Pink Wednesday!! Pink Bettina Sponged Gadient

Happy Pink Wednesday!

  Today I have a simple Pink gradient using all Bettina colors. I am kinda really happy to be back to my old angle of photos!

 For this look I started with a base of Two coats of #190. I wanted to do something a little different by doing the gradient with the lighter colors layered over the darker ones. I sponged with Cotton Candy and then the very tips were sponged in Marshmallow. I then topped the whole thing with one coat of Orion for a sparkly blend of the colors.

 Here is a swatch of my base color #190. This color has one of the best formulas I have ever used. I really love this Magenta shade of Pink. This was two very easy coats.

And Just a reminder for Bettina purchases!!! Lovelies wanting information on pricing, shipping and purchasing Bettina polishes please shoot an email to janetmrosado@gmail.com (Rosama Distributors-authorized distributors Bettina cosmetics)

What is on your tips today?

♥ Cristina

China Glaze Brownstone + Midtown Magic Sponged Gradient

Hi loves!

  Today I have a really different combo. I don't usually rock the browns but today I was feeling adventurous. Also, today is the last day with this style of picture. My nub has grown out enough to go back to my straight on shot. I miss it and it really shows the detail of the designs better. Maybe I'll do a mix of both styles of photos who knows... Ugh I'm being so fickle about this lol. I think I'm just going to stick to my old style. A lot of you expressed your missing of the old style and I miss it too!!!

 So for this simple look I did Two coats of Brownstone as my base and then I sponged the tips with Midtown Magic. The contrast is very subtle but the sparkle on the tips really made this a rich look.

Here is a swatch of Brownstone. This is such an odd color. It's Brown, it's Red... It's Maroon? It's a creme and it applies really well. I don't know how often I will wear this because Brown and I ... We just don't mesh well. I think this is one of the more interesting Browns released this Fall.

That is it for today :). Short and Sweet! Oh! Have you entered my giveaway yet?

♥ Cristina

(**CG Brownstone sent for review**)

Muffin Monday!! China Glaze Papaya Punch- Kitteh Pics and my First Freehand Nail Art!!

Happy Muffin Monday!!!

  Muffin missed you guys last week!! Anyways I am so glad to be on time this week!! Yaay!! Today I have a Kitty- full post!!

  She was so smitten with the color that she played with the bottle for like 10 minutes lool!  She would rub herself all over it and paw at it.. It was SOOOO CUTE!!!

She picked one of my favorite releases from this Summer, Papaya Punch. This color was also my first venture into Orange nail polish. OHH AND.. ANDDDD... I did freehand for the first time ever for this post. It was so much fun!

Fiyah!!!!!! For the flames I used CG Solar Power and  Phat Santa. I did the flames just using a small detail brush. I found this brush pack at Wal Mart in the craft section and they were perfect.

Here is a re-swatch of Papaya Punch. Almost neon, candy corn Orange. This is Two coats. I really love this color!

 And because it's been a while here is a picture of my princess Truffle. She likes to keep me company in the polish room. Whenever I am taking my pictures she always lays right by my side. Sometimes she even gets in the way lol. Muffin likes to hang out with Mr. LTHP in his office and Truffle likes to hang out with me in mine :).

Happy Kitty Monday!!!

♥ Cristina

(**Some of the products featured in this post were sent to me by CG PR**)

China Glaze Urban Night

Hi loves!!

  Today I have a simple mani. I went back to one of my favorite combinations. Purple and Graphite. Since I am rocking the shorties this colo really was singing to me. You guys know how much I love vampy or darker shades when my nails are short. IDK why that is but I just love the look of short, dark nails.

So I kept it super simple and just went with one of my all time favorite stamps from the old Bundle Monster set, plate BM20. For the stamping I used CG Avalanche. I kept that color with the purpose of stamping only becuse I hate how frosty it is.. BUT it works, and looks amazing when used for stamping.

And this is Urban Night all on it's own. It's a pretty, Plummy Purple creme. Nothing terribly unique. Well, it is actually unique in my collection. But you guys know what I mean right.. Anywho, I like it and it is a great Fall color. It is flattering and Purple so a lot of people will be able to pull this pretty off. It's a great classic, core color to have. I don't know how it compares to any of the other Purple cremes released this Fall.

