Friday, May 16, 2014

Ellison's Organics: On the Town and You Jump, I Jump Swatches & Review

-Press Sample-

Hey polishers! 

I've got a couple polishes to swatch for you today from the indie brand, Ellison's Organics! Ellison's Organics is owned by a really nice women named Carleigh, who sells all kinds of things from nail polish (she has quite a beautiful assortment to choose from and they're all 3-free!), to organic soaps and bath salts!


So the first polish I wanted to show you today is On the Town, a deep burgundy-colored polish that is both 3-free and naturally pigmented. I don't have anything like this in my collection, and I just love the vampy, deep color to it! On the Town has a wonderful formula, and I only needed one coat for the pictures below!



Next up is You Jump, I Jump, a clear glitter consisting of red and blue-colored squares and hexes with holographic glitter. Carleigh said that this polish was actually inspired by the Titanic movie, and that the blue squares and hexes reminded her of the water, while the red represent the dress Kate Winslet's character wore in the movie. How cool is that?! I used two coats of You Jump, I Jump in the pictures in order to spread out the glitters a little more on my nails. In the photos, You Jump, I Jump is layered over On the Town.







Because Carleigh was inspired by the Titanic movie for this polish, I wanted to show you You Jump, I Jump over a navy blue polish (Sinful Colors Cold Leather) to further represent the water in the Titanic!  Again, I layered two coats of You Jump, I Jump over the navy blue polish.




You can find Ellison's Organics on their website, follow via twitter, or feel free to like them on Facebook!

Thanks for reading!

♥ Colleen


Saturday, May 10, 2014

OPI Where Did Suzi's Man-go? Swatches & Review...with a little nail art

Hello, everyone!

I'll be swatching OPI Where Did Suzi's Man-go for you today from the OPI Brazil Collection! I actually had this swatch done a couple of weeks ago, I just never made the blog post. So better late than never! :)



Where Did Suzi's Man-go is a beautiful mango-orange creme. This polish is unique in my collection, and I just can't get over how gorgeous this polish is! It will definitely be one of my spring/summer go-to's! The formula was good and I used two coats for the pictures below, but you could probably get away with one!



After I bought this polish, I had set it down on my desk next to a couple of my other polishes. When I was about to swatch it, I saw I had put it down on my desk next to China Glaze Seahorsin' Around, and immediately thought that they would look good together, so I had to do a little nail art with them. Although I just decided to do some slanted tips, I think that they look really pretty together!



I hope you have a great rest of the day!

♥ Colleen

The Liebester Award...x2

Well hello, there! Long time no post.

Sorry I've been MIA recently, but life just got in the way and will continue to be pretty crazy until after my graduation at the end of the month. I hadn't checked Bloglovin' in a little over a month and I almost had a heart attack when I saw the number of unread posts: 3,582. Wow. I guess you know you've been slacking in the nail blogging world when you start looking through on Bloglovin' and you see all these new spring/summer collections came out without you knowing... :( But, I have a whole bunch of polishes to swatch as well as some nail art stuff to squeeze in this month! So I'm glad to be back and catching up. :)

Anyway, this post has been long overdue but I have been nominated for the Liebester Award twice in one week by two fellow polish bloggers: Frankie from Frankie Hunters Nails and Angela from Older Ladies Like Color Too!



So here's Frankie's questions:
     1. What was the first polish you purchased and why?
    I don't have it any more so I don't know the name of it, but it was a black Sally Hansen polish with rainbow microglitter. I got this polish to go with my pirate halloween costume when I was 10. It's hard to believe that it was 8 years ago when I bought my first polish!

    2. Would you move to the other end of the world for love?
    Hmmmmm...good question. I love living in the Chicago area, so I think it would take a LOT for me to leave. But if it was true love, then maybe :)

    3. What does your dream polish look like (it doesn't matter if it exists or not)?
    You know those sea green-colored crayola crayons?  Well I LOVE that color so my dream polish would be a sea green color with a slightly darker green microshimmer and mini silver hex glitter. If anyone knows of a polish like that let me know! But if one like this ever comes out, I can promise you I'll be one of the first people in line to buy it haha. This polish would make me think of Lake Michigan :)

    4. Show us your nail art masterpiece so far (please add a link if possible)!
    Well...I'm not very good at nail art, but I would say my favorite one of mine recently is just the one I did with some blue ombre stripes and a little gold heart. Even though it's very simple, it was pretty cute!


    5. Tell us about a nail art technique you haven't tried yet and why!
    Water marbling. I always wanted to try it and I have seen some really cool water marble designs by people who make it look real easy, but I just feel like it would take me a while to get the hang of it. So maybe when I have time this summer I'll try it!

