Quick NYE manicure!

The title says it all-- this is my NYE manicure! I have to say, I wasn't feeling very inspired and I didn't want to go with something typical like silver or blue (not that there's anything wrong with those colors-- I actually tried out a couple of both before settling on something else!). Finally, looking through my giant stash of polishes I still need to swatch, I picked out OPI The World Is Not Enough and then added an accent nail with OPI The Living Daylights. It fits the need for something fun and sparkly, but it also a little bit different. The glitter in The Living Daylights probably would have 'popped' better over a darker base color, but I like the fact that it's a little more subtle here.

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Happy New Year to all of you! Have fun celebrating tonight-- whether it's quietly at home or a big fancy shindig (or something in between!).

Zoya Neely

The next polish from the Peter Som fashion trio (and part of the forthcoming Lovely Spring 2013 Collection) is Zoya Neely. Zoya describes Neely as a "a full coverage opaque creamy mint with subdued undertones." I'm not sure what the 'subdued undertones' is supposed to mean-- maybe it's that there is a hint of grey in the polish to keep it from being too stark or too bright.

The formula on Neely was better than Jacqueline, but was still streaky in my hands. I'm pretty sure I had to use three coats (unfortunately, I didn't write it down in my notes) to get a completely streak-free finish on this. However, I was having an off day when I swatched this, and I think some of my problems were due to that, rather than the polish itself. Aside from being a bit streaky during application, the formula was similar to most Zoya polishes-- decently pigmented and pretty even, perhaps a little on the thick side. I would suggest waiting for this to dry in between coats to prevent dragging or avoid bubbling, especially if you are using thicker coats.

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My flash pictures make this seem brighter than it is-- it's more toned down in real life. Also, I feel like these pictures lean a little too blue.

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Like many polish addicts, I'm a sucker for these light green cremes-- even though green isn't my favorite color. This is a very pale light green and I think it looks lovely delicate, perfect for spring.

Zoya Jacqueline

For once, even though I am behind with my swatches-- I'm also sort of ahead! Tonight I have Zoya Jacqueline to share with you. Jacqueline was originally released back in September during Fashion Week as part of a trio for Peter Som, which I bought when it was released (and did actually swatched in September too!). It is being re-released as a part of Zoya's Spring 2012 Lovely Collection. So I can actually show this to you early (sort of)!

Jacqueline is a described as a "perfectly balanced opaque nude cream with cool and warm undertones" and a "perfect magnolia nude cream". This color reminds me of a frosting and has a subtle silver shimmer to it. On my skin, this takes on a sort of peachy-yellow tone, though in the bottle it definitely seems more like a creamy tan nude. The formula on this wasn't great, which seems to be commonplace with Zoya's nude cremes. I mean, the polish itself is decently pigmented and doesn't seem too thick or too thin, but it's super streaky. SUPER streaky. I used three coats here and I think it's still a little patchy in places. I used a very light touch when applying it, and made sure to wait for each coat to dry before applying the next one to avoid bubbling if I used thicker coats.

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I really do like how this looks, and the subtle shimmer is really pretty. I think nude could be flattering on a variety of skin tones. I just wish the formula was better.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas (or just enjoyed some time off)-- I was incredibly spoiled this year, thanks to my wonderful family. My husband and I (and our puppy) had a great time celebrating the holiday. It was going great until I got a terrible head cold-- I woke up Friday feeling like my sinuses were filled with cement. Luckily I have a great husband and he got me a Neti pot, Kleenex, and throat drops and now I'm feeling much better. It's just no fun being sick!

Nostalgic Lacquer Mad World

Today I have one of the polishes from Nostalgic Lacquer's New Wave Winter Collection-- Mad World, named for the 1983 Tears for Fears song. Even though I was born in the 80's, my childhood was largely shaped by the 90's, because that's when I was at most impressionable, but I love freaking love 80's music. So when I read that Nostalgic Lacquer was doing an 80's inspired collection for the winter season, I was all over that. So far I have only had time to swatch one polish, but I will have the rest for you soon!

Mad World is described as a  "a dazzling mixture of approximately 100 different glitters (and growing!). Hexes, squares, diamonds, shreds, hearts, stars, circles and bars! Each bottle is completely unique and different from the next. Layer this over your favorite base colors to create a totally original look." And it is indeed everything but the kitchen sink in terms of glitter. This polish is jam packed! Because I was swatching the Cult Nails Deception Collection at the same time, I layered Mad World over American Apparel Hassid. It's not a very original combo, but I think it looks pretty. With the clear base you could layer this over any color base. I dabbed this polish on, but with all the glitter it's very easy to apply using that method. Because of all the glitter, this dries down to a gritty finish, so you definitely need a top coat (or two) to make it shiny, glossy and smooth. I am not wearing a top coat in these pictures.

