The First 50 Giveaway Celebration!!

Holy moly! We can't believe we're already at our very first milestone! It seems like yesterday we were constantly sending pictures of our nails back and forth via text and calling each other excitedly discussing some new nail art, nail polish or Indie that we'd found that day...

But it isn't! Thanks to each and every person that's visited our page, left us comments, told some friends or just simply follows along!! We are at our first milestone of 50 followers via our Facebook Fan Page and Google Friend Connect because of all of you and we appreciate you. Really and truly we have celebrated the moment that each and every one of you 50 have decided to click those follow buttons. Every time we get a comment we get giddy and excited all over again. We revel in any contact we have from you guys because truly this adventure is simply to create our own space to share, enjoy and laugh. We really love you guys and hope to continue growing and creating more nail art/manis that you're proud to spend a few minutes of your day viewing.

Now, on to the celebration!!! There will be 2 winners!! 50 possible entry points are up for grabs... The contest will run for 2 weeks starting June 21st, ending on July 6. Winners will be announced via Facebook, Twitter and here on the blog. The winners have 48 hrs to contact us to collect their winnings! Any questions email us!!

**All of these colors did not want to photograph so believe us when we say 

they are really bright and pretty summer-y colors!! **

First prize is L.A. Colors Striper nail art kit that includes: White, Neon Pink, Blue, Lime Green, Grape Purple (that has a really pretty silver shimmer in it!) and a small pack of nail stickers.

FIRST PRIZE!!

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Second prize is L.A. Colors LE Electro Brights nail polish pack that includes: White, Grape Purple, Neon Pink, Green, Royal Blue, Orange, Pink (with a gold shimmer!).

SECOND PRIZE!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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In the Navy... a piCture pOlish welcome home for my Sailor!

I wrote a post about how much deployments suck a monthish or so ago... Well my husband got to come home for 3 days before they left again! Yay for seeing him after a very long month!

I knew I wanted my nails to look lovely for his short visit but the anxiety of "what do I choose?!!!" quickly paralyzed me into that state of nothing is good enough. On top of that, my husband is one of those types that likes dark colors, especially blues. I really love dark colors too but honestly it's bright and sunny here! I wanted to use my awesome new Orly Neons or some other bright pretty color! So of course I came up with a fat lot of nada at first...

Then I decided to just go ahead and give him what I know he'd like the most... a navy blue. And blues? I have blues... tons of beautiful hues too! Light blue, dark blue, royal blue... you name it blue! Except I couldn't think of any great design ideas.

piCture pOlish - Abyss

Until I spotted my brand spankin' new bottle of Abyss by piCture pOlish! Seriously this blue is the best. It's a lovely dark and deep navy blue jelly. The formula is really great and clean up is lovely- almost no staining (if you're a lover of blues you know that occasional staining is a common and unfortunate hazard)! Yup! A lovely deep navy blue for my Sailor... how original right? Yeah... I was less than wowed at this point too. The only upside was getting to use my new polish, until...

I started applying and wow! This color is something special. I mean really really special! I felt like I was looking into the ocean at night while I put Abyss on. It was almost hypnotic! Again, the formula is awesome and could've been done in one coat but I wanted to make sure it was extra deep so I used two. Now, this baby dries with a HIGH SHINE seriously... high shine. I almost didn't put on my normal top coat, Seche Vite. Almost... but then I thought about any possible chipping or weird wear so I put it on just to be safe. Of course SV has crazy shine too so these babies were glossy! I loved it. LOVED IT I tell you!!

piCture pOlish - Abyss (2 coats, no undies)
So sorry for slight blurriness, I didn't realize it was blurry until it was too late! :( 

Enough that I almost didn't add any nail art. Almost...  I looked to my right and there lay my beloved dotting tools... I looked to my left and there sat my huge box of glitters and stripers... Oh the pain of choosing just one! LOL ok ok... so I started the process all over. Pulled out some glitters, rejected them. Looked at other colors to do polka dots (LOVE THEM!) put them all back. Then I spied my lil stripers just sitting so quietly off to the side. I first thought lines? nah. Abstract design? nah. Then inspiration hit me on the head...

An ANCHOR!!

An Instagram picture of my mani (follow me! @enjeliq)

I chose white for a stronger, more defined contrast but in hindsight I should've gone over top of the white with my gold striper... the US Navy colors are Navy Blue and Gold. Oh well lol ya win some, ya lose some. I also made the choice to only put it on my accent ring finger as well as only my left hand. I thought it was cuter... because I'm married to a Sailor! I know, corny lol.

xo,

P.S. my husband LOVED my mani and said he felt really special that I did that just for him even though he was on such a short visit home. (well duh of course!) <3 he's so awesome!

