OPI DS Passion

I'm gettin' festive up in here. Here's a very pink, very cutesy, very sparkly Valentine's Day manicure for ya, featuring DS Passion by OPI.

DS Passion is a soft holographic pink. It looks like a scattered holo effect, but it is actually linear (not as intense as say, Gosh's Holographic though). The light captures the holographic bits pretty well actually, so you don't have to be under bright lights to notice it. While soft pink isn't necessarily "my thing," it is very pretty. And it applied very easily. Too quick coats, and it was good to go. It is on the thinner side, but still very easy to manage. Overall, a pretty color I am glad to have in my collection. I probably won't reach for it as often as my vamps, but there's no saving me when it comes to darker polishes.

I hope you are all having a great Valentine's Day, whether you have a partner or not. I'm spending the day hanging out with myself, which is actually quite nice.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that if you are near a Target, you may want to head in there soon, as it seems like they are making room for Spring collections, and clearance-ing a ton of stuff out.

Here's what I purchased:
- A makeup brush. Seems to be of pretty decent quality, but I'm not picky.
- Purple Rain by Rimmel. A deep, vampy plum. Not exactly unique in my collection, but I couldn't pass it up due to its name. What kind of Minnesotan would I be if I ignored a polish that's named after a Prince song/movie? Plus it was the last one on the shelf!
- Canal Street by NYC. Scarlet red with gold microshimmer.
- West Village by NYC. Deep, shimmery purple.
- Smoky Canvas by Revlon. A grey that looks like it leans a little brown. Very pretty. My mom really liked it, too, and for a moment I thought she was going to try and pick one up for herself (I can't remember the last time my mom wore nail polish).
- Siren by Revlon. Bright orange. I was enamored by the vintage-y design of their name on the cap (which you can't really see in the photo, but trust me it's cute).
- Some gel liner by Sonia Kashuk. Applies smoothly.
- Brow kit. Not on clearance but I needed more brow wax, and apparently it's next to impossible to purchase brow wax on its own.

I spend less than $20 on all of this! I love Target!

Nails Inc Basil Street

For my first post-Challenge manicure, I wanted a palate cleanser. And it just so happened that my Christmas present from Nicole came, which included Basil Street by Nails Inc.

Basil Street is a nude polish, which is jelly-ish. Maybe a jelly-creme. It was kinda hard to tell on my short nails. They're shorter than I'd like, but of course one broke down pretty far, and the rest had to go with. I guess it's nice to start fresh with a nude polish and shorter nails. Anyway, Basil Street applied really easily, and needed just two coats for opacity. I realize my two photos are color corrected inconsistently. Basil Street is closer to the second picture. It isn't necessarily attention grabbing, but I still can't stop staring at my nails!

My full gift from Nicole! An adorable card; 17 Glitter Top Coat & Nightshade (from the Electric Disco gift set); Models Own Aqua Violet & Purple Blue; Nails Inc Piccadilly Circus, Tate, Basil Street, & Victoria; Revlon Gold Get 'Em, yum yums, and a cute bracelet!

Well, it was bound to happen. After a handful of swaps & gifts, we have a casualty. The third member of the 17 Electric Disco set snapped off at the base, and ended up in the box and on the bag. Both are airing out and will be salvageable. The empty nail polish bottle went in the trash. RIP.

For those of you who celebrate a winter holiday that involves gift giving and receiving, what gifts did you get?! I am not religious, but I do celebrate Christmas, and it was pretty solid. I got a juicer, a Jade Harmony yoga mat, and a cute dress from my parent's. I have been juicing up a storm, and the yoga mat is amazing. I also bought myself a Kindle, which was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have always been an avid reader, but I've been reading even more than I used to with it. Recommend me some books! I will read pretty much anything.

Also, do any of you have Pinterest? I just signed up. http://pinterest.com/jumpoffcliffs/

Wet N Wild Behind Closed Doors & My Giveaway Winnings

Here's another Halloween manicure, with a polish from Wet N Wild's On the Prowl collection. Chi Chi from The Phalanges Files sent me this as an extra from her giveaway. I also have pictures of everything she sent at the end of this post. But first, here's Behind Closed Doors!

Having seen swatches of Behind Closed Doors on a plethora of other nail blogs, I knew it was in more of a smokey grey base, rather than a true black base. So I layered this over two coats of NYC Black Lace Creme. I did not photograph that on it's own this time, but if you're dying to see shitty, air-bubbly photos of your basic black creme, I did photograph it in this post.

I added two coats of Behind Closed Doors over the black, and I must say, the contrast between the red glitter and black base just looks so cool! It certainly does have a spooky, dark element to it (I'm reminded of Jack the Ripper for some reason... blood splattering in the night?). My only gripe is the amount of glitter that applied. I like my glittery polishes and top coats to be, well, glittery. I probably would have had to do like four coats of Behind Closed Doors to get it where I wanted it to be. That would have been six coats, not including base or top coat. Even though the glitter is more sparse than I prefer, it still looks pretty cool.

Now, here are some bottle shots of everything Chi Chi sent!

The Sinful Colors Adventure Island Collection. Easy Going, Beautiful Girl. Star Fish, Verbena, Adventure Island, Seaweed, Open Seas.

China Glaze White Cap, Fairy Dust, Flop Flop Fantasy, Liquid Leather.

She was awesome and threw in some extra treats! Sally Hansen Mystic Lilac, WnW Behind Closed Doors, and Nicole by OPI Too Rich for You!

I have obtained so many polishes lately, I had too add another Ikea box to my nail polish storage! And it's half full! I think it's time for another No Buy!

Halloween Splatter Mani & Nail Mail

I'm on Day 20 of The Challenge, which means I'm at the end of the patterns section. Today is supposed to be a water marble manicure, but I just can not get into water marbling. So, I figured something similar, yet better looking, would be a splatter mani! And since Halloween is right around the corner, I figured I'd choose Halloween-inspired colors.

