Farewell to 'Polish? Oh, My...'

Hello Everyone,

This will be my last post on this blog, I have a new blog that's Luxe Beauty Forever. I wanted to expand my repetoire and post more than just nail polish swatches. I also want to become more known in the beauty blogger world and take it to a more serious level than I have in the past. I hope you all will continue to follow me on my new journey!

As far as my blog sale/swap goes that still remains. The list, however, will not be on my new blog. I will keep it in handy in case anyone else is interested. Please review the list as I will delete this account this weekend.

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Lime Crime 'Milky Ways' & butter London 'Chancer'

Usually, white or cream polishes have difficult formulas (meaning they're streaky, don't cover well and need many coats to cover the nail). I absolutely LOVE Rescue Beauty Lounge's 'Bella' as it's a jelly-cream hybrid with a slighly off white hue. You can literally get away with 2 coats or 3 for full opacity. That polish can be purchased here for $20.00. And, yes, I will tell you it's worth the price! Well, I found a polish that's more on the cream side that has an effortless formula that only requires 2 coats. Behold Lime Crime 'Milky Ways'...

Lime Crime 'Milky Ways'

Are you drooling? I will say it's less yellow and more cream with a hint of peach (very subtle).

Lime Crime 'Milky Ways'

My Miniature Australian Shepherd Puppy 'Cody' & Lime Crime 'Milky Ways'

Like how I snuck in the puppy shot? ^_^ Of course, I couldn't leave my nails alone so I added butter London 'Chancer' to my accent nails (2 coats). This polish has a sheer red base with very fine red glitter that covers perfectly in just 2 coats.

Lime Crime 'Milky Ways' & butter London 'Chancer'

Lime Crime 'Milky Ways' & butter London 'Chancer'

Below, I've compared Rescue Beauty Lounge 'Bella Donna' ($20), Lime Crime 'Milky Ways' ($5.99), and Illamasqua 'Monogamous' ($14).

L-R: Rescue Beauty Lounge 'Bella Donna', Lime Crime 'Milky Ways', & Illamasqua 'Monogamous'

So, do you guys have a favorite 'white/cream' shade? If so, please share! Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

MABB Weekly Beauty Question ♥

Each Wednesday, the Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers will answer a beauty-related question just for fun! This week's question

is...

How do you feel about polish trends like nail art, crackle, "fish egg" manis, etc?

We all know that fads come and go; these nail polish 'trends' are no exception. I have to say for the most part I enjoy these trends. Here's a list of some trends or effects we've seen and what I think of them:

• Crackle nail polish - I thought this was super cool and one of the easiest ways to conceal a mani I accidentally messed up. What an easy way to add 'nail art' I thought! Ha, I bought tons of them and now they take up nearly an entire drawer in my helmer (can be purchased here for $39.99 from Ikea, I swear they made these for nail polish and fit about 400 polishes). What a waste! Please don't ask me how much I spent on them, I know there's some that are brand new and unused as well. I won't dare list them on my blog sale/swap because we all know crackle is as dead as a herringbone gold necklace! I really don't see it coming back...

•  Gradient effect - As far as I'm concerned this is here to stay! If you're not sure what this looks like check out Sammy's blog 'The Nailasaurus' here, she gives the best picture by picture tutorial as well that you can view here. It's basically a near flawless gradient of colors that you create using a make up sponge. Coolest thing ever, my favorite color combination I've seen to date was done by Sarah at 'Chalkboard Nails' where she did a take on a french manicure with a white and nude gradient effect that you can see here! It's so easy to do and looks stunning!

•  Crescent moon or "reverse french" nails - I love love this look, especially when it's done correctly. This look should be very subtle. An example of how classic and simple this look can be found here. I absolutely adore this look and think it's here to stay!

•  Bead, caviar, or fish egg nails - Can I just say BARF!? First of all, this is something that should be used for cool photo shoots for high fashion magazines... not for everyday wear. I'm not going to get into the whole controversy with the brand Ciaté because I honestly don't care. However, if you like this look you can buy these little beads at any craft store for cheap. I didn't like it then and I certainly don't like it now. If you're not sure what it looks like or would like to know the drama, the lovely Jeanette from 'The Swatchaholic' did a post you can see here.

