30 March 2010

Quick Reminder & Other Blog Giveaways

Hey everyone!

There's been a little confusion with the contest that I wanted to quickly clear up. It's not just a giveaway, and so to enter you must complete all of the guidelines listed on this post: CLICK HERE! 

Remember, a makeup look, manicure,or any other type of artistic expression based on the photo given here must be submitted as your entry.

I hope this clears up any confusion! If there are any more questions, please email me at glamgeekchic@gmail.com! I will respond quickly and try to straighten out any confusion!


I've acquired some new followers and we now sit at 25! Welcome and thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the blog! :)


Also, I wanted to give everyone a heads up on Laura's Giveaway. She's celebrating 259+ followers, although now she's at 425!  She's giving away so much stuff that I'm just going to link it and you can take a look at it yourself! It's amazing! You don't want to miss out! So click here! 

Another giveaway going on right now is Dollface's 100 follower Giveaway! She's giving away some Zoya polish plus other great goodies! Check it out at her blog!  And definitely check out her YouTube channel and Etsy store!  She makes some adorable charms!!

And if you're not tired of entering giveaways, stop over here and enter Lauren's 100 follower giveaway! Fabulous prizes include ELF products, Lush, Topshop necklace...and more!!! Get over there, it ends on April 17th!

Hope you all have a great day!
Kayla

What is that?!

Well hello, gorgeous!

Sorry, that was a "Funny Girl" moment. Great movie, if you love musicals. Check it out.

I've spent the last hour or so doing my nails, only to have it not turn out. Eh, you can be the judge.



It was supposed to be some funky leopard spots. It looks like blobs of color randomly placed on my nails. I've decided that it's terrible because I used my dotting tool instead of a toothpick to make the spots. Last time I achieved fantastic leopard print nails using a toothpick, so in the future it will be my tool of choice.

If you were wondering here's the lineup for the look:
Orly Ridgefiller, Color Club Wild Child, OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, Color Club Ultraviolet, and Poshe Top Coat.

Look at the beautiful flash in Ultraviolet. You have to own that polish. It's beyond gorgeous!


Before I end this post I want to say Welcome & Thank You to my new followers! Also, I've started to receive entries for my contest! EXCITING! I like what I'm seeing! Keep them coming!

Oh, I have to show you something that I find hilarious. I was cleaning today because my desk was extremely cluttered! And decided to put everything nail related that was on my desk into one box. It was quite a bit of stuff. Here's my desk without anything on it:
Not much space, but somehow I managed to have all of this on it:
That's about 45 nail polishes, two bottles of remover, two fake nail sets, two packs of q-tips, four nail art tools/brushes, cuticle cream, thinner, silicone cupcake cups (used for mixing pigment and clear polish), and various nail files. Oh, and two nail polish wheels. Ridiculous. 

I don't know how it fit, considering there were about 5 water bottles on there too.I leave a lot of water bottles sitting around. If there's an alien invasion, I'll be prepared. Signs reference! I never understood that part of the movie. If the aliens were hurt by water, why would they come to a planet that is 75% water? Wouldn't the humidity hurt them as well? Ugh. Movies that don't make sense are irritating. 

Well I have to finish folding laundry and then get to bed! Good Night, or Good Morning! Depends on when you read this! :P
Kayla

29 March 2010

Wet Cement & Camera Replacement in Sight

Gray nail polish. A year ago I would have said Eww! Never in my wildest dreams would I think it would look good on nails.

Suddenly, I've been hit with an insane obsession with it. So gorgeous! Especially the Nubar Fortress collection! I would die for that collection. Gray overload, but in a good way!

Of course, when I was taking a look through the polish at Walgreen's, trying to avoid this really creepy guy who was causing trouble in the store (tried to steal mouthwash of all things, and then argued continuously with the manager before he was sent on his way, well he more like grunted angrily), I stumbled upon Sally Hansen Wet Cement.

Almost fainted in the store. There it was, a gray nail polish, waiting for me to buy it. I'm not sure if I've grabbed a nail polish faster. And, to end the story quickly: I am the proud new owner of a gray polish! :)

Let's look at some pictures, shall we?
Indoors--Flash

Indoors--No flash

I think this is truest to color IRL. (Indoors--Flash)

I had one problem with this polish.  It smells awful.  Like 10 sharpies mixed with lead paint in a poorly ventilated room. I almost died. 

