Let Down Your Hair!

I'm sure that if you watch TV at all, you've been seeing commercials for a little movie called 'Tangled' by a small, up-and-coming film company called 'Disney'. ;) For those living in a cave, Tangled is a movie about the story of Rapunzel, and is an animated feature. I was lucky enough to get a couple of advance tickets to it tonight, so of course my roommate and I went. (along with 2 medium (read: gallon sized) sodas, and a large tub of popcorn with layered butter) I have to say, the movie was adorable, and I highly recommend checking it out when it comes out November 24!

For today's nail design, I did the tower from the movie with Rapunzel's hair flowing out of the window onto the other 4 nails.

I used American Apparel Manila as a base for the hair nails, with American Apparel Manila and MAC Brown Bag marbled over it. For the tower nail, I used Zoya Yummy as a base, with Orly Mirror, Mirror as a base for the tower, shaded with Essence Pointbreak, and highlighted with American Apparel Cotton. For the roof, I used American Apparel Mount Royal and Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme for the wood beams. For the greenery for the background and growing up the tower, I used Zoya Shawn. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat. Sorry it looks a little bubbly, my seche is getting ollllld and cloudy. Time for a new bottle!

BTW, for those that are like me....there's nothing after the credits. We waited. lol

Updated: Another OPI collaboration: OPI teams up with Katy Perry!

Hi guys! I promised to update this post when new info reaches the surface, so here we go! I've added some better pictures and additional information :). Still no news about they're Coty or L'Oreal adventure though..

OPI teams up with Katy Perry!

OPI isn't exactly sitting still when it comes to collaborations. Only recently I posted about their upcoming "Glam Slam" collection, which is a collab with tennis star Serena Williams. Right now I'm even more excited because word on the street is: they're also releasing a collection in collaboration with Katy Perry!

Katy Perry, an American singer-songwriter, is already becoming a nail icon for many. Just like her style, this polish line will be a versatile array of bright, fun colors and finishes! Inspired by Katy Perry's latest album - Teenage Dream - The Katy Perry Collection by OPI will contain four daring, bright colors.

Click to enlarge

• Last Friday Night (a fierce glittery blue)
• Not Like the Movies (a sultry silver)
• The One That Got Away (an amazing deep berry)
• Teenage Dream (a dreamy pink glitter)
• Black Shatter (crackle top coat)

Black Shatter

To compliment these four colors, OPI threw in Black Shatter as well. "Black Shatter" is a top coat that gives nails a cracked/leopardy look. So cool. The effect is extremely similar to Barry M's Instant Nail Effects in Black Magic, don't you think? This collection will be released in january, just like Serena's Glam Slam collection, so if you're feeling this, better save some money!

Curious to see how these look on the nail? Check out this vid!

The Katy Perry Collection by OPI will be available starting January 2011, at ULTA stores (www.ulta.com), for $9 per color. Also available in The Netherlands at authorized OPI Sellers for 13.95 EUR each (ouch..).

Shredded Funky French....China Glaze Limbo Bimbo (hee hee)

I know, I know, I'm still 6, but the name is the main reason I bought China Glaze's Limbo Bimbo.
Here is the mani I did. I will also show you how I did it. Step by Step, btw, I use to love that show!

Okay, I started with 2 pretty thick coats of Limbo Bimbo & then a coat of Seche Vite.

Then I took, my shredded mani idea, that I posted about recently, and decided it's been a while since I've done a black tiped mani, and thought I should combine them both! Now, this wouldn't be my fave color combo, but I did this while at work, so I didn't have too many options.

Again using Scotch Tape, this is how I got my tape all into position, after I cut the design

Then I placed one on my nail, making sure to leave the tips uncovered, and painted the tips black.

When I removed it, this is what I got. Just repeat for your other fingers. Making sure to only do 1 nail at a time. Don't try to get them all taped off, then painted, before you remove the tape, or the polish wil dry to the tape and get pulled up upon removal.

This is your final result. It's actually quit fun, and could be teeth, if I used white as the tips, lol.



My "I'm ready for Paintball" Mani................Patchwork Camo

So my hubby and about 20 people spent this past weekend at our family cabin, to play paintball!! We play about 5-6 times a year. Well I wanted a mani that would hide my butt, lol. Well after a few too many tries, I finally found colors that I liked together. I did this the night before we left. You may notice in some recent manis, following this, I now have a burn going down my ring finger, %^$#@!$*&#!, well I didn't get hurt playing, but I did have to much to drink, and so did everyone else. Well, we decided that cooking hot dogs over the fire was a great idea......but it wasn't. I burned my finger on one of those pokey cooker thingys! What was my hubby's 1st response........................"How can you even stand to take pictures now?" meaning for you guys! GRRRRR

Anyways, I used Sinful Black on Black, Essie Sew Psyched & CC High Society, then topped it off with China Glaze, Matte Magic. Of course using Scotch Tape for the design :)

Here is a pic, of my hubby and I, a few trips ago. I don't have the new pics ready yet. Oh, and yep...my gun is pink! WOOP WOOP!

A new franken!! Love & Beauty gets a makeover!

I was sitting at my desk at work, and I looked in my drawer to grab my black polish. What did I see.....this really pretty green polish that I got from Forever 21. and had never tried yet. I completely forgot that I had brought it in a while ago, to swatch!! So I did......and OMG, it was awful!!! It was sooo sheer that it looked like mucus, and would have needed about 6 coats to even get close to the bottle color. No thanks!! Well as I was about to throw it out, cause I couldn't even bare to pass it on to anyone, that would just be mean, I decided to add black! Now the bottle was full, and I added 2 drops of black, and shook like mad. That wasn't dark enough for me, and the bottle was already full, so I dumped out about 1/5 of it, and then added about 4-5 more drops of black, and this is what I got. Now since the original polish was sooooooooo thin, it still took 3 coats to get it to this, but the end result was WAY better. I seriously love this green! I just wish I had a pic of what the original color looked like :(

Check it Out!

