OPI Funny Bunny...Jelly/Flakie/Matte LOVE!

Hey girlies! Hows it been. I've been mentally stressed out over my distraught nails. I feel so bad for them and they are breaking more and more each day. I'm sure its because of my new work and lack of any protection on them. But they need to air out...and in the process they are getting much worse. So much so that my pizzaz for doing my nails has dwindled. That combined with my repeated catastrophic attempts at water marbling has helped me reach an all-time low. I hope this doesnt last for long because I need to get my spark back. Its not like I'm not buying nail polish, I am almost every day. Its just I havent been doing all the nail art I wish I would with all the new polishes I have. Grrr. Well anyway.

So today I want to show you something I'm IN LOVE WITH!. Like Hello! The base is OPI Funny bunny as you can tell from my post. Then I put some Essie Shine of the Times over it to make it more fun. Then I mattified it and my end result was something I was gawking over for literally hours!

So you know I wish I had a better camera specifically for polishes like these because honestly you in no way can see the depth of this polish simply through these photos. IRL they catch the light at every which angle and it in turn catches your attention and its a never-ending cycle. So these pics are before the matte topcoat. If you want to know how I got the previous combo, all I did was two coats of OPI Funny Bunny, which is a white semi-sheer jelly...not so extravagant on its own but really makes a difference in this manicure as opposed to a white creme. And here are the pics after the matt topcoat.

I think the last picture is the clearest because I used a much better camera for it. I just adore the awesome effect the matt gives it. I feel like it captures all the flakies in still time and you can see all the different light flickers together. I couldn't think of a better way to wear this mani than simply as it was. Love Love Loved it! Try it out you guys...You wont be disappointed.

Well not as disappointed as I am with my sad sad nails. I dont know what to do? Has this every happened to anyone of you? Any tips?

Thats all for now loves!
xo Nail Diva

Essie Shine of the Times layering swatches

Hey girlies! I've been meaning to put this post up for a while now its just been so hectic. Anyway, I wont bother you with the details...so I'll just get right to it. I layered Essie Shine of the times over black, white, coral red, and by itself just to give you an idea of what your getting from this flakie.

From Left to Right:
Essie Ole' Caliente under Essie Shine of the Times
Sally Hansen Black Out under Shine of the Times
Sally Hansen White on under Shine of the times
Essie Shine of the Times alone- 3 layers

Anyway so these pictures speak better than my description of them. But all I want to say is that this has definitely become a staple in my collection. I love it the most over the white because it makes me feel like a snow princess. I like it over black as well but that feels like a very fall-ish color to me. I'm gonna be doing a version of this white soon and posting it up. Just a sneak peak: it involves OPI Funny Bunny. I think its gonna look amazing! Until then,
xo Nail Diva

Misa Lovebite + Essie Shine of the Times = Major Manicure Love

Hey girlies! Hows it been, it feels like I haven't posted in forever. But thats only because I loved my last manicure so much I rocked it up until yesterday. Thats Cray Cray right? Well anyway, so today I want to show you an experiment I tried out the other day and was absolutely ecstatic about showing you guys and then somewhere along the way I forgot about it. Anyway, First and Foremost let me just say I think the greatest addition to my polish collection has been Essie Shine of the Times. I mean it takes any old blah manicure and turns it into heaven. But only after this manicure did I realize the true glory behind this polish.

This is exactly what I wanted Barielle Elle's Spell to be like. Even when I layered it over Misa Lovebite it still didn't give me that extra oomph I was looking for. But this manicure...boy oh boy. The darkness of Lovebite nicely offsets the brightness of Shine of the Times. And no matter which direction you turn your hand the light will automatically catch the flecks and bring something extra to the table. I probably wont be wearing this in Summertime because I like to give each season its own features but I know that I'll have this on all throughout fall and winter. So if you have Elle's Spell and like me wish for more give this a try and tell me what you think. And I'll be posting up a couple more things with Essie Shine of The Times in it so stay tuned.