• Cloud mani - This is still pretty cool even though I think it's starting to 'die off' a bit, but basically this manicure is made to look like a cloud effect that can be made by using just the brush your polish came with. There's a great tutorial and example of this 'cloud' look here on the Nailside blog. Haha, oddly I've yet to try this even though I still like it!

• Magnetic nail polish - When this polish first came out I didn't really find it that interesting. I'm still not a huge fan of this effect (maybe because the colors seem boring?) but have to admit Sarah from 'Chalkboard Nails' did an interesting take on this look that you can see here. Notice this post is from December 2011. So, yeah I think all the drug store brands are a bit late just coming out with their collections. lol!

Of course, there are other trends that are continuing to come out. These are some that hit me and thought would be fun to share with you guys! Until next time!

♥ Cheers,
Bridget
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Be sure to check out the other Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers' answers!

Artia from Fat 'nd Fierce 
Emma from Manicurity
Harri from TrailerHood Chic
Mandy from MandysSecrets
Missy from Gnarly Gnails
Pam from Pammy Blogs Beauty
Quinn from Mama Fashionista
SiSi from SiSi Sparkles

If you would like to see previous questions and answers, you can do so by viewing the Question Archive here.

If you're a beauty blogger in the Metro Atlanta area and would like to join us, please visit our website! We would love to connect with you!

butter London 'All Hail The Queen'

On behalf of ULTA's *today (9/10/12) only* BOGO butter London sale I had to wear butter London's 'All Hail The Queen'. I'd describe this color as a medium taupe with a scattered holographic effect. I used two coats and 1 coat of CND's Air Dry topcoat. This color (& 'Yummy Mummy') is a staple in everyone's collection. I'm really glad it's starting to cool off outside so I can wear these lovely muted shades! Now for the photos...

butter London 'All Hail The Queen'

butter London 'All Hail The Queen'

butter London 'All Hail The Queen'

I hope a lot of you guys were able to pick up some of these polishes, I've always been fond of their unique shades and formulas. These guy's cost $14 a bottle and are definitely worth the money. You can purchase their polishes directly from their website here or at ULTA here. There are some unique exclusive shades that you can purchase from their website (ex. Macy's exclusives shades). So, I love meeee some buttterrr's! How about you guys? Until next time....

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Barry M. MADNESS!!!

I've been very pleased with every Barry M. polish I've used to date and have continued to request this brand for all of the the British polish swaps! Here, I have 3 different Barry M. polishes that I've used in one mani that I received from the lovely Vanessa from Nail Stories! I started off with 2 coats of Barry M. 'Mint Green' and 'Cyan Blue' here...

Barry M. 'Mint Green' & 'Cyan Blue'

Barry M. 'Mint Green' & 'Cyan Blue'

Barry M. 'Mint Green' & 'Cyan Blue'

Then I decided I just couldn't wait to use Barry M's 'Croc Effects' in black! Now, typically these 'crackle' polishes require that you let the previous polish you've used to dry. Well, not Croc Effects! Haha, I didn't read the directions on the side of the bottle. This is what Croc Effects looks like if you let the polish dry (well, mostly dry). It appears mostly black and the effect is very fine. If you google this effect polish you can see the cracks are usually more defined. I had posted this photo on InstaGram (@bmwmchick) and everyone said how cool they think it looked (however, I removed it... lol). Here's how it came out...

