Guest Post on Red Hair and Black Nail Polish...

Head on over to Red Hair and Black Nail Polish to see my very first guest post!

Thanks so much Teodora for letting me have fun with this one! :)

Anutka :)

Nail Prisms

I wanted to show you some beautiful new polishes that have made their way into my life. I won them in a contest/giveaway held by nailXchange. What made this giveaway a challenge was having to guess the names of the polishes to enter the contest. The bottles were obscured so that you couldn't see the color and had to look throughout the blog to find the answers. It was quite a fun and a great chance to see all the other amazing manicures on the blog. If you have not seen this blog before, do check it out for amazing swatches, colors, and stamping!

Can't wait to play with these! Thanks so much :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Day 23 - Inspired by a Movie

The movie I chose for the challenge inspiration is the cute animated film called Nemo. I'm sure most people have at least heard of it, if not seen it. It is about the adventure of a fish named Nemo as he tries to find his way home. I thought the colorful characters would make for a great manicure.

Index finger is a fish named Dory, followed by the most adorable baby turtle ever named Squirt on the ring finger, Nemo himself on the ring finger, and a little starfish named Peach on the pinkie... Overall I'm happy with how this turned out, although the base color for the middle finger is much darker than I had intended. It looked more fitting in the bottle :(

Here are the characters that inspired this mani if you have not seen them before... Nemo and Dory in the top row, Squirt and Peach in the bottom row.

Polishes used for this manicure:
- Index: Color Club Chelsea Girl and Almost Famous + black acrylic paint
- Middle: Picture Polish Camo, Barielle Tight Knit and Cashmere or Loose Me
- Ring: Color Club Wham! Pow! + black and white acrylic paint
- Pinkie: NYC Lincoln Square Lavender, Essence Enchanted Fairy and Everybody's Talking About

What do you think about this mani? Do you wear manis with each nail done differently?

Personally I think it would be fun to recreate each of these as a full mani... would you like to see any of them as a full manicure?

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Color Club Repackaged...

Do you recall all the Cosmetic Arts polishes I showed in my 2 month haul post? One of the polishes I got was this beautiful flakie which I have also seen on a few other blogs identified as Color Club's Covered in Diamonds from the Untamed Luxury Fall 2010 collection.  Cosmetic Arts is owned by the same parent company as Color Club so it is most likely the same polish just in a different bottle. I don't own the glitter half of that collection so I was excited to get my hands on this, but it made me wonder if any of the other Cosmetic Arts were just repackaged Color Club polishes...

Then I noticed that they most certainly are...

Here are some of the "dupes" that I got...

From the Foiled collection (left to right): Cold Metal, Lumin-icecent, Hot Like Lava, Foil Me Once

Back to Boho (l-r): Nomadic in Nude, New Bohemian, Shabby Drab, Red-Ical Gypsy

Back to Boho (l-r): Artsy Crafty, Blue-Topia, Rebel Spirit

Alter Ego (l-r): Get a Clue, Give Me a Hint, Secret Rendezvous

Untamed Luxury (l-r): Pretty in Platinum, Positively Posh, Soft as Cashmere

I'm certain that some of the other colors I got are also dupes, but I don't have their Color Club counterparts to be 100% sure. I will however be heading back to the store to return these Cosmetic Arts without even opening them. Once I return them, does that mean I can buy more nail polish? :D

I'm really curious to know what colors are actually Cosmetic Arts originals... it is really hard to tell from their promo photos... anyone have a clue?

Thanks for Looking!
Anutka

I'm in awe...

I couldn't wait to show you these stunning works of art from Laurel Roth. I fell in love the moment I saw them on Elle-Hime's blog post...

They are made up of nail polish, fake nails, barrettes, jewelry, swarowski crystal and a few other things. The result is just beyond words! Take a look for yourself on Laurel Roth's website. What I would like to know is what that shade of blue 5th row down, 7 nails from the right is... just kidding :D

Birds of Paradise (2009) stands 50" tall and 50" in diameter...

Plumage (2010) is 61" tall and 37" wide...

Regalia (2011) stand 63" tall and 40" wide...

Make sure you visit Laurel Roth's website to see the rest of the amazing birds!

What do you think? I would love the see these in person... I think they would look perfect in my imaginary mansion :D

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Dr.'s Remedy - Jolly & Joy Collection - Part 2

The glitters make up the second half of Dr.'s Remedy Jolly & Joy collection this holiday. Both of the polishes are full coverage glitters with a foil feel to them. They dry a bit rough and need a nice layer of a thick topcoat (or possibly two with a thinner topcoat). Both are gorgeous and right on trend with all the other foils and glitters this season. Just right to bring a little sparkle to the holidays.

