Nail Art How To: Holiday Nail Designs from Swagbucks

Just a quick check in! Hope you all enjoy this quick and easy tutorial brought to you by Swagbucks! For those of you unfamiliar with Swagbucks please click here to sign up and start earning rewards!

xo

Brittany Raquel

NOTD: Essie Pretty Edgy *BEAUTY STOP ONLINE REVIEW*

Hello dolls!

 

Hope your week is treating you well so far! The rain has finally arrived in my corner of the country so I have been focused on trying to stay dry! Which just so happens to give me more time for nail polish too!

 

Today I have another polish from Beauty Stop Online, Essie Pretty Edgy! I am so excited to share this one with you all, this is a color that I have actually lemmed for a while! Pretty Edgy is described as "a bright, palmetto green polish" and is from their Summer 2010 collection. An oldie but definitely a goodie! :) See for yourself!

 



 

So I obviously had a problem narrowing down pictures, didn't think anyone would mind! I love this color so much! I used 2 coats but could have done 1. The formula was great! (Base coat: Julep Nail Therapy and top coat: Seche Vite.) Even better is how well it has lasted so far! I painted my nails Sunday night and I still have no chips (I usually have them within a couple days) and just a tiny bit of tip wear. Needless to say this is going to be a favorite in my stash!

I would love to hear about what you are wearing and what some of your favorites are! Feel free to leave a comment!

xo

Brittany Raquel


NOTD: Orly Rococo A-Go-Go *BEAUTY STOP ONLINE REVIEW*

Hello lovelies!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Sorry this post didn't come sooner, I had a pretty busy week and didn't have a chance to check in! But I have a pretty awesome color to show you today so I hope it makes up for my absence! :)

Today I have another polish that was sent to me by Beauty Stop Online. This time I am showing you Orly Rococo A-Go-Go! This polish is described as "metallic deep purple" and is part of Orly's Mineral FX collection. Now for some photo spam!

 

 

 

This really is such a beautiful shade, and great for fall! I love the slight gold shimmer that comes out of hiding occasionally. It really adds extra depth! (Just in case anyone is wondering this is 2 coats although I could have gotten away with 1. Base coat is Julep Nail Therapy and top coat is Seche Vite.)

 

There you have it! I already have my next post in the works so look forward to that in the next couple days! Happy Monday! :)

xo

Brittany Raquel

NOTD: Essie School of Hard Rocks *BEAUTY STOP ONLINE REVIEW*

Hey hey hey!!

I am finally back and have some fun stuff lined up for your viewing pleasure! Super excited to share with you all my very first product review!

While on my hiatus I was contacted by Beauty Stop Online and offered an opportunity to review several products from their store! (For some background on the company click here) I was pleasantly surprised by their selection of Essie, Orly and China Glaze nail polishes! And love that they have a feature that allows you to search by color, including glitter! :) I also love that their prices are lower than retail AND free shipping for orders over $50!

Moving on to the good stuff. . .today I will be showing you Essie's School of Hard Rocks from their 2011 Winter Collection! This polish is described as "midnight malachite." I don't know about the fancy description, I would call it a teal-gray cream. Check out the pictures and decide for yourself!



I took all but the last photo in my bathroom lighting and it is pretty spot on representation of how it looks in most lighting. Leans a little more green that way. But the last photo I took in the direct sunlight coming through the window, and it leans more gray. Either way I really love this color and it was perfect for my first fall mani!

That's all for today, but I will be back soon with another review for you so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!

xo

Brittany Raquel

I'm alive!

Heeeeey!!

I realize it has been months since I have updated, just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am still alive! The last few months have been very interesting to say the least! I am sorry that I have not had the time or motivation to be here, but things are finally starting to settle down and I should be back in the swing of things within the next month! Here is just a little tease photo in the meantime! I am ashamed to admit that this photo was taken 2 months ago! Even more ashamed that I haven't painted my nails since! Yeah, things really have been that crazy!

This is Illamasqua's Nomad. Seafoam greens are my favorite color period, so I was super excited by how nicely this color matched my purse! :)

Anyways, I hope that you have all had an amazing summer! I promise to return soon! Thanks for sticking around!

xo

Brittany Raquel

April Haul Numero Dos

Hello loves!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and got through your Monday okay! I finally rounded up the last of my April polish purchases to show you! Enjoy this, as there is likely to be only 1 more small haul post for May before I go on hiatus! I have just a few more posts in the works, but will be officially taking a break in 2 weeks. I don't expect to return to blogging or Facebook for at least a couple of months but I do promise to return! But enough about that for now, on to some pretty polishes! :)

Here are a couple of polishes I picked up during the $5 Cult Nails sale. The one in the middle is limited edition so was full price but worth every penny.