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I don't usually reach for this glitterbomb polishes, but the magpie in me loves this. Sparkly! Shiny! Pretty! I love all the different glitter types and how easy this polish is to apply. Mad World is available at the Nostalgic Lacquer Big Cartel site for $9.75.

Football Friday: Las Vegas Bowl Edition

Tomorrow the Huskies will appear in their third bowl game in three years-- the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. We play the Boise State Broncos-- the first of three meetings over the next two years. This isn't the first time the Huskies will have played an opponent in a bowl game and then turned around to play them the following season-- between 2010 and 2011 the Huskies played Nebraska three times in the span of a year, including a bowl game. It's a little strange, but not unheard of. I'm not really sure how this game will go, honestly. We've beat Boise State before, but that was a different team. We are surely capable of beating them, but given how inconsistent we are offensively, it won't be any easy task, especially if half our team doesn't show up. 

This manicure is super late because I've been busy everyday since last weekend. I was also wracking my brain for what exactly I wanted to do. I wanted to have some bling, since the game is in Vegas, which practically screams bling. You've seen the showgirls, right? Eventually, I decided to recreate a manicure I had done for a friend earlier this year. I used two coats of American Apparel Gold Flash and then layered one to two coats of Sephora by OPI Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild over that. And then I decided to get even more creative-- I decided to add some stamping on top of it! I just received some stamping plates and bought myself a stamper, so this is the very first time you're going to see some of my efforts. I am having some issues, but more on that later! I used American Apparel Imperial Purple to stamp a paw print on my ring finger using Mash plate 36.

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Sorry for the minimal pictures-- I only finished this manicure tonight because I've been so busy, so I could only take pictures in a couple of lighting conditions! I guess I need to have some of these manicures socked away for future use. I'm not in love with this manicure, mainly because I need to work on my stamping, but it definitely has potential! I do like that it's sparkly, but in a sort of understated way.

Go Dawgs! Beat the Broncos!!

Cult Nails Charlatan

Last but not least is Cult Nails Charlatan! This is a seriously gorgeous polish that is described as a "sheer top coat that completely changes your existing manicure by adding a fantastic glow that shifts from magenta to violet." I would say that Charlatan has a pink base with glass flecks that shift from pink to blue to purple. It's very pretty and exceedingly vibrant in real life-- my pictures don't do it justice.

Charlatan, like the other top coats from this collection, is very easy to work with. Here I have used one coat over American Apparel Hassid. The multichromatic shift is highly evident in person-- although my pictures show a lot of blue, you can definitely see the pink in real life. I'm glad that I was at least able to catch some of the purple shift in my photos. This is stunning in real life. I think it would amazing over a purple or a blue.

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Glad I'm able to get this post off! I'm feeling very accomplished tonight (in part because I left work a little early): I decorated my sugar cookies, wrapped presents and even got to play with my new stamping plates! (Yes, I got stamping plates-- from my work Secret Santa! Awesome! I'm so excited to play with them!)

Cult Nails Doppleganger

My profuse apologies for my super sporadic posting. I'm woefully unprepared to be a blogger because I generally don't have posts ready to go ahead of time, which is my own fault and now I'm trying to cram about a bazillion things in before we leave for the holidays on Saturday-- laundry, wrapping, cookie decorating, etc etc.  Additionally, we were in Portland this past weekend for my sister in law's surprise 30th birthday so it's been a busy month! In any case, excuses aside, I just want to say thank you so much for reading my blog and I appreciate it so much! I'm afraid that my posting will continue to be sporadic through the rest of the year. I hope each and everyone of you has a very merry Christmas (or had a very happy Hanukkuh) and enjoy having some time off from work and time with your family!

Tonight I have the second to last top coat from the Cult Nails Deceptive collection, Doppleganger! This polish is described as a "sheer top coat that transforms your existing polish by giving it a "dusty" feel while adding a familiar multicolored shimmer." The dusty feeling definitely comes from the fact that this has a milky white base that houses the shimmer. This polish also cast a slightly greenish to my base color (American Apparel Hassid).

I had some issues Doppleganger, but it's not anything to do with the polish itself-- just my application. I found it was very easy to over-apply Doppleganger, and it's very noticeable over the dark base color. You can see on my ring finer where I got too much top coat on it. You definitely need to use a light hand with this. But the shimmer does look gorgeous on the nail!

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And that's Doppleganger! I would definitely love to see this over a grey or a lighter base color. I have one more top coat to go!