Blogs of Note

It's the day after Christmas - I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!

First today is Candy Coated Tips.  Jackie has medium length nails and also makes jewelry!  She has quite a bit of OPI which I love to see all the colors since I really got into polish "late" and don't own a lot of the great colors like the DS series.

Next is Chromatic Misadventures.  Claudia posts a large variety of brands and colors but I think she does post always in her house and not outdoors, which can lead to a bit of color discrepancy.  She has medium nails and was featured as a Top 50 Nail Blog by SpaBeautySchools.com

Last today is Cindy Blogs Nails.  Cindy has medium to short nails and blogs a mix of swatches and nail art.

Enjoy!

Christmas Manicure

Water marble before scrubbing clean up

I really went all out this year on my manicure.  Looking back, I think I needed to stick with one product line of colors - not sure... it was crazy fun to create but also super time consuming.


I started out with a base coat of Seche Natural.  Next I added one coat of China Glaze Cheers To You.  I did several test runs of what base color would look best and the silver in Cheers To You seemed to really make the colors pop.  Next I did a water marble of Zoya Edyta and Zoya Kym.  I did 3 drops of Edyta and 2 drops of Kym for each nail.  Because both are glitter nail polishes, you have to be careful with the way that the polish disperses in the water.  I did not actually swirl the polish because it kept falling apart when I did that, so I just went straight down with my nails in the best possible spot.  To keep my hands (semi) clean, I used petroleum jelly all over my nails down the joint but even then you can see I needed some clean up.  I finally ended with a topping of ManGlaze Matte-Astrophe Clear Matte Top Coat to give it a nice satin look.  Only problem with the matte was that it chipped a tiny bit in some places.


I did have issues with both my pinkies.  On my left hand, I just let it be, but on my right hand, I cheated and just laid down a base coat of Kym and added some swipes of Edyta.


Here's my left hand in the sun and then the shade.  The sun made the matte top coat look non-existent, but it was there.  I did the manicure on Thursday morning and just took all these pictures on Christmas Day, so it lasted a good while.

Next is my right hand, sun and then shade.  You can see how I cheated on the pinkie. 

Yay!  Water marbling checked marked off my list!

Merry Christmas!

Man have I been a slacker this month!  The holidays are always weird for me.


But I have this ridiculously excited renewed sense for the New Year!  The best part was hearing that my cousin is as into nail polish as I am (HI KAREN!) and it just reminded me why I love blogging.


Things to come here on Polish Galore:
-Pulling a new winner from my 500+ Followers Giveaway
-Holding my one year blogging Giveaway
-Pulling the winner of my Apothica Giveaway
-Having my Urban Decay Pigments Giveaway
-Loads and loads of nail polish!
-Posting my eyeshadow and pigments collection (TBA, I have more nail polish to review).


Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, Happy Holidays to all, and LOTS OF LOVE from me!

Ginger Kitty Designs - Giveaway!

I've been thinking about promoting other blog giveaways - just so you know what else is going on in the blogging world.  Kind of like a weekly "Blogs of Note" ... the idea isn't unique by any means - Concrete and Nail Polish routinely has a post on Mondays about giveaways (check out the one from December 20th).


So I'm blogging today about Ginger Kitty Designs because she's having her first giveaway - a beautiful necklace made from the super rare, hard to find, Essie Starry Starry Night nail polish.

Image from GingerKittyDesigns

Now SSN (as it's called) was before my nail polish time (that is, before I became interested in nail polish) but just look how beautiful that is!  I own 4 sets of Ginger Kitty Design earrings and I absolutely love them all (must review later!).


To enter this giveaway, please click here or on the banner below to be taken to her blog.  Good luck to all!

China Glaze Tronica

Photo courtesy of China Glaze

Have you seen Tron yet?!  I saw it in 3D on Saturday night for my birthday and even though I didn't see the original, I LOVED this version.


So imagine how freaking excited I was when I heard that China Glaze is coming out with 6 holographic polishes in March/April 2011?!  They will only be available at Sally's Beauty Supply, so make sure to go out and get a membership card! (You don't need one to buy from the store, but it gives you a discount on the polishes).  They look pretty similar to the OMG! Collection but I won't know until I get them... because blogger samples are limited I'm not guaranteed to be able to review but you KNOW I'll be buying ^_^  The only thing I wonder is the promo picture looks like it has 8 colors, not 6... I'll see what I can find about that one.  :)


UPDATE!  There will be TWELVE colors in this collection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Techno Teal – Turquoise Holographic
Virtual Violet – Violet Holographic
Electra Magenta – Magenta Holographic
Gamer Glam – Purple Holographic
High Def - Blue Holographic
Hologram - Silver Holographic
Hyper Haute – Raspberry Holographic
3D Fantasy – Peachy Pink Holographic
Digital Dawn – Dusty Rose Holographic
Cyberspace – Taupe Holographic
Mega Bite – Gold Holographic
Laser Lime – Lime Green Holographic

Urban Decay is on HauteLook!

