manic manicures

Blogging Hiatus (I'm baaaaack!)

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:10:00 +0000

Hello hello! Thank you to my followers who have stayed with me during my long hiatus! I am back from a long break, and not just from blogging. I took a total break from nail polish and haven't purchased a bottle of nail polish in over six months. I am currently obsessed with all things beauty and will no longer limit my blog to just nail polishes...(uh-oh!)
with that said, i am here to tell you about my newest venture! I finally overcame my shyness and extreme anxiety and put myself on YOUTUBE! That's right, YouTube! I posted my first video just this afternoon. I did a Haul Video on some amazing deals that I got over Black Friday.

Please check me out on YouTube and be nice! Thank you for your support.

YouTube Haul Video!

My first Christmas Mani!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:30:00 +0000

Good morning! Today I have my first Christmas manicure! I have to say that I am left handed, therefore I was only able to do pretty nail art on my right hand. I avoided my left hand all together and painted it the pretty sparkley red color. For the red, I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Whirlwind White. This polish was amazingly easy to apply and was fully opaque in 2 even coats. It dried very quickly (just as the name says it does) and I got this polish for for $1.37 from CVS on clearance...I'm in love! Then I used 1 thin coat of Nicole by OPI in Orna-Ment for Eachother. When that was dry I applied two more thin coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Red Carpet. Red Carpet was easy to apply, particularly for a glitter. I had no issues. For the Christmas tree, I used my Orly nail dotter with Revlon Emerald City and Ulta salon formula polish in Brownette for the ornament at the top. I used Sally Hansen Red Carpet for my candy cane and dotted it on carefully with my Orly dotter tool...I love that thing!

Bloom Social Beauty Store

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Good morning, Lovelies! This morning I will show you my order from Bloom.com. Bloom is a social beauty site that I discovered through another blog when they had a Living Social deal for a gift voucher. I love that I can read other reviews and ratings and see other women's beauty cabinets (their favorite products) before making a purchase. My order came in a gorgeous black box with pink tissue and a hand written thank-you. I'm such a sucker for good customer service. It really made me feel like they appreciated my order.
I used my gift voucher to purchase nail polish (of course) that I normally wouldn't buy because of the cost. I decided to try 3 different brands. I got Pop Beauty's nail glam in Aquatic Glitz; I was drawn to this color because of it's light bluish green color and holographic glitter bomb-ness! Megan Miller Collection polish in Latte...the perfect nude and quite possibly the prettiest bottle of nail polish my eyes have ever seen. I also got a Priti Polish in Voodoo Pelargonium, a deep wine berry red. I also decided to try a new nail polish remover, so I purchased Babor Nail Color Remover in the 100ml bottle.

CVS Beauty Sale-Haul

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:18:00 +0000

Good morning! I visited the CVS Beauty Clearance event and .... got a few polishes...ahem.. got 21 new polishes! I plan on giving quite a few as gifts for Christmas however. I had them out on the table after I got home from shopping and my boyfriend didn't even notice that they were all new (that's when you know you have a problem). The amazing part about the clearance was that everything was 75% off, and I used $5.00 in Extra Bucks and a $4.00 off coupon CVS sent me on my transaction. I spent $18 for 21 polishes! I think I got a pretty amazing deal. Here's pictures...and I will try to get swatching just as soon as I can! Any requests? Please let me know.

Finger Paints Special Effects

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:28:00 +0000

I just got this in my inbox...cannot wait to get these! It looks like they will be available in January from Sally Beauty Supply stores.

