Hurrican Irene update

Well, I had a planned haul post scheduled to go up this week, but due to Hurricane Irene I have been without power for almost a week now, so that will have to wait. The past week has just been crazy- we had an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week. You may not know but I work as a 911 dispatcher and I had to work the day Irene passed through NC and it was just insane. It generally takes me 20 minutes to get to work and when I was finally able to leave and go home it took over 2 hours because of the condition the roads were in. 

I've been staying with the boyfriend since his power never went out, so that's how I'm able to post this in case you were wondering. Yeah, I could do my post here but I got so much stuff and I don't feel like toting it over here just to make a blog post. Hoping that by Monday at the latest we will have power back on at my place and I can finally get my post up. In the meantime here is a photoshopped picture of my cat, Prissy, all ready for Halloween!

Earthquake in North Carolina!

So, I was sleeping good (preparing for night shift tonight) when I was woken to my whole house rumbling and shaking! Just as I woke up and figured out what was going on, a ceramic picture frame of my cat fell off my dresser and broke. This is the second earthquake we've had in NC. We had another, much smaller one back in 2003. Accord to weather reports it was a scale 5.8 quake and was felt up through Canada. We also have a hurricane coming through this weekend. Looks like the end of the world is finally upon haha. So, who else felt the earthquake?

My Top 10 Favorite Fall Polishes

I LOVE fall! It's only about 33 days away (not that I'm counting or anything) and I am so excited about it! I love the colors of the leaves, the cooler weather, and Halloween is in fall and that's my favorite holiday. Everything about fall is just so magical to me, it just has this atmosphere about it that I love so much. So, I decided to celebrate the upcoming fall season by posting my top 10 favorite fall nail polishes. I'm one of those weird people that like to paint my nails according to what season I'm in (light/pastels in spring, brighter/neons in summer) and fall polishes to me are darker, more earthy type colors and those are my absolute favorite colors to wear! Just another fantastic reason to love fall! Below I have my favorite fall polishes listed in order from my least favorite (even though I am IN LOVE with all of these!) to my number one favorite!

Nina Pro in Salsa- I love this green. I don't think most people typically think of green for fall but to me, this just fits in with fall so well. It's dark and earth toned and if you layer it with a gold glitter it goes perfectly.

Nina Pro in Molten Gold- Another Nina Pro polish, but this one is a fabulous duo chrome that just screams fall leaves to me. I included 2 pics of the bottle just to show how is changes colors somewhat. It can look very golden then changes to a more bronzed polish with a pinky shimmer to it. This is one I will be wearing a lot this upcoming fall.

Orly in Glam Rock- Here is another bronzey polish. I do tend to lean towards bronzes a lot during the fall. They just go so well with fall and this polish can be used in 2 different ways. If some of you may remeber this polish came out with Orly's Metal Chic collection maybe around 2 years ago? The collection consisted of this and a gold and black polish that dried matte. Glam Rock is such a beautiful matte polish, but you can add a glossy top coat over it and it becomes this stunning sparkly bronze polish with bronzey glitter. I wish I had thought to take a photo of it with a glossy polish over it but, alas.

Zoya in Faye- This one is a very pretty and unique shade. It's hard to describe, it's kind of a purple/mauve with gold glitter. It makes me think of Thanksgiving dinner with candles on the table. Weird description, no? But that's why I love it for fall.

 

  

China Glaze in Ick-A-Body- This one came out with China Glaze's Halloween collection last year and I wore this one out when I first got it. I love Halloween so, so much and this is the ultimate Halloween polish to me. This is a black jelly base with orange glitter in it. You can put a glossy top coat over it and the orange glitter in it just sparkles like jewels, or you can put a matte top coat over it and the orange glitter transforms in what makes me think of glowing embers in a fire place. How fantastic is that for fall/Halloween?!?

Zoya in Rica- I love this beauty for fall because, once again the color makes me think of leaves changing color on trees.  It's a unique coral with golden shimmer to it. I know a lot of beauty bloggers were saying this was perfect for summer but it just seems more suitable for fall to me. I think in the fall I tend to stray away from shimmery polishes more, but this one fits in perfectly with the season to me. I also included 2 different photos of it swatched to show how multi-deminsional it can be. In some lights it's a darker coral, then in some lights it takes on a lighter golden peachy tone.

