NOTD: OPI Pamplona Purple

Sorry for my absence everyone.  Moving isn't easy though I'm 90% settled in my new home.  There are a few straggling boxes that take up some space, but overall, I'm happy to be in the new house.  My mother- and brother-in-law drove up over the weekend with most of their furniture from Florida.  So it's been busy moving BIG furniture and unpacking item after item.  I haven't had any chance to follow up on fellow beauty blogs and channels on Youtube.  The only reason I have this time is because 1) my daughter is napping and 2) everyone is lounging in the living room watching tv.  I figured I could do a quick post on my latest polish obsession.

Meet Pamplona Purple from OPI.  I'm not over winter just yet so I'm trying to make much use of all my dark, winter nail polish colors.  I remember purchasing this at Ulta thinking this is a great plum color.  It's not too dark like eggplant purple and not too royal purple.  I only needed 2 coats for full opaqueness.  This does dry a tad bit darker than what it looks like in the bottle so definitely test the color before you purchase it.

Happy painting!

NOTD Valentine's Day ♥

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

How appropriate is this day to share my nail art from new nail polishes I picked up for spring.

(L) Mariah Carey by OPI in A Butterfly Moment
(R) CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant in Tickled Pink

Mariah Carey and OPI partnered up to create a new collection inspired by the singing sensation herself.  This is limited edition and comes in 8 beautiful shades that seem to reflect Mariah's personality.  When I visited my local Ulta and saw MC's new polish collection, I was immediately drawn to this color called A Butterfly Moment.  This is a beautiful pearl pink with a noticeable gold sheen.  The formula is a bit thick, but I can't complain about how lovely it looks on my complexion.  This is a great neutral color perfect for spring.  If you have olive skin tone or warm undertones, I think this will work great for you.  Two coats is perfect enough for smooth coverage.

I was watching eleventhgorgeous review a couple of CoverGirl products recently. (watch here) The girls had a high review of the nail polishes that I had to pick up one color.  The one I have is Tickled Pink which is a hot magenta.  These trendy polishes allow you to skip the top coat because the formula leaves a long lasting shine.  I'm surprised by the price of these polishes; it definitely blew my mind.  I don't own any drugstore polishes so I'm really happy with this one.  The packaging is similar to Dior polishes where the top is removable.  The same goes for the Butter London polishes.  I definitely want to purchase more from CoverGirl.

Even though my nails look simple, the heart on the ring finger is a perfect touch for today.  I also have a video posted on my Youtube channel for you guys.  It's all about my favorite lip products that are suitable for today's holiday.

Enjoy your Valentine's Day everyone! Sending lots of cyber love ♥♥

Just Another Manic Monday

I have a shoebox full of nail polishes from OPI, butter London and other brands that mostly have a black handle (weird obsession, I know) and do not contain the "toxic trio".  The "toxic trio" is the nickname for dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene and formaldehyde in which these ingredients have been known to cause side effects. [link]  So, when purchasing any nail polish, I always read the finely printed ingredients to make sure they're considered "toxic free".

I'm introducing a new nail polish brand that fits perfectly in my "toxic free" black handle world.  I purchased these Julep beauties a while ago and have only used 2 out of the 6 polishes pictured below.  I'm wearing one of the colors today and I must say it's a good "waiting period" color between seasons.

From L to R: Viola, Felicity, Hoch, Donna, Stefani, Keira (Hello Ladies!)

Donna is beautifully painted on my nails and is a true peacock blue.  Two coats is more than enough as the color is very rich and leaves no streaks from the brush.  The polish dries quickly and with a good top coat, you won't see any chipping for a few days.  You can say that Donna is my girl of the week.

Julep Donna paired with Spoiled Good Karma

Have you tried any Julep nail polishes?  Let me know and happy painting!

DAILY GRINDS

♥ Pictures from the Beer Expo over the weekend

Favorite Items of December

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's my favorites for the month of December.  I'm so blessed to have started this new venture in cosmetics with my YouTube channel and blog.  I hope 2013 will bring lots of happiness, luck and success to my family and me.  I wish the same for you too!

NOTD: butter London Toff & Aston

October is one of my favorite months of the year.  My favorite color lately has been variations of mauve and purple.  They're quite soft and beautiful on all skin tones.  My current NOTD are polishes that I purchased during Ulta's "Buy One, Get One Free" offer for butter London nail polishes.  This awesome deal was something I couldn't pass just because I love butter London!  Plus, buying 2 polishes for the price of 1 is a wallet's best friend.  I'm so happy that I was able to snatch up these 2 polishes (I bought 4 polishes in total, but you get my drift).

