Dead Flowers
Well of course I’m going to gravitate towards a nail polish called “Dead Flowers” – duh.
This is Poetry Cowgirl “Dead Flowers” from April’s Polish Pickup. It’s an absolutely PACKED microglitter – primarily silver, blue and rust colored glitter.
I used Vibrant Scents Base Coat and Top Coat in “Island Petals”, with two coats of “Dead Flowers”. The top coat is fairly thin and I could feel the texture of the glitter through the top coat. It could’ve used some help from Glitter Grabber, but I wanted to see what it was like on it’s own.
Polish Pickup April 2023 – Flowers
I’ve been following Polish Pickup for years and years, but never bought anything…I was happy with my Julep and Sinful Colors, and whatever else I found at the grocery store…but I am no longer getting half a dozen new polishes every month…so splurging on Indie Polish is much more attractive these days. PLUS, supporting small business – I’m in!
April’s theme was “Flowers”. The first thing I added to my basket was Baroness X Acetone Antidote in “Darkness Falls” ($8). It’s an additive that protects your skin from acetone – and it smells great. It contains glycerin and jojoba oil. I added about half the bottle (probably too much) to my little up&up nail polish remover finger tub and it does exactly what it says it does – my fingers were soft and moisturized and smelled like peonies and musk. I will be a repeat customer, for sure.
I also tried out Vibrant Scents’ Base Coat and Top Coat in “Island Petals” ($8.50 each). They have a lovely tropical scent – plumeria maybe? The scent doesn’t last long, but it’s an absolute improvement over the usual nail polish smell.
I only snagged one nail polish – Poetry Cowgirl “Dead Flowers” ($12.50), a dense microglitter. Stay tuned to see it!
Chira
I am really liking the change in scenery in my nail pictures. Since tearing down our old patio cover and building a new one, I don’t get the same quality of light on the patio. I’ve since moved to the area right outside my garage, which includes a few Sago Palms and my succulent collection. I am still experimenting, but I think the Sago Palm is winning.
Julep “Chira” is a rich teal microshimmer. If I was asked to describe this polish, I’d call it midnight teal.
This is two coats of “Chira” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
PEEP My Skin Haul
YASSSS! I was hoping for more textured PEEPS polish to go on clearance after Easter and I was able to snag another Sally Hansen Insta-Dri x PEEPS Nail Polish Duo Pack for 30% off ($8.39, down from $11.99). This Pack includes “PEEPS Classic Chick” and “PEEPS Cotton Candy”.
My dermatologist suggested benzoyl peroxide for my bacne, so I snagged CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser, which happened to be 20% off ($15.19, down from $18.99). I haven’t started using it yet – I wanted to wait until after I washed my sheets, so I could make sure my dirty sheets weren’t making it worse. I washed my sheets TODAY, so tomorrow will start my bacne attack.
They were a whopping 60% off, so I grabbed Ulta Beauty Milky Toner ($4, down from $10) and Shine Bright Exfoliating Face Polish (also $4, down from $10). The Face Polish smells go good!
The weirdest thing – there was a random extra item in my box: Flower Blush Bomb in “Cinnamon”. I would never order this product – so weird. The sticker price is only $11.49, so I don’t feel bad about keeping it. I’ll maybe give it to my daughter or my nieces.
No other freebies, but I did use a $3.50 off $15 coupon. $856 to Diamond in 2024…
Eras Tour Nails
About this time the Sunday before last, I was sitting in my seat at NRG Stadium, patiently waiting for Taylor Swift…
I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my day, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it might be the best concert I’ve ever been to – it was a Las Vegas style spectacle! Almost everyone there was dressed up in one of Taylor’s eras…but I chose to dress up my nails instead, copying Taylor’s own eras tour mani. (In case you’re curious, my son dressed as “Red” and my daughter dressed as “Folklore”.) I started off each nail with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, and finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. A few nails got Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber.
“Debut” was easy – Deborah Lippmann “Mermaid’s Dream”.
I have A LOT of gold polishes, but I chose Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Rule My World” for “Fearless” because it was on top of the pile.
“Speak Now” was a bit more difficult. I started with two coats of Deborah Lippmann “I Put a Spell on You”, but it was too sheer and pink, so I topped with a layer of Julep “Queen Anne” and Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber. Yes, that’s perfect.
