Nail Haul!

Hello!

What is wrong with me - do I really need more polish? NO.  But I saw the shiny things - and they ended up coming home with me. ;)

 So first I was at Walmart to get Chobani (Key Lime flavor-love) - and of course I had to see what was going on in the cosmetics department...

First I saw some nail foil kits - I think they were $5.49 they are not available on the website only in the store.  I really like the idea of a foil manicure, but the only other place I've seen the supplies is Amazon and the Born Pretty Store.  So it's nice to see it for real, before I order something.  I also found a lovely shade of blue polish that I think will look fab with the silver foil.  It's "Blue Me away!" by Sally Hansen Xtreme wear.

I also found nail bling!

The kit on the left has a fuchsia polish, fuchsia powder (to do a "velvet" manicure) nail glue and fun rhinestone bits.  I also got the Embellish me! set from Fingers ($3.48) with 12 different designs of mini rhinestones.

Then I went to Sally's Beauty Supply...and I found a few polishes.

OPI "Push and Shove"(Gwen Stefani Collection) which you need to use with the Lay down the Base little mini next to it.  Orly FX in "Be Brave", OPI "4 in the Morning" (Gwen Stefani Collection) and Orly "Cheeky".  All of them except "Cheeky" I got on Clearance for $4.99.  Score!

Here they are swatched.  "Push and Shove" is amazingly chrome, it's a "specialty" polish that you can't put top coat on and they warn it will only last a day... but it would be worth it.  In the picture it just looks metallic but it is the most realistic "metal" polish I have ever seen. The black one is "4 in the morning" and it dries to a matte "leather like" appearance that is pretty cool.  I need to do silver foil or studs with this.  The Orly FX shreddy glitter is prettier in real life and "Cheeky" has a light sparkle in it.  

So do I need all the polishes?  No... but hey at least I'm not addicted to crack.

Jasmine

Sally Beauty Mini Haul

Hello,

About a week ago I was reading the lovely Pang's blog - Beauty Redefined by Pang.  She has an amazing blog and you need to check it out - you want to see amazing swatches hers is the blog!  Anywhoo... she posted about Sally's beauty supply having a bunch of nail polish on clearance.  Then I got an email the next day from Sally's says the Clearance was an additional 50% off!  I found a few gems!

From left to right: China Glaze "Howl you Doin'", Orly "Macabre Masquerade" & Orly Matte FX Flakie topcoat

These were on Clearance $3.99 and then I got 50% off - so for $2 each these were a steal.  Most of what they had were what I consider "fall" colors.  

When I swatched them "Howl you doin'" was a bit thick (top swatch), you can see it's kind of goopey.  I will have to add some thinner or only use it as an accent. The Orly "Macabre Masquerade" on the other hand is a really nice formula and I like the true blue color of it.  

As you saw above I also got the Orly Matte Fx Flakie topcoat - and that is exactly what is - a flakie top coat that is matte - although it did chip after two days so that was sad.

Have you scored any beauty steals lately?

Jasmine

Winter with Essie

Hello,

For the first time in awhile a seasonal nail polish collection really caught my eye - Essie fall and winter 2013.  So far I've only been able to find 4 (I guess other people like them too!).

From Left to Right - Sable Collar, After School Boy Blazer, Mind your Mittens, Vested Interest

Sable Collar ->

I really like this color - it's dark but not too dark and I think a nice replacement for a traditional burgundy - plus it will look good under a variety of glittery topcoats.

After School Boy Blazer ->





This is a gorgeous dark navy blue - I just love it!  Super chic!  And again would look great with the addition of some ombre glitter.

Mind your Mittens ->

A unique (to me) grey blue that just reminds me of sweaters and boots season!

Vested Interest->

A dark sage green, I usually don't like green on my but this is like turquoise with grey so it works! and with gold sparkles - lovely!

All the swatches I did are two coats - the formula was just right on all of them.

