Parade of Pink - Swatch: OPI Flashbulb Fuschia

So this post might be my last in the Parade of Pink for October's Breast Cancer Awareness Action Month because now it's getting to be time to transition into October's Halloween nail art that I have in mind. I saved this polish for last because it was one of the first polishes I featured on this blog....5 years ago?! It has shimmer, jelly, and it's stunning under the flash. OPI Flashbulb Fuschia is a color I wear regardless of the time of year because it's so pretty. The shimmer is just enough pizzaz without being too much if you work in an office.

Parade of Pink - Swatch: Sinful Colors Pink Forever

Another day, another post of another pink polish for the October Parade of Pink here on the nail files. I decided on Pink Forever from none other than the Sinful Colors line. I'm a big fan of this nail polish line. Number 1, they have a great variety of colors. Number 2, can their price be any more perfect?





This pink is a beautiful baby pink creme polish that is so gorgeous. The polish was opaque in about 2-3 coats but if you really wanted to a fourth coat would work. I usually put 3 coats regardless of it it needs it just because I like to use a lot of polish (apparently). I was pleased with how my camera captured it because the color seemed to stay the same regardless of whether it was the natural sunlight or with my flash.

Breast Cancer Awareness Action Fact of the Day: About 1 in 8 US women (12.4%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. That's terrifying!

Parade of Pink - Swatch: Nicole by OPI Great Minds Pink Alike

Hello everyone, hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Is it getting cold for you? It's super chilly here right now but it will warm back up starting tomorrow. I have to admit though I did enjoy the brief chill because I was able to break out the ol' boots! I also got to wear both pairs of my new boots! Are you guys as excited for sweater, scarf, and boot weather as I am??

Anyway, today's post is another in my October Parade of Pink posts and I have decided to swatch Nicole by OPI's Great Minds Pink Alike. This color looks so pretty in the bottle and I wanted it to be amazing but it would take quite a few coats and I didn't get it to be opaque because "ain't nobody got time for that!"

This pink is actually a difficult color to capture on my camera (thanks to my limited photography skills).

Let me know your favorite fall outfit combination in the comments below!

Swatch: China Glaze Limbo Bimbo

So many pinks so little time! Today's Parade of Pink post is a swatch of China Glaze's Limbo Bimbo. Limbo Bimbo is a classic really -- hot pink with shimmer and it just makes you smile (if you like pink). Plus the name is adorable, no? My photo-taking skills are really not the tops but I tried so hard with this color to accurately show off all it's subtleties. This photo is no flash:

 With a flash:

 That shimmer is just gorgeous, no? Natural daylight:

Today's breast cancer fact: Breast cancer incidence rates are highest in non-Hispanic white women, followed by African American women and are lowest among Asian/Pacific Islander women. In contrast, breast cancer death rates are highest for African American women, followed by non-Hispanic white women. Breast cancer death rates are lowest for Asian/Pacific Islander women. Breast cancer incidence and death rates also vary by state. 

Swatch: Sally Hansen Strawberry Icing

Following my most recent post, I decided to reach for another strawberry inspired polish. This time I decided on Sally Hansen polish in Strawberry Icing....which sounds delicious! I could go for some dessert! Can I say though....I hate this polish. I have a total dislike for everything that is this polish. Number one, the polish is so sheer it took forever to get opaque and as you'll see it never really did become opaque despite 4 polishes. Number two, the polish took so long to dry because I had to use half the bottle to get it close to opaque. Number three, the shimmer with the base color is not my favorite. Don't plan on seeing it on the blog any time soon because I just might give this baby away. Or perhaps it can look nice as a layered top coat.

These are all with natural light:

With flash:

Breast Cancer Awareness Fact: That pink breast cancer ribbon was originally designed by Charolotte Haley, a breast cancer survivor, who attached a peach ribbon to cards reading "The National Cancer Institute's annual budget is 1.8 billion US dollars, and only 5% goes to cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon." It's now one of the most recognizable symbols in the nation. 

