The Never-Ending Pile Challenge: Least Expensive

Hey! It's Wednesday...we're halfway through the week. Except, today is my Friday. Tomorrow, I head out with my sister and her boyfriend to Charlotte for my older sister's wedding! It's going to be a great weekend; I can't wait to see my parents. But, don't worry. I have manis for the next few prompts while I'm out of town.

Today's theme is Least Expensive and I'm showing you a polish that I only shelled out 99 pennies for.

This is Sally Girl IQ in three coats. It's a steely, silvery blue. And it's got a great blue shimmer to it that really shows up in the middle picture. You do have to be kind of careful with application because it can get kind of brushstrokey.

Sally Girl polishes are a great deal. You can try out trendy shades and finishes for only a few bones (depending on how much you buy). I picked up two other ones with this beauty that I have yet to bust out. And I got them last summer. Shame on me!

That's all for me...I have to finish packing -_-

Be sure to check out what the other ladies dug out of their untrieds tonight!

xo, ali

It Came From Beyond the Vault...

Happy Monday! I just have a quick post for you tonight, as I am getting ready for my older sister's wedding on Saturday. I'm bringing you a manicure from the vault tonight with some simple tape art.

Flash

Indirect Natural Light

Sunlight

This is three coats of Zoya Layla-an eye-searing neon pink creme. It dries to a satin-matte finish so you will need top coat to shine it up. This went on really easy and there were very few streaks. I used that third coat just to even everything out. When it was dry, I taped off the lower portion of my nails and used OPI's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. from the Gwen Stefani collection. That also dries to a satin-matte finish but I liked the contrast between finishes, so I left it as is.

What do you think? I can definitely see myself recreating this for summer!

xo, ali

The Never-Ending Pile Challenge: Boutique

Bonjour!As you know, I am participating in the Glittah Pirates' Never-Ending Pile Challenge. It may be sporadic participation because I don't have as many untrieds as the other lovely ladies in the group, but I am participating!

For the mani I'm about to show you, I managed to knock out two untrieds. Yesterday's theme was "Boutique" and it could be interpreted many different ways. I chose to interpret it with two polishes that I picked up at Charlotte Russe, a couple years ago. Charlotte Russe is a boutique to me, because they specialize in selling to a specific demographic. Check it out!

I used three coats of Charlotte Russe Light Pink and used a quick-dry top coat. Then i applied Washi tape on a diagonal and painted Charlotte Russe Neon Purple. I did one finger at a time and took the tape off right after I painted to give me a clean line. One the accent nails, I used 4 clear studs from a Bundle Monster wheel. Easy-peasy.

That's all from me tonight. Be sure to check out what the other pirates did for their Boutique polishes, below!

xo, ali

The Never-Ending Pile Challenge:A Random Untried

Friday! Friday night is one of my favorite nights, but not because I go out and get crazy. Don't get me wrong-I do that, from time to time, but I love Friday nights because I get to chill out, maybe stay up a little bit past my bedtime, and go to sleep knowing that both my alarms are silenced....ahhhhh!

Tonight, I have another contribution to the Never-Ending Pile Challenge. It was created by Missy and the rest of the girls over at The Glittah Pirates, which is an awesome group on Facebook that I recently joined. If you want to join in the fun, just click the link and request to join :)

The theme today is "A Random Untried" and I chose Nicole by OPI Roughles in On What Grounds? I received this in my March Ipsy bag and I was really excited to try it. Let's see what I thought.

I top coated my index finger to see what it would look like.

Macro-index with top coat, middle with no top coat.

On What Grounds? is a matte aqua sprinkled with blue and brown. These sprinkles give it the finish of a robin's egg. There is no glitter to this polish so it does dry flat but the different colors mixed in give it some depth. However, I didn't like this as much as I thought I would. I applied this last night and this morning, when I was blow-drying my hair, my index finger got caught and a piece chipped off :( 

I'm disappointed because I loved the Gumdrops collection that NOPI came out with a while ago. My Cherry Amour is one of my favorite textured polishes. Sigh. Oh well, can't win 'em all! Maybe I'll give this another shot down the line.

Make sure you check out what the other rad girlies are showing off for their random untrieds today!

Have a great weekend!!

xo, ali

The Never-Ending Pile Challenge!

Happy Wednesday! Tonight, I'm participating in a new challenge devised by Missy, the mastermind behind Gnarly Gnails, which is one of my favorite blogs. It's called:

I'm late to this party and missed the first prompt but I'm jumping in with tonight's prompt-pastel!

I chose to use China Glaze's Keep Calm, Paint On from the Spring 2013 Avant Garden collection (yes, again). Let's check it out!

The bottle shot shows off  the pearly sheen that this dusty mint green has running through it.

This is three coats, because after two, it was still streaky and a bit patchy. This wore really well on me with only minor tip wear and chipping after about two days.

I'm already thinking of the polishes that I can use for the next prompts!!

xo, ali

Springtime Skittlette

Happy Monday! That really seems like an oxymoron to me, but I survived the day and I'm here to bring you a quick skittlette I did last week, while watching Frozen for the first time.

Why were lil Elsa and Anna so darn cute?!

Anyways. I was having a crappy night, one night last week and my friend brought me a little cheer-up gift, including a new polish. Let's take a look at how I used it.

