The last manicure of 2012 ...

And the first of 2013!



This is: CND Stickey, Gelish base coat, two coats of ProGel 'Trophy Cup', Gelish top coat, three coats of China Glaze 'Glistening Snow' or 'Angel Wings' on the accent nail, a coat of Jordana quick shine top coat, and a coat of Poshe top coat.

Out of the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection, 'Winter Holly' was the only polish I knew I had to have right off the bat. I actually saw these two in store and didn't pick them up. Until I saw swatches. Then I knew! These two are amazing on the nail. 'Glistening Snow' is like wearing diamonds on your nails! The holo glitter really makes it. These are relatively thick glitters (which I like). I was worried about them being dupes for 'Fairy Dust' and 'Golden Enchantment' but they are no where close. I'd say the closest thing would be the Milani holos, since those are relatively non-linear and have glittery sparkle in all light like these do. And that is a major compliment! I stop to just stare at my nails and move them around in the light pretty often, so that's the best thing I could say about a manicure.

Verdict: If you don't have these, get them! (If you can, get the set with a free shot glass!)

*All products featured in this post were purchased by me for wear and review. 

2012 year end round-up!

I've come a long way in 2012, as you're about to see. I started out with some pretty sloppy work and am very proud to say that I have cleaned things up quite impressively!

Here are some of my favorites from 2012:


From January: 1970s nails



From February: matted glitter nails



Done in February but posted in March: reggae nails


My first ever magnetic from all-green March.

Also in March, I started TartanHearts Jewelry! Mostly because I needed an excuse to buy more polish.


I don't care how much hate it gets, I'll always love China Glaze "Trendsetter". Also from March.


I started doing gel in April and never looked back! (and this polish will be part of my first nails of 2013!)


By June, I'd already started on a gel stash.


I got a little crazy in July.


October was Orange October and my manicures helped my beloved San Francisco Giants win the World Series!


This one helped them win the NLCS.


Seriously, it was a big month for my nails. This polish has tiny orange hearts! I still can't get over that.


Things got simple again in November and I tried the 'scrubbing in' method of wearing gel with glitter and loved it!


See? It's good in every color.


December got a little different again ...


... but it's finished off pretty strong with my Christmas nails.

I'll have one final 2012 mani after this: my New Year's nails. I just finished them up before I started working on this. After all, what better thing to do when your nails are still wet than a little typing?

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 brings as much nail-related awesomeness as 2012 did!

China Glaze Winter Holly

Above is three coats of China Glaze 'Winter Holly' with CND Stickey as base coat and Jordana Quick Shine top coat. (This ATE top coat, and I'd recommend Seche or Gelous!)

I found this beauty at CosmoProf, and it was the only one in the CG Holiday Joy collection that I picked up. I'm relatively sure they didn't have 'Glistening Snow' because I couldn't have passed that puppy up. Anyway, 'Winter Holly' is a nice, mossy green glitter with gold and (possibly?) a few holo glitters in the mixed. You can see the glitter better in the slightly blurry second picture.



This is WH without top coat. ... I LOVED it that way! It was kind of suede-y and really nice. This leads me to believe this would be great mattefied, but I haven't tried it yet. I liked the texture of it without topcoat, as well. I actually liked it better without top coat than with!

The CG Holiday Joy collection is available all over the place, including Head 2 Toe Beauty for $3.25.

St. Patrick's Day manicure #2

This is:
one coat Nailtiques 2+
two coats Revlon Top Speed 'Emerald'
one coat Poshe top coat
'Emerald' is a good medium green cream. It is opaque in two coats and is the perfect green for St. Patrick's Day.
I actually can't say that much about it, because it is simple and very much beyond reproach. It is decidedly green in any light, and never shows black the way a lot of greens do in dark light.
It is also a perfect base for stamping, glitter, or a crackle top coat.

You're wearing a green dress. Is that because you're Irish?

March, for me, is an orgy of green and glitter. And green glitter. I work in an Irish pub, and I do Scottish Highland dance. This makes St. Patrick's Day a huge deal. (We started really planning in January.)
To celebrate this, I do green polish starting March 1st. Today I've got China Glaze 'Holly- Day' on. This is a great medium green cream toward the yellow end of green. It went on streaky in one coat and opaque with coat two. I'm debating adding stamping or glitter over this. Maybe some shamrock stamps!
This is:
one coat Nailtiques 2+
two coats China Glaze 'Holly-Day'
one coat Poshes top coat