We Want to Know Wednesdays!

Hello, my loves!! Taking a little break from the polish b/c last night's manicure is sticking pretty well, so I thought I'd introduce something new from *Dandelion Wishes* called

*Dandelion Wishes* is a great blog run by Colleen and sometimes her hubby, "Big Daddy," too :)

We Want to Know Wednesdays are a pretty cool way to get to know your fellow bloggers by posing 5 questions about a certain topic. This week's topic is money

Here we go!!

{1} What is something that you currently spend money on that you consider a splurge or frivolous?

Something that is definitely frivolous is documented here...nail polish/makeup. I LOVE IT. I can't stop buying it but it's definitely a frivolity. Once Lent is over, i have a lot of catching up to do ;)

{2} Tell us about your first paying job. How old were you?

First paying job was a cashier at a grocery store chain in WNY--Tops. I was probably about 15 or 16 and saving for a trip to France. I started as a cashier and at the end of two years, I was working at the customer service desk
{3} Do you plan date nights and extras into a monthly/weekly budget?

If there is something that I really want, I save for it over a couple of paychecks. Right now, I've got my eye on a rose gold watch from Fossil once Lent is over :)

{4} Share one of your money saving tips with us.

I don't have any, haha. I try to maintain a savings account but that never ends well. I'm trying really hard because I want my own apartment within a year. Giving the money to my mom to put away works well, too. Also, COUPONS.

And finally, Christine @ http://cmgendreau.blogspot.com wants to know:

{5} If you won the lottery - would you spend it frivolously or use what you need and save the rest? Why?

I definitely would do some shopping...What not to Wear style, take $5000 and buy clothes, shoes, and bags...maybe a house and a new car, then save the rest in some type of account that earns a good amount of interest.

that's all for me, tonight :) about to finish watching idol and hit the hay...tomorrow's another day and I gotta be prepared for anything.

until next time

xo, ali

megan's got a lovely secret

hello, beautiful girls!! i hope you are all doing well :) I had a great weekend...saw THE HUNGER GAMES. Holy, my goodness, was it amazing!! exactly like the book. I had goodies from start to finish. Before I saw the Hunger Games, my friend Blair and I went for ear candling. It sounds dangerous, but it's really not. Basically, they use fabric that's been rolled into a hollow cylinder. They put it through a hole in a tin plate and stick it in your ear. Then they light it and as it burns and generates smoke, the smoke creates a vacuum and sucks all the garbage in your ear into the center of the cloth.

there's me, getting it done!! I sleep like that too haha (except then I have my eyes closed and don't have a candle in my ear).

There's a reason you're here and I know it's not to see my pretty face haha. You're here for the polish! Who am I to make you lovely ladies wait??

Tonight's mani is brought to you by a little Birchbox find and my first essence :)

I started with Sally Hansen Salon Manicure base coat and two coats of Zoya Megan, which was a mini in the January Birchbox

this is under artificial light

with flash.

thennn, I got out my trusty tape, cut it into a triangle 

and painted over it with Essence Colour n Go A Lovely Secret

super easy, super fast, super cute!

(with flash)

A Lovely Secret is a mute purple with purple glass flecks in it. This is my first essence and I love it. I definitely need to get more :)

overhead lighting.

You guys like? I hope so!!

Be back soon with something else fabulous!!

until next time.

xo, ali

ps. sorry about the corny subject line haha

You need some whimsy!!

oh heyyyy! I'm back again. You guys are probably getting sick of me :P 

I hope not!!

Designer Satin was starting to chip pretty badly on my index fingers but that's just because I'm really hard on my nails, all day with typing at work and whatnot. Not to mention, they always peel really bad. I'm trying to get them to not but it's a struggle. The base coat that I used has Biotin and Spirulina in it and it helps a little bit. I guess, I should try to not be so anemic...hah!

As I'm posting, this, I'm watching...you guessed it! Idol. I don't get the Lana Del Rey hype. Her voice is so whiny! But I loved Haley Rhinehart's song. I really liked her last season. She definitely grew on me. Fox keeps showing commercials for Glee and Bones and I'm shifting from super-sad to ecstatic between the two. I can't wait for Baby Bones. I'm gonna need tissues. Even this is getting me excited:

how adorable!!

My sister and I have been trying to figure out what they are gonna name her. It's KILLING us. April 2nd can not come fast enough!!

Anyways. As my subject, says, y'all need some whimsy in your life! And what better way to put some there than by showing Revlon Whimsical? It's a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Glitter In the Air and I love it. Love love love. So pretty. But, it's really sheer so it's definitely a layering polish. And that's great because that means it will last longer!

To start, I used two coats of China Glaze For Audrey, which is a pale aqua, just like those famous boxes ;)

It doesn't look that patchy in real life, I swear!! I don't know where that came from.

Then, I added two coats of Whimsical. Whimsical is a pale, pale sheer light blue with large pink and blue hex glitter, small silver hex glitter, and almost invisible aqua iridescent glitter.

sighhhhh...so pretty!

until next time!

xo, ali

third time's a charm!!

hey lovelies!! I'm back again! I don't know if I should tell you to get used to the regularity or not. I like being dependable to my ladies, though.

I am posting so late (for me) because I had to watch Idol. My girl, Elise, killed it with her rendition of "Vienna" and my boo Philip Phillips did amazing with "Movin' Out." Both are Billy Joel songs; the theme tonight was the Billy Joel songbook. It was a very entertaining Idol. I grew up listening to Billy Joel and absolutely love him. If you watch Idol, who are you rooting for? Tell me about it!

On to the nail polish!!