Scandalous, Seduction and Manipulative

I was saving a voucher for Bloom.com, waiting for the new Zoya Beach & Surf collections to arrive. Finally I was able to use it! I bought these as well as Zuza and a POP Beauty polish for my sister.

Meg, Carly, Lara and Arizona

I also bought a couple directly from Zoya since I had some Share The Love Points.

Zuza and Myrta

I ordered some polishes from cherryculture to send to my UK polish buddy and picked these ones up for myself...you know, to get to the free shipping limit. ;) I love how these NYX bottles resemble Deborah Lippmann's! Also the formula and colors are pretty great for only $4 each!

Salmon, Jade and Lux Green

My last couple of polishes also came from a combined order for my UK polish friend. I am very excited to try this brand, if you are familiar with Priti NYC nail polish then you will want to try them too! Diamond Cosmetics has a private label division that supplies Priti. But you can buy direct from DC for under $3 a piece! Same colors just different names and slightly different packaging. I will definitely be buying more!

Never So Evergreen and Chainmail Charm (this one is a holo!)

Well that's all for now! I'm pretty proud of myself for cutting back on my polish purchases! However, I did just move my collection into 2 helmers, which means I have plenty more room to grow!

I will be back with a NOTD post soon, in the meantime be sure to enter my 400 follower giveaway!

xo

Brittany Raquel

NOTD: Zoya Zuza

Hello my dears!

Hope your week has been okay so far! The weekend is almost here! I just have some quick spam for you of the lovely Zoya Zuza!

Isn't she gorgeous?! I recommend using 2 layers of base coat to avoid major staining!

I will have my final April haul posted soon!

xo

Brittany Raquel

The Nail Polish Guru 400 Follower Giveaway!

It's that time again! Yes I know I am WAY overdue! At this point I am nearly at 500 followers. . .oops! But better late than never, right? I never imagined my little blog would get this much attention, thank you for your continued support! I love being able to share my hobby with all of you and hope that I continue to gain new followers so I can giveaway even more nail polish! ;) Here is what you can win this time!

You are looking at Catrice Dirty Berry! Some of you may recall my NOTD post featuring this beauty a few weeks ago, and now here is your chance to own your very own bottle! Same simple rules: Earn 2 entries by following me via GFC, 2 for liking my Facebook page and 1 per day for sharing my giveaway. International followers welcome. You have until May 15th to enter. (12:01AM EST) This will be a short one so be sure to enter soon! And I will be announcing the winner a little differently this time around. Instead of emailing the winner I will only be announcing it via Rafflecopter, blog post and Facebook page. I will allow at least 72 hours after announcing before choosing a new winner.

What are you waiting for, get your entries in! :)

Brittany Raquel

Nail Polish Winning!

One of my favorite things to do on my blog is give away nail polish! It may not be a huge ball of cash. . .

...but I think most of you can agree that some polishes are priceless! Such as Cult Nails Toxic Seaweed! Read on to find out the lucky winner!

Birthday Haul Part 2!

Hello my dears!

I'm so excited to FINALLY share with you the rest of my gifts from my birthday group! I'm kind of sad that it is all over but at the same time I am having fun shopping for the other girls' birthdays. It was great having all these packages come in, especially since I have been limiting my purchases! Anyways, on to the loot!

Not the best picture, but you are looking at Dior Waterlily in that lovely silver box! I am still shocked that this baby made it's way to me! I would have been happy just with that, but I got a mini Zoya Noel, CANDY and a few other goodies!

Love all the bright colors in this one! Forgive me but I can't remember the names of these right now! The set in the back is Dippin Dots-I love the peach and the mint green! The other 3 colors are perfect for warm weather!

Love the Pooh card! Vintage Pooh is the best! Here we have Deborah Lippmann Don't Tell Mama and Kiko #255. OMG this purple scattered holo is amazing! Can't believe I had never heard of the brand before. Chuao chocolate is my favorite, and I can't get enough of coconut lime!

I can never have too many of those Reese's eggs! I love them out of the freezer! Revlon Rainforest, Julep Melissa, Sinful Colors Love Nails and Revlon Blue Mosaic! Beautiful colors!

More colors I have been wanting! OPI Green-which Village, Essie Turquoise & Caicos and OPI Cajun Shrimp! And now I really want a "B" notepad for myself! ;)

And my final package! Holy cow I am spoiled! Essence Let's Get Lost, Sinful Colors Fiji, Orly Galaxy Girl, Essence Turquoise & Caicos, Spoiled Jewelry Heist and NOPI Kendall on the Katwalk. And MORE candy! Oh and the best smelling lotions too!

