31 December 2013

New Year's Eve Nails and Goals for 2014!

Purchased By Me

2013 has been a long year and probably not one that I'd really want to relive, what with my dad passing away in September, our pug passing away tragically the same month, the financial ups and downs, just wondering how we were going to make it, how we were going to make Christmas happen for our kids, struggling on and off with depression.. it's just been one of those years. But with the end of the year and the beginning of the year comes reflection and another chance to make things better, to start setting goals for yourself, personally, financially, and, of course, for LE BLOG.

If you've been with me since at least the beginning of the year, I set a few goals, totally forgot about them until Best Of... End of Year.. posts starting popping up. I revisited those goals last weekend and it was good to see what I've accomplished this year, all the while not even remembering those goals! :P

I had a hard time coming up with something to do for New Year's Eve nails, so I went with something easy, black with a glitter gradient! A lot of people decided on the same thing, so I'm glad I wasn't alone! I used 2 coats of my go-to black, Milani Black Swift and used a makeup sponge and China Glaze Prism for the glitter gradient.





Funny how you don't notice things at 2 in the morning and then see the flaws after you take photos and upload them! :P

Aaaaaaand.. goals for 2014!!


  • Continue working on my photography skills. After investing in a light tent and working on placement of lighting, I'm getting there! I think the biggest thing is hand positions when not holding a bottle.. My pinky finger does not like to cooperate and sometimes it hurts to force it into position :\
  • Invest in a new camera. The camera I'm currently using we've had for about 8 years. It has a great macro setting, but I'd like to advance to something more professional.
  • Do reviews in a more timely manner. Realistically, I'm not sure how feasible that is, working full time and having two kids, but I definitely need to work on it.
  • Participate in more challenges. I'm currently looking at doing 3 challenges in January. Probably a lot to take on, but you never know unless you try!
  • Blog MOAR!!! I feel sad that I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like. Between work and being mom and doing housework, there are only so many hours in the day and I love my sleep!
  • Finish jumping on the IG bandwagon! I do have an account set up, but my ancient Nokia Lumia 900 does not have an IG app and there aren't any good third-party apps :( Hopefully around April, I'll be able to upgrade my phone! Definitely looking at getting an iPhone, but I will not like going down to a small screen. My phone's screen is huuuuge! Maybe I'll get another Lumia, like the 1020.
  • Nail art!! I love nail art.. watermarbling, stamping, freehand.. I want to work on all of those.
  • Makeup reviews.. I loveloveLOVE makeup. I want to start doing makeup reviews, EOTD, FOTD.


I think that about sums it all up! Some pretty huge goals, but I think I can do it!

I hope everyone has a great New Year and I look forward to continuing on this journey with all of you!

22 December 2013

Perlier Imperial Honey Body Butter Review

Provided For Review

With it being that time of the year for dry winter skin, it's important to keep your skin moisturized. I'm the first to admit, I don't always slather on moisturizer after I shower. Most of the time, I don't have time, or lately, it's because I haven't found anything that helps hydrate my dry skin. iFabbo recently sent me the Perlier Imperial Honey Body Butter and I've been using it a lot this past month. It's made from the rare honey of Black Bees and is combined with Royal Jelly.



Pros:

  • Extremely moisturizing and hydrating, without leaving a greasy residue on your skin.
  • Plenty of product that would last a while

Cons:

  • Fragrance is STRONG. The informational card says it's a honey and Oriental woods scent, but the honey overpowers anything else in the body butter. I apply this in the morning while I'm getting ready for work.. the scent lasts all day into the next morning, that's how heavily scented this is. If you are sensitive to smells or fragrances, I would not recommend this, especially if you get scent-induced migraines.

Personally, I wouldn't buy this until Perlier reformulates the scent so that it isn't so overpowering. You can buy this at HSN, but it's currently out of stock. If you are interested in purchasing this, you can add it to your Favorites on HSN to be notified of when it is available and is currently $40 plus S&H. Use the code iFabbo5 to get $5.00 of your Perlier purchase!


