Showing posts with label Essie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Essie. Show all posts
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25th Birthday Mani

So it has been a crazy long time since we have posted, but life has been beyond crazy.  This tax season is completely kicking my ass, therefore causing me to be more lazy then general once I get home.  However, I did have a birthday since the last post.  I'm now officially a quarter of a century out...yay!

So here is my birthday mani. It was completely copied from Deniz.  Click here to see the original.  She is amazing! I used OPI Pink Friday, Sinful Colors Pink Creme, Essie Main Squeeze, OPI Alpine Snow and a pink nail art polish.  Hope you like it!

~Nailed by Brittany~e

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More Instagram Nails

So I've been crazy with work, so I haven't had as much time to focus on the blog but I really love Instagram. Here are a few of my nails from this last week :)

Hope you like them. I was so excited about how my first flower nail art attempt came out.

~Nailed By Brittany~
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A Crewed Interest

I rarely wear nude/neutral polishes, I own very few and I like even less so I was super psyched to finally find a nude I could get on board with (that sounded dirtier than I meant it to!). Essie's A Crewed Interest is a pale peach cream and is just one amazing color in Essie's Spring 2012 collection, most of which I now own thanks to Brittany and her peer pressure, don't worry I talked her into a few pricey polishes as well.


There is a bit of a pink undertone in this polish which I really think made all the difference. Its unusual to find a nude that's flattering on me, my skin is very pale! I've seen A Crewed Interest swatched in a few different places and one of the best things about it is how different, yet equally flattering, it looks on different people. And as I mentioned above the application is great, these pictures are of just 2 (thick) coats and a top coat.





~Nailed by Jen~
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Happy Leap Day!

For today's mani I used one of the stamping plates I got for Christmas. There are a few left that I haven't tried out yet and I was really excited by how much I liked this particular pattern because I wasn't especially fond of it on the plate, but once it was on my nails I really enjoyed it.


I used 2 coats of Essie Over The Edge, a layer of Essie Good To Go, then stamped with Finger Paints Easel Come, Easel Go. I'm having a hard time finding a good silver to stamp with, I can't help but feeling like they are all too sheer, I've tried Sally Hansen, OPI and now Finger Paints. Easel Come, Easel Go was ok but still feels a bit thin. Anyway overall I enjoyed this mani.
 

Sorry for the somewhat low quality photos, I'm too lazy to use a real camera and download pictures, so all my pics are taken with my iphone.
~Nailed by Jen~
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Plumberry

Hooray for the wonderful weather yesterday! After the snow storm that blew in from Chicago this past weekend, I'm grateful for the warmer temperatures (although I'd still love a snow day :)

The color I wore yesterday really helped me get into the mood for spring. As part of the loot from the spectacular Walmart Essie clearance we found a few weekends ago, Essie - Plumberry is a creamy berry red with a little hint of pink. The color was so bright and vibrant. I absolutely love this color!
Inside

A little bit of natural light for once!
Are you counting down the days until Spring?
~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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Angora Cardi

This past weekend, Jen, Brittany, and I found an awesome deal on Essie polishes at the local Walmart. We were able to pick up polishes for $4 and topcoat for $5. It was such a great deal that we couldn't pass it up. We each came away with some new colors and were super excited.

The first new polish from my collection that I'm going to share with you is Essie - Angora Cardi. This polish is a creamy, deep dusty rose color. I think with my skin tone the polish definitely gave off more of brown tone in certain light. I liked the color overall, but definitely don't think that it will be one of my go-to colors. As usual for Essie, the application was great and the removal was even easier.



I can't wait to show you the other polishes we picked up (I'm wearing Dive Bar now, which is BEAUTIFUL!!!)

~ Nailed by Ericka ~
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Essie Obsessed

Up until a few weeks ago I didn't own but one or two Essie polishes and I never even used those but after finding one color that I loved (Essie Sexy Divide) I have been using and buying a ton of Essie polishes, I guess you can say I'm a little obsessed now. Today's mani started out with 2 coats of Essie E-nuff is E-nuff on every finger except my ring finger. I've had this color around for a while but never really used it, it turned out to be a really pretty red with an orange/peach tint and like all of the Essie's I own it was beautiful and had great application.


For the accent finger I used to coats of OPI Alpine Snow and then stamped with the same Essie E-nuff is E-nuff. I can't remember which stamp I used, it was one of the new Mash stamps I got for Christmas, but honestly I'm too lazy to get up and see which one. I liked the circle pattern a lot though.

~Nailed by Jen~
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Happy Valentine's Day!

Today we wanted to show you our Valentine's Day manis :)

Ericka's:  She started with 2 coats Zoya Kennedy and then topped it with a coat of Essie Good To Go.  Next, she stamped cheetah print with Orly Liquid Vinyl on all the fingers except the ring fingers and thumbs.  After the stamping dried, she used Ulta Non-Stop Red to add little dots of color to the cheetah print.  On her ring fingers and thumbs, she folded a piece of tape in half and cut out half a heart.  After unfolding it, she stuck it on her nail and used OPI Black Shatter to paint it in.
Brittany's:  I started with 2 coats of Ulta Non-Stop Red on all of my nails.  After adding a coat of Essie Good To Go, I used the same cheetah print stamp with OPI Pink Friday on all my fingers except my ring fingers.  I also added Ulta Glitter Top Coat dots to the dots on my cheetah print.  On my ring finger, I stamped with one of my new Red Angel plates with OPI Alpine Snow.  I also added Ulta Glitter Top Coat to my ring fingers.


