June/July Polish Haul!

I just want to start of with a bit of a disclaimer first. Most of the polishes I'm showing I purchased with my own money. A good handful of these polishes were given to me as birthday gifts, for my birthday was this month on the 8th. I really enjoy painting my nails (if you couldn't tell) and this has progressed into a wonderful hobby (obsession) that I really enjoy blogging. If anything this blog is more so for myself. I don't care how many readers I have or don't have. In no way am I trying to show off or brag. I just really really enjoy nail polish. :)

I also updated my Nail Polish Catalog tab on my website. I finally linked it to a Google spreadsheet, which made everything more organized. For the moment, I'm quiet happy with it!

H&M Nail Polish: Fantasy Ocean, Pink, Red, Bronze, Blue. Beige, Urban Spirit, and Goldness

 H&M is rather far from me. I love the clothes they have to other, I just hate the sizing. :( If I'm lucky I can find somethings, but not often. So when I went I just picked myself up these polishes. They are wonderfully adorable and very unique colors/bottles. I had to stop myself from buying more!!

OPI: Nothin' Mouise 'Bout It, DS Classic, My Private Jet

I get my hair cut/recolored every month and at my salon there's OPI polishes and ooooooh how they tempt me! The pink glitter polish Nothin' Mouise 'Bout It, if from OPI's Minnie Mouse Collection. There are large heart-shaped glitters in the bottle. Such a fun polish! The other 2 polishes are holo-shimmer like. The DS collection I found at ULTA.

Sally Hansen: White On, Blizzard Blue, Flirt, Buttercup, Limestone

All these polishes were given to me as birthday gifts from my mother and sister. As you will later see they went a little polish happy, when it came to my birthday this year. They picked these up at Walmart but they are pretty much available anywhere.

Wet n' Wild: Kaleidoscope, Jezebel, Casting Call, Sunny Side Up, Bijou Blue, Rain Check, Wild Card, Metallica

Again, more birthday gifts from my mother and sister. They purchased these from Walmart. I think they did a wonderful job picking out colors for me!

NYC: Charming Rose Creme, Purple Pizzazz Frost, Central Park, Mulberry Street, Lexington Taxi, Water Street Blue, East Village, Sidewalkers

 And again! More birthday presents from my mom and sister. I told you they went polish crazy.

Hard Candy: Splendid, Sky, Frenzy

More gifts and these are super freaking adorable with the rings attached. Too bad they don't fit. :p These are available at Walmart.

Salon Prefect: Spicy Tomato, Bubblegum, Prefectly Peach, Lemon Zing, Kiwi Lime, Sour Apples, Blue Mint, Blue Rasberry, Berry Blue, Lavender Icing, Plum Sorbet

And I believe these are the last of their gifts to me. I love all these colors. Very basic colors and would be a good starter to anyone's collection. I believe they purchased these at Walmart as well.

Tokidoki: Savanna and Ciao Ciao

It makes to sad that Sephora is killing the Tokidoki line. I'm so fond of all the colors and cute Japanese inspired art. :( Since they are doing away with the line, it's all being clearanced. I picked up alot of makeup at good prices. These were the 2 polishes I got, both glitter based.

China Glaze: Hey Sailor, Kalahari Kiss, Orange you Hot, Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, Man Hunt, Jungle Queen, Purr-fect Plum, Prey Tell

Sorry my camera cut out the 2 at the ends. China Glaze is probably my favorite nail polish brand atm and I went a little over broad, haha! Most of these polishes are from China Glaze's new On Safari Collection and I can not wait to try them out! I am in love with every color. These will probably be my go-tos for fall.

Essie: Fun in the Gondola, Eternal Optimist, Demure Vix, Mamba, Absolutely Shore, Turquoise & Caicos, Angora Cardi

I've recently started obsessing over Essie polish. I love how every color is so different but very natural? It seems like it could go with any outfit. I'm anxious to try these colors out. Turquoise & Caicos has been on my wish list for a long time now!

Sonia Kashuk's Fairy Princess

I picked this up at Target. It was actually part of a manicure I blogged about here. The color is so lovely but the formula is difficult to work with. :( I was able to get a close up of the shimmer this time I forgot to in my earlier post.

Butter London: Yummy Mummy

And this was the big birthday polish that my mom and sister knew I wanted. Butter London's Yummy Mummy. In reality, I really wanted All Hail the Queen, but my sister accidentally ordered Yummy Mummy instead (gotta love 'em). I have very happy with this polish as well! I love love any polish from Butter London, such an amazing brand!

That is everything!! All and all, I had a wonderful birthday and I wasn't expecting so much polish! It was a big surprise! I cant wait to paint my nails. I'm thinking... Elephant Walk? 

What polishes have you recently purchased in the past couple months?