I still want to get Parka Perfect, Cashmere Bathrobe and Warm & Toasty Turtleneck.

What colors are you loving this winter?

Jasmine

Sephora + Pantone Nail Polish

Hello,

After my debacle with my terrible chipping polish - Here.  I needed to redo my weekly manicure so I pulled out a bottle of polish I hadn't tried yet - I got it from Sephora in their sale section for $5 about a month ago.  It is part of the Sephora/Pantone collaboration and the color is "antique gold". 

The box came a little smushed - but the polish inside was fine.  I really like the packaging I think the white top off sets the color is the bottle.  The brush was nice and flat and the formula was quite nice as well. 

I was worried there would be brush marks but it dried pretty smooth.  The color is very metallic, and it is duo chromatic with a green shift.  it's a little festive for everyday for me personally.  I think it would be good as an accent nail or for a special occasion. 

Do you think some polishes are best saved for certain occasions?

Jasmine

Pixi Classy Cocoa - or not?

Hello,

Today I want to share with you my most recent manicure.  I used Pixi nail polish which I got at Target for $8.00.  Here's what the Pixi site has to say about their polish "Formulated for high definition, super smooth application with a chip-resistant finish and built-in UV protection to prevent polish discolouration."  They also do not test on animals.

The color is called "classy cocoa" and to be honest it is purple, or deep taupe, or brown depending on what light you are in.  I really can't tell if I like it or not!

And here are my lovely nails:

See?  It's really gross brown in that picture - but it looks better in daylight and in fluorescent light - oy!  Now for all their lovely claims that it is chip resistant... you can see from the first picture I used a Sally Hansen top Coat.  I always use a top coat - I can't stand chipped nail polish, one chip and I'm done.  This polish chipped within 12 hours, and I was sitting at home reading and folding laundry!  What! so big fail there.  The brush in normal - I like the skinny bottle, the formula is a little runny.

Here again you can see it looks more grey/tuape - It's not duochrome it just a weird color. And if it chips on me with a different top coat - we are done - because that's not "classy cocoa" at all!

So what do you think?

Jasmine

New to me indie polish - K.B. Shimmer

Hello,

I recently placed an order thru K.B. Shimmer for some lovely polishes!   If you check out her site be prepared to want them all!

I got The Grape Escape & Hex Appeal - $8.75 ea.

 

You can't really tell how pretty they are in that picture (it was taken in natural light).  The Grape Escape is a dusty purple matte with turquoise shimmer.

 



I kinda caught it in the picture above, I like it because it looks good matte and glossy!

Hex Appeal is all sorts of glittery hexes and small dots in a navy blue translucent base - this will look great over a navy polish base.

Here they are swatched - again I just couldn't capture how pretty The Grape Escape is.  I plan on using Hex Appeal this week so you will be seeing it again soon!

Jasmine

This week's Manicure - Snappy Sorbet with dots!

Hello,

Today I wanted to share my manicure, I got one of the Maybelline Polka Dots polishes in my Cara Box.  So I wanted to check it out.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Snappy Sorbet
 

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Manicure Base Coat.  Then I put on Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Snappy Sorbet.  You can see my bottle has a strip of color on the top from my organizing system I talked about HERE. 

 

 

This polish with the base coat wears really well,  I didn't put a top coat on and I have only minor tip wear after 3 days.  It has a wide brush that I find kind of hard to work with, but the formula spreads well and they always have lots of trendy colors.

 

 



Then I grabbed my Maybelline Color Show in Dotty and did an accent nail.

 

 

 The translucent orange base of Dotty made the Snappy Sorbet look "oranger" for sure - and it was hard to place the dots, I couldn't get a lot of the big ones.  I'm not sure how I feel about the polka dot top coat trend.  Maybe it's just because it's orange - but it feels a bit "Halloween-y" to me.

 

What do you think?

 

Jasmine

What have we here...

Hello!

