Essie Summer 2011

Another press release I didn't get! That's ok though because it was leaked by a Teen Vogue Director (Eva Chen) on her tumblr page.

The colors are (from left to right): Brazilliant, Too Too Hot, Super Bossa Nova, Absolutely Shore, Meet me at Sunset, Smooth Sailing. I am in love with Smooth Sailing and Absolutely shore. Though the names do make me think of China Glaze's Anchors Away collection.

And here's a sneak peak at the Resort Collection too!

Here's what Eva has to say about this summer's resort collection "oooo, love Essie’s resort colors (out May at salons only). they’re inspired by Essie’s journeys to Africa. my favorite is the pale sage green (Da Bush. the other colors are Your Hut or Mine (the poppy), Lion Around (the peachy color), and Fair Game (the pearly black))"

(Photos credit Eva Chen's tumblr page)

OPI Summer 2011 collection

Despite my emails, I haven't made it on any press release lists so I'm going to start grabbing them from those bloggers who are getting them! This release was first posted by Body and Soul. Which is a great blog all of you should read!

OPI's summer collection is called "Nice Stems" And has a variety of flower-themed polish names. It looks like there are cremes, glitters and maybe a shimmer or two to look forward to!

Essie: It's Genius

This is the color I finally settled on when I was having issues (the day I swatched Sew Psyched) I ended up with It's Genius after trying Sew Psyched, Limo-scene, Sexy Divide, and Oui Madame. Most of those only made it on one or two fingers before I knew I wasn't feelin' it. So I present to you It's Genius!

I think it's fair to call it a mauve color. It's a dusty medium purple with a nice gold shimmer. Two coats for opacity, Seche QD top coat.

Don't Forget! (CLOSED)

Don't forget that my giveaway closes at 11:59 est tonight, March 15th!

Essie: Sew Psyched

So, I reallly wanted to wear this color when I first got in it but none of my forum friends requested a swatch. I put it on yesterday in a search for a color that would look better than Nice is Nice ( tried on four polishes!!) and took a quick picture so the effort wouldn't be wasted. This is probably a possible one coats but because there were a few bubbles in my thicker coats, I'd recommend two thinner coats. The pigmentation on this color was great! The only thing that mad me sad was that the shimmer that's in the bottle doesn't translate to the nail :(

These pictures would noooot get focused... For some reason my camera was not cooperating. Sorry about the poor quality!

Essie: Nice is Nice

So, I've finally found a color that gives me lobster hands! Which is too bad because I love lilacs. This is Essie's Nice is Nice from their Spring 2011 collection. This is two coats over Nailtiques formula 2 and Seche QD top coat. It's a nice color, pink leaning lilac or lavender that's just a little too red based and not enough grey based to be nice to my skin tone. I'm still thinking of wearing this as french tips for my Wedding since the color is purple.

Nail Care How To

A few of the entries to my giveaway suggested that I share my nail care routine. Since I don't feel like finding my camera right now, I thought I'd do that post today and save my nail color for tomorrow.

First, I like to let my hands soak at least once a week in warm soapy water to clean and soften the cuticles. (Everything else on this list I try to do daily) Then I like to moisturize my hands with a nicer, non-scented lotion. Lately I've been using Eucerin Calming Cream.

Then I like to take care of my cuticles a bit more with a protein enriched cream called Healthy Hoof. It's actually intended to strengthen the hooves of horses but is often sold with nail products in beauty supply stores and pharmacies. This has a light smell that's pleasant but I do try to stay away from scented products for basic hand care. I just put a dab on each fingernail and rub it in to the nail and cuticle. I don't usually have issues with my cuticles but when the need arises I push them back right after rubbing this in.

Then after that I usually like to file and buff my nails to make them a little more uniform. This is the neat Crystal File I got with my huge Essie haul.

Then I'll usually add base coat before doing my polish. Right now I'm using Nailtiques Formula 2 as my base coat until my nails stop needing buffing to get out the weird ridges and what not from when I was sick. Otherwise I'd be using Seche base.

After I do my polish/topcoat, I try to keep it on for a day or two. When I forget to use Healthy Hoof and notice my cuticles looking a bit rough, I use the Ulta Cuticle Oil Pen that I keep in my Backpack/Purse to get quick moisturization.

I remove my polish with 100% acetone meaning my hands take a beating which is why I try so hard to keep them moisturized. But that's my routine! Anyone have anything they think I should add?

OPI: Do you think I'm Texy?

After the never ending journey back home, I was miserable when I finally (after 4 flights) landed back in NC. For some therapy, and because I didn't feel like painting my nails last night, I got my nails done at the place my MIL-to-be took me to get a pedicure when she visited. It was lovely and relaxing and a chance to wear another Texas Collection color without buying it so whee!

This is three coats of  Do you think I'm Texy with OPI base and top coat. I actually ended up putting Seche QD on top of the OPI because the manicurist was so stingy on the top coat that I could see brush marks on every nail! Had to even that out or I was going to go crazy. Anyways, I love this color but I'm still a bigger fan of Big hair, Big Nails. OH, she squared my nails off... Looks a little weird to me and I'll probably round them out when they grow a bit... My thumbs look squared, it's weird.

Estee Lauder: Ultra Violet

Swatches! Oh, and the pretty box. The last few pictures are of the free gift that came with purchase. Two coats of Ultra Violet, one coat of the old Sally Hansen Acrylic top coat that cracked in less than 24 hours....

