Blog Sale!

I have added new items to the blog sale page.

 Click the tab above to check it out!

Orly Holiday Soiree Collection Swatches

This is a big post with lots of pictures and not much writing/descriptions. Please enjoy!

I've decided to close my shop (AllNailShop.com) after a year of business. I would like to thank you all for your support. 

I will be selling off what I currently have left in stock at a discount. If you are interested in anything or have questions, please email me at audrey@allnailandcosmetics.com with what you would like, and your Paypal email address so that I may invoice you directly. 

Click Here to see what's left!

Upcoming Posts:

China Glaze 3D Eye Candy

Orly Holiday Collection

China Glaze Eye Candy Giveaway

China Glaze Let it Snow Giveaway Winner!

The winner of this is...

***Closed! Winner announced tomorrow! 12/2*** China Glaze Let it Snow Giveaway!

I have been crazy busy as of late however I just wanted to let you all know that I will be returning to a swatching machine shortly. Please stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here's a little giveaway to tie you over.

Nail Inc. Autumn Color Collection Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is...

***CLOSED**** Nails Inc. Autumn Color Collection Giveaway

It's time for an Autumn Giveaway!

Julep Maven Program/Polish Review/Discount Code

Recently, I decided that I was no longer happy with Birchbox; so I canceled my subscription and started looking for something new and different. After some research into different monthly subscriptions for beauty, skincare, shoes, and jewlery, I found Julep which caters to my specific love of nail polish. The picture above is what came in my first box and I have to say that I am quite impressed with the polish (and it's 3 Free)!

OPI BCA Giveaway Winner!

Here we go...

A little Dior...

I finally took the plunge and tried a few Dior products (which I purchased from Sephora).

Essie Breast Cancer Giveaway Winner!

Here we go...

The winner is:

***CLOSED*** Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway: OPI Pink of Hearts 2011

It's giveaway time again!

(Last of the BCA giveaways)

Nails Inc. Autumn Color Collection Swatches/Review

Nails Inc. is a fairly new to us here in the United States however I have been coveting them since I first saw a UK blogger post some swatches. Luckily, you can now find these at Sephora! These polishes retail for around $9.50 for a 10mL bottle (they also make a much hyped magnetic polish). This set in particular, the Autumn Color Collection contains 4 full size polishes for $25!

Included in this set are:

Fenchurch Street-- a warm caramel

St. Pancras-- burgundy wine

Paddington-- deep smoky gray/green

Charing Cross--a classic red

Color Club Beyond the Mistletoe Collection --Swatches and Review-- Holiday 2011

This collection includes six glitter polishes; the perfect pick-me-up to the holiday season! All of these have fine glitter but contain a variety of individual glitter colors that comprise an overall shade.

Colors include:

Gingerbread-- brown, gold, and holographic glitter

Sugarplum Fairy-- lilac and holographic glitter

Jingle Jangle-- purple and blue glitter

Candy Cane--silver, red, and pink glitter

Beyond the Mistletoe--light blue, green, and holographic glitter

Holiday Splendor--emerald green base with silver and holographic glitter

(Click any picture to enlarge)

***Closed Winner Announced 10/22*** Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway: Essie

This is a giveaway for Essie's 2010, and 2011 Breast Cancer Awareness Polishes. Included are 'We Can Do It Pink' (2010) and 'Raise Awareness' (2011).

The winner is... (China Glaze/Seche BCA Giveaway)

Let's get right down to the nitty gritty of it! 

The winner of this set:

China Glaze Let it Snow Collection 2011! (Part two)

Here's the part two of the Let it Snow Holiday Collection! Enjoy!

(Click any picture to enlarge for detail!)

China Glaze Let it Snow Collection 2011! Review and Swatches (Part One)

This is part one the the China Glaze, Let it Snow Holiday Collection for 2011. This collection includes twelve polishes as well as several gift sets that would make excellent stocking stuffers. At the end of each part of the collection I will list my must haves. I hope you enjoy!

Deck the Halls Gift Set
Glittering Garland, Holiday Berry Cuticle Oil, Champagne Bubbles

The Slim Silhouette Manicure Fashion Week Spring 2012

This is just a really quick and simple manicure that is both on trend and office friendly. There are no nail art tools required and any colors would work! Enjoy!

