Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal

Last night I told my boyfriend I would paint my nails orange because I wanted something bright for summer. He gave me quite the look, suggesting I was insane and then requested I paint them to match the weather. Specifically he wanted "wet asphalt" because it has been raining buckets around here, no sign of summer in sight.

The first "wet asphalt" polish that I came across was Gunmetal from Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear. There were probably better polishes to match the description, but this stood out first and I don't like to second guess my polish choices... the one thing in life I don't agonize over... Not to mention that according to a recent study too many choices can lead to stress and anxiety ;)

I did three coats, but could have probably gotten away with a careful two. It was certainly opaque by two coats...

Outside and overcast, but luckily stopped raining long enough to take some photos...

Here it is with the inspirational wet asphalt...

As you can see it is more of a metallic color as the name suggests, but it is boyfriend approved and I am loving the color today! I should have him suggest colors more often :)

Brand: Sally Hansen Collection: Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Color Name/Number: 310 Gunmetal Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mint Sorbet

I have been really attracted to pastel blue and green turquoise colors lately and Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet from the Xtreme Wear line fit the bill. It applied well and only took two coats to get even and fully opaque coverage. Before I even looked at the name I kept thinking that it reminds me of mint ice cream so the name in my opinion fits it perfectly.

This is two coats plus a top coat...

I added two coats of Pure Ice Oh Baby! (989CP) for some shimmer. The photos don't do it justice. I tried photographing it from all different angles and in different light, but no matter what I just could not capture the shimmer. Most of time the blue shimmer is visible (what you see in the photos), but in certain light you get a flash of gorgeous purple (which the camera refused to capture). Click on the photos to zoom in for a closer look.

Here is Mint Sorbet before the shimmer was added, outside (overcast)...

And with Oh Baby! added on top. Again you can click on the photos to get a closer view...

I can't stop starring at this one... loving Mint Sorbet and enjoying the added shimmer that makes it fun :)

Brand: Sally Hansen Collection: Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Color Name/Number: 340 Mint Sorbet Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Discovering Ebay..

I'm not usually someone that makes rash decisions. Just ask anyone that knows me well. I probably analyze and over-analyze every decision, much to their dismay. So what made me bid on these nail art pens on Ebay? That's right, there were no bids on it and only 30 seconds left until the end of auction... Something about that ticking red countdown that made me think "I know I'll just put $1 on in..." Guess what? After an additional $11.95 shipping, I am the proud owner of 24 nail art pens. Guess it could have been worse :)

I started to looking around to see what other nail polish supplied I could find and got a few things I'm really excited about... I got color wheels to swatch on...

Dotting tools for fun manicures like the one I did yesterday...

Brushes, some of which I have already used in my bunnies manicure...

And stickers, which I have yet to try... I got these for 65 cents for all ten! :D

Can't wait to try all of this stuff... and maybe do some more ebay shopping :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya Stephanie... Dotted...

Sometimes I just need a little change. I love having long nails, but sometime I want to cut them really short. Yes, that's right, just cut them for no reason at all. Can't even blame it on a break... instead I blame my Gemini nature that makes me bored with things easily. On the other hand it is probably this same Gemini nature that makes me love nail polish for the ability to change it as often as I want.

Whenever I have short nails I love wearing sheers. This time was no exception and I chose the lovely Zoya Stephanie which is a soft milky off white polish with a hint of pink. I applied three coats and it build up very nicely. It even surprised me by covering up most of the nail line which I did not expect it to do.

I decided to practice with my dotting tool. The outer columns are Zoya Nina and the middle column is Essence Just In Case. I really like how it came out even though some of the dots ran a bit when I added the topcoat...

I stumbled on this article named What Does Your Nail Polish Say About You? I wish I could remember who posted this link so I can give them credit... According to this "A woman who chooses off-white is classic and confident" so I guess that would be me... today... tomorrow I'll be someone else. What about you? What does your nail polish say about you?

Brand: Zoya Collection: Spa Essentials Color Name/Number: Stephanie, ZP364 Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Camphor free Vegan friendly

Thanks for looking!
Antuka :)

Sunshine Award!

The Manicured Monkey and The Nail Buff were both so very very sweet to tag me with the Sunshine Award here and here! Thanks so much for thinking of me! I'm hoping it will bring some real sunshine this way.

“The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and

creativity inspire others in the blogging world.

The Sunshine Award is given by bloggers to bloggers

 as a way to spread the bloggy love.”

Blogs that I am tagging with this...

Albinaria Nail Polishes

Ash-Lilly's Lacquer Lust

Mina's Blog

Ditch the Mittens

Ioodie Ioodie Ioodie

Notes on Nails

Dees Polish Endeavours

Frippery Digits

Lextard

Kiss my Acetone

Thanks for reading!

Anutka :)

Top 10 Award

Uni Ruxi a Paris tagged me with the Top 10 Award. Thank you so much! If you have not seen her blog yet, make sure you check it out! One of my favorites for sure :) I'm so honored to be a top ten!!!

