Polished Professionals: Weekday to Weekend

The weekend is nearly upon us, a three-day weekend at that, and I don't know about you, but I'm SO ready! So here's a little weekend-themed post as part of the Polished Professionals series. If you missed last week's post, you can check out my Beauty Survival Kit!

With Labor Day weekend officially here, I'm sure that many of you, like myself, have plans for a party or barbecue. Weekend plans can often throw a little bit of a wrench into things when it comes to your nails.

Maybe you've just gotten a manicure at the start of the week and it's tough to part with your perfect polish job. Or maybe you have gel polish in a neutral color that's just not going to cut it for a party. You could have last minute plans. Or perhaps, as this is often the case for me, you're too lazy/tired to take off your polish, put on new, and wait for it to dry. After all, it's a long process!

Today, I'm going to show you a few weekday to weekend looks that can be accomplished in just fifteen-twenty minutes. And most of that is just drying time. You could really even do this on the way to the party in the car... not that I've done it before or anything...

The best part about the looks to follow is that they're very simple and easy to achieve. All you need is two kinds of top coat: your normal quick-dry brand (I use either Seche Vite or HK Girl) and a special effects top coat.

Special Effects top coats are those that change the look of your polish in some way. They can be your ordinary glitter/sparkle, a flake-filled fiesta, or even a holo top coat. It's totally up to you.

So, let's get started with some transformations!

Announcing: 12 Blogger Mystery Giveaway

In honor of Jilltastic Nail Designs reaching 3,500 fans on Facebook, she is hosting a HUGE giveaway and has collaborated with a bunch of her fellow bloggers to celebrate! And I am one of them!

The twelve prizes up for grabs are all mystery items that are either nail or beauty related. SOME prizes have more than 1 item!!

Rules:

You must be 18 or older to enter.
Must LIKE and/or FOLLOW host Facebook pages and Blogs.
USA addresses only... sorry chicas.

Get a head start and go to the blogs and FOLLOW them via GFC!!

Beauty Gnome
College Polished
365 Days of Color
DIY Polish
Munchy's Nails
Beyond Beauty Lounge
XO, Noelle
Jilltastic Nail Designs
Tall Girl In Heels
Peace Love Lacquer
Manicurator

Enter here below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Swatch and Review: China Glaze Unpredictable and Want My Bawdy

Happy Thursday, everyone... Friday is so close, you can taste it! And for you Americans, a three-day weekend is coming up!

Today's Swatch and Review shades come from the China Glaze Bohemian Collection released just in time for fall. I'm going to be showing you Unpredictable and Want My Bawdy.

First up, is Unpredictable!

Unpredictable is a olive green metallic nail polish with added sparkle. It definitely screams Fall to me!

As you can see, though, there isn't much of a duochrome shift in this one, a la the oil slick effect. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty shade, just not what I expected.

 This is Want My Bawdy, which sadly for this twenty-two year old, reminds me of a Rod Stewart song. Don't judge me.

Want My Bawdy is a rich navy blue metallic polish with some violet undertones.

Again, not much of a color shift, but I like the depth of this shade better than Unpredictable.

Overall, these were two perfectly pretty polishes. I just wasn't blown away by them, so they were a tad disappointing. If I had to wear one again, I would probably pick Want My Bawdy.

China Glaze is available at beauty retailers and fine salons near you. CG is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

Tomorrow, I'll be making another Polished Professionals post about how to turn your work look into a fun, weekend look with ease!

Until then!
Princess Polish

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. For more information please visit my Disclaimer page. 

Swatch and Review: OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest

Happy Monday, everyone!

This morning, I'm bringing you something I teased at last week on the Princess Polish Facebook Page.

OPI's brand new Germany Collection offers a color that piqued my interest from the get-go and that color is Every Month is Oktoberfest!

I'm a fan of deep, vampy reds, which is part of the reason I love the fall. School aside, of course.

