Once In A Blue Mousse

Still working my way through the Lime Crime swatches ... =) I'm going to go back and add these to the original post as I get them done.

Lime Crime Once In A Blue Mousse is a fabulous robin's egg blue that applied like a dream. One coat is enough, but I did two for swatching purposes.

Lime Crime Once in a Blue Mousse

Midnight Cowgirl

I've been on a gold and green kick as of late. I have no idea why. Maybe I'm ready to transition into fall? It's been chilly here lately. Back home in Texas it's in the 90s, here it's in the 60s. I'm not sure I'm going to make it this winter!

I chose to do a simple gold and green look that focused on the lid area and blended out the colors with my bronzer in the crease. I got that tip from Pixiwoo! Sam likes to blend out her smokey eyes with bronzer in the crease and I just figured, if it's good enough for smokey eyes, it's good enough for these! =P

Halloween Nail Art Challenge! Who's In?!?

Hiya!! I can't believe I forgot to post this beforehand, but starting Oct 1 there are a bunch of us doing a Halloween inspired nail art challenge. It's every three days (essentially twice weekly) for the entire month of October.

Maybe this time I'll be on time with my posts!! haha One can hope anyway ...

I'd love for more people to get involved, so please think about it and let me (or Theo or Isabella) know if you're interested.

Barielle Dazzling Diamonds Collection

I have another 5-fer treat for you today! Barielle has another 5-pc collection out and this time it's GLITTER.

Barielle Dazzling Diamonds is a set of 5 glitters, four in a clear base and one in a tinted base. Most of them are ideal for layering but there is one that would be a nice full coverage glitter.

Barielle Cherry Sparkler is a hot pink glitter in a tinted pink base. The base will change the color of your base polish if you have something in a different color family or a light polish. Here I've used one coat over Barielle Life of the Party and three coats on a bare nail on the middle finger. You almost can't tell the difference with a base coat as the tinted base will also build opacity quickly.

Barielle Cherry Sparkler over Barielle Life of the Party

Milky Ways

Lime Crime Milky Ways was the surprise of the collection. The other colors were all bright pastels but this one was the lone nude/neutral of the bunch. While not my favorite, it definitely ranks up there at the top!

Lime Crime Milky Ways

Out of Town Haul

I went out of town recently for a family matter and I decided since I was going on a road trip back to Texas to stop at every Walgreen's and CVS on the way to see what I could find! Thankfully for my wallet there were only 2 on the road, and 2 within the vicinity of the hotel, so it wasn't toooooo bad, but I did find lots more than I was expecting!

I'm going to keep this short since there are a ton of items, but if you want to know the colors, let me know!

Haul at Walgreen's

Barielle Some Like It Hot Collection

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, then you know before I moved I had some Barielle collections come in the mail. I set them aside to play with and now that I'm organizing my stash, I found them! I feel so bad this is so late, but better late than never, right?

Barielle releases some awesome polish sets, and this collection is no exception. Some Like It Hot is a collection of five polishes, four cremes and one frost. Barielle polishes are 3-free and they sell hand, foot, and nail care products along with nail polishes!

Anyway, back to the Some Like It Hot Collection!

Barielle Gotta Have Fate is a bright coral orange creme with lots of pink. Looks almost like it'd be a jelly with how squishy it looks, but it's a creme. Two coats for full coverage. Great formula.

Barielle Gotta Have Fate

812161

OK Sally Girl, if you're going to make fun polishes, give them some names! I don't understand why it's so hard to name polishes. Unless they can't fit names on those tiny bottles so the numbers are better ... That's a thought.

Anyway, this is the color I used in my recent Nail Fail: Hot Mess post. This was the color under the glitter.

Sally Girl 812161 is a super bright, neon orange. This was three coats. It dried quickly, no problems with application. There is still a visible nail line, which I didn't care about since it was getting covered with glitter. Probably some white "underwear" would have made it more opaque. It did dry darker than the bottle.

Sand Tropaz

Today will be super quick since most of you know this color already. I used it a ton during the Summer Nail Art Challenge and it's a favorite nude of mine. 

Essie Sand Tropaz is a gorgeous, medium nude that leans a little yellow. Great formula, full coverage in two coats (possilbly a one coater if you have a heavy hand and apply a single thick coat). 

Essie Sand Tropaz

Fashionista

I've been trying to use more of my makeup in an effort to keep me from buying more. I have a few older BareMinerals products my mother purchased awhile back and I "inherited" them. Meaning, she was cleaning out her makeup bag and I got all the stuff that was purged. We tend to do that.

BareMinerals Liner Shadow in Fashionista

Stephanie

I have another lovely Shimmer Polish for you today.

Shimmer Stephanie is a densely packed glitter, predominately dark blue, with silver, red, green, and a light sprinkling of more colors most likely!

Shimmer Stephanie

Rendezvous

I'm so behind on the orange/tangerine bandwagon. You know I love the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stains and while Honey is my usual everyday color, I reached for Rendezvous recently.

I wanted something simple, bright, and bold. Dark winged eyeliner and bright lips!