Nicole By OPI Orna-ment for Eachother

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Good afternoon! today i slept in and then went out for breakfast and kind of lazily wandered around enjoying the gorgeous weather. then went home and changed for the beach. my boyfriend and i went for a long walk and drank up the sunshine! anyways, i did a Christmas manicure! my first one this year! Nicole By OPI in Orna-Ment for each other...a dark primary red glitter with sparse gold glitter. i have to say that the formula was a little less than perfect. it took 3 coats to get opaque and was very difficult to spread evenly.

black Friday haul!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:49:00 +0000

okay, okay. i know you're probably sick of seeing black friday hauls by now...but this is the haul that ended my No-Buy November, so i feel compelled to post.
i worked with my mom on Black Friday from 9PM on Thanksgiving to 5AM Black Friday! I had a blast. On my way home i thought i'd stop at Ulta and see what kind of deals they had. i was in a line of about 50 people total waiting for Ulta to open at 6! I got a new OPI DS polish, Mystery; and an Ulta Exclusive OPI Mini Set! Also in the haul...(from CVS) 2 New Sally Hansen Gem Crush polishes and (from Walgreens) 3 new Wet N Wild Color Icon polishes!!
Hope you had a great holiday, and stuffed your faces! XO

OPI DS Desire...yeah you want it!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:30:00 +0000

happy tuesday! hopefully i will be baking delicious pies this evening if all goes according to plan. what are your Thanksgiving plans? my boyfriend and i will be going to my parents house for a Thanksgiving breakfast and then later in the afternoon we are going to my aunt's house for traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I'm baking the pies for my aunt's and I'm also baking a brie en croute (puff pastry enveloping a baked brie wheel with candied walnuts...mmmm) for my parents. What are your Thanksgiving plans?
TO THE NAIL POLISH!

I'm fairly certain that this is the manicure i'll be wearing for Thanksgiving. It is perfectly brown/green/gold with the right amount of HOLOGRAPHIC! it's OPI Designer Series in Desire. I found this particular bottle whilst dusty hunting at a nearby salon. The owners of that salon just don't know what kind of treasures they're harboring.

pre-thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:30:00 +0000

good evening! i don't remember if i posted about my "No-Buy November" yet....so here we go! the first 24 days of November have been my no-buy days for Starbucks and for nail polish. i only have a few more days to go and i think i'm going to make it! success!
today was one of my first days off that i've had to myself in several months. i slept in until 11 (that's about 4-5 hours later than i usually sleep), then went to work (but just for an hour and a half!) and then met one of my best friend who i haven't seen in months! we decided we were both long overdue for professional pedicures....and i feel a bit guilty about getting one...but i do work 60-80 hours a week on my feet...(so maybe i deserve it?!) my feet feel amazing now! i am refreshed, renewed, and ready for a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.
so i won't post a picture of my feet (ew)...but i will say that i got OPI's Merry Midnight painted on them! s
....and because i've been so inconsistent with posting, i promise to post tomorrow, and i'll even give you a hint! holo!

Finger Paints Merry & Bright Holiday Collection

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:15:00 +0000

good morning! this morning is the start of a very loong work week, but i'll survive it...hehe! i have another Finger Paints press release for you this morning. i must say, i'm pretty excited for November to be over so that my nail-polish-no-buy ends. then i can get my polished paws on some fabulous holiday polishes!

finger paints holiday sparkle PR

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

good afternoon! today I have a lovely Finger Paints press release for you...this looks very similar to Deborah Lipmann Happy Birthday (and the many other supposed dupes)...but gorgeous nonetheless!

stash shots!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

good morning! over the weekend i worked on organizing my growing nail polish collection. i had been harboring them in an oversized shoe box...but they were starting to pour out. my boyfriend helped me pick out a few rubbermaid drawer units, and now i've got an organized collection! i thought i'd take a few pictures to share!

this is the whole sha-bang! my nail tools and base and top coats are in the box next to the drawers.

top shelf- my OPI's, NOPI's and Color Club Sets!

lower shelf- Essie's, Sally Hansen, Zoya's, Cult Nails, Barielle's etc.

that's my stash- hope you like it! what do you keep your polishes in!?

