OPI Giveaway winner!

Congrats to the lovely Miranda at Miranda's Makeup and More for winning my OPI Stranger Tides nail polish giveaway!  I've already contacted her and shipped out the package.

Again, thank you all so much for entering and being such great followers.  I cannot express the genuine satisfaction blogging brings to me and it's a direct result of your continued support.

Have a wonderful day!
<3

Nail art IS possible: DIY super simple ombre nails

I'll be honest- nail art and I don't have the warmest relationship.  My lack of motivation, patience, and intricacy means that my most elaborate manicure involves a glitter accent finger (don't get me wrong- I'm all about them!).  So as I'm sure you can imagine, I make a regular habit of sitting behind my computer screen and drooling over the many amazing nail blogs I read.  But it can't be that hard!  I know it's not.  I just need easier, simpler nail art to try and do myself, which is exactly what I have to share with you today.

Behold!  This is my first attempt at the ombre nail trend that's been pretty popular this summer.  My boss did this same technique using three colors back in July, and seeing her do it gave me some much-needed confidence.  

First, pick the two or three colors you want to use for the manicure (whatever "speaks" to you, really.  Because beauty products do have this ability).  I used a Icing polish called Weekend Rendezvous- a bright-ish coral pink- as my base, and the milky pale Revlon Peach Petal on top:

I painted my nails with two coats of my brighter color (Weekend Rendezvous) and then let it dry for about five minutes.  I'd recommend waiting as long as you can to make sure your nails are completely dry, but like I said earlier, I have no patience. 

Creating the ombre effect is so easy!  Just take your lighter shade (Peach Petal), "paint" a small strip of polish onto the makeup sponge, and then blot the sponge onto your nail.  I concentrated the most polish on the tips and then tried to diffuse the color as I got halfway down my nail. 

If you have difficulty getting the two colors to blend, just start at the cuticle and paint upwards (towards the tips of your nails) using your base color.  Then go back in with the sponge and lightly dab, mixing the shades together.  

To finish, I waited a few more minutes for the polishes to dry and topped it off with my Revlon Quick Dry top coat.  And that's it!  This literally took me about 15 minutes.  I know my manicure isn't perfect, but if you squint your eyes/turn your head/tilt your screen you'll get the idea.  Maybe next time I'm feeling crazy I'll try three colors?

And of course, as I write this I'm preparing to redo my nails to try out my newest polish: Maybelline Color Show Twilight Rays.  Ah well, the nail art was fun while it lasted!

Have you gotten on board with ombre nails?  If you have any favorite color combinations, I'd love to know!  Thanks so much for reading, like always. <3

OPI giveaway reminder

Happy Wednesday, lovelies!  I just wanted to give you all a quick heads-up that my OPI Stranger Tides nail polish giveaway ends tonight (tomorrow?) at 12:01am EST.  You have about seven hours left to enter- just click the link above to go to the post and fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to support my blog!  Good luck! <3

Tip of the day: say no to powder brushes?

This is somewhat different from my usual posts, but I just tried this little (huge, actually!) tip and absolutely had to share it with you all.  Youtube is a glorious world- if there's anything you need help learning how to do, Youtube probably has a video about it (seriously, a couple weeks ago I watched one on how to change out a nose stud).  As fellow beauty bloggers or beauty blog readers you totally know that it's a great place to watch all types of makeup tutorials/product reviews, too! 

Wayne Goss- or Gossmakeupartist on Youtube- is a professional makeup artist with a plethora of tips/tutorials/experience to aide those of us who are just plain obsessed with beauty (no matter our skill).  While a lot of his videos contain techniques geared towards professionals, the little tricks he provides are completely user-friendly.  I only recently became an avid follower but I'm so happy I did- I've already learned so many new things about how to apply products, what tools to use, etc.

The following video had me confused before I even started watching it.  Do not use a powder brush to apply powder?  This has been my go-to method (and what I thought was the correct method, for that matter) from the very beginning, so of course I wanted to see what he had to say.

Really, watch the video if you haven't already.  In it he explains that the actual best way to apply powder is with some kind of powder puff.  By doing this, you're pressing the powder into your skin so it doesn't undo anything you've already put on (foundation, concealer, etc).  I never realized that a brush will just dust off your foundation, but it makes sense, right?  In the summer I prefer using concealer on specific spots in favor of a full face of foundation, and my worry is that when I dust my face with my translucent powder, it won't blend the concealer as much as I need it to.  I tried Wayne's tip earlier and it actually helps the powder sink into skin and provides more coverage than a brush.  This will also help if you have any dry spots on your face- using a brush over those areas tends to pick up the skin, while this pressing motion will not disrupt them.

I know I'm not the only one who has watched this, so if you have, I'd love to know what your preference is- powder puff or brush?  Would you ever consider giving this a try?  I'll tell you now it's a little more time consuming than using a brush, but for me, it's totally worth it.  

Thanks for reading! <3

Brightening up the day with BareMinerals Stroke of Light eye brightener

Finally!   In my possession is this new little addition to BareMinerals' collection of products.  When I first saw it pop up on Sephora's website (before it was available, along with the Well Rested face+eye brightener and new compact concealers), I immediately entered my email so they would let me know it was in stock.  I'm not quite sure why I did that- knowing me, I either have to try a product out myself or read a million different reviews before talking myself into a higher-end purchase.  

Anyway, I was all about getting this and I'm so so happy I did!  I haven't seen many reviews on it just yet, so hopefully this will help those of you who are curious (Beauty Junkies Unite swatched a few of the shades for another reference).

Stroke of Light ($22.00) is one of those products in which you MUST read the description before making your judgments.  Don't go into this expecting a heavy-duty, full coverage under eye concealer- this won't be your cup of tea.  As the name says, it's a brightener, so it will help make any darkness you may have appear lighter.  I do like an under eye concealer that gives me good coverage, but I don't want that thick/cakey consistency (I also don't know many people that do either!).  As a result, I'm often drawn to lighter concealers and "brighteners" such as this.

Oh!  Best of all: there's no shimmer to be found here.  

Luminous 1 is a pinky nude shade that nicely suits my light, cool-toned skin (the pink undertones help to counteract purple/blue discoloration below the eye area).  I get adequate coverage of my dark circles with it- enough to look natural but still like I got a full night's sleep (since that's kind of rare these days, I need all the help I can get).  While you're not going to experience that wow, my dark circles are completely gone! reaction, I do believe it delivers on its "brightening" claim.

In the picture below you'll see how the applicator almost looks like a lip gloss wand- it reminds me of the flat, spatula style a la Revlon Colorburst lip glosses.  A word to the wise: don't accidentally confuse this for a super-nude lip gloss!  My imagination is starting to wander.  I DIGRESS.

Oh yeah, and one last thing: the formula's awesome.  Lasts all day, smooth, blends well, sinks into skin, etc etc etc.  It feels like a quality product (which is always nice when you spend more money on something).

Swatches:

Left: Luminous 1 swatched, Right: blended out

If you don't suffer from terrible dark circles and want some extra brightening fun for your eye area, I'd say this is a solid product to try out.

There are definitely a lot of "eye brightening" products popping up both in drugstore and high-end makeup.  I have mixed feelings on many of them, simply because if I'm going to put something on my face, I want it to serve a purpose.  If I blend in a concealer/brightener/whathaveyou, it should at the very least show up!
What do you say?  Do you like full-coverage underneath your eyes, or is this kind of product more up your alley?

Have a good night/day and thanks so much for reading! <3

Approved for all diets, vegetarian or not: Spoiled Shrimp on the Barbie

My apologies for the really cheesy title- since reading the name of this nail polish (Shrimp on the Barbie), I can't get the thought out of my head that it's "vegetarian approved!" and "safe no matter if you eat meat or not!".  I've recently been contemplating the idea of becoming vegetarian, because in all honesty I could take or leave meat (and fish.. although I like it).  That's completely beside the point of this post.  

So I was talking about nail polish at some point, and today we have this little gem: Shrimp on the Barbie by the new-ish brand Spoiled, which as you probably know by now is from the makers of Wet n Wild.  This is surprisingly my first bottle from this line even though they are only $1.99 each (cheap enough that there isn't much of a reason not to try them out).  Nice!  Affordable nail polish is great.

Shrimp on the Barbie is a rosy pink shot through with tons of golden shimmer.  I usually don't touch pink nail polish with a ten foot pole- not my cup of tea, I can't tell you why.  As soon as I saw the intense gold in this one, though, I had to get my hands on it.  I'm happy I did!  It's not as warm as many pinks/corals tend to be, but still makes quite a lovely shade for summer.

The brushes in these Spoiled polishes have more of that flat, "paddle"-like shape, so if you tend to dislike those you might be out of luck.  Personally, I find them easier to work with as they cover more of my nail at a time.  As for the formula I found it pretty easy to work with- no obvious problems (EX: bubbling, dragging at the cuticles, pulling at the tips).  Combined with the affordable price and pretty extensive range of shades, I'm definitely interested to try more from this line!

