Today's mani: Christmas tree

I decided I'd jump on the bandwagon of Christmas manis, since it's only two weeks away! (How did that happen??) I was a little apprehensive of doing nail art with my left hand (the nail that broke on that hand a month ago still isn't long enough for my liking), but it turned out pretty well!

The background color is Julep Scarlett. I outlined the tree with striping tape and filled it in with Scherer Emerald City (this is one of the few polishes that I still have from high school!). The gold and silver are Maybelline Bold Gold and Julep Harley.

What's on the top of your wishlist this Christmas? For me, it's nail polish, because I've been very good about not buying polish for several months now!

The Versatile Blogger Award!

Hey all! In the past few weeks I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by both The Mercurial Magpie and Gelic--thanks guys! It's an honor! Now I have to tell you all seven interesting facts about myself and nominate some more bloggers to pass it on!

First, my seven facts, which will hopefully help my new readers get to know me a little better!

1. When I was about 12-13, I was super into The Lion King. I drew lions all day long, wrote fanfic (it was bad) and played on a Lion King MUCK. (If you're old enough to remember MUCKs/MUDs/MUSHes etc...well, you're old!) I also listened to a ton of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Zulu a capella music) and even picked up a little Zulu. I still remember sawubona, which means "hello". :-P
2. Also around the same time period I started inventing languages. I think I was inspired by all the fantasy novels I was reading. I still do it from time to time, but I'm such a perfectionist I always end up starting over before I get very far.
3. My first major celebrity crush was on Colin Firth when I saw him in Pride and Prejudice (1995 version is the best!). I still love him <3
4. In high school my favorite nail polish color was periwinkle, but now I'm not as much of a fan.
5. I got my first cavity at age 26--not a bad streak!
6. I grew up listening to oldies, and I adore The Beatles, but my #1 favorite band is Barenaked Ladies! (Yes, I'm a 90s kid.)
7. My childhood dog was an antisocial Shetland sheepdog named Sandy. She was scared of my dad and most of her toys. Here's Sandy as a puppy:

 Well, I hope that was enlightening!

Here are the blogs I'm nominating for the Versatile Blogger award! They're all great nail blogs, so go check them out!

1. FingerFood
2. Pretty Tough Nails
3. Lacquer Buzz
4. UK Nail Runner
5. Paint Those Piggies!
6. Light Your Nails
7. Enigmatic Rambles

See ya later folks!

Today's mani: my birthday nails!

Today's my 28th birthday! I'm looking forward to aging for one more year, after which I'll be 29 for the rest of my life (that's what happens to women, right??). I got some great gifts, including Nails, Nails, Nails!: 25 Creative DIY Nail Art Projects from my husband. He knows me well! My celebration started out this morning with a bowl of Lucky Charms, my traditional birthday cereal. Then I did my nails!

For my birthday mani I wanted to use Revlon Whimsical because it reminds me of cake frosting!

My base colors are L'Oreal The Palace Life (pink) and Wet 'n' Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint (blue). Revlon Whimsical is very sheer, so I was able to put two coats on without messing with the base colors too much. I just wish the glitter was more dense!

 OK, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day! Don't forget I have a birthday-themed collection of polish for sale in my Etsy shop!

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light, then and now

Rather than just doing a regular swatch post today, I thought I'd do something a little more fun. I wanted to wear Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light because it's so gorgeous, and then I remembered that the last time I wore it was almost exactly a year ago. I got it as a birthday present from my parents (cool parents, huh??) last year, when I was just starting out collecting nail polish. And it just so happens I took a picture of that mani!

Let's start with the pics I took today. Ray of Light is a beautiful indigo jelly with flakies that shift from pink through yellow to green. This is two coats, but I probably could have done with a third. (I'm just too impatient, heh.)

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

I love that I was able to capture the color shift in one shot! Here's another for good measure:

This polish is so drool-worthy. Can't stop looking at those flakies!

Now let's take a look at my picture from one year ago:

Ignoring the fact that I used horrible indoor lighting, you can see how much my manicure skills have improved in a year! I knew enough to clean up my cuticles, but left a mess around the edges of my fingers. And I didn't bother to shape or grow out my nails. And obviously my ability to pose has improved since I've started blogging!

I really enjoyed looking through my pictures of manicures I did last year. I think it would be a lot of fun to re-create (and improve upon) more of them!

Feel free to share any old, embarrassing mani pics with me in the comments!

Quick swatch: Color Club Ulterior Motive

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

It's time for another polish from my untried pile! This is Color Club Ulterior Motive, a rather sheer hot pink with pink and blue flecks. It's just slightly eye-searing! Not my usual type of color, but I like it.

Color Club Ulterior Motive. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Do you have any polishes in your collection that you didn't think you'd like until you tried them?

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Swatch: Julep Jillian

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Hey! Just a reminder that you can get 10% off at my Etsy shop using the coupon code PARTYTIME...but it expires on December 8, so hurry!

Today I got my Julep Maven box for the first time in several months--the last few haven't excited me enough to spend the money. I really wanted the eyeshadow palette in this month's box, but I ended up getting a pretty cool polish too.

Julep Jillian is described as "deep eggplant with bronze molten". What it looks like to me is a blackened base with shimmer that shifts from burgundy to bronze. Details, details! It's really quite lovely and kinda sexy!

For my photos, I decided not to do plain old swatches, and I hadn't used striping tape in a while, so I added some embellishment! The gold polish is another one I received in the Maven box (Mia).

Julep Jillian. Two coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Here's my best shot of the color shift. You can see it better in the bottle.

The formula was fine, although as with all Julep polishes I've tried, it took a while to dry.

Jillian is available at Julep's site for $14 (8 ml) or $11.20 if you're a Maven. If you'd like to become a Maven (it's free!) click here--if I refer new Mavens I get points to spend on the site. ;-)

The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

Jingle All the Way Giveaway!!

Hey all! Happy December! I hope all my US friends had a happy and not-too-stressful holiday!

Today I'm very excited to tell you that I've joined up with eleven other nail bloggers to sponsor a huge giveaway!

We're giving away four gift certificates to your choice of polish e-tailer! What better way to start the new year than with a nail polish shopping spree?

The raffle is open internationally and ends Dec. 31. Grab as many entries as you like, then go visit these other lovely bloggers!

Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway