Happy New Year Baby!!!

Hey loves!

Out with the old and in with the new! 

I dunno about you guys but 2011 went by so quickly for me! This past year has been eye opening for sure. I’ve learned so much about myself and the people around me and I am ready to make 2012 MY year! I want to shout out all the readers both old and new; thank you so much for supporting my love of polish and just allowing me to be ME. Let’s take this thing to the next level in 2012!!! I wish you all nothing but the best.

Have a SAFE and HAPPY New Year!

(Please don’t drink and drive)

OPI Crown Me Already!

  I just HAD to end the year with glitter!

 

Love, Lipstick & Glitter ALWAYS!

Vee…xox…

Nicki Minaj For OPI pt. 2 - Swatches & Review

Hi guys!

I’m back with the 2nd installment of my Nicki Minaj for OPI review! These 3 polishes are the “attention grabbers” of the collection. Let’s get right to the swatches!

Metallic For Life:

Silver glitter in a black base. This is very pretty. At first look it reminded me of Nicole by OPI’s Nicole’s Nickel but Metallic For Life is actually a little darker and has much chunkier glitter. In order to avoid having to apply 3 coats, I decided to start with one coat of Sally Hansen’s Black Out and then added 2 coats of Metallic For Life. 

Super Bass Shatter:

I for one am not tired of shatter nail polish. It’s the color combinations that make the whole thing work! Super Bass Shatter is a shimmery purple that was very easy to apply. It didn’t have that thick consistency we’ve all come to expect from shatter polishes.  This is one coat of Super Bass Shatter over 2 coats of Sally Hansen’s Lacey Lilac (Xtreme Wear).

Save Me:

This one is gorgeous in the bottle but I wasn’t so sure that I’d love it on the nail… Thinking this would be too sheer to wear alone I started off by layering it over back nail polish (SH Black Out) but hated the result. I then decided to try it on its own and actually really liked it! I had to put on 3 coats to attain full opacity but it was worth it. Jon thinks this is New Year’s Eve worthy.

So all in all the collection was nice but when  selling a product that represents  a personality as big as Nicki’s  you just HAVE to bring in the the big guns (a holo or crazy flakie in this collection would have been KICK ASS). Fly and Save me were my faves and Did It On Em would have to be my least favorite only because OPI has already given us at least 2 very similar shades in the recent past. There you have it polish freaks! What do you think about the collection? Will you be picking any of these up?

Besos,

Vee…xox…

Casino nails!

Hey Loves!

I was messing around with a new acrylic mold I got and wanted to show you what I came up with. I started with 2 coats of OPI’s Color So Hot It Berns and then added one thin layer of Nicole by OPI’s Love Your Life (a subtle glitter). I then printed some dice all over the nail with Konad special polish in black. I had meant for this to be a poker manicure until Jon’s smart ass insisted on letting me know that there are no dice in poker! Okay. Blank stare. I guess we’ll call it a casino manicure then (rolls eyes). I finished the look by adding a card and a little spade.

There you have it folks!

Besos,

Vee…xox…

OPI's Nicki Minaj Collection Swatches & Review

Hey Loves!

Today I’ll be showing you the first half of a collection that many polish freaks have been waiting for: THE NICKI MINAJ COLLECTION!  These are due to appear in stores in January 2012 however I was able to get them a few weeks early thanks to a very accommodating supplier.

The new queen of Hip Hop (Sorry Kim!) and OPI teamed up to create a collection based on the Pink Friday album. I love me some Nicki Minaj but the album kinda fell flat for me however I was still super excited to see that these polishes were coming out. Let’s start with the 3 creams.

Fly:

A beautiful aqua cream. I personally didn’t have anything like it. This is 3 coats with no topcoat.

Pink Frday:

A fun bubblegum pink. This one is a little lighter that Sparrow  Me The Drama and very similar to I Think In Pink. This is 3 coats with topcoat.

Note: It’s actually a little darker in person than what you see on the pic.

Did It On ‘Em:

A lime green cream. If Who The Shrek Are You? And Fiercely Fiona got together and had a baby, this is what the baby would look like. I HATE the song that this polish was named after but the color is nice. This is 3 coats with topcoat.

Note: This one too is a little darker in person than in the photograph.

My thoughts:

Okay so these 3 creams are nice but I don’t think that they do Nicki much justice… I mean the Barbie pink shade was to be expected but the lime green has been done and the aqua is nice but could have used some depth (shimmer, glitter, metallic, SOMETHING!). I was disappointed by the fact that all 3 creams were on the sheer side and didn’t even out that well. The application was less than flawless and that can be a bummer when you shell out 10$ or more for a polish. Over all, the colors are cute but also super dupable. I’ll be reviewing the other half of the collection this week so stay tuned for that!

Besos!

Vee…xox…

Feeling blue?

Hey babes! 

The polish of the day needs no stamping, glitter or rhinestones. This baby doesn’t need a sidekick. Sally Hansen’s Pacific Blue (part of the Xtreme Wear collection) is OFFICIALLY my favorite blue. Look at it! It’s frickin’ glorious (simmer down Vee, simmer down…). I love this shade. It applies like butter and the price is a joke. I love this blue so much I just might have to pick up a few other bottles as backups. As my sister Chachi would say “You need it in your life!” LOL. Check out the pics below and see the pure awesomeness for yourself. 

Enjoy!
Vee…xox…

What's Christmas without a little glittah?

Hey loves! 

