Vintage Vixen inspired

Hi!


Today's mani was inspired by China Glaze's Vintage Vixen collection. I had done it for Glamorous Geek Chic's giveaway (about a month ago), in order to get a few more entries. I was very proud of myself to come up with the design on my own. I had mentioned this in my Welcome Post, but hadn't elaborate much.


This is the inspiration picture:

Here's what I used:

- Sally Hansen 4-in-1 treatment
- Rimmel 60 Seconds #819 Green With Envy
- 4 Nail Star Two-Way Nail Art Pen & Brush (brown, mahogany, golden glitter, pearly white), bought on eBay
- Nicole by OPI Top Coat Plus






Here's the final result:

I chose green for the background, as the "Vixen" is wearing a green beret. The brown/mahogany prickly circle in the middle is the brooch on the necklace. And the white dots, of course, are the pearls for the necklace.










There you go! Hope you guys like it. ;)

Revlon swatches

Hiya!
Here's the first swatches from my mini haul. I'm starting with the Revlon Top Speed Jaded and Lily.

I do realized the quality sucks. The battery had died, and I had to use the one on my cellphone. And I just realized that I haven't cleaned up the cuticles, so please forgive me!

 More swatches to come, so stay tuned!

EDITED on 09/27 (12:48am (AST)), to add:
Susie's comment made me realized that I didn't really talked about anything, lol! Thanks for these questions, otherwise, I never would've realized! ;D


Application wise, it takes at least 2 coats to get an even finish. Jaded was 3 coats, but Lily has 2. It dries pretty quickly, so by the time I was done the last nail in my hand, the first one was already dry to touch. The brushes glided fairly well, didn't have any problem with the application in general. The formula was a bit thin, to be honest, but it was still manageable.

Mini-Haul!!

Excitement ahoy, I went on a small shopping spree! I had a crappy morning, and had to run some errands, and just couldn't resist buying these:

From left to right:
- Tone Body Wash, Mango Splash
- Revlon Top Speed, #320 Jaded
- Revlon Top Speed, #610 Lily
- Sally Hansen HD, Hue 
- Joe, Matte Top Coat
- Joe, Wine
- Joe, Fig


I threw in the body wash too, 'cause I bought it on an impulse. It smells divine, and can't wait to try it out!


I was happy to find the Joes polishes, because I had never seen them before. I was looking for them through the nail polish display, but they were on a separate rotating shelve. I'm a little surprise at the size of the bottles, as I never realized 6ml was so little. But for the price ($4 or 3/$10) it's not so bad. I've never tried a matte finish before, so I'll try that on my next mani!


Swatches to come over the next few days! Stay tuned! ;)

Giveaways everywhere

Another week of giveaways you can enter.

All Things Nails is having a Welcome Giveaway that ends on September 30th. 2 prizes to win:

 

NAIL FANATIC is having her 600th follower giveaway, ending on October 20th 11:59 EST. Here's what you can win:

FunnyFace Beauty is having her 300 subscribers giveaway, ending on October 10th. There's a total of 5 prizes to win, and up to 19 ways to enter. How great is that? Here's a picture of all prizes combined:

 Scandalously Polished is having a 666th giveaway, ending on October 10, at 7:06am (yup, 7:06). 2 grand prizes, but too many pictures to post them all. Here's part of the first prize:

The Lacquer Files is giving away a brand new bottle of Nfu Oh #51 for her birthday. How generous, uh? The giveaway ends on October 27, 11:59 PM (CET). Here's a picture:

CucumPear's Onyx Phalanx is having a double birthday giveaway, ending on October 23rd at 23:59 (CEST). Looots of goodies will go to one winner:

EDITED on 09/25 to add:
Magic Maid is having maaaany giveaways for 1000+ followers. She's very generous like that. ;)

1) 4 Milani polishes, ending on October 6th.

2) Nail Fraud stickers, ending on October 8th.

 3) BB Couture, ending on October 22nd.

Good luck to all!!

Nail Treatment, week 2

Sooo.. I'm a little disappointed in the treatment, as I broke a nail yesterday, opening a window. It cracked, like many of my nails do, a little under the "smile". I was able to glue it back together, but I never thought I'd break my pinky finger nail. I also thought the treatment would make my nails stronger, but it isn't. So.. I guess I'd give this product 3 out of 5. My nails do feel stronger, but they aren't really. 


Here's what they look like on the start of week 3, completely naked:

 


They did grow a little more than after week 1, but all in all, I think I could have achieved the same result with any other strengthener. I will keep on using this, 'cause I payed pretty pennies for the stuff, but I won't buy it again.


More nail art over the few days! Stay tuned! :D

Slanted black French

Yo! 
Today's design is inspired by micky2515's mani on Youtube, that you can watch here: Click! I was ecstatic when a lady at the store noticed my nails and told me they looked good! It was the first time someone had noticed my nails and made a comment about them. Felt great!

For this, I used:
- Sally Hansen 4-in-1 treatment as a base coatf
- The cheap eBay liners in black and white
- Maybeline Salon Expert #700 Black Is Black
- L.A. Colors Art Deco NA903 Silver Glitter
- Nicole by OPI Top Coat Plus

I had waited at least an hour before putting on the top coat, but it still dragged some of the black polish all over the nails.. Oh well.. Now I learned that it can't be trusted for French manis!  

Migraine obliged, I'm gonna stop it here, and go to bed before my head explodes. See you next post! 

Giveaways I'm entering this week

Because everyone likes free stuff, I'm no different then anybody, and I'm entering a few giveaways this week. Here they are, in no particular order:

For Your Nails Only has a "You're A DeadGgiveaway" for Halloween, ending on October 8 at 11:59pm (EST). Her giveaway is sponsored by Color Club, and here's what you can win:

Bathroom Dancer is having her first 50 followers giveaway, ending on October 30th. She has a few Hello Kitty items that she took in Japan, and are fairly rare. Here's the loot:

Milan & Vanaily are doing their first giveaway too, ending September 17th. They have tons of stuff to give out, including mood jewelry given by Claire's. Here's pictures of two prizes:

So there you have it, folks!

EDIT on 09/16 to add:

Konad-licious! is having a giveaway sponsored by lovely Glitter Gal, ending October 10th. You can 3 holographic polish of your choice. That's right, you choose which ones you want out of the 15 available! I can't really post a pick of the colors, 'cause I'd have to post each individual ones, but here's what Konad-licious! used:














Oh My Gosh is giving away the complete Orly Cosmix FX collection in her birthday giveaway, ending September 18th at midnight. I do believe it's sponsored by Enchantra. Here's what's on the line:

Forever The Ugly Duckling is having her first giveaway too, ending October 15th at 11pm (GMT)! Here's what you can win:

Konad Addict is having her first giveaway as well, ending on September 24th. Here are the goodies:

EDITED on 09/19 to add:

Jeweled Tips is having a Confetti giveaway! Here's what you can get:

Good luck to all! :D