But since it applied well and looked tres chic, I overcame the smell and rocked my gray nails for at least 2 days. I must add more grays to my collection!

For the past two days I've worked in the Electronics department at work. We've started to get the newest models of cameras in so what did we do when we weren't answering questions? Played with the new toys! Well, most of them didn't have the cable hook ups and weren't working but we still looked them over. And I found several new loves of my life. There's a new Sony that's screaming my name. It's red though. I don't care much for red. Overrated. 

And yet, I know I will most likely own this camera. Once we get the cable to hook it up, I am going to test it's ability to take nail pictures. (Haha. I just had a mental image of me taking pictures of my nails as people are trying to ask me questions.) Hilarious. If it takes nice pictures, like I know it will, I'm saving up and it's gonna be mine. 

I totally just found more color options online! Score! I love the internet.

Okay ladies, I have some questions:

1. What do you think of the gray nail polish look? 

2. What color nail polish are you just absolutely obsessed with?

3. What kind of camera do you use to take your nail pictures?

Alright time for bed! Thanks for reading! You're amazing! 

Don't forget to check out my contest!
Kayla

26 March 2010

Need a little inspiration? *CONTEST*

This Contest Has Ended!

Hey Ladies!

It's about time I posted this contest! Now remember, this is set up so I can get to know you a little bit. However, it's definitely not the usual 'get to know you' routine. There's no personal questions or give me one word to describe you type of thing. Instead, I want to know how your mind works. Through inspiration.

What?!?

Yeah, let me explain how it's gonna work.

PLEASE READ THE RULES CAREFULLY!!

I'm going to provide you with a picture that you must use as inspiration for a manicure, makeup look, or whatever. What you do is up to you, but you must explain how the photo inspired you to create your manicure/makeup/etc. Anything goes!(The picture is below the rules!)

Entries will be ‘judged’ on inspiration to look execution but not necessarily artistic ability. If you’re not a pro, don’t worry! I’m not a pro either! It’s about where your mind goes when you look at something and how you translate that artistically. Remember, other forms of artistic expression will be accepted! If that’s what you feel inspired to do, go for it! But remember to explain it!




After all the entries are in, I will consult my panel (i.e. my bff Abby, and random family/friends) and we will determine the top five. Again, I want to stress that it's not about artistic ability! Though I'm pretty sure you will all do amazing things! There's talent in this group! Once the top five have been picked, I will post them--with their inspiration explanation--and all of you will vote for the winner and a runner up!


That's right. Two winners. Two sets of prizes.


Before I show you them, here's a rule recap:
1. I would like everyone to be a follower, simply because it's a part of my 'get to know my followers' kick off. International followers can participate!

2. You must use the picture provided. (Below) This is because it's cool to see everyone's take on the same thing! And it's kind of a fun twist...at least I think so. :)

3. Please send entries to glamgeekchic@gmail.com by April 22, 2010 @ 12am CST

4. Please submit only one entry. I want to see how the photo speaks to you initially, not after three or four attempts. ;) *EDIT* You can submit more than one entry if each entry is a different from of artistic expression. (For example: one makeup look and one nail art OR one drawing and one makeup look, etc.)

5. Have fun with it!!!!!!!

Now for the photo. I did a random web search and picked one that I thought was really interesting and I think you guys can go crazy and come up with some fabulous ideas!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/yale_studio/3836678515/


I'm sure you've been patiently waiting to find out the prizes, that or you've scrolled down just to see them before looking at anything else. (Sidenote: The prize sets will probably get added to before the deadline, I'll keep you posted.)

1st place will win this set:

Orly Gumdrop, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Milani Hi-res (holo!), Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss in Fancy Nancy, Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeshadow Quad in Copper Chic, a lipstick case, and three Lindt's chocolate bunnies!

2nd place will recieve:

China Glaze Flying Dragon, Mary Kay Nourishine Lip Gloss in Gold Rush, Mary Kay Mini Mineral Eye Color Quad and two Lindt's Chocolate bunnies!


