Lacquer Link Love

Tuli shows us some super sweet and very pretty manicure ideas in honour of the Passover holiday.

Konadomania gives us some animal magic with a ggggggreat OPI Dim Sum Plum konadicure.

Check out Naive Nails modeling an all time classic China Glaze - such a QT!

Brooke traveled from Hong Kong to Japan for her latest manicure! Check out her Konad design with OPI Red My Fortune Cookie and KOH Black Stars.

Warning – if you click here, you will create a new lemming with this amazing mermaid shimmer shown by Perfect10 Beauty. She also brings news on a bargain matte topcoat.

Evil Angel does Cute! Check here to see her brilliant Cute As Hell Konad extravaganza!

The Swatchaholic keeps us craving softer shades with some amazing shots of Illamasqua's new pastel collection.

Cucumpear shows off some striking nail art with a cool mix of gloss on matte.

Head on over to Polish on Digital Paper to remember your childhood with the cutest Care Bear themed nail art.

Moncoinamoua gets her hands on the ones everyone’s been waiting for. Click here to see her amazing swatches of OPI’s new Shrek collection, and be prepared to fall accidentally in love with them.

You’re the one that I want! Helen shows off her Pink Lady credentials with a fab fuschia from Models Own.

Sasha shows off her BFF Best Boyfriend over at Manicure Mommas.

Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

Good Morning!
For the next few days, I will be showing you my final haul from Mexico. Which brings me good memories because, hello Oregon rain! I am so missing the sun right now...
When I was at La Isla shopping center in Cancun, I noticed they had a Del Sol store. I about left Matt and my sister in the dust because I practically ran there. I've been wanting them for so long!

Island Fever
Two coats, no base or top indoors

Island Fever is a snazzy, pale almost minty green ducochrome that flashes blue. Had no issues with formula and this is a B3F, by the by. Dry time is pretty good. Holy hell is this sheer though. It could make for a cool French as is but I do not think I would want to wear it as such. (Again, I live in Oregon. Sun isn't really rare as much as it is weak.) This is way better layered. Until...

Two coats, no base or top in sun

When the sun is shining strong, you get a really cool bluish-purple duochrome. The label on the top shows it turning a darker green but I say definitely not. It doesn't appear as sheer and I'm certain VNL would not show if more coats are applied. Rather, VNL will not show once this baby is exposed to the UV, yo.

This was really fun to play with. I still need to layer it over something more opaque and see what happens. Which will probably be forever and a day because it's supposed to rain the entire month of March. (I exaggerate. But I am really tired of having to wear my way too extremely large rain gear.) 

You don't have to go to Cancun to buy some Del Sol polish, (though I highly recommend it!) you can buy it online.  It is pricey at $10 a bottle but they are running a buy 3 get 1 free deal right now. 

That does it for me. It's been an extremely challenging week at work (I thought about eating some faces off but I resisted the urge.) and this is my Friday. I think I earned my weekend!

Have a pleasant day and I hope the sun will shine for you!

Might Just Take Your Life

Good morning friends!

Today I'm bringing you another gem I picked up in Mexico. In a most surprising place, no less!

Maybelline Colorama in Frambuesa

Two coats, no base or top in full sun

According to Google Translate, the color is actually Raspberry. My Spanish is simply terrible so I can't say for sure. So, if any Spanish speaking readers can confirm or deny, please do so!

This is a glorious red jelly with the perfect liquid consistency. It's not too thick or thin and doesn't run all over the place. When I first wore this, I applied my usual three coats and it covered my VNL. The dry time on this was exceptional. I did this is the hotel within an hour and then went straight to bed. I woke up with no sheet marks or smudges.

This wore really well considering I went snorkeling the next day and then played on the beach later in the day.

It didn't actually chip until the long ass trek to home!

My pictures don't do it justice because it's actually more of deep, blood red. But my camera really picked up all of the sunlight! I'm really picky over reds but this one is a killer and I'm so glad I got it.

Natural indoor light same application as above.

The shine on this is insane!

So, where is the surprising place I picked it up? Walmart. Yes, there is a Walmart in Cancun. I was just enraptured by the regional brands and I did not have enough time to pick out some more. (Matt was tired, sunburned and not up for me and my sister wandering the store.) I did pick a couple but they were gifts, so...yeah. Anyway, I will be going back next year and I will definitely buy lots more!

