hrmph

guys, I suck :(
I know that I've been SUPER lax on this blog but I PROMISE that you'll see more of me! Everything's been crazy trying to get my sister settled back and they've really started cracking down on internet usage at work so I can't check in as much, but I've acquired some really great tools for this nail painting shenanigans that I love so dearly and I can't WAIT to share them with you.
Love you guys. Don't count me out yet!!

xo,
ali.

A love affair

so, listen. I know I said I would post last night but stuff happened. Good stuff. I went to Zumba with my bestie and then Skyped with  my sister. SHE'S MOVING BACK TO BUFFALO. This little lady is coming back home, this summer. I'm so excited. Her boyfriend got a transfer to our airport. AH. Yay ^_^

Okay. I told you I had a rad mani for you girls. And, I do. I was a little wary of doing this mani, but it turned out fabulous. I got the idea from Jane @ Nailside. Her nail art and manis are AMAZING. I'm so envious of her skills.

For this mani, I used OPI Russian Navy. It's a new favorite. It's GORGEOUS. I'll show you the pictures then we'll chat. I have another gem to share with you in this post too.

holy God.

This color has such depth to it. I say it's because of the red and purple flecks in the navy base.

I found this bottle when I went into a salon on Saturday. I had a gift certificate for $10 and the salon is kind of expensive so, I thought I'd use it for a good cause--adding to my stash ;)

I was poking through the nail polish (limited selection) and had just about settled on Planks-A-Lot, but I stumbled on this and I was done. I took one look at the bottle and how the light was hitting it and I was in love.

Check out the rest of the pictures :)

These are all with flash under artificial light.

I did two coats. Application was fabulous. The perfect consistency. A little sheer on the first coat but the color buildup after two coats is lovely!

Natural light.

How did i do it? I know you're asking. It's suuuuuper easy. All you need are a base coat, your color of choice, hole reinforcements, and top coat. I tear the reinforcement stickers in half and stick it to my nail. Then you just paint 2 (or 3 or 4, etc) coats on of your color and peel them off. Easy-peasy.

Now...the other bit of the post.

I got my first Julep Maven box today! I just got the shipping notification on Monday so I couldn't believe it was here already!

my package included a full-size Glycolic Hand Scrub, which I'm hoping will help the skin around the free edge of my nail

safe as kittens!

I received Anne (purple) and Kelly (nude)

I'm hoping that the nude will be a full coverage nude and be my go-to for "mannequin hands."

That's all for tonight. I can't wait to do manis for these and share them with you!

Until next time!

xo, ali.

no more mushy brain!

Hello ladies! I'm just posting really quick to let you know that I'm still here. I had a quiet weekend but that's because of a stressful day at work on Friday and then MORE yesterday. My brain was just about shot. All I wanted to do last night was kick back, relax, and watch Bones. Mission accomplished.

But it's back to business, now. My brain has recovered from the ridiculous deadlines I've had to meet at work and I'm ready to go. I have a rad mani on right now and if you follow me on Instagram (ali_golightly--follow me!!), you've seen it.

I'll be sharing it with all you lovely ladies here, later on tonight.

Stick around!!

Until next time.

xo, ali

Wet N Wild ColorIcon Shadow Pallette

I said I would be back ;) Did you miss me?

Tonight, I want to talk eye shadow with you ladies. I LOVE it. Love love love. It's right behind nail polish as far as how much I have. I'm constantly buying it and now that I've found these Wet N Wild ColorIcon palettes, I won't be able to stop. I have a few of the 3-pan palettes, but this is my first 8-pan. 

This is Petal Pusher. 

On the back, they give you some ideas on how to work the look :)

I love how each shadow is kind of embossed with the best place to use them. It makes your eye makeup fool-proof! Especially if you've just swiped some on there in the past.

Usually, I use 4 shadows from one side or the other. The darker side is great for a smoky eye when you go out. and the more purple side is perfect for a low-key or going to work.

I LOVE THESE. The color payoff is great. The color builds very well and they go on velvety smooth. In fact, I can't believe that I only have one of these so far. I definitely have to get the other two I've seen-a teal/blue palette and a neutral/brown palette. They run about $3.99 at your local Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, etc.

I also swatched the colors, shown below:

the swatches are in the order of the palette. Purple side.

blurred to see all the shimmer, especially in the third swatch.

smoky side.

a little blurry for shimmer

I also did a look, using the smoky side, but only using the first three shadows.

In addition to the Wet n Wild shadows, I used Essence gel eyeliner in Black and Maybelline Falsies mascara in Blackest Black.

Have you tried these shadows yet? What did you think?

until next time!!

xo, ali

quick nots (nail of the saturday)

hello, ladies!!

