classy.

Desert Haze is the perfect name for this polish, when you look at it you are reminded of sand and the slight hint of gray brings on the haze. I love the name! I want to be the person who names polishes...but then of course we'd get some strangely named polishes. ;)

Indirect sunlight

Direct sunlight

Desert Haze applied smoothly, though it may be slightly thin but no major cuticle pooling. It starts out slightly sheer but is completely opaque with 3 coats. I had tip wear the next day but I did work 8 hours and it was rough on my nails. I would say that it would last longer under different circumstances. For $1, it would be worth the buy! I would recommend getting it! Super gorgeous!

Kayla

P.S. Funny story! On Friday, I was answering the phones at work when a woman called to speak to someone in cosmetics. Well, no one would pick up the call so I thought, "Hey, I know a thing or two about cosmetics! I'll take the call from way back in the fitting room. haha" What was the woman looking for? Hidden Treasure. It was hard not to giggle at the irony. I had to unfortunately inform her that we only carry the core Sally Hansen line. I desperately wanted to ask her if she blogs. haha I'm a dork. She sounded disappointed and hung up before I could tell her where I got my HT. I hope she found it! There aren't many places to find it here. *Gasp* What if I got the only two bottles in all of Fargo....nah. That would be crazy though!

Breathing Room and Blankets

2010-05-13T00:59:00.000-05:00

Good evening/morning/afternoon/whenever you're reading this :)

I'm in a spectacular mood today! I finished my last final of the semester and I feel like I can just relax and unwind! It feels like I can breathe, like I held my breath the whole semester! Now it's three months of relaxing...well when I'm not at work that is!

In case you're wondering, I did really well on the final! Yay! I needed to do well, my grade depended on it! I kind of slacked off in that class...whoops! But I definitely made up for it! Just checked my grade and it is fabulous! :) So happy!!!

I have a NOTD for you! It's a french manicure but with untraditional colors. I started with just ChG For Audrey on my nails but I felt like it needed something more.

*Gorgeous*

I could not figure out what to add to it. Then I got a little chilly, so I grabbed my blanket, which has a blue in it that matches For Audrey! It's a blue and brown fleece blanket with a damask pattern on it. Beautiful pattern, gorgeous color combo! That settled it, I had to add some brown! I decided to keep it simple and test out my new Seche French Guides.

My Seche French Guides hanging out with ChG For Audrey and Pro10 #53-Incognito(won in giveaway from Brooke!).

The color combo looked just as great on my nails! Love it!

The blanket has definitely faded over the years but it once was a bright and beautiful as my NOTD.

Hope you liked it!

I'm hoping to receive a package this weekend that will include some new nail polishes to swatch and review! Keep an eye out for that within the next week or so!

Kayla

Hidden Treasure Swatches (FINALLY)

2010-05-09T22:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Mothers' Day to those of my followers that are moms! I hope your kids spoiled you rotten, today!

I know this post has been put off for some time now. Ridiculous! Let's just get into it!

The night I bought HT I decided to fill a nail wheel with different colors and cover them in the sweet deliciousness that is HT. This is the result:

Inside, no flash.

A lot of the darker colors look the same, but they aren't. There's a black, chocolate brown, dark blue, and a dark plum.

Flash made things go blah. :(

See? Not as pretty. LAME.

This was taken a different day and in a different room. The bathroom, where I found the lighting made HT light up on my nails! So gorgeous!

This was in the "shade" or rather in the shower behind the curtain. I couldn't believe how gorgeous it looked!

I threw some Matte Magic over one to see how it looked.

The whole wheel just glows! I love how it looks different on each color! It takes on the color/softness of the base color so well. And over reds, FIRE! So amazing.

Turned the wheel for a better look at the darker colors.

Here's my first mani with HT, I lost the better quality photo when my photos were deleted. But you still get the idea. It's the same orange/peach as on the wheel.

This was after I removed the swatches from the nail wheel, and the sun happened to show up for a little bit. I chose 5 colors to quickly swatch HT over. SH Wet Cement, Rimmel Black Satin, the coral is either Finger Paints Drawn To This Shade or CND Poppyfield (Hmmm, very close to each other...must do a comparison), OPI Jade Is The New Black, OPI Done Out In Deco, and HT on its own.

Better Pic. Polish on the far left is a franken I did. It was supposed to be a clear polish with holo and black glitter but it was so thick I had to thin it out and the black glitter became silver and the polish is now a sheer black jelly. I then added some HT to the mix. You can kind of see it...perhaps I should add more...

Well, those were my swatches. Overall, Hidden Treasure is definitely worth the hype. In just one coat it looks fabulous and you can't go wrong with what color you put it over. It shows up on most polishes. It does pop more on dark colors, but pastels are given an opalescent look that can't be beat! For those who can't afford Nfu Oh flakie polishes, HT is a great substitute. It'll hold me off until I finally break down and pay for a Nfu Oh.

I have to win the lottery first.

If anyone is having trouble finding it, let me know. I'll see if I can track down a bottle for you and maybe we could do a swap or something.

Stay glamourous, Geeks!

Kayla

Healthy Computer!

2010-05-09T02:02:00.000-05:00

Hello Lovelies!

My computer is virus-free! Yay!! It has been for a couple days but I haven't been able to sit down at it much since then. I'm finally caught up in the blog world and I've got some time to post!

I've recently decided that I'm going to start an excel spreadsheet of my polishes and then also get some nail wheels and organize by color to help me pick out which polish to wear! It feels good to organize! Hopefully I can keep everything organized, I tend to get lazy or forget about it. Once I get all my stuff organized I'll share it with you, though it may be slightly boring. Haha.

I've packaged up the winners' prizes and will get them shipped out on Monday! All I have to say is: Have fun with all the bubble wrap I used! I went bubble wrap crazy! :P I also packaged up the polish I'm sending for the Zoya exchange...they may hate me for all the bubble wrap I send them! haha

Anyone else doing the Zoya exchange? Which polishes did you select? I have about 26 I really really really want. I think I might narrow it down. Seems a bit...excessive? I'm really excited to send it in though! I don't own any Zoya polish! And I somehow gapped last year and forgot to do it! Lame!

Random story time! It's not a happy story, so don't read it if you don't like sad stories!

On Friday morning, I was sitting at my computer desk checking some email and had my back to my window. All of a sudden I hear a huge THUD!!! on my window. Now, my first reaction was, "Who the hell is throwing stuff at my window?!?!" I get up to look outside and realize it was a bird that hit my window. Poor thing hit the window so hard that he left some feathers stuck to the window. Unfortunately, he did not survive the impact. I stood there for a good 10-20 minutes hoping he would suddenly pop up and fly away. He didn't. I felt terrible, he was a beautiful bird. I'm not sure what kind but he had gorgeous yellow markings.

This morning, I heard another thud. Do you know how fast I jumped out of bed to make sure it wasn't another bird? My heart was racing.

It was just my dad getting something down from the wall in the garage. Thank goodness.

Alright, tomorrow: HIDDEN TREASURE POST!!!

Kayla

Contest Winners!!!

2010-05-06T15:40:00.001-05:00

Finally, after so much trouble with voting, we're here! Announcing the winners!!! YAY!!!

Let's just get into it:

2nd Place Winner:

This winner was chosen through majority vote, by you! Or rather, those of you that voted! ;)

ThRiSzHa!!!

Congrats!!! You should have received an email from me! Please check it and then reply with your mailing info!

1st Place Winner:

This winner was chosen by me based on Inspiration to Look execution. I based it on the interpretation of the photo that they came up with and then how well they took that interpretation and presented it with their look.

Mae!!!!!

I chose Mae because her inspiration was so in depth and she provided an excellent explanation. Her design was very dream like and represented every aspect she mentioned in her interpretation! We were given great insight into her thought process and that was the whole purpose of the contest!

Congrats, Mae! I have emailed you, check it out and send me your mailing info!

I want to say thank you to everyone who participated--whether it was through submitting an entry or just voting! Even though there were a few complications, I feel like it was a success and I can't wait to do more fun things with everyone in the future!

Kayla

Voting Ends and Computer Viruses

2010-05-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

Hey lovelies!

Well, I hope everyone who wanted to vote for the contest did so because I took down the poll today. I will announce the winners later on today or early tomorrow. Only half of you voted! I guess some didn't care? Oh well.

Now the bad news, well it starts with good news: I recovered the pictures.

But, my computer has a virus. And so I cannot post them. I'm using my dad's computer right now. And he doesn't want his swamped with photos, I'm sure. Plus the pics are saved on my computer. Ugh. I was up til 3am trying to fix it and finally gave up. I will have to work on it some more later. I'm not walking away from this fight a loser, I will kick the virus' butt! haha

Sorry about the delay in photos, makes me so mad to keep you guys waiting like this. You are so sweet and understanding!

Much love,

Kayla

I've had a set back....

2010-05-04T23:09:00.001-05:00

I know the promises of Hidden Treasure pictures may have had some of you on the edge of your seat...

I don't know how I did it, pure talent I'm assuming, but I managed to delete the pictures while transferring them to my computer.

The talent I possess is astonishing, I know, but with that talent for deleting important files I need comes a great ability to recover said files.

Recovery program installation has commenced and hopefully I can provide pictures soon!

Fooled!

2010-05-04T14:22:00.002-05:00

Hello!

So this morning I woke up and there was SUN! Lots of glorious sunshine coming through my window. It was glorious.

Unfortunately it is already gone. Where did it go!?!? And why, oh why, does it feel like fooling and tricking everyone! Not cool, Sun, so not cool.

I will still try and post some kind of a picture of Hidden Treasure later today! Keep an eye out!

And for those of you still looking for it, don't give up! You'll get it somehow! I'll have to see if there are more at my Walgreen's and then maybe I can help get it to some of you!

Praying for more sunshine...

Kayla

MIA

2010-05-04T00:08:00.000-05:00

Hello!

How was your weekend?

Mine? Eh. Not the best. I worked, and then I worked. And I worked. Oh, yeah it also rained. It's still kind of blah out. :( Sad weekend for taking nail pictures.

I'm hoping that my day off tomorrow will correlate with nice weather. *crosses fingers* I think it's supposed to still be icky. I will still post some nail pics tomorrow though. Because I discovered that Hidden Treasure has a beautiful rainbow effect that comes alive in the shower. Now, I won't take the pics while taking a shower..that would be awkward to say the least, but I'll use the lighting in the bathroom to replicate the effect. So stay tuned, I won't be MIA for much longer!!

Love, peace, and nail polish...and makeup...I should stop this could go on for a while,
Kayla

Sorry

2010-04-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry that the contest has been so complicated.

I'm sorry that some of you find it slightly unfair.

I'm sorry that I forgot to mention voting ends on May 5th, winners announced May 6th.

I'm sorry, but I won't change it again.

I'm sorry I can't please everyone with the rules.

I'm sorry everyone isn't having fun with it.

And, I'm sorry but I'm done apologizing.

Where did the fun go? That was the point: fun. I had fun looking at your entries, waiting for your entries was exciting too. I had hoped to do more contests in the future but I may not if it's going to be so complicated.

I think not seeing the sun for three days has made me gloomy. I really want to show you Hidden Treasure but I can't take any decent pictures without the sun! Hopefully by the end of the weekend the sun will come out! *crosses fingers*

Have a FUN and nail polished filled weekend!

Kayla

Giveaways--Don't miss out!

2010-04-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

Heads up! Here's some more giveaways!

Technopathetic is giving away 6 polishes plus other goodies including chap stick and a candy filled flipflop?! haha
Take a look:

Clicking on the picture will take you to the giveaway!

Mon Coin à Moua is having a Flakie and Glitter giveaway...wait I typed that wrong.. a FLAKIE and GLITTER giveaway!!!!! Um, why haven't you headed over there yet? Oh, you want me to win it all? Okay! So sweet of you! ;) Okay, okay, look at this first:

Yep, two prizes! So generous!!! Click a pic to go there!

