Turquoise Nails

This is my attempt at Turquoise nails based on a method I saw a few other bloggers use. I guess you could also call this a recreation of OPI spotted too...maybe..kinda-sorta. You just have to adjust the size of the holes but you certainly could achieve that look using this technique.

Indoors - Artificial Light

I started with two coats of Julep Mystery Green #4 and then used some scrunched up seran-wrap to dab on Julep Robin (a robin's egg blue creme) and Julep Sienna (a metallic gold). To achieve the black spots I started with a cup of room temp water and 3 drops of OPI Black Onyx in the water. Once the polish spread out, I sprayed Rubbing Alcohol from about 8 inches above the cup between 2 and 4 times to get the black spots the way I liked. I chose a section of the design and dipped in my nail.

Outdoors - Shade

Outdoors - Direct Sunlight

After I got all my nails dipped and cleaned up I added a few dots of Sienna randomly across the nails. I liked the way the gold peaked through slightly from behind the black but also really liked the look of the additional golden dots.

So in the end, there was a bit too much black for me to think this actually looks like turquoise but I am loving the look!  What do you think?

~Linda

Cartoon Nails

Today I have some nail art that I did on my pumpkin. She saw some Cartoon Nails during one of her 4 hour spans on Pinterest and begged me to do these for her. I'm not sure where this originated, but here is the pin she asked me to recreate.

I approached the 'reflection' on the nail a little differently and I think it came out quite well. We all know my lines are never straight and smooth but the teeny tiny nails didn't help either. However, it's always nice to do someone else's nails every once and a while. 

This is two coats of SinfulColors Innocent, the black liner is a Cherimoya 'Nail Art Pen' (which is not a pen, but a bottle of black with the striper brush). The white reflection is Milani White on the Spot and it's topped with Seche Vite. 

Thanks for stopping by guys! 

~Linda

Cirque Epoch

Hello my lovelies!

During my last trip to NYC for work, I made a point to head over the a boutique (International Playground) to get some Cirque polishes. I ended up getting three while there and all of them are fantastic.

This is Epoch, whose main color is teal but she changes to blue and purple at different angles. Epoch in the bottle is fantastic, there's this purple ring around the outside of the bottle that let's you know she's going to be gorgeous.

This is two coats of Epoch over 1 coat of OPI Black Onyx.

Oddly enough the purple didn't show all that much for me on the nail. There were gorgeous shade shifts between dark teal and blue but the purple was a dark vampy purple versus a bright grape purple. It's also beautiful how the color seems to have a dark ring around the edges of the nail. This is such a fascinating effect that I rarely see in a polish color that I love.

This was the first Cirque polish I've tried and the quality is definitely fantastic. Great brush and the consistency was perfect. Dry time was actually pretty quick as well.

Cirque polishes can be bought at a handful of boutiques around NYC or you can purchase them online here. This polish was $13 USD while some of her holographic and other specialty polishes can run a little higher at $15 USD.

I have 2 holographic polishes to share with you as well, so don't go far!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

Maybelline Urban Utopia + Holo Topcoat

Holographics are always at the top of my list when I'm looking for a polish that will actually make me happy. I bought some Spectraflair a while back and made myself a linear holographic topcoat. I recently saw some of the new Maybelline Color Show polishes and obviously I gravitated towards the teal creme.

This is two coats of LE Maybelline Urban Utopia and one coat of my homemade holographic topcoat.

Two coats would have made the linear holographic much more prevalent however the topcoat does tend to change the base color a bit, adding a silver tint or rather mutes or dulls the color a shade. I was loving the color so I decided to stay with one coat. What's great about having a holographic topcoat is that I can basically revamp any of my current polishes.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

FabFitFun VIP Summer Box

Today I have the Summer FabFitFun VIP box which they send out quarterly to members at a cost of $49.99 however there are various coupons floating around which give you $10 off your first box.

Last quarter the box was filled with cheap plastic jewelry and one or two full sized items that really didn't impress (Especially for a $50 price tag). This quarter they have some really great items in the box and they've stepped it up considerably. This is only their 2nd box, so I hope it wasn't a ploy to keep people interested and that the value won't drop back down next box.