Sadly, this shade was part of the "goodbye colors" from last monthish. So glad I was able to get a bottle, so sad I didn't get 2!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

It's Mother's Day and I don't know about all you mothers out there but, I am not doing anything today!  Nothing, nada, zero!  This is my day to sit back and relax and let my hubby and the boys take care of the cooking and cleaning for today!  Hehehehehehehe... I hope they know that!  Anyway, I want to wish all the mothers a super chill and blessed day!

This past week E and I were skype-ing and I decided to bust out my nail art supplies and try my hand at a Mother's Day inspired mani.  I am not the best nail artist but I am trying to get better and practice a bit more.  I had noticed that several people on the nail art train were using acrylic paint on top of polish to produce some really cool art.  I have been known to paint on canvas a bit and have several acrylics in my art box.  So, that is the route I took with this mani.  I used a base coat of OPI Princesses Rule and then got my MASH 15piece brush set out and just started painting!  I really hope you like what I came up with!

Happy Mother's Day!

Again, to all you lovely mother's out there, Happy Mother's Day!  Now,  go out and have some fun or just lay around the house!  It's your day!  

Color blocking with Red & Silver!

I've been in a red mood lately and my husband was in an "anything but" red mood. So being the loving wife I am, for his last weekend home I wore the ManGlaze - Santorum that he helped me win on their facebook Wheel of Fortune game a week or so ago. I love it, it's very pretty,  but honestly brown is NOT a summer color for me lol. So once I said goodbye to my love, I also said goodbye to that lovely deep brown shade of Santorum. Saying hello to a lovely red and silver funky mani.

I used Essie - Forever Yummy first and just decided different blocking for each nail. In my opinion, Essie - Forever Yummy is a lovely red that is just a shade darker than what I consider to be the iconic red- you know the one, bright and sexy? So when I saw Forever Yummy I knew it needed to be mine as I am a huge fan of reds but especially those iconic/vampy reds. Next I filled in the areas left open with Nicole by OPI - Give Me the 1st Dance. Now this silver is not your average silver. It dries super fast, covers in pretty much one-ish coat and dries in such a way it almost looks like a sticker or something solid- not previously a liquid... does that make sense? Either way I loved it and plan to do some more with it!

What I used L to R: Sinful Colors Liner - Time Off, Nicole by OPI -  Give Me the 1st Dance, Essie - Forever Yummy

Lastly, I used my Sinful Colors - Time Off (black) striper to line the edge between the red and silver to give just a bit more finished look to the mani.

This seriously took almost no time at all... it took so little time to do that I forgot to take a couple in progress shots, sorry.

I loved this mani and will be rockin it on through the night! And if you're reading this thinking how difficult it must be to do and how you can't possibly do it because it might be too different or too far above your ability... STOP right there. Don't be afraid to be different- remember you are an individual and letting that shine through is just as important as anything else! Believe me when I say it isn't difficult. All it takes is some patience and a willingness to get dirty and try, try again!

xo,

Dollish Polish... Bringin' the heat! Bringin' the funk!

Yup! This lady has got some hot products! Bringin' the funk for those that need a little more pep in their step and a polish to those that could use a good... POLISHING!!

For those of you that have been living under  a rock in the world of Indie polish, she's the Host with the most! Dollish Polish makes and sells her own brand of fun in bottles of varnish and glitter. I know it may seem as though I am overly amped up, but truly I have fallen head over heals in love with her polish. My first time in I bought four; my initial excitement and everything involved with seeing them for the first time live and not Memorex can be read in my recent post, Nail Mail and an Epic Fail. But lets get on with the show and review these babies!

"Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe"

The first polish I used of course was Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe. I was so excited and eager that I honestly couldn't wait for the glitter to mix up well, so please excuse my eager polish job. Believe me the polish is way more awesome than my iPhone and my eager beaver polishing show in the following photograph. 

Don't worry- this beautiful polish will be making a very very quick return in some future mani's I've already got ideas for...

2 coats, no undies!

"He slimed me!"

