Category: Nails
Mystery Surprise!
Sally sent me a mystery surprise! All the way from Scotland…OK, technically not a surprise, since I knew it was coming. And not a mystery, since Sally gave me a sneak preview of the bag…but a mystery surprise, nonetheless.
Makeup Revolution was having another Mystery Bag promotion and Sally graciously sent me one of the mystery bags she received…plus a little extra.
Inside of the mystery bag was a combination of Makeup Revolution, I ♥ Makeup and other TAM brands: Live Love London Body Mist in “Sensuous” (smells like pears); I ♥ Makeup No Shine Please! Totally Matte Foundation in NS05 (I thought it was a pore primer and just put on my nose today – it actually worked well for it though); Freedom Makeup “Future Bright” palette; Makeup Revolution Blush Bronze & Brighten in “Rave”; I ♥ Makeup All Day & Night Eyeliner in “The Last Laugh” (looks bronze); Freedom Makeup Pro Melts Lipgloss in “Steal the Show”; I ♥ Makeup Super Wow! High Color Lip Gloss Stick in “Atomic” (I have a few of these – they’re decent); and three Makeup Revolution nail polishes – “Cool Days”, “Love etc” and “Find True Love”. That’s a bunch of goodies and no duplicates with what I’ve already got!
The only new product that I really wanted to try was the I ♥ Makeup Liquid Lipstick in “Molten Chocolate”, so she sent me one. The applicator is lovely and color is out this world, but it’s like regular lipstick and doesn’t last all day. She also sent me one of the new Makeup Revolution Precision Brushes! I have been lusting over these and now I finally have one to try…she also sent me the polishes from her bag, since she cannot wear polish – “Are you still available”, “Adore” and “Never Enough”.
Thank you, my sweet friend – I truly appreciate the mystery surprise…and now I’m putting together a box of my own…just waiting for the weather to get a little cooler so everything won’t melt.
Carrie Ann
There are lots of holographic polishes coming out right now, but this is the first sheer holographic polish that I’ve come across.
Julep “Carrie Ann” is described as blush sheer holographic – it leans a bit too pink to be a true nude, but it is “nudish”. The holographic shift leans gold, which is a welcome change from the usual silver or rainbow shift.
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. I did a sloppy job on the second coat – tired – so I have extra crispy edged around my nail beds. Amateur mistake. Even though I used “HK Girl” to protect my nails, my nails couldn’t stand up to dishes and toilet cleaning on Saturday. Alas, I wore this polish less than 48 hours.
November Julep Maven Box – Light & Shadow
It’s Julep time!
This month’s “Light & Shadow” theme brings a range of colors and finishes. For polishes, I chose Classic with a Twist “Carrie Ann”, blush sheer holographic, and It Girl “Mercedes”, canyon rose metallic (what’s a canyon rose?). Both gave me a Thanksgiving vibe – perfect for November. For my beauty product, I chose a new shade of Eyeshadow 101 Creme-to-Powder Eyeshadow Stick – “Burgundy Shimmer”. I have high hopes for upping my game on lazy makeup days (basically, when I hit snooze too many times).
I used Jules to get another Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. It really DOES make a difference with Julep polishes – less bubbles and it sticks so much better.
The treat in my box was a single chocolate ball. I just popped it my mouth – not bad, better than Hershey. Why only one?
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
Celebratory Blue…NOT
So…as I painted my nails Tuesday night, hate-watching the Election coverage with my soul-mate across the Atlantic, I thought I had picked an appropriate celebratory blue for the occasion. I was wrong…sooooo fucking wrong.
I’m not gonna get too deep into politics and feelings and shit, but the wind is still knocked out of me from Tuesday night. Anyone who knows me, knows how cynical and dark I am, but never in a million years would I have expected things to turn out this dark. Sure, our choices were shit…but DAMN. Obviously, I overestimated the power of Beyonce and Jay-Z in the Rust Belt.
Back to my nails, this knockout of a blue is Sinful Colors “Don’t Flake” from The Luxe Fragments Collection. I absolutely love this collection of jelly polishes with (mylar?) flakies. This is almost full coverage in two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”.
Excuse me, I’m going to go watch Idiocracy and cry myself to sleep.
Blood Moon
I am OBSESSED with this season of American Horror Story. I am even going to force my sister to take me to Roanoke next year….during the daytime, of course. I have no interest in seeing a REAL Blood Moon.
