glitter obsession

I'm back!

2013-05-20T11:08:00.000-05:00

Hello lovelies. I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long. My new job has turned out to be much more work and less time to play than anticipated and I've essentially been sick with something or another since February. I currently have an ulcer on my eye so I can't see anything and I'm living in the dark. Needless to say makeup and nail polish have been a thing of the past recently.

I did notice I was growing sad and bored and I realized while I wear hardly any makeup most days I found it fun to play with and nail polish was my one source of color and fun. My nails, as you will see soon, are short nubbins that I've grown to love. No more trying to have long beautiful nails. I've come to accept my nails for what they are - and polish lasts days and days longer now!

See y'all soon! =*

Barielle Winners!

2012-12-26T09:55:00.000-06:00

Congratulations ladies!!

I've emailed both and they have 24 hours to respond. If I don't hear back, I'll pick more winners!

Thanks again to Barielle for sponsoring this giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipsticks - Swatches & Review

2012-12-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

First, to preface, I'm sorry this has taken so long to come out. I've been working on it for WEEKS (months actually) but I'm just now posting it because I kept having to retake pictures and I lost my peach one. =/ So no pics for that one.

I wanted to hurry and get this out because these are great little numbers for only $1.99 so they'd make great stocking stuffers!!

***********

If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said I don't like lipstick. I own about three, and that's because I've purged the rest (to my mother - she loves lipstick and she's always happy to get free lipsticks, Hi Mom!!). Anyway recently I've made a love connection with lipstick. And Wet N Wild makeup.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipsticks are a deal at $1.99 each! They have a great color selection, and at that price, I just kept picking up more as I kept seeing blog posts and makeup looks using these great little lippies!

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Think Pink

Wet N Wild Megalast Think Pink is a beautiful light pink. Very pastel, very pale. I need a minimalist amount of eye and cheeks to pull off this color as it's too pink to be a nude on me. This was likely the most dry out of all of them, but some chapstick on top and I was good to go!

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Bare It All

Wet N Wild Megalast Bare It All is a medium nude. Beautiful coverage, creamier than most of the lipsticks. Leans slightly peach so will be warm on some lips. If you lean pink, this may not work on your skintone.

Wet N Wild Megalast Just Peachy is MIA. So sorry! I'll update if I find it. Wah.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Wine Room

Wet N Wild Megalast Wine Room is a medium matte rose brown. This formula was a little dry but was easy enough to apply. Awesome pigmentation. I only needed one good swipe to cover my lips (and a little more to get sharp lines at the edges) and it lasted forever! I didn't need balm over this as it was surprisingly comfortable on its own.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Mauve Outta Here

Wet N Wild Megalast Mauve Outta Here is a medium neutral pink. On my lips it looks lighter and brighter, but it's really a nice natural matte mauve. This one is drier than the others which made it feel a little grittier on my lips but great color. I wear it a lot to work.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Stoplight Red

Wet N Wild Megalast Stoplight Red is a beautiful, bright, medium red. Think 50's glamour. Totally show stopping. Priceless. Good moisture level on this one. It wore easily.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Mocha-licious

Wet N Wild Megalast Mocha-licious is a medium-deep brown with hints of red. A flattering brown, nice and neutral. Not too dry.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Cherry Bomb

Wet N Wild Megalast Cherry Bomb is a dark brown leaning red that is dark and vampy. Needs a lipliner but a great color. Not too dry but lasted for hours.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Vamp it Up

Wet N Wild Megalast Vamp It Up is a gorgeous dark lipstick. I have no idea what color it truly is. When on my lips, it seems like a sheer black or reddened black, but on my hand it appears more red/black/brown. It's gorgeous either way. I wore this with a sheer purple gloss and the purple stood out and made it magical. LOVE it.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Cherry Picking

Wet N Wild Megalast Cherry Picking is a bright pink that really calls attention to your pucker! Very flattering, leans orange/melon. Better on the moisturization scale than most.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Don't Blink Pink

Wet N Wild Megalast Don't Blink Pink is a fantastic bright pink. I mean BRIGHT. Neon even. It looks flat here in the picture and trust me, it's not. It's 60s retro bright pink. I haven't brought myself to wear this one yet but I'm working on it!

Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Purty Persimmon

Wet N Wild Megalast Purty Persimmon is a medium coral/orange that is very flattering. This orange color is popping up everywhere and it's totally in fashion right now. Pair this with some neutral eyes and a bold blue outfit and you've got yourself a winner!

I hope these were helpful to some of you. They're a great buy and even if some of them are a little dry, they're very wearable and you can always add some balm on the top if needed.

For me personally, Cherry Picking, Purty Persimmon, Stoplight Red and Mauve Outta Here are my top picks because they're so wearable.

Shimmer Karen

2012-12-12T10:00:00.000-06:00

Happy 12-12-12. The last repeating numbers day EVER. Does that make you a little sad? Even though this repeating number really means nothing, it's fun and I always look forward to it once I know it's coming up!

