I mentioned last week that I was still waiting for one more winner in my giveaway to contact me. Yesterday she did, just in time, as I was set to contact the backup choice today. So now I can announce all the winners!
Prize #1: Funky Fingers Glitter Toppers went to Cindi in Texas.
Prize #2: Salon Perfect Neon Collision Collection is heading to Sweden to join Emelie and perhaps make an appearance on her blog, Nails and All That Jazz.
Prize #3: SpaRitual Trio flew east to New Jersey to be a part of Alina's stash there.
Prize #4: Formula X Sextet was won by Stacy in Minnesota.
Prize #5: Orly Trio joined Prize 1 in going to Texas (it's a big, populous state); these will be gracing Elizabeth's nails there.
Prize #6: OPI Anniversary Duo will be crossing the border to Canada to be with Holly in Ontario.
Prize #7: Sephora by OPI Quintet is also going to Canada, but to Manitoba and Christine's stash.
Prize #8: Selections from Essence Aquatix went to Kathleen in Connecticut.
Prize #9: Essie Trio Featuring Flakies is the third package to go to Texas; they're now with Mel of Delicious Color (or soon will be).
Prize #10: Butter London Fash Pack Set went west to Colorado and Christina's stash.
Prize #11: Rescue Beauty Lounge Duo made record time and is already in Denmark with Maria of Maria's Nail Art and Polish Blog.
Prize #12: OPI Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice will be going to Arkansas to live with Sarah (in a small city that coincidentally I once visited as part of a job I had years ago).
Congratulations to the winners, and I thank each of you who took the time to enter and especially those of you who added comments to your form, from a simple thanks to constructive criticism. I would not kept up this blog anywhere near as actively without the encouragement of those of you who read and comment.
A few data points:
1) Eight of the winners got their first choice prize; the remaning four got their second choice.
2) The most popular prize overall was #12, the OPI Alice in Wonderland glitters, with 18.5% of 1st Choice entries, 13.4% overall. #10, the Butter London Fash Pack, was a close second, with 12.8% overall, though it was third when considering just people's 1st choices, where it had 12.5% to 14.6% for the Salon Perfect prize pack. Third place overall was a dead heat between #2 Salon Perfect, #4 Formula X, and #7 Sephora by OPI.
3) #5 Orly was the least popular overall, with only 5% of entries. I'm curious how that might have been affected if that prize had more bottles in it, as when ranked on an "entries per item" basis, it was not at the bottom, #1 Funky Fingers was.
By the time my 6th blogiversary comes around, I will be retired, which means I should have more time for swatching and blogging but will definitely have less money for buying polish. There will still be giveaways, but whether they will be quite as big as this most recent one, I'm not sure. My current plan is to finally, finally do that blog sale I've talked about forever, and use those proceeds to fund my adventures here. I even set up a storenvy store before the whole Stripe debacle, so now I'm back to figuring out the best way to unload my excess pretties. I'd welcome comments with any suggestions you might have. Where do you look for stash sales? Do you like to buy single bottles or lots or both? If you've done a blog sale, what worked and didn't work for you? I'd love to hear any thoughts.
Showing posts with label p: contest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label p: contest. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
5th Blogiversary Giveaway
Unlike last year, when it took me two months to get a giveaway organized for my blogiversary, this time I'm on time. Five years ago today, I posted my first nail-related photos here, including a display and a comparison (and nubs). To mark this milestone, I've selected twelve prizes, one for each month of blogging this past year. There will be twelve winners; I'll explain how to put your name in the virtual hat at the end of this post. But first, the pretties:
Prize #1: Funky Fingers Glitter Toppers
This group has the still fairly new Broken Sea Glass and Scattered Sea Shells, which I've used (not these bottles, though) with Fresh Paint pastels and Essie Spring 2015. It also has the Frostbitten trio of Anna, Olaf, and Elsa.
Prize #2: Salon Perfect Neon Collision Collection
Looking back to summer of 2013, this is the full set of neon glitters from Salon Perfect: Exploded, Bang, Jolt, Zapped, Kaboom, and Shocked. I haven't gotten around to using these yet, but The Fancy Side swatched them all, both alone and used as a topper, so you can see them in action there.
Prize #3: SpaRitual Trio
A creme, a matte flakie, and a shimmer: Solitude, Opaline Luminary, and North Star. I've worn Solitude on its own and stamped.
Prize #4: Formula X Sextet
This has three pairs of polishes I thought looked good together: Racy & Boom, Rocket Fuel & Maniacal, and Torque & Blast Off.
Prize #5: Orly Trio
Fowl Play, which was all the rage when it came out. La Playa, from the Viva collection, which I think was the first full collection I swatched, way back in May of 2010; La Playa is still my favorite blue creme. Purple Velvet, one of the first matte polishes I added to my stash.
