Announcements

Hey. I'm seriously tired of doing this to you. I just can't do it. I was looking so forward to showing you my blue nails, but there has been zero sun for weeks. I can't wait around for the sun to come out. I am a full time student and I work full time. In fact I should be sleeping right now. The no sun light did nothing for the nails, and they were seriously the prettiest mani I have ever done. In photos they looked terrible. I can't even bring myself to show them to you.

I am seriously considering just shutting down the blog all together. I'm not getting any enjoyment out of it. I need to prioritize and concentrate on getting through school and this nail polish obsession I've been going through is taking up too much of my time, not to mention my money.

I spent so much money on black friday that I ran out of dog food for my dog and had to scrounge  75 cents so I could buy her a can of food the day before payday (I promise she ate everyday. I wouldn't do that to her). Not to mention I didn't eat more than string cheese for 2 or 3 days. I have a problem and it needs to stop. I can't afford it.

So, I am on a no buy for december...none. nothing. Zero polishes. My grades have dropped slightly this semester and I need to bring them back to the quality of work that I expect from myself.

So until further notice, I will not be posting pictures. I am considering creating another blog that would be more like a journal and a place to vent. Next semester for me is going to be very tough and there just is not enough time in my day to do everything I want to do. I want to blog. But right now it feels more like a job that I am sucking at, and not something I do on the side. I want to succeed....and right now I feel like a failure. I need to brighten my life, not bring it down.

I am still going to leave this blog up for a while, and I will still keep my facebook page and twitter up if anyone wants to contact me.

I'm sorry...I'm just not cut out for this.

31dnac day 4: Garland on a tree!

Hello Friends! Auto posting didn't work! So you're getting this a day late, sorry. I'll double up on one of my later posts. I stopped trying to remove the nails from the sticks at this point, and so from here on out all of the manis will still be stuck on the sticks. Today's mani was inspired by garland on trees. This was originally going to be my yellow post because I had no inspiration. Then the yellow inspiration hit and I changed it. Sadly you didn't get to see my actual mani for yellow, but that's okay. The following is 3 coats of China Glaze Winter Holly and then I used the spun sugar method with Color Club Daisy Does It. The strands turned out a little thick, but otherwise it's a neat effect. There hasn't been sun for DAYS so I couldnt capture the speckled goodness.

Enjoy!

Have a safe day!!

31dnac Day 3: Yellow

Hello! Quick post for today as I am super tired and it's the week before finals and I am swaaammmppped with homework. My nails for this actual challenge were utterly destroyed, so again you get a swatch I have sitting around in my file o' photos. Below is two coats of Sinful Colors Pull Over, which I bought because I was hoping it was similar to Cult Nails' Feel Me Up not sure it is exact but it satisfied my lemming!!

 It's my new favorite yellow!!!

Hope you have a great day!

31dnac Day 2: Orangaments!

Hello! I'm still sad about the nails, but I managed to save today's nails! I took these pics yesterday when I was still sad, but they turned out ok...ish... I love these nails in real life. I was trying to figure out how to make orange nails christmas-y, and I google image searched and came up with a vector of an ornament which I found here. I can't show you an actual picture without buying the stock, but if you click you can see the picture.So this is inspired by an oranament! an Orangament! lol.


Tiny Note: These are on false nails...see this post to read more about it.

Aren't they cute?! Starting from the lightest color, I sponged the ever infamous Fingerpaints Lemon Sour in the corner, then I used Essie Fear or Desire to start the gradient, working in a semi circle around the corner of the nail. After that I used Essie Orange, it's obvious! using the same technique and ending with OPI Chop-sticking to My Story. At the end I had a perfect gradient on my sponge lol. If you want I can try and do a tutorial. Let me know in the comments!

 For the stars I used Milani White on the Spot and BM 14 to stamp stars repeatedly all over the nail. I think this mani would look great in any color! Blue or purple would be really pretty! OOH Lavender with black?!?! *wheels are turning*

To make this more Christmas-y you could do a green gradient with gold stars, or if you have many shades of red (which I do) that would also be pretty with either gold or silver stars.