Anyway, on to the polish!

Shimmer Karen is a gorgeous mix of pinks, purples, and blue with hints of gold and green. This polish truly has everything and it meshes beautifully.

Shimmer Karen (1 coat) over Orly You're Blushing

Formula, as always, is fabulous, without being too thick to work with. Above is only one coat but two to three coats for full opacity is stunning with these polishes!

Have you purchased any Shimmer polishes lately?

Info & Stats

Etsy page (click here for inventory and purchasing!)
Facebook
Website
$12.00 for .5oz
She makes CUSTOM colors, $14 for custom colors!
International sales & shipping

Shimmer polish provided for review.

Barielle Giveaway

2012-12-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

A big thanks to Barielle for sending me TWO 5 piece polish sets to give away to some awesome readers!

If you'd like to see swatches of each collection, you can check them out for Some Like It Hot here and Dazzling Diamonds here.

Barielle is a company that sells hand and foot care products along with 3-free nail polishes. They have an extensive list of products that you can find through different skin/nail needs (dry brittle nails, soft peeling nails, etc).

Free shipping on orders $50+
Register to get 15% off your order
Monthly drawings to win free polishes! How cool is that?!?
Facebook sweepstakes where you can win free products!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Update

2012-12-08T09:36:00.003-06:00

Hello lovelies.

I'm so sorry I've been MIA. Things have been really busy at work and we're trying to get our old home ready to sell and buy a new one (in different states) and it's been a little overwhelming.

Since I've moved to a colder climate, the dry air is wreaking havoc on my hands and for those of you who know a little more about me, I'm in the medical field so I'm washing my hands or using alcohol based foam every 15-20 minutes so my hands and nails are a HOT MESS. I've had nekkid nails for weeks. Eek!

These are all poor excuses for being a bad blogger, and I wanted to let ya'll know I'm still here and I <3 ll.="ll." p="p" ya="ya">
I've also developed some apprehension toward my blog due to some unkind comments on here and it started making me feel bad about myself. I know I don't have amazing nails like the big known bloggers, and lately I've been getting down on myself and my blog so I haven't been going near my computer lately.

In the meantime I'm going to work on editing some photos/posts I have squirreled away for such times and hopefully get back to business!

Hope all is well with each and every one of you!

Giveaway winner!

2012-11-23T02:59:00.001-06:00

Happy belated Turkey day! I was on the road all of yesterday and am wide awake now at 2:30. There is something wrong with me.

Anyway.

Congratulations to Melissa E. or winning the giveaway! I've emailed and she has 48 hours to respond.

I've got some other goodies heading out ya'lls way so stay tuned!

L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway 2012 Electric Fantasie Polishes Swatches and Review (pic heavy)

2012-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Whew that was a serious title. And these are some serious polishes. In total, there are 8 adorning the limited edition Project Runway displays around local drugstores (someone else's local, I have no drugstores in town, boo!), two in each subtype. I've got all 8 to show you (I know, I have a sickness when it comes to buying nail polish). I tried to do some simple nail art with each combo.

This is a pic heavy post, so just be warned!

L'Oreal Project Runway Electric Fantasie 2012 Nail Polish

The Queen

L'Oreal The Queen's Ambition, L'Oreal The Queen's Might

L'Oreal The Queen's Might is a sheer red, almost hot pink polish. In the bottle it looks more bold and commanding, but on the nail it's very ... blah. It's a nice color, but it's a little sheer for my taste and the color isn't very impressive.

L'Oreal The Queen's Might (three coats with top coat)

The Queen's Ambition is an opaque black polish with silver glitter. Think Owl's Night but in black. It's not that interesting (I'm not loving this Queen combo, am I?) but it's nice and opaque and I really appreciate the formula.

L'Oreal The Queen's Ambition (two coats with topcoat)

The Temptress

L'Oreal The Temptress' Touch, L'Oreal The Tempress' Power

L'Oreal The Temptress' Power is a yellow green with yellow shimmer. Interesting color, makes me think of those fugly colors that were so popular awhile ago. This particular color seems futuristic almost, but I can't pinpoint why. This one gave my problems with application. Thick, goopy, and took forever to dry. Definitely not my favorite, but it IS an interesting color.

L'Oreal The Temptress' Power (three coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Temptress' Touch is a sheer nude-tan duochrome with light green shimmer. This one is really neat and my first grab when I saw the display. It's almost a sheer, lighter version of Maybelline Downtown Brown that was released recently. I think this would look great layered over a darker brown or nude, but on its own, it's way too sheer. This was six coats and there is still a visible nail line. Visually interesting though. One of my top picks.

L'oreal The Temptress' Touch (six coats with top coat)

The Muse

L'Oreal The Muse's Attitude, L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration

L'Oreal The Muse's Attitude is a dark green blue polish with shimmer. On the nail it dries a bit flat but a shiny top coat perks it right up. This one did pull more than the others given I used the same top coat for all (Seche Vite). Not much to say about this one.

