Author Archives: Lindsey R

Google Reader & a Butterfly Manicure!

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Lindsey R| Leave a comment

creative-fantasy-flakie-butterfly

First I have a quick manicure I did up– this is three coats of China Glaze Creative Fantasy (have you noticed this is my favourite purple yet!?;)) with a coat of flakies on top– Inglot 203, which are beautiful blue-green flakies. I’m really impressed with this Inglot polish. Their flakies come in a much smaller bottle than their regular polishes, but it’s so potent that you don’t need multiple coats.

I then used Konad Special White Polish and a Vivid Lacquer plate for the butterfly wings (yes, another favourite of mine!)

Well, it’s time to update that post I’ve been putting off—as I’m sure you’re well aware, Google Reader is going kaputz at the end of the month. Personally, I’m switching over to Feedly to keep up with the blogs I read.

It seems like a lot of you have already migrated over to using BlogLovin’ to follow my blog, so thank you for sticking with me! If you’re interested in following me with BlogLovin’, the link is in the sidebar (or right here). If you already follow me with Google Reader and want to transfer everything over to BlogLovin’, just sign up (it’s free and painless!) and click here and they take care of that mess for you. Easy-peasy!

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Posted in China Glaze, fauxnad, flakies, Inglot, nail art, Purple

Quickie Konad: Pink Candy Nails Manicure

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Lindsey R| 2 Comments

Here’s a bright and obnoxious manicure for you today! This is two coats of NYX Advanced Salon in Hot Pink– this polish is pretty awesome and was almost opaque in one coat. I actually wanted this to be a jelly manicure, but after seeing that this polish was definitely not thin enough… well, I improvised! On top of the pink I have Claire’s Bedazzled, which is my favourite of my Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday dupes. Over top of all that is Bundle Monster plate BM-306 stamped with Konad Special Polish in Black.

I’ve been rocking some short nails lately. I missed my shorter nails, which make it easier for me to type and write and not scratch the hell out of other people, but my long nails are so preeeetty, haha! I know I’m lucky in that they grow fast and they’re strong, so I’ll have my claws back in no time!

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Posted in black, Claire's, fauxnad, Glitter, Konad, nail art, NYX Advanced Salon, pink

Sally Hansen Salon Insta-Gel Strips

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Lindsey R| 1 Comment

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Today I have a quick informational post and video on the Sally Hansen Gel Strips.

Gel nails are catching on like crazy and for good reason– they last two weeks. But for some of us (me, lol!) two weeks of a plain nail polish? Eh… not too enticing. Fortunately, Sally Hansen has gone above and beyond with their Gel line and created Salon Insta-Gel Strips. Check out some of the colours available! I could get into this nail art that lasts two weeks. Pretty ‘N Poppy is crazy gorgeous. They even have Houndstooth (or as my best friend and I call it– Jordan Print, as an homage to Jordan Knight from NKOTB’s fashion choices of the early 1990s) with Bonus Check.

I like the idea of Gel nail strips instead of Gel polish since you get a crisper edge. My regular polish needs a lot of clean up!

These nail strips are a breeze to apply. The only downside I see would be getting kind of antsy when you have to cure each nail one by one, but hey, it can’t be any worse than waiting for vintage polish to dry!

Make sure you check out the video, there’s lots of great tips included.

For more information, visit Sally Hansen online!

What do you think of Gel nail strips? Have you tried them before? How do you think they compare to Gel polish?

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Posted in Gel, Sally Hansen

Weekly Nail Polish Giveaways!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Lindsey R| Leave a comment

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The Trace Face Philes is giving away some of the new Avon holo polishes! This is open internationally and ends July 5, 2013.

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Captivating Claws is giving away some OPI minis! This is open internationally and ends June 22, 2013.

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Set in Lacquer is part of a multi-blog giveaway with Bloom. This is open to U.S. residents only and ends June 23, 2013.

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Nail Polish Wars is giving away some Jamberry nail apps!

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Samarium’s Swatches is having a two-year blogiversary giveaway! This is open internationally and ends July 8, 2013!

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Posted in blogger contests

Matte stamping manicure with Born Pretty and OPI!

