july haul

Whoops. Whooooooops. Triple whoops.
I have not been good in July. I'm working a lot and I'm making a lot of money. So I spend a lot of money.

Let's see what I got this month...
(Also HOLY CRAP it is the last day of July already?!)

I ordered some things from Apothica with my sponsorship funds:
Deborah Lippmann - On The Beach
Deborah Lippmann - Sweet Dreams
Deborah Lippmann - Bad Romance
Deborah Lippmann - Between The Sheets

As usual I picked up a lot of random OPI's along the way, mostly on sale for around $2:
OPI - Nothin Mousie Bout It
OPI - A Dozen Rosas
OPI - Mauving to Manitoba
OPI - Steady As She Rose
OPI - Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow Suede
OPI - Lincoln Park After Dark Matte

I got two wishlist polishes from a great lady named Gina:
OPI - Chica-go Get A Manicure
China Glaze - Electric Lilac

Picked up some colors from the China Glaze On Safari Collection:
China Glaze - I Herd That
China Glaze - I'm Not Lion
China Glaze - Exotic Encounters
 
I went crazy at Sally Beauty while they had some clearance sales on:
Orly - Preamp
Orly - Decades of Dysfunction
Orly - Dayglo
Orly - Glitz
Orly - After Party
China Glaze - Glam-More
China Glaze - Gleam Me Up
China Glaze - Jade-d
China Glaze - Luminous Lavender
 
The wonderful Destany sent me two Milanis:
Milani - Sail Away
Milani - Mint Candy

I actually bought the Julep box this month because I wanted the Canada polish:
Julep - O Canada!
Julep - Daphne
Julep - Mila
Julep - Kate

Line, my favorite Danish girl, sent me the cutest polish:
Depend - 303

I bought some polishes from another friend, Wendy:
OPI - Paint Your Toron-toes Rose
Color Club - Snow Queen
Color Club - Killer Curves
Orly - Fancy Fuchsia

Nicole by OPI went on sale:
Nicole by OPI - Disco Dolls
Nicole by OPI - Canadian Star
Nicole by OPI - Top of My World
Nicole by OPI - Coral Denominator

I swapped with Nicole from Elixir Lacquers:
Elixir Lacquers - With A K

I bought some minis from Rainbow Honey:
Rainbow Honey - The Worst Possible Thing
Rainbow Honey - Pinkie Promise
Rainbow Honey - The Element of Magic

Found a new polish line at a drug store with interesting glitters:
True Colors - Mystic Grape
True Colors - Remember Me

As you saw yesterday, I got some piCture pOlishes for review:
piCture pOlish - Mirage
piCture pOlish - Pshiiit

As you will see sometime soon, I've got the new Glitter Gal collection to review:
Glitter Gal - Hell-Bent Blue
Glitter Gal - Distorted Platinum
Glitter Gal - Warped Teal
Glitter Gal - Twisted Jealousy
Glitter Gal - Contorted Mauve
Glitter Gal - Buckled Bronze

I crossed another polish off my wishlist thanks to my friend Marcy:
Illamasqua - Raindrops

My new friend Jini sent me some great polishes:
Nails Inc. - Sweets Way
Nails Inc. - Pudding Lane
Nails Inc. - Topping Lane
China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes

And I've got one thing that doesn't belong in a category from a random drugstore sale:
China Glaze - Glittering Garland

To re-use a joke from yesterday... Holy Pshiiit.
I'm not even going to count them because that would just be a joke. A painful joke.

If it helps, I'm in the middle of purging, and I am calling August a low-buy month.
Yikes.

piCture pOlish blog fest 2012!

Hello and welcome to piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2012!

For those of you who don't know what PPBF is, let me explain! On this day, bloggers from all around the world will be posting swatches of fun new shades from piCture pOlish. There are over 80 bloggers participating this year! Holy cow. And we all got 2 shades! Amazing, right? piCture pOlish is such a generous company and you totally can feel the love they have for their customers. I love them. (And it doesn't hurt that the polishes are super cute with adorable bottles to match.)