The orange I used was Atomic by Nails Inc. The green is OPI's Who the Shrek Are You? And the black is Black Lace Creme by NYC. People aren't kidding when they say splatter manicures are incredibly messy. I used a good amount of tape around my nails, and I still had a hell of a time trying to clean up. (Naturally, my clean up job looks 10 times worse in the photographs than it does in real life.) Don't skimp on the tape, people!

When I had my first hand done, I didn't really like it. I nearly decided to just photograph the one hand, remove it, and do something else. Which is not abnormal for most nail bloggers, but I am not a swatcher. But once I removed the tape, I ended up liking it. The more I got used to blowing nail polish out of a straw, the better they looked. Plus, I think the green oozing down my ring finger nail is just too cute. Overall, I'd call this a success. I'm thinking this will be the start of a few Halloween manis in a row, so I may put the challenge on hold until Halloween is over. We'll see.

The second part of my entry will feature lots of photographs of nail polish bottles! Recently I've acquired a ton of new nail polish. Most in a swap with Nicole at Top to Toe, and some I've purchased. Lots of pictures ahead!

I bought these three at Walgreens recently: Revlon Royal Cloak, Fantasy Makers (by Wet N Wild) Night Glow, & a sparkly green by Walgreens that has no name. On LiveJournal I purchased Borghese Menta & Sally Hansen Mystic Lilac (!). And I bought a couple A England's in their recent sale: Lady of the Lake & Tristam.

This is the start of what Nicole sent. Model's Own Cherry Pie, Blooboo, Peacock Green, Coral Reef, Purple Grey, & Juicy Jules.

Marks & Spencer Khaki, Emerald, Dusted Apricot, Gold, Bright Aqua, & Jewel.

Famous by Sue Moxley Dark Chocolate, Golden Plum, Purple Passion & Scarlet Sparkle.

Boots No 7 Salsa & Foxglove. Ruby & Millie Purple & Red.

Collection 2000 BMX Racer, Starlet, All That Jazz, Jitterbug.

Andrea Fulerton Naomi, 17 Fury, Missguided Splash Misstaken, & Accessorize Aztec.

Bath roses, a couple lotions, Soap & Glory shower gel and scrub, and some super cute jewelry!

Nicole completely blew my away with this swap! She went above and beyond, and really sent some amazing stuff! Lots of the brands I haven't tried before, so I'm going to have a blast trying all these new polishes. I really am so lucky to have a great swap partner and a great friend! If you'd like to see what I sent her - which looks measly and pathetic in comparison - take a peak at this post.

What do you guys think of the splatter mani? How jealous are you of all my new goodies?! Hope your week is going well!

Street Wear Haul

I'm back from New York! The trip went well. We had perfect weather for sitting on the beach the whole week!

When I got back, a package full of Street Wears was waiting for me.

All of 'em!

Hologram, Midas, Bare It, Shining, Gold Mine, Taxi.

Sstain, Sweetie, Angelic, Psychedelic, Jelly.

Ggrass Sstain, Grass Stain, Sky, Mmoody, Raw, Grape, Gun Metal.

 I'm super pumped to start trying all of these out. I remember being obsessed with this brand in middle school. If only I'd held on to mine.

Swap #2

I guess the postal gods were looking out for me. Shortly after creating my previous post, my package from Nicole at Top to Toe came! So, here's some more photos of pretty nail polish bottles.

Pretty wrapping paper again! I need to step up my wrapping paper game.

Box of goodies, plus a cute card.

Models Own Bronze Rage, Nyla Nude, Concrete Mixer

GOSH Miss Mole, Miss Sweety, Holographic (!!!!!)

OPI Shanghai Shimmer and Clubbing Til Sunrise

17 Poncho Pink, Glitter Top Coat, Spiced Plum

Miss Sporty 320, 304, 420

StarGazer 104, 102, 157, 161

Soap&Glory lotion, China Glaze Sugar Plums, and Nails Inc Fashion Fawn

I couldn't be happier with what Nicole sent! I am so lucky to have met such a wonderful friend, and swap partner. I can't wait to try everything!

End of May Mini Haul

Yesterday, my sister and I went on a little field trip to Ulta and the mall. I also received a package in the mail from a gal on LiveJournal. Here's what I got!

OPI Stranger Tides & Can You Tapas This? ($3.99!)

Ulta Green With Envy & Essence My Boyfriend's Jeans.

Lippmann Fade to Black, It's Raining Men, & Maneater. $3 each at Trade Secret!

Kleancolor Firework & Barielle Falling Star, from LiveJournal.

I think it's a pretty decent haul! Maneater looks black in my photo, but it's actually a rich, dark brown. I was super happy to find Falling Star, because I've been after that for a while. I've also got a package from Nicole on the way, which I am so antsy to get!

Have you come across any good finds recently?

What I Received

Nicole at Top to Toe is SO AWESOME! I received my package from her today, and I couldn't be happier with what she sent.

 

Starting to open the package.

 

 Check out the cute wrapping paper!

 

 All wrapped up safely!

 

Yummy candies!

 

Getting closer!

 

Here they are all lined up. 17 total!

 

Barry M Blue Glitter, Navy, Strawberry Ice Cream, Mint Green, Bright Purple, and Buzz.

 

Models Own Gold Rush, Pastel Pink; Miss Sporty 380, 60, 105.

 

Collection 2000 Green With Envy; China Glaze Cheers to You; Nails Inc. Hampstead Heath; Claire's Unknown?; Front Cover Unknown?; Boots No 7 Milan.

How lucky am I!? So many goodies! I can't wait to try them all.

Nicole, thanks so much. You are the best!