O.P.I. Live. Love. Carnival. - Spring/Summer Color Trend

Hello everyone! Another Friday has come (one that I didn't accidentally skip, oops!) and we are almost done with the spring/summer Pantone color palette! We have two colors left and their polish counterparts are phenomenal! One of my absolute favorite colors is a bright coral and Pantone added the gorgeous red hued shade, Cayenne into the Spring color palette. O.P.I.'s Live.Love.Carnival. nails the color perfectly!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

O.P.I. - Live. Love. Carnival.

Live. Love. Carnival. is a bright, almost neon, coral red. It is soooo bright and happy! I can't think of a better shade for summer manis and pedis. The formula was once again flawless, two smooth coats for full coverage. As I mentioned, it boarders the neon line so it doesn't dry super shiny, so be sure to add a nice thick top coat for a glossy finish!

Once again, I am over the moon for another O.P.I. Brazil shade. I have never been a huge fan of the brand, but this collection just killed it!

Only one more color left and it is another amazing polish from O.P.I. And it's pretty much a polish lovers dream come true! And I promise not to flake again, and skip a week!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

O.P.I. is available at beauty stores like Ulta and Sally's. Products retail for approximately $9 a piece. 

Delush Polish Spring Collection Medusa's Verde

Hey friends! I have another Delush Polish to share with you all today! Along with Fleur De Peche, I also grabbed Medusa's Verde from the Spring Awakening collection.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Delush Polish Medusa's Verde

Medusa's Verde is a spring green with green, gold and copper hex glitters, gold circle glitters (love!!) and green shimmer. Dead. This is everything I love about Indie polish. It is fun and unique and seriously gorgeous. The glitter mix is the perfect contrast to the shimmery base. I've worn it twice now, and have gotten loads of compliments both times. Formula was pure awesomeness. Two smooth coats with perfect glitter distribution. You can't really get better than that!

(Macro)

It's such a great polish and it just makes me happy whenever I wear it! There is nothing else like it out there and that's what makes Indie polish so much fun and worth spending a couple of extra bucks on. And with brands like Delush, the Indie market is seriously killing it and I am totally okay with that!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Medusa's Verde and the rest of the Delush Polish Spring Awakening collection is available on line. Products retails for $4.50 (for minis) and $8.95 (for full size) a piece.

Winstonia Nail Wraps Review

Hi friends! Here's to the start of another week, and I hope it's a good one for you all! We are almost done with school and I am rather excited for summer break. I am hoping for lots of fun adventures. School has taken over our lives and I am most definitely looking forward to sleeping in!

Today I have some super fun nail wraps from Winstonia - an on line store offering lots of awesome nail art supplies and goodies. I am seriously in love with their nail art brushes, so amazing! 

Please Note: Products shown were provided by the company/creator for review purposes.

I received two sets for review - Americano and Pastel Impressions. Each package contains 20 wraps in various sizes to insure an accurate fit.

The wraps come in a sealed bag on two sheets - ten on each, both are identical designs. Included is a small nail file to aid in application. Directions are printed on the back of the packaging as well.

Application is an easy process. Start with clean nails, wiping nail plate with a cotton ball soaked in acetone to remove dirt and oils. Next, apply your preferred base coat (I used O.P.I. Natural Nails base coat) and wait to dry. After it is dry, select a wrap that fits your nail bed, there are plenty of sizes and I had no trouble at all finding wraps to fit. The wraps have a sticky backside and adhere nicely to the nail plate. Once you have the wrap chosen for your nail, start at the base and smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles as you apply it. This is an important step so take you time! Once you have securely attached the wrap, use the file included to trim off excess, using gentle downward strokes along the free edge. Finish off with a top coat to seal the wrap (I used Glisten & Glow for my application). Reapply top coat every few days of wear to keep your mani fresh! Removal is as easy as peeling them off. I did use a bit of acetone to dissolve the top coat and them used an orange stick to lift up a corner.

Winstonia Nail Wraps in Pastel Impressions

Pastel Impressions is a fun abstract brush stroke print in blues, pinks and yellows. 

Winstonia Nail Wraps in Americano

Americano is a glittery stars and stripes themed set. Great for Memorial Day and July 4th manis!