Your girl is back with another holiday manicure. I dunno about you guys but I think Christmas just isn’t Christmas without GLITTER (shocker!). This look features one of my favorite reds. The ever so popular Ruby Pumps by China Glaze is perfect for the holidays. I went with 3 coats because I really wanted to attain full opacity. It just looks better that way is you ask me. Next I used acrylic paint to free hand a snowman using dotting tools. I knew I wanted to wear a mani that included the snowman after watching a tutorial on YouTube (you can see it here). Adorable don’t you think?

Sending you lots of love and glitter,

Vee…xox…

Happy Pink Wednesday people!!!

Hey loves!

Your girl is back with that pink! This post is gonna be a 2 for 1. Today’s first manicure is featuring Morgan by Zoya. This polish applies like a dream… Such a lovely cream nail polish. What you see here is two easy coats. Once that dried I used a dotting tool to make some dots with white acrylic paint. Once the “trail” was complete, I added a firefly made of fimo on the middle finger. Pretty darn cute if you ask me and perfect for pink Wednesday.

The second mani is one that I did on a customer who fell in love with my Hello Kitty manicure (the one I posted last week) and wanted to wear it. Since she sports short nails I decided to forget about the black French tip. I did 2 coats of OPI’s Mod About You and added dots on the pinky, middle finger and thumb (in acrylic paint). I then simply stamped the other fingers with a Hello Kitty image, added a fimo bow tie and a clear rhinestone in Hello Kitty’s hair bow. I applied a thin layer of UV top coat, cured her nails for 2 minutes and voilà! A satisfied customer and a kick ass mani. What more could a girl ask for? 

Happy pink Wednesday!

Besos!

Vee…xox…

Pics from the vault

Hey loves!

Just quickly popping in with some nail spam. I found these pics in a folder and thought I’d post them. The base is Julep’s Alfre topped off with OPI’s Navy shatter. Quick, easy and way more interesting than wearing Alfre on its own.  I’m still a sucker for shatter. Live with it. lol

Besos!

Vee…xox…

Getting into that holiday spirit!

Hey loves!

I am finally getting around to putting together some Christmas looks! I know, I know… Let’s jumps right into it! This manicure was something new for me because I don’t usually wear white as my main color. Your girl’s branching out! I started with 2 even coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind White. If you are looking for a good white, I would recommend this one. Other whites like OPI’s Alpine Snow just don’t apply as smoothly.

Next I used Silver Sweep which is also an Insta-Dri polish. With it I stamped on some snowflakes all over my nails. I knew I wanted something cute as an accent so I stamped some mistletoe on my ring finger using China Glaze’s Holly-Day (a part of this year’s Christmas collection) and finished it off by adding red rhinestones to create the berry part of the mistletoe. Super cute!

What are YOU wearing on your nails this Christmas?

Besos!

Vee…xox…

Pink Wednesday!!!

Hey loves!

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means… PINK MANIS! I kept this one super simple because the polish is pure awesomeness. Blush Diamond is an oldie but a goodie. I was part of Sally Hansen’s Nail Prism collection. I had been looking for a bottle OPI DS Signature on Ebay but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for another DS bottle (I already have DS Original). I mean it’s nice and all but I could buy more polish for that same price… So I bought Blush Diamond as a substitute and at almost 8$ the bottle I really don’t regret my choice. I totally could have worn this plain but for the sake of  Pink Wednesday I decided to add a cute little flower on the ring finger. LOVE IT. I can’t stop looking at my nails!

Are you wearing pink today?

Happy Pink Wednesday my dears!

Besos!

Vee…xox…

Let's talk about love in friendships...

Hey loves,

I’ve been neglecting the LOVE aspect of this blog so today I wanna talk about love in friendships. A few weeks ago I had the chance to meet up with an old friend that I hadn’t spoken to in almost a year. We had a falling out over some choices that she was making that I knew in my heart just weren’t good for her. It was sad but the time apart was good not just for her but for me too. I got to learn a lot about the kind of person and friend that I am. I am a protector. I want to keep my loved ones out of harm’s way at all cost. With that said I now know that you can’t be everyone’s savior. I also learned that part of being a good friend is allowing your friends to make their own mistakes because that’s how some people learn. I, for the most part, tend to learn by example while others might need to feel that burn before learning that the stovetop is hot and not to be messed with. That was the case with this friend and I had to learn to accept that about her and know that I can’t shelter her from everything. We had an awesome talk and laid all our cards on the table over some food and some much needed drinks (thank God for Cosmos). It was like therapy. I’m glad we didn’t force it and now look forward to having a new kind of friendship with her. Loving your friends sometimes means that you have to let them take a few hits, get a few scrapes and bruises and allow them to learn life’s lessons on their own time.

2 coats of Sally Hansen’s Xtreme Wear in Black Out + 1 coat of OPI’s Rainbow Connection

Heart to hearts can be kinda heavy so I opted for something festive!

Cheers to love in friendships!

Vee…xox…

Happy bday Sarah!!!

Hey loves!

Today I want to show you the mani I wore to a fellow blogger’s event. Sarah from Versass.com celebrated her 25^th birthday bash in style and I wanted something simple but still interesting to compliment my outfit. I wore a purple and black leopard print dress and for my nails I went with two easy coats of Kleancolor’s Metalic purple. I then added a coat of Essie’s Luxeffects topcoat in Shine of the Times. I loved it! Simple but still striking. Here are some pics of the mani I wore along with a pic of my sisters and I. Good times.

Enjoy,

Vee …xox…

After a couple days I decided to mattify my manicure with China Glaze’s Matte Magic.

From left to right: Yours truly, Chachi, Mims

  P.S Be sure to visit Sarah’s blog (versass.com) for all things related to cooking, fashion and  girly randomness. Loves her.