#ManiMonday: Orly Blushing Bombshell

While I was standing in front of my nail polish rack the other night trying to motivate myself to do a manicure, I picked up Orly 'Bubbly Bombshell,' but couldn't think of how I wanted to wear it.  I was sold on an all pink glitter manicure using only that, when I was inspired by the packaging.  I loved the way the grey coordinated with the fuchsia glitter. And right next to where 'Bubbly Bombshell' on the shelf was 'You're Blushing.'

I absolutely love the combination of these two colors, and was so happy that it lasted 3 days with no chipping! I have quite the collection of nail products, with my new goal being to have a base and top coat combination for every brand of polish I own. I lucked out with Orly, I already had their Bonder basecoat, which is one of the best basecoats out there.  Bonder has a sticky, rubber-like finish, which grips the nail polish color and prolongs the length of your manicure. I am convinced the combination of Orly Bonder and polishes made this manicure last so long.

Do you make a point to match up products in a manicure?
 

October Julep Maven Boxes

I can't even begin to pick which ones I like the most, I want them ALL!!

Maybe I should just go with the entire collection?


Which box did you choose? Did you add on anything? And did you see if you go to Add On, there's a glow in the dark polish that's not in any of the boxes!

Are you a Julep Maven yet? I'd say there's no better month to join- these polishes are gorgeous! It's making me love Crackle all over again! Join here for a PENNY! Use code: PENNYINTRO.

Perfectly Pink: DIY Handscrub

I saw this DIY on Pinterest and literally jumped off the couch to the kitchen to make it immediately.  Luckily I had the ingredients on hand, sugar + Dawn/Olay hand dish soap. I have been using the pink Olay dish soap as long as I can remember, and have always dreamed of a way to use it more often, it smells heavenly!

Well, it was even simpler than I thought! And I have used it every night since making it!

Start off with a mixture of 75% sugar to 25% soap, stirring continuously.  Chances are you'll be adding more sugar to get it to a paste-like consistency. And that's it.

I picked up these little Ball jars at Wal-Mart, 12 for about $7, after not finding anything at Michael's or Goodwill that I liked. I found some jewels at Michael's on the Clearance rack for $.99, and thought they were the perfect finishing touch for a label.

It is very similar to a hand scrub I talked about here that I bought at Bath & Body Works, with the same texture, soap consistency, and great smell.  I will not be purchasing any more, but rather using this from now on. I cannot wait to find more at-home recipes for scrubs, washes, and other beauty solutions.

Have you experimented with at-home remedies and beauty treatments?

#Mani Monday: Butter London Dodgy Barnett

I picked up four Butter London polishes from the Ulta BOGO sale this past week, Dodgy Barnett being one of them.  This is from their Fall/Winter 2012 collection, along with 2 of the others I bought, Shag and Gobsmacked. 

My photography skills are still in the beginner stage, so I was finding it difficult to accurately catch the holo going on with this manicure. The closest and most accurate are actually the pictures I took inside with a flash. The color itself is a beautiful pale gray without the holo, with the holo faint but detectable in artificial lighting. The sun of course makes the rainbow holo effect pop even more!

You can say I'm somewhat of a holo nail polish junkie, my favorites being this one, this one, and this one.

Are you a fan of holo polishes?
 

Zoya Charla: Mermaid Manicure

I have always heard/read great things about this color, and here I had it sitting on my shelf for almost a year without using it! I figured it was one of those average, ordinary polishes, and not worth a second try. Boy was I wrong!

The above pictures were after 24 hours of wear, so they aren't as shiny and fresh as my usual manicures are, I apologize.  Here are some iphonetography pics from the office of my manicure indoors:

You can pick up Charla here for $8. I don't know of any promotions going on right now with Zoya, but keep your eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages so you'll be in the know!

Watermelon Radish

{via}

As I was reading the newest issue of Clean Eating the other night I came across an article about Watermelon Radish and had to share it with you.  I had never heard of these before, and cannot wait to hunt them down.  Do you ever just stare at certain fruits and vegetables in wonder at how absolutely beautiful they are?