Swatches:

 Spoiled Shrimp on the Barbie, three coats/no top coat

Have you guys tried anything from Spoiled?  Do you own this shade?  P.S., I promise I will resume regular makeup-related posts ASAP!  As most of you probably know I've been on a nail polish kick lately, but no worries- I have a new product from BareMinerals I've been trying out, eye makeup tips for close-set/small eyes, and a few other things in the works.  Stay tuned!

Thanks so much for reading. <3

CLOSED Giveaway: limited edition OPI Stranger Tides nail polish!

This is now closed.  Thanks to those of you who entered!

Hey guys, quick little giveaway over here.  I ran back out today and grabbed another OPI Stranger Tides to give to one of my readers because, well, why not?  I've been wanting to do a giveaway for a long, long time, and while my wee little student budget can't handle anything huge (yet!), I thought this would be fun for now.  Besides, limited edition items are tricky- when they're gone, they're gone!  This way if you missed out on the OPI Pirate's of the Caribbean collection, you can at least try out one of the shades.

Simple giveaway with simple rules:

• Because it's nail polish, I'm limiting this to U.S. residents only.  I'm so sorry!  :/
• The only mandatory entry is that you follow my blog with either Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin.
• You must be 18 years or older or have your parent's permission to enter.   
• The giveaway will last one week, ending on August 23rd (next Thursday) at 12:01am EST.

All entries can be done using the Rafflecopter.  This is my first time using this for a giveaway, so please bear with me- if you have any difficulties just ask!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My first OPI, Essie, & Zoya polishes. Seriously?!

As I was swatching/taking pictures for this post, the thought occurred to me that these are the first more expensive nail polishes I've ever purchased!  Actually that is SORT OF a lie- I just remembered I do own OPI Silver Shatter, but I'm considering that its own category since the formula is different from normal polishes/you get my idea.  I had yet to even try Essie or Zoya before these, how crazy is that?
 
It's funny how you can sort of live vicariously through other beauty bloggers.  After all the nail swatches/reviews I've seen of these polish brands, I could rant and rave about the pros and cons without actually using them myself.  One of my favorite things about the blogosphere! But, alas, I was recently able to pick some up for myself after finding fabulous deals!  Keep reading to see swatches/read details about how I got these for a great price. :)

PS: Sorry for the awkward lighting!  I wanted to get these up ASAP and it was nighttime when I took the pictures.

First up we have OPI Stranger Tides from the LE Pirates of the Caribbean collection.  This was one of those "I'm grocery shopping, I just need groceries, NOT nail polish" purchases.  Uh, so the grocery store I went to occasionally has LE OPI collections, and Stranger Tides was in a basket discounted for $5 (along with Skull & Glossbones and one shade from the Katy Perry collection).  I like to call this "ugly" nail polish, but I LOVE it.  Even though the shade looks terribly unflattering on me.  Swatches show three coats, no top coat.

These next two were bought with credits from Copious (just an FYI, this is my referral link- I get $5 in credits if you sign up through me and make a purchase, but you can just go through copious.com if you want, too!  You don't have to sign up through me).  Copious was new to me until Sophie at Fresh Air And Fashion posted a link on Facebook, saying this is how she gets polish for a penny.  I got an instant $10 credit for signing up via her link and then another $10 for something else (some mid-week retail therapy or something weird- it automatically went into my cart. They also gave me a $25 off $100 purchase that I'll probably never use, but anyway).
Long story short I had $20 in credits to use for pretty much just signing up on Copious, so my mind instantly went to nail polish- nail polish I wouldn't normally buy!  I picked up the following Zoya Tru and Essie Turquoise and Caicos.

Zoya Tru is an eggplant purple with gold shimmer flecks.  That description is so.... blah.  If I could show you this in real life, I would throw confetti and probably squeal a few times because I love purple and shimmer.  It's pretty.  Three coats!

Ah, Essie Turquoise and Caicos, you are finally mine!  I've wanted this color since it came out, but I'm too cheap to fork over the money for Essie.  My pictures make it look a little blue-er than it is (it leans more on the green end of the spectrum).  Formula is sheer- this needed three coats.  Still lovely and I couldn't hate it if I tried.

Do you have any of these polishes- or any other shades you'd recommend?  What are some of your favorite nail polish brands?  I can definitely see why there is such an obsession with Essie/OPI/Zoya and why you pay more.  With the exception of the sheer-ish Essie, the formulas are really nice and leave such a nice finish on the nail.
Ugh, my nail polish obsession is accelerating at an uncontrollable speed...!

I'm so, so sorry again for the lack in posts the last couple of weeks; my summer has been full of interesting twists and turns, as life usually is!  I hope you all can understand.  Thanks for reading, like always. <3

Disclaimer: This post contains a referral link.  I am not affiliated with the companies mentioned and all opinions are 100% my own.