    6. Which person, doesn't matter if dead, alive or fictional, do you want to meet?
    This is a hard question, but I would want to meet my great grandmother. She died about three weeks before I was born, and my Mom tells me that my great grandma really wanted to be able to meet me, but knew that she wouldn't be there by the time I was born. So I'd want to meet her :)

    7. What's your favorite book and why?
    Literature wise, my favorite is probably A Tale of Two Cities. I loved reading about some of the themes in it, and I had an English teacher who really went into depth about the imagery behind some of the scenes which made it interesting.

    Outside of the books I read in English, there are just to many that I liked to name a favorite! Some of my favorites are the I am Number Four series by a couple people under the pseudonym Pittacus Lore, the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, The Good Guy by Dean Koontz, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, and anything my Nicholas Sparks. What can I say? I still love teen fiction in a variety of genres!

    8. Wellness trip or adventure holiday?
    I would have to say adventure holiday. Even if I were to go on a trip to get away for a little while and relax, you wouldn't find me just chilling the whole time. I love to explore new cities and places, and see all they have to offer!

    9. How would your friends describe you?
    Probably as nice, good friend as well as a good listener. My friends sometimes joke that if I'm not listening, no one is listening. 

    10. Burger King or McDonald's?
    I would have to say McDonald's because I love McDonald's iced coffees!

    11. What or whom wouldn't you want to miss in your life?
    I wouldn't want to live without my family. My family is always there for me, so I wouldn't want to be missing them in my life!

    And now for Angela's questions:

    1.  What was the inspiration for the name of your blog?
    Good question...my little sister came up with the name! The first nail art I attempted was clouds, and when I told my sister that I was going to start a nail blog/showed her the cloud design I had done on my nails, she correlated clouds with "dreams" and came up with the blog name Dream It Up Nails! 
     
    2.  Do you have a dedicated nail/beauty room or just a small space?

    I don't actually have a dedicated room where I paint my nails, I just use an old night stand that I have in my room. Not only do I use my night stand for a surface to paint my nails, but I also keep my nail polishes in my night stand's drawers.
     

    3. What is your favorite mainstream polish and your favorite indie polish?
    It's so hard to pick favorites!! But a couple of my favorite mainstreams right now are China Glaze Seahorsin' Around and OPI Where Did Suzi's Man-Go? As for indies, I haven't actually owned any indie polishes before...sad right?! I've been absolutely drooling over all the gorgeous spring indie polishes (especially glitters!). However, I literally just got my first indie polishes in the mail yesterday from Ellison's Organics, and I can't wait to try them! :)

    4. What are some of your hobbies?
    Other than blogging and painting my nails, I play the violin! I've been playing for 9 years in school orchestras, as well as the pit orchestra for my school's musical productions of Les Miserables, Disney's Beauty & the Beast, and The Sound of Music. And I don't know if you'd count this as a hobby or anything, but I might be a (slight) shopaholic lol. 

    5. If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
    I would have to say Rome, Italy for this one. I've always wanted to go to Italy mostly because it's so rich in culture and history, but I also wouldn't mind some authentic Italian food!

    6. Do you see yourself blogging 5 years from now?
    Hopefully! Life gets in the way sometimes, but I don't see my nail polish obsession stopping anytime soon! I also started a lifestyle blog that I'd like to do in addition to this one, that will be about anything from college life, to beauty products, to fitness, or anything else that comes to mind. I guess we'll see how the new blog goes, but I will definitely try to keep blogging on Dream It Up Nails!
     
    7. Do you like it quiet while you blog or do you need background noise?
    I generally like it quiet while I blog because otherwise I get distracted!

    8.  What do you want to be when you grow up? (I believe we are all kids, at heart, and it's never too late to be what you want to be!) 
    I'll be going off to college next year and I'm planning on double majoring in Accounting and Finance. So hopefully after graduating from college, I'll be able to work for a company in the city! You know what would be even cooler? If I could work for a beauty company! :)

    9. Morning person or night owl?
    Can I say both? During the week I have no problem getting up early. However on the weekends, I usually stay up later and sleep in pretty late. 

    10. Any special plans for the summer?
    Not really...just getting ready to go away for college. I have orientation for my school in late June, and I also have a little summer job teaching swim lessons at a local park district. So I'll be keeping myself pretty busy!