Next up I painted my nails with He slimed me! This particular polish is so awesome I don't know if I have enough interesting adjectives to do it justice. However, I'll put it this way... If you've ever imagined what slime or specifically Slimer (from Ghostbusters) and his slime looked or felt like, this polish is that. Litterally it is the varnish equivalent of what I can imagine it being like. Wait a second though- before you jump to the wrong conclusion, I love and adore Slimer. I love the Ghostbusters movies and the way that the movies, characters and dialogue have impacted our culture. That being said, there really could be no higher praise for He slimed me. Honestly if I could afford it I would buy bottles to just give out to people that needed a funny, sunny pick me up. 

The day I wore this polish it wasn't meant to impress, I was just eager to try it (much like Barry's polish job lol). While I painted my nails before getting ready for an appointment I was talking to Dom via Skype and discussing the blog and other life things. She also likes He slimed me, so I kept showing her coat after coat what it looked like. I remember telling her "it is just SOOO pretty and SOOO fun, I just can't stop putting layers on!". He slimed me! can be worn alone and in my opinion 3 good coats would achieve an awesomely slime-rific appearance, however I was in the "zone"and wanted to see what it'd look like with just one more, and another and well just one more maybe... I lost track of how many coats I put on, but I'm going to estimate that it was about 5 or 6. Way more than I needed but it just kept getting prettier and prettier lol. I received several compliments and even referred 2 people to Dolly's shop on Etsy. 

**UPDATE 4/14/12: According to a post on Dolly's FB page "He Slimed Me!" will be moving to the Acetone Vault... so get your polish while its available people!!!

Crappy lighting and an iPhone don't do this polish/ picture justice!

"I'll have what she's having"

The same day I received my polish I didn't want to wait to put on the beautiful and multi-faceted I'll have what she's having. I also really wanted to see it alone. I can't wait for an opportunity to try out a really cool hot pink I recently picked up, but this time around I held off and put on 3 coats of I'll have what she's having alone. I never thought I'd love a PINK glitter as much as I love this one. I am NOT a "pink" girl. However, since this polish was delivered to my door I have purchased 5 different pinks including a neon and a crackle lol. I have SOOO many ideas for I'll have what she's having its nuts! Every time I look at it I find more facets to it. At first it has this soft pink base and pink glitter- sort of a "stock" ya know? But then some light shifts and WAIT! Is that? Why YES it IS flecks of a darker pink, almost fuchsia and possibly some more very very fine pink glitter along with the soft rose of the "main" glitter.

I'm just going to be honest and direct here... this line is from the scene in When Harry Met Sally and Sally is educating Harry in the fine art of a faked orgasm... in the middle of a busy diner! The scene is seriously epic and one of the funniest in the history of motion pictures (in my opinion at least!). The line is spoken by a woman in the diner ordering her meal. A little trivia, that woman was no actress! She was director Rob Reiner's mother! Also, just because the video is hilarious, here is a LINK to see Billy Crystal on John Stewart relating a funny story about the filming of the famous orgasm scene (skip to about 6mins to just see that part if you don't want to watch the whole vid).

Sorry... I'll get back on track! Sorry I get so wrapped up talking about movies. So just like He slimed me! this polish is exactly what I can imagine it to look like to live up to it's name. Honestly, a woman's orgasm... hmm sparkly, pretty, pink, multi-faceted and in a lovely sheer pink base? Check, check, check, check annnnnd CHECK! HA! Well done, Dolly, well done! Bravo!! I'm cheering from my seat asking to have what she's having!! 

Sorry I didn't get a better photograph, but just like the others- I have BIG plans BIG BIG plans for this lovely... you'll be seeing it again and believe me you'll fall in love with it just like I have. I promise you, it's definitely worth the purchase. The glitter doesn't need placement, it spreads nicely and honestly it's leagues better than some of the other glitters I've purchased that were supposed to be so great and wonderful.

3 coats, no undies!

"I wanna do bad things to you" 

I have a confession... I don't watch... True Blood. *GASP* *insert shocked face here* I know I know. What self-respecing Vampire literature loving woman doesn't watch that show!? I want to, I just refuse to pay HBO prices. It sucks (hahaha) everyone always talking about a show I have no clue about. So for this purchase it was purely because it caught my eye as an exceptionally beautiful red glitter. This was my first red glitter purchase ever. The previous red glitters in my stash are all fine and micro glitter with a dark red base, so truly it is a polish with glitter in it, not a glitter. Therefore I was really excited about this purchase because oddly enough, a good red glitter is hard to come by. I wanna do bad things to you is exceptionally pretty. It is jam packed with glitter and not just any glitter either! Beautiful sparkly round ultra red glitter, some tiny flecks of more red glitter and some other glitter that shifts purple! What an awesome addition to any bling-tastic mani! Of course like any glitter- especially such a dense glitter you have the not so fun task of clean up and removal. I swear glitter can be such a meanie sometimes! In closing I would definitely brave the clean up and removal for this beautiful concoction. It truly is the cat's pajamas for any red lover- especially a red GLITTER lover!!

