NOTD: Orly Wild Wisteria w/ an Accent!

Don't you love finding a polish that you thought would be hard to find? Up until recently Orly Wild Wisteria was on my wish list but I had only seen it on a few e-tailers.  It appeared that it was about to be discontinued. But imagine my surprise when on one of my many trips to Sally Beauty, I saw that it as part of the Orly Collection.  Yippee!  I have said on more than one occassion, I love purples! So allow me to introduce you to one of my new lovelies, Orly Wild Wisteria. It is an eggplant purple cream. The application was possibly one of the best I have ever experienced. It was smooth, not too thick, and not too thin.  I love Orly for their polish formulation, brush and bottle design. If you haven't tried Orly yet, what are your waiting for? They are readily available at Sally, Ulta, CVS, and several e-tailers.  The prices that I have seen range from a sale price of $2.99 to $6.00; and $10 for the Cosmic FX Collection. So they are moderate in price but well worth every penny.  Since purchasing this polish, I have found one other that I thought was being discontinued so I don't know if Orly is doing a re-release but either way I am one happy polish addict. 

To give this manicure a little extra jolt, I did an accent with Nina Ultra Pro with Purple X-Ing.  It is a purple-based multi-colored glitter.











Remember, treat your nails as jewels, not tools!  Grace and Peace.
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Pink Wednesday: China Glaze Mom's Chiffon

This week's Pink Wednesday is China Glaze Mom's Chiffon. This is a shade from the 2008 Immaterial Gurl Collection. It's somewhat of a bubble-gum pink but not neon. Nothing extraordinary but definately one that should be in your collection.  It works well with my warm skin tone.

Review:
Available: China Glaze is available at Ulta, Sally, and several e-tailers
Application: The application for par for the course for most China Glaze polishes. It took two coats for reach bottle color

Remember, treat your nails as jewels, not tools. 
Grace and Peace.
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NOTD: Ulta Salon Lacquer - Mint Condition

I tend to be a brand snob and would overlook certain store brand polishes including Ulta.  Recently, I was in Ulta and they had their brand polish on sale-2 for $6.00 so I decided to give it a try.  I also decided to try two colors that were a bit outside of my comfort zone; a lilac purple, similar to OPI Planks a Lot, and a mint green, similar to OPI Mermaid's Tears. Heck, if I didn't like them I could always return them and if not, it was only $3.00 each.  Well, who would have thunk, (LOL!).  I really do like both of these shades.  So today, I will show you the Ulta Salon Lacquer in Mint Condition.

Review:
Color:          A creamy powder mint green
Available:    Ulta and Ulta.com
Price:          Reg $5.00 Sale 2 for $6.00
Bottle Size: 11.8 ml, 0.4 fluid ounces
Application: A bit watery, be carefule not to overload the brush to prevent pooling
Selection:    Smaller Selection but trending choices
Brush:        Thin, good for getting very close to cuticles

Remember, treat your nails and jewels not tools.  Grace and Peace.


7 comments

Top 10 Award! - Not Oprah's, but my Favorite Things...

No, I am not giving you a car or a trip to Australia, LOL!!!  Ina from My Nail Polish Online has awarded me the Top 10 Award. Wow, my blog isn’t even a year old and I have seen such growth. Thanks, Ina I really appreciate your kindness. I am so happy to know that there are so many others whose hobby it is to blog about nails and nail polish.

The rules for this award are:
When I first sat down to develop For Me, It Works… My intent was for it to be a beauty blog but as it evolved, I was being directed more towards nails and nail polish. However, I left the door open so that in the event that I came across a non-nail related product I wanted to share, I could still blog about it. So I am choosing to take this opportunity to identify some of my favorite products. I will split my list nail/non-nail related. And of course, it is close to impossible to limit my list to 10 so I have also included just a few (LOL!) Honorable Mentioned products.  

But first, to define “Favorite”, these are the products I buy without thought. They are the products I have repurchased time and time again. I don’t repurchase products I don’t like, so the fact that I am on auto-pilot where these products are concerned that is what makes them “Favorites”. They work and are dependable.  Over the coming weeks and months, I will try to blog about some of these products.

