November Ipsy Bag

Wait so you're telling me that it's the end of December?!  Good golly does time fly during the holidays!

Ok I don't have a good excuse as to why I haven't done this sooner, like in November...lol

Today I'm going to share what I got in my November Ipsy bag and also do a little review of the products.  For those of you that don't know, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service where you get a bag full of beauty items (2 full size and 3 deluxe size samples) for $10 month.  You can watch my unboxing video HERE and learn more about Ipsy HERE.

November Ipsy Glam Bag

 

Click "Read More" to see close-ups of these goodies!

MyWholesaleFashion.com + Kleancolor Swatches (Pic Heavy)

Hey y'all!  I hope everyone had a great holiday with their loved ones.  Today I have some Kleancolor polishes to share with you all that I got from MyWholesaleFashion.com

MyWholesaleFashion.com is a wholesale distributor based out of Los Angelas, California.  MyWholesaleFashion.com sells all types of fashion accessories (jewelry, makeup, nail polish, etc.) in bulk at reasonable prices.  They were kind enough to send me some polishes to share with you all.

From L to R:  Golden Nightmare, Plum, 24 Karat, City Never Sleeps, Take A Hint, and Holo Pink.

 

Click "Read More" to see swatches!

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Swatches!

Hello hello!  Today I have some fabulous Kleancolor polishes to show you all!

From L to R:  Chunky Holo Purple, Chunky Holo Fuchsia, and Chunky Holo Candy

 

I first saw these on various blogs and facebook pages when I first started blogging and fell in love!  I searched high and low for them in my town, but had no luck (the joys of living in a small town...NOT).  I ended up getting these babies from Copious.com for a great deal! 

 

Click "Read More" to see the swatches

Butter London Haul+Swatches!

Hey guys, long time no talk!  I'm so sorry that I haven't been blogging or interacting with you all as much, but I promise I have a lot coming in the near future! 

Tonight I'm going to show you guys some awesome Butter London polishes that I got at a great deal a few months back!  This past summer a new flash sale site, Coterie, launched.  Coterie is a website that has various beauty flash sales, almost like Hautelook.  Before their launch they had an exclusive deal for people that made an account.  The deal was get four Butter London products, three nail polishes and a topcoat, for $11 shipped!!!!!  I saw the deal and I thought for sure it was a scam, but after seeing other bloggers that I follow talk about Coterie I decided to give it a try, I mean $11 for one Butter London polish is a great deal let alone getting four BL items for that price! 

Here is the set that I got:

 From the top going clockwise: Knackered, P.D. Quick Topcoat, Bluey, and Wallis

 

Click "Read More" to see swatches!

Nail Polish Spotlight (Combo): China Glaze Electric Pineapple & Essie Stroke of Brilliance

Hey guys today I have a quick NPS post to share!  I've been a bit obsessed with glitter lately so when Essie introduced a new glitter polish in their Luxe Effects line I just knew that I had to have it!!!  Essie Stroke of Brilliance is a periwinkle blue glitter polish suspended in a clear base.  When I wore this polish I wanted to use a base color that was bright to add a little pop against the base color.

 For this mani I applied two coats of China Glaze Electric Pineapple and applied one coat of Essie Stroke of Brilliance on top.

 

  Can we just take a moment to drool over the multi-sized glittery goodness!!!  I absolutely love this glitter polish and combo so much.  The glitter distributed very nicely on the nail and the formula is fabulous.

 

If you have Essie Stroke of Brilliance I would love to hear some of your favorite polishes that you love pairing with this glitter.

 

Thanks for reading!

Crystal <3 

October Birchbox (2012)

Hey guys!  Today I'm going to share what I got in my October Birchbox!

This month Birchbox partnered with Goop, a lifestyle website by Gwyneth Paltrow, to make a special Goop box.  We got an email asking us whether we wanted the Goop box or the regular box and I opted for the regular box.

You can watch my unboxing video HERE.

 

Click "Read more" to see the what I got in my box.

October Ipsy (MyGlam) Bag

Hey guys, tonight I'm going to show y'all what I got in my first Glam bag!!!  I've wanted to try a beauty subscription for a while and decided to try out BirchBox and Ipsy, formerly known as MyGlam, for a few months.  I'll share what I got in my October BirchBox in a future post.

Let's get on to the goodness, that is my Ipsy Glam bag!!!

October Glam Bag

You can check out my video HERE.

