American Apparel Sheer Nail Polishes Review;

hi :) a few weeks ago, Crystal over at American Apparel kindly sent me three polishes from AA's Sheer Nail Polish collection for review. these polishes are named after California beaches and they're for a limited time only.


i received Redondo Beach, Pacific Beach, & Manhattan Beach.


here is the gradient i did using Manhattan Beach.


i decided to do white polka dots over my bare nails.. and i fell in love with it. isnt it just so ... cute yet fresh? oh, by the way, this is my instagram photo so the lighting & colors are really off. ooh, and yup. im on instagram, @kahtreenahh if you wanna follow :)


here is my gradient mani with Redondo Beach. this picture was taken a few days after i finished the mani .. thats why it looks like the back of my mani is lifting .. o__O


and lastly, my gradient mani with Pacific Beach; this one looks a bit sloppy cause i was in a rush ... but i loved the polka dots over my bare nails sooo much, i did it again :)

i loved these polishes; they're perfect for gradients and they're just adorable! you can check them out here on the American Apparel shop; remember, they're for a limited time only so get em while you can. and big thanks to Crystal for the polishes~

have a good one!,
<3KATRINA

Serum No 5 swatches;

let me first start off by saying ... swatching is hard work! i think its harder than doing free-handed nail art. hahaha :)

so after some difficulties (swatching, pictures getting deleted, reswatching), i am finally able to post up my second batch of swatches of the beautiful polishes made by Victoria of Serum No 5. her etsy shop made its official opening just recently, on Tuesday, July 24th. all the lacquers are 3 free and each month, Victoria plans on making a donation to the Make A Wish Foundation in an amount equal to 20% of the proceeds of all lacquers sold. awesome right? :) ok, time to show you the polishes~


Pretty in Pastel is described to be a "pastel glitter mix in a shimmering nude base." pastel pink, blue, and light green glitters in a shimmery-almost frosty-silverish base. very cute. 3 coats.


Mint to Be is described as "a light shimmering green base with micro silver and green glitter and silver hex glitters." you can hardly see the tiny, micro silver and green glitter that is in the base in my picture /sad face -- but its really pretty. there are bigger silver glitters that kind of get drowned out, but its a pretty polish. i wouldnt say the base was shimmering green but its pretty. 3 coats.


"Everything is Peachy Keen when you've got peach and gold in your life" -- and its true; though to me, the peach is so muted .. its almost a nude ... but its a beauty! theres tiny, beautiful iridescent glitters in the polish that didnt get picked up in the picture. 2 coats.


Friendly Tiffs is "a famous blue with micro diamond glitter and silver prisms." a frosty-ish tiffany blue base with tiny iridescent glitters and bigger silver glitters. not a big fan of frosty/shimmery polishes but this polish is cute. 2 coats.


Spring into Love is a pink and purple glitter polish with opal flakies in a pink frosty base. as i said before, im not a big fan of frosty/shimmery polishes ... but i looove this one! i wish you could see the flakies .. they're so pretty~ 2 coats.


"No need to dig for gold when you've got Girl's Gotta Eat, a polish filled with gold prism and platinum glitter with micro gold shimmer in a clear base." small gold glitters with bigger silver/platinum glitters and small holo glitters in a clear base ... so cute! 2 coats.


Shrinking Violet is "purple jelly with purple and blue glitter on your fingers." a lilac based polish with a tiny gold shimmer, small blue glitters, and bigger purple glitters ... let me just say .. i am in love with this polish! :D 2 coats.



my most favorite polish of the collection, White Paradox. White Paradox "is filled with white square, hex, bar, and diamond glitter with micro shimmer in a clear base." words cant even begin to describe how much i love this polish. yes, i could have layered this over a colored polish, but i love how beautiful it looks over my bare nails. the second picture was taken in the shade and it kind of shows the iridescent glitters in the clear base. 2 coats.


Black Paradox "is filled with black square, hex, bar, and diamond glitter with micro shimmer in a clear base." this is pretty much the same as White Paradox; one coat of BP on my middle finger, two coats on the rest. gosh, i love this one too~



Day Glow is "a lemony yellow by day, a brilliant glow by night." first picture was taken outside ... DG is just a bit more green than in the picture. second picture was taken in the dark, please ignore the horrible quality of the picture. the polish glows like crazy! even in a room that is just slightly dark, my nails were glowing~ love it :) 3 coats.


last but not least, i got this beauty as a little extra. this polish is still unnamed, but the current possible name for it is Thanks for the Memories :) ... and i love it! i love the current name as much as i love the polish! ugh! beautiful black and white glitters in a clear base with tiny irid glitters ... such a beauty! like, imagine if you add a little bit of White Paradox and a little bit of Black Paradox ... you'll get Thanks for the Memories :) 1 coat on my ring finger, 2 coats on the rest.

aren't those beautiful? :D alright, so Day Glow is currently being sold at the mini bottles of 6ml and the rest of the polishes, besides for Thanks for the Memories :), are being sold at both sizes of 6ml and 15ml bottles. i believe Day Glow is currently out of stock, but they should be restocked some time soon. be sure to check out the Serum No 5 on etsy shop, tumblr, and facebook. lastly, a big thanks to Victoria for sending me the polishes for review! :)

have a good one!,
<3KATRINA

giveaway winner & two month old mani;

hi~ :)

i am happy to announce that Kelly is the winner of the Verge 360 Hair Salon Sponsored Giveaway! thanks everyone for participating and once again, a big thank you to Verge 360 hair salons in Pittsburgh for sponsoring the giveaway.

here is a simple mani i did two months ago! o__O just now getting around to posting it ...





two coats of China Glaze’s Fast Track; the second picture is with flash so you can see the beautiful gold flecks.

k, have a good one!,
<3KATRINA

Verge 360 Hair Salon Sponsored Giveaway;

woo hoo! thats right! Verge 360 hair salons in Pittsburgh are sponsoring a giveaway for all of you ... AGAIN! :) they will be sending one winner a bottle of Myrta & Tracie from Zoya's Beach & Surf Summer 2012 Collection.

this giveaway is available to continental US residents only [no Hawaii or Alaska]. the giveaway will start today, Wednesday, August 1, and end Friday, August 10. the prize will be mailed to the winner from Verge 360 hair salons.

the rules:

there are only two requirements:
1] you must be following me - - whether it is through GFC, Bloglovin, Tumblr, or Facebook.
2] the winner will be chosen through random.org . the winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or else i will choose a new winner.

in ONE comment, please leave the following info:
- your name.
- what site [blogger/fb/tumblr] you follow me under & the name you follow me as.
- your email (so that i can contact you if you win).

if you would like, you can leave a comment as to why you love Zoya or why you would like to try Zoya. or any additional comments can be left if you would like.

dont forget to thank Verge 360 hair salons in Pittsburgh for sponsoring the giveaway; 'like' them on facebook ... and dont forget that im on facebook as well :)

good luck everyone!,
<3KATRINA