Purple People Eater

With so much going on the past couple of weeks my nails have fallen to the wayside a bit!  For that I am sorry.  Time management is not my strong suite, but I will do better!  LOL

I take pictures of all of my mani's and keep them in a photo album so that I can look at them from time to time when I need some inspiration.  While looking thru my photos today I came across a couple of photos of a mani that I did a few weeks ago.  I wanted to post these photos a while ago and just missed it!  Boooo for me, I know!  When I saw these pictures I knew I had to throw this post up because I really really loved this mani.  

If you've been reading the blog then you know that I am new to color!  I was a creature of habit and mine was only polishing in dark colors.  NOT ANYMORE!  E really opened my eyes to a world of fun, flashy colors and awesome nail art and there ain't no turning back now baby!  My Purple People Eater mani is probably not the most adventurous for some, but for me it was a bit of a stretch and one of the first in my burgeoning arsenal of fun polish colors.   This mani was done in the infancy of my evolution into girly-ness so be kind!  LOL  

Rimmel London Wild Orchid and Essie LuxEffects Shine of the Times/No Flash

One coat of each!  Looks SOOOOOOOO good!/With Flash

I'm not sure if you've noticed how much I LOVE Rimmel London polish... but, I LOVE RIMMEL LONDON POLISH!!!  I really wish they would expand their color line. The formula is one of my favorites, the brushes are amazing, and I can usually get a really nice full coverage in one coat.  

Essie LuxEffects Shine of the Times is such a fun treatment polish. Honestly, the entire LuxEffects line is really pretty but  this was the only one that I felt like I had to have.  

Well there ya have it and I hope you like it!  

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! (pic heavy)

Yup! 32 years ago today, I was born. It was 1980 and everything that was colorful and awesome was in style lol (or at least that's how I choose to remember the 80's).

Me about 4 years old, 1984

 Damn I was cute!! They used to have this man that had a pony or sometimes fully grown horse outside the Kroger grocery store and for a few bucks you could get your photo taken on the horse in a lil costume etc. So I have a couple of these photos, but this one is one of my faves.

Me in elementary school, 1988

See, all these kids think that Neons and Polka dots and side braids are NEW lol. This is evidence that it is not... Now, whether I looked good in said outfit.... eh? I didn't choose this get-up I totally lay blame at my mom's feet... unless you think it looks cute and to that I would say, Of course I chose it- even at 8 I was fashion forward! ;)

Marching Warriors 1999

 Yup, Band Geek all the way, I spent from 5th grade until HS Graduation playing in all the school and sometimes 4-H bands I could find. I love music, it colors my soul and is the beat of my heart.

Last day of HS, 1999

A pic of my longtime friend, Nick, and I playing the game Guesstures. We dominated lol. I'm sure there's that one or if you're lucky- more people in your life that just know you like they know themselves. Nick was a great friend and is a great man.

Me with my brand new daughter, Serena in 2000

I left my dreams of Cosmetology school behind and became a mom and joined the workforce. A choice I've never regretted. Serena just had her 12th birthday and is becoming quite the individual. I never imagined I could love someone as much as I do her. She's the best daughter I could have ever hoped for and more. I look forward to seeing the rest of her life unfold.

Serena on her 1st Birthday

Serena being adorable at 2

Serena after having an iced brownie at 3

Serena 12, after getting blue in her hair :)

Serena is such a ham. I have SO MANY pictures of her it is probably criminal lol. She always posed and made the cutest faces, how could I not capture her on film? Unfortunately I didn't go digital until she was about 6 or 7 so most of my photos are on film, but these were a few gems I thought would be fun to share.

Jessie or awesome and opinionated Kitty Cat, she's about 6 now

My 25th Birthday with 2 of my oldest and best friends, Cookie & Nick

Cookie & I

Cookie and I met at work when I was pregnant with Serena. She says she decided she wanted to be my friend as soon as she saw me. I laugh when she says that because thinking back then I didn't want to be anybody's friend. When you're trying to make a life and support yourself and a coming baby at 19 the world doesn't look kindly at you, no matter how hard a worker you are. I will forever be grateful for her strength and determination because she's been one of the best friends that I could've ever hoped to have. She is and always will be my sister and my family.