But this red gave me a little bit of a surprise...

Check out that color shift... it's a duochrome! It's a red-purple duochrome!

Definitely unexpected. This was with two coats of polish and a top coat of Seche Vite.

I wasn't too thrilled with the look of the Germany collection. To be honest, though I have Suzi and the Seven Duseldorfs on my toes, I'm still not.

But really, all you need is one gem. And truly, this was it.

Princess Polish

Swatch and Review: Zoya Gloss Collection + a Special Promo Offer

 Good afternoon, everyone! I'm very happy to bring you the Zoya Gloss Collection and some fun jelly sandwiches. So without further adieu, let's get down to the polish!

From left to right: Katharine (from the Peter Som Collection), Paloma, and Frida!

First up is Katharine!

Polished Professionals: Survival Kit

Hello again, everyone! I'm so glad to be back... it's been a stressful ten days prepping for my first day of law school. It hasn't been so much the preparation of books, work, etc, so much as it's been a mental preparation. There have been many meltdowns and panic attacks, but I think once the first week is over, I'll be okay. I survived my LSATs, didn't I?

I thought I'd start a new series on the blog, called Polished Professionals, that I'll be posting about with semi-regularity. I know that many places require much more subdued looks as far as nails are concerned, and that includes law school, so I'll be posting about different options that will allow you to keep your individuality and translate it to your every day look. Additionally, there will be tips for the weekend, quick fixes, etc. Don't worry though, I'll still be posting swatches and nail art that are not subdued in the slightest, so there will continue to be something for everybody!

Today's post is all about my Survival Kit, which I keep in a makeup case in my purse. For the record, because I'm commuting to NYC every school day via bus, I additionally have a small rolling suitcase for my books, laptop, etc. My little case could fit in the suitcase with the rest of the items I put in my handbag, as well, but I'd prefer that I have quicker access to everything.

Nail Art Olympics Winners!

Good evening, all! I'm excited to announce the winners of the Nail Art Olympics!

All of the entries were fantastic and it was really hard to choose. But at the end of the day, I did have to pick my top 3 and I somehow managed to.

Are you ready to see who won?

Here we go!

Hump Day Holo: Space Girl Nails

Hi again, everyone! Sorry for the long delay... been getting all of my stuff together for school and spent a few days in Atlantic City. My mom was the big winner, but I didn't lose too bad at all!

Today, I have a little mani that I have dubbed Space Girl Nails because it reminds me of outer space!

 

I used Zoya Suri (which you'll see swatched on its own later in the week), topped with Nfu Oh 61 and a little stripe of Zoya Mira. I think Mira adds that little extra pop, don't you?

 

Because it has been pretty rainy here for a few days, I couldn't get any sunlight swatches. Yeah, this was INDOORS. And I love it!

So what do you think of the Space Girl Nails? And remember to enter the Olympics Nail Art contest before time runs out this weekend!

Until next time!

Danielle

Swatch and Review: Zoya Designer Collection

Happy Thursday, everyone! I am SO excited to bring to you the first of the three Fall collections from Zoya! This is the Designer Collection, chock full of gorgeous, luscious cremes!

See? They're to DIE FOR!

Princess Nails

Sorry for being MIA for a while... I've been prepping for law school at the end of this month. It's scary, terrifying, and exciting all at the same time. But right now, I'm trying to enjoy what time I have left of the summer!

I wore these nails a few weeks ago after experimenting post-manicure at a nail salon. The only problem is that I can't remember the name of the base color! It was a really pretty pale pink Essie with a subtle reddish-pink shimmer. Though, I do know the color I used on the tips. It's a color I made for one of my sister's friends recently, called Princess Polish Flora!

 

I used Stripe Rite in a rainbow glitter, dotting tools, a little white polish, and a circular rhinestone for the flower. This was just a fun and girly way to wear my nails for a little while. I liked it a lot.

So what do you think, everyone? Can you name that polish?

Princess Polish