Whew! After all this I never need to buy nail polish again! Lol, who am I kidding?! This addiction is not leaving me anytime soon. . .

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Brittany Raquel

Blog Sale Update

It has been entirely too long since I have last posted! Sorry for going MIA on you all! I have a few posts in the works-new giveaway, 2nd half of my bday haul, April haul and several NOTDs. In the meantime how about a blog sale update?!


Click here to start shopping! :)

NOTD: Zoya Elodie

Hello lovelies!

Hope you had a great Thursday! I have a quick post for you, showcasing Zoya Elodie! I cut my nails down to the nubs and there is nothing I like better than bright colors on short nails! And I absolutely adore corals! I am just going to let the pics do the talking tonight! :)

Beautiful, right?! I can't wait to wear her again after I have my summer tan! What colors do you like to wear on short nails? Do you have any must have corals?

I realize I yet to mention that I am planning my 400 follower giveaway! I had hoped to have it posted this week but things came up. I might not be around much the next few days but I will definitely have it posted sometime next week! In the meantime I hope you all have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Brittany Raquel

April Haul Time: Part 1

Hello lovelies!

I figure it's about time to show you what I have accumulated so far this month! To be honest, there was a little more than this sent to me but this is what I ended up keeping for myself! :)

First off is my long awaited order from Pam's Girly Bits! I placed this order at the end of February. . .but I didn't get it until this month. I was definitely a little disappointed at how long it took for them to ship, but I'm just impatient sometimes. Not like I don't have enough untrieds already!

Pretty excited to try all of these!

These are all color shifting top coats!

These next polishes are from some online orders from some great sellers! Hong Kong Girl is becoming my new go to quick dry top coat! It was introduced to me by Jill at Glisten & Glow! Not only does she sell this and other nail polish from brands like OPI and Essie but she also makes customized bath products! Look forward to another post in the future with more info! I also placed orders from Pams & Kin on Etsy and from Ninja Polish!

Hong Kong Girl Fast Dry Topcoat, P&K Sabotage and Jessica Iridescent Eye

Just a small order from Sally Beauty. Picked up some polishes for a birthday gift and grabbed these for myself since they were on sale for $3 each!

 China Glaze Luxe & Lush and Pelican Gray

I got a trio of the new Zoya colors for 50% off and $2 shipping thanks to a Good Morning America promo. I ended up just keeping the one color! The GOSH came from a swap with a girl from Canada (check out her new blog here!), I wish I had access to this brand-the color is great!

Zoya Wednesday and GOSH Forest Floor

I have gotten a few more polishes since taking these photos, but I will save those for another post! :) Any of these in particular that you would like to see first? Let me know!

Hope you all have a great Hump Day!

Brittany Raquel

NOTD: Sinful Colors Cream Pink and Cover Band Sticks & Stones

Quite a mouthful of a title huh? :) I hope you enjoy this mani more than I did! This is how this came to be. . .

First, I really wanted to file down/reshape my nails but find it easier to do so with a solid color on my nails. So I reached for Sinful Colors Cream Pink. Cute pink, has a nice gold shimmer to it that is not captured here. Anyways once that was on my nails I got lazy and didn't want to file. But I also wasn't really digging the color on me so I decided to play around with it a bit. Enter Cover Band Sticks & Stones. (For those of you that don't know-this is, in my opinion, a better dupe for Lynnderella Connect The Dots and is available only from Ninja Polish.) On to some pics and then I'll share my thoughts about it!

Seriously the longest my nails have been in a long time.

Sticks & stones may...

break my bones...

but words will...

never hurt me.

This felt so 80's! I really wanted to love it, and it did kind of grow on me. There were a couple of things I didn't like, and it really wasn't the fault of the polish. (Except for a couple of the hexagons-like the one on my ring finger-had edges that were curled up just a tiny bit which caused me to pick them off!) I prefer to keep my nails shorter, the length and shape of some of my nails was really bugging me. Also I am not much of a pink person. I definitely am going to try this again soon but using a different base color. I'm thinking a sea foamy or even neon green! Finally I think it would have turned out better with just a little less glitter. I am determined to do this in a way that I love! :)

So what do you guys think? Is this a trend that you like or does it not appeal to you? What color do you think would look good under it?

Hope you all had a great weekend, wishing you a wonderful Monday!

Brittany Raquel