21 December 2013

2013 Goals - How Much Did I Accomplish?

With it being close to the end of 2013, I thought I'd go back to my first post of this year and see if I accomplished any of the things I had set for myself and my blog!


  • Blog more frequently - I don't think this really happened! In fact, I think I posted a lot less than I did last year :( I just looked and I posted a lot last year compared to 2012, but I only started my blog in July 2012.
  • Reach 100 likes on Facebook or 100 followers on GFC - Yes!! On January 27, 2013, I reached 100 likes on Facebook! Now, almost a year later, I'm close to 1,000 likes on Facebook, and close to 500 followers on GFC. With GFC close to being on it's way out, people have been looking towards other social media platforms to promote their blog/website, Instagram being the most popular. Sadly, my phone is seriously outdated by today's standards and there isn't an official or good third party Instagram app available.
  • Start making my own nail polish - Nope!! I've been toying with the idea, but honestly, I just don't have the time right now to devote to starting my own polish line. Maybe when my son is older and in school I'll revisit that idea.
  • Get a domain - www.polishedandglittered.com <-------- I think I've had it for almost a year! I know I will definitely need to find out when my renewal date is! But it's really exciting when you can say you're at a dot com!
  • Participate in more challenges - I did Erica's Nails and More February Nail Art Challenge and started to do the ABC Challenge, but there just wasn't enough time to do anything, or energy :(
  • Work on my photography skills - After going through 2 homemade light boxes, having to repair the second one TWICE because my son fell on it, then the cat jumped on it, I finally broke down and bought a light tent last week. And I moved one of my lamps to the front to see if that improved anything. After figuring out the settings on my camera, I think I've finally figured out how to take better photos!

  • January 1, 2013 - light box
    January 19, 2013 - light tent
    • Work on stamping and nail art - I've been doing a lot more stamping and nail art lately, and I think I'm starting to get better at it, especially stamping, although I still need to figure how to not get missing spots closer to my cuticles. I still need to find a silver that doesn't streak after top coating when it's been dry for a while.
    One of my very first attempts at stamping, pre-cleanup, pre-light tent, pre-macro setting. Aaaaah!!

    Stamping December 20, 2013 - Huge improvement!!
    There has definitely been a lot of change over the past year.. change, growing, improving, trying different nail shapes (and deciding that I love square!), nail care, learning!! I'm really excited about what 2014 has in store! And to think, I started out with about 80 bottles of polish! :P

    Next up! 2012 2014 goals!! (2012?? Really??)


    Snowflake Stamping!

    Purchased By Me

    If you saw my post from Thursday, I mentioned I was looking for the perfect base for snowflake nails! Well, here's what I did! I used Pure Ice Silver Mercedes (now under the name Silver Star), BM-323 and alternated with VL006, also adding some silver glitter to the center of some of the snowflakes. For whatever reason, I can not for the life of me top coat without smearing silver polish :( And even though my camera is almost 10 years old, the macro is amazing and captured every single streak and flaw! Anywho, I absolutely love this!



    Have a great weekend!!

    Daily Lovelies Birthday Giveaway!

    One of my favorite persons is having an awesome birthday giveaway!! Ends 01/01/2014!! Be sure to enter!! :D

    Photo Courtesy of Daily Lovelies

    19 December 2013

    Royal Allons-y!!

    Purchased By Me

    Happy-Thursday-Tomorrow-Is-Friday!! Which means it's pay day and I can finish Christmas shopping! Is it bad that my husband leaves all of that up to me? We discuss (generally) what to get the kids, but I take care of all the buying and making sure everything gets here on time.. Hmmm..

