Stripes

Dear Readers:

Hello again! I'm still here, and I'm still painting my nails, but I've become less disciplined in posting on my blog regularly. I still share pictures quite often on my Facebook page and my Instagram, so if you don't already follow me there you should!

Below are a couple of pictures of a striping tape manicure that I attempted. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I think the work was pretty tedious to get it to look as nice as it does. Maybe it gets easier? But maybe I'll never know because I may not mess with the striping tape again for a while!

Left Hand

Cinderella Hand

I think my Cinderella hand turned out better than my left hand... I always do it last when it comes to nail art and it always turns out better! Anyway, I used all Zoya polishes for this manicure. The purple is Carly, the green is Meg, and the blue is Robyn. 

If you're curious how I accomplished this look, I used THIS tutorial by Sam from TheNailasaurus.com. She does striping tape manicures all the time and is ridiculously good at it!

If you're reading this, thank you VERY much for stopping by. :) I hope I don't go another 4 months before posting again!

--Dixie

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Incoco Nail Polish Appliqué

Hello everyone!

As usual, when I've been missing for a while, I blame the book worm inside me. I've just been in the mood to read, read, read and NOT to blog or paint my nails. I'll stop apologizing since it happens so often. I've accepted that I'm not going to be one of those bloggers that blogs every day or even every week, but I don't plan on leaving this thing to gather TOO much dust. ;)

In March's Birchbox, I received these Incoco nail polish strips. I've used Sally Hansen nail polish strips several times before, but never any other brand. I've heard some brands are better than others, so I was unsure about how these would turn out.

 

The application was identical to the Sally Hansen strips. Very easy to use, same size options, etc. Since I JUST applied them, I'm unsure about how long they will last. The package claims up to 14 days, but I'm not sure I could stand to leave them on that long. I'll be happy if I get 5-7 days. :)

Thanks for dropping by!

--Dixie

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Zoya PixieDust Collection

Happy Friday Everyone!

Today I am finally sharing my swatches of the Zoya PixieDust Collection. Please keep reading for more photos and details about these lovely polishes. :)

Click READ MORE!

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Nail Spam!

Hello Friends!

I mentioned I might have to do a "spam" post, and I have decided that's probably the only way I'll catch up on the plethora of manicures I have to share with you. 

Click READ MORE below to see more photos and details!! :)

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And The Winner Is...

Congratulations Zené Snider!

I will be sending you an e-mail shortly to work out the necessary details, and I am so excited to be able to share these lovely Zoya PixieDust polishes with you! 

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered the giveaway! I was overwhelmed with the response. I wish I could send you all a prize, but of course I cannot. :( I will be swatching the PixieDust collection shortly and hope to be able to share them with you by early next week.

In the mean time I have a couple of other posts planned that I hope you will stick around to see this week.

Thanks again for making Dixie's Cup's 1st birthday so special!

--Dixie

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Cult Nails - 2nd Anniversary Collection

YAY! Cult Nails!

The Cult Nails 2nd Anniversary Collection was released last week and I couldn't resist. To celebrate, they are also including a free gift while supplies last! You will either receive a pair of cubic zirconia earrings, OR 3 lucky people will receive real diamond earrings. Visit the website HERE to order!

The colors in the photo below are, from left to right: Tempest, Blaze, & Fetish.

Clicky clicky!

As you can see, I wanted to use all the colors at once, so I did. There are no rules!! (Did anyone else think of the Little Caesar's commercial? I watch too much t.v.)

On my thumb and pinky: 2 coats of Tempest.

On my index finger: 2 coats of Fetish and 1 coat of Blaze.

On my middle finger : 2 coats of Fetish.

And on my ring finger: 3 coats of Blaze. 

Each finger has a base coat and is topped with Cult Nails Wicked Fast Top Coat (except for on my middle finger there is no top coat). 

Blaze is a gorgeous mixture of fine copper and gold glitter. It is densely packed, so it is easy to get full coverage. It looks great over black, but it also looks beautiful by itself. 

Fetish is a black polish that dries to a waxy finish. What I love about it is that it lasts longer than your typical "matte" finish polish. Every matte polish I have used chips within hours of it drying. This lasted two full days before showing any major wear!

Tempest is described as "a high gloss, self leveling, pure white polish perfect for manicures and nail art". It is practically perfect in one coat, but photographing for my blog shows ALL the imperfections, so I did a 2nd coat just to be safe. :)

ALL of these polishes are fantastic, in true Cult Nails form. I also discovered that the "special request" section on your order form brings out the creativity in the Florida-based owners and their daughters! (If you didn't know, I'm a dental hygienist and I have a thing for teeth). 

