Author: Lara
Bestest Bestie ever!
Did you know that I have the bestest bestie ever?
I was freaking out last week because she was in Vegas and we hadn’t hung out in a few weeks. At least we were still texting and I was living vicariously through her facebook posts. The problem was that she kept checking into Sephora to taunt me. I had been lusting after the Kat Von D Butterfly palettes for months, but I hadn’t even had a chance to go check it out in person yet…
So instead of a lame T-shirt or bumper sticker, she just bought my the Kat Von D “Chrysalis” palette! I got all verklempt and shit…
My vacation will be to Alaska in a few weeks…I don’t even think they have Sephora or Ulta there, so I guess I’ll be bringing her back Moose Jerky or Whale Blubber Soap or something?
True Red from True Blood
Nothing like coming from from a trip to a fun surprise in your mailbox!
Last Sunday was the final season premiere of True Blood. I wasn’t overly excited about it…until I saw the 3 hour special that Zoya posted as the premiere started – free bottle of “Sooki” – bright, clean, crisp cool cherry red cream with a subtle jelly finish – with any $10….AND free shipping.
I finally had a chance to try one of Zoya’s Pixie Dust polishes! I chose “Dahlia” – black beauty with a sugared sparkle. I’m guessing it might be somewhat similar to my tar ball nails?
There were also some other goodies in my envelope: a sample of Lemongrass Ginger Lotion, a Zoya Summer Color Chart and an acrylic sample tray of their summer collections – “Tickled” and “Bubbly”.
Oil Slick Tar Ball
This weekend was our 5th annual Cuzzins Camp, where our family and friends get the kids together at LaLa’s in East Texas to enjoy a weekend of farm living and each other. This year, I couldn’t resist bringing nail polish for a night time activity for the girls. NOTE TO SELF: Bring more polish next time. Lily was insulted that I only brought 6 polishes to choose from!
Unlike Lily – who always wants to paint herself and make a mess, CK asked me to paint her fingers and toes. I was honored! She chose Julep “Jeanne”, “Estelle” and “Oscar” for her fingers. She chose “Caitlin” and “Tatiana” for her toes (not pictured). Lily slopped “Caitlin”, “Yumi” and “Tatiana” all over her feet, and had started on her fingers when I made her stop. She was paying a little too much attention to The Lego Movie and I did not want polish all over the kitchen. I put Sally Hansen “Diamond Shine” on her toes and sent her packing…
For myself, I chose Julep “Estelle”, originally from the Galaxy Mystery Box, but I got it in Golden Ticket Mystery Box #2. Julep’s site describes it as midnight black with holographic shimmer, but doesn’t mentioned that it is a lightly textured polish. It isn’t quite as rough as their stardust finish, but I wasn’t expecting it. As first, I freaked out that there was some weird chemical reaction between the Sally Hansen “Diamond Shine” and “Estelle” – it took over 30 minutes to fully dry! A quick Google confirmed that the polish is supposed to be textured – phew! even so, I am not thinking that “Diamond Shine” is nearly as good as “Diamond Flash”. I’ll have to try it with a few more polishes to be sure…
When my nails were wet, I thought they looked like an oil slick, but as they dried – they totally reminded me of tar balls. We are definitely used to seeing tar balls in Galveston! I don’t hate this polish, but it’s definitely not summery.
Targeting
Even when I have to go to Target for grown-up stuff like dog food and toilet paper, I am going to find some kind of beauty product that I need…
I took advantage of an Olay sale and stocked up on my face shit – Olay Total Effects “Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser” and “Night Firming Cream”. I have no idea if it’s firming anything, but it doesn’t break me out. A $3 off coupon was a nice addition.
For my nails, I picked up a new Trim Buffering Block, because SMOOTH is GOOD. Finally, I decided to try out Sally Hansen “Diamond Shine” Top AND Base Coat. I am a little suspicious of this product doing both, but at $3.99, I figure it will be decent at one of them, at least. I wanted to try Orly Bonder, but they didn’t have it, so I’ll be picking some up at my next Ulta stop…
Speckled
Julep “Kimberly” is from the April 2014 “Speckled for Spring” Mystery Box. I didn’t get this mystery box, but I did pick up “Kimberly” for $2 – couldn’t resist.
“Kimberly” is lavender with black specks. It’s not quite a creme and not quite a jelly, so it’s what the Internet Nail Polish Mafia calls a “crelly”. (Yes, I’ve been googling and educating myself.) The impression one is immediately left with is speckled Easter candy. As soon as I showed my husband, he said, “It looks like Easter candy.” The problem is that it’s June. This one probably won’t come out again until next Spring. I’m sad that I didn’t also order “Emerson” – the same thing in baby blue.
My Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat is almost empty, but I probably have a few more uses left. I used Sally Hansen “Diamond Flash”, so “Kimberly” looks super-shiny. I got a little too much “Kimberly” around the sides of my fingernails and it crinkled under the top coat. The top coat dried before the polish and I had to press it down. Total amateur move.
Red Marker Sale
After harassing my husband about the mail for the past week, I finally received my spoils from the Julep “Red Marker Sale”, back on June 12th. Dozens of polishes for $2-$4, plus a bunch of other random junk – makeup, jewelry, phone cases, etc.
