Julep Maven - May

This is the Julep boxes for May. Anyone getting their box? 

I am normally a BoHo Glam which would include the lipsticks, Millie (Indigo creme) and Alice (Lilac Shimmer). I debated back and forth because I really enjoy the polish colors, I feel they are spot on. I just don't wear lipstick/gloss. I think that it looks terrible on me and I don't go out enough to wear it anyways. So I skipped.

Honestly all the polish colors look great this month! Just the lip colors turned me away from taking my box.

Are you a Julep Maven yet? If not and you are interested click on my Julep Maven tab up at the top of this blog. It will give you all the details you need to know.  

Ruby White Tips - Crazy 88

I feel like such a bad blogger lately. I am sorry guys! I have even been slacking on painting my nails *Gasp* I am trying to get back in the swing of things. 

Here is a gorgeous polish from Ruby White Tips. This beauty is called Crazy 88. It is a stunning duo chrome polish. I layered this over black. I got so many compliments when I rocked this polish.

I love how it shifts from blue and purple and even a hint of green. It was so hard to capture the gorgeous properties of this polish. 

You can pick this up at RWT's Etsy Shop HERE. This full size bottle retails for $8.50. 


OH I almost forgot!!!

Below I have the winners of the Ruby White Tips giveaway I just hosted. Check below to see if you are one of the lucky gals to have possibly won this polish!




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LynBDesigns Springtime Duo

Hey everyone! Tonight I have for you the two polishes from LynBDesigns Springtime Duo. I received these polishes to review. They are a perfect way to start off spring (even with all the snow everyone seems to be getting) 

Let's get right to the pictures. The first picture is labeled with how I did each nail. It will be the same for each photo on this post.

Pinkie finger is 2 coats of Julep Carrie and 1 coat of LynBDesign's Eggs in a Basket. 

Ring finger is 2 coats Sinful Colors Mint Apple and 1 coat of LynBDesign's Flutter Byes.

Middle finger is 2 coats of Eggs in a Basket - no undies.

Pointer finger is 2 coats of Flutter Byes - no undies.

I got so many compliments wearing these polishes. I love them! The application was amazing. I did not have to fish around for glitters they came out on their own and applied very nicely. I think you can get away doing multiple coats with no undies if you wanted. I personally like these polishes over an undie. I think it really makes them pop. Next time I will put 2 coats of Eggs in a Basket over 1 coat of Julep Carrie. I am really pleased with this duo and it does scream spring doesn't it? 

You can find these polishes as well as many other creations she has on her etsy shop here. 

Also make sure to follow her on Facebook because she does have sales from time to time that you won't want to miss out on LynBDesign's Facebook Page.

Lastly she is currently running a sale until 4/14/13.

 Now through Sunday use the code THANKYOU to get 40% off your entire order.

For the Month of April use the code FREESHIP40 to get free shipping on any orders 40 dollars and over. This code is only valid for domestic orders. 

*These products were sent to me for my honest review. 

China Glaze and Chevron

Hey everyone!

I just want to apologize for my absence since I posted the giveaway. A few things have happened. Let's start with the good.

My adorable niece was born on March 24th. Healthy baby girl. 

Now on to the not so good. My sister in law (baby's mother) went in on Saturday because of difficulty breathing, come to find out she has a few blood clots and pneumonia in her left lung. So she has been in the hospital since Saturday afternoon. Yesterday she found out there are 2 babies on the floor being treated for a bad respiratory infection and was advised to not bring my niece in. So on top of all this going on she cannot see her baby daughter until she is released hopefully tomorrow. We are all praying tomorrow. So I have been spending a lot of time at the hospital with Mariah while her boyfriend is taking care of the baby and things at home. I hope to be back in a regular posting schedule soon!

Now on to nails - about a month ago I won a big pack of nail decals from Make it Stick Designs  on their Facebook page. I finally got around to trying some out last week. I have to tell you, I am in love! It was extremely easy to do and I love the outcome. I cannot tell you how many compliments I got on my nails when I did just the Chevron accent nail. 

The nail polish I used was China Glaze Sea Spray. I ended up picking this polish up fairly recent as well. It was on clearance at Sally Beauty because I guess China Glaze is discontinuing the color. I didn't realize how gorgeous of a color it is and I am kicking myself for not picking up a back up bottle. 

Here are the pictures:

I just love the combo and everything about it. Next time I think I will do a skittle manicure with the Chevron design as well. I forgot to do it before removing the polish so next time for sure.

Until next time!

PS Don't forget about the giveaway I am hosting, you can win 2 polishes from Ruby White Tips! 

350 Facebook Followers Giveaway!!!

We made it to 350 Facebook followers! I am truly blown away!!! I hope I can continue to grow as time goes on. Let's celebrate with a giveaway!!!

