Julep Gunta (and the lengths I went to to own it...)

Hi friends!

A lot has gone on since the last time I posted, my apologies. Blahblahblah normal excuses, but between massive overtime at work every week, MoP raiding, my birthday, the holidays, etc etc etc this poor little blog has gone neglected. Awww. :(

Anyway, hoping to throw together a redesign somewhere in the next week or so, I'm not too wild about this template.

So a while back I picked up Julep Gunta in one of Julep's many promos. I highly dislike Julep's bottles, I will say. They're awkward to store and aren't very stable during use. However, some of their colors are worth making the exception for! Gunta is one. It's from the Trina Turk Fall '12 collection. Hellloooo TARDIS blue. Gunta went on smoothly, I used 2 coats for the below. Cleanup wasn't that difficult, as far as dark blues go it didn't settle into the cuticles much. There was no staining after I removed it. I wore this for about 4 days since the color was so amazing.

Here's where the story in the title comes in! I wore this before I made my swatch stick of it, so I'd already voted it Favorite Blue Ever. When I went to go grab it for real swatches, I dropped it and it shattered evvveeerrryyywwwhhheeerrree. Lucky cleanup is easy on granite and stone tile, but my foot was covered in blue for a few days. Immediately after cleaning I hopped on Julep's site to buy a new bottle (duh). The single bottle was no longer available! Like, it's up there but you can't add it to the cart. Nothing on Copious, nothing on eBay. The only way I could find to get it was to order the September Boho Glam box. Seriously, guys, I ended up having to buy the Julep brown mascara and a 2nd bottle of Popova (a green) just to own Gunta again. /facepalm Hopefully the pics explain why and I'm not just crazy...it's a gorgeous color. ;)

What's your guys' vote for best TARDIS blue polish? 

Thanks for reading!

K x

KBShimmer Cotton Candy

Ahoy! I have for you today KBShimmer's Cotton Candy, I was lucky enough to get my hands on it when she discontinued it in (August, I think?) along with Cheerleader and Key Lime Pie. Posts for another time!

Anyhow, Cotton Candy...it's a soft pink base with pink, lavender, teal and purple hexes and squares...I'd have to study the bottle for a while to tell you exactly, there's a lot of stuff in there! Application is great as it is with all of her formulas. It seriously is like someone took pink, blue and lavender cotton candy (you know what colors I'm talking about) and shredded it up onto your hands, I love it.

I used three coats but in the future I'd probably put 2 thin coats over some pink undies, the glitter was SUPER dense. This is only a personal preference, though, it's adorable by itself as well. I'll say it again, the formula was great. I didn't do any cleanup work with this polish. It's thirsty so I used 2 coats of Gelous and then SV.

See how cute that is? It's a great quick mani too, when you don't have time for nail art...you don't have to play with the application to get it to look good. The only issue I had was some of the square glitters, watch out that they are flat on your nail. The glitter is so thick in this one that a few of the squares got a little wonky and bothered me until I pulled them off :s

KBShimmer polishes can be purchased from her store and from Etsy for $8.50/full size, and you can follow her Facebook for updates. There's a mailing list signup on her store page too, I highly recommend you follow it, sometimes I miss things on Facebook and it's easier for me to catch discontinues/new shades over email. She also sells bath items that I hear very good things about! Her lip balm is on my wishlist :)

Thanks for reading, as always!
K x

Smitten Polish Glass Elevator

Hi ladies,

First of all, thank you for being patient and putting up with me being MIA on vacation :)
Second of all, here are some posts I need to catch up on! This mani dates back a few weeks, but I never did post my "G" week ABC Challenge selection.

Smitten Polish just keeps knocking it out of the park for me, so I chose one from her Confection collection: Glass Elevator. It's a jelly white with small and large ??seafoam?? glitter. These are my words, mind you, so I could be totally off :p It's pretty, that's all I need to know!

This is 3 coats.

 

 

The formula on mine was pretty thick (same as my Winter is Coming), but that's OK with me since I like thick polishes, they give my thin nails some defense lol. You can do 2-3 coats of this on its own for full opacity, or layer it over a white for more sparse glitter.

