Accent Nail? Yes, Please

Hello, kittens! I must admit that, at times, I'm guilty of jumping on bandwagons and with polish, that is no exception. However, until last night I stayed away from the accent nail trend. For those who don't know, it has become quite popular to polish one nail on each hand differently than the rest of the fingers. Though, as you may know from past entries, I'm quite fond of the skittle mani, I didn't really get "the point" of just one finger being different. Last night, I decided to give this look a try and was pleasantly surprised with the results. I did a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote followed by two coats of Ulta Material Girl on all fingers. I'd heard great things about Material Girl from polish friends and fellow nail bloggers so I decided to pick it up during Ulta's buy two get two free promo. I have to say, I was STUNNED by how gritty it was. I guess I've been spoiled by nice smooth finishes on the other glitter polishes I own. I was really bummed but this color does look awfully pretty in direct sunlight, the holo glitter sparkling nicely. My friend and fellow blogger, Neeka, was kind enough to inform me that many glitter polishes lean towards the grit and suggested I try a product called Gelous, which smooths out the finish. I can't wait to find a bottle and try it. But I digress. I topped Material Girl with one coat of NYC New York Color Extra Shiny Top Coat. The mani looked okay but I wanted it to "pop" a little more so I took the plunge and added a coat of Ulta Little Black Dress to my ring fingers. This polish seemed to go on MUCH smoother and I was quite a bit happier. I will definitely dabble in this nail trend again, maybe mixing it up a bit by choosing a different finger to accent in the future. So, in summary, gritty polish = bad, smooth and shiny = good, at least until I decide to try out a matte polish and probably end up liking that too. *eye roll* ;)

Hubby's First Polish

No, my husband isn't wearing polish. Though he's a very open-minded guy, polish-wearing is just not for him, lol. However, he did buy me polish for the first time the other day. Let me explain. I'd been reading a lot about a Hard Candy polish called Beetle for the past few weeks. Being a fan of rainbows, sparkles and unique looks, the swatches I saw online made me certain that this color was just my style. However, due to our very limited finances (more on that in my other blog, Kari On), I simply cannot buy all the polish that I want. I'd been "visiting" Beetle each time we stopped by our Walmart grocery store and finally, hubby said enough was enough and put it in our shopping cart. Though his money is my money and vice versa, the idea of not having to bust out my own wallet to buy polish was an awesome surprise. This brings me to the following: I'm still a relative newbie to polish so I guess this beauty would be classified as a multichrome? Regardless, the fact is, it appears copper/purple/green/etc. depending on the angle and it is GOR-GEOUS. I am wearing two coats in this pic. Application was lovely and smooth and though it was really patchy with just one coat, the second coat evened it right out. This is the first Hard Candy polish I've owned in about 20 years (I wish I still had the other one) and I am definitely looking forward to owning more in the future. It was $4.00 at Walmart and I LOVE it. The fact that it's the first polish my hubby ever bought me just makes it EXTRA special! Can you feel the love? I sure do.

Lucky Ducky...The Sequel

Let me start by saying I have the best friends. This bears repeating: I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS! I'm so excited and happy to share the wonderful package I received yesterday from my sweet friend Destany (please click HERE to peruse her blog, should you so desire). Behold, the goodies: Now, Des has been a friend for several years now. We met through Facebook and it's only in the past five months or so that we've bonded further over our shared love of polish. For some reason, my part of Florida never seems to carry Wet n Wild Limited Edition collections and it's the bane of my existence (well, one of many banes). Fortunately, I have awesome pals like Des who are sweet enough to help me find these fabulous gems. This super-amazing package contained the following: Collecting Pollen and Garden Hose (from the Wet n Wild Limited Edition Bloom Collection), Wet n Wild Sea Witch (from the Limited Edition Mermaid's Cove Collection), Avon Blue Flair, OPI RapiDry Top Coat (I've never tried a quick-dry so I'm psyched to try this out), China Glaze For Audrey (which, let's face it, is SO me, being addicted to all things blue, sky blue in particular), Avon Nail Experts Nutri Boost Nutri Plus, Wet n Wild Stream of Wonder (also from the Mermaid's Cove Collection) and Sally Hansen Mint Sprint along with some super yummy sweet/sour treats.

Des knows this already but I am soooo incredibly grateful for her kindness and generosity. I've been going through such a rough patch in my real (non-polish) life for the past several years and gestures like this mean so very much. When I feel like I am literally at the end of my rope and find myself considering ways to tie it, it's the love of friends that reels me back in. No small gift, clearly.