Thanks so much for dropping by! Let me know what you think about Cult Nails' most recent release. 

--Dixie

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Zoya - Stacy

What's up Ladies (& Gents)?

The manicure I'm sharing today is a fairly old one. I am really behind on my blogging! I probably need to do a "Nail Spam" post soon, just so I can share a bunch of these manicures at once. I paint my nails several times a week, and I have definitely not been blogging several times a week, so yeah.

And let's not even talk about the beauty boxes that I have fallen behind on. I used to share my Birchboxes every month, and I haven't shared a box since August. :-/  I'm trying to work on that!

Moving on.... Below is a manicure using Zoya Stacy as the base color and Zoya Daul as the color for the tips.

Stacy is a dark raspberry cream. It is the perfect vampy shade, and the formula is so wonderful, like all other Zoya polishes. This is two coats of Stacy. Then I used the french manicure sticker guides to paint the tips with Daul. Daul is a red-toned purple with a golden shimmer that seems to make the polish glow from within. Of course it is very difficult to tell since I only used the polish on my tips, but I've worn Daul by itself and - take my word for it - it is GORGEOUS. :)

Here is a swatch of Stacy by itself without a topcoat. So perfect. :)

Thanks for dropping by and PLEASE DON'T FORGET to check out my GIVEAWAY!!! I will be giving away Zoya's PixieDust collection (which hasn't even been released yet!). 

--Dixie

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Nails Inc. - Baker Street

Happy Sunday!

While I realize that Nails Inc. Baker Street is not a new polish, it is exciting for me because I have been really wanting it for quite some time. This post is also exciting for me because it is my first successful attempt at stamping. I have tried stamping numerous other times with no results that I wanted to share, but after finally getting my hands on the proper equipment I have made progress. :)

Click photo to enlarge!

First, I just have a photo of Baker Street by itself. This is two coats on top of a base coat with no top coat. The formula of the polish is super easy to work with, and if it wasn't for the extremely long and flimsy brush, I probably wouldn't have had any cleanup. Being fairly new to the Nails Inc. brand, I am definitely not impressed with their brushes. :-/

Here is the fun part! I used the #42 Mash stamping plate. I stamped on one nail and decided to quit while I was ahead! The result was practically flawless until I smeared it just a tiny bit with my top coat. I guess I'll have to work on that. I discovered that the trick for me (for now) is that I had to order a Konad stamper and Konad special stamping polish. The Mash stamper just wasn't cutting it, and I guess none of my polishes that I tried work well with stamping. Glad I got that figured out. Hopefully you will be seeing more stamping from me! :)

Also, the glitter on the middle finger is Nails Inc. Soho Street. It is an explosion of rainbow glittery goodness! :)

Here is a macro shot of the stamp and glitter, just for good measure. Any suggestions on how I can avoid the streaking of my stamp? I waited at least 5 minutes for everything to dry before apply a quick-dry top coat.

Thanks for dropping by and PLEASE DON'T FORGET to check out my GIVEAWAY!!! I will be giving away Zoya's PixieDust collection (which hasn't even been released yet!). 

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Happy Birthday, Dixie's Cup!

Hello there!

This really snuck up on me, but today is my blog's first birthday! I want to do something nice to celebrate, so I've decided to have a giveaway. That's right. One of you lucky ducks will get a present for MY blog's birthday.

I wanted to give you guys something that you will hopefully REALLY want. At least I know *I* really want it! I have decided the prize will be a collection of polishes that haven't been released quite yet. Have you heard of the Zoya PixieDust Collection? Although this isn't the first brand to release a collection with this unique sparkly matte texture, it is still a fairly new concept to me so I am really excited. I have pre-ordered a set for myself as well as a set to give away. Just be sure to follow all of the rules when entering in the rafflecopter form below for a chance to win!

Here are photos of the collection that I borrowed from the Zoya website.

Rules for Giveaway

You MUST follow my blog via Google Friend Connect in order to be entered to win this prize. The easiest way to do this is to view the web version of my blog (as opposed to the mobile version). When you are viewing the mobile format, you will not be able to see the section you will need to use to follow my blog. Click the blue button on the right-hand side of my page that says "Join This Site". It will likely prompt you to log in, and then you just have to select "follow publicly".

The contest starts Tuesday, January 15th at 12:00 am and ends Tuesday, February 5th at 12:00 am. This contest is open internationally. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Essie - Pretty Edgy

It's me again! 