What are your thoughts on Urban Night?

♥ Cristina

(**CG Urban Night sent for review**)

O.P.I Miss Universe Collection Swatches

Yay sparkle!

  Today I have my swatches of O.P.I's Miss Universe Collection. I'm so attached to this collection. I love the colors, I love the finishes and I will admit that I used to be a huge fan of the pageants. I have very fond memories of me and my Grandma watching them religiously through the years when I was a little girl. These colors are stunning and you cannot beat all the sparkle it packs for being a small group. 

Don't they look so lovely all together?

It's my Year. This is just lovely. Let's just get this out of the way. No, it is not a dupe of Rally Pretty Pink or Faye. And I'll tell you how they differ. This is much more Purple and much less "gilded". The Golden/ Green sparkle in this leans far more Green and it is much less dense. In this color you can really see the beautiful Plum shimmer base. If you guys really want me to I'll compare all my "gilded plums". But the only ones that are really dupes are RPP and Zoya Faye.

Congeniality is my Middle Name. This photographed far Redder than it is. It is much more of a Cranberry tone with a subtle Purple sparkle throughout. I have nothing else like this color. I really love this for the Holidays as well. It is a very sophisticated color. I believe this is the color that Suzi, herself, wore to the pageant.

Swimsuit...Nailed It. OMG BLUE FOIL! I love this. It is the most amazing shade of Royal Blue (no pun intended) foil. I freaking love the fine sparkle packed in the jelly Blue base. It has the perfect finish. This is so very pigmented. BE WARNED. I wore this for about Three days, could not stop staring at my nails. Be ready for the removal. Use the "foil method" AND triple up on the base coat lol. I doubled and had some slight staining. Thankfully it has not taken long to get rid of the stains.

Crown Me Already! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! Yes, it is a pain to remove but WHO CARES!! Look at this! It is the most amazing mix of big hex glitters, small round glitters and micro glitter. I love how bright and clean this Silver is. It was like bits of shattered mirrors on my nails.

I wore this look for like Three days. In LTHP time that's an eternity.

  All of the colors have a great, manageable formula. They are all Three coaters but they dry fast. They all need a good top coat because they all dry slightly gritty. I suggest Seche Vite. My mani wore like iron through the whole weekend. I love the colors. I love the sparkle and I came up dupeless for all Four colors. No dupes always equals a happy Cristina. I can see myself using these a lot for nail art.

Which ones are your faves?
♥ Cristina

(**Products sent for review**)

As Time Passes by Tag- It's a Funny One.

Hi!

  I was tagged for this by the lovely Bregje from Ooh, Shinies! I'm really bad about doing tags but this one seemed like fun and short so, why not? The point of this tag is to show how your style of pictures and skills have changed throughout your blogging. I think this tag came at a good time since LTHP just turned One and I've changed my pics around quite a bit to something I think I am finally really in love with.

  So here is what it all started with. A very crappy pic of Mad as a Hatter. My nails are only slightly longer now but taken care of much better.

LOOLLL OMG look at this hawt mess! There was even a smudge on my lens!! AGHHHH! This was my very very first nail polish picture ever! You can even see my gross cuticles from this far away.

This is what my pics look like today. Here I am wearing Swimsuit...Nailed It and Crown me Already! I just recently switched to this angle of pics and I'm really loving it because it allows me to gt in really close and show the detail in the polish well. It also seems to work so well for my shorter nails.

And there you have my "then and now :)". I'm happy with how far I've come in a year as far as photos and nail care goes. I've learned so much thanks to everyone in this community.

I suck at tags and such so I welcome anyone who feels like participating to "tag themselves". I'd really love to see every blogger that has been doing it for a while to to this tag so we can all laugh together haha!

♥ Cristina

Come Check out my Guest Post for The Swatchaholic!

Hi loves!!!

  Today post can be seen on the lovely J's blog. If you aren't following The Swatchaholic yet... What are you waiting for!!! She has AMAZING nails, takes mindblowing photos and is just a sweetheart! I love her blog and I am so happy to be guest posting there today! Just click on the pic to head to the post.

To see all the details on this mani Just head over to J's blog :)!
♥ Cristina

Pink Wednesday!! Franken- Cristinas's Pink Thing

Hi loves and happy Pink Wednesday!

