My Favorite Things: February

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: Probably Catrice ACid/DC. Catrice polish is just amazing. The formula is fabulous! Plus they have fun catchy names! :) Oh how can you go wrong with this amazing color?

favorite new (UNtried) polish: China Glaze Budding Romance from the Avant Garden Collection. A beautiful ugly green! Yes please!

favorite new (tried) indie polish: Slick Lacquer A Wink and a Nod. Wow is this polish just amazingly gorgeous. And the formula is perfection!

favorite new collection: Probably the Zoya PixieDust Collection. Even though I don't own any....yet. And I am really shocked because I usually don't like Zoya, but I am super excited for these! :)

favorite manicure you did this month: I would have to say my ampersand mani for The Digit-al Does Does Love and Heartbreak using Slick Lacquer A Wink and a Nod. I love the memory of the story I told and I am so happy with how it turned out.

Plus my little black strappy dress I created for The Digit-al Dozen Does Love and Heartbreak. My first tape mani that I actually love! :)

And I couldn't just leave it at two! I love my remake of my peacock mani I did for my relaxed 31 Day Challenge. :)

favorite new technique or tip: creating your own nail decals with your polish a head of time on page protectors! Love this and it works great! I have more control over the polish and it's all at the right angle! :)

favorite new makeup item: I would have to Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer in Rose Gold. I got this (sample size) in my Birchbox a few months back but have only recently started using it. And I love the shimmer and brightness it adds!

favorite TV show right now: Well, The Amazing Race started back up this month! Woot! Woot! I love this show! A new favorite show is: Cult. Only seen one episode so far but I am already hooked! Anyone else watch it?

currently reading: Eona by Allison Goodman. Won't tell you much on it, saving it for a Wednesday's Reads. But it is the sequel to Eon. And it is very interesting. Plus I am still plunking through A Game of Thrones (will I ever finish it? Who knows!?)



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:

Indie Month: Day 4 - A England Tristam

Day 4 of Indie Month brings you this gem of A England: Tristam. Tristam is part of the Mythicals Collection is absolutely stunning! A deep rich blue with scattered holo and shimmer! Yes please!

Here is one coat of Tristam. Pretty much a one-coater. There are a few thinner spots but could pass as a one coat. And you know what that means? Less polish used and more saved to use later! Woot! Woot!

Two coats of Tristam. Holy cramolly! Why have I never used this polish until now!?!?! Dang! This is just stunning! The formula? Couldn't ask for anything better! It's like buttah! Smooth and perfect! And just check out that shine! This is without a top coat! Wow!

You can see the scattered holo better in this photo. Isn't this color just gorgeous? I'm usually not a huge blue fan, but I can change, pretty flexible when you have a polish like this! Dang. :)

This polish is unique in my collection and it will be worshiped properly, I promise! :)

This polish is a regular for A England. But sadly it is from across the pond (England, duh!) and the Royal Mail is being silly right now. So you cannot order directly from A England right now. :(

But! You can order A England polishes from: Ninja Polish and Llarowe! Thank you ladies! (that is until their supply is gone, sad.)

Here is A England's official site.
Don't forget to check out the A England Facebook page to be up-to-date!

Indie Month: Day 3 - Hare Polish Asteroid Turf

Day 3 of Indie Month brings you Hare Polish: Asteroid Turf. This is my first and only (so far!) Hare Polish. It is a gorgeous green jelly with purple/fuchsia glitter. Squee! It is so gorgeous! And I love the labels on the bottle! How cute and so perfect!

This is two coats of Asteroid Turf (just a base coat underneath) and there is some visible nail line on a few of my nails because the coats were a bit thinner. So how is the formula? Wonderful! No issues what so ever! And I love how vibrant the glitter stays!

 

So, I had some issues trying to capture this mani. My camera kept wiggin' out and couldn't focus! I guess that means it is a stunningly fabulous polish, right? :) It is the perfect spring-y polish! Can't believe I have waited so long to wear it! Silly me!

This polish is totally unique in my collection. Granted I could attempted to make a jelly sandwich using similar polishes but I don't think it would be this vibrant or fabulous!

I am not sure if this polish is still available. It is from last year's collection Planet: Springtime!

Here is a link to Hare Polish's etsy shop.

And don't forget to check out Hare Polish's Facebook page to be kept up-to-date!