Prize #6: OPI Anniversary Duo
Pop the Cork and 50 is the New Fabulous: polishes released to celebrate the brand's anniversary seemed especially appropriate for a blogiversary. Even if gold is not your thing, Pop the Cork makes a nice filling for jelly sandwiches.
Prize #7: Sephora by OPI Quintet
A sampler of Karen colors from this now-discontinued brand: Mauvie Star in the Making, Just a Little Dangerous, Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild, I Don't Bite, Indi-go With the Flow.
Prize #8: Selections from Essence Aquatix
Mermaid nail stickers and three polishes: Finding Dori, Under the Sea, and Aquatix Bay.
Prize #9: Essie Trio Featuring Flakies
Sew Psyched, which has been on my nails a fair bit since it was released in 2010, including in more than one comparison post. Shine of the Times, which also has gotten into the comparison game. Wicked, because everyone needs a vampy red.
Prize #10: Butter London Fash Pack Set
This set has mini (aka fashion) sizes of five shades: Hen Party, Yummy Mummy, Champers, Lady Muck, and Dodgy Barnett. It also has a plastic box, but I took that off for photos since you don't need to see reflections of my hands and camera when you want to see the polish. Back in 2011, I compared Lady Muck to China Glaze Sea Spray.
Prize #11: Rescue Beauty Lounge Duo
Scrangie 2.0 paired with Burn the Evidence. (These will come with their boxes.)
Prize #12: OPI Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice
Two of the first polishes I actively stalked and bought multiples of for hoarding and swapping purposes. I am finally ready to let this pair go.
How to enter: Fill out the form below. You'll indicate your first, second, and third prize choices. If there are only one or two prizes you want, you can choose the same prize in two or three of the slots. When I put the entries into the virtual hat, first choice will be 5 chances, second will be 3 chances, and third will be 2 chances, for a total of 10 chances per entrant. Because I'm keeping it simple this year, that's it. If you feel like sharing on your own blog or social media accounts, of course that would be lovely (and feel free to copy and use any of these photos). I've set up the form so you should be able to come back and edit it later, so if you change your mind about your favorite prizes, that should work. International entries are welcome. Contest closes at midnight in the Eastern U.S. time zone on Sunday, May 10, 2015. Good luck!
Prize #1: Funky Fingers Glitter Toppers
This group has the still fairly new Broken Sea Glass and Scattered Sea Shells, which I've used (not these bottles, though) with Fresh Paint pastels and Essie Spring 2015. It also has the Frostbitten trio of Anna, Olaf, and Elsa.
Prize #2: Salon Perfect Neon Collision Collection
Looking back to summer of 2013, this is the full set of neon glitters from Salon Perfect: Exploded, Bang, Jolt, Zapped, Kaboom, and Shocked. I haven't gotten around to using these yet, but The Fancy Side swatched them all, both alone and used as a topper, so you can see them in action there.
Prize #3: SpaRitual Trio
A creme, a matte flakie, and a shimmer: Solitude, Opaline Luminary, and North Star. I've worn Solitude on its own and stamped.
Prize #4: Formula X Sextet
This has three pairs of polishes I thought looked good together: Racy & Boom, Rocket Fuel & Maniacal, and Torque & Blast Off.
Prize #5: Orly Trio
Fowl Play, which was all the rage when it came out. La Playa, from the Viva collection, which I think was the first full collection I swatched, way back in May of 2010; La Playa is still my favorite blue creme. Purple Velvet, one of the first matte polishes I added to my stash.
Prize #6: OPI Anniversary Duo
Pop the Cork and 50 is the New Fabulous: polishes released to celebrate the brand's anniversary seemed especially appropriate for a blogiversary. Even if gold is not your thing, Pop the Cork makes a nice filling for jelly sandwiches.
Prize #7: Sephora by OPI Quintet
A sampler of Karen colors from this now-discontinued brand: Mauvie Star in the Making, Just a Little Dangerous, Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild, I Don't Bite, Indi-go With the Flow.
Prize #8: Selections from Essence Aquatix
Mermaid nail stickers and three polishes: Finding Dori, Under the Sea, and Aquatix Bay.
Prize #9: Essie Trio Featuring Flakies
Sew Psyched, which has been on my nails a fair bit since it was released in 2010, including in more than one comparison post. Shine of the Times, which also has gotten into the comparison game. Wicked, because everyone needs a vampy red.
Prize #10: Butter London Fash Pack Set
This set has mini (aka fashion) sizes of five shades: Hen Party, Yummy Mummy, Champers, Lady Muck, and Dodgy Barnett. It also has a plastic box, but I took that off for photos since you don't need to see reflections of my hands and camera when you want to see the polish. Back in 2011, I compared Lady Muck to China Glaze Sea Spray.
