Right now I am about half way though midterms Last night I decided that I needed a cheerful, sparkling study mani. I started off with OPI’s The Show Must Go On! to match my toes. It was pretty, but I felt like it needed a little something more. I decided to try layering OPI’s Merry Midnight over it, and I was very pleased with the results! It ended up being lighter than Merry Midnight. I would describe it as a boysenberry pinkish purple with blue micro glitter and flakie glitter goodness! It is just what I needed to provide a little extra boost to my studying!

Application was very good on both. Two coats of The Show Must Go On! with a further two coats of Merry Midnight and a top coat shown.

OPI's The Show Must Go On! layered with OPI's Merry Midnight in sunlight

OPI The Show Must Go On! and OPI Merry Midnight

I am celebrating 100 Followers on Google Friend Connect! Thank you for reading my blog! To celebrate I am giving away:

- OPI Burlesque Red Shimmers minis set (includes 0.125 oz. bottles of The Show Must Go On!, Let Me Entertain You, Ali’s Big Break and Tease-y Does It)

- MAC Bad Fairy

- Nailtini’s Mad Men inspired “You Call It” Mini Bar set (includes 0.25 oz. bottles of French 75,  Burbon Satin,  Stinger and Deauville)

OPI Burlesque minis set, MAC Bad Fairy, Nailtini You Call it set

Nailtini French 75, Nailtini Burbon Satin, Nailtini Stinger, Nailtini Deauville

The sun is proving elusive today, so I only have one quick shot of the Nailtini set. These beauties deserve full swatches, so time and sun willing I will add them later this week. Stinger is especially stunning. It is a blackened teal green/purple shimmer duochrome. YUM!

Each polish/set is new in box.

To Enter:

There are several ways to enter.

1. Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following: Follow @PlayWithPolish and RT to win OPI, MAC and Nailtini nail polish!  http://tiny.cc/wubs8

2. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect

3. Follow my blog using NetworkedBlogs (at the bottom right side)

4. Be a friend on Facebook (Playing W. Polish)

5. Blog about my giveaway, or put in on your blog’s sidebar

6. Put www.PlayingWithPolish on your blogroll

Each counts as one entry, with a total of six possible entries per person. Please comment and tell me which method(s) you used, and the name(s) you follow under. I also need an email address to contact you if you are the winner.

The deadline is October 11, 2010 at 5:00 PM Pacific.

I will choose one randomly selected winner on October 12, 2010 and notify them via email. Please respond within 72 hours, or I will select another winner. My contest is open to anyone (except my family of course).

Good luck!

Vintage Vixen is China Glaze’s collection for fall 2010. There are a dozen colors, but I only bought six of them (so far anyway). I love the change of seasons from summer to fall (even though I live in Northern California where the seasonal changes are more mild than in many other parts of the world). I am looking forward to some gorgeous and glamorous fall colors!

Classic Camel

A shimmery golden tan/yellow that reminds me of honey mustard. I am sure this would be a unique and cool color on someone, but I really hate it on me!

Application was good. For some reason the texture reminded me a bit of mustard too. It made me feel like I might actually be spreading mustard on my nails. Three coats and a top coat shown.

China Glaze Classic Camel in sunlight

China Glaze Classic Camel with honey mustard

Ingrid

A medium brown with a golden shimmer. I wasn’t expecting much, especially after trying Classic Camel. This color was a pleasant surprise! In fact I really like it! This polish strikes the perfect note for fall!

Application was very good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

China Glaze Ingrid in sunlight

Hey Doll

A brownish-rose colored shimmery metallic frost. I thought I was going to like this more than I actually did. It is a pretty color, but something about it is a bit boring. A bit old lady perhaps?

Application was very good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

China Glaze Hey Doll in sunlight

Bogie

A brownish-eggplant purple with the same shimmery metallic frost finish as Hey Doll. This one is much prettier on me though! The blue shimmer really adds a wonderful dimension to this color!

Application was very good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

China Glaze Boogie in sunlight

Jitterbug

A lovely gunmetal foil. It was difficult to get a crisp focused picture that really showed how shimmery this color is.

