Saturday, March 23, 2013

Spellbound Nail Giveaway Package

Hi Y'all!  Today I have a prize package I won from Spellbound Nails in her giveaway.  Without further ado, here are the awesome goodies!


All the goodies!

Caviar Nail Kit

Wallet, Lotion, Lip Gloss & Nail Polish

 Plum Out of Chocolate & Peppermint Pinwheels
from her Candy Coated Collection.

Plum Out of Chocolate & Peppermint Pinwheels
from her Candy Coated Collection.

Close Up of Plum Out of Chocolate

Close Up of Peppermint Pinwheels



I LOVE everything I got, I've swatched the polishes on a nail wheel and the formula is wonderful.  I switched to the wallet as soon as I received it, I've been wearing the lip gloss constantly and the lotion stays in my purse.  The only thing I haven't used yet is the caviar bead set because I haven't had anywhere to wear it yet!

Friday, March 15, 2013

St. Paddy's Day

This weekend I have a beautiful green mani for St. Paddy's Day! My husband is part Irish (born here) & I have a thing for Irish accents and drinking so this is a favorite holiday of mine :)

Basecoat: Nail-Aid 3 Minute Artificials
Base Color: Barielle Lily of the Valley- 2 coats
Diagonally on the Tips: Sinful Colors Call You Later- 2 thin coats 
Shamrock: Barielle Lily of the Valley
Gold Base: Sinful Colors All About You- many coats (lost count, maybe 5-6?)
Topcoat: Sally Hansen InstraDri- 2 coats

I forgot to put a base on under it to help with opacity, I did however add a base on my left hand and that one only took maybe 3-4 coats. The shamrock was done with a dotting tool and the diagonal tips were free-handed.





 
*** 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***
 

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Google Reader is Closing

Come July Google Reader/GFC will be shutting down, but never fear! You can follow all your favorite blogs on BLOGLOVIN' and even import all the blogs you follow on GFC :)


Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Recent Haul Pics

Hi Y'all! Today I have some of my recent haul pictures from Glitzology, Zoya, Sally's, & Above the Curve.


First up is Glitzology...

She will be putting her shop on vacation soon per her facebook so I'm not sure when these will become available.  Mali-Blu Stacy is not available yet but the others are.  I will be posting a review soon in which you can read about my issues with Country Girl.



 Mali-Blu Stacy

 Country Girl


 Crunch Berries

 Hell on High Heels


Next we have Zoya...


  London, Sharon & Nyx

 London, Sharon & Nyx


Next up is Sally's...


 Orly Elation Generation, My favorite of the Hope & Freedom Collection

China Glaze Ombre Grape Expectations

 Sweet Hook & Spontaneous

 Grape Pop & Crimson

It even comes with sponges! All for $12.99!


Lastly is Above the Curve, Risen Angel


 How gorgeous is this polish!?

Well that is all of the haul pictures for today :) Hope y'all enjoyed!
 
*** 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***

Sunday, March 10, 2013

O.P.I My Private Jet


This is the infamous MPJ, although it's the new version.  The old version was more of a charcoal color and a linear holo, this is more brown with a scattered holo although it looks black in most indoor lighting, and there is also a blue flash version; all with the same name!  Regardless of the holo, I love this color.  The TraceFace Philes has a great comparison on the different formulas of this color.

If you follow my blog you may remember I posted about my all time lemming (here).  I got my nails done in my normal salon 3.5 years ago and still remember this gorgeous color, but  I wasn't into polish as much as now so I never knew the name.  All I have of it are a few pictures from that time that you can barely see my nails in.  I thought I had found the color in Finger Paints Sketch-y until I got it on, photographed it and found more old pictures of my nails and realized it was no where close. Ladies; I fully believe MPJ is that color. Check  out the comparison pictures below, bottom left is probably the best picture.  I'm positive this is it!


My 3.5 year old lemming mani






This is 2 coats MPJ, it dries a little satin but clear coat glossed it right up.  Accent nail is one coat MPJ, China Glaze For Audrey, & Orly Nite Owl.  Clear coat is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. Next time I think I will try a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust for some extra holo sparkle, I wanted a simpler look today. This is what I call a fishtail chevron because a chevron is generally straight not curved but a fishtail is also referred to as this, which I'm calling a fishtail braid. Here is a tutorial from Chalkboard Nails for this design :)

*** 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***

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Zoya Mimi 50th Birthday Nails

Today I have a mani from my Mama's 50th birthday yesterday:)

So here is the motivation for this mani... The color is Zoya Mimi, Mimi is my son's name for my Mama (although we say it more than him at this age) which is actually why I bought this polish.  The design is actually an "L" which is the roman numeral for 50.  There are also 5 little polka dots on each nail for each decade she's been alive and the black and white is representing "Over the Hill".  I love how well this represents her, simple but still gets your attention and has a beautiful glow.  Happy Birthday Mama!

Warning: these are not good swatches, the first was taken right after painting my nails but the pictures came out blurry.  the second pictures came out better but i had broken my index finger and my cuticles are a bit rough.


I LOVE Mimi, this color is so amazing! It's a gorgeous purple by itself and then it flashes pink or flashes gold.  It is one of those lovely glass fleck shimmers I love so much.  The Silver Aluminum was a bit thick but that's to be expected considering it's a pretty old polish that I need to thin.  I taped this off but also could have free handed it, I just didn't have the time to start over if I messed up. The Gentlemen! was wonderful also, went on like a dream, no fishing for stars, nice formula and coverage.


