Swapping is addicting, end of story. :)

A few weeks ago, a couple of beauty bloggers and I agreed to swap some nail polishes and boy am I glad to have such awesome swapping partners! I'm sure you'd much rather see the pics than read a long post, so here it is! :)

Catrice: I wear my sunglasses at night, Back to Black, Purpleized, From Dusk to Dawn, Sold out Forever

Limited Edition Pagagena Collection: Amazonian Gold, Welcome to the Jungle, Enter the Undergrowth

TEEEZ: Cool, Outta Control, Smooth

Thank you, Marte! You got me everything from my wish list and I couldn't be any more grateful. *Hugs*

Essence: No More Drama, Irreplaceable, Where is the Party?

Catrice: Forget-Me-Not, Sold out Forever, & Clay-ton, my Hero

Essence Twins: Romeo & Julia

Essence: Naive Lipgloss

Thank you, Barbara! I love everything you got me and I am very thankful. Can't wait for the other package ;) *HUGS*

Andrea Fulerton: Gemstone Overcoat

Boots 17: Crackle

Barry M: White Frost, Turquoise, & Spring Green

Models Own: Purple Grey

Gosh: Holographic!

Thank you, Kelly! Again, I love everything you picked out for me and thank you for checking off the famous GOSH holo from my wish list! *HUGS*

So many polishes, so little time. I will gradually be working on swatches; I honestly don't know where to start! :) Stay tuned for more swaps as I am currently in the process of a few more! Like I said, SWAPPING IS ADDICTING! :)

Again, a huge thank you to you lovely ladies!

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Have you ever swapped with another beauty blogger? In your opinion, is there a nail polish that you think I should own? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

Color Club: Fashion Addict

 Hi everyone! I just came back from dusty hunting and I found the famous, Fashion Addict holo from Color Club! I have been searching high and low for the longest time and I'm glad I can finally add it to my collection. I was able to find 3 extras, so I'll add the other 2 to my blog sale. Along the way, I also found Color Club's Revvvolution and Love Em Leave Em, which are also included in my blog sale.

 Here are some swatches ;)

See all that holo goodness?!

Outdoors in the shade

Indoors no flash/sun

Fashion Addict is a soft, muted lilac with a strong scattered holo effect. I love how not only is it holo in the sun, but is holo w/ natural lighting as well.

I used two coats in the above pictures. Application was effortless and the formula is perfect.

Again, if you are interested in this polish, click here to be directed to my blog sale.

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own Fashion Addict from Color Club? Own anything similar? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below?

Pink Wednesday

It's been a long while since I posted one of these! It's not that I forget or don't want to participate, I just haven't been wearing pink on my nails lately. Anyway, here is my Pink Wednesday! ;)

Indoors - no flash

Revlon Top Speed: Candy (2 coats)

Sally Girl: See image below (1 coat)

Sally Girl Pink Glitter: See image below (1 coat)

This was a no name polish from Sally's Beauty Supply, but is a gorgeous muted lilac/soft pink polish infused with tiny holo glitters. This particular polish dries to a frost finish, which is ideal for layering. 

I have been obsessing over Sally Girl's Glitter nail polishes. I'll have swatches of them all in my upcoming posts. :)

Indoors w/ flash

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Do you own Revlon Top Speed in Candy? Have anything similar? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

Colorful Crackle Combinations

Hi everyone! Just a quick post to show you 4 of my favorite crackle combos! Let's get started :)

Duochrome Crackle Combo

Hard Candy: Beetle

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat

Sally Girl Gold Glitter

Gradient Color Combo

Color Club: Pure Energy, What a Shock, and Neon Yellow

China Glaze Crackle Glaze: Black Mesh

Sally Girl Gold Glitter

Rainbow Color Combo

(man, I wish my nails were still this long!)

Click here for polishes used and previous post

Matte Color Combo

Sally Hansen: Lightning Bolt

OPI Black Shatter

Hard Candy: Matte-ly in Love 

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Have you tried duochromes, gradients, rainbows, and/or matte crackle combinations? The possibilities are endless! What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below! 

NOTW: Retro Leopard Print

For this weeks nail design, I decided to spice up the original leopard print and go for something a bit more "retro-esk". Here is my take :)

Rimmel: Steel Grey

Sally Hansen: Mint Sorbet

China Glaze: Liquid Leather

Dotting Tools

Have you ever tried leopard print on your nails? If so, what do you use to create the leopard patterns (bobbi pins/toothpicks/needles)? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

*I've been compiling photos of my previous nail art and will post them up real, real soon!

Update: Blog Sale

Hi everyone! Just a quick post on my updated blog sale.

• New items have just been added
• Prices have been reduced
• Free shipping on selected items

Come check `em out here! Thanks!