    So I've been pondering for the past couple of weeks on what to do for Christmas nails and I couldn't find the RIGHT blue polish for a base color for snowflakes. I tried about 5 different ones before I gave up and went to bed, LOL. Then a couple of nights ago, I did some Google searching for snowflake nail art because I have it in my head that I NEED to do snowflakes before Christmas and it hit me. Revlon Royal is perfect for EVERYTHING!! But it needed to sparkle! So I dug through many bottles of glittery nail polish and finally landed on Nail Pattern Boldness Allons-Y. I love anything Doctor Who and what's better than wearing a Doctor Who themed polish during Christmas??

    I'm telling you now.. I fell in love as soon as I top coated this beautiful, magical combination <3 Enough of my rambling and on to the photos, right?! This is 2 coats of Revlon Royal, 1 coat of NPB Allons-Y, and 1 coat of Glossy Glam.



    <3 <3



    Aaaahhhh.. just gorgeous!! I'll be back tomorrow after I snowflake this up! :P Are you rocking holiday nails? Feel free to post them on my wall or tweet me!

    Don't forget to enter the Hobby Polish Bloggers Winter Giveaway! Still plenty of time to enter!!

    PS Do the photos look better taken in my light tent?

    16 December 2013

    Vivid Lacquer Band Candy and Bored Now Plus An Experiment

    Provided For Review

    I received some stamping plates and a couple of polishes from Anni of Vivid Lacquer and today I have the polishes to show you! (If you don't know who VL is, you need to hurry over to her store!! Her stamping plates are THE best!!) I received Band Candy and Bored Now from the Once More With Feeling collection, inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was a huuuge fan of Buffy back when it was on, and sadly, I don't think I ever finished the series :( And who could resist Angel?! Both swatches are 3 coats sans top coat and applied perfectly for a holo. These do dry to a satin finish, so top coat is needed if you want added shine :) Dry time was amazing! <3



    Bored Now is a raisiny purple scattered holo. Just look at that rainbow of colors! Just gorgeous!! <3


    Band Candy stole my heart! I loooove brown holos and this milk chocolately goodness was no exception. I love how the holo flashes copper to pink <3

    Be sure to check out Vivid Lacquer at the links below! Polish is 3 Free and $9 for a 15ml bottle. And there's worldwide shipping! I'll have the stamping plates up soon! :)


    And for my experiment.. I mentioned a couple of days ago on Facebook that I ordered a light tent that *should* be here on Tuesday. While I was taking the photos for these swatches, I moved a lamp to the front of my light box instead of having them both on either side of the box with the light shining from above. Let me tell you the HUGE difference it made! Or better yet, how about a photo?


    The top photo is with both lights shining from above and the bottom is with one light in front of the box at an angle. Amazing what a little change can do! I can't wait to get my light tent and finally get something awesome set up :D

    Hobby Polish Bloggers Multi-Blogger Winter Giveaway

    Helloooo there!! Hey, look!! It's a blog post!! :D First, I want to apologize for the huge gap in posting on here! :( I've mentioned before that I work in a pharmacy, which is a compounding pharmacy and keeps me quite busy during the day :) I process most of the prescriptions, I do a lot of the prior approvals for Medicaid and send prior authorizations to doctors so they can fill those out and send them to the insurance companies, and in the past few months, I have added to my long list of job duties doing all most of the ordering, maintaining inventory, sending back medication we don't use, plus I answer the phone, fill prescriptions, ring up customers if necessary. It'a A LOT of work, but I absolutely loooove my job. I've been a pharmacy technician for about 5 years total and I'm great at my job :D Also, I'm a wife and a mom to 3 2 kids, so my work is never finished! Anyway!! On to the good stuff!!

    A group that I'm in with a lot of amazing ladies is having our second multi-blogger giveaway!! :D I'm really excited to be a part of this again! All of the details are below! Good luck everyone!! :D Thank you to the followers that have stuck with me through this journey, and welcome to all of the new followers! I hope you enjoy it here, and I PROMISE!! Moaaaar blog posts! 


