essie "camera" + zoya "arizona".

not much to say about this one. pink and orange has been one of my favorite color combinations for as long as i can remember!

three coats of each. "camera" still shows some VNL, dunno if another coat of two would remedy that issue.

these pics aren't color accurate for "camera" at all, but even the ones i took inside stunk. it is much more like the bottle - a nice, hot pink.

sexy mustard nails [nerdlacquer's "gorammit"]

last night when i was painting my nails, my boyfriend [who was sitting next to me] said "that looks like mustard. like you're putting mustard on your hands." of course i immediately gave him The Look [come on ladies, you know what i'm talking about] and he stuttered something like "uhh...sexy mustard. sexy, sparkly mustard!" >.> it's the thought that counts, i guess?

the following pictures show three coats of bypass. the formula was great and is packed with square red glitter, large and small goldish hex glitter, and tiny black glitters. it is an incredibly unique color and i love it! sorry that my photos suck, but i've got a nasty cold [also thanks to my boyfriend] and didn't want to go outside, lol.

nerdlacquer is available on etsy, though the shop is currently closed. you can sign up for email alerts and be notified when she reopens!

giveaway winner!

amy reason, congrats! you have won the 100 blog follower giveaway! you have until 3 pm tomorrow to email me at bk_bishop@hotmail.com and claim your prize :]. thanks to everyone who entered, and don't worry - i'll have another giveaway up soon!

surprise!

we've made it suuuuper duper close to 100 blog followers, so i wanted to reward all of my awesome followers/facebook fans that i decided to put up a giveaway!

up for grabs are one brand new bottle of candy shop by claire's, a dupe for the deborah lippmann polish of the same name. the wet 'n' wild polish also has some purple circle glitters in it that didn't pick up in the photo. also brand new and never used!

fill out the rafflecopter widget and good luck :D!

rainbow fish nails!

i know i'm a bit younger than most of the polish bloggers i have encountered, but i feel like everyone has seen the rainbow fish books. they were some of my favorite to read as a youngin' - i've liked shiny, sparkly things my whole life!

i received this polish from nailventerous a few weeks after i placed my original order - my bottle of "peacock gone wild" was a little wonky [but still perfectly usable and gorgeous!] she sent it out for free, isn't that so sweet? great customer service!
for these photos i put two coats of "rainbow fish" over two coats of "kristen" by zoya. i LOVE the results!

i think it looks EXACTLY like the fish in the books!

also, another shot of my kitty. if you're a friend on facebook, you know i've been having some problems with him lately - i've had to take him to the vet twice this past week. waaay too much money and a whole bunch of stress later, he's on his way to recovery. thanks so much to everyone who kept him in their thoughts!

if you use this link to set up a zoya account, you can get one bottle of polish for FREE! then if you add two more bottles to your cart, your shipping is free :]. so that's three bottles of long-lasting, vegan polish for 16 bucks!

if you're interested in nailventerous polishes, i suggest liking her on facebook to find out when she is going to restock her etsy shop!

essie "ole caliente" + cult nails "captivated".

just a quick post for you all this evening. i did this mani last night right before my kitty got ill and had to be taken to the emergency vet, so they are NOT super great. but i thought the combo was really awesome and i wanted to share with you all :D. i have swatched ole caliente before, you can see that post here. but this is my first cult nails polish - i bought this and two others when they had their five dollar sale a few weeks ago!

two coats of OC with one coat of captivated. for some reason it makes me think of salsa...

so pretty! i love this combo and can't wait to try out my other cult nails polishes. you can buy them here!

pretty and polished - "jawbreaker".

i am loving all the white polishes with intense glitters that have been coming out lately. jawbreaker seems to be the most popular; selling out mere moments after p&p restocks. i was quick enough to snag one the last time she opened, and i'm so glad i did! anyway, the polish is obviously based on the candy of the same name:

do you see the resemblance? there's lots of red, blue, and yellow glitters!

this is three coats of jawbreaker. two coats was most definitely enough, but i liked applying it so much that i put on a third :D.

so pretty!

what do you think? do you like it? pretty & polished has an etsy store, but i recommend following her on facebook so you can find out when she's restocking!

365 days of color - "funfetti".

i am really really happy to be able to review this polish. sanaz of 365 days of color is just a really great lady, and has been working hard on these polishes for a while. anyway, enough of my blabber and on to the polish!

first, the name. it's named after the funfetti cake mix by pillsbury. if you've never had funfetti cake, i am going to need you to close your browser, drive to your nearest grocery store, pick up a box and all the other things like eggs, make the cake, and then eat it. okay, you got that down? you eat the cake? good. next time, make the cookie recipe on the side of the box. funfetti cookies made me a lot of friends in high school, i used to bring them in every few weeks!

now to the funfetti polish...

see how similar it is?! how delicious it looks?!

this is three coats of funfetti. LOOK AT ALL THAT GLITTER.

close up of my thumb. holy glitter, batman.

consensus: i freaking love this polish. the formula is great and super unique. when she starts making full sized bottles i will most certainly be buying one! EVERYONE BUY THIS POLISH NOW. but seriously, follow 365 days of color on facebook to get the inside scoop about ordering her polishes :].

gradient mani ft essie's "she's picture perfect" and "no more film", plus zoya's "mimi"

i think gradient manicures always look really cool and seemed relatively easy, so i figured i'd give it a shot. i was impressed! it's hard for me to make things look "natural" or "messy" 'cause i am a very ordered person in everyday life, so some nails turned out a little less gradual and a little more...stripey. regardless, i like the finished product and think it looks rad!

