Author: Lara
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!
Emerald
Behold…Julep “Priscilla” – Emerald for May from the Birthstone Collection.
I started with Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat and then added two coats of “Priscilla”. I didn’t add a top coat, because I wanted to feel the texture. It’s rough, like “Betty,” but I like it. Next time, I’ll try a top coat to make it deeper and shinier.
Although the base coat improves the tip wear of glitters, I just did some major dish washing…lo and behold, my left index finger is chipped. Guess what I’m doing tomorrow?
I Finally “Let It Go”
Is your house a frozen wasteland?
Are you tired of being told to “let it go”?
Do you suffer from constant demands to “build a snowman”?
Does your child run around the house with a white fuzzy blanket/cape, swirling around the room, leaving a wake of chaos?
You made be suffering from “Frozenitis”…
Yesterday, I stopped fighting it and surrendered to the “Frozenitis” – I came up with matching Elsa manicures for my daughter and I.
I used Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl” for the base and Sinful Colors “Ice Dream” for the glitter gradient. (It’s really hard to do a glitter gradient on a six year old’s nails, so it just looks like I did a spotty job on hers.) I used Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat on myself, but didn’t bother on Lily. I also used different top coats. I used Sally Hansen “Diamond Flash” on Lily, but before I painted my own nails, I went to HEB and happened to pick up NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry in “Grand Central Station”. Angie suggested the $2 NYC topcoat when I was fretting about bubbles. “Grand Central Station” is not technically a topcoat, but I couldn’t find a Quick Dry top coat from NYC at HEB, and I had read several good reviews of “Grand Central Station” – here, here and here. I was fairly pleased with the results – very similar to the Sally Hansen Diamond Flash…maybe not quite as quick to dry, but definitely shiny and fast. For $2, I can afford to experiment…
Lily is thrilled with our matching nails – this is actually the first time we have ever had matching nails. Maybe this will become a regular thing?
Saturday Shopping Fun
Another Saturday, another shopping marathon with Lily.
First stop was Ulta. I needed another Zoya “Remove +”, because I finally created my dream nail polish remover system. Last week, I bought another up&up “nail polish remover dip-it”. I emptied it and refilled it with Zoya “Remove +” – this is the absolute best way to remove nail polish. It’s soft and gentle and doesn’t smell like Chernobyl.
I also picked up Ulta “Ultimate Brunette” Shampoo and Conditioner. I exclusively use John Frieda “Brilliant Brunette”, but I wanted to give Ulta’s version a chance – it was $4.99 and BOGO. With my $3.50 off coupon, this purchase put me at Platinum status – $400.89 to be exact. Woo hoo!
After McDonald’s, my Eye Doctor and Rack Room Shoes, we hit Bath & Body Works for my 3rd round at the Semi Annual Sale. Mini Candles were 5/$10, so I picked up “Beach Cabana”, “Pink Petal Tea Cake”, “Fresh Picked Strawberries” and 2 “Red Lava Guava”. I want to exfoliate, so I grabbed a 75% off “Apricot & Honey” Body Scrub. 3 more 50% off Hand Soaps (NOT AntiBac) – “Sea Side Bloom”, “Endless Summer” and “Honolulu Sun”. Last, I let Lily pick another travel body spray – 75% off – she chose “Tokyo Lotus & Apple Blossom”. This week’s coupon was 20% off $25, so I got all this for about $20. I’m running out of room for soap.
I did manage to go to Big Lots after that (Zone Bars!) and NOT buy any nail polish. We did look…nothing tempted us.
Pretty full shopping day and spent under $100…
June Birchbox – Away We Go
I received my Birchbox yesterday, but I had a birthday party to go to, so…good morning post!