Here are the prizes:

Laura from Ruby White Tips has donated all of these polishes for this giveaway! How awesome is that?

There will be 2 winners each getting 2 polishes each.

1st prize will be - Man Eater, and The Polish with No Name, Only a Number (Number 20)

2nd prize will be - Double Duo Sample???, and Crazy 88

* I just want to note the Double Duo Sample will not be made again so in a way it is Limited Edition!

Rules:

• Giveaway begins today and ends at 11:59PM EST on April 22nd, 2013. 
• Giveaway is sponsored by Ruby White Tips & hosted by Polish Insomnia 
• Must complete all of the mandatory entries, if you fail to complete the mandatory entries you will be disqualified.
• Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission.
• Winner will be notified by email & will have 48 hours to respond.  If no response is received another winner will be chosen.
• Giveaway is open to United States and Canada - Sorry International Ladies!
• I am not responsible for any loss or damages that may occur while in transit.  

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Orly and Color Club Stamping Manicure

This is going to be a quick post. I am tired and I have to go in early to get all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed *not looking forward to it* So I might be MIA next week depending on how I am healing up. I have a very low pain tolerance unfortunately.

 It's been awhile since I have done a stamping manicure, so Daniel suggested that I do stamping. I am glad he suggested it! I was a little rusty but it worked out in the end.

I used:

Orly - Wild Wisteria 

Color Club - Harp on It

Mash - Plate M43

HK Girl Top coat

This is my first Color Club Halo and I am blown away how vibrant it comes through on stamping. It make's me want to get all of the Color Club Halo Hues. I am very pleased! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
 Oh also I am so very close to 350 likes on my Facebook page - if you currently do not like the page I would urge you to do so or even share my page. I am talking like 12 people away and I will be releasing an awesome giveaway! So keep your eyes open for that! 

Zoya - Julie and Aurora

I am on a blogging roll tonight! These are oldies but goodies. This was before I had to chop my nails down a month ago. I received Zoya Aurora for Christmas from my wonderful husband along with Storm and Blaze. Zoya Julie was my last purchase before I started my no buy on January 1st. If I haven't mentioned it I did make it to the end! I really haven't purchased much polish since then either - I must be sick!

Let's get to the pictures!

Zoya Julie is from the Zoya 2013 Lovely Spring Collection. I really avoided pastels before this. I decided on a whim I needed this and I was right. Julie is started my love affair with pastels. This is 2 thin coats, then topped with HK Girl Top Coat. There is minimal VNL but one more coat could have taken care of that. I actually didn't notice it until I looked through the pictures. 

This is one of my favorite polishes! Here is Zoya Aurora. This comes from the Zoya Ornate Collection. I know this has been swatched so many times, but honestly it deserves all the attention it gets. This was 2 coats of polish topped with HK Girl Top Coat. I am sorry the second picture is blurry but it was the only way I could capture the halo properties of this polish. This is one of those polishes when I am unsure what to put on, I always seem to grab it.

If you don't have either of these polishes and you like purple. I would highly recommend them! 

Oh I forgot to mention, I added Social Media buttons on my sidebar towards the top. You can now easily click on the button and it will direct you to each social media page I have. 

Swatch and Review - Delush Polish

Alright guys this is going to be a long post! I was sent 3 polishes from Delush Polish to review for you guys. I already reviewed one of them which can be seen on this post. The other two polishes I have for you today are Lady Sybiling and Forever Young. Just a recap this is Delush's first collection and it is based on the show Downton Abbey.

First I just want to show you the cute packaging the polishes came in! 

(Forever Young, Lord Earl Grey, Lady Sybiling)

Cute right?

Ok first polish up is Lady Sybiling - below is a description from Delush's Facebook page.

Introducing Lady Sybiling (Inspired by Lady Sybil Crawley)

Sybil is the youngest Crawley sibling, (see what I did there ;) she is passionate and strong willed who early on displayed her desire to break free from the social restrictions her status had bestowed upon her, so much so that she eventually fell in love with an Irishman and moved to Ireland! Inspired by the Shamrock, the symbol for Ireland, this gorgeous emerald green base with sparks of multifaceted gold shapes represent her spark. If you look closely, tiny black flecks swim amongst the teal diamonds, this represents her unfortunate and untimely demise :( She is a character I certainly miss!

I have to say that I love this color! It is a gorgeous color! I love the flecks of glitter in it! This was two coats and topped with HK Girl Top Coat. I had no problems applying this polish! The glitter was easy to apply and I did not have to fish around for it or place the glitter. Impressed!

