Zoya Pixie Dust ... Taking Textured Polish by Storm

My initial reaction to all the talk about texture/sand paper like polish was "really? textured polish?". None of them sounded very appealing to me. My first dive in the texture pool was with the OPI Liquid Sands from the Mariah Carey Collection. I liked them fine but I wasn't totally sold yet on the concept.

I started hearing talk about Zoya coming out with their own textured polish and I was excited to try them since I have been loving and definitely enjoying the colors/formula of recent Zoya releases. When the sneak peeks of the Pixie Dust Collection appeared I was really happy with the colors. They looked very pretty and wearable. Not quite the in your face boldness of the Liquid Sands. Now that I think about it, maybe that is why I wasn't totally in love with the trend at first. It seemed to be a little too much, the bright colors on top of the texture. Zoya's color choices were much more subtle and ultra wearable. There were no swatches available at first, so it was hard to really tell if they were going to be all I had hoped for. The anticipation was crazy as I awaited their arrival.

More after the jump --> click the link to read the rest!

Go Pink Wednesday and Male Breast Cancer Awareness!

In the past few weeks we've talked about why it is so important to be aware of how fatal and real Breast Cancer can be and the statistics involved. We also gave you step by step information on how to do your own self breast exam and how to be the most supportive person you can be to an affected loved one. Today we're going to discuss something you may or may not have known about; Male Breast Cancer.

The Mayo Clinic defines Male Breast Cancer as cancer that forms in the breast tissue of men. Though breast cancer is most commonly thought of as a woman's disease, male breast cancer does occur.

Furthermore, did you know that male breast cancer can occur at any age, though is most common in older men. The Mayo Clinic also noted in their definition that men diagnosed early have a good chance for a cure; however many men delay seeing their doctors if they notice a change, unusual symptoms or symptoms such as a breast lump. Because of this wait and see mentality many male breast cancers are diagnosed when the disease is more advanced.

That's right... our male loved ones are at risk too! Breast Cancer is already scary enough with a statistic of 1 in 8 women will be affected, but to add to that the men in our lives is just that much more tragic!

Through research I found that, according to breastcancer.org in 2011 there were 2,140 male breast cancers diagnosed. Which means less than 1% of all breast cancers occur in men. So from a statistical point of view a man's chances of male breast cancer are 1 in 1,000.

That statistic may seem more comforting against the 1 in 8 chances for women, but stop and think about how many men you come in contact with. I bet you've known or will know at least 1,000. Think of all your school buddies, friend's husbands/boyfriends, co-workers, neighbors... These numbers are very real and very scary.

So... what have we learned from the previous posts? EARLY DETECTION!!!

The Mayo Clinic lists these as symptoms:

• A painless lump or thickening in your breast tissue
• Changes to the skin covering your breast, such as dimpling, puckering, redness or scaling
• Changes to your nipple, such as redness or scaling, or a nipple that begins to turn inward
• Discharge from your nipple

Just like the other posts.... be aware and help your loved ones stay safe by asking them to examine themselves, stay alert to their body and be informed.


Now... on to this weeks Go Pink Wednesday Breast Cancer Awareness manicures!

It's seems that Dom went a bit CRAZY with the rhinestones this week, but it is all E's fault! She made a suggestion and Dom just ran with it. The base color is China Glaze Hang-Ten Toes which was a great pink for summer as well as Go Pink Wednesday! For the added sparkle she went a little drag queen-esq with the jewels. We like the final product and hope that you do as well!

China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes

China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes

This week E went pretty casual and cool with a dusky toned pink from Revlon called Cafe Pink and a pretty, sparkly holo glitter from Studio M called Magic Attraction. The ribbon stamping is from Vivid Lacquer's plate VL001 stamped with OPI Kiss Me on my Tulips.

Revlon - Cafe Pink & Studio M - Magic Attraction
stamped with OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips, indirect sunlight

Revlon - Cafe Pink & Studio M - Magic Attraction
stamped with OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips, direct sunlight

xo,

&

I'M BACK!!! (proof of my A.D.D enclosed)

It has been a while and I really feel like I am so far out of the loop it is not even funny!  Anyone who reads this blog knows that I live in Ohio.  Beautiful Ohio, the home of the Buckeyes and... oh God, that's pretty much where it ends! LOL! Anywho... if you know anyone in Ohio then you know that we got hit with a pretty random, pretty ridiculous storm recently.  Power lines down all over town, food gone bad, no cable, no cell service, no internet and NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!  Ohio was like the foreshadowing armageddon experience that I never wanted!!!  Needless to say, my life has slowly gotten back to "normal".  OH WAIT... I also started a new job.