Before I go, let me leave you with a picture we took last year of the best way to get around Cancun if you want to go shopping.

The bus ride itself is a crazy experience. I was actually excited to ride again. They drive fast, make abrupt lane changes and you better move fast to hop on to pick it up! It was teh awesome.


So that does it for me today. Matt will be home tonight and I am going to be catching up on my cuddling with him. Have a terrific Friday and a great weekend!

Lamby Takes a Field Trip (PICTURE HEAVY)

Good morning friends!
Yesterday was simply gorgeous and I felt inspired, so I brought my camera with me when I went on my bike ride. I love living in Oregon and I wanted to share a little taste of my hometown with you. Eugene is a very bike friendly town and we have a lot of bike paths that wind through riverfront parks. It certainly makes for a gorgeous view on your way to work!

Island Park

Many of the parks in the area face the Willamette River and have lots of geese and ducks hanging out.

Fishing on the bridge.

Willamette River

It stretches from Portland to Eugene and forks to the coast and the Cascade Mountain Range.

Autzen Stadium

This is where Duck football is played.

Right next to it is PK Park, home to Duck baseball.

Matt and I like to ride our bikes on this trail to go to games.

Pre's Trail named for Steve Prefontaine

Running is a big deal here. I prefer to run only if I have to. Like, from zombies.

Map of the trail with a bit of history.

Leaving the trail to Franklin Boulevard takes you to the University of Oregon. It's a beautiful campus with great buildings and a hell of a lot of history. I love wandering through campus and I still discover something new each time.

The entrance from Franklin Boulevard

U of O is the second oldest college in the state, opening in 1876. Our mascot is the Oregon Duck, more specifically, Donald Duck. No kidding.

Villard Hall seen from Franklin Boulevard

It's the second oldest building on campus and home to the theater program.

Historic Hayward Field

This is where the "Track Town USA" nickname comes from.

It was originally the football stadium until Autzen was built in 1967.

The 2012 Track and Field Olympic trials will be held here.

Mac Court, home to Duck basketball.

This is the final season of play as the university is building a new site.

Across the street from Mac Court is this:

Eugene Pioneer Cemetery.

Yes, there is a cemetery in the athletic area. I love the juxtaposition.

This is the second oldest cemetery in Eugene.

Back on Franklin Boulevard, we come to this.

This is Matthew Knight Arena which is slated to open in 2011.

It is ginormous. 

After this, I decided to pick up my nail polish purchases and then head home. I hit the trail again and got the opportunity to take some pictures of some really interesting things along the path.

 Two way tunnel because yes, you do get "traffic" along the trail.

There was great graffiti inside the tunnel.

Agreed.

This is my favorite. I say it's definitely art

. There was even a comment box next to it.

I love this.

How often do you find the graffiti interpretation of "The Persistence of Memory?"

This just cracked me up. It reads, "Malt Licker Drank."

Fly fishing in the Willamette.

Happy Lamb after an exhilarating ride.

It was just a wonderful day and the weather was perfect. Thanks for coming along with me! If you enjoyed it, I may post more pictures sometime. I live in a great place and I'm so proud to share it with you.

Hope the day finds you well and I will return later on with actual nail polish posts!

Todas As Ruas Do Amor

Good afternoon, friends!

I've had such a wonderful day! It has been sunny and gorgeous so I took the opportunity to go for a great bike ride. I of course scored some new nail polish but I'll show you that another time. For now, I just want to share a song that fits my mood today.
This is Portugal's entry from last year's Eurovision Song Contest. The title, as I understand it, means "All The Streets Of Love." (Correct me if I'm wrong, friends from Portugal!) It's just a sweet sounding song and it makes me smile.



Sending warmth and smiles your way!

Mystery Box

Good day, friends!

When I was at Walgreens last week, I decided to take the plunge and pick up one of those Sally Hansen party pack jobbies. What I kind of like about these things is the completely random assortment of stuff. Sometimes the polishes included are meh to downright vom. I have heard before that some people have found some rare gems...well, so have I!

Let's move on to to pics of what polishes were inside. Except for two of them because I absolutely hated them. However, I knew my niece would love them so they went into her get well soon care package.