Prize #11: Rescue Beauty Lounge Duo
Scrangie 2.0 paired with Burn the Evidence. (These will come with their boxes.)
Prize #12: OPI Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice
Two of the first polishes I actively stalked and bought multiples of for hoarding and swapping purposes. I am finally ready to let this pair go.
How to enter: Fill out the form below. You'll indicate your first, second, and third prize choices. If there are only one or two prizes you want, you can choose the same prize in two or three of the slots. When I put the entries into the virtual hat, first choice will be 5 chances, second will be 3 chances, and third will be 2 chances, for a total of 10 chances per entrant. Because I'm keeping it simple this year, that's it. If you feel like sharing on your own blog or social media accounts, of course that would be lovely (and feel free to copy and use any of these photos). I've set up the form so you should be able to come back and edit it later, so if you change your mind about your favorite prizes, that should work. International entries are welcome. Contest closes at midnight in the Eastern U.S. time zone on Sunday, May 10, 2015. Good luck!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Mont Bleu Glass Nail Files Giveaway
Sponsored giveaway
Since I first was introduced to Mont Bleu glass nail files over two years ago, I've used pretty much nothing else to smooth and shape my tips, so I readily accepted when Mont Bleu offered to sponsor a giveaway for my readers. The prize, which will be sent directly to the winner by Mont Bleu, is a set of 3 glass nail files in their Waterfall design in my favorite color, purple (well, lilac, but that's a sort of purple). This includes the small 90mm file (this is the size I keep in my purse), the medium 135mm file (the size I use when I do my manicures), and the large 195mm file (the size I probably should use for pedicures but never seem to remember to grab).
This contest is open internationally. Wherever in the world you are, you'll need a Facebook account, as liking Mont Bleu's page and my page are required to enter. Contest closes October 29th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The prize for this giveaway is being provided by Mont Bleu.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Belated Blogiversary Giveaway
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Winners posted here. Thanks so much for spreading the word and for coming back to read even when I'm not giving away anything but words and pictures.
Near the end of April 2010, I turned this dormant space into my nail blog. I intended to celebrate my 4th Blogiversary with a giveaway, but those plans got pushed aside when my job sent me to Minsk, then I was so busy catching up after I got back that the contest slipped off my list. The farther it got past April 26th, the more silly it seemed to mark the occasion, yet I did have the prizes and I did want to thank you all for reading over these past three years, so I'm having my 4th Blogiversary Giveaway now, nearly two months late. Nail polish doesn't expire, so why not?
There are 12 prizes, one to represent each month in this blogging year. All polishes are new from the store/online shop, though some have been waiting for their moment for a while—I think I have prizes from each year I've been writing Frazzle and Aniploish.
Prize #1: Studio M Summery Colors
One of the things I like about living in Michigan is Meijer stores. Not only do they often have Sally Hansen and other displays earlier than other places, they have their own Studio M line of polishes (formerly known as Massini). Sure, the colors are almost all dupes for Color Club shades (the brands come from the same parent company), but that doesn't lessen my liking for the bottle shape and the seasonal displays of pretty colors. I assembled this group of seven from various displays that have popped up over the past couple years: Green with Envy, Singin' the Blues, Age of Aquarius, Feeling Fruity, Perfectly Pink, Orange Sunset, Jackie Oh.
Prize #2: LA Girl Ombre Kit
I am a sucker for both minis and kits, and love ombre manicures though I don't do them so there was no way I was not going to end buying at least one of the LA Girl ombre sets. This one has five mini polishes from yellow to coral-y pink plus a mini topcoat.
Prize #3: Blue Cross Mood Struck
These heat sensitive color changing polishes first showed up at Meijer for Summer 2010, and I swatched all twelve colors available. There are thirteen colors in this prize, though, because when Mood Struck reappeared for Summer 2011 at Rite Aid, there was a color I hadn't seen before, a deep blue shimmer, so that joined the original crew for this giveaway. I've heard that thermal polishes stop working over time, but a few weeks back I tested a Mood Struck from this vintage and it still changed colors.
Prize #4: OPI Serena Glam Slam Set
I liked this duo of Grape Set Match and Servin' Up Sparkle so much that I bought several—how could I not, since it combines purple and glitter, two of my favorite things. One set is in my stash, one was a prize in my 2nd Blogiversary giveaway in 2012, and this one is a prize this year.
Prize #5: Patriotic Quartet
Here's a group of four polishes I think would make a great patriotic manicure for anyone in a country with a red, white, and blue flag (though you'd need to add your favorite white): Revlon Top Speed Royal, Sation Holiday Spirit, Butter London Come to Bed Red, and Barry M Jewel Britannia.
Prize #6: Color Club Take Wing Collection
These six glass fleck shimmers were released for Summer 2012 but will be perfect for this summer, too. Left to right: Sky High, Metamorphosis, Fly With Me, Daisy Does It, Sparkle and Soar, Wing Fling.