Barry M. 'Mint Green', 'Cyan Blue', & Croc Effects in Black

So, what do you guys think? These polishes can be found readily in the UK or from Harlow & Co. here from $6.50 - $8.00 USD. I highly recommend this brand as the formulas are amazing and the colors are very pigmented! Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Chanel 'Cosmic Violine'

I always love deep 'vampy' shades whether they're almost black or have a unique shimmer I love them all. This one is no exception! Chanel 'Cosmic Violine' is a brown leaning maroon with a magenta glass fleck. The application was amazing and I used 2 coats for this manicure. I have to say this is one of my favorite polishes to date besides MAC 'Blue India' (which is my #1 favorite). This polish is considered hard to find (HTF) as it's no longer available in stores however I did a bit of hunting and found it on eBay here for $34.45 shipped. Yeah, that's more than it originally cost but in my opinion it's worth the money!

Now for the photos...

Chanel 'Cosmic Violine'

Chanel 'Cosmic Violine'

Chanel 'Cosmic Violine'

Chanel 'Cosmic Violine'

As always I used a light box (which is very natural lighting) and my iPhone 4s for the photos, I also used the applications 'Diptic' and 'Phonto' for the layout and font. Come find me on twitter and Instagram; my name is @bmwmchick. Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

MABB Weekly Beauty Question ♥

Each Wednesday, the Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers will answer a beauty-related question just for fun! This week's question

is...

What are your favorite big name nail polish brands? (OPI, China Glaze, Zoya, etc)

Wow, I have quite a few favorite nail polish brands. Where to start? In terms of mainstream (non 'Indie' or 'small company' brands) nail polish companies I have mostly Essie, OPI, China Glaze and butter London in my collection. I'm almost never let down by their formulas. However, I will say that I notice Essie does have a few flops but they make up for it with their occasional one coaters. I think Essie has been absolutely killin' it when it comes to their colors of their recent collections (in the past year, current, & upcoming), in fact I just had to get the recent Fall 2012 Sylenomics collection (which I got for $31 shipped via eBay!). OPI rarely disappoints me with their colors and formulas. Considering the quality and price point it's easy to understand why they're the favorite of many nail enthusiasts'! China Glaze has the occasional collection that really excites me (ex. The Hunger Games & recent Safari collections) and their formulas rarely disappoint. My other brand I have nearly every color of is butter London; I love their unique colors and how they present their brand. I always end up purchasing their collections (that are small and therefore manageable to purchase all of them! ha) even though they're in the mid price range being at $14 a bottle.

A few other favorite brands that don't take up most of my collection are Dior, MAC, Revlon, and Orly. Yes, these range from $23 a bottle to $3.99 a bottle but offer a great variety of colors as well as 'Limited Edition' shades.

What are some of your favorite brands? Could you ever choose just one? ...I couldn't, it could just never happen. :oD

♥ Cheers,

Bridget

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Be sure to check out the other Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers' answers!

Emma from Manicurity
Harri from TrailerHood Chic
Mandy from MandysSecrets
Missy from Gnarly Gnails
Pam from Pammy Blogs Beauty
Quinn from Mama Fashionista
SiSi from SiSi Sparkles

If you would like to see previous questions and answers, you can do so by viewing the Question Archive here.

If you're a beauty blogger in the Metro Atlanta area and would like to join us, please visit our website! We would love to connect with you!

Nicole by OPI 'One Big Happy Fame-Ily' + Holo Topcoat

I'm not typically a huge fan of purple polishes, they either have to be on the pastel side, muted, or a dark shade of purple. This Nicole by OPI shade is a pastel with a very intense silver glass fleck (the polish looks the same on your nails as it does in the bottle...imagine that!?). This polish is a bit on the sheer side but glides on nicely and is mostly opaque at 2 coats which I applied for the photos below. You could achieve a fully opaque look with 3 coats. 

*A note about this polish- It's a CVS exclusive, I'm not sure if it's considered limited edition (LE) or not but I know it's only available at CVS which is where I purchased this color and the rest of the collection. 

Now for the pictures...

Nicole by OPI 'One Big Happy Fame-Ily'

Nicole by OPI 'One Big Happy Fame-Ily'

Nicole by OPI 'One Big Happy Fame-Ily'

Nicole by OPI 'One Big Happy Fame-Ily' + Hits Specialita 'Hefesto'

Later on in the day I decided to add the Brazilian polish Hits 'Hefesto' which is a silver linear holographic topcoat polish for a pretty lavender holographic look! I think it came out pretty, it definitely looks lighter but now it has that amazing rainbow effect (that is truly stunning in natural sunlight!).