Indie Month: Day 2 - All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Dark

Day 2 of my Indie Month brings you All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Dark. Boy is this pretty hard to photograph while in the bottle! Haha! :)

Here is one coat of Spotty Dottie Dark over two coats of Milani White on the Spot. Again, just like Spotty Dottie Light that I should you yesterday, no issues! A little sparse on the bar glitter, but I am alright with that because bar glitter isn't my favorite. :)

Two coats of Spotty Dottie Dark, definitely a top coat! :) So much fun! Reminds me of a dalmatian!

I have one other black full black glitter in my collection but this one is a hundreds better because the application is fabulous and the bottle is jammed pack with glitter!

This polish is still available at her etsy store: All That Glitters for $8.00

Don't forget to check out her Facebook page: All That Glitters to be kept up-to-date!

Indie Month: Day 1 - All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Light

Welcome to a month of Indies! Woot! A Girl and Her Polish gave me this idea. Yes, I do TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Fridays but I have way too many Indies to just keep it to Fridays. And since I keep buying more Indies I thought this would be a good idea so I can keep TGIF for new Indies! :)So these Indies that I am featuring are ones I've had for a while and have not been featured in TGIF. So let's get it started!

 

 

Today I am featuring All That Glitters: Spotty Dottie Light. This is one of the first Indies I have ever bought!

Here is one coat of Spotty Dottie Light over two coats of Finger Paints Black Expressionism. This bottle is jammed pack with glitter! So awesome! I didn't have any real issues with this polish. A few glitter placement while applying but I don't consider that a real issue.

This is two coats of Spotty Dottie Light. As you can tell, this is definitely a top coat. :)

Love this polish. It is unique in my collection and is really the only true all white glitter I have! :)

This polish is still available at her etsy store: All That Glitters for $8.00

Don't forget to check out her Facebook page: All That Glitters to be kept up-to-date!

TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indie Friday: Elixir Lacquer Double D-Struction

It's Friday and you know what that means! TGIF: Thank Goodness, Indy Indie Friday! Today I have a brand that I haven't tried before: Elixir Lacquer. And today's polish is Double D-Struction. This is part of the Roller Derby Ruckus Collection. I just had to have at least one from this collection because a few Halloween's ago some of us at work dressed up as Roller Derby players! :)

Here is one coat of Double D-Struction over two coats of OPI Skull & Glossbones. I really wanted a base color that would make the teal really pop. And look at that teal micro glitter! This polish is made up of teal, brown, and bronze glitters. There are some big teal glitters as you can see in the bottle there but for this coat they didn't want to come out and play. :(

Here is two coats of Double D-Struction. Now you see the teal (I promise they are more teal in real life!) glitters. I had to fish these out, but it wasn't too hard to do. And even if I didn't get them out, the rest of it is still really pretty! Other than the big glitter problem (which is not unusual for big glitters) I had no issues with this polish. It's super shiny!

I decided to make it into a jelly sandwich and I love it! I applied one coat of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu. I couldn't decide which sheer/jelly to use but ended up with Don't Touch My Tutu because I didn't want to lose the beautiful color of Elixir Lacquer Double D-Struction. I love how it looks in the jelly sandwich!

Here is a bottle shot of Elixir Lacquer's Double D-Struction. Super pretty!

Elixir Lacquer is available at their shop here.
Check out Elixir Lacquer's Facebook page here to be kept up to date!

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

Because I know you were curious to my costume! My name for the day was Kamikaze Kirsten! I never fell either! Oh yeah! :)

January and February's Haul and a ton of Catrice!

First off, these have my old watermark. I edited these awhile back, sorry! :)

Today's post is my January Haul! And I am so excited for these pretties here! Catrice! Yes! I so wish these were available here in the US. You have already seen some of these being used in my posts. But I thought I would show you the whole haul! :)

 I got these from Jewli over at Fanning the Fumes. Thank you Jewli! So, at the top we have a polish that isn't Catrice but Essence Aquarius. Then we have Catrice No Snow Petrol, Big City Life San Francisco. On the bottom we have: Catrice Greys Kelly, Put Lavender on Agenda, Purpleized, Steel My Heart, How I Matt Your Mother, and Steel My Soul.

Oops! This little guy was forgotten and came later in the mail. See! Not all of them were purple and teal! :) This is Catrice ACid/DC

Up next is the rest of my haul!

Here we have China Glaze Angel Wings and Glistening Snow. Thank you Sally's clearance sale! Woot!

The minis of the OPI So So Skullicious. Hi Pumpkin, A-Rose from the Dead, Mourning Glory, and Candlelight. Nothing too special about these I just liked some of the colors and the packaging is fun! Got this from Ulta.