Zoya in Dree- This is from the latest Zoya collection, Smoke, from the Smoke and Mirrors collection. I just got this one in the mail the other day but as soon as I saw swatches of it online I knew I needed it pronto for fall-and I was right! I am in love with shade! I don't think many people are into olive greens but I adore the shade! This is so perfect in everyway, I had to paint my nails with it immediately when it came and I can't stop looking at my nails!

 

 

China Glaze in Zombie Zest- I think this polish is really better suited for Halloween than the fall season, but I love Halloween so much and this is THE ultimate Halloween polish! I mean it's called Zombie Zest and that's exactly what it looks like. It looks like slimy, murky, ucky zombie flesh with shimmer. It's one of the polishes that it's so ugly, it's pretty! I feel like the if a zombie breathed on me and his breath had a color, this is what it would look like, lol.

Orly in Galaxy Girl- This came out last year with Orly's fabulous Cosmic FX collection. That was the most amazing collection that has come out in years and this was my favorite from the whole line. I love the dark burgundy base and the teal shimmer. It makes me think of burgundy wine. I wear this one all the time throughout the year because I love it so much but it is perfect for fall. It would be the perfect polish to wear to a dinner or a party during the fall season and would look great on anybody. 

MAC in Dry Martini- This one came out a couple of years ago in a MAC collection that I can't remember the name to, but I thought I was going to have a stroke when I saw this at the counter. This is the most expensive bottle of polish I own but it was well worth the money. Obviously, I looooove olive toned polishes, and this is the king of olive polishes. You can't really tell from the swatch, but you can pick it up more in the bottle shot. It has this mixture of dirty brown and olive green. It is so unique and everything I want in an olive polish. I love this so much that I rarely wear it because it was limited edition and I have not found anything that is an exact dupe. But I am going to wear this one out this season. It is fall in polish form and that makes it absolutely perfect to me <3

Jazzing up China Glaze's "Re-freshmint" in under a minute.

 Hey everyone, today I have a quick blog post on how to jazz up a plain manicure in under a minute! I had been wearing China Glaze's "Re-freshmint" for several days. I love this polish but after looking at the same thing on my nails day after day I get a little bored with it sometimes but don't always feel like taking it off and painting my nails all over again. So, what I did was use a silver glitter nail art brush and just basically put an "X" shape at the tip of my nail to add some sparkle to my nail without just painting a layer of glitter all over. I thought the silver compliment the pastel green polish nicely. It took me just under a minute to do this to all 10 fingers and I really like this. What do you think?

I have a few fall themed posts, including an massive haul lined up. I need to post more often than I due, so hopefully this will be the kick in the butt I need in order to get that accomplished. 

                Nail Art Deco silver glitter polish and China Glaze in "Re-freshmint"

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I honestly haven't had anything worth posting in a while. I've also been super busy and working a lot of hours at work and haven't had the time either. But I just wanted to make a quick post in remembrance of the passing of one of my absolute favorite singers of all time. The first time I heard Amy Winehouse's voice i was floored. She was so unique and talented. She was definitely what the music industry needed. I don't know about any of you but I just can't handle the cheesy pop music that you hear everywhere you go. It's been done before and it's tired. But I thought Amy was so refreshing and absolutely my style as far as music goes. 

I know she got a lot of slag for her fashion sense (and sometimes she really did look pretty rough) but over all I really liked her style. I thought it suited her and her musical style. I always looked forward to what she was going to be wearing next. 

