Hi Everyone! Happy New Year's Eve!!

Hello, dear readers! 

I hope that all of you are doing well and that you all had a lovely Christmas or whatever other seasonal holiday you celebrate. 

We just got back into town late last night. We were supposed to get home around 9:00 p.m. but the San Diego airport was shut down due to super heavy fog. We circled around the the airport for about an hour, waiting to see if the situation would improve and the airport would re-open so we could land. It did not so we had to fly to LAX. After refueling at LAX we waited on the plane for a little while to see if we could fly back to San Diego. The fog situation did not improve so we were stuck in Los Angeles. Continental was going to arrange for busses to take us to San Diego but we did not feel like goofing around with that and waiting so we just rented a car and drove home. It only took us an hour and 45 minutes, so not too bad. 

We had a wonderful time in Michigan and Ontario, Canada, visiting with family and friends, but I am glad to be home. You really cannot beat our wonderful weather here in Cardiff by the Sea. It was really chilly back in Michigan. 

Tonight to celebrate New Year's Eve we are going to stay in and make a nice dinner of crab legs. Yum! I also have lots of champagne to drink. 

I have a bunch of fun nail polishes to share with you, Spring/Summer 2009 stuff, etc. I will resume my regular posting again on January 5th after the holiday season is officially over. My guy is off of work until then and because he works crazy hours during the week, I really enjoy spending the holidays with him. It is rare when he has this much time off of work. I figure that since he is off of work I can take a little vacation from blogging. But I do miss posting terribly and will be back soon.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve evening planned. Make it a fun and safe one. See you all back here soon!

xoxo,

Katee

NOTD: CHANEL Vendetta

Hello everyone!

I think this might be might last post of 2008, so I wanted to go out with a bang! I have mucho mega packing to do tomorrow and then we fly home to Michigan on Christmas day. We have a wonderful 6:30 a.m. flight that I am really looking forward to *wink*.

Today I am wearing the lovely CHANEL Vendetta, which is new for Spring 2009. Ohhhh I am in love with this one. On to the swatches!

CHANEL Vendetta indoor natural light:

CHANEL Vendetta sun:

(click pictures to enlarge, especially the sun ones to see shimmer)

CHANEL Vendetta is very similar to CHANEL Blue Satin in the sense that the shimmer is only visible outside in full on sun. It also has a very similar glossy, satiny and deep finish indoors. I think they should have called it Purple Satin or Violet Satin. The first picture of CHANEL Vendetta indoors is very true to life as far as the color goes, even though the shot is a bit blurry for my standards; it also represents the satiny finish very well. CHANEL Blue Satin has been my favorite nail polish for a long time but I think that CHANEL Vendetta *might* take the top spot from it. Maybe a tie. CHANEL Blue Satin is the only nail polish that I have ever bought a backup of. CHANEL Vendetta might be next.

Well, since this might be the last time that I am here in between now and the new year, I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you loyal readers. All of your comments and e-mails really add to to my enjoyment of blogging! I hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas!

xoxo,

Katee

p.s. I apologize for the obnoxious watermark, I tried to make it as unobtrusive as possible. I am just sick of my pictures turning up everywhere on the Internet, being copied without my permission. Someone even had the nerve to post my pics to their Flickr photostream!! Now at least if people copy my pictures they will look like jerks, since they say "DO NOT COPY".

Contest Winner & Manicure Tips

Hello, dear readers!

I am happy to announce that the winner of my latest contest is Roxy! I've emailed her to let her know and get her mailing address. Thank you to the rest of you for subscribing and entering. I'll have another contest soon. 

Also, my friends over at Sephora asked me to share with them my best tips for a DIY at home manicure. You can check out all of my tips over at their blog today, Sephora's Beauty and the Blog.

I am headed home to Michigan for Christmas soon. I am going to try post a few more times in between now and then, but due to the lack of sun here lately and rain that might not be possible. I also still have shopping and packing to do. So I apologize in advance!

I also want to wish everyone the happiest of holidays and hope that you all have a very safe and enjoyable few weeks of festivities ahead. 

xoxo,

Katee

Essie Love, Beverly Hills xx

Hey everyone!

