My Favorite Things: November

I love reading about other bloggers and their favorite things so I thought I would join in with Emma over at Manicurity and post my favorite things with her list of questions.

favorite new (tried) polish: I think it would have to be the hard to photograph Essence Grey-T to Be Here. Such a lovely grey (you know I love me some greys) with a gorgeous pink shimmer.

favorite new (UNtried) polish: Orly Miss Conduct. Loving this color and I can't wait to try it! :)

favorite new (tried) indie polish: Oh wow. Hmm... this is a toss up between Different Dimension Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock and Glimmer by Erica Season's Change.

favorite new collection: Would have to Rainbow Polish Star Set 1 and 2! Woot! Woot! Geeky themed polishes! :)

favorite manicure you did this month: I really liked how my Remembrance Day Mani turned out. It was kind of haunting.

favorite new technique or tip: Ok, so it's not so new but I still haven't tried it. The Saran-Wrap mani. Some of these manis are so gorgeous that they seem to glow! Please check out Sweet Sugar and this amazing saran wrap mani!

favorite new makeup item: I finally caved and bought this gorgeous new eye shadow and I love love love it! It is Urban Decay Mushroom. Wow! The color, the formula! Perfection!

favorite TV show right now: Parenthood. Plain and simple this is a wonderful show that has me in tears almost every single episode! :) (here's a little older video about it)

 

currently reading: Matched by Ally Condie. Also still trying to get through A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (I will never finish this!!!!)

And there you go! What were your favorites this month?! Feel free to comment with your list!

favorite new polish:
favorite new indie polish:
favorite new (seasonal) collection:
favorite manicure you did this month:
favorite new technique or tip:
favorite new makeup item:
favorite TV show right now:
currently reading:

Blog Shout Outs - PackAPunchPolish

Welcome back to Blog Shout Outs! Today I am featuring the blog: PackAPunchPolish. She first started out doing videos on YouTube (click for youtube channel) and started a blog in March. She does some amazing swatches (perfection!) and great nail art. Her videos on YouTube have tutorials and nail mail as well as her polish stash and swatches.

Please click on the photos to be sent to the original blog post.

See how gorgeous her swatches are! Wow!

I am loving this! This post also has a tutorial video with it!

Yes! Geeky nails! Love it and the splatter is gorgeous! Also has a video!

Here is one of her videos featuring a tutorial for watercolor. I love her videos! She explains things so that I think even I could do them! :)

Please go check her out on:

Facebook: PackAPunchPolish
Blog: PackAPunchPolish
Instagram: packapunchpolish
Twitter: PackAPunchPolish
Tumblr: Pack A Punch Polish

Lust List vol. 1

I have been loving all the cravings, lemmings, or lust lists that many bloggers have been posting. So I decided to team up with Emma over at Manicurity and do my own Lust List!

My Lust List isn't just nail polish.....it's so much more! :)

Starting at the top:

1. Urban Decay Vice Palette. Yes! So many good reasons to want/need this. I love Urban Decay's formula. And a plus is that I have allergies to some make up and not with Urban Decay! Woot! The colors in this palette are gorgeous! Check out Scrangie and her review of it.

2. This has two polishes in the picture. This is Catrice Steel My Heart and Steel My Soul polishes. These two are a "brushed metal effect" so they dry matte! I so wish that we could get Catrice polish here in the US. I love their colors and formula! Probably one of my favorite brands. But these two colors are new(er). I first fell in love with them when I saw them on Oooh, Shinies! The picture I used comes from Beauty Before Breakfast.

3. Oh? What are these lovely beautiful yummy looking things? These are Marshmallow Bits from Nuts.com And yes, they are exactly what they sound and look like. A whole bag of marshmallows like the ones in Lucky Charms! Yes please! I need these! :)

4. This is the CD that I am lusting after. It is the Civil Wars Barton Hallow. I have been listening to them on Spotify and I love them! Such a unique sound! I love groups that sound a bit different and aren't too cookie-cutter. I think I will be getting this album on payday! :)

5. Dollish Polish Legend of Zelda Duo. Oh my geeky goodness! I need these in my life. These have been on my wishlist for a while now. If I don't get them in my Christmas swap next month I am buying them myself! :) Hahaha! The two polishes are: "The Hero Of Time: Mimicking brave Links clothing, this is a clear jelly loaded with varying shades of green, brown and gold can be layered over any shade as a top coat, or can be build-able to be completely opaque. Wear this and be ready to take on an enemy of Hyrule! And the other polish is: Hylian Princess: Princess Zelda portrays both an air of regal elegance, and inner strength and intelligence and her clothing is a good representation of that. White flowing gown with accents of varying purples and a crown of gold, this polish imitates the same regal appearance and can also be worn as a top coat, or built into a stand alone opaque shade."

