April 2013 Ipsy bag!

Ok so I know this is SUPER late but I wanted to share my thoughts on my April Ipsy bag because I absolutely LOVED it! You can watch me open it in my video HERE.

 April 2013 Ipsy bag

Ok so you might be thinking " this isn't the bag for April!"  I thought the same thing but then I noticed a note in my bag saying that my April bag didn't meet "quality" standards so they sent me this one instead.  It's cute...I guess but did have a horrific smell going on inside the bag.

Here are the items that I got in my bag:

Healthy Sexy Hair soy renewal:  This is an oil treatment that helps nourish your hair and eliminate frizz.  It also claims to help speed up the drying time on your hair if you use it right after you wash it.  I wasn't really sure if I would like this product but since I'm really into hair oils at the moment (I mean seriously about half of my hair care products are some type of oil) I thought it wouldn't hurt to try it.  I mainly used it after I washed my hair and it did help the drying time and left my hair nice and shiny but not greasy.  One thing I wish it did was make my hair softer.  My favorite hair oil at the moment, Proclaim Argan Oil Hair Treatment, makes my hair extremely soft and moisturized unlike the HSH soy renewal.  Overall, I wouldn't purchased this but if you like hair oils and the HSH line then you might want to try this out.

Mica Beauty Cosmetics shimmer powder in Earth:  I. LOVE. THIS. POWDAAA!  I wasn't sure how the color would look on my skin because it's lighter then what I would typically wear on my eyes but boy did this surprise me!  The powder was easy to work with and gave me just the right amount of shimmer on my eyes without being over the top.  I would recommend applying an eyeshadow base to help the pigment stick to the lids for better wear.

Be a Bombshell blush in Beach Please:  First, let me just say I love the name!  I personally don't use profanity but I see what they did there Be a Bombshell. ; )  Anyways, Beach Please is a bright fuchsia blush and I am soooo happy that I got this color because I've been looking for pink blush for some time now.  The blush is extremely pigmented and looks great against my skin.  If you're looking for a vibrant pink blush then this is it!

 Here's a quick swatch of Beach Please.

Sation nail polish in Of Corset I'll call You (OCICY):  This was another product that I was excited to try.  OCICY is a light bubblegum pink jelly polish.  If you want to achieve full opacity you'll probably have to use about 3-4 coats.  What I did in the swatch is apply two coats of OCICY, one coat of Essie Stroke Of Brilliance,  and then one more coat of OCICY on top.  I absolutely love these two together and can't wait to do more "jelly sandwiches" with this polish!

So that is all that I got in my April Ipsy bag!  I definitely think that Ipsy did an amazing job picking the products.  If you want to learn more about Ipsy then you can do so HERE (referral link).  

What was your favorite product from April's Ipsy bag?

Thanks for reading!

Crystal ❤

Best Blog Award!

Hey guys!  Long time no blog...  I've actually been going outside for once and it's made me realize how out of shape I'm in how nice it is to be outside around other people. ; )  Anyways, we got another blog award!  Thanks to Lisa from The Polish Playground for nominating me.

 These are the rules:
1. Answer the questions asked by the blog who nominated you.
2. Nominate up to 20 other blogs with less than 200 followers.
3. Create 11 questions for them to answer.

Questions
1. Do you have any siblings?
Yes I have 3; an older half-brother, sister, and a younger brother.

2. What's your guilty pleasure?
CHOCOLATE!  I swear I have the biggest sweet tooth.  I also love watching Phineas and Ferb (there's nothing wrong with a 20 year old watching cartoons)!

3. What's your zodiac sign?
Cancer (\/)!_!(\/)

4. What's your favorite color?
Turquoise

5. Your favorite genre of music to listen to?
I love a little bit of everything but right now I'm listening to a lot of Hip Hop and Reggae.
 
6. What's your one favorite nail polish at the moment?
Sinful Colors Endless Blue ❤

7. What was your first ever nail polish you bought?
I want to say it was either N.Y.C. Fuchsia Shock Creme or Love My Nails Hot Tamale.

8. What colors do you have the most of in your collection?
Blue and glittahhh *sprinkles glitter in the air*

9. What's your favorite nail polish finish to wear?
I'm definitely a shimmery kind of gal!

10. What's your most expensive nail polish that you own?
Zoya Gilty!  I haven't worn it yet but I love staring at the bottle.

11. Do you prefer short or long nails?
I prefer a medium length.  I think they look better on my chubby fingers.

Well that was fun!  Thanks again Lisa for nominating me for the Best Blog Award!

