Wednesday, August 29, 2012

MABB Weekly Beauty Question ♥

Photobucket

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

- - - - - * - - - - -

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!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

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'

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'
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

Friday, August 24, 2012

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'
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

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

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'
Dior 'Poison'

Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'
Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'

Dior 'Poison' & Hits 'Moonbow'
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

Saturday, August 4, 2012

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...

Girly Bits 'Cu Blue'

Girly Bits 'Cu Blue'

Girly Bits 'Cu Blue'

Girly Bits 'Cu Blue'

Girly Bits 'Cu Blue' 

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

Thursday, August 2, 2012

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

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

MABB Weekly Beauty Question ♥

Photobucket


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!


- - - - - * - - - - -


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!