Click "Read More" for pictures and a mini review of the products that I got.

Tutorial: Rebecca Minkoff Inspired Nail Art

Hey guys I today I'm going to show y'all a nail design that I did a while ago that was inspired by a Rebecca Minkoff handbag that I saw on Hautelook a few months ago.

 Rebecca Minkoff inspired nails

 

Here is the purse that inspired the nail design

(Source: Hautelook)

Click "Read More" to see the tutorial

Nail Polish Spotlight: Essie Braziliant

Hey guys!  Today the Nail Polish Spotlight is going to shine over the beautiful Essie Braziliant!

Braziliant, from 2011 summer collection, is a bright medium orange with subtle pink and gold shimmer.

 



 This has to be one of my favorite polishes in my entire collection.  It's very opaque and I only used two coats for my mani.  For some reason my camera hates orange and made the color darker than it is in real life.

 

There you have it!  What are some of your favorite polishes?

Thanks for reading.  Follow and share if you like!
Crystal <3

Lacquer Convention Swatches!!!

Hey guys! You might remember that I was on an indie polish buying kick a couple of months ago...well today I have the first of many swatch post of some indie polishes that I've added to my growing addiction collection.

To be honest, I really don't remember where I first saw Lacquer Convention polishes, but I can say that they have awesome shipping!  I bought my polishes on a Saturday and got them on a Monday, they are located in California and I'm in Texas!!!

So here are the swatches!

The first color that I picked up is Pop Tart, a white jelly base filled with multi color/sized glitters.

 

For the swatch I applied two coats over a white base on my ring finger and three coats alone on my pinkie.

 

 The next color that I picked up is Sparkle Berry Cobbler, a glitter top coat filled with small gold round glitter, gold bar glitter, and a mixed of medium sized purple, blue, and pink glitters.

 

For the swatch I applied two coats of SBC over two coats of China Glaze Urban-night.

(Can we applaud my sister for letting me use her nails for the swatch *applause* lol)

 

 The last polish that I bought is Galinda, a sheer pink base with medium blue and holo purple glitter and small pink glitter.

 

For the swatch I applied two coats over OPI Lucky, lucky, lavender on my left thumb and three coats alone on my right thumb.

 

These polishes are super fun and I already have a list of some others that I want to buy from Lacquer Convention!  Do you own any LC polishes?  Tell me in the comments below.  You an also post pictures on our Facebook wall!

 

You can follow Lacquer Convention on Facebook HERE and shop their Etsy store HERE.

 

Thanks for reading.  Follow and share if you like!

Crystal <3



September 2012 Birchbox Review

Hey guys!!!  Long time no talk!  I know that I'm probably the worse with keeping up with my blog, but life and I have been playing a huge game of dodge ball and life had the upper hand for a while.  I have so many things in store for you guys and hopefully it will make up for my absence!

Today I'm going to review my first Birchbox!!!!

September 2012 Birchbox

(you can watch me open my box HERE)

 

I've been wanting to try a beauty subscription for a while now and decided to try out Birchbox and Ipsy (formally known as MyGlam) for a few months.  I got my Birchbox first and I was excited to see what I would get, but once I got my box I was less than impressed...

 

Let's get a close up of the things that I got in my box:

 

 21 Drops Focus Aromatherapy Blend:  This was an interesting product to say the least.  It claims that the oils in the product are suppose to help you focus.  The only thing that I think it did for me was alert my senses.  It has a nice minty smell that isn't too overwhelming and it comes with a roller ball applicator.  I wouldn't repurchase this, but I think it was something fun to try out.

 

 Mighty Leaf Tea:  I got three tea samples, Chamomile Citrus, Vanilla Bean, and Green Tea Tropical.  I'm not a big hot tea drinker so I wasn't too happy about this product.  I did try the Chamomile Citrus and almost got sick.  I'll try the other two eventually, but I'll stick to my southern sweet tea for now.

 





Vasanti Brighten Up!  Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator:  This exfoliate was the product that I was most excited to try and it did not disappoint.  The exfoliate is fairly gentle on the skin and does give it a nice glow.  This is probably the only product that I would possibly repurchase, but the $34 price tag makes me cling to my $3 St.Ives Apricot scrub.  Maybe I'll repurchase this when I have some extra money. Lol

 

 Nexxus Pro-Mend Split End Treatment System:  Okay this is where Birchbox lost me.  Birchbox is a program that gives you DELUXE size samples to try out every month.  Since when were one time use packets that you can get for free a deluxe sample?  There isn't even enough product for me to use one time.  I'm not too keen on trying hair products, my head is very "special" lol, so I won't be trying this product.