L'Oreal The Muse's Attitude (two coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration is a gorgeous medium orange with shimmer. Lots of depth and it is a chameleon! Bright orange, medium, darker with bright shimmer. I was really impressed with this one!

L'Oreal The Muse's Inspiration (two coats with top coat)

The Mystic

L'Oreal The Mystic's Future, L'Oreal The Mystic's Fortune

L'Oreal The Mystic's Fortune is a magenta leaning purple with shimmer. Nice color, I feel like I've seen this color a lot, but it's definitely eye catching and I can't say I have anything like it in my stash. Formula was a little watery so it liked to pool at the cuticles.

L'Oreal The Mystic's Fortune (two coats with top coat)

L'Oreal The Mystic's Future is a gorgeous dark purple with shimmer. My pictures make it look super blue, which it's not. Let's all say it together ... Purples are so hard to photograph! The above pictures are closer to reality but this formula applied like a dream!

Whew! Are you still with me? =) All done! Hope that was helpful in case you were thinking about picking up one, or two, or eight.

I know this is pretty late and this collection has been out awhile, and may be even hard to find at this point, but I lost two of the polishes for awhile and just now found them, so I'm posting this a quickly as possible!

I promise to work on my nail art to showcase colors! =P Some weren't that inventive and my fav, the tape mani, didn't show up well because of the colors. Live and learn!

Sinful Colors Nirvana...Matte?

2012-11-17T08:12:00.000-06:00

Did you know Sinful Colors has some matte colors? I didn't realize it until recently when I came across a display and I was checking names to see if there was something new hiding in the midst of the polishes. I came across Sinful Colors Nirvana (Matte).

I LOVE matte polishes, rubber polishes, suede polishes, etc which I find ironic since I'm so in love with glitter.

Anyway.

I put this baby on right away and behold it's matte-ness!

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats)

O_o

Umm. Didn't it say matte?

Yep, it did. Let's look again, maybe it was the lighting...

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats)

Nope, not the lighting. Sigh.

Either way, Sinful Colors Nirvana is a medium chocolate brown. Neutral, nice for work or "underwear" for a fun glitter. It's a pretty color, just not what I was expecting. Surprisingly, it fit a tiny unfilled hole in my brown colors, so that was nice.

But just for ... grins ... let's look at it mattified. I used Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat, which I purchased at a STEAL on Coterie (three polishes + matte top coat for $15).

Sinful Colors Nirvana (two coats) + Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat (1 coat)

Have you tried any Sinful Colors Matte colors and been disappointed? Or was that matte referring to something else and I'm just being silly?

Shimmer Jennifer

2012-11-14T08:00:00.001-06:00

I've got another fabulous Shimmer Polish for you!

Shimmer Jennifer is a great true multicolor glitter with different sizes and shapes. This one truly has a little bit of everything and would look great over any color polish making it really versatile!

Shimmer Jennifer (1 coat) over Sinful Colors Morning Star

Sinful Colors Morning Star by itself. Click here if you would like more swatches of it by itself!

Sinful Colors Morning Star

Info & Stats

Etsy page (click here for inventory and purchasing!)
Facebook
Website
$12.00 for .5oz
She makes CUSTOM colors, $14 for custom colors!
International sales & shipping

Shimmer polish provided for review.

Shimmer Tammy

2012-11-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Shimmer Tammy reminds me of Mardi Gras in a bottle with the heavy purple and gold. Two coats to reach opacity. Here I'm wearing it over a base coat of ... Elmer's glue and it worked great! It did eat three coats of top coat, but who's complaining? I'm not! Totally worth it and it sealed the glue basecoat so I didn't have any disintegration problems.

Shimmer Tammy (two coats plus topcoat)

Shimmer Tammy (one coat) over Catrice Heavy Metallilac

Info & Stats

Etsy page (click here for inventory and purchasing!)
Facebook
Website
$12.00 for 0.5oz
She makes CUSTOM colors, $14 for custom colors!
International sales & shipping

Annnddddddd Catrice Heavy Metallilac for your viewing pleasure. You can see more swatches here.

Catrice Heavy Metallilac

Shimmer Polish provided for review.

Orly You're Blushing

2012-11-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

While working my way through neutral, work appropriate polishes while giving me a little fun with color, I picked out Orly You're Blushing.

Orly You're Blushing is a beautiful muted lilac rose creme that applied a little thick and chalky (like a pastel) but it evened out on the second coat. Opaque at two, but you may need a third if it pulls at the cuticles. Lovely color I like to think is work appropriate but at the same time feminine and a little fun.

Orly You're Blushing

Hello right hand! I just can't hold the bottle similarly and take pictures at the same time...

Orly You're Blushing

What do you think? Work appropriate? This would be a lovely color for a wedding (obviously given the name and collection) or soft fall color.

Sinful Colors Morning Star

2012-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've decided I really like Sinful Colors nail polish. Debacle aside, they've got decent polish for pretty cheap, especially when you can get them on sale, which they often are at local drugstores!