I controlled myself and only got 6 polishes: “Dahlia” from “The Rebel Set” Boho Glam October 2013 box – goldenrod microglitter; “Annemarie” from “The Boudoir Collection” It Girl January 2014 box – warm cocoa crème; “Kimberly” a Boho Glam from the “Speckled for Spring” Mystery Box – lavender with black specks; “Zoe”, a Boho Glam, but I cannot figure out which collection – smoky burnt umber metallic, “Sabrina” from the “Simply Bewitching” Classic with a Twist October 2012 box – zesty orange shimmer crackle; and “Shoshanna” from “The Glitterati Collection” It Girl box – full-coverage yellow holographic glitter. Phew!
I also got Pout Plumping Lip Gloss in “Arousal” – neutral, rosy-brown with pink pearl – $4.
All this for $16, NO SHIT!
I hope you’re looking forward to lots of new pictures of my fingernails!
National Pink Day
So yesterday was another one of those made up holidays – National Pink Day. So why not pink nails?
Don’t my nails look like tufts of cotton candy? Say “hello” to Sinful Colors “Pinky Glitter”. It’s sheer, but with 2 coats, I got nearly full coverage. By itself, the polish was slightly more matte. I used Sally Hansen “Diamond Flash” to shine it up.
I’m slightly embarrassed about the orange tint on the bottom half of my nails. Before I realized that I was tearing up my nails by not using base coat, I managed to stain my nails pretty good. (The worst offender was Zoya “Bobbi”!) I’m starting to freak out because my Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat is almost empty. I don’t know if I want to buy another bottle – it’s good stuff, but pricey. Help! What base coats do you people use???
Cinderella, Cinderella
If you can’t decide, why decide? That’s why I like going to Chinese buffets – you can have a little bit of everything.
After Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, I started with one coat of Sinful Colors “Cinderella”, a baby blue shimmer with pink/orange undertones – it’s one of their more popular colors. It’s fine by itself, but I wanted to try out a bunch of green and blue glitters that I had recently bought.
On my thumb, I used one coat of Sinful Colors “Green Ocean”, a limited edition St. Patrick’s Day polish. It’s a sheer jelly, with iridescent flakies. It gave only a slightly green cast to “Cinderella”. I need to try it over a black or a dark blue. It was the only one that felt a bit bumpy after my top coat (NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry in “Grand Central Station”). This was also the first time my topcoat cracked! Only on one thumb though, thank GAWD.
My Index Finger got Sinful Colors “Green with Ivy”, which isn’t green at all, maybe teal-ish? It’s another sheer jelly, but with holographic glitter bars. It’s from the Summer 2014 “Destination Color” collection and a Walgreen’s exclusive color. I was not wowed by “Green Ocean” or “Green with Ivy” over “Cinderella”.
My middle finger is like WHOA with Sinful Colors “Nail Junkie”. The base is turquoise, so it is the only one that really changed the base color of “Cinderella”. I wanna do my whole hand in it!
My husband liked my ring finger the best – Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in “Sea-ly String”, from the Fall 2013 Collection. The base is sheer blue, with a variety of silver, blue and black glitter and bar glitter.
Finally, my pinky got Sinful Colors “Ice Dream” from the Holiday 2012 “Winter Shimmers” and Holiday 2013 “Glitz & Glittered” Collections. This look could be Frozen, part 2.
Which one is your favorite?
Hook ’em Horns
So I’m not actually a Longhorn, but my mother was. I did, however, go to a UT system school – UTD – and as such, burnt orange was one of our school colors, along with green. Orange and Green is a winning combination…SAID NO ONE EVER. Even so, I feel that I am somewhat entitled to rock burnt orange nail polish.
This is Julep “Tatiana”. It was originally part of the September 2013 “Cityscape Collection” Boho Glam box, but I received it in my Lucky Mystery Box. Julep’s site describes it as golden burnt orange microglitter. Since I am now a base coat/top coat believer, I started with Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, 2 coats and then finished with NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry in “Grand Central Station”. The results are OUTSTANDING. I may actually keep this longer than 24 hours….
It’s Not Horrible…
That’s the first thing I said to my husband when I finished painting my nails last night – “It’s not horrible…”
A few months ago, I was chatting with Dr. Goddess and she was displeased with a yellow polish that she received in one of her Julep Mystery Boxes. She challenged me to find a yellow nail polish that looks good on the lily fishbelly white, like ourselves. Yellow, like coral, usually looks amazing on dark or even very tan skin…but isn’t quite as magical on pale skin.
I purchased Sinful Colors “Yellow Spotted” a few weeks ago during one of my Walgreen’s binges. It’s a new shade from the Summer 2014 “Turn Up the Heat” Collection. It’s a very primary yellow, with a prominent shimmer. It’s almost exactly The Simpsons yellow! I started with Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat, added 2 coats of “Yellow Spotted” and topped with NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry in “Grand Central Station”. I got decent coverage, with just a bit of thickening towards the cuticle.
Like I said, it doesn’t look horrible, but it doesn’t look awesome with my skin tone either. Being 1/4 Chinese, I tend to have a faint yellow undertone to my skin anyway. Yellow clothes do not compliment my skin and neither does this nail polish. I do think I will use the polish again, if only with green or purple glitter. Plus, there’s always Lily – she got my husband’s olive skin and looks great in yellow polish!