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China Glaze Holiday Joy 2012

Posted on 30 October, 20121 November, 2012 by Cynthia

Ok, so I just shared the PR info for the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection and I suddenly realized that I already had 3 of the polishes. Ehhh???? Well, a few weeks ago I went to one of my nail places and I was in a buying trance and was just grabbing random polishes. If this has never happened to you, then you’re probably not really a nail polish addict. Anywho, when it came to add the polishes to my spreadsheet, I realized that they were from the new collection. I am not sure if my nail place put them out by accident or what because they were mixed in with all the other older regular colors. Anywho, I decided to swatch them for you even though they are not even close to the colors that I want from this collection. I am actually really looking forward to Blue Bells (BALLS! hee!) Ring and Winter Holly. My cuticles haven’t quite recovered and my nails are still short so bear with me!

Cranberry Splash

Glitter All The Way

Pure Joy

Aren’t these three the most yawn-worthy colors? I mean, they are so been there done that. There is nothing unique or exciting about these colors because it’s like they are holiday collection staples. Ugh…why did I get them? WHYYYYYYY? (Press the button!) I didn’t want to make fun of Nancy Kerrigan cause I totally loved her, but I couldn’t help it.

So what other holiday collections are you excited about? Do share!

Kiko #397 Aureus Pomegranate

Posted on 28 October, 2012 by Cynthia

Today I have another “foreign” polish to share with you. Kiko is a brand that I have really come to adore because it’s affordable and the polishes are top notch. They have such an amazing array of colors and finishes that I can’t even begin to pick my favorite. The only downside for us US ladies is that we can’t really get this brand locally as it is an Italian brand that is sold in Europe for the most part. Wah wah! This makes me sad, but since I have such lovely polish friends all over the place, I have been able to get some amazing polishes. This was actually one of the very first Kikos I ever received from Sabrina. I got it at the same time as Kiko #336 Blue Elettrico and Kiko #401 Peacock Green and I used it, but I banished the pictures to my hidden folders because once again I applied some questionable glitter on the polish. Anyway, enough of my ramblings and on to to the beauty that is Kiko #397 Aureus Pomegranate!

My experience with Kiko polishes has been perfection in a bottle and this was no different. All I needed were two easy coats! I don’t think this is truly very duo-chromey…I mean, I can see the rose to gold flashes but it’s very subtle. Still, a very lovely addition to my growing Kiko collection.

And because maybe you were wondering about what I did to this beautiful mani afterwards…

Not my favorite look at all, but I have to own it, right?! This is not pretty but at least is not as ugly as my huge hex glitter look. *shudders* Oh, and I made chocolate walnut brownies:

I already ate two. It’s not my fault. They are so chewy and delicious.

Thanks for stopping by and catching up with me. Later, gator.

Bourjois Lavande Esquisse

Posted on 27 October, 2012 by Cynthia

Good morning my dear polish lovers. I have some bad news: my hands and nails are a wreck so I don’t know when I will be able to post nail polish again. I cut my nails all the way down a few days ago and today I started fiddling with my cuticles while I was watching a movie and all of a sudden I had blood on my fingers. I know…I know. This was a terrible habit that I had when I was a kid and I used to do it out of boredom. I would either pick or chew on my cuticles until my fingers got bloody. It’s disgusting, I know, and I promise I won’t do it again.

I was looking through my computer files and I came upon a folder with some old swatch pictures that I hadn’t uploaded. At first, I wondered why I had forgotten about these pictures but then I saw the horrid nail art I had attempted so it all came rushing back to me. There was nothing wrong with the polish–just my half-assed attempts to try to be “creative” with loose glitter. Maybe I will post a pic of the monstrosity at the end of my post.

Bourjois is a French brand that I really like but that is not easily obtained states-side so I usually just drool over pretty swatches. Julie, of my most favorite French bloggers in the entire galaxy, hunted down Bourjois Grenadine Tonic for me and she surprised me with this extra lovely bottle of Bourjois Lavande Esquisse. The 1 Seconde line (One Second–duh!) is supposed to be a line of polishes that should take “1 second” per nail to polish as they claim that you will only need one coat. Well, I guess I could have gotten away with one coat if I had been more careful, but I wasn’t so I had to apply two. Here we go with the swatches:

I don’t know if maybe I didn’t wait long enough for the second coat or what, but I got some very slight bubbling. Then when I applied Seche Vite, it all went to pot. I guess now I know that this particular polish does not mesh well with SV. I found the brush a little strange but easy to get used to after a few tries. Despite those little bumps in the road, I adore this color. It’s so bright yet so delicate.

