NOTD: Barracuda

I really love blue polishes, no matter how dark or light they are. They go great with my light skin and cool undertones. I am always searching for that perfect unique baby blue polish and this is definitely it! Sally Hansen's Barracuda is a beautiful shade that is perfect for Spring and Summer! They retail for roughly $7.99 at drugstores.

Swatches:
1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
2 coats Sally Hansen Barracuda
1 coat INM Out The Door

This polish is a tad streaky with one coat, but 2 coats seals the deal and makes it opaque. Surprisingly this is only my second S.H. Complete Salon Manicure nail polish - the only other one i own is Hidden Treasure (a Nubar 2010 dupe). I really love the brush and i would have to say its even better than OPI's! This shade will definitely be a staple for me. I just love the way it looks. Thanks for reading! :)

My Collection: Nail Polish

I have well over 150 bottles of nail polish, which is pretty ridiculous! lol. That doesnt even include my nail art stripers, topcoats, basecoats, and nail treatments. Plus i have alot of fimo's and other nail art stickers/decals as well.

My Collection Includes:
Essie
OPI
Nicole by OPI
Sephora by OPI
China Glaze
Sally Hansen
Color Club
Revlon
Misa
Sally Girl
AVON
Wet N Wild
Rimmel
Milani
Sinful Colors
Hot Topic
& more...

I paint my fingernails about 1-2x pr week and my toenails roughly 1x per month. For whatever reason my toenail polish never chips and it stays on forever so i can go long periods of time without repainting. My husband finds my nail polish collection really annoying, LOL. He thinks i have way too many and in reality - i do. I really have no need to buy anymore in the near future but chances are i will anyways, LOL.

Below are some basic nail care tips I use on a daily/weekly basis whenever i paint my nails. Hope they help! Thanks for reading :)

Nail Care Tips

1. Using a gel or liquid cuticle remover & an orangewood stick, clean up cuticles 2-3x per month if you frequently paint your nails.
2. Use an old or cheap angled eyeliner brush to do post-manicure cleanups. Dip the brush into polish remover and swipe along the edges of your nails to make even lines.
3. To remove glitter polishes, soak a cotton ball in remover, place on your nail then wrap the nail in foil and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. When you take it off use the cotton ball to remove any excess glitter.
4. Use a cuticle cream/balm everynight before bed or after every manicure! Cuticle health is directly related to nail health, so if you have bad cuticles your nails will most likely suffer too and be dry, brittle, weak, etc.
5. To fix small smudges in freshly painted nails simply take an old eyeliner or eyeshadow brush, dip it in remover and very gently wipe across the top of the nail to smooth it out. You may need to reapply 1 thin coat of polish and/or topcoat afterwards.
6. Choosing a good topcoat is incredibly important. I would recommend INM Out The Door or Seche Vite.

NOTD: OPI Teenage Dream

NOTD: Essie - Super Bossa Nova

This is ONE coat of Essie's Super Bossa Nova from their summer collection called Brazilliant. Isnt it beautiful??

NOTD: Coral

I got this beautiful polish from Crystal Nichols in a recent giveaway of hers that i won! She must have been reading my mind because this is the one & only E.L.F. polish i have been coveting for quite some time now. However, its always sold out online and no stores near me were selling it either.

"Coral" is a gorgeous peachy-pink shimmer.

Swatches
1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
2 coats E.L.F. Coral
1 coat INM Out The Door Topcoat

I loooove this! I seriously dont own another polish in the shade, or even remotely close to it. It's so gorgeous and it goes great with my skin tone. It's said to be a dupe for NARS Orgasm polish, but since i dont own that i cannot compare them. Either way this is def. my new favorite nail polish! =D The application and formula are GREAT. It was nearly opaque in one coat but as always i did 2 anyways. If i can ever find this polish in stores or in-stock online I will definitely be buying a couple more!

NOTD: Essie Exotic Liras

NOTD: AVON Tangtastic and Essie Risky Business

I have had these two shades for quite some time but i never thought of putting them together. Tangtastic is a super bright hot orange (almost verging on red), and Risky Business is a bright orange shimmer (very sheer).

Photos, Top to Bottom:

1. AVON Tangtastic (2 coats)
2. AVON Tangtastic (2 coats) under Essie Risky Business (1 coat)
3. Different angle to try and show shimmer
4. Another angle, this time showing the bottom of the Essie bottle

Essie's Risky Business makes AVON Tangtastic look more orange that red and gives it just the lightest hint of shimmer. I actually like these two together wayy better than i like them by theirselves. Risky Business is SUPER sheer so it;s only good as a topcoat, and while Tangtastic is very pretty i just personally prefer it like this.