As always, yay Smitten Polish! Like her Facebook and follow her blog for her Etsy shop updates ($9 for a full size bottle). She has some super cute fall shades right now that are on my wishlist.

Thanks for reading!

K x

September MyGlam...Or should I say Ipsy??

Hi all, today I want to review my September MyGlam bag for you all.
MyGlam, despite hearing several bad reviews before I began my subscription, has never disappointed me. Every bag has had *something* I was really excited about.

This month they've rebranded, I guess, and changed their name to ...Ipsy. I forget what exactly they based the new name off of, but it doesn't really do it for me.

The postcard I got in my bag. It's a collage of subscriber photos!

This month's bag was a wristlet! Cool, I love wristlets! I will actually use this bag.

The last of the Andrea's Choice Circus nail colors, Tightrope. And Carol's Daughter Monoi Split End Sealer.

This is Tightrope. It's a neon and dries matte, but here it is with topcoat.

As you can see it bubbled somewhat, this is because application was a little tricky...

I used two coats of Tightrope over one coat of Sinful Colors Snow Me White.

For some reason I couldn't get this polish to apply smoothly. Maybe I was just having a bad day!

Regardless, it's gorgeous, I'm not ready to give up neons for Fall just yet.

The bag also came with a smudge brush from London SOHO New York.

Jane Sparkle Pink and Mirabella Semiformal, swatched below.

Jane Sparkle Pink

Mirabella Semiformal swatched with primer (Lorac)

All in all I'd say it was a good bag! The brush was good, soft with just the right amount of substance. You can't have too many brushes! The polish was lovely even though application was iffy (not due to the brush, the polish was just streaky...darn neons). The Carol's Daughter Monoi Split End Sealer...I'm just not a CD fan. I don't really care for the way this smells, either. The lip gloss was OK, nothing special. The eyeshadow is a lovely copper but makes me look tired. I layered some Too Faced gold shadow over it and that improved things somewhat. The bag also included a $20 coupon for justfab.com, which is cool because you can find cheap flats and things. It's good for shoes you know you'll only wear once or twice.

The Ipsy (MyGlam) monthly sub is $10 and you can sign up at ipsy.com. Honestly, in a battle between this and Birchbox, this would win (more about my September BB later...grr).

Did anyone get anything different?? Even better, is anyone on the postcard? :D
Thanks for reading!
K x

Loch Seaweed

This post is rather late, but this was last week's ABC Challenge: F. I've been dying to jelly sandwich with one of the new Zoya Gloss colors, and was determined to use Elixir Lacquers' We Sisters Three as something other than a simple topper. I chose Zoya Frida, a greenish teal jelly. We Sisters Three is green, silver and holographic glitter. What I like about this combo is that Frida obscures the plain glitter in We Sisters Three and lets the holo glitter shine through. It's like sun sparkling through the seaweed at the bottom of a lake, I love it this way.

This is two coats of Frida, two coats of We Sisters Three and one more coat of Frida. 

See what I mean? Look at that depth.

 

I didn't get a good macro bottle shot of WS3...my camera couldn't handle the sparkly.

 

Elixir Lacquers can be purchased at elixirlacquers.com for $10 each, if you order 7 polishes you get the secret shade Buzzworthy for free (I believe it's a yellow color). I've gotten one of her secret shades before, Calypso, and it was gooooorgeous. WS3 is no longer sold, but With a K and Kind of Connery are a similar kind of ridiculous sparkly. She also just released her Lov-a-Bully collection and 10% of every bottle sold (or 20% if you order all 7 bottles) goes to the Atlanta Bully Rescue. I love this, the polishes are adorable and any intersection of dogs and polishes is right up my alley! Follow her Facebook page for more updates and swatches. Zoya of course can be purchased at zoya.com. 

What's your guys' favorite Frida sandwich?

Thanks for reading!

K x

A-England Tristam

Today I have some polishes that are well worth the wait - for overseas shipping that is! A-England polishes take about 3 weeks to get to me but I'm slowly and surely growing my collection. They are seriously some of the best polishes I own. They don't shrink under Seche Vite, they're a breeze to clean up and wear like iron. No kidding guys, when these pics were taken this mani was 5 DAYS OLD. (and I'm a sysadmin, I don't go easy on my hands!)

