"Fuggen Ugly"? I Think Not

January 29:

So it is about time I got this posted. About two weeks ago I got my ManGlaze order and immediately wanted to put it on my nails but I had a neutral shade on for my first day of tutoring. As soon as I got home the nude polish came off and on went the ManGlaze!

"Fuggen Ugly" is anything but. The formula was not just good for a matte but good for any polish over which surprised me. In the past the mattes/suedes I have used are kind of tricky to deal with. It only took two coats for perfect coverage and the dry time was great!

The matte finish on this is really truly matte and for some reason seems different from all other mattes I have tried. I think that it is flat but somehow has depth to it. Oh and did I mention the fact that this polish has tiny colorful sparkly bits in it when it is "un-matted". I didn't actually put a top coat on this, it was much to beautiful on its own, but when it was drying I saw them.

Something else that really impressed me, besides the shipping and formula, was the actual company itself. They were really responsive and polite! I don't usually buy polishes online and especially not through the company itself but I think I will be back shopping with ManGlaze sometime soon. Plus, they are from Chicago!

I just tried out some fimo designs on my nails so I'll have pictures up sometime soon. All I have to say is "Revvvolution" and kitties.

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

I Got BBQ All Over My Fingers

January 28:

Ok so not really, but I did paint O.P.I.'s "Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ" on my nails!

This color is another vampy, but I think I would consider it a vampy red instead of a vampy purple. In fact, it is the exact color of BBQ sauce! This polish was very easy to apply, I only used two coats, and it lasted without chipping for two days. This winter weather has been awful on my manicure, but I am planning on experimenting with some base coats to see if any help.

After two days, and a chip, I touched up my mani and topped it with one coat of China Glaze's "Golden Enchantment" but apparently I didn't take a picture of it. Either way the gold holo worked well with the BBQ sauce.

Before I go I feel I should mention that this is a very morbidly named polish. As a Chicagoan I have heard the story of how Mrs O'Leary's cow knocked over the lantern that supposedly started the Chicago fire. That same fire burned down a lot of the city (having been mainly wood at the time). I can't even imagine what Mrs O'Leary would be putting BBQ on...maybe it was her cow?

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

Winter Pick-Me-Up Mani

January 22:

What better a way to combat the -0 degree weather than with eye searingly pink goodness? Winter is probably my favorite season besides fall, the two always compete for my favorite spot. Yet I was feeling so down with my manicures this week that I needed something bright, cheery and unusual to pick me up.

After a bit of contemplation I came up with this:

5 coats of China Glaze's "Shocking Pink". The formula makes me mad. I wish this was even a 3 coater, 5 is pushing it, but for this color it is worth it. Maybe I will try it over white some time soon. This polish dries matte so you will need a top coat and for some reason it likes to chip easily so I didn't keep it on for more than a day and a half, but that was enough to put me in a cheery mood.

Also, I wanted something besides just a plain manicure so I figured I'd add a stamp. At first I was going to stamp lollipops but for some reason fish bones seemed like a better idea. For the stamps I used O.P.I.'s "Ogre the Top Blue".

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

Stylish Blogger Award!!!

January 19:

I can't believe I actually got this! This is really exciting and I can't give enough thanks to Une Ruxi à Paris

So when you get tagged you are supposed to do the following:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

These are my 7 things:

1. I am a German major in my third year of college. Every so often I will capitalize all of my nouns like we do in German.

2.I was born on the East Coast but moved to Chicago when I was 6.

3.I am a die hard hockey fan. Go Chicago Blackhawks!

4.I have three tattoos: a ball of yarn, a book and J.R.R. Tolkein's Insignia on my ankle.

5.Every summer or winter I go to Puerto Rico to visit family.

6.I write romances as a hobby.

7.I knit like crazy for periods of time then don't knit for a few weeks. It is an odd cycle.

Here is who I tag:

1. Ms Blackhawks

2. Mon Coin A Moua

3. Nouveau Cheap

4. Lacquer Laine

5. Aurora's Nails

6. Alizarine Claws

7. Deep End Of The Loom

8. Mooncalf Makes

9. Tirnaklar Fora

10. Thomasina Knits

11. Polish Lava

12. Muddy Moose

13. Music, Corsets and Star Wars

14. The Needle And Damage Done

15. Anyone else that wants to do this go right ahead!!!

Zoya Promotion Polishes

January 19:

I received my 3 free polishes this weekend but I didn't have a chance to do a manicure with them until Monday. The three that I ordered were Veruschuka (a pine green matte velvet); Yasmeen (A blue toned purple with gold shimmer); and Ki (A gray/green/purple duochrome).

