Platinum and gold

Today I have a quick mani I did for a group challenge. The challenge was to use the colors platinum or gold or both if you wanted to. I chose to do both. 

I used Barielle's Platinum Ring as my base color, then used American Apparel's Meteor Shower on top of all but one of my nails. 

The Barielle polish went on like a dream, I love their formula. I only had to use 1 coat to get full coverage. 

The American Apparel polish..... it served its purpose and that is about all I can say right now. It is NOT my favorite polish that is for sure. I am going to give it a few more tries before it is cast into the you are a waste of polish bin.

Yeah I'm giving you the stink eye Mr. Polish!

So there ya have it, my platinum and gold nails. What is your favorite platinum polish? Have you tried any polishes from Barielle or American Apparel? 

*All products purchased by me, all opinions are my own because nobody tells me what to say!*

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

I'm not dead! I was just pouting!

I know it has been 10 days since I posted, and I apologize. I have been pouting like a big baby, and that is the only excuse I have. My camera bit the big one and is now in camera heaven, which meant no pictures. So I pouted! The weather has been crappy, so I pouted! Kids home for 2 days, which gave them a 4 day weekend, so I pouted! I had a couple of appointments that went horribly, so I pouted! My nails are all breaking, so I pouted!!!

Today is a new day and I now have my new to me camera, and that makes me happy! It is so much better than the one I had, and it was really cheap. Like $32 cheap, Ebay came to my rescue! It isn't anything fancy, just a Kodak point and shoot. My old one was only a 5MP and 3X zoom, this one is a 16MP and a 5X zoom. So hopefully I can get familiar with it pretty quick and start getting some better shots for my posts.

Here is the first picture I took. It is totally random, a picture of a cutout in the wood on my antique postal desk, LOL!

I told you it was random!

I am so excited about the quality of pics this camera takes! I have a ton of things to share with you, so be on the lookout for new posts. I also took the plunge and made a fan page for the blog. I hope you will come and join the page, you can find it here. I am really nervous, but yet excited to ave the fan page. So share with your friends so they can keep up with all the happenings too! I know Hannah has a few posts she is wanting to make and Sierrah too (gasp!), I think Sierrah is nervous is what is holding her back. 

So I am going to close this post today and get to work on trying to save a few of my swatching nails, take pics, and work on the fan page some. I hope you are all safe and warm during all of these winter storms going on.

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes!

Glitz'd 23 review and swatches

I have a review of a brand spankin new polish company for you today. I am going to warn you this post is going to be picture heavy, but please don't run away. I have 3 polishes to share with you, and some awesome packaging pics too. So let me get started.

Glitz'd 23 is a new indie shop on Etsy that just opened on January 16th of this year. TK, the owner, is a complete sweetie! Communication with her was great and shipping time was terrific. I grabbed Fuzzy Skies, Icie, and Juices N Berries in full sizes. Full sized bottles (15ml) sell for $7.50 and mini size (3.5ml) sell for $4, which are average prices for handmade polishes. My first though when looking through the shop was that the pictures for the listing looked really nice and clear. 

The packaging....oh my goodness, it is so cute and honestly, unexpected. It was really nice to open the padded envelope and find such cute and professional packaging from a brand new company.

Bubble wrap added to the top so that the polish didn't slip around during transit.

Back of polish box.

 I swatched all the polishes over a few different colors of polish so that you can see how versatile they are. I really like this polish alot, it went on great and no fishing for the glitters at all.The base is a bit thick. I gave TK my feedback of the base and she took it very professionally. She said she thought the base might need to be a little thinner and thanked me for confirming it for her. I think it dried rather quickly for a thicker based polish, I liked that since I was painting my nails at midnight.of Seche Vite just to have the super smooth finish.

The first polish that stood out to me was Fuzzy Skies. It is a great mix of blue and white glitters with tiny silver holographic sparkles in a clear base. 

The swatches are 1 coat of Fuzzy Skies over the color and 1 coat alone.

Over blue

Alone

Over yellow.

Over red.

 Next I used Icie, it is a mix of pink holographic and white hex glitter with tiny silver holographic sparkles in a clear base.

Swatches are 1 coat of Icie over the colors and 1 coat alone.

Over a shimmery lilac.

Over a orangish yellow.

Alone

Over turquoise. 

