Autumn Trees Gradient

Today is the Autumnal Equinox which means fall is officially upon us. Fall is hands-down my favorite holiday. I love when the trees change colors and lose their leaves. I love wearing tall boots and scarves and drinking warm beverages. It means it's time to snuggle by the fire pit with my husband. Also, one of the BEST parts of fall is that Halloween is coming!

I found a beautiful nail art picture via Pinterest that I tried to recreate today. I tried searching to find where this photo originated from, but I could not locate the source. It's frustrating when people link their images back to their Pinterest Home Page just to get traffic instead of linking back to it's originating website.

Autumn Trees Gradient

Here is my inspiration picture. (if you recognize where this image is from, please let me know so I can properly cite the talented artist and turn this image into a link to their website)

Found on Pinterest - source unknown

It's beautiful, isn't it? I tried to make my trees as organically flowing as she did but needless to say I struggled with that a bit. Also, about 2 nails in I realized I was doing my art upside down, oops. This made it a bit more difficult to capture a good picture hence the upside down photos. Perfect capture of the trees changing during fall. I would LOVE to know where this is from!

Colors used in my photos:
   • FINGER PAINTS Cordur-Orange
   • CHINA GLAZE Lemon Fizz
   • JULEP Cameron
   • KONAD Special Polish in Black
   • Mixture of ZOYA Melanie & SALLY HANSEN Xtreme Wear White On

Well, HAPPY FALL to all of my lovely followers. Thanks for popping in!

ZOYA Pink-Red Ombre

Good evening all. I was in the mood to be colorful today so I decided to try for my first ombre manicure. I chose to use only Zoya polishes. Although I have more Zoya than any other brand, I guess I don't quite have enough for a 5-shade ombre manicure. Well, I DO, but it's a bit of a jump. Jessica suggested I could have simply mixed white with one or more of the shades for an in between color, but this gal didn't consider that when I was painting.

Sooki, Tosca, Kate, Poppy & Melanie

Zoya ombre mani

I really like ombre manicures, I'm not sure this one hit the mark for me, but I would try it again. I might need to get into my sister's stash to make it work. Also, that photo is a prime example of why I always take my pictures outside, the lighting in my house is terrible! Kate (middle finger) is not that red at all. Although, I dig the shot of my bottles on the black glass.

I love all of these colors though so I'm not completely bummed with how it turned out. Have you tried out an ombre mani? I feel like it's harder than it seems to make it flow cohesively.

I'm debating participating in my first nail challenge for Halloween. What do you all think? Could this come and go blogger pull it off? Maybe it's the kick in the butt I need to dedicate myself to my blog more. Thanks for popping in!

COLOR CLUB Put a Pin In It

Hello, girls. As I said with my September Birchbox post, I would do a separate review/swatch on the Color Club mini I received in my box.

Put a Pin In It is a frosty, foil. It's exclusive from the Birchbox and Color Club custom collection. Described as a "gilded rose gold" which I think is spot on. It really has that rosey tint and yet has a pearly gold finish. I found that this formula was easy to work with. I would take a bit more care applying it because this foil does not like to be cleaned up off cuticles. It will leave behind a shiny mess from any acetone removal attempts. This is not because it floods into the cuticle, but in my case because I did it quick and I do not have the steadiest of hands.

COLOR CLUB Put a Pin In It - natural sunlight

COLOR CLUB Put a Pin In It

COLOR CLUB Put a Pin In It - artificial lighting

You can really see how rosey it is in the top picture taken in natural sun. The bottom picture I took indoors shows the gold in it.

I applied two coats with no top coat for these photos. I had full coverage from one coat, but depending on how thick or thin you tend to apply, you might need the second.

Thanks for popping in!

September Birchbox 2012

Hello all. My Birchbox arrived yesterday, woohoo! You all know how I feel about my Birchboxes. It's my monthly gift to myself. (:

This month I received a nail polish. Score! I ♥ boxes with nail polish.