This is Tristam. Adina, the maker of A-England polishes, describes it as "night blue sky with starlight glimmer and glow." It certainly is...it's a dark purplish blue with a light scattered holo. Here are some pictures of 2 coats, plus a blurry picture so you guys can see the sparkles!

I left this alone for a few days then decided I had enjoyed it enough on its own :) I had something I wanted to show you guys. When I stamp I like to make cleanup as easy as possible. I have one of those grabby things that I put on a cottonball before I start, to clean my plate. For my stamper and cleanup brush, I made a acetone spongy tub. For this, you buy a nail polish remover tub with the sponge inside (make sure the mouth is large enough for your stamper, if you have an XL), dump out the crappy remover inside and fill with pure acetone. You can use this to dip your cottonball and cleanup brush into, and the sponge cleans your stamper between nails.

For my stamping design I used my trusty DRK-A plate and A-England Princess Tears, which is also a light scattered holo in a pinky/lavender base. I chose a Celtic knot design because it just seemed appropriate :)

These polishes stamp like a dream! The effect is a little subtle but soooo sparkly. To finish up I used Konad Top Coat, I know everyone says you don't need it but...I don't get smears when I use it! So worth it.

A-England polishes can be purchased from their website, there's free international shipping and if you follow her on Facebook you will be in the loop for any promos! The DRK-A plate can be purchased from Ninja Polish.

Thanks for reading!

K x

Ulta Envy - TIOT & ABC "E"

I have it bad for dark greens right now. Like, really really bad. I think that's my biological Christmas clock kicking in for the year.

Enter Ulta Envy that I got with Copious credits. For those who don't know, Copious is a site where you can post beauty products, shoes, jewelry, clothes etc. for others to buy. They give out free credits once or twice a month, free nail polish, yay! If you don't have an account yet you can use my link to sign up and get a $10 credit to use.

Moving on, I expected this to go better than it did...Envy was as gorgeous as I had hoped, a rich dark green shimmer. I had a gold nail art pen I got from Sephora back when they were on clearance for $3. This is a weird pen, the color didn't want to flow smoothly and I had to go over the lines about 5 times. I was going for a gold vine-y, foresty look but since I had to revisit the lines so much they didn't turn out delicately like I'd  wanted. Also, I misjudged how big the rhinestones were. Oops.

But long story short, Ulta Envy...well worth getting! I think I got an older bottle, because it seemed a little gloopy. Nothing thinner won't fix. The below pictures are 2 coats.

Haha, and the ring was another $2 off eBay China special. Before I forget, I ordered 2 sampler packs of cuticle oil rollers from 365 Days of Color. I love ordering things from Sunny, they get to me ridiculously fast in a cute blue padded envelope and her attention to detail is great. I know I'm going to get something packed with thought and care when I order from her. Anyway, because I'm obsessed with Christmas (see above) I chose all her Christmas smells for my cuticle oils. The oils come in rollerball containers (YES YES YES) and a sampler comes with 3 5ml bottles. You can pick the scents you want. I got Christmas Cookies, Toasted Marshmallow, Christmas Morning, Christmas Memories, Country Christmas and Christmas Tree. Phew.

I've only tried Toasted Marshmallow, Christmas Cookies and Christmas Memories thus far but YES! I love them! The smell lasts foreverrrrrrrrrrrr. With Solar Oil and Avoplex the smell is gone in 5, what a bummer because they smell good. I put on Toasted Marshmallow around 8pm last night and I woke up with marshmallowy scented hands this morning. 365's Big Cartel link is above, but she also has a blog and a Facebook...check her out!

Thanks for reading! K x

When I have time...

August 2012 Birchbox

I'm so addicted to sample services. Even if it's not something I ever thought of using, it's cool to know it's out there. Of course, it's hard to give a proper review when samples only give 1-2 uses, but I guess it's enough to give an idea!