I was at Walmart last week and came across this display by Fing'rs:

And I literally said out loud "What have we hereeeee!"  There was stripping tape, and foils and studs and nail stickers!  You know nail art is super main stream when there is a display like this!  The prices were so-so, $2.48 for a few rolls of stripping tape is high, and the kits with the foil and studs for $6.48 are also way more than you would pay online, but not everyone buys from Amazon weekly like I do. 

So here's what I got:

Nail polish, a kit with foils and studs, and a pack of stones and sequins.

 

 

 

I got "The Boys in Blue" on the left - it goes on pretty sheer, it took 3 coats to get the swatch you see.  I also got "Star Crossed Lovers" on the right, it is very thick and you definitely have to place the stars, but they are awfully pretty!  Each polish was $1.68.

 

 

I also got the "Heart 2 Art" Embellish me kit #33041 - it comes with two packs of sequins and 2 packs of mini rhinestones.  I know these buggers are going to be tricky to place but for $2.48 I thought I could give it a try.

 

 

My biggest expenditure was the Heavy Metal extreme nail art kit for $6.48.  I know I could get WAY more if I bought this stuff online, but the convenience of it is hard to beat.  It came with some foils in silver and gold, stud stickers and loose studs.  I just realized I better get some nail glue to put those studs on! 

 

Overall it's not the BEST quality, but if you are doing nail art frequently you don't need it to last so it's a fun way to give it a try!

 

Where is your favorite place to buy nail supplies?

 

Jasmine







Nail Polish collection - Video!

Hello!

Today I wanted to share the rest of my nail polish collection - it is no where near the size of a lot of people's "collections"!  But it did help me realize I have a lot of colors - which is good I need to be more discretionary when I buy. 




So after seeing this what am I missing?  Is their a polish I NEED to get? Or a brand I need to try?

Let me know your thoughts!

Jasmine

Collections! BBHQ Challenge

Hello!

The May Beauty Blogger Head Quarters Challenge was to show part of your "beautiful collection".  So today I have a video of my glitter and specialty nail polishes.






I store my polishes in our Guest room in one of the nightstands next to the bed.  It has 3 drawers and I take up two.





Jasmine

Nail Polish Frenzy

Hello!

Well I acquired some more nail polish this week - I don't know what's wrong with me!  I've got the WANT-sies! 

What I need to do is film my polish collection video - like Martha from Quick Cheap & Pretty.  I think it will shame me into realizing I have every color :)  Well, not every color...

So here's what I got:

From the Left - OPI Pirouette My Whistle, OPI Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous, Finger Paints - Colorful Collage, ORLY - Sparkling Garbage, Sinful Shine (from Sinful Colors) - Picante, Revlon - Lagoon Afternoon

I got the OPI polishes at Carson Pierre Scott, the Finger Paints & Orly at Sally Beauty Supply, and the last two at Walgreens.

I took a close-up of the OPI Pirouette My Whistle because it's an interesting looking polish and I'm not sure how I'm going to use it - I need to Google some nail pictures to see what others have done because I kind of don't like it!

It's just "blah" right?  And that's three coats.

Here's my nail wheel with all the colors swatched - they (of course) look much better in person!

I LOVE the Finger Paints Holo Glitter!  And the Sinful Shine is soooooo much better than the usual Sinful Colors.  I only used to coats and the color is bright, smooth and shiny!  The ORLY Sparkling Garbage I bought after seeing amazing pictures on Beauty Redefined by Pang.  She actually captures how pretty it is. 

So that's my little haul!

Jasmine

MOTW - Summer Ombre Manicure

Hello:

Recently I found a really cute set of nail polishes and wanted to try an "easy" ombre manicure with them.  I found this set at Ross (kind of like a TJ Maxx) for $4.99.

So as you can see they are mini polishes ranging from neon yellow to pink - they don't appear as neon here as they do on.  The formula is rather thick (but you get what you pay for).  The polish dries to a matte finish which I find typical on neon polishes.