Prize #7: Wet 'n' Wild Mermaid's Cove Collection
This collection is from Summer 2011. I still remember being excited to see this display in a Meijer on my way to work and scooping up one of every color, then stopping a few days later to scoop up another set. I don't drive by that Meijer anymore, though maybe I should make a detour every now and then for old time's sake. Colors are: Magic Trident, Waves of Enchantment, Atlantis, Sea of Dreams, Sea Witch, Stream of Wonder, Diving for Pearls, Ocean Grotto.
Prize #8: Cult Nails Trio
I really should make an effort to do more Cult Nails swatches, as I like the brand very much. This prize consist of three colors I thought coordinated nicely: Hypnotize Me and Awakening from the Fall 2011 collection and Doppelganger from Fall 2012.
Prize #9: Oopsie Daisies and Friends
Oopsie Daisies is another brand I need to share more swatches from; it's one of my favorite indies. This group has Oopsie Daisies Electric Lemonade and two colors I thought coordinated nicely with it: Revlon Top Speed Emerald and Orly Preamp.
Prize #10: Julie G Frosted Gum Drops
With as much texture as I post, you knew there had to be some in the giveaway. This is the first Julie G Frosted Gumdrops collection, which came out in 2013: Crushed Candy, Blueberry Fizz, Rock Candy, Hot Cinnamon, Sugar Rush, Tangerine Dream.
Prize #11: Sinful Colors Crystal Crushes
Yep, more texture. Sinful has recently re-released three of the colors that were in the original Crystal Crushes collection (they're part of a big display at Walgreens that I'll have in my next display post), but I have the five that aren't back: Got a Blush on You, Purple Gleam, Emerald Envy, Treasure Chest, Blue Persuasion.
Prize #12: Butter London Minis
A dozen Butter London mini sized polishes in a gift box. These are not the twelve colors that were sold in this box, but when I realized I had enough minis in my prize box to fill it, I had to do it. Shades are: Teddy Girl, Trout Pout, Cake-hole, Jaffa, Yummy Mummy, All Hail the Queen, Dodgy Barnett, West End Wonderland, Pillar Box Red, Blagger, Slapper, Henley Regatta.
How to enter: Fill out the form below. You'll indicate your first, second, and third prize choices. If there are only one or two prizes you want, you can enter the same prize for multiple choices. When I put the entries into the virtual hat, first choice will be 5 chances, second will be 3 chances, and third will be 2 chances, for a total of 10 chances per entrant. If you follow me publically with Google Friend Connect or Facebook or Google+ or Instagram and fill in those box(es) on the form, that's worth one more chance for each of your choices. If you publically link to this contest from your blog, Twitter account, Google+ page, Facebook page, or other social media site and fill in that box, that's also worth one more chance for each of your choices. New this time is an Instagram tag; post the group photo below on Instagram with the tag #aniploish0614 for one more chance at each of your choices; if you follow me on Instagram, I'll be posting the photo in my feed shortly after this post goes live. (Feel free to copy and use the group photo below if you do a blog post, too.) I've set up the form so you should be able to come back and edit it later, so if you want to enter now and get your choices in and then come back and add links, that should work. International entries are welcome. Contest closes at midnight in the Eastern U.S. time zone on June 20, 2014.
Near the end of April 2010, I turned this dormant space into my nail blog. I intended to celebrate my 4th Blogiversary with a giveaway, but those plans got pushed aside when my job sent me to Minsk, then I was so busy catching up after I got back that the contest slipped off my list. The farther it got past April 26th, the more silly it seemed to mark the occasion, yet I did have the prizes and I did want to thank you all for reading over these past three years, so I'm having my 4th Blogiversary Giveaway now, nearly two months late. Nail polish doesn't expire, so why not?
There are 12 prizes, one to represent each month in this blogging year. All polishes are new from the store/online shop, though some have been waiting for their moment for a while—I think I have prizes from each year I've been writing Frazzle and Aniploish.
Prize #1: Studio M Summery Colors
One of the things I like about living in Michigan is Meijer stores. Not only do they often have Sally Hansen and other displays earlier than other places, they have their own Studio M line of polishes (formerly known as Massini). Sure, the colors are almost all dupes for Color Club shades (the brands come from the same parent company), but that doesn't lessen my liking for the bottle shape and the seasonal displays of pretty colors. I assembled this group of seven from various displays that have popped up over the past couple years: Green with Envy, Singin' the Blues, Age of Aquarius, Feeling Fruity, Perfectly Pink, Orange Sunset, Jackie Oh.
Prize #2: LA Girl Ombre Kit
I am a sucker for both minis and kits, and love ombre manicures though I don't do them so there was no way I was not going to end buying at least one of the LA Girl ombre sets. This one has five mini polishes from yellow to coral-y pink plus a mini topcoat.