Since you know I am not afraid to post my disasticures, here is what I was talking about earlier:

While I was doing this, I knew the hexes were way too big, but I didn’t want to stop. So I kept going, and I was more and more horrified. Look, someone just showed Justin a picture of my nails:

I stopped midway and added a coat of SV which caused more bubbles and then it shrunk around my cuticle area. Isn’t that the weirdest thing ever? Oh well. Can’t fight city hall. When in Rome.

Maybe I’m a little delirious since it’s 2 am already. Let me know what you think. Talk to you all later.

Benefit Face Powders – A Review

Posted on 25 October, 2012 by Cynthia

After falling in love with the beauty that is NARS blushes (see my review here), I started looking at other brands for interesting blushes, face powders, and highlighters. And guess what I stumbled upon? Benefit Face Powders! I freaking love their little boxes of color delight. (Ok, that sounds kind of weird but bear with me!) The first face powder I purchased was the lovely Coralista. I had heard so many good things about it that I just couldn’t resist it. And then as it usually happens, I started adding to my collection…

If you are used to crazy dark blushes, these face powders are probably not going to do it for you. I find them to be delicate but they can definitely be built up if you’re looking for a more dramatic look. Some of these face powders can be used as blushes or as all-over face color if you use a light hand. Some of them are very shimmery so you don’t want to go overboard with them unless you want to look like a hot mess with a glitterface. These powders are very soft and blend beautifully. I don’t really have any issues with longevity since they seem to last all day on me. The swatches below are on my bare skin. The bottom swatch in each picture is just a finger swatch and the bottom is a little more blended out. As I mentioned before, these powders are not dramatic or intense unless you decide to build them up.

CORALista

CORALista is my favorite coral blush out there. It reminds me a little of NARS Orgasm without the chunky glitter. For me, this is the perfect summer blush.

Hoola

Hoola is my absolute favorite matte bronzer. I use it to contour or if I just want to give myself a subtle tan (tanner!) look without all the shimmer.

10 is an interesting combination of shimmery golden bronzer and a pink highlighter. For those that are cosmetic application challenged, this might be a great solution when you want to add that perfect amount of shimmer and brighten the top of your cheekbones.

Sugarbomb

Sugarbomb is the best all-over face powder of the bunch. It’s subtle enough where you won’t look weird if you apply it everywhere. The shimmer in it will definitely brighten your complexion.

Dallas

Dallas is another pretty bronzer, but it does have a fair amount of shimmer in it so I wouldn’t really recommend it as an all-over face bronzer unless you like shimmer all over your face. Hey, some people do. I use this on my cheeks only and it works well as a subtle cheek contour.

Bella Bamba

I am in love with Bella Bamba. It’s just such a bright watermelon pink color. I don’t care what time of year it is, I always reach for my Bella Bamba.

Dandelion

And lastly, Dandelion is the most delicate face powder. I think this color suits very fair-skinned ladies who are looking for a light flush with some shimmer. When I use this, it doesn’t show up too well on my skin but I do get some brightening and it works great as a highlighter for me.

Benefit Face Powders can be purchased directly from their website and retail for $28.00. Have you tried any of the Benefit Face Powders? If so, what are your favorites?

31 Inspired Days of Nail Art – Day 15: Jelly Sandwich

Posted on 22 October, 20125 November, 2012 by Cynthia

Once again I had intentions of doing my nails early today but instead I went to see Paranormal Activity 4. I tend to watch every horror/paranormal movie that is released so I was kind of looking forward to watching it, but it turned out to be horribly boring. It actually pissed me off because I kept waiting for something–anything–interesting to happen but nothing ever did. What a waste of an hour and a half! Anyway, today’s challenge calls for a jelly sandwich manicure. I’ve never really done a jelly sandwich manicure because I don’t have too many jellies so I had to improvise. I actually ended up making everything way more complicated than it needed to be so let me show you what I did.

