NOTD - Butter London Black Knight

 (Second Post for the day - make sure you scroll down to see my New Year's Eve Mani)

For today I have on Butter London The Black Knight. I went back and forth on this polish. I wasn't sure If I should purchase this or not.  I knew it was LE, but I still couldn't decide.  Kelly bought me this for Christmas and I am so glad. I'm not sure why it was ever a question to own or not to own - IT IS GORGEOUS!!! Thanks to Kelly for making sure I didn't later regret not getting it, as it seems it's getting harder to find now.

I do have a gripe with this polish though. For me the formula was HORRIBLE, probably one of the worst I have ever worked with. I repeat HORRIBLE about 5 times here. Mine was thick and a complete hot mess.  I HAD to add thinner or I wouldn't have been able to apply it.  It still thickened on me as I went along.  The brush was no fun either.  My brush was scraggly and pathetic looking lol. It was a hot mess all around.

I actually cursed this polish while I was applying it lol. I got so frustrated. Kelly was silent as I cussed and threatened to toss the bottle out the window LOL. This polish has been very popular over at MUA and there have been many pictures of it, but I don't remember anyone complaining about it?? Am I the only one that despises this formula?? Please leave comments below as I'm really curious how you like yours if you own this.

On to pictures...

I did use one coat of Gelous as this is a man eating glitter lol.  Next time I will most likely use two coats of Gelous. I did add SV Ultra-V Top coat and it's now glass smooth. For those of you that don't have it, Gelous (available at Sally's Beauty Supply) is a must have if you like glitters.

I do have to say as much of a Pain this was to apply - it really was worth it. It really does shine! 

There is a Franken formula for this polish, and I'm curious to try it and see what the comparison is.

The Black Knight Franken Formula

(created by Love8Brain)

Sally Hansen Midnight in New York

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink

I believe you dump 1/3 of the Midnight in New York out of the Bottle and add the Rock Star Pink til full again.  

Thanks for visiting :)

NOTD - New Year's Mani

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wanted to share my New Year's Mani with you guys. What I ended up doing was adding a gradient glitter tip to my current Zoya Kelly Manicure. This is my first attempt at adding glitter tips. I used the sponge method to apply the Glitter.  It was much easier said then done lol. 

I added OPI: Rainbow Connection (Muppet's Collection). I know a lot of people were disappointed in this collection because the glitters where not able to be worn alone, but they are perfect for a Glitter Top Gradient. This is the only polish I currently have out of the Muppet's Collection.

There seems to be three sizes of glitters in this polish. One is a multi color small size regular glitter, and mixed in is a gorgeous hex glitter in medium and large sizes. 

The colors are Red, Blue, Pink/Purple, Green, Gold and Silver. It truly is a Rainbow.

Hope Everyone Had a Safe and Happy New Year.

NOTD - Zoya Kelly

Today I wanted to show you guys one of my favorite nail polish colors to date. It's Zoya Kelly. This color is outrageous.

First, there have been a few changes around here :) As you can see my pictures have changed (hopefully for the better). I have been wanting to mess around with lighting etc.. and I finally got around to doing it. With winter here my indoor pictures where horrible. The light color was too yellowish and everything looked like a hot mess lol. Hopefully you guys like this better.

I purchased a light box way back and finally pulled it out. I'm also using white light from an OttLite that gives a more true color. 

These pictures where only cropped and watermarked. Nothing else was done to them. As you can see my watermark has shrank and is now smack dab in the middle of my pictures. Not that I think my pics are all that and will be stolen, but I just prefer that it's there in an obnoxious place lol. 

I absolutely LOVE this color. In bright light it's a medium grey, but in dim light it leans really dark. 

I used the color lock system and it did not dry on me. Many have complained about it in the same way. I fixed that by topping it with my SV UV topcoat and cured it under a UV light. It gives it a gorgeous shine!

I am so glad I grabbed this color, it is a must have Zoya Color!

Let me know how you like the new pictures. Even though this is indoor light too, the color is really true in these pictures.


 


Thanks for visiting!

Christmas Mani - Dear Santa (outdoor)

Just a quick post today ....

I finally got a small peek of sunlight and went running out my house with camera in hand lol. Lately we have had nothing but dreary dark rainy days. This sun was much awaited. 

My Last post I showed you this same mani (last night) with indoor night pictures. These day time pictures really show the true beauty of this polish so I like to show both aspects when I can. 

This polish has the most amazing dimension to it. When the light hits it, you can see layers of glitter and yumminess. I ended up loving how this looks on the nail.

I take a lot of pictures because the polish looks different in various light levels and I love to show that aspect in my photos. 

 

I try not to edit my pictures at all if possible. Most are just cropped.  When I do do adjustments in Picasa 3 it's usually contrast only - which only darkens my skin color some.

I love this color and it seems to be a HTF. Do you guys own this polish? If so, do you like? I would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 

This is a little late. but I wanted to show you guys my Christmas Mani :) Today I used OPI: Dear Santa. I have had this for awhile, but haven't used it til today. I have A LOT of untrieds and it was nice to wear this one finally.

I haven't thought this completely threw, but for 2012 I'm going to attempt to use one untried - once a week. Not sure what day of the week yet, but it mostly likely be Saturdays/Sundays.  This is the only time I see daylight in the Winter for good blog pictures lol. I will continue to purchase and use new polishes but that can be other days inbetween. It's not fully planned out yet, but before the New Year I will announce the details. 

Back on to my nails :)

These are indoor pictures, but It's the best I can do. I usually hate posting indoor pictures.  I was so excited about using this and all my Nail polish related gifts that I just HAD to post.

I used SV Ultraviolet (UV) Top Coat. Kelly Bought me this for Christmas. 

So Sparkly and Glowing!

I figured this was the perfect named polish for today!

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to take proper pictures outdoors.


Next gift was my New Helmer and Nail Dryer!!! Whooohoo.

I already had one Helmer, but now I have a second one and much more space too. 

Santa was really nice to me this year.

This nail dryer is amazing. It has UV lights AND a Fan. There are three settings:

1. UV Light

2. Fan (Fan Blowing Only)

3. Have Both On.

It also has a timer for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 minutes.

I used it tonight (along with the SV -UV Top Coat), and I was floored by it's performance. It cured in 7 minutes, and my nails were completely dry in 10. I was up baking cookies and washing my hands after the 10 minutes, and it worked. I highly recommend this. My Dry Drops, SV,  and Posh are BYE BYE gone.


Thanks for visiting and I hope you and your family are having a Happy and Safe Holiday!