O.P.I Week Feat. O.P.I Burlesque Collection 2010!

Hello!

  I had a little poll going to see what your favorite nail polish brands were. Surprise, surprise O.P.I won with 28 votes! Not too shocking, I mean O.P.I is the bomb. From the awesome Pro- Wide brush to the great formulas, unique colors and catchy names.... O.P.I has it going on!
  So I have decided to dedicate this week to O.P.I (Yes I'm starting my week on a Thursday lol) polishes, they are very deserving LOL. I would wait and start O.P.I week on Sunday but some awesomeness arrived in the mail today!

I give you...

Newly released O.P.I Burlesque Collection

Glow up Already - Show it and Glow It - Simmer and Shimmer- Sparkle icious (Glitters)

The show must go on- Teasy does it (Glassfleck Shimmers)

Teasy Does it - Gold duochrome goodness!

The show must go on- Stunning Pink with Gold Duochrome

   I only got six of the 12 colors because I don't feel the need to pick up every single color of every single collection, instead I chose the six colors that stood out to me the most and I knew I would wear. These are stunning! I'm already wearing one of the colors and will post about it tomorrow. I will not go into too much detail about the colors themselves in this post since I will be posting about each color individually. But these are seriously just AMAZING. If you are familiar with, and loved, the glitters in the "Alice in Wonderland Collection" and the shimmers in the "Summer Flutter Collection" this will be right up your alley. O.P.I has spawned yes another masterpiece with this collection. I cannot wait to start showing you all of these polishes!!

Thanks for reading :)
<3Cristina

Colors: 
All from Burlesque Collection 2010
Glow Up Already - green
Show it and Glow it- fuchsia
Simmer and Shimmer- blue
Sparkle- Icious- multi
The Show Must Go on - pink
Teasy Does it- burgundy

Icing Preppy Purple

It was love at first sight!

ICING Preppy Purple

Artificial Light

If you click on this one you can see the icy blue simmer thoughout.

Very close to actual color.

Preppy Plaid

  I picked up this little beauty from an Icing store not too long ago. I really liked the color in the bottle but once I got it on my nail.... I think I drooled a little. It is a stunning light lavender with an icy blue flash throughout. It is beautiful. The finish is like a little lavender pearl. The application was so easy and flawless. I'm really happy with Icing polishes, and they always seem to be on sale BOGO which is even nicer ;-). Then I figured a color named "Preppy Purple" was deserving of a "preppy" stamp and what is preppier than plaid? To finish it all off I used a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color

Icing Preppy Plaid

Stamp: OPI Funky Dunkey, OPI Russian Navy

Plate: M60

China Glaze Secret Peri- wink-le

Well, not really since this is such a well know color ;)

China Glaze Secret Peri- Wink-kle

Operation Color Collection

Artificial Light

Shade Indoors - most color accurate pic

With the addition of some Konad.

  This color surprised me. See, I was expecting it to be nothing special. I was thinking just another grayish blue.... Well let me swallow my words.... I love this color! There is something about it that just tickles my fancy. It's subtle and I really like how it looks on my nails. The application of this color was very easy and smooth. This might not sound like a good thing to most of you but this color reminds me of a rainy day. I LOVE rain and rainy days... So I added some abstract raindrops :) As always it was all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for Reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color:

CG Secret Peri-wink-le

Dots: OPI Ski Teal we Drop

Plate: M60

China Glaze Frostbite

Sounds Yummy!

 Today I have some frosty beautiful blue nails.

China Glaze Frostbite

Artificial Light

Little Candy Stripes

Most Color Accurate Picture.

  This beautiful color was chosen by my amazing husband. I have to give credit where credit is due ;-). This is a vibrant electric blue (think Pepsi can) with a frosty metallic finish. It is stunning and the formula was a dream to work with. It was not brush strokey or patchy. I love it. It's edgy and bright and fun! So if you love blue polish and do not own this , you should get on that :). This color will not disappoint. As always it was all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Colors

Base: CG Frostbite

Stamp: Konad White SP

Black and Glitter Stripes done with Stripe Rite.