 

 Twistband hair tie:  At first I wasn't too excited about this product, but I have to say it ended up being of my favorite things that I got in my box.  The band did get a bit stretched out but it still holds my hair very well without slipping off.

 

Madewell gift certificate:  I've never heard of this company before and I never got a chance to check it out before the certificate expired.  From the card it looks like your average clothing store and the certificate was for $25 off your purchase of $75 or more. It would've been a great deal for someone that loves to shop there, but not for me.

 

 Color Club Nail Polish:  Of course I was the most excited about this product, but I got the one color that I didn't want.

 

 The name of this color is "Status Update."  As you can see Birchbox did have a typo on the label, but as long as the product is good then I'm good. : )

 

Status Update is a dark charcoal grey with a slight green under tone to it.  This polish surprised me with the formula.  All you need is one to to get full opacity but I used two coats for the swatch above out of habit.

 

So that is all that I got in my September Birchbox!  I wasn't too happy with it at first, but I definitely grew to like some of the products after using them a few times.  What products did you get in your Birchbox?  Are you happy with the program?  Tell me in the comments below!

 

I haven't gotten October Birchbox yet but I'll be sure share what I got with you guys when I do get it! : )

 

Thanks for reading.  Follow and share if you like!

Crystal <3



Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips Review

Today I'm going to do a review on the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips.  I bought two of them on a whim when I saw a $2 dollar off coupon for Sally Hansen products.  I've used them before when they first came out and didn't like them at all.  They peeled off within a day and were kind of difficult to apply.  I decided to buy a couple more to see if they've made any changes to the strips to help them last longer.  Well let's get to the review shall we...

I decided to try "Tri-bal It On", which is one that I've wanted to try for a long time!

 

 Top View

 

 Directions

 

Here's what comes in the kit:  two sets of strips (one for each hand) and a packet with a file, cuticle stick, and instructions.

 

First, I applied a base coat

 



Then I had to find the strips to fit each of my nails for both hands. 

 

 Here is the finished product!

 

 I did have a bit of trouble applying the strips to my nails, mainly because I got them on everything else but my nails!

 

I think that the strips that I picked out didn't really fit my nails and because of that you can see that some of my nails weren't completely covered by the strips.

 

Now for the wear of the strips.  I didn't like these at all!!!  They lasted a little longer than the first set that I tried a couple years ago, but they still peeled right off after 4 days.  I think that applying a base coat might have caused the strips to peel off quicker, but I don't think that should of made any difference.  Another thing that I didn't like about the strips is the overall look of them.  You could definitely tell that they were stickers, and the look just wasn't as amazing as I thought it would've been.

 

Nail polish strips are a good alternative for people that don't have time to change their nail polish, but I wouldn't recommend these to anyone.  You can try these at your own risk, but I wouldn't waste my money on these.  If you don't have much time to do your nails, I would suggest a fast drying polish like Sally Hansen Ista-dri.  If you want designs on your nails, I would suggest getting small nail stickers or stamping plates for easy and quick nail art.  What do y'all think of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish strips?  Are there any other nail polish strips that I should try?  Tell me in the comments section!

 

Thanks for reading!  Follow and share if you like!

Crystal <3

Nail Polish Spotlight: Zoya Rory

Hello ladies (and maybe gents)! Today the NPS is going to shine over Zoya Rory!

Rory, from the Surf collection, is a medium pink with a hint of blue in the mix with micro silver shimmer that gives it a foil metallic effect.



 Zoya Rory- 2 coats

 

The application was great and the wear was just fantastic. The removal was a little painful, the silver shimmer got all over my fingers when I was removing the polish. It wasn't bad enough to make me never want to wear the polish again, but I'm not a fan of small glitters or particles going everywhere when I take off my nail polish.

Zoya has definitely become one of my favorite brands of polish, I just love their unique polish shades and finishes.  I buy my Zoyas online HERE, since the closet shop that sells them is a hour and a half away from where I live, but I know for sure that you can buy Zoya polishes at Ulta and online, .

Zoya always has great deals for people that create an account on their website, they recently had a BOGO promo for back to school! Click HERE to learn more about the "Share the Love" program and create an account to get a free nail polish! If you buy two other polishes you get free shipping, which is about the price of a polish anyway so it's like getting three polishes for the price of one!

