Nail Polish Life Saver

It's time to let you in on a little secret that I've been keeping for a few months.

I finally found the most amazing nail polish in all the land. 

My first question when sampling new nail polish is always about the dry time. I can't tell you how many times I've had freshly polished nails and my hand grazes a pillow after 30 minutes and BAM - smudge! I don't know about you, but I just do NOT have time to wait hours for my fingers to be smudge-proof. Yes, I made that word up :)

Allow me to introduce you to my new favorite nail polish: 

Rimmel London 60 Seconds Nail Polish.

They currently have 26 beautiful shades that I haven't even made a dent in yet. Did I mention these babies can be picked up at your local Walmart for $1.50. I can't make this stuff up. It's a gift from God!

Not only does the nail polish actually dry in 60 seconds but it's smudge-proof in under 5, which allows me to focus my time on other areas that I have yet to master a quicker drying time for, such as MY HAIR. One day, one day.

And just because this dang song won't get out of my head, I'm leaving you with Royals.

You're welcome.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The Nail Files

We all know my love affair with Essie. The polish, the color assortment, the brush, etc... it's all perfection. Therefore, it should come as no shock that I'm rocking a new color to bring me into the weekend.

Say hello to Essie Lilacism

It's a laveder/grey mix that I think is just perfect for those of us that are trying to hold onto summer as long as we can. Let's face it - I live in Florida so it's practically summer year round, but we try to stick with the seasons as much as possible.

One thing I don't love is the drying time. I found the most amazing nail polish with the fastest drying time recently and I'm super excited to share it with you all next week :)

The Nail Files

Linking up today for The Nail Files.

This will *most likely* be my last Nail Files of 2012. 

Seriously, where did the year go? 

Today, I'm wearing Essie Marshmallow with glittery ring fingers :)

I really wanted to use red but can you believe that all 3 of my red nail polishes were not up to par to take on the job. Looks like I need to go red nail polish shopping. I'm obsessed with the red from the 2010 OPI Christmas Collection. I can't remember the name of it right now, but whatever it was, I need that. I'll check at home and get back to you on that.

Doing anything fun with your nails this holiday season?

Link up with us and share :)

The Nail Files

Since I'm going to visit one of my pink loving girlfriends in Dallas this weekend, 

I figured I had to paint my nails appropriately. 

I give you Essie, off the shoulder.

This color is the perfect 'Barbie Pink'.

I love it.

When I get home, I have to remove the extra polish on my middle finger that this photo just pointed out to me.

What color are you flashin' on your nails today?

Link up with us and share!

Friday Favorites

Linking up with one of the newest residents of Sin City, The Bargain Blonde, for a little Friday Favorites :)

{favorite person}

My Nephew, Mr. Toad himself. We dressed up as Mario, Luigi & Toad for trick or treating this year :) Landyn is 2 1/2 so this is the first year where he actually had some fun with it. 

{favorite vitamin}

I'll admit that I'm the worst with consistency. I took Biotin everyday for a full 2 months and actually started seeing a difference in my hair and then just quit. A few months have passed and I'm ready to get back into it. I'm tellin' ya people, these stuff works. Not only for hair, but also your skin tone and nail strength. 

{current favorite nail polish}

I'm supporting this pretty color from Essie all week. I deemed that with the weather change and all, fall colors are entirely appropriate even if we don't see leaves changing here in Orlando. 

{favorite fondue}

The boyfriend is taking me to my favorite fondue spot tonight, Colorado Fondue. This isn't a franchise but it blows Melting Pot out of the water so I'd highly suggest it if you every visit good ole' Central Florida :)

{favorite daytime activity}

No, not just drinking. Well that too. But I was referring to TAILGATING. Tomorrow is homecoming for UCF so I'll be tailgating with some friends while hopefully drinking fireball, playing beer pong & flip cup, dancing and falling multiple times. 

Come link up with us to join in on the fun!

The Nail Files

While I was browsing Target the other day for anything that I just "had" to have,

imagine my surprise when I stumbled across e.l.f nail polish. 

Target usually only has a small collection of e.l.f products so I've been forced to order the majority of things online.

Not this time! 

I quickly grabbed this nail polish and headed home to get painting. 

The color looks darker in person but with natural light or a flash, it's a pretty purple. 

Here is what I think about e.l.f nail polish:

1. The color comes out smooth and beautiful

2. The nail polish is thick. You'll be good to go with 2 coats (& I like my nail polish extremely thick)

3. The applicator could use a little work. I found it difficult to get far down on my nail bed without touching my cuticles because the applicator is pretty thick. 