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Lindsey R| 3 Comments

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There’s just something about a glittery nail polish covered with a matte top coat that I absolutely love, don’t you?

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This started with 2-3 coats of OPI Rally Pretty Pink which came out with the Serena Williams collection a couple years ago. No idea if it’s still available, but it was on one of those Buy-2-Get-1-Free displays at my local beauty supply shop. I’d been wanting a colour like this for a while– that glittery pinky-bronze leaning purple.

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I wanted to try another design from the Born Pretty M78 nail stamping plate, so I used that and alternated with white and black stamping polish, also from Born Pretty.

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And while all that looked cool, I thought you’d be able to see the colour dimension in OPI Rally Pretty Pink if I did a matte top coat, so I did! Thanks to China Glaze Matte Magic for that!

What do you think? Are you a fan of matte manicures?

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Posted in Born Pretty, China Glaze, fauxnad, matte, nail art, OPI

Weekly Nail Polish Giveaway Time!

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Lindsey R| Leave a comment

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All Lacquered Up is giving away that lovely a-england St. George polish! This is open internationally and ends June 6, 2013.

Model City Polish Holobration 8

Pointless Cafe is giving away some Model City goodies! This is open internationally.

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Brush Me Blush is giving away a $20 voucher to the Born Pretty Store! This is open internationally and ends July 18, 2013.

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Peer Pressure Polish is giving away all sorts of goodies! This is open to U.S. residents only.

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Naked Without Polish is giving away lots of goodies! This is open to U.S. residents and internationally and ends June 30, 2013.

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Posted in blogger contests

LynBDesigns Tardis: the latest in Essie Starry Starry Night Nail Polish Dupes?

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Lindsey R| Leave a comment

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Full disclosure? I freaking love blue nail polish, especially those of the Essie Starry Starry Night nature. So when I saw this LynBDesigns TARDIS polish on Pointless Cafe, I had to make it mine!

This is three coats of LynBDesigns TARDIS. It’s a navy leaning cerulean blue with silver and light blue glitters. Like most nail polishes of this shade, you’re going to want to wear a base coat on your nails because it will stain. That’s the downside to blue polish, let my yellow tips tell you!

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The polish definitely needs a top coat to make it sparkle, I found it kind of dull without one, but then again you can say that about a lot of polishes. The glitter in this is that winning combination that I’m always looking out for in potential Starry Starry Night dupes, and more specifically as a dupe for my favourite nail polish of all time, Bonne Bell’s Nail Gear in Scandal.

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Can we just take a moment to appreciate this colour? Mmmm… thank you. Moving on!

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What kind of comparison post would this be without that comparison part? Bottle shot! And onto what those beauties look like outside of their bottles…

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Index: Picture Polish Cosmo
Middle: Bonne Bell Nail Gear Scandal
Ring: LynBDesigns TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space)
Pinkie: Picture Polish Orbit

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As you can see, the first three polishes have a similar shade of blue base, with Cosmo being a bit brighter. Cosmo also has holo particles and irregularly shaped glitter/flakies. Scandal and TARIS are very close, with Scandal’s glitter being round instead of square and with a variety of small and medium pieces. Orbit? Well, I threw that in there because there was talk on Facebook a while ago about it being a Starry Starry Night dupe. And no, not at all. Still a gorgeous colour, but Starry Starry Night it is not.

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So, which nail polish do you need? If you’re looking for a Starry Starry night dupe, I’d go with LynBDesigns TARDIS since it’s affordable and easy to procure. I’d also recommend Picture Polish Cosmos because dayuuummm. That is a sexy blue. BUT, if you can manage to find a bottle of Bonne Bell Nail Gear Scandal, mail to to me. And then find yourself a second bottle because it’s gorgeous and just about the best polish EVER. According to me. So, take that as you will!

What do you think? Are you into blue polishes?

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Posted in blue, Bonne Bell, comparisons, Essie, LynBDesigns, Nail Gear, piCture pOlish

Weekly Nail Polish Giveaways!

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Lindsey R| Leave a comment

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Set In Lacquer is giving away some awesome Barielle products! This is open internationally and ends May 31, 2013.