 The last polish I have to share is Juices N Berries, it is a mix of a tealish blue and pink holographic glitter with fine red glitter in a clear base.

Swatches are 1 coat of Juices N Berries over the colors and 1 coat alone.

Over black, and horrible cuticle :o/

Alone

Over lime green.

Over a dusty gold.

Over orange.

I added this one because I love the shine off the holographic glitters, it makes me smile.

 I really like these polishes!!! I think they have the perfect amounts of glitters in them, great glitter mixes, no curling glitters, and they can be used in so many different way to create a variety of looks. Just changing the color of polish you put under it makes a huge difference in the look you get. All of her polishes are 3 free. In using Glitz'd 23's polishes I realized that I don't often wear polishes that are just glitters. These are polishes I would and have worn on their own, they made me find my love for not so busy and loud glitters that I had lost somewhere along the way. I really thought that Fuzzy Skies was going to be my favorite, and much to my surprise it wasn't. Though I do love it, my favorite and the one I have worn for 4 days now and will wear many times again is Icie. It is such a sweet girly polish, pretty princess perfection! I did, I felt pretty, and every time I look at it, it makes me think of a fairytale princess. Fuzzy Skies is my second favorite, it is so fun, it reminds me of playing out in the middle of a sun shower. Juices N Berries would be my number 3 pick, I definitely like this polish alot! I am going to layer it over China Glaze Running In Circles or maybe Frostbite, ohhh or maybe a nice chocolatey brown, or grey. Ahhhh the choices!

I give these polishes, shop, packaging, customer service, and shipping..... 5 cupcakes!

 

You can find Glitz'd 23's shop by clicking here.
If you stop by and pick up a polish or 3 let TK know that Christie sent ya over. Let's show a new shop some love!

Which of these polishes or polish combos do you like the best?

*Some products purchased by me, some sent for consideration. All opinions are my own.*

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

A little giveaway roundup

Who doesn't like to win stuff? I seriously didn't expect any of you to raise your hand ;o) Sooooo, I thought I'd share with you some of the giveaways I've found. Keep checking back because I will be adding to this list as I find more giveaways this weekend. I will list the giveaways under the day of the weekend that I find and post them. If you choose to enter any of them, good luck.

Friday:

Crazy Polishes- 3 winners
http://www.crazypolishes.com/2013/02/crazy-polishes-we-turned-1-blogoversary.html

Tanejasbride-
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/94b8ff8/

Kati-KZ-
http://kati-kz.blogspot.com.es/2013/02/my-first-international-giveaway_4.html

The Clockwise Nail Polish-
http://theclockwisenailpolish.blogspot.pt/2013/02/250th-blog-followers-giveaway.html

Lacquer Or Leave Her!- Nail art contest
http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/2013/02/reminder-nail-art-contest-empowering.html

Intense Polish Thereapy- On her facebook page-
https://www.facebook.com/Intensepolishtherapy

Femme Fatale Lacquer- On facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/femmefatalelacquer?sk=app_228910107186452&app_data

Baroque Fool-
http://baroquefool.blogspot.com/2013/02/100-followers-giveaway-holographic.html

** added 11 am** Ylime Nails-
 http://ylimenails.blogspot.com/2013/02/400-likes-giveaway.html

Saturday:

Tick Tock Cosmetics- 2,000 fan celebration
 http://ticktockcosmetics.blogspot.com/2013/02/2000-likes-giveaway.html

Beauxoxo-
https://www.facebook.com/BeauxoxoAccessories/app_228910107186452

The Polish Hideout-
http://thepolishhideout.blogspot.com.es/2013/02/barielle-dazzling-diamonds-brushes-of.html

Love For Lacquer-
http://www.loveforlacquer.com/2013/02/zoya-lovely-collection-swatches-review.html

Beach Bumm Lacquer Head-
http://bblacquerhead.blogspot.com.es/2013/02/time-for-sneaky-giveaway.html



***Please if you enter one of the contests, don't un-like the blog or page afterwards. There are so many cute ideas and interesting things to learn from these folks. Besides it is just plain rude.***

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

Tea Stained Linen from Hit Polish

Have you ever searched and searched for a polish that you can see in your head, but no one seems to make it? You just know that it would be the perfect polish and wonder why one of the hundreds of companies hasn't made it yet. That has been me for the last 6 months or more. I have a thing for crelly polishes, for those who don't know what a crelly polish is, I'll try to explain it to you. It is a polish base that is 1/2 creme and 1/2 jelly, the base is usually a bit on the sheer side, but very buildable. Most of the time these polishes have glitters suspended in them and the crelly base allows the glitters to be seen better. There are no limits to what can be created with this type of base. Sounds like magic right?

