OPI It's My Year

Continuing with the Miss Universe collection - here's It's My Year, a purple base with gold microglitter.  It's like the sister of Rally Pretty Pink.  I used a base coat of OPI Natural Nail, 2 coats of polish, a top of OPI Top Coat.  Formula was great but as you'll see in my pictures, not as opaque as I thought.

Here in the sun, you can see what I was talking about as far as the opacity of this polish.  While I love the color, not a huge fan of seeing my nails.  A base coat of white would help cover your nails and make this color pop.

I had to snag a picture in some indirect sunlight (semi-shade).  Seriously, this purple slays me.  It's just a nice beautiful orchid like color.

Shade picture - the gold isn't nearly as strong here, which is interesting because on my swatch card, all I see is gold.

And finally indoors with the flash - lots of visible nail for me.  Boo!

OPI is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. Please visit their website for details [official website].  

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

OPI Congeniality Is My Middle Name

Remember this lovely OPI Miss Universe collection?  Seems like a lifetime ago for me, but that's because I've been seeing swatches of OPI Holland pop up on Tumblr and wow, I'm in love with some of those shades!  But back to the swatch at hand (hah).  Today is Congeniality Is My Middle Name, also called "CIMMN" by many bloggers, although I have no idea how to pronounce it.  Maybe it's like "cinnamon" but you just run the last syllable into the n sound at the end.  Works, right?  This is a beautiful wine-berry shimmer that looks like a creme in the bottle but sparkles on the nail.


Side note, back in 2006, I was in a "scholarship pageant" and won Miss Congeniality.  I hold dear to that title and trophy.  A few years prior, Eva Longoria was in the same scholarship pageant and walked away the winner.

Oh the good ole days.


Back to the polish.  I used a base coat of OPI Natural Nail, 2 coats of polish and a top coat of OPI Top Coat.  The formula was nice and smooth.

Here in the sun, you can see how this is a great red/purple (rurple?) shimmer.  It's not too red but definitely not too purple and the shimmer is nice and subtle.

I was pretty obsessed with this color in the shade, especially the bottle!  It's just such a little chameleon - almost duochrome like!

Finally indoors with the flash and you can see the shimmer a bit more and a huge "hot spot" of light where my flash really hit the nail.  Lovely color!  OPI has always been great with reds.


I'd like to wish all my readers a great holiday season!  Today is Christmas Day and I'm having my family all to my house later today.

OPI is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. Please visit their website for details [official website].  

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

FingerPaints Drummer Boy

Today I have FingerPaints Drummer Boy, a blue glitter in a clear base.  I originally was hoping for a blue base but the good thing with clear bases is that you can use it over anything.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 2 coats of polish, and a top of Seche Vite.  On my index and middle fingers, I started with a coat of CND Stickey, then 1 coat of Winter Sky, and finished like the above.  (In case you're wondering, I paint my nails from pinkie to index finger.)

Okay, apologizes for this blurry picture.  My camera freaked out in the sun and just couldn't handle it.

It did much better in the shade.  The glitter could probably have used more than 1 coat of Seche Vite to keep down the bumps in the glitter.

Finally indoors with the flash - I'm a bit iffy on this color.  While I love a glitter, I don't know how many uses I have for a blue glitter.  I think this would work well over a white to give you a punch of color without the overpowering blue theme going.  By itself, I just can't deal.  The glitter didn't stain my nails any, but I just don't like seeing so much VNL underneath.  Maybe a nice nude under?  I can't think of any other blue glitters in clear bases that I have off the top of my head, so this could be a keeper on that fact alone.


FingerPaints can be found in Sally's Beauty Supplies stores and online for $4.99 USD each.  They are a Sally's Beauty Supply exclusive brand, so you can follow Sally's on Twitter and like them on Facebook as well as follow their blog.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

FingerPaints Special Effects Collection

How freaking cool are these?!  FLAKIES.  And flakies at an affordable price!  Now these are a Sally's Beauty Store exclusive, available in stores only starting in January.  I was able to purchase an advance copy from my local Sally's on behalf of the corporate office - many many thanks to Sally's for making that possible!  Price on these are $5.49 a bottle but with a Sally's Beauty Club card, they are $4.99.  I paid a total of $27.01 which included Texas sales tax at 8.25%.