Black Patent Leather

Two coats, no base in sun

This was such a pleasant surprise! This is a ridiculously glossy black. The first coat is a wee bit sheer but the second makes it fully opaque. Application was easy and dry time was surprisingly quick. This nearly unseats my favorite black it's that great.

Champagne Diamond

Two coats, no base in sun

I actually fell in love with this and that was shocking. It's a "mom" color, no doubt. But the sparkles are so pretty! This was a seriously runny formula and application is super tricky because the brush holds a lot of color on it. I will use this for layering but I suppose it could be really nice for a French mani. 

HONEYDEW!!!

Three coats, no base in sun

Oh hells yes! It's one of the elusive Tracy Reese colors from Spring 2009. These NEVER showed up in my area when they came out. I wanted Honeydew in the worst way and I figured I would just have to buy it off ebay. Surprise, surprise! Now, I just need to find Night Hydrangea...

Application was easy enough. Three coats is necessary for opacity but the dry time is excellent. I love the shimmer in this and that it isn't too frosty. I am so in love with this, it is a stunner! I look forward to Konading over it and even trying it as a snazzy layering effect.

It's just so satisfying to fulfill a longing like that and better yet when it comes as a complete surprise.

What lemming have you fulfilled lately? Did it live up to your expectations?

That does it today. Matt and his mom have left today for Dallas, TX for a combination business trip (Matt) and to visit family (Mom and Matt). So that means I'm riding my bike home from work tonight and I have to hunt down all of my nighttime riding gear before work. 

Thank you for coming by and I hope you all have a great day!

La Isla killed me

Good morning friends!
Today I'm showing you one of my finds from Mexico. I picked up this nail polish at a store called Kloom in La Isla Shopping Village. My best understanding is that this shop is like Claire's with a little bit of Spencer's thrown in. You can get jewelry, bags and makeup there as well as items bearing the image of your favorite wrestler. So, you see what I mean.
Anyway. I spied the nail polish almost immediately and had to have some. It was only 20 pesos, which roughly came to about $1.40 US. (Depending on exchange rate which is VERY GOOD at La Isla.)

Both items are unnamed but gorgeous!

Idyl nail polish Metallic Blue

Two coats, no base in sun

Idyl nail polish Neon Orange

Three coats, no base in sun

Index and middle have top coat

Both polishes are non B3F. And they smell terrible. The blue polish has a thick formula with a weird brush but still applied really well. The orange was thinner in consistency and spread nicely on the nail. Both dried super quick. I really love both even though I'm really picky about metallic blues. The blue just has amazing glow and depth. The orange is hot and I needed a good neon orange for my stash.

I had to do some layering with the blue because I wanted to see some different finishes.

On index is Out The Door Northern Lights top coat

Middle has Sinful Coco Diamond

Ring has a layer of China Glaze Matte Magic

Pinkie has a layer of regular Out The Door top coat

(You really should click to make bigger!)

Coco Diamond looks amazing over it and I love how the matte top coat changes the texture but keeps the glow! I could have so much fun layering so many other things over this but I decided to rein myself in for a change!

That will do it for me today. I have a big day at work today and am still sorting through my vacation pictures to show mom and dad tomorrow night. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and the weather will be nice for you! (The weather has been lovely here. We took a motorcycle ride last night and Matt's taking me to work on the bike today!)

"No worries, for sure, my friends!"

Constant Craving

Good morning!
So, back in February, Matt sold his old coaching dvds on ebay and he made himself a nifty little profit. He treated himself to some new golf stuff and bought me my fauxnad plates. Then, he let me run wild and buy a ton of polish and I managed to score one of my most major lemmings. I speak, of course, of OPI Man of La Mancha.

Three coats, no base in full sun

Man of La Mancha is simply gorgeous. You know how I adore duochromes! Is it red? Is it orange? Does it flash pink? Does it flash gold? Yes to all depending only on the light. This is one of my dream polish colors.

It's everything I would want DS Treasure to be. And I love Treasure. 

This is a non B3F and old brush number but it applies like a dream. It's thin and a wee bit watery but it does not pool in the cuticles and doesn't drag along the nail. Dry time was pretty decent. It's still dentable after thirty minutes but good to go in sixty. 

Stunning!

