Category: Nails
Snowy Clarity
If I waited until it actually snowed, I’d never get to wear these cute little Snowflake Decals from Julep. Shit, I wouldn’t get to wear then if I merely waited for it to get chilly here in Texas. I am enjoying winter vicariously through my fingernails!
I started with one of my new polishes – Julep “Clarity” from the Intention Collection, lucid azure duochrome. This is two coats of “Clarity” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I used tweezers to carefully place the snowflakes on my nails. They are super fragile and I did tear a few of them…and that’s how I ended up with a half a snowflake on my index finger. It turned out cute, I think. I topped the snowflakes with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
These nails remind me of Frozen…let it go, let it goooooooo.
Twisted Peppermint
A crushed peppermint…or a Snowman murder? It could be either. Let’s split the different and call it “Twisted Peppermint”.
Since I used Funky Fingers “Elsa”, I wanted to use Julep “Elsa”, too. This “Elsa” is a frosty iridescent textured polish – it reminds me of windshield frost. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and two coats of “Elsa”. I wanted to see how Julep “Ruby Slippers” would look in a gradient, so I tested it on my ring finger. It is a really concentrated glitter, so I just went ahead and covered the whole nail. I decided to use Sinful Colors “Decadent”, a much sparser red glitter, instead to gradient the tips.
I really like how it turned out. Even though I didn’t use a top coat, it lasted a really long time. There something to b e said for light, neutral polishes.
So I kind of did something similar about 4 years ago, using Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl” for the base instead of “Elsa”. I like this version better.
December 2019 Ipsy Bag – Shine On
Shine on? Well, I certainly will try…
I did not miss the product choice window this month – I selected BELIF The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb. I’ve gotten this sample at least a dozen times from different subscription boxes and purchases and it is a really good moisturizing cream.
Also in this month’s silver pleather bag: FLUIDE 7-Free Nail Polish in “Strut” (I love a good gunmetal nail polish); Aromatica Rose Absolute First Serum (looking forward to trying this serum in my favorite scent); Beauty for Real Lip Gloss + Shine in “Sunlight”; and Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in “Park Ave Princess” (what is the point of waterproof bronzer???).
An interesting box, but the products seem more summery than wintery – maybe they know I’m in Texas and it is currently 75 degrees outside?
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $12/month. If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Starry Frida
I was excited to try yet another red nail polish – Frida Kahlo x Ulta “Romance”.
“Romance” is a great basic red polish. It was not too sheer – full coverage in two coats without a visible nail line. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat.
I was going for a holiday look when I picked Sinful Colors “Starry Eyed” for my accent nails, but it turned out more patriotic. Oops.
I topped my first three nails with Glisten & Glow Top Coat and used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on the last two.
I am in love with how this polish looks mattified – it’s giving me inspiration for another holiday look…
Ulta Stocking Stuffers
I picked up quite a few more last minute gifts from Ulta, using a 20% off coupon. Again, not sharing the gifts and stocking stuffers, but the few goodies I added for myself.
I’ve been eyeing the Urban Decay “Sweet Little Vices” Set for a bit and half price ($12.50, down from $25) was the right price. It includes 4 mini lipsticks to match (flavor AND color scheme) the last several Naked palettes – Naked Honey, Naked Cherry and Naked Heat. (I don’t have the Naked Honey palette…yet..but I have about $73 in Ulta points, so I probably will get it after the new year). The shades are “California Honey” – honey-flavored metallic golden orange w/ gold shimmer, “Keep Tame” – honey-flavored sheer medium warm nude, “Bing” – cherry-flavored bright pink comfort matte, and “Red Hot” – cinnamon-flavored bright red comfort matte.
Did I need another red nail polish? No, but “Romance” from the Frida Kahlo x Ulta Collection Collab was also half price ($3.75, down from $7.50).
Oh, and another Scunci Octopus clip ($2.97). I thought I it would hold more hair than the ones I have, but it barely holds all my hair. I have too much hair right now.
Just $97 to Diamond status for 2020. I booked a haircut for the day after Xmas, so that should push me over the edge!
Vinsy
With 14 new polishes to choose from in my last Julep order, it was really hard to choose which one to try first. I narrowed it down to trying a polish from the Hypnotic Frenzy set…but that was still 6 polishes to choose from. The sparkle of Julep “Vinsy” caught my attention.