Caribbean Blue

I know I've posted this color before, but honestly, who here remembers that post? Anyone raising their hand? I didn't think so. =P

China Glaze Caribbean Blue is a gorgeous light blue polish with light blue shimmer. It reminds me of ocean water and tropical drinks! I've shown it with layering here, but wanted to show it on its own again, because I had forgotten how pretty it is by itself.

China Glaze Caribbean Blue

EOTD: Cupcake Empress

When I was playing with my Lime Crime Magic Dust shadows, I ended up wearing out a super bright look. The pictures don't show this as very bright, but trust me, it was! Lime Crime Empress is a gorgeous bright purple that leans pink and is nice and subdued in indoor lighting but outside, it's super bright!

First, some collages with the look. I also included a face "slice" because I wanted to show the lip color I paired it with (and keep my anonymity!). I used a light, natural pink stain to keep the focus on the eyes but the light pink really helped draw the look together (versus a nude lip which I think would have made the eyes more dramatic or more appropriate for evening time).

  

Deborah Lippmann Don't Tell Mama

Another Deborah Lippmann for you today. Lucky us!!

Deborah Lippmann Don't Tell Mama is a fantastic deep teal shimmer. From far away it looks black, but up close or under stronger lighting, you can see the glow of the teal shimmer from within the polish.

Deborah Lippmann Don't Tell Mama

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Calypso Blue is a gorgeous sheer dark turquoise with aqua shimmer. Am I using these colors correctly? I think of aqua as containing more green than turquoise as more blue... I should really look these things up before I post about them!

It's a really sheer polish so I decided to layer it over two different colors to see if it would affect how it looks.

First, I layered it over China Glaze Caribbean Blue because I thought it would give the polish more depth. I really like how it came out. Caribbean Blue gave the layering color a great base, so the polish below looks like Calypso Blue is opaque on its own instead of layered. I also like how the names are both tropical!

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over China Glaze Caribbean Blue

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over China Glaze Caribbean Blue

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over China Glaze Caribbean Blue

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over China Glaze Caribbean Blue

 This is me trying to do an artistic, graceful pose. FAIL.

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over China Glaze Caribbean Blue

Since the polish has a strong green shimmer, I decided to layer it over a green, Sally Hansen Green Tea, a dusty minty medium green. It changed the background color to a lighter bluish green and the shimmer is more apparent. I think I like it over the green better!

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over Sally Hansen Green Tea

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over Sally Hansen Green Tea

Sally Hansen Calypso Blue over Sally Hansen Green Tea

Which do you prefer - the green or blue underwear? Or do you just like Sally Hansen Calypso Blue regardless of what it's layered over?

Recent Haul!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I went to the "city" earlier this week and I was hoping to convince my husband we needed to stop at a drugstore so I can check out the polishes. I was hoping to see the new Sally Hansen collection, but I didn't see it. We hit Big Lots (Noveau Cheap has mentioned some readers have seen awesome polish deal there!) and Walgreen's.

Total haul at both stores.

Sally Hansen Princess Cut

This is a newer color from the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength line. I saw it and was interested, since I like Glass Slipper so much, and this seemed like it may be the pink equivalent.

Sally Hansen Princess Cut is a pink flakie in a sheer pink base. I can't decide if the flakies are iridescent or not. What do you think?

Layering for these pictures is over the following polishes:

Barielle Car-ess (ultimate creme nude)

Models Own Pastel Pink (medium creme pink)

Petites Night (black creme)

Sally Hansen White On (creme White)

Sally Hansen Princess Cut layered over various polishes

EOTD: Magical Criminal

Are ya'll having as much fun as me with the titles of these EOTDs? They crack me up. Please tell me I'm not the only one entertained by them...

Ever since I got my grubby little hands on Lime Crime Lime Criminal I have been wanting to do a wash over the lid with a bright blue eyeliner. I don't know if I've seen it before or saw a mani with those colors, but it's been on my to do list. Today I busted out that beautiful shimmery lime eyeshadow, and I couldn't find my bright blue eyeliner for the life of me!

Figures.

Here's what I have for you anyway...

Indoor Light

Deborah Lippmann Dream A Little Dream Of Me

You may remember me mentioning this forever ago when HSN had a ton of Deborah Lippmann polishes on sale. I picked up a handful because really, I'm weak and obsessed and those don't go well together. 

Deborah Lippmann Dream A Little Dream Of Me is a gorgeous shimmery light pink with a blue flash. So this makes it ... a duochrome shimmer? Verdad? I'm still struggling with naming finishes of polishes. 

I tried my best to capture the shimmer and I did a bit of layering at the end of the post so you can see it over a few different polishes.

Deborah Lippmann Dream A Little Dream Of Me

Lime Crime Magic Dust Eyeshadows - Swatches & Review

I heard Lime Crime was discontinuing their Magic Dust Eyeshadows and I went perusing through the list of available stock. There were some awesome colors, and I googled some swatches (don't we all?) and bought a handful of them. These are my first Lime Crime products and I wanted to share my experience!

Since they are on sale, they may or may not be available. Currently, they're on sale for $6.99 (originally $13.99) and are in limited quantities. I've linked where you can get them, so hopefully they're still in stock if you're interested! Vegan and cruelty free!