One service I subscribe to is Birchbox, I'm sure everyone knows what this is by now but for those who don't I'll give a blurb at the end of the post :)

August's box was supposed to be a "back to school" theme. I didn't really get the theme vibe from the box, but whatever :p Sorry, but I didn't take individual pics of each of the products...they weren't really that interesting to me!

My Box

Shu Uemura Art of Hair Full Shimmer Illuminating Shampoo/Treatment:

Pros: Smells like roses! My favorite smell! The sample was enough for 2 uses. My hair feels softer than it does with my regular shampoo/conditioner (Living Proof no frizz)

Cons: I don't like the sample packets grrr. They're hard to tear open. It doesn't calm frizz as well as my current s/c. I don't know if this is sulfate free, but it felt like it when I was using it...you know? Sulfate free hair products don't feel very luxurious during use, I don't know if I'm the only one who has that complaint :p But as soon as it rinsed out it felt amazing (not a con, duh)

I have fine, color treated, frizzy hair that tangles easily and most hair products make it feel sticky. It's frizzier than after the Living Proof but softer, less tangly and not sticky. The real test would be to use it for more than  a few weeks. I'd also be interested to see if the color preservation properties work, since I have reverse-ombre-ish hair that's dark red on the bottom and it fades like crazy.

This stuff is even more expensive than my Living Proof but I might have to offload some BB points. At the very least I'm glad I got to try it, even though I have to put it on my wish list for a little while.

Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy La Fleur:

I have the regular Viva la Juicy, I haven't met a Juicy perfume I didn't like...mmm. This smells pretty much the same, just more...flowery? IDK I don't review perfumes for a good reason :p If you like the original VLJ I would say this is a safe bet. It's got that same candy sweet but fresh smell, but with a hint of floral. The bottle is super cute.

Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink:

I love this! It looks terrifyingly bright in the package but goes on very sheer, it looks like you've eaten a popsicle. It tones down to something that looks very good on my skintone, which as you can see from my pictures is light with cool/neutral undertones. I would normally show this on my lips but the weird heatwave we're having in San Diego is doing some funny things to my skin ...I'll spare you guys. This has no taste or smell, didn't feel sticky and felt moisturized. I don't think it lasted very long but no lip gloss does on me, YMMV. I've heard so many good things about the Jouer lip glosses but never got to try one before now.

This color is JUST the right amount of pop on me.

Apothederm Stretch Mark Cream:

Umm...this one's hard to evaluate. I have a few horizontal stretch marks on my legs from growing at a ridiculous rate when I was younger, and I guess they just never went away. But I was under the impression stretch mark treatments had to be used for a matter of weeks or months for results. This sample will probably get you about 3-4 uses. I really don't like it...it's sticky and it smells funny, it *smells* unscented, if that makes any sense? I would just stick with cocoa butter :) Per the blurb on BB's product page it sounds really great, but I would have to see a study with amazing results before I'll put up with the sticky and weird smell LOL!

Schick Hydro Silk Razor:
Another ummm...sure...*throws in guest drawer* I've been all about men's razors since my roomie turned me on to them back in college. They're less floofy and have a heft and sturdiness to them that I didn't get back when I used the Venus or Schick Women's Quattro. I currently use a men's Gillette Fusion, it just feels less flimsy than the women's razors I used to use. But you never know when you'll need a one-off razor, so in the sample bin it goes! FWIW, this one looks very nice and I have not tried the Hydro Silk specifically.

The box also came with a "Beauty School" book with tips and tricks, a lot of the stuff in there wasn't anything wild but if you're just getting started I could see how it would be helpful :)

Hit up the product title links for the Birchbox product pages! I'm kinda ticked at them right now, Myglam is lapping them in every way each month, but it's too fun to get a box of samples each month to unsub. If you don't know what Birchbox is, it's a $10/mo (monthly or yearly) sample box program, they collect up 4-5 deluxe samples and send them out to you. I've gotten some real duds (teabags? bahahaha) and some real treasures (mini Color Clubs, Eyeko eye sticks, blinc mascara). You can sign up at Birchbox.com or use my referral link here: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=kgpq4

Again, thanks for reading! Did anyone else get anything of note in their Birchboxes this month?
K x