Beautiful Artwork!

I frequent a lovely Sheltie message board, Circle of Sheltie Friends, and on that board they have a feature called Mascot of the Month where two Shelties are named MOTM each and every month. Their story is written up and posted for all to see. Additionally, one of the resident Sheltie-a-holics compiles submitted photos of the MOTM to accompany the story.

Romeo has been chosen as one of the MOTMs for August 2009!

I checked out the board this morning to see that his story has been posted along with some absolutely stunning photos by our resident computer image guru, Mo. I've received permission from Mo to post them here and show off her wonderful work to the world!

Sporty Romeo

Romeo Candids

Quick warning about Carolyn New York

EDIT: I'm bumping this to the top of the page because I think it's pretty important. Please read if you are thinking of ordering from Carolyn New York. Buyer beware!

Since the topic of Carolyn New York has come up recently, I thought it might be a good idea to address it here.

It appears that Carolyn New York is no longer in business. I personally called all of their listed phone numbers and they are out of service. There was no response via fax, and there has been no response via email (not that they ever answered my emails before).

There have been reports of people ordering from the website, having their credit card charged and the order never shipped. Since the company phone numbers no longer work, the fax goes to nowhere and no one is responding to emails, there is no way to have Carolyn New York either ship or cancel the order so it must be resolved through your credit card company.

Also, they do not have a new website. The Carolyn New York Colors dot com website is the old website- the last update in the news section is from 2008.

If I am ever able to contact the company and it turns out they were all on a (very) extended vacation and now they're back, I'll be sure to update. But, for now, even though it hasn't been confirmed by someone who works/worked there, it seems they're kaput. No phone, no fax, no email, no shipment of orders.... It doesn't bode well.

Sparitual Forbidden Collection Fall 2009

Here's SpaRitual's collection for fall: Forbidden.

Edit: Siobhan has really good swatches of these as well- we must be on the same wavelength lately!


Hush. Warm milk chocolate creme. I broke a nail in the middle of swatching this color and I didn't feel like taking off all the polish, fixing the nail and re-photographing it so... hehehe... sorry... Anyway... This is a very warm medium 'milk chocolate' creme shade. Outside the sunlight picks up more of the red tones, indoors it looks a little richer and darker.



Hypnotic. Warm charcoal frost. This is an odd color- it seems charcoal grey but it also has brown in it- brown-grey? In the bottle it looks more brown, on the nail it looks more grey. It's a shimmery frost, and for a frost it doesn't look so bad on my hands. I really like this.

Intrigue. Rich red-orange creme. This looks pretty red here, but it leans way orange in real life. Very orange-toned red. It seems to be nearly identical to Orly Poison Apple (I'll have the Orly fall collection posted soon so you can see the similarity).


Inner Sanctum. Warm peach creme. I say peach because I'm not sure how else to describe this.... It's warm, it's kinda red but kinda brown, natural and flesh-toned looking... I think it falls into the peach category. Again, the sunlight picks up the warm tones in it and in the shade it looks less warm/red.


Mystic. Neutral putty creme. My favorite from this collection. It's so normal but so strange! It's not a loud color, it's not green or purple or neon pink, yet still, I love it. It's sandy, creamy, mushroomy, putty-like. It has that same kind of 'edgy' look that Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge has.

Regal. Warm purple creme. This is a really pretty purple. Again, warmer in the sunlight than in the shade. It looks darker on my nails than it seems in the bottle.


The formula on these is decent. I did three coats on all the colors, some were more sheer than others. It wasn't particularly thick or particularly thin- in fact, it seemed just like Orly's formula to me. No problems with application- if you're used to Orly's formula you should have no trouble with these. Drying time is long, even with quick dry topcoat. Again, just like Orly. I also love the rubberized handle (noticing a trend? Haha!).

Overall, a very reserved, mature collection. Nothing wacky, nothing uber-fun, but not bad at all. I like all the colors except Inner Sanctum. I especially love Mystic, I'll be wearing this one often. They're calm earth tones. Very spa-like, and I think that's probably what this line goes for- a spa-like feel to the colors.

I believe the release date for these is September. I'm not sure which retail stores carry these, but I know you can get them from Sparkling*Nails on ebay.