    11.  And last, but not least, what lead you to starting your own blog?
    Long story short, I always loved nail polish. I used to see all my friends go to the salon to get their nails done, but my Mom never let me because she never understood why I would need to get my nails done if I owned nail polish of my own. So after seeing my friends get cute little designs drawn on their nails at the salon, one day I googled "nail designs" and thought that maybe I could recreate a design onto my nails. And when thousands and thousand of nail design images came up, I was utterly amazed. After clicking on some of the pictures, I was led to some nail blogs and couldn't believe how awesome their nail art was. I had no idea that there were so many people out there who like nail polish as much, if not more, than me. So after looking through a countless number of nail blogs, I finally decided that I wanted to join in on the fun and make a nail blog myself. And the rest is history... ;)

    So thank you again to Angela and Frankie for nominating for the Liebester Award! However, since I had already been nominated once before, I think I will pass on nominating anyone...but if you are reading this, have less than 200 followers, and haven't been nominated before, I nominate YOU! Feel free to pick one of the sets of questions above to answer! :)

    Thanks for stopping by!
    ♥ Colleen

    Tuesday, April 8, 2014

    Miss Sporty Metal Flip Collection Swatches: Aurora Borealis, Beetle Wings, and Fiery Blaze

    Happy Tuesday, polishers!

    I have three duochrome polishes from the Miss Sporty Metal Flip Collection to show you today! I actually won these polishes in a giveaway from the nice girl behind the Nails From Fairy Tale blog, which is pretty cool since I don’t think this brand is sold where I am in the United States!

    Anyway, on to the swatches! Just a heads up, sorry about all of the random hand positions in the pictures. I wanted to try to have the light hit it my nails just right so that you can see the color shift better.

    First up is Aurora Borealis, which is an icy blue color that flashes a purple/pink when the light hits it. It reminds me a lot of Orly Angel Rain, but I think that Angel Rain is a little brighter of a blue than Aurora Borealis. I needed to use three coats for this polish to be opaque, and I didn’t have any problem with the formula.




    Next is Beetle Wings, which is an olive green color that shifts to gold and a little bit of pink. I had no problem with the formula, and I used two coats for the pictures below.





    The third and final polish I’ll be showing you from this collection is by far the most striking, and also has the most noticeable shift. Fiery Blaze is a bronze color that shifts purple. It is incredible to look at, and probably my favorite of the three. I just love this polish, and I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of this polish when I had it on! I used ONE coat for the pictures below (one-coat polishes will always hold a special place in my heart) and I had no problem with the formula.




     So if you had to choose, which one of these three do you like best? Thanks for stopping by!

    ♥ Colleen


    Sunday, March 30, 2014

    Essie Style Hunter Swatches & Review

    Hey polish enthusiasts!

    I have polish from the Essie Hide & Go Chic Collection to show you today!

    Style Hunter is described by Essie as being a "sharp crimson," which is a perfect description of this polish! I LOVE this color! It's very shiny and even though reds don't usually go with my skin-tone very well, I'll definitely be wearing this polish a lot! The formula didn't have any issues and I used two coats for the pictures below.



    Have you tried any of the polishes from this collection? I wish I had bought a couple more! :)

    Hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

    Colleen


    Sunday, March 16, 2014

    OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection: Kermit Me To Speak Swatches & Review

    Today I have a polish from the OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection to show you!

    Kermit Me To Speak is a duochrome polish that shifts from a golden tan to a pinky purple color. I love this polish because it's different from anything I have in my polish collection, and just because I love duochromes! :)

    I used two coats for the photos below. The formula was very easy to work with!






     What do you think about this polish? Do you have an picks from the OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection?

    -Colleen

     

    Saturday, March 15, 2014

    #NailArtMar Challenge: Neon

    Hey polishers!

    I hope your weekend has been going well! I know I've been a little lacking with my March Nail Art Challenge posts, but I'm going to try and catch up this week! So today I have my belated neon manicure.


    I decided not to do this all neon, and just paint the chevron neon. I messed up a little on the chevron, but as a nail blogger, I'll still show you my fails! :)



    Even though I messed up on the chevron, I love the colors in this!

    Polishes used:
    China Glaze Seahorsin' Around
    China Glaze Pool Party
    Pure Ice Superstar!

    I can't wait to start wearing neon a lot more now that spring is nearly upon us and summer will be here shortly! Do you have any favorite neon polishes for the spring/summer?

    I hope you have a great rest of the day!

    Colleen

    Sunday, March 9, 2014

    L.A. Girl Stayin Alive Swatches & Review

    Hey polishers!

    Well, it was my Birthday yesterday and I officially turned 18! I know I missed the March Nail Art Challenge from yesterday, but since it was my Birthday, I wanted to do something else. To keep things simple, I decided not to do any nail art designs and instead just paint a solid color. I chose to wear L.A. Girl Stayin Alive, and since I haven't shown it on the blog yet, I thought I'd swatch it for you today!