Top 10 Favorite Products - in no particular order
  1. Favorite Facial Cleanser – philosophy purity made simple. I have blogged about Purity previously. What more can I say, I love this stuff!!!
  2. Favorite Body Scrub –True Blue Spa Invigorating Spa Scrub; love the scent!
  3. Favorite Hand Cream – Gold Bond Ultimate Softening Lotion w/ Shea Butter; my holy grail hand moisturizer
  4. Favorite Deep Conditioner (Protein) – Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise
  5. Favorite Shampoo - Crème of Nature Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo
  6. Favorite Top Coat – Seche’ Vite Fast Drying Top Coat
  7. Favorite Red Nail Lacquer – Orly Bus Stop Crimson Red
  8. Favorite Purple Nail Lacquers: ChG-Stella, Orly-Charged Up, Ulta-TuTu Cute, ChG-Virtual Violet  
  9. Favorite Blue Nail Lacquers: OPI–Yoga-ta-Get This Blue, Misa–A Sin Worth Committing, Finger Paints – Artistic Azure, Sinful Colors - Hot Spot 
  10. Favorite Pink Nail Lacquers: ChG-Fly, ChG-Hyper Haute, OPI-In the Spot-Light Pink, OPI-DS Opulence
Favorite Purples
Favorite Blues

Favorite Pinks
Honorable Mentions – Skin Care
Favorite Facial Peel – Philosophy Microdelivery Peel
Favorite Facial Wash – Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash
Favorite Facial Moisturizer – Philosophy Hope in a Jar
Favorite Fragrance – Philosophy Pure Grace
Favorite Deep Conditioner (Moisture) – Cream of Nature Argan Oil Intensive Conditioner
  
Honorable Mentions – Make-Up
Favorite Facial Primer – Sephora Anti-Shine Primer
Favorite Eye Primer – Sephora Perfecting Eye Primer
Favorite Concealer – Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer - 6.0
Favorite Facial Foundation – MAC Studio Fix – NW35
Favorite Facial Powder – Fashion Fair Oil Control Pressed Powder - Pecan
Favorite Eye Shadow Palette - Urban Decay Naked Palette       
Favorite Single Eye Shadows – Sephora Mono Shadows – Warm Sand N 77
Favorite Eye Liner – Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner – Midnight Black
o With the Smashbox #20 double tipped brush
FavoriteMascara – Maybelline Falsies Volum’ Express – Blackest Black
Favorite Blush – MAC Mineralize Blush – Love Joy
Favorite Lip Liner – Palladio Herbal Lip Liner – Black Berry PRL09
Favorite Lip Balm – Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm
Favorite Lip Stick – MAC “O”
Favorite Lip Gloss – C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine
   
Last, but not least,
Favorite Snack – Ice cold Coca Cola and Nacho Doritos…
3 comments

Pink Wednesday: My 1st Zoya -- Dita

I realize that I haven’t posted a Pink Wednesday in quite some time so here you go.  I have long wavered on whether or not to try Zoya.  I didn’t think that I would like the brush because I tend to like wider brushes as well as longer brush handles. But after hearing so many bloggers and tweeters rave about Zoya, I finally broke down and decided to give it a try.  Since I was only going to buy one bottle to start, instead of buying through the Zoya website, even though they have great promotions throughout the year, I purchased my first Zoya from Ulta.  Ulta carries a few different shades, not many that would be my first preference but, I was able to choose one-Zoya Dita.  It is a cream rosey-pink.  IMO, it is a very duppish of China Glaze Heli-Yum; just a little bit more pink.





Review: I think Zoya has gained a new user.  To my surprise, I am not bothered by the brush or brush handle.  In fact, the application was amazing.  Some have said that they like the smaller brush because they have small nailbeds.  I am just the opposite, I have longer nailbeds and the brush made application very easy, the smaller and shorter brush helped to get closer to the cuticle but still leave the gap I like.  As for the formulation, based on my experience with this one polish, the application was smooth, not too thick or too runny.  It didn’t pool at the edges, I had little to no clean-up needed on my left hand (I’m right handed).  I am actually excited to try other shades.  I am a visual person so I wish that a larger selection was available at the stores like Ulta but I will definitely be purchasing more Zoya Nail Lacquer!
 
Remember, treat your nails as jewels, not tools. Grace and Peace.
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NOTD: China Glaze Techno Teal (Tronica)

Strange, just yesterday I posted that I was having a difficult time deciding on my next mani.  Trying to decide, I ended up with a Skittle mani and as I suspected, I chose a shade not even in that 10. I know that I should be wearing pink today, it being Pink Wednesday, but China Glaze Techno Teal has been calling me for quite some time so here is it.  As with the other Tronica Collection I needed to thin it out just a little to prevent the goopiness.  Even with one coat you could clearly see the scattered holo but I went ahead and applied two coats followed with a top coat.  It is a beautiful medium teal. The Tronica Collection was a Sally Beauty Exclusive this past spring.  I currently own all but one, Mega Bite (yellow) of the collection.  I have seen it recently on the clearance rack but was unable to get it at the time.  If I should come across it again, I will complete my collection.  I can only hope that China Glaze issues other holographic polishes and soon.  More swatches to come.  Remember, your nails, treat them as jewels, not tools. 