Two blog posts in one week. I know.... right?! You must be wondering how this is possible. Firstly because I am forcing myself to take a break from my book series for a day. Not sure if I'll make it the whole day, but I'm trying. Also, it is snowing outside. I want to go to Victoria's Secret to utilize my gift card from Christmas during their semi-annual sale, and I'm hoping the snow will let up soon. I may end up going while it is snowing anyway. Snow can't keep me from new undies!

Today I'm sharing a not-so-new Essie polish with you. This polish was released in a collection in 2010. I've been wanting it since the first time I saw it on one of the nail blogs I read, but only recently got my paws on it. I found it at my local ULTA.

Click to Bigify. :)

This is Essie Pretty Edgy. SUCH a pretty blue-toned green. I point out the blue-ish tint because I want you to know which photo here is the most accurate. I had a very difficult time getting my camera to show this polish in its true form. The photo below would be the most accurate depiction of Pretty Edgy. The polka dots on the accent nail were done with OPI Goldeneye. 

Most accurate color

The photos show 2 coats of base coat, 2 coats of the color, and 1 coat of top coat. Of course I had to use 2 coats of base coat to protect myself from any unwanted staining. Gotta love those greens. The formula on this was perfect. Buttery smooth and, even with the tiny Essie brush, super easy to apply. No complaints about this polish. I'm so glad I finally own it! I will NEVER own enough green nail polish.

With flash

Here is a photo taken with the flash. It is the least color accurate, but I still wanted to share it.

I just love those cream polishes that look so perfectly smooth on my nails, and this is one of them. It didn't disappoint. I hope you like it too. :)

Thanks for dropping by!

--Dixie

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FNUG - Psychedelic

Hello my dear friends!

I would like to start by wishing you a belated Merry Christmas! I wore this manicure for Christmas and really wanted to post it on or before Christmas Day, but I failed miserably. Oh well, here it is now.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am a big fan of reading books. When I get on a reading kick, I can be a "zombie" for prolonged periods of time. This means that every spare moment I can find is being spent reading my book, and I even try to read while performing certain tasks like cooking or brushing my teeth (I'm not joking). I usually can't be bothered with silly things such as sleep or speaking to my husband when I'm REALLY into a good book or series, so that typically means that blogging gets pushed aside as well. Fortunately I eventually snap out of the book trance and catch up on blogging at some point, and here I am now. :) I hope you can all forgive me, and also know not to be worried when I disappear for short bursts. In case you are a fan of reading too, here is a link to my Goodreads account where I keep track of what I'm reading.

Onto the good stuff:

PLEASE click to enlarge!!

The gorgeous polish you see in all these photos is FNUG Psychedelic. This is my very first holographic nail polish and I cannot believe it took me so long to get my hands on one. Of course, I was being picky about WHICH holographic I wanted to own first. I didn't want to settle. So I waited until I could get my hands on what I've read on other blogs to be one of the best holographics out there. I'll give you more information on how to get your hands on this polish at the end of this post. 

What you see above is 1 coat of FNUG Aqua Fix Basecoat and 2 coats of FNUG Psychedelic. No top coat. It seems as if the top coat can tone down the intensity of the polish a bit, so I photographed it without top coat. After doing the nail art you will see below I added one coat of top coat to protect it all, and it didn't seem to change noticeably. 

I used the Aqua Fix Basecoat because that is what the manufacturer recommends. I read that a lot of holographic polishes tend to drag and leave bald spots, which can require you to use a lot more than two coats. However, they claim this special base coat will help the holos stay put and allow you to use fewer coats. I researched this claim quite a bit and I found a lot of bloggers that recommended the use of a base coat like this, so I spent the extra money. I did not test the holographic without the special base coat yet, but I CAN say that with the base coat I only needed two thin coats of Psychedelic. 

I added a tiny little santa hat because I was feeling festive. The red is OPI The Spy Who Loved Me and the white is Finger Paints Paper Mache. The santa hat was free-handed with a small nail art brush.

Above is a quick photo of Aqua Fix Basecoat and Psychedelic. 

FNUG is an international brand that I wasn't originally able to get my hands on. It was extremely frustrating. If you are also located in the US and cannot seem to acquire some of those hard-to-get international brands, you MUST check out Harlow and Co. This website is so wonderful and is how I managed to get my hands on this Scandinavian brand. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

--Dixie

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Winslow Wednesday - O.P.I. The World Is Not Enough

Well, it's that time again. Wednesday. It's almost like it comes the same time every week...

