Long time- no see!

I'm sorry, everyone. Life gets in the way of blogging sometimes. The thing is, I'm now sixteen (!!!!!!!!) and I'm taking a full load of college level courses, basically. I'm taking the most rigorous classes available at my high school, as well as doing a variety of extra-curriculars and I'm so stressed out and pressed for time. I won't blog if it means neglecting my home work, just won't do it.
I've been doing my nails most of the time, and it was just my birthday (!!!!) so I have some new polish.
OH! And, I have a NEW FANCY CAMERA IN THE MAIL. A SLR! But I have not acquired a macro lens, so I might not be able to actually use if for nail photos.
OPI Swimsuit- Nailed It! is stunning. But I might never wear it again as my nails are BLUE. Not just blue, but BLUE. And I took the polish off days ago. I've never encountered a stainer like this one, no bueno, OPI.

Butter London

I bought these last Tuesday when Ulta was selling Butter Londons for buy one, get one free. I used my $3.50 off $10 purchase and so these totaled $10.50, or $5.25 a piece. For polishes that retail for $14, that's a steal! Love 'em both, too. Victoriana is the perfect moody teal and No More Waity, Katie is STUNNING. Elegant and modern and so darn pretty.

Crazy nails

Wore this to school today. Got my index finger's nail stuck in a door (don't ask) right before heading out, so it has a quick polish repairing job, with a short nail. Since this photo, I've filed down all my nails to match.

A funky french manicure with freehanded leopard print. Crazy? Yes. But I liked it. Inspired by Wahnails.com

Yeah, I don't like that calendar thing... On another note- FRANKEN!

Yesterday, I was in a craft store. I recently decided that I'd like to franken more, and so I went on a mission to find glitter. I did, indeed, find glitter, but more on that later. What is more important, is that I found this. Gold leaf. And I put it in a clear base and now I'd like to have it on my nails forever. It's stunning.

So stunning, that I'd like to share. I was thinking about starting to mix my own frankens and sell them. This one would be included, of course, as I can't imagine not sharing it. There are some kinks to be worked out, like deciding whether the gold leaf needs to be cut finer. I like it blingy-er, like this, but maybe the pieces should be just a bit smaller. I also need to make an order for empty bottles. I don't want to spend that money if there'd be no buyers so, here's my question for y'all, would you buy this franken? I'm thinking about pricing them all at $7, except ones with gold leaf, which would be $10. Is that a good price?

Polish days 1-4

Here's my red, orange, yellow, and green for that polish calender thing. More to come, I promise!

The red is an OPI I bought at a nail salon, Edin-Burgundy. It's darker than the picture, a shade lighter and less purple than wine.

The orange is Color Club You Got Soul-ar. I hate the name. Hate it. It's more pink than the photo, but no where near coral. Cool glitter.

Essence's Sundancer is my yellow. I assure you, it's more orange. Not quite egg yolk, but more sunshine.

For green, I have Revlon Emerald. Formula was a bit runny, which tripped me up. I bought this at Target for $.25, so I can't complain.

Garden nails

You know that calendar I posted for the nail looks I was going to do? You know, my last post? Well... Uh..... I can't post any more during the week as I have school and studying and I like going for BIG, high impact nail-arty looks now. So. Uh. I'll try and swatch and catch up to that this weekend, okay?



I was going to replicate my gnome nails from ages ago, but after drawing the grass I felt rather lazy and just did flowers. These got SO much attention, it was insane. Everyone had to take a look.

If y'all want, I'll do a tutorial.

Trying something new

Hey all! I've decided that I'm going to try this for the month of September. I'm obviously a tad late, so I'll do a quick catch up post (right after I get my lazy butt off my chair and go find some polish)

Cheap Thrills

They rock! Forever 21 has nail polish (old news) that's scented (recent-ish news) and neon (new news!). Smelled like melon (its name, go figure) when it dried. So pretty. Sorry for the extended absence. I've been camping.

Blue glitter galaxy nails!

I cannot express how gorgeous these were. I've showed you how to do this kind of manicure here. Lovely.

Zoya Spam

Received all of these today from my polish date with the lovely Lavender Parfait . She doesn't like Zoyas, so I don't like her (I kid, she's ah-dorable. Such a sweetie and SO much fun to shop for polish with).

3 coats each.

Dove. Dove is a soft grey creme. Pretty polish, but I messed up the application (darn me and my clumsy fingers). I will DEFINITELY be wearing this soon, it's a beautiful, soft color.


Gemma is murkier than my photo, I swear, and less blurry. Sorry! It was IMPOSSIBLE to get a good picture of this one. Pretty, pretty, pretty- but not my style. I wouldn't have purchased it, but I will wear it, as it's unique in pretty much every way.


Tanzy's just what I needed, a pretty, sparkly orange. Zoya Sienna was a potential cousin, in my mind, but Sienna has shimmer the same tone as the base (as opposed the the gold in Tanzy) and a brighter orange base, if I remember correctly.


Venus. You can skip this. Seriously, worst formula on a Zoya I've ever found. Thick and sheer and GROSS. I did get it used from a nail salon, maybe something's happened to it? I hope this isn't actually a representation of this color as ordered from the Zoya website. BLEGH.


Caitlin. Ah, Caitlin. MUCH redder in real life. MUCH. A purple with some grey, a lovely color that's unique to my stash and pretty on my hands. I adore it, but it broke my camera! NO setting would get this true to life, none.


Rica was my favorite. I think. Well, I'm pretty sure that at least for now, Rica is my true Zoya love. A STUNNING pink with gold shimmer, that wonderful shimmer, too, that Zoya does so well. So, so pretty.


And Apple, the most beautiful light green in my stash. Zoya hit the mark on this one. I own a few Zoya greens and I'm more than "meh" about them. To give you a hint, haven't worn some of them at all, and the others I threw on TWO YEARS AGO just to swatch. But this beauty... I'll wear it a LOT. Especially on my toes :D

Del Sol polish!

For you today I have some pretty interesting polishes. And I don't mean interesting with that long, drawn out breath that is actually a polite way to say "weird". I mean genuinely curious polishes. They change color under UV rays, aka, the sun.
And, for the most part, it's a dramatic change. You'll notice, I promise.

First up, Ruby Slipper. Shown in the sun and in the shade. This polish is easily my favorite of the bunch. Every company seems to have the "Ruby Pumps" polish. A polish with a red jelly base and glitter, and they're all the same. For the most part, I avoid purchasing any more of the dozens of re-incarnations of Dorothy's slippers because, frankly, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Well, not this time. This polish is a demure little silver glitter. Pretty and almost elegant, and not too eyecatching. I adore this, and, funnily enough, my mother does to. She has me give her pedicures, something neutral and natural, and one day I slipped this into the routine. She was really, really not appreciative until a few days later, when she asked me to patch it up. And then, a week later, she had me re-do her toes in a blood red. This polish single-handedly converted her! A must buy, I think. Different than anything you own. 3 coats.




Peek a Boo is quite a shy one. It appears in the bottle as a clear with a tinge of yellow. On the nail it shows (eek) all the imperfections and discolorations that come with daily polishing. A polish you could wear to work. And then, take it into the sun, and BAM! Red! A jelly red, too. I'm not a fan of the indoor color (and I REALLY need to buff my nails out. They look awful) but the outdoor color is really special. My second favorite. 2 coats (should've done three).




Foxy's a pretty pink. A color that's a tad generic, not something that'd get compliments as it's just a shade that I think we've seen a hundred times. But it's a pretty pink, and, if you don't have one in your collection, it's worth a look. And, oh yeah, it changes to a gorgeous red-purple in the sun! The color change is MUCH more subtle than the first two, but it's there and it's pretty. 3 coats.




The only one that wasn't complete love from me was this, the last, Electrick. Frosty blue. Streaky with brushstrokes. The indoor shade is BLEGH and the outdoor isn't any better, a pale lime that's not saturated enough to show the change in color as much as I'd like. I wore this to camp and the kids ADORED it. While I'm not a fan, the color change is visible and very, very entertaining to six year olds. 3 coats.