Starting today and ending Wednesday 12/22, Urban Decay will be sold on HauteLook*!  I had put my link on the Urban Decay Facebook fan page and so far 17 people signed up using my referral link and purchasing something, so I decided to turn around and put my credits to good use.  I'm buying all 12 pigments (something that I already owned and loved) and will be having a blog giveaway soon - only requirements will be following PolishGalore via GFC and I'll give away extra entries via Twitter.  I hope to have this all organized by the first of the year... shipping for the pigments is the second week of January so I won't receive the prizes before then.  Thank you again to all who signed up under my link!


*The HauteLook link is an affiliate link.  If you sign up using this link and purchase any item, I will receive a $10 HauteLook credit for your first purchase only.


12:00 pm CST Update: I've purchased three sets of pigments, so currently there will be 3 winners that will all receive 12 pigments.  :)

Blogs of Note

YO!  It's my 27th birthday!  Also it's Sunday which means it's that time again!

First today is Blue Tape and Nail Tips.  Owner Cyan has long nails and features a lot of nail art, mostly used with Blue Painters Tape!  She includes a very detailed step-by-step write up of her nail art which is wonderful because you can create it for yourself.  There are also regular nail swatches available as well.

Next up is Body and Soul.  Owner Mary has been includes both makeup and nail swatches on her blog and hosts a monthly contest for some amazing prizes.  She gets a lot of nail wheel information first due to her contacts at Victoria's Nail Supply.  She has short to medium nails and provides accurate color swatches. 

Last today is Bring on the Bling.  Owner Velvet (yes, that's her real middle name) also features both makeup and nail polish and has short nails.  She includes a good number of pictures so you can see the polishes in different lights and angles.

Enjoy!

China Glaze Kaleidoscope and OMG! Collections

I'm constantly looking for little online beauty stores that carry some older holographic polishes that I own and love... today while randomly browsing, I can across M Beauty Lounge.  Now, I know NOTHING about this company - how they are with shipping, or anything else.  I'm also not being paid to write this post.


Unfortunately, the supplies are limited but here is the link for the Kaleidoscope collection and the link for the OMG! collection.


If anyone does purchase from M Beauty Lounge or know anything about them, please let me know in the comments section!

China Glaze Peace on Earth

I must say, I still have a love hate relationship with green nail polish.  Ever since my nails stained one time because of the yellow dye in the polish, I've been pretty terrified of the light greens.  Peace on Earth from the China Glaze winter 2010 'Tis The Season collection falls in that category of light greens for me.


I used a base of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Peace on Earth, and a top of Seche Vite.  I can thankfully say I had zero staining (thank you Seche Natural!) but the formula was slightly streaky.

So I'm back to nubbins.  :(  I ended up breaking more nails and got fed up with glue and just cut them all off.  I always hate starting back with nubbins but I must say it makes typing SO much easier.  In the un, you can see that this is almost an Army olive green from the old days - not this new Army green like in the BDUs (which I don't think they even call it that anymore!).

In the shade the color is a little more muted - almost like Zombie Zest without the glitter (or orange...)  It is a nice Christmas like color that I think would be AMAZING with some Konad.  I'm really wanting to break out my Konad lately - not sure what's going on in my head because I don't have the most steady hand or very good patience.  

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Simply Bags

Not too long ago, a beauty company asked what you keep your makeup in - and I was surprised at the number of people who still use Caboodles (myself included), but carrying a makeup train isn't always feasible, especially for my nail polish which is always too tall for my cases.  The other thing I never got was anything with MY name on it - which is Krystal, not Crystal, not Kristel, Kristal, Chrystal, or whatever other variation... apparently it was popular in the early 80s.  So when I was given the opportunity for a pair of Embroidered Cosmetic Bags ($17.99), I jumped at the chance.  :)

The iPhone wasn't included, I've just added it to show size.  I think the thing that I really enjoy is that this company, Simply Bags, is owned by a husband and wife.  I'm a sucker for helping small businesses and for buying homemade products.  The large makeup bag measures 12" wide x 7" high x 3" and the medium bag measures 10" wide x 6" high.  You can have your bag monogrammed or embroidered with any name 10 characters or less in either fuchsia, kiwi (as shown) or red thread on the large bag only.  I do feel the pattern is a little too bold for embroidering but as you can see on their website, they have many different types to choose from.