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Set in Lacquer is also giving away some Glitter Gal polish! This is open internationally.

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Sassy Shelly is having a one year blogaversary giveaway! This is open internationally (although some prizes are U.S. only) and ends June 13, 2013.

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There’s a big multi-blogger giveaway going on right now! This is open to U.S. residents and internationally and ends June 12, 2013.

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Polish Insomniac is giving away some Julie G polishes! This is open to U.S. residents only.

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Polish Insomniac is also giving away some Nicole by OPI minis! This is open to U.S. residents only.

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Nails by Kayla Shevonne is giving away the OPI Minnie polishes! This is open to Canadian residents only.

Reader Appreciation Giveaway

Pointless Cafe is having a reader appreciation giveaway! This is open internationally.

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Posted in blogger contests

The Quest for a Rimmel Mania Dupe

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Lindsey R| Leave a comment

The Scholarly Nail just posted Pure Ice Heartbreaker over Revlon Royal, which reminded me that I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for a while! So without further adieu… this manicure started out as OPI Ski Teal We Drop with Pure Ice Heart Breaker on top. After doing that up, I noticed it had that special glowy look reminiscent of Rimmel Mania, a gorgeous deep green-blue duochrome. This got me thinking– is it possible to layer Pure Ice Heart Breaker with another polish to create a dupe? Let’s find out!

Index: Rimmel Mania
Middle: OPI Ski Teal We Drop with Pure Ice Heart Breaher
Ring: NYX Jungle
Pinkie: OPI Ski Teal We Drop with Pure Ice Heart Breaher

I’ve always heard NYX Jungle was a decent dupe for Rimmel Mania, but I find my OPI Ski Teal We Drop and Pure Ice Heart Breaker combo looks a little closer. NYX Jungle is too golden green.

So, with that in mind I changed things up and tried out a couple more layering combos:

Index: Rimmel Mania
Middle: Revlon Midnight Affair and Pure Ice Heart Breaker
Ring: Finger Paints Avante Garde Green and Pure Ice Heart Breaker
Pinkie: ORLY Meet Me Under the Mistletoe and Pure Ice Heart Breaker

Revlon Midnight Affair and Pure Ice Heart Breaker comes the closest, matching the darker polish colour, but it doesn’t match how freaking glowy and bright Rimmel Mania truly is! I’m still on the hunt for a fine dupe, but Rimmel Mania is one unique polish!

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Posted in blue, comparisons, duochrome, dupes, Finger Paints, Green, NYX, OPI, ORLY, Pure Ice, Revlon, Rimmel

Lisa Frank nails with Born Pretty and Color Club!

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Lindsey R| 5 Comments

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Oh boy did I ever have fun with this manicure! You’ll have to excuse the tip wear though, I had this on for a couple days before I had a chance to take photos.

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Enough excuses– I’m sure you children of the 80s and 90s remember Lisa Frank, right? Or am I old? Wait, don’t answer that.

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This started with two coats of white (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whrilwind White) to which I then randomly dabbed on neon polishes. The white makes the neons POP with less coats. I only used two coats per neon shade, all Color Club– Yum Gum, Raspberry Rush, I Always Get My Man-Darin, Get Your Lem-On, The Lime Starts Here, Wicked Sweet, and Gimmie a Grape Big Kiss. I then used black stamping polish from the Born Pretty Store and my new favourite stamping plate, also from the Born Pretty Store– M78!

As you can see, the lines on the M78 plate are very crisp. It’s a handy little stamping plate and I have more manicures using it lined up for you soon! The Born Pretty stamping polish is also awesome– no streaks, yayyy! I tend to get streaks when applying top coat to stamping polishes (Konad and Insta-Dri polishes) and have to wait for foreverrrr for the stamping polish to set. Not this time– I applied top coat almost right away and was pleased to see I didn’t end up with a smeared mess!

What do you think? Would you rock something so… work-friendly?;) I wore this to the office and haven’t been fired yet, so I suppose that’s a good sign!

Born Pretty sent the stamping polish and plate for review.

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Posted in Born Pretty, Color Club, fauxnad, nail art