“Red” was a HARD one – I have literally 100 red polishes. Again, I resorted to just using the first shimmery red I found, which was Sinful Colors Power Paint “Shine, Honey”.
I couldn’t do just a plain black for “Reputation” – I had to have the gold flakies in Sinful Colors “Buzz Off”.
“1989” was totally screwed up. In the bottle, Sinful Colors “Poison Arrow” looks blue, but on the nails, it looked more aqua.
Julep “Hartleigh” was my immediate pick for “Lover”. The base is two coats of Deborah Lippman “Chantilly Lace”, topped with “Hartleigh” and Glitter Grabber.
Not quite sure why “Evermore” is silver, but I picked Sinful Colors Sinful Shine “Diamond in the Raw” for my silver.
“Folklore” is a boring old taupe. Julep “Kay” is the least boring taupe I could find.
Taylor’s newest album, “Midnights” deserved the sky at midnight, so I chose Sinful Colors “Witch, Please”. I loved this nail the most – I need to revist “Witch, Please” again in the near future.
And there you have it…my eras nails. Who else should I do? The first 10 Madonna albums? Or maybe Weird Al?
April 2023 Ipsy Bag – Anything is Possible
Seriously…what am I going to do with ANOTHER beauty blender type sponge??? Maybe I can give that V Kosmetik Beauty Sponge to the squirrels out back, to make a cute little house?
This month’s product choice was Pur~lisse Dragonfruit + Niacinamide Moisturizer. I feel like this product is triggering me, because my child just let two somewhat expensive dragonfruit go rotten on my kitchen counter this week. The moisturizer is nice though…I love Pur~lisse.
Also in this month’s canvas bag: Beauty for Certain Deluxe Lipstick in “#17” (ew, regular lipstick…do people still use regular lipstick?); Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional Good Cleanup Mini Foam Cleanser (I like the cleanser, although I DO NOT like the metal dispenser it is in); and Shaina B Miami B.Free Eyeshadow Duo (not very wearable, but I’ll give them a spin).
A so-so bag this month…I am looking forward to next month’s Icon Box, which replaces the Glam Bag X box.
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.
Nude Mood
…but it’s NOT a nude. It’s a deep eggplant purple, with a gold shimmer.
I know, I know…I need to stop having imaginary arguments with the folks who name nail polishes…it just irks me when a nail polish name makes no kinda sense. I am renaming this polish, “Grey Sweatpants Weather.”
This is two coats of Sinful Colors “Nude Mood” – from the Naughty Nudes Collection – over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It was a rather long wearing nail polish – 8 days!
PEEPS Pink Bunny
I know Easter is over, but I REALLY like these textured PEEPS polishes.
This is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri “PEEPS Pink Bunny” and it reminds me of those molded plastic chairs from kindergarten. I remember nervously running my fingers over the texture of the plastic, over and over, waiting for recess. Kindergarten was so fucking boring!
This is two coats of “PEEPS Pink Bunny” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat. I was shocked at how long this polish lasted – a full week with minimal edge wear!
Influenster Vox Box – That JLo Glow Serum
There is no universe in which I would spend $79 on facial serum, even from JLo. I received a full size sample of JLO Beauty That JLo Glow Serum, complimentary from JLO Beauty and Influenster in exchange for my honest review.
I like using serums in the summer – they are moisturizing, but not heavy. I feel like moisturizer creams are too much for my skin in the summer. I was expecting a clear serum, with a luxe scent…but JLo’s serum is milky, with NO scent. I cannot complain about NO scent, but I was expecting something a little more luxurious. It hasn’t made me break out, so there’s that? I wish I could say more about the product, but it’s just expensive and bland. I mean…the bottle is real nice?
So…I don’t know that I’ve got “that JLo glow” quite yet…maybe I should try using it on a yacht, while Ben Affleck sucks my toes?
Ride or Die
“Milk Nails” are a hot celeb nail trend right now, at least according to Glamour. Good thing I got Trust Fund Beauty “Ride or Die” in last month’s ipsy bag!
This is two coats of “Ride or Die” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Top Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
I appreciated the gloss and depth of a milky nail polish – but it was also a bit streaky. I HATE streaks! The top coat made the streaks more forgivable…
I am also digging Trust Fund Beauty’s new bottle look – it’s not as elegant as the old bottles, but the new logo and font is definitely a lot more fun.