Christmas Haul 2012

I got some fun new beauty items for Christmas this year! Two Sephora by OPI nail polishes in fabulous colors and some of the Sephora makeup brushes! I can't wait to use these polishes in a manicure - they're very similar to the colors on my bedroom walls, so I think I'll try to combine them somehow. The brushes are so nice as well. The powder brush is absolutely enormous but so soft and fun to use. The angled liner brush is fantastic, and I always need more of them. I haven't used the stippling brush yet, but it feels really nice! If anyone has any usage tips for that one, I'd love to hear them.

Did you get anything beauty related for gifts this year?

December Manicures

I can't believe how quickly December went - but it's already time for another monthly manicure wrap-up!

Working two retail jobs over the Christmas season was extremely busy, so my nails stayed the same for longer than usual, and there were a few that I neglected to photograph. The week prior to Christmas, I also did silver nails and then added on little red and green Christmas lights on a string on each nail - it was super fun and easy! I just used a dotting tool for the red and green lights and a black striping polish for the cord that connected them. I'm sad I didn't get photos of it, but I could post photos of the trial run I did on my nail wheel if anyone would like to see! For Christmas day, I just red and green on alternating nails.

Now that shopping has calmed down a bit, I should have more time to make January's manicures more interesting! Especially since I've added some polishes to my collection over the past month that haven't gotten a chance to get used yet!

For larger photos of each manicure and the polishes used, keep reading!

Holiday Nail Polish Colors! (Bottles and swatches)

I went through my collection and pulled out the ones that reminded me most of the holiday season. I may have missed a few, but I think it's pretty comprehensive. Remember, you can click the photos to view them larger!

L-R: Revlon Matte Suede - Emerald City, Finger Paints Holiday 2010 - Mistletoe Mischief, China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Jolly Holly & Mistletoe Kisses, China Glaze Holiday 2011 - Holly-Day
Middle left is the polishes plain, right is the polishes with opposite-finish topcoats.
Bottom left is with a coat of China Glaze - White Cap.
Bottom right: the first two are with a layer of China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Party Hearty and the second two are with China Glaze Holiday 2011 - Twinkle Lights

L-R: China Glaze Holiday 2011- Poinsettia, Holiday 2010 - Ruby Deer, Sacred Heart , Red Pearl, and Revlon - Frankly Scarlet
Bottom left is all the polishes plain.
Bottom right: Thumb - China Glaze -White Cap, first two fingers - Party Hearty, second two - Twinkle Lights

L-R: Revlon Matte Suede - Powder Puff, China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Mrs. Claus, Sugar Plums, China Glaze Holiday 2011 - Twinkle Lights, China Glaze - White Cap
Bottom left is the polishes plain, Bottom right has the opposite finish topcoat

L-R: Milani - Ruby Jewels, Maybelline - Snow Bunny, Milani 3D Holographic - HD, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Celeb City, China Glaze - Fairy Dust
Bottom right - plain, Bottom left - mattified

The polishes I used as topcoats in a few of them
L-R: White Cap, Party Hearty, Twinkle Lights

For the matte topcoat, I used Essie's Matte About You, which I highly recommend.

Nail Polish Haul and Swatches

Here are the nail polishes I've gotten recently. Mostly holiday colors. I got China Glaze Sacred Heart for $1.99 and Orly Halley's Comet for #3.99 in the clearance bin at my Sally's. 

L-R: Milani Ruby Jewels, China Glaze Sacred Heart, China Glaze Mrs. Claus

 Sacred Heart is a lovely opaque creme classic red polish. It's called a neon on the bottle, but it isn't matte. I wish Mrs. Claus was more red than pink, but it's still a nice polish and I think it has some potential for interesting layering combinations. It's very sheer.

L-R: China Glaze Party Hearty, Milani Silver Dazzle

These Milani "one coat glitters" all look AMAZING. I decided to just get this one. This is two coats, but it's totally opaque. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it is totally matte and you can feel the glitters, so you may want to use a topcoat with it.

L-R: Milani Hi-Tech, China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses, Finger Paints Mistletoe Mischief

 Mistletoe kisses is definitely one of the coolest polishes I've seen lately and the one I'm most excited to use for the holidays. Mistletoe Mischief is sheerer than I hoped - this is 3 coats - but it's still a lovely green.

Orly Halley's Comet

I could NOT get this one to photograph well at all. It's an amazing color. It goes on fairly sheer but after 2-3  coats it's just fantastic. It looks mostly blue in this picture, but it has a lot more of a teal effect in person, and it's much more glittery looking in person as well.
Scrangie has a much better looking photo of this on her blog : http://www.scrangie.com/2010/09/orly-cosmic-fx-collection-fall-2010.html

Overall I'm very excited about all of these! It'll make for some interesting Christmas manicures!