I'm still in the process of figuring out how to do a gradient to my own satisfaction and it's not turning out like I'd prefer, however I did like the final product that resulted here, even though it's not how I originally pictured it. I think a lot of the reason I liked this despite my technical failure is the color palette. I really loved these colors together. I added some gold to the edge and the result sort of reminded me of a cool cabochon on a vintage cocktail ring or something, hence the name.

Products used:

• Sephora by OPI XOX Betsey
• Illamasqua Jo'mina
• Nails Inc Belgrave Place
• Orly Luxe
• Seche Vite topcoat

Illamasqua Jo'mina - $14 at sephora.com

Here's an Illamasqua polish I've been debating purchasing for a really long time. I thought that I'd be ok with just Color Club Puccilicious, because in photos they look so similar, but in the end, they're pretty damn different. Jo'mina is lighter, pinker and maybe a bit warmer. It's awesome. It's got a great formula just like all the Illamasqua I've tried. Very pigmented and it takes only two coats for excellent coverage. It will be amazing with a summer tan, I'm telling you! I don't have any other polishes that are dupes, though it's somewhere in between Puccilicious and OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender.

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Would you believe that this is my very first magnetic nail polish? Ever since the European only L'Oreal Star magnetic polish came out five years ago, magnetic polish has languished on my wishlist. Next came the Lancome Le Magnetique, followed by scores of other more obscure brands turning out magnetic polishes. More recently Nails Inc. with a $16 price tag. I wouldn't turn a neurotic hair to pay $16 for a polish if I really, really wanted it; hey polish is my thing! But I had yearned for so long for it... what if I ended up hating it? Well China Glaze has released their own version of magnetic polish, and it's fitting that my first, much desired magnetic is from China Glaze. I picked up three of these at CosmoProf for $4.99 a piece but I believe they will retail for $10. Still pretty cheap considering. You also have to purchase the magnet seperately for an additional $4.99, but there are three designs on it, so it's not bad. I chose my polishes based on Scrangie's awesome swatches, and I think all three are great. I bought this one, and also You Move Me, and Pull Me Close.

The application was super easy, I used two coats. I applied one coat to all ten nails, then one by one I applied a second coat and placed the magnet over it for about 30 seconds. The cuticle guide is very helpful, though you still have to be careful not to touch your nail to the magnet, but still get it as close as possible. Also, since my nails are so curved, it basically just made a design on the highest parts. It looks in the pics like it got most of my nails, but the sides are much more curved than my photos allow me to show you. My nails are like a half circle, it's aggravating sometimes. Anyway, I finished it all off with Seche Vite and I think it looks totally great.

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Products used:

• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
• China Glaze Reggae to Riches
• Sephora by OPI Opening Night
• China Glaze Millenium
• Seche Vite Top Coat

I did this right before I changed my nail shape from square to oval. Man, it feels weird to see them so square, lol. Anyway, I'm really into half-moon manicures right now, and I like the added interest of contrasting colors and a little something extra to deliniate the place where the colors meet. I used China Glaze Reggae to Riches for the base, which is a beautiful bright magenta shimmer with a really, really intense blue flash to it. Then for the rest of the nail, I used the incredibly well-pigmented Opening Night by Sephora by OPI which is a rich sapphire shimmer. For the line of "beads," I used a dotting too and China Glaze Millenium. I'm thinking of trying this same manicure out with black, white and grey soon, I think that would be really elegant. Maybe with some 3D pearl action...

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I've been dying to do something that incorporates these two shades. My winter coat is the same color as Nails Inc Belgrave Place and one day I held something bright orange against it and I've had a one track mind since then. I didn't want something busy and I wanted something that was simple and only incorporated these two colors because the two of them together make such a statement on their own. I painted the nails orange first, then when it was dry I applied some nail art striping tape from dollarnailart.com. I applied the purple over it and then waitied (not quite long enough, sadly) for it to dry and applied topcoat. The concept for the manicure was inspired by pshiiit.com! If you haven't seen her work yet, check it out! It's in French but the photos really are breathtaking.