September 2012 Birchbox

Twistband & Color Club polish

COLOR CLUB Put a Pin In It

I really like getting the twistbands in my boxes. I personally think they are overpriced to ever actually buy, so I like getting them as samples ($22 for a 12pack, that's 2 dollars for a small piece of elastic...no thank you!). I have 2 of the ponytail twistbands and 1 headband of the same material. They are comfortable and they don't snag and pull at my hair.

The mini polish from Color Club was a nice treat. As I said, boxes with polish are my favorite. I wasn't too sure about this color in the bottle, but I thought it was surprisingly flattering with my skin tone. I will do a separate post on this foil polish.

The WEI to Go Sleep Over kit is the perfect size to toss in a bag for traveling or to use after a workout at the gym. The full size comes in the same style resealable pack for the moisturizing face tint and a small tube for the gel cleanser.

I struggle with oily, acne prone skin so I love facial cleansing samples. I'm still raving about my Origins Checks and Balances cleanser I got in my January box. The Vasanti sample is an exfoliating cleanser.

I tried out this Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Noir perfume and I am not a fan. It is not my taste (or I guess my smell).

The Brush Guards are an extra treat as well as the Fall Lookbook. I usually use whatever applicator my makeup comes with because I haven't personally figured out brushes yet. I am sure these are fantastic for keeping your bristles like new. The few brushes I use for my nail art tend to end up with whacky bristles, and this guard would be just the thing to keep your expensive makeup brushes in-tact.

Well, that concludes yet another month of Birchbox. If you're interested in receiving awesome samples like these for only $10 a month delivered right to your door, here is my RAF link.

As always, thanks for popping in!

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome

Hello, ladies. I hope you are all having a fine Wednesday. I was hoping my Birchbox would be here by now, but alas, no such luck. Instead, I have another amazing polish loaned to me by Jessica. This one is a mirror metallic from Essie, No Place Like Chrome.

No Place Like Chrome is a shimmery, chic silver metallic polish. It's very fun to wear because I don't have any other mirror polishes at the moment. I am also a big believer that silver and gold polishes make for big-impact statement nails. Two thumbs up! This silver has a more of a shimmery metallic sheen in the the sunlight while maintaining more of the "mirror" effect indoors.

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome - shaded natural light

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome - direct sunlight

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome

No Place Like Chrome applied easily enough. I suggest using thinner coats for a smoother application. I applied 2 coats of polish with no top coat. Even with 2 coats, it's usually harder to get a completely smooth looking finish when working with a metallic.

In other news, this is my 100th post! I really appreciate my followers who take the time to stop by and check out my blog. Thank you and thanks for popping in!

A England Tristam

HI LADIES! (= I have no good reason for neglecting my blog like I have been. I know I said in my last post I would post more and that it was nearly a month ago. Well, here is a BEAUTIFUL polish post for you today.

Jessica and I traded some polishes for a week or so. I lent her my Birchbox Blogger Trio, and she loaned me A England Tristam and Essie No Place Like Chrome as well as giving me a couple of polishes she had dupes of. Isn't she a great sister? :-)

So I am totally jealous of Tristam. Holy crap, the swatches I have seen do this polish no justice. It's absolutely stunning! All of the posts I have read and also the A England website list Tristam as being BLUE. However, I guarantee you arguments can be made that this polish is very purple. My husband refused to acknowledge it was blue at all and my sister even had it grouped up with her purple swatches instead of her blue. I mean, when you see it with other blues, it really sticks out as being deeply deeply purple, and yet when it's just being gorgeous on your nails, it shifts to being blue and purply-blue. Granted, I don't think any captured pictures of mine strike me as a good foundation for a purple argument. I suppose you should take my word for it or else buy this FREAKING AWESOME POLISH!!! okok, pictures now.

A England Tristam - direct sunlight

A England Tristam - shaded natural light

A England Tristam - indoor artificial light

Yes, my pictures definitely fit the polish description of being a midnight blue. Mmm, I loved wearing this so much. I had it as my mani and my pedi. It applied flawlessly and I only used 1 coat. I was mostly just trying to by frugal and not use up a lot of my sister's polish but also it looked great with just the 1 coat.

Well, that wraps it up for today. I have missed sharing my polish adventures with all of you lovely readers. Thanks for popping in!