My Favorite March Manis

Here are my favorites of the month!

Clockwise from the top left: Black and pink combo, Tape Mani with Nubar Angel, SOTT over FingerPaints Blank Canvas Cream, Estessimo Tins Color The Dreamy Magic, Fierce Frankens Berry Slushie

Maybelline - Sultry Siren

Hi fellow nail polish lovers!!  Happy Saturday!  Looking forward to swatching and sleeping today after my morning errands.  How about you guys?

I have a Maybelline polish to share with you all today.  I don't have many polishes from this brand and this is actually my first time trying one of them.  I picked up Sultry Siren sometime last year, not because it was something spectacular, but because I wanted to give the brand a try.  I figured it was a safe color to try.

Sultry Siren is a wine creme and is from Maybelline's Express Finish Line.  The formula wasn't all bad, but it was runny and I had to do quite a bit of cleanup.  I wasn't too happy about that.  Otherwise, it applied smoothly and was opaque in two coats.  According to the bottle, the polish was supposed to dry in 50 seconds.  Ummm... That didn't happen.  It didn't take as long as a normal polish would to dry though.

In the pics below, I used Essie All in One Base and  two coats of  Sultry Siren.

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I've always been a fan of these types of colors, so I was happy with how it looked on me.  I also love how shiny it is even without a top coat.

I then added one coat of Elle's Spell and finished it off with Seche Vite.  Love it!

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What do you guys think of Sultry Siren?  Do you have any Maybelline polishes?

China Glaze - Recycle

Hi everyone!!  Happy Friday!  Boy am I glad for the weekend.

First, I'd like to congratulate Cryslovespolish and Drinkcitra on winning the Vinyl Remix polishes polishes in my giveaway.  They've been contacted and responded.  They both have blogs, so be sure to click on the links and check them out.
Today I have the second China Glaze I've ever tried.  Yep, the second.  The first was Exceptionally Gifted, which I shared months ago.  Clearly, I need to show China Glaze more love.  I have quite a few in my stash, but haven't gotten around to wearing them yet.

Recycle is a medium gray creme.  While it's nothing spectacular, I'm a gray lover, so I love it! The formula is a bit on the thick side and slightly runny, but it was manageable.  It was fully opaque in two coats and dried to a beautiful shine.  In the pictures below, I used Essie All in Base and two coats of Recycle; no top coat.

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I decided to add one of my go to top coats for a little sparkle, Pure Pearlfection, then I finished it off with Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat:

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I know those were a lot of pictures with Pure Pearlfection, but it's so pretty ;0).

What do you guys think of Recycle?  Are you a gray fan?

Rimmel - Hot Cocoa

Hi fellow nail polish lovers!

Today I have a Rimmel to share with you called Hot Cocoa.  I partially got this one for the name, lol.  I also like browns though, so that was the other reason I got it.  I believe I picked it up from Duane Reade, but it was a long time ago, I'm not sure.

Hot Cocoa is a light brown, leaning pink creme.  It has a very good formula, so application was a dream.  And the usual wide brush, which I love, made application easy as well.  In these pictures, I used Essie All in One Base Coat, two coats of Hot Cocoa, and Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat.

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I decided to add an accent nail because I was a little bored with just Hot Cocoa.  On my ring finger, I added two coats of E.L.F. Golden Goddess.

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I wish I got some of the larger glitters from Golden Goddess, but I still liked the way it turned out.

What do you guys think of Hot Cocoa?  Is it your kind of color?

Orly - Artificial Sweetener

Hi everyone!! Happy Pink Wednesday!!

Today I have Artificial Sweetener from Orly's Cool Romance collection, recently released for Spring 2012.  To be honest, I wasn't really wowed by this collection, only because I feel like I've seen all of the colors before.  However, being the addict I am, I had to get at least one of them and what did I go for?  The pink of course!  Oh, I also am not a fan of the name of this polish.  If you haven't been able to tell already, names really have an affect on me.  I'm not into artificial sweeteners, give me the real thing and I'll use it in moderation.  Also, the color doesn't remind me of artificial sweeteners, were they going with the color of Sweet n Low?  IDK, it just bothers me.

Okay, on to the polish.  Artificial Sweetener is a dusty bubblegum pink creme with a slight shimmer in it.  I think it's a really beautiful polish, but the formula leaves something to be desired.  I ended up having to use three coats because when applying, the polish was very patchy and it took the three coats to even everything out.  I also experienced slight bubbling on one or two nails :(.  I still really like the color though.

In these pictures, I used Essie All in One Base, three coats of Artificial Sweetener, and Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat:

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What do you do when you have a color you really like, but imperfections in the application?  That's right, add glitter or flakies over it ;0).  So I decided to add Shine of the Times.  Here is the result:

I really love SOTT over light colors.  So pretty!

What do you think of Artificial Sweetener?  Did you pick up any polishes from the Cool Romance Collection?

Model's Own - Pinky Brown

Hi everyone!! Today's Twinsie Tuesday theme is a "hyped up polish I was disappointed by."

Pinky Brown is a pink and brown/bronze duochrome from the Beetlejuice collection released by Model's Own late last year.  I purchased this one from Harlow & Co. a few months ago.

