If you’re a longtime user of Google Reader, like I am, I have no doubt the news about Google discontinuing the service came as quite a shock followed by major disappointment. Since the announcement a couple months ago, I’ve been testing different options that would allow me to read my favorite sites on my desktop, tablet and phone (I’m #TeamAndroid but not anti-Apple).

I’ve finally settled on Bloglovin as my reader of choice and wanted to share that as my favorite option for those of you forced off Google Reader. And Google Friend Connect users, get prepared to be next.

All Lacquered Up on Bloglovin

To make life easier, Bloglovin can import your Google Reader list (CLICK HERE) and it opens blog posts on the actual blog so you can comment AND continue paging through your blog list. So genius. Plus there are apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

So make sure you can still get your ALU fix come July when Google Reader says goodbye. Follow All Lacquered Up on Bloglovin. Or if, you just can’t quit Google, ALU is on Google+ as well.

Anyway, the point is, every day is something different on the show; Wine-sday (Wednesday), Thirsty Thursday, etc. and today happens to be Try-day Friday, when they try something new. This morning it was chocolate babka, yum!! It’s in honor of that concept that this PinspiratioNAIL was born.

Sea Glass Watercolor Nail Art

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If you recall, PinspiratioNAIL is my riff on a look I find on Pinterest. Today I wanted to attempt a new-to-me technique, Watercolor Nail Art (or Marble Nails). The name is open to interpretation. Anyway, I’ve seen a few different tutorials on how to create the watercolor look but, given my amateur skills, I wanted the simplest possible method. For my sake and yours. Check it out!

The Pinspiration: Like I said, I’ve seen watercolor nails done multiple ways. You may remember how I feel about water marbling (click if you don’t). My friend Steff from Short N Chic did the brush dipped in acetone method, and it’s beautiful, but anything that involves a nail art brush makes me leery. It wasn’t until I saw the plastic bag technique on Pearls and Polish that I felt confident to give the look a try.

While I was in Sandusky for  my birthday weekend, I stopped at Meijer (oh how I wish we had them in Cleveland) and saw a couple Sally Hansen displays that weren’t in my usual drugstore haunts back home. I picked up a few blues and greens and when I looked at them together, they had a very beach-y, sea glass feel so they became the color palette for today’s look.

images via Polish and Pearls and Tears From The Deep

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Jaded from the Complete Salon Manicure line. The CSM polishes have been a fave of mine since they launched in 2010 and the new formula adds gel-like shine and increased chip resistance to the already phenom formula.

Jaded is a bit sheer and jelly-like. An ideal candidate for a syrup manicure. It’s a blue-green creme, heavy on the blue, that lives up to its jade green name. I used three coats and I can see my tips a bit in real life but not to the point that I’d need a solid base (aka underwear).

Sally Hansen Jaded

Technique

1. Make sure base color is completely dry. 2. Add splotches of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue-ming Fast (cyan creme) and Sally Hansen CSM Resurrection (smokey navy) in random patterns with a few dots of Jaded to make sure it doesn’t get lost in the mix. 3. Press a plastic sandwich bag (plastic wrap works as well) on the nail to squish the colors together. 4. Clean up any polish on the cuticle and seal with a top coat.

Application Tips: 1. Apply balm or tape to the surrounding skin to make cleanup easier. 2. In most tutorials, the splotches are shown rather large but I wanted a more mixed result so I used multiple, tiny drops of polish, even overlapping the colors some.

Watercolor Marble Nail Art

Watercolor Marble Nail Art

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Jaded is a core color and available at drugstores nationwide and online at Target.com and ULTA.com. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Blue-ming Fast is part of a LE spring launch as is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Resurrection which is from the Runway Designer series. Availability will vary. Sally Hansen CSM polishes retail for $7.99/ea and Insta-Dri polishes are $4.99/ea.

What do you think of my watercolor nails? Is this a technique you have or will try? Of all the Sally Hansen polish lines (CSM, Insta-Dri, Diamond Strength, etc), which one is your favorite?

Also, follow my PinspiratioNAIL board on Pinterest and leave a comment on the look you would like to see me try next.