the polishes are lined up the way i did them on my nails. first was two coats of "she's picture perfect", then after that dried i dabbed on some mimi, then after that dried, "no more film" was last!

this is the makeup sponge i used to dab on the polish. most tutorials say to use the big triangle ones, BUT i didn't have any and didn't want to waste one of the round ones i use to actually apply makeup, so i took this [the connection between four round ones, if that makes sense!] and used it. it worked really well, though it was a little small.

ta-da! pretty neat. 

once this blogs gets to 100 followers [only 24 away!] i will be hosting another giveaway. so spread the word and follow :D!

dun dun dun...water marbling!

i see other bloggers post pictures of their beautiful water marbles all the time. after months and months, i decided i finally needed to take the plunge and do it. i watched a video and read a blog post by the fabulous cosmetic sanctuary and set to work. the colors i used are: niecy by julep, and yummy and tobey by zoya. my base color was "you just wait" by sinful colors.

i hesitate to call this bad, since it was my first time. i think the swirls are pretty rad! i feel my main mistake was using such a sheer color for the base. i feel if i had used something more substantial, it would have ended up popping more and looking a lot cooler. still, i only did my swatching hand and will take it off before easter lunch tomorrow.

for everyone thinking about marbling - i think you should do it! it's time consuming, yeah, but the results are worth it!

sinful colors "kissy" + "pulverized" by nailventerous.

i got kissy in my easter trade with jen's nail files. it caught my attention as soon as i opened it so i put it on right away!

two coats of kissy. so pretty and shiny! definitely wearable on it's own, but since i had just gotten my nailventerous order in the mail, i decided to try one of those polishes out!

omg! look at all those different glitters.

tiny tiny purple bar glitter, circle yellow glitters, tiny blue and purple hex glitters, larger white hex glitters, and very large purple and green hex glitters, all suspended in a base that is lightly tinted purple.. basically, IT IS AWESOME.

i love pulverized, but i think next time i'll layer it over a lighter polish. i think some of the glitter got lost in the darker color of kissy : /.

nailventerous sells out really quickly, so i recommend following her on facebook to learn when she'll be restocking!

essie's "trophy wife" ft. lacquistry's "lake placid on acid"

can we just talk about how much i freaking love lacquistry polishes? not only are the all beautiful, well made, long-lasting, and unique, but jenna is just a really great person. i bought "a friggin circus" after this polish and jessica rabbit, but she waited to ship my order and combined costs, so i was refunded a few dollars! i know some indie polish brands don't do that anymore [because it takes a lot of tedious work!], so when she offered to do that i was so impressed. anyway, on to the pictures! the following pictures show three coats of LPOA over two coats of essie's "trophy wife". HOWEVER, LPOA has a blue-tinted base and could easily be opaque on its own.

just...just look at that polish. look at those glitters. is that not one of the prettiest things you have ever seen? to let you know how much i love this polish - i've worn it for two days, and i haven't worn a polish for more than a day in months!

those glitters! LPOA has large silver, green, and blue hex glitters, smaller hex glitters of the same colors, plus tiny circular blue, silver, and green glitters. HOLY GLITTERS, BATMAN!

nice bottle shot. 

and, as usual, a nice photo of mister mowgli. i guess he's really into sniffing polish lids. also, a nice shot of my living room >___<

essie polishes are available at drugstores for 8 dollars. lacquistry sells her polishes in her etsy store for 8.75, but she's usually sold out so i suggest liking her facebook page to get updates on when she's restocking.

more nominations!

two other bloggers have since nominated me for the versatile blogger award, but since i've already done all the stuff i'm just going to promote their blogs instead!

pretty and polished pointers is a sweet lady with the most beautiful nails i have ever seen! the other person who nominated me, nail notes, takes some of the most perfect swatch photos i have ever seen. go check out their blogs and show some love!

my first blogger awards - liebster and versatile.

to start, i have to send a HUGE thank you to cherie over at enchanting cosmetics for nominating me for these awards. i have been following her on facebook before i even had this blog, and she's such a wonderful and sweet woman. thanks, cherie! now, on to the awards:

first up is the liebster award. a little googling led me to find that it is a german word with many meanings - darling, beloved, sweetheart, or dearest. how cute is that?! it's so nice to know that people not only read what i post, but enjoy it too! part of receiving this award is to nominate five other blogs to get the award, so here are my choices:

adventures of the nail friends
peace love lacquer 
voir la beaute
the nail files
beauty gnome

next up is the versatile blogging award!

the rules for this are as follows:

nominate 15 fellow bloggers that are relatively new to blogging.

let them know you have nominated them.

share 7 random facts about yourself.

thank the blogger[s] who nominated you.

add the versatile blogger award picture to your blog post.

my 15 blog choices are:

lace & lacquers

polished paradise

jen's nail files

polished cousins

my dirty little obsessions

girl germs

mega nailattude

beauty gnome

pretty little bottles

the perky polisher

perfect nails 

passion for polish

naked without polish

manicured mommas

pretty in paint

7 facts about me:

-i am 20 years young [my 21st birthday is in a few months!!]

-i met my boyfriend online. we have been together for almost three years and have known each other for 4.

-i have a 3 year old kitty named mowgli. he is loud and obnoxious and high maintenance but i love him.

-i love horrible reality television [think toddler's & tiaras, prison wives, locked up, intervention] and have seen every episode of more shows than i can count.

-i am a junior majoring in psychology at the second largest university in the country. i like my school enough, but get really annoyed with how into sports everyone here is, and how that's what we're known for. we have really great academics, too!

-i have had a job since i was 16.

-nail polish is the beauty product i care most about. i try to do eye makeup and stuff but i care way more about polish!