Keri Hilson Hair

Keri Hilson's Hairstyles - Summer Fall 2009 Celebrity Hairstyles

Keri Hilson has been taking the celebrity world by storm. Not only is she beautiful she has a knack for turning heads. Her style last year at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards definitely made some news. She has also been able to show you that she has no limits.
Keri Hilson's Hair in the past

If you think that you might to follow in this celebrity’s footsteps, take a look and find out what you need!
Keri Hilson's Short Pixie Hair and Short Curly Haircut

The first thing you want to do is take a look at your face shape. For Keri Hilson’s hair, you will need to have an oval faced shaped. You can even work with her hair if you have an oblong or diamond shaped face.
Keri Hilson's Latest Hair - July 2009

From there, you can easily add some great bangs or grow the hair out to medium length. Keri Hilson has been seen with a great fringe style as well. You can also find pictures of your with a medium layered style as well.
Keri Hilson's 2009 Hair

The fact of the matter is, Keri Hilson has a good knack for style. You can see her on the red carpet look fabulous as always. Take a couple of pictures to your stylist and see what they can do. They might be able to make some suggestions to make you look even better. Take a look at your face shape and find out if you can handle a Keri Hilson hairstyle. Try out some medium style with great layers. Or cut it off short, the choice is simply up to you!

Photos by PR PHOTOS

Long Hairstyles for Oval Faces

Long Hairstyles for Oval Faces - 2009 Summer Fall Hair Advice

The type of style that you choose for your hair should depend on the shape of your face. Any stylist will tell you that your hairstyle should accent your face. If you have an oval shaped face, then you are incredibly lucky. Oval faces are the most versatile out of all the shapes. Here are some great long hair tips for those with oval shaped faces.
Long Hairstyle for Oval Face

You may think that there is really nothing to having long hair. The truth is, long hair can become a bit boring after a while. If you have the long hair, do not cut it, simply spice it up just a touch! If you have no bangs and you like your part down the middle, try parting down the side. You can even talk to your stylist about getting some bangs.
If you do decide to have bangs, make sure that they are side swept. These are going to help shape your face even more. You can also take a look into adding some waves as well. Waves will definitely add some style and some spice that you might be looking for. You should stay away from short length layers. These will actually make your oval face look round. The main thing that you need to remember is you wanna look great. Choosing the right long style for your oval shaped face is not going to be hard at all. Start looking around at styles and waves and see what you can find!

Photos/PR PHOTOS

Sephora by OPI Beauty Insider Exclusive: Dark Room

The minute I saw this on Sephora's website, my heart skipped a beat. Dark green. Dark, lush, foresty, creamy green. It had to be mine. I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Dark Room and when UPS delivered the package I ripped it open right there in the doorway!

Sephora by OPI Dark Room. Three coats over Qtica base with Nubar Diamont topcoat. Taken after 12 hours of wear.

Alas, it was not meant to be. That rich, leafy blackened green that I saw on the website didn't exist. Instead, I got this murky blackened teal. Boo.

I really had my hopes up with this polish. I thought it would be... well... green? This is way too blue for me to really call it green. Blue green, maybe. Teal, okay. But this is not forest green, this is not emerald green, and it certainly doesn't look like the promo pics.

Then I thought, well, maybe it will grow on me! So I left it on overnight. By the next morning I couldn't wait to take it off. It has that same almost-black quality that I hated about OPI Light My Sapphire. It's too black to be blue and it's too blue to be black... It's an 'almost' color.

Aside from the color disappointment, the formula left me disappointed as well. First of all, it was kinda sheer. That doesn't bother me, really, but I know it bothers some people so it's worth mentioning. I did three coats to make it even. It's that same base of green speckles that Zoya Envy and OPI Here Today Aragon Tomorrow have, just more watery and less dense. The polish texture gave me trouble- very watery and runny. I wasn't expecting it as the Sephora by OPI polishes are normally very thick. Drying time was average, not terribly long but not super fast either. As for these being the same formula as OPI... they aren't! I don't care what anyone says, these don't resemble the formula of any OPI I've ever used, and if you've read this website for any amount of time, you'll know that's a ridiculously high number.

Bah... maybe next time. Maybe someone else will release the perfect Zulu-esque rich, saturated dark grass green I've been looking for.

But, if you like those 'Almost black but not quite' type of colors, you might love this! This one has that stylish "murky" muddy look that's been really popular the past couple years. It's not a crisp, clean type of color.