**Here's my nominees!**
Fairly Charming
Cat's Adventures in Lacquer Land 
Charismatically Polished
Fancy Schmancy Nails
Nails By Coco
Once Bitten Nails
Polish Sickness
Polish Smoothie
ProcrastiNails
Simply Thrifty Nails

Here are the questions:
1.  How did you come up with your blog name?
2.  How much is too much polish for one person to have?
3.  What is one type of nail art that you want to try?
4.  What is your favorite nail trend?
5.  What polish is at the top of your wish list?
6.  How often do you change your polish?
7.  Who is the first blogger that you followed?
8.  What is your "go to" nail polish?
9.  Favorite Disney princess?
10.  Favorite movie?
11.  What is your dream vacation?

Thanks for reading!
Crystal ❤

Simple Color Blocking + Stamping Fail 2.0?

Hey guys!  So you know that nail art contest that Sally Hansen has had these past few months?  Well I planned on entering each month but I kind of get distracted by other things easily and didn't take time out to sit down and focus on a doing a design didn't have time for it...even though I have no job and all the time in the world... -_-

Anyways, I thought I would rapidly do some color blocking and enter it for last months theme...on the day the entry period ended (I swear I'm the procrastination QUEEN)!  I picked up some polishes and painted my nails faster than a ninja moving through the forest!  Wait...what?!

Here's what I came up with:

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac

Milani black striper polish

I decided to do something pretty simple so I thought,"why not put a huge stripe down the middle of my nails" and then BAM you have color blocking!  Very creative right? *sarcasm* (lol)  At first I wasn't sure if I liked the way my mani turned out but after string at my nails for a while I started to really like it!  Unfortunately I didn't finish my nails in time to enter last month's contest (I was literally 15 minutes late) but I'm sure I didn't have a chance since my nail art was so simple.

Oh what do we have here...did I try my hand at stamping again?!  Let's have a look shall we?

So I thought it would be a great idea to stamp some images on my nails to add some "oomph" to my color blocking.  I tried to stamp the flower looking image (the one on my index, ring, and pinkie fingers) in the middle of my nails but as you can see the image ended up being a little crooked *oops*.  I really like the way the butterfly image came out though and my stamping skills are a lot better than when I first started obviously.

Do you like color blocking manis?  What's your favorite color combo?  Are you a procrastinator like me? Lol don't answer that! XD

Thanks for reading!
Crystal ❤

Pure Ice swatches!

Hello beautiful people!  Today I wanted to share some swatches of a few Pure Ice polishes that I bought a while back.

From L to R:  Internationally Known, Champagne, and Busted

Internationally Known:  A medium teal creme

I love this teal!  Application was nice and the polish is very opaque.  (2 coats)

Champagne:  An emerald green duo chrome

 My attempt at getting a picture of the duo chrome effect. (I tried LOL)

Eeekkkkk...this color is gorgeous!  I really love the finish on the nail!  The duo chrome is noticeable on the nail but not as strong as is it in the bottle. (2 coats)

Busted:  A light lilac duo chrome

This was the disappointing one in the bunch for me.  It's a pretty color but it's extremely sheer.  I was hoping that this polish would be opaque in at least four coats but nope it was still sheer.  You can definitely layer this over another polish (like I did) and still get a nice effect on the nail.  (1 coat over 2 coats of Finger Paints Aren't You Glad-iolous?)

I've been loving the new colors that Pure Ice has been coming with lately!  You can find Pure Ice polishes at Walmart for around $1.99.  You can check out their Facebook page HERE and their website HERE for updates on new colors and contest! :)

What is your favorite Pure Ice polish?  Mine is French Kiss hands down; you can see a pic of it HERE!  ← Please excuse my uneven nails!  I was in stage where I didn't want to cut my nails after one broke so yea...

Thanks for reading!

Crystal ❤

Nail Polish Spotlight: Revlon Flirt and Julep Sienna

Hello hello everyone!  Today the spotlight is going to shine over one of my favorite combos for spring!

 Julep Sienna (a light gold metallic polish) and Revlon Flirt (a bright pinky purple creme polish)

Revlon Flirt is a gorgeous color but the application was a little patchy and it took three coats to reach full opacity.  Julep Sienna is gorgeous!!!  I absolutely love this gold and the application was flawless.  I only applied two coats to reach full opacity.

I've been loving accent nails for a while and love pairing cremes, metallics, and glitters together!  What are some of your favorite accent nail pairings?

Thanks for reading!
Crystal ❤