Twisted, Flecked, Flashy, Motley and Asylum

China Glaze Colours from the Capitol

So if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen the on/off love between China Glaze and the Hunger Games.  However, it's officially ON!  I have The Hunger Games in my possession now, and I'm going to start reading them so I can figure out exactly what's going on.  Here's what I do know - China Glaze looks like it's coming out with a flakie!  I could be wrong...

More information will be posted when I receive it.  I'm definitely excited for Luxe and Lush!

Holiday Beauty Blogger Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the $500 Visa gift card giveaway is Dolores V. – entry #22144! Congratulations and thanks to all who entered!

FingerPaints Winter Sky

Back to the swatches!  Today I have FingerPaints Winter Sky, a shimmery blue.  It's a lot like Zoya Phoebe, but not matte and just a bit lighter in blue tone.  The formula was very nice but I did have a bit of staining with this color.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 2 coats of polish and a top of Seche Vite.

Here in the sun, you can see the shimmer.  Sorry for the colors being a bit hot - the sun was not cooperating with me!  I have some large mosquite trees that hang over my sidewalk, so sometimes it's hard to get the sun between the branches.

The shade worked a lot better for me, but strangely, it makes this color look way more teal than blue.

Finally indoors with the flash - you can see that gorgeous shimmer!  Like I mentioned above, I did have some slight staining with this polish but I just cleaned well with Zoya Remove+, washed my hands with a nail brush and some soap, and then applied cuticle oil and I was good to go!

FingerPaints can be found in Sally's Beauty Supplies stores and online for $4.99 USD each.  They are a Sally's Beauty Supply exclusive brand, so you can follow Sally's on Twitter and like them on Facebook as well as follow their blog.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

SkinCareRx & Apothica Giveaway!

Sorry for the late notice but I wanted to let you know that Apothica and SkinCareRx are having their 12 Days of Giveaways and there is still time to enter!  It ends on December 24th.

To enter SkinCareRx’s giveaway, go to http://facebook.com/skincarerx

To enter Apothica’s giveaway, go to http://facebook.com/apothica

Nail Rock

Please enjoy the following press release from Nail Rock!  To view larger, you may click on the image.

About Zoe Pocock

Known for her technical excellence and creativity, Nail Rock’s Creative Director Zoe Pocock kicked off the recent explosion in nail art in 2006 by creating the internationally acclaimed “Louboutin Manicure.” Pocock is a leading celebrity nail technician with clients including: Adele, Barbra Streisand, Eliza Doolittle, Fergie, Kelly Osbourne, Kerri Hilson, and Meryl Streep.


Previously head manicurist at top UK salons including Daniel Galvin, Daniel Galvin Jr, Charles Worthington and Windle & Moodie, Pocock swapped the salon floor for session life. Under her direction Nail Rock has become the UK’s leading nail wrap brand with trend-led designs and easy to use, long lasting applications.


With such a strong creative streak she’s a big fan of change and Nail Rock has Pocock constantly using her creativity to design new nail wrap patterns each season as well as working with top brands on exclusive collaborations including Folli Follie, Meadham Kirchhoff and Mulberry.


Most recently, Zoe worked with major British charities Children in Need and Jeans for Genes by creating customized Nail Rock wraps for retail to benefit the organizations.


Zoe’s work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Grazia, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Tatler.

Dermelect Resilient Stem Cell Regenerating Treatment

I had posted earlier this month about the Dermelect Skin Regenerating System and was given the opportunity to review the Resilient Stem Cell Regenerating Treatment.  This is supposed to "boost epidermal regeneration while reversing damage by free radial agents.  The treatment leaves skin looking rested and supple."  You are supposed to put it on your clean face twice daily "in a gentle circular motion".  I normally forgot that part and just smoothed it into my skin.