My back tattoo fresh in 2006

This was a tattoo that I envisioned since I was about 12 years old. I thought a very long time about it and it has deeply personal meaning to me, so when I had the cash saved up, I searched and searched for the right artist to bring my vision to reality. I still love to look at it to this day. Currently I have 5 tattoos and more planned with 1 specifically being done in the very very near future. I also have lots and lots of ear piercings and a stud on the side of my lip.

Dom & I at MDA Camp in 2006

Dom and I met at work and became thick as thieves pretty quickly. With a shared love of music, art and our kids being close in age... well lets just say many a days and weekends were spent together laughing like loons and finding fun stuff for our families to do together. I won't bore you too much since there is a bit about us on our "about us" page and the fun couple of videos you can see HERE.

Serena & I at a farm on Halloween in 2009

We moved shortly after this from Ohio to Georgia... and this is the rest of my story... to date :)

Tiffany & I goofin off at work

Shortly after moving I found a job, albeit a crappy one and quickly made friends with Tiffany. We've been thick as thieves for 3 years now and I wouldn't trade her for the world. She's one of the few that I know will always be there, tell me when I'm wrong when I need to hear it or even if I don't and always be honest. 

In 2010 I met my now husband, Chris

Not too long after moving to Georgia I met Chris. He was funny, goofy, easy going, an amazing cook and just generally a great guy. We knew right away that we liked each other and spent as much time as possible together between deployments. He is a Sailor with the US Navy, specifically a submariner. He loves his job, I love him... so we are now a Navy/Military family. It isn't an easy life, but when you love someone and work together like a well oiled machine, anything is possible. 

Chris & I at Medieval Times

In February of 2011 we happily welcomed our son, Alexander, into the family. Serena loves her new baby brother and every day I enjoy the smiles, laughter and fun that is our life together. 

Alexander the day he was born!

Chris is hilarious, anything stinky to do with the baby he has to cover his nose!

Alex at about 5 months old after eating banana baby food... huh-larious!

Alex and Auntie Cookie on his 1st Birthday

My lil witch and dragon! What a pair they are!!  Halloween 2011

Homecoming for Daddy! This is my lovely family!

~

My grandfather & I

This year was a great year especially all the fun watching my children grow. As I take this time to reflect and enjoy my birthday I feel so fortunate to have the life that I do. We all have a path to walk and truly I am appreciative of the one I am walking with the friends and family beside me. Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to one of the greatest men I've ever known, my grandfather. He passed away in February this year and it was truly the saddest day of my life. The hole that is left where his presence used to be will never be filled but maybe in time it might not feel so empty. He taught me how to be a great person, treat others with respect and be a shrewd and fair business person. Today, I celebrate my life and remember his as well, ten days ago he would've been 77.

Thank you for taking this walk with me. I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my crazy photos and sharing in my life. I feel privileged that I get to share this with such awesome people like you.

Skittles and Stamping... eat them up YUM!

Last weekend I was practicing stamping with my new Bundle Monster stamping plates and accidentally did a somewhat cute mani lol. I say somewhat because I'm still learning and some of the stamps didn't quite come out as clear as I wanted. But ya live and learn and I'm determined to not only conquer this but find out which of my "regular" polishes are good for stamping!

L to R: Sally Hansen - White On, Revlon - Passionate Pink, Revlon - Rich Raspberry,  Essie - Play Date, Revlon - Coastal Surf, Sally Hansen - Lickety-Split Lime, Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat
Bottom Row: Konad Stamper, Bundle Monster Plate BM - 208 and Konad Scraper

First I put down 2 coats of Sally Hansen - White On as a base coat on both hands. Then I put the colors in the order that you see them in the photo for my Skittle color look. I don't believe there is any real order but I put the colors usually in some sort of gradient arrangement because I'm OCD lol.

LEFT HAND

So I stamped my left hand first with the stamp design at the top of the plate if you hold it so the number is at the bottom. I thought it looked cool but pretty much everyone I showed it to had a luke warm sort of "ehh it could be better" reaction. Oh well... sometimes what you like isn't the popular choice!

