Blueberry Muffin - Red Dog Designs

Today I've got a very cool polish from Red Dog Designs and their Berry Friends Collection. The collection is inspired by Strawberry Shortcake and some of her friends. For anyone who is a child of the 80s like me, you probably had a lot of Strawberry Shortcake memorabilia. I was a huge fan and had alot of the dolls and even the life-sized vanity!

My favorite of all of the dolls was Blueberry Muffin. Why? Because she smelled like blueberries and wore this really cool top hat! When I saw Blueberry Muffin in Red Dog Designs collection I knew I had to pick one up!

Blueberry Muffin!

I think I squealed with glee when BM and Strawberry Shortcake showed up at my doorstep! Why? Because they are even prettier in real life!  Blueberry Muffin is a blue base with a turquoise shimmer, which is hard to capture on camera. It has a mix of blue, periwinkle, white and purple glitters in hex and square form. And it's gorgeous!

Blueberry Muffin bottle closeup

I started with a Duri basecoat, then used three thin coats of Blueberry Muffin. I added a coat of Seche Vite topcoat to finish. This polish has a great formula. I'm not a huge buyer of what people consider Indie brands, but when something like this comes along, it's hard not to take notice!

Blueberry Muffin outside

The Berry Friends Collection retails for $8.75 on the company's Big Cartel site. I only picked up two of the colors because I wasn't sure what I would think of them. Now, I'm kicking myself for not getting them all! The collection is sold out currently on the site, but should be back up shortly. You can check Red Dog Design's facebook page for updates.

Blueberry Muffin in sunlight

I'm very excited to try the rest of the collection, including Strawberry Shortcake, which I hope to have up in the next couple of days. I hope you'll check out Red Dog Designs and the collection. It's definitely worth it!!

Red Dog Designs Berry Friends Collection

Puppies and Pawlish gives Blueberry Muffin four paws up!!

Julep JACKIE

Today I have a polish from Julep called Jackie! I have waited years for Zoya to name a polish that, but no luck. So when I heard about Jackie coming out in the Classic with a Twist boxes for April, I knew I had to get one!

Jackie! That's me!

Since I am not a member of the Julep maven program and this wasn't available on the website yet, I had to find a creative way to get one. Enter the lovely Sarah, who responded to my post in a nail polish sales group looking for it! I got it for a really great price, half of what the Julep site has it for right now. That's something I really like about the facebook polish groups, everyone is very helpful when it comes to looking for a particular polish!

Julep Jackie 

Julep Jackie is described as a maraschino cherry creme. I'm not a huge fan of red because if it leans towards an orange red, it usually looks horrible on my skin tone. However, this one is more of a blue red, so it's the perfect color! It's actually very close to the University of Georgia red, which I am a big fan of! 

Two coats of Julep Jackie

Since this is my first Julep polish, I wasn't sure about the formula or the bottle. I'm like the clumsiest person on earth, so I figured I'd probably spill it everywhere. While the bottle is tricky, I found that the best way to keep from knocking it over or slopping it around is to keep the brush out of the bottle until I needed more polish. That way I only had to wipe the handle of the long brush off once and I wasn't using too much. The key to this is that you have to work fast so that the brush doesn't get too hard sitting out. As for the formula, it was fantastic. It's everything a creme polish should be!

Julep Jackie up close

Excuse the little bit I missed at the top of this nail! I'm not sure how I did, but we are all human right? Anyway, I think the close up shows what a pretty cherry red this really is! I always hoped that my namesake polish would be blue or grey, but as it turns out, this one is perfect! It reminds me of some of the old Chanel and Oleg Cassini dresses that Jacqueline Kennedy used to wear. Although I wasn't named after her, my grandma used to call me Jackie O when I was little, so I've always been a big fan of hers. This seems like a polish she would have worn with one of those fashionable outfits!

Julep Jackie

All in all, I really like this polish! It turned out to be a big hit for my first Julep. I've already bought another called Leslie for my sister, named Leslie of course! I'm not sure how many others I will get just because of the bottle, but I will definitely be pulling out this one a lot over the summer!