    The Hobby Polish Bloggers are having their second multi-blogger giveaway! To enter, please allow the Rafflecopter widget to load below. All Terms and Conditions may also be found in the widget. Please visit the following Hobby Polish Bloggers members who are bringing this to you! You may enter using Rafflecopter from any of the below blogs but your entry will only count one time. You may, however, tweet about the giveaway (the last option) once a day for the duration of the giveaway.


    Hobby Polish Bloggers
    A far from perfect mom
    Be Happy and Buy Polish
    FashionFooting
    I Feel Polished
    Imperfectly Painted
    Jen Likes Polish (and some other things)
    KellieGonzo.com
    Love. Varnish, chocolate and more...
    Lucy's Stash
    Lustrous Lacquer
    MandysSecrets
    manicure addict
    Pamper with Polish
    Polarbelle
    polish insomniac
    Polish Obsession
    Polished and Glittered
    PolishGalore
    PolishNV
    pretty tough nails
    Refined & Polished
    The Dalai Lama's Nails
    The Mercurial Magpie
    The Sparkling Hoard
    TrailerHood Chic

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    02 December 2013

    Press Release: Zoya Naturel Collection

    Press Release

    First press release for 2014!! Even though Christmas has yet to arrive, Zoya is once again on the ball!

    Zoya Nail Polish Naturel Collection
    Sometimes less can be so much more...


    The natural nail only better... The Zoya Nail Polish Naturel collection masters delicate tone on tone color with six new, full-coverage (opaque) neutral nudes with a pink undertone, that can be worn beautifully alone or stunningly together to create modern tonal accents.

    The Look: It’s not about matching - it’s about coordinating colors with slight tonal differences to create interest.


    Zoya Naturel Collection

    • ZP704 - Chantal: French Vanilla Cream, Full Coverage Formula.
    • ZP705 - Taylor: Light Toffee Cream, Full Coverage Formula.
    • ZP706 - Rue: Boudoir Blush Cream, Full Coverage Formula.
    • ZP707 - Brigitte: Bombshell Mauve Cream, Full Coverage Formula.
    • ZP708 - Odette: Sultry Maroon Cream, Full Coverage Formula.
    • ZP709 - Normani: Sable Mauve Cream, Full Coverage Formula.



    Zoya’s Crusade against Artificial Nail Products:
    Since 1993, Zoya Nail Polish and Treatments has provided quality, long-wearing formulations that are free of potentially toxic ingredients. Here’s how the battle against artificial and toxic products was won… 

    As owner of the country’s first Natural Nail and Skin Spa and armed with relevant information on potential health hazards, Zoya Reyzis was resolute to create a new line of quality professional products that would meet her exacting specifications. Pregnant at the time, she enlisted the aid of her Chemist Husband, Michael Reyzis, to develop toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate free formulations that would provide extended wear on natural nails making Zoya the first to develop a “Big 3 Free” formula of nail polish. In the years since the birth of the brand, the commitment to providing safe and effective products has soldiered on with Zoya once again leading the way with the removal of formaldehyde resins and camphor to create the first “Big 5 Free” nail polish brand.

    Find the Zoya Naturel Nail Polish Collection and over 300 stunning BIG5FREE* Zoya colors on www.zoya.com. Each and every color has a name as unique as the women who inspired it.

    *Formula is completely free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene and camphor.

    COMING SOON…
    The Zoya Naturel Nail Polish Collection available online at Zoya.com January 01, 2014.

    ZOYA IS THE NATUREL COLOR OF FASHION!
    $9.00 ea. (US)
    Available Zoya.com



    I don't know about you, but I love all of these colors and Zoya makes the best cremes, really buttery and smooth, no streaking, some are even one-coaters! I can't wait to get these lovelies in my hands, and I'm really interested in seeing what they look like on people with yellow tones since these all have a pink undertone. Will you be picking any of these up next month? :D

    23 November 2013

    Mermaid Nails and MASH-39

    Purchased By Me | Affiliate Links

    Happy Saturday!! :) Who's ready for the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who tonight?! I know I am!! I just need to find a way to watch it since we don't have cable TV anymore :P

    This post was supposed to have published earlier in the week, but I guess it didn't! :( So here it is!