Remember that new Essie I posted about a while ago, Love, Beverly Hills xx? Well it is available now online at Nordstrom of all places. That Nordstrom link will take you directly to the nail polish.

Here are my swatches of Essie Love, Beverly Hills xx if you don't remember what I am talking about:

Essie Love, Beverly Hills xx contains pure 24k gold! Craziness!! Look how long my nails were...

You can check out my original post on it here.

xoxo,

Katee

Giveaway Reminder

Happy Sunday!

Just a reminder that you have until 11:59 p.m. pacific time to enter my giveaway! Click here for all of the details.

Here is what you can win:

I will announce the winner tomorrow! Now off to get in the shower and then to the mall. Major Christmas shopping to do! 

xoxo,

Katee

Unveiling My New Short Vampy Nails With Zoya Sloane

Good morning or afternoon dear readers depending on where you are!!

First of all, I just want to say THANK YOU to all of the lovely, caring and thoughtful readers that left me such positive comments yesterday. I was really feeling traumatized yesterday by the short length of my nails but this morning, I am happy to say, that I am feeling much better about them. It is much easier to type and take out my contacts now. 

What a perfect opportunity, as a lot of you suggested, to break out the dark and vampy colors. I couldn't agree with you more! So I got out my big shoe box of untried polishes last night and picked out a perfect one: Zoya Sloane. I polished my nails with Zoya Sloane last night but snapped the pictures this morning at about 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time. The sun is out and shining strong this morning! Still a bit chilly here though. Although I cannot complain too much. My friends and family back in Michigan are getting hit with snow big time right now.

 Zoya Sloane:

This is a gorgeous, deep, purple &  vampy shimmer. I cannot believe that I had this one sitting in my untried box! This is the perfect color to rock on my new short nails. Although, even with long nails, I had no qualms about wearing colors like this. I guess now I am more "in style" or whatever now. 

A bunch of you also suggested to me that this would be a great opportunity to track how fast my nails are growing as inspiration for all of the ladies that might be trying to grow out their nails. Great idea! I am going to call it "Nail Growth Watch 2009" (we only have 2 weeks of 2008 left ok). I would love to encourage all of you ladies who are trying to grow your nails out to participate with me and let me know how you are doing!

It was much harder than I thought it would be to take a picture of me measuring my nails. I really needed a 3rd hand for this. So this picture is just an approximation. I am going to use my left hand, middle finger, as the benchmark for "Nail Growth Watch 2009". Right now this nail is approximately a five eights of an inch long, measuring from cuticle to tip. I will post a new measurement once a week. I would love for all of you to participate with me! Let me know how you are doing each week in the comments.

Also, just a reminder, you have until Sunday night to enter my giveaway. Click here for all of the details. 

Thanks again everyone for your support. I love you! Time to do some serious Christmas shopping now. I have not started yet.

xoxo,

Katee

Sad Day In e-polisblogville

Hi Everyone,

I am feeling kind of sad right now. I chopped my nails off :(  My nails recently have been longer than they have ever been in my life. As beautiful as I thought they were, they were making it difficult to type on my MacBook and also difficult to take my contact lenses out. I actually poked myself in the eye badly this morning. Something just came over me this afternoon and without even thinking, I grabbed the clippers and just started chopping. I cut them way shorter than I wanted to. Clippers are evil, don't use them. But I was filing with the crystal file and it seemed that I just wasn't getting anywhere. 

My nails aren't total nubs now, but they are a lot shorter than I wanted and I am feeling really upset about it right now. Please leave me some nice comments telling me it will be ok. 

I'll post pictures in the next day or two. I was going to post pics earlier but I was so upset I couldn't even paint my nails. I tried 4 different times and just kept screwing them up. I know it might seem silly or trivial to some of you reading this that I am so upset about nails. But I am.

So if you want to leave me a nice comment now I would really appreciate it :) I'll be back, probably tomorrow, with pictures.

xoxo,

Katee

Reminder - Make Sure to Tune In To Martha Stewart Today!

Why does Katee want us to watch Martha Stewart today? Well because Deborah Lippman, as in the Lippmann Collection, is going to be on the show today! How cool is that?! I cannot wait to watch and see what kind of fabulous nail care tips she is going to hopefully share I also want to see what they will be cooking in the kitchen. 

