Hard Candy 2013

[Hard Candy "Black tie optional"]

[Hard Candy "Black tie optional" and "Sugar rush"]

Right after New Year's I caught wind of the entire Hard Candy line of nail polishes being discontinued to make way for a revamped selection.  I wasn't thinking that I would have come across it so soon, but I'm glad that I did.  For the release there are 5 "collections" with 9 colours in each.  There are obvious hard nods towards indie polishes/finishes from heavy glitters, the black and white glitter, and the candy coated colour glitters made famous by indie polishes and Nails Inc.  

What I opted for was of course the black and white glitter(I had to buy two!) mix which contains a good amount of glitter in each swipe and no fishing was needed for me.  Two coats was fine, but I'd recommend using Gelous to tame the glitter a bit.  I am not one to mind a gritty feeling manicure, but when bar or tinsel glitter is involved it's a must!  The other I bought was "Sugar rush", but I've yet to wear this one.  In the photos it looks to be a blueish tint, but I swear when I look at it I see gray.  Either way it's pretty and it will be my first time trying the candy manicure.

Keep an eye out for these because there are definitely some fun shades to try!  They are only available at WalMart(wah wah), but they are worth a peek.

December 2012 - part two photos

[Festive manicure for a special night with....]

[The huge surprise was my little sister, Meg, flying in from California early to go with us!]

[Meg, me, and my mom, Lori ready to see John Waters (Jeremi was too!)]

[A Christmas with John Waters!  We've been trying to get tickets for 4 years now, but it always sells out.  It was amazing and I highly recommend going next year!]

[For the first time ever, a quiet Christmas Eve]

[Christmas morning, complete with fireplace on the television]

[Ain't no shame in Joon's game]

[A few nights before we celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary, Dad cut one of these for all of his daughters]

[Nothing says Happy Holidays like white chocolate peppermint skeletons!]

[The Leg Lamp outside my parents front window.  A tradition every year]

So that was my December in a visual nutshell.  It was more quiet than most, but I totally appreciated that and felt like I was able to enjoy my time even more.

my style: skulls and purple

[9.09.2012 photo taken with jem's iphone]

[my favourite sunglasses]

[without]

[cosette!]

Breakdown:

dress -  forever 21. Several years ago and it's staple for me.  Very easy to layer and looks good with anything.

black shorts - spring street

purple iris tights - Target

shoes - Rampage

scarf - rue 21

purple lucite skull ring - Masks Y Mas in Abq, NM

I wore this on what felt like the last truly hot day of the summer.  It's been a tough one this year with the heat, and then the humidity doesn't help either.  Summer, I think, is when I mostly miss living in the desert because it's all dry heat and no humidity.

That being said!  Here in Virginia, we're now approaching(finally!) the days where it stays under 80 degrees with little to no humidity!  Fall is definitely on it's way and I couldn't be happier!

[manicure for the day]

I say manicure For the day because I was lazy and didn't bother adding a topcoat.  So of course by the next day and my job, I had some pretty major tipwear and just took it off.  That is not to say that I didn't love this polish.  It's Sephora by OPI's 212.  I know it's an older shade, and to be honest I'm not sure why it took me so long to try.  There is a lot going on with it - flecks, flakes, and micro holographic glitter!  I'd say a perfect colour for Fall with the flecks catching a gold, and the flakes on the blackish brown base looking like fallen leaves!

new polish finds

[1.31.2012 my evening included homemade mulled wine, and a new manicure]

[secret peri-wink-le(permanent collection) and gothic lolita and gaga for green from the electropop collection]

i stopped by cosmoprof yesterday after i left my full time job because i had run out of nail tek.  the last time i was there i saw the full collection of china glaze's "electropop" but i didn't seen any i absolutely needed.  that is until i thought about it.  i left yesterday with gothic lolita, gaga for green, and secret peri-wink-le.   last nite i kept looking at secret peri-wink-le and decided that it needed to be the first tried.

[venique deviant little sneaker]

i also saw the full line of venique there, and not just the small holiday display.  venique is new to the polish market and it's made with sil-tek, which allows the polish to expand and contract with wear.  i purchased two other colours back in december that were in the initial launch collection and both being glitter topcoats.  i have to admit, there was hardly any chipping and i am very rough on a manicure.  the official website doesn't seem to be really up yet, but check out this blog to see a little more and read a great review.  you can also see the two glitters i bought as well.   the one that i picked up yesterday, deviant little sneaker, is a mauve-y plum glimmer base, with small round silver and red glitter throughout.  i'll definitely photo once i try it out.

catching up - hurricane irene - state board practical exam

despite everything going on, i still needed to practice for my state board practical exam.  this was the last exam that i needed to complete and pass before i can get my license for nail technician.  the thing that i was most worried about was the nail sculpt(well and the polish - base, 2 coats of colour, top coat no mistakes in 10minutes or less).  we have 20minutes to do a nail sculpt with 1.5 grids in length and with odorless acrylic which takes longer to set up and longer to file and shape because it creates a very rubbery and thick inhibition layer on it.  now my nail sculpting isn't bad, or ever was, but given the time and materials...it was smart to practice.

