Claire's Dream Catcher & A Winner!

I wanted to do a cute St. Patrick's Day mani. I was going back and forth in my head between ombre or gradient. Since I didn't think any of my greens leant themselves to a nice festive ombre (I could have done murky and/or olive-y) and I wanted to get to bed sooner than later, I skipped the gradient and went with a straightforward oldie but goody.

Claire's Dream Catcher started showing up in the blogosphere in 2010 and really gained a lot of steam when people noticed it was a dupe-ish cousin to Chanel Jade. Dream Catcher is a yellow-toned mint green with a fine blue shimmer. After quite vigorous shaking (and subsequent resting) to dissolve tiny chunks that had formed in my bottle, this polish went back to its old thin self and went on in three coats.

Dream Catcher is still one of my favorite light greens because of that blue shimmer. It might take three coats to get everything smooth and streak-free, but it dries fast and gets decent wear, so it's all good.

I hope everyone is having a happy Friday, especially the winner of the Sinful Colors giveaway.... April G.! Thanks to everyone who entered. I appreciate your participation and I loved reading what your favorite polishes of 2013 have been so far!!

SinfulColors Orange Cream & Fun Friday Giveaway!!

Here's another shade from the SinfulColors Sugar Rush collection!

This one's Orange Cream, which actually happens to be peach. It's soft and light enough to be reminiscent of an orange creamsicle, so maybe that's where the "orange" part came in? Orange Cream also has a hidden shimmer, which is a little bit more visible than it was in Cotton Candy.

Orange Cream is even easier to work with than Cotton Candy and fully opaque in two coats!  

In case you're wondering how peachy Orange Cream really is, here it is under my Ott light which really brings out the true tones of a polish. It's slightly more orange than it is in normal lighting...

... until you look at it compared to true light oranges like Essie Tart Deco (Art Of Spring - Spring 2010 collection) and SinfulColors Luminary (Girls in Pearls - Spring 2012 collection).

Orange Cream, Tart Deco, Luminary, Orange Cream

In comparison, Orange Cream practically looks like a pink. I think everyone should have a really good peach polish for spring and Orange Cream is getting my recommendation. It's opaque, easy to work with, affordable and has a cute hidden shimmer to make it special. This is the shade that has been disappearing first from my nearby Walgreens Sugar Rush displays so if you see it, get it!

And to wrap up this week of SinfulColors, I'd like to do a small Fun Friday Giveaway: Sinful Edition!

Unicorn, Show Stopping, Sweet Tooth

Unicorn is a core color featured in the Sugar Rush collection, Sweet Tooth is the new light warm purple from the Sugar Rush Collection, and Show Stopping is the pink holo glitter from the Almost Famous/Paparazzi collection.

I know Unicorn isn't new and Show Stopping is a possible dupe for Sally Hansen Strobe Lights and OPI Teenage Dream, but if you haven't found these displays or if you're on a no-buy or if you just like free polish coming to you in the mail, then fill out the form after the jump to enter this giveaway!

OPI Show It & Glow It + A Winner!!!

This is going to be a busy weekend - friends from grad school are getting married and the festivities start tonight.  I wanted something festive and sparkly while still keeping it light and spring-y.

I decided to layer one coat of OPI Show It and Glow It from the 2010 Holiday Burlesque collection over two coats of OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender from the 2010 Spring Hong Kong collection. Of course, I topped it off with a coat of Gelous and Seche Vite for the ultimate smooth and shiny finish.

And now I'm ready to be a guest at a spring wedding!!

Thanks a bunch to everyone who entered my Fun Friday Giveaway :)  I received three times more entries in this giveaway than I did for 50 followers - whoa!!

The official winner of the Fun Friday 100 Follower Giveaway is...

*drum roll*

 ...checking the spreadsheet...

...Livi from Olivia's Nails!!

She's been blogging since August 2010, so head on over to her blog and see what she's been showing off.  I never would've thought to layer Revlon's Star over a dusty purple, but she did. This is totally my next layering mani. Go check it out!

Have a great weekend and try not to play too many tricks on this April Fool's Day - Happy Friday!!!

Revlon Black with Envy - Last Day to Enter!

Guess what my Ulta just got in? A full Revlon Backstage Revealed - Runway 2011 display... which means that I was able to get my hands on the limited edition Black with Envy!

