Zoya: Crystal

This was the first Zoya polish I ever purchased. And.... I love the color. I love the finish. But the wear time completely blows! I don't know why. Maybe I should use a different base coat. But do you see that giant chip on my middle finger?? I took this picture only a few hours after I put the polish on. Le sigh. But it is still an awesome color. 

Ulta: Capri Coral

This is the hot pink creme polish that I used as the base in part two of my Valentines Day mani. I think it looks a lot brighter on its own. I really like it. Very summery. Bright - but not nearly as bright as say.. China Glaze's Poolside collection. More wearable. I can't wait for summer. Which should be coming any way now. I can't wait. 

Diamond Cosmetics: Pink Star Burst

Diamond Cosmetics Pink Star Burst is a very pretty, very feminine light pink with silver shimmer. I actually prefer it with only one coat - it is very sheer. But I think it is a great french manicure base. This is with three coats.

Valentines Day Mani

Here is what I was planning on wearing today, and what I actually wore. I originally tried out the China Glaze Ruby Pumps underneath OPI Black Shatter.

Which I did like.. not as much as I thought I would - but I liked it nonetheless. But I figured I would be able to improve upon it today. So instead of a sparkly red base, I went with a hot pink creme base (Ulta Capri Coral). I liked this better - I think because I've adored the combination of black and pink since I was in 3rd grade. I also like how Black Shatter looked in this instance. Instead of painting my nails regularly, I zig-zagged the brush on the nail, leaving these super cool designs. 

Hard Candy: Sky

Great color. Horrrrrrrrrrrrible application. This was 6 coats. 6 horrible streaky uneven coats. And the shimmer isn't nearly as apparent on the nail as it is in the bottle. I kind of want to franken with it to try to make it better. 

OPI: You Don't Know Jacques

I loveee this polish. It looks great in the shade: 

And in the sun:

Blue Water Marble

Here's my first real attempt at a water marble that came out good enough for me to actually wear for a day. I used China Glaze Sea Spray as a base coat, and then I marbled with Sea Spray, China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway, and China Glaze White Cap. The colors worked well together, and they all were great for marbling. The issues came with my application I suppose. I don't know how to get little bubbles not to form. Some of them are below the polish on my nail.. some of them happen on top of the polish cause water is on top and it becomes painfully obvious once I put the top coat on and it pops the bubbles. I suppose it will get better with practice. So that's what I'm going to do. Practice. 

China Glaze: Gussied Up Green

Well, now that I have it I can totally see what everyone is raving out. China Glaze Gussied Up Green is definitely my new favorite green. Dark. Mysterious. Blatantly green no matter what the lighting is. Shimmer. What could be better??

China Glaze: Sea Spray

<3

China Glaze can do no wrong, in my opinion. I love the very very very subtle shimmer in this blue/grey polish. 

On an unrelated note - I just saw Blue Valentine. And it was so heartbreaking! I can't believe Ryan Gosling didn't get an Oscar nomination for that role. He was amazing.

Essie: Dive Bar

Here is one of the Essie polishes I grabbed when I saw the display at Walmart. I was really expecting to love love love this polish. But it seems a little mediocre to me. It is probably because I'm tired of dark polishes. I just wish this had more glitter, more sparkle, more something. More blue and green shimmer. I don't know. I just want more. Don't get me wrong, it is very pretty. Hopefully I will grow to love it. 

On a side note - omg it is soooo hot here. It was 80 degrees yesterday. I want the winter to last just a little longer. 

China Glaze: Below Deck

Fabulous.