Things you gotta know:
-These polishes aren't cheap, but they're something you don't see a lot. Maybe the color change is a gimmick, but it's undeniably fun.
-Your topcoat likely has a UV protector in it. Don't apply it over these, if you do, you won't see any change in the sun.
-If you don't buy Ruby Slipper, you're clinically insane.

Disclosure- Some of the polishes in this post were sent to me for review. That did not change my opinion of them.

Didn't love this one. Look at how red my hands look, ick. Not a fan of LA Splash Golden Seahorse, even though the nail board at MUA is.

Let's talk about pretties

Specifically, this ring. Isn't it STUNNING?! It's actually been sitting on my desk for review for... months. I suck. It's from Chunky Bling. It's a ring made from swarovski crystals. The ring stretches to accommodate larger and smaller fingers, but it doesn't feel 'cheap'. Generally I avoid rings that stretch to fit, as they feel flimsy, but this one felt sturdy. It's a BIG ring, as you can see from its profile, but it's comfortable to wear. The price is $10, which is a STEAL. I wore it out yesterday and got lots of compliments.





And a bonus picture of my nails, Petites Craze. Very, very pretty. Love the different sizes of glitter.



The ring was sent to me for review. This did not alter my opinion of it.

Updated Blog Sale!

Hi everyone! I'm selling some of my polishes. These pretties just aren't getting the love that they deserve at my house, so I'd like to get 'em to someone who will use them.
Most have been swatched on four fingers, or used once for a full mani, and never touched again. Usage can be seen in photos, all pictures were taken unshaken.

To buy:
You must live in/have them shipped to the United States. Shipping will be $3 plus $.50 more per an item.
You must go through Pay-Pal
You must email me at paintedtips@gmail.com with the polishes you'd like

Prices may be lowered if you are looking at buying several polishes.
Some polishes are being sold for a touch more due to their nature of being difficult to find.

Color Club- ALL PENDING Space Case ($2), Turn the Other Chic ($1.50), Oh Naturale ($2), Si Vous Please ($2)


Zoya- Tangy ($4 worn once), Tallulah ($4 worn once), Ki ($5, swatched once)PEDING


OPI- Significant Other Color, black label ($2, ~66% remaining), Greenwich Village ($4), My Big Break ($7, holiday collection of '07) SOLD, And This Little Piggy ($4)


China Glaze- Doll House ($1.75, ~75% remaining), Ick-a-body ($2), Chin Chilla-Vanilla ($4, old style bottle) SOLD, Watermelon Rind ($1.75, usage as shown)PENDING


China Glaze- C-C-Courage ($2) SOLD, Midnight Mission ($2), Exceptionally Gifted ($2), Coconut Kiss ($2)


Nailtiques- Vienna ($5), Jesse's Girl- Firefly ($2 swatched once) SOLD, NYC Wall Street ($1)


Sally Hansen- Bronze Pink ($15 or best offer, super rare duochrome! Used twice, at most) SOLD, Maybelline- Sunlight ($2.50), Revlon- Star ($3, usage as shown)


Love And Beauty- Charcoal ($2, used once) PENDING, LA Girls- Punk ($1, usage as shown)SOLD


Piggy Polish- Daylilies and Music ($4), Midsummer Midnight ($5, never used)


Barielle- Jess' Champagne Toast ($4), Aura Angora ($4) PENDING, Ulta- Jaded ($2.50 PEDING, never used)


Lippmann- Maneater ($10, no box, swatched once)


Random Japanese polish ($5, swatched on one finger once) PENDING


Another shot of that Japanese polish. All that glitter's holo, my camera just couldn't handle it.

I just really love this polish

Really, really love it. OPI I Lily Love You looks so fantastic over EVERYTHING. Shown here over Passion Fruit, another gorgeous polish. I've actually worn this combination twice in the past month.

A favorite combination

OPI Let Me Entertain You with OPI I Lily Love you on top.

And a picture my friend took of me, just for kicks and giggles.