This is what I got in my VIP box:

Ivory Mason Sunglasses: Retail Price approximately $350 on sale for $135

I wasn't able to find these exact glasses on their site, however there are 2 other very similar styles that have retail prices of $350 but are on sale for $135. Sweet deal getting these in the box, if they are flattering to your face. Unfortunately for me, they are not.

Catalina Su Lip Gloss: Retail Price $14 (full size)

This lip gloss doesn't have a name or color associated with it, but it's a nice neutral color with golden shimmer. The gloss doesn't feel sticky or gritty which is nice. Net Wt. .25 oz

Purlisse-Pur-Delicate Gentle Soy Milk Cleanser: Retail Price $36 (full size 5.6 oz)

This cleanser was recently named one of Vogue's favorite products. It's Soap free and non-foaming, featuring a non-irritating exclusive blend of soy milk, soy proteins, whole oats, and white tea. They claim mascara doesn't stand a chance and that the white tea will soothe sensitive skin and protect from cellular damage.
I haven't tried this because I tend to break out with anything too strong and I'm not willing to use it until I have enough time out of work so I don't look like a pizza. Sounds like it should be gentle enough for my skin so I'll give an update once I use it.

Evian Brumisateur Facial Spray: Retail Price $11 (full size 5 oz)

The spray has a unique mineral balance and neutral pH means it's super hydrating for your skin. On hot days, spray on your face and dab away after a few seconds.
I don't get it....I mean, if I'm hot and wearing makeup I'm definitely not going to spray water on my face. It does come out in a mist however I wouldn't want to spray my face while out and about. If I'm out at the beach then I get it, but they recommend using daily for skin hydration. That's not going to happen, not for me at least.

Infinity Sun Glow on the Go: Retail Price $35 (travel size 3 oz)

This travel size is still pretty good versus those small tubes of nothing you can sometimes get. Infinity Sun is described as an all natural, anti-aging aerosol that features essential oils, antioxidants, and botanicals that keep you looking bronzed and beautiful. Harmful propellants and alcohol are not in this product and it's ideal for touch-ups between sunless tanning sessions. Tan is said to last for up to 7 days.

I'm excited to give this a try and see whether I'll be an orange or a caramel. To be determined :)

it Haircare - Surf Spray: Retail Price $7 (full size 5.1 oz)

This seems to be the rage this summer with people getting a beach wind swept look for their hair. Natural sea salt, marine sea kelp and their exclusive Algae Triage Complex are combined to create sexy, touseled hair with a fresh marine scent.

Seems to wok as described getting that day at the beach type hair, but to me I always felt like I needed to wash my hair after a day at the beach. Definitely gives some texture to your hair that everyone seems to want.

KIND Dark Chocolate Chili Almond and Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt bar: Retail Price Approx $1.50

Holy crap it makes me drool just writing the name of this bar. It's marketed with Only 5g of Sugar on the front of the package, but it also has 7g of fiber, 15g of fat, 200 calories and 6 g of protein. All in All it's a good mix of fat, protein and fiber.

The ingredients read amazing...check this out:
Mixed Almonds, chicory root fiber, palm kernel oil, sugar, honey, non GMO glucose, crisp rice, cocoa powder, sea salt, cascabel chili, ancho chili, soy lecithin, cinnamon, whole milk, vanilla extract, habinero chili.

I cannot wait to eat this when I have enough carbs stored up! (I'm on Atkins right now and it would take about 1/2 my day in carbs)

Last but certainly not least:

Orly-Mayhem Mentality: Retail Price $8.50 (full size .6 fl oz)

This is a vibrant orange creme with the iconic rubberized handle to the Orly bottle. This is bright, summery and as usual, a great consistency.


Overall thoughts on the box? Very good box. Much better value for our money ringing in at $248 using the sale price for the sunglasses. I love that they gave higher quality brands and that they gave full sized items.
I think they they gave a good mix of items covering beauty, health, nail, skin, etc. and that a lot of people will be super excited with this box.

If you're interested in getting on board with the FabFitFun VIP box, sign up here.

FYI - I did see something on their site promoting new members to get a full size Pur-lisse in their fall box when they sign up now. Don't miss out if your on the fence.


Thanks for stopping by

~ Linda

 

Zoya Pixie Dust Gradient

Hello lovelies!

Today I'm showing off a Zoya Pixie Dust gradient using four polishes from the Summer 2013 Pixie Dust Collection.