After I watch today, I'll post anything interesting that I saw on the show for all of you that won't be home to tune in.

xoxo,

Katee

p.s. have you entered my giveaway yet? If not, click here for all of the details!

***EDITED***

Ok so I tuned into Martha today and here is what Deborah Lippmann had to say:

• Always wear a base coat and top coat - hopefully all of use already knew that :)
• Moisturize like crazy - especially after washing your hands. Sound like someone else? Moi! I am a freak about moisturizing.
• Wear gloves during household tasks. Agree with Deborah 100%! Just look under my list of "products" that I cannot live without. 
• Deborah says that dark colors are hot now, yes we know that. She was wearing Pump Up The Jam on her own tips and they looked fabulous! Everyone in the audience got to take home their own bottle too.
• She also suggested layering red polish on top of silver polish for a fabulous holiday look. I will definitely try this one out. 
• Deborah is going to be doing Kate Winslet's nails for the Oscar's.

That was it. You didn't miss anything much. But it was fun to see her on TV! 

CHANEL Moscou/Moscow Nail Russian Nights Collection Swatches

Hi everyone! 

I know you've been waiting for these so I am just posting these swatches quick. I will edit later with more commentary. Bottom line is, they are freaking gorgeous, all of them. These pictures DO NOT do them justice. 

**EDITED TO ADD BABBLING COMMENTARY**

When I say that these pictures do not do them justice, it is because these polishes have a lot of sparkle and fire in the sun that my camera just would not pick up. I almost feel like my pictures make these look a bit flat, and flat they are not. I photographed these in the late afternoon and typically my late morning/early afternoon sun is better. I am going to photograph these again later in the week, the next time the sun comes out. If I am able to get better pics I will share them. 

My favorite is Nuit De Russie, followed by Feu De Russie and Or De Russie, in that order. Click on the pics to enlarge the shimmery goodness. 

CHANEL Nuit De Russie:

Blackened base that is loaded with teal and green micro glitter. There are also sparsely placed pieces of burple micro glitter that really add extra fire and sparkle in the sun. 

CHANEL Feu De Russie:

Blackened base with burgundy, almost magenta shimmer. There are also some larger pieces of red and hot pink glitter.

CHANEL Or De Russie:

Blackened base with gold shimmer. There are also pieces of orange and green micro glitter. This color definitely has an olive look to it. 

Application on all of these was a bit on the thick side but nothing problematic. Sometimes I appreciate a polish that is a bit thicker because I feel like I have greater control over the application and less clean up to do.

So the main question everyone probably has - are these worth $30 bucks each? I think that can only be answered individually. For some people this might feel like a major splurge. Others might not think it is a big deal to plunk $30 bucks down for little luxuries like this. I am sure there are several people that simply can't bring themselves to spend the $30 on a bottle of nail polish. I say, if you like it, and have the money to spare, then get them. And I also cannot blame the people that won't drop the cash and think it's foolish. If I wasn't blogging, and didn't feel the need to show you the latest and greatest, I probably would have only sprung for one or two of these. But I am glad I have them and will definitely wear all of them. 

Well that is all for now. I am spent! LOL literally.

xoxo,

Katee

15% off Essie Coupon Code

Hey everyone! Just waned to share this e-mail with you that I just received from Essie. It did not publish an expiration date though. The code is HLDY15 in case you can't make it out, it is small in the picture. The discount does not just apply to nail polish, it is good for anything at essie.com!

xoxo,

Katee

p.s. whoever told me that it didn't rain in SoCal was lying! We are having torrential down pours and 25-35 mph winds. The windows are rattling and shaking! It is crazy out there! I am staying indoors with Cleo and Vincent today. Chanel might wait until tomorrow. 

Inspirational Post for Girls Trying To Grow Their Short Nails

Good morning, Dear Readers!

Today I have a different kind of post for you because I don't have any new lovelies to share with you. Don't worry though, that isn't for long. I am expecting lots of new goodies from the UPS and Fed Ex Men both this week and next. I am also driving up to The OC (Orange County, LOL) today to visit the CHANEL Boutique in the South Coast Plaza to look at/buy the new Moscow Collection nail polishes. Right now the red and blue ones are callling to me but I might just end up with all three... we shall see! I am also hoping that they have that new purple color called Vendetta. 