Puppies and Pawlish gives Julep Jackie four paws up!

Before I go, I promised you a picture of Zeke at the recent Beggin for Bail fundraiser for our local Clearfield County SPCA! We were able to raise $225 in two hours for the shelter! (Thank you to Aunt Leslie, Nanny, Grammy and Pop, Lana at Mr. Wags Pet Salon, Dada and Scott, who works with Dada). The money will help out immensely and we hope to do it again next year! Also thanks to Waggin Trains, who hosted the event and gave us a really cool stuffless pig to take home to Brinlee!

Zeke in his jammies in case he had to stay in jail overnight!

TAYLOR BLUE - OPI (with Fly comparison)

Today I have a wonderful polish for you from OPI called Taylor Blue. The polish was named in honor of 13-year-old Taylor Storch, who was killed in a skiing accident in 2010. After her death, Taylor's family decided to donate her organs, which went on to help five people in need of transplants. In her memory, her parents also started the foundation Taylor's Gift to help spread awareness of the importance of organ donation.

How Taylor Blue came packaged

I had one big reason to pick this polish up. Since I have been 16, I have been registered as an organ donor. I would have done it sooner, but in Pennsylvania you are able to register when you get your driver's license, so that's how I became involved. My dad has had his organ donation designation on his license since I was little and he always explained why it was important to become an organ donor. 

Bottom of Taylor Blue

I picked up this polish from the Taylor's Gift website here. It's a great website and it gives a lot of great facts, like only 40% of adults over 18 are enrolled in state organ donation registries. That means a lot of people are going with out life-saving organs. Right now there are currently over 100,000 people on waiting lists for organ donation.

Three coats of Taylor Blue

I ordered my polish on March 29. And it came on April 11. That's pretty awesome considering Taylor's Gift got hammered with a ton of orders. It came in a cute little cylindrical tube with turquoise and white confetti. It was $10 with $4.50 for shipping and handling. All proceeds go to the foundation.

I know some people have commented on how this polish can run the gamut of teal, blue, turquoise and green. I definitely seem to catch it as a turquoise blue. It's really pretty, and as you will see later a great formula!

A picture without the flash to show the greenish qualities some people are talking about

I can see that this polish will get a lot of wear. And, when people comment on my nails, I will tell them the story of Taylor and why it is important to be an organ donor. If you want to learn more, head over to the Taylor's Gift website at taylorsgift.org and check out the entire story and the facts on donating your organs.

Paint it Forward

I know a lot of people have been asking about comparisons to OPI's Fly from the Nicki Minaj Collection. While I would have purchased this polish for the message alone, I want to show some comparisons for those who have asked.

Fly on Left; Taylor Blue on Right

In the bottles they do look identical. I tried taking several shots in different light to capture what looked to me to be a small tinge of green in Fly. I will say I like the Taylor Blue formula more, because it doesn't seem to be as thin as Fly.

I think you can see the tinge of green in fly on this one, but maybe it's just me

I did a swatch of both polishes on one hand.

Left: Fly, Taylor Blue, Fly, Taylor Blue

They look very similar, but if you love OPI polish or love the message that Taylor Blue sends, then it doesn't really matter. I know I love this color, so having an extra bottle is awesome. I use it for my toes and fingers a lot in the summer. I have yet to take off Taylor Blue, so I don't know if it stains like Fly yet or not. But it is a small price to pay for such a pretty polish!

Taylor Blue - Paint it Forward!

Puppies and Pawlish gives Taylor Blue four paws up!

Thanks for stopping by! Next time, I will have pictures from Zeke's day in jail during the Beggin For Bail fundraiser through our local SPCA!

Nails Inc. - QVC exclusive Westminster Abbey

Today I have a really quick post for you on one of the QVC exclusives that was a part of their Today's Special Value last week.
It was a 10-piece set that included six full sized polishes and four minis. It was $32.88 for the TSV and is now priced at $36.18.