Plate: BM19

Sequin FAIL

Hello,

  Don't you just hate it when an idea in your head doesn't translate to your nails? Well I had some of that going on when I was working on this manicure.

Zoya "Stacy"

Artificial Light

Sunlight

  So first I feel like I need to apologize for the sloppy application I'm not very good with dark vampy colors.  Application was pretty good and I only needed two coats for full opacity. The formula on this was a little thinner than the other two Zoya polishes I have worked with (posts here and here). While my original idea was to emulate fish scales on my ring finger.. Well you can see how that worked out. I realized my nail was too small so I just went where it took me and well... I'll let you guys be the judges hahaha :)

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color:

Zoya Stacy

Sequins from Sally's

Icing Black Out

Hello ladies or otherwise ;-),

  So as you may have read I was recently in Orlando and while there my best friend and I made a visit to one of the malls... Shocker :)! Well, we made a pit stop at an Icing store and there, in the polish racks, tucked behind everything like a little treasure was a lonely bottle of this beautiful color.... It was fate!

ICING- Black Out

Sunlight

Sunlight

Artificial Light

Blurred to show sparkle.

 Black Out is a black (no... really?! lol) base full of micro holographic sparkles. To achieve full opacity I needed three coats of the color. It applied very easily and the finished product looked like midnight sky. Just stunning! It dries a bit dull so a good top coat is needed to give it shine. I used a coat of Seche Vite. It's so beatiful and I could not stop staring at it. I promise, these pictures do it no justice. The sparkle effect is subtle but enough to make you want to take a closer look. I loove it and cannot wait to wear it again! :)

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color: Icing Black Out

China Glaze Empowerment

I just know it!

China Glaze "Empowerment"

Fight Like a Woman Collection 2010 (Breast Cancer Awareness)

Direct Sunlignt

Artificial Light w/o Flash

  Cotton candy creamy Pink deliciousness. I just love this color. Great choice a for Breat Cancer Awareness collection. I thought it would be a lot less vibrant based on how it looks in the bottle. It turned out to be an awesome light "Barbie- Worthy" Pink. I love the finished product, but be warned application was a little tricky. It was a bit streaky and patchy at times. I only needed two coats, two very patient coats. The formula is well pigmented so no worries on it being sheer.

  ... And theeeeeeennn...... I added some bling to it... And really made it POP!
BEHOLD!

Sinful Colors: Pinky Glitter

Artificial Light

Isn't it lovely?

Direct Sunlight

 "Pinky Glitter"... Lets see? Pink jelly packed full of Pink holographic-y, different sized glitter. Gorgeous! Empowerment turned out to be the perfect base for this glitter. I really love how much dimension the glitter gives the Pink base. For the layering I used two coats of Pinky Glitter and a coat of Seche Vite. I think I'll wear these for a while :).

Thanks for Reading :)

Cristina

Colors:

CG Empowerment

Glitter: SC Pinky Glitter

Pedi Post! + Pics of Day- cation :)

Hhhmm.. this has been happening a lot lately...

 Well after a day at Islands of Adventure, Orlando (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was mindblowing I'll put some pics up)  my feet took quite the beating and a pedi was in order. For this pedi I chose:

China Glaze Hey Doll

Vintage Vixen Collection

Sunlight w/ Flash

  I liked this color in the bottle but I'm not sure how I feel about it on me... In the bottle it looks more Rosey- Mauve with hints of Silver.... On me it looks slightly Bronze. I'm not sure... I like it enough to wear it for at least a week :). The application was easy and smooth. Maybe I just need a tan... :-p

  Now for some pictures of the park. This was really amazing. If any of you find yourselves in Orlando, Florida you must go here. But be sure to go really early, like when the park opens! But seriously it is something to be seen. Especially if you have seen the movies. As a matter of fact ... Just go.. It's amazing either ways!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Islands of Adventure. Orlando, Fl.

