Finally Back

After what seems like FOREVER... I finally have internet at my new house. It was briefly hooked up when posted on 5/22/12 about my new polish room, and then they came to bury the phone line outside the next day. It killed it. I've argued with my phone company ever since that they messed something up, but just got through their thick skulls today. So finally it's fixed and all is good in the world again. 

My nails are still in slightly pitiful shape, but they are getting better each day. In the mean time, I'll be showing you some pics that I had taken either before or during the move. Sorry, but because it's been so long I don't remember exactly what polishes I used or how many coats. Just enjoy pretty pictures. :)

I'm pretty sure that I used Deborah Lippmann Lara's Theme and Barielle Lemondrops.

I wanted to try out the two finger accent nail combo.

Then I added a coat of Lynnderella Connect The Dots because it always looks great over bright colors. 

Until next time ladies!

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glitter in the air + extra glitter!

Good evening! Or prevening, for all my Big Bang Theory fans out there.

Today I'll be showing you a random mani I wore about a week and a half ago. 

Please excuse the little purple hearts on these photos, but I'm sure you'll find them less offensive than what was underneath... I had a booboo. And it was super painful and made it hard for me to pose my hand. I actually had naked nails for a few days because I couldn't bend my thumb enough to paint them! Haha!

I wanted something dainty for my first mani after having sad naked nails, and I decided I wanted to finally wear Deborah Lippmann's Glitter In The Air.
I had yet to wear it because I couldn't decide what color to wear underneath!
But it struck me to use Color Club Secret Rendezvous, a sheer lavender color that you can use several coats of to make it opaque, or wear just 2 coats like I did for a jelly finish.

I really liked the combo! But I got tired of it after a few days so I added some more glitter.

Not my best effort.
I filled in one side with Nicole by OPI - One Less Lonely Glitter, and added a stripe using Milani - Purple Outline, from their nail art collection.

Meh. I think liked it better before the added glitters.
Hey, at least I found a nice way to wear Glitter In The Air!

More about → glitter in the air + extra glitter!

Topbox Review - May Topbox

I'm sure you've all heard about the many beauty sample services on the market these days.
It's a very popular concept with a bunch of different companies offering beauty boxes all across the world.
Some you hear bad things about, and some you hear great things about.

One of the ones with a great reputation is Topbox.

Topbox is a Canadian company that delivers 4 hand-picked deluxe beauty samples to your door each month for just $10.
Ten bucks! For high-end samples and often full size products! It's an amazing deal.

You fill out a beauty profile which helps the Topbox ladies decide which products are right for you, and if you refer friends, you can get free boxes!

As you can see it comes in a nice sturdy tube which protects your samples from getting banged up in the mail. This tube is made of 100% recycled material! There's also some pretty tissue paper for extra protection.
Topbox makes their packaging as small as possible to be as earth-friendly as possible!

Wanna see what is in this month's Topbox?

Yes folks, that's a full size Deborah Lippmann!
Let's take a look at all of these products in detail, and I'm saving the Lippmann for last.

Cover FX Clear Prep FX
This is a sample of foundation primer which does double-duty as an anti-acne gel.
The description card shown above comes in the box with more information about all of your products and where you can buy more, which is super handy.
I've never used foundation primer before so this is something cool to try! It's clear as you can see and when you rub it in, it's completely invisible and feels weightless.
I don't have any foundation on hand to test over the primer (I threw mine out because it just didn't match) but I know the importance of eyeshadow primer - so I'm sure this stuff is important too.

Orlane Anagenèse 25+ First Time-Fighting Care Eye Contour
Oh boy do I need something like this in my life. I've got the worst bags under my eyes because I'm anemic from my Crohn's disease.
I'm really excited to begin using this product and see if it makes a difference!
It's a white gel/creme and it dries clear once you rub it in. A tiny amount goes a long way, I barely used any under both eyes.

 
Expressions Bronzing Powder Brush
How cool is this? A high-end makeup brush in the box. It feels so soft, I don't have any other brushes this soft! And the handle feels really cool too. It feels expensive, you know? Haha!
The other cool thing about this is that there's a deal for Topbox members to get the whole brush set at a discounted price, as it says on the info card. That's really cool. You're not only getting cool stuff in the box but you're getting great offers too.

Now, the one you've been waiting for...

Deborah Lippmann - Whatever Lola Wants
This is a sheer pink shimmer polish that was created with Kelly Ripa! Her daughter's name is Lola, how cute that she has this polish for her!
In the above picture you can see there's also a card you can bring to Holt Renfrew and get a free nail file! Another perk. I don't have a Holt Renfrew here though, sad.