What's your favorite Zoya polish?  Tell me in the comments below.  You can also post pictures of your manis on out Facebook wall HERE.

Thanks for reading! Follow and share if you like!
Crystal <3

We got another blog award!!! (Versatile Blogger Award)

Hey guys!  I'm so excited to have gotten another blog award this month!  This time we got the Versatile Blogger award, given to me from Ashlee from Painted Nubbs!  Thankfully, I don't have to answer a ton of questions like my Leibster Award, which you can read HERE, how many of y'all really read ALL 66 questions/answers?! Lol

Rules:

1. Nominate 15 others who are relatively new to blogging
2. Let then know that you have nominated them
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself
4. Thank the blogger(s) who have nominated you
5. Add the versatile blogger award picture to your post

 

 

 7 Random facts about me:

1. I sometimes watch Syfy movies with my dad mostly because they're extra cheesy and funny!
2. I love to bake.
3. Painting my nails or messing with my polish helps me calm down when I get stressed out.
4. I'm thinking about going to nail tech school.
5. I currently drive a Chrysler PT Cruiser, HIS name is Petey PT! Lol
6. I LOVE watching HGTV!
7. I come from a huge family, my dad is one of 8 and my mom is one of 12!  You can imagine what the family reunions are like! Lol

 My 10 nominees:

1. Fox Claws
2. So U Nails and Such
3. Just Another Nail Polish Addiction
4. Enchanted Nails and Fluffy Dog Tails
5. Simply Thrifty Nails
6. Drugstore Junkie
7. Marci's Nails & More!
8. Teen Polish Junkie
9. Nail Art Couture
10. The Broad Stroke

*I know it says to nominate 15 people, but I don't follow many new blogs. : (

(If you have a new blog definitely leave a link in the comments below!)

 

So there you have it!  I want to thank Ashlee again for giving us the award and I hope y'all enjoyed getting to know more random things about me! : )

 

Thanks for reading! Follow and share if you like!

Crystal <3

Nail Polish Spotlight: Pretty&Polished Candy Coated

Hello everyone!  I hope you all are having a great Sunday.  Today the nail polish spotlight is going to shine over Pretty&Polished Candy Coated!  I bought this polish a couple of months ago, you can see my P&P haul HERE, and it is definitely one of my favorite indie polishes, .

Candy Coated is a sheer lavender pink polish with purple, pink, and holo glitters!

 I applied two coats P&P Candy Coated over two coats of OPI Lucky lucky lavender!  The application was great and I had no problems getting a good amount of glitter on my nails.  The wear of this polish was also very good!  I wore this mani for a week and I had very little tip wear.

 With flash

Here is a close-up of the awesome polish combo!

I absolutely LOVE Candy Coated!!!  You can buy Pretty&Polished polishes from their Etsy store HERE, and get restock information on their Facebook page HERE.

Do you have any Pretty&Polished polishes?  Tell me which one(s) is your favorite in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!  Follow and share if you like!

Crystal <3



365 Days of Color Haul + Swatches!

Hey y'all today I have some beautiful polishes from 365 Days of color to show you!  I've been wanting to try some of her polishes so when she had promo code for reaching 2500 Facebook likes I decided to pick up a few polishes!

Here's what I got!!! From L to R:  Killer Kiss, Birthday Bash, Bora Bora, and Cotton Candy!

Click the "Read More" button to see swatches of the polishes !

Nail Polish Spotlight (Combo): Sally Hansen Pacific Blue & Sinful Colors Hottie

Hello hello everyone!  Sorry for the lack of post, I was glued to the TV during the Olympics and after they were over I was having a bit of Olympic withdraws (yes I'm that obsessed with the Olympics)!  Anyway, today the polish spotlight is going to shine over an AMAZING glitter combo!

 Sinful Colors Hottie and Sally Hansen Pacific Blue

Here's a close-up of Hottie!  Isn't the glitter just amazing?!

 I applied 2 coats of SH Pacific Blue and 1 coat of SC Hottie.  Pacific Blue was very easy to apply and it DIDN'T stain my nails!!!  Hottie was also easy to apply and I didn't have any problems getting an even coat of glitter.

 

Do you love glitter as much as I do?  Tell me what your favorite glitter combos are in the comments!  You can also post photos of your manis on our Facebook Page!

Thanks for reading!  Follow and share if you like!

Crystal <3