Fifty-Two Weeks

Marsala's Fantasea This nail polish is AMAZING you guys! Also, it happens to be the Marsala inspired color for the week of February 22-28! So pearly, and so pretty! This week;s color is a lovely color by Orly. I haven't posted about Orly on the blog before...no idea why...this stuff is great! My mom is the one that turned me on to this brand of nail lacquer - and I am glad that she did! This Orly polish, appropriately named Fantasea , is a wonderful pearl essence polish. It also went on smooth at butter!   The first coat of color had me a little bit worried, but after applying the second coat, I realized that my worries were for absolutely nothing! This color also dried within a reasonable amount of time.  If you haven't checked out the Orly Website , you totally should. Orly is stepping up their game and has a great new spring color line out, as well as some other great new products you should try. Can anyone say "a-base-coat-that-helps-r...

Demi and Marsala I absolutely LOVE Zoya nail polish. So, for the week of February 15th - 21st is a lovely Zoya nail lacquer named  Demi.   Demi  is a beautiful color. I highly enjoyed wearing it. I also paired it with the Zoya's Anchor base coat and Zoya's Armor top coat for a complete Zoya manicure.  This polish needed two coats of color. The first coat was streaky! The second coat of color definitely evened it out...but not all the way. When I looked closely at my nails there were still a few streaky places.  Overall though when I put the top coat on, my nails looked good! This would most definitely be a great fall color to wear when summer is on it's way out.  If you are interested in trying  Demi  or Zoya's Anchor or Armor coats, check out their  website ! You can also purchase the base and top coats, as well as many other colors at your local Ulta store - that's where I got mine! As always, pleas...

Joust Exiled Marsala Hi polish lovers! I am slowly but surely catching up to myself! So, without further delay, here is the Marsala inspired color of the week of February 8-14th. This is such a hott color! It was perfect for the week of Valentine's without being your typical red color. Also, kudos to Ulta brand once again! While not be a super 2 week lasting nail polish, this polish still performed. Joust Exiled was great for the Holiday week and was a color that I could wear to work without feeling childish. Its a modern color. Maybe that's why it was exiled ...because it was just to differently awesome. Like previously used Ulta polished, this one went of very smoothly, although it definitely needed two coats of color to look as sharp as it did. I also used a base and top coat polish to seal the deal for helping this polish last about 9 days.   If you want to grab a bottle of Joust Exiled , check out your local Ulta store, or the Ulta website ...

Marsala's Two Cents Good day readers! For the week of February 1st-7th is a lovely rusty red glitter color! This week' color is an Ulta color caled My Two Cents  and it is a full coverage glitter that is pretty great! I have had other experiences with Ulta polish, and have been pleasantly surprised. The same goes for this full coverage glitter.  As well as being a great hit for the color of the year, Marsala , this polish was also pretty long lasting. This polish lasted about a week before chunks started chipping away. But, it was still a pretty good buy. Especially since it was only .97 cents!! Ulta usually has a great prices and deals on their polish, but ALWAYS make sure you check out their clearance shelves! Sometimes that's where I find the best polishes at the cheapest prices!  If you want your own bottle of My Two Cents  though you're just going to have to check out your local ulta store, in store or online.  As a...

Marsala and Lupita Check out this Julep color! This red is for the week of January 25-31. It's super amazing. It's also so bold, and when worn with the right outfit, Hot! This week's color is another Julep color by the name Lupita, and it's so beautiful! Just like the amazing actress Lupita Nyong'o. You should check her out!  www.imdb.com Anyways, this is a great color! But...it didn't stay on very well. However, that could just as well have been my fault. I might have forgotten to put a base coat on...OOPS! Love this color like I do? You can get a bottle of at  julep.com . If you aren't already a Maven though, you totally should be! It's really great. You can get great polish, every month for just one great price! And that, my friends, is exactly how I got this bottle of ride rhubarb creme polish,  Lupita . So, grab a subscription! OR if you're not into that kind of commitment, you can also purchase Julep polishes at...

Marsala's Swagger Check it out everyone! Another great Dermelect color! This great grape color fits in well since...you know...grapes can be turned into wine! If you read my earlier post about Dermelect then you know how great this stuff is for fighting aging in your nails - so I brought it back for the year of Marsala too! This color goes on thick. So only one coat of color was necessary. But man, does Dermelect last! I put my nails through hell and back with hair washing, hand washing, typing, art making, and life, but this polish just keeps on keeping on! If you ever needed a good reason for buying new polish (I never seem to...) here are a few good ones! Der‘ME’lect - The 1st Peptide Infused, Anti-Aging Color Treatment Lacquers   strengthens weak, brittle nails restores flexibility helps resist chipping and splitting superior extended wear water and detergent resistant UV protected DBP, Toluene & Formaldehyde free cruelty free (no animal test...

Marsala and Malala Hi Everyone!  I am excited to share with you the second color of the year! For the week of January 11th-17th I presnt to  you, Malala, another beautiful Julep color.  Inspired by the actual person, Malala Yousafzai, the color repressents all that is amazing about her! If you don't know, Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.  "In 2009, Malala began writing an anonymous blog expressing her views on education and life under the threat of the Taliban taking over her valley. As the Taliban took control of the area they issued edicts banning television, banning music, and banning women from going shopping and limiting women’s education. Once she was revealed as the author of the blog, her increased popularity caused the Taliban to meet, and in 2012, they voted to kill her. On 9 October, 2012, a masked gunman entered her sch...

Instagram Change Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that my Instagram name has changed! Since it i no longer the year of the Radiant Orchid, I have changed my name to @amandagrams89.  Make sure you follow me on Instagram to see sneak peaks of the week's colors, other nail inspiration and to see what I am doing in my free time! Also, the #fiftytwoweeksofnails is what I use on all of my posts, so make sure to tag your nail photos too! Want me to follow you? Just let me know! Be Radiant! Amanda #fiftytwoweeksofnails @amandagrams89

Fifty-two Weeks of Marsala - India Welcome back everyone, for an exciting year of Fifty-Two Weeks of Marsala! Marsala is this year's color of the year and it is a beautiful earthy, redish, wine-ish color. It's purpose is to speak to our souls.  For the first week of the year, January 1st-10th, the color I chose to start us off with is a great Zoya color! India is a great dark red glitter polish that is simply amazing! It not only looked great, but it lasted, and went on so smooth! When I put India on I thought that I might need a second coat, but really I didn't. I only put a second coat on because it feels odd if I don't. For this manicure, I first put a layer of Zoya's base coat, followed by color, then ending with Zoya's top coat.  As I said before, this color lasts!!! After almost two weeks of wear and tear, most of nails are only chipped on the ends where I spend most of my time typing. HOLY COW! It's amazing! I have never had ...