Category: Nails
Tranquil Taurus
Even though the Julep Maven program ended months ago, I still have a dozen…or maybe more…Julep polishes that I haven’t tried yet. Who knows – you could be still seeing “new” Julep polishes years from now.
This beautiful honey gold polish is Julep “Tranqil Taurus” from the Zodiac Collection. I’m not a Taurus, but my little sister is. I’m bummed that “Adventurous Aquarius” wasn’t an option when I picked my last box, but oh well.
This is two coats of “Tranquil Taurus” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. This was sadly the last use out of the Ridge Filling Base Coat – I like it more than the regular Glisten & Glow Base Coat and I will add some to my next order.
Fanny Pack Haul
I never thought I’d see the day that my children would be fighting over a fanny pack!
I really try NOT to buy things just for the “gift with purchase”, but there was a little bit of that in this purchase. A $20 NYX purchase gets you a Coachella hot pink NYX Fanny Pack with NYX Pore Filler and NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray. I was gonna use it myself, so I could be like my bestie Sally…but Lily is BEGGING to use it for Frightmare next weekend. My son says he wants it too, but I think he is just being annoying – I’ll probably let Lily “borrow” it. Good thing I am IN LOVE with all four lippies that I picked up – no guilt. The NYX Soft Matte Metallic Lip Creams were on sale for $5, down from $7. They are my absolute favorite NYX formula – I picked up “Rome” and “Budapest”. I’ve been alternating them the past few days. I also tried out two of the new lippies. NYX Glitter Goals Liquid Lipstick in “Cherry Quartz” was a bit pricey at $9, but worth it. It starts out matte, but turns to glitter with friction and wear. It lasts well. NYX Line & Load All-in-One Lippie in “Ride or Die” was $8 and a genius product. It’s a super thin doe-foot applicator that alllows you to line your lips with precision and it DOES NOT BLEED. I need this in red – ALL red lipstick bleed on me.
So…last week, I found out that my son was scrubbing his face with a toothbrush (not the one he uses in his mouth – ew). I freaked out and ordered him an Ulta Advanced Cleansing Rotating Facial Cleansing Brush ($12.50, on sale from $25) and replacement heads ($4, on sales from $8). I mean, if I was rich, I would’ve bought him a Clarisonic like mine – but he can rough it with the Ulta version. Lily was bugging me for some bobbie pins the other day, so I added some of those, too. All Ulta Skin was on sale, so I added a few Single Use Face Masks to my cart ($1.50 each, down from $3) – a Calming Rose Sheet Mask and a Soothing Calamine Mud Mask. I used the Calamine Mask yesterday and it was wonderful. It applied like a regular mud mask, but it didn’t dry down like a normal mud mask – it stayed flexible and felt almost hydrating.
Did I forget to mention a few bottles of Zoya Remove+? My Holy Grail…
No order is complete without a freebie bag. The coolest thing in the bag is the Real Techniques Travel Sponge Case – I’ve just been throwing my Beauty Blender into my makeup bag like a savage! Also in the freebie bag: Sun Bum Revitalizing Dry Shampoo; Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk; OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Dry Shampoo; Vichy Liftactiv Supreme Anti-wrinkle and Firming Correcting Cream; Wunder2 Wunderkiss Essential Lip Scrub; Tweezerman Browmousse (weird); Maybelline MasterPrecise All Day Liquid Liner; L’Oreal Pure-Clay Cleanser Detox-Brighten (m y favorite one); and wet n wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder in “Royal Calyx” (interesting – a blue highlighter).
On top of all the freebies and gifts with purchase, there was that 20% off coupon. I’ve just one or two more orders to get to Platinum status – $64. I’ve also managed to accrue another $33 in points. Diamond Status isn’t out of the question this year…
Easter Eggs
I tried to make delicate dotting tool flowers for Easter…but I ended up with Easter Eggs. Fried eggs.
The base of my manicure is one of my new Big Lots finds – Sinful Colors “Sassy Lassie”. It’s a metallic chartreuse. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat.
For my “flowers”, I used Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl” for the white ones, Sinful Colors “Starfish” for the pink ones and Sinful Colors “Spellbound” for the purple ones. For the centers, I used Sinful Colors “Yellow Spotted”. I finished with Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat.
I couldn’t find anything “Easter-y” to hold, all I could find was the lotion in my purse. It coordinates though? “Rose Quartz” is one of my new favorite scents from Bath & Body Works.
Poison Apple
Sinful Colors SinfulShine “Poison Apple” may just have snuck itself into my shopping cart during a recent trip to HEB…Shhhhhhh…
While just as shiny as her sister “Shine Annie”, “Poison Apple” is different type of finish – more of a shimmer than a jelly with flakies. “Poison Apple” is also more of an apple color – a bit cooler than “Shine Annie”, which has a hint of orange and reminds me of Julep “Jacqueline”.
This is two coats of “Poison Apple” over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
Which SinfulShine should I get next?
Xmas in April
When work gets stressful, the only cure is lunchtime retail therapy. Mama is on a budget right now, so that means a trip to Big Lots, my favorite dirt mall. I did spend 40 cents in tolls each way though – big spender.
I saw it was like Xmas in April because I loaded up on Sinful Colors Xmas polishes. There was a huge end cap of Xmas-y colors, so I indulged in 8 of them. Hell – only at only $1.95, why not? That is 3 cents cheaper than Walmart.