The watermelon radish is an heirloom variety of the Chinese daikon, with a slightly sweet and peppery crunch.  Most commonly known in the US as watermelon radish, the Chinese term for the bulb translates to “beauty in the heart,” drawing attention to its pink interior.  Besides the flesh color, the main difference between a watermelon radish and a traditional red radish is the size.  A watermelon radish is about three times the diameter of a traditional red. 

{via}

Nutritionally they pack quite a punch with a cup of slices only costing you 20 calories, but loaded with free-radical fighting antioxidants such as Vitamin C. They also contain enzymes that aide with digestion!

{via}

Availability
-available year round, peak season runs from spring to late fall
-specialty grocery stores and farmer’s markets

Aliases
-watermelon radish also goes by roseheart radish, beauty heart, and red meat radish

Uses
-store in your crisper drawer for up to 5 days
-eat is raw in salads or coleslaws, sautéed or roasted with olive oil and sea salt
-low calorie source of antioxidants
-prep: remove greens and rinse the radishes thoroughly; trim the root ends and slice into matchsticks, wedges or thin rounds

{via}

What do you think, beautiful right? Have you ever heard of them, tasted them?

Manicure Monday: A Pink Party

This past weekend started on a pretty crappy note, and when it came time to paint my nails, I wanted something cheerful and happy. Long story short, I had something mapped out in my head, a perfectly painted picture of the future, and when it didn't come true I was angry.

The good thing is, a weekend of donuts, movies, eating out, football, some light shopping, and most importantly spending some quality time with the mister, cured my Friday ailments! Throw in my first Pumpkin Spiced Latte (#psl) of the season, and it was a perfect weekend.

I stood at my nail polish rack for 5-10 minutes on Saturday trying to pick out a color to cheer me up, and went with an old standby pink, Chanel Organdy. I picked this up in 2007 when I was working for Lord & Taylor when I saw it on a coworker and fell in love with it.  To this day it's formula and consistency has stayed the same, cheering me up with it's beautiful, cheery pink self!

Looking back I would have painted my accent nail black first before the glitter, so you can see there was a method to my madness.  The pink glitter in Wet n' Wild's 'Correction Tape' is the same shade as Organdy, but once applied over, it disappears.  Here's a bottle shot to show you what I'm talking about:

I don't know how much this pink polish contributed to cheering me up this weekend, but most manicures bring a smile to my face when I catch a glimpse of my nails.

Do you have a shade of polish that cheers you up when you see it on your nails or toes?

Pretty Perfection: Fall Gel Nail Colors

I saw this article in the September issue of NailPro magazine and had to share it with you. Hands down, I think this is the best advertisement I've seen for nail polish. Combining pink, flowers, pretty girls, fashion, Paris, and everything that is glamorous just makes me so happy I'm a girl.

Seeing these pictures reminded me in a way of being a child again and playing make believe with my mom and sister.  Whether we were playing with paper dolls, barbies, play mobile, or looking at books, we would find 'ourselves' and determine which girl was us. This girl is obviously me- look at all that pink!

This would be my niece Hannah- she loves the color grey and wears it so well! Hannah always rocks the side-hairstyle that I envy!

For some reason this made me think of my mom- maybe it's the green polish that reminds me of her green eyes or the grace in which she carries herself.

This of course would be my husband, surrounded by blue things, patiently waiting for me.

This picture epitomizes my sister Lyn-minus the baby bottle in the bag. She is so chic and sophisticated,I picture her catching a cup of coffee at a small shop before heading off to teach a class on social work.

Did you enjoy these pictures as much as I did? So much of blogging for me has become the pure joy of looking at pretty things!

#ManiMonday: Revlon Whimsical

I had to check through my postings, I feel like i have posted this manicure before.  Hmm...maybe just on instagram?

This manicure is 2 coats of Sinful Colors 'Cinderella' and 3 coats of Revlon 'Whimsical.' Whimsical is a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's 'Glitter in the Air,' with a much better price tag of $4.99 verses $18 for GITA. 

After looking through the pictures on my phone, I found these pictures from the first time I used this polish:

This time I used Zoya 'Kendal', with 'Cinderella' on my ring fingers.  It's hard to see from the pictures, but they are slightly different.  I think the next time I will use Kendal again as it took 2-3 coats of Cinderella before Whimsical to cover up my nails.

Don't you just love drug store dupes for the designer polishes?