    I got the MASH stamping plates a couple of weeks ago and had to use MASH-39 immediately!! Fish scales! Mermaid scales! Dragon scales! Stamping decals!!


    My base color is 3 coats of Julep Ciara. I added this on to my October Bombshell box.. It's beautiful! Julep Ciara is a "vampy magenta with teal microglitter." After 3 coats, it's a wine color that has teal microglitter that flashes pink in some lights. Sadly, I did not take a photo of it by itself! This was the first time in a long time that I was impressed with the selection from Julep (their customer service, not so much). Then I stamped with the scales image using Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. I didn't top coat after stamping because the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri smeared everything (and caused shrinkage on my tips!)! Fortunately, I only got as far as one finger and redid that one :)



    I love this! I've kept it on until today, when it's coming off so I can do Doctor Who nails!

    Did you get anything from the Julep October Maven selection? Have the MASH plates? Watching Doctor Who tonight?!  Let me know in the comments! Have a great weekend! :D

    06 November 2013

    Mermaid or Fish Scale Nails? You Decide! :)

    Purchased By Me

    Hey all!! It's been awhile since I've posted :( I've been so busy with work and family, which just tires me out quickly, so I haven't really been doing anything nail related :\

    I ordered the Bundle Monster 209 plate last week and was really excited to try it out. I had this awesome idea in my head, but I don't think it really translated too well to my nails. I think next time, I'll use a darker color for stamping :) (My apologies for my ragged cuticles!)


    I used most of the China Glaze Bohemian Collection for this.. the only one I didn't use was Swanky Silk :) Rare & Radiant was my base color and I used the saran wrap technique with Deviantly Daring, No Plain Jane, Unpredictable, and Want My Bawdy. Applied Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat, then used BM-209 and Want My Bawdy.

    What do you think? Mermaid or fish scales? I just got the MASH set with their version of scales, so I'll be using that soon! :D

    27 October 2013

    Born Pretty Store Fluorescent Studs Review

    Provided For Review | Affiliate Links

    Happy Sunday! It seems the weekends feel shorter and shorter, and before you know it, Monday is here!

    I was recently contacted by Born Pretty Store to do a review and of course, I said yes! If you've never heard of Born Pretty Store, you need to run to their website (or let your fingers do the running for you!) They have everything you can think of to do nail art and their prices are really reasonable, plus the quality is great. And they offer FREE world wide shipping!

    I decided to review the fluorescent studs since they would be my first time using studs!


    These come in a hard plastic case with a rotating lid, and has an opening so you can get studs from one section and not have to worry about the rest spilling everywhere. It does come in a plastic bag so that, in my case, the studs won't get lost and fall out somewhere.. they're all contained in the bag so you can put them back in the container. You get 6 fluorescent colors (purple, fuschia, green, orange, blue, and yellow) in both round and square shaped. These are 2mm and you get approximately 400 studs. 

    I did some saran wrap nails the other night, and if you follow me on Facebook, I posted a photo of my nails asking for advice! :) I used OPI Don't Touch My Tutu for my base color, and saran wrapped with Sinful Colors Dream On, Sinful Colors Burning Bright, Sinful Colors Boom Boom, and Wet n Wild Stand the Test of Lime. I wore this for a day because I fell asleep before I could stamp! :P The next night, I stamped with Pueen 46 and Sally Hansen Black Patent. I waited a few minutes before top coating, let that dry for a few minutes, then used my top coat (Glossy Glam) and a dotting tool to apply top coat to the circles, then used the dotting tool to add the studs. Waited a few more minutes to make sure the studs were secure and added two coats of top coat to seal them in. My photos are from the next day after doing this and the tip wear is baaad, so please forgive that! I thought the studs were a great way to spruce up a manicure and I usually don't go this bold with my nails :P



    *I'm currently on day 3 of wearing these studs and all of them are still in place! Even after working, unloading and loading the dishwasher, doing a couple loads of laundry, putting my son in his car seat several times yesterday, they're still on.. every single one! :D



    If you decide to check these out, or purchase anything else from Born Pretty Store, be sure to use my code QUL91 to get 10% of your order! The fluorescent studs are $7.59 USD.