The formula for this polish was great.  It applied smoothly and evenly and was opaque in one coat.  In these pictures, I used Essie All in One Base, two coats of Pinky Brown, and Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat.

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The reason I was disappointed in this polish is I thought the duochrome would be a lot stronger.  However, most times it just looked like a deep metallic pink.  I still like the polish, but unfortunately I'm not in love with it the way I thought I would be.

What do you guys think of Pinky Brown?  Did you pick up anything from the Beetlejuice collection?

Check out the other twinsies to see what polishes they were disappointed by!
Amanda: http://amandalandish.blogspot.com/
Anne: http://grapefizz.blogspot.com/
Ashley: http://artevolve.blogspot.com/
Chelsea: http://www.nailedblog.com/
Jenn: http://allthatisgorgeous.blogspot.com/
Katherine: http://hauloffame.blogspot.com/
Meredith: http://polishandcharms.blogspot.com/
Nory: http://fiercemakeupandnails.blogspot.com/
Rachel: http://topcoatit.wordpress.com/
Sarah: http://seesarahswatch.blogspot.com/
Jenna: http://www.jennafroggy.com/
Anna: http://goingtotheshowing.blogspot.com/
ChiChi: http://beautystarr1009.blogspot.com/
Brandi: http://thecollegiatenail.blogspot.com/

TheHungryAsian - Strawberry

Hi everyone!!  Happy Monday!  Ready for another week?  No?  Me either, lol.

I have a beauty to share with you today.  I made a purchase on Etsy from Kae at TheHungryAsian for Strawberry.  I've been wanting this polish for a few weeks now and finally decided to get it last week.   As described by the creator, Strawberry is red creme polish with sparse black microglitter.  Sounds fairly ordinary right!  Nope.  Look at these pics: 

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Doesn't  it look just like strawberries?  I love it!!  It looks so delicious.

In these pics, I used two coats of Strawberry with no base or top coat.  The formula was excellent.  It applied smoothly and evenly and was fully opaque in two coats and required very little cleanup.  It dried very quickly and to a smooth, shiny finish as you can see.  I love that there was a good amount of glitter, which really makes it look like a strawberry.

Strawberry can be purchased, by clicking on this link: TheHungryAsian.  The cost is $8.50 for a 12ml bottle.  I received my polish in a very short amount of time too.  You can also visit Kae's blog at http://www.thehungryasian.com.

What do you think of Strawberry?  Is it something you would wear?

One Lovely Blog Award

I was recently given the Butterfly Award by the lovely ladies at The Polish Well and am finally getting around to doing it.  Thanks so much for the tag ladies!!  If you haven't visited their blog yet, be sure to do so.  They have really pretty swatches and are constantly adding to my wish list.

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person you got it from
2. Tell seven things about yourself
3. Give the award to ten bloggers

Seven things about myself:

1. I used to play the piano, but stopped taking lessons as a teenager because I got lazy.  I wish I never quit.  I can still figure out a tune by reading notes though.
2. I'm fairly decent at drawing, but it's totally different when it comes to creating art on my nails.  I think it's because it's a brush instead of a pencil.
3. I always forget to do my toes in the winter because I always have socks on due to my feet being cold. 
4. When I was younger, I used to love going on roller coasters, the higher and faster, the better.  Now, when I think of roller coasters, I freak out at the possibilities of harm and death.  I'm getting old, lol.
5. Sticking with the theme park topic, while I was always able to go on roller coasters, I could never go on rides that spin around.  It makes me totally nauseous and I usually throw up.
6. I've been trying to get back into reading regularly, but I can't seem to keep my eyes open after a long day at work.  I'm going to make it happen though.  I will!
7. While I'm happy about our recent spring weather, I'm not looking forward to the allergies that come with it.  I'll take it over the cold though ;0).

Here are the bloggers I tag:

Joanne at Northern Nails
D'Anna at Not Another Nail Blog
Crystal at Crystal's Crazy Combos
Saira at The Girl With The Green Nails
Bridget at Polish, and Make-Up, and Cars, Oh My!
Adri at Morie's Nail Art
Lindsay at Polish & Diamonds
Sabine at My Polish Stash

Ruby Kisses - Blue Pearl

Hi fellow nail polish lovers!! Well, another weekend is almost over.  I say we start a petition for an extra day.  Anybody with me?  Hope you all are having a fun and relaxing weekend.

I have a polish to share with you called Blue Pearl from Ruby Kisses.  Ruby Kisses is a brand that I've seen available at local beauty supply stores.  They are .99 cents.  Awesome price, ya think?  I remembered seeing Blue Pearl on My Simple Little Pleasures, so it was the one I picked up.  They have many colors though.

Blue Pearl is a pretty navy blue shimmer.  The formula is pretty sheer and requires three coats for full opacity.  It is a good formula though, not too thick or thin and goes on easily.  Very little cleanup is required.

In these swatches, I used three coats of Blue Pearl with no base or top coat:

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I'm realizing I have A LOT of blues in my stash, which is funny because I haven't always been a blue polish lover.
What do you guys think of Blue Pearl?  Have you ever tried Ruby Kisses?