Crystal File 010: NOTD China Glaze Side Saddle

My first NOTD from the China Glaze Rodeo Diva collection, and i have to say it definitely did not disappoint! Stunning gold shimmer infused into the darkest plum base. On the nail it is vampy dark chocolate decadence. The formula was very nice, if just a tiny bit thick, but that can always be rectified with a few drops of thinner. As always the brush followed the curves of my nail perfectly, i adore the China Glaze brush!

And now, on to the pics!













I haven't actually swatched the other colors yet, but i can already tell that Cowgirl Up, Rodeo Fanatic, and Midnight Ride will all be winners for me :) Of course all the colors are gorgeous, and the amount of shimmer in this collection is insane (in a very good way)! I'll be sharing more pics with you as i try them out, and if there's one you'd like to see next, just post a comment and I'll try to get to it next. (I only bought Side Saddle and Lasso My Heart from the Hay Ride palette, but i have all of the Flannel Fixation colors)

Crystal File 009: NOTD OPI Louvre Me, Louvre Me Not

My pick as the #1 color from the OPI fall/winter 2008 "La Collection De France". This polish is such a vibrant, rich color. Its purple, but leans towards plum in warmer lighting conditions (for example those in my pics). The shimmer is subtle, but ads the perfect "glow" to this polish in any light. I absolutely can not stop staring at this polish on my nails. I would say this color is just perfect for any purple polish lover :)

All photos were taken indoors, in early morning sunlight. It is difficult for me to capture purples accurately, and this one was no exception. It is definitely more purple than it appears in my pics, but at least these will give you some idea of how rich this color is.







I've got a ton of goodies arriving in short order (can you say RODEO! Yee-haw!) and i hope to share them with you, so keep checking back my lovelies!

Crystal File 008: NOTD Zoya Evangeline

Of all the Zoyas i own, this is definitely my favorite. A deep berry, bordering on red in some lighting conditions, with tons of gold and berry toned micro-glitter. This polish is truly spectacular, and also a very versatile tone, i see it working well in almost any season. I'm really enjoying my expanded Zoya collection, and i have to say after seeing swatches of the new Pulse collection at www.scrangie.com, i am most certainly considering another Zoya purchase!

But now on to what you really came here for, many pics of Zoya Evangeline indoors, early morning sunlight.













I hope to come home with a few OPI France colors to share with you all this evening, and i shall also have many new Rodeo Diva colors to share with you very soon! Stay tuned my lovelies :)

Crystal File 007: NOTD Zoya Kiki = LOVE!

What an awesome summer pink! Its super bright, super sparkly, opaque in two coats, and even a touch neon......What more could a gal ask for? Because it has a ton of silvery/white shimmer that also flashes lavender, it was difficult to capture the base tone in photos, it seemed to photograph lighter than it actually is. I also failed to capture the semi-neon glow Kiki has, but i tried really hard :) So here are my pics, i hope they brighten your day!









I'm enjoying my brief return to bright summer colors before i dive back into fall. Soon I'll have many China Glaze Rodeo Diva polishes to post pics of for you all. Maybe some more Misa fall colors as well!

Crystal File 006: School's (still) Out For Summer!

I've been so distracted by all the gorgeous new fall colors just beginning to hit the shelves that I've almost forgotten ITS STILL SUMMER! The kids aren't back at school yet and the days are still hot and humid.

When its hot and sunny outside it does feel a bit odd to look down and see dark vampy nails. So I've decided to look back at some of my favorite summer polishes. Prior to this summer i had never really "been into" neons, but i caught the neon bug with a vengeance this year! Some of my absolute favorites include the Essie Neon Shorts collection, Orly Passion Fruit, Orly La Vida Loca, China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, China Glaze Pink Voltage, and China Glaze Turned up Turquoise.

As many of you already know from seeing my pics on the MUA Nail Board, my favorite addition to any neon mani is a little bit of holo bling courtesy of China Glaze Wireless Top Coat or China Glaze Fairy Dust. I consider both must-haves for anyone who loves a dash of holo glitter to spice things up!



And now on to my MANY photos of fabulous neons!



First up possibly my favorite combination, China Glaze Rose Among Thorns topped with China Glaze Fairy Dust:

The Essie Neon Shorts Collection, all topped with China Glaze Wireless:

Bermuda Shorts

Short Shorts

Shorty Pants

Mini Shorts

China Glaze Turned up Turquoise with Wireless top coat

Orly Passion Fruit with China Glaze Wireless top coat

I hope you've all enjoyed this little return to Summer. My next NOTD pics should also be bright and summery, so I'll be sure to share!

Crystal File 005: Misa Fall teaser, Toxic Seduction!!

Wowza, this is an amazing color for fall! Darkest blackened green base infused with delicious emerald micro-shimmer.....LOVE! And as with every Misa i own, it applied super smooth, and the brushes never disappoint :)











I absolutely can not wait to get my hands on this entire collection. Any of you who know me from MUA's Nail Board know that i am a die-hard Misa fanatic. And these colors are right up my alley. So delectably dark and shimmery, i am in heaven :)

Keep checking back for pics of the rest of the collection!

Crystal File 004: NOTD FingerPaints Bada Bing, Bada Blue

Fingerpaints Bada Bing, Bada Blue.......GORGEOUS!

I love, love, love this color! It is part of a new FingerPaints collection that has started showing up in Sally stores over the past couple of weeks. Rest assured if your Sally Beauty doesn't have it yet, they likely will soon. Bada Bing, Bada Blue is a deep, steely-blue metallic (which means it fits perfectly with many of the upcoming fall trends). I have to say, it is most definitely one of the best blues i have ever tried. Application was silky smooth (as it usually is with FingerPaints), and as always i love the brush. But enough babble, you want pics!














I'm hoping to post pics of several of the other colors from this collection as well, particularly Flipped Out Flame which is a fabulous coppery-red metallic. The collection also includes a great bright purple (Divinely Deranged), a beautiful shimmery plum (Plum Crazy), a bright metallic gold, and a shimmery chocolate.

As an added bonus you can print a Buy 2, Get 1 Free coupon now at http://www.sallybeauty.com/. Good through August 30, 2008. Enjoy!