Serene Silver Glitter - This is a complicated mostly silver glitter with some red, pink, and baby blue thrown into the mix. Application was great and I got full coverage in two coats. In my opinion this is the star of the whole Jolly & Joy collection. It was the first one I pulled out of the package and fell for it instantly. Make sure you click on the images to zoom-in for the details...

This is two coats with a topcoat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dr.'s Remedy Collection: Jolly & Joy Color Name/Number: Serene Silver Glitter Number of coats: 2 Top Coat:Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Enriched with: Tea Tree Oil, Vitamins C and E, Wheat Protein

Resolution Red Glitter - This is a mix of pink and silver glitter creating a beautiful soft pink. Application was flawless with full coverage after just two coats. The polish itself is very shiny, but as with most glitters I had a very difficult time capturing the shine on camera for both of them. Not sure if it is me (most likely) or the camera at fault.

This is two coats with a top coat... again, you can click on the images for a larger view of the details...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dr.'s Remedy Collection: Jolly & Joy Color Name/Number: Resolution Red Glitter Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: Yes Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Enriched with: Tea Tree Oil, Vitamins C and E, Wheat Protein

As you can see, the glitters still look a bit rough even after a thick topcoat. They are not nearly as rough to the touch as they look, but probably could have benefited from a second layer of top coat. I also recently saw this post from the girl over at I Drink Nail Polish suggesting to use a base coat on top of the glitter first and then apply the topcoat. The base coat is supposed to do a better job at filling in all the gaps and ridges than a topcoat. I have not tried this myself yet, but next time for sure... have any of you tried this technique? Are you a glitter fan? If so, how do you tame your glitter manis?

Also, I should mention that the removal process for these two was much easier than other glitters I have tried. This is a huge plus for me since I usually shy away from glitters due to the pending removal process. I was pleasantly surprised with these polishes, making them very wearable for me.

** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Dr.'s Remedy polishes are available at www.remedynails.com. You can also like them on facebook or follow them on twitter for more information.

Free shipping and price special on Essential Emerald, and both of the glitters until 11/18/11.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

Dr.'s Remedy - Jolly & Joy Collection - Part 1

Today I have for you the three shimmers from Dr.'s Remedy Jolly & Joy collection. I'm really loving this brand so far. Not only are the colors gorgeous, but they are also good for the nails. They are all B3F and enriched with good stuff such as Tea Tree Oil and garlic bulb extract which have anti-fungal properties. Perfect for pedicures? They also contain vitamins C and E along with wheat protein for healthier nails.

Revive Ruby Red - A darkened red with a beautiful golden copper shimmer. It has a very classy holiday look to it. Not a unique color in my collection, but one of my favorites. In the bottle it looks a lot like Zoya's Isla with a dash of coppery shimmer. It applied well despite the brush being a dud. My sad little brush is about 1/4 of the size of the rest of Dr.'s Remedy brushes so I'm pretty sure it was just my luck :)

Two coats with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dr.'s Remedy Collection: Jolly & Joy Color Name/Number: Revive Ruby Red Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Enriched with: Tea Tree Oil, Vitamins, Wheat Protein

Passion Purple - A plum shimmer that applied beautifully in two easy coats. Just like the rest of the shimmers in this collection, it is shiny enough that I chose to skip the topcoat all together. This is probably my favorite from the shimmer half of the collection.

This is two coats with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dr.'s Remedy Collection: Jolly & Joy Color Name/Number: Passion Purple Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Enriched with: Tea Tree Oil, Vitamins, Wheat Protein

Essential Emerald - This is unique in my collection since I don't have too many greens. A lovely emerald with a silver shimmer throughout. Applied well with full coverage in two coats. Making me start think of all the evergreens and holiday trees which will be appearing before we know it.

This is two coats with no top coat...

Swatch Details
	Brand: Dr.'s Remedy Collection: Jolly & Joy Color Name/Number: Essential Emerald Number of coats: 2 Top Coat: No Free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) Enriched with: Tea Tree Oil, Vitamins, Wheat Protein

Since the collection is called Jolly & Joy, do you think the shimmers are the Jolly or the Joy part of the name? :)

Stay tuned for swatches of the glitter half of the collection tomorrow...

** These polishes were provided to me for review by the manufacturer or their PR. For more information please see the disclosure policy **

Dr.'s Remedy polishes are available at www.remedynails.com. You can also like them on facebook or follow them on twitter for more information.

Free shipping and price special on Essential Emerald, and both of the glitters until 11/18/11.

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)