I spotted the polish that I had been lusting after in my dreams! It looked exactly like I had seen in my head a million times. Of course I ordered it, I bet that doesn't shock you, LOL! 

This photo is courtesy of Hit Polish, I forgot to take a bottle shot.

It took less than a week for my package to arrive. As soon as I saw it I ripped it open, and that is when I heard it. I swear angels started singing when I had that bottle in my hands. (Cue music!) I stared at it for probably 5 minutes and then ran to put it on my nails. This polish is everything I had hoped for and more. It makes me think of biscotti and a frothy cappucino for some reason.
The description given on the listing states- "Such a pretty delicate polish and totally work appropriate imo. A cream crelly base with brown, gold, caramel and copper hex glitters in fine to large sizes; in both metallic and holographic finishes."
My description- A gorgeous creamy nude base with hella glitz and glamour in browns, golds, coppers that you can even rock at the office. Neutral with spunk!

1 coat

2 coats

3 coats

 As you can see it took 3 coats to get full opacity, and worth every single coat! BUT, it is awesome layered over other polishes too!

Top is layered over white, middle is layered over a medium chocolate brown, bottom is layered over gold. All are only one coat of Tea Stained Linen over the color. I really like when you can turn up a polish or take it down a notch by layering like this, more bang for the buck. Though I will be honest, I would have loved this polish even if it didn't have those abilities, it is just perfection to me. 
The polish went on great as usual for the polishes from this company. I didn't have to dig for any of the different glitter sizes, and it dried in a nice amount of time. I did use a topcoat to smooth it out, the texture wasn't too bad, but a coat of Seche Vite had it as smooth as a baby bottom. I wore this mani for a few days and had no chipping and very minimal tip wear.

Hit Polish has a 10% off sale coming up on 2/13/13 that will run from 8am EST until 11pm EST. 
You can find their Facebook page by clicking here.
You can find their Etsy shop by clicking here.

Ordering is easy, customer service is terrific, shipping is fast, and the product is wonderful. I give this polish...

*All products purchased by me, all opinions are my own*

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

Whimsy Beading Sale!

My super talented friend and bead master Kelly from Whimsy beading is having a sale. Everything in her shop is 30% off excluding charity items, just use the code PIRATEROCK to get the discount. I posted before about my custom necklace, you can find the post here. Or you can look at the awesome sparkly goodness below.

There are so many beautiful pieces to choose from or you can get a custom made piece for the same price. Your options are endless! There is also a discontinued section that has been marked down prices that you can use the code on too.

Kelly had a fur baby emergency this morning and has extended her sale to raise the funds to get her kitty healthy. Most of us know how much our pets mean to us, and it is no different for Kelly.

So go check out her shop and spend a little something on yourself, your mom, BFF, mother in law, daughter, wife, sister (cough, cough), babysitter (cough, cough), or even your favorite cousin (cough, cough).

You can find the Whimsy Beading shop here.
You can find the Whimsy Beading fan page here.

*The necklace pictured was purchased by me, all opinions are my own!*

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

Anti Valentines Day Nails

Today I have a simple mani to show you that I did. I am in a few groups on Facebook that we do challenges in and had to come up with something that would work for all of them in one mani. In one group it was colors you don't wear very often, another was dots, and the other was a look using red and pink for Valentines Day or Anti Valentines Day, our choice. I knew that I could incorporate red and pink into 2 of the challenges, and honestly had forgotten about the least used color challenge. Once I started preparing for this post and posting my mani for the 2 challenges it hit me, I have only ever worn grey polish maybe twice. Talk about a multi purpose mani! 

I knew I had to use red and pink and thought "Hmm dots are pretty anti Valentines Day!". I also knew I didn't want a dot mani that just had those 2 colors, so what is the most anti Valentines Day color? Black! I didn't want a ton of pink either, so using it as an accent color would be perfect. Then I thought I don't want just those 3 colors either and grabbed a grey polish, that says grumpy to me too. Sounds like a lot of planning for a mani right? It really wasn't, these brain exercises took place over a few days LOL. 

