Brazilian Collection: My Picks

Hello Ladies,

Sorry it has been a while.  I’ve been spending a lot of time at the doctor and finally found out I have two herniated disks.  I am going in for steroids shots but know they won’t work more than a month so I am looking at back surgery.  Due to the great strides in medicine the surgery will probably on an out patient basis and recovery time will be quick.  I am not too worried about that I just want the whole thing fixed. 

So, when I first started blogging I was buying the whole line of nail polishes just to keep up with other bloggers who had the whole line of polish. There was one big difference.  I was paying for mine and they were not.  So, I decided I was just going to buy the polishes of a line that I liked.  So, I haven’t done a post like this in a long time so, it did feel good to just put these polishes on and see how pretty they are.  My friends tell me you mean you take it off right after you have done them.  I am like yeah.  I know I am going to wear it again it is better than some of the polishes that are just gorgeous but because they are not part of a collection I have not even swatched them.  It’s just like going to the clothing store and trying a dress and then not wearing it out of the store.  You take it off pay for it and hang it in the closet till you wear it.  This is the same thing.  So here are my picks from the OPI Brazilian Collection.

I did end up buying half the line and I did go ahead and buy the mini sandies.  I bought these on Beyond Polish I got a really good deal on them.  They sell other brands of polish and their shipping isn’t outrageous which will always make me leave a website when if you buy one bottle it is the same as five.  I hate that.

Don’t Bossa Nova Me Around.  I  love this polish.   It is opaque with a pink undertone.

This is Taupe-less Beach.   I know it looks a lot like Bossa Nova but they are definitely different.  This one definitely has brown undertones.  It really is nice and would look good on any skin tone.

I Sao Paulo Over There is definitely a taupe.  It is like the new and improved Don’t Mess With Jacques.

I also bought Kiss Me I Am Brazilian.  I bought it mainly because I love corals.

I had to get AmazON---AmazOFF it is a beautiful teal.  Anyone who doesn’t love this color has to be colorblind.

I also bought Next Stop…Bikini Zone.  It is a metallic taupe.   I really don’t think this picture does not do it justice it is much prettier and the formula is great for a metallic.  I might have a dupe for it but I will need to check and report later.

So, those are my pics.  I did not get the red or oranges because I just have so many and I wasn’t crazy about the brown one.  So, this is the first part of my picks.  My next post will be on the sand polishes from the Brazil Collection.

Ciao,

Patty

BTW: Vote on the Hall Pass

OPI Press Release

OPI Announces a NEW Line of

Sparkling Shades with Spotlight on Glitter

Glitter takes center stage with the launch of Spotlight on Glitter, a new collection of OPI’s best and brightest sparkling lacquers. The line showcases OPI’s most popular metallic and holographic lacquers in rainbow, gold, silver and pink iridescent confetti; these glitters may be worn alone or layered over any nail color for a dazzling effect.

“Glitter isn’t just for wearing on New Year’s Eve! Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean you can’t still wear sparkle,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Co-Founder & Executive VP. “Try creating an ombré effect or accent nails by adding a layer of sparkle for a fun night on the town.”

Spotlight on Glitter by OPI includes the following:

You Pink Too Much

I’m obsessed with this rosy glitter set in a shimmery base.

Desperately Seeking Sequins

This prismatic glitter on a backdrop of shimmer is just what you’re looking for.

Rose of Light

A million points of light radiate from this rosy gold and rainbow sparkle.

I Reached My Gold!

The cache of gold confetti in this clear rainbow glitter is all yours!

Chasing Rainbows

Your pursuit of gorgeous has won you this rainbow with pot-of-gold highlights.

Blush Hour

Sorry, gotta blush… this super dense fuchsia glitter is way too charming.

These can be used with Glitter Off — a new, peel-able base coat that allows for quick and easy removal when applied beneath any glitter shade. To remove, use a cuticle stick to gently push and peel the glitter lacquer off the nail. No nail polish remover is necessary for this final step.

Spotlight on Glitter by OPI nail lacquers feature OPI’s exclusive ProWideTM Brush for the ultimate in application. These six glitter shades and Glitter Off will be available March 2014 at Professional salons and spas across Canada for $10.95 suggested retail for each nail lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

OPI Launches NEW Color Tinted Top Coats

“A touch of color can change everything!”

~

This spring OPI takes nail color to the next level with revolutionary Sheer Tints; the brand’s first-ever, pigmented top coats. Sheer Tints by OPI offers a fresh take on traditional top coats with the introduction of 4 new vivid hues in Blue, Pink, Yellow and Purple. An infusion of transparent color with high shine, these top coats can be worn alone, with a base coat for a playful sheer or layered over any shade to create an alternate finish for a progressive nail look.

“Nail color is all about self-expression; apply Sheer Tints over your favorite OPI Nail Lacquer to achieve your dream shade, accent glitters and darks or transform crèmes and shimmers,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Co-Founder & Executive VP. “Make a statement by creating an ombre design that is on-trend then add several coats to create dimension.”

Sheer Tints by OPI includes the following hues:

I’m Never Amberrassed

Liquid amber morphs into a veneer of yellow tint that is anything but bashful.

Be Magentale with Me

Give your nails the sweet treatment with this sheer pink tint.

Don’t Violet Me Down

You can count on this crystal sheer amethyst.

I Can Teal You Like Me

It’s obvious you’re head over teal in love with this sheer blue.

 Sheer Tints features OPI’s exclusive ProWideTM Brush for the ultimate in application. Sheer Tints will be available March 2014, at Professional Salons and Spas for $10.95 CAN suggested retail.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Muppet's Most Wanted

If there was one movie I did not mind taking my little sisters to see it was the Muppets.  Then,,my children.  Hopefully, I will have grandchildren I can take.  So, this summer a new Muppet movie is coming out and OPI has the shades to wear to go see the movie

Show-Stopping Shades!

~

OPI Celebrates the Muppets with Limited Edition Nail Lacquers

Inspired by Disney’s New Film Muppets Most Wanted

OPI announces the launch of eight new limited edition nail lacquers inspired by Disney’s Muppets Most Wanted. With an all-star cast including Kermit the Frog, Constantine, Ricky Gervais, Miss Piggy, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey and the whole Muppet gang, this family comedy is directed by James Bobin and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller. Muppets Most Wanted opens in theaters on March 21, 2014.

“The Muppets are a fun-loving, colorful cast of characters. These eight new nail lacquers were inspired by their latest adventures in Disney’s Muppets Most Wanted, which include a glamorous international stage tour – and lots of surprises,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Co-Founder & Executive VP. “Fashionable Miss Piggy is represented through soft pink, peach and pearlescent hues, as well as a frosty sapphire blue – Miss Piggy’s Big Number – to match her fabulous tour gown. The remaining four shades highlight the film’s unexpected elements and include a color-shifting mauve and three sparkle-packed lacquers – including my personal favorite Gaining Mole-mentum, a gold and rose chunky shredded glitter.”

Muppets Most Wanted by OPI includes the following shades:

Muppets World Tour

This white quartz with colorful sparkle is a global sensation.

Miss Piggy’s Big Number

Stand back… Miss Piggy’s on sapphire!

I Love Applause

This sheer, sweet pink deserves a standing ovation.

Let’s Do Anything We Want!

There’s no holding back this rose gold glitter with white confetti.

Kermit Me to Speak

Listen up… I’ve got lots to say about this rosy mauve.

Gaining Mole-mentum

Make your beauty mark with this shredded gold and chunky pink glitter.

Int’l Crime Caper

To miss this opalescent pearl would be the crime of the century.

Chillin’ Like a Villain

My evil plan… to get away with this precious, sheer nude.

Muppets Most Wanted by OPI nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWideTM Brush for the ultimate in application. Muppets Most Wanted will be available March 2014, at professional salons and spas for $10.95 CAN suggested retail each.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope everyone has great plans for this evening.  Writing this post I got to thinking who is St. Valentine and why is it today that we celebrate a day that also marks a day in American history where a literal massacre occurred under the command of Al Capone in Chicago.  I didn’t think there was much we could do about the massacre happening that day since it was planned that way by Capone but I was curious to find out who St. Valentine was.  So, I did a little research and found that there are many St. Valentines so the Roman Catholic Church just designated this day to celebrate all of them.  They picked this day because the first St. Valentine died in Rome in the Middle Ages.  So, they talk about some other ones but there was one who secretly married couples so husbands would not have to go to war.  There were many not a lot of them had anything to do with love and romance.  So, it must be true this is a holiday created by the floral, chocolate and greeting card industries.  Anyway, it comes around every year and I think we as women put a lot more stock into it than men.  Oh, I just think of all the catastrophes and candy coated stories I have heard of through the years from girlfriends and some guys.  But I think for us who are in fashion it is kind of of a time where it starts to be okay to pull out those fuchsia dresses and start making that transition into spring.  So, I have two different manicures.  I know which one I am going to wear but you guess. 

 

Here is the first one.  I kind of call this the sophisticated lady.  I used Pseudo Silk Kimono and Red Boxer Shorts from Deborah Lippmann.  Both are that soft matte finish which is really pretty but in white really streaky.  I had to use three coats of the white.    You can really dress this up with some rhinestones but I like it plain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next one is the cool chick manicure.  I do like it because it is kind of a yin yang creation.   I don’t know if Christy from KB Shimmer was thinking about this when she created it but it has pink hearts and black ones.   I feel the black ones represent lost love.  Sometimes I think we need to remember our lost loves.  I don’t know if any of you have loves that have died but I have and that is who I think about.  The pink ones representing todays love because without the lost loves in our lives we would not have todays loves.  Getting mushy.  Ok, manicure.  U Rock My Heart Glitter polish from KB Shimmer and OPI’s Emotions (total coincidence but makes this manicure even more emotional) on accent and thumb. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So can you guess which one I wore.  That’s right the second one.  It just brought out so much emotion.  You can purchase KB Shimmer Polish at their website.  I think this one might be around for a while but never know.  So, if you want a bottle check out their website.

 

Ciao,

Patty

Health Info For Women

Some who read the blog somewhat regularly know I share quite a bit of things regarding health issues.  I was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia but due to a medication I cannot stop taking I cannot take most of the medications prescribed for it.  I can take a medication called Lyrica but have taken it before and I gained 25 lbs.  Won't take it again.  Then I got diagnosed with hip bursitis and have finally gotten some relief from steroid injections.  The right side hurt really bad and after about five days a new problem reared it's little head.  A pain in the butt.  Literally.  It is a shooting pain that starts at the top of the gluteus muscle that muscle on top of your butt and runs down the leg.  Imagine a rubber band being stretched to capacity.  That is what it feels like.  So what is going on is that the muscle that protects the sciatic nerve is pinching it.  The muscle is called the Piriformis muscle.  I've had problems before and have just opted to go for another steroid shot.  This one is going to really hurt but when I think of the relief I might get.  It is worth it.  Why am I sharing this?  I am sharing because it is a condition that strikes women more than men and if you feel something isn't right make the time to see your doctor.  I have had this going on for years off and on.  The thing is it affects women who smoke more often.  I quit smoking eight years ago and haven't had major problems till now.  I made so many excuses when I was younger all things that and now that I am older they are pretty serious.  I had great insurance but I made excuses.  Don't do it.  It is just better to see a doctor than diagnose yourself and with the internet we tend to use it as our doctor.  Just remember it is a resource not the cure.  Wish me luck on Wednesday because they are going to need a really long needle to get to where they are going.

Ciao,
Patty 

Girly Bits

A couple of posts ago I said I would write a review on  Girly Bits Dick in a Box.  So, here it is.  I also said I was going to revamp my blog a little with more nail art and recycles.  I have so many pictures that I forgot this is one of the first recycles.  So, I am excited to show you this because it is something I do all the time I just don’t always photograph both.  I haven’t been painting my nails as often due mainly to a really bad sleep cycle that I am going to need to go see a sleep specialist for.  So, I have relied more on recycles.

So, here is Girly Bits Dick in a Box.  Ok, just the name is enough to catch your eye.  Why the name?  Well according to the description it is based on Saturday Night Live.  It was also the most popular polish of the company for 2013 and I agree.  I loved this polish.  The holo that looks like a greenish-grey.  It is just gorgeous.  I got mine at Llarowe but if you are in Canada you can get it right from their website.  I had to wait for this one because it was so popular so if you like it put yourself on some type of waiting list.  That is how I got mine.  There were no problems with this formula.  It was perfect in one coat but of course I used two and a topcoat of seche vite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Recycle

For the recycle I used a Winstonia stamping plate (I don’t know what plate but I know it is from the Wintonia 2nd generation collection.  It really doesn’t matter because you can use abstract image you want)  I stamped with Konad Black and used Sephora Explosives on the middle finger and thumb.  Then I wore this a couple of days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a good recycle because of the length of time I was actually able to wear it.  I love painting my nails but right now with so many health problems I do find myself relying more on recycles.

