NYC Empire State Blue (+ some stamping)

We are in the final countdown of our last days here in Florida, soon to be moving to the northern Delaware area...which is currently being walloped with snow as I type this.  So in the spirit of moving into the snowbelt(ish) area of the country, I did the following mani during the week of Christmas.  I doubt it's going to prepare me for the cold, wind, snow, ice, more cold, etc. but at least my fingernails looked cute!  :)

I started off with a couple coats of NYC Empire State Blue, which is a really pretty medium blue with an extremely fine shimmer of super-light green.  Very sort of Caribbean ocean-ish color, imo.  Since I was planning to stamp a winter theme, I topped Empire State Blue with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust:

Full-sun photo to show off that gorgeous holo of CG Fairy Dust!  Since I'm not that adept at stamping, I waited until the next day to do my little design of snowflakes and a snowman, using Zoya Purity and Winstonia plate W120.

Please be kind, remember I mentioned I'm not all that skilled at stamping, lol.  I liked my little wintery snow scene and had fun putting it together!

More pics after the jump....

Why choose? Duo Mani with Elevation Echinops and Sally Hansen Satin Glam Taffeta

I returned home from a few days at Disney to find two packages containing pretty new polishes (haul photo below), and I couldn't wait to try 'em out!  But on the drive home, while thinking about what I'd be putting on my nails that evening, I couldn't stop thinking about a recently purchased Sally Hansen polish....one of the new colors in their Satin Glam line, Taffeta.  So what does any polish enthusiast do when they can't decide what color to wear?  Wear 'em both!

That gorgeous lighter blue/lavender is Elevation Polish "Echinops".  The shimmery particles are holo, but it's a very subtle holo and there wasn't even a little chance that I'd capture it in photos so you'll have to take my word for it.  :)  The purple/orchid color is Sally Hansen Satin Glam in Taffeta, which dries semi-matte without a topcoat, but I top coat everything usually, and to be honest, I preferred Taffeta with the topcoat.  It's pretty as a matte, but a top coat brings out all of these beautiful tiny blue and pink shimmers in the orchid base and I just love it!

Oh yeah, here's the haul photo of my new Elevation and KB Shimmer pretties:

I run a jewelry shop on Etsy and recently sold some pieces that gave me a bit of "mad money" so I immediately ordered these polishes that have been on my lemming list for a while:  ELEVATION - Echinops (blue), Rapa Nui (teal) and Khongoyn Els (brown), and KB SHIMMER - Turbulence (grey) and Plum Tuckered Out (purple), and I also got a some KB Shimmer cuticle oil to try out.

As much as I like the two-color mani, it was kinda screaming for a little art, so I dug out the brushes and a dotting tool and did this:

Despite being less than skilled at freehand nail art, I still enjoy doing it and I don't think this is TOO bad for it being my first attempt at snowflakes.  I used Essie No Place Like Chrome for the silver.

More pics after the jump, should you be interested!