Photos Soon, Quick Update & Suggestion Wanting Now

Hello ladies,

Tomorrow is my doctor's appointment to see about what is wrong with me.  I'm feeling a bit down because my blood test was clean (yay & confusion) and I'm worried this might be one of those "wait it out" types of things.  I'd rather not wait it out.  It's been nearly a month since I've been having problems with my voice and I've been feeling extremely weak/lethargic.  I hope that we can find a solution and I can get back into the groove of things.

Last week I received my order from Overall Beauty containing the Saints of Ruin collection and Horny Devil from the Butterfly collection.  Yippee!!!  The Saints of Ruin collection is so deliciously dark and juicy looking.
Colours: Fairytale, Dark Tommy, Ashes, Nightmare, Ruby Ruin, Dying Time.
 I can't wait to swatch it.  I was hoping to do it this weekend but it was my first anniversary with my husband (pics of that mani tomorrow, maybe?) and today was really dull outside and I passed out for the entire day. Zzzzzz.  I think I spend most of my non-working hours in bed.  x.x;

I also received the entire Vintage Vixen collection from China Glaze for review.  I was pretty stunned to receive the entire thing -12 polishes. I was thinking I'd just get a couple since my blog isn't one of those 1,000+ follower blogs.  I'm really grateful.  I hope to get started swatching those this weekend as well.   I'm sure it won't be a tragedy if they aren't posted right away since I'm seeing tonnes of blogs posting the swatches.  ;)

Do you girls have any tips for swatching a huge amount of polishes in a small amount of time?  I don't know if I'm a snail or something, but when I've swatched polishes I remember it took me a whole afternoon and it was only for a handful. Do you skip base and top?  Build it up fast and just take pics before it dries?  *boggles*

Now.... what to change my polish to tomorrow night.  DUN-DUN-DUN!

Quick Update

Still feeling ill.  Throat still getting sore on and off and I'm feeling really weak.
Guess what?  My blood results came back NORMAL.  WTF?!
I hate it when I know something is wrong but science won't back me up.  I'm going back on Monday to try other tests.
*flops*

Jessica Alba Wears China Glaze Scared Heart

JESSICA ALBA WEARS CHINA GLAZE SCARED HEART FOR PHOTOSHOOT

Marsha Bialo Works Her Manicurist Magic For Genlux Magazine(Los Angeles, CA) – June 2010: Celebrity manicurist Marsha Bialo recently gave the gorgeous Jessica Alba a manicure with China Glaze Sacred Heart for the cover of the summer 2010 issue of Genlux Magazine. The neon red polish which launched in 2008 as part of the Ink Collection, complimented Jessica’s olive skin tone perfectly!
Marsha and the stylist were working hard trying to find the perfect color that would represent a good transition of summer nail trends into fall. They finally agreed that China Glaze Scared Heart would be an excellent choice because of its neon base combined with the richness of red. Not one to give so quickly on the importance of a well-done manicure, Marsha was also campaigning for Jessica’s hands to be shown in the shot and succeeded! Not only are her hands prominently displayed though out the editorial, but they even made the front cover. Poised with her hands and fingers grazing her collar bone, the photo chosen for the cover came out absolutely perfect. A China Glaze beauty shot indeed!
 
Info Provided by Irene Chao at AII Beauty

My First RAOK, and me stuff.

Last week I received my first RAOK (random act of kindness) from Elizabeth.  I actually felt a little silly because she emailed me asking for my mailing address and I didn't really understand why.  She eventually said is was for a "RAOK".... and I was all... "WTF is a RAOK?".  I didn't really figure it out until a package arrived.  DUH!  And I was shunned to see that every bottle was on my lemming list.  *swoon*

The spread!

Chameleon - Blue Sky, and Calypso, China Glaze - Metallic Muse, and For Audrey

 Color Club - High Society, and Ms. Socialite, Del Sol - Ruby Slippers  (look!!  It's changing colour!  when I wore it the sun never came out and not that I'm taking a bottle pic it's changing!)

Elizabeth - Thank you so very much for sending these polishes.  It made me feel so warm and fuzzy I almost cried.  @.@  BTW your new blog lay out looks awesome.  Toxin did a very good job.