For anyone who can't find Wet N Wild Morbid from their Craze line, Black with Envy is also supposed to be another close cousin (aka probable dupe) to Chanel's Black Pearl. This small display is only supposed to be up from March through the end of May, so you'll have to look quickly to find this shade. 

Is it worth the search? It was for me because I wanted a polish like Black Pearl without having to pay $25 for it. Black with Envy went on in two coats - it has the graphite base with blue-green shimmer - it's worn nicely with only minor tipwear after housework and dish washing.

Sun - Graphite with Green Shimmer

Shade - Green Shimmer gives a pearl-like finish

But if you don't feel like dealing with the frustration of a potentially fruitless polish hunt, just enter my giveaway because Black with Envy is the tenth polish I'll be giving away! I'll also be giving away the new addition to the Lippmann Happy Birthday dupe family - Ulta Piñata-Yada-Yada!

Black with Envy, Piñata-Yada-Yada

You have until midnight PST tonight to enter. Don't miss out on your chance to get all of 10 of these fantastic polishes! The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon so hasta mañana!

LA Splash Pink Dream

This is the perfect princess polish for spring!  LA Splash Pink Dream is a light pink filled with pink and silver microglitter. It's delicate, it's glittery, it makes me think of cookies and sprinkles!

Sun - Pink!...

Shade - ...and Glittery!

I had doubts about its opacity since it's a light pink glitter. How often is anything light pink opaque? Pink Dream is a bit sheer, but covers most VNL in two coats with a third coat for touch ups - like the nail tip where polishes always get a bit thin for me. This isn't a gritty glitter so one coat of topcoat makes it smooth and shiny. Since Pink Dream goes on in thin coats, removal was pretty easy.

This was my first LA Splash polish and I wasn't sure what to expect brush-wise from this thin and rectangular bottle. If you haven't seen the LA Splash brush either, don't worry like I did - it's a normal brush, medium size, nice and flexible. Also, this brand appears to be made Big 3 Free and without camphor - they include a tiny print ingredient list printed directly on the back of the bottle for easy checking.

Now on to the next round of polishes that will be included in the Fun Friday 100 Follower Giveaway...

Mystic Lilac (Fall 2010), Hang Loose (Summer 2010), Jade (Summer 2010), Flat Iron Green

Have you wanted a polish from the LE Surfer Babe collection? Or the Avon shade that's one of the closest cousins to the infamous and very long gone OPI Damone Roberts 1968? And yes, that is a bottle of Mystic Lilac. Those tricky-to-find, seasonal Xtreme Wears! Fill out the form, enter the giveaway, and these polishes could be yours!!

China Glaze High Hopes

I was on a blue-gray kick last week, so I had to kick it up a fun color notch for hanging out with a cool cousin-friend before she flew back to the chilly northern Midwest.

High Hopes is a bright pink-coral (a degree brighter and it could be a neon honeysuckle) creme from the China Glaze Up & Away Spring 2010 collection. I've had excellent application from every polish I picked up from that collection. High Hopes flows on smoothly in two coats and dries to a high shine (maybe I could call it patent honeysuckle?).

Sun - Looks more pink

Shade - Looks more coral

Here's a fun shot with cousin-friend's camera after dinner. 

Look how orange High Hopes can look in dim lighting! And it's so shiny!!

In some lighting, High Hopes even took on a more muted red look, but the color was too intense for my poor camera to focus on properly. Maybe one day soon *cough, July birthday, cough* I'll have a new camera that can show off all the colors that polishes are capable of achieving.

All my fun with dinner, movies, and hanging out didn't distract me from the 100 Follower Giveaway! I have two more polishes to show that you could win...

Pure Ice Busted and Dreamy

Look at that iridescence on the left. Is that a jelly multicolor glitter on the right? These polishes look even cooler in person!

If you want them, fill out the Giveaway form before Thursday night. 6 more giveaway polishes will be getting unveiled before then - come back to check them out :)

Polish Unpacked & Another Fun Friday Giveaway!

The good thing about unpacking is you get a clean slate for organizing your stuff. You don't have to pull everything out and move stuff around - you just have to put it away in the empty new place.  What was my favorite thing to unpack? My polish collection, of course!!

All of my polishes made it across the country in one piece. There was some leaking on a few bottles, but nothing severely damaged. Now they've all be unpacked, unwrapped, sorted, and placed in my Helmer in a way that's part alphabetical by brand, part alphabetical by location where they were purchased, part by the number of polishes from a certain brand. 