In Shade

I started with two coats of Zoya Miranda, a raspberry pink, letting each coat dry for a few minutes  in order for it to have an even reasonable dry time. I then layered Destiny, Beatrix and Solange on a makeup sponge and dabbed onto my nail.

Destiny is a spunky coral red color, Beatrix is a gorgeous coral orange and Solange is sparkling gold. These Pixie Dusts are very similar in sparkle and shine versus the other Pixie Collections however the colors are vastly complex and bright in comparison.

In Sun

In Shade

The colors are beautiful in the sun, the shade, indoors, at night, yada yada yada. I love the texture with that bit of sparkle and I love that you don't have to worry about your finish fading.

Love Love Love!

Thanks for stopping by

~Linda

KKCenterHK - N.NAIL Square Studs Review

Hi guys!

I've been contacted by KKCenterHK, a cosmetic supply company located in Hong Kong, to do a review of a few of their products. I chose today's item from their huge selection of nail studs that can be found here. These 3mm laser purple studs are from the N.Nail manufacturer and are quite beautiful. They have little holographic circles within the stud that shine from different angles and can really catch the light. If you've got your own link to this site you can search for product # NNAIL-DRN656.

The package came with about 50 little pieces in a zipper bag which I thought was nice since you won't have to find a new home for these guys after you open it once. They cost about $4.73 USD and their shipping is pretty reasonable. (It would be $0.84 USD for this item.)  Keep in mind it's coming from Hong Kong so it will take a while to arrive.

These babies have to be made of some sort of thin metal since I was easily able to bend in the edges a bit to keep them from looking raised off the nail. Okay Okay onto how I transformed these light seeking missiles.

 

This was two coats of Julep Dianna with a taped off diamond of Zoya Robyn. While the nail polish was still tacky, I used tweezers to get the N.Nail studs lined up and dropped them on. They were repositionable to an extent without ruining my paint job. The whole look was covered with a thick coat of Seche Vite.

Overall I loved these studs! I didn't have any issues getting them to stay on my nail even just adding them on top of tacky nail polish although I know for extra stability you can apply with a little bit of top coat. I also loved that you could bend them a bit if you have a high arch to your nail, and the purple color is great.

These pics were taken indoors so I noticed that the color reflections of the studs was nicer outside however we haven't had any sun in a while *sigh*

This was the first product I've tried from KKCenterHK and was very impressed. Their selection is great and pricing is comparable across the internet. Definitely check out their site and take the plunge to expand you nail art selections or even other beauty items.

They've been kind enough to provide a 10% discount code for my readers! Just enter the code ' NYMN ' at checkout to get the discount!

Have a great week lovelies!

~Linda


*This product has been provided for my honest review. Links are to a 3rd party website*

Orly Glowstick

It's officially summer and I have the mani to prove it!

I basically love this new purse which I got on Little Black Bag, and it's by the designer Melie Bianco. Highlighter yellow tassel, handle and bag bottom look amazing against this teal and while polka dot purse. God I cannot say enough how absolutely great this bag is!

This mani matches my purse and is totally my 'welcome to summer' mani since Friday was officially the first day of summer.

I started with a base coat of Milani White Out and then two coats Orly Glowstick. I added different sized dots using dotting tools and China Glaze Four Leaf Clover, a beautiful teal creme. The white base color kicks up this already neon polish plus it cuts back on the number of coats needed for opacity.

Orly Glowstick is amazing around sunset when you're outside because it truly does look as though it's glowing. I actually had to test the glow in the dark quality of this polish because it radiates like a neon sign.

I hope you started off the first weekend of summer in a great way!

Thanks for stopping by

~Linda

Sweet Heart Polish Glamorous

Hello Lovelies! I'm back with another Sweet Heart Polish review. Today is my favorite polish that the lovely Cassandra has shared with me. Glamorous is a mix of gold glitter, iridescent glitter, purple stars and squares & large holographic pink dots in a clear suspension base.

I loved everything about this glitter! The gold is beautiful, the pink holographic dots are large enough to pack a punch, the bits of multi colors holo glitter allow for a little bit of something all over the nail, but the purple stars are my favorite. The glitter lays pretty flat once you've added some topcoat and it definitely helps to bring out the shine.

This is two coats of Julep Shenae with one coat of Glamorous and topcoat.

