Formula X System XCEL Voxbox

I received my Formula X System XCEL Voxbox this weekend from Influenster!

This system claims 4 steps for a gel-like mani with no lights, fuss or damage. It's also claims 10 day wear, chip resistance, and a new brush with a faster, smoother finish.

STEPS:
1. CLEANSE removes oils
2. PRIME base coat for stronger/longer adhesion
3. COLOR pick your own formula x color
4. SHINE  gel-like plumping top coat

The color I received is called TGIF, a bright coral pink.

I also received Delete All, their 5 finger polish remover. It's a jar with sponge inside.


WEAR TESTING

Now... I am wearing acrylic nails so my husband is testing the longevity claims for me for 5 days while he works (he's a good man!).

I polished as follows:

Pointer finger with the XCEL System

Middle one with 2 coats TGIF (no base/top) Thumb with traditional LED gel polish

  ***5 Day Wear Test Results:  The shine lasted a bit longer on the XCEL System nail but in my opinion the nail with no base or top coat at all held up just as well.  Neither held up as well as the traditional gel polish. I can almost guarantee average wear would be better than this because he strenuously tested these polishes.  He works at a vintage auto restoration shop so his hands have been tearing cars apart, covered in brake fluid etc. ***



He also tried the Delete All polish removed for me. This is 2 coats of color on each nail, glitter added for testing.  It removed most of the polish in 30 seconds or less. We did another dip for the glitter. Only complaint is he could barely fit his fingers in the holes so they would need to be cut wider.

Over all the system is really nice. I'm not generally a fan of light-less gels but I like that their's works worth any Formula X polish. I don't really like the wide brush personally, it stays fanned out a bit too much for me.  The color is beautiful but the formula was a little on the thicker side.  The delete all removed the polish very quickly so I was impressed with that.
I also LOVE their bottles, so cute and store nicely.

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for my honest review.

Orly Terra Mauve Swatch

This is Orly Terra Mauve.  This is a part of their permanent collection but it just kind of jumped out at me when I was looking fall colors.  This is a unique color, it's a muted simple creme polish but the color is hard to describe.  In some lights it's a dark pinkish mauve and in some lights it looks more like a dusty purple.  I think this color will be perfect for fall, I'm picturing pairing with taupes and champagnes :)

Put A Bow On It Paloma!

 This is my FAIR DAY mani! We went to the opening night of our county fair last week and we took the little one.  He loved it and rode every ride he could, multiple times.  I'm more excited about the food, ferris wheel and animals than the major rides though (I guess I'm old!). 



 So for today's nails I didn't do any fair themed art, instead I chose to match the color to my cardigan I'm wearing tonight.  I absolutely LOVE how the main nails turned out on this mani, I can't stop looking at them! 

Happy Birthday To Me

Happy Birthday to ME! My birthday is tomorrow so today I am sharing the nails I did for this weekend.  This post was inspired by this post by BadGirlNails. 

Neutral Cheetah

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of any animal prints, never have been.  However, seeing work/play/polish's cheetah mani has completely changed my mind.  As I write this I am wearing cheetah print pajama pants. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Glitz Mani & Pink French

Hey y'all :) This is a mani I based off a picture I found on Pinterest from Chloe's Nails.

Navy & Pink Texture Dots

Simple texture mani for today.

Can't Let Go & Miss Conduct

Not much to say about this mani other than I love it! These colors paired really well and the difference in textures worked great :)

Pure Ice Private Show

Today I have a super cheap Butter London dupe :) This is Pure Ice Private Show, with China Glaze Infra-Red on the accent nail.  Private show is an exact dupe for Butter London The Black Knight.  You can check out the comparison at OhThreeOhFour.  The best part? The Black Knight is $15.00, and Private Show is only $1.98!

China Glaze Put A Bow On It Holiglaze Collection

Hi y'all :)  Today I have a polish from the China Glaze 2013 Holiglaze Collection.  As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up 3 polishes from this collection (This is Tree-Mendous, Put A Bow On It and So Blue Without You) and all of them have been fantastic!

Pink Purple Galaxy

Hey y'all, today I have my first "galaxy" style mani.  This isn't the typical color scheme for a galaxy (blue, black, pink, green etc.) but rather one based on Zoya Payton (my base color).   The idea was more of a twilight colored galaxy scheme but it didn't quite turn out like I wanted.

