Author: Lara
We are Living in a Material World
…and I am a Material Girl. I was totally bananas for Madonna in the 80s. Of all the accessories that I had as a kid, I wish I still had my ‘Boy Toy’ belt. Yeah, I was probably 7 or 8 at the time, singing “Like a Virgin”, wearing that ‘Boy Toy’ belt…pretty normal, I’d say.
This is Ulta “Material Girl”, a deep plum microglitter that shifts to fuchsia. (This isn’t the color I would expect for Material Girl – I would have expected a pink satin, like Madonna’s dress in the video?) I know I have enough fuchsia nail polish to paint the Astrodome, but I can’t NOT buy them. BUY ALL THE FUCHSIA!!!
I used Orly Bonder as the base coat, but I didn’t use a top coat – I can’t resist the fine, gritty texture. I find myself unconsciously stroking my fingernails throughout the day. I wonder if I look like a psycho?
May Julep Maven Box – Set Sail
I received this month’s Julep box while I was at Frightmare, so either the 1st or 2nd – nice job USPS.
This month’s collection is called “Set Sail” and i just wasn’t feeling any of the polish colors. They were all cremes in nautical colors – white, red, navy blue – blah. Instead, I picked two of their new “Feels Like Velvet” eye shadow duos: “Moonlight & Starlight” (Matte lilac grey & white sand shimmer) and “Luck & Magic” (Metallic boysenberry & taupe with gold shimmer). Ooooh…and salt water taffy!
I’m hoping for some good polish colors next month.
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Law of Attraction
As much as I was sad to see The Black Lodge Redux go, it had to go – it looked like shit.
I was still pooped, so I went for something simple – a quick coat of Orly Bonder, 2 coats of Formula X “Law of Attraction” and then “HK Girl”. This is my first Formula X polish – it is a good, full coverage shimmer + glitter – not too thick, not too thin. The base is a holographic gold shimmer with different sizes of royal blue glitter.
It was worth the $2.99 clearance price, but I really can’t see paying the full price – $12.50.
Frightmare & The Black Lodge Redux
Didn’t I tell you that I was going to redo my Black Lodge nails for Texas Frightmare Weekend?
They turned out even better than the first time! Again, I used Sinful Colors Base Coat with Sinful Colors “No Text Red” on my thumb and pinky. I added Julep “Kirby” for a broken glass effect on my pinky. I used Jamberry “Black and White Chevrons” on my index finger and I cut letters out of “Newsprint on Neutral” for my ring finger. I then used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure “Sweet Talker” for a nude look. I used Hare Polish “The Red Room” on my middle fingers, but it chipped IMMEDIATELY, even with the “HK Girl”. It almost ruined my weekend.
Not to brag, but Jennifer Lynch LOVED my nails!
This year’s Frightmare was the best ever – I got to meet Audrey Horne herself, Sherilyn Fenn. She is adorable!
I also got to meet Jennifer Lynch, not only the daughter of David Lynch, but she also wrote The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. I had bought my third copy of the book for her to sign on Amazon – having lent out my previous copies, which of course, disappeared. (You know who you are.) I won’t be lending out this copy, no sirree!
I was blown a kiss by the Warlock himself, Julian Sands and told Rachel True how much I love Nowhere. All in all, a great weekend.
Of course, we had to make a stop at Ulta. They must be planning a major reset, because all of their polish was $2 and all of their lip stuff was $4. I picked up 3 lip glosses – “Toast”, “Mischief” and “Siren”. The polish was really picked over, so I just got “Material Girl” – because of the name, DUH.
I looked for a rollerball of Tory Burch, but they don’t carry it – I guess I need to hit Sephora.
Except for mistakenly asking the waiter at Outback for an Awesome Blossom instead of a Bloomin’ Onion, it was a fun and mostly stress-free trip!
Cherry Juice
I’ve been scared of jellies for so long, but sometimes you just have to pull up your big girl britches and do it.