Today's nail design is an homage to where it all began... THIS was the design that I used to do all the time when I was younger, except way back then I used toothpicks or straight pins in place of a brush. Fun stuff right? What was YOUR first nail design? Also- because of the hugely positive response to the tutorial I posted yesterday, I decided to do another one. (you've created a monster!!) The tutorial at the end of this post is for Between a Rockabilly and a Hard Place. Fun fact: bother nail tutorials I've posted have been done 100% with my iPhone 4, from filming to editing to uploading! (Did you know that the iPhone has an iMovie app?! How rad is that?!)

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the checkerboard pattern. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Sinful's Hottie...Couldn't be a better fitting name IMO

I am such a fan of Hottie. Now I can honestly say, I have never worn her alone. I just love it over black, and when you love something so much...why change? lol

LEGO My Eggo!

Today's manicure is for my pal John. He is the biggest LEGO nerd I've ever met. EVER. When we used to work together, his entire cube had lego creations filling it! I've had this manicure on my list to do for ages and ages, so I decided that tonight was the night!!

I used Nubar Sexy Red for the thumb and index, Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the middle finger, ALDO Sea You in Ibiza for the ring finger, and American Apparel Manila for the pinky. For the LEGO nubs things, I used Nubar Sexy Red mixed with American Apparel Hassid for the red LEGO, American Apparel Hassid mixed with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the white LEGO, ALDO Sea You In Ibiza mixed with American Apparel Hassid for the blue LEGO, and Zoya Jancyn for the yellow LEGO. To highlight them, I mixed each color with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud. For the logo on the thumb, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud, outlined with American Apparel Hassid, then outlined with American Apparel Manila. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Also, since a lot of you expressed an interest in seeing a tutorial for What's the Mod-der, so you asked, I delivered! Hope you like it! :)

Chanel - Côte d'Azur Collection - Le Vernis Riva - Swatches & Review

Back from my break!

Hello everyone! Long time no see! As you might have noticed I took some time off from blogging, but I'm back. And with a long awaited review on Chanel newest nail polish: Riva.

There is already quite a buzz going around concerning this baby blue polish. I've heard it will cost $39 a bottle and apparently it is already sold out before even hitting the stores. Well, this is not true! With all these rumors going around, I'm almost expecting it to get at least half as famous as its big sister Jade.

Chanel's latest nail polish releases really knew how to grab me, I absolutely loved the Khakis and Paradoxal made it to one of my favorite polishes of the moment. But, will Riva have the same impact as these OR Jade? Let's see.

Secret Shimmer

After the promo photos had been posted, quite a few people were hoping Riva would be a light blue version of Jade. The promo shots showed us a marvelous shimmer, the same kind of shimmer that made Jade beyond famous. Unfortunately, this shimmer doesn't translate really well onto the nail. You'll need to get out your magnifying glass to make sure it's there. Other than that, I really love the color. Le Vernis Riva is part of the Côte d'Azur Collection and it does give me that relaxing, but joyful vibe. I have to admit though, without the shimmer this polish is nowhere unique. Chanel is a brand that usually sets the trends, but I don't think that's the case here..

Chanel Riva catching some sunbeams, almost no shimmer..

Formula

The first Chanel polish I ever bought was Nouvelle Vague. I loved everything about it, except the formula. After that I managed to get my hands on Particuliere, Les Khakis and Paradoxal. They proved me that Chanel is capable of making fantastic polishes when it comes to application. But, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in Riva. Riva's texture is a bit thick and streaky, which can lead to some bubbling. I have to say though, I was expecting Riva to be very sheer, but luckily it builds up to an opaque finish in three coats. I can't comment on the wear yet, since I only just got it..

Comparison

A lot of people were expecting Riva to look rather similar to Nouvelle Vague. As you can see, Riva is much blueer than Nouvelle Vague. And a whole lot lighter as well. I went through my stash to see if I had something similar, and while I don't own a lot of baby blue, I thought China Glaze's Moody Blue is quite close! A little bit more saturated than Riva, but still. Unfortuanely, you won't find Moody Blue that easily anymore, since it's pretty old..

Overall

Riva is absolutely beautiful, there's no denying that. Awfully unique? No, I personally don't think so. The formula doesn't really make up for that either, but it's nothing a drop of thinner can't fix. I am quite fond of this color, but I can understand if people don't want to pay $27 for something rather dupeable... So, what do you think of Riva?

Exclusively available in CHANEL Fashion Boutiques starting December 1st 2010. The price will be 25 EUR or 27 USD for 13 ml. I'm expecting these will be sold online as well starting the 15th of November. If you're in the US and you want to pre order, you might want to check out this link.

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

What's cuter than tiny snowmen heads??????

I found these little cuties at Rite Aid in Philadelphia. I am such a sucker for novelty polishes, and even though my thought as I was grabbing these was....these are going to be a pita to store in my telmer, I must get  them. They don't have individual names, but the formula was great on these. The only downside.....the brushes were AWFUL! They were just wonky and too big. Now I love the big brushes, but these were just silly.

Here are the 6 that I got. I did pick up a 7th, like 2 weeks later, but I haven't had a chance to swatch it yet. There are tons out there though. A few just didn't appeal to me even a little.

This had a tiny bit of holo, but it was hard to capture. You can kind of see it in the bottle

This 1st pic of the light pink is color accurate, the 2nd, I had the flash on

Do you see all that crazy holoness!!!

This was way prettier in person. For some odd reason, when I am taking pictures of really glittery reds, my camera and I end up fighting.