My Simple Little Pleasures

Macy's Spring 2013 Flower Show

2013-04-21T21:19:00.000-05:00

I will just mention, that this is NOT turning into a blog that's just about flowers. Seriously LOL ... but they don't require much thought or editing & I love sharing them with you guys. These are from a few weeks ago, the theme this year was The Painted Garden, and we had an even bigger than normal group this trip - me, Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin & Dad!:

The umbrellas hanging upside-down from the ceiling were a bit weird ... and yet fit in at the same time LOL.

These Love Story Lilies were hands down the most fragrant thing in the room. So super sweet, in the midst of our extended Minnesota winter it was heavenly.

I think things in real life may finally calm down enough to allow me enough leisure to start trying (again) to get caught up. Not that things are actually ever calm, but I've finished a few hugely important things (like taxes, blech, I procrastinated until the final weekend again this year), and I'm really on a get-organized kick, so here's me with my fingers crossed =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette.

Como Conservatory Winter 2013 Flower

2013-03-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

I know, it's been a while again ... but I'm not going to apologize this time because everyone always says I don't need to =) I thought I'd just quickly post up some of the pictures from when we went to the conservatory about 2-3 weeks ago ... as always a wonderful break from snow & wind chills & dreary winter days:

The conservatory also has this video up on YouTube which has some nice shots:

Do you have someplace near you where you can escape this chilly season?

Thanks for reading,

~Colette

NOTD: Layla Jade Groove

2013-02-19T22:27:00.002-06:00

Moving right along ... not quite as quickly as I'd like, but quicker than I've managed recently LOL so I guess I shouldn't complain. Another holo - apparently I was on a kick - this one is actually a very light green but it's hard to tell in most of the lighting, you just see the holo effect. This is Layla Jade Groove:

And here's a look at it in motion:

I'm not only enjoying editing my old manicure pics - I'm enjoying all the pics I'm finding while digging through them =) Here's a bonus pic of Dude looking very alert & serious:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Purple Stripes Water Marble + Tutorial

2013-02-15T23:30:00.000-06:00

So far I think this is the only time I've done a striped marble vertically on my nails - I think I ought to give it a try again. For this I used Zoya Harmonie for my base color, and then marbling is done with Harmonie & Zoya Sloane (which is from the Pulse collection):

Here are my favorite nails:

And here's the tutorial:

I didn't get as much done last weekend as I'd hoped. Maybe if I set a low bar this weekend, I can exceed my expectations for once LOL?

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Layla Hologram Effect Ocean Rush

2013-02-12T23:36:00.000-06:00

Another gorgeous Layla holo -Ocean Rush is probably the most vibrant blue holo in my collection. China Glaze DV8 is close but leans more teal, this is a deep turquoise touched kind of blue & I loved wearing it:

Here's a look in motion:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Layla Hologram Effect Flash Black

2013-02-11T23:13:00.001-06:00

Ironic to be posting an old holo manicure as I'm wearing one of my new holos =) (I'm enjoying Color Club Miss Bliss currently, if you're wondering)

Layla is a bit on the expensive side, but if you love holographic polish they're worth adding to your collection I think. Here's a look at Flash Black:

And an even better look - in motion:

I wish it were still as nice out as when I shot this vid back in the summer - if I do a polish in motion for my current color I'm going to end up with pretty cold fingers LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Zoya Pippa + Finger Paints Psychedelic Sunshine

2013-02-10T16:02:00.002-06:00

I started off with just Zoya Pippa, which is part of the La-Di-Da collection:

But I decided that while bright, it wasn't quite enough, so I added a coat of Finger Paints Psychedelic Sunshine to give it some sparkle:

I actually don't usually go quite this bright without like some black staamping to tone it down a bit, but it was a nice change of pace & I liked the combination quite a lot.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Check out my Interview!

2013-02-08T21:01:00.000-06:00

I feel famous LOL! I did an interview with Nail It! magazine for their website, and if you'd like you can check it out here: Bloggers You Should Know - Colette from My Simple Little Pleasures

Sucky, sucky weather this weekend - although not as much snow as it sounds like the East Coast is getting, it's supposed to be a lot of ice & then snow on top ... so that means far fewer excuses for me not spending the weekend editing pics & posting =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Color Club Magnetic Force

2013-01-29T22:42:00.000-06:00

OK, so I'm not exactly forcing myself to blog, so much as I'm firmly encouraging myself to do a post before I go to bed. & this will likely happen frequently, so I may not have much to say all the time - but then again, a truly lovely polish speaks for itself - like Color Club Magnetic Force does:

Chocolate brown magnetic, what's not to love? Aside from the really bad break I had in these pics that was much more glaringly obvious in some of the rejected pics LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

New Year, New Look ...