The key ingredients in this product are Alp Rose (Plant) Stem Cell, AHA and Mushroom Extract.  The Alp Rose (Plant) Stem Cells are extracted from the Swiss Alpine Rose.  AHA is derived from fruit acids and helps exfoliate and moisture the top layers of the skin.  The mushroom extract is an anti-inflammatory that helps reduce skin irritation and can impact the appearance of fine lines and collagen production.


A little background on the Alpine Rose:  "The Alpine Rose: Defying the odds, the Swiss Alpine Rose is an anomaly that grows remarkably beautiful while being exposed to the most unfavorable of conditions: mile high altitude, extreme dryness, severe cold and an intense sun/UV index. Usually, roses are known to oxidize quickly once picked and exposed to the environment. The Alpine Rose has an amazing extended life span of up to 100 years. The key to its unlikely longevity lays chiefly in its unusually resilient stem cells."  (Information from Dermelect's website.)

Even though there is only one once of product, I found it has lasted quite well.  I used this product twice a day for two weeks and still have a considerable amount left.  It does smell like dried roses, a smell I personally love, but isn't overbearing.  The cream does dry quickly into your skin without leaving a greasy or oily film behind.  I have normal to dry skin, and having a moisturizer in my life is a must.


Did my skin look "well rested and supple"? Well it didn't look any worse.  I haven't had an issue with fine lines yet, so I didn't have a need for improvement in that area.  It did help having a moisturizer twice daily during these winter months - my skin didn't flake or peel like normal.  I also did not have any breakouts during my 2 week trial.  My skin is normally pretty much acne-free already - but it's good to know that I didn't experience any issues.


Here are some images of the box.

Dermelect Resilient Stem Cell Regenerating Treatment sells for $79.00 for 1 oz.  Dermelect is shipping this item for free.  You can also purchase the entire Skin Regenerating System for $159, also on their website.

Dermelect Cosmeceuticals products are available on their website [official website].  You can like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Polish Storage Rack

It's my birthday!  My real one!  I'm 28 years young today.


While I'm out celebrating (heh - more on that later), I wanted to share something I did this past weekend.


I had been looking for a way to store my polish other than "the floor".  If you recall, I have been using spinning acrylic racks but I've outgrown what I have.  Now I have polishes in boxes everywhere.  Until I have them sorted, this is what I have for now.

The boxes are all either nail supplies, press samples or things I've purchased.

Base and top coats, plus 2 kitties!


I bought the rack from Sam's Club for $60 but now it's out of stock for delivery.  It holds up to 700 pounds per shelf, so I figure I'm good.  One of my geeky Facebook friends noted that I have approximately 6 and a half gallons of paint if you combined all my nail polishes together.

Illamasqua Corset Nails

I have Vice and Kink and hope to attempt this look soon!  Please enjoy the following press release form Illamasqua on how you can create easy but sexy nail art using their new polishes from Theatre of the Nameless!

Illamasqua urges you to be daring this holiday season by embracing your alter ego with corset inspired nails. Taking a lead from the 1920s Berlin Boot Girls use the hottest nail shades of the season in this easy 4 step guide to get kinky corset nails that will be sure to turn heads at any holiday party.

Steps:

• Start off with a base coat of Illamasqua’s Nail Varnish in Vice (burgundy). The Nail Varnishes are hardwearing, chip-resistant and one coat should give you that unique rubbery finish just like a boot.
• Once the base coat is dry use Nail Varnish in Faux Pas (blue/violet) along both sides of the nail.
• Using a Black Nail Pen create a lace up effect from one side of the Faux Pas color to the other. Depending on nail size three crosses should be enough.
• When the nail has dried use Nail Rhinestones at each point of the criss-cross to give the nail a lace up corset look. 

Products Needed:

• Nail Varnish in Vice ($14, Sephora)
• Nail Varnish in Faux Pas ($14, Sephora)
• Black Nail Pen
• Nail Rhinestones 

FingerPaints Frosty Night

Moving over to the FingerPaints Merry & Bright Holiday Collection, first up is Frosty Night, your basic silver glitter in a clear base.  I made the mistake of thinking this was a silver base and decided to wear it over bare nails.  Oops.