Ladies, if you don't enter you will regret it. But I will be more than happy to post about my winnings! haha I'm getting too cocky.......

Kayla

I found it!

2010-04-28T22:57:00.000-05:00

I just had to post that I found Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure at my local Walgreens! I have checked that store a billion times this week. I snagged the two bottles that were on display! Not sure if I'm gonna keep both or put one into a giveaway. . . hmmm to be selfish or not to be selfish...

I broke out the nail wheel and grabbed 18 random polishes to test it out. It is A-MA-ZING! On any and every color, even on sheers and frosts! I really like how it looks on pastels, kind of angelic! Very pretty! It's not bad by itself either!

Once I can get some good lighting aka sunlight, I will post a few pics of the color wheel. What a good reward for finishing a final tonight! woo!

Hmmm..that can't be right...

2010-04-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday! Is it extremely windy where you live? I can barely walk outside! The wind is so strong today! So much for doing my hair...

Anyways, this post is once again about the voting for the contest... I know, it's frustrating!
Why haven't you guys been voting in the comments? I went from almost 30 votes in one day to around 5 over the course of a few days. Obviously something wasn't right. I don't know if someone had voted multiple times or if no one wants their vote to be seen in the comments.

Do you like voting anonymously? I'm thinking the majority of you do. So I'm putting up a new poll, this time I searched around and found one that controls how many times a person can vote. Just in case. I trust you guys to be honest in your voting, though.

So refresh your memory over at this post: Entries!

The poll should be to the right. It will only let you vote once. No funny business! Let's have this new system run smoothly, okay?

oh! Almost forgot! Since some of you expressed that it would be easier for me to pick the winners, I've changed up the system a bit. I will be choosing the 1st prize winner based on Inspiration to look execution. The 2nd place winner will be selected by your votes. Most votes wins. I would like you to still keep inspiration in mind but I know it will most likely be skill based.

Remember: Be trustworthy, vote honestly

-OR-

This kitty will find you. He's a crazed, karate-kicking kitty!

(haha joking of course, I had to lighten the mood!)

Sorry to those of you who now will be voting for a third time! The first two were clearly practice votes! haha

Thank you for your amazing patience! You all make me smile! :)

Kayla

"Is that one nail polish?" and Fun with my boys outside

2010-04-28T00:40:00.000-05:00

Hello lovelies! Hope you're all having a fantastic week!

Today was gorgeous outside! I'm wearing four different glitter polishes and they just lit up with the sunshine!! I'm lucky I didn't walk into anything while staring at my nails. My lab partner asked in amazement if it was one color on my nails, and I laughed. It would have been easy with just one polish! Take a look, you may recognize it since it was 1/5 of my Inspiration nails I posted yesterday!

This is two coats Rimmel Black Satin with Sinful Colors Call You Later, OPI Absolutely Alice, OPI Mad As A Hatter, and Milani Diamond Dazzle sponged on top.

I think I may wear this for a few days, mostly because I hate removing glitter polish. I'm definitely gonna procrastinate a bit on that one. :)

While I was catching some great nail pics, my dogs Charlie and Sawyer had to play outside too! I took the opportunity to get some pics of them. And since they are just too darn cute, I'm sharing with you! yay!!! haha

First pic I snap and I catch Sawyer mid-yawn! haha Adorable! Looks like he's laughing, though he always looks like he's smiling! I call him Smiley sometimes, but then it reminds me of Miley Cyrus so I cringe at it.

They got in trouble for chasing the neighbors car and not listening when told to stop. They listened very well when I told them to sit and stay though. Good behavior was rewarded with play time. :) I can't resist their cute faces!! Could you??? I doubt it! haha

My favorite of the day! I love it! Though he then started to eat the stick, and I didn't love it so much! But this picture is to die for! I love my Charlie!

First tulips of the season! Charlie stopped to smell them as I was taking pictures of them! Aww!

Sawyer's turn! He always has to do what his big brother does! Typical younger sibling! :)

Sawyer! You're too cute for words! He's such a model! He poses for pictures! I don't have to say anything, he just does it! He's a natural. Hey Tyra, America's Next Top Dog Model is right here!!!

Sweet Dreams!

Kayla

An award for me???!!

2010-04-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

I am so honored right now. I don't know what to say or even think! This is so sweet of Li Lian! She has given me the I <3 your blog award! She's got a great blog too, please check her out and definitely follow! :)

Here are the Rules:

- Post the award on your blog.
- Link the person who has given you the award.
- Pass the award to other 15 blogs you've discovered. (15? That seems excessive...)

I'm going to give this to 5 blogs that I've recently discovered and love! They're all worth following, so check them out and click that follow button! ;)

Again, please go check them out! Love them! Also, I'm trying my best to follow everyone who is following me, so if you have a blog and I'm not following you either leave a comment or send me an email with a link and I will definitely check it out! And follow!

Glam it up, geeks! haha

Kayla

Big City Inspiration

2010-04-26T23:33:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone!
   Before I show you my take on the inspiration contest, I want to address something. I got a couple questions on my Formspring about the contest becoming a "popularity contest" and voting being done based on skill and not inspiration. I made the voting up to the followers because I thought it would be a great way for everyone to be involved in the process and to see the amazing entries I received. I had hoped that everyone would read the inspirations with the entries and use it to help their voting. I realize that not everyone will do that, and I understand that I won't have any way to prevent skill-based voting.
   When I posted all the entries and opened voting, I honestly wondered how everyone would vote because of the great skill everyone showcased in their entries. I also was extremely pleased when posting the inspirations, it gave such insight into everyone's entries that I figured those voting would read them and be influenced by them in their voting. Maybe I was mistaken. Clearly there are people who feel that this whole voting part of the contest is unfair. I pose this question to you all, do you feel the winner should be determined in a different way? Shall I just pick the winners? Or is there a better way to allow voting? I can't seem to come up with one, but please tell me if there is! I will be more than happy to alter it.


Anyways, let's start having fun! I got a request via email to share my take on the inspiration photo, which I had been thinking about doing, so here goes:

When I first saw the photo, immediately the lights caught my attention. Even though it's blurry, to me it looks to be a bigger city. I thought about me, traveling from North Dakota to a big city like Los Angeles or New York, and what my reaction would be. The scene was at night, like the photo, and it would be my first day there. I would be in awe of everything, having wanted to visit for so long and now being able to see it all up close. My mind took me directly to New York, specifically Times Square, looking up at all the signs and neon lights in amazement and wonder. And then it clicked. Neon signs, lights, and the photo all seemed to go together beautifully...

I was going to recreate this on my nails but I loved the look of the 'ring finger' so much that I just did that instead! As you can see, I thought of different types of neon signs that one would see throughout a city. The glittery nail represents the blurred lights in the original photo. The black base represents night, when you would generally see these signs at their best.

This photo shows the neon of the colors better and also it shows the different colored glitter polishes I used (I think four or five different ones :P).

I realized I was wearing a neon yellow shirt while taking the photos...perfect background for a neon signs manicure? In theory, yes! In reality, eh not so much! haha

I hope you enjoyed my take on the contest! I had fun creating a look!

Kayla

Problems with Poll? EDIT: New Poll on Side Bar

2010-04-26T15:22:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone!
There has been a problem with the poll brought to my attention. It seems that the poll may not be counting every vote. I'm still figuring it out, but while that's going on if you could submit your vote on the poll still and then check if it adds it on, I need to know if it doesn't count someone else's vote.

Stupid technology! ;)

If it turns out the the poll isn't working properly, I have a few other voting systems we can use!

Kayla

EDIT: New voting system in place: Everyone vote here! Leave a comment saying which entry was your favorite. If you've already voted via the poll, please leave your vote below in the comments as well! Same rules still apply! View rules and entries here! Thanks for cooperating and for your patience!

EDIT ON THE EDIT: New Poll on side since no one was voting in the comments!!!!!

Vote!!!

2010-04-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was okay.

I've got an update for you! I've recently gone through all the entries for the contest and decided that I'm gonna post them all for you to vote on! Yay! It would have been ridiculous not to. :) Before I let you start voting, I think I need to lay some ground rules.
   1. Please only vote once.
   2. To make it fair, only followers are allowed to vote.
   3. You have a week to get in your vote!

That's my rules. And so I should only see 54 votes in the poll. I know it seems strict but I've watched some blog contests go wrong because of voting difficulties. Thank you in advance for abiding by the rules! You're so sweet! :)

Okay, here are the entries for you to vote on! Keep in mind it was about inspiration from the original photo, so I've posted the inspiration along with the entry! Good luck to everyone!!!

Wilma's Entry:
"The picture inspired me to try out photo editing again and awaken my sleeping creative side. I started learning photo enhancements & digiscraps last year but lost my interest after a few trials. I chose an inspirational quote - "Beauty without Expression Tires" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It would inspire everyone to never give up Art and Beauty."

Karin's Entry
"Your picture reminds me of a falling star.
So that was my inspriration for my mani."

Gemma's Entry

"My inspiration were the darks at the base of the picture for my nails, and the brights for my eyes...I wanted to create the bright theme dispite the darkness overall!"

Mae's Entry

"I named my mani "oneirology" meaning scientific study of dreams, when I saw the picture which is to be interpreted, lots of ideas came into mind... The model picture show lots of colorful lights... Those images sometimes only appears in our dreams... When you look at them, they seem like an abstract picture which shows only the silhouette image similar to dreams. Sometimes, dreams are not fully clear... in my design, i drew a sleeping lady with lots of colors, lines, and rhinestones which symbolizes thoughts, images, sounds, and emotions which we experience when we are sleeping. And the ring finger's swirl design means the content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, which up to now hasn't been fully explained by dream experts."

Thriszha's Entry

"I was inspired by the blur effects of the light and the colorful colors of the light."

Lena's Entry:

"I saw the photo that you gave us as inspiration and it immediately said to me, "Big City" so I've expanded on that theme by using newspaper cuttings of words that I believe sum up what a city (London, I suppose, since that's the city I know best) is about, or at least the glamorous side of it :P So I've used words such as "fashion", "champagne", "clubs" "luxury" etc."

Li Lian's Entry

"The picture you provided represents to me a long road that one must walk by themselves, alone. But not to worry, because all around is glitters of hope and twinkling lights telling us that we are not alone. Sometimes when we think we are alone and we can’t carry on, we need to remember that there are always people around us helping us along the way...I wanted the glitter to be thicker than the black lines to show that “keep calm, carry on” we’ll make it."

Okay, there are your choices! Choose wisely, you have only one vote! Please use the poll in the side bar for voting! Thanks! I've also linked all the blogs of the ladies, so please go check them out!

Good luck ladies!!!

Kayla

Contest Over....

2010-04-23T10:14:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

The contest has ended. No more entries will be accepted. Now it's time for my panel to get together and pick the top five for everyone to vote on! Hopefully they'll be posted soon! Thanks to everyone that entered!

Kayla

Hug a Tree!

2010-04-22T14:15:00.001-05:00

Hey guys! Happy Earth Day! I just wanted to quickly post that I am sporting China Glaze Tree Hugger in honor of Earth Day. I will add pics later, as I am on campus right now. EDIT: Err, sorry no pics! I tried to water marble over the tree hugger and it was a disaster! Sorry!!

So tell me, what polish are you sporting in celebration of Earth Day? A nice green like myself? Or maybe something with a 'green' name, like ChG Recycle or ChG Shower Together?

I'm not gonna do the whole speech about what you can do to do your part in saving the Earth, as I am pretty sure you'll have a few filling your dashboard from other bloggers!

I'm gonna go enjoy the weather while I can...I have 45 minutes until my next lab.

Oh! Remember, the contest ends today!! When the last time zone changes to April 23, it's over! I'll be keeping an eye out for last minute entries! Don't feel like it's too late! You still have plenty of time to get an entry in!