Well I hope you enjoyed my lengthy lamenting on Dollish Polish! Keep your eyeballs peeled for these to make some appearances in upcoming posts! Don't forget to leave me some love and comment below!

Warm Weather Cool Colors

China Glaze Reggae to Riches

The weather is breaking here in the mid-west and although I love my deep dark moody polish, I have been really trying to step out of my box and get ready for spring and summer in style!  I would be lying if I said it was easy to step outside of my comfort zone!  IT IS NOT!  I am a true creature of habit even when it comes to my nail polish.  I was starting to find that even though I was buying polishes with different names, they began to all look very similar! What I had was blacks, blues, grays and silvers all just a shade different than the next.  Don't get me wrong, I will always be a lover of a good dark nail, but I have begun to see the error of my ways and hope to join the mainstream form of thought. When the sun comes out its time to brighten things up a bit!  So here goes nothing…

Why not start with a pink color?  LOL!  It may not seem like a big step to some, but I am so far from a pink girl its not funny!  I looked around the store for a while before I came across my first out of character purchase… Reggae to Riches by China Glaze!  I will say that I thought the color was ok in the bottle but the name really did something to me; I love reggae music and that was enough to make me want to buy it!  Good thing I did because I LOVE it… just in case you didn't get that the first time… I LOVE A PINK POLISH!!!!  (well that’s what I thought anyway)  I say that because this polish really is an awesome flip-flop of sorts! In some light it looks really pink and then in some light it looks really fuchsia and as a bonus you also get a bit of blue and purple in this duo-chrome! 

I started my polish with a nice coat of Beauty Secrets Hardener as a base coat.  I love this stuff!  It is fairly inexpensive and can be purchased at any Sally Beauty Supply.  It is thick enough to act as a nice ridge filler and it leaves a really nice smooth finish and holds polish really well.  I can keep a manicure for over a week when I use this polish.  Let me clarify that I take care of kids and a pet and cook and do dishes throughout the week so to keep a mani for week is a nice plus!

Reggae to Riches can be purchased for $5.99 ($4.99 if you have a Sally's Club Card) at Sally Beauty Supply.  I applied two coats of the polish... the first coat was pretty thin and then the second coat was a bit thicker.  I really didn't have too much trouble with streaking or thin spots.  The polish goes on pretty evenly and with my base coat it was really smooth and velvety.  I love easy polish and this really was an easy polish!  

The final step on my mani was to add a little pop with the white polka dots.  For this step I used L.A Colors white nail art liner.   Honestly, I found this polish for about $1.50 at a random Dollar General.  I know it doesn't sound too glamorous but some of the best deals on polish can be found at these types of stores.  When it comes to nail art, I would rather spend my money on a nice bottle of polish and be a little more frugal when it comes to nail art supplies.  Using a super small dotting tool I dotted my ring finger.  With a final coat of Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat, I had achieved my look!

What you're in for... or... Welcome to our Blog!!

Since we're sure you already read our "about us" page we won't inundate you with information you already know ;)

Our initial goal for this blog was for us to be able to share our insane obsession with nail polish. We found ourselves spending the same amount of time most people get paid for talking about our nails. Discussing new techniques, DIY, polish colors and general likes and dislikes of all of the aforementioned. So one day, during one of our many phone conversations ( E ) came up with the bright idea to start this blog. As a way to share our thoughts as well as get feedback from others like us!

We are not professionals nor do we play them on TV... so please do not take our commentary as gospel. Hopefully anything that you take away from this blog leads to inspiration for your next great polish idea... And remember... share and share alike with others like us! Just give us or our contributors credit where credit is due!

For my last disclaimer... AGAIN we are not professional manicurists lol... we don't get our nails done by anyone else, nor do we have acrylic overlays etc etc. We paint our own nails, our cuticles are always a work in progress and even though we've been painting our own nails since about 10 years old, we are still learning how to be better painters... So please forgive us our trespasses and enjoy our commentary!

Welcome to our little slice of the interweb... we hope you like it here!! Please feel free to email with any questions, comments or concerns!