Last year's Blog Fest was so fun, I am so happy to be participating again this year.
Let's get right to it! This is a seriously long post because I just had too much fun with these polishes.

Pretty and Polished - Party Girl

Hi everyone! Big apologies from me for disappearing the last few days. I am so, so sick, and so tired, and do not have the time or energy to be posting. It makes me feel like crap for missing so many days! I'm sorry.

I've been trying to get in touch with my specialist for over a week now to no avail, and I'm getting so frustrated! As some of you may know, I suffer from Crohn's disease, so I am a seriously unhappy camper right now. Ugh! Sorry for whining!

I figured I should let you all know that I am alive with a quick post!
And I've got a cute polish to share.

Pretty and Polished - Party Girl
This is an older polish from the lovely Chelsea at Pretty and Polished. I am happy to say that Chelsea is a friend of mine and it makes her polishes that much more special because I've seen her entire journey to Etsy-stardom! Hahaha.

This polish is no longer available but I'm showing it anyway because it's darn cute!

Multicolored holo bar glitter. I think the cute colors of the glitter allow it to not look "hairy" like some bar glitters do. Heh.
This is one coat of PG over OPI - Pedal Faster Suzi.

Without fail, this polish always makes me start singing this song:

I can't stop partyin' partyin'...

Okay, that's all I've got. Hopefully I'll find more time for posts in the next little while. Adios!

geometric blues

I am not a happy camper today. I have to go to the dentist in an hour to have a cavity filled. UGH!

I'll try to distract myself by writing this post.

Here's another mani I did with a polish from the China Glaze Summer Neons. Essentially I can't stop using them.

This lovely blue is China Glaze - Splish Splash.
I used one of my new Bundle Monster plates to add this funky geometric pattern! The plate is BM-322 and I stamped with Konad Special White stamping polish.
(I originally tried to stamp in yellow but it was a fail and you can see some of the failed yellow shining through the white on my pinky! Haha.)

A neon+stamping mani is really simple and quick to do because of the fast drying times!
And as always, very eye-catching.

If only my mani could be eye-catching enough that my dentist would forget about my cavity and I would never have to get it filled... AH!
I hate the freakin' dentist. I hope she doesn't hurt me. :(
Wah wah wahhhhhhhh

glitter sandwich me, already!

Good evening everyone!

Today I have a layering post that almost doesn't look like layering. It kinda looks like a polish all on its own! An indie polish, even.
I'll start with the final product and work backwards to show you how it was done.

Can you guess what polishes came together to create this look? I had some polish friends on Facebook try to guess, and it took a while before anyone figured it out!

It's really an easy glitter sandwich... With a super unique look. I dig it!

It started with two coats of China Glaze - Under The Boardwalk.

I then added 2 coats of the ultra-blingy OPI - Crown Me Already!

Add another very thin coat of Under The Boardwalk and this is what you get.
All the tiny glitter in the sandwich looks really cool and speckley, and the big pieces are cool of course, although I should have tried to get more on my nails.

Well, what are you waiting for? Glitter sandwich yourself, already!

I ♥ My Followers Giveaway - WINNERS!

The winners of my I ♥ My Followers giveaway have been announced!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Congrats to Candice, Mariah and Cindy! I'm about to send you guys emails to confirm and choose your prizes.

Thanks everyone for entering! I loved having this giveaway.
Now I'm going to go through all the entries again and read all your lovely comments ♥

last chance to enter my giveaway!

Hey everyone!
This post is just a reminder post for my current giveaway - there are just 7 hours left to enter!

Click here to go to the giveaway!

And here are the prize photos just to remind you...

I can't wait to pick the lucky winners! I hope to do it tomorrow morning. Good luck everyone!

frustratingly neon dots

Why are these dots frustratingly neon? Because they just don't look right on camera.

