Essie - Turquoise & Caicos

Featured as the base color in my last post, Turquoise and Red Polka-Dots, Essie's Turquoise & Caicos is among the most used polishes in my collection. This aqua shade that is truly reminiscent of the gorgeous oceans of the Caribbean is demure enough to wear to the office, yet its cheerful and bright demeanor is anything but mundane. Please forgive the slight tip wear seen in these photos as this manicure was a couple of days old when I got around to taking the pictures. If you work in an office where it's appropriate to wear polish other than nudes and neutrals, I definitely recommend giving this color a try, I guarantee that you will receive loads of compliments!

Turquoise and Red: Another Adventure in Polka-Dots

Today's manicure featuring turquoise and red polka-dots is brought to you by special request. This is not normally a combo that I would rock but I have had fun sporting it over the last few days. With a base of Turquoise & Caicos and dots of Russian Roulette, this Essie mani is what the mushrooms would look like in a Made-By-Melissa version of Mario, none of this plain-old red and white stuff. I think that next time I would do a coat of top coat in between the turquoise and the red as that might help a bit with the darkening that I experienced in the dots, but in the sunshine they still come through bright cranberry red, so it wasn't too much of a problem. Also, something to keep in mind when doing any kind of nail art when your colors are drastically different, make sure that your art paint doesn't get too tacky or you will end up with visible drag lines. You can see them a bit on my index finger, especially in the first picture. To avoid this, just make sure that you replenish your little puddle of polish between every few fingers!

Tiffy, this one is for you, I hope you enjoyed it!

Currently Lusting - Turquoise Handbags

MICHAEL Michael Kors michael kors tote, $350
Locking bag, $50
Tory Burch leather shoulder handbag, $536
Christian Louboutin mini handbag, $769


I am currently obsessing over having a turquoise leather handbag. It would just be such a wonderful way to add a pop of color to any outfit and is perfect for the summer months! I particularly like the Michael Kors one here but don't know when I will be willing to anty up 350 buckaroos for it. I would also drool over a turquoise Coach bag like they have sold in the past but unfortunately they don't have any in their current collection *tears*. For the meantime I will just continue to dream and fawn over ever aqua bag I see...

China Glaze - Atlantis

I am back in The Bay after a nice relaxing week in So Cal! Even though we didn't get the gorgeous beach weather that I was hoping for, it was nice to get some quality time with the BF and my family. We did get a couple of nice sunny days and whenever I know I am going to be outside in the sun I like to showcase a neon or a glitter. This time I went for China Glaze - Atlantis, a gorgeous blue-green holo glitter.

Later in the week, I layered Atlantis over China Glaze - Frostbite for a little different look. These pictures really don't do this combo justice as I was using my phone for these pics. The glitter in Atlantis is waayyy more sparkly than my phone was able to capture in this lighting and the holo effect of the glitter still stood out  even in a more sheer application like this.

What polish do you like to wear for a day out in the sunshine?

Pinspiration Thursday - Turquoise and Coral

I don't know about all of you, but I am obsessed with Pinterest. Those of you who have never heard of it need to visit the site immediately. It is amazing! I spend more time browsing pins nowadays than I do on Facebook (THAT is a big deal). There is always more to see and it is such a great way to get ideas for everything from fashion to crafting and party throwing. A friend of mine pinned this great Polyvore creation a while back and I just love the colors! 

So, in a burst of what I am now referring to as "Pinspiration", I set to work creating a mani inspired by this outfit. The colors are not quite identical, but I really like the way that it turned out.

A really popular trend in polish lately has been the half moon manicure. Where you essentially use hole-punch reinforcers to recreate the natural coloring of a nail bed with your polish, let Lauren Conrad teach you how here. I simply do not have the patience to recreate this look. In order to apply the sticker to your nail, and have it not damage the polish when you remove it, you have to wait for your first color to dry completely - we all know how long this takes without a topcoat.. FOREVER. So, using the Half-moon manicure as part of my inspiration, I went for a bit of a different layering effect that can be achieved without the use of stickers.

For this look I used Essie's Haute as Hello, a bright orangy coral that is actually a bit neon (it turned out to be very difficult to capture the true color, it is much brighter than it appears here), as the base color. I painted two coats paying particular attention to making sure there was no brush drag near the bottom of the nail, as this is the area that is actually going to show, and trying to get good coverage without laying it on too thick. The thicker your polish, the more easily it will chip and with layering it is very easy to end up with VERY thick  nails.

I then layered on 2 coats of China Glaze's For Audrey, starting slightly above the beginning of Haute as Hello. This can be a bit tricky, especially if you haven't mastered the art of not getting polish all over your cuticles, but if you sit at a table and have a surface to prop and steady your painting hand, you can get a very smooth round edge. It has taken me a lot of practice, but I think I have gotten it down pretty well now.

I love this combo and today is actually my 3rd consecutive day sporting this mani, which, if you know me, means that it is a HUGE hit. I might actually try to stretch it until tomorrow (!!!), if the slight tip wear doesn't drive me over the edge before then.

I am getting very fond of these creative manis, so I am sure that this is the first of many Pinspiration posts to come! If you'd like to follow my Pinboards, click here.

Happy Pinning and Painting!

China Glaze - For Audrey: Everyone's Fav Polish

To kick this off, I would like to share with you one of my, and many other nail polish enthusiasts', absolute favorite polishes: China Glaze's For Audrey. Channeling that iconic Tiffany blue, For Audrey, is a gorgeous creme turquoise blue. It looks amazing on many skin types and is one of those eye-catching, comment-garnering colors that you will want to wear over and over.

I believe this is my third bottle of this polish, in the less than 2 years, and I sincerely hope that CG continues to make this brilliant color for years and years to come!

The formula on this can be a little tricky as it is a bit thick and can be streaky. The secret is to use very thin coats. I always use 3 coats with For Audrey and my fav top coat, Seche Vite. I love love love love this polish and think that it is a must have in every collection and a staple in mine.

Happy painting!