Annnd the free gift!

Guess What?

Visiting NY usually means a couple of things: being fed too much good food, and getting entirely unnecessary but incredibly appreciated gifts from my fiancee's mom. This trip's awesome gifts include a dress to wear to my wedding after-party, a visit with two adorable yorkies (ok maybe that's not a gift to everyone but it is to me!) and an incredibly expensive bottle of Estee Lauder's Pure Color in Ultra Violet!

All I said to my mom-in-law-to- be was "Wanna see what a $22 bottle of nail polish looks like?" and I took her to the Estee Lauder display in Macy's. Then, she told me to pick a bottle! Since I'm a sucker for purple and was looking for something glittery (having many cremes from my Essie haul) I picked out Ultra Violet. Apparently this is a re-release from last year but is still considered a limited edition color. I love it, it's gorgeous but soooo hard to capture on camera!

I'm sitting in an airport right now, waiting on bad weather and have a less than ideal internet connection so I won't post pictures until I get home to NC. I just wanted to let you know what was in store! Also, since you can't bring nail polish on airplanes, I had to leave my gorgeous bottle in NY! It will come back to me around Easter though when we have a family gathering :)

Mardi Gras Mani

So, in the spirit of Mardi Gras, my mani for today is green with glitter! I'm in NY right now doing some wedding planning and you're not supposed to bring Nail Polish on planes sooo I bought a couple of the Wet n Wild FastDry polishes that I didn't have. I got Party of Five Glitters and 9021Orange.  9021Orange never wanted to dry and took forever to start getting opaque so maybe I'll swatch it at a later date. This is Four coats of NYC Big Money Frost (which I borrowed from my MoH) with one coat of Part of Five Glitters over it with a super old (and in need of thinning!) Sally Hansen acrylic topcoat.

These are sooo not color accurate. Big Money Frost is much more green in person and not at al the weird turquoise/blued green it is here. I like the combo though :)

Giveaways for the week:

Instead of making a new post ever every giveaway I'm entering I guess I'll do a weekly (Monday) post!

Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes is doing a 666 follower giveaway! Enter here

Katrina's Nail Blog is doing a 1st birthday giveaway that you and enter here!

Essie: Wrapped in Rubies

I was so busy these past few days that I actually wore Essie Over the Top for three days straight! Now I'm wearing Wrapped in Rubies. This is a great dark burgundy that leans towards burnt sienna. It's got a nice orangey undertone that looks pretty awesome with my skin. I don't know if this qualifies as a foil but it sure looks metallic with all the gold shimmer in it!

Two coats, nailtiques base and newly thinned Sech QD top.

We Made It! ( CLOSED)

Ok, so over night you ladies took me seriously and I'm up to 31 followers! I will edit this post later with a better picture of the prizes,  but here's the one I posted before and a list of the goodies!

Prize #1
Essie Snow Princess Cube
Essie ManiPerfection Cube
Nicole by OPI Ink a Dink a Pink
Essie Sexy Divide

Prize #2
Essie Red Hot Fiesta Cube
Essie ManiPerfection Cube
Nicole by OPI Make Mine Lime
Essie Aruba Blue


To enter, Email me with the following entry form { jennifershb(at)gmail(dot)com }:

1. Your GFC (or other format) Follower Name and contact email. New followers are welcome (1 entry)
2. Your preferred prize (1 entry)
3. A link if you blogged about or put this in your sidebar (3 entries!)
4. Suggestions for my blog (3 entries!)

Contest Closes March 15th.

ONE MORE!

One more followed until I can do my 30 follower giveaway!

Here's a look at what you might be able to win... Whenever I get my 30 followers :p

That's two different prizes ladies! You'll have a great chance of winning something in this giveaway (unless I get a ton of new followers when the giveaway starts!)

Essie: Over the Top

The label on my bottle actually reads "Over the Edge" but after looking for swatches, I found out that the non-walmart name is actually Over the Top. This was a much easier to work with Essie formula, only two coats to pretty opacity. The color is a black based gunmetal with heavy silver shimmer. What isn't seen in my pictures is the additional rainbow microshimmer that can be seen in the right light. The rainbow microshimmer is really hard to see on the nail once the polish dries but you can see it better in the bottle or when the polish is wet. Love this color, and it when wonderfully with my bad mood last night!

Essie: Turquoise & Caicos

This was another color that my forum friends picked out for me to try. This got two votes (out of four at the time) so I figured I'd wear it sooner rather than later. Turquoise & Caicos is a nice color for Spring or Summer and a pretty alternative for the popular coral shades for this season. I didn't like this color when I first put it on last night but I am a much bigger fan of it today in the sunlight.

This is 3 coats of T&C over Nailtiques formula 2, I tried to use non Seche topcoat and just could not wait for it to dry! I ended up putting Seche QD over the initial coat of Rimmel 60 seconds that was still tacky after half an hour. T&C is a pretty creme turquoise that might lean a little to the green side but does look pretty close to the stone Turquoise.

Essie: Coat Azure

You've probably seen this swatched plenty but I'm adding my pictures to the mix anyways! This is three coats with Seche QD (newly thinned!) on top. It's a pretty blue color with a nice subtle silver shimmer. My guy friend Geordan, said this color looked like car paint. I'm not exactly sure what that is supposed to mean but he followed that statement with "it looks really cool" so we'll assume that looking like car paint is a good quality for this nail polish to have.