What do you think? My yellow nails got completely destroyed, but I have a plan for tomorrow. I'll see you then!! Also, I'm going to start posting not blog-worthy pics of things on my facebook page  and I really want to start interacting with my readers more. So feel free to post pics of your manis or tweet me!

I'm Depressed!! 31dnac

Hello Friends. If you're in the PAA Facebook group you may already know this. But I spent the vast majority of November knee deep in polish making 31 sets of 5 false nails to do my SECOND attempt at the 31 days of nail art challenge. Every set was not only the theme from the challenge, but also Christmas themed. Well long story short, the glue I used to put the false nails on sticks so I could paint them more easily was too strong, and I can't get them off the stick. I tried acetone, but I'm afraid of melting the nail also. At this point I have 25 sets done and I was about to do day 26 today but I don't know at this point. I'm gonna try and salvage as many as I can. I completely ruined the red nails (which is fine, it was just a ruffian with OPI Goldeneye and The Spy Who Loved Me,which I can recreate if anyone wants me to), but I did manage to save the orange nails, and I ruined some of the yellow nails, which were ugly anyway. I stopped there. I may end up just showing them on the sticks in some sort of pretty way. I haven't decided. Would you guys be okay with that? I spent a lot of time on these and I don't want to just throw them away.

So instead of any Christmas themed nail art, today I will show you a crappy swatch of China Glaze Bend Over Backwards  from the Cirque de Solei collection. It's still red!!!

Why yes, that is upside down. It's kinda trippy...made me laugh anyway.

Macro shot of the beautiful shimmer in this polish that my regular swatches didn't capture.

Why yes, that is polish on my cuticle. This is me caring about it. -_-

 I HATE this polish in the lighting of my house. The light in my house is VERY yellow. But looking at this in white light and outdoors it is very pretty. This is two coats I believe.

Sorry if I seemed down, or short, but it's very disappointing to me right now.

Anything like this ever happen to you?

Have a happy 1st of December!

LynBDesigns: Swatch a thon

Hello Friends! Today I am bringing you swatches of these amaaazing polishes from LynBDesigns. Seriously...one of these is now in my top ten. They're awesome. Anyway!!! I have to say ahead of time...but I've been testing out different places to photograph because of the weather. It's been really cloudy all month which does not help with lighting. That and it is cold. I don't like cold. So some of these are taken in my bathroom straddling my bathtub and holding the shade back so I can get some sun, and some of them are taken in my shoddy light box with a crappy light (I asked for a better lamp for christmas so hopefully that will be remedied soon). All of these are over a glue basecoat, and Zero is over a white glue base coat (will explain later) and I had to blur out some bits (sometimes very obviously) I am telling you this now, so that if you are anti-photoshop then you can click out now. No hate. I honestly didn't see any of the stupid in real life. I was swatching and doing another project at the same time so I probably missed it. I want to show you these, even if they aren't the greatest swatches, because damnit, they're awesome and I can't wait any more.

TLDR onto the swatches!

First off is LynBDesigns Weeping Angel I believe this is 3 coats, but it may be four. This polish is verrry sheer. But worth it! I think the next time I wear this I'll layer it over a similarly colored grey.

The glitters in this were a bit hard to work with, but the effect is nice. I love this polish, and with a little work or some layering it can be amazing. It's a dove grey polish with silver hexes, white squares, black diamonds, white hexes, black and white bar glitter and holo squares. Plus the grey base has a very pretty shimmer in it, which looks holographic in the bottle shot below, but doesn't translate. Despite it's problems, I still love this polish and I would recommend it to any Doctor Who lover out there.

Next is Frogs Breath. This polish has a murky green base (a la Zoya Dree) with tiny black glitter, larger black hex glitters, black bar glitter, and black heart glitter (that I didn't even know was in there! l2R robyn). This is definitely more color accurate than the swatch on the etsy shop.

