Zoya on Twitter - FREE POLISH!

Hello ladies! It's been around, but I just wanted to do my part and promote the "Follow Zoya on Twitter" movement. If they hit 5,000 followers by August 3rd, 2009 they will tweet a code to get America, Ali and Paz for FREE! You can get to them here:

http://twitter.com/zoya_nailpolish

If you already use Twitter, just follow, and if you don't sign up! I avoided it for a while, but when I found out that companies do things like this that you can only find on Twitter, I had to join! So you can follow me too! My name is Lacquerlaine.

Last I checked, they had 2,773 followers, so there's still a lot of ground to cover by Monday. It's free polish... what are you waiting for?!

Pedi by request...

....from my hunny! He was so funny when he began the conversation about it too. He looked at my feet (which were Essie - Funky Limelight at the time) and said, "Why don't you ever paint your toes white?" I didn't even know what to say! I just said I never thought of it because I have so many other colors to use on my toes! So I asked if he wanted me to and he said, "yeah!"
"Do you want me to do a soft white, or a white-out white?"
"White-out white."
"Do you want me to do some sort of design on them?"
"Yeah, in red. Flowers or somethin'."

Okay babe. This one is for you!

And he likes it! And I really like it!

I used OPI- Alpine Snow as the base, and then stamped with Konad Special Polish in red with plate M64 on the big toes, and then plate M3 to get the little random flowers on the rest of the toes.



Here is my and my friend's foot at the beach on Sunday. She was wearing Misa - Pour Me Something Tall & Strong with LA Girls - Supernova on top. (Sorry Kate! HAHA!) It was a gorgeous day and she didn't have to work so we planned to ride bikes to the beach and go for a swim. It was the first time all year I went in the lake!! I just love it. And I love to lay on the beach. I don't bring a towel or anything. I love to just roll around in the sand. It's so theraputic and nice. And fun!

And here is my foot underwater!

And a bonus pic of the beach. It was getting near sunset so I got some pretty shadows and colors in the clouds.
(you can click to view the enlarged size too!)

Wet n Wild Craze Polish Giveaway!

Hello everyone! It is Tuesday. I am tired! Usually people dread Mondays, but I swear, Monday I can do. It's Tuesday when it all hits me! But I got my coffee, so I think I'll make it!

I was crazy over the new Wet n Wild craze polishes I have seen floating around online. I heard they were spotted at Meijer's so I had to take a ride and see for myself. I found them!! And I thought it would be nice if I picked up doubles of my faves to give away since not everyone has a Meijer's. I am sure they will work their way to drugstore around us all, but who wants to wait?

The colors that I have for giveaway are Shield, Rustic and Morbid:They are a bit smaller of a bottle, but I love them. I like the round shape with the same size cap, and I loooove the design on that cap! That would get me right there, but then the polishes are awesome on top of it!

And some swatches:
Shield


Rustic


Morbid

The contest is open from today to Friday, 11:59pm CST, and international entries are welcome! I can't seem to get on Contest Machine. It looks like the site is down. So just leave a comment to this post and that will serve as your entry. One entry per person. Please leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. If you prefer to not post it your email address, you can email me: lacquerlaine@gmail.com

GOOD LUCK!
:c)

NOTD: Del Sol - True Love

HI GUYS! I hope you are having a great day! This is my Nail of The Day. It is nice and sunny so I thought it would be appropriate! (Hope I can sneak out to the beach... I have my bathing suit in my bag!!) This is Del Sol - True Love with two coats of LA Girls - Purple Glitter on top. Indoors True Love is a sweet, sugary nude, and outside it is a lovely lilac. And either look looks great with the purple glitter! It isn't a very bold, in your face glitter. The color is soft but I think that makes it perfect for this mani.

Here is a bonus puppy pic I took over the weekend. It's my Cash playing with my boyfriend's parents' dog, Molly. They just love to play together. I was so proud at the action shot I got! Enjoy and have a fabulous summer day! (unless the weather sux where you are. In that case, have a fabulous inside day!)

Lippmann Collection Tenth Anniversary Set

Yes! It's Friday! I am planning on having a relaxing weekend! How about you?

I got my camera back, finally! And not only that, but they said it had to be replaced, so I got a new one! AND... they didn't have my model in stock anymore so I got a newer, better version! How exciting! I have been flipping out over it! It's just too awesome. Always get service plans... it's so worth it. I spent $50 for it, but for a rather expensive camera that went on me in less than a year... I am very happy I did it.

Enough of that. How about some pics?!

I finally got to swatch the Lippmann Collection 10th Anniversary Set. It's pretty spectacular.

