Life Update

Hi Guys! Long time no see! I just wanted to pop in and write a quick post about where the heck I've been and what's been going on in my life. If you don't already know, in late August I found out that I was pregnant with our first baby, which was quickly followed by 2 months of a mild (which, for the record, is still AWFUL) case of hyperemesis gravidarum, aka the worst form of "morning" sickness, during which time nail polish and Instagram became the least important things in the world to me. I had no motivation to do much of anything for a really long time, even after the morning sickness went away and I moved forward into my second trimester. So, I basically didn't even look at a bottle of nail polish between September and Christmas Eve. However, on Christmas Eve I finally got the bug to put something festive on my nails and wound up with my first manicure in 4 months (Essie A-List... see below), which was really exciting! It felt good to paint again, and I foresee getting back into the swing of things, though I doubt I'll go back to my usual new mani every week thing for a while (as I write this my Christmas Eve mani is still on, and it's now January 7th!). 

Essie A-List

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