Category: Nails
Boring Pink
So…and be honest. Is Makeup Revolution “Love Etc.” a boring pink?
I guess it’s not boring exactly – yeah, it’s boring. It’s a perfectly serviceable medium pink. No sparkle – totally creamy. I guess I’ve been spoiled by the exciting Julep and Sinful Colors polishes I’ve been using lately.
I feel like the polish chipped exceptionally easily. I started with Orly Bonder, but it just didn’t seem to stick. (My Orly Bonder was almost empty and I had a hard time getting a full brush – so my application might have been lacking. I gave up and threw away the bottle when I was done.) I also finished with “HK Girl”, but I feel like the formulas did not mesh well. I got a few bubbles and it didn’t dry as quickly as it should have.
Even though I’m whining a bit, my nails still looked pretty fucking good. The girl working the pizza joint on Friday was shocked that I had done them myself – she was convinced they were salon nails.
Darcy
Oh Julep, you got me this time. What color is this polish?
Their website describes Julep “Darcy” as Baja Sunrise Sheer Iridescent Shimmer. I’ve never been to Baja, but I’m really interested in going if that is what the sunrises look like – blue/purple/green/gold. It’s almost like Mardi Gras on my fingers! Inside, it looked more cloudy, but in direct sun, so many colors bounced off my nails.
This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. Like “Pacita”, I was able to get almost full coverage in two coats.
Whiteout…with Glitter in it
Look at this polish. Look closer. NO, closer.
Put your face up to the screen. Do you see that? No, it’s not whiteout with glitter in it. It might look white, but it is a pale purple with gold shimmer. This is beyond pastel – there’s the slightest bit of tint.
This is another one of those Kylie polishes – Sinful Colors “North Star” – from the “Trend Matters” Collection. I am inexplicably drawn to these matte polishes. The Sinful Colors matte polish formula is so good. It is the perfect consistency – not too thick and not too thin. Perfect, full coverage in just two coats. It sticks like glue to Sinful Colors Base Coat – I feel like I get a really long wear out of it.
I could have done a better job around the cuticle. Will I ever get better at dealing with my goddamn cuticles?
Allure Beauty Thrills – December 2016
I never did figure out who to call to change my address, so I had to wait for USPS to forward the box to me…and it wasn’t free – it cost me another $15.90 to get this last box.
The first thing I noticed is that this last box was TINY – about half the size of previous boxes. What the fuck, Allure? The boxes have gotten more expensive, but have less stuff. And the stuff is mostly weird brands I’ve never heard of.
Inside the TINY box: Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Clean & Fresh Battery-Operated Spinbrush (No complaints – can always use a back-up); Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant Clean & Fresh Toothpaste (Also will be used); Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream; ChapStick Total Hydration Moisture + Tint in “Merlot” (another good inclusion); Dessange Professional Hair Luxury Oleo Miracle Replenishing Oil (my grandmother used to call margarine “oleo” – is this hair margarine?); Glov On-The-Go (I’ve been curious about these makeup removing mitts); an Invisibobble (looks like a telephone cord you put in your hair); imPress Gel Manicure (NO – I am NOT wearing press-on nails); KISS Salon Acrylic Nude French Nails (I guess my daughter gets two sets of fake nails); Not Your Mother’s Plump for Joy Thickening Hair Lifter (nope.); Redken Triple Take 32 Hairspray; Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in “Crystal Mauve”; Rimmel London Moisture Renew Clear Lip Liner (I do not see the point); Rituals Happy Buddha Shower Foam in “Sweet Orange & Cedar” (I got this in the last box – using this sweet smelling stuff in my shower now); Simple Skincare Hydrating Cleansing Oil (I wish I wasn’t grossed out by Cleansing Oil); WEN Hair and Body Care by Chaz Dean SIXTHIRTEEN Ultra Nourishing Intensive Body Treatment (if this stuff made my body hair fall out like the shampoo allegedly does, I’d be all over it); and Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner (again, skeptical of these co-washes).
What a dinky box! I won’t be blindly buying the next Allure box that comes out – I’ll be reviewing the contents closely. SO disappointed in this box!
Pacita
The anticipation of opening each month’s Julep box….even though I pick the contents each month, I manage to forget what polishes I picked in the 2 weeks or so before it arrives.
This month, the first polish that caught my eye was Julep Wonder Maven “Pacita”, Honey Ginger Sheer Iridescent Shimmer. Great – now I want Thai food. Even though it is a very sheer polish, I got fairly full coverage with two coats. I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat (my bottle is almost empty, but I have a back-up.) and topped with “HK Girl”.
The only shortcoming of the polish is that as it dried, it drew away from the edges of my nails, leaving a thin bare edge. This happened within an hour of drying, so it wasn’t normal edge wear. It didn’t look horrible, but it made my OCD flare up.