Kayla

Holy Giveaways, Batman!

2010-04-21T00:11:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! Did you all watch Glee? I'm still singing all the songs! :) I need to go to Itunes and get me some Glee songs! Anyways....

There are a lot of great giveaways out there! Let me share a few with you now!

Babbling Brooke is giving away a Hana 1" Professional Ceramic Flat Iron & some accessories for it. It's pink, it works extremely well, and it's free! Click here to check it out and enter!

It may be impossible for someone to want this as much as I do! It's so cute! And it does an amazing job! Check out Brooke's giveaway post to see her before and after pictures!

Legra is having a giveaway celebrating 50 followers! Yay! (Say Hi to follower #97, me! haha) She's giving away some nail polish:

- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Purple Pizazz

- Sinful Colors Cream Pink

- Nicole by OPI Honey-Dew You Love Me (cute blue hearts!)

- OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui

- Poshe Super Fast Drying Topcoat

- China Glaze LOL

- China Glaze DV8

- China Glaze Luna

- China Glaze Blue Hawaiian

- China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Whoa! That's amazing! Who isn't jumping up and down to get in on this? You? What is wrong with you!?!? Go follow her now, and enter her giveaway here!

Anyone longing for MAC Blue India? Me! Me! :) Head over to I Love Nail Polish and enter for a chance to win it!! Check out her super awesome blog while your over there!

I think I'm just going to show a picture of the next giveaway. It'll speak for itself...

Plus she's giving away an adorable pair of earrings that, personally, I would love to rock! :) Check out Helena's great blog and giveaway here!

And last, but certainly not least:

Painted Lady Fingers is giving away the whole Hard Candy Just Nails line. That's 16 polishes! Ladies, I'll fight you for it...okay, probably not but I may throw a menacing look your way! ;) Take a look:

Did I mention you get all 16 polishes? Oh, and the rings too!

It's an amazing blog with an amazing giveaway, please go check it out! Now!

EDIT:
Another giveaway has just appeared! Laura is giving away Stuff for the Kitchen, including some adorable gloves!!! You even have the option between two color for the gloves. She has a wonderful blog, so please check out the whole thing while you're over there! Right here!

There's the lineup! Go out there and win!

Thanks for stopping by! And for more Anchorman referencing: Stay Classy!

Kayla

Reminder!

2010-04-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! I'm at school right now but I wanted to quickly remind you of the contest deadline.

The Inspiration contest ends April 22, 2010. You have two more days. I've also decided that I'll allow entries as long as it is April 22 somewhere in the world. So that gives a few more hours to get entries in!

I've also added additional prizes to each set...but I'm not telling what they are. Could be nail polish, could be something else, or maybe both? Hmmm.

I've enjoyed seeing everyone's entries as they come in and would love to see some more in the next couple days! Also, if you sent me an entry and didn't get a confirmation email from me, please try again just to be sure I received it. I've been replying as soon as I see each entry, so if you didn't get a reply chances are I didn't get your entry!

Thanks guys! I'm gonna post again later about some giveaways going on in the blogging world! Keep checking back!

Kayla

Quick Contest Update

2010-04-18T01:03:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Just a quick contest update:

I had a question brought up about doing both a makeup look and a nail polish look for entries. I debated over this for a little while but since I haven't had the desired response for the contest I'm gonna modify it slightly.

You can submit more than one entry but each entry must be a different kind, so you could submit a makeup look and a nail art but not two makeup looks, etc. Okay? Super!

Let the creativity flow!

50th post!

2010-04-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my 50th post! Woohoo! Yay! etc.

Nail art. I love it. I wish I had konad so that I could do some decent looking nail art on my nails. I've recently just been testing out looks on nail polish display wheels. I'm happy with the results so far. I just need to transfer that to my nails.

I think I'll grow them out a bit and then they'll be bigger canvases to work on. :) That's what I'll do! Hopefully in the near future I'll start featuring some nail art.

I have a simple design on my nails today. Kind of a geometric style.

Here are the colors I used:

L-R: Color Club Bizerk Turq, Claire's Grey Matte, and Rimmel Minerals Black Satin

Here's the finished look:

I decided to just do the thumb on my left hand and the ring finger on my right. I didn't want it to overwhelm my tiny fingers! I love the color combo! Gorgeous! :)

My contest has gotten a few more entries in the last couple days! Spread the word so we can get a ton of entries and make it a little tougher! Everyone has done a fabulous job! It's so exciting!

There's a new giveaway going on right now over at Yardsticks 4 Lunatics! She's curing our summertime blues by giving away some beautiful blue polishes! Check it out:

And she says there's more to come! Exciting!! Get over there and check it out!

Have a great weekend! I hope you have fantastic weather to enjoy! I'm off to work in an hour so I need to go enjoy the great weather while I can!

Kayla

Where did you all come from?!? and more swatches!

2010-04-16T23:34:00.000-05:00

Hello new followers! I am amazed. I've gained almost 15 followers in the last 5 hrs. Every time I finish a post I have a couple more! Thanks for following! I love you already! :) P.s. Check out my contest! I need more entries! And I have a feeling you all have some talent! So....DO IT! haha

Yesterday I posted that I got six OPIs at Regis for only $10. Do you want some swatches? Do ya? OK!

Look at the new pretties:

L-R: Parlez-vous OPI?, Clubbing til Sunrise, Yoga-ta Get This Blue!, Bronzed to Perfection, and Eiffel For This Color. (Not pictured is You Don't Know Jacques, it now belongs to my mom!)

Parlez-Vous OPI?:

Direct Sunlight (aka sticking my arm out my window!)

Parlez-Vous OPI? is a dusty purple. As you may or may not know, I love me some dusty purple polish! Flawless application, opaque in two coats! It's a new favorite! :) :) :)

Clubbing til Sunrise:

Indirect Sunlight

Clubbing is a sunny, shimmery orange. Perfect for summer! Two coats to be opaque, easy application! My favorite orange I've ever tried! Can't wait to sport this one in the summer! Stunning!

Yoga-ta Get This Blue!:

Indirect Sunlight

Yoga-ta is a gorgeous navy blue shimmer. In the bottle it looks like it has a teal flash but on the nails it does not. I think I did two coats. It was almost completely opaque in one coat. Very stunning. I love it. It would be great in the winter.

Bronzed to Perfection:

Direct Sunlight

Bronzed to Perfection is a burnt orange with tiny orange flakies in it. The flakies are stunning in the bottle. On the nail? Not so much. I'm not a fan of the color. No application problems besides not getting the flakie loving that I needed. Extremely disappointed. Far from perfect.

Eiffel For This Color:

Direct Sunlight (Yeah I was half way out the window/on the roof) haha

Eiffel is a deep burgundy/dark purple with shimmer. Indoors the shimmer is not existence but BAM! in the sun it's so gorgeous! Two coats. No application problems. Love it. It is another winter color, but hey I'll sport it whenever!

What do you think? Did I strike gold with any of these colors?

Savvy Femme Couture Swatches

2010-04-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month, while scooping out the goods at my local Sally Beauty Supply, I spotted a new display of Savvy colors. It said it was the new "Femme Couture" collection. All of colors were gorgeous, definitely go check them out soon (Sally's having a Buy 2 get 1 free sale on all nail polish!). I picked up three of, I think, 8. Here they are:

L-R: Mango, Golden Honey, and Melon Fusion

I'm not sure if they all had food names, but if they did...it just doesn't make sense. Femme Couture does not make me think food. Weird.

Mango:

Indirect sunlight

Mango is a light coral, almost nude, color. Applies kind of thin, I think this was three coats. I think you could get away with two though. It's a strange color, I think it would look better on darker skin tones. I still like it though. Not sure how often I'll wear it.

Golden Honey:

Indirect Sunlight. (Pic from NOTD post)

Golden Honey is, well, gold. Opaque in two, I did three. Applied great, no problems. I don't have any other golds to compare it to, but it seems like your standard gold. When photographing the bottle, I thought I detected a very fine holographic glitter/shimmer in it. But it wasn't noticeable on the nails. Nice color, but easily duped I'm sure.

Melon Fusion:

Indirect Sunlight

Melon Fusion is a gorgeous hot pink that is almost coral. I immediately put it on my toes! I love it! Applied fabulously, opaque in two coats! Worth the buy! Go get it! :) haha I love it. Perfect for your toes for summer!

These were my first Savvy polishes! I'm very impressed. They are great! No problems with them at all! Definitely check out the new Femme Couture collection, there's a gorgeous teal and a holo glitter! I'm probably gonna go back and get more!

How does Savvy rank for you? Great? Terrible? Average?

Kayla

Pure Ice Swatches

2010-04-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! Yay weekend! Boo, I work all weekend! :(

I've got the first round of swatches all ready to go! Shall we just dive in?

Here's the complimentary bottle pic that comes with every swatch view:

L-R: Magic, First Time, and Risk Taker

Magic:

Indirect Sunlight

Magic is a gorgeous chocolate brown shimmer. It's opaque in two coats, which is how many you see in the pic. Applied smoothly, no problems at all! I almost like the color better in the bottle but I still like it very much on my nails!

First Time:

Indirect sunlight, pic looked better on my camera! :(

First Time is a lovely frosty green. I wasn't sure if I would like the color but it was so pretty in the bottle, I had to buy it! Applied just as great as Magic, again two coats til opaque! Not loving the color on me!

Risk Taker:

Indirect Sunlight

Risk Taker is my favorite of the three! It's a gorgeous gun metal frost! Two coats = opaque. Applied beautifully! It's just a fantastic color. I've always been partial to gun metal/pewter colors, so this one was a no brainer! Love it!

Do you own any Pure Ice polishes? What do you think of the brand?

Kayla

A few NOTDs

2010-04-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

Hey! I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday! I'm ready for the weekend!

Today my mom got her hair cut at Regis Salon in the mall in town and they were selling "surprise bags" for $10. The bags were filled with hair products and OPI nail polish! My mom's hairdresser, Tiff, let my mom look through the bags and customize what she wanted. Well, I heard about this and dragged my mom back to the salon and talked to Tiff. She let me customize a bag too! I walked away with six OPI polishes for $10.70! I was thrilled! I gave one to my mom because she let me have a hair product from her bag!

I ended up with: Parlez-vous OPI
                          Eiffel for This Color
                         Clubbing Til Sunrise
                         Yoga-ta Get This Blue!
                         Bronzed to Perfection
I gave my mom You Don't Know Jacques because I own the matte version! Do any of you own these colors? Do you love them? Hate them? Are the just okay? I'll have to get to swatching them!

Speaking of swatches, I have a few more to do for my Savvy/Pure Ice polishes I promised to put up today, so I'm finishing them tomorrow and posting them tomorrow as well!

To get you by, I'm posting some recent NOTDs!

This one is from Tuesday, it's Savvy Golden Honey with a stripe of Pure Ice Risk Taker on my ring finger.

Indoor with Flash

Indoor without Flash

Indirect sunlight, gorgeous! :)
It was funny, because I got some many compliments on what I thought was a simple mani! One of my lab partners kept asking me where I got my nails done! Haha!

Next, Wednesday's NOTD was Claire's Confident/Peaceful:

I tried to get a pic as it changed colors but it was too quick! I do like how the water spots stayed darker! Kinda cool!

Easiest french manicure ever! haha I love the gradient look on nails, hate it on clothes!

Today's NOTD was also a Claire's mood polish, Calm/Wild!

Lovely! I had fun watching this one change all day!

I hope you enjoyed these NOTDs! Tomorrow will have many swatches! Get excited! ;P

Kayla

What a great weekend!

2010-04-12T13:39:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a great weekend! Anyone work on their entry for my contest? ;)

This weekend I went down to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Plymouth to be specific, and attended one of my best friend's baby shower! She's the first of the group to get married and start a family so it's all very exciting!