Next I have for you Forever Young again description from Delush Polish's facebook page is below

Introducing "Forever Young" (Inspired by Matthew Crawley)

Matthew was taken from the show unexpectedly but will be forever remembered. He not only stole Mary's heart but he also stole ours with his sincerity and his down to earth nature. Forever Young features a beautiful creamy white base with iridescent shimmer and floating red hearts ♥

This is three coats - no undies. It is pretty but I feel that it is one you would want to wear with undies. I was surprised by the heart glitter so I added it as an accent nail. Not too many came out as I was applying it.

Here is one coat of Forever Young over an existing manicure I had on Ruby White Tips Crazy 88. I think it really showcases Forever Young much better over a dark undie. Again I was able to fish out a heart glitter and did it on the accent nail. I love that the look of Forever Young can easily be changed just by applying a different under color.

Overall - I am very impressed by these polishes. My favorite is still Lord Earl Grey. As many of you have probably read there was an unpleasant odor to some of the polishes - two of mine had it. I did contact Adrianna about it and I am just blown away by the response. Here is what she posted below:

I have a quick public service announcement to make and I'm sure you will be very happy with this decision ;)

After much thought and because I am such a perfectionist, I've decided to take a hit, cost wise and to completely get rid of the old base. Originally I was going to phase it out but that was no longer an option for me. So come tomorrow for the launch EVERY SINGLE customer can be rest assured that the polishes they are buying are with the NEW base. Therefore the old base will not be released to the public. 

I care about my customers and even the smallest thing such as a slightly stronger odor bothers me. I don't want this putting off my customers when the polish's formula, application and creative blend of glitter and pigment have been refined to perfection. Although all the reviews I've received so far have been amazing, I do want to start my business off right with no worries and having my customers be 100% happy with the product they are buying is top priority to me.

So again, Delush Polish will launch TOMORROW at 8pm EST and all polishes will feature the NEW base.

Thank you for reading ♥

Adrianna

xoxo

Talk about amazing! So no worries if you order from her! She is correcting the issue. This alone shows that she cares about her products and I will definitely be buying from her!

I wanted to close out this post with something else I have not seen done before. With every order you will get a scratch off card that can include a discount, free polishes etc. I love this idea! I did not win this time, but it's all part of the fun!

Last note - Delush Polish is opening shop TONIGHT!!!! Check out the details below! 

Thank you guys so much for sticking around for the whole post! I know it was a long one! 

           *This was sent to me for review - the opinions are my own. 

Swatch and Review - Delush Polish

Hey guys!

Sorry I have been MIA lately. I haven't been feeling well because of my wisdom teeth and went into the dentist and am scheduled to have them removed in a little over a week. I also just got done throwing a successful baby shower for my sister in law Mariah. That took a lot of time. I am back and ready to show you some pretties!

Tonight I have for you Delush Polish. This is a new upcoming Indie brand. She opens up shop On 3/14/13. So on Thursday!!! I have a total of three polishes to show you but I will break it up into separate posts. 

 The first collection is based off the show Downton Abbey. I personally have not seen this show! I might just add it to my watch list and check it out.

Here is a description on the polish from Delush Polish 

Introducing Lord Earl Grey (Inspired by Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham)

Robert is often at times a quiet man and prefers to stay out of the lime light unlike some of the other Crawleys, however every so often he reveals himself to be rather passionate. His character inspired this dark rich grey-green polish that goes on like a dream with only two coats!

I have to say that I love this polish! It was almost a one coater! I had very minimal VNL so I added one more thin coat to even it out. The application was very easy and spot on. I am a fan of the color and can see myself wearing it again! Out of the three I have to show you, this is my favorite!!!

Here are some details below, pictures of the entire collection and the cost of the polishes! I will be posting tomorrow on another creation by Delush Polish! 

                                                                                                           *This was sent to me for review - the opinions are my own. 

Day 9 - Recreate your favorite - Erica's Nails and More February Challenge

Here it is everyone, we are finally (sadly) at the last day of the challenge. I really enjoy doing nail art challenges and get kind of sad once they are over. All good things must come to an end though. 

So today's theme is pretty wide open - recreate your favorite. I knew right away I wanted to recreate someone else's manicure during the challenge and not my own. I was stuck between a few of them - there were that many great ones!

 I ultimately decided to recreate Polished Potential's half moon manicure and added a twist of my own. You can check out her awesome half moon manicure here.

I love, love, love how these turned out! I will be doing it again for sure! I have gotten so many compliments on it so far.

I used:

Sinful Colors - Mint Apple

Sinful Colors - Snow Me White (Half moon and stamping)

Mash - 42 Stamping Plate

Check out the other amazing manicures below!




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Julep Maven - March Box

Hey everyone!

Tonight I thought I would post about Julep Maven's March box. Some people don't follow on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest wherever. Here is the preview of the colors. 

