I won a giveaway from Darling Diva Polish!!

So Daring Diva Polish had a giveaway recently and I won 2nd prize which was a $25 Starbucks gift certificate and 4 polishes of my choice.  My first greedy instinct was to grab all of her prettiest holographic polishes but I thought that would be very rude so I only let myself pick one of her most expensive polishes.    Besides, I've been salivating over Roller Girl and Soft Kitty so I had to get those!  I chose the following:

I had to try out most of these.  I started with two coats of Sinful Colors Hazard. 

The I applied two coats of Bitch Panties.  Seriously, holos really do it for me!

Next, I swatched Roller Girl.  I wanted to get a pic of this beauty quick and then send it off to my friend and its new owner, Rochelle, who recently started Roller Derby!  This polish took about 3 coats to get full coverage however, it was well worth it.  My nails sparkled like crazy all day!

Last, I had to put on Soft Kitty so I started with two coats of Color Club Blushing Rose.  I then applied two coats of Soft Kitty.  This one was hard to get a good photograph but I promise that the polish is very striking in person.

October Polish Haul and Breast Cancer Awareness Nails

Between the Sally's October Birthday $10 off  and free Copious credit I was able to get these polishes for very little money during my no polish buy! 

Last, this is October and that means BCA nails.   My "Save the Hooters" nails are week 1's BCA Wednesday's We Wear Pink manicure.   The own turned out sooo cute! 

Candeo Mallard!!!

Yes, yes...I finally own one of my I'll-die-if-I-don't-have-it lemming, Candeo Mallard and it was soooooo worth the wait!   Plumage is pretty too, don't get me wrong but I've waited soooo long for Mallard!

butter London Bonanza!

Coterie had the most awesome deal, three butter London polishes and a matte or regular top coat for $11 shipped after a couple of promo codes.

Week 39 of the Year of Polish Challenge: Holoween Dry Marble

So Dry Marbling...good in theory but not so good in application!   While the Dry Marble method saves you on cleanup you need a lot of time and patience to let the marbles dry.  Essentially, you paint on a clear coat on a plastic baggie.  Then you paint on your base color.  In my case, I used Wet N Wild Black Creme.  I let that layer dry and then painted on another very generous layer of Black Creme.  Before it dried I dropped dots of Layla Ultraviolet and Sinful Colors Clementine and swirled all of the colors together.   After letting the decals dry, I pulled them (GENTLY) off the plastic.  I painted my nails with a clear coat and the applied the decals to each nail.  I cut down the edges to fit my nails and cleaned up any straggly edges with acetone.   I don't think I would do dry marbling very often but I like the practice of making decals on plastic.   I will do decals again soon!

Week 40 of the Year of Polish Challenge: Suede Animal Print Manicure

Playing catch up on the Year of Polish Challenge while I am in the thick of fall classes. 

Today I used a few of my Avon Suede polishes to complete some Suede Animal Print nails.

I painted my nails with Avon Fuchsia Feel, Blue Royale, and Sumptuous Rose.  I then used Revlon Gold Coin to paint on leopard and zebra prints on my nails.   I like how understated yet modern the suede polishes make animal print.  I predict my winter toes will sport some Suede Leopard Print in the future, yes, I do!

Week 41 of the Year of Polish Challenge: Holo Patchwork Nails

I got several Jade Holos from a Brazilian nail friend and one of my first manicures with them is this patchwork manicure.  I started with two coats of Jade Psychedelic.

Next I used striping tape to cordon off the patchwork triangles.  I then painted each section in random order with Jade Deja Vu, Violet Fascination, and Hypnose.

This manicure is so striking,  I can't stop looking at it and watching the holo rainbow dance on my nails.  I promise, more holo manis are in store!

Avon Suede Polishes and Suede Braid Nail Art

I finally bought some suede polishes.  These Avon Suedes were $3.49 each so I ordered all of them.  Unfortunately, my purple one was left out and I received some kind of red Avon glitter nail polish instead *sad face*  My Avon rep is working on the situation and hopefully I can get the purple suede to complete the collection.

Below is Blue Royale.  I love everything about the color and finish of this polish. 

Fuchsia Feel is pretty but maybe its just me, I wanted MORE fuchsia!

Sumptuous Rose is a very feminine and pretty polish.   Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I plan to use this polish for some ribbon nails.

Platinum Beauty is a gorgeous steely silver and it looks awesome on nails.  I am going to have to put some of this polish on my toes for winter!  So pretty...

Touch of Taupe was THE main suede that I wanted for fall. This is a rich light brown and like all the Avon Suede polishes it has a slight metallic looking finish.

 

The Avon Suede polishes are PERFECT for Braid nail art because they cover so well so I used Touch of Taupe, Blue Royale, and Fuchsia Feel on my Fuchsia Feel manicure.  Pretty good for my first attempt at a Fishtail or Braid design.

Perception Nail Lacquer's Deep Blue Something

I bought a couple of minis from Perception Nail Lacquer and this beautiful blue holo called Deep Blue Something.  I have had a bit of an obsession with holos of late.   I applied two coats of Color Club Hydrangea Kiss and then applied two coats of Deep Blue Something.  Holo nails are usually very striking but this particular blue had me mesmerized for the two days I wore it!  Gorgeous!

Life Is a Highway Nails

I belong to polish group on Facebook and each week they do a nail art challenge.  This week it was stripes and I wanted to do a unique spin on that theme.

I thought of highway nails and then came up with "Life is a Highway.."  Good song, and even better, very true!