More CND

I've been on a CND kick lately and have been purchasing quite a few bottles since I loved the first one so much. The effects ones are pretty and can be layered with just about anything. They're a lot more noticeable in natural sunlight than in the pictures.

Can you see it? I know...it's kinda hard. But in the light, you can kinda see shimmer specks of purple and blue. So I used Zoya Ibiza and then layered it with CND effects #561 Sapphire Sparkle. You can use pretty much anything though and it will still look amazing. I want to pick up some more of the effects polishes! They're so addicting.

Zoya Trixie

There's been a push on metallic polishes, and last Christmas it seemed like everyone came out with a ton of glitters. Out of all the metallic ones, I'm in love with Zoya's. 1 coat is all you need. Trixie just reminds me of a night in Vegas or something. I don't know why. My only problem with this polish is that I did notice super fine glitter all on my hand that was impossible to remove even after washing my hands several times. I swear...it's like the crap get imbedded in my hand or something.

It was so hard to take a picture of this indoors at night. I'll probably be repainting it to this color again soon and then retaking the pictures. But until then, here are these.

........and some beer. Which I highly recommend. It's flippin' delicious

We just need some passion

I don't know about you guys, but it has been one crazy hot summer here. Seriously.  I know I shouldn't complain that it's so hot, but it really is stinkin' hot. Granted, my definition of hot is going to be completely different than someone who lives in...let's say California or Texas. But for Washington, it's crazy. I can't even remember the last time it rained out here. So in celebration of the beautiful weather, I took a nice little trip to Coscto to buy some beer. And while I was there I stumbled across some tasty things in the area where the liquor is kept.

Doesn't that look good? Now after trying it...it does have too much of a banana taste for me. I added a little bit of club soda to make it spritzy and all in all, it was pretty good.














They say that one bag is equal to a 1.75l bottle of regular malibu. Either way, it's delicious.

Now back to nails. While on my way to Coscto, I took some pictures of my mani when I was in the car (definitely not while I was driving). I have Orly's Passion Fruit which is a bright pink. Almost like my neon pink by Sinful Colors. You know...the one that is just called "Pink"? Anyways. And then I topped off my mani with CND Effects in #564 Amethyst Sparkle. Which if you haven't tried any of CND's polishes, they are AMAZING. I had a hard time finding them for the longest time. They have it at some beauty supply stores and salons. Check them out if you can.

Zoya Gem

As I'm going through my old pictures, I notice that my cuticles are all jacked up in a lot of the pictures. I think it's because I was painting my nails several times a day and they were not happy with that. I'll get through most of them pretty soon and start posting new pictures that I just took. Yayyyy!

 Jem is such a weird color. From one angle it's purple. Then from another angle it's a bit gold. BUT then when I use my flash, it looks completely dark purple. The picture of the bottle shows it the best I think.

Yayy flash. You can see that it is sparkly. And if you don't know...I love me some sparkly.

Butter London "Knees Up"

 The name itself sounds inappropriate. Or is it just me? I may/may not just have a dirty mind. So I found this old swatch on my computer and I'm going to just randomly post it because I can. Ignore the fact that I ruined a perfectly good manicure with the stupid Konad. I thought it was a good idea at the time until after I finished stamping. Which is probably the reason why I never actually posted the pictures.

 So see....things are nice and pretty.

 Different angle of nice and pretty

Still nice and pretty

 And then this is when shit got weird

....I really have no idea what I was thinking. But I'm posting it anyways because it kinda looks like a cow print. And cows are cool. Kinda.

Marina with a little Konad

Let me just start off by saying...I kinda forgot I had a blog. Once it hit me and I remembered "oh yeah...I used to spend a lot of time on the internet and looking at nail blogs", I felt slightly guilty. Not that anyone actually reads this or follows this, but it used to be a nice little outlet or a way for me to be super excited about my polish when I knew no one else (the boyfriend) cared. SO I'm going to TRY to make an attempt to start this back up..again. Even though I say that or think that after every post. Then I go several months without posting again. This shits hard. No joke.

Here is just some polish eye candy for you. I didn't really like Marina by Zoya. I mean I LOVE the formula and the fact that its shimmery and the glitter is so fine. But the color itself was just "meh" for me. Probably because I'm trying to wear it in the middle of the summer. I might grab it again in the fall and/or winter. But for now it's just "meh".