Yes, I have lawn flamingoes. I adore them.

I am just beyond thrilled to have this polish. I was apprehensive to buy it off ebay but I had a great experience with the seller. Her store can be found here: http://stores.ebay.com/polishgalorevintagestore

I suggest you check it out because she has some great stuff!

That's going to do it for now. I'm back at work and pretty excited to see my friends. I hope they like their presents!  

Have a happy Friday, guys!

Paradise nails

Pic spam! Pic spam!

Sinful Colors Fashion Neon under water

I'm breaking my word about feet here BUT

we totally had the best pedis in Cancun!

My sister is on left wearing Zoya Talullah.

I'm on right wearing Orly Sol Cabana topped with China Glaze Dreamsicle

Surprise layering combo shown in the gardens at the cenote on the way to Chichen Itza.

I will be revealing both colors used in an upcoming post.

I'm not kidding when I say that me and my sister had the best pedis. We saw lots of red, pink, coral and French pedis with a couple of champagne hues thrown in. BORING! The best we saw (besides us) were two girls who sported neon pink and neon orange respectively. The moral of the story? We won. As usual. ;)

Back on the chain gang

Good day, my friends!

It's official. I'm home and my vacation is over. I had an amazing time in Cancun. We went snorkeling and we visited Chichen Itza which was awe inspiring and beautiful. Matt and I took hundreds of pictures which we are still sorting through and posting. I will be posting some here and there as we go through them all.

I have so much going on and so much to share.
First and most importantly, my nephew, T.J., had to have his appendix out yesterday. Poor little guy! He was totally brave and came through surgery well. He was so good, he was asking to watch t.v. as soon as he was brought to his room.
I called him this morning and his pain is less and he is ready to eat. He's also really excited about the toy that the hospital had waiting for him in his room. So it's all good but it broke my heart to have my best lil' buddy sick and in pain.

I have major posts coming because I hauled big in Mexico as well as at home. Like I could drop off disposable cameras at Walgreens and not buy polish! Ha!

Please bear with me as I try to get back to business. I start back to work tomorrow and we are getting ready for the annual inspection and the summer switch so I am gonna be BUSY. So I leave you with our newest catchphrases courtesy of our awesome Chichen Itza tour guide, Hugo.

"No worries for sure, my friend. You know what I mean?"
"Don't talk to the strange people. Let's vamanos."

Have a glorious day and I will return later on.

We have a winner!

Good evening, loves!

As promised, I am announcing a winner for my giveaway!

Voting was pretty tight for both mini contests but ultimately, only one emerged in both polls. That person was:

Danielle!!

Danielle is the creative mind behind Polished Fierce. She has won both prize packages and will also get a little something from my trip to Mexico. 

I'm very grateful to all who entered and everyone who voted. Thanksfor playing!

I'm off to catch a nap and get back up at around 2:30 a.m. I'll see you all when I come back from vacation!

I Fly Above...

Good morning, loves!

Today I'm bringing you a fauxnad look I did with all of my latest haul as well as a new favorite for stamping.

All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Base is Orly Snowcone

The footprints are stamped with Orly Foil FX Rage

Middle finger is stamped with China Glaze Grape Pop

Pinkie is sporting Zoya Dita with a dot of Art Club gold glitter

Thumb has China Glaze Four Leaf Clover mixed with Art Club white

I just NOW realized that the bird stamp is placed on the finger in which one would flip the "bird." Dude, I am so out of it! (I do crack myself up. Just listen to me try and sing along to Hall and Oates' "Maneater" when I try and replace the chorus to anteater or plant eater. Oh yeah, I am so fun to hang around.)

Anyway...I'm thrilled to bits with Orly yet again. Rage is freaking gorgeous and applies so beautifully! (Oh hells yes, I applied that to my nails before doing this. I had to!)

Snowcone is very similar to Zoya Yummy but I really need to post a side by side comparison for you.

My only complaint with Snowcone was it's thickness. My right nails looked uneven and full of drag marks. The good news is that Out the Door evened it out perfectly. Of course the dry time is the best. Which is one of the reasons why Orly is by far my most favorite brand. 

I am in love with my new China Glazes and can't wait to wear them as a full mani. Four Leaf Clover may end up as a St. Patrick's Day mani especially since my sister just bought me really cute four leaf clover decals.