Some history... I have not worked a real job in over two years.   I have been blessed to be OK financially with my husband working.  Thank God that I was able to take that time because I took care of some pretty serious medical issues as well.  With all of that said, going back to work has been a super huge life transition.  I also left corporate america and am now working with inner city youth!  Talk about shell shock... but, I love it.  What I don't like is waking up at 6am every morning and having to get ready to be pleasant by 8am but, other than that it has been really great!  I never really saw myself working with kids but I love them all and really feel like I am making a difference.  

My kids at work!  Aren't they cute?

With all of that said, I am happy to be back in the land of the living and the world of polish that I love so much!  With all that has been going on I went nearly two whole weeks without polish on my nails!  Last night, however, I couldn't wait to get something fun on them and below is a quick pic of my first real mani in weeks!  I used two coats of OPI Fly and finally used my Sally Hansen Salon effects Polish Strips Zip It!  Hope you like it.

Sally Hansen Salon effects, Zip It! 

Love that OPI Fly!  

Sorry for the A.D.D. post but I had so much to catch you up on!  Let me know what you think about all my crazy!  I love the comments. : )

P.S. There are only a few days left for the insane sale that is going on at Ulta right now!  Don't miss it!  

P.S.S. Don't forget to enter our giveaway!!!!

Tape Mani Tutorial

Hey lovelies!! So I posted a pic of my notd (nail of the day) about a week or so ago on Instagram [enjeliq] and received a comment on my picture asking if I had thought of doing a tutorial. I honestly had thought about it after I had already finished one hand, but because I was rushing made a couple booboos. You know the type- bump your nail = dent, rush the second coat of paint = not as crisp a line, too much remover on the clean up brush = take extra paint off that you'd rather stay... so yeah... I was not happy. At heart I am a perfectionist and initially my thoughts were oh well, I'll do a tutorial on a mani that turns out better than this. However, when I sent Dom a pic showing her my notd she asked the same thing. At this point I only had the undies for the blue done, so basically the perfect starting point to take some in progress shots... so thank you to the unknowingly combined efforts of a lovely Instagram follower and Dom for this tutorial!

This is NOT always an easy or quick nail art technique, so please do not stop trying if it doesn't turn out as lovely as you'd like. It has taken me at least 10 times doing tape manis to get anywhere close to having them turn out nice. I started when I saw a picture on this blog that came up from a random nail art type Google search. I honestly didn't need to read a tutorial once I saw the tape. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head! Through trial and error I've come up with the way that *I* do my tape manis. That doesn't mean that you won't come up with your own version too, but I hope that this is a starting point of sorts for you too. Just please don't stop trying!! This is seriously an endless tool of awesomeness!! Harness the power!! :D

Top pic L to R: Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!, Color Club - Sky High, Nicole by OPI - Save the 1st Dance,
Seche Vite Scotch Tape, X-Acto craft Scissors

What you'll need:

• Tape (Scotch tape/satin finish/giftwrap tape is my personal fave)
• Scissors or Craft/Scrapbooking shape scissors (just remember the larger the scissors the harder it'll be to do tiny cuts and nails are only so big)
• Nail polish remover
• Qtips or brush for clean up
• Papertowel or some other surface to get dirty/protect your work table
• Base/Top coats
• Nail polish color(s)
• and, last but not least, AN IDEA!! :)

Step 1: Rip off a strip of tape. I am a more is more type of person in this particular area... so I usually rip off a strip about 2 or 3 inches.

Now, if you're using craft scissors like I did this time, you'll need to lay the tape to where it is half hanging out/off of the side like in the photo. You need the tape to still have "structural integrity" once you take it off the scissors so if you cut too much into the middle and there isn't enough left it'll just rip into pieces. I hope this makes sense... trial and error people ;)

Step 1a: Once you've cut your tape in the desired design place it on your palm once. This helps to make the tape just a SMIDGE less sticky and will help in the removal process later. (I colored the edge of the tape with a sharpie to show you the edge of what I cut- this is not a necessary step- was purely for visual)

Step 2: For this mani I wanted to use some really shiny/metallic colors and on a recent purchase I picked up Sky High from Color Club's Take Wing collection. While it is absolutely beautiful it is a bit sheer and I didn't honestly have time to wait for 3 or so layers to dry before doing my tape mani. So I used Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away! as undies (1 coat) and then slapped the Sky High (1 coat) on top. These two were perfect together and it was oodles faster!

Step 2a: TOP COAT! lol this is very important... if you have time, apply your regular top coat. If not, apply a fast dry top coat, I personally like Seche Vite. ***IMPORTANT*** your top coat has to be dry before you lay down any tape... so seriously let it dry, give it a couple mins or you'll regret it and there is no do cover up other than complete re-do.

Step 3: Apply your tape in the manor of which you'd like the other color/effect to be on your nail. Remember, the tape is just a guide to give you a crisp edge to your design. I wanted mine to be on the side or angled on my nail. 

Step 3a: Paint the exposed area with your color/effect. If it appears thin and not opaque enough do a second layer immediately.