This manicure looked so freakin' cool in person but then my camera said no. Nooooo.
"No, I will not show the difference between two of the colors you used and I will make them look falsely similar."

The base color is China Glaze - Flirty Tankini.
The purple dot color is China Glaze - Beach Cruise-r.
Now, if you have those colors, you know they are very different. But on camera? No.
The blue dots are China Glaze - Splish Splash.

This manicure made me so mad that I redid it again with different colors so that I could capture it correctly.

So cute. But so frustrating.

Orly - Preamp

A preamplifier (preamp) is an electronic amplifier that prepares a small electrical signal for further amplification or processing.

I have no idea what this polish has to do with preamplifiers.

  
Orly - Preamp
This is a polish from Orly's new Electronica Collection for fall. It's gorgeous. 

The collection is really weird - it has 2 unoriginal colors (gray and blue creme,) one seriously weird fugly color (streaky orangey mauve with blue shimmer?) and this cute pink! Needless to say I only picked up this one color.
I will let the pictures do the talking.

Pretty, shimmery pink with an awesome formula - 2 coats. The first coat was pretty thin and I was surprised how much more opaque it was after 2 coats. I dig it.

You should be able to find this baby now at Sally's or other places that carry Orly!

dan likes nails

...And now for something completely different.

Lately you may have noticed that there are some nail blogs written by men. Not to be outdone, Rebecca Likes Nails will be featuring a man today. Today you are visiting Dan Likes Nails.

Truthfully I cannot remember how this collaboration was decided upon, but it was with lots of laughs and excitement and the idea that my friend Dan just wants to appear here on my blog because he is jealous of my internet stardom.
Dan has an unhealthy obsession with reading my blog and I think he secretly reads it just to make fun of me but he assures me that he is truly interested. (And when he does make fun of my nail polish collection, I remind him of the money he spends on video games and video game related items and we call it a truce.)

At first I tried to convince him to paint his own nails because I'm sure we would all like to see that mess but in the end we agreed that I would paint his nails however he desired.
He went for leopard print. (Which is clearly why we are soulmates.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Dan Likes Nails.

Dan needed very little coaching to get the hand position correct because he studies my photos so intently.

When Dan sat across from me at my manicure table the first thing he said was "I don't know how to do this."
I told him that essentially he just had to hold my hand for a few minutes while I was painting and then he had to try not to smudge his nails when we were done. Simple. Who wouldn't want to hold my hand, right?

We started with a base coat of China Glaze - Sun-Kissed from the Summer Neons collection because this was his favorite from my post of all the swatches.
On his accent nail we started with OPI - Did It On 'Em because he remembered liking the colors from the Nicki Minaj collection. (I'm not kidding here, he remembered this from months ago when I posted them.)

When I painted his accent nail we discussed how the two colors were not very different. This is when he repeated the quote from this photo I reposted from Like A Candy Shop:

It was around this time in the manicure where I had to stop what I was doing and remind him of how much I love him. Boys talking about nail polish. It's too much.

He wanted blue inside his leopard spots so we used OPI - Fly to keep with the Nicki Minaj love.
The black was done with Essence - Black is Back and a dotting tool. Dan was fascinated with how I put polish on paper and dipped the tool into that to then paint onto his nails. He thinks I am a genius and I will let him continue to think that.

His accent nail also features OPI - Shatter The Scales because that is from the Spiderman collection and boys like Spiderman, so it must be appropriate for him to wear. Right?

Of course we also did a bottle-holding-shot. He likes that neon yellow.

Dan declined my suggestion that he could write the post as well but he did want to mention that he doesn't really like the shatter polish but he can "see why other people would like it." And perhaps he would like it better if it wasn't a "sparkly" shatter.

Now, be honest girls, are you impressed with his man-cuticles? I was. 
A lot of people think it is "wrong" for guys to wear nail polish but hey, it ain't no thang. Spread the polish love.