I had no problems at all getting the larger stars or pink dots to come out of the bottle. The consistency was perfect....not clumpy or thick and not too much suspension base. Pretty much a flawless application!

Final words....You Have To Own This!

Stop by Sweet Heart Polish Etsy Shop where you can get a full sized 13.5 ml bottle for $7. Also make sure to check out her Facebook page to get the heads up on any new releases and upcoming lines.

Sweet Heart Polish is always custom handmade 5-Free Vegan and Cruelty Free polish.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Linda

This product was provided for my honest review and all opinions are my own. This post contains links to third party sites which should be considered before clicking.  

Sweet Heart Polish Review

I'm Sorry I'm Sorry I'm Sorry! I've abandoned you...and I feel terrible. I won't bore you with a hundred different excuses, so why don't I just show you something pretty and shiny and lovely. Huh? Huh? Huh?

The lovely lady behind Sweet Heart Polish has graciously provided some of the polishes from her first release for me to review. She has quite a variety that range from thick shaped glitter to jellies and frosts. All of Sweet Heart Polish is handmade 5-Free Vegan and cruelty free! For those of you who are not sure what 5-Free means, it's free from Formaldehyde, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) and Toluene as well as Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor.

She has opened up her Etsy shop and is now offering all of her first releases along with a new Limited Edition glitter inspired by her great grandma. ☺ Full sized 13.5 ml bottles retail for $7 on her Etsy shop which is a super good price compared to a lot of indie makers.

So today I have four of five polishes that she has shared with me..lets get to the good stuff.

First up is Pretty Precious which is shimmery pink polish that starts off very sheer but is buildable and with 3 coats is a gorgeous frost like pink. Use 4 coats for a deeper more vibrant pink and absolutely no visible nail line. The consistency of Pretty Precious was Pretty Great! Not thick at all and had a good dry time.

This is showing off how Pretty Precious looks building up the coats. Index finger to pinky is 1,2,3,4 coats.

Next up is Mmm Juicy which is a mix of tiny matte white and green glitter, matte green squares & large black hexes in a pink jelly base. Mmm Juicy was inspired by Cassandra's favorite summer fruit....the watermelon. I think she nailed it!  This is really close to a 1 coat glitter topper giving just the right amount of glitter and a great mix of the different glitter pieces.

This is 2 coats of Pretty Precious, 1.5 coats of Mmm Juicy and topcoat. What is 1.5 coats you ask? It's basically one coat, and then a quick dab of the brush to add a few extra pretties which came out of the bottle very easily. I'm not a super glitter lover...but I really liked the proportions to this mix.

Ultimate Fan is a mix of holographic silver glitter, hearts, diamonds, squares & stars in a black jelly base. This polish was a bit difficult for me to get the holographic glitter pieces out of the bottle but I will say that I think it had a lot to do with the fact that it was a mini bottle. A combo of the baby brush and less room in the bottle caused some difficulty, but I think the larger full size bottle would work okay. The black jelly base was a pretty good consistency and built up to nearly opaque in 3 coats. The glitter pieces were definitely very pretty and thew off a rainbow of colors.

This shows the builability of Ultimate Fan with 1 coat, 2 coats, 1 over Essence Back to Black and 3 coats on my pinky.

1 coat over Essence Back to Black , 2 coats, 1 coat

Last but certainly not least is a glitter bomb. A-Mazing is a mix of yellow shredded glitter, matte green moons and squares, white rectangles, & black stars in a clear suspension base. This is actually part of her Sports Team collection, which she will be adding more to in the upcoming months. She even takes requests for team inspired looks...what's your team?

I used A-Mazing a glitter topper but I think her initial idea was to have a full coverage glitter. Looks good either way...but I'm a bit more reserved when it come to glitter and even more so when it comes to yellow. I'm too light...but I think that A-Mazing actually looked stunning nice over a white base. 

This is 1 coat of A-Mazing over 2 coats of Zoya Purity. 

I've saved the best for last so make sure to come back and check out my favorite Sweet Heart Polish....Glamorous! Oooooorrrr....If you can barely stand it stop by her Etsy shop for a sneak peak.

Make a trip over the Sweet Heart Polish on Etsy or check out her Facebook page to see what she's cooking up next!

~ Linda 

These products were provided for my honest review and all opinions are my own. This post contains links to third party sites which should be considered before clicking.