Products used:

• China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat
• OPI A Roll in the Hague
• Nails Inc Belgrave Place
• Nail art striping tape
• Seche Vite topcoat

Click for another photo!

If you haven't noticed, I'm in a bit of a floral period right now. I think it's this nonexistant winter that isn't providing the quaint excitement of snowy afternoons full of hot chocolate and a good book, or maybe a snowball fight, nor is it warm enough to be expecting buds to pop up and leaves to begin to appear. it's all the crappy things about Winter without any of the good things. So I'm boycotting Winter, and I'm living in denial. It's Spring for me right now. I did this manicure for two reasons; 1) I saw this manicure by BlogNailedIt and was inspired, and I still have one living, albeit beleaguered, flower out in front of the house right now that just won't give up, and it's a pansy. I've got a couple pics from last Spring of a pot o' pansies after the jump from directly after potting them last Spring. They got rather huge over the summer, and all have died but one really determined little guy in the middle. le sigh.

For this design I used China Glaze Sweet Hook as the base, then I used China Glaze Gothic Lolita, Holly-Day and Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud for the flower and the random dotting.

Click for flower pics...

The China Glaze Electro Pop collection is popping up here and there, and I found that my local CosmoProf has them due to hit the shelves on January 1, when their B2G1F promo starts, but I was able to snag four of them today. These are the ones I was looking forward to most! I've got both swatches and comparisons for you in this post. All four shades reminded me of other shades that are high up on my list of favorites, so I was anxious to see how they compared.

To see the swatches and comparisons, read on!

Available at CosmoProf (Pro-only) or transdesign.com (general public) for around $15

Purple Purple is a gorgeous midtone-to-vampy purple with beautiful blue iridescent shimmer. The formula, Shellac, OMG. I cannot. It's so. freaking. amazing. Prior to this Seche Vite over polish was the most intense shine I'd ever seen on nails, but this looks like glass even days later.

You'd never think that someone like me, who changes their nails two to three times a week would ever break down and try CND Shellac, but I did it! I have heard raves and raves and figured it was a shame I'd never get to try it because my nail ADD would never allow me. Since I've been in Nail Tech school for the last few weeks, I've come to the realization that I just don't (and won't when I've got my own salon) have the time to do my own nails as frequently as I'm used to. I also was starting to get tired of ruining my own paint job with acetone, client's polish and acrylic that somehow manages to find it's way to my nails by the end of the day.

Click to read more about Shellac!

I tried my hand at the infamous "drip" manicure that is all over the blogosphere. I wasn't crazy happy with the drips themselves, but I think it was alright for my first try. For the purple nails I used Color Club Puccilicious as a base and then used a black striping polish to do the drips. For the checkered Wah-inspired nail, I used Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud as the base, a black Art Deco striper polish for the checks and then for the drips I used Milani Fresh Teal. All-in-all I like it, and I can't wait to try it again with a blood red.

SIDE NOTE: I am so excited about this and I wanted to share it with my blog friends... I am going to be starting nail school on August 30th!!!!!! I am so excited I could explode! It's something I've wanted to do for so many years, even while I was pursuing other paths in college. I've been into nails since elementary school and I feel like this is really right. I will never get tired of it if I haven't yet. I love doing my nails. I love doing the nails of my friends and family. I love the feeling of having beautiful, fresh nails and I want to be able to do that for others. I'm still not stoked about doing acrylics, because I think they can be so damaging unless they're really done right, but I also realize not everyone can grow their own nails and everyone deserves beautiful nails if they want them. I want to concentrate on natural nails and nail art, but I'm actually even looking forward to learning all I can about doing acrylics and gels, etc... so YAY!!!That's my news:D:D:D

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Valerie (left) and Jem (right) - $8 each at zoya.com

I recently placed a Zoya order and because I love vampy berry shades, I ordered both Valerie and Jem. I didn't think to look up to see how close these two polishes are to one another, so I ended up with two very similar polishes. This isn't such a bad thing, because they are a beautiful shade of purple shot with berry shimmer, but I do prefer one to the other. Read on to see which one, and why.

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