My third manicure that I want to show you is pretty plain but the color is a knockout. I definitely didn't have anything like this in my collection before I bought it. I used three coats of China Glaze Designer Satin, a creamy magenta color. I think it's great for any time of year. I used one coat of Sally Hansen Salon Manicure Base Coat and one coat of Essie No Chips ahead for my top coat. Let's take a look!

in sunlight (while I was catching up on Pretty Little Liars)

with flash. The flash makes it look pinker than it really is. Under the lighting in my office, it definitely was more of a plum magenta (if that exists).

Ta-da! Designer Satin. 

She is a BEAUTY. Went on very smooth. My only complaint is that after two coats, there were still some streaks and patchiness. I usually just want to do two coats and be done, but I can definitely put up with three coats for this lovely color!

I gotta vote for my Idols and head to bed. Have a great night!!

Until next time.

xo, ali

the luck of the irish!

Two days in a row?! Something must be wrong!!

No worries, lovelies. I'm juuuuust fine :) The weather here is beautiful and it definitely has an effect on my mood. Plus, I started a profile on Match.com and will be getting a month subscription on payday b/c some boys have emailed me already. Exciting. According to Bambi, everyone gets twitterpated in the spring ;)

Today for you, I have the manicure that I sported on St. Patrick's Day for volunteering and a party with my bestie. This was my first foray into freehand nail art using a bobby pin, so go easy on me haha

For the base, I used Sinful Colors Rise and Shine and for the accent finger, I used Wet n Wild Black Creme

this is two coats of each color, in natural light.

with flash

Rise and Shine is a beauty...bright grass green creme with silver shimmer running through it.

Black Creme is a super shiny black. If you were to use one thick coat, it could definitely be a one-coater. 

Both of these polishes are under $2 and are of great, easy to use formula.

Next, I blobbed Rise and Shine on some tin foil and dipped the rounded end of a bobby pin in it.

To make the shamrock, you make two dots and then, following the same idea as bow-tie tutorial from Sarah's tuxedo mani at Chalkboard Nails, you drag the dots to a point. Three sets of dots up top, on the left, and right and a little tail and you get something like this:

wheeee! a jaunty lil shamrock :)

I really liked the satiny finish of Rise and Shine, and I knew I'd only have it on for less than 24 hours, so I didn't use any topcoat.

And that's my celebratory St. Patrick's Day mani. I'm really happy with how it looked and I can't wait to do more manis like this and eventually get some dotting tools and expand!

until next time!

xo, ali

it's monday again!

and you know what that means!!! Time for some manicures!! I actually have three that I've done in the past week...had a bit of polish schizophrenia. I could not decide what I wanted!! When we last chatted, I had OPI's I Eat Maine-ly Lobster on. Halfway through the week, I got bored. Then it was St. Patrick's day. Then it was time to start the week. You'll get three posts in a row (I know, I know...amazing!) this week to show off all three.

To start, we'll look at what happened when I got bored and found the reinforcement stickers in my mom's "office."

Here's what the end result was:

with flash

To start, I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Smooth + Perfect in Air, which is a shimmery light blue. It's a thin, watery formula and as you can see from my middle finger, there was some cuticle pooling. 

I put down my reinforcements and used one coat of Ulta Wild Night. Clearly, I needed two coats...I'll know better for next time. :)

This shot was taken 2/3 through my work day when I stopped to enjoy the sunshine. To celebrate the warm weather, I wore my springiest frock :)

The next day, I was bored again sooooo, I broke out the shatter. 

This particular shatter is by wet n wild and I will definitely be using it more often.

That will put a cap on mani Monday for this week, but don't forget about your bonuses--Mani Tuesday and Mani Wednesday!!

And don't forget to check out Chalkboard Nails' Spring Giveaway and enter to win polishes from Lacquistry, Pretty and Polished, and All That Glitters!

I'm gearing up for the Spring finale of Pretty Little Liars and I'm DYING to find out who A is.

Do you guys watch Pretty Little Liars? Who do you think it is?

See you tomorrow!!

xo, ali

Mani Monday, hey!

hello, hello lovelies!! I certainly hope that life is treating you well. Things have been up and down on my end, but I'm making out okay, all things considered.

I know I have been lax in this blogging situation. I hope that I can maintain some kind of routine now that I've gotten a new computer that actually works. I became a Mac this past weekend and I love it already!

I've also found a ton of new nail polish blogs to whet my appetite until I can shop again. One of my new favorites, hotpinkaurora just hit 250 followers and is holding a giveaway of Sinful Colors Castaway Collection. The colors are amazing and I've definitely entered. Jump on over and see for yourself!

Let's get down to business, shall we?

This week's mani is one off my lust list by OPI called I Eat Maine-ly Lobster from the Touring America collection. I simply adore it. You know why?

Because it looks like that! It is such a juicy coral color full of shimmer.

In full sunlight because spring is springing here in Buffalo.

This is under overhead lighting, right after I painted them. I went out with my bestie, Jen, on Saturday night so I had to make sure I was on point ;) Met up with some old friends that Jen and I hadn't seen in years and caught up. Then we danced the night away til last call. Between that and losing an hour and seeing Van Halen in concert with my dad on Friday night, I'm exhausted!

I did say that spring is springing here in Western New York and I've got the proof!

Purple crocuses (croci?) coming up on one side of the house

and

Snowdrops on the other side of the house.

Contrary to popular belief, spring does arrive in Buffalo in a timely fashion haha.

And, my Sabres are marching on towards a playoff spot, so...

(ps--they just won in overtime against the canadiens...woo hoo!)

Until next time!!

xo, ali