RIGHT HAND

On my right hand I used the stamp design at the left if you hold it so the number is at the bottom. This hand is the hand that stamped crapily. Yup I said crapily lol. I don't know if it was my choice in design or my abilities or both but I was kinda bummed. Now, I will say that everyone I showed this to liked it a lot lol. So I guess there's no accounting for taste amongst my friends *wink*

I've been trying to make some healthier eating choices and cutting out candy has been one of the hardest choices. Not that I eat candy all the time or anything like that, but I have a couple that I just love. They are sort of just- part of my history? Does that make sense? Skittles are one of them, M & Ms of course, Now & Laters, Starburst, and then chocolate as a whole lol. I love color and am one of those weirdos that will separate things into color groups or make pictures with the colored candy. Dom used to give me so much hell when we worked together lol. Anyways, doing the Skittles manis are fun, cute and well, I guess you could say I'm still having my candy and none of the side effects!

 Hope you feel inspired to try your own Skittles mani or even check out some stamping- it is definitely a fun and creative way to show some individuality in your everyday look.

P.S. Can ya spot the big boo-boo in my stamping colors? lol

Behind Enemy Lines

Black and white will forever be a staple in my wardrobe.  I don't know why but I aways end up going out in one of these two colors.  Sometimes I try to spice it up by making my nails the focus of the outfit, other times a bold accessory.  I know I can't be the only one that does this!  Basic black outfit + outrageous mani = WIN!!  Or maybe an all white look for the day with a bold pop of color on the nails.  If you're really adventurous maybe base your mani on a your shoes!  I know I have some really cool statement shoes that would make for some awesome nail art!

Well today I thought I had it all... B & W outfit, check... hair idea, check... make-up laid out, check... nail design for the night, err not so much!  I needed something cute and easy to spice it up a bit!  I spied several stripers that I haven't really used much so those gave me an idea for a quick but interesting mani!  Black and white being the base was one easy choice, now for an accent color...  I had a really cute pink clutch and thought hmm... pink... ok!

What I came up with on the fly for this night out ended up being a really cute mani!  It was fun, relatively easy to do and a smash with everyone!

L.A. Colors Art Deco Stripers, White, Black & Pink

Love the pop of pink!  

Please excuse the super shiny fingers!  LOL  To save time when I am playing with colors I use pure acetone to clean my nail beds and it tends to really dry out the cuticles and surrounding skin!  I always forget that when the flash goes off it really makes things look slick!  Hahahahahahahaha!

I had a blast with this mani and I hope you like it! Do you have any quick but cute go-to mani's in your accessory arsenal?

Wet n' Wild... are they Be Jeweled or Prismatic colors? (pic heavy)

On this late saturday afternoon I've had the most wonderful husband in the world show me just how much he loves me by giving me a pedicure, my 1 year old son gave me kisses (willingly!), and a great lunch. Life is good and colorful!

That being said, during a recent trip to Rite Aid I was able to pick up the Wet n' Wild LE Chrome Collection and while that was a great haul, I did happen to see this other collection, Be Jeweled.

I almost didn't pick one up since as soon as I took a closer look I realized that they looked JUST LIKE my new China Glaze Prismatics. However, a love of all things glittery and the desire to share with our readers the similarities and differences I felt compelled to grab just one.

L to R: Wet n' Wild - Speak When Spoken To, China Glaze - Liquid Crystal (w flash)

The one I chose was Speak When Spoken To. It is a lovely blue/pink/purple shift with a great mix of small, round multi-colored glitter. It is a very pretty color and at $2.99 definitely not a hardship on the wallet for it's short round 9ml bottle. The cap is an odd shape but... oddly comfortable to hold!

2 coats of each color on each nail, no undies

To compare the two in my opinion is like trying to find a decent bra... some cups fit better and give you great looking boobs but the straps and banding might be the devil. Then you have the bras that are so comfy it feels like you're not even wearing one... except you've got Grandma boobs! Which do you choose? Looks over comfort or comfort over looks?

1 coat of each color on each nail, no undies

2 coats of each color on each nail, no undies

2 coats of each color on each nail, no undies

2 coats of each color on each nail, no undies, natural light

1 coat of each color on each nail, Barielle - Expressive (2 coats) as undies

2 coats of each color on each nail, Barielle - Expressive (2 coats) as undies

I guess it comes down to this... in what way do you want to wear the color should dictate your choice. China Glaze - Liquid Crystal has a darker base color and definitely a ton more glitter. On top of the Barielle color I used as undies the China Glaze - Liquid Crystal definitely covered up more of the color than the Wet n' Wild - Speak When Spoken To, but it bounced colors off of it and sort of ate the color; which helped to sort of gel it all into one look. The Wet n' Wild - Speak When Spoken To on top of the Barielle color merely accented the Barielle color.