The Mary Kay quad colors are:

*All prizes are new, unopened & unused items!*

Before sending me an entry, please read the rules! Make sure you follow them correctly!  There have been too many incorrect entries, so please read the rules! Remember, it's a contest not a giveaway!

If you have any questions at all, leave a comment or email me! I will answer them quickly! Please make me aware of any confusion right away!

Feel free to spread the word about the contest, the more the merrier! You have permission to use any and all of the photos in this post to do so.

Have fun!!!!
Kayla

25 March 2010

Just some info..

Hey! Hope everyone's doing great! I just wanted to do a quick post to let you know what's coming up!

1. I've got some swatches to show you! Just need to edit pics!

2. Contest info should be up before the weekend! That is, if Abby ever emails me back (she's proofreading)! Everyone comment on how slow she is! ;) Just kidding?

3. I'm gonna review the top coat I've been trying and compare it to Seche Vite.

4. Another review, but for a lip gloss!

5. Flood update: Water is coming back up!!! Much faster this time, though it seems to be slowing down today. Hasn't reached our yard yet but it is expected to rise 2 ft higher than last week. Definitely will hit us if that's the case!

Sorry the posts have been sparse! I've been getting things organized! I set up a new email for the blog, jsut to have blog emails separate from everything else. It's glamgeekchic@gmail.com. Send me a random email sometime! Random is good! :) I'm trying to come up with more ways than just contests/giveaways to get you guys more involved! Brainstorming FTW!

Have an amazing day!!!

Kayla

22 March 2010

Getting Motivated

Can we all just forget my last post? I feel like I sounded whiny and pathetic. haha We'll move past it now. It's just a blur...or rather, it will be.


Anyways, I thought about it and what I need to get motivated is more interaction with my followers. Yes, that's right, lovelies I want to get to know you more! I think I need more of a connection and friendship with you guys! I hope you will agree to it! But I'm sure you will. Why? Because we're gonna kick it off with a giveaway!!!

Now, the details of the giveaway are still fuzzy so I won't be posting them quite yet, but get excited! It's not gonna be your average giveaway. In fact, it'll be more of a contest. I'm gonna work out all the details with my friend Abby and get back to you guys. 

Check back later in the week for more details.

Kayla

21 March 2010

Unmotivated

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was okay. I worked all weekend and that's about it!  Spring Break is officially over and I'm sad. Back to school tomorrow, oh joy!

Flood Update: The water slowly rose and ended up flooding the field across the street but our property stayed dry, er, not dry but free of river water. While I was at work today the water receded, but now there might be a second crest because of some ice jams melting/breaking up.  Not sure what to expect!


 So I am at a point where I've lost motivation. I just never know what to post. It's not lack of content...I mean I could swatch tons of polish. But is that all you want? When I started this blog I intended to post about different things and it quickly became just nail polish. Not that I mind it, but I wonder if that's what you all really want. So, tell me what you would like to see! Would you rather I stick to the polish or do you want me to branch out? Tell me what kind of stuff interests you!

We may be strangers, but you mean the world to me and I value your opinion! I want you all to have smiles on your faces after reading my blog!

Because everyone loves multiple choice:
A) NAIL POLISH!!!!
B) Nail polish and random stuff I find interesting
C) Whatever, I'll read it!
D) Shut up, Kayla! You're fabulous! (hehe ego boost?)
E) Puppies! Everyone loves puppies!

P.s. I've been trying out Poshe super-fast drying top coat for the past week or so. Love it! Much better than Seche Vite in my opinion.  Oh, and Rimmel polishes are 50% off at Walgreens!

17 March 2010

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hope you guys had a terrific day! Some of you better have gone and had some green beer! I didn't. I sandbagged all day. And that's all the fun I could handle. I did do a green manicure for the holiday though! It held up surprisingly well too! Here it is:

I used China Glaze Gussied Up Green as a base and then sponged on Orly Rage and Milani Hi-Tech.
I wanted to have the pot of gold/rainbow feel without actually painting on a pot of gold and a rainbow. I think this achieved it! Especially when the sun hit it just right!



Let me know what you guys think!