Jen's:  She started with 2 coats of Essie Watermelon on all her fingers except the ring fingers.  Next, she used her dotting tool to add 2 dots of Essie Raise Awareness to all her fingers, but on the ring finger she did the opposite, with Essie Raise Awareness on the nail and 2 dots of Essie Watermelon.  She topped everything off with a coat of SV.
 Hope you like our manis!  Have a wonderful day!

~Nailed by Brittany, Ericka & Jen~
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Animal Prints

Today's post is not so much about one manicure but about the mood I've been in lately, and that is the mood for animal prints. Over the last few days I've had zebras and leopards and giraffes on my nails so for today I'm showing you one of each. Also I should disclaimer this post by saying sorry if the photos aren't great they were all taken on my phone.
The first mani is zebra print. This is done with Konad plate m57. I used 2 coats of China Glaze Pink Voltage (my favorite neon!), stamped with Finger Paints Black Expressionism and then for a bit of glitter used Sally Hansen HD LCD.


For the leopard print I used the same plate (Konad m57). I put 3 layers of Sally Hansen HD Spectrum then stamped with Essie Sexy Divide. Sexy Divide is actually a purple color but in the photos (and to a lesser degree in person) the spots look blue. It was still pretty but I wish the spots would have turned out more purple, perhaps if I hadn't used such a strong glittery base.


The final print I have is a giraffe print, I was really excited about this one because I got some new image plates for Christmas and this was on one of them. Since giraffe is a more abstract print I went for neutral colors that way it was obvious what I was going for. I used Mash plate Mash-20. I put 2 coats of OPI DS Classic as the base, I'm not a big fan of neutrals but this is a lovely gold with a holographic shimmer so its not too boring for me. Then I stamped with Sinful Colors Rich in Heart.

~Nailed by Jen~
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Zoya Charisma

Today I wanted to show you one of my newer Zoya polishes.  I bought Zoya Charisma from Bloom.com at the end of 2011.  I didn't really remember the polish that I had chosen, so I was a little surprised when I opened the box.  I didn't remember picking such a bright, bold color.  But after putting it on, I was much more content with my choice.

Here is Zoya's website description of this color : Charisma can be best described as: Ultra bright neon fluorescent magenta/red-toned purple cream.  I would agree with that color description.  As always the formula was wonderful.  For being a matte polish, I didn't have any issues with streaks.  But I definitely love the look of shiny nails, so I added a coat of Essie Good to Go.

Taken in the sun :)  Sunshine always makes me happy.
 
I also recently participated in Zoya's promotion to get 2 free polishes by only paying shipping.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will finally receive them today!

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Fly & Save Me

So to continue with the wonderful post that Jen did about the new Nicki Minaj OPI collection, I wanted to quickly show you my mani with 2 of the polishes.

I started with 2 coats of Fly and I completely love this color.  Its a vibrant teal that is just bright enough, but not so bright that it becomes too in your face.  I will definitely be wearing this color on a fairly regular basis.  The formula was wonderful, as OPI always is.  These photos were taken after 2 days of wear.  I also added 2 coats of Save Me on my ring fingers.  This glitter is beautiful.  The bar glitters are really unique and interesting.  I loved the rainbows that the glitter made.  I topped everything off with a coat of Essie Good To Go.
Photos taken inside w/ natural light.


Showing the rainbows off :)
Overall, I'm really loving these 2 polishes.  I haven't gotten the rest of the polishes from Jen yet and I'm trying to patiently wait...but its creating a bit of a challenge.  What you think of the bar glitter?  Are you liking it?

~Nailed By Brittany~
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Play Date with Oreo Brownies

Over the past weekend, we had to take a trip to Wal-mart and I wanted to pick up a full size bottle of Essie Good To Go (I currently only have a mini bottle), due to the fact that I'm really like it.  Don't get me wrong, I still love Seche Vite but the Essie Good To Go smells a little better and does a really good job at drying quickly. Unfortunately, this Walmart didn't carry the top coat, but they did have Essie Play Date.  As soon as I saw this color, I knew that I needed it.  And I'm super happy with my decision.