Anyway, on to today's subject. I receive a lot of lovely compliments regarding my nails (some of them make me blush) and also a lot of questions. This post is for all of those girls out there with short nails that are longing for longer nails.

This is a picture of my nails back in May of this year:

I took this picture right after a manicure. I was wearing OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight, I think. This manicure was probably several weeks or maybe even a month or two after the manicure before. Look at my nubby little nails! This is right when I was starting to make the correlation between wearing nail polish and nail length/strength. I was always on and off the manicure bandwagon. I would go a few months getting regular manicures and then something would happen where I would miss an appointment, then another appointment, etc. Pretty soon any length I had managed to grow would be gone. My tips would break and peel off one by one.

Fast forward to July, when we moved from Michigan to California. After all of the moving madness was over, and things settled down, I had a lot of free time on my hands. One of the things that I found time for again was manicures! Once a week manicures. After a few weeks of weekly manicures, I really started to notice the difference that nail polish makes again. I could feel my nails getting harder and they started growing again. At one of my manicures, I ended up choosing a color that I didn't love. I forget what it was now, but as soon as I got home I wanted to take it of. When I repainted my nails, I realized that this was something that I really could be doing at home and that there were better things I could do with the cash. So I headed out to my local beauty supply store and picked up all of the essentials I needed to do my own manicures at home. **side note: little did I know that my at home manicures would spur a full blown nail polish obsession and that I would be quickly be spending more on nail polish than I was on manicures**

Look at this picture of my nails in September of this year (wearing Essie Decadent Diva): 

HUGE difference in both nail length and overall condition of my nails and cuticles. What a difference 4 months makes!! I swear, it is mostly due to keeping my nails polished at all times. Nothing will protect your nails more. Want long nails? Keep them polished. Sure, you should follow my other tips too. But nothing will make more of a difference than nail polish. Heck, wear clear if you have to! 

Once you really get into a good nail polish routine, your nails should grow like weeds! I mean just look at the difference between my nails in this September picture and then my nails now, in more recent posts. I practically have claws now! They are dangerous! 

Well I just really wanted to share with all of you that picture of my little nubbies back in May, in hopes to inspire some of you girls that think you can't grow your nails. 

That is all for today!

xoxo,

Katee

Chanel Moscow Nail Polishes

The base of these three shades is black, to which Chanel added different sparkle for each of the colours: red, gold and blue.

Left to Right: Or de Russie, Nuit de Russie and Feu De Russie

The collection will launch for a limited time in late December 2008 exclusively at CHANEL boutiques, CHANEL Makeup Studios and on CHANEL.com. $30 each

OK I don't know about you girls but I am DYING for the blue one. I'll drop the $30 bucks on one of them but not all three. What do you girls think?

***EDITED*** just called my local Chanel store (ok not totally local, about an hour away in Orange County) and they are available and in stock now. I am getting the blue and red ones I think. Swatches to come soon!

xoxo,
Katee

Photos courtesy of my friend Erika at the Makeup Bag.

Happy Saturday!

Helllllooooooo! Have you entered my giveaway yet?

Here is what you can win:

Click here for all of the details.

Also, I wanted to give a big shout out to my new pal Sasha. Sasha is the blogger over at Barely Keeping It All Together. I don't really know why she calls it that, cause the girl is doing more than "barely" keeping it all together. She cooks, she runs, she has a super gorgeous family, and she is the queen of finding the best online shopping deals. I also owe my new 3 column blog template (don't know if anyone noticed the change a few weeks ago) to her. If it wasn't for all of her awesome links I would not have even known that I had the power to change my template. Recently, Sasha embarrassed the crap out of me, but in a good way, by calling me her new blog crush. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Thanks Sasha! That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.

Have a lovely weekend!

xoxo,

Katee

Prada With Blinged Out Nails

Have any of you seen these Prada ads with the blinged out rhinestone nails? So cool! These are from ad's are from Bazaar.

