Author: Lara

 
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I’m having a Jamberry Party!

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So….I’m having an online Jamberry Party! Jamberry is a great way to get glittery nails, without having to get a chainsaw to file that shit off…

I’ve got a bunch of trips coming up and I need something that lasts longer than regular polish – Jamberry to the rescue! Plus, they came out with a few sets with Day of the Dead Skulls…so I’ve got to have those! I’m also going to pick up some black & white chevrons to add to a “Black Lodge” manicure I’ve been dreaming up.

My cuz Kimberly is a Jamberry Consultant and set up the party for me – click here to connect with Kimberly and find out more! If you want to join my party, here’s a direct link!

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Stunning

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Zoya “Binx” is one of the most stunning in Zoya’s lineup. Zoya describes “Binx” as a spicy orchid purple dappled with gold metallic and holo sparkles. It gives off a foil effect, but without the glare.

I started with Zoya Anchor. “Binx” is almost completely opaque in 2 coats. I topped with Zoya Armor. Armor dried slower than I would like, but it was faster than over a creme polish like “Lara”. OH! And did I mention that my “Lara” manicure was featured on Zoya’s website this week? I squealed when I found out!

What kind of name is “Binx” anyway? I googled and I came up with 2 options. Most of the results referred to a model named Binx Walton, currently in the news for bullying Kendall Jenner (Wahhhhh.) The rest were either about Binx, the talking cat from the movie Hocus Pocus or random shit. I really hope this polish is named after a talking cat and NOT a bitchy model.

 

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February Beauty Box 5 – Hooray!

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“Hooray!” is February’s Beauty Box 5. It was the very last box to arrive this month.

Inside my box: Marsk Mineral Eye Shadow in “Vanilla Frosting”; Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel in “Bold Sangria” (Oh, this is pretty); Absolute New York Absolute Love Lip Balm in “Bubble Gum”; Avon Big Color Eye Pencil in “Natural Vibe”; Freeman Cucumber, Melon & Ginseng Lathering Body Wash and a $20 gift card to yourminerals.com, a new makeup brand.

This is possibly one of the least weird Beauty Box 5 boxes that I have received. I’m not so sure I’ll use anything but the polish and body wash, though.

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Influenster Vox Box – Calvin Klein VoxBox

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I had no idea that I qualified for the Calvin Klein Vox Box until I started getting emails telling me to check it in.

Inside the little silver bubble envelope was a sample of REVEAL Men Calvin Klein – Calvin Klein’s newest fragrance for men. Read their description:

REVEAL Men Calvin Klein captures the tension between instant attraction and playful seduction. Make him feel confident and sexy with this vibrant, salty oriental fragrance. Crystallized ginger, raw salt, and vetiver notes will leave him charismatic and spontaneous. The scent is addictive and he will be irresistible

This scent is NOT for me. It is a sophisticated scent for sure, but it smells too “Grandpa” for me to like on my husband. He sniffed it and just shrugged, which is high praise from him. I do know that he used to wear CK One long before we met, so it’s not a stretch for him to wear it. Actually, I may let his dad check it out – he might like it.

The sample also came with a little fake leather credit card holder – Logan will get a kick out of it. I’m afraid to give the sample to him – my sister gave me some Sephora Men’s cologne samples to give him and he coated himself in Paco Rabanne. Oh my GAWD, it made me gag.

As always, product received complimentary for testing purposes. Want some complimentary stuff? Check out Influenster for yourself…

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Work of Tart

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I hate the sun. Like a lot. But I had to brave a shaft of the bright winter sun – from the safety of the garage – to show off the sparkle of Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer “Work of Tart”.

It’s a mermaidy blue/green, with a subtle gold shimmer. After Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I used two thin coats – it has a great texture – like a sugar cube. Although it is almost opaque, I can still see a hint of nail line. It shrank a tiny bit around the tips of my nails, but not too bad.

By the way, there’s nothing like eating lunch with old friends that you haven’t seen in a year or so and the first thing they say is, “Let’s see your nails.” My reputation precedes me…

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BFF Shopping, Part 2

A post shared by Lara (@knobbygirl) on

We tried to be good parents – spending a school holiday on educational activities like going to the Houston Zoo. It was cold and rainy, but we bundled up with umbrellas, so we could educate our children with “The Scoop on Poop.” After a few hours, we were ALL like “Fuck this, let’s go shopping instead.” This time, it was my BFF’s daughter who brought up going to Ulta.

We HAD to get Ulta’s Spring Gift with Purchase. The super cute bag came with Ulta Amped Mascara in “Jet Black”, 3 Eye Shadow Quads, Brow Compact (I’m curious about the brow wax), Bronzer/Blush in “Splendor”, Dual-ended Eye Liner, Lip Crayon in “Oh!”, Mini Nail Lacquer in “Peach Parfait”, Butter Balm Lip Gloss in “Thumblina”, Color Pure Loose Eye Shadow in “Yolo” (gross name) and 3 makeup brushes.