Sinful Colors Morning Star is a light blue polish with baby blue shimmer. Beautiful color. Formula is slightly thin so this was four coats for opacity. It reminds me of Sinful Colors Cinderella which wasn't a huge win for me. While the idea and color is gorgeous, it falls flat in the pink shimmer department. Sinful Colors Morning Star, however, has beautiful shimmer you can see in medium to strong light, and it glows from within. It IS thin, however, so layering over a similar base color or lots of time to do a manicure is best. Aside from the shimmer, the color is a gorgeous true baby blue that looks great without the shimmer in shade and low lighting and I think it would be gorgeous as the accent to a light/neutral outfit or a wedding manicure!

Sinful Colors Morning Star (four coats plus top coat)

What do you think? Hit or miss?

Essie Eternal Optimist

2012-11-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've been picking through my neutral polishes and wearing a lot of pink lately. This one reminds me a lot of Revlon Cheers. I think this one is a little more light pink and less dusty. I'll have to do a comparison of them, because Revlon's formula was soooo much better. This one was thick and goopy and hard to get even. Three coats here plus topcoat. Not a fan, Essie.

Essie Eternal Optimist (three coats plus top coat)

Kinda meh overall. Color is nice but it chipped within the first day wearing it and the formula was hard to work with so not a huge fan of this one.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Swatches & Review

2012-11-06T08:00:00.001-06:00

I am in love.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains are the new love of my life. These little babies are amazing!! I've posted about them a few times on here, Twitter, IG, etc so if you follow me then you know that I'm quickly becoming obsessed with these. They are fantastic! I keep buying more just because I feel the need to own one of every color. They have great pigmentation, apply easily in a chubby stick form (compact for traveling!), and stain so you're left with color afterwards. This is going to be a long post, so let's get started!

**I am going to apologize in advance that I have used two of these quite a bit already so sorry for that! I had taken pics before those but I kept adding more balms so I did group pictures and, well, we've got some nubs. I am so sorry you have to look at those!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains
(top) Romantique, Darling, Crush, Honey, Smitten, Rendezvous (bottom)

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain swatches on hand

Then I found two stragglers!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains
(left) Cherish, Precious (right)

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains swatches on hand

They absolutely go on like a solid gloss: smooth, silky, and very pigmented given the chubby stick applicator. Usually these glosses are waxy and not very pigmented (in my previous experience), but these are phenomenal! On to individual swatches!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish is a gorgeous light pink (think mod 60s go-go pink) that is very wearable. Not chalky since it's in gloss form and the stain it leaves behind is a nice, light pink (not as light as the gloss, of course!). Much lighter on the lips/swatch than I expected given the container color.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush is a dark magenta gloss. This one applied more like a stain, darkening lines in my lips and didn't go on evenly. It was MUCH lighter than what I expected in the tube, which is fine with me since it's much more wearable than I anticipated and I'm super happy with the color. Application with this one was a bit trickier given it wanted to migrate, and the stain left behind was a medium pink.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling is a beautiful lilac-toned baby pink. I know the stick shot looks really blue, but I had to adjust the color to make it look how the tube actually looks. It's very purple, and I was expecting a light pastel purple to show up, but it's actually a very wearable light pink-purple. Enough blue to make your teeth look white! Very soft and feminine, extremely wearable version of purple. Stain left behind was a light pink.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey is a beautiful muted pink brown gloss that offers insane coverage! My only dislike with this one (even though you can tell I used it a ton!) is that the stain left behind isn't a light pink or brown, it's a bright pink one! I love the original color that you get when you first apply, but when the balm is gone, the stain is really bright. I wasn't expecting that and I can't decide if I like it or not, but I don't dislike it enough to stop wearing it. I just keep reapplying the balm to keep the neutral color above!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious is a nude brown. I apologize for this picture but it was really hard to capture the color. My skin has a lot of red in it, especially around my lips, so it's hard for me to wear a really light nude color that isn't super opaque because it makes me look sick and my skin really red. It truly is a gorgeous color but I can't really pull it off unless I'm wearing full on foundation and don't plan on getting warm at all that day or else I pink up and it throws off the color. I still wear it though! haha

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous is a gorgeous bright orange opaque gloss. This is one of my front runners. I LOVE this color. It has just the right amount of pink in it without being obnoxious but tones it down a lovely wearable orange. I can't tell you how much I adore this color or how much I wear it. I think my coworkers think I'm crazy when I wear a bright lip, but whatever, it makes me feel fabulous.

Bold Liner and Bright Lip

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic is a gorgeous medium red-orange. This one is if Honey and Rendezvous had a baby. Very autumn, very wearable, very pigmented. This one was a surprise given the dark tubing, but it's much lighter on the lips. Front runner in my book. Gorgeous. I wear this one to work often. Stain left is a medium to dark pink.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten is a hot pink! Very 80s, very bold, very pretty. Not a color I usually wear as it brings out the pink in my skin that I'm trying to hide, but I can't deny it's a gorgeous color. Staining is more apparent with this color and it's much brighter.