Let me just say it is impossible to photograph Ki. She looks great on the nail and then you pull out a camera and her duochrome hides. You can see it a bit better in the skittle swatch above. The formula was pretty good, it applied fine in two coats but I did three just in case. The dry time was fine, but I guess it is to be expected since this is a 3 free formula. The finish is kind of frosty, I could see a lot of brush strokes, but it is not enough to drive me insane.

For some reason I always have issues with Zoya when I paint it on my nails. The first Zoya manicure I did was with Kym and I smudged it up so much I took it off, after 10 minutes of wear, and painted something else. Then I did Karina which was a bit better, since I had learned from the first time that the Zoya Wicked collection took extra long to dry, and I woke up with a few chips. Then I used Ki and again it chipped on my very very quickly. Also, it never fully dried on my pinky for some reason, even after 24 hours, so I took it off and now I am sporting O.P.I.'s "Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ".

Even though I have so many issue with Zoya manicures, the colors are so nice that I am willing to try again. One Zoya I have not tried besides skittle swatching is "Kelly". The formula seemed much better so I am looking forward to it!

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

First Weekend of School: Nail Spam

January 9:

I seem to go for 5 days wearing on color and then two or three days constantly changing it. That happened this weekend. After a week of SOPI's "Sephora-212" and a bit of nail polish shopping, I painted my nails three times this weekend! It was fun, and I think I have settled on a color for the first part of the week. At first I was wanting a bunch of dark colors on my nails, but now I feel bright in-your-face polishes are going to prevail this week.

First off was three coats of Essie's "Demure Vixen" with knit stitches from my new Konad plate stamped on top. I used OPI's "William Tell Me About OPI" for stamping and the plate is m69. This manicure was supposed to inspire me to finish knitting a pair of mittens...it didn't work, but I love the manicure!

Next is two coats of Illamasqua's "Phallic". The name of this polish makes me laugh. This is a dark dark blue glitter/shimmer which you can barely tell here. It is more prominent in sunlight. Of course when I remembered I had this bundle monster stamp, which cannot being anything else but sperm, I had to put it on top. You may try to convince me it is just a bunch of balloons but I am set in my dirty ways. I used N.Y.C.'s "White French Tip" for the sperm stamp. Haha..."Phallic" and sperm. It looked kind of cute actually!

Lastly, I did a manicure with some polish I bought today. This is two coats of China Glaze's "Ick-A-Bod-Y" from the Halloween Awakening collection. At first I only bought "Mummy May I" back in November, but I was intrigued enough by this color, and it was on clearance, so I bought. I am so glad I did. This color, orange glitter in a moss green base, looked like it was going to be Halloween in a bottle. That is great for October, but not for the rest of the year. However, I decided to swatch it on my nails and I fell in love. The orange is more subtle on the nail and the base tones the color down even more so you end up with a great glitter polish. This was definitely a surprise seeing as I thought this would be my least favorite of the bunch.

On a very happy side note, while at Ulta today I ran across a never before opened lonely bottle of Revlon's "Perplex". It was just sitting in the Revlon Matte display saying "Look! Here! You finally found me!" It has been over a month that I have been searching for this polish and when I stopped looking it just showed up! Of course I bought it so it might end up on my nails later this week.

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

First two manis of 2011!

January 6:

Surprisingly the first week of school has not kicked my butt. Yes, I have gone home with a headache almost every day, but it is nothing I can't handle. I had planned on doing multiple manicures to combat the first week stresses,

however the second manicure I did I fell in love with and I haven't changed it since Monday.

The first manicure I did was simply O.P.I. "Ink" and "Ink Suede" as a funky french. One coat of IS as the base and one of "Ink" on the tips and I was set for the weekend. Of course, I had to see what it would have looked like with a shiny top coat. Just as awesome apparently, though I am on a matte craze right now (I just ordered Manglaze's "Fuggen Ugly" and Zoya's "Veruschuka") so I think if I do this again sometime soon it would stay matte. IS lasted on my nails two days without any major chips, which I expected, but it didn't go satin on me either so that was a bonus. It made"Ink" more prone to chipping, and I needed a few touchups, but overall it was great.

(With top coat)

At first I hated this next color, then I was intrigued by it so I bought it, then I actually wore it and I fell in love! SOPI's "Sephora-212" is such a glorious polish, yet you could never tell from the bottle. I looked like a dirty brown holo/flaky mess, but it got rave reviews and I had never tried a flaky polish so I caved and bought it. Then it sat around for a bit while I was unimpressed by SOPI's "Worth my Weight". On Monday it was finally time for this polish to shine. Two coats was all it took. The holo glitter that looked overwhelming and out of place in the bottle evened out and added a subtle sparkle. The flakies complemented the dark golden green olive color. It reminds me a lot of nori (seaweed sheets used for sushi), anyone else see get that?

