Ulta Encore Pink... an Encore...

I wanted something sweet and simple this morning and Encore Pink by Ulta from their Salon Formula stood out to me. It was not until I went to write this post and Blogger happily "suggested" the title for me that I realized I already wore this as a manicure and posted about it before! Seems that Encore Pink actually demanded an encore. This time you get to see it on my shorter nails which I'm loving!

This is three coats plus a top coat...

Sad as it is, but outside the weather is not much better than it was when I swatched it in May...

Out of curiosity, which do you like better? Long or short nails?

Brand: Ulta Collection: Salon Formula Color Name/Number: Encore Pink Formaldehyde and toluene free

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Funky French with Essence Everybody's Talking About...

I love the combo of pink and black, so I updated my mani from yesterday with a little french tip. I taped the nails off with scotch tape and painted the tips using Wet and Wild Black Cream. Love the contrast on these two. The ring finger was accented with nail art stickers from Essence.

The nails go so well with the roses I got from my boyfriend last month... :D

Same as yesterday, the light box photos came out redder than the true color...

What colors do you love for a funky french?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Essence Colour & Go Everybody's Talking About...

When I had a little impromptu nail polishing fun with friends about a month ago, the biggest hit was a little bottle of Essence Colour & Go Everybody's Talking About. I had yet to try this one for myself. It is a fun, bright raspberry pink that is great for summer. I applied 2 coats plus a top coat for my manicure.

This color was a difficult one to photograph in the light box so I will start out with the photos taken outside first since they are the true color.

And the light box photos came out redder than the true color...

Brand: Essence Collection: Colour & Go Color Name/Number: Everybody's Talking About, 29 Toluene, Formaldehyde, and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free!

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Zoya's fall collection is calling my name...

For those who have been following my blog for a while, you know I have a weak spot for dark, vampy colors. One peak at my Earth Day Zoya order probably says it all. I could wear them year round and be perfectly happy. This is why I'm sooo excited for the Zoya fall collection which is filled with gorgeous deep colors!

One color I will be getting for sure is Anja! Not only does it look gorgeous, but it has my name on it! :) I use my nickname Anutka here on the blog, but officially my name is Anna. Anja (or Anya) is short for Anna in Russian. Yes, I know it is not shorter in English, but in Russian it is only 3 letters. :) Although I have always spelled mine Anya, the more common spelling is Anja, so I guess I'll forgive Zoya on this one ;)

So excited... just look at it :D

 

Photo from the Zoya blog

For more info, take a look at Zoya's blog post:
Zoya Anja - Fall Nail Polish Color Preview

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Essie Braziliant Stamped...

So maybe I'm just dreaming of warm weather, the sun, the beach... looking at my nails all day yesterday made me wish I was in Hawaii instead of home. It seemed fitting to stamp with a Hawaiian hibiscus flower pattern. Since I don't have any stamps with the traditional hibiscus flower, I settled for the closest one...

For the stamping I used Bundle Monster plate BM-221...

I was kind of disappointed in the pattern. If you click on the above photo you can zoom in to see the pattern. The flowers are aligned around the outside of the pattern and in the middle is just little leaves. When I stamped with it, most of the flowers were off my nail and I had tiny leaves front and center. Not quite what I had in mind. For the manicure I went back and filled in some of the spaces with additional leaves just so it wouldn't be bare. Next time I will try stamping individual flowers so I can place them where I want them.

Here was my inspiration and more of what I wish the pattern would look like...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Essie Braziliant...

I was recently told by a good friend that I can't pull off orange. So I dedicate this post to her ;). This is my first Essie polish. I won it in a Facebook giveaway from Essie which was even sweeter. Braziliant is a gorgeous orange with a hint of shimmer. I can see the shimmer in the bottle, but it didn't translate well onto the nail. It might be visible in direct sunshine, however, that is sadly lacking around here. It was opaque in two coats and applied great. I have two coats plus a topcoat in these photos.

Outside, overcast as usual...

I might have to agree that orange is not my color, but I still refuse to admit it :D

Brand: Essie Collection: Summer 2011 Color Name/Number: Braziliant, 857 Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Stamping surprise...

Didn't have much time this morning to redo my Rimmel Steel Grey manicure from yesterday, so I decided to just refresh it with some stamping. Plus, it has been a while since I have done any stamping at all so it was perfect. I wanted the stamping to be subtle, so I chose Petites color Capri (263). In the bottle it looks similar (to Steel Grey) taupe color with just a hint of pink. I have not used it in a long time so I thought it was a light shimmery color and completely forgot how pigmented it really is. Capri turned out to be amazing for stamping and really surprised me just how much it stood out and stole the show.

Outside, early morning sun... way earlier that I'm usually awake :)

For the stamping I used Bundle Monster Plate BM-204...

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)