6.  Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner. Ok, I already have like 5 of these. But a few are drying out (had them for a while). So I need to get back ups and all the other colors! I love these eyeliners because I suck and using eyeliner and you can't mess up with these because it's glitter! And I love the extra pop of glitter it adds and I always get compliments when I wear them! :)

7. Duri Rejuvacote. This is another one that if I don't get this in my swap I am so getting. I have heard so many good things about this treatment. And I need it. My nails are becoming junk right now with the weather changing and all.

So anything you have been lusting after lately?

Guest Post Over at Ruby's Nails

Please go and check out the guest post I did over at Ruby's Nails!

Surviving Black Friday!

By the time this blog post posts (I scheduled it ahead) I will have been at work for 5 hours with 3 more to go (my timezone), and hopefully I will be surviving!

How I hate Black Friday and retail! An 11:30pm (Thanksgiving night) to 7:00am shift is icky but that's the name of the game in retail for this "wonderful" day. A bunch of crazies will be out and I get the pleasure to help them out!

So I decided to create a stressed out crazy man mani! :) I used Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat.

When I get off work I might go and hit up some shops (usually it's a bit more dead at this time). And then I'll probably go home and crash. Because I have to be up at 1:30am Saturday morning for my 3am shift!

>_< Bleh! When is the weekend over!?

Are any of you Black Friday Shoppers?

A Post of Gratitude

So I had a mani planned out, well thought out. But I couldn't find time to do one so instead I thought I would list some things that I was grateful for this Thanksgiving.

1. My freedom. This needs no explanation.
2. My family and friends.
3. My basic needs are met each and every day.
5. My health.

And more things I am thankful for:

6. You, my wonderful followers and readers.
7. Music.
8. Art.
9. Books.
10. And of course POLISH! Must not forget about the polish! :)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Wednesday Reads - Partials by Dan Wells

Wow! It's been awhile since my last Wednesday Reads (over a month!! Though I am still trudging through A Game of Thrones I have read another book (well more than one! A Games of Thrones is taking me forever!). Today's book is Partials by Dan Wells.

This book is another dystopian young adult novel. But I liked it a lot! The tag line for this book is: "The only hope for humanity isn't human".

This takes place in the future when the human race is almost extinct. A war between humans and partials are nearly wiped out the human race. During this war a virus was weaponized and released killing many humans. This virus is called RM. And it is this virus that has caused the human race to become sterile. No new babies are being born.

Located on Long Island a group of survivors try to find a cure for RM while the partials have retreated to the mainland. Kara is a medic-in-training who wants more than anything to help find this cure. She refuses to stand by while mandatory pregnancy laws have push what's left of society into a civil war.

Can she find the cure? While searching Kara unearths secrets about the partials and the human race. Secrets that have long been forgotten.

This book was a fast read and really enjoyable. Also, it has a very, in my opinion, unique storyline! There is a bit of romance, a lot of action, and some intrigue.

The sequel comes out in February, and I can't wait!

Oh I found this interesting little book video. I still think these are weird. Live action previews/commercials for books. Weird.

Swatch: Orly Preamp

This post is just a quick swatch of a lovely color. This is Orly Preamp (two coats) from the Electronica Collection that came out this Fall. I saw this polish in the store and was like, it's alright. But then I saw a bunch of swatches on the blogs I follow and fell in love!

This is a gorgeous lovely pink with gorgeous shimmer! One coat was pretty thin but two coats was just perfect! As I was wearing this color it reminded me a lot of the of the color my mother use to paint on her nails every Saturday. But the shimmer in this polish makes it a "not your mother's polish" pink! :)

Just a few sunnier shots to show some of the shimmer.

Monday Movember Mani!

November is a special month and is often called Movember by many. For the longest time I had no idea what Movember was all about. :)

According to movember.com:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember. 

Sorry for all that quoting but I felt it would be best explained by the source itself! I think it is brilliant!

So my this is my Movember Mani! I chose OPI Russian Navy Suede (because guys like blue and not super shiny right?) and Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat. I stamped using Konad Black and QA28 plate that I got from ebay. As you can see there was a little mustachio mishap. Well, things like this happen, it's all for a good cause though right? :)

Have you done a Movember Mani? Do you know any Mo Bros or Mo Sistas?

TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indie Friday - Glimmber by Erica Season's Change

Ta-daa! Guess what day it is!? Yep! Friday! And that means........TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday! And I have another wonderful creation by Glimmer by Erica called Season's Change! I had to get this in while the seasons were changing from fall to winter and I think this polish is perfect for that!

Here is a direct sun shot and just look at those deep rich colors! As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, and 1 coat. This lovely glitter top coat has brown, green, orange, yellow, and red hexes of various sizes as well as a gold micro glitter for added sparkle. Erica says she was inspired by the changing color of the leaves in the fall. I can totally see that. I also see fall colors changing into winter/Christmas colors too! So this polish works for fall and winter! Win!

Here is my TGIF Indie skittle (one coat)! (l-r) Essence Romeo (such a good base for so many polishes!), OPI Don't Talk Bach to Me, OPI Wooden Show Like to Know, and Catrice Blue Caro Ciao.

I really love this glitter. It was super easy to apply (like all her other glitters)! And the added gold micro glitter just takes this polish over the edge with gorgeous-ness!

Bottle shot and macro bottle shot of Season's Change. Soo purdy! :)

Please go over to her Facebook page here to be kept up-to date with her news.

And bookmark her etsy page here so that you can buy her polishes! :)

Don't forget to check out my partner in crime Emma's TGIF post over at Manicurity! 

Fall Haul-age!

 

So I haven't posted about my hauls in like almost 2 months! But I have been saving them up to do in a bigger post. Now, this isn't a crazy big post because I tried not to go crazy! :)

But check out my new little mascot that I found at Target! How perfect is he?! I try to get an ornament each year that represents that year and this one is perfect because of my blog! :) He is my image on my facebook page.

Ok, this isn't polish related but I had to show you this! It's hilarious! The picture on the right is how you deposit the money and retrieve it! Got to love Target! :)

First up, some new Pure Ice polishes. These are their newest lines too! (l-r) Viva Las Vegas, Grunge, Black Velour. Grunge and Black Velour are part of their Velour Finish line!

Now, you have seen most of these already on TGIF: Thank Goodness Indy Indie Friday. But I figured I should show them to you with the rest of my haul! (l-r) Glimmer by Erica Spicy Pumpkin, Glimmer by Erica Harvest Moon, Glimmer by Erica Season's Change (TGIF tomorrow!) and Lacquistry Witches Warts.

More Indies! Rainbow Polish's Star Set 2! (l-r) See CP Ohhh, B-Fett, Chewie, and Sky Walker.

Had to show you the backsides of (l-r) See CP Ohhh, B-Fett, Chewie, and Sky Walker. Can't wait to use them! :)

Some clearance shopping and then some not! China Glaze Elephant Walk, China Glaze Gothic Lolita, and OPI Don't Talk Back to Me.

More clearance! Orly Preamp and Finger Paints Sketchy Character (I heard this one stamps well. We shall see!)

Essie Power Clutch (got it in my Birchbox), Essie Recessionista (my Klout perk!) and Color Club Put a Pin In It (Birchbox). Love free (free-ish because I do pay for the Birchbox subscription) polishes!

Wet n Wild Black Creme (I found this at my Halloween store and had to grab it because I am almost out of my other bottle!) and Sally Hansen Presto Pink (I needed a stamping pink but then didn't use it for a mani. But might need a stamping pink again soon!).

 

So I was at Ulta the other day and was just browsing (had to use my $5 off $10 coupon of course!) and spotted the one new color that I think is just gorgeous! This is Orly Miss Conduct. And she is a beaut! :)

And oh my goodness...shut the front door....get out... shut up! Look what else I found at my Ulta! Holy flip! I thought these looked really pretty (a bit goth, but hey it's a vampire line so that's a given right?) but thought I'll have to pass because they'll only be available in Europe or random stores in Washington (please explain to me how they get all the cool things!?) (Hahahaha!) But nope! Good ol' Arizona had the Essence Breaking Dawn Collection! (l-r) Alice Had a Vision - Again, A Piece of Forever, Edward's Love, Jacob's Protection. Now I'm not a gold person but I had to have the complete set and at $1.99 I couldn't resist! :)

And last and certainly not least, my Vivid Lacquer VL-003 stamping plate! So excited! Look gears! Sweet steampunk gears! And bio hazard symbol and stitches and the no symbol (cross-out circle) and a target and books and so awesome! Love this nerdy/geeky plate! Can't wait to use it!

Just the cute backing of the stamping plate! :)

So that's my haulage since September. Have you had any great hauls lately?

