April Julep Box + Add-ons

For April's Julep box, I opted to forego my usual It Girl box, and chose the Bombshell box instead. I needed those colors more - haha. It came with a blush, too, which I haven't tried out yet, but definitely will this summer. I'm not a blush girl in the winter, but I'll wear it once I get some sun. I also picked up two add-ons, so I have four polishes to show off here today.

The first one I have for you is called Tatum. It is a very pretty green shimmer. It has a slight frost finish, so it does leave some brushstrokes, but they are not too noticeable. This polish is on the thin side, so I did three thin coats to ensure that there would be no bald patches.

The next polish is called Kayla. This polish had me convinced that it was going to be a disaster before I put it on, but it ended up being absolutely gorgeous. It is extremely sheer. On the first coat, I thought maybe it was one of those polishes that you are supposed to put over black, but then with the second coat, it became much more opaque and I was able to see just how gorgeous it would be. I added one more coat to ensure opacity, and boy is this one a beauty. It is a purple shimmer that shifts pink, and could potentially be used as a jelly. It is my favorite of the bunch. These were three thick coats.

Next up, I have Phoebe. This polish was the most opaque of them all and went on in just two coats. It is a teal shimmer/frost, like Tatum. There are visible brushstrokes if you look closely, but they did not bother me at all.

Last, is Felicia. This is a fin polish. I wore it for Easter, because it just seemed to fit. It is a pale green cream with different sized black matte glitters in it. It looks like a speckled egg when it is on. I like this one a lot, too. It is a close second to Kayla. This one took just two coats as well.

Thanks for looking. I am getting May's box, so I will have that one to share as well within the next month. I always try to get them in before the end of the month, so we shall see. :)

Golden Oldie Thursday - Something Tropical + Born Pretty Store Water Decals Review

Hey everyone! Well I had an awesome birthday + time off of work, but it is time to get back to real life. Waaahhhhhh! haha

Anyway, today's theme for the Golden Oldie Challenge is tropical. I am actually really starting to burn through my pile of untrieds, so I pulled the only color I had left that was somewhat tropical (and I wasn't planning to use in another challenge day down the line): Sally Hansen Byte. I really love this color and had worn it on my toes a bunch of times a couple of summers ago, but I had never put it on my fingers. I'm not sure why, I just didn't. I have had this polish for about 3 years now, so it was about time!

I added some water decals I received from the Born Pretty Store to review. This is from a pack I received about a year ago, so it doesn't look like they still sell it, but you can find tons of similar ones here. They even have a set of Plants vs. Zombies decals that I basically need to own, which you can find here for just $2.69!

Water decals are such a great way to add detailed designs to your manicure without spending a lot of time on freehand nail art. You just need a dish of cold water and some tweezers to help with application. I started off with three rather thick coats of Sally Hansen Byte because it is very thin, then added these perfectly tropical hibiscus decals. They were easy to apply just like the last ones I did, and held up well against the topcoat.

If you are interested in purchasing something from Born Pretty Store, use my discount code - it is on the sidebar to the left of this text. Make sure you check out what the other girls did for their tropical day!

*Products in this post were sent for review in return for my honest opinion.

 

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Rainbow Honey: the Final Battle Swatches & Review

I had received this gorgeous little trio of polishes from Rainbow Honey this past November, and had so much going on, I had not gotten a chance to swatch them. After the craziness of the holidays, I ended up almost forgetting about them completely. But then, as I was going through my drawers of polish for the Golden Oldie Thursday and Neverending Pile challenges, I re-discovered them. I feel just awful for not showing them off here, sooner. Especially since I received them from Rainbow Honey for no cost. I am going to do them some justice here and now though, because they are just beautiful, and I know you all will love them.

They came in this adorable little box and had a pamphlet to go with them showing off all the colors in the collection and explaining what they were meant to represent. As an avid video game player, when these babies arrived in the mail, I knew exactly what they were - I played almost all of the Final Fantasy games, except for the ones that they did not make for Xbox360, as I stopped playing the Sony consoles after our PS2 died. I am such a sucker for pretty packaging.

These polishes did not disappoint. I loved all of them. I received Soldier, Tidal Wave, and Ultimate Weapon. These brought me back to my PSone days where I played Final Fantasy Tactics for probably two years and never got sick of it. :P Here is what Soldier looked like. It is a dark gunmetal silver mix of different sized glitters. I painted it here over top of O.P.I. My Boyfriend Scales Walls. It went on in two thin coats, and I had no problem with the formula at all.

Next, we have Ultimate Weapon. It is a dark purple shimmer and was so sparkly in the sun. This polish was awesome, and went on very smooth. I believe this was three thin coats.