Prize #3: Blue Cross Mood Struck
These heat sensitive color changing polishes first showed up at Meijer for Summer 2010, and I swatched all twelve colors available. There are thirteen colors in this prize, though, because when Mood Struck reappeared for Summer 2011 at Rite Aid, there was a color I hadn't seen before, a deep blue shimmer, so that joined the original crew for this giveaway. I've heard that thermal polishes stop working over time, but a few weeks back I tested a Mood Struck from this vintage and it still changed colors.
Prize #4: OPI Serena Glam Slam Set
I liked this duo of Grape Set Match and Servin' Up Sparkle so much that I bought several—how could I not, since it combines purple and glitter, two of my favorite things. One set is in my stash, one was a prize in my 2nd Blogiversary giveaway in 2012, and this one is a prize this year.
Prize #5: Patriotic Quartet
Here's a group of four polishes I think would make a great patriotic manicure for anyone in a country with a red, white, and blue flag (though you'd need to add your favorite white): Revlon Top Speed Royal, Sation Holiday Spirit, Butter London Come to Bed Red, and Barry M Jewel Britannia.
Prize #6: Color Club Take Wing Collection
These six glass fleck shimmers were released for Summer 2012 but will be perfect for this summer, too. Left to right: Sky High, Metamorphosis, Fly With Me, Daisy Does It, Sparkle and Soar, Wing Fling.
Prize #7: Wet 'n' Wild Mermaid's Cove Collection
This collection is from Summer 2011. I still remember being excited to see this display in a Meijer on my way to work and scooping up one of every color, then stopping a few days later to scoop up another set. I don't drive by that Meijer anymore, though maybe I should make a detour every now and then for old time's sake. Colors are: Magic Trident, Waves of Enchantment, Atlantis, Sea of Dreams, Sea Witch, Stream of Wonder, Diving for Pearls, Ocean Grotto.
Prize #8: Cult Nails Trio
I really should make an effort to do more Cult Nails swatches, as I like the brand very much. This prize consist of three colors I thought coordinated nicely: Hypnotize Me and Awakening from the Fall 2011 collection and Doppelganger from Fall 2012.
Prize #9: Oopsie Daisies and Friends
Oopsie Daisies is another brand I need to share more swatches from; it's one of my favorite indies. This group has Oopsie Daisies Electric Lemonade and two colors I thought coordinated nicely with it: Revlon Top Speed Emerald and Orly Preamp.
Prize #10: Julie G Frosted Gum Drops
With as much texture as I post, you knew there had to be some in the giveaway. This is the first Julie G Frosted Gumdrops collection, which came out in 2013: Crushed Candy, Blueberry Fizz, Rock Candy, Hot Cinnamon, Sugar Rush, Tangerine Dream.
Prize #11: Sinful Colors Crystal Crushes
Yep, more texture. Sinful has recently re-released three of the colors that were in the original Crystal Crushes collection (they're part of a big display at Walgreens that I'll have in my next display post), but I have the five that aren't back: Got a Blush on You, Purple Gleam, Emerald Envy, Treasure Chest, Blue Persuasion.
Prize #12: Butter London Minis
A dozen Butter London mini sized polishes in a gift box. These are not the twelve colors that were sold in this box, but when I realized I had enough minis in my prize box to fill it, I had to do it. Shades are: Teddy Girl, Trout Pout, Cake-hole, Jaffa, Yummy Mummy, All Hail the Queen, Dodgy Barnett, West End Wonderland, Pillar Box Red, Blagger, Slapper, Henley Regatta.
How to enter: Fill out the form below. You'll indicate your first, second, and third prize choices. If there are only one or two prizes you want, you can enter the same prize for multiple choices. When I put the entries into the virtual hat, first choice will be 5 chances, second will be 3 chances, and third will be 2 chances, for a total of 10 chances per entrant. If you follow me publically with Google Friend Connect or Facebook or Google+ or Instagram and fill in those box(es) on the form, that's worth one more chance for each of your choices. If you publically link to this contest from your blog, Twitter account, Google+ page, Facebook page, or other social media site and fill in that box, that's also worth one more chance for each of your choices. New this time is an Instagram tag; post the group photo below on Instagram with the tag #aniploish0614 for one more chance at each of your choices; if you follow me on Instagram, I'll be posting the photo in my feed shortly after this post goes live. (Feel free to copy and use the group photo below if you do a blog post, too.) I've set up the form so you should be able to come back and edit it later, so if you want to enter now and get your choices in and then come back and add links, that should work. International entries are welcome. Contest closes at midnight in the Eastern U.S. time zone on June 20, 2014.