2013-01-28T16:41:00.000-06:00

... Same old procrastinating me =) At first I thought I'd get the redesign done by New Year's. Then I thought I'd get it done by my 4th blogiversary (back on the 19th). I finally got it done yesterday.

Now, I only made one resolution this year, which was to sleep more - and which I am not quite failing at but not really succeeding at either. I should have also resolved not to procrastinate & to ACTUALLY get caught up with stuff online. I guess I could maybe squeeze it in as a resolution since it's not the end of January - but on the other hand, I shouldn't need a resolution to make it happen. I DON'T need a resolution to make it happen. *nods* I've said it before - hell, I'll probably say it again. I am going to get back on top of my blog posting.

Let me know what you think of the new look - I always appreciate hearing from you guys =) I (obviously) don't let it dictate my style, but sometimes there are things glaringly wrong that I'm just overlooking, or issues in other browsers etc. & stay tuned for lots of good things - so many I think I've probably forgotten a few LOL. Editing pics & writing posts actually helps me to remember what I've done on my nails, so the last few months is kind of a blur & I think it will be fun to revisit as I dig into it.

Thanks for (still) reading =)

~Colette

Hauls Catchup Post

2012-12-31T14:51:00.000-06:00

So, I did this before when I realized how far behind I was with "real" haul posts, i.e. haul posts with close up bottle pictures. & I am obviously very far behind again so here's another load of haul vids, but I AM going to do a real post for my Christmas haul, because I want to include the names of all the polishes I just referred to by number in the vid. So here are my haul vids since around September.

Some Ulta & Target hauls:

My rather large BOGO from Ulta Butter London haul:

L'Oreal Project Runway haul:

Color Club Halo Hues and some other stuff hauls from Head2Toe Beauty:

The Zoya Ornate collection as well as the Gilty Pleasures Trio:

A Walgreens haul:

And OPI's The Man with the Golden Gun as well as the other colors I picked from the Skyfall collection:

So, as I said I'll work on a "real" haul post for the Christmas haul which is mostly Layla & China Glaze with a few other polishes.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Update!

2012-12-27T18:17:00.000-06:00

So, the holidays turned out pretty dang good after all =) This isn't the best pic of my new 2010 300 but I think you get the idea:

So I am pretty happy with that, had a great Christmas & now an actual 4-day weekend coming up for New Years. I hope you're all having a great holiday too!

~Colette

Not Exactly Happy Holidays

2012-12-06T16:42:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I forget that not all my blog followers are fans on Facebook, which is where I tend to post quick updates. I know I've been semi-AWOL again - this is why:

There's a bit more in the post about this on my other blog, which if you want you can check out in the right sidebar. As you can see, I'm OK, but it's piling a lot of paperwork & extra crap onto my already busy schedule. I'm attempting to be more organized LOL, but it still feels veeeerrry hectic. But I will not let it deter me from holiday nails! Or continuing to catch up here =) I think I am almost done dealing with insurance, although I've still got to do car shopping in between Christmas shopping.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Layla Silver Galaxy

2012-11-26T11:00:00.000-06:00

This is one of the sparkliest magnetic polishes that I have. I'm still not sure what I think of having the magnetic effect in this direction - my initial thought was that it would be elongating. Some angles it was cool & other angles almost unnoticeable LOL. Anyway, this is Layla Silver Galaxy:

And a couple shots of it matte:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Claire's Teal Green + Color Club Steel of the Night

2012-11-24T22:36:00.000-06:00

I still have so many magnetic polishes that I picked up & haven't even worn yet - but they are so pretty I can't regret it =) This is Claire's unnamed teal green magnetic on the thumb & ring fingers, and Color Club Steel of the Night on the rest:

I love how dark SotN is, nearly as dark as Layla Black Metal (which you can see pics of HERE), & equally gorgeous.