 I had some difficulty with this polish. I tried really hard to get more of the hexes out but didn't end up with too many on the nail. I love the polish without all that stuff though. It looks uneven because of the fishing. This polish would have been better if there were a greater amount of the different shapes so that it wouldn't be as difficult to get them on the nail, or if they were left out, because honestly I loved it with just the tiny glitters.

Words cannot describe how excited I was for Zero to join me in my home. I am not going to lie though....I'm disappointed. I wore this once before as a mani and it seriously lasted 4 days, and for me that is saying something because I can barely get a polish to last a day before I have serious tipwear. This polish has the same problem as Frogs breath there isnt enough of the extra stuff to get it on the nail properly. This polish has a white base with white hearts, stars, and bar glitter, black hexes, and red hearts. With tiny red glitters. Shown here over a glue basecoat that I added white acrylic paint to (applies a bit streaky, but I wear it under all my neons because it actually DRIES unlike regular white polish tends to do for me.) I still love this polish for the name and it's beautiful in the bottle. Just a bit of a PITA to get to look like what you want.

 Ah the star of the show. My new favorite glitter. Don't Blink. God it is so amazing. I mean look at that. and my pictures don't do it justice. That's how amazing it is. I'm going to copy what the etsy site says about this polish ". This polish is loaded with pink, purple, and teal squares in different sizes, small purple holographic squares, large and small iridescent hexes, blue and copper ultrafine holos" 2 coats over a black creme.

LOOK AT THE HOLO. *girly squeel*

LynBDesigns can be bought Here and she is currently running a $5 sale! Thats how I bought these!

I love these, despite their problems, I want to buy more of her polishes!! What I love about the bottle is the labels have cute little pictures that correlate with the collection the polish comes from. The two that reference Nightmare before Christmas (Zero and Frogs Breath) have a photo from NBC and The two Doctor Who polishes (Dont Blink and Weeping Angels) have a tardis on them!

Do you own any polishes from LynBDesigns?

Things you think of when re-organizing your stash

Hello friends, My fiance and I did a massive cleaning of our kitchen last night and my polish happens to be in there. I wanted to share some of the things I kept thinking while I was organizing. Side note: I had to nix the nail art drawer to make room for more polish....lol.

Where the hell do I put:
                                   Neon Yellow
                                   CG Dress me up...it's not pink...its not a neutral...aggghhh

Why do I have so many CG Greens? (I have 13) I don't even wear green!!

What brand do I put here? Do I leave room to expand? No! I'm not buying any more polish *gets on the internet to look at more polish)

Did I seriously just put purple in front of blue?

I don't have any dark blue china glazes...

Does teal go with green or blue?

Crap, I organized all my essies and I just found 16 more...I thought I was missing some.

Why won't juleps stand upright?!?!

I think I have five more of these coming in the mail...

When did I buy that?

Why are my Deborah Lippman's next to my Wet N Wilds?

God I need to have a blog sale...

I want to paint my nails with this color...no...this color...no...this color!!!

poor CND Guava is all alone...(I only have 1 CND)

Do I keep all my minis together? Or do I separate them by brand?

I need more essenses...why are all the good ones made in a different county?!?!

Ugh...why did I even buy crackles?

Ugh...Why did I even buy magnetics?

I wonder what the textured nail polish will look like....

I want to put on this glitter...but I didn't use a glue base coat...do I want to deal with the hassle of removing it?

God! I need to have a blog sale!!!


Do you have any thing to add? What do you always say when reorganizing?
 and to add a picture just for fun...here is a random photo!

My nail polish collection!

Hello Friends. I have been trying to post this for like a week now, but youtube was having none of that! So here it is: My nailpolish collecion video. Since this video series I have purchased new polishes. But thats the nature of the beast I suppose.

That is the link to the first video, the rest are actually on the rest of my channel.
Do you want to see more videos? What would you like to see?

