Girly Girly Glitz

I am seriously obsessed with this manicure... I couldn't even wait to take decent pictures in good light to share this with you! These were taken with my phone under a desk lamp, lol. This is Orly - Kiss the Bride, a super light, almost-white, pink topped with a cheap cheap Wet N' Wild iridescent glitter. Watching the sparkle while I was typing today was really distracting! Apologies for the poor pictures (and my TERRible cuticles, I have not been drinking enough water), take my word for it, this combo is just so girly and cute! I love it!!

Orly - Kiss the Bride

Brace yourselves for another Orly polish! 

Kiss the Bride is one of those almost whites with a hint of pink, which I love. This kind of color was made super popular by the Kardashians as the whole family sports them on their show. I have a couple Essie polishes like this that I have loved and this one definitely gets added to the list. It is surprisingly opaque and super flattering against my skin - especially when I've got a bit of a summer tan :) This is another polish that can go virtually anywhere... the beach, the office, the bar... and is cute and appropriate. I also think that this would look great paired with Orly - Rage, so I will have to put together a combo mani here in the near future. Love Love Love.

Orly - Terracotta

Terracotta is another of the polishes I snatched up for half off last week and turns out it is one of my favorites of the bunch! It is a bright coral that leans towards red. It is a little more bright than what I would normally think of as a "terracotta" color, but what's in a name anyway? The formula on this is awesome, with nearly complete coverage in one coat, a super smooth application, and, as you can see in the photos, a gorgeous, shiny finish. I super recommend this for girls, like me, who don't love extreme reds as this is a softer way to go in that direction!

Mani of the Day and a Giraffe

As promised, here is the first manicure from the polishes I picked up at Peninsula Beauty the other day. This one is Orly Rage over Essie Flawless. My diagonals are not perfect here as I just free-handed my use of Rage. If you wanted a more perfect line, you could use tape, scotch or nail tape, but when you use tape you have to make sure your first color is completely dry (and I mean let-dry-overnight level dryness) and I wasn't feeling very patient at the time. I am not a huge fan of flawless, it is a pretty pink, but doesn't really differentiate itself from the dozens of other pinks in my collection... but I am loving Rage. It is a champagne foil with a bit of a pink tint that really compliments my skintone and as you can see, it is really very shiny!

I also wanted to share this little guy with you that I picked up at Forever 21 today. Isn't he cute?!  You can pick up in gold or silver here. I am also very excited about the bright purple jeans that he is resting on in this pic! I have been lusting after some great colored jeans and I snatched these, along with a pair of turquoise ones, at F21 as well! 

Now only to find the perfect pair of red jeans before football season....

Polish Haul from Peninsula Beauty

This weekend I had a Groupon deal for $30 at Peninsula Beauty that was close to expiring so I headed over to my local shop to pick up some fancy beauty supplies. When I arrived I discovered 3 large bins full of polish for 50% off! Woo Hoo! Turns out that PB is replacing their Orly collection (they will continue selling the nail treatments) with China Glaze, which is a total thumbs up in my book. I have never really been all that interested in Orly polishes, I only had 3 before this haul. I always look at the Orly rack, but it just seems like none of the colors are unique. But who can resist a big ol' pile of discount polishes?? I walked away with a nice little haul ranging across the color and finish spectrum.

The colors I picked up, listed by brand, clockwise from the upper left corner are:
Orly: Ancient Jade, Rage, Kiss the Bride, and Terracotta
Essie: Real Simple, Looking for Love, and Flawless
OPI: Meep-Meep-Meep, Pepe's Purple Passion, Warm & Fozzie, and Last Friday Night

I'll be testing out these shades all week, so check back for swatches and manis to see what these polishes are all about!