    Some products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are my own. See disclosure.

    22 October 2013

    Stamping Inspired By Marchesa

    Purchased By Me

    Revlon has some beautiful nail appliques inspired by Marchesa gowns and since I'm not a nail strip/applique kind of girl, I went through my plates and found one by Pueen that would work!

    Isn't that dress gorgeous?!

    Source: Elle

    OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, Maybelline ColorShow Boho Gold, Pueen 44

    I used one of my favorite fall colors, OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest and stamped with Maybelline ColorShow Boho Gold and Pueen 44. I used my new XL squishy stamper and the image stamped so perfectly! Even the small lines transferred well and I always have issues with those. I need to work on my alignment and placement, but this is one of my favorite stamping manis I've done so far :D I think I'm going to do more fashion inspired stamping!

    Coffee Swirls

    Purchased By Me

    I've really been getting back into stamping and am in love with the Pueen Love Elements set <3 These plates stamp beautifully!! I had some issues with my XL squishy stamper and had to use my Konad stamper, so the stamping isn't as crisp as I'd like. A girl I work with said this reminded her of coffee :D

    Finger Paints Sketch-y, Essie Penny Talk, and Pueen 26

    I used 2 coats of Finger Paints Sketch-y and stamped with Essie Penny Talk and Pueen 26. Aside from the not-so-great stamping, I thought this was fun and perfect for fall :)

    Perlier Volcanic Thermal Renewing Scrub Review

    Provided For Review Affiliate Links

    HSN and Perlier have teamed together to make it easy and affordable to bring the spa to the comfort of your own home. I received Perlier Volcanic Thermal Renewing Scrub from iFabbo a couple of months ago to review and wanted to give a complete and honest review! :)



    Say "spaaaah". Spa turns into "aaaah" with Perlier's exclusive beauty treatment scrub. Because you can't get to a spa every day, this scrub is sure to become your "BBF" (best beauty friend)!

  • Complex of key ingredients contains water from the hot spring concession located in the municipality of Abana Terme (Padua)
  • Helps optimize skin's elasticity for a more youthful appearance
  • Helps combat visible signs of aging such as the appearance of dull-looking skin
  • Formulated with key ingredients that are rich in mineral salts
  • Contains minerals of different particle size for dual rejuvenating and smoothing beauty action
  • Finer powders smooth skin and rough areas

  • I don't use body scrubs and I've never been to a spa, so I was really excited to try this out. The packaging is very simple but stands out and would look great in any bathroom. What caught my eye was the beautiful aquamarine color of the scrub.


    This scrub has a jelly-like/gritty texture, perfect for exfoliating your skin and problem areas. I get really dry elbows no matter what I do and this has smoothed them out considerably. The smell is lovely.. I can't place my finger on it, but it's very clean and I imagine what an actual spa would smell like.


    The consistency is thick enough that it won't slide off your skin in the shower. A small amount goes a long way, so this tub would last a couple of months. I've had it for about 2 months and I've barely made a dent in it. I use it a couple of times a week or whenever I need a relaxing shower to unwind after a long day and I have plenty of those! ;)


    It rinses away clean and doesn't leave any filmy residue on your skin (or on your tub!) and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth. 

    Overall, I really love this and would definitely buy it myself. You can purchase this from HSN for $25 plus $6.21 S&H for a 6.7 fl oz tub. Also, use the code iFabbo5 at checkout to get $5 off your Perlier purchase!


    Hope you enjoyed my review! :)

    Products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are my own. See disclosure.