Monday, March 31, 2014
My Life Outside of Nail Polish
So yeah, I did just disappear there for a while. Those of you who pop by regularly probably guessed why: I was off skiing, finishing out my season with another week at "my" mountain, Schweitzer in North Idaho. At the beginning of the trip, we had spring conditions, with sun and views like this one:
The night before our last day, it snowed five inches and then just kept coming down; I didn't get any photos of that because I was too busy playing in the snow (and also I didn't think my camera would like getting snowed on).
In other non-nail polish pursuits, early this month, I posted about a conference I went to where my nails sported lots of layers. That was the event at which I got two dresses for review from Igigi, a fashion house which makes dressy clothing for women who wear sizes 12 and up (US sizes), as I teased in one of my posts back in January. Here I am in one of the dresses (photo by Shawna Cameron):
To see me in the other dress (and get a glimpse of the fabulous glittery shoes I wore with it) and enter to win a $50 Igigi gift certificate, head on over to my review on my other website (there's also a link there to find other reviews where you can get more chances to win). International readers are welcome to enter, just make sure that Igigi will ship to your location (you can check here). Deadline is April 20, 2014.
The night before our last day, it snowed five inches and then just kept coming down; I didn't get any photos of that because I was too busy playing in the snow (and also I didn't think my camera would like getting snowed on).
In other non-nail polish pursuits, early this month, I posted about a conference I went to where my nails sported lots of layers. That was the event at which I got two dresses for review from Igigi, a fashion house which makes dressy clothing for women who wear sizes 12 and up (US sizes), as I teased in one of my posts back in January. Here I am in one of the dresses (photo by Shawna Cameron):
To see me in the other dress (and get a glimpse of the fabulous glittery shoes I wore with it) and enter to win a $50 Igigi gift certificate, head on over to my review on my other website (there's also a link there to find other reviews where you can get more chances to win). International readers are welcome to enter, just make sure that Igigi will ship to your location (you can check here). Deadline is April 20, 2014.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Cover Girl Hunger Games Giveaway
I went to Illinois this past weekend and came across a Meijer store with an untouched Cover Girl Hunger Games display, so picked up a full set of the Glosstinis polishes to give away.
To enter, fill out the form below. International entries are welcome. Being on my Google Friend Connect list counts for an extra chance (as long as they let me keep that feature, I'm gonna use it). Sharing a link to this contest in some public place also counts for an extra entry, so share away whether in a blog post or Tweet or whereever. I've set the form to allow editing your entry, so if you can't link now, you link later and come back and update your entry. I'll close the contest at midnight Eastern US time on October 23, 2013.
If you want to see swatches again before you decided whether to enter, they're here.
On a somewhat related note, it occurs to me that I never announced the winners of my NYC giveaway, despite having sent them their prizes some time ago. The Nostalic Trio was won by Anne in South Carolina, and the Bright Trio went to Christine in California.
***Contest is now closed.***
To enter, fill out the form below. International entries are welcome. Being on my Google Friend Connect list counts for an extra chance (as long as they let me keep that feature, I'm gonna use it). Sharing a link to this contest in some public place also counts for an extra entry, so share away whether in a blog post or Tweet or whereever. I've set the form to allow editing your entry, so if you can't link now, you link later and come back and update your entry. I'll close the contest at midnight Eastern US time on October 23, 2013.
If you want to see swatches again before you decided whether to enter, they're here.
On a somewhat related note, it occurs to me that I never announced the winners of my NYC giveaway, despite having sent them their prizes some time ago. The Nostalic Trio was won by Anne in South Carolina, and the Bright Trio went to Christine in California.
***Contest is now closed.***
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
NYC In a New York Color Minute Sampler
Earlier this summer, I was contacted by a rep for NYC New York Color, asking if I was interested in sampling some of their products. I was, and today I've got six shades from their NYC In a New York Color Minute quick dry nail polish line.
These seemed to naturally group into two trios, so that's how I went about swatching them. First up, what I'm calling the Nostalgic Trio, because it reminds me of some of the first nail polish colors I ever bought and wore way back in the mists of time: Wall Street, Central Park, and Radio City Rose.
Wall Street and Central Park are both quiet, traditionally feminine colors and share the same finish, what I think of as old school shimmer, so I wore them together. I used Wall Street, a cotton candy pink, as the accent, and Central Park, a dusty peach, as the main color. Both were three coats, no topcoat.
These two really glowed nicely in low light:
Radio City Rose is a deep berry pink creme. Here's two coats of it, no topcoat:
For fun, I added dots of Central Park on top of Radio City Rose and then some topcoat to smooth out the dots.
The second group is what I've dubbed The Bright Trio: Spring Street, Prince Street, and Lexington Yellow.