This is 2 coats Zoya Mimi, the designs are Maybelline Express Finish Silver Aluminum, the accent is two coats Well Nails The Gentlemen! and all are topped off with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.




*** 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***

Friday, March 1, 2013

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray


This is a texturizing spray infused with Dead Sea salt and sea kelp. It helps create voluminous texturized and wind swept waves.  I had combed some knots out of my hair so I used this on a test section there.  I didn't really notice a big difference, just slightly more defined curls, and it smells great.  One thing I noticed was the residue I felt on my hair and hands that was just like the residue from the salt air at the beach and it made my hair very dry.  I'm going to try this again the next time I wear my hair curly with a fresh start and I'll update then.


Here are the pictures of my curly hair, combed out
I applied the product to the left side of my hair in the bottom pictures

 
This sells for $6 for a full size bottle, $4.74 at Walmart (link below)
***OVERALL: Undecided, based on this trial, probably would not purchase.  I will update after I try this product again.***


Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  These are my honest opinions, not influenced by anyone.

Sweetheart VoxBox From Influenster!

This week I received my very first Influenster VoxBox, the Valentine's Day themed Sweetheart Box!  

Influenster is "Basically, Influenster is a place for culture junkies to come together and share their unique opinions of products and experiences. Active members of Influenster get exclusive access to deals, promotions, and swag from brands that thrive off the input (the good, the bad, and the ugly -- they just want to know what's up)."

Here is a quick rundown of what I got in my box:
  • Skinnygirl Daily On-The-Go Bars (Coco)-$9.99
  • Olay Fresh Effects {Va-Va-Vivid} Powered Contour Cleansing System-$12.99
  • Olay Fresh Effects {Shine, Shine Go Away!} Shine Minimizing Cleanser-$6.99
  • Secret Clinical Strength Stress Response-$7.99-$9.99
  • Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray-$6.00

 Full shot of everything
 



Skinnygirl Daily On-The-Go Bar, Coco-Nut

These bars have only 180 calories, are natural, kosher, & high in fiber.  The best part though? They taste amazing!  I ate mine at 8:30 AM and wasn't hungry again until nearly 2 PM.  I loved the flavor and it didn't have that weird diet bar taste like most I have tried (I think it's the artificial sweetener?) I'd really love to try the other flavors also: Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Multi-grain Pretzel, & Greek Yogurt Blueberry Crisp.  The website shows them for $12.99, marked down to $9.99 for 5 bars.  For me, that's pretty expensive when I'm used to 5 granola bars costing $3.   
OVERALL: I may or may not purchase again, I really love them but the price is a bit out of my range.

Olay Fresh Effect {Va-Va-Vivid} Powered Contour Cleansing System

 This is a battery powered, vibrating, triangle shaped cleansing brush. Designed to reach deep into contours & remove dirt, oil and makeup from hard to reach places.  Normally I wash my face with plain ole water on a washcloth, I have a very dry face so anything more than that is generally just drying and uneccesary.  However, I loved this brush! It was so much easier to get into the creases around my nose and eyes with this triangle brush.  I also loved the bristles, they were soft enough not to be overly abrasive but firm enough to remove the flaky skin from my face. The system here (brush and shine minimizing cleanser is $12.99)
OVERALL: Yes I would purchase this system again

Olay Fresh Effects {Shine, Shine Go Away!} Shine Minimizing Cleanser

(Included in above picture)

This is a daily cleanser that lathers and sinks into the pores of your skin to help reduce appearance of pores and shine.  Personally, I have very dry skin so there isn't a lot of shine to begin with but I did love the smell and how clean and fresh it made my face feel.  I plan to have a friend with more oily skin try this for better results.  This sells for $5.99 (at Target) and seems to be a decent deal.
OVERALL: No, I would not purchase this cleanser because it did not fit my needs.  However, Olay Fresh Effects {Bead Me Up!} exfoliating cleanser is something I will likely purchase.

Secret Clinical Strength Stress Response Deodorant


This is a deodorant specially design to protect you from all types of sweat, heat, movement and stress.  Stress sweat comes from a different gland and smells the worst!  It's proven 4x more effective than regular antiperspirant.  First of all, I love the scent- Serene Citrus.  After wearing this deodorant for 12 hours today, I can still smell the scent every time I move my arms.  I haven't done anything particularly exerting or stressful today, nor has it been hot outside so I can't really rate the protection in extreme conditions but I did stay dry today though :)  The price is $7.99-$9.99 so it's a few dollars more than what I normally wear (Old Spice Denali, about $4)  It's available in my local Walmart, Target, Dollar General, CVS, Walgreen's & more!
OVERALL: Yes, I would buy this product.  The main reason I wear men's deodorant is I like being able to smell the scent at the end of the day to know it's working and this deodorant definitely did that.  The scent was there without being over powering, and it kept me dry.  The price isn't much more than what I use now, so it's a great product in my opinion.

Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray


This is a texturizing spray infused with Dead Sea salt and sea kelp. It helps create voluminous texturized and wind swept waves.  I had combed some knots out of my hair so I used this on a test section there.  I didn't really notice a big difference, just slightly more defined curls, and it smells great.  One thing I noticed was the residue I felt on my hair and hands that was just like the residue from the salt air at the beach and it made my hair very dry.  I'm going to try this again the next time I wear my hair curly with a fresh start and I'll update then.
This sells for $6 for a full size bottle, $4.74 at Walmart (link below)
***OVERALL: Undecided, based on this trial, probably would not purchase.  I will update after I try this product again.***


Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  These are my honest opinions, not influenced by anyone.