Essie Go Go Geisha + September Essie Club Collab

We're one step closer to fall and I couldn't be happier about it. Fall is hands down my favorite season---I love crisp air and "sweater weather." I love the fashion and the rich, seasonal colors. Here in Southern California it definitely still feels like summer, but I'm ready to jump right into Pumpkin Spice Lattes and go on a Bath and Body Works candle binge. And if I'm being honest, going to Bath and Body Works during fall and winter might just be my favorite seasonal tradition... Well, you know, after the whole family gathering stuff! But anyway, I welcome the change of season with open arms; now let's get into the nail polish!

Here's a little Fall #nailporn for ya!

Fall Essie Haul

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I just hauled some Fall-inspired Essie polishes from eBay that consisted of a lot of shades I have been lusting after for a while now. A lot, if not all, of these colors were inspired by my fellow Essie lovers on IG. Their beautiful swatches caught my eye and made it onto my shortlist of polishes I wanted to own. The great thing about this haul was that I didn't pay any more than $4.99 for each bottle. I love shopping eBay for Essie because there a lot of great deals to be had and a lot of sellers offering free shipping. So, if you haven't checked out eBay for nail polish yet, take a look. 

For this post, since I've only worn one polish so far, I thought I'd compare each to similar shades in my collection. Let's start with an overview...

L-R: Topless & Barefoot, Angora Cardi, Sew Psyched, Smokin' Hot, Sexy Divide, and Aruba Blue

July + August Essie Club Collab

Recently a group of us on Instagram decided to collaborate each month to create a collage featuring our favorite Essie shade within a specific color family. It's really fun to see which shades everyone chooses and I figured I'd share these collages here, since it's a great way to see a variety of colors side-by-side, which could be helpful if you are looking for a particular type of shade. 

Most recently we featured blues in August, inspired by the ocean and the end of summer. Shade names and participants are listed below:

Essie Mint Candy Apple vs. Blossom Dandy

If you are familiar with Essie nail polishes you are probably familiar with Mint Candy Apple and Blossom Dandy. Both are mint green cremes in the regular line that are very popular and widely loved. Today I want to discuss the differences between them to help you decide if you really need both and, since you can't discuss MCA without bringing up the infamous blue-toned version of it too, we're gonna throw that into the mix too. So, to kick this off let's begin with comparing Blossom Dandy to Mint Candy Apple, the green-toned formulation.

My Top 5 Favorite Essie Polishes

There's a tag going around on Instagram challenging you to pick your top five Essie shades of all time (#only5essies), and while this is an extremely difficult task I somehow managed to pick mine and decided to blog about it so I could go more into depth on why I chose the colors that I did. 

Tips For Taking Pictures Of Your Nails

Hi Guys!

A friend came to me recently with an interesting request... "Will you write a blog post on how to take good pictures of your nails, but emphasize how to do a flattering hand pose rather than the claw hand that I see everywhere?" After we shared a good laugh about this I told her that I thought that was a great idea so here I am with my tips and tricks for you today. It's a long one, so grab a snack. 

Bahama Mama, Essie

Review: Smith & Cult Nail Polish

Hi Guys!

Today I am reviewing polish from the Smith & Cult Nailed Lacquer line. If you are not familiar with Smith & Cult they are a 5-Free polish brand created by the founder of the Hard Candy cosmetics line, Dineh Mohajer. The brand is devoted to individualism and their bottles of polish are nothing short of little works of art. If you follow me on Instagram and Snapchat you've already seen exactly how beautiful their bottles are, and the shades certainly do not disappoint. 

How To Make Your At-Home Manicures Last

Hi Guys!

I have been wanting to do educational posts for a while now, some "how-to's" pertaining to nails and I want to start with something that I think is completely universal: How to make your at-home manicures last. 

Rich Girls and Po' Boys, OPI

Small Essie Haul + My First Essie Re-Post!

Hi Guys!

Today I have two things to share with you: a small Essie polish haul and a personal highlight of the month (more on that after the haul).  

After Christmas I decided that I should behave myself and I went into a "no buy" phase. I've done fairly well with it and haven't purchased any new nail polish since the holidays. The three I am featuring below were Christmas gifts from my husband that I picked out at TJ Maxx in December.... Groove is in the Heart, Maximillian Strasse Her, and Swept Away. They are all terrific.

L-R: Groove is in the Heart, Maximillian Strasse Her, Swept Away

Review: Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream

Hi Guys!

Today I have a quick review of the Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream, which sort of fell into my lap by way of a co-worker and I have been so impressed with it that I felt it was well worth mentioning here. Prior to discovering this hand cream I was using Bath & Body Works lotions, which I have used religiously in general for years, but this winter my skin has been especially dry (which I know is normal) and my BBW lotions just weren't doing the trick. So I tried the Avon hand cream and my game was officially changed. 

Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing & Repair Hand Cream 

2015 Favorites

It's my first post of 2016! Another year has come and gone, so what better chance to look back and select my year-end favorites of 2015. The items featured will be things that were new to me this year and are not necessarily new to the market in general. Most of the things I have to share are polishes, but there are a couple of nail care items to talk about as well. By the way, the polishes are ranked in no particular order, except for my #1 favorite of the year. So, let's get into it!

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