    March 17th is a special day for me, not only because it's St. Patrick's Day and I love Ireland, but because it's my grandpa's birthday. He passed away about 4 years ago and would have been 76 today. He was a great part of my life and watching him get sick was very hard for me. Seeing him in the hospital was something I could barely handle. I was his girl from the moment I was born. I'm so much like him it's crazy. He even passed down his migraines to me (although that's the one thing I wish he'd have kept!)! There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. I keep a photo of us at my high school graduation on my bedside table, the look on his face shows his love and how proud he was of me and that's how I've chosen to remember him.

The funny thing is, my grandma firmly believes he is haunting her house. Only because the basement door randomly opens. We (the grandkids) all laughed at this and while it would be his sense of humor, we think its just not latching/she's forgetting she has opened it. I do kind of like the thought that he's still hanging around, maybe listening to some oldies. Haha, that's a great memory: he would pick me and my brother up from school and we'd have to listen to the oldies and it would never fail that The Fifth Dimension's Up, Up and Away would come on. We would sing along, making fun of it as we went, but now I love the song because of the great memories. It also made me really want to buy the whole China Glaze Up and Away collection. 



Happy St. Patty's Day!
Kayla

14 March 2010

I have failed you.

I promised you swatches two days ago and still haven't delivered. I've worked all weekend and then Daylights Saving screwed up my sleeping and I napped after work today.

I have time tomorrow to start some swatching...I have a lot of stuff to show you!

Please forgive me and be patient, swatches are on the way.


Kayla

11 March 2010

'Witty Title'

Yeah, that's right. Best. Title. Ever.

Ok, I know. I'm lazy. The title sucks, but do you know what doesn't?

NOTD!!!!!! And packages in the mail!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurray!

Uh oh guys, this is gonna be a tough one. My camera's on the other side of my room....too lazy....must stay here.....ah *&$% it...

Phew. That was tough. But it was all in the name of love (for you, dear follower or reader, I guess you may be just as lazy and  haven't hit that follow button[hint: it's that way---->]). And that's it for the cheesy stuff; on to NOTD!

I finally tried some sponging! Yeah, I randomly discovered that my Mary Kay foundation samples come with decent sponges, and they work pretty well for sponging nail polish. I started with 3 coats of Maybelline's Minty (which isn't as minty as I would like) and then sponged on some OPI Done Out in Deco (PURPLE!!!).  It was okay, but it needed more. I decided to try adding China Glaze Spontaneous over that. Better, still not there though. Finally, I sponged a mix of Done Out in Deco and Spontaneous over that and was finally happy with the outcome. Take a look:


I tried my darnedest to bring you great pics but, its cold and rainy here. No sun. And we're probably gonna flood soon, like this:

That's me walking down the street to my grandma's house. I am on the road. I got water in my cute pink boots with whales on them.  :(  Now I have chest waders. I am so prepared:
Haha, wow. That's me pretending the overflowing culvert was a waterslide. That's what my cousin and I did, for four weeks. We walked around taking random pictures. Oh, we also took a boat over the road behind me (straight back, over the highway it's the one with water flowing over it). Didn't work so well. We did confuse my mom though. She didn't expect us to come through the backyard, considering we were supposed to be boating on the other side of the road. Did I mention we were rowing the boat? That resulted in many circles. And we got stuck on some trees.  That's how my mom discovered us. We were screaming and laughing so loud she heard us in the house, about 20-30 yards away. She couldn't see us in the trees though. The look on her face. Priceless.

Tomorrow starts Spring Break. I had a four week break last year because of the flood. Is it bad that I'm wishing for it again? The river is only 2.7ft away from flood stage. It could happen before the week is over. They say they won't call off school for so long again. We'll see!

When it floods, you can count on some great photos being posted. Oh, and if you want to see more from last year, tell me in the comments!

Wow, that veered off course quickly. I received my prize from the contest I won, today! I was very excited, if you read my post about winning, you'll know why.  I won two polishes, two sets of press on nails, a couple of nail files, and some q-tips for clean up! I'm gonna test out the polishes tomorrow, so expect pictures tomorrow night!

Lazy = long post? How does that work?

09 March 2010

You know what makes me happy?

  Followers and giveaways.