Fast Track

I know this polish has been out forever but I recently acquired it in a sale at Sally's Beauty Supply. I'm so sad I don't live near one anymore. I have regret for not shopping there more and taking advantage of it while it was close.

ANYWAY.

China Glaze Fast Track is a super beautiful medium beige with golden shimmer. This was one of the polishes I had my eye on from the beginning. With working in a very conservative environment, I love neutrals with a little shimmer or something unexpected. It's like wearing sexy lingerie under baggy clothes. You feel sneaky and a little mischievous.

China Glaze Fast Track

Pastel Mosaic Nails

Today's mani is a little simpler and more crude than I had originally hoped. I wanted to do a pastel mosaic/stained glass effect. That soooo didn't happen. Oh well. Such is life.

Wet N Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner

I saw a post with these by EyeGraffiti and knew I had to get some.

Image Credit: www.vampyvarnish.com

Pastel Animal Print + Lime Crime Crema de Limon

I tried animal print for the first time. I think it turned out OK, but it's not as cool as some I've seen on the net. I used a base of Lime Crime Crema de Limon, spots of Lime Crime Parfait Day, and accent of Lime Crime Once in a Blue Mousse.

Lime Crime pastel animal print, indoor lighting

Home Grown

Ever since my friend gave me Urban Decay Home Grown I've been dying to use it. I finally decided on a neutral look featuring this color on the lid. I used other greens to blend it out but in the end used a neutral brown so the focus would be on this light, dreamy green.

Brit Invasion

I freaking ADORE this color. I happened upon it while at Walgreen's and loved it on a swatch stick. I finally put it on my nails recently and I love it even more! I got some compliments at work, which is always nice. =)

L'Oreal Brit Invasion is a lovely burnished golden taupe that shimmers green, gold, and red in strong light.

Photos were taken in full sunlight. There are a ton. Sorry. I just couldn't narrow it down. Seriously love this polish!

L'Oreal Brit Invasion

Sugarland

This is a different EOTD today. And it's going to be a wordy post. Scroll down if you're already bored. =P

I'm sure you can tell in all my eye pictures that I wear contacts. Occasionally, I'll stop wearing them for awhile and go back to my glasses. I wear the extended wear contacts, so I only change them about once a month, so it's always a challenge doing eye makeup with glasses. Colors change, don't show up, look weird behind frames, etc. So I think I'm going to start trying to do more makeup with my glasses on because I think this can be a challenge for some.

First some regular EOTD pictures. I really like the combo here. The eyeshadow is a pink/purple with golden shimmer and the blue liner really makes the colors appear more bold.

Glitter Polish

I'm sure you all know I have a thing for glitter polish. Like, a huge thing. I named my blog after it. I have glitter polish, glitter lip gloss, glitter eyeshadow, glitter phone case, glitter wallet, glitter purse, glitter shirts, glitter candles, glitter vases.

My husband tells me I'd like him better if he were covered in glitter. I'd have to agree with that man's logic.

Polishing your nails with glitter polish can be troublesome as the clean up can be a nightmare. If you're lucky, the polish applied well and didn't run or pool or ball up. Sometimes, though, as careful as we all are, we get polish where we don't want it. This is where it's important to realize glitter polish is MUCH different than regular polish. Hence, this post.

Nail Fail: Hot Mess

If you've followed me for awhile, you may recognize these nails. I did a guest post awhile back for the lovely and talented Theo at Red Hair and Black Nail Polish. I had seen a picture of a woman on a runway and thought, wow that would look great on a nail. I had short nails when I did it, and was never truly 100% satisfied with it.

The Polish Well was having a nail art fashion-inspired contest and I thought to recreate the look on my (then) current longer nails. I tweaked the way I did them. And that's where it went all wrong.

My tape didn't stick well, my glitter was all over the place, and I decided to try using black acrylic paint instead of black polish since it's more opaque. I had glitter sticking out at the cuticle line, rough black where it should have been smooth, and I couldn't get a clean edge at the cuticle line for the life of me. You know what they say about good intentions and the best laid plans right? Sigh. Note to self: Acrylic paint doesn't clean up with acetone. I even tried some top coat on top, which did not equal good clean up of the paint underneath. It was a hot mess.

Needless to say, I did NOT enter these, but since I have them, I thought I'd share them.

September PCOS Awareness Month

PCOS is something that most women don't know they have, and if they do, they don't like to talk about it. It's a very personal and emotional syndrome to have. It can make you feel like less of a woman. Losing your hair, increase in facial hair, depression and fatigue, weight gain, and unable to get pregnant. These are just a few of the symptoms you can have if you have PCOS. It is often not talked about for fear of being humiliated, ridiculed, or laughed at. Or not heard.

Nory is a beautiful woman who I recently found out has PCOS. This is a lifelong struggle, and I want to stand up and hug her for getting us to come together and recognize this horrible syndrome. Many woman likely have this and have no idea, and it has serious complications.

In honor of September being PCOS Awareness Month, a group of us got together to show support (and nails!) by doing teal and white manicures, which are the colors of PCOS support.