I was really pleased with these wraps. I have used the Sally Hansen and Jamberry wraps as well, and these are by far the best ones I have used. They don't dry out like the Sally Hansen, so you can save the extras for another mani. And they are so much easier to apply than the Jamberry wraps. They claim to last 14 days, and while I didn't have time/patience to wear test them for that long, I did wear some over the weekend (three days) and did everything from shower, to cleaning, to gardening and they held up great! 

The great thing about nail wraps is you can wear them as a full set as I did above, or you can wear one or two as accent nails - that is my preferred way of wearing them. Winstonia offers a great selection of wraps (hello these galaxy wraps are way cool!) that are great for both uses.

Please Note: Products shown were provided by the company/creator for review purposes. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Winstonia Nail Wraps are available on line. Products retail for $7.95 plus shipping.

Sunday Stamped: Cult Nails Stamping Plate Review

Hey y'all! As promised, I have the new stamping plate from Cult Nails for today's Sunday Stamped post. Along with the polish trio from the It's A New Day collection (you can see the swatches here) Maria and Marta collaborated on a stamping plate - a first for Cult Nails.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Like most stamping plates, the Cult Nails plate comes with a protective blue cover to prevent the plate from getting scratched. 

The plate has two full nail images, a text image that reads "I joined the Cult and fell in love" and six smaller images. I really like the plate and all of the images are fun and on trend for nail art designs.

Used:

Cult Nails - New Day

Cult Nails - Falling Hard

Pure Nail Lacquer - Blameless

Cult Nails stamping plate

For the stamping test, I used New Day and Falling Hard in a gradient - and they blend perfectly!!! I used the chevron image along with my MoYou London squishy stamper and I am happy to say that it stamped beautifully! I was able to get a nice clean transfer with out any extra work. I also tested out the other images on paper, and they all stamp very well, except the text, which is a little blurry.

Overall, I am really happy with the stamp plate, and I can't wait to see what Maria does with this new venture.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

The Cult Nails premier stamping plate is available on line. Plate retails for $5.

Delush Polish Spring Collection Fleur De Peche

Hi wonderful friends! Today I have a new-to-me Indie polish to share! I am steadily branching out into the indie world and finding more and more awesome polish that I wan to acquire, I just need time and a ton of money to try out all the amazing brands I find on IG. Delush Polish is one that I have on my wish list of brands to try, and with the release of the spring collection, I finally caved and ordered two beauties. The first is Fleur De Peche, and I think you will know why I chose it once you see the pics!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Delush Polish Fleur De Peche

Fleur De Peche is a milky peach crelly loaded with tiny copper, green and hot pink hex glitters and medium fuchsia hex glitters and a subtle golden shimmer. Like I have mentioned, I am all over peach this years so yeah, this is right up my alley! Gorgeous soft base color and super fun glitter mix makes this just perfect. Smooth application and no glitter issues. I used three coats, but was able to get the polish opaque in two. The third was merely dabbed on to get the amount of glitter I wanted on the nail.

(Macro)

I am kind of in love with this polish! It is so fresh and springy and super cute. Delush has won me over with one bottle, and that is a good thing. I am looking forward to enjoying more lovelies from this awesome Indie. And the next one will be up on the blog soon, and it is just as wonderful!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Fleur De Pache and the rest of the Delush Polish Spring Awakening collection is available on line. Products retails for $4.50 (for minis) and $8.95 (for full size) a piece.

Cult Nails It's A New Day Trio

Hi friends! Hope you all had a great weekend! And all of you fabulous mamas had an equally fabulous Mother's Day! I was treated to a delicious breakfast by my husband and girlie, and had a relaxing day, myself.

Today, I have the spring trio from Cult Nails, who collaborated with one of my blogging idols, Marta of Chit Chat Nails for the colors. The release of this set also marks the first stamping plate added to the Cult Nails line up. But first the polishes!

Cult Nails Evolution (It's A New Day trio)

Evolution is a sheer but buildable peach crelly. The color is flat out stunning. It is soft and subtle, but still remaining very trendy - my ideal peach. The formula was more difficult than I was expecting. The first coat was very streaky, almost like the pigment was separating from the base in a bad way. Either it had settled quite a bit (& needed a good shake) before it came to me or I got a bad bottle, because every other one coat pic I have seen looked impeccable. I used three coats for full opacity, giving ample dry time between coats. It did threaten to bubble on me a couple of times.