It made my day today when I saw that I had gained 2 followers in an hour! Seriously amazed me. I, of course, had to check these new followers out! Welcome, Laura and Muscialhouses! They have some great blogs, here and here. Go check them out!

Laura is even having a giveaway right now! She's giving away those amazing mood nail polishes from Claire's!
Definitely get in on that action, ladies. Click it!

And if you love Gosh polishes, or like me would seriously like to try them. Head over here to Maria's blog to enter to win these gorgeous polishes:



This next giveaway is amazing. Extremely generous. I mean look at what you can win. And this is all for one person:

Go check out Lyra's giveaway here!  This is one giveaway you don't want to miss out on!


Ok, so I think this would be enough procrastination for tonight....I should be studying right now. Abby, at least I wasn't painting my nails! haha She's gonna yell at me. I swear, best friends are worst than moms. ;)


P.s. Shall I have a giveaway soon? Hmm...

Old NOTDs

I was organizing my photos into an "archive" on my computer when I found two NOTD that I hadn't posted. Scratch that, one I have posted--but on a blog I had before this and then deleted and started this one; and the other I thought I had but then didn't. Unless I'm blind, but I looked back in my posts and didn't see it.

First up: I believe this was my first attempt at water marbling. I think I used China Glaze Spontaneous and Caribbean Blue. Turned out better than I thought it would! I was impressed, didn't smudge it at all!

 
My pinky is definitely the best. 
Next, we have China Glaze Lubu Heels.  It's like Ruby Pumps' goth sister. It's gorgeous.

 

For some reason, I took a picture of it under inside my hanging lamp. Gave it a cool effect.

 
Brings out the red glitter. 

Well, that's it. Now I can officially archive these! Yeah, I'm a dork.
Kayla

08 March 2010

Dupes? Uh, no. & tomorrow's NOTD

Lazy day today. I've sat around watching Alice (SyFy Original Miniseries) on DVD. It's a great modern day twist on the classic Alice in Wonderland. I love the ending...I'm a sucker for a good romantic happy ending. Check it out! They also did The Wizard of Oz a few years back, Tin Man. Another great one to check out! Anywho.......


This gave me time to do my purple comparison. I didn't find any dupes. But they sure are pretty, so here's the results.

Once I lined up the five polishes--two pairs to test for dupes and one thrown in for fun--I knew they weren't dupes. Could have sworn they were twins when they weren't side by side. ;)

1st pair: Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother and Sally Hansen Plum's the Word
Middle: China Glaze Spontaneous randomly thrown in (cause it's pretty)
2nd pair: OPI Done Out in Deco and China Glaze Light as Air
Edit: Ugh terrible lighting. Sorry!

Do I even need to show you the results? Yup.

 
Same order as previous pic from thumb to pinky.
Two coats on every one but the pinky (which is three) because I needed to get rid of the Matte Magic. All lovely. All unique.

And here they are matte:


 

Simply divine. A matte purple makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. 


This look I just finished about an hour ago and it was a complete accident. I was trying to make a diagonal line across my nail and my tape moved (grr) so I took my art brush and swished it across my nail with anger. Anger quickly turned to, "Oh hey, that looks pretty cool". Et voila: 
 
This is Wet n' Wild Nocturnal over Orly Rage. Topped off with Matte Magic.
I was extremely frustrated with my camera. I wanted a super close up shot of this. This was as close as I could get it without it being blurry.  That brings me to the question of the day: What camera do you use to capture your nail art in full detail? 

Another thing that hinders great picture taking?

 
Yes, I have a hot pink wall in my room. And depending on the time of day, the whole room is tinted pink. 
Doesn't help that my curtains are also pink. That may need to change. 

I need a light box. 

Maybe I'll DIY it. Oh, who am I kidding?

New simple layout. Yay or nay? I'm experimenting with Photoshop again. Layout may change again. Or just the header.


Completely unrelated note:
Remember my Chuck post?  And how I said I would run away with John Casey? Well, next week's preview has him looking like a bad guy. If this turns out true, my heart is broken. Why, Casey? Why????

Kayla

07 March 2010

PURPLE!

Hello Gorgeous!