“Pacita” reminds me of Paquita, the heroine of Dead Alive. “Your mother ate my dog!”
Target Twelve Days of Beauty Faves
I’m playing a bit of catch up with December right now…or actually November. Yup, I ordered the Target Twelve Days of Beauty Faves Advent Calendar ($24.99) some time before Thanksgiving, although I waited until December 1st to start opening the windows. I meant to open one each day…but I kept forgetting and I had to hustle to open the very last window on December 31st.
Day 1: NYX Extreme Lip Cream in “Nude Peach Fuzz” (formula is great, but the color looks horrible on me – will be giving to my daughter)
Day 2: EcoTools Angled Kabuki Brush
Day 3: Sinful Colors “Silver Flash” (I don’t have this one!)
Day 4: Nexxus Comb Thru Finishing Mist
Day 5: ME! Bath Soap Bomb (I don’t have a bathtub in my new bathroom…meh.)
Day 6: Pacifica Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash (At least I don’t have to eat the Kale.)
Day 7: Burt’s Bees Lip Balm (I absolutely HATE sticking my finger in lip balm. I just won’t do it.)
Day 8: Mayfair Soap Foundry Body Creme in “Sea Lily Jasmine”
Day 9: Pixi Glow Tonic (Not sure how this oil “exfoliates”, but I’ll bite.)
Day 10: ACURE Day Cream Gotu Kola Stem Cell + CGF
Day 11: Umberto Dry Lifting Powder (Nope.)
Day 12: Laneige Sleeping Mask (This is MY JAM.)
As of this writing, the set is still available – at a discounted price of $14.99. I would have been much happier to have paid $14.99 for the set, as there are at least 4 products that I won’t use and plan to give away. I feel it was overpriced for what was in the set, although I was very happy about the Pacifica, Acure and Laneige products.
Silver Synchronicity
What’s it called when several people, independent of each other, all come up with a similar idea? Synchronicity!
I was in a group text with my cousins, Jess and Beth, last week, and somehow, we all had gray nails on the brain. these are MY gray nails – Sinful Colors “Silver Slivers” from the “Luxe Fragments” Collection. The base is a pewter shimmer, with bright silver shards.
This is just two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”. It lasted very well.
Do you like the background? It’s the sequined makeup bag that came with the Victoria’s Secret Black Friday Tote. I’m loving the rainbow sequins – I want a polish that looks like this!
January Julep Maven Box – Future Fresh
New year, new subscription boxes! Well, technically not new…I’ve been getting Julep boxes for over three years now and I still love them as much as ever.
January’s box is “Future Fresh”. Honestly, I haven’t jumped on the oil bandwagon, but I took a chance in selecting Julep’s Boost Your Radiance Reparative Rosehip Seed Facial Oil. I’ve been using it semi-consistently for the last 5-6 days. I don’t know that I’ve noticed a difference in my skin – was already in the middle of a mid-winter skin freakout. (I’m thinking that the breakout was overcompensation from trying to combat dry, winter skin.) I don’t know that my skin is more radiant, but I do feel like the oil has a skin blurring effect. Best of all, it smells absolutely DIVINE. I am in love with the romantic rose/bergamot scent, although it is almost too hippy for me.
For polishes, I chose It Girl “Darcy” – Baja Sunrise Sheer Iridescent Shimmer – and Wonder Maven “Pacita” – Honey Ginger Sheer Iridescent Shimmer. Yup, two sheer shimmer polishes – they’re radiant. Oh, and they sent me a Tootsie Roll Pop. Ugh, all that licking.
Not a Julep Maven? Click HERE to join – I’ll get a $15 credit and you’ll get your first box free!
SO Violet
I was digging in my “untrieds” box and I pulled out Jenna Hipp “Violet Eclair” from the bottom. I thought, “Why not?”
Oh my, this polish is oh so violet. Unlike the other Jenna Hipp polishes that I have, this one isn’t a pure creme – it has a flash of blue shimmer. The polish was thin and a bit streaky, but it was barely noticeable after two coats. This is two coats of “Violet Eclair” over Sinful Colors Base Coat and under “HK Girl”.
I need more purple in my life. I tend to set aside the purples and I don’t know why – they make me so happy once they’re on my fingers.
New Years, New Nails
I decided to ring in the new year with totally glam nails. That…and I had no idea what I was going to wear. So I went neutral.
Julep “Judy” is moonbeam iridescent chrome. It was from one of the Mystery Boxes I got over the summer. It’s gold, but it’s silver, but it’s pearl?
After Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, I did two quick coats of “Judy” and topped with “HK Girl”. It was a good consistency and was quite smooth, even before the top coat. I love light polishes like this – they don’t show edge wear, so all that New Year’s dishwashing looks like it NEVER HAPPENED.