“Vinsy” is a coppery pink metallic glitter. The base is slightly tinted, which is good because my nails are mucho stained. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, and then two coats of “Vinsy”. I got good coverage in just two coats – I think I could’ve gotten 100% coverage with three, but I knew I would never get three coats off. I topped it with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Rockstar Pink
I’ll always have a soft spot for the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line of nail polish. For years, it was was the main polish in my collection! It’s cheap and available everywhere. There are colors and finishes for every mood – and every once and awhile, I’ll still grab one or two to add to my collection, when they’re on sale or clearance.
Sally Hansen “Rockstar Pink” is rockstar polish – it’s a nearly full coverage microglitter, full of pink, blue and fuchsia.
This is two coats of “Rockstar Pink” over Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I feel like it was shinier without the top coat, almost like it reduced the surface of the glitter to reflect light. Interesting.
Also – this was a SONOFABITCH to get off – lots of scrubbing.
Julep Sales on Sales on Sales
Julep is still going with the nail polish sales – they sent out an email offering an additional 50% off all clearance polishes, which were already 50% to 70% off. Believe it or not, there are quite a few Julep polishes that I don’t have!
The first thing I grabbed was the Hypnotic Frenzy Set, which includes 6 mini polishes for $10. The polishes are Boho Glam “Agatha” – Gilded bronze multidimensional glitter, Bombshell “O’Neill” – Sleek copper chrome, It Girl “Vinsy” – Blooming pink multidimensional glitter, Classic with a Twist “Brita” – frozen raspberry chrome, Bombshell “Kirra” – Icy purple multidimensional glitter, and Boho Glam “Maryann” – Lilac mauve shimmer. The bottles are teensy!
A few were $3.50, like “Geena – Rose Quartz for January” – Rose quartz iridescent shimmer and Bombshell “Kaia” – Flaming red orange metallic. I actually got two of “Kaia” because I thought that was how my niece’s name was spelled….spoiler alert, it is not. Dammit.
The rest were $2.50 each. I got “Clarity” – Lucid azure duochrome , “Leo” – Golden honey duo metallic, “Betsey – Peridot for August” – Peridot birthstone iridescent shimmer, It Girl “Geneva” – Supernova Iridescent Microglitter, Boho Glam “Chira” – Rich Teal Microshimmer, and “Lucky Libra” – Prosperous teal iridescent .
Just $35.50 for all these polishes, 15 in all, plus free shipping.
Elsa in Blue Jeans
It’s December. Time for cliched seasonal manicures!
In honor of Frozen II, I figured I would pull out Funky Fingers “Elsa” and combine it with a new polish. I started with Glisten & Glow Base Coat and two coats of Layla Cosmetics LAYBA Nail Polish in “Sexy in Blue Jeans” from November’s ipsy bag. I’ve never heard of the brand before, but the polish is quite nice. It’s the perfect consistency and the brush is good quality. Everyone could use a nice indigo creme polish like this.
Remembering how hard it was to fish these damn snowflakes out of the bottle, I only used “Elsa” on my Thumb and ring fingers. I topped my thumb, index and middle fingers with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. I used Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat on my ring finger and pinky. I definitely like the matte better – it’s more sophisticated.
I really like how my nails turned out – they remind me of a festive holiday sweater. They also remind me of this look I did FIVE YEARS AGO with the similar Funky FIngers “Olaf”.
Buttered Popcorn
The Buttered Popcorn Jelly Belly is one of the most hotly contested flavors of jelly beans, even more so than the black licorice jelly beans. People have strong feelings about this particular jelly bean – mostly negative. I, for one, actually enjoy this buttery little jelly bean, especially eaten together with Peanut Butter Jelly Beans. I know – I’m an odd bird.
This is the nail polish inspired by that tasty little bean – Jelly Belly x Sally Hansen Insta Dri “Buttered Popcorn”. It’s a cream colored polish, filled with different colors of gold glitter. Even though the first coat was a bit streaky, the second coat gave really good coverage. This is two coats over Glisten & Glow Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. I really like the matte finish with glitter polishes like this – it feels almost luxurious.
The only thing that could make this polish better is if is actually SMELLED like Buttered Popcorn.