Maybe Dan will fall in love with nail art and continue to have me paint his nails. (I doubt it.)
Perhaps he would like it if I painted his thumbs glittery so they will sparkle while he is playing Mortal Kombat. (Also doubtful.)

Either way - this was a fun adventure and it has brought me many laughs. I hope you guys liked it too!

to dot or not

Hey guys, good morning!

Dotting manicures are so easy and so quick but can produce some really stellar results, and I have some majorly simple but very eye-catching dots to show you today!

As you can see I am still rocking the China Glaze Summer Neons!
(And I still have like 4 more looks to post... And there will probably be more. I can't stop wearing them!)

The base color for this dotty manicure is China Glaze - Sun-Kissed.
The large dots are China Glaze - Love's A Beach and I made them touch to create a dot-chain. I really like that look!
And finally the small dots are China Glaze - I'm With The Lifeguard, added for just a bit more interest.

You can never run out of ideas for dot manicures, and they usually turn out pretty darn good! I could do them all day.
I have some more ideas swirling around for the "dot-chain" I created... Hmm...

P.S. Have you seen my lovely giveaway? Just less than 6 days left to enter!

MORE leopard?

Yes! More leopard!
Yesterday's post was a hit, so here is some more neon leopard print with the beautiful China Glaze Summer Neons.

This super bright manicure features China Glaze - Surfin' For Boys as the base color and China Glaze - Flirty Tankini inside the leopard spots.
The black is Essence - Black is Back, and I did the print with a dotting tool.

These two colors are very similar so it is hard to see the difference in the spots. It was more noticeable in person!
Even though the colors are so close, I think it creates a cool subtle look.

I might have to go do even MORE leopard print nails... I'm addicted. Happily addicted!

will neon leopard print ever get old?

Will neon leopard print ever get old? No. Not for me.

This awesome neon leopard was made with 2 of the beautiful China Glaze Summer Neons which I showed you yesterday! The base color is China Glaze - Hang-Ten Toes and the middle of the spots is China Glaze - Love's A Beach.
I did the spots with a dotting tool and the black polish is Essence - Black is Back.

I could wear this manicure over and over! It is so bright and fun and pink!
Just looking at the pictures makes me want to do it again... Seriously.

Pretty much all of the summer neons would make great leopard print combos. I'm sure I will be doing a bunch more throughout the summer!
Does leopard print get old for you? I hope not!

China Glaze Summer Neons Collection - swatches and review!

Good afternoon lovlies! Today I have a big shiny neon post for you guys, with a ton of pictures. A ton!
All of these polishes are gorgeous and fun and bright, and I can't wait to share them with you.

I was lucky enough to win this entire collection from China Glaze on their Facebook!
I totally did a happy dance or two (or seven) when I found out.

I had planned on buying like eight of them anyway, so this really was the perfect collection for me to win. I'm so thankful!

Please keep reading to see swatches of all 12 of these babies.

my first mani with the 2012 bundle monster plates!

Hi everyone!

Today I'm gonna show you the first mani I did with the brand spankin' new plates from Bundle Monster!

There are a lot of really awesome images on these plates, and I had a hard time picking which one to use first.
In my indecisive mood, I ended up picking one I normally wouldn't. But I think the result is cute!

This is a floral image from BM-321 stamped on top of China Glaze Pink Plumeria.

I think the flowers kinda remind me of snowflakes so it feels a little weird.
It is cute though!

I love love love the new Bundle Monster plates. I'm so thankful to have won them! There will be many manis coming up soon with the awesome new images. Many manis.Many mani. Okay.

Here's a pic of Pink Plumeria on its own. I will soon be posting swatches of all 12 China Glaze Summer Neons. I am working on swatching the rest of them today! And then there will be a big spammy neon post. Woo!

Have a lovely Monday!

Color Club / Funky Fingers Neon Fractured Collection

Good morning!