I want blinged out nails like this.

xoxo,

Katee

CND Scentsations Winterberry Lotion & Scrub

It is no secret that I love everything CND, I mean hello Cuticle Eraser & Solar Oil! These two products alone have pretty much guaranteed that I will never have to reach for another *evil* cuticle nipper again. If any readers reading this now still do not have these products in their arsenal, get them, now. Your cuticles and nails will thank you.

Moisture is a very important part of my hand and nail care routine. Another product I have been really loving lately is CND Scentsations Black Cherry & Nutmeg Lotion. It smells absolutely divine, sinks into my skin quickly, and is very non-greasy. It just feels silky and wonderful! 

Since I have been loving everything CND lately, I decided to try their Winterberry scent that is new for Holiday 2008. The Winterberry scent is available in both the Scentsations Lotion and Scentsations Scrub.

OK, let me just say that CND Scentsations Winterberry Lotion + Winterberry Scrub = hands that are as smooth as a baby's bottom! I am loving my hands right now, they have never felt smoother. 

Let's talk about the scrub first. The scent is both sweet and a bit tart at the same time. I prefer sweet fragrances so this is perfect for me! The particles in the scrub are fairly large and coarse, which I love, because the finer scrubs just don't work as well for me. The particles in the scrub are suspended in this luscious and superbly moisturizing jelly like formula that is loaded with Sunflower Seed Oil, Shea Butter and Jojoba. Hello moisture! 

I attempted to photograph the scrub for you in the jar and on my hand so you can see the size of the scrubbing particles. Not sure if I've succeeded:

And here is my hand modeling shot of the jar (LOL):

Now on to the lotion. Again, just like my beloved CND Scentsations Black Cherry & Nutmeg Lotion, the Winterberry scent did not disappoint. Infused with Aloe Vera and Vitamins A & E, it has the same fabulous non-greasy formula that sinks in quickly and leaves my skin super soft. I also use this as a body lotion too FYI.  The Winterberry scent is both sweet and tart, but without being too sweet, just like the coordinating scrub.

Here is a picture of the lotion - I could have used the press images from CND  but it is so much more fun to pretend to be a hand model:

In short, using both of these products together will help stave off dry-weathered winter skin. These products are both being added to my "must have" list. 

The lotion retails for $11.50 and the scrub retails for $15.90 are are available online at Go Indulge.  You can also find my favorite CND products, including these, at my favorite e-tailers (links under "where to haul"). Both of these make great gifts!!

That is all for now (typing with ridiclously soft hands). See you soon!

xoxo,

Katee

OPI La Collection De France Swatches - Fall/Winter 2008 - Part 2!

Good morning!

Today I have part 2 of my OPI La Collection De France swatches for you. Here they are in no particular order.

OPI You Don't Know Jacques!:

Mushroomy taupe creme. This is the absolute stand out color from this collection, the one that started the taupe craze. 

OPI Louvre me Louvre Me Not:

I "louvre" this color! Violet shimmer that is super bright. This color really pops on my pale skin. But I also think that this would look great on ladies with darker skin tones. This is the only color from the whole batch that I had a bit of a hard time applying, it was a bit on the thick side. Hopefully a few drops of thinner will correct that for me the next time I want to wear this. 

OPI Yes...I Can-Can!:

OPI described this one as an eggplant shimmer but I thought it looked like it was a little more cherry colored and red toned than eggplant purple toned. Whatever you think it looks like, I just cannot get enough of these deep and vampy shimmers. I don't care that they look a bit flat indoors, I am in it for the shimmer in the sun.

OPI I'm Fondue Of You:

Brownish, almost cinnamon like shimmer. Really pretty but not sure if I'll end up wearing this one or not. Hmmm... after looking at the picture again, I think I will give this one a shot and wear it as a NOTD.

OPI Eiffel For This Color:

I fell for this color big time! I am wearing it on my tips right now as I type up this blog post. Another deep, vampy shimmer. Again, cannot get enough of these colors. This one is a bit more purple to me than OPI Yes...I Can-Can!

OPI We'll Always Have Paris:

Deep brownish burgundy creme. Looks more brown indoors. Very pretty but another one that I probably won't wear because it is a bit boring for me. 

