NY Mani feat. L'Oreal Project Runway in The Queen's Ambition

Hello there lovelies! So far this year has been utter crap. Yesterday I received the worst news, and to be honest I'm still kind of reeling. About 20 years ago my mother survived Lymphoma. They only disovered the cancer because she had a heart attack. A few years later, she had a second heart attack. That's alot to go through right? You would think that the Universe would give the poor woman a break. Not so much. My mom  now has Lung Cancer. I am devastated. I'm trying like hell to be strong for her, because who knows? She's a strong woman. She may very well beat this too. But it's scary, ya know? Despite our many differences, that's my mom. And I'll be the first to admit that I have times where I really want my mom, and it terrifies me to think that the forces that be keep trying to take her from us. Hasn't she suffered enough??

The only thing that took my mind off all of this last night was doing my nails. For that small amount of time that I was working on a mani, I was able to let it go. Whoever said that what we do is a waste and time and serves no purpose can bite me. :)

Anyway, Today I have my New Years Mani to share with you all. I knew that I wanted something sparkly and dark, but just couldn't decide. You know you stand in front of a closet full of clothes and swear you have nothing to wear? That's me standing in front of the 900 polishes in my stash when I'm left to my own devices and not working on my swatch pile. Then I came across The Queen's Ambition from L'Oreal's Project Runway Collection (thanks Aly, for reminding me I have this!). The Queen's Ambition is a black polish filled with silver glitters and fine silver flakes. I love black and silver together, and throw in some sparkle and I'm a happy girl! However I felt like it needed some oomph. So I grabbed Mash Plate Mash-08 and Essie No Place Like Chrome from the Mirror Metallics Collection and added some zippy stars.

I ended up really digging this mani! I've included a macro shot to show off the sparkles in The Queen's Ambition.

Isn't The Queen's Ambition a cool polish? I love that there are little flakes of silver as well as the glitter.

The Queen's Ambition was easy to work with as well. It is slightly thick and does drag a bit on the first coat, but evens out nicely with the second. It's definitely one of my top 2 from the Project Runway Collection.

What did you wear on your nails for New Years?

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber

Sunset With Stars Acrylic Nails-Unias acrilicas de atardecer y estrellas

Hola!!!!

Hoy les traigo unas unias hechas de acrilico con tip, son las unias que le puse a mi hermana, y ella queria algo asi como muy veraniego, asi que le pinte un atardecer y me sorprende que fuera de ella la idea ya que mi mama y mi hermana son de gustos mas sencillos :p, pero me alegre mucho de poder hacer estas unias.

antes de poner el acrilico peque el tip y pinte de amarillo el french con esmalte de sally hansen Xtream wear llamado ''mellow yellow'', después cuando seco completamente con una esponja de maquillaje empece a dar golpecitos en 3/4 del french con esmalte naranja de sinful colors ''Cloud 9''  y por ultimo mas golpecitos con esmalte rojo de sinful colors ''gogo girl''. Y con esta misma tecnica se hace un efecto ombre en cualquier color.

Por ultimo puse una capa muy aguada de acrilico y peque las estrellitas tornasol, que creo yo que les da un efecto muy bello a las unias, y encapsule toda la unia con acrilico crystal de organic, y puse top cat de organic tambien.

Espero les guste!!!

Final 30 Days of Blue Mani: Water Marble Stripe (or Does this mani make my nails look fat?)

Few words today since I'm still feeling quite tired, even though I'm slowly improving. I did this mani a good 4 days ago when I was feeling inspired to try out some water marble stripes, and although it doesn't look as bad in person, I wasn't all that happy. I used a Milani White, and it kept blending with the blue (China Glaze First Mate), and my hands just weren't steady enough to really get clean lines. Damned albuterol! I also added the stars on the second day, which made my top coat bubble and pool around them. I think they're a bit too tall to really cover with top coat and keep them clean looking.

