Lots of Pink (and a purple too!)

First off, I think I'm really getting this blogging thing down. I have a pose, a watermark, and I really like my background on blogspot. Is there anything that I should change?

The first mani, an unnamed Color Club with ChG Doll House on top, is old and doesn't have my pose. Sorry!


Next was yesterday's mani, Zoya Adina. Beautiful color. Three coats.


Sinful Colors sent me some polish from their new Valentines Day collection to review! I received Scandal and Pink Forever.
Pink Forever is pretty straight forward, a medium cream pink. I can't think of dupes off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are some. Three coats because of balding, which was only due to my hurried swatching. Terrible picture because this would not cooperate for the camera! Silly polish, you're supposed to look just as good on the computer screen as you do on my nails!


Tomorrow's mani is Sinful Colors Scandal. This one SHOCKED me. I expected a bright-to-neon pink. Nothing special or unique. Boy was I wrong. It's a bright pink JELLY! A jelly finish from a drugstore! It's oh-so-gorgeous on. 5 coats to eliminate VNL.

More Roses

With jewels this time. I have a tutorial but I don't feel like watermarking and labeling right now. I'll do it, if y'all really want.
Ask for colors :)

Roses

Roses. All freehanded with polish. Ask for specific colors or a tutorial, and you may receive.
I upgraded my watermarking, much better now, eh?

The find of the year

A holographic OPI My Private Jet. Goes for $40 on eBay, bought for $4 in a nail salon. I almost screamed when I saw it.
And yes, all the pictures were necessary.

We lost.

A tame polish for an excited teenager

Zoya Erika. My new favorite light pink. Seriously, this one is stunning on. It's mostly opaque with gorgeous gold and green shimmer. I added SEVERAL close-ups just to (hopefully) adequately capture the beauty. I'm having a pink moment (with several more pink polishes on their way here), and this fit the mood perfectly.
I needed a tame polish because.... TOMORROW'S STATES! Tomorrow is the debate competition that I've been studying for since June. Since September, I've met 5-6 days a week and did over an hour of homework a night. And it's all been for the competition tomorrow. If we win, we'll fly out to Washington DC for Nationals. Wish me luck!

GIVEAWAY

I know I said I wouldn't, but I got an email with an awesome opportunity that just wasn't for me, so I'm passing it on to you all!
Here's the dealio, there's this straightener, the Karmin, and it costs money. Lots of money. Okay, not lots, but it's in the price-range of a flat iron that is good quality. For $125 this could be yours, and I'm sure you'd be happy. Actually, I think you'd be more than happy because the reviews for this are superb. But, wouldn't you be happier if it cost you $0? Wouldn't you be much happier if you WON IT? And just so you know, the only reason why I'm not taking this one for myself is because my hair is 2 inches long. Yeah, not enough to straighten.


According to HairProductsPro.com, this little straightener can do an awful lot! It uses ionic technology for shiny, smooth hair. It has 1" Pure Tourmaline Ceramic Plates, a perfect size. Let me tell you, I have a straightener at home that's terrible! The plates are huge, which makes it impossible to get close to the scalp for truly straight hair. The small barrel also allows for the user to curl and wave their hair, that's three styling options with just one tool! With a maximum temperature of 450° and a minimum temperature of 180°, it's perfect for all hair types. You know that fried, icky, burnt look from too hot hair tools? Just keep the temp down (it's adjustable! Another thing this flat iron has over mine) unless your hair's really misbehaving.
So do you want it?
Do you really want it?
GOOD! You can win it!
What you need to do:
Follow me with Google Friend Connect (that'd be that little box that says 'Fellow Addicts' on the right sidebar) and enter your email address into the form, it's that easy!
One entry extra for blogging about this, and another one for putting me on your blogroll. I need links in order for the entries to count.

The deadline is February 11th, so get entering!
(this product was provided to me by Karmin Hair Products. This has not influenced my opinion)

Cool stuff

SINFUL COLORS INTRODUCES A PRETTY-IN-PINK COLLECTION
Perfect for Valentine’s Day

Love is in the air, romance is in bloom and pink is paramount. Welcome February 14th, a day marked by kisses, sweethearts and flirting, of course. This year, treat your tips to a Valentine’s makeover, coating them in a feminine, delicate, or dynamic shade of pink. From bubble gum to baby doll – and everything in between – Sinful Colors has the best array of pink polish to pretty-you-up for the big day.

The 8 loving shades in the collection include:
Pink Forever: Bazooka meets Bam-Bam to equal beautiful.
Beautiful Girl: Classic ballerina with a flirty finish.
Glass Pink: Sheer, shiny, shimmer-happy bliss.
Boom Boom: Magenta-infused pink, which pops on toes and tips alike.
Scandal: No-nonsense neon, slick and sensational.
Soul Mate: Muted peachy pink with a melon twist.