4. With the use of Seche Vite base coat & OPI's rapid dry top coat, the color stayed on for 5 days. In my world, that's one for the books!

5. The dry time is pretty quick also. Always a plus!

6. At only $2, it's right up my alley. They have a ton of colors online to choose from too :)

Do you guys have any favorite nail polish that works amazing but doesn't have a huge price tag attached?

The Nail Files

One of my least favorite things to do is wait for my nails to dry.

Unfortunately, that's a true statement. 

#FirstWorldProblems

I'm always looking for new tricks to speed up that process. 

You might be wondering "what do those things have in common?"

Yesterday on Pinterest I found something that said you can spray your nails with 

Pam after you paint them and it will completely dry them.

Pinterest=God

Certainly it must work.

I had to give it a shot but I wasn't about to mess up a fresh full mani if this trick turned out to be bogus.

I decided to just paint my thumb, spraying it with Pam a mere 30 seconds after polish. 

I waited another 30 seconds and wiped it off. 

Good news - the Pam came right off. Bad news - so did the nail polish. 

After researching a bit more this morning I found that waiting a minute or two after painting your nails to spray the Pam can make a huge difference in the results.

I just wanted to throw this to you ladies to see if you've heard of this trick or if you've proven it to be a myth.

UPDATE: PAM contacted me letting me know that they have a section on their website of all the different things you can do with it. I'm heading over to check it out now! :)

I'd also love to hear if you have discovered any other tips on getting your nails to dry faster.

Hook a sista up. 

Nail Polish Organization

Houston, we have a problem.

My nail polish bag is overflowing.

Yes, you heard that right. I store my nail polish in a travel case. 

I'll agree, it's not the most efficient way, but I've just never put too much thought into trying to find something different. 

Until now.

Here are my options:

Invest in a new storing method

or

Quit buying nail polish...

Take a guess which one of those is NEVER going to happen ;)

I've found some cute ways to store my nail polish, but there are a slew of different options ranging from many different prices.

I'm taking any and all suggestions on finding ways to keep my wallet padded and still get what I need.

I'm thinking a rack that fits around 90 polishes would be best. 

I haven't counted how many I currently have, but if there ends up being extra space it just gives me a reason to go nail polish shopping ;)

The search has started. Here are some options that I've found thus far.

{via}

DIY nail rack

{via}

So far this is my favorite one. I don't think I want it to hang on the wall so I'm leaning towards this style. Add an extra row in the back and throw in the nail polishes and we've got a deal ;)

{via}

The Nail Files

Friday has finally arrived and that means my nails are looking special for the 3-day weekend! 

My friend/co-worker/fellow blogger, Kate, filled me in on a little inside information. 

It's no secret that Essie is like God's nail polish, in my eyes. 

Imagine my sheer excitement when Kate told me that Marshall's sells Essie for $3.99. That's half what I pay now. Sign me up. 

I'm really starting to love Mauve Green so I went and got this beautiful new color called, Da Bush. 

This is my current nail routine.

Seche Vite Base Coat, Essie- Da Bush, OPI Rapid Dry Top Coat

=

My DIY at home mani :)

Join us if you want to show off your nail polish, or any recommendations that you have for others! :)

The Nail Files

 On this fabulous Friday, I'm feeling extra feminine - mostly because of my nail polish color, but I'll take it!

This week I chose this beauitmus color, Miami Nice, from Essie. 

I'm literally loving this color right now. It's a bright electrifying pink without it looking like I'm a 7-year old little girl. At least I think so ;)

Happy Friday! 

E.L.F Promo Alert

You get to pick 8 free nail polishes when you spend $20 or more on the E.L.F. website. Just use promo code 8NAILS. 

They really do have a nice color selection, if you ask me. And who can resist free nail polish?

I hope you enjoy :)

The Nail Files

Since I have no idea what I'll be wearing when I go out, I knew I had to give my nails a neutral outfit to wear for the weekend. You see, I'm driving down south right immediately following work and we're going out in Fort Lauderdale tonight and I have no clue where we're going to end up, what level of dress would be appropriate, or even if it's a clutch or purse type of night.

Fun fact: This girl LOVES a plan so this is extremely hard for me. As much as I enjoy being spontaneous in the moment, I need a plan so that I have a jumping off point to what I'm doing. But that's neither here nor there. 

Anyhoo- I've decided to go with what I believe to be the ultimate neutral. 

Please excuse the glazed donut remnants on my ring finger. When someone comes into the office with Dunkin Donuts, I can't say no.  