I am saddened the the music world has lost such a phenomenal talent. I know she had her demons and I was hoping she would be able to overcome them and come back stronger and better than ever. However, hopefully her passing will teach people not to use drugs, and to seek help if you have a substance abuse problem. The 27 club claims another. Above is one of my favorite songs of hers. I hope you enjoy. R.I.P Amy <3

Wearable yellow look

 Hey everyone, I just realized that I have never really posted any of my makeup looks on here! That's crazy! So, today I am going to have a really short post but of a makeup look that I really like and think is kind of different. It's a yellow and brown look. I used glamour doll eyes "lemonade" on my lid and a brown discontinued Estee Lauder shadow in my crease and a shimmery champange highlight. It's nothing to difficult and I think most anyone could pull it off. I don't see a lot of yellow "everyday" looks on people and I think it is because it intimidates people. I think people think that if you're going to wear yellow shadow it has to be with some bright, bold, crazy look and that's not true. I've worn this look several times and really enjoy wearing it- I think it could even be suitable for work! Well, here are a few pics- let me know if you guys try this look out or post pictures of a wearable yellow look you have done! I'd love to see :)

Awesome new MAC collection coming soon!

I saw this post on Temptalia's blog and am soooo excited for this new MAC collection to come out! I haven't been excited for a MAC collection since the Venomous Villains collection came out in September of last year. I really am only interested in the eyeshadows and the pink blush, I think I can totally live without the lipsticks and glosses. But wow, those eyeshadows are amazing! I'm not sure when this collection is supposed to be available but I think maybe next month is what I read on Spektra? Anyway, just click on the link to Temptalia's webpage and you can see photos and swatches. I think I may actually skip out on that bright yellow shadow, the swatch just looks silver/grey and I want some of that vibrant yellow to stand out! But the rest of the shadows are just so pigmented and gorgeous and I have nothing like them in my collection, so these babies are a must have! Let me know what you guys think about this upcoming collection, what are you planning on getting?

Sayanythingbr00ke is going to have a charity raffle!

 

Sayanythingbr00ke is going to have an upcoming charity raffle in which she will be donating all the money towards a local animal charity. She is one of my favorite beauty guru's and I think this is an amazing thing for her to do. I love animals so much and they need our help. I strongly urge everyone to check out her video explaining what she will be doing and about the prizes she will be giving away. I've offered to send her some China Glaze polishes to put towards the prize, so I'm hoping to here back from her soon! I am going to donate as well once the raffle is in effect. Let me know if you participate in her charity raffle as well :)

Klean Colors nail polish and gorgeous ring from Target

Ok, so first off I am so irritated. I had taken several pictures of this mani I did using Sally Hansen's Complete Salon in "Fairy Teal" and now they are alll gone save one! UGGH!!!! I have no idea how I managed to delete all the pictures I took, but alas, life must go on. Since I did manage to salvage one picture I suppose I will still a post about it since it was fortunately, the best pic in the bunch anyway. 

I can't remember how I discovered the brand Klean Colors, but I'm glad I did. They have the most unique and amazing glitter polishes I have ever, ever seen. I saw a swatch of one called "Afternoon Picnic" and thought it was just so different, I have honestly never seen a polish like it. It has small gold, green, fuchsia and blue glitter with larger hexagonal silver glitter, very cool! I had the polish for a few weeks before I used it, I just couldn't figure out how to use it and make it look amazing. Then I saw "Fairy Teal
 one day in a drug store and knew that would look amazing with it, and I think I was right. I wore it to work one night and the girls at work said it looked like something that would be on a crown, like royal jewels. How better a complement can you get than that?? I really do have to agree with them because when I first applied it that was pretty much my same thought. I feel like I do have to say that the only thing that really bummed me about "Afternoon Picnic" was that it went on really thick and took hours to completely dry, even with a fast dry top coat. However, it's so pretty that the drying time factor is worth it. I definitely plan on buying some more Klean Color polishes and reviewing them in the future as well.