Viva Polish! reached over 100 followers this week! I can't think of a better way to share about myself with all of you than letting you have a look into my polish stash. And what better time to show it off than right after it's been freshly organized?

DRAWER 1 - OPI & Higher End Brands

OPI, Essie, RBL, butterLONDON, MAC, Lippmann, Nfu Oh, Chanel

  
DRAWER 2 - Brands that I tend to buy online or in specialty
(i.e. beauty supply) stores

BB Couture, Barielle, Claire's, Cult, Diamond, Funky Fingers, Misa, Nubar, Orly

  
DRAWER 3

China Glaze & Color Club

  
DRAWER 4 - Drugstore

Cover Girl, Jesse's Girl, L'Oreal, Oke Doke, Maybelline, Milani, Revlon

  
DRAWER 5 - More Drugstore Brands

Sinful, Sally Hansen, Ulta, Wet n Wild

 DRAWER 6

Zoya & Revlon Street Wear

Truthfully, I need a second Helmer for my mini bottles, random bottles from brands I only have one or two polishes from, nail treatments, and other supplies like files, cotton, etc. I'm reluctant to buy one because I know that I'll be tempted to fill it up! I'm satisfied with just having one Helmer for now because 97% of my collection fits in it and I know where every polish is - ahhhh! Organized!!

Now how about 100 followers?  You guys are great and deserve another giveaway!  Right now, I have two brand new OPI polishes for you to win! 

Breathe Life (Spring 2009) and Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees (Fall 2009)

I'll be adding more polishes for the rest of the week up to the awesome grand total of 10, so keep checking back to see what you might win!
 
To enter this giveaway, please fill out the form below. You don't need to be a follower to enter, but I'd definitely appreciate your follow. You can also earn extra entries if you tweet or blog about this giveaway or like Viva Polish! on Facebook. This giveaway is open to everyone - US and International.  It starts now, ends next Thursday, and the winner will be announced on Friday, 4/1 - no April Fooling!

We Have A Winner!

Muchísimas Gracias to everyone who entered my Fun Friday Giveaway!  I received so many responses and wonderful comments and I wish I could give polishes away to all of you :)

The official winner of the Fun Friday Giveaway is...

*drum roll*

 ...checking the spreadsheet...

...Jennifer J!!

No worries if you didn't win this giveaway now!  I'm 11 followers away from having an even bigger giveaway with prizes for even more winners. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend - I'll be busy packing and getting ready for the big cross-country drive.  I might not post while we're on the road, but I'll definitely be back once we get settled in AZ.  Happy Friday!!

BIG News & Fun Friday Giveaway!

What happened last week?  What's going on?  Well.... I moved to New York on February 25, 2008... and on February 25, 2011, we'll be moving back to Arizona!!  How crazy is that?!  Three years exactly?!

My husband got an excellent job offer and now we're rushing around trying to get ready for the big cross-country move - packing, finding a place, wrapping up things at our current jobs. Boy, packing wreaks havoc on nails with all of the tape and moving unwieldy boxes. Ugh!

That doesn't mean that I can't celebrate all of my fabulous followers, though - I have over 50 now! So now it's time to take a break from all the moving details and have some fun this Friday with a little giveaway :)

Winter blues are the worst, but blue polishes are a different story, so... 

I'm giving away some of the loveliest blue polishes released this winter!

Revlon Top Speed Royal, Hard Candy Sky, Revlon Galaxy





and

Funky Fingers Blitzen, Revlon Street Wear Midnight



I know Blitzen is more of a green & StreetWears are discontinued, but green-ish teal is a close cousin to blue and I just found this StreetWear this winter, so they still fit in the "theme" ;)

To enter this giveaway, please send an email to vivapolish@gmail.com with Fun Friday Giveaway in the subject line. Include your name and the email address you'd like me to contact you at if you're the lucky winner.

You can earn an extra entry if you tweet about me or my giveaway (I'm Andi_Frise on Twitter). Just share the link with me in your email.

You don't have to be a follower to enter this giveaway, but, of course, I'd appreciate your follow.  I'd also like a friendly comment on any of my blog entries because I want to know what you think, what you like, what you want more of from Viva Polish! 

This giveaway is open to toda mi gente - US and Intenational!  It starts now, ends next Thursday, and the winner will be announced on Friday, 2/18.