I tried to add a little Konad to spice it up. Still meh lol. But now I think the Konad was a little bit too much. I should have just left it as a accent nail.

The second picture came out a little bit lighter for some reason. But it is more true to the color.

Deborah Lippman "Believe"

ohhhhh hello. It's been a while.....but that's a whole other story.
SO I was at Nordsrom a while back looking at some of the Deborah Lippmann polishes. I swore to myself that I wouldn't spend that much on a single bottle. But then the sales associate was like "if you buy 2 products, you get 1 bottle of polish for free". I don't know....I'm so weak :( I ended up taking this home along with a bottle of the polish remover (which I wasn't too impressed with other than the fact that it smells like lavender instead of nail polish remover). Apparently this polished is named after Cher and was created by her. I could look it up to see if it's true, but let's be honest here, I'm lazy.

It's a nice pale gold, I wouldn't necessary consider it champagne. In some angles it looks it though. I liked it for the fact that it wasn't too flashy and I don't have anything else like it.

Im not.....

dead. And Im not really a waitress.

Get it??! Because that's the name of the polish....oh jeeze....I crack myself up.
So as we get closer to Christmas, I realize that I don't have enough hours in the day. I really don't. I mean...who needs sleep anyways. Between work and shopping and spending time with the family, I don't have time to just sit and do nothing. I've been meaning to get some blog posts up on here from a few mini hauls and by the time I get home, I'm ready for a cat nap. I do have a Lush haul that I'm about to post and updates on my project 10 pan which I've been doing for about a month now. Sooooooo yes.
<----and about that. I'm Not Really a Waitress is a nice shimmery red. Perfect for winter and the holidays, but it can always be worn all year round. You can get it pretty much everywhere OPI is sold...it's a very popular color. I did see a mini set of OPI polishes at Ulta the other day and it had this along with a bunch of their most popular colors (including You Don't Know Jacques, and Bubble Bath just to name a couple).

Swimsuit....Nailed It!

I'm.....such a slacker. ::sniff sniff:: I can't believe it's almost December! I'm excited for Christmas and all the holiday smells. Is that weird? I don't even care about gifts...I just like the smell of the holidays. haha....yeah now thinking about it, it's pretty weird.
So...on to the polish. I had to admit though, I've been slacking there too. I haven't painted my nails in over a week (which is very unlike me). I tend to be pretty OCD when it comes to my nails and having chipped nail polish. It's either all on there or none at all. But I've been lazy and letting myself go. So, Swimsuit...Nailed It! by OPI is a shimmery vibrant blue. Only needed 1 coat. I have heard some people complain about it staining their nail...had no problem with it. I always use a base coat just in case. I also heard complaints about the glitter being hard to remove. Again, I had no issues. I use pure acetone to remove polish and I find that I use less and it's a bit cheaper.

Jade is the new black

Between work and cleaning around my place, my hands and cuticles are basically shot. They are so dry it almost hurts! I've bought a ton of different lotions and a couple different cuticle oils to try and bring my hands back to life....so until then, I'll try and still put up nail posts. I did make a trip to Lush a couple days ago and picked up a bath gift, Lemon Flutter cuticle butter, and Cupcake face mask. Soooo flippin' excited. I also got a couple polishes at Ulta that were on clearance. If you ever go into Ulta, definitely check out their clearance area. Most of the time, you can find some polishes that are limited edition/seasonal and they're a couple bucks cheaper.

So I swatched Jade is the new black by OPI....which is one that I got on clearance at Fred Meyer a couple months ago. The color looks like the name, a jade green. It's kinda creamy with no shimmer or anything fancy in it. Would look nice with a matte top coat over it.

Your Hut or Mine

Essie is another brand that has the cutest names for their polishes. This week's pink Wednesday is going to be Essie's Your Hut or Mine, which came out earlier this year. It's a nice dusty pink/rose color with very VERY fine gold shimmer to it. You can barely see it in any picture but if you tilt your nail just right, you can see it. I like this color for fall....it's not too bright but it's still feminine. Slightly reminds me of vintage dresses for some reason. Makes me want to put on a apron and bake some cookies.

And on a person note, what a flippin' ridiculous week this was. So stressful at work :( and on top of that, I've been breaking all my nails.

