Shimmer Polish - Tammy, Strength, & Astrid

OMG look I'm making a blog post. A post that is like, over a month late. I suck.
I think I have posting anxiety. If I don't post, I feel bad, and then I feel sucky and won't post again the next day, and then I end up not posting for a week, and feel worse, and then two weeks... It goes on! It's weird.
But that being said I have a LOT of stuff to start posting and I am going to force myself to post as much as I can!

Today I'll be starting off another set of posts for Shimmer Polish, oh yeah baby, mo' Shimma.

Glitter Glitter Glitter Always All The Time Everything. That's my motto.

Glitter polishes from Shimmer are most definitely the best glitters I own. Fo' reals. I can't think of anything I like more.
I was checking out those new Sally Hansen glitters the other day and I was like "Nah, nah, nah, I'll just wear my Shimmers."
I'll be honest - a lot of the indie stuff I get for review gets swatched and then never worn again. Not these babies. It's like Frank's Red Hot Sauce. I put that sh*t on everything. I really do.

Here's what I love about Shimmer that I say in every review post:
- They're absolutely packed with glitter.
- But that does not make them gloopy or hard to apply.
- You can wear them alone layered over other colors.
- So many glitters. Complex formulas. Not your typical glitters.
- Great bottles and brushes and damn, what a cute label!
- HAVE I MENTIONED ALL THE GLITTER?

As usual I am showing these in sets of three and here we go with a bang.

Shimmer Polish - Tammy (over Urban Decay - Vice)
Are you seeing this? Look at those glitters. All of them. I can't even words right now.
Purple. Gold. Silver. Black. Hex. Bar. Square. Everything. Ridiculous. Perfect.
Just go back and look at all the pictures and don't forget most of them can be viewed larger when you click on them.

Shimmer Polish - Strength (over Orly - Pretty-Ugly)
The only issue I have with this polish is that I cannot ever spell Strength right the first time. You know how there are just some words you know how to spell, but just never type it right? Yeah. Stregthn. Strnegth. Strenth. Strehgth?
Ignoring that, this is another perfect glitter combination and it is just fab. Cindy from Shimmer donates profits of this polish to PCOS charities which makes it cooler! All blue-teals and silvers and shapes and sizes and wow!
This polish also has heart-shaped glitter in it but I did not notice until after I was done with my manicure so I didn't happen to get one on the nail. Ah well.

Shimmer Polish - Astrid (over Orly - Harmonious Mess)
This is just too pretty. And the name reminds me of this book I had as a child about a fairy named Astrid who used to paint the rainbows in the sky but she wasn't good at it and the other fairies got mad but she just liked different rainbows okay? And I think it had something to do with the tooth fairy? Or was that another book about fairies...
This polish is a totally iridescent/opalescent amethyst-toned polish which is just gorgeous over both light and dark colors and can show many different sides. The slight shimmer in the base adds to it as well. So purdy!

 ________________________

Hooray for glitter!

Shimmer Polish is available in their Etsy shop, or you can order via email.
The polishes are $12 each, and you can even order custom polishes for $15.
Head to shimmyshimmer.com for the details! And don't forget to check them out on Facebook.

Here are my other Shimmer posts, in case you missed 'em:

• Shimmer Polish - Leslie, Jennifer, & Jasmine
• Shimmer Polish - Erica, Nichole, & Karen
• Shimmer Polish - Candace, Lucie, & Maria
• Shimmer Polish - Julie, Jenny, & Trisha
• Shimmer Polish - Eva, Liana, & Irene  
• Shimmer Polish - Cindy, Elsa, & Carmen
• Shimmer Polish - Mary, Tracy, & Katherine 

Products provided for honest review.

(delayed) september 2013 haul

I totally did not even realize that I didn't post my haul for September!! I was just too excited for the release of Siren Song I guess! (Go check out the post about my very own piCture pOlish if you haven't already!)

HOWEVER. You're gonna be reeeeeal proud of this one. Seriously.
As usual the post is littered with Instagram pictures (some of which aren't even on my IG... Yet.)