I was scared of how sheer and see-through they are…and how hard they are to apply. I never should have worried about that with Zoya “Paloma” – a sheer deep fuchsia-berry with a buildable jelly gloss finish. FUCHSIA! It went on smoothly, without streaks. This is two coats and you can still see the nail line. It might take 3-4 coats to get absolute coverage. My one nitpick is that the polish immediately pulled away from the tips as I put on the top coat. I used Zoya Anchor and Zoya Armor, so next time I am going to try “HK Girl” to stop the dragging.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Did you know that Deep Woods Off! melts nail polish? I didn’t…until I found out the hard way yesterday, while wiping down my daughter and her BFF. Julep “Coretta” became all sticky and melty and I had to take it off…
This is Julep “Cassidy” from this month’s Paradise Collection. It’s almost exactly Tiffany Blue – I just need a white satin bow.
Again, I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and guess what? NO BUBBLES! I’m liking this base coat…I used “HK Girl” for the top coat – super smooth and shiny…I wonder how it would look with some silver glitter?
April Beauty Box 5 – Bloom
I totally forgot to post this month’s Beauty Box 5 – “Bloom”.
This is an…interesting…box. Inside my box – Lasting Smiles Passionfruit Mango Organic Lip Balm (Lasting Smiles funds cleft surgeries for children in the developing world); Dancin’ Goat Hula Bliss Body Lotion (Mmmm, goat’s milk lotion); Incoco (not to be confused with Nanacoco?) Nail Polish Applique Set (these don’t require heat like Jamberry, hmmmm…); Style Essentials TwinGloss (2 colors in one tube); and 3 foil packets of First Aid Beauty Facial Cleanser.
I can’t decide whether or not to keep Beauty Box 5 or not. The products are really weird and from brands I’ve never heard of. Sometimes the lotions smell off, like they’ve gone bad. Any opinions out there?
Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend
Actually, I don’t think Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. AA batteries are a girl’s best friend, but that’s a story for another time.
This is Julep “Coretta” – Diamond for April. I’ve worn it before, but I wanted to try it again in the right month. I took the picture in full sun this time – isn’t it amazing?
I used Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat (a gimme from my BFF, since she doesn’t do her own nails) and then two coats of “Coretta”. No top coat, so I could feel the fine texture. I am hoping that Julep’s glitter polishes stick to this base coat better than what I’ve been getting with other base coats. It’s been about a day and no chips so far…
Beauty Insider Love #3
My second Sephora order arrived yesterday, part of a huge pile of boxes – 2 Amazon, a Victoria’s Secret and my husband’s Loot Crate.
I could resist no longer…I finally broke down and ordered the Kat Von D Monarch Palette. I’ve been coveting my BFF’s Monarch and now I have one of my own…tomorrow morning I will emerge from my cocoon…
Not pictured is the Kat Von D Studded Kiss “Bauhaus” lipstick that I ordered for Loo. She was so helpful in taking the kids to school and starting dinner when I was out of town, that she deserved a little treat.
For samples, I picked out all fragrances. For my husband, I picked Dolce & Gabbana “the one” – it’s a horrible, wretched fragrance. He wrinkled his nose and his eyes started watering, so I guess he’s not going to be wearing it. He described it as “nasty.” The other two were for me – Elizabeth and James “Nirvana Black” and Tory Burch. “Nirvana Black” is also wretched. I don’t care if the Olsen Twins designed it, it’s fucking foul. Tory Burch, on the other hand, is absolutely lovely. It has notes of grapefruit and peony and I can totally see myself buying it in the near future.
Jawbreaker
This milky, white beautifulness is Funky Fingers “Jawbreaker”. Doesn’t it look just like candy?
I started with Zoya Anchor Base Coat and then did 2 coats of “Jawbreaker”. It is a dense glitter – no fishing to get the big chunks. I topped with Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat to bring out the layers.
Ignore my little nubbin fingernails. I had to trim them all – they were starting to peel.
I think “Jawbreaker” might be a dupe of China Glaze “It’s a Trap-eze”. I need to try it out and do a comparison.