I was extra excited because I got to help bake and set up for the shower since I was staying with her, and she let me paint her nails!! Honestly, who can say no to a free manicure? Not Tracie!

She's due in the end of June and they are going to be having a beautiful baby girl, Olivia Kate! The nursery is decorated gorgeously in pink and brown polka dots, and so I found an adorable (and extremely soft) blanket that was brown with pink polka dots and had it monogrammed with Olivia's name. It matched the nursery almost too perfectly!

We, of course, had to match her nails to the nursery too! Haha, here's the finished mani!

You can never go wrong with a polka dot manicure! :)

With cursive O's on the thumbs for Olivia!

We used Color Club Yachty Yadda as the base color and then Savvy Melon Fusion (from the new Femme Couture collection), and Pure Ice Magic for the dots and O's!

Posing with the Mommy-to-be! Love her so much!

I opted for simple and chic for my nails: Pure Ice Risk Taker which is a gorgeous gun metal color!

I'm gonna post swatches of the new Savvy and Pure Ice polishes I acquired last week. So stay tuned later in the week...thinking Thursday.

Lots of Love to the Loyal followers and readers! And to new comers as well!

Thanks for reading and have a great Monday!

Kayla

New Hair Color & Yesterdays Eye LOTD

2010-04-08T00:53:00.002-05:00

Midnight seems to be my favorite blog posting time. Oh, insomnia.

I took some pictures of my hair for you today! In the sun and indoors. Looking at the pictures has made me love it so much more! I hope you guys like it too! Shall I spam you with some pics? Here goes!

First, a before shot.

Notice the blond (picture makes it look gray, ick!) roots and horrible facial expression. Definitely time to fix it up!

Et, voila!

A much happier expression, no?

Yay sunshine! Ugh, I need to wash my car! :)

So glad to be rid of my roots! Darker hair suits me better than my natural blond.

Yesterday I finally did some fun eye makeup instead of a hurry up and go/normal routine look. I wanted to use some bright colors but since I was in school all day, I wanted it to be subtle. Here's what I came up with! It's not the greatest quality picture, but it'll work.

It's a real simple look! I used only my Coastal Scents 88 palette! But all you need is a white, yellow, green, and blue shadow! It will work with just one of each color but I added in colors that were in between to help with the gradient (like yellow-green and teal).

Thanks for reading!

Good night!!!!!!!!!!!

Kayla

P.s. Last night I had a dream where everyone was nail polish. We were a bunch of walking, talking bottles of polish! I was ChG Ruby Pumps, which may be due to my obsession with The Wizard of Oz. Oh, and I was solving a murder (read: broken bottle haha) but couldn't because everyone I interviewed looked like OPI Absolutely Alice. haha My dreams are crazy! Had to share it!

Updates!

2010-04-06T22:18:00.003-05:00

How's it goin'?

I don't have any swatches for you today because I shortened my nails. They were in rough shape and if I hadn't done it one of them was about to peel to the extreme! I'll start taking pics again soon so don't worry! There just way too short, not worth swatching on.

Today I'm wearing Milani Hi-Tech, which I have swatched previously. Check that out here. The sun was shining today, and because of that I was staring at my nails while walking to class. Thankfully, I looked up right before I crossed the street! haha!

I dyed my hair on Sunday! The color was called "Bronzed Rubies", and on the box it looked dark brown with a hint of burgundy. Well, my hair just loves red dye and so my hair looks more aurburn/deep red. I'll post a picture later this week. (I need to take a picture outside in the sun.)

How's everyone's contest entries coming along? I hope you'll all participate! I've had a few entries, however most were incorrectly entered. I think a lot of people didn't read the rules and therefore thought it was just a giveaway. Because of this, if you've entered the contest, please double check that you've entered correctly here!

I want everyone to be eligible for the contest! Please, please, please check and make sure you've done everything correctly. I've had one correct entry! Yay, Wilma! Do you guys want her to win that easily? ;)

Okay, that's all the reminding I'm gonna do...for now. Here's a video of an amazing family on YouTube, watch and check out the rest of their videos! They'll blow you away!

Sorry that the one side is cut off! You don't miss anything though! :)
Love them!!

Kayla

Lady Gaga and More Giveaways

2010-04-05T12:13:00.002-05:00

Hello! I hope you had a fabulous Easter weekend! I had a great weekend with family! Lots of good food and games outside in the gorgeous weather!

Thursday night we had my nieces over since they were going to spend Easter with their dad's family. It's always a crazy fun time with them here. The only problem is that they rely on us to think of things to do...and my parents aren't exactly in the child mindset so it mostly lands on me. So I came up with doing a fashion show. Savanah is very much a girly girl so she was all for it. Hailey is more of a tomboy so she just wanted to help me by announcing different outfits, etc.

For Savanah's first outfit I had a fantastic idea. I grabbed my Halloween costume from last year and dressed her up. Check out the cutest Lady Gaga you've ever seen:

Of course she did not want to wear just the dress so she has her clothes on underneath, but she's still adorable!

It seems like April is the month for giveaways! I've got some good ones to tell you about:

Kelsealaurel is giving away a Hana Professional Flat Iron! It's a cute pink 1" iron! Go check it out!

Magic Maid is celebrating 400+ followers by giving away 10 polishes including Opulent Cloud, a common lemming! Hurry over and enter!

Fashioned in Finland let's her winner chose from 4 different prizes! Nail polish, lip gloss, and glitter! Sound great? Check out her fabulous blog!

Rainbow Briteness is giving away circle lens! This may not be for everyone but I think it's a cool, unique prize! If you like the prize, you should definitely go and enter!

Lauren is giving away a $25 Sephora Gift Card! Go enter and think of all the fun stuff you could buy! :)

Crystaliciousss is having a huge giveaway for her followers! Only 13 entries so far! Make that 14...I'm entering now! :)

Alright Glamgeeks! Have fun entering giveaways! Make sure you check out the blogs as you enter, they've got great posts and they have links to other giveaways as well! Thanks for reading!

Kayla

Switching it up a bit--Face Facts!

2010-04-02T00:21:00.002-05:00

Hello darling followers!
I'd better start with a disclaimer:
Sorry, no nails in this post! :) But don't worry, it'll be just fine!

As I was washing my face during my nightly routine, I thought about sharing all the good tidbits of information I've received recently that has helped me have clear skin and keep it that way. Without further ado, I bring you some helpful face facts!

Fact #1: Every day you don't wash your face, you age 9 days. Well, the skin on your face does. Isn't that horrifying?! It ages 9 times faster than normal! So anytime you feel too lazy to wash your face before bed, remember this fact, then run to the bathroom to wash your face! Just keep at it for 21 days, then it's officially a habit and you don't have to think about it, you just do it!

Fact #2: If you don't want wrinkles, always use an "up and out" circular motion when washing and applying moisturizer, etc. Work against gravity, not with it!
*Remember, you're never too young to think about wrinkles! Early prevention is key! You can reverse it later, but it's harder. So keep it effortless!*

Fact #3: Use one line of products, don't mix brands! Every cosmetic brand/company chemically balances their products to work better together. So, if you use Clean & Clear moisturizer with Biore facewash you could be causing a harmful chemical reaction of sorts in your skin. This can cause aging, due to the breaking down of cell structure, to appear more rapidly, and allow for more breakouts! If you mix brands and you are still breaking out severely, try one line of products and it may help resolve the problem! Think of your face as a battlezone, the two different brands fit against each other, but your skin is the only casualty!

Fact #4: Everything you do to your face, do the same to your neck and chest! Have you ever seen that one lady with the face of a 40 year old and the neck of an 80 year old? Scary! You want your face and neck to both look young, and your chest too, because, as ladies, we like to wear tank tops and occasionally show a little skin. Tastefully, of course! ;)

Fact #5: Most skin care companies get their products from factories that mass produce them for very little money. This means that there is no reason that there should ever be a $200 eye cream or anything else that expensive. You can get the same quality product for a reasonable price and get the same results, as long as you follow Fact #3!

Fact #6: I'm sure most of you know this but, anytime you use a finger to apply a product around your eyes, use your ring finger. Why? Do this: Place your hand palm down on a flat surface, like a table or desk. Now tuck your middle finger under your hand. Lift your thumb. Put it back down. Now, lift your index finger and put it back down. Lift your pinky, and put it back down. Now, try to lift your ring finger. You shouldn't be able to lift it very high, unless you have amazingly strong musculature in that finger. The ring finger actually has the least developed musculature in your hand. Because of this, you can use it around your eyes and it won't be too hard on the fragile skin.

Fact #7: Your pores are shaped like V's. In order to properly cleanse your skin, you need a cleanser that liquefies at room temperature. If you don't, the cleanser may just sweep across the pore, cleaning only topically and not clearing the pore of impurities (which can putrify in only 8 hours). Or the cleanser may go into the pore but you won't be able to effectively rinse it out and then it will sit in the pore and putrefy, which in turn causes more acne.

Fact #8: Remember, there are five steps to good skin:
        1. Cleanse--remove impurities
        2. Exfoliate--stimulate circulation and remove dead skin cells
        3. Freshen & Tone-- remove residue from previous products & refine look of pores
        4. Moisturize--bring skin back to perfect moisture level
        5. Protect--from the environment (sun, impurities, etc.) This can be sunblock, or depending on the brand, a good foundation!

Well that's my face facts! I wish my list would have rounded out a nice solid 10 but 8 will do! I hope these help you in achieving beautiful, clear skin!

Thanks for reading!
Kayla

Quick Reminder & Other Blog Giveaways

2010-03-30T14:05:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone!

There's been a little confusion with the contest that I wanted to quickly clear up. It's not just a giveaway, and so to enter you must complete all of the guidelines listed on this post: CLICK HERE!

Remember, a makeup look, manicure,or any other type of artistic expression based on the photo given here must be submitted as your entry.

I hope this clears up any confusion! If there are any more questions, please email me at glamgeekchic@gmail.com! I will respond quickly and try to straighten out any confusion!

I've acquired some new followers and we now sit at 25! Welcome and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the blog! :)

Also, I wanted to give everyone a heads up on Laura's Giveaway. She's celebrating 259+ followers, although now she's at 425! She's giving away so much stuff that I'm just going to link it and you can take a look at it yourself! It's amazing! You don't want to miss out! So click here!

Another giveaway going on right now is Dollface's 100 follower Giveaway! She's giving away some Zoya polish plus other great goodies! Check it out at her blog! And definitely check out her YouTube channel and Etsy store! She makes some adorable charms!!

And if you're not tired of entering giveaways, stop over here and enter Lauren's 100 follower giveaway! Fabulous prizes include ELF products, Lush, Topshop necklace...and more!!! Get over there, it ends on April 17th!

Hope you all have a great day!
Kayla

What is that?!

2010-03-30T00:40:00.000-05:00

Well hello, gorgeous!

Sorry, that was a "Funny Girl" moment. Great movie, if you love musicals. Check it out.

I've spent the last hour or so doing my nails, only to have it not turn out. Eh, you can be the judge.

It was supposed to be some funky leopard spots. It looks like blobs of color randomly placed on my nails. I've decided that it's terrible because I used my dotting tool instead of a toothpick to make the spots. Last time I achieved fantastic leopard print nails using a toothpick, so in the future it will be my tool of choice.

If you were wondering here's the lineup for the look:

Orly Ridgefiller, Color Club Wild Child, OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, Color Club Ultraviolet, and Poshe Top Coat.

Look at the beautiful flash in Ultraviolet. You have to own that polish. It's beyond gorgeous!

Before I end this post I want to say Welcome & Thank You to my new followers! Also, I've started to receive entries for my contest! EXCITING! I like what I'm seeing! Keep them coming!