Thank you!

My First Indie: KBShimmer Oh Splat!

Hello Lovelies. I want to show you my first indie polish. I've been wanting this polish since I first saw it, but I try not to buy polish online because I can't actually SEE it. I am SO glad I did. Now I want to buy every KBShimmer polish that has ever been made...Ever...MUST BUY ALL POLISHESES. Ok that's extreme. You get the point though! I saw swatches of KBShimmer Witchy Way, which I also bought, but haven't been able to photograph properly because the sky has been like this:

...for the past week or so. I know that the weather is awful on the east coast, but it is awful everywhere else too? I'm just curious. /End Tangent. Anyway, I saw the swatches of WW and decided I must have it, and wanted to add another polish to make the shipping worth it and I picked Oh Splat! 

Indoors, light through window

Same as above

Same as above

*dies* it's beautiful. Reminds me of pop tarts, or legos floating in milk. My fiance said it reminds him of the malted easter eggs that are speckled, what are those called? I have no idea. The white jelly base is perfect, it doesn't streak, and I want a bottle of just the base, lol.

Outdoor crappy weather light

same

 The glitter pieces come in the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow-gold, green, blue, and purple), and in varying sizes. I didn't realize that I had a purple one sticking off my nail until just now, ha. My favorite color of the glitters is the green. Its. soo. preeeettttyyyy.

same

same

One thing that I hadn't noticed in any other swatch of this polish (or any other post for that matter) is that the glitters are, in fact, metallic. Not matte, which i was disappointed with at first, but the white base takes away the shininess and therefore Robyn= Satisfied.

What I liked: I think you've gathered what I liked from the post above, lol.
What I didn't like: The fact that I don't have 8 bottles of it. I need a backup bottle. I need a backup of my backup bottle.
Overall:  Love. This. Polish. I feel elegant, yet quirky, when I wear it. It's fantastic. Christy Rose deserves an award.

KBShimmer Polishes can be purchased here
What are your plans for this upcoming week? This tuesday is my man's birthday and I'm trying to think of something nice to do for him that doesn't require money. Other than that I have a math final I have to study for. I've been in this stupid remedial math class for 3 semesters now (that's how long it's supposed to take) and I'm completely over it. It's a self paced class, and it just does not work for me. I want a real math class where I get taught actual things, instead of guessing.

I will leave you with a picture of Mr. Squirrel, the persnickety squirrel that lives in our tree and hates my dog and happened to have been walking by when I was taking photos of this polish.

Swatches of my recent buying regrets.

I still feel oogie, but I am feeling up for posting today. Today I have some polishes I bought recently that I wish I wouldn't have. You'll see why in the following pictures and descriptions. Have you ever bought a polish that you loved in the bottle, and in concept, but it turns out to just suck? That's what these are.

First up: Piggy Polish Lightmare

Direct Sunlight

Indirect Sunlight

Now at first glance you may think "It just looks like you didn't clean your cuticles" but I assure my friends, that there was much scrubbing of the cuticles involved. This crap WOULD NOT COME OFF. Nightmare, I tell you. I wore this polish one other time (thankfully with a glue basecoat) and the formula was great. The second time. Agh...lumpy disaster. It was so thick it was almost unusable. That makes me sad, this polish is such a unique color. Maybe if I buy some thinner I can save it, break it out next halloween, wear it once, and put it away. lol.

The next two, one is a formula suck and the other is a brush issue. Mind you I forgot to take pics of the actual brush. Lol. 

That's right. Colors from the L'Oreal Project Runway collection. I'm sad that I don't have cable right now because I LOVE THAT SHOW and it isn't on Hulu or Netflix.

First up, The Temptress's Power. This was the one I was more excited for. It looks soooo horrible on its own. I look diseased. Also, that is not dirt under my nails, That is some weird space that isn't white or the color of my nails...I don't know, I've always had that. I think this is four coats.