Until next time!

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Pink, black, & White Jelly Sandwich

Who doesn't love the look of glitter trapped between a lovely sheer colorful polish? All of us nail enthusiasts call this look the 'jelly sandwich'. To accomplish this look you need 2 things; a sheer polish and a glitter polish. A "jelly" polish is one that is sheer and tends to have a 'Jell-O' like appearance however they can be more 'milky' like the OPI New York Ballet Collection that came out not too long ago. In this manicure I'm wearing below {in order of polishes used} I first applied Revlon's Just Tinted in 'Victorian' (1 coat), Sonnetarium's 'Samurai Princess' (1 coat), Revlon's Just Tinted in 'Victorian' (1 coat) and finished with Essie's 'Good To Go' topcoat. 

Now for the pictures!...

Revlon Just Tinted 'Victorian' + Sonnetarium 'Samurai Princess'

Revlon Just Tinted 'Victorian' + Sonnetarium 'Samurai Princess'

Revlon Just Tinted 'Victorian' + Sonnetarium 'Samurai Princess'

I purchased the Revlon polish on eBay as it's come to my attention this is a limited edition (LE) polish. The Sonnetarium polish is available on Etsy here, while the shop is currently closed you can sign up with your e-mail to be notified of when the shop is open again. *She notes the shop will re-open 8/25/12 (tomorrow)!* These polishes stayed in stock for only a few days so you have to act quickly! You can also follow Sonnetarium on FaceBook here to stay up to date on new colors and shop openings.

Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'

As much as I love bright colors I like to mix things up. If I wear a lot of pink and purple I like to wear some orange and yellow and vice versa. I also like those really dark 'almost black' shades. I finally got my hands on the Dior Les Violets collection (so excited too) that's limited edition so snatch them while you can! I've got Dior 'Poison' featured today topped with a stunning Brazilian polish. 

Here are the photos...

Dior 'Poison'

Dior 'Poison'

Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'

Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'

Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'

Details of this mani:

• I used 2 coats of Dior 'Poison' (no topcoat in the first two photos)
• This polish is a very dark 'almost black' eggplant purple cream polish. It covered well and dried very shiny on its own. 
• You can find this polish at Nordstrom's either in store or online here for $23.00

• I used 1 coat of Hits 'Moonbow'
• This polish features a clear base with small glitter that features a strong color shift from a green-teal to a bright purple.
• You can find this polish on Llarowe's website here for $8.00 however I got mine through a swap with a lovely lady named Rose! Thank you again Rose!

•  I used 1 coat of  Essie 'Good To Go' topcoat 

Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Girly Bits 'Cu Blue'

Do you like Deborah Lippmann's 'Ray of Light'? Or maybe even the look of Rescue Beauty Lounge's 'Piu Mosso' (which is now discontinued)? Then this might have your name on it... Girly Bits 'Cu Blue' is a deep cool blue jelly shade with copper flecks. I'm loving it (as I have those other polishes listed above), here are the photos...

 

Details of this mani:

• I used 3 coats of Girly Bits 'Cu Blue'
• This polish is a deep cool (purple-leaning) blue jelly with a lot of copper flecks. I found the formula to be very nice and built up nicely. I used 3 coats to ensure it was totally opaque but you could easily get away with 2 coats.
• You can find this polish on Llarowe for $12.00 here. Harlow & Co.'s website offers some of the Girly Bits polishes here for $12-$13 but not this particular shade.
• I didn't use a topcoat in these pictures :o)

 Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Cotton Candy Flavored Bubble Gum

Today, I have a fun mani that reminds me of cotton candy flavored bubble gum! Check out this white, blue and pink glitter!...