Disclosure: I purchased all the nail polishes shown. Affiliate links may appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Oh and bonus, I’m featured in the July/August issue. Nail It! EIC Stephanie Yaggy-Lavery interviewed me about my favorite products, brands and nail trends. Such a thrill!

All Lacquered Up in Nail It! Magazine

The magazine focuses on color trends, celebrity nails, nail art (including tutorials) and incorporates beauty and fashion seamlessly into the mix. On top of all that, they are really incorporating bloggers by featuring their nail art and promoting their blogs both in the magazine and on their companion website NailItMag.com.

So head on out and pick up a copy at your local newsstand or save money and subscribe. Visit NailItMag.com/Subscribe or WheresMyMagazine.com to find a local retailer.

Have you seen Nail It! in stores ? Are you a subscriber? What’s your favorite feature in the magazine?

Unlike a lot of brands that release limited edition seasonal collections, one of the things I love about Zoya is that they keep their colors around. So all those fan faves, like the Zoya Sparkle & Zoya Ooh-La-La collections, are still around for Zoya newbies.

The Deal: From now through June 16th, 2013, buy any color on the Zoya Summer Flashback Sale page and get one free. Use code FLOGO to receive the discount. BONUS: Buy four shades, get four free and receive FREE GROUND SHIPPING.

For full details, including terms & conditions, visit the Zoya blog.

Which Flashback colors are you planning to scoop up? Are you using this sale to get backups of any of your faves? Share your haul in the comments!

Zoya Stunning

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This type of candy-colored collection always brings back memories of the first Skittles manicure I showed you, using the Zoya Candy collection, or how we debated whether multi-colored manicures were trendy or tacky. Now, that wouldn’t even be a question. Oh how times have changed since I launched this site, over six years ago.

Formula & Application: Zoya nail polish is 5-Free (free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin & Camphor). Their signature Italian glass bottles have a tapered, shiny black plastic cap that rests comfortably between the thumb and index finger while polishing. The brush is short, round and medium in girth with flexible bristles that allow for ease of control.

The Zoya creme formula feels a bit watery, similar to Essie. It spreads easily and self levels but can vary in terms of coverage. For the most part I was able to get away with two thin coats but on some nails I had to throw on an extra layer. And, of course, Darcy needed three coats being that yellows are notoriously difficult to work with. As I shared in my Zoya Ivanka Wear Test, Zoya nail polishes wear best with the full Zoya Color Lock System or top coats that exclude Cellulose Acetate Butyrate.

Zoya Darcy is a bright, golden yellow creme. It shows some pearl in the bottle but, on the nail, it just adds depth. It reminds me of the Man with the Yellow Hat from Curious George. It’s that kind of electrifying yellow party. While I’m always hesitant to use the term dupe, it’s VERY hard to see the difference between Darcy and NARS Amchoor (Thakoon by NARS).

Zoya Darcy

Zoya Josie is a dark minty green creme, more like the color of a mint leaf than the confectionery, pastel color we normally associate with the word mint. It’s a cool, blue-leaning hue but not so much that it loses its green essence. Now you guys know I own a lot of greens but nothing quite like this. Colors like Orly Mint Mojito or Clinique Hula Skirt are too light. Shades like China Glaze Gaga for Green and Barielle Green with Envy, too yellow.

Zoya Josie

Zoya Micky is described as a coral creme but, to my eye, it’s a rosy pink. Definitely warm but not coral. A darker version of OPI Elephantastic Pink, if you will. Like Darcy, it contains micro-fine pearl that isn’t visible on the nail.

Zoya Micky

Zoya Rocky is an intense sky blue creme. It dries a bit darker than the bottle color suggests and is a cousin to OPI Can’t Find My Czechbook. CFMC is a bit lighter but not to the point that you need both shades.

Zoya Rocky

Zoya Thandie is a deep, sun-ripened peach cream. It toes the line between orange and peach and is just slightly darker than Nails Inc Porchester Square. I honestly don’t feel like this photo does it justice. It’s much richer in person.