So diseased....ugh. And notice Lightmare is STILL stuck on my cuticles. Still. That crap would NOT come off.

Over black it turns into a very pretty green color. If I ever wear this polish, this is how I would wear it. I haven't tried wearing it over a nude, to get the bottle color. Can anyone recommend a color to wear underneath it to get a similar color to the bottle? I like the color, it's just way too sheer for my liking.

Now, The Mystic's Fortune is beautiful. It's gorgeous. These pictures don't do this polish justice. Enlarge the bottom one to see all the gorgeous purple, pink, and blue shimmer. The brush on this however, was jacked. It was cut at an angle so extreme it made the brush smaller than an Essie brush. Another reason I regret buying this is:

How many dark purples with shimmer do I need? I'm sure this isn't even all of them. From L-R: The Mystic's Fortune, Opi Ink, Unnamed color club (any ideas? I got it from Walgreen's for .99), Wet N Wild Toxic Apple, Orly Mysterious Curse, Deborah Lippman Dancing in the sheets, and  The Mystic's fortune again.

Sigh. Have you bought anything recently that you wished you wouldn't have?

I hope you guys have a great day!

Sorry Guys.

Sorry friends, I'm having a bit of medical trouble this week, and I'm afraid I am probably going to have to drop out of the This is Halloween challenge. I'm on some pretty hefty painkillers, and I probably couldnt paint a crooked line on my nails right now. They make me loopy!! I'm hoping I get better soon, and I will be back to posting.

Thanks for understanding, I know I seem to be having a lot of medical problems lately, but I'm trying to get better.

You guys are awesome.

My Picks from the Wet N Wild Pick Your Poison Collection

Hello Friends! Today I have the polishes I picked up from Walgreen's the other day from the new Wet N Wild Megalast Pick your Poison collection. I did not pick up the charcoal grey (it reminded me of Essie Over the Edge which I never use. lol..) or the bright blue (I have an NYC that is pretty similar). All of these are 2 coats with topcoat, I did however take the photos for Toxic Apple on a different day, so my nails look different.  

Nail Wheel Swatches

 Deadly Dose Direct sun, sorry about the shadow, best pic I had for the sun photos.

Shade

Deadly Dose a warm, yellow gold color. I bought this one purely because I do not have a gold this color. It's okay...not fantastic. Very streaky...Sparkly in the sun though. Formula is ok.

 I must have taken these before I squared off my nails...that angle looks funny...lol Direct Sunlight

Lethal Injection Shade

Lethal injection is a red based purple, or a deep purple-y red. It's not quite purple...and it's not quite red. Strange color. Once again, twinkly in the sun...streaky in the shade. Still pretty either way.

Toxic Apple  Direct sun

Toxic Apple Shade

Toxic Apple is one of my two favorites in the collection. It's a dark blurple, and in the sun it twinkles with blue and pink sparkles. It's beatiful. In the shade it's not as streaky as the others, and it really is very beautiful.

 Poison Ivy Shade, Note, that is NOT poison ivy that I am holding. lol.

Poison Ivy Direct sun

Poison Ivy is my hands down favorite of this collection. The base is a blackened green color with brighter green shimmer. The sun pic reminds me of The Matrix. I don't know why. This polish is beautiful. I did, however, experience some cuticle drag, that you can see on my middle finger. It's ok though, beautiful polish wins out over minor inconveniences.

What I liked: Pretty colors. I don't have anything like the ones I picked. Very twinkly in sun light. I'm a sucker for a good shimmer.

What I didn't like: Ugh that horrible brush on the megalast line...ugh...its awful. I find myself having to paint very very slow in order to not just paint my whole hand that color. lol.

Overall: I liked these. They aren't WOW outstanding, but I'm not sad I bought them.

My picks: Toxic Apple and Poison Ivy

Did you pick any up?

Note: I bought these with my own money, they were $1.99 Each at walgreens, no one is forcing me to write this post.