Application was very good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

China Glaze Jitterbug in sunlight

First Class Ticket

A blue leaning purple with a ton of blue shimmer. It’s yummy! I am generally a big fan of purple nail polish, and this one is a great addition to my collection!

Application was very good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

China Glaze First Class Ticket in sunlight

Although not all of them look great on me, overall these are great fall colors! I am especially looking forward to wearing Boogie and First Class Ticket. I may even pick-up a few more Vintage Vixen shades.

China Glaze Classic Camel, China Glaze Ingrid, China Glaze Hey Doll, China Glaze Boogie, China Glaze Jitterbug, China Glaze First Class Ticket

Splash of Grenadine is a purplish-pink crème from Essie’s Resort collection. This is a fun, feminine color. I wore this for four days without any chipping, and I got a compliment from a friend that I did not think ever notices my nail polish!

Essie Splash of Grenadine in artificial light

Essie Splash of Grenadine in sunlight

I am not sure I understand the name though. Grenadine is bright red! Mix a splash of it in a cocktail, and it is still red

Essie Splash of Grenadine with a Splash of Grenadine

Essie Splash of Grenadine

Piggy Polish is marketed as a toenail polish with the tagline, “goes on toes!” I see no reason why it would be confined to use on toes though! The Right to Bare Feet is a luscious shimmery raspberry pink/gold/orange/copper duochrome. It is a cliché for sure, but it reminds me on an amazing sunset! I did notice that this had a stronger more harsh smell than most of my polishes Although at the moment I have just swatched it on my fingers, I think I am going to put it on my toes next! The Right to Bare Feet should be an awesome pedicure color! I love duochromes for toes! Application was great. I almost had opaque coverage in one coat. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Piggy Polish The Right to Bare Feet in artificial light

Piggy Polish The Right to Bare Feet in shaded natural light

Piggy Polish The Right to Bare Feet in sunlight

Piggy Polish The Right to Bare Feet in sunlight

Piggy Polish The Right to Bare Feet

The Right to Bare Feet is a playful summery color. I can see myself reaching for this one a lot!

I usually wear my nails longer, but last week I suffered a home improvement related accident and had to cut them short. So my fall swatches are going to be short and sassy!

In Stitches and Velvet Voyeur are two more polishes from Essie’s new fall collection. For the other colors in this collection, please see my review of  Essie’s fall 2010 minis.

In Stitches

In stitches is a brownish-pink crème. It’s a nice fall color, and I think it would be appropriate for most offices. Something about this color is not really my style, but I think it looked good on.

Application was very smooth and even. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Essie In Stitches in artificial light

Essie In Stitches in sunlight

Velvet Voyeur

My first impression of this color is that it was a deep burgundy red. Upon closer examination, I found the color to be more interesting than that Velvet Voyeur is a dark brownish purple crème.  I really like this deep vampy color, so my swatch turned into a full mani!

Application was excellent. Two coats and a top coat shown.

Essie Velvet Voyeur in artificial light

Essie Velvet Voyeur in sunlight

Essie In Stitches and Velvet Voyeur

Yeats Poem Lapis & Oeil De Perdrix is part of StrangeBeautiful’s exclusive configuration for Anthropologie. Jane Schub, a former illustrator and StrangeBeautiful’s creator, cites her inspiration for the colors rather than giving each polish a name. Her polishes are sold in pairs (both connectors and cubes) and eight bottle volumes. Anthropologie’s StrangeBeautiful pairs retail for $18.

Oeil De Perdrix

This polish is a lovely dark rose color inspired by Oeil De Perdrix (a Swiss rosé wine).

StrangeBeautiful Oeil De Perdrix in artificial light

StrangeBeautiful Oeil De Perdrix in sunlight

StrangeBeautiful Oeil De Perdrix with a California rosé

Application was excellent. This is one of those polishes that glides right on! Two coats and a top coat shown.

Lapis

Lapis is a medium blue crème inspired by Yeat’s poem Lapis Lazuli. This color is strongly pignmented, and was actually almost opaque in one coat.