Zoya Thandie

Zoya Yana is a hot, raspberry pink. Of the three shades with pearl, it’s most noticeable in Yana though only under close inspection. It reminds me a lot of OPI A Definite Moust-Have (Couture de Minnie), just not quite as red. They’re close enough to only need one, though a color dissector will see the negligible difference.

Zoya Yana

Bottom Line: The formula and coverage this collection provides is excellent so if the colors grab you, you won’t be let down. For me personally, Josie makes my heart flutter. It’s unique, gorgeous and wearable thanks to its cool base color. Green lovers, jump on it!  Rocky is beautiful as well but if you own its OPI relative, there’s no need to double up. As far as golden yellows go, Darcy is one of the better ones in terms of quality. Yana, Thandie and Micky are nice but not unique enough for me to deem them must-haves.

The Zoya Stunning collection is available now. Zoya nail polishes are available online at Zoya.com and at salons nationwide including ULTA. Visit the Zoya Salon Locator for a retailer near you. Zoya nail polishes retail for$8/ea for a .5oz bottle. Don’t forget, you can try before you buy with the Zoya Color Spoon program.

Which if these are jumping off the screen and into your stash? Do you tend to wear more creme or sparkle polishes in the summer? 

Oh and if you are looking for a cool nail art idea, Sarah from Chalkboard Nails created a gorgeous water marble manicure using the collection that looks just like Fruit Stripe Gum. If water marbling didn’t give me the hives, I’d totally try it.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by Zoya. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

China Glaze Texture - Spring 2013

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I’m happy to see that rather than jump on the exact same bandwagon (e.g. crackle), the brands are differentiating themselves somewhat, offering varying takes on texture. The China Glaze Texture collection is one such example.

Of the textured polishes I’ve shown thus far, the majority have gone down the sparkly, glistening sand route. China Glaze’s take has the look of stucco with tiny irregularly shaped particles that remind me of NERDS candy.

Formula & Application: China Glaze Texture nail polish is 5-Free with a round brush that is both medium in length and firmness with enough give to allow for ease of control. The cap is slightly tapered and made of smooth plastic that is comfortable to hold.

The base of the Texture polish is actually a glossy creme. You can see light reflecting off it between the particles. The particles themselves dry with the same finish but because of the way your eye sees it, it has an overall flat, matte appearance. Unlike most of the glittery texture polishes, these are very pigmented. You only need one coat for coverage but two coats add more texture. The polish is actually easy to control in spite of its thickness.

Note: I’m showing all the shades with two coats, except Unrefined which is only one coat so you can see the difference in texture.

China Glaze Bump & Grind is a magenta textured polish. It’s a hot, red-based pink.

China Glaze Bump and Grind

China Glaze In The Rough is a chartreuse textured polish. It’s definitely more green than yellow and very bright.

China Glaze In The Rough

China Glaze Itty, Bitty & Gritty is a coral textured polish. It has a lot of pink in its base so it’s a cool coral.

China Glaze Itty Bitty & Gritty

China Glaze Of Course! is a bright sky blue textured polish. It has a softness that feels billowy, like a cloud.

China Glaze Of Coarse!

China Glaze Toe-Tally Textured is a vivid, yellow-leaning orange. It looks like the skin of an orange, no?

China Glaze Toe-Tally Textured

China Glaze Unrefined is a cool pink textured creme with undertones of lilac. It dries much brighter than the bottle suggests. Again, this is just one coat.

China Glaze Unrefined

A lot of the textured nail art I’ve seen uses multiple coats of polish and looks way too lumpy for my taste. After seeing some chic, Negative Space Manicures that caught my eye, I thought do my take on it with texture. Just one coat of Of Coarse! over a naked nail using striping tape. Application Tip: The tape didn’t want to stick to my bare nail so I used a coat of CND Stickey to give it something to grip.

Negative Space Nail Art

Bottom Line: I honestly expecting to hate this style of texture but the longer I wear it, the more it grows on me. The sandpaper feel is an adjustment but I like seeing the little bits of shine poking through the granules and I enjoy the bright color range. Of Coarse! is my fave of the bunch as I’m still on my bright blue kick but Itty, Bitty & Gritty is a close second. In The Rough is not a flattering color for me so it gets a pass.