Today I've got a crackle post! Love me some crackle.
My friend Lori is the Crackle Fairy and she sent me some of the new Funky Fingers Neon Crackles, which are the same as the new Color Club Neon Fractured polishes! (FF and CC are made by the same company and almost all FF are CC dupes.)
Lori and I share a huge love for Color Club, so of course I wanted these polishes.

I decided to use all four of the ones I got for a crackle skittle mani!

Pink = Funky Fingers - Neon Pink Crackle / Color Club - Burst Thing's First
Purple = Funky Fingers - Neon Purple Crackle / Color Club - Shock Rock
Blue = Funky Fingers - Neon Blue Crackle / Color Club - Take a Crack At It
Green = Funky Fingers - Neon Green Crackle / Color Club - Living On The Edge
(There is also an orange and a yellow but I didn't want those.)

These all worked so well and are so bright and fun! The only issue I had was that the green one left the white polish underneath with a light greeny-yellow tint.
I haven't tried it over other colors to see if it leaves the tint behind on everything, but I'd say it does. It probably would be difficult to notice over other colors, though!

Awkward 2-hand photo time. Posting it despite the awkwardness because I just love these nails!
I'm pumped to try these out over more colors. Endless combinations!

(delayed) june haul

Holy crap, where did June go?!
It went so fast, I forgot to do my haul post for the month.

Here it is, 5 days late!

Nail Polish Canada - Saving lives with a year's supply of Shellac!

Hey girls and boys!
I've got a press release to share with you today - and I don't normally post these things, but this made me crack up laughing so of course I had to share! Plus, you can win a darn good prize. You can bet I'm entering!
Check it out...

WIN SHELLAC FOR LIFE ($1266 value) - NAILPOLISHCANADA.COM TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE
“To be fair, it’s actually only a 25 year supply, so we can only hope the winner dies early to keep me an honest woman”- Nikki Smith, VP of Glitter, Nail Polish Canada.
CND Shellac is a cross between nail polish and gel which is cured under a UV lamp and lasts up to 14 days without chipping.
Chipped nails are an important issue that affect lives in many ways. “We’ve invented substantial research and the reason women slap or bite in a catfight is fear of chipping their nails. Hopefully, together, we can build a world where a woman can throw a punch at the bitch who kissed her boyfriend without worrying about chips” said Ms. Smith.

The prize will go to whomever can show that their life will be most impacted by winning Shellac for life. Be it better, or worse. Maybe it stops your polish addiction long enough that you can save money, go to school, become a doctor, go to Africa and start saving lives. Did we say that this contest saves lives? Now we did.
Or maybe you’re just looking for a little understanding, “My husband will finally understand that other people take polish as seriously as me...” - Sarah P.”
Or perhaps the result won’t be as positive, “I’ll probably spend all my time painting my nails, not go to work, get fired, now I’m homeless, damn you NPC.” - Beth C”
If you or a loved one is still stuck in a world of chips, smudges and wasting countless hours re-doing nails we urge you to take a stand. Enter at http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/cnd-shellac.html

Grand prize will go to the best description of how winning a lifetime supply of Shellac will change their life.
Winner selected August 7, 2012.
Open to Canadian and United States residents only.
Full rules and entry at: http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/cnd-shellac.html
For further info please contact rachael@nailpolishcanada.com

LA Girl - Celebrate

Okay, this is funny.
I am Canadian and I did not find time to do a Canada-Day-Mani - but I happen to have a Fourth-of-July-Appropriate-Swatch to show you today.
(It's been in my swatch folder for a while so I didn't really do it on purpose, but hey, if it works, it works!)

LA Girl Glitter Addict - Celebrate
Red and blue glitter, this is a patriotic polish for sure! (But with some pink mixed in.)
I was really pleased with the consistency of this polish and I've shown just one coat over Sephora by OPI - Pushing Your Luck.

LA Girl polishes are usually only $2 or $3 and I'd definitely pick up more of the Glitter Addict line.
I'm not a huge fan of their other lines, though. 



Ah, glitter. Can we ever get enough? Probably not.