 

Ciao,

Patty

Infinity Pro Curl Secret: The Low Down Truth

I recently purchased the Infinity Pro Curl Secret and the bottom line is that it is a wonderful product and I love it.  Little story.  When I was four years old I had thin hair just be low my shoulder.  My cousin and I were to be flower girls at my aunt's wedding.  My cousin had long easy to curl hair.  Me, I was born bald did get hair till I was around two.  Make a long story short she came out with beautiful ringlet curls while my aunts yanked and pulled my hair trying to make something out of it.  That incident was immortalized by a 12X18 portrait of my cousin in my grandmother's living room in her flower girl dress and all that hair.  The point of this story is that I  too can get ringlet curls easily now.  And my cousin can spend an hour getting hers where mine only takes 15 minutes.  Ha ha!  Christy!  I always felt so inferior seeing that picture which later in life was replaced with her in her wedding gown but we were no longer children and I really felt bad when she said she wished she had hair like mine.  I remember her actually ironing her hair with an iron to get straight hair.  I know straightening iron but we are talking 1990.   I don’t know who invented the straightening iron but you have to admit it is a great tool.  I use even with straight hair just for the shine it gives.  They are great. 

Now, this product is definitely not for everyone.  I feel it is specifically for people with thin hair.  I tired it on my niece who has long beautiful straight hair but the circumference of her pony tail is probably 2 1/2".  Mine is about an inch which is thin.  So, it took almost an hour to do all her hair.  She was really frustrated but it proved my point that this product works best on thin hair.  Some might say this is not fair.  But not every beauty product can be sold to the masses. Like I have tiny eyelashes and if I want long lashes I do need falsies.  If you have ever seen TiffanyD of YouTube fame, you notice she has the longest lashes and doesn’t need anything more than mascara and her eyes just pop.  There are all types of makeup even from the same line, why?  Because some of us have oily skin, some combination, dry, some acne prone etc…So not all beauty products are for everyone and this just happens to be one of those.  Now I have heard of one called Baby Bliss which is sold at Sally’s and is the industrial version of this.  I thought this was pretty high tech but this Baby Bliss can actually curl your hair in different directions, which apparently is appealing to some.  To me,  I am just happy to get a curl.  It does last all day with hair spray and stays till the next day which is nice because then you can do a high flirty ponytail or a messy side braid.  

 

Here is the box and the apparatus.  It is not heavy which I really like.  It does have three settings a 12 second setting, an 10 and 8 and all those settings can be high or low.  It doesn’t make sense to me  I just usually use 10 high.

 

I just finished drying my hair.  I usually let it air dry for about 30 minutes and then two minutes with the hair dryer and it is done.  I did not use any type of product on my hair other that just a wash and condition.  I have never been one to use anything else.  Dressing up usually means I will use some type of hair decoration because my hair did not hold a curl and if it did I would have to spend at least an hour doing it and then it was overdone.  So,  I always have stuck to adorning my hair for dressy situations.

 

 

This is a 10 second high curl.  I don’t think I would ever wear my hair this curly unless it was much longer.  I am going to let it grow only two more inches and that is it.  My hair used to be about three inches above my butt.  My husband wants it longer but it is just too hard to color and style.  So the compromise was two inches.  I loved my bob and at the time I had it it was necessary but I know I won’t be able to have long hair in some years so I want to have it as long as I can.

 

 

This was the look I wanted a tussled wave.  This is my second time I used the curler and I did start in the back.  I always tackle the hardest things first so at the end I only have easy things to do and I know I will finish.  It could look a little neater but this is just a demo.

 

This is a tighter curl.  What I do when I curl and my curls are too tight,  I just steam up the bathroom and get out before it takes all my hair down then I quickly spray.  I still like Sebastian Shaper.  I know there might be newer products on the market that work better but I have used it for years.  I have a bottle that is around five years old.  That is how often I use hair spray. 

These are somewhat looser but still a curl I could never achieve with a curling iron. This was the curl I wore the day I used it.

Here are some more.

 

 

Here are some pretty tight ones.  I did run my fingers through it.  I really did not plan on using this picture but I think you can kind of tell that these curls are tighter.

 

So, that is my review.  Some people hate it some love it.  I will say one thing it is pretty hearty.  I dropped mine in the toilet and quickly got it out and thought for sure it would not work because of the turning barrel.  The first time I used it after that I could her the sound of some water so.  I just gave it some more time and dried it with my hair dryer and it has been working just fine.  I just don’t use it in the bathroom.   I hope this helps if you have been thinking about buying one of these.  I got mine at Ulta for $79.99.  It retails for $99.99 but I used a 20% off coupon.  They are sold at other places such as Wal-Mart, Target, and I think Sally’s but I have never seen them on sale at Wal-Mart or Target.   So, wait for that 20% off at Ulta.  I think they have a coupon out right now.  I hope this helps and if you have any questions leave them in the comments or email me directly.

 

Ciao,

Patty