I've swatched these polishes on my nail wheels and when I try them out I will, for sure, share pics and reviews. In the meantime, just know that I'm still feeling the warm fuzzies and I hope it lasts a long time. :)

The ABCs of Me

*This post is SOOOO not polish-related. It's just a fun "blogger thing" that's been floating around and lets you get to know a little bit more about me. :)

A. AGE:
38 (gasp)

B. Bed Size
queen

C. Chore I hate:
dusting

D. Day
Saturday

E. Essential start of your day:
potty break (what?)

F. Favorite Color:
sky blue

G. Gold or Silver?:
silver

H. Height:
5'7 ish

I. Instruments:
I used to play violin, viola, cello and piano. Now I play nothing. Sigh.

J. Job Title:
I'd say "domestic goddess" but since I really suck at domesticity and I am currently unemployed, I'll say "lump on the couch"

K. Kids
Yes, please. My clock is most-definitely ticking...loudly.

L. Live
Sure. It sounds better than dying (most days).

M. Mom's name:
Kathleen

N. Nicknames
Punky, PKNY, Butterfly, Pokie, Kare Bear

O. Overnight stay at hospital:
Never. Does that make me boring? (No, Kari. Lots of other things make you boring.)

P. Pet Peeves:
People who mispronounce simple words. A library is not a fruit (liberry) and you cannot AKS me a question (but you can ASK me anything you'd like).

Q. Quote from a movie:
"A girl who gets all wrapped up in herself makes a pretty small package." - Desert Bloom
"Keep passing the open windows." - The Hotel New Hampshire

R. Right or left handed:
right on

S. Siblings
a younger brother

T. Time you wake up:
noonish, if I'm lucky

U. Underwear:
Yes, please.

V. Vegetable you hate:
Onions, unless they are really REALLY soft and caramelized (and that, in itself, is a BIG step for me)

W. What makes you late?:
mitigating factors like traffic or getting lost - I'm pretty OCD about being on time, if not early

X. Xrays you've had:
dental and lots of others, I'm sure, that I don't recall right now

Y. Yummy foods you can make:
eggs, baked goods

Z. Zoo:
Brevard Zoo is our local one. It has the BEST giraffe exhibit!

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Well hello, dear readers. Today's mani features the lovely Wet n Wild Fast Dry Waves of Enchantment. This color is part of the new Mermaid's Cove collection that, not unlike every other WnW limited edition collection, seems to be impossible to find in my town. I received a super fantastic birthday package on Monday from my sweet friend, Erin. (As you may or may not know, May 10 was my, gasp, 38th birthday.) Here' what I received:
Check out my swag! I received three WnW polishes from this collection, Ocean Grotto, Diving for Pearls and the aforementioned Waves of Enchantment, as well as a beautiful card and sweet treats galore. I have some fabulous friends, that's for sure.
Now, onto the mani. This is two coats and wowza, what great coverage. It's quite opaque, as you can see, and the application was smooth and easy. To get back to the title of this entry, along with it being my cheeky nod to Monty Python's Flying Circus, it refers to the fact that I never EVER wear "warm" polish colors. If it's not evident from my hand shots, I am fair skinned with cool undertones to the extreme. I've always considered most peachy-orangey colors "warm" by definition and have therefore avoided them in makeup and polish. I'm no expert but I figured this was a safe way to go. However, as soon as I saw my first swatch of this color, I knew I wanted to try it. I'm quite into "sparkle" lately and when Erin asked me which three polishes in this new collection I liked the best (after reading my "whining" about not being able to find them around here), I didn't hesitate to name them and, voila, a few days later, they arrived in my mailbox. (I was giddy, seriously.) Wearing a color like this is SUCH a departure for me but you know what? I LOVE it! Now, don't think I'm going to change my color profile completely. Blues will ALWAYS have a cherished place in my heart, sky blue, in particular, but I am SO glad I (and Erin) took a chance on this one. I know I'll be wearing the heck out of it (and its been on since yesterday, with no top coat because I've been lazy, with NO chips or visible wear yet). Wet n Wild definitely has a winner in this one.

Contest Update

My pal Traci's (at The TraceFace Philes) 100 follower giveaway is now a thing of the past. However, she is gracious enough to now be hosting a 200 follower giveaway (go, Traci, it's your birthday...well, it was on Sunday) ;) If you'd like to enter, please click HERE and follow the woman, for crying out loud ;)

Woot! Attention K-Mart shoppers...please click HERE to follow Katie's blog, Paws to Polish, and enter her fabulous giveaway. Yayness!