I love them both, but if I had to choose one to go with me on a desert island I would probably grab my China Glaze - Liquid Crystal and run, it seems to have more versatility.

P.S. China Glaze was a bastard to take off being more gritty than the Wet n' Wild lol ahhh thank god for the foil trick!

Wet n' Wild CHROME!! You're gonna need shades! (pic heavy)

Hi lovelies! So a couple days ago I happened upon a post by Nouveau Cheap talking about the new Limited Edition polish line from Wet n' Wild, called Chrome. Unfortunately, I haven't found too much else about the collection other than a couple posts by other blogs and random info about the Chrome eyeshadow line... So! Going on the limited info that I had I found my nearest and ONLY Rite Aid and snapped some up... here is my review of half the collection!

*screeching noise*

I know... you're saying to yourself "only half? but why?" I chose these 4 to buy first because I am a gut feeling kind of gal. That means that if I "feel" pulled toward something I listen to that and go with it. The 4 that I picked were a difficult selection but in the end it's my money and these suckers ain't the usual Wet n' Wild price tag. At $3.99 a bottle you'd think holy crap these are going to be huge bottles since their core collections range from 12ml to 14ml! I believe the per bottle costs of those collections retail between $.99 and $1.99 (I could be wrong but that's the range that I remember paying). Well... these little Limited Edition Chrome beauties are a scant 8.5ml and it looks teeeeeeeny tiiiiiiiiny! See my size comparison for a better visual.

L to R: Wet n' Wild Chrome - Hog-Quartz School, Essie - Play Date, China Glaze - Fault Line

Ok, so we've established they are 1. Limited Edition 2. Costly at $3.99ea 3. Small at 8.5ml and lastly....

PRETTY!!

Yup, I like 'em. I'm not a raving lunatic over them like I am over some polishes, namely glitters, but truly they are a lovely and lively addition to your collection in my opinion. Now, I did read on Dragon Lady Nails Blog that the "blues, and the pink looked like dupes of the Color Club foils (Lumin-icecent, Cold Metal, & Hot Like Lava)" with regards to the Wet n' Wild Chromes of said colors. I don't own those foils, nor have I ever seen them so just a little FYI from Dragon Lady Nails if you have said foils and are interested in the Chromes, look twice. Now, the description on the display says "The combination of mirror-like reflection and a textured finish fuse together to create a dynamic liquid metal effect!" I personally don't feel like these are really a chrome, I feel like they are a really heavy shimmer or maybe foil. When I think of chrome I think of Hot Rod bumpers and bling bling grills on cars... stuff you can SEE YOURSELF in lol.

Wet n' Wild - Hog-Quartz School (2 coats no undies) 

Wet n' Wild - I Got a New Com-pewter (2 coats no undies)

Wet n' Wild - Stay Outta My Bismuth (2 coats no undies)

Wet n' Wild - Steel the Spotlight (2 coats no undies)

Application wasn't too difficult, the brush is kind of fanned out some so that was either a great help at times or a hinderance. The 4 colors I swatched were opaque in 1 coat, however in all my photos I did 2 coats because I wanted a darker shade. They apply evenly and don't seem to pull much but I will say this- do not mess around! These seem to dry quickly and if you're a slow polisher you might as well just slap it on and resign yourself to some clean up later. I am not a slow polisher but I am definitely not a neat and fast one. I definitely had a few spots of clean up and the chromeyness sort of spreads like poison ivy. So be careful and be precise if you can. Just a couple "tips" from me lol.

Lastly... STAMPING!

Wet n' Wild Chrome Collection as a stamper with Bundle Monster Plate BM-208

Yes, these stamp... not amazingly well like the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri colors, but I'm sure they could be very pretty on the right undie-mani. I used the 4 chromes (1 on each finger) on top of my new Revlon - Amethyst simply because I was wearing it and didn't feel like removing a fresh mani just to lay down a black to try to stamp lol. Sorry, I'm a lazy ass sometimes.

That's all folks! Hope you find these near you sometime soon! If you're in NEED and have no store near you... shoot me an email and we can try to work something out :)