I did 2 coats Essie Play date and topped it off with one coat of Essie Good To Go.  The formula was flawless and I love the brush.  This color was amazing.  A beautiful creme purple.  I do believe this will become one of my new favorites :)

 Bonus photo:  I made brownies with Oreos in the middle.  They are delicious!!! And look how pretty nails look with them :)

~Nailed by Brittany~
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Silly Name... Beautiful Polish

I have to confess despite their wide selection of beautiful colors I don't own very many Essie polishes, they are a little expensive for my budget and unlike OPI I have no way to get the Essies on sale. Also earlier this year after seeing many wonderful reviews I purchased Essie 'Carry On' and I was greatly disappointed with it. But a few days ago I decided to give Essie another try. And it was definitely worth it. I picked up a few bright colors and jewel tones including the one I'm going to show you today, Essie Sexy Divide. Its a deep true purple with a hint of purple shimmer. While I liked the color enough to buy it I didnt really see anything that special about it, until I put it on my nails.

2 Coats Essie Sexy Divide, 1 Coat Seche Vite
This color turned out to be so vibrant and beautiful on my nails that I couldn't resist staring at it constantly while I had it on. Not only that but with the SV on top the entire mani ended up with a really glossy finish. My only disappointment with this polish is that I'm not especially found of Essie's brushes, they are very thin and I find it hard to get nice even coverage. With 2 coats I was able to achieve opacity and after I was finished I just used a small brush dipped in acetone to clean up the cuticles. Another disappointment was my inability to get a good photo, between poor lighting and the fact that I was using my phone to take the photos the photos you see here are abou the best I could manage.

This pic actually makes the polish look a lot darker than it was in real life, in natural light it really shines.
I liked this polish so much that after a day and half of wear instead of taking it off I added one of my favorite glitters to dress it up. I put one coat of OPI Servin' Up Sparkle on top then added another layer of SV. It turned out really pretty and was the perfect combination of 2 of my favorite polishes. For those who are interested Servin Up Sparkle is part of the Serena Glam Slam collection and is a mix of small silver holographic glitters and large silver hex glitters in a clear base, the application on this polish is wonderful, really smooth and with a good mix of glitters spread evenly.

Another not so great photo in artificial light
That's it for today. I've got a few more Essie"s here I'm looking forward to using in the next few days!
~Nailed by Jen~
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Fantastic Flakes

Happy New Year to everyone!
It seems like it has been forever since I have had a chance to post a mani on the blog. Since Christmas, I've been out visiting family (many who live without internet) and haven't been able to write anything for you. Thankfully, Brittany has been viligant with keeping you updated :)

Today's mani is one of my favorite that I've done in quite some time. It was so simple, but looked beautiful. I love the way flakes look out in the sun and was happy that I had gotten another flaky polish. Ulta (one of our main sources of polish) was having another great sale when I picked up both of these polishes. I had a coupon for buy one - get one on Ulta cosmetics and picked up Grin & Berry It. (It's getting to a point that I constantly have to look at what we have or check the inventory so we don't get doubles since we own so many Ulta colors.) I also picked up a few other polishes along with Essie - Shine of the Times (this is gorgeous... go buy it :)

For this mani, I put on 2 coats of Grin & Berry It and then topped with Shine of the Times. As usual, I used a quick dry topcoat (Seche Vite). I was lucky enough to catch a few rays of sun to take some photos in (something I'm longing for on a day like today with lake effect snow coming down outside).





I hope everyone had a happy holiday season! For those of you in this snow with me, keep warm!

~Nailed by Ericka~
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Fowl Play on Plum Noir

Sorry to be posting again, but Ericka is visiting family and Jen is working like crazy....therefore, you are stuck with me.  After getting back from Florida I wanted to try some of my new polishes.  I picked up these 2 Orly polishes sometime in this month (I can't remember...oops!)  So on Tuesday I wore Orly Plum Noir.  I did 2 coats with a top coat of SV.  I really liked this polish.  It was a beautiful creme plum and the application was great.

So last I decided that I wasn't in the mood to take out my nail polish so I just decided to paint over it :)  So I thought Orly Fowl Play was the perfect polish to use on top of Plum Noir.  And I was crazy happy with the results.  I'm sure you have better photos of this polish, but I had to share because it really is stunning.  I did two coats of Fowl Play and topped it with Essie's Go to Go (trying something new). 

Is it bad to recycle my manis?  I hope not.


~Nailed by Brittany~
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Essie Mochacino

So it seems like everyone is ready for a little break from all the color and nail art that the holidays require.  And I'm no exception :)  I actually wore this mani on Christmas day, because I wasn't able to bring a ton of polishes with me, and I wanted something that would just be quick and simple.  I decided that my new Essie Mochacino would fit the bill perfectly. 

I did two quick coats and topped it off with a coat of SV.  I have just recently started purchasing Essie and so far I really like them.  The application has been great with all of them so far, and the bottle and brushes are great.  This polish is a nice nude/beige/tan color with silverish shimmer.  I really liked the color and after all the reds that I had been wearing it was definitely refreshing.  Unfortunately, I did have a little staining from Wocka Wocka! which I wore the day before, but I say that's just because I didn't have all my supplies with me.

Here is a picture of the sharks teeth that I found on the beach on Monday.  Finding shark teeth at the beach is one of my favorite parts of visiting my Grandparents.  We go there at least one a year and we always find time to hunt for sharks teeth. 
I love the little one.  So cute!!!
Are you all ready for some nude/plain colors?

~Nailed by Brittany~
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