China Glaze Texture is available now at salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide including Sally Beauty and ULTA. To locate a retailer near you, visit ChinaGlaze.com. China Glaze nail polishes retail for $7/ea for a .5oz bottle.

So are you into this style of textured polish? Are you anti-texture people coming around? Which of these shades would you wear? How do you like my take on Negative Space nail art?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for China Glaze. Affiliate links appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Press Sample|Sponsored Post

If you were the kind of CYOA reader I was, you re-read the book until you discovered every possible option so you could create your perfect story. Well, Revlon and ELLE have teamed up to create a grown-up fashion and beauty version of CYOA with The Personal Style Experience.

The Personal Style Experience on Revlon’s Facebook page is an interactive video that asks you to make beauty, fashion and lifestyle choices to help select your “Style Personality.” I’m not gonna lie, my overly obsessive self has played this A LOT to see all the different results (though I can’t seem to get Daring). Which is great because I don’t feel like my style falls into one specific category. I consider myself a chameleon and this type of game plays right into that.

For us nail girls, it includes options like “a party nail” or “matching lips & tips” and in the end you get fashion and product recommendations based on your style, like the new Revlon® Brilliant Strength™ Nail Enamel in Mesmerize. It’s no secret that I’m all about bold blues at the moment and this vibrant cyan creme feeds that frenzy. Better yet, the Brilliant Strength formula has base & top coat built in so it dries to a high gloss shine.

Revlon Brilliant Strength Mesmerize

Now head on over to The Personal Style Experience for a fun little break in your day and tell me what your current “Style Personality” is. If anyone gets Daring, you NEED to tell me what products were recommended. It’s going to drive me nuts not to know!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by ELLE, Revlon and Style Coalition. For more info, view my Disclosure Policy.

OPI Couture de Minnie

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Texture continues its 2013 dominance as we are introduced to a new Liquid Sand shade in addition a sequin glitter top coat and three full coverage nail polishes in hues of pink, fuchsia and red. Check them out!

Formula & Application: OPI is a 4-free brand. The OPI Pro Wide brush is flat, wide and medium in length. It’s of average stiffness and easily spreads out on the nail when pressed. The only downside to the Pro Wide brush is that it can be too wide for slim fingers or little toes.

All of these polishes applied a bit differently and have their own advantages and quirks so I will address them individually in the shade reviews.

OPI A Definite Moust-Have is a hot pink creme with just a hint of pearl that adds to its depth. You can only see it on the nail in bright light. It’s a warm take on fuchsia in that it has a bit of rosiness to it undertone. It’s packed with pigment and flows well on the nail. It’s almost a one coat wonder in that respect. While I don’t own any matches, the base color is very similar to the creamy Orly OMG (Spring 2009).

OPI A Definite Moust-Have

OPI Chic From Ears To Tail is a cool bubblegum pink with a smattering of crystal clear mica flecks that show up in direct sunlight. The finish is similar to OPI You’re Such A Budapest (Euro Centrale). It applies similarly as well. It’s kind of streaky, a little lumpy and somewhat sheer but with three coats and careful brush strokes I was able to even it out and achieve full coverage. I realized that I’m seriously lacking when it comes to pinks of this nature. OPI Pink Friday (Nicki Minaj) lives in the same neighborhood but is a bit lighter, warmer and milkier.

OPI Chic From Ears To Tail

OPI Innie Minnie Mighty Bow is a vibrant red shimmer with some warm undertones. The finish is somewhat of a junior version of the glass fleck finish. The shimmer seems to float in the polish but in a much more subtle way. It gives it a lit from within quality that is very mesmerizing. Like A Definite Moust-Have it’s very pigmented and you can almost get away with one coat. While I don’t own a dupe, it’s a cross between OPI Thanks So Muchness (Alice in Wonderland) and OPI No Autographs Please (Holiday in Hollywood).