OK, so my favorites from this collection, in no particular order: OPI You Don't Know Jacques, OPI Louvre Me Louvre Me Not, OPI Eiffel For This Color, OPI Yes...I Can-Can, OPI Tickle My France-Y and OPI Parlez-Vous OPI? I really can't put these in order because I don't have "one" favorite. This collection for me pretty much covers anything I'd ever want. Professional color? Check (tickle). Odd and off-beat colors? Check (ydkj and parlez-vous). Deep and vampy? Check (eiffel and can-can)! That is why I think that this collection is one of my favorites from OPI. 

What are your favorites from this collection? What are you lemming from this collection that you don't have yet? Let me know!

That is all for now. See you back here soon!

xoxo,

Katee

OPI La Collection De France Swatches - Fall/Winter 2008 - Part 1

Good Morning!

As I write this post, I realize that I have gotten a bit out of order with my swatches... I posted Spring 2009 for China Glaze, before Holiday 2008 for OPI, before Fall/Winter 2008 for OPI... oh well! These swatches of the OPI La Collection De France are still to be enjoyed, in my humble opinion. 

I will be posting these swatches in two batches, with the next batch to come in the next day or two.

OPI Tickle My France-Y:

Nude-ish, pink, creme. This color is so classy and so chic, I love it. One of my top picks from this collection.

OPI Parlez-Vous OPI?:

Smoky violet creme. Also super classy and chic, another top pick.

OPI Baguette Me Not:

Salmon creme. I kind of thought that it looked "blah" in the bottle but I really like this one on. Big surprise for me!

OPI A Out Bit Of Red:

Bright red with faint magenta shimmer. Very pretty but not terribly unique. Toe color! p.s. as always, click on the pictures to enlarge them. If you enlarge this one you will see the shimmer better.

OPI Crepes Suzi-Ette:

Caramel creme. Another one that looked "blah" in the bottle to me but I really liked it on.

OPI Bastille My Heart:

Deep burgundy shimmer. Very pretty but probably more of a toe color for me. 

I will have the rest of the OPI La Collection De France for you soon!

Wanted to make a quick shopping note for my newer readers - the best places to purchase OPI polishes online are Transdesign, 8ty8 Beauty, and Head 2 Toe Beauty. Links are under the "where to haul" section (bottom right of my blog). These sites essentially sell wholesale prices to the general public and it is much more economical to order from these sites and pay their shipping prices than to pay retail prices in regular stores for these polishes. These online stores also carry all of the treatment products that I love as well. You will save mucho dinero shopping online at these e-tailers!

As always, please feel free to email me or comment with any questions that you have and I'll definitely get back to you shortly! I want my blog to be a resource for all of  your nail polish and nail care tips and needs, so if you have any questions that you want answered, all you have to do is ask. I love receiving, reading and responding to your comments!

Have a wonderful day.

xoxo,

Katee

Lippmann Collection "Start Me Up" Set = Super Cute Holiday Gift

Good Morning!

I hope that your Tuesday is off to a great start so far. I am *keeping my fingers crossed* hoping that the sun comes out today, so I can do some swatching for you guys! The weather channel is calling for mostly sunny weather today and tomorrow. 

I have the cutest and most useful thing to share with you today: the Lippmann Collection "Start Me Up" set.

The Lippmann Collection "Start Me Up" set includes:

Cuticle Remover - with lanolin for clean and healthy cuticles

Cuticle Oil - ultra hydrating cuticle treatment with jojoba and Vitamin E

2 Second Nail Primer - primes nail for a long lasting manicure

Rehydrating Base Coat - with aloe vera to hydrate dry and/or brittle nails

Baby Love Nail Lacquer

On A Clear Day Topcoat - high gloss with sunscreen

Washable 4-way nail buffer

Instruction card & adorable carrying case

Lippmann Collection Baby Love Nail Lacquer:

Super sheer baby pink. It is a bit sheer for my tastes but if I had to go to a "normal" job every day, this is exactly the type of color I would wear. It is very chic and professional looking. 

This set is a perfect stocking stuffer for someone that travels or someone that is new to nail care because it comes with everything you need for a perfect DIY at home manicure (minus a crystal nail file). 

