Never Forget.

I don't often go all serious here on my blog, but there are occasions where even the silliest of bloggers and people need to take a moment from the laughter, and observe a moment of silence. There are times in our lives where we know exactly where we were, and exactly what we were doing at a single moment. Sometimes these moments are happy moments, others leave you sad. September 11, 2001 was one of those latter moments, and will be a scar on the memories and hearts of the citizens of our country for as long as we live. I personally didn't know anyone that died on that fateful day, but it still stays with me year after year. It's hard to believe it's been 9 years. I was a junior in college, sitting in my video editing class when we got the news. We were stunned, thought that it was a joke, that nothing could possibly happen to the superpower that is the USA. Sadly, it was true, and the world lost 2,977 innocent people that day during the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, on United Flight 93, and their aftermath. We lost friends, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, loved ones, and, to an extent, a sense of security. I know that this is just a 'nail blog', but today's design is dedicated to those lost and injured, the firemen, policemen, and everyone else who helped on this sad day in our nation's history...you are NOT forgotten.

I used Essie Bone Chilling White as a base, with Nubar Sexy Red for the red stripes, ALDO Sea You in Ibiza for the blue, and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the stars. For the 9/ and the twin towers, I used American Apparel Hassid. I topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

My Funky French using Hocus Pocus from Color Club

Hocus Pocus is from Color Club's new mini 2010 Bewitching Halloween collection. It is full of amazing sparkles.
This was 2 coats

Then I decided to do a black french tip, and I LOVE it!!! I just used Sinful's Black on Black for the tips.

OPI La-Paz-Itively Hot Matte w/ Rococo Gold Leaf Mani

Today was our annual neighborhood garage sale, and I wanted to wear a lucky mani. So this is what I settled on....Oh and btw....after about 5 hours, we only made $60, lol, but we still had fun. Oh and I'm begging you to please ignore the chip on my middle finger, in the gold leaf pics. I damaged her during the sale!!!

I started with OPI's La-Paz-itively Hot Matte.





Then I added my lucky charm, the real gold Rococo Gold Leaf polish! I LOVE this stuff!

Purple Funky French Mani :)

This is a mani from.....this week too, I know, I know, I'm kind of behind, but I'm playing catch-up now. I was feeling pretty creative, and if you know my style...it's funky french's. They will always have my heart. I wanted something purple to match my work outfit, and this is how the story goes.......

I started off with Forever 21's Love & Beauty polish in Lavender (really creative names F21)

Then of course, that was too boring for me, So I used OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark Matte for some fun tips.

But...that just wanted enough. So I added ChG (China Glaze) C-C-Courage to it....and this is my result. I LOVE it!

Cosmic Encounter

Orly Cosmic FX

It's No Rocket Science a girl like me loves sparkly, shimmery stuff. Trust me, a true Galaxy Girl would kill a Wookiee for this collection, it's really Out Of This World. Looking at my nails I am truly mesmerized, losing focus for everything, except my nails. I'll sit gazing at them, like a true Space Cadet. If you haven't got these yet, I'd be quick because some shades sell out faster than Halley's Comet travels.

Okay, so yeah, this collection arrived at my doorstep a few days ago, and I friggin love it, till infinity and beyond. I'll post swatches soon, but blogging and swatching seem to become a chore lately, so for now, I just messed around with my camera. Pretty cool shots right?

Live long and prosper,
- Michèle

Cut on the Dotted Line

With the economy the way it is these days, I'm sure that I'm not the only one that cuts coupons to help save money, right? We check sales, clip coupons, and buy generics vs. name brand products...at least I do. (except Kraft Mac & Cheese, you can't go generic with that, the store brands suck...we all have to have our simple pleasures) Today's manicure was inspired by our current necessity, COUPONS! I used the dotted line with scissors image that is often around those money-saving jewels in the Sunday newspaper as a different twist on a french manicure. :)

I used Essie Bone Chilling White as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the dotted line and scissors. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Snip Snip!

Give 'em the Ol' One-Tulle!