Color Club Backstage Pass Collection Swatches/Review!

Before you scroll through all the pictures I would like to preface this post by saying that this is a collection of (mostly) glitter polishes. These would need to be layered over a polish to truly get the entire effect but I am showing exactly what you get when you brush on the polish/glitter.

 This collection includes six polishes:

Take the Stage-- Gold glitter with silver/iridescent flakes

Backstage Pass-- Silver and purple hex glitter (large)

Wish Upon a Rock-Star-- Multicolored glitter with large purple hex's

It's a Hit-- Purple hex glitter (large)

Fame & Fortune-- Red jelly base with iridescent flakes

Platinum Record--Silver glitter

Wish Upon a Rock-Star, Backstage Pass, Take the Stage

Essie Cocktail Bling Giveaway Winner!

I would like to start by thanking everyone who entered this giveaway. There were over 50 entries including comments and tweets and I can't tell you how much that means to me. Without further ado...

 The winner is...

*** CLOSED Winner announced tomorrow! China Glaze/Seche Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway

As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You will find everything from kitchen gadgets to beauty items that will donate part or all of the proceeds from the sale to a foundation which supports breast  cancer research. In order to pay tribute to this month I have several pink giveaways coming up. The first in that series is this one: China Glaze and Seche.

For some up front information: I did pay for all these items. These items in particular were purchased at Sally Beauty Supply.

This giveaway is for the following:

1 bottle of China Glaze Strawberry Fields 

(Part of the breast cancer awareness set at Sally Beauty)

1 Seche/China Glaze Support Awareness Set

(includes 1 bottle of Seche Vite, 1 bottle of China Glaze 'Go Go Pink', a BCA Angel Keychain)

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia and Blue Mosaic Swatches and Review

Hello all! I realize that these new Revlon polishes are getting quite a bit of hype. I decided that it was time to throw my hat in the ring and share my thoughts and swatches of these two beauties!

Essie Cocktail Bling Collection Swatches

Although this collection is entirely 'jewel' themed none of the colors have shimmer or glitter. Instead they are reserved creme colors which are both fun and professional; demure and sassy.

Click any picture to enlarge

***CLOSED*** Winner announced 10/8! Essie Winter Collection Giveaway!

Just an FYI: I will have swatches posted as soon as my Incoco Wear Test is complete. These are also quickie pictures--better ones are coming!

Essie's Winter Collection 2011--Cocktail Bling

Incoco Nail Polish Applique

In the last Birchbox that I received, I finally got the opportunity to try something that I was just too cheap to buy...

Incoco Nail Appliques!

The color I received was Stardust (glitter finish).

I decided to make this into a video demonstration of my experience rather than just a wham, bam, thank you maam set of pictures. Let me say that these were ridiculously easy to apply; more simple than I would have ever imagined. They also look amazing and the pattern is subtle but still gives that WOW! effect.

Here are some pictures to show the results:

I did add a top coat just to seal in the edges/tips

Color Club 'Covered in Diamonds'

I'd like to introduce you to a new love of mine:

Color Club 'Covered in Diamonds' is a beautiful 'flakie' style polish that reflects iridescent blue, green, amber, and purple. The reflect almost looks like mica. I purchased my bottle from Head2ToeBeauty.com for $3! What a steal (It was originally released with the Untamed Luxury collection)!

Here is a close-up of the bottle:

 And here is what it looks like over China Glaze 'Near Dark':

I love the shine and character this can give to any polish although there are a few difficulties in application:

1. Similarly to hex glitter, this can have some placement issues causing parts of the nail to look sparse and parts to look clumpy. QUICK FIX: Apply in thin layers being sure to allow drying time between application.
2. Little corners of the flakes can stick straight up which makes applying a topcoat difficult. QUICK FIX: same as 1 except check as you apply the thin layers to be sure your not building on  a stray piece.

China Glaze Haunting Collection Giveaway Winner!

The winner of this:

 Was drawn from these entries:

 And is named:

Congratulations Michelle! I will be contacting you shortly via the provided email.

Next Posts:
Color Club 'Covered in Diamonds' Swatches
Essie Winter Collection Swatches and Giveaway

Essie is on sale!

Just a quick post to tell you that Essie Nail Polishes are on sale at Transdesign.com for $4 a bottle! That is a crazy good deal!

