Author: Lara
You Can’t Win Them All
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This combination is a loser.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I painted two coats of Sinful Colors “Gold Medal” on each nail – except the pinky. My pinky got THREE coats of Sinful Colors “All About You” – and it’s still ridiculously sheer. I left my thumb alone and tried different layers of “All About You” on my middle three fingers. Things seemed to go okay until my ring finger – I’m still not quite sure what the fuck happened there. I think brush got stuck a little in the middle of my nail? “HK Girl” smoothed most of the weirdness…most of it.
So, I rather liked “Gold Medal” on it’s own and even with a layer of “All About You” – see my middle finger. But the gradients didn’t work right. I kind of like the sheer “All About You” on its own, but the two polishes just don’t mix well at all. Oh well…
Rose Quartz & Serenity
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For 2016, Pantone announced 2 “Colors of the Year” – Rose Quartz & Serenity. To me, it looks like your two basic layette choices – blue for a baby boy and pink for a baby girl. And Sephora really thinks people are going to wear baby blue lipstick? What do I know…maybe they will?
No need to go buy new polishes for 2016 – I dug into my stash and chose Sinful Colors “Glass Pink” for “Rose Quartz” and Sinful Colors “Cinderella” for “Serenity”. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I painted two coats of “Glass Pink” or “Cinderella” on each nail. To add a little sparkle, I topped with a coat of Zoya “Monet”. I finished with “HK Girl”.
I love and hate these colors on my nails. It’s almost too cute and fussy. Almost.
Ringing in the New Year
This is it – the last nails of 2015.
I wanted something sparkly, so I grabbed Julep Classic with a Twist “Makenna”, gilded lilac glitter. The mix of gold and lilac microglitter is almost rose gold, one of my favorite tones lately. I need more rose gold in my life in 2o16!
After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I was able to get full coverage in jut two coats. I went without a top coat, so I could enjoy the sandpapery texture.
Bela Lugosi’s Dead
Now that Xmas is over-ish, back to the grind…OK, not a grind exactly – but you know what I mean.
This is Kat Von D vs Formula X “Bauhau5” (Bela Lugosi’s dead…undead, undead, undead). It’s a matte deep raspberry…or, um fuchsia. It’s very similar to Sonia Kashuk “Jewel Orchid”, which is still on my toes.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat, then two coats of “Bauhau5”, then “HK Girl”. The first coat was streaky, but the second coat went on smoothly.
The “Bauhau5” Studded Kiss Lipstick isn’t an exact match – it seems a little lighter than the polish.
This lipstick has good staying power. It lasted through a juicy Fuddrucker’s hamburger for lunch and then mexican food for dinner. I did use a little gloss to revive it after lunch, but my lips were pretty pink until I got ready for bed.
Oh yeah, ignore my tit zit.
Sephora Play! 04 – December 2015
“Oh What Fun” is Sephora Play’s December theme and oh, what fun it is. I’m not sure if I lost the little playbook that came with it, or if I just lost it somewhere in my house…but I usually don’t remember to cash in the card for 50 extra points anyway.
Inside…NUDE Skincare Advanced Renewal Serum (5 packets!); Viktor & Rolf “Flowerbomb” (saving for my sister, she likes this scent a lot); Smashbox Full Exposure Eye Shadow Duo; Dr. Brandt Skincare PoreDermabrasion (love getting Dr. Brandt); Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in “Matte Black” (eek, waterproof eyeliner…NO); and Fresh Seaberry Moisturizing Oil (My skin is SO flaketastic right now).
Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
A Very Rouge Xmas
So…I knew whatever I was getting for Xmas put me over the top to Sephora Rouge status (they started email blasting me IMMEDIATELY), but I have been dying the last few weeks to find out what I was gonna get. Of course, I already knew about the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Palette, but what else???