  Today I have a special franken creation. This is my answer to the new Deborah Lippmann polishes. You know the ones right? Happy Birthday in a Pink and Black base. I don't really know the names yet. Sometime ago the lovely Varnish Vixen posted about some franken dupes she had made and I decided to follow suit and create my own version of these DL polishes.

Cristina's Pink Thing is a mix of Ruby Kisses Hot Pink, China Glaze Rich and Famous, W 'n' W Party of Five Glitters, a whole bottle of NYX Carnival and some Orly clear. It's not a dead on dupe because my glitter is a bit more sparse and the Pink base is slightly darker but OMG do I freaking love this! For this mani I did Three coats of Cristina's Pink Thing.

Here is a swatch of my main base Pink. Hot Pink is your basic Barbie Pink jelly. It applies beautifully and is opaque at two coats.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. And I'm even happier about how much cheaper this alternative was... I just cannot come to terms with DL prices. 

What do you guys think?

♥ Cristina

O.P.I Muppets Collection Press Release

OMGGGGG!!

 I've been waiting for this Press release since pics of this collection started popping up! OMG I cannot wait to see these in person!

This holiday season, OPI pays homage to America’s favorite Muppet friends as they hit the big screen in Disney’s The Muppets.  With an all-star cast including Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Kermit, Miss Piggy and the entire Muppet crew, the family comedy opens in theaters nationwide on November 23, 2011. 

Inspired by the film’s namesake lively and colorful characters, OPI launches twelve limited-edition Nail Lacquers for Holiday 2011. “OPI is so excited to work with Disney to celebrate this long-awaited movie release,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “Not only do The Muppets characters inspire fun, bright and joyful colors, the fashionable Miss Piggy lends her name to three high-shine pink-based hues, ranging from bold red flecked with silver to a multi-dimensional strawberry shade.”

This line features six shimmery reds and neutrals, as well as six glitter-packed shades, including:

Animal-istic
This wild bright red cannot be tamed!

Meep-Meep-Meep
Missing out on this fuchsia would make you weep, weep, weep!

Wocka Wocka!
The popular deep berry makes everything fun and merry!

Pepe’s Purple Passion
This deep, decadent shade is the best purple ever, okay!

Designer, de Better! 
And this light metallic bronze is ready for the runway.

Warm & Fozzie
A feel-good shade of metallic copper.

Rainbow Connection
The rainbow glitter of your dreams.

Excuse Moi! 
Ahem! This pink glitter has something to say!

Gone Gonzo!
The aqua-blue glitter is taking over the world!

Fresh Frog of Bel Air
A glitter that prefers the greener things in life.

Divine Swine
The finest, most fabulous magenta glitter ever.

Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It!
Red glittery fun for everyone!

Lacquer packed with micas and sparkle gives a 3-dimensional textured look that makes nails look like jewelry. With shades ranging from textured glitters in rainbow, red, green and blue to softer shimmers in copper and bronze metallic hues, these twelve colors provide the perfect accessory for the holiday season.

As with all OPI nail lacquers, these shades inspired by Disney’s The Muppets contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

This limited edition promotion will be available beginning November 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for  $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

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ABOUT OPI

As the world leader in the professional nail care industry, OPI is committed to providing high-quality products and services to both salons and their customers, along with a focus on industry safety and innovation. Known for its exceptional formula, fashionable colors and iconic names, OPI’s heavily-pigmented lacquers are super rich, long-lasting and chip-resistant – offering an affordable luxury to consumers. OPInail lacquer is available in over 200 shades and contains no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Each lacquer features OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Currently, OPI is available in over 100 countries and retails a full line of professional items, including nail treatments, finishing products, lotions, manicure/pedicure products, files, tools, gels and acrylics.

ABOUT THE MOVIE

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, Disney’s “The Muppets” hits the big screen Nov. 23, 2011. 

OMG OMG OMG!!! This collection cannot come soon enough!!

♥ Cristina

Mini Zoya Spam Time!!

Hi darlings!!

  Today I have some very small Zoya spam. Not too long ago Zoya had another of their awesome promos and these are the Three beauties that came home to live with me...