Personally, I was super excited to find this because my boyfriend and I travel frequently and this kit is the perfect size to pack in an overnight bag. Just throw the "Start Me Up" kit, your favorite nail lacquer (if you want something besides Baby Love), and a mini bottle of nail polish remover in your bag and you'll be good to go! I hate traveling with full size products so this kit is a major score in my book.

The Lippmann Collection "Start Me Up" kit retails for $39 is available online at Nordstrom and Lippmann Collection. The Lippmann Collection website is currently offering some great gifts with purchase so that is where I would do my shopping if I were you.

Also, Deborah Lippmann is going to be a guest on the Martha Stewart Show, on December 18th. I will definitely be tuning in! I can't wait to see Deborah on TV. Yay! 

e-polishblog Reminder:

Make sure to enter my giveaway! Here is what you can win:

Click here for all of the details on how to enter. 

That is all for now, dear readers. See you soon!

xoxo,

Katee

More Givaway Fun!

Hello, Dear Readers!

I had so much fun doing my last giveaway, that I want to do another. After all, it is the month of December, and Christmas is about giving! I am just in that kind of mood right now.

What you can win:

One lucky winner will win three bottles of nail polish:

One Snowman polish - red with silver and magenta glitter

One Snowman polish - beautiful shimmery brown

One Sally Hansen  - Emerald City

How to enter:

There are two ways to enter the giveaway, and you can do both of them to double your chances to win.

1. If you haven’t already signed up to receive e-polishblog daily email updates, then enter your email in the box located at the upper right hand side of my blog under the "subscribe via email" heading. You will receive an email confirming that you want to subscribe and you must confirm your subscription to be entered. 

Already subscribed? Then you don't need to do anything - you are already automatically entered to win.

2. If you have already subscribed to the email updates but want to double your chances of winning, add a brief comment at the bottom of this post and be sure to leave me your email address in the comment.

Again, you must be subscribed to email updates to be entered to win.

You have until Sunday, December 21st at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time to enter. This contest is open to all of my friends - both in the US and International. The lucky winner will be announced on Monday, December 22nd!

Good luck everyone!!

Want more giveaway fun? Visit my blogger friends at Vampy Varnish and Getcha Nails Did, both of whom are doing fun giveaways too. Those links will take you directly to their giveaways. 

That is all for now!

xoxo,

Katee

p.s.**EDITED TO ADD** I noticed that many of the comments so far DO NOT have an email address on them. I have no way to contact you w/o your email address :) Also the purpose of the comment is so that you have a second chance to win. Your first entry is your subscription and your second entry is the comment. You must be subscribed to win. If your comment does not include an email address, then I have no way of contacting you, and no way of confirming that you subscribed in the first place. I noticed that some of the comments w/out an email address are from people on Blogger, but when I clicked the name to see their Blogger profile, again, they have no email address... I am hoping that people might read this and edit their comments so that I can contact them. If not I will just delete them at the end of the contest so I can do my drawing fairly. Too late for me to change the rules now :)

Essie Pama Winner

Good Morning!

Just a quick post this morning to announce the winner of the Essie Pama nail polish:

Mary - Quitecontrary

I've emailed Mary to let her know that she is the lucky winner.

I'll be back later today :)

xoxo,

Katee

Happy Sunday! Giveaway Reminder

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick reminder that I am giving away one bottle of Essie Pama nail polish and I am accepting entries until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time tonight. Here is a link to the post where you can leave a comment to enter. Make sure to check back tomorrow to see if you are the lucky winner!

xoxo,

Katee

NOTD: Zoya Richelle

Good Morning!

Today my NOTD is from Zoya's Flourish collection for Holiday 2008: Zoya Richelle.

Zoya Richelle is what I will be wearing this evening to my boyfriend's company Christmas party. Application was flawless and this is the perfect nail color for a holiday or special occasion. I am usually not that into gold nail colors but this one has serious character. It is super shimmery in the sun and has a foil like finish. Just gorgeous! 

Wow! It is hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. In just a few short weeks I'll be traveling home to Michigan to be with my family for the holiday. I am getting excited!! What is everyone else looking forward to this holiday season? What do you have on your wish list? I want to know!