Oh, I have to show you something that I find hilarious. I was cleaning today because my desk was extremely cluttered! And decided to put everything nail related that was on my desk into one box. It was quite a bit of stuff. Here's my desk without anything on it:

Not much space, but somehow I managed to have all of this on it:

That's about 45 nail polishes, two bottles of remover, two fake nail sets, two packs of q-tips, four nail art tools/brushes, cuticle cream, thinner, silicone cupcake cups (used for mixing pigment and clear polish), and various nail files. Oh, and two nail polish wheels. Ridiculous.

I don't know how it fit, considering there were about 5 water bottles on there too.I leave a lot of water bottles sitting around. If there's an alien invasion, I'll be prepared. Signs reference! I never understood that part of the movie. If the aliens were hurt by water, why would they come to a planet that is 75% water? Wouldn't the humidity hurt them as well? Ugh. Movies that don't make sense are irritating.

Well I have to finish folding laundry and then get to bed! Good Night, or Good Morning! Depends on when you read this! :P

Kayla

Wet Cement & Camera Replacement in Sight

2010-03-29T00:22:00.000-05:00

Gray nail polish. A year ago I would have said Eww! Never in my wildest dreams would I think it would look good on nails.

Suddenly, I've been hit with an insane obsession with it. So gorgeous! Especially the Nubar Fortress collection! I would die for that collection. Gray overload, but in a good way!

Of course, when I was taking a look through the polish at Walgreen's, trying to avoid this really creepy guy who was causing trouble in the store (tried to steal mouthwash of all things, and then argued continuously with the manager before he was sent on his way, well he more like grunted angrily), I stumbled upon Sally Hansen Wet Cement.

Almost fainted in the store. There it was, a gray nail polish, waiting for me to buy it. I'm not sure if I've grabbed a nail polish faster. And, to end the story quickly: I am the proud new owner of a gray polish! :)

Let's look at some pictures, shall we?

Indoors--Flash

Indoors--No flash

I think this is truest to color IRL. (Indoors--Flash)

I had one problem with this polish. It smells awful. Like 10 sharpies mixed with lead paint in a poorly ventilated room. I almost died.

But since it applied well and looked tres chic, I overcame the smell and rocked my gray nails for at least 2 days. I must add more grays to my collection!

For the past two days I've worked in the Electronics department at work. We've started to get the newest models of cameras in so what did we do when we weren't answering questions? Played with the new toys! Well, most of them didn't have the cable hook ups and weren't working but we still looked them over. And I found several new loves of my life. There's a new Sony that's screaming my name. It's red though. I don't care much for red. Overrated.

And yet, I know I will most likely own this camera. Once we get the cable to hook it up, I am going to test it's ability to take nail pictures. (Haha. I just had a mental image of me taking pictures of my nails as people are trying to ask me questions.) Hilarious. If it takes nice pictures, like I know it will, I'm saving up and it's gonna be mine.

I totally just found more color options online! Score! I love the internet.

Okay ladies, I have some questions:

1. What do you think of the gray nail polish look?

2. What color nail polish are you just absolutely obsessed with?

3. What kind of camera do you use to take your nail pictures?

Alright time for bed! Thanks for reading! You're amazing!

Don't forget to check out my contest!

Kayla

Need a little inspiration? CONTEST

2010-03-26T11:45:00.003-05:00

This Contest Has Ended!

Hey Ladies!

It's about time I posted this contest! Now remember, this is set up so I can get to know you a little bit. However, it's definitely not the usual 'get to know you' routine. There's no personal questions or give me one word to describe you type of thing. Instead, I want to know how your mind works. Through inspiration.

What?!?

Yeah, let me explain how it's gonna work.

PLEASE READ THE RULES CAREFULLY!!

I'm going to provide you with a picture that you must use as inspiration for a manicure, makeup look, or whatever. What you do is up to you, but you must explain how the photo inspired you to create your manicure/makeup/etc. Anything goes!(The picture is below the rules!)

Entries will be ‘judged’ on inspiration to look execution but not necessarily artistic ability. If you’re not a pro, don’t worry! I’m not a pro either! It’s about where your mind goes when you look at something and how you translate that artistically. Remember, other forms of artistic expression will be accepted! If that’s what you feel inspired to do, go for it! But remember to explain it!

After all the entries are in, I will consult my panel (i.e. my bff Abby, and random family/friends) and we will determine the top five. Again, I want to stress that it's not about artistic ability! Though I'm pretty sure you will all do amazing things! There's talent in this group! Once the top five have been picked, I will post them--with their inspiration explanation--and all of you will vote for the winner and a runner up!

That's right. Two winners. Two sets of prizes.

Before I show you them, here's a rule recap:
1. I would like everyone to be a follower, simply because it's a part of my 'get to know my followers' kick off. International followers can participate!

2. You must use the picture provided. (Below) This is because it's cool to see everyone's take on the same thing! And it's kind of a fun twist...at least I think so. :)

3. Please send entries to glamgeekchic@gmail.com by April 22, 2010 @ 12am CST

4. Please submit only one entry. I want to see how the photo speaks to you initially, not after three or four attempts. ;) *EDIT* You can submit more than one entry if each entry is a different from of artistic expression. (For example: one makeup look and one nail art OR one drawing and one makeup look, etc.)

5. Have fun with it!!!!!!!

Now for the photo. I did a random web search and picked one that I thought was really interesting and I think you guys can go crazy and come up with some fabulous ideas!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yale_studio/3836678515/

I'm sure you've been patiently waiting to find out the prizes, that or you've scrolled down just to see them before looking at anything else. (Sidenote: The prize sets will probably get added to before the deadline, I'll keep you posted.)

1st place will win this set:

Orly Gumdrop, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Milani Hi-res (holo!), Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss in Fancy Nancy, Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeshadow Quad in Copper Chic, a lipstick case, and three Lindt's chocolate bunnies!

2nd place will recieve:

China Glaze Flying Dragon, Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss in Gold Rush, Mary Kay Mini Mineral Eye Color Quad and two Lindt's Chocolate bunnies!

The Mary Kay quad colors are:

*All prizes are new, unopened & unused items!*

Before sending me an entry, please read the rules! Make sure you follow them correctly! There have been too many incorrect entries, so please read the rules! Remember, it's a contest not a giveaway!

If you have any questions at all, leave a comment or email me! I will answer them quickly! Please make me aware of any confusion right away!

Feel free to spread the word about the contest, the more the merrier! You have permission to use any and all of the photos in this post to do so.

Have fun!!!!
Kayla

Just some info..

2010-03-25T11:45:00.000-05:00

Hey! Hope everyone's doing great! I just wanted to do a quick post to let you know what's coming up!

1. I've got some swatches to show you! Just need to edit pics!

2. Contest info should be up before the weekend! That is, if Abby ever emails me back (she's proofreading)! Everyone comment on how slow she is! ;) Just kidding?

3. I'm gonna review the top coat I've been trying and compare it to Seche Vite.

4. Another review, but for a lip gloss!

5. Flood update: Water is coming back up!!! Much faster this time, though it seems to be slowing down today. Hasn't reached our yard yet but it is expected to rise 2 ft higher than last week. Definitely will hit us if that's the case!

Sorry the posts have been sparse! I've been getting things organized! I set up a new email for the blog, jsut to have blog emails separate from everything else. It's glamgeekchic@gmail.com. Send me a random email sometime! Random is good! :) I'm trying to come up with more ways than just contests/giveaways to get you guys more involved! Brainstorming FTW!

Have an amazing day!!!

Kayla

Getting Motivated

2010-03-22T15:55:00.000-05:00

Can we all just forget my last post? I feel like I sounded whiny and pathetic. haha We'll move past it now. It's just a blur...or rather, it will be.

Anyways, I thought about it and what I need to get motivated is more interaction with my followers. Yes, that's right, lovelies I want to get to know you more! I think I need more of a connection and friendship with you guys! I hope you will agree to it! But I'm sure you will. Why? Because we're gonna kick it off with a giveaway!!!

Now, the details of the giveaway are still fuzzy so I won't be posting them quite yet, but get excited! It's not gonna be your average giveaway. In fact, it'll be more of a contest. I'm gonna work out all the details with my friend Abby and get back to you guys.

Check back later in the week for more details.

Kayla

Unmotivated

2010-03-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was okay. I worked all weekend and that's about it! Spring Break is officially over and I'm sad. Back to school tomorrow, oh joy!

Flood Update: The water slowly rose and ended up flooding the field across the street but our property stayed dry, er, not dry but free of river water. While I was at work today the water receded, but now there might be a second crest because of some ice jams melting/breaking up. Not sure what to expect!

So I am at a point where I've lost motivation. I just never know what to post. It's not lack of content...I mean I could swatch tons of polish. But is that all you want? When I started this blog I intended to post about different things and it quickly became just nail polish. Not that I mind it, but I wonder if that's what you all really want. So, tell me what you would like to see! Would you rather I stick to the polish or do you want me to branch out? Tell me what kind of stuff interests you!

We may be strangers, but you mean the world to me and I value your opinion! I want you all to have smiles on your faces after reading my blog!

Because everyone loves multiple choice:
A) NAIL POLISH!!!!
B) Nail polish and random stuff I find interesting
C) Whatever, I'll read it!
D) Shut up, Kayla! You're fabulous! (hehe ego boost?)
E) Puppies! Everyone loves puppies!

P.s. I've been trying out Poshe super-fast drying top coat for the past week or so. Love it! Much better than Seche Vite in my opinion. Oh, and Rimmel polishes are 50% off at Walgreens!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

Hope you guys had a terrific day! Some of you better have gone and had some green beer! I didn't. I sandbagged all day. And that's all the fun I could handle. I did do a green manicure for the holiday though! It held up surprisingly well too! Here it is:

I used China Glaze Gussied Up Green as a base and then sponged on Orly Rage and Milani Hi-Tech.
I wanted to have the pot of gold/rainbow feel without actually painting on a pot of gold and a rainbow. I think this achieved it! Especially when the sun hit it just right!

Let me know what you guys think!

March 17th is a special day for me, not only because it's St. Patrick's Day and I love Ireland, but because it's my grandpa's birthday. He passed away about 4 years ago and would have been 76 today. He was a great part of my life and watching him get sick was very hard for me. Seeing him in the hospital was something I could barely handle. I was his girl from the moment I was born. I'm so much like him it's crazy. He even passed down his migraines to me (although that's the one thing I wish he'd have kept!)! There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. I keep a photo of us at my high school graduation on my bedside table, the look on his face shows his love and how proud he was of me and that's how I've chosen to remember him.

The funny thing is, my grandma firmly believes he is haunting her house. Only because the basement door randomly opens. We (the grandkids) all laughed at this and while it would be his sense of humor, we think its just not latching/she's forgetting she has opened it. I do kind of like the thought that he's still hanging around, maybe listening to some oldies. Haha, that's a great memory: he would pick me and my brother up from school and we'd have to listen to the oldies and it would never fail that The Fifth Dimension's Up, Up and Away would come on. We would sing along, making fun of it as we went, but now I love the song because of the great memories. It also made me really want to buy the whole China Glaze Up and Away collection.

Happy St. Patty's Day!
Kayla

I have failed you.

2010-03-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

I promised you swatches two days ago and still haven't delivered. I've worked all weekend and then Daylights Saving screwed up my sleeping and I napped after work today.

I have time tomorrow to start some swatching...I have a lot of stuff to show you!

Please forgive me and be patient, swatches are on the way.

Kayla

'Witty Title'

2010-03-11T23:17:00.000-06:00

Yeah, that's right. Best. Title. Ever.

Ok, I know. I'm lazy. The title sucks, but do you know what doesn't?

NOTD!!!!!! And packages in the mail!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurray!

Uh oh guys, this is gonna be a tough one. My camera's on the other side of my room....too lazy....must stay here.....ah *&$% it...

Phew. That was tough. But it was all in the name of love (for you, dear follower or reader, I guess you may be just as lazy and haven't hit that follow button[hint: it's that way---->]). And that's it for the cheesy stuff; on to NOTD!