I also just wanted to show off this gorgeous ring I got from Target last week. It's amazing, it reminds me of pirate treasure! It is a green cocktail ring that has iridescent holographic gold inside it that changes colors as it hits the light at different angles. I took a few pics of it to try and capture the different colors. If you see this one at your local Target I suggest picking it up! I paid $8 for it :)

 

Bubbly Bombshell & Here Comes Trouble Crackle Mani

Hey everyone! I have the perfect summertime mani to share with you all today and it was super easy to do! I recently purchased Orly's Bubbly Bombshell and Here Comes Trouble from their new Pinup Collection and could not wait to try them out, so I used both at the same time. I just alternated the polished on every other finger, but once I painted my nails I felt like something was missing. I had purchased quite a few new polishes all at once and was trying to figure out how to incorporate another one of my new polishes into this look. I finally got my hands on the China Glaze white crackle polish in Lightning Bolt so I just swiped that on my tips at and angle and in different directions and voila! I just absolutely adored how this turned out! It's so summery and fun looking and oh so sparkly, and what's better than sparkles in the summer right?  My only grip about the new Orly glitter polishes is that they are buildable but I feel like they would look best layered over a similarly colored base as I was able to spot a few tiny bare spots here and there. Here are a few pics of my beloved mani, enjoy!

Ross's & TJ Maxx finds!

I went out of town last weekend with my boyfriend to go see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but we had some time to kill before the movie started so we went to the mall to look around. I went in Ross's, I love to go there because they have great designer bags, shoes and clothes at reasonable prices. As usual for me I went straight for the handbags and was really not finding anything that really stood out to me until I got to the last aisle and spotted this amazing Steve Madden bag with roses on it! I was totally just drooling over it but couldn't afford it at the time so I made a mental note to go back on payday, and I did. I went back to Ross's yesterday and grabbed it as soon as I walked in the door. I was so worried that they may have been sold out but they had been moved to a front end cap just for me :) Haha, well, not really, but I'd like to think that.

I just love the design on this bag. It looks like a piece of art that is still a work in progress, it's just a perfect bag for this time of year. It's very well made and a hefty bag that holds a ton of stuff. The inner pockets are very well made as well. You know how most handbags have that little pocket on the inside that are meant to hold your cell phone, but your cell always ends up falling out of it and lands itself at the very bottom of your bag? Well, mine fits perfectly in the cell phone pocket and doesn't fall out at all! Very impressive!

                                               


                                                                 Inner zipper pocket

                                                                  Close up of logo

I also stopped by TJ Maxx, as I also love their handbags and shoes. I wasn't even planning on getting anything, just wanted to browse but we all know how that goes... So, I saw these most perfect purple strappy  N.Y.L.A. wedges and knew I had to make them mine. I really do love these but I wore them for about 10 minutes today and had to take them off. The straps are made of cloth which are super comfortable but the sole of the shoe just made my feet cry out in pain. I guess I'm going to have to break these suckers in. Anyone have any tips on how to break in wedges like these? I have other wedges but none have ever made my feet hurt as bad as these do. Oh well, enjoy the pics! I have a few new mani posts coming your way soon, btw!

Thrift Store Deals!

So, my boyfriend and I went to a thrift store the other day and naturally, I gravitated towards the shoes. I almost immediately saw these Steve Maddens!

I got these for only $5! They had a ton of shoes in this place so I just kept on looking, hoping to find another steal and then, I saw them. I saw these AMAZING dark brown wooden heels with an orange strap with a buckle and gorgeous metal embellishment on the heels. I knew these shoes had to be mine. These were even less expensive than the Steven Maddens at just $3!

 These shoes are by a designer I have never heard of before, Jessica Bennett. There was something about these shoes that had a vintage feel to them and I was thinking that there was a good chance these shoes were made in the 70's. After I got home and did my research, I discovered I was quite wrong. These shoes were originally over $144! holy cow! These are not vintage shoes but high end designer shoes, and I got them for only three freaking dollars!  

I absolutely adore the metal detail on the heels, I am sure to be noticed when I wear these babies out. I wore them to work last night and I have to say that because they are made out of solid wood they are not something you want to wear all day, but they are fairly comfortable for a good amount of time. They do have some wear and tear but nothing that I don't think I can't solve with some wood stain...or I might just leave alone, I actually kind of like the worn look... as long as they don't get nicked too much worse anyway.

I am definitely going to be going to more thrift stores. It's amazing what you can find in these places, and yard sales too! You don't always have to buy direct from the designer or a department store to get great designer items, you just have to look hard enough sometimes and you might be in for a surprise.