I'll start by saying I got two bottles of my very own piCture pOlish.

piCture pOlish - Siren Song (x2)

And in the first two weeks of the month, I only bought ONE polish:
Ciate - Kiss Chase (in a Very Colourfoil Set at Winners for $9.99)

And then I went to Chicago and I was a shockingly good girl and only brought 8 polishes home with me, and only two of them were pricey ones! All the SOPI were on sale for like $3 and obviously Forever 21 and Sally Hansen are cheap:

Deborah Lippmann - Just Dance
Deborah Lippmann - Stronger 
Sephora by OPI - I Found A Pot Of Gold  
Sephora by OPI - I Don't Bite
Sephora by OPI - It's Bouquet With Me
Sephora by OPI - Break A Leg-Warmer!
Sally Hansen - Green Rocket
Love & Beauty - Blue Jewel

AND THAT WAS IT FOR POLISH IN SEPTEMBER. 11 bottles. WHAT REBECCA? WHAT?

But you see... The thing is... I bought so much other stuff in Chicago it isn't even funny. Here's a taste.

Oooooh my beautiful Beachwaver. Ooooh how I love you. It is magical and I don't even feel bad for spending $200 on it but I am mad that of course Ulta didn't have a 20% off coupon running the week I was there... Bitches.

There's no MAC in Newfoundland so whenever I go somewhere that has it... So help me.
Managed to leave with just one lipstick (Flat Out Fabulous), one pencil (Fashion Boost), and Prep+Prime for lips. Seriously almost bought like 3 more lipsticks and a blush and mascara but I was GOOD.

Found myself two Betsey Johnson watches for amazing prices at Macy's and Nordstrom Rack.

OH MY GOD DO YOU SEE HOW THE FILTER ENHANCED MY ARM HAIR IN THAT PICTURE? LOL! LOLOLOL! I'm dying.
Anyway are those not the two most beautiful watches you ever did see?!

And then sh*t got real at the Nordstrom Rack where I spent $110 on more Betsey Johnson jewelry.
And lets just say I am lucky I got out of there alive. I had handfuls and had to sit at a counter and try to decide what I could not live without and my friend had to keep hiding things from me once I said I didn't need it. 

But I saved more than I spent at the Rack... So... It's okay? Right?

Shopping genius. That I am.

Marshall's provided me with yet another Betsey purse...

And H&M/Forever 21 provided me with more midi rings than one person ever needs. (And a cat ring holder to put them on.)

Notice I am not even including the clothing I got while in Chicago? Yeah. There's just too much.

Oh yeah and Sephora carries more than just nail polish... Oh god help me. HELP ME. But hey they gave me that cute Benefit birthday present! And the OCC Lip Tar is Hoochie, if you're wonderin'.
(Actually it's not just Sephora because the UD Stardust was on sale at Ulta and the UD All Nighter was on sale at Nordstrom Rack.)

I am 100% uncontrollable when it comes to shopping on vacation and especially in the states where all the best stores are, none of which we have here, so I just go mad. MAD I tell you!!
So I'll just leave it there.

Hope you enjoyed my haul of more than just polish... And were you proud of the polish haul? Haha!

piCture pOlish - Siren Song by Rebecca Likes Nails!

Hello everyone! You're about to witness a dream-come-true moment here on RLN!

As I'm sure you are aware, the fantastic ladies at piCture pOlish have been doing collaboration shades with bloggers for a year or more now. And for an entire year I have been keeping a big secret. A BIG secret. But the time has finally come to spill the beans... I have my very own piCture pOlish!

During last year's Blog Fest I was one of the winners chosen to get their own shade, and because so many shades eventually were created, it has taken a full year or more for mine to come out! But it has just made the experience so much sweeter in the end to finally get to share this pretty polish.
It's crazy to imagine having a nail polish with my name on it that I designed and can call my own. And it has been an honor and a pleasure to create it with such an amazing company.  

Without further ado... Swatches!!

piCture pOlish - Siren Song by Rebecca Likes Nails
Siren Song is a turquoise mint polish with strong silver flecked shimmer. I don't want to call it shimmer or glitter because it is finer than glitter but heavier than shimmer, almost a hybrid of the two. I believe the ingredient used to make it is some sort of paste if my memory serves me correctly, but it was a while ago when we talked details of the polish.