Thanks for Reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color: CG Hey Doll

A Quick Thanks!

Hello!

  I just wanted to make a quick post to thank all of you guys that have been reading my blog and commenting and subscribing and all that fun stuff!! I really appreciate all of my followers because this is all for you guys! I've only been at this for like two months but I am really enjoying it and it has become an obsession and my outlet. So you guys can expect a whole lot more from me!

  So I just wanted to thank all of you that have been subscribing and adding me to your blogrolls because that really means a lot to me!

P.S:  I have made some additions to my CG, SC and Randoms collections. You can see all the new colors under their  Tabs. The new additions are the last pictures in the page... you know what I mean right? Anywho yes new colors and a new tab for Sinful Colors. I'll post picture of all together soon :).

As always, Thanks for Reading :)
<3 Cristina

Zoya Shawn

Creamy Deep Green Goodness? YES please!

Zoya "Shawn"

Artificial Light w/o Flash. This pic is very color accurate.

LOOOVE!!!! Zoya's polishes are growing on me by the color. They apply like butter and flawlessly. The formula is not too thick or too thin. And as I said in my previous Zoya post, with a good steady hand one coat would be more than enough. I, however am still working on my skills :) So for this mani two coats were applied. It dried like you see it in the picture... Shiny, smooth ... Just perfection. I still added one thin coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color Zoya Shawn

Stamping: Brisbane Bronze

Plate: BM06

Orly Blue Collar

I'm loving Orly more and more...

  I cant properly describe why, but their cremes are so easy to apply and they dry to a very high shine and very smooth. I've yet to have a bad application experience with Orly polishes. It's just lovely. For this manicure I used a happy blue creme shade that just made my day.

Orly: Blue Collar

Artificial Light w/o Flash

Indoors w/o Flash

  This is a lovely sky blue that like I said before applies like a dream. Two quick, effortless coats later, I had a flawless, shiny and beautiful mani. They were so smooth and shiny they looked like plastic. I decided to add some marbling to my ring finger which I painted with a white base. Seche Vite as a top coat. I love how the look turned out and got lots of compliments on this mani. 

Thanks for reading :),

<3 Cristina

Color

Orly Blue Collar

Marble: Orly Blue Collar, CG Shocking Pink, Spontaneous.

Marbling Take Two

I just couldn't leave this alone guys lol!

 Sorry I haven't posted in a little while :(. So after my failed attempt I decided I just had to give it another shot. They turned out a lot better this time and I didn't have so many issues this time :)! So here we go!

Left Hand

Right Hand, Ring finger Wrinkled :(

Left Thumb

Right Thumb

  I used the same colors as last time because I found that out of all my polishes China Glaze worked really well for marbling and these colors had the best contrast. I don't have a whole lot else to say because this was an experiment that I was expecting to not go too well lol. I really liked the results though and will be trying this technique again because the results are so cool and unique each time. 

Thanks for reading :).

<3 Cristina

Colors

Base: CG White on White

Marble: CG For Audrey, Peachy Keen, Spontaneous, Shocking Pink.

Down the Rabbit Hole

  Today I have for you a lot of glitter!!! After my less than therapeutic experience with the water marbling I decided to do something easy and pretty. I had yet t swatch one of my colors from the Alice in Wonderland Collection from O.P.I. I know this has been out FOREVER but I have not had it for very long. When I looked at my polish rack this was singing to me.

O.P.I Absolutely Alice

Alice in Wonderland Collection

Indoors w/o Flash

Direct Sunlight w/ Flash

Direct Sunlight w/o Flash

Indoors w/ Flash

Trying to hide tip wear. 

  To achieve opacity only three coast were necessary as this polish is beautiful dense dark Cyan Blue micro-glitter with scattered gold micro- glitter throughout. As the name says it is Absolutely Alice. Drying time was quick. As we all know it dried very gritty being a glitter but with two coats of Seche Vite it was all smoothed out. The only issue I have (and this may just be my nail chemistry... IDK.. lol) is that with glitters I get tip wear very very quickly. Like, within hours of application. I'm not sure what the causes it as I don't have this issue with my cremes or shimmers... Hhhmm... Any ideas? Anyhow..... This is really lovely and beautiful and just awesome. It makes me impatient for O.P.I's Burlesque Collection for the 2010 Holiday Season. It shall be awesomeness!