Birchbox July 2012

I present to you, the contents of my July Birch Box! I've been using my new cellphone to take pictures, which are very nice but controlling the lighting is challenging. I really want a new point and shot camera. Nothing too fancy or expensive. I've been looking at this one. I would really like one with a screen that I can position for when I want to take self portraits. If anyone has any ideas or recommendations, please let me know! :)

So now, on to the Birch Box!~ The theme of this box was "See it. Hear it. Taste it. Touch it. Smell it." There some one item in each back that linked to one of the five senses.

Harvery Prince | Hello

This was the "Smell it" product. Harvery Prince's Hello perfume, which is described as "juicy Meyer lemon, white grapefruit, and pink plumeria"scent. I honestly did not like the smell. :( I was very disappointed. The description sounds lovely but I didn't smell any of those things... It's smells like an old/wet animal scent that someone tried to cover up with a lemon scent? That's the best way I can describe it...

Tea Forte | Minteas

This was the "Taste it" product. I've seen these mint around but I have never tried them before. I again, did not like these... I love tea but the tea+pear combo was not a good one, in my opinion. My taste buds just weren't happy. :( I was so excited about these too. I've tried to give these away but no one else seems to enjoy the taste either, haha!

Eyeko | Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

This was the "See it" product. Eyeko's Skinny Liquid Eyeliner. It has a wonder pen/marker like tip and is very easy to apply. This eyeliner dries super fast and is lasting. I am a failure with it comes to applying eyeliner. This claims to be "goof-proof" but this eyeliner hasn't met me! I just need to keep practicing!

Alterna | BAMBOO UV+ Color Protection Fade - Proof Fluide

This is the "Feel it" product. It's a UV+ Color Protection serum for you hair! This is an interesting product. When you think about sun protection, hair isn't one of the things that come to mind. I did try this product out. It's an oil-like product that goes on towel dried hair. It's hard to really measure a product like this. I mean, I guess it protected my hair...? Maybe if I were a beach-bum I would notice a difference but for over 90% of my summer days I've been inside. :/ Stupid work. As far as how it made my hair feel, I noticed my hair becoming more oily, quicker. My hair loves to soak up product. The oily/thicker the product, the quicker my hair becomes greasy. So, not really sure on this product, but it smells nice...?

AHAVA | Purifying Mud Mask

This is another "Feel it" product. This is a mud mask which I had yet to try out but I can't wait to! I have super oily skin and I've heard mud/clay masks are great for oily skin. I'm crossing my fingers on this one!

And finally the "Hear it" product. I've been needing new ear buds and these have been great. Wonderful sound, nothing too fancy, and the pop of color is fun! Nothing more to say. :)


The Birchbox I received this month wasn't great but there were items in there that will made it very wroth it. Again, sorry about the odd lighting in my photos. Thanks for reading!~

If you blog or do any photography, what kind of camera do you use?

Sonia Kashka Fairy Princess+ Sally Hansen Salon Effects+OTD

Sally Hansen Salon Effect 810 In the Spot Light and Sonia Kashuk Fairy Princess..

Sonia Kashuk Fairy Princess is a mint green cream polish with a wonderful hit of rainbow shimmer (which didn't show in these pictures.). It was an average formula. It seems to dry very quickly so it took many thin coats to get it to all to even out. On every other nail I applied these wonderful polka dot nail strips. I have to say, Sally Hansen's nail strips are most definitely my favorite nail strip brand. So easy to work with and to remove. :)

Mint Green Sleeveless Button Blouse - Old Navy // Polka-dot cardigan - Old Navy // Sophina Skinny Denim - Torrid // Accessories from random stores

My manicure also inspired this outfit! I honestly did not pick the outfit first before my manicure. I completely forgot I even bought a polka-dot cardigan, hahah!

Do you match your outfits to your manicures?  Or do you plan the outfits first with a manicure in mind?

DIY: Makeup Brush Holders

I KNOW I KNOW! This really isn't an original idea. Sticking brushing in a glass jar with pot filler, you see it everywhere; especially in Sephora. But yeah, anyways. I was inspired by missglamorazzi's video on Youtube. She made a DIY video where she reused candle jars to create makeup brush holders. The DIY I'm posting is 90% the same as hers. So please, I'm not stealing her idea, I just really enjoyed doing this and wanted to post about it for my what little I have readers. To check out her video go: here.

What you'll need to get started:

• Glass containers of any size or shape (You can purchase these at any craft store in the planting or home accessories sections. I know you can also get these at Target in the candle/home accents section)
• Glitter of any size/grade or color (I prefer the extra fine grade but I don't see why a larger grade of glitter wouldn't work)
• Mod Podge (I used the kind suggested for glass)
• A paint brush or sponge applicator (for applying the glue)
• A plant filler (you can find different sizes and shapes at any craft store)

* All of the items shown here I purchased from JoAnn's accept the glass containers but I know you can get those at JoAnn's as well. 

Getting started is super easy. Heck, this whole project didn't take me more than 20 minutes to complete. Clean up was a breeze as well. Just make sure to lay out some time of covering on your work station before you begin. I used a couple sheets of paper, nothing special.