Starting from the top left: “Queen of Green” – forest green with gold shimmer, “Tealing Power” – from the “Stoned Crystal Shimmer” Collection, “That’s Elfed Up” – a Xmas-y glitter, “Sassy Lassie” – a bright green shimmer, “Santa Claws” – another Xmas glitter, “Mint Candy” – green jelly topper, “Candy Apple” – a red jelly topper, and “Rock Candy” – a blue/silver jelly topper.
Oh, I also cheated on Bath & Body Works by picking up a bottle of cheap-ass Simple Pleasures Hand Soap in “Rosewater Peony” – I couldn’t resist the scent. I doubt this $1 soap will replace my brand…but you never know…
Unicorn Princess
I consider myself a connoisseur of cheap nail polish, but somehow – I’ve never tried L.A. Colors. Very odd, because I know my daughter has some L.A. Colors sets from the grocery store.
I decided to check out Daiso, a Japanese dollar store that my fellow natural nail enthusiast, Angie, told me about. Technically, I guess it is a $1.50 store, since most things there are $1.50. Inflation, I guess? Anyway, I about died of cuteness overload – all the stationary and art supplies had me dying. I definitely need to bring the kids by here to stock up for the summer.
In addition to some cards and a shit-ton of Pocky, I came home with L.A. Colors Unicorn Sparkle “Flurry Shine”. It was $2, instead of $1.50 – fancy.
It took three thick coats of “Flurry Shine” to barely get full coverage. The polish was very, very thin – but I don’t know if that is true of all L.A. Colors, or just the Unicorn Sparkle collection. I started with Glisten & Glow Base Coat and topped with Glisten and Glow Top Coat – a nice thick layer.
It also did not wear as well as I am used to – I got major edge wear and chips after just two days. I am not impressed by this $2 polish. If I am gonna spend $2 on polish, it is gonna be Sinful Colors.
Shine Annie
Sooooo…For my first SinfulShine, I thought I was buying “Poison Apple”, but it turns out that I grabbed “Shine Annie” by accident. Oops. (I fixed that at HEB today – I made sure I picked the correct “Poison Apple”.)
I’ve never tried the SinfulShine formula before. I was a little scared of the “with Gel Tech” on the label – it’s sold as a two step system, with a special top coat…I was afraid it would be similar to the Sally Hansen Two Step Gels,. which I hated. I asked around and I was assured that it’s pretty much a regular polish and I can use any top coat I wanted. And then there was the price point – $2.98. Well, I can afford one or two…
I am in LOVE with the SInfulShine formula. It’s more like a jelly polish than a gel polish. I thought it would be too sheer after the first coat, but I got full coverage with the second coat. I am gonna have to control myself with these polishes!
This is two coats of Sinful Colors SinfulShine “Shine Annie” over Sinful Colors Top Coat (which I still have not figured out where to restock from) and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It lasted FOREVER. I repainted after five days, only because I wanted to repaint my toenails – I feel like this is a good 10 day polish!
Fairy Princess
I’m a fairy princess!
Or, more accurately, I am a Unicorn Fairy Princess, since this is Funky Fingers “Unicorn Dust”. It’s a fantastic glitter topper, but you know me – I’ll go out with only a top on, Winnie the Pooh-ing my fingernails, so to speak…
This is two coats of “Unicorn Dust” on top of Glisten & Glow Base Coat and underneath Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. I love a good matte glitter.
And yes, I chopped the hell out of my nails. I have not figured out if they each grow at different speeds, or if I wear them down at different speeds – but they all match now.
Matte Mexico
Work was HORRIBLE today. My work wife is in Mexico on vacation and I had no one to coordinate playlists with…
…but before she left, she sent a pic of her nail plans. I had to be a total copycat, so my nails could be there in spirit. I decided to pull out Frida Kahlo “FKN.37”. This is two coats of Frida 37 over Glisten & Glow Top Coat and under Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. I LOOOOOVE it.
This color never fails to remind me of my parents’ old house. They don’t live there anymore – my dad and sis moved to the Finger Lakes last year – but I drove by the old house last week and it was like an out of body experience. I couldn’t help thinking about how much I laughed when my dad painted the house this color. I think it was his way of trying to cheer my mom up, as she was getting sicker and sicker. It’s such a ridiculous color for a house…so you know I loved it. Even if I don’t get to hang out at the turquoise house anymore, I can always have home on my nails.
Break Dance, Not Hearts
Oh purple, I cain’t quit you.
Yes, this is my third purple polish in a row. I’ve just been feeling purple lately.
This lovely purple/silver metallic is Sinful Colors “Break Dance Not Hearts” from last year’s Valentine’s Day Collection. yes, it’s been sitting in my basket over a year. What is even wrong with me? The past few weeks – no, longer than that – I’ve only been painting my nails every 5-6 days. What? That’s not like me at all. I admit, I’ve been kind of busy, but also bummed about the end of my Julep boxes. Even if I don’t have a steady stream of new polishes every month, I’ve got plenty of untried polishes waiting for me.
This is two coats of “Break Dance Not Hearts” over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Matte Top Coat. She was a shiny one before the matte top coat, but I wanted to see how she looked. Quite nice, if I say so myself.