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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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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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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Halloween Nail Art

Hey you guys!

Here is my second attempt at Halloween nail art. I'd say it is a bit of a step up from my Frankenstein nails, huh? It sure took longer!

Left Hand

Below is a list of all the polishes that I used for this manicure. 

Thumb and ring finger: OPI Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? as the base, Pure Ice Black Rage for the accents, and silver loose glitter from the Born Pretty Store. 

Index: Pure Ice Black Rage for the base & China Glaze Orange You Hot? for the pumpkin.

Middle finger: Zoya Charisma for the base and Pure Ice Black Rage for the bat. 

Pinky: Pure Ice Black Rage for the base and Finger Paints Paper Mache for the ghost. 

Right Hand

I freehanded the characters on my index, middle, and pinky fingers using a variety of nail art brushes and dotting tools. I used scotch tape for the designs on my thumb and ring finger, and then placed the loose glitter (dubbed "glequins" by Sam at The Nailasaurus) along the border with a toothpick. 

Left Hand

I'm really happy with how the nail art turned out. I wasn't sure I'd be able to accomplish such a large undertaking, but I keep surprising myself. 

If you read my blog, I'd love to have your feedback on what you think about this manicure.

Also, what types of posts keep you coming back? Is it the nails, the beauty box reviews, or other product reviews? Would you like to see me write about anything else? PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Thanks!

--Dixie

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Sephora by OPI | Traffic-Stopper Copper & Finger Paints | Paper Mache

I have some sparkles to show you!

The glitter I am sharing today is a glitter that caught my eye quite some time ago. I can't even remember... maybe 6 months or so? Anyway, I passed it up because I didn't want to spend $9 on a glitter, much less a glitter that makes me fish it out of the bottle. HOWEVER, I couldn't stop thinking about it. If you're not a HUGE fan of nail polish like I am, that will sound nuts, but I'm serious. So I finally purchased the glitter... and I don't regret it. Thank you very much. 

Finger Paints - Paper Mache

The first photograph is of the base color that I decided to use. I swatched this glitter on about 9 different colors to see which one would show it off the best and I ultimately decided to go with a clean, crisp white. The photo above is 2 coats of Finger Paints Paper Mache on top of 1 coat of base coat. No top coat. Application of this color is pretty easy, however, it seems to dry very slowly. I ALMOST decided to just stop at this step because the plain white nails were quite pretty. If you keep reading, you'll notice that I couldn't resist the sparkles.

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

What you see above, as well as all of the photos that follow, is an attempt to show how pretty this glitter is. Of course the name Traffic-Stopper Copper indicates that the glitter is a copper color, but it also looks like a rose gold shade to me. As you all have likely noticed, rose gold jewelry has become quite popular recently, and I LOVE it. I may as well have some nails to match my jewelry, right? Yes.  

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

As I mentioned at the very beginning of the post, you have to fish this glitter out of the bottle. It is not very densely packed, so it is a bit of a pain to get on the nail. However, once you get the hang of it, you can get a decent amount of sparkles to cooperate. In all of the photos, there are two coats of the glitter and one coat of fast-dry top coat. 

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

You'll see better in the macro shots above and below that there are two different sizes of glitter: larger hexagonal glitters and smaller micro glitters.

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

I took photos at several different angles with various amounts of lighting to show you the color of the sparkles. What do you think? I quite like this glitter. :)

Later Gators

--Dixie

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OPI & Wet N Wild Jelly Sammich

Hello, lovely people!

I'm quite excited to share this manicure with you all today. It's just perdy. The kind where I can't stop staring at my nails. 

I used two polishes: OPI MonSooner or Later & Wet N Wild Glamorous from Fergie's collection. Thanks to my awesome coworker and friend, Heathen, for the gift of the lovely gold glitter!

Click to enlarge! 

A lot of you have likely heard of a jelly sammich manicure. I suppose you could also say "sandwich", but I prefer the term "sammich" because it is fun to say. Anyway, for those of you who are NOT aware, a jelly sammich simply consists of a jelly nail polish and a glitter. You paint a coat or two of the jelly polish, followed by a coat or two of the glitter, and then one last coat of the jelly polish. Hence the term "sammich" because you've sandwiched glitter in between the jelly polish. 

You must use a jelly-type polish because they are fairly sheer and this allows the glitter to peek through. Each jelly varies on its level of sheerness, and the one I chose was not as sheer as I would have liked, but it still worked well enough.

I tried to take several different shots that might show the glitter a bit better, but unfortunately the photos do not do this justice. It was a lot easier to see the glitter in person.

I REALLY love the shade of MonSooner or Later. It is a shiny orange/red jelly that is fully opaque in two coats. This is the first OPI polish I ever purchased, and I bought it over 6 or 7 years ago. It is such a versatile color and has the typical great formula of OPI polishes. I can't believe I haven't used this polish more, I just forgot how awesome it is. 

All of these photos have a base coat, two coats of MonSooner or Later, two coats of Glamorous, one more coat of MonSooner or Later, and one coat of a fast-drying top coat. Believe it or not, all of that wasn't terribly thick on my nails. And since these polishes dry fairly quickly as it is, there were no major smudging issues. 

This last photo shows the glitter the best, I think. So pretty! And the best part is that the combination possibilities with jelly sammiches are endless. I can't wait to do more. :)

--Dixie

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Grapefruit Nail Art

Get your sunglasses ready... I may have played with some bright colors!

I decided to do citrus-y type nail art and was pretty impressed with how it turned out. It's far from perfect, but you can tell what it is supposed to be, right? :)

All photos are clickable to enlarge!

The pretty neon green is China Glaze - I'm With The Lifeguard. This is from their Summer Neons 2012 Collection. I saw this color swatched on other blogs and definitely had to have it. I LOVE green.

Here's the grapefruit (or orange) on my right hand. Which means I painted it with my left hand. It's not terribly intricate stuff, but I'm still really amazed by my artistic abilities. ;)

For the nail art, I just used a very fine-tipped art brush. I blobbed out each color onto a sheet of foil as I needed it. 

Macro Shot!

The formula of China Glaze - I'm With The Lifeguard is lovely. The first coat can be a little streaky or bald, but it only takes two coats to get full opacity. You don't need "underwear" to make it as bright as it is in these photos. That's the annoying thing about a lot of neons, but none of these need a base of white.

All of the pretty colors I used

From left to right: OPI - MonSooner or Later, Essie - Lights, Wet N Wild Wild Shine - Sunny Side Up,  China Glaze - Sun-Kissed, China Glaze - I'm With The Lifeguard, Essie Luxeffects - Shine of the Times.

Thanks for taking a peek at my nails. Hope your eyes re-adjust quickly. ;)

Also... DON'T FORGET to check out my giveaway! It ends this Sunday at midnight!

--Dixie

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