As shown above, use the Mod Podge with a paint brush and evenly coat the entire inside of the glass container. If it gets gloppy it will take longer to dry and create bumps. If it's not even enough, the glitter will not cover the whole inside and create an undesirable streaking effect.

Pour a generous amount of glitter into the container. Work is around until all the glue is covered. Don't worry if you don't use all of it. I used the paper I was working over to funnel the rest glitter I didn't use back into the bottle. Nothing wasted. :) Any this point you will want to let your glass container dry over night.

These are how mine turned out. As you can see from the pictures, the silver one looks great but I got streaks on my red one from not applying the glue even enough. At this point, if this happened to you can get repeat the glue/glitter process on the streaky areas and let it dry for another couple hours.

Here comes the fun part (well, it was all pretty fun)! It's time to fill the containers with your filler and brushes! I used "Crystal Fill" from JoAnn's.

TA-DA!! Super easy, right?! Seriously this project only cost me 25 dollars and 20 minutes of my times. If I even wanted to make more in the future, I have all the supplies ready. The only cost would be the glass containers. I love how mine turned out and I love the shape/size combo. :) It was alot of fun. If you want too, you could get super creative with this project such as, using multiple colors of glitters or combos of the same color but different sizes to create different effects.

Thank you again to missglamorazzi for the wonderful idea. I'm glad I was able to share my experiences with my readers. :)

How do you organize your makeup tools?

China Glaze Orange You Hot?+ Konad Nail Stamping

The nail color I used on my nails is part of China's Glaze's new Neon Collection. This color is Orange You Hot? It's a bright orange cream-shimmer. It was somewhat easy to work with. Not the best application. It took 2 coats for an even coverage. For some reason I kept getting tiny bumps in my manicure. I don't know if the bumps were coming from the polish or my nails? But it happened on 2-3 nails. To accent the manicure, I applied a stamp of leopard print. One of the lovely gifts I received for my birthday was a Konad stamper and some plates. I was super excited to finally try this out on a manicure.

The troubles I ran into when trying to create my stamp were, the type of polishes I was using were not working well (maybe they weren't thick enough)? Second, the polish was drying too quick and the design was not even appearing on the stamp.

I tried 2 black polishes. Wet n' Wild did not work out so well. The black polish that work better for me was a black no name nail art pen/brush that I got off eBay. It worked 50% of the time, but like I said, if I didn't work fast enough it would dry to the plate. It was somewhat frustrating... I think I need to play around with it some more.

Have you tried nail stamping? What are your thoughts? If anyone has any tips for nail stamping, please send 'em my way! <3 

Nutter Butter Flip Flop Cookies

 

Omgosh, I finally get to sit done and write a blog post!! I just got a new job and last week on Sunday was my birthday. :) :) :) Things have been going very well. Once everything has settled down for me I'll be able to update more often. Until then I'll be updating ever Sunday (don't hold me to that)!

Today I have a simple (so very simple) recipe. Nutter Butter Flip Flop Cookies! It's a yummy treat and again, so very easy to make!


You will need:

1 package of Nutter Butters

2 Packages of White Chocolate Chips 

Zip lock bags (or piping bags/tools)

Vegetable Shortening

Parchment Paper

Sprinkles or any other editable decorations (colored frosting or candies)

2 Baking Sheets

You want to create/prep a "drying" station". Which will be baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Make sure you clear some room in your fridge too.

Remove the cookies from the packaging to get them ready for the chocolate. I ended up creating about 50+ cookies with this recipe. 

You can either microwave your chocolate, 30 seconds at a time, till it becomes a liquid OR you can melt it over the stove. I prefer melting it over the stove so the mixture doesn't harden on me. I do not own a fancy double boiler. What I did was put water into a bigger pot. I inserted a smaller pot into the water. With the smaller pot I melted the chocolate.

If the chocolate mixture becomes to thick you can add vegetable shortening to thin it out. It's a simple trick that helps alot!

I didn't get a photo of this but once the mixture is good to go, drop the cookie into the chocolate. Use a fork to fish out the cookie. Placed the chocolate covered cookie on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Once you've filled your sheet with yummy chocolate covered cookies its time to decorate the cookies with whatever you want (my favorite part)! I used red and blue sprinkles for a 4th of July theme. :) In the decoration process, add some melted chocolate into ziplock bag making sure to stuff all the chocolate to one corner. Once sealed cut a small tip of the corner of the bag. Use the ziplock bag as a piping bag to create the "strips" of the flip flops!

Once decorated, place in the fridge over night to harden.

And this is my finished creation!! You can get super creative with this by either coloring the chocolate, using different shaped sprinkles, or  using colored chocolate to make the strips. It's very fun and so simple and they also taste great! It's like eating a Butterfinger and not having to deal with it sticking to your teeth, haha! 

Enjoy~