This is available both in store and on Sephora.com and it retails for $9. It says it's a Beauty Insider exclusive, so you might have to request it... I'm not sure how it works in store, but online you have to be signed in to add it to your cart.

Long Hairstyle With Bangs

Long Hairstyle With Bangs - Summer Fall 2009 Hairstyle Ideas

There are so many hairstyles out there right now; it can be hard to choose which one you want! If you have longer hair, you may just need to spice things up a little bit. A long hairstyle with bangs would be the perfect way to go! Take a look here and find out which bangs you should choose for your long hairstyle!
Long Hairstyle With Bangs

There are so many different ways that you can cut your bangs. You can have them short and choppy. This will give them a razor effect. With short bangs like this, make sure that you trim them on a regular basis. You can also look into getting longer bangs. The bangs can be swopped to the side or they can come straight down. This really depends on what you like and what you are comfortable with!
Talk to your stylist and look at different celebrity pictures. The internet is a great source for pictures as well as information. Look around and print out a picture or two. When you are ready to see your stylist sit down with them and show them the pictures. This will give your stylist a better visual of what you actually want.
Once you have your style all ready to go, you are all set. Long hair with bangs is a hot look right now. Talk to your stylist about which direction your bangs should go. Bring in visuals and be clear about what you want. From there, you will be on your way to having another hot hairstyle!

Photos/PR Photos

Nubar Matte Experiment

I mentioned on Twitter a while back that I tried a matte topcoat on top of a duochrome and it actually turned out cool. I didn't get a picture then, but I re-created it, and while I was mattifying things I thought I'd try it on a holo too.

Since I was using Nubar V For Men matte topcoat, I decided to use Nubar polishes (my original matte experiment was Nubar as well).


Nubar V For Men on Nubar Wildlife. As you can see, the duochrome effect remains even when mattified. The matte topcoat gives a very fascinating look to this particular duochrome. It looks like metal or stone with a coating on it... You know how when it rains, sometimes you get a rainbow oil slick in the puddles in parking lots? It's like dropping a rock in one of those puddles. Or maybe it's like fish scales. Either way, I've never seen anything like it and I think it looks pretty awesome. It's something you have to see in person to get the full effect.

Nubar V on Nubar Reclaim. This one didn't turn out as well. While the end result does look cool, like a speckled green matte, it completely destroys the holographic effect of the polish. Ruining a holo is a crime! But I suppose this makes sense- sometimes when applying holos I wonder why they look so matte and don't have a holographic effect, but then they dry and become shiny and the holo shimmer appears.

So far I like matte glitter the best, then matte shimmer and now matte duochrome. I'm going to do some more experiments, as well as doing a side-by-side comparison of all the mattes and matte topcoats once they're all released. There are a few more companies doing matte this fall so I'm going to wait until I think I have all of them to compare so I don't have to re-do it if I miss one.

I'll do a more in-depth post on Nubar V For Men soon, I just wanted to show you guys my experiment!

Men’s Hair Products You Must Try

Men’s Hair Products You Must Try!

When it comes to fashion and hair, it is not all about women. Many men out there care a lot about their hair. That is why there are certain products out there that are designed simply for men. Take a look and see which ones you might like to try out!
Men Should Use Hair Products!

If you are looking for a fuller head of hair, there are products out there that can help with that. These products come in the form of a conditioner of even a spray. You can find the product online or even at your local drug store. They do not cause damage to your hair and have been proven to be effective. Those of you who like to look stylish, probably like to use hair gel. The problem with hair gel is the fact that it makes your hair look wet. If you want the dry look, try using a putty of some sort. This putty can be rubbed into your hair and the molded the way you like it!
You will want to make sure that you get a product that is going to work for your hair. There are many products out there that are designed for all types of hair. Make sure that you read the label as well as the directions. Try not to spend too much on a men’s hair product. You should not pay more than $10 for any product. Take a look around and see what you can find. It may take a bit of experimentation on your part, but you will get it!
Photo/PR Photos

New Drugstore Awesomeness: Wet N Wild Craze

Ever since I saw the first promo pic for this line I've been scouring drugstores high and low searching for it. Steph's swatches put me over the edge- I NEEDED these!

Last week, I finally stumbled across a brand new full display when I least expected it. I think I did a little happy dance in the aisle.

