Essie Pretty Edgy w/ OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air accent

This is an oldie from this summer that I found in my drafts! Here's Essie Pretty Edgy with an accent nail of OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air.

Obviously since these pics were taken a couple months ago, I'm not positive on number of coats, but I do remember that Pretty Edgy had a great formula, so I'd assume I used 2 coats, and Fresh Frog was not so much a great formula. I used at least 3 or 4 coats of the glitter, if not more. It wasn't actually the formula that wasn't good, it's just that it's one of those glitters where full coverage is nearly impossible. That's fine with me, though.

I really like this combo. Pretty Edgy is so gorgeous. I can't believe it was still in my untried pile! Crazy!

Sincerely, Cat

Essie Lapis of Luxury w/ OPI Pearl of Wisdom

More layering! Like I said...it's a new habit!

This time I used Essie Lapis of Luxury (an old favorite from the greatest Essie collection of all time, the Resort Collection 2010), and OPI Pearl of Wisdom (a sheer duochrome that's great for layering...but photographs horribly!)

2 coats of Lapis, and 1 of Pearl, with a coat of Seche Vite. I considered just stopping with Lapis, since it's such a pretty blue, but where's the fun in that? Pearl makes it all the better...it gives it that nice pink flash, and in some lights a slight green flash (I wasn't able to show it in any pics though, unfortunately).

The thing that this mani most reminded me of is the cover of Katy Perry's album Teenage Dream...kind of like pink and blue cotton candy. It also somewhat reminds me of icicles, since it's ice blue with little ice-looking pieces of shimmer. It looks way better in person though...my pictures are not good at all. Ah well.

Anyways, I suppose that's all for now!

Sincerely, Cat

Essie Haute As Hello

This is Essie Haute as Hello...I was surprised by how much I liked this! This is an untried mini from almost 2 years ago. In the bottle, it looked basically the same as Essie Tart Deco (which I also have and love) so I thought it would pretty much just be the same thing. I might like this one even better!
3 coats here, and one of Seche Vite. And the SV was pretty necessary, because...this dries to a satin finish! Odd. But, anyways. This color is super bright and in-your-face...way brighter than in these pics, because my camera flipped out when it saw this polish. I like this color, because normally when you think of a peach color, you think of soft and demure, right? Yeah, this isn't. It packs a punch, for sure. It's almost neon...and I love it.

So, this polish was a win for me! Like it. A lot.

Sincerely, Cat

Essie Knockout Pout

It's Wednesday...you know what that means!
This week I decided to try Essie Knockout Pout, from the Summer 2010 collection. I have the mini set from that collection but for some reason, they've all sat unused so far...weird! I been going through my couple hundred untrieds (yikes!) and this pink stood out to me today.
The pictures are somewhat accurate...this was difficult to photograph! The first pic is the most true, though. It's a bright, slightly coral, almost neon, bubblegum pink. It dried with a satin, nearly matte finish. I used three coats and one coat of Seche Vite.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one...it looked pretty basic in the bottle but it really pops on the nail. I think I like it!

Sincerely, Cat

Essie Fall 2010 Minis

Dear everyone who is not reading this blog (but should be! :] )

This weekend's haul brought me a few products I'd been salivating over. First, China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, and CG Kiwi Cool-ada (from the spring/summer Poolside collection. I know, I'm a bit late to the party. Ah well). Second, the OPI (OPI is my number one brand, hands down!) Go Goth Halloween mini set for this year. Third, the Essie Summer 2010 mini set (for some reason, I always refer to this collection as the Demure Vixen collection. Anyways.). And lastly, the Essie Fall 2010 mini set. (Really, Essie, did you just give up on naming your collections? lol)

Yes, as you can tell, I am a mini set aficianado! I never use up a full bottle of polish anyways, and minis are so adorable. :) OPI's minis sort of agitate me, though, because they don't have labels on the bottom of the bottle so I can never remember the name of the polish. Essie's minis, on the other hand, do.

Sorry to jump from topic to topic--but this post is about the Essie Fall minis!!! Again--off topic--but most of my Essie stash is mini bottles. I really only buy their seasonal polishes, because their permanent collection is basically all nudes/pinks/etc....which is not for me!

The set includes Little Brown Dress (brown, obviously), Sew Psyched (army green-ish with a teensy bit of shimmer), Merino Cool (the ever-popular greige), and Limited Addiction (dark cherry reddish). As of now, I'm wearing Little Brown Dress (LOVE the name!). I've been wearing it for two or three days now, and it's holding up really well, considering how dark it is. Very minimal tipwear. Sidenote--I always use Sephora by OPI base coat and Seche Vite top coat (BEST TOP COAT EVAR!)

I really love wearing dark browns in the fall. I'm not a big fan of the whole black nail thing, but a nice brown is a great alternative. Without further ado, here is the pic (albeit, taken by a crappy webcam like always).

Love and brown dresses to all, Cat