OPI Innie Minnie Mighty Bow

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse is the newest addition to the Liquid Sand line of textured polishes. This one is a strawberry red with hot pink and gold sparkles. As with all textured nail polishes, they are intended to be worn sans top coat. This one packs a lot of pigment so I only used one coat. Once dry, it has a fantastic sparkle to it. Now I won’t say dead on dupe but the Julie G Frosted Gumdrop in Hot Cinnamon is so close to this shade that it’s hard to tell them apart. Magazine Cover Mouse is a bit lighter with more of the fuchsia sparkle coming through on the nail.

OPI Magazine Cover Mouse Liquid Sand

OPI Minnie Style is a clear based glitter top coat filled with magenta and white hexagonal sequins. The glitter is pretty spread out so it doesn’t lay evenly on the nail. This is definitely a glitter that requires some work in placement. Application tip: drop a blob of glitter at the base off the nail, re-dip the brush and then brush over the nail.

OPI Minnie Style Glitter Top Coat

When OPI announced the launch of this collection, they reached out to bloggers requesting nail art based on the display for use on the OPI Facebook page. Knowing how many talented nail artists are out there, I didn’t submit a design but I tried my hand at a simple look just to share with you.

Given the sinewy look they created for Ms. Mouse and the peplum dress she dons at the far left, I felt it was time to try my hand at an Hourglass Manicure.

Using OPI Chic From Ears To Tail as a base, I applied French tip stickers to the sides of my nails before layering a coat of OPI A Definite Moust-Have on top. Easy, elegant and shapely.

Hourglass Manicure

Hourglass Manicure with Chic from Ears to Tail & A Definite Moust-Have

Bottom Line: I don’t have the Vintage Minnie Mouse collection to compare with this one but overall I think OPI did a good job of representing Minnie Mouse. I don’t know how fashion forward it is, beyond the use of texture, but they definitely nailed her color palette (pun totally intended). At the end of the day, OPI makes great reds, especially red shimmers and Innie Minnie Mighty Bow is a perfect example of that. A Definite Moust-Have is just that, a mus- have for pink lovers while Chic From Ears To Tail & Minnie Style get a pass due to their application issues. If you own Julie G Hot Cinnamon, I would skip Magazine Cover Mouse.

OPI Couture de Minnie is available now at salons nationwide including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA. They are also available at the first authorized online seller ULTA.com. OPI nail polish retails for $9/ea for a .5oz bottle. For more info visit OPI.com.

Thoughts on Couture de Minnie? What do you think of my Hourglass Manicure? What type of nail art do you think represents this more fashionable version of Minnie Mouse? Do you plan to pick up any of these shades?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for OPI. Affiliate links appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

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As with the first film, I couldn’t help but notice the nail polish on the two female leads, Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Alice Eve as Carol Marcus. Fortunately, I was able to get the scoop on their looks and the rest of the women of Star Trek Into Darkness straight from Assistant Make-up Department Head Deborah Patino Rutherford who worked alongside Make-up Department Head David Anderson. So if you plan to dress as your favorite character you can finish off your look with the proper polish.

According to Deborah, “Nails were an important element to our make-up design as we wanted our Starfleet woman to be groomed, serious and pretty. This film is set in the future  so we decided no fake nails or French tips as this could possibly date us.”

Keeping a consistent look from the last movie, Zoe Saldana’s makeup artist Vera Steimberg used Essie Wicked on Uhura. A short, vampy nail makes perfect sense for this strong, yet feminine woman.

Star Trek Into Darkness - Zoe Saldana as Uhura

Uhura wear Essie Wicked

For newcomer Alice Eve, Deborah opted for Essie Fair Game. “We wanted her character to be serious and classy.” The slate blue pearl has a futuristic, clean yet industrial feel that compliments the color of Carol Marcus’ uniform.

Star Trek Into Darkness - Alice Eve as Carol Marcus

Carol Marcus wears Essie Fair Game

On the other Starfleet women the nails were mostly Urban Decay, OPI and MAC Cosmetics nail polish in nude and earth tones with a few distinct colors in dark burgundy, gray, black, blue and yellow to pop it.