I had to spend $19.50 on Ulta products to get it, so I got a Retractable Kabuki Brush ($8.99 – I’ve got a lot of traveling planned the next few months), Ulta Matte Lip Cream in “Stirring” ($9) and Ulta Brilliant Color Lip Gloss in “Berry” ($8). The coupon I had was for 20% off one item. Lame.

Pixel Cosmetics are on extreme clearance, so I picked up Pixel Lip Tint in “Joyous” ($1.49) and I let Lily pick a nail polish for $.69 – she picked “Turquoise the Noise”.

I checked my account – only $221 until Platinum status in 2016.

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February Ipsy Bag – #ipsyLove

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My ipsy bag is getting better and better.

“#ipsyLove” is February’s theme. I am most excited about the polish in this bag – China Glaze “Marry a Millionaire”. The picture doesn’t do it justice – lavender and silver glitter, with green bar glitter. I also got JOYA Compostion No. 1 Parfum Oil, Medusa’s Makeup Safari Eye Shadow in “Headhunter”, Mitchell and Peach Fine Radiance Face Oil (I just started using face oil this week to try to combat winter dryness – I’ve been using nyakio Hydrating Face Oil with Kola Nut, but that sample is almost gone) and ModelCo BLUSH Cheek Powder in “Peach Bellini”.

I also used my ipsy points to get Figs & Rouge Nourishing & Soothing Hand Cream in “Rose Berry”. It is in the same tube as their lip gloss, so I hope I don’t get the two confused…

The bag is super cute and matches my purse – I’m already using my bag from last month for makeup, so I wonder what else I can put in a makeup bag in my purse?

If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.

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The Titular Polish

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Okay, I guess technically Zoya “Lara” isn’t named after me, but it might as well be – it’s the perfect pink.

I have a love/hate relationship with creme polishes. They look really good – if I can manage to keep them out of the crevices between my fingernail and finger skin – which I absolutely have not figured out how to do. The polish pools in the crevices and forms gross, crispy edges. I’ve definitely gotten better at it than I was a year ago, but I still struggle with the crevices. I cannot stand how some of the big time polish swatcher bloggers meticulously refuse to paint their entire nail – that’s cheating! A few millimeters of naked nail looks worse to me than a bad paint job. I don’t ever want to see naked nail!

 Off my soapbox…I used Zoya Anchor and Armor – it’s not a Quick Dry, so I had to lay in bed, absolutely still, for an extra hour watching TV – oh, the horror!

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BFF Shopping

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Lily BEGGED me to go to Ulta yesterday. I wasn’t planning on going, but then she also talked my BFF and HER daughter into wanting to go – who am I to say no?

Besides, I had a $10 off anything birthday coupon to use. I broke down and got the Urban Decay Pore Perfecting Primer Potion ($31). I’ve come to the conclusion that the primer potion is what made their Naked Skin Foundation look so good. So even though I still have an unopened tube the The POREfessional, I went ahead and got it. I also got my Ulta Birthday Gift – an Ulta Complete Eyes Palette in “Indie”.

My BFF found the discontinued Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Color Correcting Powder, so she bought every single one on the rack at ‘Buy 1, Get 1 50% off’ – she got 4! She will be color corrected for quite a long time!

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I then started my search for a larger shower rack to hold all my shower gels. (I have so many, I’m about to have to start piling them up on the floor of my shower stall.) We then hit Home Goods – nothing good there – and Ross – Lily talked me into getting her some sandals and I got a shirt, but no larger shower racks. My BFF could take it no more, so she bid us farewell. I then tried Marshall’s – still nothing. I didn’t have a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon with me, so I didn’t bother.

Ultimately, I gave up and went to Bath & Body Works anyway. I wanted to smell their new scent – Love & Sunshine. I thought I would love it, because it’s lemon and strawberries, but it didn’t really have a smell to me. .But right beside it was the new scent that came out at Xmas – A Thousand Wishes. Yup, that’s what I wanted. I took advantage of the ‘Buy 3, Get 3’ and picked up a Body Cream, Fragrance Mist and 2 Shower Gels. I also got a back up Mad About You Shower Gel and a Twilight Woods Bubble Bath for the hubs. In addition to my 20% coupon, I also had a coupon for a free travel size, so I completed my travel set and got a Mad About You Travel Size Shower Gel.

Now where am I gonna put my new Shower Gel???

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Ch Ch Ch, Ah Ah Ah

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I was gonna do another Valentine’s Mani, but then I was like naw – it’s Friday the 13th!

After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl”. I used my nifty chinese dotting tools to make little hockey masks. The black is Zoya “Willa” and the red is Sinful Colors “No Text Red”. I should have used a different red, like Zoya “Sooki”, because the Sinful Colors was too thin. I topped it with Glisten & Glow “HK Girl”. They turned out a heck of a lot better than my Freddy Krueger Nails!

How about those dia de los Muertes Converse? They’re my favorite shoes right now…

On a side note, when I finished my nails last night, I grabbed my socks to show my husband while he was brushing his teeth…he nearly choked to death – because he laughed at me. Apparently, matching fingernails and socks was too much for him to handle.