My Blood Moon is ciate London “Dangerous Affair”, from my August’s ipsy bag. Now I know why people go nuts over ciate – this polish is amazing. Not too thick, not too thin – just perfect. and the brush is wide and flat – one of the most perfect nail polish brushes I have ever used. Am I gushing? I feel like I’m gushing.
I started with Orly Bonder. This is two coats. The first coat had a few streaks, likely because the polish has a bit of a jelly to it. It was fully opaque at two coats though. I finished with “HK Girl”.
Next time I see ciate at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s…it’s MINE.
You Say Tomato…
Is it orangey red? Or reddish orange? I can’t tell exactly what color Sinful Colors “HollyWood” is.
In any case, “HollyWood” reminds me of a juicy, ripe tomato. My husband is NOT a fan. He asked, “This is one of those one day polishes, right?” He hates tomatoes with the passion of a sugared up three year old.
This is two coats of “HollyWood” over Sinful Colors Base Coat. I’m getting much more comfortable with matte polishes. The Sinful Colors polishes are much tougher than the Zoya polishes I started with – they can take 8-9 hours of laptop pounding. Don’t be afraid of the matte – embrace the matte.
Oh…and it also matches KitKat wrappers. I know this because I have been sneaking them out of my kids’ loot bags since Halloween. Shhhhh…
Drip Drip Drip
Yeah, I know it’s November 3rd. Excusescakes.
Here are my lovely Halloween nails – the tried and true blood drip. My nail buddy, Angie, did really pretty ones this year, so I absolutely copied her and did matte black with red glitter. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
After Orly Bonder, I did two coats of Zoya “Dovima” and used a large and small dotting tool to drag Zoya “Chyna” on the bottom. “Chyna” kept its texture quite well – no major chips over almost a full week.
I did a blood drip last year, too. So shoot me, they’re cool looking.
Ants Marching
I *think* this is the last one.
Sinful Colors “Dead On” is deceptively clear. Like totally see-through – no color. I was expecting a vague purple tint based on the bottle – but nothing. Just blue and iridescent glitter in a clear base, with a few skull-spider-babies thrown in. Yep, I went glitter fishing again.
This is two thick coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. Yup, this has gotta be a topper.
Again, every time I would see my nails out of the corner of my eye, I would want to smack my fingers because it looks like I have ants. Urgh.
Oh and it glows in the dark. Kinda.
The Hunt is the Thing
So I went on another “hunt” last week. Two things I was looking for…the new Xmas Sinful Colors polishes (since they were 2/$3) AND a Fall Limited Edition wet n wild eye shadow.
I know…wet n wild – the cheapest of the cheap. But I’d been seeing the Fall Collection, specifically the “Velour Vixen” Color Icon Trio – and really liking it. Pink Glitter is irresistible.
Spoiler alert – I went to five different Walgreen’s and didn’t find either. 4 of the 5 had mostly empty wet n wild Fall displays and ZERO had Sinful Colors Xmas displays. Now…the 4th Walgreen’s had a single wet n wild Color Icon Trio remaining…but in “Plaid to the Bone”, which has a nice duochrome green/brown. I decided to take a chance for $2.99 I also grabbed a clearance Kylie Sinful Colors in “HollyWood”, which is redder than the pic shows.
It is HIGHLY unlikely that I’ll be buying another wet n wild eye shadow. First off, I can’t get it open. I mangled my thumb nail trying to get it open – I finally had to hand it to my husband to open. Later attempts using tweezers as a crowbar were more successful. The quality was alright I guess, but the shadows didn’t end up looking anything like the shade in the pan – OR the swatches I’d seen online. The duochrome lid shade is darker and more brown than green and the browbone shade is darker than in the pan – they are basically the same color. I won’t say it was a total waste, but you get what you pay for.
So my “hunt” was not successful this time…but that’s the fun, huh?
Cloak and Swagger
Yup, I am ripping through these Halloween polishes. I present to you…Sinful Colors “Cloak and Swagger”.
Sinful Colors is absolutely KILLING it with their textured polishes. This is a matte sparkle texture. It photographs almost black, but it’s a dark, dark eggplant color.
This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat. I actually finished off the bottle…but it was an old bottle that was almost empty – I had already started a new bottle.
I took a risk and did my toes with it as well. I’m curious to see how long it lasts on my toes. I’m skeptical that it will last too long since I didn’t use a top coat. I’d expect the toes of my shows to rub bare spots on my big toes, but maybe not since I trimmed my toenails really short.