China Glaze Eye Candy Collection- Winter 2011

Nothing excites me like glitter. I don't know why... maybe I was glitter-deprived as a child. Whatever the reason, I now find myself drawn to glitter like a magpie, clucking to myself over the pretty sparklies as I fight the urge to hoard them.

Unfortunately for me (or is that fortunately?), the Winter 2011 China Glaze collection Eye Candy has my inner magpie in a tizzy! These six shades of multiple-sized glitters will have you covered for almost any holiday event you could have. Ranging from a deep graphite with holographic glitter to vibrant red, this bunch is for those who love the bling!

The only thing I'm not so sure about is the bar glitter. Yes, once again those hairy little things are infesting glitter polishes everywhere. Hopefully since they're mixed into other forms of glitter it won't be quite so... hairy-looking this time? We'll see...

Check out what the folks at China Glaze have to say about this collection.

Forget diamonds!  This winter China Glaze introduces a nail industry first: utilizing 3-D glitters in its new “Eye Candy” collection.  Inspired by Marilyn Monroe and her timeless allure, this innovative new glitter technology provides a knock-your-eyes-out, super sparkly effect to your manicure.   Multi-sized and differently shaped glitter particles are cleverly combined to create a sexy, super decadent, 3-D finish in six bright, eye-popping shades.  Whether you prefer gleaming gold or glamorous smoky grey, China Glaze’s “Eye Candy” collection adds a dazzling finish to your holiday look with a glimmer that is sure to catch everyone’s eye!  Colors in this collection include:

·        Love Marilyn: Vivacious Red with Shimmering Silver Particles
·        Blonde Bombshell: Glistening Multidimensional Gold Flecks
·        Lorelei’s Tiara: Sterling Silver Infused with Blue Sprinkles
·        Material Girl: Posh pink with Holographic Bubblegum Glitter
·        Some Like It Haute: Graphite Gray with Holographic Glitter
·        Marry A Millionaire: Alluring Amethyst with Multi-tonal Fibers

The China Glaze “Eye Candy” collection will be available in an amazing 3-D 12-piece counter display and as open stock colors.  China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

Do you think you'll be picking up this collection? I have to admit, I'm strongly tempted... Leave me a comment and let me know!

Images and information were provided by the manufacturer for consideration.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

My Halloween 2011 Nails

Sometimes I think it's weird to make graphics like this.
Then I think about the rest of my life and think this
is about as normal as I get. :D

A VIDEO!! OMG, I cannot even begin to explain how far I've come in video editing-land, and how far I have yet to go. Still, I'm so happy to have this finished and ready to move on! I'm hoping to keep moving forward with this, because I do like being able to have video with my posts. Let's be honest, I'm a total ham and I love being able to talk to you!

This process, though? So confusing. Who knew it'd be so hard to do a voiceover for video? (Ok, I know... I've done it, so I know, but still!) I ended up having to script half of it, play the soundless video while I recorded my audio into my video camera, then move that video to the computer, download the latest version of Audacity so I could strip the sound from the video, then cut it up into chunks I could then place in the video timeline. Oh, and I had to download FFsomething or other libraries too, and install them.

Sound confusing? Yea, that's because it was! But it's DONE, and now I sort of understand what I'm doing, so I'm going to start editing the next video tomorrow! Maybe it won't take me three years to get finished... :D

So, on to the pretty stuff... the nails! Oddly enough, I wasn't interested in doing anything too flashy or anything, partly because I was running out of time and partly because I was really wanting to try the gorgeous polishes Melissa from the Daily Nail surprised me with. She'd noticed I've been down and not posting as much lately, so once day I checked the mail to find the cutest package all bundled up in orange paper waiting for me!

I'd be lying if I said I kept my cool. I alternated between squealing in joy and wiping tears away because it was such a touching gift. She filled it with all sorts of goodies, and I've kept them all in their box for now, to decide what to do with them. But Halloween was the perfect time to try two of them... Sally Hanson Salon Black Orchid and NYX Pink Avenue.

Black Orchid is a fairly basic polish, a deep charcoal grey shimmer that is lovely on its own. It's not totally black because the shimmer plays with the light a bit, but I like this. I also like that it's a cool-toned charcoal without any warmth to it. It's a typical Sally Hansen Salon polish- good coverage, good wear.

Pink Avenue was the star of this show, though. NYX definitely made a winner with this one, a mix of glitters in a clear base. It's a combination of lime green and orange flake glitters paired with microglitter in the same colors. I think some of the glitter changed colors in the light, depending on the angle, but it was hard to tell.

Regardless, this was a stunning polish, and I couldn't resist adding three coats of it, just to build the sparkle to insane levels. What can I say, subtlety is not one of my strengths!

The end result was almost impossible to photograph! Even the video didn't quite capture the way the light played with the glitter. It was hypnotic, and I was in absolute love! My niece loved it too, and wanted me to do her nails... shame I didn't have it with me, or I would have!

Since it's 5:30am and I haven't been to sleep yet, I'll let the rest of the photos speak for themselves. Click' em for larger pics. They're worth it!

So... thoughts? Too glittery? Not enough? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Polishes were provided by Melissa at The Daily Nail because she's AWESOME!

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Video editing when you're a moron.

Handwritten on the nearest thing within reach- a priority mail box.

You know, I'm a pretty tech-savvy person. I've been able to learn new technology, I've built my own computer years ago before I used laptops. I worked as a radio DJ and actually spliced tape to create perfectly-timed clips. I've made Flash video and motion graphics.

So why the [expletive deleted] is video editing so hard for my brain to grasp? Seriously, this ish is melting my brain and it's making me irate. I don't know why I'm so stubborn but I definitely am. When there's something I want to do but I can't?

Well... it's not pretty. So here I am with several videos worth of material filmed and me getting more and more angry, wanting to just move forward and get it stuck into my brain. But it's not like something you can read a quick tutorial on and understand.

No, the only way (at least for me) to get it is to DO it. This started out with me opening After Effects and getting confused, then closing it. My husband tried to work with me, since he's pretty good with After Effects, but that just resulted in screaming and tears. Then I spent several times opening After Effects, screaming at it and crying because I felt so stupid, and then closing it again.

Are you seeing a pattern here? Because I was, for sure. There were entirely too many tears involved for something as stupid as video editing. And we're talking months of this.

I'm past the tears, and I've got a video almost ready to go, except that I'm determined to put a voiceover on it, because it's boring as hell without it. That's right, I'm a masochist, but I AM LEARNING THIS.

Video to come. Eventually. Maybe, if I don't choke someone first.

My sanity was not provided by any manufacturer for consideration.
I would love to review some, if anyone has any to spare.

See my disclosure statement for more information.