This is the gifted polish-Sinful Colors Out of Bounds. This polish came out last spring, but it's dead on for Pantone's Color of the Year 2014: Radiant Orchid.

I also busted out China Glaze Fancy Pants, which was part of last spring's Avant Garden collection. Fancy Pants is a purple creme with pink and blue shimmer running throughout.

I also used Kleancolor Kiss Goodbye which is a mix of pink, blue, and gold microglitters in a clear base. It's got the typical Kleancolor smell but it's such a pretty mixture.

 I tried my best to channel the queen of Skittlettes-Marta from ChitChat Nails. Just look at any one of her posts. She's a master.

I did two coats of Out of Bounds and top coated. Then I took BM-404 and stamped my index and middle fingers with Fancy Pants. Kiss Goodbye was applied in one coat each on my pinky and thumb. A fimo bow from a Forever 21 wheel finished off the look.

What do you think? If only this would bring spring to Buffalo, really and truly!

xo, ali

There's No Place Like Home

Hello! Happy Friday! Hope you're well on your way to the weekend! I sure am!

Tonight's polish comes with a story. When I was a growing up, I would often come home from school to find my younger sister and my mom, watching the Wizard of Oz. My mom was always taking care of mending or other chores that could be completed while she kept an eye on my then 3-year old sister, who was parked in front of the TV with one of her dolls, looking up in amazement at the colorful world that unfolded before her. The Wizard of Oz will always be one of those parts of my childhood that I'll keep with me.
How does this relate to nail polish? Tonight, I have the nail polish incarnation of Dorothy's Ruby Slippers.

[source]

Zoya Chyna was released as part of the first, six-polish collection of Pixie Dusts. These were Zoya's answer to OPI's Liquid Sand polishes.

This is two coats of Chyna over Orly Bonder. It built up very nicely to an opaque finish, similar to fine ground ruby dust. The red is so rich that I felt like I had jewels on my nails. The red glitter adds an eye-catching sparkle when the sun (or any light) hits your nails just right.

I just love how this macro shot turned out!

Before I took this polish off, I wanted to see what would happen if I top-coated it, and BAM! The next time I'm wearing this, I am top-coating it within an inch of its life. The glitters just come alive.

Chyna is available at Zoya.com and retails for $10.

What do you think? Gorgeous? Or not for you?

Oh, and don't forget!

[source]

xo, ali

And Now For Something Completely Different

*Samples Provided For Review*

Hello! Hope Wednesday finds you all well! I'm doing great! A lot has been happening in Phalange-land.
I have something different for you. You all know that nail polish is my great love but my first love was makeup. I still hoard it like nobody's business. I recently cleaned out all my old makeup and you wouldn't even be able to tell.
I was given an opportunity Vanessa, an independent presenter for Younique Cosmetics, to try some mineral pigments. I had previously heard of Younique through Cosmetic Sanctuary, one of the blogs I read daily. Lisa reviewed Younique's 3D Fiber Lashes (you can check it out here) and I was blown away.
For this review, Vanessa had me pick out some of their Moodstruck Minerals Pigment Powder. I chose three-Vulnerable, a matte rosy pink, Daring, a shimmery, green-tinged bronze, and Curious, a shimmery pale champagne.
Younique's Moodstruck Mineral Pigments are talc-free. They are also chemical free, naturally based, and hypo-allergenic, which are all awesome qualities to have in a beauty product.
Let's take a look!

Vulnerable

Daring

Curious

What I've found is that a little bit goes a long way with these pigments and with a price point of $10, you really get your money's worth! These shots are after I used each pigment about 5 times, doing eye makeup for work and play. 

I chose three colors because I typically do my eye looks with three colors. It's a quick, easy routine that I've got down to five minutes or less each morning.

For my every day look, I always start with Fergie for Wet n Wild's Take On The Day Primer in A Little Party, which is the shimmer version of the original.

I applied that to both my lids and then applied Vulnerable all over the lid, up to the crease. Next, I used Daring in the crease and on my outer V. I followed that up with Curious on my browbone to highlight and blend. It's finished off with one coat of Benefit They're Real! mascara.

These pigments glide on over the primer, effortlessly. There is very little fallout, even from the shimmer shades. They blend well, and the wear time was all day. Even through a session at the gym. There was very little to no creasing and that is thanks to the absence of talc in the formula. I'm very happy with these and I definitely need to pick up some full size containers.

Not only are these pigments great for every day eye looks, they also appeal to the DIY-er in all of us. I was feeling brave so, I got out some supplies, including a plastic baggie to act as a kind of palette, some clear nail polish, and a nail art brush.
Here's the end result:

Top to Bottom: Vulnerable, Daring, Curious

Curious, Daring, Vulnerable

These made awesome, unique nail colors. If I had more of each pigment, I would have done a full mani. Each nail is two coats of the pigment mixed with a dollop of clear nail polish. While I can't comment on wear time, just think of the color combos you could make with all the different pigments!

Vanessa was great to work with and made sure to keep me informed and updated on the pigments she shipped to me. Being the sweetheart that she is, she has a special offer to extend to the readers of Ali's Dancing Phalanges. If you order with Vanessa, through her Facebook page, you will receive 15% off of your order of $20 or more. You can view all the products Younique offers here.

I'm so happy that Vanessa gave me this opportunity to review some of the great products that Younique creates.

xo, ali