I finally tried some sponging! Yeah, I randomly discovered that my Mary Kay foundation samples come with decent sponges, and they work pretty well for sponging nail polish. I started with 3 coats of Maybelline's Minty (which isn't as minty as I would like) and then sponged on some OPI Done Out in Deco (PURPLE!!!). It was okay, but it needed more. I decided to try adding China Glaze Spontaneous over that. Better, still not there though. Finally, I sponged a mix of Done Out in Deco and Spontaneous over that and was finally happy with the outcome. Take a look:

I tried my darnedest to bring you great pics but, its cold and rainy here. No sun. And we're probably gonna flood soon, like this:

That's me walking down the street to my grandma's house. I am on the road. I got water in my cute pink boots with whales on them. :( Now I have chest waders. I am so prepared:

Haha, wow. That's me pretending the overflowing culvert was a waterslide. That's what my cousin and I did, for four weeks. We walked around taking random pictures. Oh, we also took a boat over the road behind me (straight back, over the highway it's the one with water flowing over it). Didn't work so well. We did confuse my mom though. She didn't expect us to come through the backyard, considering we were supposed to be boating on the other side of the road. Did I mention we were rowing the boat? That resulted in many circles. And we got stuck on some trees. That's how my mom discovered us. We were screaming and laughing so loud she heard us in the house, about 20-30 yards away. She couldn't see us in the trees though. The look on her face. Priceless.

Tomorrow starts Spring Break. I had a four week break last year because of the flood. Is it bad that I'm wishing for it again? The river is only 2.7ft away from flood stage. It could happen before the week is over. They say they won't call off school for so long again. We'll see!

When it floods, you can count on some great photos being posted. Oh, and if you want to see more from last year, tell me in the comments!

Wow, that veered off course quickly. I received my prize from the contest I won, today! I was very excited, if you read my post about winning, you'll know why. I won two polishes, two sets of press on nails, a couple of nail files, and some q-tips for clean up! I'm gonna test out the polishes tomorrow, so expect pictures tomorrow night!

Lazy = long post? How does that work?

You know what makes me happy?

2010-03-09T20:47:00.002-06:00

Followers and giveaways.

It made my day today when I saw that I had gained 2 followers in an hour! Seriously amazed me. I, of course, had to check these new followers out! Welcome, Laura and Muscialhouses! They have some great blogs, here and here. Go check them out!

Laura is even having a giveaway right now! She's giving away those amazing mood nail polishes from Claire's!
Definitely get in on that action, ladies. Click it!

And if you love Gosh polishes, or like me would seriously like to try them. Head over here to Maria's blog to enter to win these gorgeous polishes:

This next giveaway is amazing. Extremely generous. I mean look at what you can win. And this is all for one person:

Go check out Lyra's giveaway here! This is one giveaway you don't want to miss out on!

Ok, so I think this would be enough procrastination for tonight....I should be studying right now. Abby, at least I wasn't painting my nails! haha She's gonna yell at me. I swear, best friends are worst than moms. ;)

P.s. Shall I have a giveaway soon? Hmm...

Old NOTDs

2010-03-09T00:39:00.000-06:00

I was organizing my photos into an "archive" on my computer when I found two NOTD that I hadn't posted. Scratch that, one I have posted--but on a blog I had before this and then deleted and started this one; and the other I thought I had but then didn't. Unless I'm blind, but I looked back in my posts and didn't see it.

First up: I believe this was my first attempt at water marbling. I think I used China Glaze Spontaneous and Caribbean Blue. Turned out better than I thought it would! I was impressed, didn't smudge it at all!

My pinky is definitely the best.

Next, we have China Glaze Lubu Heels. It's like Ruby Pumps' goth sister. It's gorgeous.

For some reason, I took a picture of it ~~under~~ inside my hanging lamp. Gave it a cool effect.

Brings out the red glitter.

Well, that's it. Now I can officially archive these! Yeah, I'm a dork.
Kayla

Dupes? Uh, no. & tomorrow's NOTD

2010-03-08T23:33:00.001-06:00

Lazy day today. I've sat around watching Alice (SyFy Original Miniseries) on DVD. It's a great modern day twist on the classic Alice in Wonderland. I love the ending...I'm a sucker for a good romantic happy ending. Check it out! They also did The Wizard of Oz a few years back, Tin Man. Another great one to check out! Anywho.......

This gave me time to do my purple comparison. I didn't find any dupes. But they sure are pretty, so here's the results.

Once I lined up the five polishes--two pairs to test for dupes and one thrown in for fun--I knew they weren't dupes. Could have sworn they were twins when they weren't side by side. ;)

1st pair: Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother and Sally Hansen Plum's the Word

Middle: China Glaze Spontaneous randomly thrown in (cause it's pretty)

2nd pair: OPI Done Out in Deco and China Glaze Light as Air
Edit: Ugh terrible lighting. Sorry!

Do I even need to show you the results? Yup.

Same order as previous pic from thumb to pinky.

Two coats on every one but the pinky (which is three) because I needed to get rid of the Matte Magic. All lovely. All unique.

And here they are matte:

Simply divine. A matte purple makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

This look I just finished about an hour ago and it was a complete accident. I was trying to make a diagonal line across my nail and my tape moved (grr) so I took my art brush and swished it across my nail with anger. Anger quickly turned to, "Oh hey, that looks pretty cool". Et voila:

This is Wet n' Wild Nocturnal over Orly Rage. Topped off with Matte Magic.

I was extremely frustrated with my camera. I wanted a super close up shot of this. This was as close as I could get it without it being blurry. That brings me to the question of the day: What camera do you use to capture your nail art in full detail?

Another thing that hinders great picture taking?

Yes, I have a hot pink wall in my room. And depending on the time of day, the whole room is tinted pink.

Doesn't help that my curtains are also pink. That may need to change.

I need a light box.

Maybe I'll DIY it. Oh, who am I kidding?

New simple layout. Yay or nay? I'm experimenting with Photoshop again. Layout may change again. Or just the header.

Completely unrelated note:

Remember my Chuck post? And how I said I would run away with John Casey? Well, next week's preview has him looking like a bad guy. If this turns out true, my heart is broken. Why, Casey? Why????

Kayla

PURPLE!

2010-03-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

Hello Gorgeous!

How are you doing? Fabulous! Faithful reader, ~~I have no pictures for you today~~. It was a busy day. I had my kick off party for becoming a Mary Kay consultant. Yep, I'm selling Mary Kay. If you haven't tried their products before, definitely check them out. It will surprise you. Small factoid: Mary Kay has been number one in skincare and cosmetics for the last 15 years!

I did paint my nails today, using the lovely Light as Air from China Glaze. I did a sloppy job and therefore took no pictures. I have discovered that my favorite nail polishes to wear are purples. Whether the color is soft or vibrant, matte or shimmer, blurple or muddy in color, I can't get enough purple! My faves? Done Out in Deco from OPI and Call Your Mother from Sephora by OPI. Fine, I'll give you a pic of the bottles. Only because I know I'd be dying to see them if the role was reversed...

A gorgeous muddy purple and a soft lilac. Can't go wrong with these.

Thinking about my purple collections, I've realized I may have some dupes for these two. Keep an eye out for some purple comparisons.

Kayla

Check out this great contest!

2010-03-05T23:23:00.000-06:00

Hey Glam Geeks!

Just wanted to let you guys know about a great contest going on right now! Diana over at Painted Lady Fingers has joined forces with Kathleen from OC Nail Art to give one lucky lady all eight of the newest konad plates!! Go check it out! These plates are amazing! They have some really adorable designs. But be warned, I'm gunning for this prize. It's on ladies, like donkey kong. Bring it. :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Kayla

Absolutely Mad for Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-05T19:04:00.000-06:00

Who's excited for Alice in Wonderland? Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter haven't failed me yet!

Ooooh it looks so good!

In honor of its opening day, I rounded up my OPI Alice in Wonderland glitter polishes and now my nails sparkle with the glory of Absolutely Alice and Mad as a Hatter.

Indirect Sunlight

That's Absolutely Alice over Suzi Says Feng Shui on all but my ring finger. And as you can tell my ring finger has gone Mad as a Hatter over Rimmel's Black Satin.

Oh the shine. (Indoors. Not sunlight. :P)

I just had to take a picture of my mani with my Alice in Wonderland/Into the Looking Glass book!

Hope you enjoyed!

Kayla

It's a secret!

2010-03-05T15:06:00.001-06:00

Hey!
Just a quick post to tell everyone that Trade Secret has OPI on sale: Buy one, get one half off! And if the Trade Secret near you has as big of a selection as mine did...you'll be there for ages deciding what to get.

I dove head first into the new Hong Kong collection and got Jade is the New Black and Suzi Says Feng Shui.

I also discovered that they sell Essie! The only place in town that I've found so far! Since Essie wasn't on sale I didn't grab any. Next time? Perhaps.

So here are my recent purchases:

Orly: Rage and Gumdrop.

OPI: Suzi Says Feng Shui and Jade is the New Black

China Glaze: Light as Air

And here's Rage on my nails:

Matte Magic on the thumb to see how it looked. Meh.

Kayla

Lazy

2010-03-04T21:51:00.001-06:00

Bonjour Ladies!

I've been lazy. Real lazy. This post should have been up at least 3 days ago. I just never felt like editing the photos. Blah. But it's here now! Yay!

I grabbed a couple polishes that were on sale at Sally's yesterday: Orly's Gumdrop and Rage and China Glaze Light as Air. I don't have swatches yet. I'm wearing Rage but it was a terrible manicure application so I won't post pictures. Rest assured I will be posting pics at some point in time.

I want to say thanks for all the great top coat suggestions! I've got some thinking to do. Seche Vite's looking pretty low right now....

I do have a NOTD to show you. It's Sinful's Let's Talk with Matte Magic over it. It became very blurple (blue purple) with the matte top coat. Still loved it, rocked it for a good 4-5 days, mostly because of laziness.
First up is a blurry pic to show you what I thought it was gonna look like. Unfortunately it only looked this way in certain lighting.

Now what it mostly looked like:

Still gorgeous, just not what I was going for. I found that under fluorescent lighting and low lighting it looked this way.

And here's a photoshop comparison:

Index and middle: What I wanted it to look like

Thumb, ring, and pinky: What it actually looked like

Definitely way too blue. Sigh.

Oh well, I still got great compliments on the color, so I'm not too sad.

I've got a migraine so I'm going to say Au Revoir!

Kayla

Black Satin

2010-02-28T23:09:00.000-06:00

Hello Glam Geeks!

For the past two weeks, I've been keeping my eye on some clearance nail polish at Target. I needed a black creme and there was a Rimmel black in the clearance bin, but it was only 30% off. That wasn't enough for me to buy it. Finally it went 50% off. I snatched it up! I've had it for a few days but finally got around to trying it today.

Black Satin is a gorgeous creme polish that applies beautifully. If you do it correctly, you could get perfect opaque shine in one coat. I did two. I even cleaned up my nails before photos this time.

This shine is brought to you without top coat. Oooh. Aahh. Or something. ;)

Decided to thrown some Matte Magic on this mani. Ooh la la.

By the way, I'm getting low on Seche Vite and I'm thinking of trying a new top coat. My obvious question for you, my glamorous geeks, is: What's your favorite, must have, to die for top coat?

Stay chic!

Kayla

Eyeliner and Nail Polish

2010-02-25T21:55:00.001-06:00

Hi!!!

I've got quite a bit to fit in here today. So I'm just gonna get right into it! Remember back when I got my Hautelook Haul? I was extremely excited to use the Urban Decay liquid eyeliner in Gash, and I finally got around to it! A-ma-zing! Application was great and it looked fabulous!! My grandma even asked if it was available in brown! haha Love her! Take a look at the eyeliner:

It's a lovely metallic red liner. I didn't add any eyeshadow over it because it took away from its glory. (looked matte with shadow, I wanted it to pop!)