Sinful Colors surpasses the masses with more than 300 amazing polishes, including the above-mentioned shades. All hues are available at major drug and mass market stores nationwide for $1.99, by calling 1-800-448-0763 or online at www.sinfulcolors.com.
---
Okay, for my comments on this collection....
I NEED Glass Pink and Soul Mate, and I'm thinking Beautiful Girl would be really awesome too. I'm having such a pink moment right now, and my collection is sadly lacking. Can't wait to see these in person!

Navy Blue comparison

2 coats of each.
Pinkie to thumb:
SH Salon Navy Baby
Barry M Navy
RBL Under the Stars
OPI Russian Navy
NYC Navy (idk the real name, the label's gone)
I have quite a few more (ummmmm 20ish total) but I only have five fingers :)
NB and RN are close, both blackened with shimmer, but RN has some red shimmer and is slightly lighter.
BM Navy and NYC Navy are both bluer rather than blacker but NYC has some brush strokes, a problem BM Navy doesn't have.
Under the Stars is unique, it's teal-er with light blue glitter.



I can justify owning all of these. They all have slight differences that make them unique. However, if you're not a navy person (though you should be, it's an awesome, different vampy to be sporting) you need only two or three, a blackened one, a bluer one, and RBL UtS, because glitter is really cool. My choices would be tied for blackened, they're both gorgeous (see, I'm hopeless), BM Navy for bluer, and, of course, UtS for the category that only has UtS.

Lastly, you want to see something impressive? Look at that gap....

Beautiful, right? Well, I do NO clean-up. Nothing. No brush dipped in a bottle of acetone, no softening the skin with lotion. NOTHING. A year and a half of practice is finally paying off, eh?

An important issue

It has recently been brought to my attention, three times in the past month, that my pictures are being stolen. There are sites that pay per a post and SOMEBODY thinks that it's okay for them to copy my post directly. In at least one of these cases, the person has documented their 'earnings', cameras and luxury make-up. This bothers me. No, that's not the right word... This pisses me off. I work really hard for this blog. I spend a lot of money on polish, I spend time painting my nails and time taking pictures. The fact that other people are PROFITING off of MY work is so, so annoying and WRONG.
If you see any of my pictures floating around anywhere, please, please, please tell me. I can't stand not knowing where photos of my hands are ending up.
I've started watermarking. Ideally, this will help with the theft, but just in case, keep an eye out.
(the color is OPI Extra-va-vaganza)

*squee*

Too cute for words.
Or pictures really, as these are the LEAST photogenic nails I've seen in a while. Look at them, now imagine them 100x cuter, yeah, they're like that in real life.
Ask for colors, I used WAY too many to list them all.
As a special treat, I pictured both my left AND right hand :)
The inspiration was a mani from MUA a while ago.

A poor girl's minx

Love this. ChG Agent Lavender, F21 Salmon, F21 Purple, Ulta Blue Streak, SH Mellow Yellow, and DC Matte Black. BM plate 16.
Though some products were given to me for review, I test all polishes fairly.

Feeling Mellow

COMPETITION TOMORROW!!! OMFG!!!! Sorry, I had to. It's districts, so nothing big at all, but I really need to do well. I was going to wear my Chanel (Pearl Drop) but my top-coat bubbled on it and was icky, so I settled on this, my favorite pink. It's ChG How About A Tumble, a holo light pink from the Kaleidescope collection. It's a bit too much for competition, I'll have to mattify it to make it subtler.

Meh

I don't love it.
The base is a random Japanese polish. I used WnW French White Creme, Blazed, and Tickled Pink with some CC pink (the light one from the french collection, my bottle isn't labeled). I used a dotting tool

Chanel.

Chanel Pearl Drop.
STUNNING. This is the BEST 'professional' polish I own. We have competition on Tuesday and need to be dressed nicely, tomorrow's a dress rehearsal and I need to get this approved, so I'm wearing it. I really hope it brings me lots of luck!
This is three coats of OPI Time-Less is More with one coat of Pearl Drop on top. Icky application is my fault, I was rushing. The large gap on my middle finger is bothersome.

If you're on facebook

Search and like 'kiesque' and post 'Painted Tips' on the wall.
I'd really appreciate it!
-Allya

Random swatches

Currently, CC Revvvolution. It's stunning.




I wore this yesterday, ChG Ruby Deer with ChG Ruby Pumps on top. Super pretty.




Essence Underwater version 2. The close-up's bad. I need a better pic of it.






ChG Ick-a-body. This is $2 at Sally's right now, if you want it.





ChG Lemon Fizz. Funny story, I wanted this since it came out, but I never bought it. I was really lemming it a few days ago, I went to Ulta and it was $2! It made me happy. The formula, however, didn't make me happy. Three streaky, icky coats. I think I need to apply it again, but as a full manicure and not in a rush.




Barielle Gelt Me to the Party. FINALLY! A polish that is Hanukah themed. Plus it makes me think of My Fair Lady (get me to the church on time). $2 at Ulta. It looked much redder in real life on than it does in the bottle, but that may have been because it needed another coat.





ChG Zombie Zest. Another from the Halloween collection. Another one on sale for $2. Pick it up if you see it, it's stunning.





ChG Jolly Holly. Two dollars. A bit of a bore.