Aly Loves Lacquer

Good evening! Of all the higher end brands, butter LONDON is definitely on my list of favorites. They consistently put out interesting colors with good formulas. Slapper is no different.

First off, I want to say hi to the new followers I have gained this week! I finally passed 500 followers! That is absolutely amazing -- you guys are the best!

Good evening! Today I needed a bit of brightness on my nails. Luckily, I found OPI Fiercely Fiona in a clearance bin recently. It was marked down to $2.00! Fiercely Fiona was released with the Shrek Collection by OPI in 2010.

Fiercely Fiona is a bright yellow crème with a good amount of green in the base. As you might know, yellows tend to be a huge pain to apply. This polish's application wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly perfect either. It started out incredibly streaky, but I was able to build it to opacity. Fiercely Fiona needed 3 careful coats to reach opacity.

I had wavered back and forth for a couple years on this one, but I am glad that I picked it up in the end. That said, I am glad I did not pay full price for it. A streaky polish just isn't worth $8.00. Fiercely Fiona is very unique though, and it makes my hands look tan. I'm glad that I own it.

- Aly

It's been pretty cold here in St. Louis, so I thought I would do a manicure appropriate for cold weather. Jane, the lovely blogger from Nailside recently posted a tutorial for her cute cloud manicures. I had seen them finished but never knew just how easy it was to do one!

For this wintery manicure, I used Zoya Petra as a base. Petra is a gorgeous purple-infused taupey gray. Creamy formula and applied well in 2 coats. For the clouds I used two foils: Orly Sweet Peacock and Sally Hansen Celeb City. For such an easy mani, the look is very cool! Take a look.

Happy Monday! It's another new week :) This is my first full week of class, so I have been very busy lately. Luckily I found this beautiful manicure in my photo vault. This week I will also be showing you a new Nicki Minaj polish and butter LONDON Slapper.

For now, take a look at the beautiful Finger Paints Flecked. This is one of the polishes I am giving away, and it is just lovely. It's a bright green flakie with a slight blue duochrome. Here, I've layered it over an unnamed Love & Beauty polish. The base polish is a very pretty dark blue polish with a good amount of shimmer to it. On top, I have 2 coats of Finger Paints Flecked.

I couldn't pick just one picture of this gorgeous manicure, so you get to see extra pictures! Yay for flakie spam! Click the pictures for a closer look :D

Hi again! It's been a very busy week for me, as it is my first week back to class for second semester. I've had some people ask for pictures of my trip to Puerto Rico, and I will get to that soon enough. :) For now, let's take a look at another gorgeous franken from Tammi's Tips!

Bi-Polar Bay is a bright blue franken with a definite turquoise cast to it. The base color seems to have a flash of deeper blue as well. Then there's the glitter! We're talking bar glitter, holographic glitter of many shapes and sizes, heart-shaped glitter, and more!

Today I have an AMAZING franken to show you. I bought this from Tammi on Etsy. She makes tons of different glittery frankens, all of which are beautiful. I picked up two, Cotton Candy Coma and Bi-Polar Bay.

Cotton Candy Coma has five different glitters in a gorgeous pink base. The pink is nice and soft, and the glitter really kicks the look up a notch. There are some beautiful holographic particles as well as bar glitters and some star-shaped glitters as well. Cotton Candy coma also seems to have iridescent glitters. Basically, it's one gorgeous pink glitter bomb.

Take a look at Cotton Candy Coma at 2 coats.

Today the Green Bay Packers are gearing up to play the Giants. Hopefully we will come out on top and continue on in the playoffs. I want a repeat of last year's Superbowl!

For this mani, I used Essie Going Incognito as the base. It applied easily in 2 coats. Then I added 1 coat of Essie As Gold as It Gets, a gold flakie that came out with the Essie Luxeffects Collection. Finally, I used Born Pretty plate m64 for the white stamping. My stamping polish was Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind White.

Happy Saturday!

Today I wore the lovely Essie Go Overboard. This another new Essie, just out for Spring 2012. Go Overboard is a gorgeous teal crème. It's a very pretty shade. I don't usually think of a dark teal as a typical spring color, but for me that is a bonus. I like the freedom to wear any shade any time of year!

Here is Essie Go Overboard, 2 coats.

I'm glad you all enjoyed seeing my newest hauls! I had a request to swatch the new Essies, so here is Play Date! This polish was just released as part of the Go Overboard collection.

Play Date is a beautiful shade of purple, and I love how it looks on. It has that lovely Essie jelly crème finish, easily opaque in just 2 coats and yet a bit squishy looking too. Play Date is bright and perfect for spring! It really makes my hands look nice and tan, especially after my vacation to Puerto Rico :D

Hey, everyone! I am back from Puerto Rico. I'm happy to say that the vacation was wonderful, and I am very proud of my tan!

I thought you might like to see all my latest polishes. Some were gifts during the Holidays, some were swaps, and some I bought for myself. Take a look!

Glitter Gal is famous for holographic polishes that are out of this world. They are crazy holographic and come in a wide range of colors. I only own a couple, and Not Another Red is the one I'll be showing off today. Not Another Red lives up to its name -- it's so much more beautiful than all the plain reds out there. It's an orange-leaning red with lots and lots of holo. Take a look at 2 coats of Glitter Gal Not Another Red.

Hi everyone! I'm still in Puerto Rico, hopefully on a beach, daiquiri in hand, reading the final novel in The Hunger Games :D

I had a good response to my last eye makeup look, so here's another I did recently. The palette I used for this look was a super cheap one I picked up at Walgreens, so none of the colors have names. :( On the inner half of my lid I have a gold shimmer shadow, and the outer corner has a light silvery blue shimmer. In the crease is a darker golden bronze. My mascara is Maybelline Great Lash in Blackest Black.

As you're reading this, I am getting my tan on in Puerto Rico! This is my first attempt at using scheduled posts, so fingers crossed that it works!

Today's post is the final polish I received in my January Maven box. Megan is a bright metallic teal. The first coat went on extremely sheer, and I admit I was worried about opacity. But at 2 coats, Megan was completely opaque and super shiny.

I had a lot of trouble making Megan show up color accurate on my pictures. I edited them to get the color as close as I could, but it made my skin look funny. Sorry about that >.<

Hi everyone! Tomorrow I leave for Puerto Rico, so here's another spring Julep color to fit my tropical vacation.

Julep Leah is a bright grass green with lots of pretty shimmer. It came in my January Maven box, along with Hayden and Megan. The shimmer reminded me a bit of ESSENTIAL Emerald by Dr.'s Remedy, but Leah is much more yellow-toned and less dusty. Leah applied beautifully in 2 coats.


What are your favorite tropical or vacation inspired polishes?

- Aly

First of all, thanks to all of you who have already entered my 400 Follower Giveaway. I've had a great response so far and the jokes you girls are leaving have been cracking me up ! :D

I'm heading to Puerto Rico for vacation in a couple of days, so I decided to swatch some summery colors for you. I love vampy shades, but I need a break from all the dark colors. Today I have Julep Hayden, which came in my January Maven box. Hayden is a super bright peach crème that was opaque in 2 coats. In my opinion, it could definitely use some thinner. Nonetheless, Julep Hayden is very unique and it makes my skin look so tan!

Hey, all! I am having a giveaway to celebrate passing the 400 Follower mark! Thanks so much to each and every one of you. I love you guys :)