How are you doing? Fabulous! Faithful reader, I have no pictures for you today. It was a busy day. I had my kick off party for becoming a Mary Kay consultant. Yep, I'm selling Mary Kay. If you haven't tried their products before, definitely check them out. It will surprise you. Small factoid: Mary Kay has been number one in skincare and cosmetics for the last 15 years!

I did paint my nails today, using the lovely Light as Air from China Glaze. I did a sloppy job and therefore took no pictures. I have discovered that my favorite nail polishes to wear are purples. Whether the color is soft or vibrant, matte or shimmer, blurple or muddy in color, I can't get enough purple! My faves? Done Out in Deco from OPI and Call Your Mother from Sephora by OPI. Fine, I'll give you a pic of the bottles. Only because I know I'd be dying to see them if the role was reversed...



 
A gorgeous muddy purple and a soft lilac. Can't go wrong with these. 
Thinking about my purple collections, I've realized I may have some dupes for these two. Keep an eye out for some purple comparisons.

Kayla

05 March 2010

Check out this great contest!

Hey Glam Geeks!

Just wanted to let you guys know about a great contest going on right now! Diana over at Painted Lady Fingers has joined forces with Kathleen from OC Nail Art to give one lucky lady all eight of the newest konad plates!! Go check it out! These plates are amazing! They have some really adorable designs. But be warned, I'm gunning for this prize. It's on ladies, like donkey kong. Bring it. :)


Have a fabulous weekend!

Kayla

Absolutely Mad for Alice in Wonderland

Who's excited for Alice in Wonderland? Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter haven't failed me yet!
 
Ooooh it looks so good!
In honor of its opening day, I rounded up my OPI Alice in Wonderland glitter polishes and now my nails sparkle with the glory of Absolutely Alice and Mad as a Hatter.


Indirect Sunlight
That's Absolutely Alice over Suzi Says Feng Shui on all but my ring finger. And as you can tell my ring finger has gone Mad as a Hatter over Rimmel's Black Satin.

 
Oh the shine. (Indoors. Not sunlight. :P)

 
I just had to take a picture of my mani with my Alice in Wonderland/Into the Looking Glass book!
Hope you enjoyed!

Kayla

It's a secret!

Hey!
Just a quick post to tell everyone that Trade Secret has OPI on sale: Buy one, get one half off! And if the Trade Secret near you has as big of a selection as mine did...you'll be there for ages deciding what to get.

I dove head first into the new Hong Kong collection and got Jade is the New Black and Suzi Says Feng Shui.

I also discovered that they sell Essie! The only place in town that I've found so far! Since Essie wasn't on sale I didn't grab any. Next time? Perhaps.

So here are my recent purchases:



 Orly: Rage and Gumdrop.

 OPI: Suzi Says Feng Shui and Jade is the New Black

 China Glaze: Light as Air



And here's Rage on my nails:



 
Matte Magic on the thumb to see how it looked. Meh.

Kayla

04 March 2010

Lazy

Bonjour Ladies!

I've been lazy. Real lazy. This post should have been up at least 3 days ago. I just never felt like editing the photos. Blah. But it's here now! Yay!

I grabbed a couple polishes that were on sale at Sally's yesterday: Orly's Gumdrop and Rage and China Glaze Light as Air. I don't have swatches yet. I'm wearing Rage but it was a terrible manicure application so I won't post pictures. Rest assured I will be posting pics at some point in time.

I want to say thanks for all the great top coat suggestions! I've got some thinking to do. Seche Vite's looking pretty low right now....

I do have a NOTD to show you. It's Sinful's Let's Talk with Matte Magic over it. It became very blurple (blue purple) with the matte top coat. Still loved it, rocked it for a good 4-5 days, mostly because of laziness.
First up is a blurry pic to show you what I thought it was gonna look like. Unfortunately it only looked this way in certain lighting.
 

Now what it mostly looked like:


Still gorgeous, just not what I was going for. I found that under fluorescent lighting and low lighting it looked this way.
And here's a photoshop comparison:

Index and middle: What I wanted it to look like
Thumb, ring, and pinky: What it actually looked like

Definitely way too blue. Sigh. 

Oh well, I still got great compliments on the color, so I'm not too sad. 

I've got a migraine so I'm going to say Au Revoir!

Kayla