    14 October 2013

    Hobby Polish Bloggers Halloween Giveaway

    Hey!! :) No new nail art or swatches here tonight! Can we say huge slump?! I do bring you something even better! What's better than Halloween? How about a Halloween giveaway?! How about a $320 gift card to your choice of Llarowe, Ninja Polish, Harlow & Co, or PayPal? Doesn't that sound awesome?? :D Details are below!! Good luck to you all!



    The Hobby Polish Bloggers are having their first ever multi-blogger giveaway just in time for Halloween! To enter, please allow the Rafflecopter widget to load below. All Terms and Conditions may also be found in the widget. Please visit the following Hobby Polish Bloggers members who are bringing this to you! You may enter using Rafflecopter from any of the below blogs but your entry will only count one time. You may, however, tweet about the giveaway (the last option) once a day for the duration of the giveaway.


    Hobby Polish Bloggers
    Carinae L'etoile
    Fairly Charming
    From Polish, with Love
    Geniabeme
    I Feel Polished
    Imperfectly Painted
    Kat Stays Polished
    Lit From Within
    Love. Varnish, chocolate and more...
    Lucy's Stash
    Manicure Addict
    Manicurity
    Pamper with Polish
    Peer Pressure Polish
    Polarbelle
    polish insomniac
    Polished and Glittered
    Polished Prescription
    PolishGalore
    PolishNV
    pretty tough nails
    The Dalai Lama's Nails
    The Sparkling Hoard

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    30 September 2013

    Pastelish Galaxy Nails?

    Purchased By Me | Provided For Review

    It's Monday!! Another week of work! Hope your day went by as quickly as mine! :)

    I've said this before, but I loooove galaxy nails. They're so easy to do, the color combinations are endless, and you don't have to do traditional galaxies!

    I tried to do pastel galaxies, but my colors were still too dark to be pastel :P I did wear this for a few days, though!

    After my vegetable peeler fiasco, I ended up shortening all of my nails :(



    I used Zoya Dream as my base color, then sponged on Zoya Mason and Belinda, but added mixed in Wet n Wild Break the Ice to lighten the colors. Added China Glaze Fairy Dust and used white acrylic paint and a dotting tool for the stars :)



    Next time, I'll use smaller pieces of sponge on short nails like these :)

    Are you a fan of galaxy nails? Do you like the traditional ones, or do you try different color combinations?

    Some products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are my own. See disclosure.

    29 September 2013

    HYD For Men Review

    Provided For Review | Affiliate Links

    Happy Sunday! I have a few posts lined up, a couple that are not nail polish related! :P Aside from nail polish and books, I also love all things makeup and beauty related :D

    We (my husband and I) were recently sent a few HYD For Men products from the wonderful people over at iFabbo. Hubby has taken a stance against shaving, so I decided to test drive one of the products and give my thoughts on the other two! :)

    HYD For Men Shave Cream, Razor Shield, and Buffer Stick
    The only product I tried myself was the HYD For Men Shave Cream since I ran out of blades and the little moisturizing strips fell off the one blade I had left. 


    The shave cream has a very clean citrusy scent that is not overpowering like other similarly scented products. Unlike shave gels, this is a cream. It is thick enough to provide full coverage, but thin enough to spread easily. Since I used this on my legs, you would have to use quite a bit of product for both legs.


    Also, the shave cream doesn't lather and foam like traditional shave gels do. I would use this again and will definitely be pushing hubby to use this! :)

    The HYD For Men Buffer Stick removes dead skin cells and exfoliates the skin. As a female, I know how important exfoliating is! Your moisturizers work better, your skin is softer. The buffer stick is also supposed to prevent ingrown hairs. I know hubby gets a few of those painful ingrown hairs when he hasn't shaved for weeks and then suddenly decides to shave. Since this is a microdermabrasion, it is recommended that you start off using only once a week, then increasing as needed, not to exceed 3 times a week. Too much microdermabrasion can irritate your skin.