“Away We Go” is June’s Birchbox theme – products perfect for a summer getaway. Inside my box: Coastal Scents “Revealed 2 Eye Shadow Palette Set” (4 shades from the 20 shade set – a little birdie told me that this palette is duplicate for Urban Decay “Naked 3”), COOLA “Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face”, Joie “Folle de Joie” Eau de Parfum (a very mature scent, but better than that stinky Realtree from my Ipsy bag), Perlier Body Cream “Shea Almond” and suki “Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser (I am an exfoliating fiend, so this will definitely get used).
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join. I want that Modern Mermaid box!
Pearly Bubbles
Well damn it. Damn it all to hell.
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, or if it’s just the polish…but I got those damn bubbles again. Just like “Harlow”, “Kathy” looked fine when I went to bed…but when I woke up, my fingernails were all bumpy. I used the Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat – I wonder if that’s the oxygen trying to escape? Or maybe I put on the second coat too quickly?
“Kathy” – Pearl for June is a really, really thick polish – as was “Harlow” – so I’m wondering if I need nail polish thinner? Or maybe just stick with one coat? Next time, I’ll try to stick to one coat and see what happens. I’ve never used thinner, but maybe it’s time…
June Ipsy Bag – Pretty in Paradise
Ipsy came first this month…
June’s theme is “Pretty in Paradise”. This month’s bag is OUTSTANDING. It’s a a pretty Hawaiian pineapple design, made out of windbreaker material and designed by Rebecca Minkoff. (I’d never heard of her before this.)
Inside this month’s bag: Be A Bombshell “Lash Out Mascara”, Marc Anthony “Dream Waves Beach Spray” (At first I thought it was the guy who used to be married to J-Lo, but then Google helped me figure out that it is a Salon chain in Canada. DOH.), NYX Butter Gloss in “Crème Brulee”, OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil and Realtree for Her, which is the single most horrifying fragrance that I have ever tried. I accidentally got some on my hand and I couldn’t get the smell off after washing my hands with AntiBacterial Soap three times. It smells exactly how you would imagine a woman dressed in head-to-toe pink camouflage would smell – like a deer in heat. BURN IT WITH FIRE.
The most exciting thing in my bubble mailer, was my Ipsy points reward – NYX “Bronze Smoky Look Kit”. It’s just a little compact with 9 eye shadows and 2 lip glosses, but I love bronzes and browns right now. Retail price is $12, so not bad for free!
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Violet Flicker
After 3 Juleps in a row, I was ready for some cheap thrills.
Cover Girl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstinis “Violet Flicker” is a sheer glitter/shimmer. The base is a deep violet, but there is an undercurrent of green, with flashes of fuchsia and blue glitter. This is 2 coats with no base coat. There are still a few sheer spots – I really could have used 3 coats.
It dried amazingly fast and dried with no defects or bubbles. It’s a perfect bedtime polish. My only complaint is the super short brush – it was a total pain in the ass to use. even so, I may try to hunt down some more Cover Girl coupons to get more colors for 99 cents…
Semi Annual Sale: Round 2
Yeah, I totally went back today. My BFF and I purposely ate at the Panera near our office because there’s a B&BW in the same shopping center.
While my BFF filled up a sack with “Carried Away”, I actually branched out and picked up some 50% off 3 wick candles – “Black Sands”, an unforgettable blend of ocean mist and exotic amber finished with creamy cedarwood and “Grapefruit Pomelo”, a blend of tart grapefruit, sweet pomelo and juicy orange. (What is a pomelo?) Since these are usually on sale for 2/$22, I paid 25 cents more each. I also picked up 5/$10 Scent Portables for my car – there are only 4 in the picture, because I immediately popped a “Spring” into my car in the parking lot. I also picked up 2 75% off shower gels – “Morocco Orchid & Pink Amber” and “London Tulips and Raspberry Tea”. Last, I grabbed a “Lemon Chiffon Tart” AntiBac – even though it was $3, instead of $2.50 like yesterday.
I stopped my total at just above $40, so I could use another coupon…the sale runs through the first week of July, so you know I’ll be back…