What are your thoughts? Loving the choices? Hating them? How about the new "profile" of Modern Beauty where they did away with polish and it's a full size product box only?

I have recently fell in love with pastels, I had no idea they would compliment my skin tone so nicely. With that being said, I have all the pastels I need right now. I will be skipping this month's box. 

If you have not tried out Julep and would like to do so you can click HERE if you click that link it will take you to the site. 

 There is a style quiz to see what style profile fits you best. Once you are ready to check out you are able to enter in the code FREEBOX or JULEPVIP and your Intro box will be free! You might have to pay for shipping but it's a great way to try out the brand and see if you like them. 

If you need more information I have the details on the Julep Maven tab! 

* I will get credit if you decide to sign up for the intro box. 

Polka Dots - Erica's Nails and More February Challenge

Hey everyone!

I have a polka dot manicure for you tonight. These are one of my favorite manicures to do! So simple to do and it adds some spunk to a manicure. I have really been feeling the blue colors lately so that is what my manicure is inspired from.

I did not plan this - but notice how my nails match the sign I am holding? 

I used: 

Sinful Colors - Sweet Nothing

NYC - Skin Tight Denim

HK Girl Top Coat

There is one more challenge day left! 

Inspired by a tutorial - Erica's Nails and More February Challenge

Hey everyone!

Tonight I have for you day 7 of the challenge which is inspired by a tutorial. I was not sure what I wanted to do for this one so I just hopped on google and browsed through pictures. I ended up falling in love with a cupcake manicure I saw. You can find the tutorial here. 

Since Walgreens is offering Sinful Colors for 99 cents with coupon I picked up 6 of the new Sugar Rush collection and I knew right away this would be perfect. I love the colors so much and I thought I would hate pastels on me - boy was I wrong! I am planning on going back and picking up the 2 other polishes I missed out of the collection.

Here are my cupcake nails!

I don't have any nail art brushes and I think I need to invest in some. I made my stripes with a dotting tool so they are a little jagged looking. I still think they are adorable though.

I used:

Sinful Colors - Unicorn

Sinful Colors - Sugar N' Spice

Sinful Colors - Candy Coated

Sally Hansen - White On

HK Girl Top Coat

Here is what is left! We are getting close to the end! It really flew by and as always I get sad when a challenge is over!

P.S. I am not kidding if you have not entered the giveaway you really want to do so HERE, we are getting down the wire! Who is going to take home some amazing prizes? 

Check out below the other awesome manicures!

Gradient Nails - Erica's Nails & More February Challenge

Hey everyone!

I have for you tonight gradient nails. I have attempted gradients a handful of times and I just could never get it down. I think I finally nailed it! It's a very subtle gradient and the camera didn't pick it up as well as I would have liked, but that's my own fault for not getting them done with proper daylight.

Here are my gradient nails

I did a reverse gradient on my accent nail and I have to say I think I prefer the dark on bottom going to light versus light going up to dark. It is kind of difficult to see the gradient. I think I might keep this manicure on tonight and take pictures in the daylight and update some pictures.

I used 2 of my new Sinful Colors I picked up today. Sinful Colors Sugar Rush and Sweet Nothing.

Check out the other gradient nails below!

Oh by the way my giveaway is ending very soon! Less than a week! Go enter if you have not done so!

Valentine's Day Nails - Erica's Nails and More February Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am spending the night watching The Vampire Diaries and Glee with my furbabies! Hubby works from 5pm until 3:30am. So there goes all plans out the window. Maybe we will catch a movie this weekend.

Here is my Valentine's Day inspired manicure. It turned out ok.

I used:

Essie Marshmallow

Orly Close Your Eyes

Sally Hansen Black Out

Wet n Wild Metallica 

L to R the plates I used:

BM-317

BM-311

QA6

QA6

Tomorrow I will upload my other Valentine's Day manicure - I missed out on daylight before I could finish my manicure so the lighting just won't show the manicure very well.

P.S. Make sure you enter the Epic giveaway I am involved in. Time is running out and the prizes are pretty amazing!

Inspired by a Pattern - Erica's Nails and More February Nail Challenge

Hey everyone!

Sorry for my absence lately. I am working hard planning my sister in law's baby shower. She also had not registered anywhere so I have been spending countless hours doing that with her. I can tell she is excited!

Tonight I have day 4 of Erica's February Challenge - Inspired by a pattern. I had no idea what I wanted to do so I went to google and searched patterns. This is what I came up with.

Here is what I got on my nails

I don't know why but my nails remind me of ice cream haha!

I will have to update what polishes I use when I get home (Currently spending the night at my sister in laws) and I didn't get a chance to write down the polishes down.

Here is what is left:

Check out the other pattern inspired nails below!