Cult Nails New Day (It's A New Day trio)

New Day is a soft pastel yellow cream. It falls perfectly into that bright yet pastel category that I am ever so found of. The formula was a little watery and was streaky on the first two coats. The third coat covered nicely.

Cult Nails Falling Hard (It's A New Day trio)

Falling Hard is a cool toned pink cream. It's a pretty, but standard pink. It's a great shade if you are lacking a classic pink in your collection. Formula was good, a little on the thin side - which is standard for Cult polishes. Two coats for full coverage.

I was kind of let down by this collection, sure they are all beautiful colors, but I think it was hyped up a little too much, in the end. I did order it through pre-sale and managed a good deal, plus the stamp plate (which is awesome, full review on Sunday!), so it's not a total loss.

These have been added to the core line and sold individually. And right now it a great time to browse the Cult Nails catalog, there is a store wide 20% sale throughout the month of May! Just use the code "CELEBRATE" at check out.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

The Cult Nails It's A New Day Trio polishes are available on line. Products retail between $14-$12 a piece.

O.P.I. Where Did Suzi's Man-Go - Spring/Summer 2014 Color Trend

Hi guys and gals, happy Friday! It's so hard to believe that we are already in May and that spring is on it's way out. We are getting lots of sunshine here in Texas and I am eagerly waiting for school to end and summer fun to begin! I can't wait to go swimming!

The warmer weather is definitely making me reach for brighter and more fun colors to wear, and since we are in the middle of the Fashion Friday Spring/Summer color trends, I get to play with those colors and show you some awesome shades to help welcome the sun!

Orange is a great color, it can go from a warm sunny color to a rich earthy tone. I prefer it on the lighter more playful side of the spectrum, and that is just what Pantone did with Celosia Orange. It is bright and cheery, and O.P.I.'s Where Did Suzi's Man-Go just begs to be painted on toes and adorned with cute strappy sandals!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use

O.P.I. Where Did Suzi's Man-Go

Where Did Suzi's Man-Go is a sherbet orange cream and it is outstanding! It is unique in my orange collection and probably my most favorite one! The color is super flattering and will compliment a variety of styles. Formula was flawless with two easy coats for full coverage,

I honestly can't get over the awesomeness of this polish. If there is any out of the Brazil collection that you need it is Where Did Suzi's Man-Go.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! And go play outside!!!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

O.P.I. is available at beauty stores like Ulta and Sally's. Products retail for approximately $9 a piece

Julep May Bombshell Box - Part Two

Hey everyone!  Part two of the Julep Maven May box is up today, this time the polish swatches! If you missed part one, be sure to check it out!

This time around I opted for the Bombshell box since I wasn't particularly drawn to the colors in the Boho Glam box. It seems the Bombshell is my default second pick!

 Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Julep Saaya (Bombshell May 2014)

Saaya is a warm peach with golden shimmer. I am dying over this color! Peachy shades are a definite fav for me this year. And the shimmer is bananas! Formula was a tiny bit  thicker than what I prefer. I used two coats for full opacity. A thinner application is needed for the thicker base, or you might end up with some pesky bubbles!

Julep Laree (Bombshell May 2014)

Laree is a vivid rose pink with golden shimmer. like that of it's box mate. I actually really like this color, even tho pink is not a personal fav. I think it is bright and fun, perfect for late spring and summer wardrobes. Definitely a killer pedi color choice too! Formula was identical to Saaya.

I think Julep's strong suite is their spring/summer color choices. I seem to remember loving the boxes last year around this time as well. So I am back on the Julep bandwagon once again. I just wish there was some consistency with the brand.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

 If you are interested in signing up for your own Maven box, click here. Don't forget to use the code "FREEBOX" to get your first box for free

Julep Maven May Bombshell Box Plié Wand - Part One

Hi friends! Today I have part one, of a two part post for the Julep Maven box, this month. Julep has created a new polish application tool called the Plié Wand. The Plié Wand is designed to aid in accuracy and control when applying polish.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Julep Plié Wand

The Plié Wand is an attachment meant to be used on Julep polish to aid in polish application. It features a magnetic cap that fits on top of the Julep polishes, as well as stand alone brushes (for non Julep bottles, I'm assuming) and several nail art tools as additional add ons.