Also, I'm currently working on new nail polish swatches & designs so please stay tuned :)

Review: Bonita Light Blue Crackle

Today, I wanted to show you all a hidden gem I picked up after a sushi date w/ my little sister. We dropped by a local "mom & pop" shop and they had a full display of Bonita Crackles in black, green, navy, silver, red, and turquoise. They also had a wide variety of Santee and a few DC'd OPI polishes for only $3.75. Sadly, nothing sparked my interest. :(

Since this particular nail polish included in my Giveaway, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak :)

I've been so tempted to place an order on the Barry M website, since I know they also have a light blue crackle as well,  but I can't seem to get passed the shipping fee. -_- Maybe in another swap!

$2.50

Bonita Crackle - Light Blue

1/2 fL oz

Indoors - no flash

Please, excuse my sloppy swatches, I was a little too excited to try it out ;)

I must admit that I was really pleased with the outcome. I have never heard of this brand, so I was a bit skeptical, but for only $2.50, it wasn't really putting a hole in my wallet! Considering the prices for China Glaze Crackles and OPI Shatters, this really is a steal!

The picture above is 1 medium coat of the crackle. Like the CG crackles, I recommend working rather quickly as they do crack almost immediately. I also recommend avoiding going over the same area twice.The formulation is nice and smooth- not too runny and not too thick, it's perfect. 

I enjoyed this polish so much, I went back and picked up 2 more bottles! 1 for a swap and 1 for my giveaway ;)

As always, hope this helps & happy shopping!

Have you seen a display of Bonita crackles? Do any of my International readers know if this is similar to Barry M's light blue crackle? What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

Review: Glitter Gal's Not Another Red

If you've read my International Swaps post, you know that getting your hands on a good holo is like trying to find a diamond in the rough. -_- Here in the U.S., we are exposed to various brands, but none with a strong, true holo finish.

When I say good, I mean, gooood. I think a lot of you can agree that holos with strong, linear, and/or scattered effect, make a gorgeous statement and all the difference in the world. In my opinion, a true holo has to have that "WOW" factor and make you do a double take. It also has to look like magic at your finger tips! After all, the name is holographic :)

Last week, I received a bottle of Glitter Gal's Not Another Red polish to review. So, before I begin, a HUGE thank you to them again!

Here is a little background info on them:

Anna and Kerry have been close friends and worked together for many years. We always shared a passion of makeup and had the inspiration of creating a cosmetic business together that would be “trend setting” and different...

We use “true” holographic particles in our formulation.  This one ingredient is 30 times more expensive than any other nail polish ingredient.  Thus making our holographic nail polish the highest quality possible.  You will notice the smoothness to the finish of polish, and reflective effects are amazing.  They are also the “Big 3 Free.

-Glitter Gal

$11.95

Glitter Gal Not Another Red

9 mL 0.3 fl oz

Indoors - No Flash

It really is magic in a bottle!

Indoors - No Flash

Outdoors - No flash

Outdoors - No flash - blurred for holo viewing pleasure

See the linear and scattered holo effect? Love it ;)

Outdoors - No flash

After 7 days of wear time

Indoors - no flash - no sun

 Overall:  Glitter Gal does not disappoint and passes with flying colors, literally ;)
Again, a true holo in my opinion, must have a linear and/or scattered effect that mesmerizes you every single time you look at your finger tips. When I'm in the sun, I cannot stop starring at how brilliant the holo effect truly is. I wore this to the Sacramento State Fair and people must of thought I was crazy walking around starring at my nails the entire time! ;)

Formulation was nice and smooth. With this particular polish, there was absolutely zero bald spots during application. I know how difficult it is to apply some holo polishes, but this was PERFECT, I tell ya ;) I used two coats, but you can definitely get away with 1 generous coat.

Wear time was outstanding! I normally post my reviews within 3-5 days of receiving them, but I really wanted to put this to the test. Being that top coats diminish/weaken the holo effect, the formulation must be perfect, long lasting, and have minimal chipping. I had an excellent wear time of 7 days with very minimal chipping.

Removal was a effortless! Some reds tend to slightly stain on my nails, but this polish came off almost immediately. 

Any cons?! I reallly wish the bottle was bigger!
Bigger bottles = more polish and since I loooove it so much, I need more! ;)

Again, a very huge thank you to Glitter Gal, you girls did an amazing job! :)

As always, hope this helps and happy shopping!

Do you own any of Glitter Gals polishes?! What are your thoughts?! I'd love to know down below!

A sample of these products were kindly sent to me from the "above" company for review purposes. I am not being compensated to give out any information/reviews. My reviews are, and forever will be 110% honest opinions based on my experience/knowledge with each product mentioned.
~Carla

(CLOSED) Giveaway: Stash Sweepers

Ahhh, I love the feeling of a well organized and cleaned out nail polish stash, don't you? I don't know if it's just me, but my nail polishes always have to be in a neat and orderly fashion; it makes finding them a breeze ;) I meant to post this up yesterday, but you know how crazy life gets!

