And the winner is... (Connect the Dots Giveaway)

Today is the big day! Of course, in order to properly choose the winner for the Lynnderella Connect the Dots giveaway, we need a host of Domos! With the big Sparkly Domo officiating, of course (there isn't anyone more qualified!). 

This hi-tech giveaway-entry-mixer (which bears a striking resemblance to a giant mace) was used to thoroughly mix all the entries.

Some tiny Domos mistook the giveaway pool for an actual pool. Completely understandable.

Sparkly Domo was less than impressed: "Hey! Get out of the giveaway pool right now!"

Our esteemed Domo selects a lucky winner...

Who will it be?

Jacqueline Colman is the lucky winner!

How exciting! I've sent Jacqueline an email, and hopefully she will respond within 48 hours.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered! I really appreciated reading all your entries and clever haikus. Shout outs to Kawaii Kagura of Nailpocalypse, who had perhaps the best haiku:

You must scratch me there!
Yes, above my tail! Behold,
elevator butt.


How funny is that? Good stuff, everyone!

Greyscale Ombre Manicure (Domo-inspired!)

Recently the lovely ladies at Varnished Valkyrie asked me to do a guest post on their totally awesome blog while they're away. Naturally, I was extremely flattered to be asked, and came up with this idea for my first ever ombre manicure!

A Gresyscale-Domo inspired ombre mani! I'll post a couple pictures here, but please click here to check out the whole story. Let me know what you think of my first guest post/first ombre mani!

Dollish Polish Travelin' the Nile

I decided to add some sparkle to my Sally Hansen Aquamarine Chrome manicure, so I layered Dollish Polish "Travelin' the Nile" overtop. Travelin' the Nile is a nice mixture of vibrant, shiny, blue glitter; it varies in size and shape, which makes for a cool effect. It also has some holographic glitter in it, so in the light it really sparkles.

Because I can never take nice pictures of my nails when I'm trying to hold onto a mini bottle, this time you get a substitute prop for nail pictures- tropical flower Domo will be standing in for the mini bottle on this one!

 He looks so excited, doesn't he?

I originally envisioned this over a darker blue/purple creme (maybe something like Essie No More Film), but I think the chrome base is actually kind of interesting. What do you think?

This reminds me of water droplets!

I wore this combination to see B.B. King play one evening a short while ago; it was a really great show to see. At the age of 86 (amazing, right?!) his voice might not be as strong as it once was, but he's still got it. Here's a video you might enjoy (this is from '93, I think). Enjoy!

Claire's Candy Shop Giveaway Results!

I'm happy to announce a winner to my Claire's Candy Shop giveaway! Here's how it went down:

The names of the three entrants were written on slips of papers, folded, and placed in a high-tech giveaway receptacle.

This highly qualified Domo was appointed to select a winner.

This tiny Domo ran around in circles to thoroughly mix the entries.

"Hey! You missed a spot!" 

Once thoroughly mixed,  our judge selected the winning entry.

Congratulations, Cee!

I'll be in touch with you via e-mail to make arrangements to send you your prize! Thank you to the other two entrants as well! Best of luck in my future giveaways!

China Glaze Hunger Games Comparison - Harvest Moon

As soon as I saw the first pictures of the China Glaze Hunger Games collection I knew I had to have Harvest Moon. I have a weakness for all coppery metallics, and despite having several lacquers that fall into that category, Harvest Moon found its way home with me. This is a comparison featuring a few of the closest colours I have to China Glaze Harvest Moon. These are the likely suspects:

Left to Right: China Glaze Cracked Medallion, China Glaze Harvest Moon, MAC Originality, China Glaze Foxy, OPI DS Glow, OPI Pros and Bronze. 

Obviously, Cracked Medallion can't really be too similar to Harvest Moon because it is a crackle polish, but in the bottle they are similar, so I added it in. China Glaze Foxy is also far more red on the nail, but in the bottle a lot of the bronzy shimmer was visible, so that came along as well. Here they are on the nail:

Left to Right (index finger through pinky): MAC Originality, China Glaze Harvest Moon, OPI DS Glow, OPI Pros and Bronze. The thumb is China Glaze Foxy. 

I thought MAC Originality would be closer to Harvest Moon, by the latter is darker and warmer, with a slightly orange caste to it. The other shades are all leaning towards a lighter bronze. OPI Glow has a mixture of larger particles in different shades of gold and bronze. It's probably the sparkliest of these. OPI Pros and Bronze is unique in this bunch for being quite pink, along with the light gold/bronze particles it contains. It is also the sheerest polish in this bunch.

And here is my Cracked Medallion fail; I applied it over still-wet polish which caused it to not really crackle much at all. It's a sparkly medium bronze, anyways.

Out of these shades, I'm a big fan of both MAC Originality (one of MAC's home-runs when it comes to lacquers- they are notorious for being hit and miss in the polish department), and OPI DS Glow. Glow is lovely, but also takes several coats to build up to it's best potential. China Glaze Harvest Moon is significantly different from both of those polishes, and certainly unique enough to warrant picking up. It also has an outstanding formula; it's easy to apply and opaque in two coats. It's also gorgeous: pigmented and eye-catching, an incredibly sparkly deep copper metallic. Beautiful!

