Hard Candy Sky

I think that Hard Candy Sky is going to be my “something blue” in the form of my wedding-day pedicure!  It is a delicate baby blue creme, and the blue microshimmer adds a little something extra.

Indoor light/shade:

Bright sunlight, which coaxes that gorgeous blue microshimmer out of hiding:

Yummy!

~ Allison ~

Wear Test: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Skinny Jeans

Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips are so adorable and high tech, I just had to try them.  (And by “them” I mean I picked up a few designs, including the whole Halloween collection!  Yay!)

I chose Skinny Jeans, a dark blue pattern that resembles the texture of denim.  The nice thing about these is that they look solid from a distance and match any outfit, but have enough texture to keep them looking interesting and not like regular nail polish.  Application was a cinch – I’d say it probably took me 40 minutes to do both hands.  That might sound like a long time, but keep in mind that you avoid messy cuticle cleanup, the stench of nail polish fumes, dry time, and the risk of doing a messy job.

This is how my hands looked after 5 days.  They don’t look bad at all except for that major chip around the pointer cuticle of my left hand (it got snagged when I was shampooing my hair).  I could have worn these longer, but I’m really finicky about chipped nails.   The package promises wear of “up to 10 days” so I was satisfied with 5.  I think after 10 days I would get sick of them; I have nail polish ADD!

Sally Hansen real nail polish strips, I found, are a major pain to remove.  I had to scrub at each nail with my acetone remover for about 5 minutes each!  True, that speaks to the sturdiness of the product, but it also dissuades me a little from using them again.  But I’m sure I will, because, again – cute AND high tech!  I got lots of compliments when I was wearing these, even from men who don’t usually have nail polish on their radar.

Have you used Sally Hansen’s nail polish strips?  What do you think about them?

~ Allison ~

Makeup Tutorial Using Maybelline Forest Fury Palette

It’s been a long while since I’ve done a tutorial so I figured I’d carpe diem.  I’m using a Maybelline eyeshadow palette called Forest Fury.  There are very mixed reviews about this palette out there but what can I say, I’m on a palette kick and I’m a sucker for greens!

Today we’ll be creating this look.  Click through to read more!

Read more

2 L/E Sally Hansen Insta-Dri’s – Teal-y Fast and Bronze Ablaze

I snagged these polishes at my local Walgreen’s for about $5 a bottle.  They are from the Insta-Dri Fall 2011 collection.  Normally I don’t bother with this line because the colors don’t call my name, but these I had to get.

Teal-y Fast (groan, that name) is a richly pigmented teal foil.  This applied like buttah in two coats.  The photo below is in indirect sunlight.  Although there’s a hint of a purple duochrome effect in the bottle, it doesn’t translate to the nail.  I don’t mind though because this color is so scrumptious.

And bright, direct sunlight:

Bronze Ablaze also applied wonderfully with no muss.  It’s a rich metallic bronze, really the quintessential fall shade.  The wrinkling you see on my ring finger is not from Bronze Ablaze, but from my Seche Vite which I slopped on too thickly methinks.

True to their names, these dried in a flash and would be perfect for a quickie manicure when time is short.

~ Allison ~

China Glaze Bogart + Revlon Watermelon Fizz

This manicure began with Bogart, a cool, eggplant foil by China Glaze.

To warm it up I added a layer of Revlon Watermelon Fizz nail polish.  This is a clear reddish orange jelly from the Summer 2011 collection.  It has these really pretty flakey glitter particles that I love.  It also smells delish!  Just like watermelon candy.  Since the Fizz polishes are pretty sheer, I prefer to layer them over other nail lacquers.

~ Allison ~