Upcoming posts: 

China Glaze Giveaway Winner

Essie Winter Collection Swatches and Giveaway

China Glaze Haunting Swatches!

This collection for Halloween includes four new shades and two that are repromotes:

Haunting--A silver glitter flecked polish with a black base
It's Alive--A gold and yellow glitter polish in a green base
Near Dark--Dark Forest Green Creme
Crimson--Dusty, Dark Violet Creme
Ghoulish Glow--Glow in the Dark (comes out every Halloween)
Black Mesh--Black crackle--previously released


Here are your swatches:

Haunting--2 Coats

It's Alive--2 Coats 

Near Dark--2 Coats (Is actually a bit dark in person)

Crimson--2 Coats (Almost black in normal light)

Zoya Giveaway Winner!

I love having giveaways, hence the recent slew of the them. Besides actually giving something away I enjoy the whole process...

Compiling the names, checking to make sure that those who enter are in fact following my blog, and finally checking tweets. Once that is done I put everyone's name on a list and print it out. Then,  I get to cut out all the names and fold them up--I *really* do love this part, it is something about the soothing monotony of it all. Finally, I throw all the folded names in a glass jar, toss them up, and have the hubby pull a name (I feel that it's all a bit more fair that way). 

Congratulations to our winner:

Thank you to everyone who entered! 

Coming up this week: 

Swatches and reviews of the China Glaze Halloween Collection and a giveaway for their Haunting set!

Also, I'll be having a twitter giveaway coming up this week. Follow me @szuchnic and enter when I tweet about it!

***CLOSED*** Zoya Color Lock System Giveaway! (winner announced Monday)

This system from Zoya is still pretty new to me but it has been quite impressive. The 'Color Lock System' comes with everything you need to keep your nail polish drying faster, staying longer, and perfecting your overall nail look. This kit includes:

1 - 8oz Zoya Remove Plus in the Big Flipper Container

1 - 0.5oz Zoya Anchor Base Coat

1 - 0.5oz Zoya Get Even Ridge Filling Base Coat

1 - 0.5oz Zoya Zoya Armor Top Coat

1 - 0.5oz Zoya Fast Drops Polish Drying Drops

1 - 0.5oz Zoya Renew Nail Polish Rejuvinator

The kit comes in a zip-lock handle bag with instructions on its use.

Value: $48 USD

Image courtesy of Zoya.com

My favorite product in this kit is the Remove Plus and it's Big Flipper container--if you've ever used it you know what I mean! The scent is unlike any nail polish remover and it is both gentle and effective. The other product from this kit that I find invaluable is the Fast Drops; perfect for when you need to get out the door.

To enter:

• Comment on this blog post with your favorite Zoya product (nail care or polish color)  and your email address (if you don't put your email address I cannot contact you if you win).
• You can also tweet this giveaway for a bonus entry being sure to include my name (@szuchnic) and the link to this giveaway.

Rules:

Giveaway begins immediately and ends September 10th, 2011 at 11:59 PM EST.

You must follow this blog to enter.

The winner will need to provide me with their Full Name and Address.

This IS available internationally!

This giveaway is being sponsored by me!

A few of my favorite things!

I recently placed an order with Sephora.com to replace some of the skincare products that are my 'holy grail' items. Here's what I ended up with:

Clinique is one of my favorite brands! These two products in particular have improved my skin ten fold.
Liquid Facial Soap in Mild
Turnaround Concentrate
 The soap is gentle and virtually stops breakouts and the concentrate (more of a serum) changed my skin to have a smooth texture; more than it never did before.

This eye cream is affordable and delivers exactly what it promises. I couldn't ask for anything better. This is my third tube so I can't imagine switching anytime soon!

This is the splurge of my purchase. I tried a sample of this in  my Birchbox about a month ago (maybe two). I love that it is feminine but not overwhelming and it lingers all day. Call me crazy but I love to get a wafting of the scent hours after I put it on. I find it vaguely similar to YSL Parisienne (if you mixed it with Chanel Coco Mademoiselle). The shots below are of the bottle because I thought that it was elegantly simple and beautiful.

Samples

A promotional sample if you enter ACNE at check.

I am trying to figure out what my next giveaway should be for (brand and items). If you have any suggestions, I would love to see them in the comments section. Thanks for reading!