Copper Domo approves of this copper comparison. Do you?

Obligatory St. Patrick's Day Manicure (a few days late)

Okay, so this is a little late, but I was having some trouble uploading pictures. I've got it solved now, though, so here we go...

I began with two coats of American Apparel Hunter; as the name suggests, this is a hunter green creme. It has the usual lovely American Apparel formula, and is really shiny. Definitely a good St. Patrick's Day green!

Then I added two coats of Dollish Polish Palm Fronds. I really, really, love how this turned out. I don't think I totally captured how magical this looks. Palm Fronds has various sizes and shades of vibrant green glitter (including awesome large square green glitter). Green Domo is helping to model this combo, as is only appropriate for St. Patrick's Day.

The green glitter really pops agains the dark green base. I got a tonne of compliments on this, and I'm really thrilled- I'll definitely be breaking this out again!

What do you think of my St. Patrick's Day combination?

Oh, and one more thing! I wanted to let you all know that I'll be doing a small giveaway soon. I recently hit 50 followers, and wanted to celebrate by sharing something cool I found today with my readers... I'll post about in it more detail soon. This giveaway will only be open to my existing followers at the time I officially announce it, as I wanted to thank my current readers. So, for the readers who don't follow me through GFC but in some other way, I wanted to give you the opportunity to sign up if you're interested, as that will be the medium through which I will keep track of eligible participants. I'm excited! I can't wait to share this with all of you.

A-England St. George (featuring more Space Guerrillas! Part 3)

Today I have A-England's St. George to share with you, and it's a knock out. I know I've raved about A-England's formula before, but I have to do it again. It's awesome. Just fantastic. And I think I'm prepared to take the step of calling it the BEST formula I have ever tried. It's thick and pigmented, self-leveling, easy to control... practically applies itself! I adore it. What you see below is two coats of St. George, but if I'd taken my time it could have been perfect in one.

The holographic effect isn't as pronounced in this lacquer as in others, but I like that. This is such a lovely teal with so much depth, I don't feel that it's lacking anything by not being blindingly holographic. Gorgeous.

Now, you might have noticed that I've been having issues with Space Guerrillas purloining my precious polishes as of late. And I really must say, they are eyeing A-England St. George in a rather surly fashion...

Uh-oh...

Okay, this schtick is getting a little old, guys. First my China Glaze, then my Dollish Polish, and now my A-England? Not cool!

If only someone could stop them...

Oh, valiant tiny Domos! You'll help me retrieve my lacquers, won't you?

Hmm. Well, they make up for what they lack in stature with bravery. It's very endearing. What will become of our valiant heroes? I have a feeling my next post might include the thrilling conclusion to our story.

Well, what did you think of A-England St. George? Do you love A-England's formula as much as I do? And more importantly, what do you think will become of those tiny Domos?

Dollish Polish - Valley of the Kings Collection

I'm thrilled to have received my first ever order from Dollish Polish, which represents my first foray into the "indie polish" phenomenon. I ordered the "Valley of the Kings" collection, in miniature form.

In the bottle they are ridiculously sparkly and vibrant- and they came very carefully packaged as well. No broken bottles here!

I'm not the only one excited for sparkly new lacquers- Domo is beside himself with excitement!

 "OMG, did you hear??"

"Look, it's Dollish Polish!"

The first colour I decided to try is "Bow to the Pharaoh". 

Dollish Polish Bow to the Pharaoh is a mixture of gold glitters, a bit of slate blue glitter, and some crazy reflective gold-holo glitter in a clear base. The overall effect is a very antique looking gold with added depth from the blue glitter and crazy sparkle from the holo glitter. I decided to layer Bow to the Pharaoh over China Glaze Fast Track, thinking the gold shimmer in Fast Track would work well with Bow to the Pharaoh. I think it does, and I'm pretty thrilled with the finished product! What you see below is two coats of Dollish Polish Bow to the Pharaoh over China Glaze Fast Track. 

In direct sunlight:

Blurred to show the amazing holographic sparkle this has:

Overall I'm very happy with this polish; it reminds me of antique gold with the added bonus of amazing holographic sparkle. Over the taupe and yellow-gold shimmery base of Fast Track, it has a cool sand-y look to it. The two play well together, but I think next time I'll try Bow to the Pharaoh over a darker creme base to see if it will "pop" even more. 

Maybe the best thing about this lacquer? It's totally Domo-approved. ;)

Domos love Dollish Polish!

What do you think of Dollish Polish Bow to the Pharaoh? Do you own any Dollish Polish? I can't wait to try the rest of these!

Edit: I forgot to mention that I purchased these through Dollish Polish's Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/DollishPolish

Click the following to see swatches of the other polishes in the Valley of the Kings collection:
Walk Like An Egyptian
Palm Fronds
Scarab