Category: Nails

 
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Brainchild

Not bad, for a five year old (or more) nail polish.

I had to shake the FUCK out of Formula X “Brainchild” before using it, and if you look closely at the bottle in the picture, it’s still not entirely mixed together. The polish was usable and not too thick – it applied perfectly.

This is two coats of the lovely deep eggplant “Brainchild” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Except for the pinkie, of course…my special matte pinkie got Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.

I really wish Sephora hadn’t discontinued Formula X – these are really good polishes!

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Shine, Honey

I’ve been BAMBOOZLED!

Bamboozled…buffaloed…tricked. Sinful Colors Power Paint “Shine, Honey” is a DUPE of Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Shine Annie”. Click the link and compare…exactly THE SAME.

Even so, I probably would’ve bought the polish anyway. I’m a hoarder, that’s what I do.

This is two coats of “Shine, Honey” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

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Power Paint

Guess what? There’s a new Sinful Colors Collection! Well…kind of new.

I expected to find the new Power Paint polishes in a cute display on an endcap, but I was shocked to find them on the aisle, right where the Sinful Shine polishes should be…where did the Sinful Shine polishes go? It seems like this is not exactly a “new” collection, but a rename of the Sinful Shine polishes…these colors look VERY familiar….hmmmm…

Eh, HEB had BOGO 50% off coupons, so I went ahead and bought just 4 of the 15 rebranded polishes. Left to right, I picked up “24K Drips”, “Cari-BAE-n”, “Diamonds on my Neck”, and “Shine, Honey”. I hope they are not exact duplicates of polishes I already have!

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Iced Petit Four

I LOVE petit fours, but I’ve never had a periwinkle petit four.

This is Sinful Colors “Iced Petit Four”. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. No top coat…except for my pinky nails. I topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I like it glossy, too!

I really like the matte, yet shimmery finish. I felt a little bit like Elsa…Which Confection Crush should I try next?

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It’s So Grape

No need to adjust your screen, this polish is more gray than grape.

Sinful Colors “It’s So Grape” is another one of the Confection Crush “Sweet & Sugary” polishes. I mean…it DOES look like a grape gum drop…that rolled under my couch and moldered for a year. I don’t care, it’s still cute!

This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat.

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Birthday Haircut

Okay, technically, I got my hair cut the day AFTER my birthday, but I say it still counts as a “birthday haircut.”

Although my hair DID need a cut, the real reason I went to Ulta was to use my Ulta Diamond coupons, which were due to expire on February 9th. That’s a ridiculously short period of time to use these valuable coupons…so I got my butt in there to get $25 off Salon Services and a free bottle of Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer in “0.5 Breeze”. Of course, my skin is so dry and flaky this winter that I haven’t DARED trying it. Soon.

After getting my hairs did and my skin matched, I went down every single aisle. Somehow, I didn’t go nuts. I found 2 Schmidt’s “Rose + Black Pepper” Natural Deodorant, one for me and one for Lily. They were on clearance, $4.99, down from $9.99. I came across a Revlon x Barbie Nail Tool Set ($7.99). I wanted to try the Colourpop Fresh Kiss Lip Creme, so I tried “Alt Rock” ($8.00). I thought it would be a dupe for KVD “Lolita”, but it’s more fuchsia. The texture is soft and it didn’t crack my lips, but it did get on everything.

I initially thought that this year’s Birthday Gift was lame – a Deluxe Sample of tarte Lash Smoothie Hemp Mascara, but I tried it and I actually like it. Who knew? I also used my $10 off birthday coupon.

$1,103.77 to Diamond in 2023.

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Krushed Velvet

This vibrant matte moment is brought to you by Sinful Colors “Krushed Velvet” from the Kylie Trend Matters Collection. It was buried in a basket of untried polish in my bedroom…I came across it while quarantined.

This is two coats of “Krushed Velvet” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat.

This deep burgundy has a hint of gold shimmer that is very apparent when wet, but fades quite a bit after drying. Next time I use this polish, I might try a glossy top coat to bring out that shimmer, or possibly a gold glitter accent nail.

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Quarantine Nails

Locked in my room for 10 days…what else was I going to do?

Belle en Argent “What She’s Having” arrived in January’s ipsy bag. I think the name of the polish is referring to THAT scene in When Harry Met Sally. This is two coats of “What She’s Having” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat.

I wanted my nails to look fancy, so I made an accent nail with China Glaze “Diamond in the Rough”. I should have topped that finger with Glitter Grabber to smooth over the rough glitter, but I forgot to ask my jailers to slide it under the bedroom door. I topped them with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. All dressed up and nowhere to go.

I did my toes, too! Even though I just got a pedi, the lady didn’t cut my toenails down short enough and they were snagging on my sheets. Don’t you hate that? I cut them down SUPER short.

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First Ulta Haul of 2022

I placed my first Ulta order of the year…I had no specific plan in mind, I just kept adding to cart until it felt right.

I take that back, I did have a bit of a plan. I am running out of conditioner, so I picked up a refill of NatureLab.Tokyo Perfect Smooth Conditioner ($23). The shampoo lasts forever, but I go right through the conditioner. Speaking of refills, I got a refill of my KVD Beauty Lock-it Foundation – it was half off ($12, down from $24)! My favorite Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” was also half off ($5, down from $10), so I got another one of those, too.

I need eye shadow like a need another kid, but I got the NYX Limited Edition Lunar New Year Eyeshadow Palette ($10) anyway. I am annoyed that I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet.

I cannot pass up cheap nail polish, so I got China Glaze “Diamond in the Rough” and “Bring on the Bubbly” for $1.88 each. They’ll make good toppers.

My order qualified for a tarte 4 piece Beauty Break, which includes tarte Stay Spray, sugar rush Lip Slip in “Dragon Fruit”, sugar rush Lash Smoothie Volumizing Hemp Mascara, and a shape tape glow wand. Tarte isn’t my favorite makeup brand, but it’s not bad.

$3.50 off coupon and $1,150 to Diamond for 2023.

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January 2022 Ipsy Bag – Happy Vibes

Why yes, I could use some happy vibes right now.

My product choice this month was the Rose+Quartz Hair Mask. I have not had a chance to use it yet, but I am looking forward to trying it out this weekend.

Also in this month’s happy, happy bag: Benefit The POREfessional Lite Primer (looking forward to trying this); Belle en Argent 8 Free Nail Polish in “What She’s Having”; Purlisse Beauty Ageless Glow Serum BB Cream SPF 40 in “Fair” (I feel like this product is going to do a lot of things); and Sophia + Mabelle SMALL + MIGHTY Extreme Volume Mascara in “Black”.

Looking forward to my Glam Bag X next month!

I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $13/month and Glam Bag X for an extra $43/quarterly. If you’d like to try Ipsy –  click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.