Saturday, July 27, 2013

Wet N Wild The Clock Strikes Orange & American Apparel Redondo Beach

Hello again!

What time is it?

Time for another manicure of course!!

Are you excited, because I know I am.

I have a fun, simple manicure for you all that follows the fun bold color black trend of the summer.

Wet n Wild The Clock Strikes Orange & American Apparel Redondo Beach
For this manicure I started with three coats of Wet n Wild's The Clock Strikes Orange from the new Limited Edition Pop Art Craze collection from the Wild Shine line.  This collection is a set of six creme (though I'd go so far as to say crelly...creme jelly) polishes in fun bright colors for summer.  The Clock Strikes Orange is a great medium shade orange, a very flattering color for those who are a bit wary of oranges especially if they lean a bit yellow.

For my accent nail I used three coats of American Apparel's Redondo Beach from the Sheer collection, a sky blue crelly polish.

Now, even though orange and blue make a nice combination anyway, but I didn't just choose this one.  I had fashion influence on this one also...I wanted to match my new dress!

Sorry it's blurry, but this dress is from Dots Fashions
It's cute right!!

Sorry, haha, I rarely find cute, affordable maxi dresses, so when I do I get very excited.

Anyways, I hope you all liked today's manicure, be ready for more soon!

Leave me comments and questions below and follow me here as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

China Glaze Harmony

Hello all!

I have another manicure for you!  Isn't it exciting to actually have one within a week from the last for once?!  HAHA.

Today's polish is so pretty, and I'm so glad I managed to find it in a clearance pile at my local Ulta, especially since it's an older collection.

China Glaze Harmony
This is China Glaze Harmony from the Romantique Collection of 2009.  This polish is a really pretty amethyst purple metallic color that has a surprising color pay-off.

The Romantique Collection was all metallic polishes, all very pretty, and I was lucky enough to find this one and another (without a bottom label sadly) in the same clearance pile. 

The two polishes I did get have a GREAT formula that could probably be opaque in just one coat, but I painted two coats just because my first coat was a little thin and came out kind of streaky, but that was my fault.

I'm in love with this polish, the color, the finish (especially since there are practically no brush strokes, a big deal for a metallic polish), and the formula.

What do you guys think?  Have you tried the Romantique Collection?

Leave me comments and suggestions below and be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

Friday, July 19, 2013

Mint Manicures for Talia Joy

Hello all,

Today's post comes from a bit more serious of a place, but not necessarily a sad one.

As some of you may or may not know, the online beauty community recently lost one of their own.

Talia Joy Castellano passed away earlier this week after a long battle with neuroblastoma and leukemia at the age of 13.

There have been so many people touched by Talia's story and her passion for makeup and fashion.

Losing this amazing little girl has hit the online beauty community hard, but it has brought us all together in such a big way as we all take the time to remember just how much of an impact such a young girl has made on us all.

Today is an example of all of us who love and will miss Talia greatly honoring her memory.

In her final days, Talia posted a mint manicure, and in honor of her I am participating in Mint Manicures for Talia Joy so that I, and the other participants, will take a little piece of Talia with us today and share it with the world.

Butter London Two Fingered Salute
My mint polish for today is Butter London's Two Fingered Salute, a dusty mint green polish with copper glitter.

I chose this polish, not just because it was mint, but because it was even more perfect because it had a great sparkle to it, just like Talia.

I will always remember the warmth and joy Talia had and the simple love for life she showed.  She was beautiful and brilliant and just shone everywhere she went, even when she may not have felt her best, she knew that life was precious and worth living.

It may sound odd, but I hope I'm like Talia when I "grow up" and remember that everyday is a gift and that you make your own life beautiful.

We will never forget Talia Joy, she will have a place in our hearts forever and no one will ever be able to shine quite as bright as she did.



~ Cat

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Pink Wednesday: Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Treat-Heart

Back to regular posting for me (hopefully)!

And I think it's only fitting that I come back with a Pink Wednesday post (a day late but still).

You have to love your pink polishes, especially when they're insanely sparkly and have great texture.

That's the polish I have for you all today!

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Treat Heart
This is Treat Heart from the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat collection.  This polish is a very sparkly dusty pink color with the new trend of sand textured finish.

As usual, this polish applied just as well as my other Sugar Coats, nice and even, and looks best in three coats I think.

I felt like Barbie (in the best way) with this polish on!  It was sparkly but not extremely bright and just added a nice soft look while still having fun with texture and sparkle.

What do you all think of this one?  Have you tried the Sugar Coats or any of the other new textured finish collections?

Leave me comments and questions!  Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

SO MUCH CATCHING UP TO DO!

I'm going to jump right in for this post because there is A LOT to cover, haha.

Besides, who are we kidding, we all know you're here to see the polish, not to listen to me blather on!

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Cherry Tart
First up is Cherry Tart from Sally Hansen's new Sugar Coat collection.  This polish is a bright cherry red creme based, textured polish. 