I also wore it matte for a few days, although I don't remember which specific top coat I did it with:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Gemmed Funky French + Tutorial

2012-11-24T22:21:00.000-06:00

I do wish I'd used slightly smaller rhinestones for this look, but other than that it turned out mostly as planned. And while the tips & ring finger may look like a dark blurple, they're really Wet n Wild Black Creme topped with Savvy French Rose Opal Frost:

Here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Purple w/ Pink Flowers Matte

2012-11-24T22:09:00.000-06:00

Missed these couple of matte pics when I was doing the last post:

I think that when I matte-ified it, I went around the rhinestones, so that they could still be shiny. Might have looked cool if I'd matted them too though.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Purple with Pink Flowers Drag Marble + Tutorial

2012-11-24T18:06:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving =) I had 2, one Thursday at Grandma's house & another yesterday at my brother's. And still a whole 2 days until I have to go back to work!

Drag marbling is to me a great example of low investment high payout, because it's so easy & can be so impressive. This one I used OPI Vampsterdam as the base color, and the flowers are done with China Glaze Mistletoe Me! With the rhinestone in the middle I didn't have to worry as much about bald patches caused by dragging from the center:

Here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Black & Silver Circles Nail Art + Tutorial

2012-11-17T19:43:00.000-06:00

Whew! Time flies when you're ... well, I wish I'd been having fun but really I was sick for almost 2 weeks & absolutely drained tired by the time I dragged myself home from work.

This design started out with a base color of Savvy Chrome, which while it doesn't dry to an actual chrome finish, it is a very nice silver & does not have any issues with brush strokes:

On top of that I added some broken concentric circles with black acrylic & a clear rhinestone in the middle:

Here are my favorite nails:

And here is the tutorial:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

Trick or ... TREAT!

2012-10-31T18:50:00.000-05:00

If you watch my vids or follow my Fan Page, you'll know I've been planning a giveaway since I ended up with some duplicates of some very nice Orly polishes. In thanks to my fans for helping me win the colors in the first place, I'm giving away the dupes:

Since it was a Facebook contest that my fans helped me win, this is going out mainly to them & Liking my Page IS a requirement. The only other is that you are 18 - this is open worldwide. So if you'd like some lovely pretty Orly polishes, enter & cross your fingers - contest will be open until midnight November 11th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Of course, pictures of the awesome mani that won me the contest as well as all the fun stuff I've done with the other colors I won will be coming eventually =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Pink & Blue Easter Dots + Tutorial

2012-10-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

This was kind of a last minute design, at the time I didn't want the purple swirls on my nails for Easter LOL. For the base white I used Orly Au Champagne, then the dotting is done with Revlon Coastal Surf & Revlon Passionate Pink:

Here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

Guest NOTD: Revlon Blue Lagoon

2012-10-27T17:49:00.000-05:00

I think that at the time, Mom was looking for a light sky blue and she got this because it was still out from the pastel rainbow marble. Revlon Blue Lagoon is a little lighter than I would consider a true sky blue, with just a hint of sparkle which is actually easier to see in the shade picture:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Purple Swirl + Tutorial

2012-10-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

I am SO stubborn. I'm aware of this. Usually it pays off in the end ... we'll hope one day that will be the case around here LOL.

I wasn't really very happy with this ... this. Base color is Orly Charged Up, Swirled with Sally Hanson Be-Jeweled, swirled & then topped with Essie Shine of the Times ... and eventually Warpaint Mattify:

Here's the tutorial:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

Guest NOTD: Orly Royal Velvet

2012-10-14T13:30:00.000-05:00

Not much to say for this one - just Mom wearing Orly Royal Velvet:

You can see the original post on my nails HERE, there are some shots that show the duo-chrome to a bit better effect, but that's just because it's easier to take picture of my own nails - the duo-chrome was definitely still visible on short nails =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Spring Pastel Rainbow Water Marble + Tutorial

2012-10-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

So, Nail Art April started off with a marble that didn't quite fit into March =) I used Orly Au Champagne for my base, then Marbling was done with 6 Revlon pastels - Sunshine Sparkle, Peach Smoothie, Pink Again, Gum Drop, Blue Lagoon & Minted.

I actually started out this design with a big fail that turned out kind of cool in hindsight; I wish I'd taken more pictures. I wanted each nail to have just an arc of color, but it turned out too pale - I tried an overlay-marble of black that turned out looking grey ... and so after I did one hand I took it off & stared over again. Here's a look at the fail that maybe wasn't quite such a fail:

Either way, this is what replaced it - due to the way I dipped my nails, they almost all turned out just a little different. Very pale, especially in certain lights, but it was well suited for the Easter season it happened to be at the time:

I didn't have any nails that I didn't like, which as you know is pretty rare - so I took close-ups for all of them:

And of course here is the tutorial:

Thanks for reading.

~Colette