Alright! On to polish! I got these four polishes from Walgreen's and I was so excited because:

1. Sinful Colors was on sale for $1.59 and

2. Wet N Wild had new colors out! (only $1.99)

I knelt at the Sinful display forever trying to pick the colors I wanted. And then I walked away to think and look at the other displays and the sales lady told me to go back over there for more 'exotic' colors. She was really sweet and asked to see what I was picking out. I finally found 3 Sinful polishes and one Wet n Wild to buy. My total was only $6.94. I did a happy dance out to my car, well not really but I had to fight the urge.

L-R: Nocturnal, What's Your Name, Let's Talk, Boom Boom

Here's a picture that's more true to color for Let's talk and Boom Boom:

I lied. Boom Boom is not that peachy looking. Its very bright. But that is exactly how Let's Talk looks. Gorgeous.

First up: Boom Boom.

I love the name, except I want to add a Pow! at the end of it (Damn Black Eyed Peas!). It's a gorgeous pink creme that is vibrant and a great spring color. Actually, the sales lady picked it up and said, "Well that says Spring to me!" I laughed. She was great. Anyways, application was good, a little thin but easy to work with. Only two coats for full opaque. This is without cleanup or a top coat.

Indoors, flash, true to color

Let's Talk: When I saw this on the shelf I immediately thought of the H&M Fashionista swatches Michelle from Lacquerized posted not too long ago. I don't know if it's a dupe for it or not (It doesn't look like it has as much blue in it.) but until I can find out, Let's Talk is my Fashionista (Now that I look back at Michelle's post, Let's Talk is too purple, not enough blurple). A great purple shimmer that was easy to work with. I'm loving the Sinful formula! I'm in love with this polish. Two coats to perfection. Excuse the zoomed out picture, it was the only way to get an in focus, true to color photo.

Beautiful. Except for the smudge on my index. haha

Nocturnal: Another great name. I have been searching for the perfect dark blue polish with no shimmer. I have found it. It's a wonderful dark dark blue creme. Two coats to opaque. Easy to work with, not as thin as Boom Boom, definitely happy with the formula. This is part of the Wet N Wild Craze collection, the sign said it was the "trendy" colors. All the colors were beautiful but the choir started singing when I saw Nocturnal.

Almost black in the pictures. In real life you can tell that its blue. This was the best pic. Blah.

What's Your Name: The name cracks me up because when I saw it my thought was: Oooh what are you called? haha It's a stunning black jelly with teal micro glitter. In love with it in the bottle. On my nails, eh, well you can't really see the glitter. Two coats and it was opaque, but maybe if I had done more the glitter would have shown up more? Oh well. Happy with it though! Don't get me wrong, because in the right light that glitter comes out and GORGEOUS. haha I just wish it was that way all the time.

Caught a little bit of teal glitter on the middle nail.

Can you see the hint of green? That's what the glitter does to it.

That was my first Sinful Colors experience. I was impressed at the quality for such a great price! I will definitely purchase more! I'll also go back to the Wet n Wild display and grab more of the Craze polishes. Check them out guys!

Before I go, I want to thank Romika for featuring me on her blog!! Thanks so much, you're a sweetheart! If you haven't seen her blog, go check it out! She's great!

Kayla

P.S. 9 followers! Shut the front door! haha Amazing! Thanks guys!

Cute-icles!

2010-02-24T13:31:00.000-06:00

Hey!!

So I normally have terrible cuticles. I moisturize daily but they still seem to be so dry and terrible to look at. I was reading a site the other week about getting nail polish off your cuticles and the skin around your nails. It said to paint your nails the night before and then in the shower (or after), take some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and an old toothbrush and scrub at the skin. Voila! The skin should be nail polish free!

Well, I tested this out today and let me say this: Free of nail polish? Ha! Nope! Very healthy looking/feeling cuticles? Hell Yeah!!! My cuticles have never looked so good! Ladies, if your cuticles are in need of some TLC, try this quick fix! I honestly scrubbed for 30 seconds on each hand and then washed with soap and water. I finished off by moisturizing as well. Just for added measure. But even before that they were fabulous!

Hope this helps someone! Oh, and the nail polish post will be up tomorrow!!!

Kayla

4 is my lucky number....

2010-02-23T15:13:00.000-06:00

Hello!!!

Just a quick post to say OMG I've doubled my followers!!! haha I now have four! Exciting! Thanks for following, ladies! Also, I have a post coming up with four new polishes!!! Yes, I splurged. But I didn't spend more than $7 dollars in total! Gotta love Walgreens! I'll have that up later this week. Or if I find time tonight, later tonight! I've got a busy night: I'm dyeing my hair and I have a meeting to go to. I will try and squeeze some swatches in for my four faithful followers! Alliteration! yay! haha

Kayla

Green with Envy No More!

2010-02-22T13:34:00.000-06:00

Ever since I first saw a swatch for a mint green polish I was in love. I needed that color. However, every time I went to any website to search for one they were always out of stock. I have yet to purchase one. I still ooh and ahh at every beautiful mint green swatch, but I have satisfied my lemming.

Remember back if you can, or manually look back, to my post about frankens. I had made a nice soft green polish and quickly swatched it with the other frankens. It was then stashed away and forgotten for a few weeks. Last night I decided to use it, and I'm so glad I did. While it is not a true mint green, it's close enough for me to be extremely happy with it. I would call it a light jade green.

No flash, poor lighting

No Flash, better lighting

Flash, better lighting

Natural Light

My poor nails had to be cut down really far because of how weak they were. It's weird being able to see the tops of my fingers above my nails. It was for the best and hopefully they will grow healthier and I'll be happier!

I'm a winner!!

2010-02-20T22:53:00.000-06:00

Yay!!! I won a contest! Brooke over at Babbling Brooke drew my name for the second place prize! I'm so excited!! Thanks so much, Brooke!!! I never have good luck with contests. For instance, senior year of high school at the after grad party they did drawings for prizes, and some of it was really cool, but what did I win?

Socks and a scented candle.

And not even a great smelling scented candle. It gave me an instant migraine, so I gave it to a friend. I still have the socks though. Mostly because they have sheep on them. Tres chic! They're really warm too! I do love them, it just took me awhile to warm up to the idea of winning socks, especially since other people were winning money and other really cool stuff that I can't remember because now I have really cool socks! :)

You wanna see my socks? Do ya? OK!

Oh yeah, those are some sexy socks. haha wow.

Earlier this week I did a really neat Spring manicure, and took some pictures of it...but they were all blurry!!! Argh! Very frustrating! I didn't notice until I was gonna post them and didn't have the mani anymore. I'm gonna post a pic anyways, its slightly blurry but I think you can see the concept.

Thumb: Sun Index: Cloud Middle: Flock of birds Ring: Kite Pinky: Rainbow

My other hand had grass, a leaf, a chicken, a bear, and a flower. It wasn't as good. If you want to know any of the polishes let me know. I don't remember them all right now.

Kayla

Help!

2010-02-15T23:54:00.000-06:00

This is just a quick post to get out my frustration and to ask a few questions.

I've had some problems with my nail polish being easily peeled off of my nails. I've tried changing base coat and top coat but nothing seems to be helping. It wouldn't be so frustrating if it wasn't damaging my nails in the process. They're very weak as is (from acrylics I had last fall) and I don't want to damage them more.

Right now I'm using Orly ridgefiller as a base coat and Seche Vite as a top coat.

Does anyone know if either of these cause peeling (and when I say peeling I mean I can pail off the nail polish in one complete piece)?
Does the thickness of the coats applied make a difference? I know that I apply my top coat generously, but the base coat is thinner layers.

Please, if you have any insight, leave a comment! I'm desperate! Or leave me recommendations for better base/top coats! Thanks!

You've Got Nail's Giveaway!

2010-02-13T01:25:00.001-06:00

Jacie over at You've Got Nail is having a great February giveaway! You need to head over here and check out the adorable bottles of Korean nail polish she's giving away! Oh, she's also giving away Illamasqua's Obsess! Go check it out! You don't want to miss out on this great giveaway!

You can't always get what you want...

2010-02-12T00:43:00.000-06:00

What I wanted: A beautiful soft pink nail with a Ruby Pumps french tip.

What I got: A mess.

I originally didn't want to do a Valentine's Day NOTD, mostly because I think Valentine's Day is overrated and corny. I was going to do an "Anti-Valentine's Day" nail but I never really came up with a design I liked.

Then everyone started posting these beautiful soft pink nails. I went back to the days when I constantly wore OPI Mod About You on my nails. I yearned for the that beautiful soft pink to be on my nails. And tonight I decided that I was going to go with the flow, be a sheeple, etc. and do a Valentine's Day nail. I had purchased ChG Lavender Lingo thinking it was a soft purple (at least the swatch looked that way on TransDesign) but it ended up being a soft pink. I hadn't tried it before tonight and thought, "What the heck, let's do it!"

It was quite lovely on its own. Then I added Ruby Pumps to the tips. That, too, looked fantastic. I was loving it.

And then I smudged almost every other finger. I don't know how I did it. Just talented, I guess. I touched them up and decided to put heart rhinestones on two fingers. That went fine.

I should have stopped there. I grabbed my French White creme by Wet N' Wild and used my dotting tool to add a white heart to two more fingers. DISASTER. The hearts themselves turned out great, but I somehow managed to smudge my nails some more. Fixed that, waited, and added my Seche Vite. Now, it had been a good 30-45 minutes after applying the Ruby Pumps, but that didn't stop it from streaking across my nails.

With a frustrated sigh I got rid of the evidence. Well most of it, I managed to get Ruby Pumps under my nails and need to clean it up. Ugh, I'm back to being anti-Valentine's Day. Boo hoo, right? :)

Anyone else have any nail painting horror stories? I would love to hear them!

New Banner & New CVS Haul

2010-02-10T23:42:00.000-06:00

Hey! It has been a long week. Lots of fun quizzes and tests! Why do professors seem to put all of their tests in the same week? Cruel.

I designed a custom banner for the blog. It was great practice for using Photoshop. What do you think? Let me know if I should change something or not. Any kind of feedback would be appreciated. I really like it though; its not too fancy, but it doesn't need to be.

Now, I know that I said a couple posts ago that I wasn't going to buy anything online until May, and I haven't, but I've decided to add on to it. I feel like I need to add some restrictions to my CVS/Sally's/etc. hauls. I am going to restrict myself to no more than 2 items per purchase and no more than one purchase every 2-3 weeks. I will, however, allow more items if they are on an extremely good sale, but I will not go overboard!

Why did I decide this? Well, I went to CVS yesterday after class and discovered that the CVS on the other side of town has a better variety of product. They had the new Milani holos, actually they had a lot of Milani, about 3 times as much as the other CVS in town. The selection of Orly was more extensive as well. I didn't know what to do! I found a new CVS to visit from now on. And this leads into my haul....

As I said, the Milani section was huge compared to the other CVS, and once I saw it, I couldn't take my eyes off it. I think I stood in front of the display for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out where to start. I finally decided on three of the Milani neons, a holo, and two art pens. I also grabbed a Wet N' Wild polish.

And for you, dear reader: Swatches!!!

Before I start, just a warning: I didn't clean up my nails before taking pictures! Do not be afraid!

I'll start with the Wet N' Wild polish in French White. I needed a white creme, so I grabbed it. Plus it was only a dollar! Unfortunately, it was streaky and took four coats. I wasn't too impressed with it, but it didn't look too bad after four coats. I just wish it hadn't taken that many coats to look decent.

Flash, under a lamp

Without flash, indirect sunlight

Totally 80s is a Milani neon. The bottle makes it look like a yellow, but on the nails it has a green tint to it. It also took four coats to become opaque. The first three coats looked like I had colored my nails with a highlighter. Thankfully, it wasn't too streaky. I was happier with this color than with the white. The second picture shows the green tint in the polish.

