Girly Bits - Shift Happens swatches

I love polish that shifts and evolves depending on the light. That is exactly what Girly Bits - Shift Happens does. It is a shifting topcoat. The shift is primarily red and it sparkles and shines like the glass ornaments my grandmother had on the tree every year.

I applied a generous coat of Shift Happens over Deborah Lippmann Dancing in the Sheets.

The red shine is gorgeous over the deep blue/purple base color. Shift Happens is a dupe for Max Factor Fantasy Fire. It's a much larger bottle than the Fantasy Fire which to me makes it a better bang for the buck. Fantasy Fire is in more of a purple base though. I will have to do a comparison post.

But let's look at Shift Happens in all it's glory.

Girly Bits Shift Happens

Girly Bits Shift Happens

Girly Bits Shift Happens

Girly Bits Shift Happens

Girly Bits Shift Happens can be purchased on Girly Bits Big Cartel site for $11.50 when it's available. http://girlybits.bigcartel.com/ or at llarowe.com for $12 when available.

This polish was given to me as a gift (Thanks Tina!). All opinions are my own.

Deborah Lippmann swatches

I have two wonderful Deborah Lippmann swatches for you today - Dancing in the Sheets and Good Girl Gone Bad.

Deborah Lippman polishes are quite coveted among polish enthusiasts. I have a few of them and must say they are quality polishes with long lasting wear. 

The first swatch is Dancing in the Sheets. A deep blue shimmery polish with the slightest hint of purple in the right light. This is two coats.

Deborah Lippmann Dancing in the Sheets

Deborah Lippmann Dancing in the Sheets with flash

Next is Good Girl Gone Bad. It's a wonderful rich shade of wine with tons of glitz and sparkle. I think this is one of my favorites. It does require a good top coat as it is a very thirsty polish. This is two coats with a top coat of Seche Vite.

Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad with flash

Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad

Deborah Lippmann polishes can be found at many department stores or online for $16 - $18. Occasionally you can find a bargain on www.hsn.com I have purchased sets of two polishes there for only $10.

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann "Private Dancer"

I received nail mail today from the wonderful lady behind Cosmetic Sanctuary. Inside was a polish I had to try out immediately -- Deborah Lippmann "Private Dancer." Let me just say it waltzed its way into one of the top polish spots in my collection. Its a purple duo-chrome with a hint of azure blue.

I owned a few Deborah Lippmann polishes before this - but none that grabbed my attention like this. All of these polishes apply wonderfully with superb coverage. I added tiger stripes to match the outfit I am wearing. A couple of the stripes are pretty shaky. But to be quite honest you wouldn't even notice if I hadn't zoomed in.

Deborah Lippmann "Private Dancer"

Deborah Lippmann - Run the World Collection

I have to share this lovely collection I received from a friend. Deborah Lippman has done it again. This neon mini polish set is fun and bright for the summer months.

These polishes are a matte finish and application is a breeze. The yellow was a little sheer and I applied three coats. But yellows usually seem sheer to me.

Here is what the creator had to say about these polishes.

"This season I wanted to create a more sophisticated take on the neon trend. My new collection, Run the World (Girls) Set of mini nail lacquers features fun yet wearable neon shades that feel fresh with a fabulous matte finish and they are FDA-approved to boot!" -Deborah Lippmann 

Run The World (Girls) includes: 

•  I Kissed A Girl,
•  It Girl,
• Hollaback Girl,
• Nasty Girl, and
• Party Girl.

Let's just move on to the swatches. All of these are two coats except for It Girl which is three coats. I did not use a top coat for any of these polishes.

I Kissed A Girl

 I Kissed a Girl is a bright, yet soft, (yes I know that sounds strange) pink without being overbearing. 

It Girl

It Girl is a buttercup yellow. Not quite as bright as it shows in the photo though. This is three coats and it is still pretty sheer.

Hollaback Girl

Hollaback Girl is a wonderful shade of coral that lends itself to red. I think it is my favorite in the collection.

Nasty Girl

 Nasty Girl is a plum purple and is probably the truest matte in the collection.

Party Girl

Party Girl is a vibrant pink. The camera just couldn't quite capture the true color in this polish and picked up more of the red hues. But it really is more of a fuchsia pink.

Deborah Lippmann Run the World collection can be purchased in several department stores, or online and costs $45.

Happy Polishing!

Humbled by Humble Bee

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A very dear friend sent me a polish called "Humble Bee" by Nailventurous. I hadn't used any polish from Nailventurous before so I asked Lisa at Cosmetic Sanctuary if I should use a base color and she replied that she did. (I know this doesn't seem important now; but trust me it will be funny later.)  So we decided to do a shared post to talk about this eye catching polish.

Nailventurous Humble Bees

Nailventurous Humble Bees

I started with a base coat of Deborah Lippmann "Almost Paradise." I wanted a base color that wouldn't take away from the wonderful yellow glitter flecks in Humble Bees. Almost Paradise is a creamy, pale yellow with a slight tint of green.

Deborah Lippmann "Almost Paradise"

Then I applied Humble Bee. It applied flawlessly. I didn't have to arrange the larger glitter pieces. They spread evenly and smoothly. This polish has tiny flecks of black and yellow with larger pieces of black. The brush was easy to work with too.

As I was finishing my mani Lisa sent a message that said "OMG, I used Deborah Lippmanns 'Almost Paradise' for a base color."

Let me tell you. I about fell off my chair. What are the odds that we would pick the same base color out of all the polishes we own? Great minds think alike. At the bottom of this blog post you will see the link to Cosmetic Sanctuary's Humble Bee manicure. Make sure to check it out and browse the rest of her blog. Lisa always has wonderful informative posts.

I know I have a fishing lure that looks a lot like this.

I used Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat to protect my buzzing manicure. One amazing thing about this polish is that it doesn't dry gritty so one coat of Seche Vite did the job.

In my humble opinion "Humble Bees" will be the buzz of your collection.

Checkerboard scotch tape mani

I haven't sported a scotch tape mani in a while so I was looking forward to doing something special.

Well, after what seemed like hours pulling one polish out just to look at it and put it back again I finally decided on Essie "Smooth Sailing" and Deborah Lippmann "Dancing in the Sheets."

These colors are both stunning and would be delightful on their own. 

I applied Essie "Smooth Sailing" as a base color. Let me tell you. . . I was tempted to stop with just the base coat. Smooth Sailing is completely mesmerizing on its own.

Then I applied a coat of Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat to protect my polish from the tape. And of course to make it dry faster.

Then I used scotch tape to mark off the first checkerboard square. Don't laugh at my tape. It was on clearance and I think I like it better than clear tape. It makes it much easier for me to see where my tape line is. 

Essie Smooth Sailing.

If you try the scotch tape method don't forget to put the tape on the back of your hand or wrist and remove it a couple of times to get a lot of the adhesive off of the tape.

Then I applied a coat of Dancing in the sheets on the area I had taped off and as soon as I was finished painting the polish on I pulled the tape off. I did this on each nail and then applied another coat of Seche Vite.

I taped off the other checkerboard and repeated the steps. One thing that makes it easier is to stop the tape at your cuticle line. This keeps the tape flat on your nail and makes the line cleaner.

I finished off with yet another coat of Seche Vite (I really need to buy stock) and I was finished. . .  Instant nail art!

Scotch tape