What they are: Three shimmering shades that let your nails shine. After ten years of pioneering nail trends and developing fashion-forward shades, nail guru Lippmann Collection is celebrating with an exclusive set of specail-edition polishes. Available only in the Celebrate tenth anniversary set, the luxe lacquers come in three glam, glittering shades:

• Ruby Red Slippers - Dorothy's shimmering ruby
• Funky Chunky - Sequined sheer black
  
• Superstar - Show stopping copper flecked fudge

Ruby Red Slippers - This is a sheer black base, with bright red hexagon glitter and smaller round glitter. Shown above is a sun, shade and close up shot. This one is breathtaking. It is just... can I say it? BADASS. I love it. I love the base. It is easy to apply and had a smooth consistency and just the right amount of color to let the glitter show through, but build opacity. I really love the glitter. It is so vibrant and glowy. I used 3 coats in my swatches and I love the way it looks with different layers of glitter. In the sun you can see that it is a sheer base, but look at how dramatic in the shade! So dark but with that red shine. Amazing.

Funky Chunky - Putting this on I thought "this is so appropriately named". It is funky, and it is chunky. Now this polish is bizarre, but I am going to give it every chance; It is unique. Very unique. It has special requirements. But it is not a total failure. I thought it would be after reading other reviews, but I really like it. The base is dark, opaque and thick. The sequins are jet black hexagons. Not glitter. And you think, "why wouldn't they make the base sheer and smooth like Ruby Red Slippers? I think it is because it would swallow up the sequins. If you look at Ruby Red Slippers, I do not have a top coat, and it is still pretty smooth. The glitter and base agree to be on the same level. So if the base were like that on this one, it may not have the right effect. I think texture is supposed to be key with this one. On the other hand, if the base was nice and sheer, and the sequins are jet black, you may still be able to make out the hexon shapes just fine. I don't know. I am just trying to paint a picture of this "what if" polish. I would love to see it.

I applied Funky Chunky with one coat and used as many strokes as needed to get it even and have the sequins placed properly. This has to be a rather thick coat to work. And then...you wait. And it may seem like a mess at first, but as it dries the sequins show, and it looks pretty cool. You just can't put on a topcoat. I think it takes away from the effect.

Superstar - I have been waiting for this for a while. What can I say about it. Perfect? Yeah. That is it. It has copper glitter in a fudgy, brown base. It's pretty rough and needs 2 coats of topcoat to get it totally smooth, but it's worth it. I used two coats of polish for the swatch above. I wore it as soon as I got it and got compliments on it everywhere. For this swatch, I tried to get the glitter all over even, but the first time I put it on, I had most of the glitter near the bottom of my nail, and it came out like an effortless gradient manicure. It was super hot. I will do it again to show you guys. One thing I noticed though that many be a difference from the old version, is that on a macroscopic level, you can see that the glitter is hexagonal, and I believe the old version was square. I don't think to your naked I you can see it, but macro doesn't lie. So if you have the old one and it matters to you, the glitter shapes are different.

The Lippmann Collection Tenth Anniversary Set is $35.00 and can only be purchased as the set of three. It can be found at Barney's New York, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Lippmann Collection Online. I don't see it on Lippmann's website, but I am told it can be found there.

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were furnished to me by the manufacturer or PR company for review. For more information please visit my disclosure policy.

Post for Posting's Sake

I was contacted via Twitter by an agent at Geek Squad (Matthew) who helped me determine that my camera is set to arrive at the Best Buy store tomorrow! What a relief! That was so nice of Matthew! I wish he wore polish... I'd send him some!

I have a couple random nail pics I could post, but nothing too exciting, so I am just going to put up a great pic I took in New York.

I went to a pool one day with my sisters and mom and saw a big fat bull frog relaxing by the pool. I started to take pics of him, and as he got ready to jump in the pool to get away from me, he sat for a moment looking out at the water and I was able to snap this:It's one of my favorite pictures! I did not give up on him either once he jumped in! Since I have a waterproof camera I went after him and took some pics under water too! He was so funny. I don't think I have ever seen a frog go swim in a pool. When he had enough, he climbed out via the latter and hopped away. He just wanted a dip like anyone else! He was a cool little (well, big) frog.

Nails of the Day for Work

I, long ago, (not that long... say the last year) started thinking about work appropriate nails as I became a "working professional" in January. I figured that I could only wear mauves, pale pinks, off-whites, beige... and so on. That really kept me from looking forward to starting my career! My mind changed a bit about work colors in the fall when I was watching a new episode of The Office when they had Holly as a character and I saw that she had vampy nails. Observe:

That made me think. "I can wear vampy colors to work". Of course I realize this is just a fictional show, however... it made me think. But recently I realized that I don't really have contact with the outside world at work, and as long as I don't have really wild nail art, my bosses don't really seem to care what I do or wear on my nails. They are just nails. Not that they have said anything about it or that I shouldn't have wild nail art, just that I am trying to draw a line myself.

Here are a couple of the manis I wore to work in the past few weeks. What do you think?

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Squarepants over OPI- Alpine Snow

Sally Hansen - Rockstar Pink. I think I have expressed my love for this enough before. That is why it just had to be worn to work.

Sally Hansen - Forsythia

Forsythia with a little Konad.