I'm loving these Sugar Coat polishes, the texture on them is the perfect (or at least I think so), it's not too gritty but it adds a fun effect.  Not to mention it's nice to have textured polishes that aren't glittery, not that I don't like my glitters, but sometimes you just want a color.

China Glaze Hologlam Strap On Your Moonboots
Next, I have China Glaze's Strap On Your Moonboots from the Hologlam collection.  This polish is kind of a dusty sapphire blue holographic.

When it came to the Hologlam collection I'm a bit torn.  I won't say I dislike them because that isn't the case, but I wasn't as wow-ed as I would have liked.  The holographic effect on these is very subtle and the colors are all a bit...I dunno...dingy looking.  They're pretty, just not what I expected from a holographic collection by China Glaze.

Essie Sunday Funday
Next, is a prime example of polishes that I just couldn't catch on camera, especially since I didn't have sunlight and had to use LED light.  This is Essie Sunday Funday, a bright coral pink with a subtle shimmer to it.

This polish is so much fun for summer, and looks lovely in the sun with that little sprinkling of sparkle.

Pure Ice Free Spirit & Julep Sofia
Now we have another bright summer mani, this is Pure Ice Free Spirit with a coat of Julep Sofia over it.  Free Spirit is a pretty grass green color with a very slight shimmer.  Julep Sofia is an irridescent green and turquoise polish that, as far as I know even glows in the dark (I could be wrong). 

Sofia over Free Spirit left a really pretty subtle glitter effect that added just a little bit of extra to this manicure.

Finger Paints It's Bitsy Spider
Next is Finger Paints It's Bitsy Spider, a lavender polish with a great light blue flash of shimmer.  This polish is lovely and so much fun with that almost duochrome effect of the blue and purple together.

I was afraid this polish would be too sheer, but three coats made it COMPLETELY opaque and I just love it!

L.A. Girl Hologram Black Illusion
And lastly I have Black Illusion from L.A. Girl's new Hologram collection.  This polish is a black base with lots of holographic glitter bits in it.

The application of this polish (and the others in the collection) is very much like a jelly, but they all go opaque in three coats.

I'm told this polish is a great dupe for Zoya Storm, and there are a few others in the collection that are supposed to be dupes for some highly coveted Zoya polishes!  I'll be doing a collection swatch fest for these soon.

There!  I am all caught up with manicures I did over the last 2 ish weeks!

What do you all think?  Don't forget to leave comments and questions and suggestions below!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Last Two LGBT Pride Manicures - Color Club Eternal Beauty & KB Shimmer Oh Splat!

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned earlier, I'm SO SO SO sorry for being MIA for so long!

Since I went out of town, it has been insane here, and trying to get my schedule back to normal took longer than I expected. 

But I'm back now, and I have been taking manicure pics the whole time so now it's time for me to play catch up!

So let's get this train rolling!

I have to start with my last two manicures that I did for LGBT Pride Month.  I wasn't able to post these while I was out of town, and just haven't had time to post at all since I came back :(

Color Club Halo Hues 2013 Eternal Beauty
The first manicure I did while out of town was from the Color Club's 2013 Halo Hues collection in Eternal Beauty.  This is a gorgeous violet purple polish with AMAZING holographic effects to it.  I knew I had to use this one for Pride because, what's better than purple that makes its own rainbows?!  Not to mention it's called Eternal Beauty, which is a great reminder that each and every person in the world is always beautiful being exactly who they are!

KB Shimmer Oh Splat!
And then my very last LGBT Pride manicure for this year was KB Shimmer's Oh Splat!  This polish has a kind of off-white cream colored base with TONS and TONS of rainbow hex glitters in all sorts of sizes.  This one is basically another Pride Parade polish, PACKED with "confetti". 

Admit it, you can never go wrong with tons of rainbow glitter, right?!

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And of course I had to add one more serious blurb at the end, but this one is a happy one.  As most of you know, in this Pride Month, the US Supreme Court decided that not only was Prop 8 in need of being repealed, but that DOMA was unconstitutional, therefore opening the doors for legitimizing the legalized marriages of LGBT persons in the US (and hopefully these legal marriages will include even more states very soon).

But it was only fitting that this decision was made during Pride Month, making it all the more outstanding!

To finish my LGBT manicures, I wanted to add a fun yet heart-warming video I found that I think just sums it all up wonderfully.


Thanks everyone for following my participation in Pride Month 2013!

I had SO MUCH fun showing my support this way and sharing it with all of you!

Don't forget to leave me questions and comments, and follow/like all my social media thingies!!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

SO SORRY!

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I've been away for so long!  I've had a lot going on, I was out of town for a while and I've been adding a lot more working out and other things to my schedule.

On top of that I'm applying for jobs again, hoping something sticks this time.

I swear I haven't forgotten you all!

I'm coming back very soon, and I have been taking pics of my manicures!

I have a few new collections I'll be swatching for you all, and of course lots of fun polishes in general to share!

Sorry again for the hiatus, but I am still here, I swear!

Hugs & Kisses & Great Polishes!

~ Cat