I think this mani made my nails look a bit wide, don't you? Sorry for the crappy pics, I didn't have much patience for photography that day. I also didn't bother shaping my nails before working on this mani. Man, sick people are damned lazy, right? ;)

Fun, but I really wish I had attempted this when I wasn't so sick. Next time I'll know to stick with my usual white, and to go slow. I like my lines a bit strighter, and when they aren't they tend to throw me off visually and I can't tell if my nail is shaped weird, or if the lines make them look that way. Not fun for someone with OCD, lemme tell ya!

Thus ends the 30 days of nothing but blue, which was fun and a cause so dear to me. Thnks to everyone that read our story, shared it, and spread some awareness. I am so touched that so many people commented, emailed and posted. You guys rock. And of course a special thanks to Megan for creating this 30 day campaign. 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dying to wear a different color though! ;) Let's hope my body cooperates and lets me stay awake to change my polish tonight. I don't get much rest, which is one of the reasons I'm not kicking this virus very fast, so my body has been just shutting down at night lately. And since I really want to feel better, I haven't been fighting it.

Happy Polishing!
-Kimber

TGIF: This green is fan-freaking-tastic!

*Edit* the SHAREON code may not be working. I'm working on finding out if the new $5.00 code has replaced that. Until then, You can still get a discounted first box for $5.00 plus free shipping by using code January at checkout. Sorry about that, folks! I was told that penny code would still work. I'll post again when I find out whats up with that!!

Yesterday I received my January Maven box from Julep. (If you're not already a Maven and want to be, just click here and use code SHAREON at checkout to receive your first box for just a penny!) This month my It Girl box was all polishes, plus my free upgrade. Unfortunately my chosen upgrade polish was out of stock, so they sent me a free Nail Therapy and a coupon for a free polish. I was very happy and impressed that they handled that out of stock issue so very well, and have already ordered my free polish.  The "It Girl" polishes for January are all bright and happy colors, and honestly I would never have chosen 2 of these (see the benefit of these boxes? Not only am I getting a great deal on a fabulous polish brand, but I'm able to try out new colors that I would never buy on my own!).  I plan on swatching the other 2 colors tonight, but last night I was in the mood for something fun and different, so I chose to check out Julep's "Leah".

Leah is a bright, grassy green with very subtle green shimmer. It's so bright that it's almost, but not quite neon. In fact, my camera had a serious b**ch of a time capturing this one, so forgive my lobster claws; it's the only way to show the true color of the polish with this one. I tried every lighting combo on earth, and still couldn't grab it without Dr. Zoidberg hands. I also totally forgot to take pics of this polish before I stamped it! Thankfully I caught that mistake before I stamped my right hand, so here is Leah, on my very rarely seen right hand!

Lightbox:

See how my camera really wants to make this polish more of a mint color? Bad camera! Bad! The first 2 pics are closer to true color.

And some stamping! This color was begging for something fun and funky, so I grabbed my MASH 2012 plates and stamped on some chunky stars. I'm getting better at this, but made the mistake of rushing since it was late, hence a bit of smudging.

Strangely enough, my right hand came out better than my left! That's a first!

And a couple of shots in sunlight. The color is a bit truer here, but my camera still wanted to make it minty. The lobster hand pics really are the truest representation. And a reminder that a new camera would be a decent investment. Anyone care to try to convince my hubby I really NEED a new camera?? ;)

Formula was perfection, as I've come to expect from Julep. I have zero complaints about this polish! I can't wait to wear this color again in the spring/summertime.

If you aren't yet a Julep Maven, remember you can get your first box for just ONE PENNY by clicking here and using code SHAREON at checkout. Trust me, it's worth it. Every month you'll receive over $60.00 worth of products for a measly $19.99, and you can cancel any time, skip a month, or send your box to a friend! Seriously, even if you just get the intro box for a penny and then cancel, you can't go wrong. And there's no pressure to stay on if you DO cancel. Awesome, right? I don't normally keep programs like this one, but I fell in love with Julep's products as well as their customer service, so for now, I'm still in. Try it!

Happy Polishing!