Grace and Peace.
5 comments

Unexpected Skittles…

When I first started my For Me, It Works... blog, I would see other bloggers talking about Skittles. As far as I knew, Skittles is a candy. Then I saw that they were actually talking about polishing their nails multi-colors…WHAT!?!  Who does that?!  Months went by and I still would not consider Skittles.  (Although they are one of my favorite candies).  I was a die-hard red and berry only wearer.  Anyway, this week I have been trying to decide on a polish color for my next manicure and I just could not decide. So I thought that I would swatch a few colors and maybe I would be inspired. And before I knew it, I had a Skittle manicure, LOL!!!  Not that I would wear it in a professional environment, but I must admit, it’s kind of cute.  These pictures are pre-clean up but just thought that I would share with my friends.  At the time of this posting, I am still undecided but am leaning toward the Sally Hansen Real Teal or maybe one not even included in my swatches, LOL!!!  The Skittle colors selected were as follows:

Grace and Peace.
Left Hand:
Right Hand:
Pinkie
China Glaze Laser Lime
Orly Razzle
Ring Finger
China Glaze Street Racing
OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui
Middle Finger
OPI Senorita Rose-Alita
China Glaze Far Out
Index Finger
Sally Hansen The Real Teal
Essie Smooth Sailing
Thumb
Finger Paints Artistic Azure
China Glaze Awaken
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NOTD: OPI Princesses Rule!

I had picked up this polish several times but for some reason would never purchase it.  Well after many visits, I finally decided to get it. Even yet, I have had it in my collection for quite some time. When I finally decided to try it, to my surprise, I really do like it.  I'm not sure what my hesitation was but OPI Princesses Rules! is a polish I am happy I finally purchased. It is part of the Prince Charming Collection. To describe it I would say that it is a sheer powder pink shimmer.  The word "delicate" comes to mind. It has a pink and white shimmer to it and because of its sheerness, I am certain that you could layer with it. It was part of the Ulta core OPI collection, therefore, Princesses Rules! should not be difficult to find.  In these pictures I am wearing 2 coats, but you are still able to see my nail line.  This is one of those polishes in which I expected to see a nail line.  So for those occassion that you are looking for a more delicate, unobtrusive but not boring shade of pink, look to OPI Princesses Rules!

Please forgive the dent in my index finger.  I used something other than my favorite Seche Vite' Fast Drying Topcoat. 

Grace and Peace.
4 comments

NOTD: Color Club – Wild At Heart + Shrinkage (UGH!)

This was my first try with a Color Club polish.  I had seen many swatches of Color Club Wild At Heart and fell in love.  It was a must have for my collection.  I have mentioned several times how much I love my purples and this one is no different.  Wild At Heart is a holoish-purple.  Each time I look at it, I think of a grape jelly purple-a true purple.   It has a slight holo effect.  It is in the same family as China Glaze Virtual Violet from the Tronica collection.  As for my opinion of the polish itself: In the pictures this is 2 coats, along with base coat and top coat.  The application is smooth and caused no issues.  With regards to the bottle, I am still a fan of longer brush handles, like those with China Glaze, Finger Paints, Orly and OPI.  The short brushes like those found with Essie, and Color Club, I am not a fan of.    

I mentioned the top coat.  With this application, I used Seche Vite’ Fast Drying Top Coat.  While it does actually dry my polishes extremely fast (approximately 15 minutes), I know that many have complained of shrinkage.  Up to this point I had never personally experienced shrinkage but I had read on several blogs and Make Up Alley that Seche Vite’ and certain polishes did not work well together.  Well I can now add Color Club Wild At Heart to that list.  This was my first experience with shrinkage.  Next time I will try another Fast Dry Top Coat, perhaps, Poshe’.  I am spoiled now and will not ever wait for my polish to dry.  But overall, I really do like Color Club Wild At Heart!!!  Purple lovers, it’s a Must!!! 

Comparison-Wild at Heart (Left) vs. Virtual Violet (Right)


Grace and Peace.
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