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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