Here we have OPI Thanks a Windmillon. This was not on sale but I had a coupon and saw so many swatches lately of it that I knew I needed it! Then we have OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. Debbie over at The Crumpet swears by this polish, so I got it for clearance at Ulta! :) Next we have a cute little Orly Velvet Rope. He was clearance at Sallys and just too cute to pass up!

This is China Glaze Def Defying and Recycle. I got these from my beauty supply store I go to! Cheaper prices rock! :)

Also from my beauty supply store some Sation polishes! Feliz Navi-Doll a grey shimmer! Shyest Shade, similar to China Glaze Snowglobe. And 3 Freedom, a light taupe.

Some amazing Indies! Pretty & Polished Steampunk. Needed it for the name and the colors! Gorgeous! Next to it is Hit Polish Like, Gag Me With Glitter. I won this little gorgeous guy because I won the naming contest! Yep I named this one! To me it looked like all the colors of the '80s so valley speak was a must! Like, gag me with glitter! :)

 

I finally got the new Cheeky set that came out last year!

And finally a part of my Christmas present from my sister! Nailz Craze NC03 plate! It took awhile to get here with some paypal issues but Natalie (the owner and creator) was very awesome and understanding! Fabulous customer service! I love this plate and can't wait to use it! :)

So that was just January. Up next is February!

These are all from Ulta Clearance! L'Oreal Tweet Me, look at those flakies and shimmer! Next we have OPI Get In The Expresso Lane and Essie Little Brown Dress. I am told these are great for stamping! Finally we have OPI Don't Touch My Tutu. 

Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime, Sally Hansen Gone Grey, and Revlon Iconic. More stamping polishes! And then a beautiful Essence Oh My Glitter!

Some Indies? Yes please! I came across this lovely polish Beyond the Goblin City by The Lady Varnishes. I had to get it because it's based on The Labyrinth! Next to is Glimmer by Erica Cherry Blossom and Elixir Lacquer Double D-Struction.

Back shot off:  Beyond the Goblin City by The Lady Varnishes, Glimmer by Erica Cherry Blossom, and Elixir Lacquer Double D-Struction.

Here is Slick Lacquer A Wink and a Nod. Gorgeous!

Dandy Nails! Here we have Chilled Down, Bound to Fall, and Like Disco Lemonade. Like Disco Lemonade I got in a swap from Elizabeth from NailPolish Is My Crack.

Side shots of  Dandy Nails: Chilled Down, Bound to Fall, and Like Disco Lemonade.

Some new Sation polishes! Oh My Oceania and Ego-Friendly.

China Glaze Budding Romance, Snap My Dragon, and Joy.

OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons and Unfor-Greta-Bly Blue.

I also got this China Glaze for super duper cheap but I don't know it's name!

Here is a swatch of it. What the heck? It's like textured. Did someone franken it at the supply store? I have no idea? Do any of you?

Nail decals from RLR Creations Nail Art.

A butt-load  of owl decals! I got these from ebay!

Whew! That's it! Now to catalog and put them all away! :)

Wednesday Reads: Matched by Ally Condie

Welcome to the first Wednesday Reads of 2013! Wow, half way through February and just doing my first of these. :) But at least I've read quite a few books that I can review!

Today we have Matched by Ally Condie. This is the first book in the trilogy, followed by Crossed and then Reached. This book takes place in a dystopian society (yep another one!) in which the Society controls everything about you. What you eat, what you wear, where you work, and even who you love.

When Cassia reaches the age to be Matched she goes to the ceremony expecting to see a stranger in the screen when her name is called but instead her best friend is her match! She couldn't be happier! It is rare for two people to know each other before being matched. But when she goes home that night to view Xander's micro card another face flashes on the screen before being replaced by Xander. A glitch? The Society never makes a mistake. But why was she shown someone else? Someone she also knows, Ky. Cassia must now choose between what the Society wants for her, Xander; and what her hearts wants, Ky.

Join Cassia, Xander, and Ky as they soon discover that the Society might now be all it claims to be.

I really liked this book. It was a bit slow to begin with because I kept wondering why their society was like this. What happened to the world to make it like this. I have read this one and the second book (Crossed) and still don't know the answer to that. I am hoping the third book will fill me in.

But it is a very interesting concept. People don't die of disease anymore, you have your death date planned with a party and all your close friends around and you just die when you reach 80. You are watched and in a way matched as well to a job in which you are best suited. The Society controls everything down to the food and nutrients in your food (designed specifically for you). It's a very strict society that no one questions, at least not openly.

The love triangle is interesting because there are times in which you don't know who you want Cassia to end up with. Yes, it is a youth book, so some of it is a bit cheesy, but I kind of like cheese!

Have you read this book? Did you like it?