_________________________________________________

Me news.

Bleh.  So I've probably mentioned that I haven't been feeling so hot lately.  For the past couple of weeks I've had a very sore throat- but only when I spoke too much.  I'm a receptionist so it's sort of my job to talk.  And my desk is all alone away from other workers so I get lonely and talk people's faces off when they come to use the copier.

I went to the doctor today and she discovered that my thyroid glands are swollen and I'd have to go for blood work today when I get off work.  Joy.  Surprisingly I'm not upset by having a tiny needle put in my arm and my life fluids drained from me.  No.  I'm irritated that I am a public transit person and I'm going to have to take the bus out of the way to the blood-draining clinic and get home late.  HA!

Giveaway news!

Babbling Brooke is having her blog's 2nd anniversary with a huge giveaway.  Head on over and check it out, it's pretty amazing.  Happy Blog Birthday, Brooke!

SpaRitual - Optical Illusion

Prepare yourself for .....

SpaRitual's Optical Illusion!  This is one of my favourite polishes already. And yeah, it's green.  No kidding.

Direct Sun

o0oo0o0o0o!  Ahhhhhh!  Dark olive green base with olive green and gold micro glitter!

Showing off the glitter in the sun.

Ahhh!  Blurry! Natural Light.

Sorry about the blurry.  I didn't realise how much my hands were shaking.  I hate it when that happens. 
Also- your eyes aren't fooling you, the cap is a little on the red side.  Weird.

First Spa Boutique Haul

This is my first haul from SpaBoutique.ca, a Canadian nail polish distributor that sells some difficult-for-Canadians-to-find polishes. It's the "Canadian Head to Toe Beauty Store". *hehe*  Free shipping (in Canada) over $75 and they include free samples with every order.

Seche Base (ridge filler), Seche Restore (BEHIND), SpaRitual - Flashback, SpaRitual - Optical Illusion

Orly - Goth, China Glaze - Atlantis, China Glaze - Emerald Sparkle, China Glaze - Meteor Shower

Mmmmm Sparkly!

It is Hump Day! Prepare for Manfred!

Manfred is my Maine Coon, sired by an unknown Maine Coon and mothered by Tirion (asimple brown tabby with more sass in her pinkie toe than anyone I know!).  For years Manfred has suffered from mats in his fur.  I have suffered for trying to comb them out.  The gentle giant becomes quite ferocious when I try and comb around his hips.  His large size and breed make his hips sore most of the time and grooming isn't the easiest for him.  I decided enough was enough.  I had him taken to the vet and transformed from grizzly bear... to MANFRED, LION KING!!

BEHOLD!  Manfred in all his glory!

They even groomed the tip of his tail into a perfect paint brush.

Ok.. he is starting to get annoyed with me following him around with the camera.  LOOK AT HIS BOOTS!

This is Manny before the cut:

Demonic, no?

Yes... I can tell you have already fallen prey to his cuteness.

Now I will give you an example of his many, many names.  Manfred, Manny, Mindingo, Mandingus, Mr. Man, Manfred J. (when he is in trouble), Mannius, and Fred.  He has more but... I should get back to work.

Diamond Cosmetics - Cherry Tobacco

Here is another Diamond Cosmetics gem!

I put this colour on because I was in a vampy mood this past weekend *snicker* because it was True Blood's 3rd season premier! (HA!!  Pun)

This colour appears to be a brown that is so dark that can almost be mistaken for black (or is it just an off-black?).  Mixed inside is a GORGEOUS black cherry shimmer.  It glows.

 I think if the base was closer to brown it would remind me of my favourite pop - Dr. Pepper.

Mmmmm.

Chameleon - Calypso

Hey!  This was part of my first ever RAOK (random act of kindness) from the lovely Elizabeth, Lacquered Lizard.  I'll post the rest of her ROAK later.  

I've been lemming this one a while.

Natural Light

Flash

Can you see the colour change?

It's so difficult to capture it on camera.  I wish I could pull the images out of my eyeballs.

Look!  It matches my book.  I'm addicted to Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels!
Mmmmm True Blood!