Today Winslow took his ever-loving time choosing a color. He FINALLY settled on O.P.I. The World Is Not Enough (from the Holiday 2012 Skyfall Collection). Thanks, Dog.

Myra's fluffy self in the background

What you see is a base coat, 3 coats of The World Is Not Enough, and a top coat. This polish is similar in sparkle caliber to the Zoya - FeiFei color I posted before it. It is mostly a shimmery taupe color with some silver, pink, and possibly blue flecks.

The formula is good, it's just a bit sheer so it requires an extra coat. I don't mind that when the color is as eye-catching as this one. Cleanup was minimal. Winslow has great taste, yeah?

I don't really have much else to say. This is a pretty quick and easy post. I hope you all enjoy the color!

Thanks for stopping by!

--Dixie

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Zoya - FeiFei

Happy Friday!

Today has been a good day. I got a hot stone massage this morning, and my back has been feeling much better. Now I'm just going to relax at home today and write some things for you guys to read, and then I might read some of my book. 

The nail polish I am sharing today is the lovely Zoya FeiFei. I've had this one for a while, but I'm just now getting around to it. 

Clicky Clicky!

Please keep reading for more details and photos!

As you can see, Zoya FeiFei is a gorgeous deep blue that has various colors of blue and gold shimmers. It is such a complex shimmer polish and I absolutely love it. In the photos you see a base coat, 2 coats of FeiFei, and a top coat. I regret not adding a third coat of color for the photos because some nails appear a bit sheer. In person, those sheer spots weren't noticeable. The camera is very harsh!

As usual with Zoya polishes, the formula is good. I needed to clean up a bit, but that's not the polish's fault. :)

I love love LOVE this polish and will definitely be wearing it again. What do you all think of it?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend. :)

--Dixie

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Winslow Wednesday - O.P.I. The Spy Who Loved Me

It's time for WINSLOW WEDNESDAY again!

Time flies when you're being lazy... or something like that. ;) This past week or two I have been having some unusual back pain that I can't seem to get rid of, so I've been sitting around not doing much. I scheduled a massage for this Friday and I'm really hoping that will help. I've tried Icy Hot and heating pads and Ibuprofen... but to no long-term avail. :(

Anyway, enough whining. Onto the reason you're really here!

Winslow choosing OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

It took some coaxing, but Winlsow finally chose OPI The Spy Who Loved Me, which is from the Holiday 2012 Skyfall Collection (celebrating 50 years of James Bond - 007). I've purchased a few other colors from the same collection, but this is one that I think I was most excited about. I love a good red polish, and this is different from the others I own. It has a gorgeous golden shimmer in it that sort of makes it glow.

It is more difficult to see on the nail in the photos, but you can definitely see the golden shimmer in the bottle. In person, the red is MUCH more vibrant and sparkly. It would look just fantastic on its own, but I decided to add some glequins (from Born Pretty Store) to it for even more sparkle. My husband said it looks like I'm ready for prom! :P

The formula on this polish is MAGNIFICENT. I wish all polishes would apply like this one. It doesn't pool in the cuticles and it stays right where you put it. It is almost 100% opaque in one coat, but I did a second coat for photos. I recommend two coats because it added a bit more depth to the sparkle. 

Here is a macro shot for good measure. This shows the shimmer the best. 

I think these turned out a bit more fancy than what I was going for. It would look great for a holiday party or some other special occasion (like prom). Next time I'll stick to the accent nail. But I'll definitely be wearing this red sparkly goddess again!

Thanks for dropping by!

--Dixie

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Winslow Wednesday - OPI Don't Talk Bach To Me

Hey you guysssssss!

This blog post has been inspired by my favorite blogger Cris at Let Them Have Polish. She has a cat named Muffin and will occasionally allow Muffin to pick her nail polish for that Monday's manicure.  She calls this collaboration Muffin Mondays. I decided to allow my wire hair dachshund Winslow to pick my polish and dubbed it (oh-so-creatively) "Winslow Wednesday". 

Meet Professor Winslow

I posted a puppy profile about Winslow back in January shortly after starting this blog. Although it is fairly old, there's not much to add. He's basically the sweetest little pup ever. He loves to cuddle and is really good at pulling the puppy face, which helps him get basically whatever he wants. He's spoiled. Rotten.

Choosing OPI Don't Talk Bach To Me

Technically he picked the OPI Goldeneye polish on the right, but my camera was literally so slow, it allowed him to change polishes before it captured the photo. For blogging purposes, I went with what the photo shows!