I wore all three of these together. Lexington Yellow, a medium yellow creme, went on most of my nails, with Prince Street, a purple shimmer, as an accent. Then I added dots near my tips. Yellow on the purple, and vice versa, with Spring Street, an orange creme, dotted alongside on all my nails. Topcoat finished off the look (my impatience shows in a couple spots where I streaked the dots into the base color because I couldn't even wait two minutes for the dots to dry). I used four coats of Lexington Yellow. I probably could have stopped at three but I'm always looking for streaks when applying medium to light yellows and think I imagine them even when they don't exist. Prince Street I did stop at three coats.
On the brand's website, you can see more colors in this line and other products from NYC New York Color. All are reasonably priced (In a New York Color minute go for around $1.99 around here).
Because I am seriously overstocked with polish, I asked and got the go ahead to pass along these colors to my readers, so if you'd like your name entered in the draw, fill out the form below, indicating which trio you're interested in. International entries are welcome, and I'll draw winners September 12, so get your name in before then. Note that I am giving away the exact bottles I used, so if you're squicked by polish someone else has tried, sit this one out.
The polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.
UPDATE: Contest is now closed.
These seemed to naturally group into two trios, so that's how I went about swatching them. First up, what I'm calling the Nostalgic Trio, because it reminds me of some of the first nail polish colors I ever bought and wore way back in the mists of time: Wall Street, Central Park, and Radio City Rose.
Wall Street and Central Park are both quiet, traditionally feminine colors and share the same finish, what I think of as old school shimmer, so I wore them together. I used Wall Street, a cotton candy pink, as the accent, and Central Park, a dusty peach, as the main color. Both were three coats, no topcoat.
These two really glowed nicely in low light:
Radio City Rose is a deep berry pink creme. Here's two coats of it, no topcoat:
For fun, I added dots of Central Park on top of Radio City Rose and then some topcoat to smooth out the dots.
The second group is what I've dubbed The Bright Trio: Spring Street, Prince Street, and Lexington Yellow.
I wore all three of these together. Lexington Yellow, a medium yellow creme, went on most of my nails, with Prince Street, a purple shimmer, as an accent. Then I added dots near my tips. Yellow on the purple, and vice versa, with Spring Street, an orange creme, dotted alongside on all my nails. Topcoat finished off the look (my impatience shows in a couple spots where I streaked the dots into the base color because I couldn't even wait two minutes for the dots to dry). I used four coats of Lexington Yellow. I probably could have stopped at three but I'm always looking for streaks when applying medium to light yellows and think I imagine them even when they don't exist. Prince Street I did stop at three coats.
On the brand's website, you can see more colors in this line and other products from NYC New York Color. All are reasonably priced (In a New York Color minute go for around $1.99 around here).
Because I am seriously overstocked with polish, I asked and got the go ahead to pass along these colors to my readers, so if you'd like your name entered in the draw, fill out the form below, indicating which trio you're interested in. International entries are welcome, and I'll draw winners September 12, so get your name in before then. Note that I am giving away the exact bottles I used, so if you're squicked by polish someone else has tried, sit this one out.
The polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.
UPDATE: Contest is now closed.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Sponsored Giveaway: Sally Hansen Sugar Coat
Last month I swatched the first group of Sally Hansen Sugar Coat polishes, and today I'm back with a few of them to giveaway, thanks to the brand itself, whose rep sent me three colors to award to a lucky reader.
In case you haven't seen these yet, here are the Skittles swatches I did of the whole collection—
Left to right below: Sugar Fix, Sweetie, Sour Apple, and Cotton Candies.
Below: Bubble Plum, Cherry Drop, Razzleberry, Lick-O-Rich.
And here are the bottles I've giving away thanks to Sally Hansen—Cherry Drop, Sweetie, and Bubble Plum:
These particular bottles are extra fun because two of them have special sample labels on them; if you win, your Cherry Drop and Bubble Plum won't be like everyone else's.
To keep this simple, entering will be as easy as leaving a comment below letting me know you want your name in the draw. If your profile link doesn't lead to some way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address in your comment, too. International entries are welcome. Contest closes August 8, 2013.
The bottles of polish shown in this entry were provided free for giveaway purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider. The polishes shown in swatches were purchased by me.
Update 09-Aug-2013: Contest has now closed. I will be announcing the winner soon.
Update 15-Aug-2012: Winner chosen via random.org and has replied to me. Announced in this post.
In case you haven't seen these yet, here are the Skittles swatches I did of the whole collection—
Left to right below: Sugar Fix, Sweetie, Sour Apple, and Cotton Candies.
Below: Bubble Plum, Cherry Drop, Razzleberry, Lick-O-Rich.
And here are the bottles I've giving away thanks to Sally Hansen—Cherry Drop, Sweetie, and Bubble Plum:
These particular bottles are extra fun because two of them have special sample labels on them; if you win, your Cherry Drop and Bubble Plum won't be like everyone else's.
