CND Dark Amethyst

The other creme from "The Look" winter 2011 from CND is Dark Amethyst, a red-purple opaque creme.  While it's not my favorite purple that I own, I do love it - especially the whole "one coat" idea.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 1 coat of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.  Formula was fantastic.

Hello sun!  Lots of red tones to this purple - at least for me.  It's almost plummy?

In the shade I have fantastic lobster hands but also just a lovely purple color to match.

Last, but never least is indoors with the flash.  Love how opaque this is!  Coming up tomorrow - the "effect" from this line.  I definitely loved this little set from CND!

CND is available for $9 per colour, and $11 per effect and you can find locations to buy here.

TransDesign and Head2ToeBeauty has the colours for $4.50 and effects for $5.50.

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

CND "Shellac at the Shore"

It may be in the 50s for me, but in California, things will be heating up soon!  Please enjoy the following press release from Y! Public Relations.

CND to Present Shellac at the Shore at ISSE Long Beach 2012

From the Runway to Real Life – It’s the Latest in Nail Styles, Colors, and Trends

January 28 – January 30, 2012 │ Long Beach Convention Center │ Long Beach, California

Phoenix, AZ – The West Coast’s biggest and best beauty event, the International Salon & Spa Expo (ISSE) Long Beach, will host CND’s (Creative Nail Design’s) dynamic nail program, Shellac at the Shore. Taking the styles and colors directly from the runways of New York Fashion Week and incorporating them with CND’s Shellac Power Polish, Enhancements and Nail Colour & Effects, attendees will be inspired by the latest nail trends that clients will be demanding. In addition, CND will offer an opportunity to win a trip to NYC Fashion Week. Presented by CND Founder, Jan Arnold, Shellac at the Shore is for those looking to stay at the forefront of nail fashion and overall beauty trends. Shellac at the Shore admission will be offered in two parts, general and VIP. VIP admission includes a private reception following the event, plus additional opportunities to win a trip to New York Fashion Week. All attendees will receive a CND gift bag.

In addition to Shellac at the Shore, CND will also present a hands-on CND Master Painter “Snap Shot,” which will focus on application techniques that create unique, one-of-a-kind nails that demand client loyalty. Taught by CND nail experts, Jennifer Harrison and Kristina Saindon, attendees will discover CND’s exciting concepts in color and creativity with Colour & Effects and award-winning CND Shellac Power Polish.

“ISSE Long Beach is not only an amazing full beauty show, it marks the beginning of the professional show season. It’s only fitting that CND presents a dynamic program such as, Shellac at the Shore, which incorporates the latest nail trends, colors, techniques, and products,” says CND Founder, Jan Arnold.

Shellac at the Shore

Sunday, January 29^th / 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

VIP: Includes presentation, priority seating, VIP reception following presentation, 10 entries for the NYC Fashion Week giveaway, and CND gift bag.

Cost: $179 PBA members / $199 non PBA members.

General: Includes presentation, 5 entries for the NYC Fashion Week giveaway, and CND gift bag.

Cost: $89 PBA members / $99 non PBA members.

CND Master Painter “Snap Shot”

Sunday, January 29^th & Monday, January 30^th / 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Cost: $50 PBA members / $60 non PBA members.

Nail professionals will also want to consider participating in the ISSE Long Beach nail competitions that are held in conjunction with NailPro Magazine. 

OCC Lip Tar NSFW

Photo from OCC's website

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO POLISHGALORE!  I turn 2 today - woo hoo!  Next, let me talk about today's makeup post - Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics OCC Lip Tar in NSFW.


While sitting in the Tampa Airport on Cyber Monday, with just a few hours left in this glorious shopping day, I decided to jump on OCC's website and check out these lip tars.  I first saw them on Temptalia's blog and couldn't get this image out of my head.

Image from Temptalia's website

With all cosmetics being 20% off for Cyber Monday, I figured it was time to take the plunge.  I even splurged and got the #009 Angle Brush "for complete, opaque coverage" (normally $18.00) .  The whole thing about Lip Tars that I had read was "a little goes a long way."  Lip Tar is normally $13.00 for a 0.27 Fl oz tube.


Well, it came in today and I've been super excited to play with it.


Now this being my second attempt at lip shots, please bare with me.  First we have my bare lips.

Then with NSFW applied with the #009 Angle Brush.  I used one bead of color, no primer.  The lighting is natural 6500K light bulbs (x3).

Now I feel like I did it wrong.  Granted the color was there but the creaminess I was expecting?  Totally not.  In fact, this was a very matte appearing application and definitely not as eye popping as Temptalia.


In my slight defeat, I added a coat of Rimmel Sweet Jelly in #150 Sugar! on top.  It's a gold shimmer that comes in 0.34 fl oz for $2.00.

I wasn't in love - at least not yet.  I'm going to have to try again and hope for the best.


I also decided to play in Photoshop a bit... please note these were just meant to be funny.

Heavy on the blur, please.

This one I'm actually using for my Twitter picture for now.  :]


Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free and may be purchased on their website.  You can like them on Facebook & follow them on Twitter.

CND Midnight Sapphire

I showed you how I last wore CND Midnight Sapphire from the 2011 "The Look" winter box set but now let me show you the colors individually!  Midnight Sapphire is a dark blue creme that is highly pigmented and pretty darn opaque.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 1 coat of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.

In the sun, you can see how well pigmented and opaque this color is.  The reflection you see near my cuticles is the sun - go figure!

In the shade - my fingers look pretty red but I'm blaming the cold or something.  And the weird coloring from my nails?  It's just the sun (roof?) reflecting off the nail polish... not from the color at all.

Finally indoors with the flash - look how awesome this color it is.  It almost looks a bit jelly like - but I promise it's a creme and quite an awesome one.  Once again, no staining on my nails after removing, YAY!


CND is available for $9 per colour, and $11 per effect and you can find locations to buy here.

TransDesign and Head2ToeBeauty has the colours for $4.50 and effects for $5.50.

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

Shop for a Cause

I'm a bit late in posting, but don't be late on bidding!

Here's an opportunity to shop for a great cause: the BeautyBloggers.org annual charity auction. 

For the second year in a row, beauty bloggers and brands have joined forces for an online auction benefitting Doctors Without Borders. 

Participants have donated a treasure trove of the best lotions, potions, products, and gadgets. Donated items range from the hottest items from this year’s holiday collections to hard-to-find exclusives and limited edition cult favorites. When the auction ends, winning bidders "pay" by making their donations directly to Doctors Without Borders, through the site’s secure giving page. 

The auction will be live Monday, November 28th through Monday, December 12th.

Here's some awesome nail polish up for bidding!