Whew! That was a lot. I hope it's helpful to ya'll that haven't tried them out yet but have been thinking about them.... I'll give you a little bulleted list to make it easier to talk about them as a whole.

Me Gusta:

- Compact, great for purses or traveling

- Feels light, like silky chapstick, not like a stain or gloss at all!

- Nice color selection

- Apply easily and quickly

- Mechanism on end of pencil to twist to get more product

- Balm wears for 2-3 hours, then left with a stain that may vary greatly depending on color

- Stain doesn't dry out your lips

- NOT STICKY!!!!

No Me Gusta:

- No good way to re-sharpen without losing a lot of product

- Hard to apply well when tip is gone (see Honey above, it's hard to stay in the lines!)

- Some colors aren't represented well by packaging

- Some colors don't apply evenly

- Product is only about 1/2 length of barrel so packaging so not much product

Verdict: Overall, they are a win for me! So smooth and light and great color payoff. Worth every penny! I'm planning to get the rest of the colors I don't have.

My picks? Honey (obviously), Rendezvous, Romantic, and Darling. I would recommend, however, looking at swatches before picking them up since some colors (Cherish, Darling) are MUCH different on the lips than the packaging would lead you to believe.

You can buy these wherever Revlon is sold, and they retail for $7.49-$8.99.

Julep Maven American Beauty Nov 2012

2012-11-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

Hiya beautiful! I've got the beauties from my Julep Maven November 2012 American Beauty Box. Wow, that's a mouthful! For those of you who don't know about Julep Maven, there will be more information below!

Nov 2012 American Beauty:
Julep Brit (matte suede finish)
Julep Amber (matte suede finish)
Julep Body Frosting in Pink Grapefruit
3 Julep One-Step Polish Remover Pads

Julep Maven American Beauty Nov 2012 box

Here is a two finger accent mani, although you can't tell since my thumb isn't included. I did the mirror opposite on my other hand. I did a little experiment and put base coat under two the colors to test wear and application, which I'll talk about it a little bit. I will say that my ring finger has crazy ridges that are usually not noticeable via buffing and basecoat, but matte/suede polish will definitely bring out any ridges or uneveness. Just something to think about ...

Julep Amber, Julep Brit

I had basecoat (Total Rx Build Me Up Nail Hardened - random base coat essentially) on my pink and ring finger. Application on those was less than stellar with the first coat, as you can see below. The second coat was better and only the pinky required a third coat since it had some cuticle pull (lifting of polish color near the cuticle when a new layer of polish is applied).

Julep Amber, Julep Brit

These aren't quite matte as I think if a creme without shine, while suede makes me think of a textured polish without shine. These look so awesome, they remind of the OPI Suede polishes. Great finish, it's gorgeous! I LOVE suede polishes.

Julep Amber, Julep Brit

Overall, I LOVE these polishes and am super happy with them. They were easy to apply with a great formula, two coats needed for full coverage. Dry time was quick, and while I've only been wearing them for about 24 hours, I have minimal chipping on both colors on both base coat and non-base coat nails, so I don't think it will affect wear in the positive or negative.

Just another picture of these fabulous polishes. So happy with these and I'm tempted to buy the other ones because this texture of polish is just beautiful!!

Julep Amber, Julep Brit

Julep Maven Program

For those of you who may not know about the Julep Maven program, it's a monthly mail order nail polish program. For $20/mo you get a box of goodies, which generally includes two nail polishes (each retail for $14/ea so you've already saved money!) and extra goodies - quick dry polish drops, glitter, polish remover, lip gloss, mascara, lotion, scrubs, etc! Usually there is a little candy in there too. =P

The monthly polishes are chosen based on your style quiz you take when signing up. If course they let you know what you're getting every month and there is a time window to change the box you get, add colors if you want more, pass on that month's box if it doesn't look interesting, or send it to someone else as a gift!

If you'd like to check it out you can CLICK HERE to take a style quiz and get set up. I believe the code MAVEN50 will get you the first box for 50% off!

October Goodbye's

2012-11-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've done one of these! I just didn't have anything to post! My July post went down the drain since we moved and my husband, being ever so helpful, threw away my bag with all my empties! Who does that? Just because it was a plastic grocery bag filled with empty containers doesn't mean it was trash! Then August and September went by and I didn't finish anything as I started using some different makeup with the change in climate and weather. After being inspired again by Vita and her monthly empties post, I went back and found all the products I'd been working on to finish!

Let's break it down, shall we?

