Urban Outfitters Sea Dust

When I first Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream I was intrigued. I was not intrigued enough to pay $18 for it though. I was really excited to hear that dupe was discovered at Urban Outfitters. I stalked the store for a bit, and it took me awhile to find it, but I eventually did! They sell their polishes 2 for $8, so $4 vs. $18. It's a no brainer.

Sea Dust

Sea Dust is a seafoam green foil with small bright blue hex glitters mixed in.

This is certainly a unique polish as far as finish and appearance. I was worried with this polish that it would be gritty as far as texture. I find that the foil finish of this and how the light reflects off those particles gives it the appearance of having texture. This was actually smooth on the nail.  I love these colors, and I'm glad I found this alternative polish! I don't think they're exact dupes, but they're pretty darn close. You can find a comparison on Mara in Polishland.

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 11/4/12-11/11/12

Posts I'm Loving:
PackAPunchPolish shows us her Rainbow Glitter Swirls nails.
The Daily Varnish shares with us their Election Day nails.
Tips and Topcoat shows us her Street Artist Banksy inspired nails.
Did My Nails shares with us her Remembrance Day Poppies nails.
Polishy of Truth swatches Pibble Polish Faithful Friend.

Posts You're Loving:
A Polish Addict swatches Enchanted Polish Magical Mystery Tour.
Improbable Nails shows us her "We Want More Goth!" nails.
Kinzies Nail Hut shares with us her Mojitos and Polkas nails.
Polish Obsession swatches Kiko 254.

You can submit your links for posts on Sundays here. 

Reader Manis of the Week:

Name: Cat
Location: Seattle, WA
Manicure Description: I call this my neutral dot manicure. I had the hankering to do some subtle nail art, so I pulled out a bunch of Julep polishes that I had sitting around and went to town! I used Julep Lisa as my base and the for the dots I used Julep Alyson, Eileen and Sophie. This was my first attempt at doing a polka dot manicure and I was pleased with how it came out! I don't have a dotting tool, so I used pins-- which was a little dangerous but I made it work!
Favorite Polishes: My all time favorite is OPI Peel Me a Gobi Grape, which I don't own anymore and am desperately searching for. Right now I love pretty much every polish put out by Cult Nails.
Blog: Cat's Adventures in Lacquer Land http://adventuresinlacquerland.blogspot.com/
Instagram: catray

Name: Brianna
Location: Warwick, RI
Manicure Description: I saw really cute apple nail art awhile back, and was about to paint my nails and an apple came up, and I decided to do apples. I did two coats of a white polish to get a base, and then used a dotting tool to add the apples and the little stems.
Favorite Polishes: OPI Teal the Cows Come Home, Essie Cocktail Bling, Nicole by OPI Miss Independent, OPI Not Like the Movies
Blog: http://welcometobriannasworld.blogspot.com/

 I need more manis for November and December! You can find information on how to submit your manicures for Sunday posts here. 

Happy Sunday!

Spontaneous Saturday: Epcot Food & Wine Festival (Insanely Pic Heavy)

Epcot has the Food & Wine Festival every fall usually for around 6 weeks. Epcot is basically divided into two sections. There is Future World and World Showcase. World Showcase is set up in 11 pavilions each representing a different country.

This is neat on it's own, but at the Food & Wine Festival they add around 20 more additional regions and countries with their own food/wine stands.   Each country has around 2-3 small dishes you can enjoy and 2-3 drinks. The food comes on small plates and they range from $3.25-$7.50, which I think is pretty reasonable.

My boyfriend, and I decided to really soak up this venture this year. We have season passes to Disney, and we live around 20 minutes away so we took full advantage. We visited the Food & Wine festival 5 times over the 6 week course this year! We got to try a lot of food. We typically avoid the alcohol there. One, because we only stay for 2 hours or so and drive home. Two, the alcohol costs just as much and often more than the food. We'd rather eat than drink!

Here are the pics and descriptions of what we ate this year. I'm leaving a review out because there are SO many pictures. Be mindful we're not complete gluttons, this was over 5 separate visits! :P Oh! I can't vouch for the authenticity of the foods from the region either.


