NOTD: Sally Hansen "Barracuda"

Today's notd is for Sally Hansen's "Barracuda." I believe this polish was originally released either last year or the year before. It disappeared before I was able to get my hands on it. But when spring 2013 came around I noticed it reappearing in Targets and Ultas and decided to snatch it up.

"Barracuda" is a creamy baby blue, a very basic color.

Polish Comparison: Collective Mint Polishes

Mint nail polishes are one of my weaknesses. When Butter London's "Fiver" was released, I told myself that 6 mint polishes were enough. I did not need a 7th mint polish that retailed for $16. However, I splurged anyway. To make my addiction somewhat useful, I decided to do a collective comparison of all my mint polishes. No two are dupes for one another, though you may find that some are fairly close.
Enjoy!

NOTD: Girl On Fire Nails (The Hunger Games Inspired)

I'm very anxious for the release of Catching Fire and on a whim decided to do a Hunger Games inspired manicure. This look is inspired by how Katniss's nails supposedly resembled burning flames and is very, very simple. I've seen some crazy flame nail art out there, but that's far too advanced for me. So, instead, I just did a simple glittered tip that, in itself, resembles the look of rising flames.

NOTD: Essie "In the Cab-ana"

Today's notd is for Essie's "In the Cab-ana" a polish I had to search long and hard for. It's a beautiful medium sky blue with a nice cream formula.

NOTD: China Glaze "Peachy Keen"

Today's notd is for an older China Glaze polish "Peachy Keen." Peaches are one of my favorite colors to wear for spring. It's the color that's most hard for me to resist from new collection.

NOTD: Essie "Tart Deco"

I think this is the longest I've gone without an update.
Sorry about that! Been really busy yesterday.

But today I have a notd for you. Essie's "Tart Deco" is an old favorite of mine. It's a creamy coral with strong orange and pink tones.

Polish Comparison: OPI "Tickle My France-y," Essie "Lady Like," China Glaze "Dress Me Up"

Though I promised a comparison with Zoya's "Neely" with other mint polishes, I seem to not be able to find my Essie's "Absolutely Shore" (the one polish that I really want to compare it to), so I'll have to put that off for now.

Instead, I have another comparison you with a selection of mauve polishes: OPI's "Tickle My France-y," Essie's "Lady Like," and China Glaze's "Dress Me Up."

NOTD: Zoya "Neely"

Today's notd is for Zoya's "Neely" a light pale green with a slight hint of grey. It's slightly too grey to be mint, yet far lighter and brighter than your standard military green.

NOTD: Butter London "Macbeth"

Today's notd is for Butter London's "Macbeth," a bright red polish with a pink undertone. In the bottle, it seems like a rather ordinary polish, but on the nails its beautiful.

NOTD: Essie "Turquoise and Caicos"

Today's notd is a tried and true Essie polish, "Turquoise and Caicos." "Turquoise and Caicos" is, as it's name suggest, a turquoise color. The finish neither a true cream finish nor a true jelly finish but a mix of the two. I really enjoy this type of finish on a summer polish. It has a lighter weight look without being too sheer.

Polish Comparison: Butter London "Trout Pout" vs. Essie "Cute As a Button"

I haven't done any polish comparisons for quite a while. But I find them quite useful so I'm going to do one today between two colors that I have been rumored to be dupes, Butter London's "Trout Pout" and Essie's "Cute As a Button."

NOTD: Essie "Cute As a Button"

Today's notd is a nice bright polish for spring and summer. Essie's "Cute As a Button" is a bright pink-coral polish. I've had this polish for a couple years. It's never been my favorite, but is one I like to wear occasionally.

When Butter London's "Trout Pout" was released last spring, I was surprised by the amount of people who claimed Essie's "Cute As a Button" was a dupe. They definitely are not. "Cute As a Button" certainly photographs similarly. The camera has a way of subduing its strong pink tones, but in real life it is much much pinker than "Trout Pout."

NOTD: Essie "Sand Tropez" + Revlon "Heavenly"

I was in the mood for a glitter manicure, but something more subtle and wearable. I think I found the right balance with Essie's "Sand Tropez" and Revlon's "Heavenly."

NOTD: Essie "Power Clutch"

April showers bring May flowers. And as such, it's a rainy day here in Northern California.
It's no secret I like to pair my polishes appropriately with the weather and picked Essie's "Power Clutch" as today's rainy notd.

"Power Clutch" is a grey cream with a hint of green. The green is hard to see in the photos below, but trust me, it's there. The color itself is still predominantly a charcoal grey, but the little bit of green just makes it more unique. If I can find a more pure grey to compare it to I will make a post and link.

NOTD: Essie "Nice Is Nice"

Today's notd is for an older polish in my collection, Essie's "Nice Is Nice." This color is a pretty pastel lavender that is perfect for spring. I bought this around the same time as Essie's "Lilacism." Unfortunately, my bottle of "Lilacism" morphed into a blue rather than a lilac so I don't have the two to compare. But from what I remember "Nice is Nice" has more pink tones and "Lilacism" is a cooler-toned lilac with hints of blue.

NOTD: Blue Ombre Nails

When ombre nails became a trend (last spring?), like most trends (shatter, matte, those weird outlined ones, even the simple, yet very popular, "accent" fingers), I didn't really go for it. I like my crazy brights and I enjoy doing special manicures for holidays, but on a day-to-day basis I'm very traditional with my manicures. However, when I couldn't decide which blue to wear, I thought it'd be a chance to go out of my comfort zone and do something more fun.

NOTD: Lucky Nails for St. Patty's Day

Today's notd is another manicure targeted towards St. Patrick's Day with a short how-to at the end.

I knew about a month ago that I wanted to do a manicure involving a four-leaf clover and decided to go with an incredibly basic look. If you want to make it more festive you can combine this manicure with the Green Gradient manicure I did earlier this week, or maybe do an ombre manicure (that's what I did last year).

Either way, I hope you enjoy this manicure and that the how-to is instructive and useful!

NOTD: Green Gradient Nails for St. Patty's Day

In today's nail post, I will tell the story of my messy, nearly-failed attempt at doing gradient nails. I went with a basic white to green gradient in the spirit of Saint Patty's Day. Enjoy!

There are many ways to achieve gradient nails, most methods you can find on youtube. I watched several of these youtube videos (long ago, so I can't remember which ones exactly) and just did what I felt would work best.

NOTD: Essie "Da Bush" + OPI "Pirouette My Whistle"

Today's notd is a combination that I felt like trying for a while. It combines Essie's "Da Bush," a grey-toned military green, and a silver glitter in a clear base, OPI's "Pirouette My Whistle."

NOTD: Essie "Mojito Madness"

I have been sick this past week and wanted to paint something on my nails that would be bright and cheerful. I picked Essie's "Mojito Madness," a bright kelly green. It's the only "true" green I own (the rest being either mint greens, seafoam greens, blue-ish greens, grey-ish military greens, or darker emerald greens).

(Essie "Mojito Madness")