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Son of a Nutcracker!

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Santa! I know him!

None of that in my house – this is the year that both of my children no longer believe in Santa Claus. It’s bittersweet. Relief that I no longer have to prolong the elaborate charade, but still it stings just a little bit. This was the last of the childhood lies to die. My kids never did the Tooth Fairy thing – they refused to give up their teeth (I blame Teen Titans, da da da da). The Easter Bunny game lasted until Mommy and Daddy forgot to hide the eggs one year. And this year, we buried Santa – 2016 really WAS the year of Celebrity Deaths.

I’m trying to stay festive though. This will probably be my most festive look this year. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I alternated with two coats of Zoya “Bobbi” or Sinful Colors “Pine Away” on each nail. I topped with TWO thick coats of Funky Fingers “Son of a Nutcracker”. I topped again with “HK Girl”. Let me tell you, this was a BITCH to get off. And I forgot how much “Bobbi” stains your nails. Ugh.

I was so honored that my mother-in-law liked this combination so much that she borrowed the polishes. We were twinkies!

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Holly At Me

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Oh hi, orange nails – how you doin’?

Sinful Colors “Holly at Me” is a perfect match for holly berries – that luscious red-orange that attracts small children – “NOOOOOO! Don’t fucking eat those they’re POISON!” Seriously – why do all kids want to eat those? Every winter when they bloom, my daughter asks if she can eat them…I don’t know for sure if they’re poison, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it – because that’s what moms do.

This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow “HK Girl”.

The gold shimmer is really enticing. I also put this on my toes (the day before it hit freezing temperatures). I was sad that no one would get to see them. but surprise! It hit 70 today and I’m wearing flip-flops. Texas.

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You Can’t Sit With Us

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Last Thursday, I FINALLY received my Cyber Monday order from Jeffree Star Cosmetics. I get it – they had a huge order volume from Black Friday to get through…but I just HAD to wait until Cyber Monday, so I could get “Dreamhouse”…but in doing so, I missed out on one of the Limited Edition Christmas Shades that I wanted – “Deceased”. It’s come back into stock a few times, but I haven’t ordered it…yet.

In addition to the metallic Barbie pink “Dreamhouse”, I picked up another Christmas shade – “Sagittarius”. I tried to tell my husband I picked it out for him, since he’s a Sag. Again, he was buying none of my bullshit. I was not disappointed – “Sagittarius” is almost as perfect for me as my best shade, “Androgyny”. It leans very purple on me, although it looks nude in the pic.

Oh! And I bought one one of the new pink Skin Frosts“Regina George” is a perfect pink accent for “Dreamhouse”.

Also…I’ve never seen Mean Girls…Shhhh…

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Winter Dragon

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I couldn’t hold myself back – I had to jump right into these Game of Thrones polishes.

After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I painted two coats of Funky Fingers “Mother of Dragons” on all my nails. It looked redder in the bottle, but it turned more pink on my nails – think knockout rose pink, like a darker version of “Rose Tart”. The dark purple undercurrent is there – almost like electricity. I topped several of my nails with a single coat of Funky Fingers “Winter is Coming”, which is large and small white glitter, interspersed with iridescent flakie shards. The shards go from clear to blue/green in sunlight. My first impulse is to put “Winter is Coming” over every polish I wear for a month, but it is a SUPREME pain in the ass to get off your nails. This shit sticks like GLUE.

I topped with “HK Girl” and the polish lasted for a full seven days with no chips and only minor edge wear.

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Throne Games

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So…I had half a day off last Friday and I was “supposed” to be looking for stocking stuffers for my kids… but then I noticed that Five Below has a new Game of Thrones  polish collection from Funky Fingers! Add to Cart!

I don’t actually watch Game of Thrones, but I’ve heard about it from friends and the internet to appreciate the references. I picked just three: Funky Fingers “Mother of Dragons”, “Winter is Coming” and “Red Wedding”. These just scream HOLIDAY MASSACRE to me.

