Sparkle-tacular!

I told you the other day I bought Sephora by OPI’s Sparkle-tacular! topcoat. At first I was a little apprehensive at spending $9.50 on it, but OMG, I am SO glad I did! I have such a love/hate relationship with glitters because a) they are so freakin’ hard to get off; and b) I never really like the way they look in the bottle; of course they always look absolutely gorge on my nail so I don’t know why I don’t just suck it up and use them more. Well, after today, I am putting my Klean Colors glitter order through ASAP. This might be my favorite, and simplest to do, look!
Behold:

I took lots of pictures of this. My camera just does not do this justice.

I used Sinful Colors Let’s Talk, which is actually almost a neon royal purple metallic. I LOVE the color, BUT, the application sucked. I did two coats out of habit, but this polish was thick and goopy and I got it all over.

Then I used Sephora by OPI Sparkle-tacular!. I painted 3/4 way down my nail, then a heavy coat the top fourth. And I mean heavy. I wanted to get all the chunks of glitter on there. This is ‘sponging’ and ‘gradient’ the lazy way; you know, when your nails are still wet and you forgot to get your sponge ready? :)

I hope you like it, I sure do!

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Erin

Tangerine Tango

I got some awesome stuff at Sephora as a "Yay, I didn't totally bomb my interview and I may actually get a job!" present to myself. Along with that came an Iced Latte from Starbucks. :)


So, Sephora currently has a huge collection of products that are influenced by Pantone's Color of the Year. 

(Picture from Time.com)

Tangerine Tango.

I LOVE IT.

Here's what I got:

 Urban Decay LipLove Honey Infused Lip Therapy in FailBait (This isn't exactly Tangerine Tango inspired, but it IS orangey)

Sephora Lip Gloss Set

Each was $12.

Can you see the beautiful shimmers?

 Luckily there's a little brush and mirror, and a little pot for mixing colors!

 This stuff looks, feels, and smells amazing!

Do you think I left Sephora without buying polish?

NOPE.

 I bought this. I couldn't resist. NO MORE POLISH for a while.

(Picture found here.)

Sephora for OPI | Sparkle-tacular!

Nude with Neon!

The China Glaze Diva Bride is probably my new favorite nude. It's not too pink, not too white, not too peachy. 


So here's what I did yesterday:

 I used China Glaze Neon colors (with a cameo by this Sinful Colors neon) and striped them with tape. I got a little frustrated because they took so long to dry, so the tape seriously smudged them and in places, ripped part of the polish off. I had to touch up all the stripes by hand and they looked awful. I put a coat of Sally Hanson Disco Ball over them, and it improved the appearance immensely.

 I had a lunch interview with a recruiter so I wanted simple, with a subtle kick. 

 

 Not my favorite on my toes because I got a little sloppy with the stripes. My feet are in desparate need of some TLC, they are SO DRY. 

Chewing on her bone while Mom takes pictures.

Since my lunch interview was a success, and the restaurant was near the mall, well....OF COURSE, I had to sneak into Sephora. They have tons of products influenced by Pantone's Color of the Year, which is a gorgeous orangey-red. I got some great goodies which I will share tomorrow. :)

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Erin

I love Sally!

Hi kids! I just did a new tape/stripe mani and pedi, but I'm unable to get good pictures, so I will just share with you my recent purchases:

I went to Sally's on Saturday and this is what I chose:

China Glaze | Diva Bride

China Glaze | Sun Worshipper

China Glaze | Pool Party

Finger Paints | Tiffany Imposter

China Glaze | Turned Up Turquoise

I have been on the prowl for the perfect nude. Every time I pick one out, it is either too pink, too white, too brown, too peachy. CG Diva Bride may be my new go-to. I used it tonight and so far I think it looks gorgeous. We will see what it looks like tomorrow.


I have been wanting a minty-blue for a while now (ever since I ordered one from Avon and they sent me a discontinued light blue instead! It wasn't worth the hassle of returning for $2.99). I haven't tried out Tiffany Imposter yet but I have a few interesting ideas for nail art/stamping to go with it. BTW, Tiffany Imposter is Sally's color of the week (or maybe month?) and you get a free China Glaze base coat. OF COURSE, they were out when I was there, so I could have gotten a rain check but I live too far away to drive all that way for a base coat. ALSO, China Glaze colors were on sale 2 for $10.


And of course I bought THREE neons! I'm not a huge fan of neons because 1) they are usually matte, which I don't care for in a neon polish because I think it should be loud and shiny, and 2) they require a base color and lots of color coats. But for some reason I could not resist these. Probably because it is so warm here and bright colors look kickin' with a tan.


I have a fresh new mani and pedi to share but my little camera takes horrid pics at night so I will wait until daylight tomorrow. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted, and I had to coat some Sally Hanson Disco Ball on it to save it, but I think it will still look awesome.