Not a Happy Blogger

I know that blogger has been hiccuping for the past few days, grrr, but I'm REALLY not happy that one of my blog posts went *poof* and still has yet to return. It was a rather long one, all about how a fellow blogger and her generosity helped me get started experimenting in making frankens. It even had pics of the wonderful goodies she sent me, out of the kindness of her heart, and swatches of my first creations. I honestly don't have the inclination to try to reconstruct that post but, suffice it to say, I am SUPER grateful to this wonderful, humble lady and I'm having a blast making frankens. I sincerely HOPE that blogger decides to take the stick out and replace my blog entry but, if not, please know that I will keep you updated on my frankenventures as they happen and that I am, once again, impressed and touched by the thoughtfulness and kindness shown to me on my little adventures in polish. Who knew that polishing my nails would lead to so many great new friendships and so much fun? So, I guess I'm unhappy with blogger but I'm not an altogether unhappy blogger after all.

Would You Like Some Free Polish?

Me too! LOL. For your shot (and mine), head on over to my friend Destany's blog Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom, follow her and enter.

Another opportunity to win some awesome polishes is on Jennifer's blog, Lacquer Lover. Be sure to stop by, follow and enter there, as well.

Good luck to all of you (but especially to me, lol). ;)

It's My Birthday...Yay, Me!

Though I have some complicated feelings about my birthday this year, this is my FUN blog so I'm not going to focus on that, only on the childlike glee that my birthday inspires. As you may or may not know, my favorite color in life is sky blue. I've also been super-anxious to try out the holo trend in polish. Therefore, Milani Cyberspace, part of their 3D Holographic collection, seemed to be the perfect choice for today's mani (actually applied yesterday but who's counting?) This is three coats with a base coat, the name of which I can't recall right now (and I'm too lazy to get up and check. I'll edit it in later...or not...it's my birthday, I can do what I want).


Overall, I'm really quite pleased with this polish. It's blue, it's sparkly, it's holo-y, life is good. (Though one coat looked extremely 'blah', the second coat perked it up and the third had it approaching opacity, though vnl is probably something I'll have to deal with, no matter what, with this polish.) I also bought three other colors in this collection, pink, green and purple (again, the names escape me) and I'll probably go back today for the gold and silver, just to complete the set (plus CVS has Milani on sale, buy one get one half off, this week). I hope all of you have a blue sky kind of day today. That would make me quite happy. :)

Traci is SOOO Good to Me

A special thank you to Traci at The Trace Face Philes for this award! (Does she know how to make a girl feel special or what?) The Liebster Award is designed to bring well-deserved additional recognition to those bloggers with less than 300 followers. If you receive the award you link back to the blogger that nominated you and nominate 3 more blogs. (This is a "Kari thing" but I don't want anyone to ever feel that they need to link back or even participate in tagging others if they don't wish to do so. Please know that if I tag you, it's simply because I genuinely care about you and what you have to say and I'm proud to share that with others.)
That being said, I choose to recognize:
Destany at Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom
Sarah at Samarium's Swatches
and, last but not least, the birthday girl, Megan at Painting Rainbows
Each of these ladies have some wonderful things to say and I hope you'll give their blogs a read. ;)

Lucky Ducky!

I don't know why it has taken me so long to post about this but better late than never, right? I have to say, without straying too far into maudlin territory (that, of course, is saved for my "all-around" blog, Kari On, should you wish to learn more), the past year and a half or so has been a particularly trying time for me, for many reasons. However, in the midst of my sturm and drang, there have been some exceedingly bright moments and receiving a surprise care package last Monday from one of my besties, Tara, was certainly one of those moments. Here is what I received:

I had NO idea when Tara posted a mischievous giggle on my facebook page that I was in for such a treat. This box contained many "Mardi Gras-type" beaded necklaces (from Louisiana, natch), tons of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs (which she well-knew are my favorite candies) and twelve, yes TWELVE, beautiful SinfulColors polishes. Here is a better shot of the polishes, arranged "lovingly" to thank my sweet friend for her amazing kindness and generosity.

The colors (starting with the dark reddish color and working around the heart) are: Merlot, Show Me the Way, Mint Apple, Aqua, What's Your Name, Daddy's Girl, Purple Diamond, Bali Mist, Jamboree, Pink Forever, Pinky Glitter, Out of This World, Opal Glitter and Snow Me White. I haven't swatched these yet, aside from on my nail wheel, but when I do, you'll see 'em first. I truly don't know what I did to deserve such a sweet and thoughtful gesture but I am so thankful for it. Finally, here is a shot of the overall booty.

I'm not sure if she is following this blog or not but wow, she is awesome. Am I a lucky ducky or what?

Giveaway Goodness

My new pal, Traci, at The TraceFace Philes, is doing a 100 follower giveaway, yay! Lots of great prizes to be won. Click HERE to check it out! :)