In case you’re wondering, my son said he NEVER looks at this website – only my other one. I can post on here that I found him a huge variety of poo emoji products – including post-it notes and a tiny stuffed poo. His stocking will literally be full of shit.

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Velvet Ribbon

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Sinful Colors “Velvet Ribbon” is holiday spirit in a bottle!

I could just stare at my nails for hours on end – they are mesmerizing.

“Velvet Ribbon” is a deep red with gold shimmer. The polish is on the thin side, but I got absolute full coverage in two coats. I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and finished with “HK Girl”.

This would be a great polish for my toes, if I ever get around to doing my toes. I hate doing my toes when it’s cold – I start feeling like they’re going to turn blue and fall off because I can’t put socks on.

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December Julep Maven Box – This Way to the Soiree

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Oh hi, Julep – nice to see you so early this month.

“This Way to the Soiree” is December’s theme. They brought back It’s Whipped Matte Lip Mousse as the featured beauty product. I picked one of the new shades – “Swoon”, Heathered Wine Matte.

For polishes, I chose Boho Glam “Bree”Golden Gardenia Multidimensional Glitter (Gardenias are white?), and It Girl “Kristjana”Sweet Plum Holographic (this will look amazing with the lipstick). This month’s treat made me gag – a green apple Gilliam Candy Cane. I fucking HATE green apple.

Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!

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Show Me How to Say No to This

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How could I say no to $25 off $50? Show me how to say no to this…

I tricked my husband into a Sephora visit by suggesting we kill time at JC Penney while my daughter was at a UIL Competition…sneaky me. I decided to look for a new powder foundation – I needed a sheerer one than the MAC and Kat Von D ones I have. The castmember steered me towards one I hadn’t considered before – bareMinerals Bare BAREPRO Performance Wear Powder Foundation ($30). We had a hard time matching by swatching, so we tried by my Color IQ…and then went a shade lighter to pick “Aspen 04”. It goes on lighter than the other powder foundations I’ve tried and it’s a perfect match for my skintone. I was skeptical at first, since I used to use the original bareMinerals and had to stop once I started getting cow’s feet – that shit is horrible about settling in fine lines. I’ve worn BAREPRO a few days though and I’m loving it.

I also picked up Sephora Favorites Lip Temptations ($32) – I really wanted Kat Von D Studded Kiss “Mercy” and they didn’t have it in full size. Also in the kit: Bite Beauty Lip Crayon in “Aubergine”Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in “714” (one of their new Vice bullets – full size!); NARS Lipstick in “Jungle Red”Sephora Lipstick in “#49”; and Know Cosmetics No Bleeding Lips Secret Lip Liner. I didn’t really need 3 new red lipsticks, but whatever.

About $40 after tax – I don’t say no to this. No, no, no.

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Well, My Stars…

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…and here we go – Xmas nails! Nothing but holiday-ready nails. All. Month. Long.

First off, I’m digging into the new polishes I just got. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did two coats of Sinful Colors “You Just Wait”, a sheer, pearly polish. It’s mostly pale pink, but shifts gold and green. It almost reminds me of mother-of-pearl. It’s got decent coverage, without a lot of brush drag marks. That’s the one frustrating thing about pearly polishes – brush marks.

I topped with a single coat of Sinful Colors “Star Studded”. It’s different sizes of gold and silver glitter, with silver stars. I was able to get a decent amount of stars on the brush without too much trouble…after I held the bottle upside down for a minute or so before doing each hand. i wonder what it would look like over a dark polish – like the Milky Way? Extra shine from “HK Girl”.

What’s next?

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Little Pink Dress

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Every girl needs a little pink dress.

I finally tried out Barbie “Little Pink Dress”. I was surprised that it turned out to be a matte finish, with a very slight shimmer. It’s a summery pink, reminding me of pink grapefruit.

This is just two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. I was surprised at how delicate this polish is – when I woke up the next morning, there were slight dents and impressions, even though my nails had been dry and rock hard at least an hour before I went to bed.

This was my last regular manicure before jumping head-first into Xmas nails. Get ready!