China Glaze It's Alive vs. Zombie Zest

Woot woot for Halloween collections! I'm so bad about getting excited for stuff that's really far away, you know that whole one foot in the future, one foot in the past pissing on the present type stuff? I just can't help it, especially with the holidays! Upon looking at China Glaze's Halloween collection this year it appeared that It's Alive was way too similar to last year's Zombie Zest. I took a risk and ordered this year's collection~good choice on my part. If you're concerned with dupes, you shouldn't be.

Indoors

Outdoors, direct sunlight

Zombie Zest is a much lighter green, with a glass fleck type shimmer in comparison to It's Alive. It's Alive is a dark green with hex glitter, much like that of Orly's Bombshell and Here Comes Trouble from the Pinup Collection. So tell me, are you a sucker for holiday-themed collections and goodies?

Happy Hauling

Haven't posted some of my goodies in awhile, thanks to Mary of Body & Soul for letting me know that Victoria Nail Supply had China Glaze's Halloween Crackle set in stock, loves me some Halloween!!

It's Alive, Ghoulish Glow, Black Mesh, Fast Forward TC, Haunting

Loft-y Ambitions, Trendsetter, Midtown Magic, CG in the City, Skyscraper, Urban Night

Claire's no name white shimmer, Bedazzled, Icing Glitteratti, Epic Winning, Revlon Scented Polish, Grapefruit Fizz and Watermelon Fizz

Ultra Cool Ultra Violet Polish in a Gold Glitter and Blue Shimmer, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Set the Stage and Teal-y Cool, OPI Turquoise Shatter

Finger Paints Pink Imagination, China Glaze 108 Degrees, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Ice Queen, Orly Velvet Rope, Royal Navy and SuperNail rhinestones

NYX Sunset Blvd., Peach Ave, Blue Ave., Sheer Shell

And if you haven't imbibed in On the Border Restaurant's seasonal Watermelon Margs that I've been obsessed with for years, please run and don't walk before they are gone!

DIY Glitter Toes

Some of you may have seen the recent online Groupon I took advantage of for Glitties.com. I had not heard of this company before and am in <3 with my glitter toes (although I could have done w/o the drilling on my toes and the $36 price tag). So while even the Groupon price of $49 seemed a little steep - I don't think I'd pay the retail value of $90+ for this kit - I stepped up to the plate to take a swing. It appears that they don't even offer this "Groupon set" any longer but a more reasonable starter kit at $34.95. Shipping was really fast and it came with a nice range of colors. The holders looked like they only had enough glitter for one pedi, but let me assure you, there is plenty in there to do at least two to three pedis. I watched the tutorial video on their website and went for it. I was drawn to this sour lime neon green because it was bright and warm-weather appropriate. I followed the step-by-step instructions carefully. Next time I will do this in my bathroom over the tub instead of the hallway and make sure to utilize the toe separators. 

I did miss a few spots so the pedi wasn't "perfect toe shape" like the salon one was, but I was pretty happy with the results. I used one coat, but would recommend doing two full layers of the lighter colors as it's a bit easier to see your nail through them. Obviously this is a tad grittier than a UV acrylic sealed version would be, but better than a standard glitter polish with a thick topcoat. 

The final result was indeed GLITTER toes, super hard to capture all the sparkle with my camera so I included a vid too. 

I've been rocking this for about 2 1/2 weeks and there are some chips. This could be due to beginner application. Not sure if it will make it the promised six weeks since I'll probably change the color before then. Overall I'm pretty pleased and the fact that my toes aren't being drilled and I have to go get them redone after grow out is worth it. Not sure how easy the removal will be but at least I can do it myself.
*I paid full price for my own Glitties.com set and reviewed this independently of the company asking me to do so

Citrus Overload

Well hello there! I'm so sad to see Summer starting to come to a close, it's my favorite season! I feel like I have to rush to get all these tropical/warm-weather manis, recipes and whatever else done. I think the image I use the most on plate m55 is the citrus one. Yet again, I thought it would be great to do a lemon-lime inspired mani. I used three coats of Finger Paints Psychedelic Sunshine. This is a neon jelly yellow holo. Formula, no me gusta. It was really thick and globby, even after adding a few drops of thinner. I accented my index fingers with two coats of China Glaze's green cream Starboard and stamped the citrus images with China Glaze Lemon Fizz.

Onto the recipe part ~ I've been dying to get the Babycakes mini cupcake maker and Bed Bath & Beyond had it in stock, and in PINK! Love this thing, it's too hot to have the oven on so this is a perfect solution. Plus I feel people eat more mini cupcakes than big ones because they don't feel as guilty. 

My first recipe was a cherry limeade cupcake, num num num...what do you want to accomplish before summer is over?

Yo Ho Yo Ho

It's a pirates mani for me! I know I've put off using the great OPI Pirates of the Caribbean set so I thought I would do a mani with Stranger Tides. This funky grayish green feels like murky and mysterious waters to me. This is a BC and two coats of Stranger Tides. What better to go with a pirate mani than a skull and cross bones? I used the image from konad plate m28 and special black polish. I'd call the black konad polish special alright, I didn't wait 19 hours for it to dry, therefore the streakage.

Thought it would awesome to add some "glowing" eyes, but my rhinestones were a little too big for the head ~ oops ~. Love or hate this collection? Used it yet?

Into the Wild

Oh Monday, you come quicker than a Cheetah on crack. Bleck. It's funny how I've been in synch with the Polishaholics Anon Facebook group's theme twice in a row. I've decided to do random manis that have matched up with their weekly choice. This week is one of my absolute favorites, animal print!!!

This mani was inspired by Bath & Body Works  new scent, Into the Wild. I had a small tester of the lotion and loved it. Grandma gave me the real perfume for my B-Day and the bottle is fun, fun, fun! I started with a BC and two coats of Zoya Kiki. This hot pink is to die for, gorgeous bright pink with a purpley pink microshimmer. I them sponged two coats of China Glaze Electric Pineapple on the top half. Since I put this yellowish green over the pink it looked more orange than I had wanted. Finally I stamped the cheetah design from plate m57 with China Glaze dark purple holo Virtual Violet. I sealed with Orly Sec N Dry. 

Here is my inspiration...are you always looking for things you own to inspire manis?

Aloha Mani

I feel like I should use as many neons as possible while these high temperatures are sticking around. This brings us to China Glaze Sun Worshipper. I used a BC and three coats of this neon orange. I decided against a white underneath to save a little time, although I know this would have *popped* more. A bit of VNL, but not too bad. I then stamped the large Hawaiian looking flower in Pucci-licious from one of the plates I received from my swap with Cosmetic Cupcake. Last step was dark purple rhinestones on my index and thumb sealed with a thick coat of Orly's Sec N Dry. Do you sway towards neons and brights when the weather is warm?