Swatch: Avon Strawberry

Another Parade of Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Action Month post today. This time I really dug deep in my collection for stunning and simple pink that came from non other than AVON. My mom used to sell Avon when I was younger so we could always expect stocking stuffers and random little gifts from Avon, especially nail polish and bath products, and I have a bunch of nail polishes that I should probably use more often. This one is from the Avon Speed Dry+ collection in Strawberry (or if you're French..."Fraises"). Strawberry is a creme polish that dries in less than 30 seconds!! Wahoo thank you Speed Dry+! No more thirty minutes chillin not using your hands because you feel like the slightest contact would wreak havoc on the tips of your digits! According to the Avon website, this formula includes volcanic rock too, which is pretty cool, and retails for $6 (but is on sale for $3.49). These polishes are also Big Three free which I know my more chemically conscientious readers like myself will appreciate. The first polish is under natural light with no flash:

Lastly, Breast Cancer fight fact: The risk of breast cancer can be reduced by up to 18% by doing as little as two and a half hours per week of brisk walking. That doesn't seem like much exercise at all!

Swatch: Ruby Wing Peony

I honestly have no idea where on earth the polish I used today came from or how I came by it to add it to my collection of over 350 nail polishes. Quite literally I had to google the brand to see if it was an old or new brand. I may have found a new obsession! Ruby Wing nail polishes, most famous for their color changing nail polish, is a vegan brand in New York City that is completely non-toxic, never animal tested, and environmentally safe. Also, this brand must have known what I was doing with my Parade for Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Action month because Ruby Wing works with the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Yes, I know this isn't breast cancer research but ANY cancer fight support is wonderful and I was ecstatic to see they work with a cancer research fund. Now onto the polish:

I chose Ruby Wing in Peony, a neon (?) peach that changes in sunlight to deeper fuschia-y pink. I only put 2 coats on but I think it needed a third coat in order to be fully opaque -- there are a few streaks that were more noticeable in the photo than on the nail itself. I failed to capture a photo of the "outdoor" pink so all of these are of the "indoor" color. How gorgeous is it?? This first photo is inside with flash:

 Inside without flash:

Inside with flash:

 Inside without flash:

You can really see the difference in the neon when you have flash versus natural light. This polish might become my new go to!

Breast Cancer Fight fact of the day: It is projected that if every woman over 50 years old had her yearly mammogram, breast cancer deaths for women over 50 could drop by 25% or more!

Swatch: OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster

Another swatch post for October's Breast Cancer Awareness Action Month's Parade of Pink here on NikkisNailFiles. Today is the first post featuring a pink OPI polish by the name of I Eat Mainely Lobster....which yes makes me so hungry for lobster! Like yesterday this polish is another coral and is stunning in photos. It's a gel polish with a shimmer finish that goes on opaque in 2-3 coats and I have no clue why I don't wear this polish more often.

A photo with flash:

Another with flash: 

Natural light without flash:

In this last one you can really clearly see the shimmer finish. It's a photo with flash:

Today's breast cancer fact: There are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States today. That's more than the amount of people living in the entire city of Chicago!

Swatch: China Glaze Conga To My Cabana

Today's post is another Parade of Pink post for Breast Cancer Awareness Action Month. I chose China Glaze Conga To My Cabana because it's sort of a coral or salmon color with a tiny bit of golden shimmer to it. It's very tasteful but it's difficult to capture with my camera (Nikon D3300) so I took some photos with flash, without flash, and just under natural light to show all facets to this polish. It's gorgeous but the polish does take quite a few coats before it's completely opaque. I ended up doing FOUR coats. The largest photo below is only at 3 coats so you could see the difference.  

The photo on the left here is with flash indoors. The photo on the right is natural light (without flash) near my patio door.

Another with flash but with only 3 coats of polish:

And another in natural light but with 4 coats.

 Natural light away from the patio door (sitting in front of my couch):

Today's Breast Cancer fact: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women. However, an estimated 2,150 MEN will also be diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Swatch: Second-Hand Silk

Today's post is the first of my Parade of Pink in honor of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I chose one of the colors I used in my Always Aware manicure from October 2010. Yes, five years ago. Anyway, I decided to only do simple swatch posts for this October because after some research I learned that the Breast Cancer pink ribbon image is used to confuse consumers into thinking that products support breast cancer but in reality are just products sold by a corporation during October to benefit their button line. For this reason, no ribbons here this year. However, I couldn't let go of the pink color because really what other color would I use?? For today's swatch I've got China Glaze Second-Hand Silk, a gorgeous pastel-ish pink creme polish. Seriously if you have no other pink nail polish in your collection GET THIS ONE!

And today's BCAM fact:

Do your research and do what you can to support the fight against Breast Cancer (or any cancer).