StrangeBeautiful Lapis in artificial light

StrangeBeautiful Lapis in sunlight

Application was very good. Two coats and a top coat shown.

StrangeBeautiful Lapis & Oeil De Perdrix

I loved both of these on! It seemed that the odd connector bottle might make application more difficult, but I did not find that to be the case. It was a bit challenging to hold for pictures though!

I enjoy painting my own nails, and changing colors often. Recently my husband and I traveled to Germany, Austria and Italy for a two week vacation. I was concerned that I would not have much time for my nails, and that I would experience extra wear and tear on them. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try CND’s  much hyped Shellac!

If you missed the first day of my Shellac experience, please refer to my initial impressions and day one pictures: CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie-Day One

Day 1

CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie in artificial light (posed with Nubar bottle, but no Nubar was used)

Day 7

CND Shellac in Strawberry Smoothie Day 7

Day 14

CND Shellac in Strawberry Smoothie Day 14

CND Shellac in Strawberry Smoothie Day 14 close-up

Day 19

CDN Shellac in Strawberry Smoothie Day 19 (right before I removed it)

Pros:

• It really lasted as promised and stayed shiny and fresh looking (I did get a little tip wear on my right thumb, but it was minor)
• I did not break any nails even though I was harder on them than usual and much lazier with maintenance (I was on vacation)
• Although I was a bit worried about removal, it really was quite easy!
• My nails were not dry, thinner or damaged after the Shellac was removed

Cons:

• I got bored with having the same color for so long (especially since it was so pale)
• The growth line drove me nuts!
• My nails grow fairly fast, and ended up being longer than I like

Conclusion: I think this really is an awesome product for women who are very busy, don’t change their polish often, have issues with nails breaking or are hard on their hands. Although I don’t think it is a good fit for me, I do think it is a stellar product!

Orly Butterflies is a sheer bright pink crème. Sally’s had a ring around the bottle marking it as a new product, but I believe it has been out for several years. This is a bright summery color. Although I did have visible nail lines even after three coats, I still thought it was quite pretty. I really like this one!

Orly Butterflies in artificial light

Orly Butterflies in sunlight

Application was sheer, but otherwise very good.

Orly Butterflies

Three coats and a top coat shown.

Usually I change my nail polish every few days. I love the look of fun (often pretty bright) polishes, and change colors several times a week. My husband and I are going on a long vacation in a few days, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try CND’s new Shellac product, which is touted as lasting two or more weeks. Since I am hoping I can get this manicure to last 18 days, I picked a sheer color to minimize the look of new growth.

Kristin Craig at DKW did my Shellac. She has been doing nails for 25 years, and Shellac since it first came out on May 1st. Kristin was very friendly and knowledgeable. I enjoy doing my nails myself. Years ago when I first got married I used to get silk wraps. It seemed like it took a while, smelled awful and I always left with sore cuticles. I was a bit leery about going back to have my nails done, but having her work on my nails was very relaxing and a nice treat. When she massaged lotion into my hands, she avoided my rings. Major points in my book since dirty jewelry is a big pet peeve of mine! You can reach Kristin at 831-247-0548. DKW Salon

CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie in artificial light (posed with Nubar bottle, but no Nubar was used for this manicure)

The Shellac does not feel like I have wraps or enhancements on my nails. It looks and feels like I am just wearing regular polish. As you can see in the pictures taken less than an hour after the manicure, my cuticles are not at all irritated. The process was fairly quick too. I think it took about 45 minutes to apply and cure under the UV light, and I really did walk out of the salon with dry nails!

CND Shellac Strawberry Smoothie in sunlight

Strawberry Smoothie is a sheer shimmery pink with a very glossy finish. Sadly my nails are a bit stained at the moment due to all of the bright polishes I love. I was afraid that would be an issue with the sheer color. This shows-up much more in my pictures, but is hardly an issue in real life. I am quite pleased with the way my nails look right now.

I am excited about the possibilities of Shellac, and look forward to sharing updates and new pictures over the life of my manicure! Hopefully it will last our whole vacation!