Skin Care/Shower

Equate Medicated Apricot Scrub. I love this stuff. I never am without it. I buy either the "real" St. Ives or the Walmart equivalent, but either way, I use it almost every day and it leaves my skin silky smooth. Verdict: Will buy again, and again, and again. And again. =P
Philosophy Amazing Grace Shower Gel. I received this as a birthday gift from Sephora in 2011 (wow!) and I set it aside as I had a reaction to Philosphy's lip gloss and for some reason, in my head, I would have a reaction to this. I finally tried it and I really like it. Soft, feminine smell, lathers easily, and my skin is soft. While I've truly enjoyed it, I can't justify the price. Verdict: Won't repurchase.
Selsun Blue Normal to Oily. It's no secret my hair gives me fits. Super oily and I have seborrhea which gives me dandruff. I was recently turned off my Head & Shoulders, and Selsun Blue stepped right in and did the job. While the scent isn't super nice, it works, so I shouldn't complain tooooo much. Verdict: Already purchased.

Hand and Body Care

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea body lotion. I love this scent, nice and light and clean and fresh. The formula isn't heavy and soaks in easily. I haven't used this very quickly but now I'm using lotion like a mad woman. I use this if I'm in a hurry and don't want to wear perfume. This was my second tube. I may repurchase, but I've got about 10 bottles of lotion, so I'll wait. The scent is enough to keep my coming back though!
Bath & Body Works Body Cream in Enchanted Orchid. Great stuff. SUPER heavy lotion. I don't use heavy creams much but when a freeze hit recently, I was lathering this on twice a day. Lovely light scent, very crisp floral and not a sweet fake floral. Verdict: Will buy again, possibly in a different scent, but I have 3 more to empty before that happens...
Elemis Skin Nourishing Milk Bath. I bought this about 3 years ago while on a cruise and the spa talked me into it! The things I will commit to when you rub my feet. It's nice, light, and has a nice fresh scent. I put this into the lotion dispenser in my guest bath and that's how it got used up! It was nice, but nothing really special other than being SUPER RUNNY. Verdict: Won't repurchase.

Cosmetics/Nail Polish

Sally Hansen Miracle Grow (not pictured). I used this daily. I'm not sure it helped my nails grow quicker, but it was a decent base coat. Nothing really to say good or bad, it just was. This bottle was used to decant a broken bottle of polish so it's no longer empty! Verdict: Won't repurchase.
Seche Vite (not pictured). I love this top coat. Despite its tendencies to cause shrinkage, it's still my go to topcoat! It was empty for about two minutes and then I filled it with glue for a glitter basecoat. haha Verdict: I already have two more waiting to be opened on top of the one I'm currently using.
Urban Decay De-Slick Pressed Powder. This stuff is pretty cool. The packaging is awesome but heavy. The powder itself is nice and has a lilac tint to it so it counters redness. It was on sale, it was cool while it lasted, but I'm enjoying my current mattifying powder more and it's cheaper! Verdict: Won't repurchase.
Korres Lip Butter in Guava. I love this stuff. I bought it not realizing I grabbed the one that's white. Oops. I generally used this at night before bed or on top of crazy bright/dark lip colors. It's buttery, silky, and my lips felt amazing. I don't like products in jars to apply during the day because I feel like I get the products dirty dipping my hands in there. I have a few other tubs of lip products to use up on my nightstand, but when the time comes, I'll likely purchase this again. Verdict: Repurchase at some point probably.
FairyDrop Scandal Queen Mascara in Black. This is hands down my favorite mascara. I got it in a Sephora package and I had never ordered it. I don't know if they were sent as advertisement or an oops. Either way, I LOVE IT and am so thankful I accidently received it. Super black, volumizing, and it has fibers to make your lashes look long. I've been using this for awhile (longer than the shelf life likely) and it's gotten thick and hard to apply, so I'm laying it to rest. This baby made my small, sad lashes very noticeable and look longer. Verdict: Will repurchase!

Have you been good about using up the products in your life? Or do you just buy the necessary items and don't have extras?

Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Favorite Mani!

2012-10-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!!

Hiya beautiful! Today's challenge is a fun one, which is nice since it's the last day of the challenge! It's been super fun and I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's interpretations of the prompts this entire month!! Thanks so IsaBella and Theo who helped bring this all together!

I decided to do something new and fun that I've been wanting to try and just didn't have time to put together until now. Sugar Skulls! I've seen these around and there was an awesome one on Instagram recently but I can't find it to reference now. =/

Halloween Nail Art: Sugar Skulls

Those teeth suck! I tried to keep fixing them but it got worse. I think these would have been better if I had stopped the skull above the teeth. Lesson learned. I need smaller brushes or bigger nails. Otherwise I think they're fun!

Products Used:
Total Nail RX Build Me Up Nail Hardener
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Acrylic Paint in Red, White, Black, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Purple
Cina rhinestones and nail art pieces
Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Hope you liked today's post! If you're participating and haven't gotten the code yet, get the InLinkz code here!

LensVillage Dueba Crystal.i In Violet Review

2012-10-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hiya beautiful! I've got something a little out of the mainstream nails and makeup that I normally talk about.

Recently I was able to try some lenses from LensVillage.com, an online e-tailer for circle lenses. They offer up to 400+ designs and colors. The products they carry are all Korea Food Drug Administration (FDA) certified brand lenses. They carry GEO Medical, EOS, Dueba, and Vassen.