As I said this is a sheer polish but you can build it to opacity at three coats which I've shown here. It's really pretty and feminine. My mom loves sheer pink shimmers so you can bet she'll be wearing this one.
You can also layer this over other colors to give them a shimmery look!

Here it is over OPI - Kiss Me On My Tulips. Really pretty! I'm digging this polish.

Lippmann polishes retail between $16 and $20, so this more than makes up for the $10 you'd spend on the box. Plus the $25 makeup brush, plus the two samples. Totally worth it.

It's impossible to say anything bad about my experience with Topbox.

It's really cool that you can try the high-end samples to decide if you want to spend the money on the full-size! Plus you'll get some full size items too which are worth more than what the box costs you. Plus the other offers, it's just a great deal all around.

Canadian ladies, visit Topbox.ca to put yourself on the waiting list for a Topbox!
You can also check them out on their blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

(Product provided for honest review.)

More about → Topbox Review - May Topbox

three layers of awesome

Hey guys!
Yesterday I showed you a great hot pink polish from NOX Twilight and I teased you with a great layering combo... So here it is!

As a refresher, this is what NOX Twilight - Crush looks like. A hot neon pink creme.

I had just gotten some really cool stuff in the mail, so I added 2 polishes on top of this one that I don't think I've seen layered over colors like this!

First I added a coat of Max Factor - Fantasy Fire.
This tiny little polish is a gem from the UK. These are being swapped out of England like crazy, but lucky me, I have an aunt in England and she picked this up for me! Along with two of its friends, of course.
Fantasy Fire is a purple polish with intense multi-chromatic shimmer, much like the very very very extremely hard to find and expensive Clarins 230.
I haven't swatched this little beauty yet so in the meantime please check this post from Polish Ninja that compares the two!

I couldn't see all the colors in Fantasy Fire while layered over the pink, but the vibrant purple base made this crazy weird neon magenta color. It almost didn't look real when it was on my nails. The color was something I'd never seen before in polish-form.
I'm not sure if the photos quite show the uniqueness of the color but take my word for it, it was really cool!

I didn't stop there. I added a third polish that gave it a whole new look.

I added Deborah Lippmann - Across The Universe.
I don't think I've ever seen this polish layered over purple before, and it really is stunning! Especially over such a bright and shimmery purple.
ATU as it is affectionately known is a dark blue jelly polish with blue and green glitters, small and large.

Isn't it kinda strange how you see all the layers? You can see the blue jelly and the glitter, and the shimmer from Fantasy Fire, but still you can see the brightness of Crush too. Totally weird, and very cool!

I got this Lippmann when they were on sale half price after Deborah was on some television show. So this was $9. I'd have a hard time paying full price for Lippmanns, but I can do $9.

Well there you have it! Three great polishes that make a great combo. What do you think?

More about → three layers of awesome

Deborah Lippmann - Lara's Theme

Hi guys! Here is another one of the Deborah Lippmann's that I recently acquired. This is Lara's Theme which is pretty much just a bright orange creme finish.

2 coats

I showed you this swatch stick comparison earlier. Left is DL Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Right is DL Lara's Theme.

This is 2 coats of Lara's Theme.

Then I wanted to add some flakes, so I added 1 coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Glass Slipper. Instead of staying a frosty white, the flakes took on a gold color when layered over the orange.

I wore this with a dress that I thought was bright orange, but when I got under the lights of where I was going.... The dress turned out to be more coral toned! So I felt a little silly, but that's what happens when you have poor lighting in your apartment and it's no longer daylight! Oops!

More about → Deborah Lippmann - Lara's Theme

31 Day Challenge - Day 6 - Violet

Today we have Ursula from The Little Mermaid! Such a wicked villain, but a gorgeous purple. ;)

I've done The Little Mermaid before on false nails, and then I've also done an Ariel inspired french tip design. So be sure to check those out.

I started with 2 coats of China Glaze Spontaneous

I did all the details of Ursula's face with acrylic paints.

Then I started adding the tentacles to the other nails. This is Zoya Kieko.

Then Deborah Lippmann Between the Sheets

More black acrylic paint.

Dots of Zoya Areej for the suction cups.

 

Then small center dots of Zoya Mira. A final thick coat of Seche Vite.

I think these turned out wickedly good!

More about → 31 Day Challenge - Day 6 - Violet