P.s. My Pre-100 Follower Giveaway ends tonight...so gets to entering!
xo Nail Diva

Nail Art...Hit or Miss!?

Hey guys! Hows it going? Today I want to show you some nail art I did quite a while ago but Im not really sure whether its a hit or not. My sis seems to think its really cool but I'm not totally into it. Individually I like the designs on each nail...I dunno, you tell me.

Strange, huh? Well let me break it down. I did a slanted cheetah print on my thumb with the base of Color Club Incognito and dotted the cheetah with OPI Senorita Rose-alita. For my index I used a base of Color Club Oh Naturale and Did the rose with Essie No More Film. My middle finger is done the same as my thumb but with a full print. My index finger is Orly Ingenue. My pinky finger is the same base as my index but the rose is made with Essie Olie Caliente. The leaves design are with .Sally Hansen Green with Envy.

So, Hit or Miss?
xo Nail Diva!

Essie Resort Collection 2012

Hey everyone! So today I will be showing you some swatches of 4 colors from the Essie Resort Collection 2012 that came out in Spring earlier this year. I really wish I had gotten a Crewed Interest because that was the one that sparked my attention the most but I couldn't find it...Oh well! So shall we begin?

First up is Essie Sure Shot, a medium pink fucshia color with slight blue reflective microshimmer. Is it me, or does Essie come out with one of these for most of their collections? Three thin coats were used here but it really had great formula Not my favorite color in the world, but very flattering on my skintone.



Essie She's Picture Perfect, a light lavender blue creme with pink reflective microshimmer. As you can see the microshimmer is much more pronounced in the bottle, but it still shows up on the nail. I however, with my severely lacking picture taking skills couldn't quite get that to show up. These pictures are at 3 coats, even though the formula was kind of on the thicker side.  This color is definitely one of my faves of the collection because it is quite unique and I dont think I've seen someone do this take on the reflective microshimmer before. Good job Essie!

Essie No More Film. Boy oh Boy! This color is definitely a special one. A dark navy blue creme that isn't blackened yet retains its darkness quite well. I gotta say if your looking for a navy to add to your collection, definitely give this one a chance. This applied relatively well and took three coats to reach a good level of coverage. I think this color is shiny which gives it an upper hand, but if your looking for easier application you might want Color Club's Naughtycal Navy instead.

Essie Pink-a-boo! Must I say anymore? The pictures speak for themselves. A light creamy pink with tons of pink, blue, and violet microshimmer spread throughout. Heaven! Quite hard to reach heaven though...but when you get there its totally worth it. This took 4 coats and although it can get quite streaky if your patient, and wait out between coats you should be good to go. A definite Must-Have!

So thats all for this review, I hope you liked it. And I'll talk to you guys soon.

xo Nail Diva

Some Polka Dot Lovin On My Nails!

Hey girlies...hows it going? Today's gonna be a short post, I've been getting really busy with summer activities and work so I'm going to show you real quick some nail art I did.

For this design I used Essie No More Film, Essie Ole Caliente, Flormar 424, Inglot 721, Barielle Blossom, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green With Envy (In order from Navy Blue at top of nail to Green at bottom corner). For the base I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On. Obviously this design is super easy to do, it just requires some patience. Great for summer wear. Anyway, thats all for now.
xo Nail Diva

Essie Pink-a-boo and Essence Time for Romance

Hey guys! Whats up? Soo, I just got back from Work...yeah ya heard right, I have already started working even though I finished school only a week ago. Thats me! Never one to sit down. Anyway, I am having fun working with kids...its the most rewarding job. Especially working with children with special needs (I'm a speech therapist btw). But I have been trying to do my nails before I go to work so hopefully I'll be able to keep that up. Today I have Essie Pink-a-boo to show you...which is to dieeee for! and I also added Essence Time for Romance on my ring finger just to spice things up and also show you something in my giveaway.