Today I was in the fabric store and saw this super pretty aqua-metallic looking tulle, and I knew that I had to get it and try something one my nails with it. The result is a lot more 'girly' than most of my nail art, but I still kinda dig it. I doubt the crystals will last the rest of the night before I pick them off though. I wish I could have the sparkle of crystals/gems without the sticking off the nails part. :-P

I used MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious, which I just rediscovered recently in my Helmer as a base, with Orly Gumdrop for the dots and behind the crystals. I applied the tulle over a few dabs of Seche Vite top coat instead of using it on the whole nail because it made the tulle blend into the nail too much and took away its color. :)

Feelin' Blue

Last night, after 2 1/2 years living in Vegas, I finally got to see Blue Man Group perform. Holy crap was it ever worth the wait- it was amazing!! I love how three dudes that don't even talk can make me laugh for nearly 2 hours straight! Plus, when I wasn't laughing, I was in awe of what they were doing! My favorite part of the show was near the very end, but I won't spoil it for those who've never seen it. It was sooooo awesome. I hope I can go again at some point, it was a great night!! :) I loved it so much, in fact, that I was inspired to do a Blue Man Group manicure! I did the three blue guys on my index, middle and ring fingers, then I did the black of their shirts with neon paint splattered on them! :)

Thought I'd show a blacklight picture, since they use blacklight in their performance!

I used ALDO Sea You In Ibiza for a base for the blue men, with American Apparel Hassid for the pinky and thumb nails. To shade the faces, I used a mix of American Apparel Hassid and ALDO Sea You In Ibiza, then to highlight, I used a mix of ALDO Sea You In Ibiza and Orly Snowcone, then topped with Color Club Chelsea Girl. For the eyes, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud, American Apparel Hassid for the pupils, MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious for one set of irises, a mix of MAC Blue India and L.A. Girl Army Green for the middle guy's irises, and a mixture of MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the left set of irises. For the paint splatter, I used China Glaze Sun Worshipper, China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, and Color Club Pucci-licious. Topped the middle three nails off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat, but didn't add it on the pinky and thumb because I wanted the splatter texture to stay visible.

Some pix:

They've definitely mastered the creepy stare. :-P

The band and I- they looked SO rad when performing, only the color on their costume and faces showed in the blacklight!

Superstar Nail Lacquer - Teterboro Teal

Minor Layout change

Hi everyone! As you might have noticed: I changed the header a little bit. I really started to dislike the previous header I had, so I came up with this, hope you guys like it! Anyway, onto the polish!

Superstar Nail Lacquer

A while ago I received these polishes by a, new to me, brand called Superstar Nail Lacquer.

"Superstar colors are aptly named to compliment its moniker. Each color has a title reminiscent of all things fashion and fame. “We wanted attention-grabbing names that people could relate to. Since our company is named Superstar, we chose titles that would make our customers feel like a star. Who wouldn’t feel good about wearing, ‘It Girl Orange’ or Walk The Red Carpet?” said Ariana."

Superstar Nail Lacquer recently released their fall collection, which consists out of two parts: Play in the City and Party in the City. The polish you see here is called Teterboro Teal and belongs to the Party in the City collection. Woohoo, partayy!
I'm really falling for teal lately, to me teal is a truly intriguing color! So, imagine my excitement about this pretty thing. It's an awesome metallic teal that flashes a bit of green depending on the lighting. I love how glowy it can get while strutting around in the sun. Seriously, I can't get enough of polishes like these.

Application

When I'm trying out new brands I'm always very curious to see what their application is like. And wow, this brand does not disappoint. The brush is very easy to handle and the polish just glided on, I used only 2 coats and I experienced no problems whatsoever. I wore this for four days without chips, which is pretty decent I'd say!

Matte tips

You might have seen my glossy tips on a matte polish a while ago? For this mani I decided to use China Glaze's Matte Magic to paint on some matte tips. I'm a sucker for subtle effects like these!

For more information please check the Superstar website. Superstar Nail Lacquers cost: 5 for $45 or $10 each.

The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for review. For more information please read my disclaimer

Today's News

So, something exciting happened to me today!! I was interviewed for the Today Show website! SO exciting, I never would have imagined that anything of that magnitude would EVER happen to me!! In honor of the article, I decided to do the Today Show logo on my nails!

I used OPI Alpine Snow Matte as a base, with Nubar Sexy Red for the red, CND Electric Orange for the darker orange, Zoya Jancyn for the lighter orange, and CND Bicycle Yellow for the yellow. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Woo!!! I'm soooo stoked! Thanks to all of YOU for being such great readers, and WELCOME to the new readers!!! :) You kick ass!! (and not the kind from yesterday's manicure)