Category: Nails
How to Ruin your Carpet
So I’ve heard about this happening with Julep polishes, but I never thought it would happen to me…
I didn’t realize that the neck of the bottle had broken in shipping. As I attempted to pop the overcap off of Julep “Sabrina” to swatch the top, it snapped off in my hand….and sprayed bright orange polish all over my leg and bedroom floor. SONOFABEEEEETCH!
So pouring half a bottle of polish remover on my carpet seemed to do the trick – I was able to get the polish out, but there is a faint orange tinge if you really look close.
Be warned! Check your Juleps…and open over a table or put a tarp down or go outside or something. At least this was a polish I had only paid $2 for….
Black Dahlia
I’ve been wanting to try Zoya Pixie Dust for FOREVER…so finally…this is Zoya Pixie Dust “Dahlia”.
No base coat, no top coat, just 2 coats of “Dahlia”. Isn’t it divine?
Oh, and I finally cut my nails. They were starting to break, so I just expedited the process. Imagine how much sexier this polish would be on longer nails…
I am getting obsessed with Pixie Dust…I just bought three more! It’s the last day of Zoya’s Fourth of July Promotion – 3 free polishes for $12 shipping. Click NOW before it’s too late!
A Good Red is Hard to Find
A good red is hard to find…but I’ve found the best red fingernail polish ever created – Zoya “Sooki”.
This is a single coat of “Sooki”, topped with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat. Absolute full coverage in one coat. It was very shiny on it’s own, but the top coat makes it look like glass.
Plus…it was FREE.
America, Fuck YEAH
Don’t these patriotic nails just say, “America, Fuck YEAH!”???
I’ve been waiting at least 6 months for the 4th of July. Julep “America” isn’t just an everyday polish…
I started with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat. Rimmel “Blue Eyed Girl” for my blue, Julep “Bunny” for my white and Zoya “Sooki” for my red. I used just a single coat of each. I topped each nail with Julep “America” and then finished with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat. The Revlon dried fairly quickly and didn’t bubble or crack…good news!
My BFF also did “America, Fuck YEAH!” nails.
Her blue was Sinful Colors “Ciao Bella”, her white was Julep “Bunny” and her red was Sinful Colors “Gogo Girl”. She also topped with Julep “America” – I got a dupe in my Cupid Mystery Box and gave it to her.
We’re twinkies!
Five Below Finds
I discovered a new store! It’s called Five Below and it’s a dollar store – or technically, a five dollar store – because everything is under five dollars. Five Below is bright and clean and full of cheap crap from China, so in other words – very dangerous for me.
I got a Frozen T-shirt and some hair clips for my daughter.
I got macaroni and cheese duck tape and a “No Farting” button for my son.
I got matching Jason Hockey mask socks for my BFF and I…what am I forgetting?
OH YEAH…nail polish. Five Below has an exclusive brand of nail polish called “Funky Fingers”, which is produced by Color Club. The regular colors are 3/$5, but I picked up a couple of bottles from the solar collection at 2/$5.
“Cowabunga” is a hot pink that is supposed to turn red in the sun. “Gnarly, Dude” is a clear base with pink and black glitter that is supposed to turn darker in the sun. Internet scuttlebutt is that they don’t work so well, but we shall see…
$2 off Revlon
I was supposed to be getting something to eat for dinner, but like a recovering crackhead, my feet took me to the cosmetics section before my head realized I was there.
The first thing I looked for was Orly Bonder, but there was an empty spot on the shelf. At least I know I should try to find it at HEB at $6.99 instead of $10 at Ulta.
Did you know that HEB now carries Sinful Colors? $1.98, so I gotta wait for a sale…
Then I noticed that there were store coupons for $2 off any Revlon product over $3.50. I took this as a sign that I should snatch up Revlon’s Quick Dry Base Coat and Quick Dry Top Coat, regularly $4.31, now $2.31 each. I also picked up Revlon Leather Cuir “Motorcycle Jacket” from the Spring 2014 “Leather & Tweed Collection”, regularly $4.28, now $2.28. I had been eyeing it the last few times I had been at HEB. It wasn’t in its own display, just mixed in with the “Amazing Spider-Man 2” Display…but this lonely bottle has been patiently waiting for me for several months…and now it’s mine!
I love a good coupon…my feet have the urge to go back to HEB soon…
Modern Mermaid in the Blue Lagoon
I went full mermaid this morning.
Captain Blankenship “Mermaid Mane” Sea Salt Spray in my hair – in a loose, wavy bun. After showering with Bath & Body Works “White Citrus”, I tried Atelier Cologne “Cédrat Enivrant” Cologne Absolue. I played a tense game of “eyeliner chicken” with my Vasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in “Electric Navy” – luckily I won. (“Eyeliner Chicken” is when you keep putting on more eyeliner, trying to get it even. You know you’ve lost when you look like a raccoon.) The most important part was my mermaid manicure…
This is RUFFIAN “Blue Lagoon”. As beautiful as it is, it is a very unforgiving polish. I got full coverage in one coat, but it shows every imperfection. I have a few peeled tips on my right hand and they show. I also gave Sally Hansen “Diamond Shine” another try as a top coat…it didn’t dry fast enough and I got a few bubbles. Next time, I’ll use a faster drying top coat to try to avoid the bubbles. “Diamond Shine” can kiss my ass.
Modern Mermaid & More
If Birchbox keeps sending me coupon codes for 20% off my first purchase, I’m going to keep using them. Is that unethical?
I finally got a product in one of my monthly boxes that I loved enough to purchase. If you had told me a month ago that I would spend $36 on moisturizer/sunscreen, I would have laughed in your face…but then I tried COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face. It goes on smooth – my face feel like velvet and stays matte and shine free all day. This is the holy grail of face products.
I had been lusting after the Limited Edition “Modern Mermaid” Box ($44) and I finally made the plunge. In the box: a deluxe sample of Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius Waterproof Topcoat (which I probably will never use); a travel size spray of Atelier Cologne “Cédrat Enivrant” Cologne Absolue (citrusy and woodsy – another scent my mother would have loved…and I love it too); Captain Blankenship “Mermaid Mane” Sea Salt Spray (I need to devote a post to all my sea salt sprays – I use them every day); COOLA Liplux SPF 30 Original Formula; RUFFIAN Endless Summer Collection – Nail Polish Trio: “Blue Lagoon” – a metallic blue, “Endless Love” – a metallic pink and “Sahara” – a metallic nude; Vasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in “Electric Navy” (dunno about this one…); and a Stephanie Johnson Mermaid Round Snap Mirror, which is exceedingly cute. I think I will use everything in the box, except the waterproof mascara top coat – I don’t want all my eyelashes to fall out!
I also got 2 free samples in my box: another air repair “Rescue Balm” and eyeko “Skinny Mini” black liquid eyeliner, which I am excited to try out.
With my coupon and another $10 in Birchbox point, I only paid $54…sweet deal!
Click my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join!
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…