Australia

 Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies

Belgium

Steamed Mussels in Hoegarrden Beer Broth with Baguette

Canada

"Le Cellier" Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce

Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta and "Minus 8" Onion Jam

Caribbean

Jerk Spiced Chicken Drumstick with Mango Chutney

China

Mongolian Beef in a Steamed Bun

Florida Local

White Corn Arepa with Mangalista Pork Rillette and Zellwood Sweet Corn Salad

France

Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Mararoni (Red Wine Braised Chicken, Mushrooms, Pearl Onions and Macaroni Gratin)

Creme Brulee au Chocolat au Lait (Chocolate milk Creme Brulee topped with Caramelized Sugar)

Escargots Persillade en Brioche (Garlic and Parlsey Snails in Brioche)

Germany

Apple Strudel with Karamel and Vanilla Sauce

Schinken Nudel (Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese)

Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll

Hawaii

Kalua Pork Slide with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise

Hops & Barley- America

Lobster Claw Cuddler (not sure what's so cuddly about it lol) chilled with Herb Mayonnaise.

Maine Lobster Roll

Ireland

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Baileys Ganache

Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie

Italy

Salsiccia e "Papacelli" Napoletani (Sweet Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions)

Japan

Sukiyaki Beef Pan (Marinated thinly sliced Rib Eye with Sauteed Onions and Teriyaki Sauce served in a bun)

Spicy Hand Roll (Tuna and Salmon with Chili Pepper, Soy Sauce, and Sesame Oil topped with Kazan Volcano Sauce)

Mexico

Taco de Filete (Steak with Cascabel Pepper Sauce and Scallions, served on a flour Tortilla)

Taco de Camaron (Shrimp with Chipotle-lime Mayo, and Cabbage served on flour Tortilla)

Morocco

Kefta Pocket (Ground Seasoned Beef in Pita Pocket)

New Zealand

Lamb Meatball with Spicy Tomato Chutney

Seared Sea Scallop with Kumara-Red Curry Puree and Apple Radish Salad

Poland

Kielbasa and Potato Pierogie with Caramelized Onions

Scandinavia

Taste of Scandinavia (Cured Salmon, Herring, and Shrimp Salad)

Singapore

Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice and "Singa" Sauce

South Korea

Lettuce Wrap with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw

and..that's a wrap! Believe it or not, this was not all they offered there. There was plenty more to try! If you're a foodie or just love food I really recommend visiting Epcot this time of year for the festival. It is a must do thing! We really enjoyed it this year!

Happy Saturday!

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest

When I first saw promo pictures of the OPI Germany collection I quickly dismissed them. I really wasn't thrilled with any of the colors, and found them rather boring. Promo pictures lie..especially OPI ones..at least to a degree. When I saw these polishes in person and on other blogs I changed my mind a bit. I was right, many of the colors did not move me, but the vampier colors did, especially Every Month is Oktoberfest. 

Every Month is Oktoberfest

Every Month is Oktoberfest is a deep red-toned purple with a beautiful glowy red/purple/golden shimmer.

This is stunning. The shimmer in this just glows from within. I love how you can see the different toned shimmer particles in this when it touches the light. It really gives this polish so much depth and dimension. It is a real winner for me, and from what I've read it's a winner all around from many bloggers. That being said, I'm calling it a must have. I think this is also a very flattering shade on many people. If you don't have this polish already, I suggest you give it a try!

Happy Friday!

November 8 for No H8 in the Nail Polish Blogger Community

If you haven't viewed the Eradicate Hate in the Nail Polish Blogger Community, I suggest you check it out. You can also find it by clicking on the No H8 badge in my sidebar.

In honor of this message and today, bloggers are sporting purple manis. This is one of my favorite purples I have Zoya Yasmeen.

You all know my thoughts on this issue. I expressed a majority of my feelings about this on my Imperfectly Painted and Proud post. We should be a supportive and encouraging community. If you do not like what you see in a blog, don't follow it. It is really that simple. If you want to rant about a blog you don't like, tell your mom, tell your best friend, tell your cat, write it in a journal, or sing it in a song to your pet rock. Nail polish groups, bloggers comment sections, blogger emails, or your own blog are not appropriate places to be share these thoughts. Everyone has a opinions. Everyone has negative opinions!  We're human, but before you share it with a community of people be mindful of how your words can hurt someone. There are more mature and positive ways to say something. There is always silence too. You have choices, choose to be kind, welcoming, and positive.

From the Eradicate Hate in the Nail Polish Community:

"Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay.  Most of us are, thankfully, residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish blogging community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color...even to our polish application techniques. To marginalize anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.   

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community."

*Please note that Llarowe will be donating $2.00 of every purple polish sold on her site from 12am Thursday, November 8 through 12am Friday, November 9 to Pacer.org, an organization devoted to anti-bullying education.

Below is a list of blogger participating in this today. Please add yourself to list if you posted too! I am so proud of so many bloggers standing up for what is right.