intensely Enigmatic

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:58:00 +0000

today's mani is inspired by the new Cult Nails limited edition Unicorn Puke...i did buy Unicorn Puke when it was on pre-sale last week (thank goodness because it sold out only an hour after i reserved my bottle)...i was so excited about it that it inspired me to use my current favorite Cult Nails polish...Enigmatic. i used 2 thin coats of Enigmatic and then decided i needed to spice it up a bit. so i then applied 1 thin coat of Mystery by OPI Designer Series. Mystery is one of the original Designer Series polishes so it can be a bit hard to find. (but well worth the hunt )

long time no post!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:41:00 +0000

hi everyone! it's been so long since my last post...poor neglected blog! well i'm back...hehehe. i've been working full time so i haven't had as much time to write..but that doesn't mean i haven't been swatching away!

today i have a very yellow mani. this is 2 coats OPI Lemonade Stand By Your Man and 2 coats Revlon Pineapple Fizz. the OPI i got in a duo pack from TJMaxx for $6.99...i just couldn't resist. the Revlon polish is stunning...yellow jelly with gold flecks and gold glitter. enjoy!

Rock the World

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:02:00 +0000

good morning! today i have my favorite polish from Orly's new collection, Rock the World. this is a stunning shade for fall, with some magenta purple hues and tons of gold glitter specks. it's just the right amount of muted glam for me! i got this polish at Sally Beauty Supply for $7.99 and i think it's most certainly worth it. without any further ado- here's the swatches!

i used 2 coats Orly Rock the World for these pictures, no top coat needed! the polish dried in minutes with a smooth, glossy finish, despite the glitter! when i did use a top coat, it did not eat the polish as i expected.

that's all for now! xo!

Hypnotic Week

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:47:00 +0000

good morning! today is the last day of my Hypnotic Week post series :( i used Hypnotize Me over 2 coats of In a Trance for this manicure. i don't know if it was just my bottle, but Hypnotize Me was gooey and super hard to apply. i was pretty disappointed with this polish, because it is so amazing looking. oh well!

Hypnotic Week

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:23:00 +0000

good morning! this morning i'm a little sleepy. tehee! as promised, i have another Cult Nails fall collection polish for you today! Enigmatic is a gorgeous eggplant purple shimmer/glitter with gold hues. i adore this polish. for this mani, i used 2 medium coats and had no troubles with the formula. smooth sailing! enjoy!

for whatever reason, i don't have a bottle shot of Enigmatic. it is the third polish from the left!

Hypnotic Week

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:18:00 +0000

good afternoon readers! it's a bit of a dreary day here unfortunately, so i have a bit of a stormy color as today's manicure. today i have another new polish from the Cult Nails fall Hypnotic collection, Awakening. Awakening is an inky blue creme...and personally i think it is the perfect rainy day polish! it was fairly easy to apply and dried in ten or so minutes. i used two medium coats for the swatches below....enjoy!

Cult Nails Fall Collection- Hypnotic Week

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:25:00 +0000

good afternoon, readers! i consider myself a lucky nail fanatic because i pre-ordered Cult Nails' Fall Hypnotic Collection and it came in a few days ago! i have been a busy blogger with all of the swatching, photographing and writing this week. so i am very excited to share with you Hypnotic Week...a series of posts showcasing this gorgeous fall collection!

today's post is In a Trance...the first polish on the left

In a Trance was easy to apply, i used 2 coats for full coverage on my nails. this is an amazing color. it reminds me of the gemstone Tigers Eye. it is truly a wonderful fall color, with deep saturation, gold metallic shimmer, and a coffee colored brown somewhere in the mix. the formula was smooth and creamy, although not fast drying...to me that is a small price to pay for such fantastic color payoff!

Cult Nails is a Florida based nail polish company (local for me!), polishes retail for $10 on the Cult Nails Website. Check it out!