My husband also got my the Urban Decay Vice 4 Palette! And my kids got me the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Studded Kiss Lip Set! The girls behind the counter at Sephora was so impressed with their picks, that they filled their bag with stocking stuffers for me: Benefit Fake Up, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, Sephora Gel Gloss Ultra Brilliant Ultra Shine Lip Gel in “Pin-up Pink”, and Perricone MD High Potency Face Firming Activator. So sweet!
On top of that, he actually bought me a purse – he picked out himself, with NO input from me AT ALL. It’s a badass red Loungefly with huge embossed sugar skull. He done GOOD.
A Candy Cane Vibe
I was busy spreading joy and cheer yesterday, so this post is a bit late…
For my final Xmas manicure, I wanted a kind of candy cane vibe.
I was feeling too lazy to do stripes, so I went for a crushed peppermint effect. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I used Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl” for the base – two coats. I used Sinful Colors “Decadent” on the tips. I tried to do a gradient, but it didn’t really gather at the tips like I was expecting. I finished off with “HK Girl” for a smooth finish.
Shroom
Nothing puts me off a brand like the fear of having my identity sold for $20 on the deep web…then again, I still shop at Target, so it’s not a dealbreaker. But in addition to the nastiness of Lime Crime’s hack and poor response, there have been rumors about the products not being vegan (like I care) and just being repackaged wholesale stuff. (Read this summary from Jezebel for more detail.) Even so, I’ve been wanting to sample Lime Crime’s Velvetines line to see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
Hautelook stepped in to save the day! On November 30th, they were stocking Lime Crime – with free shipping, to boot. I jumped on that deal and ordered Velvetines in “Shroom” (90s Brown) for $12, instead of the normal $20 – plus, I didn’t have to worry about my card information ending up in Slovenia. It arrived on my doorstep today.
The packaging is hella cute, but it takes more than that to impress me. The formula went on smoothly and didn’t bleed. It dried to a matte finish quickly and wasn’t sticky at all. I’ve only been wearing it about an hour, so I can’t tell how drying it is on my lips yet. I’d say that the formula is similar to Kat Von D Everlasting Lip Liquid, but almost a dead ringer for NYX Liquid Suede. If I was blind testing the product, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. As a matter of fact, “Shroom” is suspiciously close to the NYX Liquid Suede “Sandstorm” that I picked up a few months ago…just sayin’.
Miss Colombia
I think we can all agree on one thing…if nothing else, Miss Colombia had the best dress. I was dying over the pinky nude rhinestone dress. (Beauty pageants aren’t something I normally watch, but it was on in the background at the in-laws…we had so much fun heckling!) I just happened to pick up NYC “Pink Bling” at Target on Saturday…78 cents – it’s a dead ringer.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did two coats of “Pink Bling”. Coverage was okay – I probably could have gotten total coverage with another coat or two, but my nails are relatively unstained right now, so I didn’t mind my natural color peaking through. “Pink Bling” is a smooth glitter, but I finished with “HK Girl” for extra protection and shine.
“Pink Bling” would look ABSOLUTELY amazing over a silver or platinum base coat.
Festive Xmas Tree Nails
Instead of Xmas tree shapes, I decided to go with the extreme close-up version…
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I painted two coats of Deborah Lippmann Wicked “One Short Day”. I used a dotting tool to make ornaments with Sinful Colors “Sugar Sugar” (yes, using this one again) and Ulta “Silver Bells”. I finished with a thick coat of “HK Girl”, but “One Short Day” is a bumpy glitter, so my nails still have some texture. I am annoyed that the polish is already starting to chip on my right hand. I’ve heard grumbling on the web about how bad Deborah Lippmann polish chips, but I didn’t want to believe it…
I thought I had talked Lily into letting me give us matching nails, but as usual, her stubbornness won. They are similar…but she demanded Julep “Priscilla” instead of “One Short Day”. (She had to look at EVERY green glitter that I own to decide.) She also demanded multicolored balls – pink, red, blue, silver and purple. I wish I wish I had been able to get a picture before the polish started peeling off. I honestly don’t know what she does to her nails, but they last 12 hours, tops.