I'm sorry that it's been a week since my last post...I had a wicked busy weekend as I mentioned I would in my last post and then the weather reverted two months to February and it was terrible out on Monday and Tuesday. I didn't feel like doing ANYTHING.

But, I do have a post in mind for you dolls that I plan to put up later tonight.

It's not about nail polish, though. It's about my other cosmetic love--makeup! Wet N Wild to be exact. I can't wait to share it with you :)

To make this nail relevant, I'll leave you with an Instagrammed picture of my zoo mani from Saturday.

see you guys later!!

xo,ali.

a first time for everything

wednesday! such a great day...it means the hardest part of the week is over and we're cruisin to the weekend. My weekend stands to be quite exciting...I'm going to Erie to visit my sister and we are taking a little trip down route 79 with her boyfriend to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Saturday. I can't wait :)

I have a quick post for you ladies before I paint my nails, again. Work was wicked stressful today and apparently hard on my nails b/c my fresh mani that I did last night chipped to smithereens. Ugh.

This was my first time stamping, and I think it turned out decent, but I definitely need to practice more. No problem there ;)

For those of you that were wondering, the Salon Express stamping kit is GREAT. The stamper is wonderful to work with, double-sided. The only complaint I have is that the scraper scratches the plates so I'm going to try the gift card method next, but it's definitely worth the $10 that it costs at your local drug stores.

For this mani, I used:

1 coat Sally Hansen CSM Base Coat

2 coats Avon Powerful Pink

Stamping done in Wet N Wild Black Creme

Enjoy!! Let me know what you thought about this mani :)

the sunlight was really good on the way to work this morning. It's seriously the only time that I have to use natural light for these shots. Blah.

my favorite nail haha... my left thumb. I love the way it turned out :)

until next time!

xo, ali.

26 facts about yours truly :)

Hello lovely ladies!! I hope that you are doing well and are into the swing of things this week.

I know I was absent this weekend...I kind of wanted to keep it lowkey and didn't really do much of anything but watch movies and tv and sleep.

I want to welcome all of my new followers. Thanks for joining in the fun :)

Because I have lots of new friends, I wanted to share this little questionnaire that I got from http://www.glitterobsession.com/ so you can find out more about me!

A is for Age: 27, but I'll be 28 on May 20th :)

B is for Breakfast today: coffee on the way into work, then we had a customer service mini-seminar with muffins, cinnamon rolls, danishes, and bagels.

 

C is for current Craving: a Cadbury Creme Egg, but I didnt bring any with me today :(

 

D is for Dinner tonight: Not sure yet. My mom is an awesome cook and whips things up, so I'm sure it will be good.

 

E is for favorite type of Exercise: Zumba!! I go with my best friend, twice a week and walk 3 or 4 times a week.

F is for irrational Fear: Dying alone.

G is for Goals you have for yourself: Be a successful blogger, get a place of my own.

H is for Hometown: Born in Tulsa, OK, but live in Akron, NY

that's Main Street. We are Smalltown, USA

I is for something Important: My family and friends

J is for current favorite Jam: D'Yer Mak'er by Led Zeppelin. I've got my ipod on random while I "work." David Cook was just on.

K is for Kids: None of my own, but I have an amazing 5, almost 6, year old niece that loves Spiderman and blue nail polish.

M is for the most recent way you spent Money: Tim Hortons French Vanilla Iced Coffee, triple triple.

 

N is for something you Need: to work on my actual work associated with my job; swatch and post more

 

O is for Occupation: i work in mortgage's, specifically with taxes and escrow.

 

P is for Pet Peeve: so many. Unchivalrous men. Rude people. Whistling. Disrespect. Arrogance.

Q is for a Quote: "What is meant to be will always find a way."

R is for a Random fact about you: I have 5 tattoos, getting a few more in the near future.

S is for the most random place(s) you have ever Slept: on the Metro in Paris. I was in high school and we had been sightseeing all day and I was exhausted. 

T is for favorite Treat: a piece of chocolate or birthday cake.

U is for something that makes you Unique: There's lots that make me unique. I'd have to say that my sense of style and how I put together outfits and accessories.

V is for favorite Vegetable: Corn. And I love a good salad.

W is for today’s Workout: ZUMBA!

X is for X-rays you’ve had: chest, when i knocked my two front teeth out and they thought i swallowed one; tailbone, knee

Y is for Yesterday’s highlight: Bones :)

Z is for your time Zone: Eastern

There *will* be a polish post coming soon. I wanted to stamp over what I'm currently wearing, so that will be either tonight or tomorrow :)
 until next time.

xo, ali