Both bags are lined with a fuchsia satin easy clean interior, have a zipper closure and a small loop handle.

The medium bag held 6 bags of China Glaze polish upright without any problems (which was great for me).  With Christmas coming up in just 10 days, this would be a great gift for someone in your life.


In case you're wondering, "gidget" is my nickname from my radio personality days. ^_^


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Happy Holidays from Urban Decay!

I've never been in a real food fight - closest thing was when I was in middle school but I kept out of it for fear of creamed corn and mashed potatoes.  Not a good look in your hair.  Urban Decay is releasing a bunch of amazing products for their 15th Anniversary next year - check out this hilariously awesome video from their company party the other day.

CSN #4 Giveaway Winner!

I had a total of 50 valid entries for my fourth $40 CSN Giveaway and again used my iPhone AppBox Pro app to randomly select a winner!

Congrats to Chantal!  I have emailed you for confirmation and need to hear back within one week or I will draw a new winner.  Thanks to all!

Migi Nail Art Winner!

Again, I apologize for the delay in drawing a winner.  I had a total of 142 valid entries and used my awesome iPhone AppBox Pro application to randomly choose a winner.

Congrats to Throuthehaze!  I've sent you an email to get your mailing address.  Please reply within one week or I will draw a new winner.

Nicole by OPI Festive Fingers Giveaway

I'm so sorry for posting this late - I've been in the clouds lately.

Please click to view larger

The contest ends this Friday, so hurry over to their Facebook page and get your submissions in!

Ginger + Liz Sale

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As I said, I haven't had a chance to grab some Ginger + Liz, but today sounds like a good day!  From 11 am until 11 pm EST, you can get 40% off your purchases.  Check them out!

Blogs of Note

Happy Sunday!  Oh look, 3 more blogs for you!

First today is Babbling Brooke.  Brooke has long nails and features many different brands and colors.  She also is a big supporter of animals which makes her awesome and posts other items from time to time like recipes or nature pictures she's taken.


Next is BeautyJudy.  Judy's nails range from short to medium and she also sometimes features make up looks as well as her nails.


Last today is Black Nail Polish and Lip Gloss.  Owner "Evil Angel" also owns the line "Evil Shades Cosmetics".  She has super long nails and even frankens some of her polishes.  She was named one of the Top 50 Blogs.

Enjoy!

Have you Zoya Spooned yet?

Zoya Jade

Have you Zoya spooned yet?  Do you have a collection growing?  I currently have 58 spoons and now Zoya is giving their continental US friends the option to spoon for free this coming Friday!

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So make sure that this Friday, you've cleared your schedule to jump online and spoon a little with Zoya!

China Glaze Contacts

By far, I have more China Glaze nail polish than any other brand.  One of the things I love is how connected China Glaze is, and I just wanted to make sure you're also socially aware of the ways you can be apart of their online community!  ESPECIALLY BECAUSE TODAY THEY POSTED AWESOME NEWS!


First, you can join their Twitter.
Next, be sure you Like them on Facebook.
And finally, check out their blog where you can get some REALLY AWESOME NEWS!  (Hint: 6)


Get it!  Got it?  GOOD!

Ginger + Liz Spring 2011 Colours

While I haven't tried any of their polishes, I have had my eye on one of their holographic looking top coats.  Please enjoy the following press release from Ginger + Liz

Ginger + Liz announce the release of their new “Control Top” cap + Spring 2011 colours

Fans of “Swagger”, Ginger + Liz’s popular rose gold foil nail lacquer, will be happy to welcome the new Spring 2011 colour “Prima Donna” into her collection. “Prima Donna” is inspired by the feminine yet edgy looks from New York Fashion Week’s Spring 2011 runway shows. A sister colour to “Swagger”, “Prima Donna” is a crisp pink metallic with lavender undertones that is perfect marriage of classy and sassy.