Ukkhh, my cuticles have gone wild. Sorry I usually blur my cuticles out but I didn't because I wanted the shimmer to show up. Essie Pink-a-boo was released with the Essie Resort Collection this year and my oh my is it a stunnnner! Its a soft baby pink or cinderella pink with the most beautiful blue, pink, and purple shimmer. This really reminds me of Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy which I swatches a couple of days ago the shimmer in this really does transfer well onto the nail. I mean you can definitely see the shimmer even though its not too obvious in the photos.
Now this is definitely a sheer polish so you need about 4 coats to get to cover the nail with some still slightly visible nail line. But I like it for that it because it kinda gives it that French Manicure look without actually doing so. Also I read that this is supremely close to NOPI's Kimpletely in Love. =]

Essence Time for Romance is a beautiful rasperry jelly base with tons of berry pink shimmer and different sized glitters spread throughout it. You can totally wear it on its own at about three coats and gets to verry good coverage but in these pics I only used two coats over one coat of Essie Pink-a-boo. I like the formula on Time for Romance because although its a glitter its not clumpy or gooey or nasty its very good in terms of application and formula. Removal was kinda difficult.. you may want to try out the foil removal technique with this baby.
Anyway thats all for now. Be beautiful and dont forget to enter my giveaway!
xo Nail Diva

Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Collection

Hey Girlies! Hows it going? Today I have four colors to show you from the Navigate Her collection that came out I believe in February or March of this year.This is my first time using any Essie polishes so hopefully this review is unbiased. Anyway I really fell in love with these colors when I saw them and I some of them I ended up having a love interest with...while others left my nails lonely and unloved! So if your still thinking about whether to get these polishes or not your should definitely read on...

First up Essie Tour De Finance (artificial lighting)

 (Sunlight)

Tour De Finance is a medium pink fucshia with reflective violet blue microshimmer. Formula on this baby was good as it wasn't runny or thick. It was just right. Application only took two coats although the first coat was rather streaky. I didn't think I would find this color to be amazing but I actually liked it alot...even on my weirdly tanned skintone =].

Next is Essie Navigate Her

Navigate Her is a muted light olive green color that applied slightly darker than the bottle color. Formula was slightly on the thicker side though very manageable. I hate its application, although I only used two coats to get opacity it clumped up in certain areas preventing me from trying a third coat. The color on this is nice...not your average green we've been seeing alot of. But to me I dont think its a special color although I really wanted it to be. My expectations were too high I guess!

Essie Ole Caliente

Ole Caliente! What can I say. Love at first sight...Not exactly. I really thought this would be a color that I would try out once and never again. I usually stay away from these "fake" red colors...But boy did this color prove me wrong. I must try this on again. Ole Caliente is a bright reddish orange color. I want to call it Siren Red. It even leaned a bit coral (although more so in the bottle than in real life). Formula was good and application took a perfect and easy two coats. I really liked this color. Ole Caliente! I like saying it.

And then there was Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy

To Buy or Not To Buy! Its the philosophy I live by...lol. When I saw this color I thought "I must be the luckiest girl in the world to have such an amazingly unique color". A light lavender grey with purple, pink, and violet flecks spread though it. I was giddy all day. And then I put it on....and all the magic-ness disappeared. There was no rainbow shimmer coming up on my nails, only your randomly there "squint" your eyes in the right light and look for the shimmer kinda rainbow. And it didn't really even come up looking lavender or grey it came up a light lavender leaning to white. Upsetting! Formula was fine but application was a hassle. It took four to five coats and I gave up on my index finger when it began to clump up around the sides of my nail. I will not be trying this again any time soon. Definite let down! Again expectations were set too high!

So in the end I came up half and half. I love love loved Essie Ole Caliente and Tour De Finance even though I thought I wouldn't. I thought I loved Essie Navigate Her and To Buy or Not To Buy but ended up more disappointed than ever. Not that they were bad colors...I just wanted more from them thats all! But I have to admit it...a definite surprise! Thats all for now.

P.s. Have you entered my Pre-100 Follower Giveaway yet? If not, what are you waiting for!
xo Nail Diva