I used a base of CND Stickey, 2 coats of polish and a top of Seche Vite.  Removal was typical of glitter but not very gritty with a top coat added.

Mostly sun!  You can see that obviously VNL is going to be shown as again, this is a clear base with silver glitter.

I do however like the coverage that only 2 coats provides.  You can see a bit of excess on my cuticles but the polish was really very well behaved.

Finally indoors with the flash and again - silver glitter... clear base.  :]  This would look lovely over a red for a subtle but fun kick on holiday nails.  


FingerPaints can be found in Sally's Beauty Supplies stores and online for $4.99 USD each.  They are a Sally's Beauty Supply exclusive brand, so you can follow Sally's on Twitter and like them on Facebook as well as follow their blog.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Color Club Santa's Cinnamon

Christmas is coming up fast!  While I'm not sure I'd use this for a Christmas manicure, it's definitely in my running.  Color Club came out with Sally's exclusive scented polishes and I ended up grabbing Santa's Cinnamon because of the squishy glitter look and I love cinnamon.


I used a base of CND Stickey, 2 coats of polish and a top of Seche Vite.  Formula was quite good.  The smell was also pretty strong after the top coat dried (please make sure you let your top coat dry before smelling your nails).  I have a nail stick that I painted over a month ago and I can still smell cinnamon on it.

In the sun you can see it's a nice glittery red.  Nothing new to talk about.

Here in the shade - I love the squishiness of this color!

Same color?  Nope, this is Color Club Ruby Slippers.  Sure looks the exact same.

Back to Santa's Cinnamon indoors with the flash - very pretty color!  Removal was not an issue.

Color Club is located on several etailers, including Head2Toe Beauty which has it for $3.00.  You can also Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter.

My Makeup Routine

Okay, so be gentle.


I'm not a makeup girl.  I own a lot of eyeshadow palettes, pigments, singles, and almost every 24/7 pencil by Urban Decay (eyeliner)... but when it comes to foundation?  Forget it.  I have pretty red skin (been asked several times if I have rosacea) that's also pretty dry.  I've tried 4 different kinds of "green" primer but I always feel like I look like the Hulk afterwards.  (For reference, I've tried Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer in Color Adjust, Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer in 1 Green, FusionBeauty Prime Results Anti-Redness Primer, & Pur Minerals Correcting Primer-Green.)


Before I even started wearing makeup, the only thing I'd put on was Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera gel.  Yep.  When I realized that it was making my skin look like it was peeling off during the day, I moved to Saint Ives facial moisturizer.  While it did the job of moisturizing, I was still left with very red skin.


My most recent trip to Sephora was also my determination to cover my red skin without looking like the Hulk, or cakey, or oily.  It took three associates and several brands before we finally found that this combination worked best for me.


First Aid Beauty Anti-Redness Serum - $34 for 1.7 oz
-One pump into the palm of my hand, apply to the entire face.


Sephora Collection Pro Foundation Airbrush #55 - $34
-This was the brush recommended to me for the rest of my makeup application.  I haven't had any bristle fall out from this brush and it does bounce back to its original fluffiness after washing.


Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15 - $52 for 1 oz
-One pump on the back of my hand, applied with the Airbrush starting in the t-zone and working over the face in small circles.


Hourglass Illusion Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free SPF 15 in Ivory - $55 for 1 oz
-One pump on the back of my hand, applied with the Airbrush starting in the t-zone and working over the face in small circles.  Tap the brush only in areas that need extra coverage.


Hourglass Oxygen Foundation Mineral Powder in No. 2 - $46 for 0.46 oz
-Sweep Airbrush over powder, apply to cheeks, t-zone and chin.


Now for the results, right?


Here is my before, freshly showered, nothing on my face at all.

You can see how I have red cheeks and chin, a blemish on the right side of my mouth and freckles across my nose and cheeks.

After - my skin tone has been evened out without appearing overly cakey.  The blemish is less noticible and the freckles and redness are mostly covered.