The formula flows easily, and my swatches show two coats, but you may need three depending on your polishing style.
I got my final bottles on Friday morning and I've been carrying one around with me ever since to show some friends and family so they can see exactly how cool I am on the internet. HA!

The inspiration for this polish is actually pretty dorky. One of the other things I love as much as nail polish is blink-182. Tom & Mark from blink have signature guitars and basses from Fender which are Surf Green with pearloid pickguards (example here and here.) So of course my polish had to be the same great shade of turquoise, with intense shimmer to represent the shimmery pickguard!
One day I'll own a Surf Green guitar or bass and play it with my perfectly polished Siren Song nails. One day...

Because the color is so oceanic and reminiscent of stuff like mermaids, I decided to name it Siren Song after the old lore of Sirens and the irresistible songs they would sings to fisherman to entice them. Because my polish is so irresistible! Right?
(This also ties in another one of my dorky obsessions - the TV show Supernatural, which did an episode about Sirens!)

And of course I cannot go without mentioning the fact that my bestie Dan made up the tagline for the polish and he is very proud of it and so am I! (He came up with it on the very last day that I had to submit my final name and tagline... Haha! Talk about last minute decisions.)

Here's a purdy macro. I love the sparkle! It adds just the right amount of interest to the polish without taking away from the serene color.

I am so so so ecstatic to have created my own polish with piCture pOlish and of course a gigantic thank you goes out to them for helping make my polish dreams come true!

You can find this polish on picturepolish.com.au now, and other retailers such as Nail Polish Canada for my Canadian pals!
I hope you all love this polish as much as I do, and if you decide to purchase it, I need to see pictures of you all wearing it! Yay!!

31DC2013 - recap!

Hello! Blogger hates me and this post has been in the making for like two hours and it never does what I tell it to do... UGH! Every year me and Blogger have a fight over this post.

Anyway. Here is my recap for this year's 31 Day Challenge! Clicking on each picture will lead you to its post. Let me know which ones are your favorites! :)

31DC2013 - day 31

THE FINAL DAY! Which also has turned out to be my favorite day because I luuuuuuv my nails.

The prompt for Day 31 is to Honor Nails You Love. I chose to do this design from my boo, Chalkboard Nails.
There are a lot of reasons why I picked it:
1. It's boss.
2. It uses the CG Sunsational collection which is my fave.
3. It's adorable.
4. I told Sarah ages ago I wanted to recreate it.
5. Sarah has been doing the challenge also and we help each other through it. 
6. And I love her!

Tada! I'm damn pleased with my efforts on this mani. My photography of course is not as impressive as Sarah's so the neons are not as true-to-life, but I gave it my best effort. I feel that mine look good if you're not comparing them simultaneously to Sarah's like I am currently doing... HA.

I've even emulated all of Sarah's photo poses for this manicure for maximum copying.

As I said, this mani uses polishes from China Glaze's Sunsational Collection which has ended up being probably my favorite collection ever and I love each and every one.
All six creme shades are used here:
China Glaze - Sun Of A Peach (orange)
China Glaze - Neon & On & On (coral)
China Glaze - Highlight Of My Summer (green)
China Glaze - Too Yacht To Handle (teal)
China Glaze - That's Shore Bright (purple)
China Glaze - Bottoms Up (pink)

I did all the details of the nails using a small detail brush.
I'm really pleased with all the nails except the triangles - I could have done them a little neater.
I think the drips and the bow are my favorite!

I had to do the bow twice to get it right, but the second attempt was perfect! So pleased.

That above picture is my faveeee.

Well there you have it!
Beautiful nails for the final day of the challenge (albeit not quite as beautiful as the original!)

Tomorrow I shall post a recap of all the 31 Days, and sometime tomorrow I will also fit in my September haul post... Yay.

I hope you've all enjoyed watching me complete this challenge again despite how many times I may have complained about it. I'm proud of myself for finishing it once again (even with the vacation I took in the middle!) and I think I've done some of my best work!
Congrats to anyone else who has completed the challenge as well! We rock! See you next September...