Civilian and Alien women wore a variety of colors by OPI, MAC, butter LONDON and Urban Decay in grays, silver, golds, teals, wines, violets and greens.  Some matte, some shimmery or sparkly. The UK nurses wore Sephora by OPI White Hot and Lady V (played by Colleen Harris) wore Urban Decay Barlust.

Some of the specific shades include: MAC Hyperion, OPI Nomad’s Dream, MAC Nocturnelle and OPI Blue My Mind.

SOPI White Hot, MAC Hyperion, OPI Nomad's Dream, MAC Nocturnelle, OPI Blue My Mind

Three shades came from the Urban Decay Holiday 2011 Nail Kit – Barlust, Wrecked and Gunmetal. They’re all edgy and dark. Scrangie has great swatches of them HERE.

Urban Decay Barlust, Wrecked and Gunmetal from Holiday 2011

Other Starfleet women were kept more classic with neutral shades like OPI It’s Totally Fort Worth It (Texas collection) and OPI Moon Over Mumbai (India collection).

OPI It's Totally Fort Worth It

OPI Moon Over Mumbai

Essie Wicked ($8) is currently available at salons and mass retailers nationwide including Essie.com and even though Essie Fair Game was a limited edition shade, I was able to easily score a bottle on eBay and found more on Amazon. All the OPI shades ($9) are currently available, find a salon at OPI.com, as is MAC Nocturnelle ($16) at MACCosmetics.com.

Did you see Star Trek Into Darkness? Were you distracted by Alice Eve’s nails too? What do you think of the color choices for each character? Will you pick up any of these shades for a potential Halloween costume?

Disclosure: I purchased Essie Fair Game and Wicked. Reps for OPI provided product samples. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

image credits: All Lacquered Up & Paramount Pictures

Maybelline Color Show Summer 2013

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In keeping with the nautical theme of the weekend, I created a nauti nail art manicure using the appropriately water-themed summer nail polish collection from Maybelline Color Show with a punch of red from Essie.

In creating my nauti nails I knew I wanted to wear horizontal stripes and that I wanted to incorporate multiple shades of blue. A striping tape manicure seemed the logical choice. My debate was weather to make the base colors all different and polish over in the same, pale grey shade, or vice versa. Tip: Experiment with your ideas on nail art wheels before executing. Saves you a lot of time.

I ended up polishing all my nails with a base of Maybelline Bare Escape, a cool pale grey creme. It’s a little thick and streaky so I wouldn’t wear it on its own but for this purpose it worked well. It dried fast, which is key to a tape manicure.

Next, I cut 32 strips of thin striping tape from Amazon and placed them on my nails in a vertical pattern. Then I polished each digit with a different shade of blue. I used Maybelline Midnight Swim (navy creme), Maybelline Azure Seas (bold blue creme), Maybelline Shocking Seas (cyan creme), and Maybelline Turquoise Paradise (aqua creme) pulling up the tape as I finished each nail.

As a sort of anti-accent accent nail, I used a rich red creme, Essie Hip-anema, on my ring fingers with a coat of Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Bow over top.

Application tips: 1) Place all the tape before you polish. 2) Use tweezers to place the tape on the nail 3) Start the tape flat on the nail at the edge, only leaving excess hanging on one side. 4) Pull up the tape with the tweezers. 5) Wait 10-15 minutes before applying top coat to avoid blurring the lines.

Not So Pro Tip: Don’t use hot pink colored striping tape. It bleeds, as evidenced below.

Nautical Stripe Nail Art

Nauti Stripe Nail Art

The Maybelline Color Show summer edition nail polishes are limited edition and available now at drugstores nationwide. Maybelline Shocking Seas and Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow are both core colors and Essie Hip-anema is part of the spring Madison Ave-hue collection available at salons and mass retailers nationwide. Maybelline Color Show nail polish retails for $3.99/ea.

Do you like my nauti nail art? Do you have any striping nail art tips to share? Tell me I’m not alone in making my birthday a weekend extravaganza?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Deborah Lippmann, Essie and Maybelline. Affiliate links appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.