NY Swatches

Hey there, my lovelies!  Just wanted to post a few quick pics for you.  As you might have read, I was in NY visiting my mother for a little over two weeks and had a WONDERFUL time.  During my trip, I was fortunate enough to be treated to not one but TWO manis (the first with a pedi)!  For my mani/pedi, courtesy of my friend, Paula, I chose OPI Yodel Me on My Cell.  Here's a pic!

Two coats, shot outdoors, no flash.

For my second mani, almost a week later, I chose Essie Beach Bum Blu.  Here's a pic of that one:

Two coats, shot outdoors, no flash.

I really liked both of these pretty blues.  The OPI, as you can see, was much darker and, sadly, it started chipping pretty badly within about a day and a half, despite being top coated (I don't know what brand of base and topcoats were used).  The Essie lasted about three days before chipping badly.  One of my favorite things about mani/pedis at a salon is the opportunity to try out colors I don't currently own in my massive stash.  I only own a handful of OPI and Essie polishes and since they are available at most salons, I often choose them.  

Do you own either of these colors?  If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Heck, even if you don't, I'd still love to hear your thoughts.  

xoxo,

K

Essie - Barefoot in Blue

I was fortunate enough to be one of the randomly chosen winners of Essie's Barefoot in Blue polish, released in conjunction with TOMS in honor of their One Day Without Shoes campaign.  The campaign encourages folks to go barefoot on April 10 to spread the message of the struggles faced every day by children forced to live without proper footwear.  You can learn more by clicking HERE.

This is a lovely color and I feel honored to have won it, particularly since it is not available in stores.  You may know by now that I am crazy for blue so I was absolutely giddy when I was surprised with my bottle in the mail. Here are some pics for you:

Barefoot in Blue

Two coats, outdoors, no flash.

Two coats, indoors, with flash.

This is a lovely periwinkle kind of color and I'm really happy to own it.  I'm also happy to support such a worthwhile campaign and, to be completely honest, I don't need much of a reason to go barefoot.  

I hope you enjoyed this post!  

Pedi in Blue

I'm a little behind on this one, sorry, but this is the pedi I got on my last full day in NY (last Monday, to be exact). My mom and I were trying to think of something fun to do and she kept commenting on the sorry state of her nails. I had just gotten a mani a few days prior with a friend (click HERE if you'd like to see it) so my fingernails were still looking good. Finally, she said a mani would be fun and I said I could definitely use a pedi and away we went. I hadn't had a pedi in at least two or three years (I mean, that someone else did for me. Of course, I polish my own toenails often and do the other "foot pampering" stuff from time to time, though not nearly often enough) and wow, I had forgotten what a lovely experience it is. Sitting back in a big comfy chair while SOMEONE ELSE scrubs my feet, tends to my unruly cuticles and, of course, applies polish, is a fabulous treat, especially with all the wear and tear my feet get being almost constantly in flip flops here in Florida. Choosing my polish color was fun, too, as the salon mostly had Essie and OPI colors to choose from. I only own one Essie color and three OPIs and three of those were contest/giveaway prizes and the last was a gift from my mom. After close examination, I finally settled on OPI Yoga-Ta Get This Blue. Though the color looked almost sparkly in the bottle, it isn't, but it is a gorgeous deep blue shimmer, as you can see below. (Sorry for the weirdness on my second toe. I shave my feet and I think that was the remnants of a shaving nick.) I can't comment on the ease of application as I didn't apply it myself but it certainly looked opaque and shiny after the manicurist applied a base, two coats of color and a top coat (base and top coat brands unknown. They were in unmarked bottles.) I wish I owned this color but as I have placed myself on a strict no-buy for the foreseeable future (more about that, later) I won't, at least for the time being. Oh, I do have to share, the photo was taken with my bare foot on my mom's front lawn (the front yard of the house I grew up in and lived in for the first 30 years of my life) and boy, oh boy, was it nice to stand barefoot in that grass, again. I don't walk barefoot in the grass at my apartment here in Florida for fear of ending up in an ant hill (they're plentiful) or stuff left behind by the landscapers. Plus, I have yet to see piles of clovers here like there are at "home." Sometimes, it's the simple things.

Autism Awareness Month

To show my support for Autism Awareness month, I have chosen to unite with many other polish bloggers and paint my nails blue. Specifically, I used Essie's One Day Without Blues. TOMS Shoes, wishing to raise awareness for their "One Day Without Shoes" campaign, united with Essie to offer this polish to 5000 randomly selected fans, free of charge, and I was one of the lucky ones chosen. TOMS has a "One for One" project through which they donate a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell. Every once in a while, the stars align in the right way and I think that my receiving this color, considering how much I ADORE blue, at this particular time to show my support for both of these wonderful causes, was perfect kismet. I applied two coats and couldn't be more pleased with this beautiful color, especially at such a meaningful time. A friend's son was recently diagnosed with autism and I have other friends with autistic children as well. Anything that brings more attention to this issue is fantastic with me. Thanks to TOMS and Essie for the lovely polish.