Posh. The most amazing shade of matte, shimmery Wine Red. My new date nite polish. OMG this is just STUNNING! I have absolutely no interest in seeing this with a top coat because it's just sooo lovely in it's original matte form. This color could not apply any better. This is fully opaque at Two coats but it was pretty dark and even at One coat. I can't wait to wear this baby again.

Akyra. A slightly blackened Peacock Teal? Sure, let's go with that. It's really a beautiful color with a slightly sheer formula. I found that this color did best with Four thin coats. When it was finally fully opaque I could not stop staring at my nails. I love these mermaid-y type of colors.

And this is the ever-popular Charisma. Let's just say this photo does this color absolutely no justice. It is not this Pink. It is a very bright, bordering on neon, Red toned Purple creme. It dries very matte and kinda fug but put a top coat on this lovely and the color completely transforms in the most beautiful shade of Purple. The formula on this is a little tricky as it seems to have some neon pigmentation in it. It's not draggy or streaky but you do have to work a little fast. I will say that every Purple lover needs this baby.

I'm really happy with my picks, especially Posh. Which pretties did you get? Have you checked out my giveaway yet?

♥ Cristina

My Picks from the China Glaze Metro Collection

Hi my lovelies!!

  I know I promised you guys a Muffin Monday today but I've been feeling like poop all day long and have spent most of it sleeping, like a cat. My meds really do a number on me sometimes. I still have her pick so I will use it for next Monday. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging completely so instead please enjoy my picks from the China Glaze Metro Collection. Thank goodness I did some swatching over the weekend. This collection had a lot of pretty colors but I cut them down to my top Three picks.

Westside Warrior. What I will consider to be the best Green to come out this Fall. Honestly. It's Army Green, it's creme, it has a flawless formula and it is incredibly flattering. I don't know what it is about this particular Green that has me so drawn to it but I really love that it is a nice, clean Army green. There has been a lot of smokiness and dirty colors this Fall so I'm happy to see CG make their colors a little brighter and cleaner. This does dry slightly darker on the nail than the color in the bottle. Nothing too severe.

Midtown Magic is magical... I don't really care for Brown but the second I saw this beauty in swatches and in person I had to have it. It is a deep Brown jelly base with the most amazing Golden/ Green duochrome micro shimmer. This is so sexy and sophisticated. Another stunner from this collection and a total must have. This was Two easy coats.

And finally Trendsetter. This is such an interesting and unique color. It's a murky Yellow with quite a bit of Green in it and a Golden shimmer that ties it all together. This was not the best color on me but try and keep me from wearing this again. I had to have it if only for how unique it is. I can honestly say I don't own anything like this shade. The formula on this color is amazing as well, two coats.

  I am so happy with my picks from this group. They are really some of my favorites to come out this Fall and I love that they did give us some sparkle. Now I'm ready for all the Holiday glitters to start coming our way. This Fall was entirely too sparkle-less.

Which ones did you pick up from the Metro Collection? ANNND have you entered my giveaway?

♥ Cristina

Wanna See my Stash?

Hi loves!!

  Yes, there will be a Muffin Monday today. It's just coming a little later. She picked me a good one too :) But she always does. Anywho. I took pics of my stash again because I like to go back and look though all my pics and see how my collection has grown. I remember when I bought my first 60 bottle rack and thinking that 60 was sooo many. I am now nearing 500 polishes and this is what that looks like.

Zoya, Orly and SpaRitual Rack

I store my polishes in Five wallracks and one Ikea Helmer. Three wallracks hold 90 polishes and Two of them hold 60. I got my racks from www.transdesign.com. They always ship super fast and they pack the reack really well so I don't have to worry about them breaking on their way here.

O.P.I rack

You guys can see my whole collection broken down by brand and there is also a link to a spread sheet up under the "My Collection" tab.

China Glaze and Color Club Rack

60 Ct. rack. This one holds my special one of's, drugstrore and international polishes.

Bettina rack!!!!

This Ikea Helmer drawer holds all my mini polishes.

Frankening polishes, one of's and frankens.

Pure Ice and Sinful Colors

Nicole by OPI

And that is my stash. I thought I'd share with you guys once again :). I will be back later with Muffin Monday. It goes on live today!

♥ Cristina