I started with Zoya Payton as my base, then sponged China Glaze Gossip Over Gimlets.  Then LA Colors Light Pink Metalic, and Zoya Reva.  I then sponged a little of the base color to blend it all a bit.  I dabbed Wet N Wild Coloricon Speak When Spoken To on the very center and topped it all with crack (China Glaze Fairy Dust) and Sally Hansen InstaDri.

Breast Cancer Awareness Nails

Hi Y'all! Today I have my pink Friday nails because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

This is one coat LA Colors Light Metallic Pink, 1-2 coats of China Glaze Material Girl. and the accent nail is China Glaze Holo Infra-Red, the ribbon is a mix of LA Colors Baby Pink and a little silver to get the color right, and then CG Material Girl for the outline. All are topped in 2 coats Gelous and one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. 

Shade

OPI DS Extravagance

I have a new favorite in my collection today. I got this Monday and painted my nails as soon as I opened the box and I'm SO glad I did!  It's such an amazing color, its a dark magenta holo polish and I'm obsessed with it :)

Direct Sun

Glitzology Country Girl- LONG REVIEW

This was a special mani for me, because it was for my son's 1st birthday party :)

We had a farm themed party and I knew I wouldn't have time for animal nail art, so when I found this john deere themed polish on Glitzology's site I knew I had to have it!  They were having a 50% off sale so I got this polish and a Cupcake scented cuticle oil (it smells like heaven).

I used the 3 Minute Artificials as my base, then 2 coats Barielle Lily of the Valley, 2 coats Ulta Sun-Sational for accent nails, then ONE coat Country Girl, followed by 2 coats of Gelous topcoat.

Zoya Paloma & Finger Paints Colorful Collage- Jelly Sammich!

Today is my very first jelly sammich and I thoroughly love it! This is one coat Paloma, one coat Colorful Collage, and another coat Paloma, topped off with Sally Hansen Instadri.

No cleanup, & dry cuticles from being in the pool all day!

Shade Indoor

 Shade Outdoor

Obligatory Wonky Hand Shot

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Zoya Kimber & Finger Paints Colorful Collage

I grabbed this Finger Paints color on a whim at Sally's this weekend and I'm so glad I did because I love it! This is some super blingy holo glitter, in nearly all lights. The display didn't have a collection name though and I can't find any swatch info online for it either.


This is one coat Zoya Kimber and 2 thin coats Finger Paints Colorful Collage.


These are a little wonky right hand pictures because I didn't have time for a full gel set and I'm healing a split on my right hand. When I first started doing gel sets I over filed trying to blend the smile line and I was left with a super sensitive, red, dented in area that's finally growing out but when it got to the tip it split so now it's very short.

 Best shot, sunlight

Pure Ice Pardon My French

Super quick mani for my husband's birthday party this past weekend, this is one coat CG Liquid Leather and one coat Pure Ice Pardon My French.

I fell in love with this color when I first got it last year and keep forgetting to wear it!  Now that I have, I love it even more :)  This is a black jelly-type polish with light pink glitters


So sorry about the blurry pictures, these were the best I could get and of course I had taken the polish off by the time I got them on the computer and saw the blur. Doh!

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking*** 

Goldie Wulung & L.A. Colors Metallic Blue

Today is a mani I did for a wedding, and it did not come out like I wanted but I'm sharing it with y'all anyways.  This mani was my first attempt at a tutorial from Lucy's Stash.  This is Goldie Wulung (pink) from BBW and L.A. Colors Metallic Blue (although it has no official name, it was in the Color Craze Metallics Collection)

I had an apparent brain lapse on the basics of formulas & color shades because I should have done a pink base with navy on top.  The navy was more sheer so I thought it would be better on the bottom, and failed to think through that pink wasn't likely to cover navy. I like the "reversed" accent nail much better, it has nicer clean sharp lines, with the pink on base.

ALSO- PLEASE NOTE!  My camera has stopped working, I just got it at Christmas so I will be filing a warranty claim ASAP.  Until then unfortunately, I will be taking my pictures with my phone (unless I can get my other camera to a reasonable working status)  I apologize and hope to have better quality ASAP

Sunlight, before taping

 Left design is MUCH clearer than the right

Digital Nails Hipster in a Blender

Today I have a really great neon glitter for y'all :) Tonight I am doing a Glow in the Dark Midnight 5k Run/Walk for Relay for Life, so I wanted something neon & bright!

 Sunlight

Jindie Nails Barbie's Pink Ferrari

Hi Y'all, today I have an awesome limited edition polish from Jindie Nails called Barbie's Pink Ferarri.  There were only 35 bottles of this created and I got bottle #21 (one of my favorite numbers!)