Right Hand

Winslow chose OPI Don't Talk Bach To Me. This color is a part of the OPI Germany Collection Fall 2012. I wouldn't originally choose this color, but then I saw a swatch of it on a blog I think I mention quite regularly. You can see her swatch HERE. I've officially linked to the Let Them Have Polish blog THREE times in this post. I swear she's not paying me. ;)

I purchased this polish as soon as I had a chance to visit ULTA. Unfortunately it didn't really seem all that flattering on my skin tone. I decided this would be the perfect color to cover up with some nail art! Unfortunately, I was so focused on the nail art that I forgot to photograph the color by itself. Oh well, you can see the swatch that I linked to above. 

The formula of the polish was VERY easy to work with. It doesn't flood the cuticles, it self-corrects, and does fantastic in two easy coats. The OPI pro-wide brush is always a pleasure to work with. It's a shame that I don't really care for it on MY nails. :(

Left Hand - No Flash

Anyway, I decided on leopard print nail art because I hadn't tried it yet and it looked quite easy. Here is the link to the tutorial I used. Sarah at Chalkboard Nails is extremely creative and always has amazing nail art and tutorials. You should definitely check out her blog!

I used Essie - Lapiz Of Luxury (light blue cream) for the center of the spots and Nicole OPI - If The Blue Fits... (dark blue shimmer) for the outline.

The photo above is without flash and the one below is with flash.

Left Hand - Flash

What do you think? It's kind of an interesting-colored leopard, but several people recognized it as leopard print, so I must have done something right!

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully Winslow will make continued appearances on Wednesdays. :)

--Dixie

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Cult Nails - Behind Closed Doors Collection

OHMYGOSH you guys!

I should probably apologize in advance because if you don't already have these polishes... you're definitely going to want at least one (if not ALL) of them. These are my first Cult Nails polishes, and I can tell you they will not be my last.

Cult Nails is owned and run by a really awesome lady in Florida named Maria. For now her polishes are only available online at www.CultNails.com, but she is working on getting her brand into stores. I think it is only a matter of time. I need to stop blabbing and get on with the good stuff! 

Without further ado... The Cult Nails Behind Closed Doors Collection!

Flushed, Coveted, Disciplined, Bitten, Afterglow

Afterglow

I have to admit... when I purchased this set, Afterglow was the polish I was the least excited about. I love brown, but I felt like I already had this color. Until I put it on my nails!!!! Look at that. Just look at it! It is this lovely coppery-brown laced with little flecks of magenta/pink shimmer. I think it is extremely unique. 

What you see in the photos is a base coat, 3 thin coats, and top coat. I'm totally fine with the fact that it required 3 coats. It's beauty is completely worth it. :)

Afterglow

Bitten

Bitten was another color that I was a little "meh" about when I saw it in the bottle. I am SOOO glad I didn't pass it up. It is the prettiest shade of raspberry red mixed with a bunch of pink, magenta, and purple flecks. I love it a lot.

In the photos I used a base coat and 2 coats of the polish. No top coat, people! It's that pretty all on it's own. :)

Bitten

Disciplined

Ohhhhhh Disciplined! It is such a pain to photograph... but I think I did well enough that you get the point. I am a HUGE fan of gray, so naturally this was one of the colors I couldn't wait to wear. The fact that it had a bunch of purple, pink, and blue shimmer was icing on the cake. It's soooo soft and pretty!

This swatch has no base coat, 3 coats of color, and a coat of top coat.

Disciplined

Coveted

Coveted is one of the most unique polishes I've ever purchased. My favorite color is green, so naturally this is one of my favorites. It is a really awesome deep forest green jelly with green shimmer and big metallic green shards of glitter. There is so much to look at and admire! Unlike some glitter polishes, there is no fishing around in the bottle to get a sufficient amount of sparkle on your nails.

Pictured in the photos is base coat, 2 coats of color, and top coat. Love.

Coveted

Flushed

Last but not least... FLUSHED! This one was the first polish in the collection that caught my eye. I'm not typically drawn to purples and pinks so much, but I really really really like this one. The description on the website says "Flushed is a true 'Blurple' (blue/purple) buildable sheer with an intense purple/pink shimmer effect that appears to glow through the polish." I couldn't say it better myself, so I just borrowed the whole description! This polish is kinda magical.

What you see in these photos is a base coat, 2 coats of color, and a top coat. Some people say it requires 3 coats, but I achieved full coverage with 2. Perfect! :)

Flushed

I love all of these polishes a lot and cannot believe I waited so long to join the Cult. You can purchase all of these colors plus tons more at the CULT NAILS website. Go. NOW! ;)

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed looking at these as much as I did.

--Dixie

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