SEE! Look how sad my right hand looks. I broke my middle finger nail today and almost bled. Now it's pretty tender. Wahhhhh it makes me want to cry.

November Birchbox

Yayyy I got my Birchbox in the mail! I love getting them....they're a nice little surprise right after having to pay rent :)
So this is what mine looked like

This is what the little description card said:
"Hi there,
It's better to give than to receive, but you says you can't do both? This month, we're helping you get a head start on your holiday planning with a collection of gift-worthy products. Try them and let them inspire your own present plans...and we promise not to tell if you buy them for yourself!

Get your spa fix with a skin-purifying Italian mud treatment, then layer on a luxurious body cream with the slightest sheen. Dab on a chip autumnal scent, and dress up nails with a festive polish. Even your tabletop gets a treat--chic letterpress coasters.

Go to Birchbox.com to get the inside scoop on your samples, plus tips on how to use them. There's also exciting content to put you in a festive mood, from a primer on grownup sparkle to a roundup of the best chocolate for every craving. Feeling indulgent? Use our guide to recreate splurgy spa treatments at home."

So let's start off with with perfume sample

1. Atelier Cologne
Vanille Intensee Cologne Absolute
Warm notes of vanilla, oak wood, and amber anchor this autumn-ready perfume.
30ml $60 ; 200ml $170

My thoughts: The packaging was cute; came with a little postcard and was nice for a perfume sample. The perfume itself good for fall or evening. A creamy, musky, romantic scent. Definitely smell the vanilla and amber in it. I liked it, unfortunately, it started to give me a headache after 5 minutes of wearing it. It could also be a mixture of that and the lotion that I've had on my hands for a while not...not sure. A little pricy for 1 oz. But I really wouldn't consider this an every day perfume. It might be for some, but like I said, I would think of this as more of a evening perfume. 

 2.Borghese 
Fango Active Mud
This classic Italian treatment has mineral-rich mud from Tuscany, plus nourishing avocado and sweet almonds oils, to smooth skin on face and body.
7oz $33.50 ; 17.6oz $64

My thoughts: I did sort of a patch test on my hand to make sure that I didn't have any sort of reaction to the product first. I have really sensitive skin, so I obviously I'm pretty careful about what I put on it. I didn't have any problems with it, so it's safe to say it's alright for those with sensitive skin. I didn't notice anything miraculous about this product. Yes, my skin felt smoother...but all my face washes and other masks do the same as this. You get 1oz as a sample, which is a generous amount to use multiple times. Would I pay $33.50 for 7oz. Heck no. There are a ton of cheaper alternatives in drug stores....but it's nice to have this little sample for special occasions.

3.LaROCCA Skincare
Champagne & Shimmer Supreme Creme
Shea butter and olive oil join forces to leave skin firm, supple, and ready to set off your favorite party dress.
6.67oz $35 

My thoughts: I actually had to look this up on the Birchbox website. When I first opened my box, I poked my finger in it to see if it was solid. It kinda was....and now I know it's because it was slightly cold. Then when I went to put it on my hand and take a picture a day later, it was very soft like butter. The "sheen" in the picture is...oil. Not shimmer. This is so incredibly greasy. It doesn't leave my skin firm and supple...it leaves it greasy and gross. It didn't smooth into my skin and I ended up having to wipe it off. And it doesn't even smell good. To me, it smells like cleaner. bleh.

4.Zoya
Nail Polish in Izzy
The perfect party polish, this bold pink shade from Zoya's holiday 2011 collection has a touch of look-at-me sparkle.
.5fl oz $8 

My thoughts: I'm pretty excited to get this in my Birchbox because I was actually going to purchase it during Zoya's next sale. In my opinion, Zoya has one of the best shimmer nail polishes. They always go on so smooth and generally only need 1 coat. The glitters in it are so fine that there's no issue with uneven coats or having a hard time removing them. .25 oz is the perfect size...no one ever really goes through a whole .5oz bottle.

The treat item are these little coasters..I have nothing to say about them other than they are coasters lol

Overall, my box was a bunch of stuff that I'm not going to use. I'm pretty sad that the perfume started to make me sick. The first whiffs of it were pretty nice lol. I'm also pretty disappointed about the LaROCCA cream. I've been on the search for some really good lotion because my hands are always dry.