Wand with brush attachment in straight position

To be honest, I had every intention to skip the May box since I wasn't totally sold on the idea. But the colors were to pretty to pass up! So being the good beauty blogger, I decided to give it a go, and let you all know whether it is the polish breakthrough Julep is claiming or a big fat flop.

Angled for non dominate hand

First off, the wand is a lot bigger than I thought, but it isn't clunky or heavy in hand. It rests nicely and does give more stability. I didn't notice any added benefit when painting my swatch hand (the left one), mainly because I am so used to painting it that I can get a pretty good application regardless of the brush/handle. I will say that it was a little more difficult to control the amount of polish on the brush while using it.

Swatch of Julep Saaya on right hand, painted with non dominate hand using Plié Wand. No clean up.

On my dominant hand (a.k.a. Cindy - cause she does all the work, but doesn't get to play), I did notice an easier application. I still had some mistakes with paint getting onto my skin, but I think that it was more user error. Figuring out the best way to hold the wand while painting with my non-dominant hand was a little cumbersome. After a few uses, I'm sure I would be able to find the right position. I am used to rotating the brush as I polish, and it was hard to do that while holding the wand at an angle.

Overall, I can see the potential need for this, if you really do have a hard time painting your nails. I don't think it is the game changer the promo promised - but after all that's the truth in advertising. I, personally, don't see a need for it, and the little contraption will probably end up on a blog sale at some point in time. But the idea is clever, and I would like to see how the nail art attachments work on the opposing hand. Cause nail art is a one handed achievement over here!

Stay tuned for box swatches!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

 If you are interested in signing up for your own Maven box, click here. Don't forget to use the code "FREEBOX" to get your first box for free

Saturday Snapshots: Pink Jelly Layers

Hey everybody! How's your Saturday?

Despite my posting on a regular basis, I have each day sort of earmarked for what type of post I will write up, except for Saturday. More often than not, I have manis that really don't fall into the swatch/review or nail art category and they don't end up on the blog. See what I'm going for here - a quickie post to fill up that Saturday slot! Yay!

O.P.I. Sheer Tints Be Magentale With Me & China Glaze Surprise Glimmer More

Nothing is better than a squishy jelly sandwich for a quickie mani. The O.P.I. Sheer Tints and the China Glaze Surprise glitters are made for each other!

What is your favorite quick mani?

Essie Hide & Go Chic - Spring/Summer 2014 Color Trend

Hey guys and gals! Are you all ready for the weekend? I can't believe it is already May! Summer is coming soon and I am sooo ready to go hang out at the lake!

Today I have another Spring/Summer color trend post to get you all ready for the summer! The great thing about the color palette this year is the versatility. Pantone chose colors that range from pastel, to neutral, to bright. After making our way through the pastels and neutrals, we turn our attention to the brighter side of the palette as the weather warms up. Dazzling Blue, with  it's distinct Mediterranean feel, is a great transition shade. Essie's Hide & Go Chic from the spring collection of the same name, fits the bill.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Essie Hide & Go Chic (Hide & Go Chic collection Spring 2014)

Hide & Go Chic is a rich lapis blue cream. The color seriously reminds me of the decor in a great Grecian restaurant that closed down a few years ago. While we have seen cobalt blue polishes like crazy (Nails Inc. Baker St. & Essie Butler Please), this is a noticeably different shade. It is deeper with a slightly dusty feel, as opposed to the super saturated variant. The formula was creamy and smooth, needing two coats for opacity. It is a little thick in consistency, and loading up the brush with polish can lead to drips or flooded cuticles. Dry time is on the longer side due to the thicker formula.

With blue being such a popular color, this polish will easily find a place in your summer wardrobe. Combine it with a glittery accent nails, and you will have a killer summer mani!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Essie is available in many retail locations, including Target and Walgreens. Products retail for $8 a piece. Prices may vary.