Monday, May 27, 2013

Interview with Cathryn from HotPinkAurora on Sminkan's Blog! BONUS Sneak Peak the new Summer Collection!

My dear friend Sminkan interviewed me and has posted the interview to her blog! It was a lot of fun working with Sminkan to put the interview together.  She has a never before seen PREVIEW of a polish from the summer collection I'm working on, with swatches!

Click the link below to read the interview and see the first polish from The Tiki Bar Collection!


Happy Reading =)

Monday, May 20, 2013

Born Pretty Water Decals Review + Coupon Code

Today I have an item sent for review from Born Pretty! I chose to review some water decals since I've never used them before and I am so so glad to have picked these.  I've had nothing but a wonderful experience with them!


I chose the little yellow hibiscuses for this manicure, seen above.  The package came with a bunch of different styles, photos to follow.


I used two decals on each hand for accent nails.  Shown is two coats of Brucci Sylvia's Pretty in Purple.


So, these were the instructions that came with the decals.  I really do use the term instructions loosely here, though.  I'm going to list, step by step, what I did to complete the manicure.

After painting and top coating your nails and making sure they're completely dry (I'd say 20 minutes is good, I waited longer however because I was doing stuff in between):

  1. Cut out the desired designs you'd like to use. (Make sure you peel the acetate off; mine fell off without needing to be peeled.)
  2.  Dip the design into water and make sure it is completely saturated (This didn't take 10-20 seconds; more like 5 worked for me)
  3. Use a finger from the hand you're NOT decorating - slide the decal off on to the tip of your finger.  At this point, it should be upside down, full color design facing down.
  4. Position the decal above the nail you're applying to and gently place it.  Be sure to smooth it down.
  5. I personally waited for the water from the decal to air dry instead of blotting it, to avoid messing up the design.
  6. Once any dripped off water is dry, apply top coat.
Some things worth noting:

  • The "instructions" included did not mention that they would transfer backwards. I botched my test run because of this, so that's why I listed revised instructions above.
  • These don't work like those kiddie tattoos, although its a similar concept. You have to flip the decal         around and apply the lighter colored side down, full color side up.
  • Once the decal is on your nail, if your fingernail is still wet, you can slide the decal around! Awesome! You can slide and gently nudge it to reposition it to exactly where you want. I love that quality about these; stickers and stamping have a much more of a one-shot type of quality.
  • The decals are so detailed!  I love how fine the details are.
  • Water temperature doesn't seem to matter. Mine was cool from the tap.
  • The decal lay very flat against your nail since they're so thing, I like that.
Despite those minor complications these things were a breeze to work with.  No lining anything up, no lumps or bumps. I love them and I'm going to buy more when I can.




Above are some more shots of the manicure, that I've quickly fallen in love with, by the way!  Below are more designs that the package came with.




If you'd like to purchase these decals for yourself they're available here:
They sell from $1.99 and up and have FREE SHIPPING! As well as my 10% off personal discount code!

Coupon Code for 10% Off: CA10L91

If I get 10 orders with that code, I can host a BornPretty giveaway! 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

May Ipsy Bag Review and Photos

I got my Ipsy, formerly known as MyGlam Bag, package a few days ago but was held up due to surgery recuperation.   All is well though, so now I have lots of pictures to share with you!  That being said this post is a bit picture heavy, just a heads up.

What's in the bag?!
This bag this time around was really cute.  And oddly enough, there was a second bag included.  There was no note of why, however.  The products came in the bag pictured above, the white bag was empty.  I wonder if this is because last month's bag was a duplicate?  If so, major points for that consideration!

Bonus Bag

This month's bag had five products in it, including a full size Zoya!  That nearly covers the cost of the bag alone; Zoya $8 - Ipsy subscription $10. I like it already. Lets get into the products.


A full size bottle of Zoya Neely, a color I actually really like!  It's a super light minty green creme.  Shown on the swatch wheel below is one super thick coat, no top coat. Such a pretty, seasonally appropriate color.


Next is Pacifica Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter.  So, I really haven't a clue how to review these sorts of things so (and I know I say that every time, because it's true every time!) bear with me on this.

 

This stuff has a light coconut scent; not overbearing like sunscreen, but really delicate and pleasant.  It also has the luminizing flecks in it which are all over my entire upper body thanks to my inability to measure an appropriate amount.


Shown above is the palm of my hand that I used to rub the body butter into my arm.  It shows on my arm too, but I was able to capture more of the effect on my palm.