To keep this simple, entering will be as easy as leaving a comment below letting me know you want your name in the draw. If your profile link doesn't lead to some way to contact you, please leave your e-mail address in your comment, too. International entries are welcome. Contest closes August 8, 2013.
The bottles of polish shown in this entry were provided free for giveaway purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider. The polishes shown in swatches were purchased by me.
Update 09-Aug-2013: Contest has now closed. I will be announcing the winner soon.
Update 15-Aug-2012: Winner chosen via random.org and has replied to me. Announced in this post.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wheel W4: Glitters from Claire's
Today's Nail Wheel Wednesday is glitter polishes from Claire's, from fine to chunky to shaped. I somehow have managed to amass quite a collection of this brand despite feeling like I'm several decades older than their targeted customer every time I go into one of their stores. I hope to continue to embody the philosophy that you're never too old to wear glitter even when I'm 100 years old. I hope I continue to have the eyesight and fine motor skills to apply it, too.
(all are 3 coats, except as noted; all have topcoat)
1. Claire's Love Struck (1 coat) [there was definitely some fishing to get the hearts out]
2. Claire's Star Struck (1 coat) [more fishing, this time for holo stars]
3. Claire's Hollywood [version 1]
4. Claire's Hollywood [version 2, which has chunkier texture than version 1 and less shimmer in the base]
5. Claire's Chunky Silver [I love the straightforward, descriptive names on this group]
6. Claire's Chunky Gold
7. Claire's Glisten
8. Claire's Vanilla Ice Cream [that always tricky frost and glitter combination]
9. Claire's Crush [really needs to be layered, because the tobacco stained look is no good, even if it is glittery]
10. Claire's Grape Popsicle [this was brown when I bought it on clearance; I sure hope it was purple to start with or else that'd be one funky popsicle, but I actually like it brown—it's definitely unique]
11. Claire's Diva
12. Claire's Dazzling
13. Claire's Red Carpet (2 coats)
14. Claire's Cotton Candy
15. Claire's Glam
16. Claire's Chunky Green [I have a Chunky Purple, too, but for some reason I didn't put it on this wheel, even though it would have fit nicely next to Diva, as it's a very warm purple]
17. Claire's Green Confetti
18. Claire's Bright Skies
19. Claire's Chunky Blue
20. Claire's Galaxy [so nice for layering]
Bottles 1 through 5:
6 through 10:
11 through 15:
15 through 20:
*****
I have (with the the help of random.org) finally figured out the winners of my birthday giveaway. All winners have been e-mailed, and I'll have a post up once I've heard from everyone (or a week has passed without a response and I have to pick a new winner for that prize).
There's a chance to win something else over on my online journal site, provided you fit into IGIGI clothing and live in one of the countries they ship to. I got a dress from them for review and they're also providing a gift certificate to one of the commenters on my entry (and the entries of other ladies who were also in the event I was in). That runs through May 14, 2013.
(all are 3 coats, except as noted; all have topcoat)
1. Claire's Love Struck (1 coat) [there was definitely some fishing to get the hearts out]
2. Claire's Star Struck (1 coat) [more fishing, this time for holo stars]
3. Claire's Hollywood [version 1]
4. Claire's Hollywood [version 2, which has chunkier texture than version 1 and less shimmer in the base]
5. Claire's Chunky Silver [I love the straightforward, descriptive names on this group]
6. Claire's Chunky Gold
7. Claire's Glisten
8. Claire's Vanilla Ice Cream [that always tricky frost and glitter combination]
9. Claire's Crush [really needs to be layered, because the tobacco stained look is no good, even if it is glittery]
10. Claire's Grape Popsicle [this was brown when I bought it on clearance; I sure hope it was purple to start with or else that'd be one funky popsicle, but I actually like it brown—it's definitely unique]
11. Claire's Diva
12. Claire's Dazzling
13. Claire's Red Carpet (2 coats)
14. Claire's Cotton Candy
15. Claire's Glam
16. Claire's Chunky Green [I have a Chunky Purple, too, but for some reason I didn't put it on this wheel, even though it would have fit nicely next to Diva, as it's a very warm purple]
17. Claire's Green Confetti
18. Claire's Bright Skies
19. Claire's Chunky Blue
20. Claire's Galaxy [so nice for layering]
Bottles 1 through 5:
6 through 10:
11 through 15:
15 through 20:
I have (with the the help of random.org) finally figured out the winners of my birthday giveaway. All winners have been e-mailed, and I'll have a post up once I've heard from everyone (or a week has passed without a response and I have to pick a new winner for that prize).
There's a chance to win something else over on my online journal site, provided you fit into IGIGI clothing and live in one of the countries they ship to. I got a dress from them for review and they're also providing a gift certificate to one of the commenters on my entry (and the entries of other ladies who were also in the event I was in). That runs through May 14, 2013.
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