Here is a pic of the set and where to get it.....

Nails Inc. 10-piece Best of British set  (QVC pic)

The colors included are 

• 0.33-fl-oz The Thames, a cool gray shade
• 0.33-fl-oz Porchester Square, a mushroom nude
• 0.33-fl-oz Jermyn Street, a classic taupe
• 0.33-fl-oz Lower Regent Street, a deep cerise pink--exclusive to QVC until 9/30/13
• 0.33-fl-oz Tate, a classic red
• 0.33-fl-oz Great Marlborough Street, a deep plum--exclusive to QVC through 9/30/13
• 0.13-fl-oz Upper Brook Street, a deep metallic navy
• 0.13-fl-oz Westminster Abbey, a gold metallic shimmer--exclusive to QVC through 9/30/13
• 0.13-fl-oz Chelsea Square, a rose gold glitter
• 0.13-fl-oz Electric Lane, a silver holographic glitter

I picked out Westminster Abbey from the exclusives to show you. It's a gold metallic shimmer that reminds me a lot of The Full Monty from Butter London.

Westminster Abbey mini

It's a pretty shade and I think would make a great toenail color in the summer. It needs two coats, but applies like a dream. I had no bald patches or issues with lines.

Westminster Abbey

Sorry for the crummy pic. it's hard to capture this with a flash and I had no sun to work with today outside. It is definitely a gold metallic. There is no leaning to rose gold or the type of gold in the new OPI Goldfinger polish. And, despite it being a mini, the brush was pretty good.

I also threw on a coat of one of the polishes I was most excited to get - The Thames. I know it's funny to get excited over a grey creme, but I just hadn't found one I really liked....until now!

The Thames one coat

This polish is awesome. It went on smooth and wasn't goopy. It also only needed one coat!! So far, the wear time on these polishes seem to be okay. I didn't have any chips on The Thames after three days. It looks really good on nubbins too. I cut my nails down to get a fresh start after breaking two opening a box. I'm now using Duri Rejuvacote, so we'll see how that works out. 

Before I go, just wanted to share an awesome pic of Zeke I got recently. Zeke will be a celebrity spokesdog during our local SPCA fundraiser next week. He will get "arrested" and have to raise his bail by calling people for donations. It's a great cause for our local shelter, the Clearfield SPCA, which serves several counties, but gets no state help. They rely solely on donations. So Zeke and I are excited to take part!

Puppy Prisoner!!

My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours! - OPI

Today I've got another polish from the OPI Euro Centrale collection called My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours! It's a red/orange with some shimmer in it. I saw a swatch of it somewhere and after originally not picking it up, decided to get it.

My Paprika Is Hotter Than Yours!

Let me say, I'm not usually a fan of oranges. It just doesn't look good with my skin tone. I felt like this was leaning towards the red side of orange so I thought I'd try it.

MPIHTY!

This reminds me a lot of OPI's Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It. Honestly, it's a pretty color, but it just looks weird on my skin tone.

Two coats of MPIHTY!

I used a basecoat of Gelous, two coats of MPIHTY! and a top coat of Seche Vite. The formula was awesome as are most OPIs. Try not to look at my sad thumb. I broke it off at work, but was defiant about cutting the rest.

All in all, it's a very pretty color. Just not for me. Maybe I'll try it on my toes in the summer, but it's safe to say it probably won't be used as a fingernail color again.

The funny thing is that I don't think Brinlee really liked it either. She kept photobombing me when I was standing out in the kitchen for a photo. This is the result.

MPIHTY! orange vs. Brinlee orange!

Brinlee seems to think HER orange is much better. What do you think?

Bit Faker- Butter London

Today I have a polish for you from Butter London's 2013 Summer Holiday collection called Bit Faker. Bit Faker is a full-coverage, bronze glitter shade. It's part of a six-piece collection of coppers, golds, rose golds, silvers, bronzes and a blue.