Final Step *Not Pictured* REMOVE! :D Remove the tape while the paint/effect is still wet! If it dries too much you'll run the risk of the underneath part (that is still damp) not being crisp and the top layer that is slightly drier pulling away with the tape. The result (I've totally done this) is a weird and ugly smear that is not fixable other than starting over from scratch. 

And ta-da! You're done! Again, this isn't one of my fave tape manis but it is a fun effect. My faves are the shredded look. You can view photos of other tape manis in our Facebook page HERE! Don't forget to send us some pictures of your tape manis!! We love seeing your manis too! Oh, and be sure to like our Facebook page to keep in the loop of all our happenings and to see lots more pictures!

Good luck and happy taping!

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,

No Power? PAINT YOUR NAILS!!

We all know what I do when the electricity goes out... paint my nails!  And then break my nails!!!! Opinions needed at the end of this post!    

So, long and short of it is, I was on Skype with E, making dinner, and picking out polish when all of a sudden the power goes out.  First I quietly cursed wondering if I had forgotten to pay the bill, but after some thought I knew that wasn't the case.  I go outside and notice that all the neighborhood kids are outside playing.  That could only mean one thing... ALL THE GAME SYSTEMS HAD SHUT OFF AT ONCE!!!  NO ELECTRICITY!!!  Well that certainly put a hold on all my evening plans (sad face). So I sat at the table and made the best of it. I had a little light coming thru the windows so I started painting.  Hope you like what I came up with!

Nice little gradient... I'm gonna call it my "NO ELECTRIC" mani!  

Not too bad for a play job done in the dark!

The polish used in this mani: Ulta - Purple Haze; Ulta - Alter Ego; Ulta - Indigo-Go Girl and China Glaze - Polarized

Now... for the BREAK heard round the world! My thumb nail got severely hacked off accidentally! I asked E to give me her opinion and now I will ask for yours.  Do you think I should cut them all down?  I am really sad about this but if I gotta, then I gotta!

NAIL MAIL!! and an EPIC FAIL :/

Today was an epic day!! Why you might ask? Well I received my first ever Indie nail mail! While I've been an avid spectator in the war that is indie polish shopping, I finally entered the fray! About 2 weeks or so ago Dolly from Dollish Polish announced an opening time for her shop and I made it my mission to be ready and waiting. It felt like Black Friday waiting except without all the weirdos trying to slyly get in front of me. The anticipation was killing me but I was NOT going to miss this. Of course this particular shopping day caught me at a low fundage point so I knew I had to be decisive...

Such awesome packaging! Seriously bubble wrapped, in a bag then in a cute teal drawstring bag!

Now... lets be real here. Trying to pick between one of a kind works of art is like choosing a favorite child! It's impossible! All of them are amazing and for equally fantabulous reasons! I am a glitter-holic to the core. I have a seriously short attention span if anything shiny catches my eye... so truly how could I choose? But when that time came and a simple click refreshed and loaded an actual page front to her Etsy store with available product, I started furiously clicking. Would it be this one? That one? Oooh, what about... um. The decisions were so hard! I wanted them all, however I knew I couldn't have them all, nor was time on my side (remember there were tons of others anxiously refreshing too!).

How did I do it? I stopped, took a deep breath and decided I would go towards what pulled me. I am an 80's baby through and through so of course I felt pulled toward three of my all time favorite movies, The Breakfast Club "Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?", When Harry Met Sally "I'll have what she's having" and Ghostbusters "He slimed me!". Now, I know there are others I plan to buy but these were the ones that tugged at me. Not just because of their epic and aptly applied monikers but because they are amazing and beautiful! To round out my purchase I knew I needed (and I mean that literally!) the ridiculously blazing hot red sparkly beauty named "I wanna do bad things to you" which is from the TV show True Blood.

Well... then there's my epic fail.

After checking out and floating on a big fluffy cloud of elation and a goofy "Hail the conquering hero" playing in my head I went about my day. A week went by and I did a Skittles mani thinking about the amazing "Putting on the Ritz" from Dollish Polish that I had on it's way! *insert screeching noise* (wait for it... waaaaiiiittt for it...)

But I DIDN'T!!!!!!!!!!!! >.< WTF how could I have done that to myself?! I had forgotten the ONE polish I KNEW I wanted and had decided to get before the shop even opened. What did I tell you? I have the shortest attention span when something shiny shiny hits my eyes... and that was the iceberg that sunk my Titanic that day. So what now? Now the shop is closed while it is moved to a new (hopefully better for Dolly) shop. I'm literally stuck like chuck. Such an epic fail. I'm totally heartbroken too. At least I'll have my four other pretties to console me while I wait and hope for an opening to pick up Ritz.

aren't they PRETTY!!

Welp, stay tuned for my review... I would've written that first but tonight family time sort of sucked up swatching time lol.