Also included in the Spring 2011 collection is “I’m So Over Him”, a rich violet crème that makes the transition from winter darks to spring brights an easy one. The best way to get over an old crush is to get a new love.  Kick old drab colours to the curb and fall in love with Ginger + Liz’s “I’m So Over Him”.  This shade is perfect for the fashionable Classic Luxe, Bohemian Babe, Rock Glam, and Casual Chic looks.

Ginger + Liz will also be introducing their new “Control Top” cap this coming Spring.  The “Control Top” cap further enhances the G+L experience with its comfortable smooth grip feel. “Attention to detail is very important to our brand and we’re elated to introduce a new feature to our bottle,” says co-creator Liz Pickett.

“Prima Donna” and “I’m So Over Him” will be available for presale on www.gingerandliz.com on February 14, 2011 and at select retail outlets starting February 21, 2011.

About Ginger + Liz Colour Collection™ - Ginger + Liz Colour Collection™ is the new buzzworthy brand of vegan-friendly and toxin-free nail lacquer with a growing legion of fashionista and celebrity fans alike. Ginger + Liz was created by model/author S. Liz Pickett and entrepreneur H. Ginger Johnson. Ginger and Liz have a decade of individually unique experiences in the fashion, beauty, and marketing industries that coupled with their insatiable love for fashion and beauty led to the development of the Ginger + Liz Colour Collection™.

Ginger + Liz provide small ticket luxury cosmetic products to increasingly discerning beauty buffs that are predominately influenced by fashion, arts, travel, and entertainment. The G+L lover spans the trends and ages. She represents the Classic Luxe and Casual Chic, the Rock Glam and Bohemian, the Girly and the Pretty Prepster. Her nail lacquer often represents her lifestyle and personality and she is pleased to let her nails do the talking for her. From chic to street, prep school to public school, office to party…Ginger + Liz has your nails covered!

Migi Nail Art Update

Well I never did hear back from the Migi Nail Art rep, so I'm trying to verify Facebook entries on my own but I'll probably just end up giving those credit who said they "Liked" Facebook since I don't have access to the entire Fans list on Facebook.  (Security and Privacy feature of Facebook - didn't use to be like that.)


I'm sorry for the delay in choosing a winner but it will be done today and I will be mailing the prize out as soon as I get confirmation from the winner.  ^_^

butter London on HauteLook!

Starting today and ending on Friday morning, the nail polish line butter London is on sale for $5 (normally $14) on HauteLook!  I may have to make my first butter purchase considering that I've never seen it for sale anywhere near me.


*The HauteLook link is an affiliate link.  If you sign up using this link and purchase any item on HauteLook, I will receive a $10 HauteLook credit for your first purchase only.

China Glaze Peppermint Cuticle Oil

As apart of the Tis The Season to be Naughty and Nice winter 2010 collection, China Glaze also came out with a Peppermint Cuticle Oil available in a full sized frosted glass bottle (0.5 Fl oz) and a mini clear glass bottle (0.375 Fl oz).  The full sized bottle was available in the Merry Mint Set whereas the mini bottles I found at Sally's Beauty Supply for around $3.99

Here is my rarely seen, right hand.  You can see that my cuticles are a bit of a mess (this picture is about a month old as it is).

Back to my left hand - I just liberally painted the cuticles with the oil.  The oil makes the bottle brush a little stiffer than normal.  As you can see, the oil has seeped under my ring nail especially but it didn't dye my nail red, it just looks redder.

Then I just massaged my nails with the oil so that it was all rubbed in.  The smell is great - not terribly sweet like I was afraid of.  I normally don't like the smell of peppermint but this was just the right of fragrance and far enough away from my nose being on my hands, unlike a piece of gum or hard candy.


I have not seen the oil online with TransDesign or Head2ToeBeauty but it may be sold out.  It is still selling on Sally Beauty Supply here.  I can't wait until the holidays are over and I'm going to see if I can stock up on this stuff on sale like I did with the Matte Magic mini bottles.

Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale!

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One of the few things I love more than nail polish, is eyeshadow.  If China Glaze was my nail polish obsession, Urban Decay is by far my eyeshadow obsession.  I'm in love with their primer potions, shadow palettes and even their eyeliner - which I NEVER wore before I found the 24/7 Eyeliners.  Now, unfortunately, you cannot use the discount on the popular Book of Shadows III, Naked palette, Zero or Bourbon 24/7 eyeliners which works great for me since I already own all those.  If you're new to UD, I suggest you try one of the Primer Potions or one of the other palettes such as the Vegan palette that's shown - which includes a small Zero pencil in it.  (WIN!)