    L.A. Girl Stayin Alive is a very lovely scarlet color, leaning a little bit more orange than red. The formula was good, and I just looove the color. It's gorgeous. It dried naturally shiny, so you're seeing 2 coats without a top coat in the pictures below. Stayin Alive is part of the L.A. Girl Disco Brites Collection.




    Pretty color isn't it? :)


    And just because, here's a picture of one of my balloons:


    I hope you have a great start to your week!

    Colleen
     

    Tuesday, March 4, 2014

    #NailArtMar Challenge: Ombre

    Hey polishers!

    Today is the second day of Californails'  "Totally Doable I Have A Life" March Nail Art Challenge and the today's theme is ombre!



    For the ombre theme, I thought I would do vertical stripes using a couple of blue polishes.
    Here it is:



    Polishes I used:
    -a light blue polish by California Colors
    -Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!
    -L.A. Colors In A Flash
    -OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby

    Although this isn't the best mani that I've ever done, I really like the blues in here and I think the little gold hearts really make it. :)


    Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great rest of the day!

    -Colleen

    Saturday, March 1, 2014

    #NailArtMar Challenge: Dotticure

    Hey everyone!

    I can't believe that it's finally March! Hopefully the spring weather will also be coming soon...

    Anyway, I decided to join Californails'  "Totally Doable I Have A Life" March Nail Art Challenge!


    Today's theme is Dotticure so I decided to do a multicolored polka dot design.



    I think I might have used a few too many colors in here, but I love the blues, purple, and sparkly gold polishes together!

    The polishes I used were:
    -a sky blue polish by California Nails
    -a teal polish by Body Central
    -In A Flash by L.A. Colors
    -Blue Me Away! by Sally Hansen
    -Strapped by Sinful Colors
    -Love.Angel.Music.Baby. by OPI
    -What A Pansy by China Glaze

    So what do you think of the color theme I used? Will you be taking part in a March nail art challenge?

    Have a great rest of the day!
    -Colleen


    Friday, February 28, 2014

    Dream It Up Nails joined the Her Campus Blogger Network!

    Happy Friday all!

    You may have noticed that I now have a Her Campus Blogger Network button on my blog's sidebar, and that's because I've joined the Her Campus Blogger Network!


    The Her Campus Blogger Network (also known as HCBN) is a network of blogs written by young women on a variety of topics. Some of these topics include: Fashion, Beauty, Career, DIY, Entertainment, Family, Food/Cooking, Greek Life, Health/Fitness, Lifestyle, travel, and more! I'm listed under the beauty section.

    You can also feel free to apply to be a part of HCBN! Click here to be directed to the HCBN page with the blogger application link! You can also just click on the Her Campus button located on my sidebar to be linked to this page. Joining HCBN is a great opportunity for bloggers to form a community and share ideas and inspiration with one another across a multitude of topics. There is also editorial and sponsorship opportunities available from Her Campus and their partners.

    And, if you are a brand looking to showcase your product, you're in luck! HCBN also provides brands with the chance to reach 400+ digital influencers and their audiences through product distribution and sponsored posts. For more info on this, just click the HCBN link!

    I hope you think about joining in!

    Colleen


    Monday, February 24, 2014

    China Glaze City Flourish Collection: Metro Pollen-Tin and What A Pansy Swatches & Review

    Happy Monday!

    I have a couple more China Glaze polishes to share with you today: Metro Pollen-Tin and What A Pansy from the China Glaze Spring 2014 City Flourish Collection! After seeing some of the promos, I wanted to get a couple more other than the polishes I'll be showing you today, but unfortunately they were fresh out of most of the polishes from this collection at Ulta.

    Anyway, on to the swatches:

    First up is Metro Pollen-Tin.

    Metro Pollen-Tin is a very pretty marigold creme (a yellow color with a slight orange undertone). I wasn't very happy with this formula because it ended up being very thin and streaky. So in order to even everything out, and since this polish dried really quickly with a satin finish, I used a top coat over it. It's not that I minded the satin finish, it's just that I really think the top coat evened it out better and really brought out the marigold color. Shown in the pictures below is 3 coats (2 thin coats, and 1 rather thick coat).


    It's really a shame that the formula wasn't so good because the color is really pretty!



    To end on a better note, the next polish is What A Pansy. 

    What A Pansy is a beautiful purple-toned periwinkle creme. It's gorgeous! And thankfully, the formula was fine for this one! I used 2 coats for the pictures below.


    The top picture is what it looks like in indirect light, and the bottom picture is in direct light. As you can see, the direct light makes the purple-tones look a little lighter.




    I find it interesting how different formulas can be for polishes even in the same collection! Although I was a little disappointed with Metro Pollen-Tin, I love What A Pansy! Do you have any favorites from this collection?

    -Colleen


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