I started with Butter London Slapper.

I got a bunch of Butter Londons recently and this is one that I still hadn’t tried. I love this colors! It is gorgeous, buttery and glossy.

I then added a coat of OPI The Living Daylights from the new Skyfall holiday collection.

And lastly I slapped on two coats of Revlon Whimsical.

I think that this ended up looking a little like the Nails Inc. Sprinkles polishes. I kinda like how muted the base color looks, but overall, I did not like all the polish layers–my nails felt super thick. So what do you think about my first jelly sandwich manicure attempt? Can you recommend some really awesome jelly polishes? I really want to get a few more jellies so I can experiment with them.Our next challenge will be on November 3rd as we are taking a little break for Halloween. I am going to take a break from doing my nails until then. Don’t forget to check back with me since I will be doing non-nail related posts until 11/3.

Take a minute to check out the other jelly sandwich manicures below from Nicole, Jessica, Ave and Alaina. Thanks for stopping by.

Sation Gimme Jimi

Posted on 21 October, 201225 October, 2012 by Cynthia

A few days ago, I had a dream about my cousin. In my dream, she was her usual loud, boisterous and animated self. We all knew that she was gone, but she was still there talking to everyone and she was castigating us for being sad. I do believe in my dreams and maybe it was her way of saying that she was ok. I wish I had spent more time with her. I wish I had known her better. You always think that there will be more time to make it to the family get-togethers. You always think that there will be more time…until there isn’t.

A month ago today, we lost her. We lost a daughter, mother, grandmother, wife, cousin and friend. My cousin had a lot of stories regarding dragonflies and how they showed up at random times that ended up being not so random. I decided to do my own dragonflies today.

I used Sation Gimme Jimi from their limited edition Nailstock Collection as my base color.

The dragonfly design comes from plate MASH 41, and I used Konad special polish in black for stamping.

These are my dragonflies for her. Her passing has left a big hole in our family, but I am grateful for having known her. She will live on in the fabric of our family’s love that will weave us all together always.

OPI Tickle My France-y & We’ll Always Have Paris

Posted on 17 October, 201216 October, 2012 by Cynthia

I am just about ready to give up on doing gradient manicures. I just don’t understand why I have such a hard time with them! I’ve tried just about a million tips that other nail gurus have offered, but my gradients just keep coming out harsh and choppy–never smooth and beautiful. My nails for the challenge yesterday, which you can see here, are a perfect example of how my gradients always turn out. I love the colors that I used, but that weird and uneven gradient totally killed it. So in order to make up for that, I picked a Fall color and lovely nude to work with: OPI Ticke My France-y and OPI We’ll Always have Paris–both from the Collection de France. I seriously love that whole collection.

Tickle My France-y is perfection. It’s such a gorgeous pinky nude that is opaque and easy to work with and doesn’t need a billion coats: I only needed two. Since I kind of failed on my previous tape manicure, I decided to try it again WITHOUT the gradient.

After I applied the stripping tape, I then painted over my whole nails with OPI We’ll Always Have Paris. I know this is a fairly common manicure but it’s only the second time I use stripping tape this way. If you’ve never tried this, just make sure that you do one nail at a time because otherwise the top layer of polish will dry and you will have a serious mess on your hands–literally!

So, you tell me: did redeem myself from yesterday’s gradient disasticure? Thanks for catching up with my crazy nail adventures–talk to you soon.

31 Inspired Days of Nail Art – Day 13: Tape Manicure

Posted on 16 October, 2012 by Cynthia

I literally just finished my tape manicure…just a little late. I have been late with everything lately which is super annoying. I’ve been lacking a lot of inspiration when it comes to my manicures or anything in general, actually. I hope it’s just temporary! So anyway, here is my tape manicure for today’s challenge:

I don’t think that I have used You Belong To Me since the first time I swatched it, and my only question is: WHAT WAS I WAITING FOR??? I really love this color especially because it has this really beautiful hidden shimmer. These pictures make the color look more blue when in real life it has more of a green tone to it. The formula was ok–a little thick but nothing a few drops of thinner can’t fix.