[nail sculpt practice- just using white powder to save the natural that was needed at state board]

and while practicing we had the outer bands of hurricane irene come through:

[these were all taken 5minutes apart in the same spot and no photo editing.  my point was to try to capture the rotation in the clouds that was happening.  we were lucky that all we had was a lot of wind and rain.]

hurricane irene had no effect on my testing date or time, which was a relief.  on the 29th at 6am, my mum and i headed to richmond, va to the testing hotel.  i actually saw one of the other girls that i went to school with there which made me really happy!  there were about 13 or 15 of us testing, and i walked out of the testing room with a smile on my face and that says A  LOT for me.  i am such a nervous test taker.  i had forgotten how bad i get.  but lady fingers came through with me and came out looking pretty good.  now i just wait until i get that letter in the mail letting me know how i did.  keep your fingers crossed!

[bad photo of lady fingers in the parking lot after state boards.  i was excited okay.]

nails and insects

[china glaze - flour leaf clover with claire's - bedazzled]

[hello cicada!]

wearable - hello xray kitty

[7.20.2011 new ring i made]

so i've had these halloween hello kitty stickers in one of my many(there are so many..too many) craft/etc. boxes.  i've also had these ring forms with clear cabs that fit them perfect.  solution?  hello xray ring!  i'm really in love with it despite the fact that there are a few tiny air bubbles that got caught in the adhesive when it was glued.  at least they aren't noticeable enough to take away from the cute!

nails are: sinful colors - verbena, which is a dupe for OPI's - planks a lot.

new nails, new camera

[ 3.25.2011 CG: "in the lime light" and CG: "fault line" ]

the more i use the crackle polishes that i was able to get, the more i love them.  especially "fault line".  sure it's thicker than the others, but it's a purple crackle and has a shimmer.  i'd like to think that it was made just to be layered over slime green <3

the black is still my favourite, imagine that!  and as soon as i can find them again, i'll pick up another bottle for safe hoarding.  every where in my sleepy little town is sold out, and aren't expecting more until may.   i saw the OPI display, but the shatter was gone.  all i've been able to try is the CG's, but i love them!  i'll be interested in seeing the new OPI's, especially the serena williams.  

on other notes, i finally found a new point and shoot camera that makes me happy, and not disappointed.  after much looking at the olympus FE series, and the stylus series, and some nikon peeking thrown in,  i finally decided to go with a nikon s8100 and i love it.  it will be nice now to have a very good, reliable little camera that can easily go with me places.  sometimes lugging a nikon DSLR isn't practical.

maybe now i'll post more!  especially seeing as how i have a penchant for macro, and this has a surprisingly good macro and super macro function <3<3

february

[2.21.2011]

[2.21.2011 milani 3d in "hd" and china glaze:crackle glaze in "black mesh" <3]

[such a cute little pendant that my katiekat gave to me <3]

[me. 1.192011]

[lady fingers.  my hand for school.  2.07.2011]

[nails put on, shaped, and "squoval'd" by me.  fingerpaints "primary colour"]

[my perfect coffee cup.  a christmess gift from lorista bombista]

[my perfect teacup]

school has started, and even though i've only had two classes, i've taken in a lot of info!  tonite i hope to practice some manicures on "live" people, my family.  it's been refreshing to be excited about learning something.  i feel like it's been awhile, at least from outside of work.

chihuahua and polish

[bad/quick photo of little cosette and her bat wings

9.6.2010]

[ORLY's "charged up" and icing's "glamorous"]

predator blood

[china glaze - kiwi coolada - or aka predator blood ;D]

i love obnoxious jewelry, i really do.  especially rings.

vintage lucite beetle ring - three story thrift mall in albuquerque, nm.  a friend had seen it and gave me the tip!

hello kitty-esque purple rhinestone bow - snot topic

rhinestone eyeball - chacha's in charlottesville, va

moonstone ring(one of my birthstones) - 10,000 villages in harrisonburg, va

[spot the chihuahua?]

my living room as of today.  that poor bodyworlds poster needs a proper frame.  i remember how hard it was to get that on the plane and back to albuquerque, nm without getting ruined.

our coffee table has seen a few paint jobs.  mostly all black, but jem decided to do something different.  tribute to tim burton and the MoMA exhibit <3

forever love to my scott radke puppet.

color petites - black diamond - july 1st

Oooo a black holo.  next best thing to colour revolution that i can get my hands on to!

the same day cosette had to be taken in to get her nails trimmed since i'm too afraid that i'm going to quick her.  the girls in the grooming salon were nice enough to paint her nails for me.  it does not look like this anymore, but that's okay.

then it was time for her to sunbathe.  i love that chihuahuas do this <3