Won't you take me to...Tinsel Town!

Hiya folks!  I tell you what, it has been way too long.  I haven't painted my nails like I love to in several months.  Exciting things have been going on in my life and my husband has been pushing me to actually get work done in our house.  I'll have a few photos by the end of the coming week of before and afters.

Anyhow.  I finally had the drive to put polish on my nails.  It is either summer or winter here in Houston so I went with a winter-inspired look.

The two colors I used are Chanel Blue Rebel and China Glaze's lovely winter color, Tinsel Town!

One coat of Blue Rebel with one coat of Tinsel Town.

I used snowflakes from Dashica Beauty plate #SdP-A18.  I purchased this a very long time ago and I've noticed her plates are now rectangular.  She has a lot to choose from, and I originally looked into these plates because of the many different Sanrio characters she has.

You can see Blue Rebel coming through on this indoor photograph with flash

I will be back soon.  Have a beautiful weekend!

NOTD *~*~PIC HEAVY~*~* | Chanel Peridot, Missha HGR01, $OPI Mermaid to Order & NYX Jungle

I felt like sporting ombré nails today.  Seeing as it is summer, I felt mermaid inspired colors would be a good idea.  XD

Jungle is a peacock blue jelly with a greenish gold shimmer while the other three are frosty colors.
Mermaid to Order is a turquoise-y teal that flashes a deep watery blue color.
HGR01 is a greenish gold color that flashes the same deep watery blue color as Mermaid to Order.
Peridot is a golded olive that flashes a blue-green color.

I applied two coats of all three. 

In the sun | L to R:  NYX Jungle, $OPI Mermaid to Order, Missha HGR01 & Chanel Peridot

 

In the shade | L to R:  NYX Jungle, $OPI Mermaid to Order, Missha HGR01 & Chanel Peridot

In the sun:

In the Shade:

Chanel | Peridot

Missha | HGR01

$OPI | Mermaid to Order

NYX | Jungle

What do you all think of these colors?  Any of these you just had to have?
I just had to have Mermaid to order.  I got Missha because I thought the bottle was adorable, and it turns out the brush is just like the crazy large Sally Hansen brushes.  I picked up Peridot because that is my birthstone.  As for Jungle, I received it from the lovely Edita of AllYouDesire (Yes the one with the totally awesome nails).

Essie Braziliant Summer 2011 | Swatches: Absolutely Shore, Super Bossa Nova, Braziliant and Smooth Sailing

The Braziliant Summer 2011 collection by Essie is hot!  I have my four faves from this collection.


Absolutely Shore:

Absolutely Shore | Two Coats

Absolutely Shore  | In the Shade

Absolutely Shore:  Is a fabulous pastel sea foam green.




Super Bossa Nova:

Super Bossa Nova | Two Coats

Super Bossa Nova | In the Shade

Super Bossa Nova:  Is a vibrant shimmery fuchsia.  The shimmer is on the soft blue side in the sun, but indoors it translates to a hot pink shimmer.



Braziliant:

Braziliant | Two Coats

Braziliant | In the Shade

Braziliant:  Is a vibrant orange with a hint of warm shimmer.  After swatching this one I really did not want to remove it, but I had to in order to swatch other colors.  After all the swatches were done.  I wore Braziliant and Super Bossa Nova as an actual manicure.  XD



Smooth Sailing:

Smooth Sailing | Two Coats

Smooth Sailing | In the Shade

Smooth Sailing:  According to Essie Smooth Sailing is a shimmery lavender blue, but it looks more like periwinkle to me in real life.  Nonetheless, it is a gorgeous color!  This is definitely one to grab.

Any of you grab all the colors from the Braziliant line?  What do you think about this collection?

Essie Wedding Collection 2011 | Swatches *PHOTO HEAVY*

I picked up the set at Ulta a while back.  It was right after they finished their promotion of buy 2 get one free.  I didn't realize it was over, but the sign was still up so they honored the promotion and I had a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase.  So I got a pretty darn good deal.  I'm not one for sheer colors, but the two sheers would work very well for French manicures.


Better Together:

Better Together | Two Coats

Better Together is a sheer baby pink that smooths out quite nicely.  I'm not sure how well the pink would translate on stained nails, but my ring finger has a small silk patch and it isn't too visible.  :o)


Made To Honor:

Made To Honor | Two Coats

Made To Honor is a nude sheer and would look great in a french manicure as well. It looked patchy when I started to paint, but it smoothed out very nicely.



Borrowed & Blue:

Borrowed & Blue | Two Coats

Borrowed & Blue is a beautiful opaque pastel blue.  The formula was very thick to me and dried very quickly.  Though it smooths out, I find it very unforgiving.  You can easily see the silk repair patch on my ring finger.  This one was the most difficult to apply.  :o(




First Dance:

First Dance | Two Coats

First Dance:  This eye searing red has a jelly-like texture and glided on like butter.  This is one sexy red.  The formula is absolute perfection.  It hid all the little imperfections and is extremely glossy.

I really enjoyed this collection.  Have any of you picked up any of these colors?