Nail of the Day: Jelly Glitz

As an avid user of Facebook who constantly checks up on beauty updates, there was one status that caught my attention and I'm glad it did.  Birchbox (@birchbox) posted a "how to" article about a new nail design called "jelly sandwich".  They enlisted a new contributor, Anna Norman of Glitter, She Wrote, and she explained what jelly sandwich nails are.  It's a very odd name to use as a nail technique, but it made sense after reading through her description.

Basically, this is a new way of wearing glitter.  I remember I would rock the glitter nail polish from grade school into middle school.  I mean, who didn't?  Every girl loves glitter- heck, there was a movie named "Glitter" (but let's not go there).  This technique is great for any person who loves to experiment with fun nail designs, even if it means having to calm down your shaky hand.

All you need are 2 polishes.  The jelly polish serves as the bread while the glitter is in between like jelly.  Your base color is translucent to give that sheer, glossy effect.  My base color of choice is OPI Melon of Troy, a beautiful melon/orange/coral mixture with a sheen, pearly shine.  My jelly color is actually what was used on this nail technique.  If you saw the Birchbox FB status and/or link, the color on the ring finger is Milani Gems.  The chunky, yet colorful glitter nail polish is easy to maneuver if you want the glitter to have a gradient effect.

Now, to the technique: after applying a base coat, apply 2 coats of your jelly polish.  Once it dries, do 1 coat of glitter.  Once that dries, do an additional coat of jelly polish over the glitter in order to trap the glitter, give your nail depth and tone down the glitter.  If you want to skip this step, simply apply a top coat then you're done!

This technique is quite simple and is a great way to experiment with different colors.  Happy painting!

HAUL: Makeup & Other Beauty Products

It's been a while since I've blogged.  My (lame) excuse is that I've just been completely lazy & have been uninspired with some of my cooking last week.  But, I've accumulated a lot of items in the past few weeks that I wanted to share with all of my viewers.  I tried doing a YouTube video last Friday while my husband was out of town and my daughter was in school.  I did roughly 5 takes & realized I'm not meant to be in front of the camera.  Just doing a small introduction to the video was painful to watch.  I'll try a different approach some time soon where I'll just do a voice over.

Anyway, the following products that I'll share below are from Ulta(1), HauteLook.com(2) and Sephora.com(3).

If you are a happy consumer of any of these products, please share your experience with it.

(1) From L to R: John Frieda Root Awakening Nourishing Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner for Dry Hair, Benefit Cosmetics B. Right It's Potent Eye Cream, 2 Benefit Cosmetics freebies, OPI nail polish in DS Glow & Melon of Troy, Tarte Maracuja Divine Shine Lipgloss in Tipsy.

*I purchased the eye cream just so I can get the sample of the Cha Cha Tint which I'm pretty psyched to try.  With the Tarte lipgloss, I was suppose to get a Deluxe Sample of Maracuja Oil which I assume the store ran out of.  Instead they gave me another Benefit sample which is the skincare So Radiant.  I heard great things about the maracuja oil so I guess I'll have to purchase it next time I step into Ulta.

(2) From L to R: NYX Eye Glamifying Set, NYX Blush Set in Pretty Natural, NYX Haute Jersey- Leopard Couture Set

*I purchased these items on Hautelook.com because it was one of their special deals.  If you itemize these products, you definitely are saving 40% or more when purchasing them on this website.  With the eye set, it came with the Provocateur Boudoir Mascara, Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner, Collection Noir Skinny Black Liner & Slide On, Glide On, Stay On & Definitely A Turn On Water Proof, Extreme Shine Eye Liner in Black Sparkle.  Annoying that the name of this product is long but that's what's on the pencil.  With the blush set, the 3 blushes are Mocha, Angel & Mauve.  My last item of the bunch is this leopard makeup palette that screams Jersey girl (which I am- well I'm from Jersey but definitely not a "Jersey Shore" Jersey girl if you get my drift.)

When you open the book, there are 24 eyeshadows on your left with 4 eye applicators & a mirror on your right. 

When you flip the mirror, you get another mirror but on the left side.  On the opposite side are 2 lip glosses, 4 bronzers & 2 blushes.  This palette will come to use whenever I want to head down to Bar A or DJais.

(3) From L to R: The New Black Runway- Color Barometer 8-Piece Nail Polish Set, Sephora Collection Marbling & Dotting Nail Tool, Josie Maran Made with Love Kit, Korres Goddess Lip Collection

*The nail tool was on sale online and lately I've been purchasing nail polishes as if I was a kid in a candy store.  A new tool deserves new polishes to go with.  I had a sample of Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil & wanted to try other products of her line.  Korres is a Johnson & Johnson product which my sister works for.  She has a couple Korres makeup products & is happy with them.  I hope I can be happy with these.