Also, I have a little poll for you!  It's pretty straight forward - I have a large collection of eyeshadow (Urban Decay and Kat Von D) as well as some eye liners (Urban Decay) and some lip products (Kat Von D, MAC, NARS).  The reason I blog is to share!  It's no where near as fun when you're just keeping your collections to yourself.  So, would you be interested in seeing what else I have hiding?  This poll is completely anonymous, so don't worry about hurting my feelings.  :)

Would you like to see some makeup swatches on... » ProProfs Polls
Tags : makeup

Blogs of Note

Happy Sunday!  I have 3 more blogs for you today!

First up is All You Desire.  One of the few bloggers that swatches with a black background, she has medium squared nails and great cuticles.  She has a lot of purple/blue/greens in her collection and also does some Konad as well.  She does live in the Czech Republic but gets a lot of the US products in a very timely manner to swatch.


Next is Also Knows As.  Blog owner Kellie is one of my favorites and I'm really proud of how well her blog has grown.  She has a variety of nail lengths from nubbins to long but always includes large pictures of her swatches for great polish accuracy.


Last today is Another Nail Blog.  Her nails also vary from nubbins to long and has good color accurate pictures.  She also makes some frankens!


Enjoy!

Essence Black & White

I've always loved the classic black and white in fashion.  It's elegant and timeless at the same time.  Please enjoy the following press release from Essence.

essence trend edition “black & white”

Introducing one of the most popular trends from the international catwalks: the black & white look! In all combinations, shapes and patterns and, above all, for your make-up! From January to February 2011, essence begins the year with the awesome “black & white" trend edition – a breathtaking range of products that provide extraordinary styles with just two colors! Graphical designs and contrasting black and white shades give every look that extra special touch for a guaranteed trendy start to the year!


essence black & white nail polish
Neither matt nor glossy – these new black & white nail polishes have a soft touch effect! No matter whether you go for black or white – it’s sure to give your black & white styling that extra special touch. 

Black Out

White Hype

essence black & white top coat
Exciting, unusual, different: totally black & white à la essence! The top coat with a white holographic appearance gives your nails a special look. An absolute must-have in white for extra extravagance this winter! 

White Holo

essence black & white nail fashion sticker
Now you can conjure the popular cracked look to your nails faster and easier than ever before! Absolutely no waiting times and guaranteed to be error-free – simply select your favorite image, stick onto clean nail and file into shape using the nail file.

Envy My Nails

Paralyzed

essence black & white nail fashion file

Create the ultimate nail design in just a few seconds: The nail fashion file in a gorgeous black and white design is an essential accessory for perfect nails! It files the nail fashion stickers to the desired length in an instant to complete your amazing black & white look.

China Glaze How About A Tumble

Mmmm old school goodness - I decided to wear China Glaze How About A Tumble to go out in.  Oh please polish companies, make some holographic polishes for 2011!


How About A Tumble is from the Kaleidoscope collection and is a light purple holographic polish that looks like glitter but isn't one (yay)!  I used a base of Seche Natural, three coats of How About A Tumble and no top coat.  Dry time on this is super fast - less than 5 minutes.  I wish I had some sun pictures for you, but these are all indoors under "Natural" 6500K white lighting.

I also grabbed one flash picture for you.

Oh how I do love this color.  It is currently discontinued but sometimes you can get lucky in your local dusty salon or on eBay.

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Nicole by OPI Love Your Life

I am a sucker for hearts and stars, so when I saw this bottle of Nicole by OPI Love Your Life, I knew it had to be mine.  It's a clear base with rainbow sparkles and pink flat glitter hearts.  I used a base coat of OPI Natural Nail Base Coat, three coats of Love Your Life which included fishing out the hearts with the side of the brush, and a top coat of Seche Vite.


I'm thinking in the future, it might be easier to use an orange stick or dotting tool to get the hearts out and place it onto my nail as opposed to attempting to brush the hearts on my nail with the brush.

I tried to get about 2 hearts per nail but it wasn't easy.

So you can see the glitter a bit better, I put 1 coat of Love your Life over CND Blackjack while getting as many hearts as I possibly could onto my brush.

I can't wait to use the heart glitter during Valentine's but it is a bit of work to get them and place them on the nail.


Nicole by OPI is available beginning at ULTA, Meijer, Harmon, HEB, Sears, Wal-Mart and more for around $8 a bottle.  For more information, visit their website, follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter or become a Facebook fan.