OPI Designer Series (OOOHLALA!) Shimmer

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:34:00 +0000

good morning! happy Tuesday everyone! today i have an OPI DS manicure for you. this is one of the original Designer Series polishes, so it can be hard to find. i found mine as a "dusty" in a local salon. Shimmer is an icy silver blue holographic polish. i used 2 coats for this mani, although i noticed there was a bit of VNL (Visisble Nail Line) when i was finished. i am fairly obsessed with the brushes on these OPI Designer Series polishes; they are very flexible and rather wide, but allow for an extremely even application. enjoy!

blog sale haul

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:32:00 +0000

good morning everyone! happy Monday!
this morning i'll show you my nail mail from last week. i found some great polishes over at Rachel Marie's Nails recently during her blog sale! i can't wait to try these out.

back from posting hiatus!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:07:00 +0000

good afternoon, everyone! my best friend was down from college for a couple weeks so i've been on a bit of a posting hiatus, and i'm quite sorry for that. i'm back now, however, and better than ever! whilst on my blogging break i happened to discover YouTube...who knew there would be beauty bloggers on there!? this is a manicure inspired by a Tweet i found about a video on YouTube. this is my first shot at a gradient manicure, and also my first time painting on stripes, so please, don't be too harsh!
i started with 1 medium even coat of Mermaids Tears from the OPI Pirates collection. then i used a q-tip soaked with water to apply a band in the middle of my nail using Barielle in Do Unto Others. on the tip of my nails i used another q-tip soaked in water to apply another band with Nicole by OPI in Respect the World. over the top of my banded color nails, i used a ColorClub mini clear glitter top coat from the Starry Temptress collection and 1 coat of Nicole by OPI in Nicole...Spotted! using a mechanical pencil tip, i drew criss-crossed stripes on all of my nails except my middle finger and ring finger with OPI DS Desire. on my middle finger i used the mechanical pencil tip to draw a seashell. i used my ring finger as a bling finger and glued on rhinestones using a clear top coat.
have a fabulous day! enjoy!

Coalest Day of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:32:00 +0000

good morning/afternoon, everyone! today is Mani/Pedi Monday (as is every Monday) on Barielle's facebook page. i encourage you to upload a picture of yourself wearing some Barielle polish! (i did!) so i will share with you what i shared with Barielle! just in case you didn't see on facebook, or in case you love to read my blog (i like the latter of the two.) i used 2 thick coats of Barielle in Coalest Day of the Year. i purchased this polish at Ulta for $1.99 at their giant beauty clearance a few months ago...and i don't regret it! Barielle normally retails for $8/bottle so this was a steal. Barielle polish is easy to apply with a fat-bottomed brush and rather gooey formula. enjoy!

OPI Designer Series (OOOHLALA!) glitz mani

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:47:00 +0000

good afternoon, readers (and some browsers)!
i've spent the majority of today reading my Google Blogger for Dummies book and drooling over nail swatches. i also stalked a couple of Sally Beauty Supply's in my area for the China Glaze Metro collex, since i heard a few other bloggers found them already. that is not the case here in south west florida. oh well! so, on to the good stuff. i happen to own a bottle of OPI DS (the original series) in Glamour. i loove this color. its like a purple bluey goodness with ultra subtle holographic in it. i also have this pretty cool Sally Girl (from Sally Beauty Supply) loose glitter that coordinates with the polish. helloo glitter mani! i used 2 thin-ish coats of OPI Designer Series in Glamour, and used China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat to attach the Sally Girl loose glitter in streaks across my nails. this is a picture heavy post (like most of my posts) so please be patient! as always, questions, comments, concerns and opinions are always welcome! xoxo Marina

this is the Sally Girl loose glitter i used for my mani!

Green Up Your Act!

noreply@blogger.com (marina by the sea) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:55:00 +0000

good afternoon! today i was falling for Fall. i used Nicole By OPI in Green Up Your Act! from their new Fall 2011 collection. i used 2 coats for full opacity, and the formula was slightly difficult to work with, although it might have just been me! the color is gorgeous...not quite olive not quite sage...and fairly conservative as far as greens go. since i was feeling Fall-ish, i added Hard Candy Matte Top Coat over it...and fell in love! the look is fantastic and sets the color apart from others. it's Fall with flair!