So this thing threw me off a little bit.  I thought yaby was the color at first. And then I realized it's actually the name brand and that buff is the color.  I still didn't know what it was, foundation? Concealer?  A quick Google search leads me to believe it's foundation.  It doesn't match my skin though.  And as I was trying to test it on my arm, the little metal disc popped out and fell on my cat that was by my feet. So now it's really worthless being the wrong color and having cat fur in it.


Also included was Juice Beauty lip gloss in "pink". Yep.. it's called pink, and it isn't even really. It's pretty and sparkly though and smells like citrus? Grapefruit maybe?



Finally we come to the dud of the group (I'm not even counting the yaby thing).  Although I should preface this and say I'm terribly biased and that's why I don't care for this item.



Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Perfume Roll On.  The packaging is so cute, and I really wanted to love it, but I don't, not even close.  Floral scents trigger migraines for me most of the time, and this is heavily floral scented, obviously.  Smells like flowers and I don't spend enough time sniffing floral scents to be able to discern it's attributes.

Overall, I was pleased with this bag (as I always am, it seems!)  I was really happy to see a full size polish of a brand I love (Zoya) as well as the lotion, which I like as well.  Also, I think it was really nice of the company to send an additional bag to make up for last month's repeat - and I do think that's why they sent two this time around.

One last group photo:


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Layered Jelly Sandwich - Zoya Frida

As much as I'd love to take creative credit for this, I was inspired from a post on Reddit that I saw some weeks ago.  I pretty much copied the manicure exactly, layering coats of Zoya Frida with dotticured flowers.  Below is the final result!


There is four layers of Zoya Frida; I started with a coat of it before putting on the first flowers.  I LOVE the final look of this.  So much depth!




Monday, May 6, 2013

Oopsie Daisies Friends and Fans Collection - COMPLETE! And NEW LABELS!


So the collection is complete. I'm so excited to be finished with this collection and to debut the new labels I've wanted forever!  This post will contain pictures of all 5 new polishes and pictures of the new labels.

Blueberry Muffins - Fairy Tale Wishes - Springtime Spumoni - Scrunchies & Slumber Parties - Strawberry Tall Cake

Named by a Fan of Oopsie Daisies Nail Polish, Strawberry Tall Cake is a white creme base with deep red, neon orange and dandelion yellow matte glitters of various sizes.

Strawberry Tall Cake - Three coats


Strawberry Tall Cake - Three coats

L to R: Three coats, two coats, 1 coat

Named by a Fan of Oopsie Daisies Nail Polish, Fairy Tale Wishes is a clear based polish with lilac and violet shaped star glitter, shimmery sparkles and hexagonal glitter.


Fairy Tale Wishes - 2 coats over China Glaze Light as Air

Fairy Tale Wishes - 2 coats over China Glaze Light as Air
Fairy Tale Wishes - 2 coats over China Glaze Light as Air
Two coats over Revlon Royal Cloak, Brucci Sylvia's Pretty in Purple, China Glaze Light As Air, Finger Paints Paper Mache

Two coats over Revlon Royal Cloak, Brucci Sylvia's Pretty in Purple, China Glaze Light As Air, Finger Paints Paper Mache
Get nostalgic with Scrunchies & Slumber Parties! Aptly named by my sister, this polish has a bright purple creme base, with silver, orange, neon pink and iridescent blue glitter with some shimmery sparkle to top it off.


Scrunchies & Slumber Parties - 2 coats

Scrunchies & Slumber Parties - 2 coats
Scrunchies & Slumber Parties - 2 coats
Named by a Fan of Oopsie Daisies Nail Polish, Springtime Spumoni is a sheer white based polish with white, mint green, baby blue, yellow, pink and tiny green glitter.


Springtime Spumoni - Three coats

Springtime Spumoni - Three coats

Springtime Spumoni - Three coats

T to B: One coat, two coats, three coats

Created with a collaboration with a friend, Blueberry Muffins is a white sheer based polish with various sizes of navy, brown, caramel and periwinkle glitter.


Blueberry Muffins - Three coats

Blueberry Muffins - Three coats

L to R: One coat, two coats, three coats


Yay! I'm so pleased with how all of these turned out! All five are available now in the store for $8.50  a piece.  CLICK HERE to visit Oopsie Daisies.


And here is a close up of the new label.  These are clear plastic labels with black ink.  All purchases from here on out will include the new labels!