I haven't had the heart to take this off, I love it too much. Well that and it hasn't chipped so there has been no need to. I would have added this polish to my top 10 of 2010 if I had tried it last year, it is that awesome! Another bonus, it dries smooth. And it is so interesting to look at that it doesn't get boring. Perhaps this isn't an all year color but it looks so good I might just have to make it one!

That's all for now, hopefully I can get my top 10 designs of 2010 posted later today!

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress

Top Ten Polishes of 2010

January 2:

I know this is two days late but that is ok. These are my favorite polishes of the year. Since I didn't really start buying polishes until May this is really my favorites from the last 7 months. It was surprisingly easy to choose my favorites. There were many colors that I liked a lot but just a few that I loved!

The polishes are in no particular order:

O.P.I.'s "Glitzerland" a warm gold metallic. 3 coats. I wore this for Thanksgiving and for New Years. This is a great gold that looks good with my skin. Great formula, dry time and overall finish.

Orly's "Space Cadet" a purple/green duochrome with a teal base. 3 coats. How can this not be on the list. This is one of the coolest polishes I have ever seen. Good formula and amazing finish. I can't stop looking at my nails with this one on.

Illamasqua's "Scarab" a blood red shimmer. 2 coats. First Illamasqua I owned. It spawned an obsession. Unbelievable formula, dry time and finish. Lasted a while on my nails without chipping.

Essie's "St. Lucia Lilac" a pastel lavender purple creme. 3 coats. I love this color. It is so simple and dainty and so pretty to look at. Lasted a while without chipping.

China Glaze's "Frostbite" an electric blurple shimmer. 2 coats. The biggest surprise favorite of the year. This was a polish I bought on a whim and now I can't stop thinking about it. Great formula and finish. Electric look. Definitely a perfect winter pick-me-up polish!

O.P.I.'s "Barefoot in Barcelona" a dark nude creme. 2 coats. Another great surprise favorite. This is a simple polish, but it looks so professional without giving me mannequin hands.

Essie's "Mint Candy Apple" a minty blue creme. 3 coats. Another great winter pick-me-up color. Bright, fun, minty polish. Held up well.

Essie's "Jazz" a warm white/beige creme. 3 coats. Another simple shade that I absolutely loved. Easy to apply, lasted while I wore it, couldn't stop looking at it.

Essie's "Turquoise and Caicos" a turquoise creme. 4 coats. This polish gave me so many issues. The first time it bubbled like crazy. The second time it creased like crazy. It takes four coats to be opaque...yet I think this is such a pretty color. It is fun and bright, reminding me of the Caribbean sea.

China Glaze's "VII" a vampy purple jelly creme. 3 coats. I bought this because it was on sale. I used it a fell in love with the jelly finish. I matted it and fell in love with the frosted venetian glass look. There is nothing bad to say about this polish. One of my all time favorites!

On Vacation With: Nail Polish Spam

January 1:

Happy New Year!!! I am back once again after a short break, this time I was in Boston visiting family. Hopefully this is my last break from blogging for a while. On Monday I start school so that means no more trips for 11 weeks.

Of course I have had many manicures since my last post so I'll just put them all on here.

First up is my actual Christmas mani. This was two coats of China Glaze's "Phat Santa" with N.Y.C. "French White Tip" stamped on top. I added crystals for effect. PS is a dream red! It looks like a jelly, but is opaque in two coats. Dry time was average.

Next is a very simple mani to counterbalance the Christmas manicures. This was four coats of O.P.I.'s "Bubble Bath". I love this sheer pink/nude enough to do four coats. I think it makes my nails look nicer than they actually are (sorry guys).

Here is two coats of China Glaze's "Frostbite". I have been bitten. This one actually makes my top ten list for 2010. I love how vibrant and electric the blue is and it was a great formula! I would have kept this one on for my trip to Boston but I didn't think it seemed very New Yearish to me so I took it off. This will probably be back on my nails soon.

This was supposed to be my actual New Years manicure. Metallic nails seemed the way to go. Unfortunately this didn't last because I got my nails don by my cousin in Boston. I am wearing three coats of Orly's "Shine" and "Rage" and O.P.I.'s "Glitzerland". These are really shiny with three coats and they all look great together.

Last, but not least, is what I am wearing now. This was two coats of Essie's "Luxedo" with one coat of CND's "Crimson Sparkle" on top. I love this combination so much! Luxedo is gorgeous and with CS I think it looks somewhat like O.P.I.'s "Tease-y Does It". This manicure was done by my 11 year old cousin, she is just as obsessed with nails as I am. That was a pleasant surprise!

Another big surprise was getting to see the O.P.I. Texas Collection in Boston! I happened across it while at a Beauty Supply shop with my aunt and cousin. All of the colors look great so now I am even more anxious for this collection to be released.

Up next I hope to have my top 10 colors and designs for 2010 posted so stay tuned for that. Happy New Year!

Until next time,

Happy Painting!

The Nailventuress