That is all for now. Thank you for reading!

xoxo,

Katee

p.s. Have you entered my giveaway yet? I am taking entries until Sunday, December 7th, 11:59 p.m. pacific time :)

OPI Holiday In Toyland Swatches - The Reds

Hello, dear readers!

Today I have the rest of the OPI Holiday In Toyland collection for you. The OPI Holiday In Toyland collection contains 12 nail polishes - 6 of them are dark or neutral shades and the other 6 are variations of red. Today I have the red ones for you. All of these were flawless in application!

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, when I first started really getting into nail polish, I avoided reds like the plague. I thought that all reds were the same. Wrong! The more I get into collecting nail polish, the more red shades I acquire. There really is a huge variety when it comes to reds. 

I have found that photos of red creams look extremely similar to each other when in real life they are really quite different. But I also found that if I swatch the colors next to each other, on the same hand, you can see the difference in the colors better; so that is what I did with the red creams in this collection.

As always, you can click the pictures to enlarge them. It is really fun to enlarge them to see all of the detail in the shimmer and sparkles!

Left to right:

OPI Little Red Wagon, OPI Red Hot Gift, OPI Girls Just Want To Play

The first picture is in the sun and the second picture is indoors but under natural lighting. 

OPI Little Red Wagon is a great, deep, blue toned red cream. 

OPI Red Hot Gift is a medium, blue toned red. 

OPI Girls Just Want To Play is in my opinion, a very summery, almost coral red. I will definitely sport this one on my toes in the summer.

And now on to the shimmery and sparkly reds...

OPI Rosy Mistletoe-Sies:

OPI always has the cutest names! Love this one. This is a very shimmery, magenta toned red. The shimmer in this one looks a bit on the gold side. 

OPI A Ruby for Rudolph:

Medium toned red shimmer with sparsely placed glitter. So gorgeous!

OPI Don't Toy With Me!:

Dark magenta-ish red with red, silver and hot pink shimmer/glitter. I say shimmer/glitter because it is both shimmery and glittery. Absolutely freaking gorgeous! I wore this one as a NOTD and got so many compliments from random strangers. I love when that happens. 

I am so impressed with the reds in this collection. Way to go OPI!

That is all for today, until we meet again!

xoxo,

Katee

p.s. Have you subscribed to e-polishblog yet? I also have a new option for you to subscribe by e-mail to have e-polishblog delivered to your inbox daily. Go to the upper right hand corner of the blog to subscribe :) 

 

NOTD and My Kids

Hello Readers!

I hope everyone is having a great day so far. Today I have so much to do today so this post is going to be a quickie. I have to go shopping for an outfit to wear to my BF's work Christmas party which is happening this Saturday at a night club in downtown San Diego. I have no idea what I want to wear. 

Now that we are getting into the winter months it is always interesting shopping for clothes here. All of the stores are featuring fall and winter clothes yet it is still semi-warm here. In the evening it does cool off a bit though, so something warmer will be acceptable. 

I have not had to dress up for anything in nearly six months. One of the things that I love about living where I do is how casual and laid back everyone is. It is perfectly acceptable to wear my black Lululemon pants, flip flops, and a t-shirt to about 99% of the places I go. Well not this Saturday, so I had better get shopping!

Anyways, today I am wearing China Glaze Emerald Sparkle:

This is the most AH-MAZ-ING color! Deep, dark, sparkly green. I am in love.

Since I did not plan a very interesting post for you today, I thought that I would take this opportunity to introduce you to my kids, my fur kids that is.

Cleo:

Relaxing with her OPI bear on her favorite sofa. Cleo has very good taste and prefers the Henredon sofa over any of the others.

Vincent:

In bed, as usual. He is the lazier one of the two and is an expert relaxer.

I hope you enjoyed meeting Cleo & Vincent because I know they enjoyed meeting you! They have been asking me when they would get to make an appearance on e-polishblog. They want to be famous :)

Ok, I am off now. Off to clean the house and do some major shopping!! I might take a stroll down the beach too if I have time. See you soon!

xoxo,

Katee

p.s. If you haven't entered my giveaway yet, do it! I am giving away a bottle of Essie Pama nail polish.