This one I did for the Konad contest in May. Hence the prop and all. It's KO-Karen (matte finish) stamped with Konad polish in red and using plate M2.

Del Sol - Pretty in Pink with Konad and holo glitter.

Currently I am wearing Del Sol - Heartbreaker, so that will be what I wear at the office Monday morning.

What about you guys? What do you consider work appropriate? If you work with the public or in customer service? If you work in a closed office setting? Do you have a nail dress code at your job?

I have a friend who I like to lend my polishes to and she has to wear neutral colors (boo) but I think it's a bit ridiculous for her position because she serves and bartends on a ship that goes out on the lake and serves lunch and dinner and it's kind of a relaxed party boat. I have been on it... I did the electric slide. So.... ya know.

Adorable Blog Award Update

I would like to extend the "Adorable Blog Award" to a blog that I newly follow. It's The Princess of Polish. This girl's manis are way too much! Little pencils with erasers, clouds and dots, and ladybugs and bees, critters and berries.... I can't take it! And she throws in a little rhyme to go with each post too! So Princess, this post is for you!

Green NOTD

Yay! I found some pics today of a mani I haven't shown you! It was my first try at using painter's tape, and cutting the painter's tape with wacky craft scissors. I can not take credit for this genius idea. That came from The Hungry Asian.

I started with a base of NYX-Lime Sparkle. I used Kae's trick and cut the painter's tape cut into strips with a cool patterned edge with craft scissors. I put down the tape diagonally and painted half the nail dark green with Sinful Colors- San Francisco. I wanted to add cobras with plate M28 and white polish, but the white was not picking up well for some reason no matter what I did, and the green did, so I used green, but it didn't stand out very well. (Click for the enlarged pic. You can see the cobra better. It's on the ring finger)

Cool non the less!

Lippmann 10 Year Anniversary Collection Teaser

Hello Ladies! I feel like crap today. Anyone else?
I have the new Lippmann Collection 10 Year Anniversary Set to swatch and review for you. However, my camera is still gone *wahhhh!* so I can not do decent swatches. I am bringing you teaser pics of the bottles and my NOTD in Superstar, but please remember: the camera I used is very old. It is only 3.2 megapixels compared to my usual 10.1 without the macro and super-macro settings. Sooooo.... these pics suck. The polishes: BEAUTIFUL. And the very second I get my camera back in my hands, I will swatch them immediately and will post them for you. But for now, this is all I have. I have however, seen swatches on Scrangie, All Lacquered Up, The Nailphile and Vampy Varnish.

Bottles: Ruby Red Slippers, Funky Chunky, Superstar

On me: Superstar

I apologize for the pathetic pics. I just wanted to post something! Cross your fingers my camera gets back to me soon! It hasn't even been a full week! I am going to lose it!

Sinful Colors - Part 2

I am glad the Sinful post was well received, because I have more!! Today i bring part 2 of the series. Maybe one day I will have a part 3, but for now this will be it.


Dancing Nails - (Shade and then sun pics) This is a warm pink metallic with a shimmer too! Very pretty. Look how it glimmers in the sun! It's beautiful. I wish they had more colors with this finish. I had to leave this one in New York with my sister because she loved it so much! Not a big deal... I can always get another for...$2!!



Rich in Heart - (Sun and then Shade) I think the name of this one is really weird, but the polish is to die for. Vampy and dark but look what the light brings out of it? I fine, red shimmer. When I saw this in the store I thought it was a dark brown until I swatched it. Can't take your eyes off this one.


San Francisco - Looooove this color. I think this pic is not as accurate as in real life. It's more amazing and magical in real life. This one has a bitch drying time though. Even with Seche Vite. I don't know how that is possible. Just have to be careful not to dent it for a while, but I think it's worth it.


Show me the Way - AAAhhh! I love this color. It makes me feel okay that I don't have the amazing, elusive China Glaze - Moonpool. This is probably better. I love a dirty green and this has that glass-fleck shimmer too. It is a thief of hearts.

And now some glitter! :c)

Hottie - Shown over black and alone. This is a sheer blue, with large hex glitter and smaller, round-square glitter that is iridescent and mostly show colors of red, green and blue. HOTT!!! It is a hottie. I only got this a few weeks ago. I ignored her for so long because I didn't think I cared for glitter, or for sheers. I was wrong!!! Look at that layered shot!! Crazy. Note: this is shown without a topcoat, so it looks a bit rough, but this glitter looks very thin, so I'm sure that a coat of SV would even it out nicely.


Out of this World - Shown over black and alone. I got this one because it reminded me of Milani-Glitzy Stars. It is similar. I think Milani's flashes more color, but this is beautiful because it is so dense and such a fine glitter/shimmer. It is like very finely ground glass (if you wanted to grind glass finely...that might be weird) The pic is only 1 coat. Now that I say that I wish I did two to show you the comparison of two and one. S**t.


Paris - Shown alone and over Rich in Heart. This is a smaller particle gold glitter and covers nicely in two coats. This is another that had to stay in New York for the other sister!