The rules:
- Thank the person who tagged you and link to their blog
- List your top 10 cosmetics
- Choose 10 bloggers to tag, link to their blogs, and let them know

As much as I love nail polish, cosmetics is really not my thing. I wear very little of it, a bit of cover up and some eyeshadow... so don't expect too much from my top 10 :)


My top 10 cosmetics...
1. Blistex Lip Medex - will heal the worst of chapped lips
2. Yes to Carrots Day and Night Cream - makes skin incredibly smooth
3. pHisoderm facial wash - great for sensitive skin
4. AmLactin lotion
5. Clinique Superbalanced Makeup Foundation
6-10... sorry girls my list ends here, can't think of anything else I use regularly...

My Top Ten bloggers (that I have been following for a long time...)
1. The Polished Perfectionist
2. The Swatchaholic
3. Chloe's Nails
4. Beauty by Kayla Shevonne
5. Das Experiment
6. Colores de Carol
7. Let Them Have Polish
8. Ivana Thinks Pink
9. Emerald Sparkled
10. All Lacquered Up

Thanks for reading!
Anutka :)

Liebster Blog Award

Tara from Tough and Nails and Twice as Pretty tagged me with the Liebster Blog Award. Thank you so much for thinking of me! I think it is the same as the Liebster Award I got in May, but I will be more than happy to forward this on to three more deserving blogs!

My three blog picks that deserve a lot more followers than they have!!!
1. Have You Met Miss Jones?
2. Ma Petite Nail Art Blog
3. Like a Candy Shop

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

NYC Lincoln Square Lavender with Borghese Bella Berry

This manicure was inspired by a dress that my cousin wore last weekend. It is a soft mauve color with a large floral pattern. The best polish to match it in my collection was Lincoln Square Lavender. To match the pattern we chose a reverse floral stamp so the top color would be dominant and only outlines of the base color to show. She painted her nails dark and tried stamping with Lincoln Square Lavender which turned out to be too light and a bit of a mess.

The polishes still were still sitting out on my table so I decided to try to reverse them. Lincoln Square Lavender was used for the base. It is a pretty soft mauve color. Application was less than ideal. The polish was pretty thick and even though it did not pull it was difficult to get a thin even coat. I applied three coats to get a nice and even opaque color.

Outside still overcast even though it is supposedly summer...

I stamped it using Borghese Bella Berry which was also still in my table from the last post. See how lazy I am? :D The contrast of this combination turned out great. I had a few people ask me if this was the crackling polish effect and I had to explain it was a stamp. Wouldn't it be great if the crackle would split into a floral pattern? Although I will admit from a distance it is hard to tell the pattern :)

Here is the pattern on the dress which was the inspiration for this manicure. It would have been nice if the dark base/light stamping worked, but I like the reverse combination as well.

Stamping was done using Bundle Monster plate BM-225...

Brand: NYC Collection: In a New York Color Minute Color Name/Number: 264 Lincoln Square Lavender Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Free

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Borghese Bella Berry with Petites Empress

I have another Borghese to show you today. This one is called Bella Berry. It is a purple plum color with a gold micro-shimmer. I can't seem to get enough of these plums as I have quite a few in my collection! Application requires a light touch to avoid dragging, but otherwise no complaints on the formula. I used two coats plus a top coat for my manicure.

Outside overcast...

I accented it with some stamping using Petites Color Fever Empress. It is a very pale shimmery/glittery gold. It turns out a bit light in stamping. I wish it had more of the gold come through. Guess I'll be on the lookout for a nice stamping gold :)

Stamping was done using Bundle Monster plate BM-201

Overall I really like the Borghese Bella Berry. It is a definite keeper for me.

Brand: Borghese Collection: main line Color Name/Number: B196 Bella Berry Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Birthday Rush and Zoya Kelly

The last week or so just flew by in a big blur. I celebrated my birthday with a big family party at my house, so all the cleaning, shopping, prep and cooking kept me pretty busy. I did get a chance to sneak away Saturday morning before guests arrived and give myself a manicure :)

For the main color I used Zoya Kelly, which is my favorite at the moment. I stamped it with Sally Hansen Celeb City which is a glitter packed silver I absolutely love for stamping.

I apologize in advance for the awful shape of my hands and nails, but the photos were taken after the party so they were pretty beat up...

,

My inspiration for the manicure was the pattern on the top part of the dress that I wore. I think they went together pretty well...

The Bundle Monster plate BM-224 was used for the stamping...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Borghese Maraschino

I picked up a couple of Borghese polishes on sale the other day. One of them was Maraschino. It is a bright coral red. Application with this one was great. I applied two coats plus a base coat for this manicure.

Outside and overcast...

I know Borghese don't get a lot of attention in the blog world because of their old fashioned bottles and wide brushes. The shape of the bottle doesn't bother me much and the wide brush I actually like. So far I have not been disappointed in the quality of Borghese polishes.

Sorry this post is so short (or maybe you like it better this way), but I'm out the door to pick someone up from the airport for what will be a very busy weekend. I will do my best to do at least one more post before next week, but it may not happen...

Brand: Borghese Collection: main line Color Name/Number: B459 Maraschino Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free

Thanks for stopping by,
Anutka :)