There may be a trip to Sephora tomorrow afternoon, depending on how my interview goes...wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Erin

Just For Fun

What's more fun than winning free stuff?? Well, I just entered my first giveaway on The Collegiate Nail. She is giving away some really pretty glitter polishes. The link for the giveaway is here in case anyone is reading this and you would like to enter as well. Wish me luck!

Here's a pic I took a month or two ago, just for fun! :)

(cell phone pic, sorry!)

It Finally Came!

March BirchBox!

Hi kids! I'm a little slow to the game here, but I just recently signed up for BirchBox. I got my first box about a week ago, and I'd like to show you what I received! I have to say that I am pretty impressed with this service; for only $10 a month, you receive 5 to 6 custom-selected samples that are tailored to your BirchBox profile. You can sign up here.

This is what I got:

Here's each item, individually:

Deborah Lippmann | The Stripper to Go

I received two of these and could not wait to try them since I had to remove some polish anyway. They smelled wonderful, and worked great! One little mitt was plenty of remover for 10 nails. They are $12 for 6 mitts. Too expensive for me, but would be nice for travel.

Orofluido | Beauty Elixir

I have not used this, but the smell is heavenly. A warm, musky vanilla. I need to research how to use this oil; do you put it on dry hair? Do you warm it and use it as a hot oil treatment? Put it on wet hair like Silk Therapy? It is $29.99 for a full size.

EYE ROCK | Designer Liner 

 This is what they eyeliners look like. They are bigger than my eyebrows! I have no idea where I will wear these, but I'm kindof excited to try them! They look like they almost have a slight shimmer to them. I will keep you posted when I try them and will post pictures. They retail for $13 for 2 pack of 4. So, I got $6.50 worth right here!

Juice Beauty | Blemish Clearing Cleanser

I love this. It is an organic facial cleanser. It doesn't really soap up very well, but my skin instantly looks brighter after using this. I am contemplating ordering the full size of this for $22.

Hollywood Fashion Secrets | Hollywood Fashion Tape

I will probably never use this, but its neat to have on hand. It came with a sample of each size. There is a round one for buttons/accessories, and strips for bra straps, necklines, hems, etc. Prices range from $4.99 to $8.99

I got one more sample: a perfume sample of Annick Goutal | Eau d'Hadrien. You can see it clearly in the top photo. It smells so heavenly; clean and crisp, and citrusy. The info from BirchBox says it is a 'combo of lemon, grapefruit, and green mandarin notes.' I've already told the BF to put this on the list for future gifts. :)

So that's it! I already can't wait to see what I get next month!

I may or may not do my nails later. I am on spring break so I have plenty of time to play around, plus I got about 10 new polishes to play with! My mani I did yesterday is already scratched up and looks bleeeehhhh. And, I may or may not have an interview with a recruiter this week, so I would like to have simpler nails in case that gets scheduled.

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Erin

Follow Me on Glitter! 

My first mani/pedi! Ok, not exactly, but the first that I have photographed for blogging. Let me just say that I LOVE nail stamps and they are the main reason for my newfound obsession and hobby. I apologize for the quality of my photos, as I am still learning! My camera is just a regular Fujifilm Point and Shoot.

The inspiration for this look came from this polish:

Nicole by OPI: Follow Me On Glitter (Kardashian Kolor)

On my toenails I did a basecoat of black. Then I taped off a diagonal strip with filled in with a shimmery opalescent gray, followed by a gray glitter stripe, and last minute added a turquoise stripe.

(I know, I have really LOOONG toes! and teeny, tiny toenails, hence why there is only a design on my big toe!)

My fingernails were painted turquoise on 4 nails and stamped with black, with my index finger painted with gray glitter.

(Horrible cuticles. My job involves me to use my hands ALOT so they get ragged very easily.)

What I used:

Orly Top2Bottom basecoat/topcoat

Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear Black Out

Sinful Colors Let Me Go

Nicole by OPI Follow Me on Glitter

China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise

NYC Extra Shiny Top Coat

Konad Plate m63

XOXO

Erin

Hello and Welcome!

Hello all! 

My name is Erin and this is going to be my little blog about my beauty escapades.

Recently I have been becoming more and more interested in nail art/nail design.  I already have a nail polish obsession and most of the supplies I need, so its time to cultivate it! Instead of clogging my Facebook page with pictures of my nails, this will be my outlet. I don't expect to get many readers or followers, but this will be my little space for documenting all of my attempts, and also any cool products or tips/tricks I learn.


 From reading other nail blogs, I've noticed that most of the lovely ladies do their nails daily. It takes me so long to do a decent mani, that I will probably only have one or two a week to share. I attend grad school at night and work full time, so trying to achieve the perfect mani sometimes takes a back seat to a 70 page group project. :) 


To begin, here's a picture of my sweet girl, Riley. Expect to see lots of her on here, she is my 'baby Boxer.' Notice her nails are festive green for St. Patrick's Day celebrating! Doesn't she look so excited!

Riley Worm

Today I have plans to work on a new manicure, I just bought some new polishes at Sally's yesterday so I have been excited to try them out. I will also be on Spring Break this week so I will have lots of time to experiment!