HOLIDAY MANI: My "Gold Bell" Polish + Gradient + Stamping =

Check out this glitter gradient holiday mani I did. 

It was inspired by My Nail Graffiti. I saw her post with this particular Milani gold polish and I needed it! Both the polish, and the mani! She does the most elegant and simple nail designs. She's one of my favorite bloggers for sure. 

To start this mani, I used 2 coats of my very own "Gold Bell" polish. 

For my next step, I sponged Milani "Gold" Jewel FX polish on my tips and accent nail. Jewel FX polishes are a pain in the a**. I find that sponging gives you more control over where the glitter goes and also makes it lay flat, since this chunky polish likes to stick up all over the place. 

My last step was to add a simple white bell to the accent nail. 

"Gold Bell" polish is from my recent holiday line and is currently sold out. 

Stay tuned to my ETSY STORE and my social media sites for updates. 

So what do you think of this "bling-y" holiday mani? 

MANICURE TIME!: My Friends' Nails

So I'm sure a few of you may have noticed that my weekly nail/night posts haven't been on here. I've been busy getting things ready for the holidays with my family and have had to put the activity on the backburner, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten my friends. They still stop over all the time and every now and again I paint nails. Here's the ones I did this week:

Kim's Nails

Deja's Nails

Michelle's Nails

So what do you think of these manis? Which one is your favorite? 

A Polish Swap From My Friend Jacki

I recently did a swap with Jacki from Adventures in Acetone. Here's what she sent me: 

These are two matte finish polishes from the Born Pretty Store: 

 I have been looking for more stamping polishes, namely orange, both of these Milani polishes work great! I tried them! 

 Lastly, she sent this gorgeous periwinkle shade of China Glaze. I've been hunting blues lately and this is a perfect purple-blue shade. 

So what do you think of this swap package?? She also sent candy, but my kids can't see candy without stealing it from me. So it didn't make it into the photo.  :) 

Ooops.......my way too expensive haul!!! PIC HEAVY

So this was my haul from CVS and Cosmo Prof Beauty supply. Okay..so I went a little overboard: but it's income tax time. I gotta live a little right??? Plus I got some good deals. I mean...the total doesn't look all that pretty, but I had a lot of fun picking stuff out with my friend Lindsay the nail tech. I'm sure she thought I was nuts. :) 

I completed my line of Milani 3D Holographic Polishes

HD, 3D, HI TECH, CYBERSPACE, DIGITAL, HI RES (previously owned)

2 coats, no flash

With flash

Outdoors

I've been hunting a neon set for while and I love this. It's the Summer 2010 China Glaze Poolside Collection

POOL PARTY, FLIP FLOP FANTASY, SUN WORSHIPER, YELLOW POLKA DOT BIKINI, KIWI COOL-ADA, TOWEL BOY TOY

2 coats without flash-Yay!! They're matte finish!!! 

With Flash

I completed my set of Revlon Metallics

Gold Coin, Copper Penny, Silver Dollar (previously owned)

2 coats without flash

2 coats with flash

I picked up a few polishes from the Spoiled line of Wet n Wild Polishes

Toad-ally Amazing, Jewelry Heist

2 coats without flash- I was so impressed with the green. It's a shimmery-creme polish and I can't wait to wear it. 

with flash

I also got these cool CND package duo sets. There were just these 4 available and something told me I should pick them up and see if any of my polish junkie friends wanted them. And sure enough, two of them are being sent to my friend Jacki. I hope she loves them as much as I do. They really are such cute sets and I love the colors. 

Red Hot- includes Just Red and Red Sparkle

2 coats no flash

With flash

Silver & Gold Sparkling Effects: Includes Silver Sparkling Effect and Gold Sparkling Effect

2 coats without flash: these are so much better in person. They are so shimmery and have the smallest glitter particles I've ever seen. The silver is like a shimmery white sparkle. The gold is a super fine gold holo top coat. Amazing!!! 

With flash- compare the gold glitter particles to the red ones on the right They are so much smaller. This is micro-glitter for sure! 

I needed some new nippers. These were pretty cheap too. I also got some oil for my nail beds, an awesome cuticle spoon and a new foot file so I can start getting at my winter-worn feet. 

And these were FREE SAMPLES!!! Woooohooooo!!!!! I love FREE!!!

And my very first bottle of AvoJuice! It was on clearance for like $3. I had to try it. 

OH NOEZ!!!!!!! 

Needless to say I'm grounded from polish shopping for a bit. I will buy my Helmer and I think I'm good for a while. We'll see though. I know I'll be a sucker with all the summer polish comes out. :)