Without flash, indirect sunlight

Flash

Another Milani neon, Pink Hottie. Can you guess how many coats it took? If you guessed four, than go get yourself a cookie! This one wasn't streaky, just very sheer. It was slightly more opaque than Totally 80s, meaning I didn't feel like I did my nails with a highlighter. I really like this pink! Note: at this point I lost the sunlight so all pictures taken under a lamp.

With flash.

Only picture I could get true to color, the others came out peach.

The last Milani neon is Fresh Teal. This is my favorite of the three neons, mostly because it only took two coats to become opaque. I did three coats just to be safe. I had a terrible time trying to get a picture true to color. I basically had to stand on the toilet and hold my hand directly under a lightbulb to get it. Most of the pics turned out more of a dusty teal, like the first one below.

Flash

No flash? Can't remember.

Next up is the Milani holo, Hi-Tech. Its a lovely green with tons of holographic glitter goodness in it. It kind of looks gold in some light as well. Surprisingly, my camera captured the beauty of this polish perfectly. Oh yeah, this is three coats but it was good to go in two! Just look at that holo!

Flash.

I decided I wanted to see it as a matte, so I slapped some Matte Magic on my ring finger. Here's a blurry pic to show you the difference.

Definitely looks more gold when its matte.

For the nail art pens, I just quickly swatched them on the cap of a jar to give you an idea of what they look like.

That's Green Sketch and Orange Graph

I was extremely impressed with the holo! Gorgeous! And the neon colors were great, just a little too sheer for my liking. I have an idea for a mani coming up that involves the art pens so I'll let you know how they are when I do that.

Kayla

Chuck me!

2010-02-08T13:04:00.000-06:00

Monday nights are something I really look forward to. Why? Because one of the best T.V. shows ever is on!

Chuck!

It is definitely the geek's dream show. Geeky guy accidentally becomes a secret agent and gets the hot girl...all while maintaining his geeky charm!

Its a great action/comedy that anyone can get into. Unfortunately, if you've missed it up 'til now you have a lot of catching up to do. Season 3 started a few weeks ago, but just barely. The fans had to rally together to bring it back and it hasn't disappointed us yet.

For any of you Sci-Fi geeks, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find Adam Baldwin(Firefly) being his badass self playing Agent John Casey. He brings the brawn and the comedy. He's so dreamy. (drool) He's my favorite. If he asked, I would, without hesitation, run away with him in his Crown Vic. Just saying.

But that's not where the drooling stops. Zachary Levi plays Chuck. And I don't know about you but I can never resist a hottie geek. His smile is melt-worthy. And his comedic timing is amazing. From his facial expressions to...well anything he does, its perfect. And in season 3, he gets to kick ass. Though they better have him use nunchuks soon. Swinging them around does not count!

There's plenty more eye candy...for guys too. Yvonne Strahovski plays Sarah, agent and Chuck's main love interest. You'll want them to get together so bad it'll hurt.

Classic! Love this pic!

Go here or here to find out more about Chuck. Tune in tonight at 8pm Eastern / 7pm central on NBC! I, sadly, have to miss it. But you can bet I'm recording it and watching it when I get home from work!

Maybe if you're good and watch Chuck, I'll do a Buy More themed mani for next monday. :)

Kayla

I'm a believer!

2010-02-07T02:32:00.002-06:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I was unsure of Ruby Pumps because I'm not a "red nails kind of girl."

I was wrong.

In deciding what to paint my nails tonight, I chose Ruby Pumps because it was the least likely to be loved. As the first stroke of the brush hit my thumb nail I changed my tune. I thought it would be a clear polish full of red glitter. Nothing to drool over. I didn't understand the hype.

I understand now. Its more than a clear gloss overflowing with red glitter. In just two coats my nails were as beautiful as Dorothy's famous slippers.

I immediately had to blog. My nails have yet to see my Seche Vite top coat. In hindsight, I see I should have waited til my nails were completely dry but they've faired well.

I will never ever underestimate red polish again.

Kayla

Parents Just Don't Understand

2010-02-05T15:16:00.002-06:00

I told you yesterday that I received two packages in the mail. Knowing that one of my parents had to have brought them inside I quickly brought them to my room to be opened. No need for them to get a peek at what was inside, right?

After squealing with delight over my newly acquired goodies, I ventured back downstairs. My mom didn't miss a beat. "What did you get in the mail today?!?!?" she asked me, with a seemingly excited expression. Oh but I knew better. I hesitated to answer. "Makeup?" she prodded.

Here we go...

I quickly replied that I got various things like eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow...

"Eyeshadow?!!?!!!" she practically yelled at me, "Don't you have enough eyeshadow?"

How do I reply? Is there anyway out of this trap? Let's try the sale approach:

"Mom, everything was only a dollar. They practically gave it to me."

"But how is it that there are any more eyeshadows for you to own. Don't you think you're wasting money?"

Crap. That didn't work. Quick, think of something else. Uh. ummm. Eh. Oh!

"Mom, it makes me happy." (Note: this is said in a completely pathetic, "please get off my back" sort of way.)

Laughter. Yes! I think its working! Please, let it be working....

"Oh alright! You're crazy, but if it makes you happy!"

Crazy? Where did that come from? Meh, who cares! Argument over!

We won't call that a victory, more like a narrow escape. But I am going to put this in writing: I will not buy anything online for the next two months.

What will I do without my online shopping? Save money! Yay!? Its bittersweet. But must be done. Wish me luck.

And now, I proudly present my last online haul until May. (That seems like so long...)
Let's Start with the Victoria Nail Supply haul:

L-R: ChG Ruby Pumps, OPI Absolutely Alice, ChG Lubu Heels, OPI Mad As A Hatter, and ChG Atlantis.

With that order I went glitter crazy. For years I have been anti-glitter. Its a pain. Clean up is time consuming and you can't ever seem to get it off your nails without putting in a ton of effort. Unfortunately, looking at everyone else and their blog pictures I couldn't help but fall in love. I especially love when Matte Magic is layered over the glitters! To die for! Just seeing them in the bottle: Love at first sight. I immediately put Absolutely Alice on my nails. Gorgeous! The only one I'm iffy about is Ruby Pumps, I know its pretty but I'm not really a red nails kind of girl. I am, however, a HUGE Wizard of Oz fan and will undoubtedly end up with the whole collection eventually.

I didn't swatch them because:

1) What polish blogger hasn't?

2) They will eventually be featured in a NOTD.

Ok, now on to my picture heavy haul from NYX:

P.s. These came out fabulously true to color!

The whole shebang! Tons of eyeshadow(Sorry Mom!), eyeliner and mascara.

First up is White Pearl eyeshadow. This is going to be fabulous for highlighting in the corner of my eye and on my brow bone.

This is Wild Flower, and it is the perfect peachy-pink I've been looking for. When I swatched this baby I just about died from happiness!

Sweet Lagoon. This isn't as green as I thought it would be when I ordered it. I'm torn on whether I can make it work or not. I'll try it tonight and let you know.

Extreme Apricot. Extreme is right. Extremely not apricot.

Very much more red then I thought from the NYX swatch. I may not use this very often. It scares me slightly.

Las Vegas. I'm not sure what possessed me to get loose glitter. Its lovely though.

Beanie. Chrome eyeshadow. I didn't realize it was a loose powder shadow.

Although, going back to the site, its painfully obvious. Not like they hide the fact.

Way to read the site, Kayla! Go me!

The site makes it look much more charcoal, so its a disappointment that its very much a brown.

More glitter. In the form of Jade glitter eyeliner. Super gorgeous!

Definitely a night on the town liner!

Sky Teal mascara. I don't know why I purchased a colored mascara.

I think it was to try it out. But I can't see myself falling in love with it.

Pretty color, though.

And now an arm full of swatches:

That's my haul! Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you want to see anything in a LOTD or something!

Kayla

*EDIT*
I realize that I forgot to mention Hot Red. Its a liner. I couldn't get a good picture of the pencil on its own so I just swatched it and called it good. That's why there's one more swatch than products. And sorry the picture is so small...still testing out PhotoShop. :)

Swatches, NOTD, and goodies in the mail!!

2010-02-05T00:37:00.001-06:00

Hey! Today was a loooooong day. Things didn't go as planned but my day brightened when I got home. I had to packages waiting for me. I was so excited, mostly because it had been awhile since I ordered one of them and had no idea what was in it! It was my order from NYX when they had their dollar sale. My other order came from Victoria Nail Supply. I think I'll do a separate post of what was inside those packages for tomorrow. Suspense!

I did manage some swatches from the impromptu CVS haul. It took me forever to get a picture and its still not the best quality. Apologies in advance! I swear I'll get a better camera someday....

From L-R we have Milani Diamond Dazzle, Sally Hansen Plum's the Word, Black Platinum, and Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother.

I added Call Your Mother because I thought that it would be similar to Plum's the Word. Its actually quite a bit lighter. Which I was thankful for, I'd rather have them be unique! Anyways, that picture gives a good idea of Diamond Dazzle's glitter but isn't true to color for the rest. Here is a blurry picture that gives true color:

Terrible quality, true to color. I hate my camera.

I really love these polishes. Plum's the Word is just a darker Call Your Mother but there is something about those dusty purples that I love. Black Platinum is gorgeous. I mainly got it so I could see what it looks like matte...LOVE IT! Wish I had a picture...*mumbles about worthless camera*.

I did get some pictures of my LOTD featuring Black Platinum. This was actually yesterday's LOTD but whatever.

I added a coat of Diamond Dazzle on my ring finger and a heart shaped rhinestone on my thumb. I think this is a nice Valentine's Day manicure. Why? Because its not the average pink mani you get for the holiday. Its got an edge, yet still has a red heart. My kind of Valentine's Day mani!

For tomorrow: Hauls!!!! And a LOTD.

Kayla

Glamorous Geek Chic

Huemorista Nail Lacquers

Quick Update

Random NOTD

My Collection Part 1 (Lots of pics!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! And some info!

Sneak Peek

Going naked for awhile.

Essie in Target March 6th!

First sun I've seen in months...

CSN Giveaway Winner!

Giveaway! $45 CSN gift card(U.S. & Canada only) (CLOSED)

1 year old.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Weekend Away with My Bestie

Worst Week Ever

Networking!

Viva La Nails--Review

A little birdie told me..

Beauty Tips That Changed My Life

Giveaway Winner!!!

Reminder

e.l.f Beauty Books

Wanna win some nail polish? Giveaway Closed!

I'm Back!!

Finding the Time...

I'm so indecisive!

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 5--Last One!

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 4

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 3

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 2

New e.l.f Nail Polishes Part 1

Breathing Room and Blankets

Hidden Treasure Swatches (FINALLY)

Healthy Computer!

Contest Winners!!!

Voting Ends and Computer Viruses

I've had a set back....

Fooled!

MIA

Sorry

Giveaways--Don't miss out!

I found it!

Hmmm..that can't be right...

"Is that one nail polish?" and Fun with my boys outside

An award for me???!!

Big City Inspiration

Problems with Poll? EDIT: New Poll on Side Bar

Vote!!!

Contest Over....

Hug a Tree!

Holy Giveaways, Batman!

Reminder!

Quick Contest Update

50th post!

Where did you all come from?!? and more swatches!

Savvy Femme Couture Swatches

Pure Ice Swatches

A few NOTDs

What a great weekend!

New Hair Color & Yesterdays Eye LOTD

Updates!

Lady Gaga and More Giveaways

Switching it up a bit--Face Facts!

Quick Reminder & Other Blog Giveaways

What is that?!

Wet Cement & Camera Replacement in Sight

Need a little inspiration? *CONTEST*

Just some info..

Getting Motivated

Unmotivated

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I have failed you.

'Witty Title'

You know what makes me happy?

Old NOTDs

Dupes? Uh, no. & tomorrow's NOTD

PURPLE!

Check out this great contest!

Absolutely Mad for Alice in Wonderland

Need a little inspiration? CONTEST