EDIT: Someone just asked me and I realized I forgot to mention this: All swatches are two coats (with the exception of Glitz which is three). No basecoat, no topcoat. Opacity on these is pretty good, two coats leaves the polish with *slight* visible nail line, but not so much that it bothers me enough to do a third coat.

Look at the bottles, they're so cute:

New Wet n Wild Craze

Rustic, Goldmine, Inferno, Lust, Glitz

Nocturnal, Shield, Morbid, Jade

They're short and cute. 0.34 fl. oz, which is not quite mini but not full size either. They don't look skimpy, they're a decent size.

Glitz. Purple, blue, pink and silver glitter. I made a mess with this one. My fault, not the polish. Anyway, this is a fairly dense glitter but it still needed three coats for total opacity. It could use four but three was good enough for me. It's different from Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink and LA Girl Rock Star Overdose- the overall color of the polish is different even though they're basically the same concept- pink and purple glitter in a clear base.

Goldmine. Yellowy metallic gold. Really nice formula on this one. Smooth with no brushstrokes. Very shimmery, looks gorgeous outside in full sunlight.

Inferno. Fiery red-orange-gold shimmer. Beautiful yet dangerous... Thermogenic, luminous... Er... It's an inferno all right. This is a really cool looking polish. It's almost duochrome, it flits between gold and orange, almost like it's flickering. Awesome.

Jade. Shimmery light golden green. I know, I'm always saying how much I hate seeing a million golden greens when I'm really looking for dark green... Well, this one is different. I love it. It's grassy and green and has lots of gold shimmer.

Lust. Bright, rich pink with purple flash. In the bottle the flash looked more blue to me, but it looks really purple on the nail. I love colors with flash. Makes it more interesting.

Morbid. Black with teal pearl shimmer. Ooh. Oooooooh. Speechless. *drool*


Nocturnal. Blackened blue creme. These dark cremes never want to photograph well. Ugh. Well, even though it looks like a plain black creme, it's not! It's blue. Very, very dark blue. The first coat looks noticeably blue, so if you can do a nice even first coat, you'll get a more blue color. The second coat darkens it significantly. It does look black, but you can also tell that it's blue, if that makes sense.


Rustic. Rusty brown shimmer. Man, this is so pretty. I can't even stand it. It's so rich and autumn-like. It looks dark around the edges and light in the middle, which I LOVE. I love everything about this polish.



Shield. Light gold, brown, tan, silvery shimmer. Hard to describe. It's a mixture of different colored shimmer particles that combine to create an overall neutral tan/gold metallic look. It's so pretty, it's almost painful to look at. What I like the best about this are the little copper particles in the polish. They make it so interesting to look at.



The formula on these is great. Smooth, even, great texture. No application problems at all. The bottles and brushes are great. The brush stems are short- very short, and this can lead to some problems if you're not prepared. So, be aware of the short stems and you'll be fine. All the polishes apply really evenly, no streaks, no globs of polish. They also dry really fast. Wear is excellent- I wore Morbid for four days and didn't have any tipwear or chipping. I'm super pleased with these polishes. And you know what? Under $2. Yep. Does that blow your mind?

Overall, I'm crazy excited about these polishes. Everything about them is good. The bottles, the shades, the formula, the drying time, the price. You wouldn't think these are $2 polishes. Which brings me to another point...

I have some friends who won't touch drugstore polish. It isn't good enough for them. The need Chanel, they need Dior, they need a big price tag and a giant logo on a bottle to make them think a polish is good quality. You don't need that stuff! You can't look at the outside of the bottle and make a decision about the quality of the polish (well, most of the time)- you have to experience what's inside the bottle. Now I sound like some sort of after school special. It's what's on the inside that counts! Hahahaha! But, seriously, you need to experiment with all kinds of polish... You will discover that a great majority of brands are so similar in quality that you probably won't go back to spending $20++ for one bottle. There's nothing wrong with a little luxury once in a while, hell, I have almost all of Rescue Beauty Lounge's polish line! But when a polish has a high price tag, I think the polish should be worth it. And, from polish junkie to polish junkie, these $1.89 Wet n Wild polishes from the grocery store are much higher quality than some of the $20+ 'luxury' brands I own.


Okay, that was a bit of a rant. What I'm trying to say is this: Embrace the inexpensive polish. You will be pleasantly surprised.