That's all from me. Head on over to show us  your nails!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm in such a good mood this morning, I figured I'd do one of my favorite linkups - What I'm Loving Wednesday with Jamie!

I'm loving that today is Wednesday and not Monday or Tuesday. 

I'm loving that I get to pick up my nephew from daycare today. Nothing is better than seeing that cute face light up when he sees you!

I'm loving my new nail polish, Essie Ballet Slippers. I'm channelin' my inner Emily, know what I'm sayin'? ;)

I'm loving that I've been corresponding with the head of the Graduate department since last week and I'm so close to being all signed up for classes. It's been rather hectic and misleading but I'm hoping to have it all set within the next few days :)

I'm loving the new makeup I ordered last night from E.L.F. It's my old found obsession. I used to buy it periodically but after paying the high prices for M.A.C, Bare Minerals and even Neutrogena, I've found that E.L.F has almost identical products for literally a fraction of the cost. Check it out - you will not be disappointed. 

I'm loving that I brought a hot pocket and a peach for lunch today, don't judge. 

I'm loving that Real World is on tonight. Again, don't judge. I can't help that I'm mildly stuck in 2002. What's next listening to BSB and N'SYNC while working? DONE! ;)

I'm loving that the The Bachelorette is coming to an end and Emily is that much closer to finding the man of her dreams. I've heard speculation and I hope I'm not being misinformed. 

I'm loving that Big Brother starts in 12-hours. I've seriously been looking forward to this since last year. This will only be my 3rd season of watching but I'm hooked! My only hope is that Brenchel doesn't make an appearance on this season. Not my favorite people in the world to watch.

I'm loving that today is 7/11's birthday. You know what that means, Free Slurpees! I may be a little too excited about this because they are only $1 but I haven't had one in probably almost a year so it's almost just an excuse to go :)

What are YOU loving today?

The Nail Files

The Nail Files with Vicki and Tara on this beautiful Friday :)

This weekend, I'm heading to NOLA to spend time with some pretty great friends of ours. 

Since we're going to be in the city that is famous for Mardi Gras, I figured my nail color should be just as bright and fun. This weekend, I'll be flashin' Essie's Braziliant. I feel like they look much more like bright orange in the photo. Oh well, what's a girl to do?

What pretty nails are you showing off this weekend? Come show us :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

As per usual, I'm linking up with Jamie over at This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

This week I'm loving...

.. that my phone has been acting up so I took it to Sprint yesterday and they are ordering me a brand new phone!

.. I'm loving that we finalized the plans on Friday so next Friday we are headed to New Orleans. You can bet your bottom dollar that I will have a hurricane in my head by noon Saturday :)

.. that we are going to Olive Garden for lunch today. Hello, Pasta Fagioli,  breadsticks and whatever else I decide to order! 

.. that my boyfriend has off of work tonight. If you don't know, we have complete opposite schedules so I usually only get to see him once or twice a week - even though we live together. When I'm at work, he is at home sleeping. When I'm at home sleeping, he is at work. The quote 'two ships passing each other in the night' couldn't fit us more perfectly. The only thing I'm not excited about is that he said he might want to go see MIB3 tonight, I guess it couldn't hurt to get some sleep in the movies ;)

.. that I finally had time to paint my nails last night after peeling my polish off on Saturday. In case you're wondering, I went with Topless and Barefoot by Essie. I've been in a neutral kind of mood lately. 

.. that I had a great weekend with my family at the beach. It was so nice to have an actual relaxing vacation. I'm not saying that I spent much time relaxing but my mood was relaxed and that's just how I like it.

Friday we went straight to my cousin's graduation and then went back to the house for dinner and many drinks. After  getting back to the condo, my Boyfriend, Uncle and I headed out on the golf cart to go find a bar. Who knew that nothing would be open passed midnight? We ended up finding a pizza place that served alcohol. They were closed but their open light was still on so they invited us to have drinks with them. They opened bottles of wine for us and gave us beers. It was definitely an interesting bunch.

The beach was calling our name on Saturday. My whole family headed out there for a day of fun in the sun. We played games, went on the paddle board and just hung out. After we left the beach we went to lunch at the pizza place and, surprisingly, their food was incredible.

On Saturday night, my Aunt and Uncle hosted a graduation party for family and my little cousin's friends. It was a ton of fun :) Of course when we got back to the Condo, my uncle, boyfriend and sister's boyfriend insisted on eating all the leftovers from lunch and ordering another pizza. After lunch on Sunday we drove back and I was pooped, I never take naps and I took an hour nap - crazy!

What are you loving this week?