The associates had suggested a cheek stain but I just wasn't ready for that yet.  It does kind of leave my face void of color but I tend to add eyeshadow/liner/mascara and some type of lip color or gloss.  Either way, I'm very happy that the redness is less apparent without me looking green!

Del Sol Sassy

While I was in San Antonio last month, on a segway tour (oh yes), I found out that there is a Del Sol store right in front of the Alamo.  I decided that I couldn't leave without going in and getting my first color changing polishes from this lovely little company.  


They were have a sale at the time of 3 polishes for $25 (I believe was the deal), so I picked my three and received a cute Texas gift box set packaging.  This is Sassy, which my boyfriend picked out.  It starts out as a light pink and then is supposed to change to an orange color.  Del Sol is very careful to point out on their website that the colors you experience may very depending on the UV-Index of the sun, the number of coats you apply and the temperature.  They do say they will replace the polish if it's not what you like.  I chose a relatively warm day to check out this polish.


I did not use a base or top coat and this is 4 layers of polish.

First this is the color in the shade.  You can see that even with 4 coats, you can still see my VNL on most nails.  It's a light pink with a gold almost shimmer over the nail.

Then I got in the sun and let the sun do its stuff.  While my bottle did not go as orange as shown on Del Sol's website, there is a definitely difference in the color.

I also grabbed one last picture in the shade before the color cooled down.  It's definitely a nice novelty item!


Del Sol may be ordered online for $10 a bottle with free shipping on orders over $50.  You can also find stores with their Store Locator.  For social media, Del Sol has a Twitter, a YouTube channel, a Google+ page and a Facebook page.

Sinful Colors Wish

Please enjoy the following press release from Sinful Colors!

SINFUL COLORS HOLIDAY 2011 - WISH

Bells are jingling, snow is glistening and merry tunes abound: It's the season of shimmer (aka: the holidays) and glamour, of course. And your nails deserve a little gift and loving too. Welcome the SinfulColors holiday 2011 collection, Wish, which delights and excites. The collection takes classic colors - like red, green, silver and blue - and kicks them up a notch to be fashion-forward and festive to ring in 2012.


The complete SinfulColors Wish collection for holiday 2011 includes:

Five gem-inspired shades of polish:
OUT OF THIS WORLD: a perfect silver with swirls of glimmer
MIDNIGHT BLUE: a bold, bright twist on navy
SUGAR SUGAR: a candy cane, red-hot tint
DADDY'S GIRL: a deep purple with a drizzle of shimmer and glitter
LAST CHANCE: an emerald with depth and allure


Two metallic shades of nail art:
FLOWER GIRL: a bronzy gold with tons of sparkle
FASHIONISTA: a glitter-laden pewter


SinfulColors surpasses the masses with more than 150 amazing shades of nail polish, including the above-mentioned shades. All hues are available for $1.99 at major drug and mass-market stores nationwide, by calling 1-800-448-0763 or online at www.walgreens.com.

No-Miss Country Christmas

Christmas is coming up fast - today my boyfriend said "Let's get a tree!".  I was kind of happy with my little tinsel tabletop tree, but maybe I need to get into the spirit and invest in a nice 6' to sit in the living room.  Maybe.  To help get me in the mood, I figured I'd bring out No-Miss nail polish in Country Christmas - a festive red and green glitter in a clear base.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 2 coats of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.  For white I used CND Brilliant White and for black I used nubar Noir.

For just 2 coats, this does cover well!  I don't prefer it on the bare nail or really over black but absolutely love this color over a white.

Same story in the shade.  Over black the colors just don't pop as well to me as they do over white.

Finally indoors with the flash.  If you're looking for a nice red and green microglitter, this is a great one to have.  There isn't any filler colors (silver/gold/blue) which I like and the glitter is a fine cut so it's not too big.  Removal wasn't terrible using the foil method which apparently I need to add a little tutorial for my non-nail polish loving friends who look at me like I have two heads when I say "Just use the foil method."  Coming soon!

No-Miss can be found in several health food stores like Whole Foods or purchased on their website for $7.95.  You can follow No-Miss on Twitter or like them on Facebook as well.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.