China Glaze “Colours From The Capitol” Hunger Games Collection Bottle Images

The excitement over the China Glaze Colours From The Capitol nail polish collection continues to build as we get closer and closer to the release of The Hunger Games movie and now they’re teasing us a bit more. Today I have a bottle image preview of the 12 color collection.

Get ready for some HUGE pics of the bottles.

All Lacquered Up’s Fanatic Favorites 2011 – Nomination Round

Calling all nail polish fanatics!! It’s time to sound off about your favorite nail polish colors and products in ALU’s Fanatic Favorites 2011.  That’s right, it’s your chance to vote for the best colors and collections from 2011 and ALL TIME!

Instead of just doing a single vote, we kick things off with a nomination round.  From now through January 25th you have a chance to nominate your nail favorite colors and products.  From these nominations I will pull the Top 5 plus one Wild Card to be a part of the Fanatic Favorites 2011 final vote.

Let’s get started!

“Back” on track. FINALLY!

You guys!!  I can’t tell you how much I’ve been missing you all. And I don’t mean that in the cheesy, that’s what I’m supposed to say, way. I’ve been seriously going cra cra laying on my back not able to talk polish with you.

I look forward to reading your comments and emails every day and it’s been rough not having my peeps to interact with. Also, your comments weren’t lost or anything. I’m so behind thanks to an update to the WordPress app for Android. I can’t get the stupid thing to open on my phone or tablet, bother!

Anywhoodle, I’m back for reals this time. After seeing a spine specialist I was told I have a severe muscle strain. I was just so happy it wasn’t disc related. Though the doc offhandedly mentioned that I have degenerative discs. Um, thanks? I was given a choice of a shot in my back or pills & lots of rest with ice. As much as I wanted get better fast, needles scare the bejeezus out of me so I had to opt for the two week drug induced sleepfest.

I’m not 100% yet but I can sit for more than 20 minutes without wanting to cry and I was able to get through 20 minutes of Zumba so I’ll take it. Side note: Those of you curious about my progress with Weight Watchers, I finally hit the 40lb mark this past weekend. I’m almost halfway to goal. Woot!

So I mentioned my NYE manicure in my last real post and while it’s WAY after the fact, I’m so obsessed with this polish I just have to share it with you. I have literally worn this color FOUR times since I got it. That’s in spite of the removal nightmare that is glitter polish.

China Glaze Tinsel Town is my EVERYTHING in terms of glitter polish. It’s so dense that you only need two coats for full coverage. It’s a gorgeous graphite silver that looks chic no matter the season. And the variety of the glitter particles is perfection. Tiny square and round glitter pieces are packed in the semi-sheer smokey blue-grey base with larger hexagonal sequins.

Yes, it eats top coat. To the point that I could still feel texture after using Gelous as a spackle coat and two layers of Out The Door Top Coat. But you know what, it still sparkled like I had little mirrors glued to my nails so I can deal with texture. The removal isn’t a joy but you’ll have that with glitters.

You can still find China Glaze Tinsel Town and the rest of the Let It Snow collection on my go-to etailers Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com. Bottles retail for $3/ea.

Next up, the nomination round for the Fanatic Favorites 2011 and my recap of the Golden Globes. And of course, polish. Lots and lots of polish!!!

Ahh, Best Laid Plans…

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I stood up on Sunday, literally after writing my last post, and felt a shooting pain in my back. This happened to me one before in my mid-20s with no explanation and again i have no clue what triggered it. Since Sunday I have been flat on my back, moving only out off extreme necessity. Happy Anniversary to me!

I had planned to finish editing my NYE manni pics after having a drink. Clearly that didn’t happen so i wanted to update you all so you don’t think I disappeared. Btw, I’m typing this on my tablet so please excuse any errors. I have appointments with a doctor and chiropractor tomorrow so let’s hope I can get some relief asap. Yes, I’m going to both because I want to cover my bets.

In the meantime I’ve been tearing through my Kindle library and if you’re at all interested in celebrity or Hollywood I suggest you check out Rob Lowe’s autobiography. It’s smart, interesting and seems unreal. The man gives new meaning to destiny and chance encounter. It doesn’t hurt that he’s one of my longest-running celebs crushes, aside from Christian Bale.

I’ll keep you posted on how it ask goes. Keep you fingers crossed.

Happy New Year! 2012 I’m So HAPPY To See You

Happy 2012 Fanatics! I hope your NYE was fun, safe and free of any regrettable actions (drunk texts, hangovers, etc). Mine was relatively low key spent with good friends and enjoying an amazing meal with the boyfriend.

I, for one, was ready to watch the door hit 2011 as it left and am embracing 2012 with welcome, open arms. Instead of recapping the past year, because it pretty much blew, I’ve spent the past couple weeks doing a lot of reflecting on ALU and what I want to do with it going forward. How I want to kick off its 5th year. That’s right, ALU turns FIVE today. Crazy, right? Where did the time, and my youth, go?

I have a lot of fun things in store for the upcoming months that I hope you will enjoy.

• A 5 year blogoversary is a reason blow the roof off so, much like I celebrate my own birthday, I’m keeping the party going all month long with a bunch of amazing giveaways. They will be random and only last for 24 hours so make sure you check back often so you don’t miss a chance to win some great nail loot.
• The Fanatic Favorites is back and nominations will begin this week. If you aren’t familiar, take a look at last year’s results and start thinking about which brands/colors were your faves in 2011.
• I’m reinstating the “Untrieds” series but not in a 365 format. I decided to make it a permanent thing until my bin of Untrieds, is empty. And by bin, I mean 5 gallon storage tub. OY! Instead of every day you will see 3-5 untried polishes each week and my goal is to make sure they are accessible unless it’s something I just HAVE to share.
• The amount of new nail polish brands on the market is getting kind of ridiculous and trying to cover them all is impossible. At this point there doesn’t seem to be a clothing chain out there without a private label line of stock colors. I want to focus on the brands I really love, that are accessible and consistently deliver quality. Tried & true staples like Chanel, China Glaze, CND, Deborah Lippmann, Essie, Nubar, Orly, OPI, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Sally Hansen, Zoya (just to name a few). Of course that doesn’t mean smaller, up and coming brands won’t get love from ALU but I will only share things with you I feel are really worth seeking out. Cult Nails, for example, is one to watch.
• While I am admittedly a noob when it comes to video, I have been researching and my plan is to incorporate more video tutorials in 2012.
• And speaking of video, I am also working on launching a regular live show where we can interact in real time.

Of course, I am open to your suggestions and I would love to hear your thoughts. I just ask that they be constructive and feasible. Also, if there is a series or type of post I have done in the past that you really miss, let me know.

Curious what sparkler I chose for NYE? Stay tuned!