Different Dimension Review: Part 3

Today is my final review of the Different Dimension polishes. And the ones for today are all inspired by the TV show, The Big Bang Theory! Let's get right into it! *Warning, picture heavy*

First up is Different Dimension Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. This is a light blue jelly base with white glitter, white, light blue, grey, and light green hexes throughout. And it is gorgeous! Love the color combos!

Here it is on it's own. As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. Since it is a jelly you can still see visible nail line even with 4 coats. But this polish is just gorgeous! The depth it has with all those glitters! Love! And guess what? Absolutely no issues! This glitter was born to be applied! :)

See! Look at the depth in the sun (sorry not too direct of sun, cloudy day). Everyday I kind of kick myself that I never got into this show that is so full of geeky goodness. So I know of all these quotes but don't know the stories behind them. :(

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

Sheldon: Ooh, I don't think so. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of rock-paper-scissors, players familiar with each other will tie 75 to 80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest rock-paper-scissors-lizard​-Spock.
Raj: What?
Sheldon: It's very simple. Scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock. Rock crushes lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes scissors. Scissors decapitates lizard. Lizard eats paper. Paper disproves Spock. Spock vaporizes rock. And as it always has, rock crushes scissors.

Here is the skittle for today's polishes! (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. I chose these colors as they are perfect bases for one of each of these Different Dimension polishes and I want to see how all the tinted bases would react to the different colors! :) And Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock looks great over all of them! I really love it over Essence Romeo!

Up next is Different Dimension Bazinga. This polish has a yellow jelly base with different sized yellow and red hexes, as well as little red and yellow glitter.This is a very unique polish, I have nothing else like it!

All by it's lonesome. As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. Since it is a yellow based, it does make the nail look yellow. The glitters in this polish did not like to appear regularly. But it wasn't hard to apply. Just some didn't always want to come out and play, especially the bigger red hexes. But with enough coats you get an even amount of glitters.

Here it is in the sun. A bit of highlighter yellow nail tips but other than that I think it's beautiful!

Bazinga!

Sheldon: Leonard, you may be right. It appears that Penny secretly wants you in her life in a very intimate and carnal fashion.
Leonard: You really think so?
Sheldon: Of course not. Even in my sleep-deprived state, I've managed to pull off another one of my classic pranks. BAZINGA!

And here's the skittle! (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. You can really see the yellow jelly on my middle finger which is a white base. It doesn't tinge the other too badly, so you could layer it over other colors! :)

Next up is Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty. Yes! A grey jelly! I love me some grey jellies! It is a creamy grey jelly base with tons of different sized white hex glitter, silver holographic glitter and grey glitter in different sizes!

All on it's own. As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. As you can see, the glitters were really hard to get out and apply evenly. I was really sad about this because I was really looking forward to this polish. But do not despair! So the glitters don't play nice......then you shouldn't either! It'll just take a bit more pizazz to get them on and the result with be lovely!

Just look at it in the sun, so how pretty it is especially with 4 coats! Wow! So soft! *wink wink*

"Soft kitty,
Warm kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty,
Sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr."

Here is the skittle! (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. As you can see it looks great over 3 out of the 4 polishes, but not to much over the final brown one. (which I figured). And here you can see that the larger hexes are the ones that don't like to play nice. But it is still a gorgeous polish! :)

Last up is Different Dimension Penny. This polish has a coppery base with copper and brown glitter and copper and brown hexes throughout.And it is gorgeous! It is obviously inspired by the main girl on the show, Penny.

So I couldn't get a shade and sun photo of this to work (lame weather!) but this photo show both in a way and it is still a gorgeous polish!  As always: (l-r) 4 coats, 3 coats, 2 coats, 1 coat. You could actually just stay with 2 coats and be fine! I love the random hexes throughout it gives this polish some added depth that I love!

Here is the skittle. (l-r) Essence You Belong to Me, Pure Ice Platinum Magic Base Coat, Essence Romeo, and OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know. I think it looks interesting over my index finger which is a blue base. But it looks best over my pinkie, a brown base (shocker huh!?). But I bet there are many more combos one could make with this polish. I had no issues applying this polish.

My favorite from today's polishes? So many unique polishes how to choose? But I would go with Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. The depth is unbelievable! :)

Well, that rounds up my 3-part review of Different Dimension. I would like to thank Missi for this opportunity as I have been stalking her shop for a while now and have had a lot of these on my wishlist! :)

Please go and check out her pages to be kept up-to-date!

Different Dimension etsy page
Different Dimension facebook page

*The product in this post was sent to me for review and contains my honest opinion and are completely my own opinion.*