And you might have noticed that these photos were taken of my right hand, I'll explain.
This duochrome acts like a foil or metallic polish.... IT SHOWS EVERY TINY IMPERFECTION! I used two coats of ridge filler and I thought I was safe, but I wasn't.  So since my right hand had the least noticable imperfections I used it.  Don't get used to it.  ;)

Diamond Cosmetics - Hue Are You?

I know it's been a long time since I've posted.  I've been having a bit of a rough time.  [Insert whining and self pity here].  I'll be going to the doctor this week to ask why my vocal chords hurt so damn much.  My throat isn't sore unless I speak.  Sometimes it doesn't hurt so much, others I can barely make a squeak.  And since I'm a receptionist that has to pronounce Greek and Croatian names all day, I need to talk.  

Cough drops, anyone?

I apologise for how dark a couple of these are.  It was getting late in the evening when this was taken and it really showed in the photos. This polish is a maroon or... well it looks like drying blood to me but I've been watching a lot of "True Blood".... with a lovely golden shimmer.

Natural (evening?) light

Flash

Bottom

Tiffany from Yardsticks 4 Lunatics was sweet enough to get me this from her last order.  Diamond Cosmetics doesn't ship to Canada unless you spend $250.  Or was it $500?  I don't know.  But it was a lot.
they also wouldn't email me back about their current crappy 'Canadian Distributor' and what it takes to become a distributor.  Nice customer services, DS.  /end sarcasm.

Katy Perry Wearing Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

KATY PERRY ROCKS NEON YELLOW NAILS AT MTV AWARDS

China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini Makes It’s Debut On The Red Carpet
Los Angeles, CA – (June 2010): Dazzling in her Zuhair Murad mini dress and Rock & Republic grey platform heels, Katy Perry was definitely a stand out at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. With so much sparkle, shimmer, sequins and shiny fabric going on, Katy nixed the accessories and instead went with a wild royal blue coif and neon yellow nails!

Katy Perry, who is known for her love of manicures and nails, went with her favorite celebrity manicurist Kimmie Kyees for this event. Kimmie, who is totally aware of the fact that Katy likes to stray as far away from the norm as possible, chose China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini as her first manicure color for the night. To make the neon yellow polish pop, Kimmie used a well-known manicurist trick by first applying a couple coats of China Glaze White on White underneath the Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. This insured that everyone was able to see Katy’s nails from a mile away! To achieve the desired nail length that Katy wanted, Kimmie also used ibd Natural Nail Tips. Kimmie says that she goes through so many of these nail tips that she can never have enough in her manicurist kit.

China Glaze colors may change from season to season, but our longwearing formula continues to provide consumers with the highest quality nail lacquers. Designed with the professional in mind, our 220-strand brush is great for ease of application. Best of all, our non-thickening formula provides perfectly even coverage. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com .China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

IBD is committed to supporting today's salon professional and promotes excellence in nail care by offering comprehensive education and training to nail artists. Our educational program is a hands-on training program that enlightens nail professionals with up-to-date techniques, explains the science behind the products and describes ways to build business and profits. Taught by a highly trained ibd educator, each attendee will experience the incredible benefits of using ibd products. No odor and no dust - nail professionals discover the future of nail care in IBD's light activated systems, for a healthier and safer salon environment.
 
Info care of Irene Chao from AII Beauty.
 

ICING - Dark & Stormy and Nfu-Oh 52 - 100 Followers

All fingers are painted with Icing's Dark & Stormy 3 coats and my ring fingers have 2 coats D&S and two coats of Nfu-Oh 52. Please forgive the wear 'n' tear and... lack of cuticle moisturizing.  This mani was 3 days old.

Natural Light

Flash

My attempt at showing the Nfu-Oh 52 on my ring finger.  Matches well, don't you think?

P.S.  I now have 100 followers.  I never thought I could ever have that many.  Due to financial strain my first giveaway will have to wait a bit longer as I have several wonderful ladies to complete swaps with.  I'm trying to be as thoughtful with my lack of funds as possible.

Thank you for reading.  <3

Susie's Giveaway!

Go check out her blog and enter!