I decided to just paint each nail a different color rather than doing the actual ombre - but because the colors are "matched" it would be easy to do the real thing.

I think it turned out pretty swell - I have a shiny topcoat on (Salley Hansen's Diamond Coat).  And I did my other hand the exact same way. 

So what's your verdict?

Jasmine

MOTW - China Glaze "Don't be a Luna-tic"

Hello!

This week I picked up 2 of China Glaze's Holographic Colors at Sally Beauty Supply ($6.59) this week - their colors were really picked over but I was able to get "Don't be a Luna-tic" a light teal color.

As you can tell from the bottle shot it doesn't look very "holographic".



You can see a little bit in the swatch above - but for the most part you cant see a strong "holo" unless your under bright Halogen or "real" daylight.

In the picture above on the right is "indoor" lighting and the left my light box with "daylight lamps".

So it's a so-so holo nail polish, but it is much more easily available than most holo polishes. 

Have you tried any of the China Glaze Holographics yet?

Jasmine

Cuticle Removal - Formula 10 VaRoom Review

Hello!

Today I wanted to share a product I found at Sally Beauty Supply - "Formula 10 VaRoom Lemon Brite Cuticle Remover & Nail Britener" (that's a lot of title!).  I am so guilty of going after my cuticles with the nippers  - and that may make them look good for a day or two, but it's not good on the regular.  So enter Varoom!

Not only does it help remove cuticle but it's also supposed to help whiten the nail.  Here's the official description: "Gently squeeze bottle and apply carefully loosen cuticle with applicator tip and cuticle pusher. Rub into nails and wait 3-5 minutes. Cream will brighten yellow nails and remove cuticle particles."  It's $5.99 (or $5.29 for Beauty Club Members).

It's easy to use - the tip makes it easy to get it where you need as does the accordion squeeze bottle.  My cuticles were in much better shape after use, but I don't know how much it whitened my nails.

So here are my 2 middle fingers - On the left I have used VaRoom! So you can see my cuticle looks much nicer (Can I also note it's wicked hard to take a picture of both your hands - I used the timer but STILL!) I don't see much of a brightening effect but I will say when I did my right hand I rubbed it into the nail bed a bit more and I think that might be the key. 

Overall I really like it!

What's your cuticle routine?

Jasmine

US/UK Swap - Package Reveal!

Hello!

Recently I did a swap with Kimberly from Kimberley's Beauty Blog!!  She was interested in getting some stuff from NYX and Wet n" Wild and I of course wanted some UK cosmetics.  And here's what I got!

Barry M polish in SnapDragon, Sleek Blush in Life's a Peach & Rimmel Apocalips in Nova!

They are all wonderful!

The picture on the left is one coat and on the right 2 coats.  The color is not as squishy jelly like as I had hoped, but it is lovely!  And it has a very light smattering of silver sparkles. 

Here's the Sleek Blush it's bright in real life - but so lovely blended out.  This is definitely going to be my go to blush this summer! I love Sleek products - I need more!

And the infamous Rimmel Apocalips in Nova!  This stuff is A-mazing - it feels like a gloss but covers like a lipstick, and there was no weird dryness.  This needs to come to the US ASAP! 

Thank you again Kimberly for doing the swap - it is so exciting to have this stuff!

Jasmine



MOTW- Indie Spring

Hello!

Today I wanted to share my manicure of the week!  This week I wanted to integrate the new indie polish I got from Nikki @ Heaven has Cupcakes in our monthly nail mail swap. 

 

I used one of my favorite formulas - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barely Bluebell and Nail Sauce polish in Rainbow Bridge. 

I love the little yellow flowers and the teal, red and purple sparkles.  It went on pretty smoothly and I didn't have to fish much to get the flowers - it may be because it's a mini bottle and I always find glitter placement easier with minis. 

 

Indoor lighting on the left and Daylight on the right
 

I think it turned out really cute! And now I just want All the Nail Sauce glitter top coats :) !

Hope you all are having a great week!

Jasmine