a-England Polishes

Okay, so I know a while ago I said I wanted to do real swatches of these 2 polishes, but i never got the time, and actually forgot, but here they are. These are 2 polishes that I ordered online, because I saw a lovely ladies swatches on MUA. They aren't the in your face type of holo, but they do still have some. They are just beyond pretty IMO, and the formula rocks! If I had access to more sun, I could have shown you the holo bits, but I don't sorry :( You can purchase these here, if you're interested.

This is Lady of the Lake

and Tristam. Don't you just love thsi blue! It's so rich looking

2 from the Essie 2011 Summer Collection...

Morning :P While at Rite Aid this week, I saw they had all their Essies, B1G1 50% off, so I HAD to take advantage of it. I also saw they had put out the new 2011 Summer Collection, WHOO HOO. I only picked up two though, the others were pretty, but nothing special, IMO. Now these two.....stuck out right away. They are both 2 coats

Absolutely Shore



This, my fave is Smooth Sailing. I love the purple & teal shimmer in it. You can really see it in the 2nd pic in the bottle. It does show very well on the nail, I just had a hard time capturing it on camera :( Also, BONUS, this could have been a 1 coater if I would have been more careful. I love that

Silver Shatter

Anyone interested in getting silver shatter?

My Go-To Mani...What's yours?

Hey you guys : ) I wanted to share with you guys, the polish that I ALWAYS reach for when I have like no time to do a mani. Well last night I had to do this. I came home from work, nekkid, hee hee, and Jack, Chloe and I had to run out to get some dinner and ice cream, so I quickly threw this on. I LOVE this, it matches everything, always gets compliments, only 1 coat and dries UBER fast. So what is it.......China Glaze Millenium!

I did this entire mani in under 5 minutes, and left the house as soon as I finished, and grabbed  my purse. No dings and/or scratches. Now, I know it won't last long, since I didn't do a top coat, but as I know, and so do you, I will remove it in the morning, lol.

So do you guys have a certain polish that you always reach for when you're in a hurry? What is it?

Tagboard removed

Dear readers,

I've removed my tagboard from the website due to the spam and all that I have no idea why. Should you have any queries, feel free to email me at valerie.gmh@gmail.com or you can leave a comment at the bottom of the post. Thanks!

It's Wednesday, It's Wednesday (doing the cabbage patch)

Morning guys!!! Hope you all are having a great week, I'm about to go cray cray, waiting on my ipad 2. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have watched every youtube video out there, on them, lol. Well today, you know, since it's Pink Wednesday, I wanted to use my China Glaze BFF, the good one. You can find a comp here of good vs bad. Anyways, I also wanted to use the little cute Bulldog tattoo from bigRuby Nail Tattoos.

Also, I want  to thank you all for entering the giveaway, and want to announce the winner.......
Elizabeth, CONGRATS!!!  She has already been contacted, and gotten back to me.

Now onto the mani....
I started with 2 coats of Orly Kiss the Bride

Then using tape, I added China Glaze BFF for my tips

and I finally added the cute bulldog nail tattoo from bigRubys

Black Shatter!

Black shatter has arrived!

For those who have ordered, kindly email me at valerie.gmh@gmail.com to arrange for a meet up soon.
For those who have opted for postage, they will be sent out by this week.

Thank you for your support! (:

I do have a couple more extras as I managed to take in some. Do let me know if you're interested. (:

A Bubbly Bombshell and my new fave base!

Morning!!! I have such a beauty to show you, and I TOTALLY meant to do something fun with it, but my days have just gone so fast, and I'm pretty sure I"m somehow losing a few hours lately. I saw this at Ulta this past weekend, just sitting on an end cap, and of course it's pretty sparkles drew me in. Oh and the name, hee hee, is so fun. It's Orly Bubbly Bombshell, and btw, it is NOT a top coat eater, so whew! I also had to share my new base coat, well it's technically a ridge filler, but I'm using it for a base, and it rocks! I love that it it a semi milky base, so it's also kind of like underwear for your polish :) My neighbor used it as her base as well, and freaking loves it. Now I change mine often, but she doesn't as much, and she didn't get any chips for close to 4 days! I'll show you it after these pics.

Okay, here it is, it's Essie Fill The Gap. I got mine off of Apothica.

Adam Bird Photography

As a general rule, I detest pictures taken of me. There are only a handful of photos that have been taken of me that I can A. tolerate or B. actually like. Oddly, Adam Bird has taken 90% of them. I've known Adam for years, we've been friends since my college days when I dated his friend, and Adam shocked my roommate and I by climbing the balcony to our second floor apartment. Adam is an extremely unique individual (the very sort I prefer to surround myself with), a phenomenally talented photographer, and someone I count among my closet friends. Last weekend, I went back to Michigan because he was getting married, and it was a great time seeing everyone. (AND getting Yesterdog!!) The day after, when Chris and I went by Adam's studio so Chris could fully submerse himself in photography nerdiness, Adam decided he wanted to take pictures of the two of us, and that he did. What you see below is a small portion of the product of that 10 minutes of photographic genius.

Adam is one of those rare photographers that can capture someone's insides. Their soul, their emotions, and something very important to me, the exact feeling of what is going on at the moment that shutter closes. He took one of my (and my family's) most prized photographs, a photo of my grandfather and I at my sister's wedding, which was just a month before he passed away.

Anyway. If you need photographs, wedding, portrait, fashion, artistic, anything, Adam is someone I would recommend VERY highly. He never asked me to make this post, honestly, other than my posting of his photos (of course I asked him permission!!) he has no idea I am writing this post. Take some time- hit up his website, his blog, and if you want photos- HIM!

His website:

Adam Bird Photo

His Wedding Site:

Adam Bird Weddings

Amazing. I love him! :)


Beware: Goofball pictures ahead!

A Whole Different William

This guy is the 'Wooly' variety...

Like the newly-wedded dapper young Prince William, this 'Willy' also has a bit of a bald spot. However, unlike the dear prince I speak of, with a flick of a magnet, you can cover this guy's bald spot up. :) Of course I speak of Wooly Willy, the simple children's 'toy' that consisted of a cardboard printed with the face of a bald man with a very red nose, a raised plastic window, a magnet, and some iron filings which you repositioned to create hair, mustaches, eyebrows, etc.! Really high-tech toys that we grew up with that will always hold a place in our hearts. Today's nail design is inspired by all the days I spent in my childhood drawing mohawks, fu manchus, beards, and unibrows on that flat bald man.

I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with CND Bicycle Yellowto create stripes on the ring finger. For the faces, I used Urban Outfitters Nude 3, China Glaze Hey Sailor! for the nose, and American Apparel Hassid to outline and for the hair. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Do you think Wooly Willy was a Wooly Bully?