I started off with a grey base of Orly's Faint Of Heart. When it was dry I took those hole reinforcing stickers that you get in the stationary aisle and randomly stuck them to my nails. I painted the holes with Orly's Ma Cherie, it is my favorite red polish. After those dried good I added more of the stickers randomly on my nails making sure that it would overlap the red a little. I used L.A. Colors polish in Black Velvet to paint those holes. I then added a single small pink dot to the center of the large black dots using Orly's Oh Cabana Boy and topped all with a coat of Seche Vite to seal it all in. Here is the end result.

I REALLY love how this mani turned out! I think it is fun and a little bit funky and a whole lot of anti Valentines Day. I can see me recreating this using tons of different color combos. I am not a fan of Valentines Day, probably because I have never really had anyone to enjoy the day with, which is why I call it Single Awareness Day. It is a day for me to have it rubbed in my face that I am old as dirt and STILL single. LOL! The reason February 14th brings me any kind of happiness is because that is the day my Hannah decided to make her way into this world. She was the best gift I could have ever received!

Enough with my rambling for today. What colors would you use for a Single Awareness look? Would you recreate this look using other colors? If so what are the colors you would choose?

***All products purchased by me.***

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!

Orange you glad it is Friday?

Yeah I know the title is a bit on the corny side, but I couldn't help myself! The title may be corny but the polish I have for you today is far from corny. So let's get to it.

Today I have a super fun polish to share with you from KBShimmer, it is called Orange-A-Peel. My sweet friend Lynn sent this to me for Christmas. (Thank you again!) She and I share a brain 90% of the time, only she is the nicer part. This polish is a glitter filled crelly. The base color reminds me of a sherbert orange and it is packed full of orange, pink and white glitters. It is part of their Neon Collection that was released last year. Here are a few shots of it for you.

I had a hard time getting my camera to pick up the true color of this polish. As you can see this polish isn't one of those typical bright as heck neon oranges, it is a nice subdued neon orange. You can use it on its own and get full coverage in 2 coats, or layer it over other colors to get a different shade of orange all together. Below on my index finger it is 2 coats layered over a coral color, the middle finger is 2 coats alone, ring finger is 2 coats over white, and the pinky is 1 coat over a primary orange polish, all topped with 2 coats of Seche Vite.

You can see in the pictures that over the white it takes on a more neon look. Alone and over the coral it seemed to be that almost sherbert orange color, and over the primary orange it went to a gorgeous almost pumpkiny color. With orange being my all time favorite color, I really loved that I could get such different shades out of this one polish. Now that I am looking at the pictures I wish I had done a nail with it over a bright yellow too.

The formula is wonderful, it went on with no fuss, and there was no fishing for any of the glitters. There was no curling to any of the glitters either. KBShimmer has one of the best crelly bases that I have used! I did have to use a topcoat with this polish. It wasn't really snaggy, but when it dried there was a medium amount of texture to it. I could see me sitting and picking at it if I hadn't put a topcoat on. It dries pretty quick and has a semi matte finish to it, which I expected it to have since most neons are matte. I personally like the semi matte finish that it has. I don't think they carry this particular polish anymore, but there are a few other orange crelly polishes that are just as fun as this one. 

KBShimmer is an indie company that carries a nice variety of products. They carry polish, handmade soaps, sugar scrubs, lotions, whipped body butter, lip balms, and bath bombs. They have their own site or you can also visit their shop on Etsy. Their prices are very reasonable, shipping prices are reasonable, and their TAT is currently 2-3 business days unless you buy bath bombs then it is 5-7 business days. For handmade products that is an excellent TAT. I personally haven't bought from them yet, so I can't really speak about the packaging for items being shipped. I have messaged a little with the owner and can tell you that their customer service is great. You can find their facebook page here to see what's new from them.

I have watched this shop for at least 6 months and now I am kicking myself in the tush for not buying before. They are a company that carries so many things that I love, polish, bath and body products, and lip balms. Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy all of those things to the point of almost hoarding LOL! I hope to make an order with them soon and grab a few things to share with you in the future. I am going to rate them today on just this polish alone. 
I give this polish... 5 cupcakes

Have you tried any products from KBShimmer? If so, what products/scents do you recommend? 

***Some products were purchased by me, others were a gift from a friend. All opinions are my own***

Peace, Love and Cupcakes!