 

 

 

 

 

Details of this mani:

• I used 2 coats of Barry M 'Strawberry Ice Cream'
• This polish is a lovely slightly deeper than 'baby' pink and has a jelly-cream hybrid finish. I had no streaks even with the first coat! 
• You can find this polish in the UK or if you live in the U.S. you can purchase it here from Harlow & Co. for $7 USD
• I used 1 coat of LUSH LACQUER 'mr. bubble'
• This glitter was easy to work with because of the amount of glitter in this bottle. It's considered an 'Indie' polish (not a big name brand & handmade) and can be purchased via their Etsy shop here for $8.75 USD.
• I used 1 coat of Essie 'Good To Go' topcoat
• This topcoat can be found at drugstores, ULTA, and online

 Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

MABB Weekly Beauty Question ♥

Each Wednesday, the Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers will answer a beauty-related question just for fun! This week's question is...


What inspired you to start your blog?

I have always loved nail polish and beauty products since I was in my early teens. One day I saw Rie's blog 'Nails and Noms' (link here) which features stunning photos of nail pictures (and yes food!). I immediately started to use my twitter account again (which like many I started and then forgot about for months because I didn't understand its use and purpose) and I was instantly hooked. I found out about many other amazing nail and beauty bloggers. Soon after I started my blog which has been a wonderful learning process. I continue to tweak my photos and content every so often. I don't see ending my blog anytime soon!


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Be sure to check out the other Metro Atlanta Beauty Bloggers' answers!


Mandy from MandysSecrets
Pam from Pammy Blogs Beauty
Quinn from Mama Fashionista
Sihui from SiSi Sparkles


If you're a beauty blogger in the Metro Atlanta area and would like to join us, please visit our website! We would love to connect with you!

MAC 'Ice Cream Cake' & Barry M 'Silver Multi Glitter'

Hello Readers,

Today, I have a fun girly mani! I used MAC 'Ice Cream Cake' which is a fairly bright cool toned barbie pink and Barry M '338 Silver Multi Glitter' which is a fine silver glitter with flecks of multi color glitters (a pinkish-purple color stands out the most).

Here are the photos...

 

 

 

Details:

• I used 2 coats of MAC 'Ice Cream Cake'
• This polish is considered HTF but you can usually pick it up on eBay anywhere from $15-$25 USD
• I used 2 coats of Barry M 'Silver Multi Glitter'
• This polish is readily available in the UK but can be purchased online (either directly from their website or on eBay for as little as $5 per bottle)
• I used 1 coat of Essie 'Good To Go' topcoat
• This topcoat can be found at drugstores, ULTA, and online

So, what do you guys think? Pink with silver or pink with black always looks so pretty to me! Until next time...

♥ Cheers,
Bridget

Pretty & Polished 'Tart'

Hello Readers,

I have a fun purple glittler mani today on my cute little short nails! I started with 1 coat of OPI 'Planks A Lot' from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection and then added 2 coats of Pretty & Polished 'Tart'. I finished with 1 coat of Essie's 'Good To Go' topcoat (which is my #1 favorite topcoat by the way).

Here are the photos...

 

I love the sheer purple base with blue, yellow, white, pink, and purple glitters! It's a unique mix and one of the few Indie polishes that I like enough to keep (the others I've swapped or sold)! You can purchase Pretty & Polished polishes via her Etsy shop here or on Shop.llarowe.com (here's the direct link). Either way you want to follow her on Facebook here to keep up with sale dates.

Until next time!

♥ Cheers,

Bridget

OPI 'Lucky Lucky Lavender' & China Glaze 'Fairy Dust'

Hello Readers,

So, I've changed my blog layout (after trying out many different templates...). It's VERY me and I'm quite happy with it. Today, I have OPI 'Lucky Lucky Lavender' (2 coats) + China Glaze "Fairy Dust' (1 coat). I think it's very feminine and sweet.

What do you guys think? If you don't have CG 'Fairy Dust' I highly recommend picking it up! It's a very fine holographic glitter in a clear base and adds just a bit of sparkle. Until next time...

♥ Cheers,

Bridget