I hope that the following qualifies as a tape manicure? I mean, I did use stripping tape…

I used a sponge to apply Choose Me! over You Belong To Me and the stripping tape I applied in a crisscross pattern.

Sorry, I couldn’t help it. This song was huge when I was in 6th/7th grade and I remember everyone wearing their jeans and sweatshirts backwards. I tried to join in on this fad until my mom made me change and told me to stop acting like a fool. Ahhh…I love my mom. hahaha.

So back to the final mani: I still hate my sponging but I do like the colors. Again, the pictures make everything look more blue than green. Choose Me! is such a pretty polish which is a dupe of OPI Catch Me In Your Net/Zoya Charla/Orly Halley’s Comet/WNW Teal Of Fortune/Sinful Colors Kissy so it is definitely more green than these pictures makes it out to be. The beautiful shimmery flecks make this polish a favorite of mine…along with the other dupes as well.

So, let me know what you think of my tape manicure. Don’t forget to check out the other challenge submissions below as well. Thanks for stopping by–catch up with you later!

31 Inspired Days of Nail Art – Day 12 : Chevron Nails

Posted on 13 October, 2012 by Cynthia

I was feeling completely uninspired about doing today’s challenge. I love chevrons on my nails, but I don’t think that chevrons would look good on my rounded super short nails so I decided to to inverted chevrons.

Sation Rock-a-guy Blue is a great blue that I recently purchased. It’s my favorite color from the Little Horse On The Prairie Collection.

I then used Sation Blue Sky’s The Limit for the inverted chevron tips. I am so annoyed that I didn’t see a couple of fibers on my nails and now I can’t do anything about it. Grrrrrr!

I don’t know why I decided to stamp over this, but I did…

I used the paisley print from Bundle Monster plate BM 315 and Wet N Wild’s I Can’t Stand Up Straight. This is so subtle that I can barely tell the stamping is there in indirect light. I’m totally not feeling this stamp on these base colors–can’t win them all.

I need to go cook dinner so forgive me if I’m not particularly talkative throughout this post. Today is a crappy day–just feeling a little down in the dumps so hopefully I’ll feel better once I eat something. Food: always the answer! 🙂

Don’t forget to check out the other manicures my lovely challenge participants created. Thanks for catching up with me today.

Sation Violet Sapphire

Posted on 13 October, 201213 October, 2012 by Cynthia

I don’t remember when I first purchased Sation Violet Sapphire…I actually don’t remember purchasing it at all! Does this happen to any other nail polish enthusiast out there? I must have hundreds of polishes that I have never used–even for swatching. Yes, I am hanging my head in shame, but I know that some of you out there understand!

Violet Sapphire is such a girlie color. When I first looked at the color in the bottle, I was afraid that it would be super brush stroke-y, but it really isn’t. It’s has a pearlized shimmer that makes it look delicate, but I’m not going to call it the dreaded F-word…FROST!

For this final mani, I used Konad Special white polish and a design from image plate MASH 39. I like this fish scale design, but I don’t really like the colors I used. I think that the white looks too harsh against the base color. I am imagining something much more delicate like maybe a pastel with this pattern stamped in silver.

So a couple of my girlfriends and I are trying to motivate each other to work out (hopefully we can start going to the gym together) and eat better. So what did I do today? I didn’t eat anything all day and then I went out and got this:

I don’t know how big and widespread the Chipotle chain is, but that is where I got this massive burrito. It is full of cilantro rice, pinto beans, grilled steak, cheese, sour cream and salsa. If you’re wondering if I ate the whole thing….well, a girl with a gullet the size of the grand canyon would never eat and tell. haha!

Are you excited about the weekend? Do you have any plans? I don’t have much going on except maybe doing some more polish organizing since I acquired over 100 bottles in the last month or so. I know…it’s a sickness. All I have to say in my defense is that I got a bunch of them for free and some as gifts. Speaking of gifts, once my nails grow out a bit, I’m going to start featuring the lovely polishes I received for my birthday.

Thanks for stopping by to visit my little pyscho corner of polish addiction…and massive burritos. Talk to you soon!