Butter London's Bit Faker

The collection seems a little dark for summer, but I guess Butter is playing off of the colors of tans as well as the blue of the ocean. I also grabbed Bobby Dazzler (the silver) from the collection and now I'm a little sad I didn't get Poole (the blue) instead. But more on that in my next post!

Bottle shot of Bit Faker

I am, however, really pleased with Bit Faker. It stays true to the awesome glitters that Butter London has put out. (Think Rosie Lee and Henley Regatta). The formula is awesome, although I did notice that some globbed up on the handle of the brush. I just wiped it off on the inside of the bottle and it was fine.

Two coats of Bit Faker

I used a base of Gelous, two coats of Bit Faker and a topcoat of Seche Vite. You can really see the bling in this polish thanks to the gold and bronze mixture of glitter. It's very pretty in natural sunlight as well as regular light.

Closeup of Bit Faker!

I really think this polish is a must have! It's pretty and I think it can be a great polish for all seasons. I love all of Butter London's glitters. They are probably my favorite glitter polish maker. What I like is that I can use two coats, which gives great dimension, but doesn't weigh the nail down so you have shrinkage. It's a pretty hard-wearing polish too in the fact that I can bang my nails around with it and I rarely get a chip!

Bit Faker closeup

Puppies and Pawlish gives Bit Faker four paws up! Butter London retails for $13-$15 and can be found online at the Dermstore, Ulta and Butter London. The Dermstore is running a free shipping promotion right now with no minimum. I picked up the two polishes and got a free lip gloss with my order. The Summer collection is not available on the Butter site right now, but should be soon. 

Instead of ending with a puppy pic this week, I wanted to show you something I picked up on Etsy recently. Everyone knows I'm a huge fan of Butter London and I saw something the other day I just had to have.

Butter London phone case!!

It's a Butter London phone case for my Samsung Galaxy 3 in Lovely Jubbly!! Ack! It's perfect! Check out Stylistas page for more great cases! Etsy also has other sellers that have cases for Chanel, Nars and Dior polish! Very cool!

Thanks for reading!!

Back in Blue! Can't Find My Czechbook

Long time no see! I'm back with what I hope to be many more punctual posts from Puppies and Pawlish. I kind of got bogged down working two jobs, but I'm back!!

Today I have a polish from OPI's new Euro Centrale line called Can't Find My Czechbook. It's an aqua blue color and it's perfect for spring.

Can't Find My Czechbook

This is different shade of blue from any other that I own from OPI, and believe me, I own a lot. I'm the blue queen. This, along with Eurso Euro and I Saw, You Saw, We Saw, Warsaw (wow long name) are the three blues of the collection.

Bottle shot of Can't Find My Czechbook

This caught my eye from all of the polishes I saw in the collection. I'm a big fan of No Room For the Blues, which is CFMC's dustier cousin. This is probably my favorite blue of all time from OPI.

Two coats of CFMC

My lovely nail tech Adrienne at Adrianna's Day Spa painted this on for me during my bi-weekly visit to get my cuticles pushed down. (I know, I know, but I hate doing it myself!) This is one coat of Gelous base coat, two coats of CFMC and one coat of Seche Vite top coat.

CFMC with Flash

Adrienne told me she thought this looked liked blue cotton candy, and I have to agree. It's such a pretty blue that you can really wear it on your nails without it screaming I'M WEARING BLUE!

I think that's it's a pretty distinct color and I may buy a backup bottle of this. I also bought Eurso Euro, which  is a rich cobalt blue. For those fans of Doctor Who, it's a dead-on ringer for Tardis Blue! I'll be trying that out next week.

CFMC in direct light

The formula in this wasn't too bad. I can see where it could become streaky, but the key is using thin coats without going back over the same spot over and over. This collection is out in stores now and can also be purchased online at Ulta for $9. I picked mine up at JC Penney where it usually retails for $6 a bottle.

Hope you enjoyed today's post. I wanted to share an awesome picture of Zeke I got this past weekend. I love this little face!