This brings me to the title of this post, Stash Sweepers. Since my nail polish collection is continuing to grow everyday day, (or what seems like everyday) I decided to host another giveaway! Let's see whats up for grabs ;)

*Although the titled is called Stash Sweepers, please know that these are all brand new polishes. Some were doubles in my collection and some were just collecting dust. Thanks! :)

1 Lucky Winner will receive:

China Glaze Crackle Metals: Latticed Lilac & Haute Metal

OPI: At Your Quebec & Call

Cosmetic Arts Nail Polish x4

Bonita: Light Blue Crackle

Sally Girl: Minis x5

-Open to ALL readers! (Yes, my international lovelies, you too! ;) )
-Must be of legal age from where you live 
-Deadline: Open for 2 weeks ~ August 7, 2011 11:59 PM PST

Rules:

one entry per person- duplicates will be invalid

Mandatory: (+1)
1.) You MUST be a public follower of this blog - new followers are always welcome! 
2.) Please leave the name you follow as and your e-mail in case you win
3.) Which color are you most excited about?

Additional: (Please include the link for the following entries):
4.) Dedicate a blog post about this giveaway (+2)
5.) Add this giveaway w/ the giveaway pic to the side of your blog (+1)
6.) Add my blog to your blog roll (+1)
7.) Blog about my blog sale ~ here is the link (+2)
8.) Add my blog sale on the side of your blog ~ here is the link (+1)

One lucky winner will be selected randomly according to the comment generator. You will have 24 hours to respond to my e-mail, or another entry will randomly be selected. Thank you.

For any other questions, feel free to e-mail me at deucebeauties@yahoo.com

International Swaps Anyone?! + The Hunt for Holos

I swear, it seems like just yesterday since I signed up for a blogger account! I can't believe I have written 100 posts already. Thank you to all my readers and followers for your ongoing support, it really means a lot to me.

So, I recently did an International swap, my first one to be exact and I'm just waiting for it to arrive! The waiting game has left me so anxious to receive my package ;)

This brings me to the title of this post, International Swaps. Being that I live in the US, I have zero access to the any of the amazing nail polishes all over the world. I have seen tons and tons of swatches online and I NEED to get my hands on them! 

Such brands include: (in no particular order)

• -GOSH Holo
• -GOSH Rainbow
• -GOSH Unicorn Pee
• -Catrice
• -Barry M
• -Catherine Arley
• -Models Own
• -Essence
• -IsaDora
• -Sleek
• -Makeup Factory
• -Deborah Milano
• -Art Deco

I'm currently on a MAD hunt for holos! I think many of you can agree that there aren't very many US brands that carry holographic nail polishes; the strong ones at least ;) Actually, which US brands carry any at all?! LOL -_-

Swap Rules: I am currently only swapping w/ fellow bloggers at the moment. Thank you.
I send all swap packages thru airmail, so I kindly ask you do the same. Sea or surface mail takes a few weeks/months longer and I hope to enjoy our packages around the same time so it's fair for the both of us. If airmail cannot be provided, I also ask that you send your package first and once I receive it, only then will your package be dispatched. From my past experience, they were able to receive their package in a little over a week. Feel free to e-mail me if you have additional  questions or comments.

Brands I have access to:

• China Glaze
• Orly
• Finger Paints
• Sinful Colors
• Wet n Wild
• NYC
• Sally Hansen
• Confetti
• Revlon
• Maybelline
• ETC - feel free to ask

If you are interested, e-mail me at deucebeauties@yahoo.com or leave me comment down below! Thank you :)

Swaplifters: Ugh, I hate to even think about this topic and be a pessimist, but it needs to be addressed. I am a firm believer in karma and you'll get yours 10x worse. I will have no problem letting my readers know because I would never want it to happen to them. Please do not take this negatively, I am just being honest. It's only harsh if you are guilty, right? So, there's no need to worry. Can I get an AMEN?! :)

Review: Born Pretty Store

Hi everyone!

Just another quick review before I head on out to the store.

I received two nail polishes from bornprettystore.com for review and I couldn't be anymore excited!

Let's get started.

1 coat - no flash

Flash

I love this polish! It's a purple/magenta shade that dries to a matte finish. It applied easily and had the perfect brush for effortless application. 

A yellow crackle?! Awesome! Born pretty store has a great alternative prices for crackles, since they are half the price of most higher brands. It applied very well and cracked almost immediately. Removal of the two polishes were also hassle free! :)

Again, these can be purchased here: http://www.bornprettystore.com/

Have you checked out bornpretty? What are your thoughts?1 I'd love to know down below?

A sample of these products were kindly sent to me from the "above" company for review purposes. I am not being compensated to give out any information/reviews. My reviews are, and forever will be 110% honest opinions based on my experience/knowledge with each product mentioned.
~Carla