I've been interested in circle lenses for awhile so I picked up a violet pair of lenses. I used to wear colored contacts and I loved how they changed my look and opened up my eyes! My small eyes seem smaller with dark brown eyes, so with a lighter color eye, it really makes a huge difference! While it's harder to wear light contacts on dark eyes (I'll never have baby blues or crystal green), if I choose a darker color, they look more natural. I can generally pull off violet, dark blue, dark green, and gray colors and not have them look super crazy!

The violet ones I am wearing below are the Dueba Crystal.i Violet.

I did order the 14.2mm diameter, which is on the smaller end of what you can order. You can go all the way up to 16.5mm diameter to really enlarge your eyes. I've also heard the bigger they are, the more irritation you'll have at the beginning because your eye isn't used to having something that size on it (even if you wear regular contact lenses). Being that I have small eyes and I'm new to these, I went with the smallest options so they wouldn't be quite so dramatic. I'm so glad I did! I don't know if I could go larger in diameter or else I'd never get them in!

Dueba Crystal.i Violet

My eyes aren't symmetrical at all, which is why on my EOTD I only post one eye, my "good" eye! =P I tried to take some pictures with both that aren't 100% straight on so you can see the difference these contacts make.

When I first put them in, they were really irritating, like I had something under my contact or something was scratching my eye. After a few minutes, they felt fine. I wore them for about 5 hours the first time and I didn't need any rewetting drops for comfort. They grew more comfortable but I always could tell I was wearing contacts.

My husband really liked these on me. They looked fairly natural and the color let enough of my brown through that the violet looked natural.

Dueba Crystal.i Violet

Overall, I really enjoyed these contacts. They were comfortable and natural looking, despite being violet, and they really opened up my eyes.

Info on Dueba Crystal.i Violet:
Power Available : 0.00 to -10.00
Price: $19.50 for 2 pcs of lenses / 1 pair
Life Span : 1 Year
B.C : 8.6mm
Water Content: 38%

Diameter : 14.2 mm
Origin : South Korea

Also available in: Blue, green, grey, pink, and brown

Info & Stats on Lens Village:
Website: www.lensvillage.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lensvillage
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lensvillage
FREE SHIPPING over $50 order

Lower shipping costs: $4.50 to US and Canada, International from $3

Free animal case with each lens purchase

Just some pics for a future post with makeup!

A Rhyming Dictionary Swatches!!

2012-10-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

I simply adore Morgan's creations and I recently got some in the mail and wanted to show them to you! I have four to show you today!

A Rhyming Dictionary Zella is a great black, white, and light and medium green glitter in a clear base. I really like this one but I had the hardest time picking a base color for it. Black and white colors lose some of the glitter and anything light or green loses the other colors, so brown it was!

A Rhyming Dictionary Zella over Sinful Colors Nirvana

A Rhyming Dictionary Diksey Horner is a red, yellow, and blue glitter in a clear base. The red and yellow really predominate with scattered larger blue glitter. It can look really rusty orange from afar so I thought putting it on a neutral base would bring out the primary colors.

A Rhyming Dictionary Diksey Horner

A Rhyming Dictionary Diksey Horner over Lime Crime Milky Ways

A Rhyming Dictionary Diksey Horner over Sinful Colors Nirvana

A Rhyming Dictionary Mister Yoop is a gorgeous mixture of blue, pink, and purple with holo glitter in a light pink base. Gorgeous! I was most excited about this one!!

A Rhyming Dictionary Mister Yoop

A Rhyming Dictionary Mister Yoop over L'Oreal The Mystic's Future

A Rhyming Dictinonary Cor is a gorgeous light blue glitter with irregular yellow shards. For some reason, this reminded me of bluebonnets... Anyway, gorgeous glitter and very visually interesting with the irregular yellow pieces.

A Rhyming Dictionary Cor

A Rhyming Dictionary Cor over Zoya Kristen

Gorgeous, gorgeous polishes. Very high quality, layer like a dream, and don't require more than one coat for a nice cover on a base coat.

Stats & Info

A Rhyming Dictionary on Etsy (to purchase or see inventory, click here!)
A Rhyming Dictionary on Facebook
3-free polish
US shipping only (working on international shipping!)
$7.50 for 15mL polish
Awesome customer service - on EVERY page she reports if there are any problems to contact her so she can fix the problem. =D

Products provided for review.

Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Halloween Character

2012-10-28T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hiya gorgeous! We're getting closer to the end, and today's prompt is much more open. It's favorite character.

I tried to think who was my favorite Halloween character, and I really didn't have one. So I perused the world wide web for inspiration, and I happened upon an awesome mani. While it didn't turn out as good as Simply Rins' Frankensteins, I like it!

Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Favorite Character, Frankenstein Nail Art

I wanted to come up with something really unique and fun with the Bride of Frankenstein, but I ran out of time. I went to hand out candy at a local community Halloween Carnival and I was not dressed appropriately for 30-40 degree weather (Fahrenheit!) So my poor hands and cuticles are D-R-Y. I sowwie. I'm moisturizing like crazy!!

Products Used:
Total Nail RX Build Me Up Nail Hardener
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Sally Hansen Limestone
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Black and White Acrylic Paint

Hope you liked today's post! If you're participating and haven't gotten the code yet, get the InLinkz code here!

Sinful Colors Precious Metal

2012-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I grabbed this while out of town a few months ago (or so? I'm losing track of time!) and I thought it'd be a nice background for some bats stamping, which turned out to be a huge FAIL.

Sinful Colors Precious Metal is a gorgeous deep metallic blue that starts out sparse but is opaque in three coats. Sinful Color is notorious for putting already sold colors in "new" displays and marketing them as a seemingly new release. I found this in the Metallic Display, but I couldn't tell you certainty if this is a new release or not. All I know is, it's new to me and I found it with the metallic collection! =)

Sinful Colors Precious Metal (three coats with topcoat)

Too many long posts recently, so this one will be nice and short. Great formula, gorgeous color.

Doesn't stain your cuticles or nail beds.

WIN.

Catrice Heavy Metallilac

2012-10-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've had this one in my stash for awhile and I'm just now pulling this baby out. I could kick myself. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous color. Thank you to Theo for sending it during our swap!!

Catrice Heavy Metallilac is a GORGEOUS medium purple shimmer duochrome that flashes light purple and pink in the light. Self-leveling, great formula. Two coats for perfect opacity. I tried to take pictures in different lighting so you can get a good idea of just how breathtaking this polish looks!

Catrice Heavy Metallilac (two coats with topcoat)

Gorgeous, gorgeous polish. If I could have one polish for the rest of my life, this is definitely in the top 5 running for that position.

Thank you again Theo! =*

Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Mummy

2012-10-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hiya beautiful! It's no surprise what I'm doing today - halloween nail art!

Today's prompt is Mummy, which I've been dying to try since I saw the post by Simply Rins. (Have you noticed my slight obsession with her nail art?) I know these are likely the most popular mummy design around, but I saw her post first, which is why I'm crediting her on this.

Halloween Nail Art Challenge: Mummy

Products Used:
Total Nail RX Build Me Up Nail Hardener
Orly Faint of Heart (mixed for base color)
Savvy French White White (why they need white twice I don't know...) (mixed for base color)
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Craft Smart Acrylic Paint in Black, White, and Red

Just a little snapshot from my text conversation with my mother on these nails ...

Hope you liked today's post! If you're participating and haven't gotten the code yet, get the InLinkz code here!

Milani Eyeliners

2012-10-24T08:00:00.002-05:00

I love Milani products. Lip gloss and nail polish specifically, but I'm trying to branch out more into their other cosmetics. I've heard a lot of good things about their Liquif'Eye eyeliner pencils, so whilst browsing one day, I grabbed one and a liquid eyeliner. I grabbed the basics, and black and a brown, because really, can you have too many black or brown eyeliners? I think not.

Some quick hand swatches before the individual stuff!

Milani Liquif'Eye Brown (left), Milani Infinite Liquid Liner in Everlast (right)

Milani Liquid Eye in Brown (pencils says Milani Liquif'Eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil - color me confused) is a gorgeous medium brown coppery pencil that glides on like a dream. I've heard them compared to Urban Decay 24-7 Liners, which I must say, they do remind me of them. Color applied great with silky precision and color payoff was great, no tugging or pulling or going over the same place time and time again to get some color on the lid.

According to the packaging, this liner boasts all day wear and smudge-proof. Um, stop. I wore it to work one day over primer (one that went on way too cakey as you can see above) and by lunch it was smudging a bit and by the end of the day (I was too busy to look in a mirror that afternoon) and I had it halfway down my face. Thanks for mentioning it co-workers! While it applied like a dream I'm not sure it ever set. While I love my smooth liners, I'm not a fan of one that runs. Maybe it was the primer? I haven't had another day to wear liner that I haven't been at work (and I'm not going to have raccoon eyes if I can help it) so the testing continues...

Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner in Everlast is a rich black liquid eyeliner. Great dark color payoff, precise application, and no stinging involved while it set. I have trouble with some liners having too much alcohol in them so when they're wet they sting like crazy before they dry and I sit and fan my poor tearing eyes until the liner is set. Not with this one!

According to the package, this liner is waterproof, color intense, smudge and smear-proof and gives you 24 hour long wear. It does have great color pay off - nice rich opaque black - and the brush gives you very exact lining (great for those with small eyes, like myself!!). I like this as much as my Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in Perversion - only MUCH cheaper!

By the way, Milani, THANK YOU for putting out drugstore makeup that is individually packaged to I know when I open an eyeliner to put on my eyes (or hand for swatching) I know it doesn't have the germs of a hundred other people on it from being tested in the stores.