    The buffer stick comes in a twist-bottom container with a screw-on lid. As with the shave cream, this has a very pleasant scent. Not overpowering but subtle. It does have a slight floral scent, but not so much so that your man will be a walking floral arrangement ;)

    And lastly, we have the Razor Shield, which claims to extend the life of your blades. Men with thicker coats will go through more blades than the average man. Over time, blades dull and become impossible to use. You get razor burn, there is a lot of tugging, and your skin isn't as smooth as it is when you pull that blade fresh out of the package and use it for the first time. The Razor Shield is supposed to keep your blades moisturized and protect them. This comes in a small pump bottle and you'll need to prime the pump a couple of times before the product comes out.


    I'll definitely be using this on hubby's blades, as well as mine. Apply this after each shave. Note - Not for use on electric razors! I imagine because this is an oil-based product, it would lock up an electric razor and burn out the motor.


    HYD For Men products are dermatologist tested, paraben free, non-irritating, and are not tested on animals.

    You can purchase these products at the HYD For Men shop and HYD For Men is giving you, lovely readers, a 20% off coupon on your first purchase at HYDForMen.com! Just use the code SAVE20 at checkout :D I have prices listed below for your purchasing pleasure and important links!

    • HYD For Men Shave Cream - $12.99 for 150mL
    • HYD For Men Buffer Stick - $24.99 for 2oz
    • HYD For Men Razor Shield - $17.99 for 15mL

    Do you ever reach for your man's shave products? :P

    Products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are my own. See disclosure.

    28 September 2013

    Zoya Zenith Holiday Winter 2013 Swatches and Review - Picture Heavy

    Provided For Review

    Available October 1st from Zoya.com, the Zenith Holiday Winter Collection will have you longing for hot cocoa, funky scarves, and the serene quiet after a beautiful snowfall <3 At least it does for me! ;)

    Zoya once again nails it with 6 beautiful winter/holiday inspired shades. I absolutely love that Zoya stepped away from the traditional colors associated with the holidays.


    All photos are shown with 2 coats and no top coat. Formula on all of these were phenomenal, as usual!

    *Just a small disclosure - mid-swatching, I had to get dinner started and ended up cutting through a nail with the vegetable peeler, so some photos show the nail in question filed down :P


    Seraphina is a polaris silver metallic. Very sheer on the first coat, still VNL after a second coat. 3 coats would probably be perfect! Beautiful color, reminds me of freshly fallen snow, silver tinsel on Christmas trees. As with any foil/metallic, clean up was a pain :P



    Cassedy is a celestial pewter metallic. Gorgeous! I love the dark gunmetal color and the flashes of pine green coming through.



    Mosheen is an astro ice blue topper consisting of holo bar glitter and small holo glitter dots or hexes. I layered it over Seraphina and Cassedy here. This would look great over a lot of colors!




    Belinda is a cosmic purple metallic. Gorgeous color! Falls right in between Neve from the Satin Collection and Suri.. comparison post??




    Here is Mosheen layered over Belinda. My camera freaked out! Not sure how I feel about this combination, though :\


    And finally.. my two favorites of the collection! <3 If you loved Blaze, Storm, or Aurora from the 2012 Ornate Collection, you'll love these two!


    Payton is a galactic cranberry holo. I think after a third coat (as shown on my ring finger), the color leans more toward a mulberry shade. Definitely reminds me of cranberry sauce, cranberry relish. Yum!


    And my absolute favorite! Dream is a deep space blue holo. I loved this so much I had to use it in a mani (blog post to follow!)


    Beautimous!! <3



    Overall, this collection is absolutely beautiful! All polishes were quick drying and didn't require top coat for shine! Any favorites?

    Zoya can be bought at www.zoya.com and as always, are 5-free. Retail price is $8 per bottle.

    Products in this post were provided for review. All opinions are my own. See disclosure.