NOTD: Free Zoya Polish!

This is my very first Zoya nail polish, ever! I won it for free in a sweepstakes they had on their Facebook page a while back. I got to choose any shade from their new Smoke & Mirrors Collections.

I chose Neeka, which is a medium purple with golden shimmer.

Swatches
1 coat AVON Silk Wrap
2 coats Zoya - Neeka
1 coat Seche Vite

This is opaque with one generous coat but i always like to do two thin coats instead because i feel like i get more even coverage that way. Although it is formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, and camphor free it still has a very strong chemical-like smell which i did not like. I dont really own any other polishes that are as potent as this one but the formula itsself is amazing. Quick drying, opaque, and easy to apply. The brush was alright, nothing special.

Overall im pleased with this but as you can see its definitely a Fall polish so i will probably wait to wear it again until the seasons turn. Thanks for reading!

NOTD: China Glaze Heli-Yum

China Glaze - Heli-Yum

2 coats w/ Seche Vite as a topcoat.

Sinful Colors - Midnight Blue

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoats

I bought these two crackle topcoats at CVS for $7.50. They come in several shades inlcuding blue, green, purple, red, silver, gold and more!

They apply nicely but need to be shaken/mixed prior to use and the brush is a little small. Otherwise theyre your typical crackle topcoat.

OPI Shangri-la-la Lilac

This beautiful pastel purple is OPI's Shangri-la-la Lilac. Its an old shade from a few years ago but still a good one. I bought it on transdesign.com for a little over $5 which is pretty cheap for OPI.

Comparing this to Essie's Lilacism - another pretty lilac shade - this is more pink toned, where Lilacism has blue undertones. To be honest, i like Shangri-la-la Lilac alot better!

SWATCHES
1 coat AVON Lemon Fortifier as base
2 coats OPI Shangri-la-la Lilac
1 coat INM Out The Door topcoat

[PROS]
opaque in two coats
applies smooth
cream formula
would suit alot of different skin tones
not streaky or patchy at all
great Spring shade
dries quick

[CONS]
Because this is an older OPI shade it's only sold online, not in stores, which may make it hard to get for some.
This particular bottle has the old OPI brush tyle (not the new pro-wide one) so thats a downside, but still applies great.

Loooove this shade!! For me its like the perfect hybrid of pastel pink and pastel lilac. The formula was great, no disappointments there, and it dried pretty quickly so overall im pleased!

NOTD: Vintage Blue

Hey! Today i want to show you one of my favorite blue polishes - AVON Vintage Blue. Because of my olive undertones in my skin blues and greens look great on my nails and this is such a beautiful polish no matter what skin tone you have. It's a very pale sky blue cream.

Swatches
1 coat Essie Ridge Filler
2 coats AVON Vintage Blue
1 coat Seche Vite

AVON polishes typically retail between $2-$4 (depending on if theyre on sale or not) and from all the ones ive tried they all have great pigmentation, color payoff, and finish! This is by far one of my favorites.

NOTD: Urban Decay Grunge

Essie - Haute As Hello

NOTD: Black Shatter and Big Bang

1 coat Urban Decay Big Bang, and 1 coat OPI Black Shatter

HAUL: Victoria's Secret, Trade Secret, and CVS!

Here's a quick sneak peak of the haul i did a couple days ago. I made a trip the the mall for a new bra and ended up picking up a lipstick and body mist. Then i headed to Trade Secret across the way for their huge Essie polish sale, and finally to CVS on my way home to check out the new Wet N Wild summer collection as well as some other odds n ends.

Swatches and reviews coming soon for everything i bought!

OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow (Suede)

Essie - Jag-U-Are

Essie - Cute As A Button

Im a little sad because prior to doing this manicure I had to trim & file my nails quite a bit after breaking a couple on BOTH hands while doing housework :( However, this shade is awesome for Spring, its very refreshing and bright. This will probably be my go-to shade for this season.

*In other news, i WON a contest!!! First time I have ever won anything and I am totally excited, the prizes are incredibly amazing. Please check out Trina J Makeup's blog!!!! She posts awesome video tutorials & so much more!! 

Thanks again, Trina!!