That is all for me. It's time to get ready for my last full day of work. Tomorrow I have to get up hella early to clean, iron some of my clothes for the trip and then attend a store meeting with the CEO. Somewhere in there I need to give my sister a pedi and give myself both a pedi and mani. Most importantly, tomorrow night I will be chilling in a hotel room in Portland and I will be announcing the winners of my giveaway! I am so looking forward to that!

Until tomorrow, my friends!

Let me take you far away, you'd like a holiday...

Good morning, loves!
I'm checking in to give you a little bit of an update.

My best friend is doing better. Went to her dad's funeral and it was a very nice service. It was just heartbreaking because I just wanted to give her a giant hug and take away all of her hurt. It left me in a bit of a funk because I hurt for her and you just can't help but remember those who have gone on before.
But my girl is able to talk about all the good times she shared with her dad and her heart will mend.
Guys, I just cannot explain well enough how much I love this woman. She is just so lovely. I hope you all have a friend like her. But knowing you all, you are that person to your friends. ;)

Tomorrow will be the last day to vote for bike names and manicures. I've been so delighted to see the voting so far. I can't wait to announce the winners on March 10! Don't forget that the winners will also be receiving a small gift from Cancun in their prize package! ;)

I will be leaving on Thursday for vacation and I will be checking in periodically on Twitter. If you want to follow me, you can click on the link under my Twitter feed on the right sidebar. I'm so excited for this trip and boy, do I need it!

Before I leave you today, I'd like to give you at least one nail polish picture. (Sadly, not of my latest China Glaze and Orly additions. Not yet anyway because I have some plans for that!)

These are my latest layering experiments:

From left to right:

Nina Ultra Pro Molten Opal

OPI Paris Couture For Sure

OPI Man of La Mancha

Wet n' Wild Wild Orchid

All layered over Wet n' Wild Black Creme

I know I will totally be layering MoLaM over black again. It is amazing. Now I just need to swatch it properly for you because it was one of my top 10 lemmings and I'm so happy to have it.

That's going to do for now. It's time to get ready for work.
I hope you all have a great day!

You are loved.

To my lovely friends here, my promise to you.

Dancing with tears in my eyes

Good morning loves!

Today I'm showing you another layered look I have done.

Two coats of Orly Purple Velvet matte over Nailtek Foundation II

Topped with two coats of Wet n' Wild Wild Orchid

and two coats of Out the Door Northern Lights top coat

Wild Orchid is a polish I found at my grocery store for 59 cents a few weeks back. I was just so excited because it was such a pretty purple with sweet holo glitter. I tried wearing it by itself but it was a big disappointment. It was so streaky! I knew it would be a layering item for me.

I'm not so pleased with this only because I was having some issues. I sustained a major ding on my left index finger last Friday when I was processing books. Even Nailtek can't seem to fill that crevice in! Arrgh.

Thus, it made Purple Velvet difficult to apply properly and then messed with Wild Orchid. I just have to wait for it to grow out and I hate that.

Oooh, a rainbow!

My other complaint about this is that Wild Orchid just didn't have as much holo as I wanted. Or it does but it has the similar brush stroke issue most metallics have. You can see brush strokes on this because of how the glitter spreads on the nail. Oh noes! Bummer.

That is why I decided to bling it up even more by using Northern Lights. That helped immensely. 

Overall, it's a nice looking mani and I got a lot of compliments on it. However, it's hard to be enthusiastic when you know the challenges and difficulties that went into it. Boo.

That's all for my nail polish biz for now. I leave you with one happy thing and one sad thing.

Happy: My best friend from high school has discovered the good times that is Konad. I'm so excited to have something like that to share with someone  IRL! She says she will be posting pics on Facebook but maybe I can convince her to share on one of her blogs. ;)

Sad: My bestie, Sugar Mama,  lost her father the other night. He had been ill for some time and she knew it was coming but she is devastated. So I kept away for a day to give her some comfort and it also felt weird talking about nail polish when she was hurting. My disappearing could happen again because I will drop everything if she says she needs me.You have no idea how much I love that woman. She is one of the loveliest people I have ever had the privilege to meet.

I hope you all have a lovely day and please remember to tell someone that you love them. I love you all!