Last, and defintely not least, is Tidal Wave. This was my favorite out of the bunch. I love teal, and glitter, so I basically was head over heals for it. :) I wanted it to be opaque enough to not show a line at my finger tip, since it is a jelly, so I did three coats for this one as well. The formula on this one was great, too. I LOVE it and have to ration it out slowly, so I don't run out. :P

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed my belated review of this Rainbow Honey trio. :)

The Neverending Pile Challenge - Indie

This one is going to be quick because it is birthday weekend, and that means I am not doing any work. Heh heh. I did a fun mani for myself for my birthday, and this unused indie was absolutely perfect. Are you guys noticing a very PINK theme on my blog lately? I was really neglecting my pinks this past year. I suppose that was because I was obsessing over the blue/green/purples instead. :) I am actually using five (FIVE!) untrieds in this mani today - boom!

The indie is Black Cat Lacquer Party Monster. For my base, I used Sally Hansen Razz-berry, which is pictured on its own below.

The accent nail art is JULEP Leah and Elisa and Sally Hansen Lemon Zest. Ooh I love that I used a whole bunch of untrieds in this mani. And they look totally perfect together! It's a birthday miracle!

Right...well I'm off to bed so that I can be ready to eat cake for the rest of the weekend! Wooo! Make sure you look at what the other girls did!

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Golden Oldie Thursday - Hot Pink

Hi everyone! Today I have a really good hot pink from my pile of untrieds. I bought this polish for my birthday a whole year ago, and still haven't worn it. I fully intended to wear it over the summer, but it just never happened. So, I'm busting it out today and am kicking myself for not wearing it sooner because it is awesome!

This is butter LONDON Disco Biscuit (top pic is without top coat, bottom pic is with top coat). It is a hot pink jelly with iridescent flecks throughout. It is totally gorgeous. I am not a huge fan of jelly polish since I feel like the nail line that you can see makes it look like I have dirt under my nails, even when they are totally clean. This one built up nicely in three coats though, and I really like it.

I added a bit of stamping using images from my Red Angel plates RA-109, RA-115, RA-118, RA-119, and RA 121. I used Konad Special Black for the stamping.

I really like the way these turned out. They look classy and sassy at the same time. Those are two of my favorite things. :) Make sure you check out what everyone else did for their hot pink manis!

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The Neverending Pile Challenge - Frost

Good afternoon! For this post I am using a REALLY old polish. It is one of the first polishes I ever got, and is at least 15 years old. I'm not sure if it still exists anymore - Google tells me no, but you can still buy it if you really want on ebay. :) It is called Plum Frost and it is from CoverGirl.

I decided to add a bit of nail art using a striper from L.A. Colors in Silver. I free-handed some quick leafy vine art all over each nail.

 

Thanks for looking and make sure you check out what everyone else has for their frost polish!

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Golden Oldie Thursday - Coral

Good afternoon! I was hard-pressed to locate a coral that I hadn't already worn, so I am giving you the closest thing to it that I had. I consider this to be a bit on the coral side. I used to wear it all the time - this is actually my second bottle, but I haven't touched it in years, and I have never shown it off on this blog. This is NYC Central Park. It is a nice neutral on its own - great for the office.

Of course, I felt the need to dress it up with some stamping. So, I used Konad Special Black and my Mash-46 stamping plate to sass it up a bit. :)

That's all I've got for you today. Make sure you take a peek at what everyone used for their coral prompt. Have a great day!

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The Neverending Pile Challenge - Glitter

For this challenge today, I have a polish that I have always wanted to wear, but didn't really know what to do with...it is a thin pink jelly with glitter in it, and I have always had a hard time with polish that you can see through. When I first bought it, I was too new to nail polish to realize what I was buying. I thought it would look on my nail the way it looks in the bottle. Sadly, it does not. BUT, it could - after 4 coats, so that is what I did. :)

This is Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter. I am including a picture of it in natural light here, too so you can see the glitter better. It is actually really pretty, but I get frustrated by the stains on my nails showing through, and the nail line, since I keep my nails rather long.

I stamped over it as well, using Mash- and Zoya Lo. You can barely tell, but there it is. haha

Thanks for looking, and make sure you check out everyone's unused glitters.

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Golden Oldie Thursday - Pastel

Good morning! I just realized that today is officially my two year blogiversary. Woooo! :) For this manicure, I opted to use several Sally Hansen polishes I purchased last year and never had a chance to wear. I got these babies on clearance at Target for $1.74 each. Oooh I love a good bargain! Anyway, I am particularly fond of this green: Perfect Pear-ing. It is so pretty, and went on in just two smooth coats.

For some added Spring-y goodness, I went floral. I am so looking forward to Spring and the warmth that comes with it, that I fear you may be looking at a LOT of floral manis over the next several weeks. :P

I did my nail art using two other Sally Hansen polishes: Mellow Yellow and Peach Beach. These two colors are really nice too, and at some point this Spring/Summer, I definitely need to use them as a base for something!

Thanks so much for stopping by to read my little blog! Make sure you look at what everyone else did for today!

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