Last week I placed my first order with Spellbound Nails. After seeing My Own Sweet Valentine on Painted Nubbs, I just had to have it. It's a gorgeous almost coral pink with gold shimmer. It's part of the Victorian Romance Collection for Valentine's Day.

You can also add a scent to your bottle if you like. I added rose scent. Once the polish is completely dry it smells like roses. I could even smell it through my Seche Vite topcoat. The rose scent is not overpowering, just smells nice and floral. I really like it.

There's another neat thing about this polish. It glows in the dark! I've never owned a glow in the dark polish, this is my first. Formula wise the polish is thick, but not gloopy. I like that it's thicker because you won't flood your cuticles. I did 3 coats, the polish evens out nicely. You'll want a topcoat because it had a slightly gritty finish without.





 

I stopped at Sally Beauty last Friday to pick up some acetone and while I was there I got two polishes. OPI Satin '4 In The Morning' was one of them. It's part of the new Gwen Stefani collection. I don't have any matte black polishes and this almost looks like liquid leather when it's dry, I love it!



 

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile, but I never actually sat down to do it. When I started Tunay Na Mahal back in March 2008 I started as more of a lifestyle & love blog. It cataloged my long distance relationship with my then boyfriend, now husband. We documented our immigration process, my travels overseas.

I've always intended Tunay Na Mahal to be my space. Where I can write about whatever I'm into at that moment. I've written about travel, books, music, I've shared recipes. I've shared about my pet rats on this blog.

The past several years, my big hobby has been nail polish. And lately this blog has started to become more of a nail & beauty blog. I've started doing nail polish reviews for different companies in exchange for samples, and I want to expand on that. Nail polish and nail art is a great hobby of mine. I find it relaxing and I love the art aspect of it (stamping, etc). I love the photography and photo editing too.

Tunay Na Mahal is still going to be my space. I don't ever want to box myself in. I want it to continue to be a place where I can come write about whatever. For the most part, lately this blog has been headed towards a nail & beauty blog. But occasionally between nail polish posts, I may post a recipe, share a day trip, or talk about books/music or share some photos of my rats, etc.

Hope you will stick around!

 

✯ PR Sample ✯

I really enjoyed doing sugar spun mani's last time with some of the L.A. Girl Color Pop polishes, I was sent to review. I wanted to do two more with Blast & Plunge. I just love how these look with the bright colors!

    

I picked up China Glaze Seahorsin' Around this past Friday at Sally Beauty. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Seahorsin' Around is part of the new Sea Goddess Collection. This polish is absolutely stunning in person. It's a blue green texture polish with sparkly micro shimmer. I did two coats for the photos below. This is the 1st China Glaze texture polish I've tried and it's a bit grittier than the Zoya Pixie Dusts.



 

I'm so excited I was able to get a hold of Zoya Savita. It's one of the discontinued Matte Velvet's. I pretty much needed it after seeing a post on Painted Nubb's. Luckily after a few weeks I found it on eBay for $11 + free shipping. (Some of the sellers want to charge $20+). Savita is a royal purple matte polish. It's gorgeous! It came packaged in a cute little black velvet Zoya box.

✯ PR Samples Mentioned ✯

Happy Friday! Today's Valentine's Day design features Sally Hansen Triple Shine in Red Snapper (press sample) and China Glaze Fairy Dust. I stamped with Konad Special White polish and used Winstonia Store 1st Gen W105 and 2nd Gen W207 plates.


 

✯ PR Sample ✯




I was sent: Plunge, Nostalgic, Blast, Amour, Birthday Cake, Burst.







 

Back in the early 2000's my cousin Chrissy & I were shopping at Ulta. I came across China Glaze Ruby Pumps. This gorgeous sparkly red polish. I had never heard of the brand China Glaze. I didn't buy much nail polish back then, because I bit my nails and I would only paint my toes red or hot pink in the summer. By the time I got into nail polish in late 2010, Ruby Pumps had long ago dried up... :-(

I finally got around to buying another bottle of Ruby Pumps on eBay. I'm so glad to be able to own this polish again, and I'm happy China Glaze still makes it. It's a gorgeous bright red, with red glitter that almost glows. I used two coats and one coat of Seche Vite topcoat.