Zoya Izzy-Birchbox

Okay, seriously, who is loving Birch box? Okay for anyone who is into getting a great beauty deal for super cheap-o (coughme) Birchbox is a subscription service where you get a package every month for 10$, in this box you receive deluxe sized samples, jewelry, and other fun stuff! I can't believe I waited so long to join! But that is besides the point, in the BB for November, it came with a bottle of Zoya Izzy. Okay so it wasn't a full size, but it was Zoya! And bonus, it was a color from the new winter 2011 collection. Onto the pics!

I also added some white nail pen detailing, because as Ive said before Ive been spoiled with nail art, and a freshly painted nail is like a canvas to me. And I can't help myself! I just wanted a simple white design, something easy to remove. Because lets be real here, I love my glitter, but it's a bitch to remove.

I also did want to mention that the giveaway is coming to an end soon! I have lots of goodies, including some Japanese gems! I just want to get everything together, but I also want to leave some things a mystery;)

Okay ta ta for now!
Erika:)

An Unlikely Last-Minute Unique Combo!!

I haven't been this excited about swatches in a while, hence my lack of posting lately. Boredom, and a bad manicure @ a salon today, and I was ready for something new. I decided to give one of my new Zoya swatches a shot today - Yara. It's a gorgeous color! A deep olive green with yellow sparkles in it. I love it but I still felt it was just a bit dull. Needs something brighter. I topped it off with a new NYX swatch I received from the Hautelook NYX sale a few weeks ago. It's a flakie polish called Pink Avenue - which isn't all that pink, actually. It's clear with gold/green/yellow flakes in it. I don't see pink, but maybe it might show up in the daylight.

It really made for a beautiful combination! I imagine this NYX color would light up just about any color. If you can get your hands on this (where do they sell NYX, anyway? I don't think I've ever seen it in stores) I definitely recommend grabbing a bottle.

Back on the subject of Hautelook...here is the set of 4 NYX polished I received. I am in love with them all! I'm quite impressed with the uniqueness of their colors.

Can we pretend it's Wednesday?

So I wanted to post yesterday for "On weds we wear pink!" but my wrist has been killing me( oh carpel, how I love you so..except not) so lets pretend ;)

 

This is Jillian from NYX. It was a perfect "Adios summer!" color. Not that it's going to stop me from rocking some brights in the fall. But now that fall is under way, I can say to my beautiful rich browns and reds Come to MAMA! I felt so weird wearing dark colors this summer, like it was against the law.

I added a top coat, also NYX called Sapphire. I don't know why it is called that because it's almost holo like. I took a few blurry shots to show. But on the website for NYX, it looks silver. Herm. I love you online shopping, but this is the reasons that it can be a pain in the ass, crap stock photos!

Look at that sparkle!

Speaking of hologram loveliness... I did this manicure a few weeks ago, and completely forgot to post pics. Its of Nfu Oh #61. This color always sells out fast on Fabulousstreet.com so when Julie saw it online, she grabbed it for me. (Mucho Gracias for that, Julie!) I think you can get a bottle now, but be fast, it sells out fast! But that's it for me!

☮+♥,

My LONG Nails, and My New KOH Polish!

(A friendly reminder that we are only 100 followers away from our mini-giveaway! Sign up here: http://apolishedlife.blogspot.com/2011/05/500-followers-giveaway-nfu-oh-flakie.html )

Hi everyone! So sorry for the time off from blogging. Life, without fail, has a way of interrupting the delicate balance here and there! I had a lot of scares and excitement mixed together over the last few weeks. On the sadder side, my grandmother became very ill and was hospitalized for nearly 2 weeks. Happy to report she is home again and doing well. The excitement comes from my recent engagement!

So to celebrate, I got acrylic tips yesterday. I know a lot of people frown upon tips, hell...I do, too! They hurt. They ruin your nails, they chip easily..blablabla. I get it. And I agree. But I wanted nice nails for when I show off my ring (it's being adjusted!). So I sucked it up and I'll keep them on for a while. My nails were badly damaged from all the stress these last few weeks have brought me, I chewed them down to nubs. So tips were well needed. I did ask for them to be short, because I cannot function well with long nails.

Here goes. My tips, with a nice light pink essie swatch (the name escapes me at the moment). I think I am going to top it off with Glitter In The Air when I get bored. I think that is the least boring color out there. :)

And now for the KOH Polish. I thought Nfu Oh was art in a bottle, well check out this presentation! I've been so psyched to receive this very expensive little treasure, and even more excited to swatch it. Check out the presentation! Quite impressive. This set comes in a shiny black case, with a fan, and a pretty uniquely shaped bottle. Way to go, Koh! You are worth every penny spent! Do you see this swatch? Wow. For all the flakie lovers out there, this is a no-brainer must-have. The color is called Blue Universe.

What do you think? What is your price-limit on polish? Would you pay $30??

Erika+Pink=It must be Wednesday!

Hey everyone, wow it's weds! How fast is this week flying! I actually did this manicure a few weeks ago when Renee found the onwednesdaywewearpink blog. It is such a great idea, and fun to boot! And another reason to be pink and girly;) ..like I need a reason!

Also Mean girls is a cinematic gem( oh you know you stop everything to watch it when it comes on TBS, also Tina Fey is a god..goddess! Her new book is hilarious!)

Close up for Miss.Jules;)

I wanted something simple (no nail art) but not to blah... Finally after literally...seconds of debate, I reached for Nubar 2010. I swear this bottle is going to be the first ever nail polish since 1994 that I will ever finish. It is just such a great topper for any nail polish color!
My only complaint about this color from WNW is that A) it took while to dry, B) it dried matte( which I guess for a neonish color wasn't a surprise and C) it needed like 4 coats. But hey for 1.99 you cant exactly complain!

But it's already Thursday here in NY, so I should go! Ta ta for now ladies;)

Fimo Butterflies For The Ring fingers! SO cute (Julie & Tammy)

I found these on eBay, came out to about $3.00 and they arrived the next day...no joke! I just ordered a bunch more. They're made from fimo clay. These are butterflies, but there are also fruit slices, hearts, stars, flowers, animals, etc. I got mine from a seller in NY, but it seems most are based out of Asia. So if you're in the US and are looking to get them sooner, try this link.

This is what Tammy did - a nice bright pink by OPI with a blue fimo butterfly-

And I did Indigo by Barry M, a blue/black butterfly, and a top coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment

Here it is blurred so you can see the rainbow sparkles:

Oh and don't forget - there are only 4 days left to sign up for our Nfu Oh & Deborah Lippmann giveaway! So get on moving to that post and enter!!

:)

Pink n Purple Polka Dots (Tammy)

My very first post... :)he-he

My nails are wrapped in acrylic in this picture, since I have been experimenting with all of that because my nails ALWAYS break if not wrapped. But since then I have changed to gel and I am in love. I think acrylic is harder to apply.
Anyway, that day I was in the mood for dots. I hadn't really tried to do it and didn't really know how to but the first thing that came to my head was tooth picks. I applied one coat of Nailtiques Nail Protein Formula 2, two coats of pink (I had just got it from Julie :)). I cut the tip off the tooth pick because I wanted a decent size dot, put some purple nail polish on a napkin and dipped the tooth pick in it. It took me a couple of dot mess ups to get it right but I liked the end result. After a day and a nail accident, I decided to reverse the colors on the index fingernail. I actually liked it better this way.

Colors:
Pink: China Glaze - Strawberry Fields
Purple: Eva - Purple (Didn't use a big name nail polish.)

Sorry for the crappy pic but don't have a really good camera yet ;)