Here are a few quick swatches I did back in July?  I think.  I thought you might like something to tide you over through the duration of my time wearing the Sally Hansen ghosties!  (The ghosties did come off tonight, by the way.)

 Above is Nars Vestale, a Nordstrom exclusive from the anniversary sale.  I don't remember how many coats, to be honest.  It was two or three, but I'm leaning toward just two.  :)

 Here is Sephora by OPI My Personal Serpent from this year's Fall collection.  This was either one or two coats because this polish is surprisingly very opaque.

 Here is Lippmann Billionaire.  Two or three coats - I'm not sure.  Sorry!

 And last but not least, Lippmann Stormy Weather.

I wish that I had written down how many coats each of the swatches were.  I regret that!  None of the swatches shown here feature any top coat.

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For this mani I started with three coats of Claire's Mood Polish in Innocent/Daring.

As you can see, it looks quite gray in the bottle. On the nail, it goes from a somewhat bright peach to a deeper blue toned gray.

My hands were pretty warm in these pics, no thanks (or maybe thanks) to the Florida blazing hot sun. The tips usually look more blue most of the time - which is really neat.

I finished with a coat of L.A. Girl Glitter Addict Celebrate.

I really like how the colors all look together!

I only wish Claire's polishes lasted longer on me. I got a pretty big chip on my right thumbnail less than 24 hours after I had put it on. :(

Last night I was sitting on a blue-gray couch and looked down to find my nails perfectly matched the couch. I was cold...and it was an odd moment. I felt a bit like a chameleon!

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I'm sorry I haven't been able to post in a little while. Things have been kind of hectic for me. I'm back, though, so I hope you enjoy some nice mannequin hands!!

This is three coats of Misa Whimsical Wish.

It's a sheer, shimmery peachy nude. I had no problems with application or wear.

I ended up really loving this mani, way more than I could have anticipated.

I think my previous nude mani primed me for really loving this look. I wouldn't normally care too much for a light peachy color, but I love how it's soft and ever so slightly unexpected (at least, for me).

I also think I'm starting to appreciate softer colors when my nails are longer. Call me crazy, but I get self-conscious somehow when I wear wild, vampy, or bling-tastic colors on my "long" nails.

Maybe I'm going through a phase, too. You never know!

At any rate, Whimsical Wish gave me a nice first-time-ever mannequin hands look that I definitely loved wearing!

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I'm fairly excited to share this manicure with you. I'm my first every half-moon mani!

It's two coats of Illamasqua Milf with two coats of Shades by Barielle Blossom.

I have to thank my awesome coworker, Jaysen, for the idea on this one. You rock! Maybe a week or so ago he suggested I do a Make Up For Ever Spring 2011 inspired half-moon manicure. They have two new star powders in a soft lime and peach. You can see them here. I have them both and they are absolutely gorgeous!

In any case, I intended to do this using reinforcement stickers but encountered many snafus along the way. Long boring story. I got impatient and decided to freehand them.

They aren't as perfect as I would have liked, but for my first time and all I think I did pretty good. :) I also had planned to put a coat of a shimmery peach Lancome polish over Blossom, but by the time I got done with my second coat of Blossom (which was thick and a bit tricky), I thought, good grief, let's be done with this.

It's a good thing, too, because it took forEVER to dry completely!!

I would like to try more half-moon manis in the future, but I don't know how motivated I will be to actually do it. Maybe I'll keep it tucked away for special occasions or just if I get bored with the same ol' same ol'.

I like that it's just really interesting, visually.

Have you tried it? What did you think?

The whole process really makes you think about what polishes you have that have amazing coverage in just one coat!

As a last thought, I tried layering Palladio Fuse first, then a coat of Gelous, and then all the polishes. Didn't work out too well over all. I ended up removing it earlier tonight after only one day of wear. I bumped two corners of my thumbs at work and they chipped pretty badly. :( I may eventually decided to just use the Fuse by itself and resign myself to wicked staining.

Good news is that I put on Orly Royal Velvet and I really love it! :D

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Hello, lovely friends! I have lots of gorgeous pictures for you. I hope you'll forgive my absence as of late. I'm not sure what my problem is, but I know I've been feeling stressed with new responsibilities at work. I also had family visit recently, which kept me preoccupied for about a week. My nieces are too cute for words, by the way!

This is my nail-of-the-day, Essie Van d'Go. I did three coats, just to be safe. I probably could have gotten away with two.

I really like this. It feels light and refreshing, like a break for me from what I usually wear.

I don't generally adore creams, but I do love this. It's so soft and pretty but not entirely girly and frilly.

Below is Illamasqua Insanity, three coats. It's pretty insane, yup.

Bright, mid-tone orange cream.

It's not quite traffic cone orange, but it does demand attention. It's fun and funky. I got a lot of compliments on it the day I wore it.

It's a UK exclusive color, unfortunately for those of us who live elsewhere.

I adore the next polish, Nubar Violet Sparkle. It's so freaking stunning and fabulous! Three coats of luscious, purple, sparkly, dreamy goodness. It's a bit warmer and more red in real life. The pictures are faking it out, making it look more blue-toned. Silly purple!

Ohhhh here's another winning fantabulous Nubar purple, Hyacinth Sparkle. Three coats. What's not to love? I highly recommend the entire Sparkle collection from Nubar. I wore a few others and neglected to photo them, but I will make a point to swatch them soon. They are terrific!!

Here's yet another fun one, Nubar Gem, three coats.

Three coats of NYX Girls Fig, an ambiguous vampy beaut!

It's more purply/blue/gray in real life, but still very dark and naughty.

Three coats of L.A. Girl Rockstar Head Banging with one coat of L.A. Girl Rockstar Live on Stage.

LOVE me some Rockstars!

This is three coats of LA Splash Golden Seahorse. Lovely, no?

Illamasqua Nudge, two coats, with two coats of Rococo Gold Leaf Lacquer. So much fun! I heart my Rococo Gold Leaf Lacquer so much...and it's so toxic stinky, just so ya know.

And last, but not least, is NYX Girls Boho, two coats. This is a gorgeous soft, cool green, with a metallic sort of shimmer.

I hope you enjoyed the show!! I keep acquiring polish at mind-boggling rates, so be assured that many more pictures and reviews will be on the way soon. :)

XOXO

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