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Sunday, April 29, 2012

A England Order of the Garter

     When A England was having a sale a few weeks back, I knew I had to get a couple of polishes from The Legends Collection. The Legends is A England's second nail polish collection, the first being The Mythicals. Adina Bodana, A England's creator, has created another gorgeous mix of polishes, and Order of the Garter is one of them.
     This is the story Adina has based The Legends Collection on:

     The epic tale of St. George and the dragon is shrouded in much mystery, but at its core it is a tale of incredible bravery and honour. The story begins with a prosperous kingdom, a king and his lovely daughter, and a tyrannical dragon that terrorizes the land unless he is appeased by a sacrificial maiden. In the name of fairness, the king devised a lottery system where the names of all eligible girls are added; It was a terrible day when the king drew his own daughter's name to be sacrificed, the pure of heart Princess Sabra, but she faced her fate stoically. Along came the sainted knight George, and upon viewing the doomed maiden tied to a tree, took it upon himself to challenge and ultimately slay the dragon, thereby freeing the land from its thrall and restoring peace to the kingdom.  (Source)

     To see the complete collection swatched, and to read a more in-depth take on the story behind the collection, I highly recommend checking out Fashion Polish's blog about The Legends here.

     According to A England's website, Order of the Garter is:


     Known as England's highest order of chivalry and knighthood, The Order was founded on April 23rd, 1344 by King Edward III, with present day new members continuing to be ordained on April 23rd. Named for the garters that St. George tied around his men's legs during the crusades, their motto is "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" which translates to "Shame Upon Him Who Thinks Evil Upon It".


     Now that you know the background of the story behind Order of the Garter, let's look at some swatches of it! 











     
     Order of the Garter is a gorgeous royal blue with glass flecks that just shimmer in the sunlight! The polish is just beautiful, and while it does not look like an over-the-top, completely unique shade, it definitely stands out in my collection of blues. The first coat was sheer, but the second coat made it opaque. I really love this color. I am excited to have tried out my first A England polish, and I can't wait to try out more. 
     What do you think of Order of the Garter and the story behind The Legends Collection? You can purchase A England polish at a-england.co.uk with free worldwide shipping. 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

OPI Meep-Meep-Meep

     TGIF!...well, almost. :) Thursday is close enough. Which is why I'm going to show you a polish that is glass-fleck gorgeous, and, honestly, it's really a shame I haven't show you this polish sooner.
     OPI Meep-Meep-Meep was a polish from the OPI The Muppets Collection Holiday 2011.  Meep-Meep-Meep is a saturated fuchsia-red glass-fleck shimmer, and it really needs to be seen in person to appreciate its beauty. The glass-flecks shift from pink to gold, and this polish is perfect if you're wanting some glitz 'n glam, but still want it to be subtle. Meep-Meep-Meep is not a completely unique color in OPI's previous collections, as it looks really similar to Let Me Entertain You from the previous year's holiday collection, but it's beautiful nonetheless.
     Check out the pictures below:






     What do you think about Meep-Meep-Meep? Thanks for reading! 

 

Better Late Than Never...Easter Manicure :)

     Hi, everyone! Today I'm showing you a manicure that I should have posted about three weeks ago...My Easter Manicure! lol I was going to post it for Easter, but, things got busy and, well, life got in the way. :)
     I mainly used polishes from the China Glaze Electro Pop collection, my paintbrushes, dotting tool, and some acrylic paint. These nails are supposed to look like Easter eggs.


 My left hand:


My right hand:


     This is just a quick post since I took pictures of my Easter manicure. What do you think? What did you wear on your nails for Easter?
 

Monday, April 23, 2012

China Glaze Wicked Style

     How is everyone's Monday so far? Mine was pretty good; I feel like I got a lot done (ahem..laundry lol). Today I'm going to show you a polish from the China Glaze Electropop Spring 2012 collection - Wicked Style.
     Wicked Style is a creme polish, and it definitely looked more pink in the bottle than it did on my nails. On my nails, Wicked Style leaned more towards a coral/red  than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I loved this color! I used two coats in the photos below. Wicked Style is just a happy color, and it is great for summer!




     You can find China Glaze polish at Sally Beauty Supply, Ulta, and Head2ToeBeauty.com. What do you think of Wicked Style?

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Finger Paints Grape Gumball

     Hey, everyone! It's been awhile since I've posted on here, so today I'm showing you one of my favorite Spring polishes so far this year!
     Finger Paints Grape Gumball is a polish from the Finger Paints 2012 Gumdrops and Lollipops collection. Grape Gumball was one of only two polishes I bought from this collection, the other being Pop Rock Pink, which I reviewed here.
    Grape Gumball applied wonderfully in two coats, and is a blue-ish purple, otherwise known as a "blurple," with visible shimmer. The shimmer really makes this polish unique. I really really loved this polish! I definitely recommend stopping by a Sally Beauty Supply or Ulta to see if you can still find Grape Gumball.
     Check out the photos below!




     What do you think about Grape Gumball?

Saturday, April 7, 2012

OPI Jade is the New Black

     So, I went into a JCPenney Salon the other day to look for the OPI New York Ballet collection, and instead found some clearanced OPI that I didn't have. They didn't have the OPI Ballet collection, which was strange since that salon normally has the collections once they are released. However, I was happy with what I found!
     OPI Jade is the New Black was originally released in 2010 as part of the OPI Hong Kong collection. It is a muted, dusty green that applies well with two coats. Greens like these are just really lovely because they are unique enough to stray from the norm without being, "Whoa! Your nails are blinding!" I also feel like greens like these are sophisticated and chic because they are so understatedly unique.
     Needless to say, I love this color, and my mom loves this color. (Thanks, Mom for being my hand model!)
     Check out the photos below...




Sunday, April 1, 2012

Easter Polka-Dot Nails!

     Who is ready for Spring? Or should I say Summer? I don't know about you, but the weather today is hot, hot, and more hot. Although, there does seem to be a nice breeze.
     A week from today is Easter, and I've had a Spring/skittles manicure with white polka-dots in my head for some time now, and what better time to do it than now? So, I've got a lovely Easter Polka-Dotted Manicure to show you today! Now onto the polish...


     Spring pastels are so beautiful went joined together. I went a little wild at Walgreens the other day; they had a ton of new Sinful Colors polish in Spring colors, so here is their debut. I used the following nail polish for my Easter/Spring manicure:

 These colors complement each other so well!

     Since Cosmetic Arts doesn't name their polish, I only took a picture of the Sinful Colors names. Listed from left to right are: Morning Star, Sweet Dreams, Pink Forever, and Firefly.

     I only used two coats of polish for every color, with the exception of Firefly, in which I had to use three coats because of streaking. Every polish is a shimmer except for the Cosmetic Arts and Pink Forever, which are cremes.
     After I painted each nail with the polish, I applied Poshe fast-drying top coat. After that dried, I then used my dotting tool I bought at Sephora and white acrylic paint for the white polka-dots. I then finished with another coat of Poshe.


     I really like how this manicure came out, and it was super-easy to do; it just takes some time. What do you think? Are you in the mood for a Spring/Easter manicure?