Thanks for reading :)!

<3 Cristina

Color: OPI Absolutely Alice, Alice in Wonderland Collection

Stripe: Silver Glitter, Stripe Rite

Marbling Fail

Hello,

 So for some reason beyond me... I decided to try water marbling on my nails. This was my first water marbling experience and it could be my last. Well maybe full manicure wise, I don't think I could do this again for all 10 of my nails. I'm sure everyone has a hard time with their first marble mani but this was just a bit too "everything" for me. Too time consuming, too messy and I feel like a lot of product was wasted. Needless to say after all the frustration I just bit the bullet and finished all my nails with lackluster results. I'm not sure how long I'll wear this for .. Without further delay I present to you my crappy manicure :) lol.

  So yeah, I don't have much to say about this because I pretty much hate how it turned out lol... Oh well it was worth a try :). I think I'll use this technique again, just not on all my nails. For the marbling I used all China Glaze colors (listed below) layered over a white base so the colors would pop and it was all topped off with two coats of Seche Vite. If you'd like to see how to do this you can watch this video posted by one of the bloggers I follow. Also if you'd like to see how awesome this technique can really be you can also check out her blog here.

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina.

Colors

Base: CG White on White

Marbling: For Audrey, Shocking Pink, Peachy Keen, Secret Peri- Wink-Le, Spontaneous

China Glaze For Audrey

Well...

  I see what the big deal is now about this color!! I'll go straight to pictures because this color needs no words. This is probably my favorite mani to date. Bask in its gorgeousness!

China Glaze: For Audrey

Indoors w/o Flash

Sunlight w/ Flash

Direct Sunlight

Direct Sunlight, Pardon my cuticles :(

 Gorgeous, creamy Tiffany Blue.... I'm in love!! I know, I fall in love, like, daily with every polish color I wear... But this is really stunning! I wish I had known of this color on my wedding day... This would've been my manicure, lacy flowers and all.... The only con.. The formula felt a little thick to me which made application a bit tricky. However, in two patient coats it was beautifully smooth and opaque. As always I topped it off with two coats of Seche Vite.

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color CG For Audrey

Design: White Konad SP

Plate: BM16

Pedi of the ???

Hello all!

 I just wanted to make a quick post to show you guys the pedi of the ??? :)... LOL. For this pedi I chose...

China Glaze: 5th Avenue

Direct Sunlight

  This is a great color for toes. I just love it. It's a beautiful mauve creme that goes on like a dream. It was opaque in two coats and it dried smoothly and quickly. As always it was all topped off with two coats of the amazing Seche Vite. I have a feeling I'll be wearing this for a while :).

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color: CG 5th Avenue

Elsbeth's Rose

Oh the beauty!

 I just recently purchased some Orly Polishes(follow link to view collection:). I had such a good experience with my first Orly creme that I just had to get other colors, in that mini haul was this little pink gem... Which as it turns out was not entirely creme :)

Orly: Elsbeth's Rose

Indoors w/o Flash

Artificial light w/ Flash

Direct Sunlight

Sunlight w/ Flash

Indoors, natural light w/ Flash. This is the most color accurate.

 I am in love with this pink. It's soft  but not boring, it has some slight purple undertones that take it out of that "naked look" zone. It's like an orchid type of pink...The finish on it is really interesting because its more of a pearl than it is a creme. It depends on lighting, I love it. My nails look like little pink pearls. Application was smooth and easy and it dried very shiny.The color was opaque in two coats and as always it was topped off with a coat of Seche Vite which only made it more beautiful.

Thanks for reading :)

<3 Cristina

Color: Orly Elsbeth's Rose

Design: Zoya Stacy

Plate: B02