early st. patty's day mani & ulta haul

good evening, everyone.

Tonight I have my first stamping mani to share with you :)

It took me a bit to get the hang of it & lord knows I still have a ton of improving to do,

but I've got the gist of it.

* fluorescent light

* sunlight

So there you have it.

I know it's a pattern everyone has see before but I wanted to start with something safe.

I  used:

Konad stamping plate m57

China Glaze 'Refresh-mint' as the base

Konad stamping polish in black for leopard pattern

CGs 'Kinetic Candy' & 'Four Leaf Clover' for the dots

ALSO,

I bought some fantastic goodies at Ulta yesterday.

Holllla!

I can't wait to try & review them all :)

Do any of you have these products?

What are your thoughts?

little favorites #3

Success!

My daughter's crib came in today, & only after crying for a little bit, she fell fast asleep in it :)

Such a relief, considering she's been sleeping in her swing basically since she was born almost 5 months ago 0_O.

Anyway,

on to tonight's little favorite:

Urban Decay's 'Sparkling Lickable Body Powder', cocoa flavored

Yum!

I got this as a gift several years ago,

& it's still one my favorite things to add a bit of spice to myself.

This a a lovely, shimmery powder that can be dusted on anywhere you want to have that extra sparkle- and yes, it's totally edible/lickable/what have you, and tastes YUMMY- exactly like cocoa. I prefer to dust a tiny bit on my face, chest(especially if the girls are peeking about for the night), and sometimes shoulders if they're bare. 

It gives a nice, simple, dazzling look.

It also comes with this sweet leopard pouf to dust with :)

You can find this on Amazon, but for $26 (it retails for about $29). boo.

Believe it or not, Urban Decay's website actually has it for cheaper b/c it's on sale,

& you can get it here for $9! holla!

It's also offered in two other flavors (honey and marshmellow),

but I just personally like this one the best.

Plus, at least for right now,

the other two are full price.

a silky neutral

Hey guys,

perhaps not quite an exciting post as my last have been (to me, anyway),

but I love it nonetheless.

Tonight I give you: 'Buy Me A Cameo'

.

Though it looks unassuming and perhaps bland, this polish is probably one of my new favorites. I love this shade anyway on my nails, and the silky amazingness of this Essie makes it look totally luxe.

I used 2 coats here, but could have probably used a third.

As with all polishes with this finish, it showed every mistake so I had to be careful with my last strokes.

I hated even showing these because my cuticles are in such bad shape, 

but there you have it :)

Black Orchid tanning lotion review

SUPP,

I thought I'd dedicate a quick post for those of you who (like myself) may be getting a head start on your tan for the summer.

I usually am not a huge fan of tanning beds, but prefer to lay out come summertime...

However, after not being to tan AT ALL last summer due to being preggo,

I wanted to make sure I was going to have a glorious tan this year :$

So on to the tanning salon I went.

Prior to doing so, I bought this fantastic little number:

Supre's 'Black Orchid' Quadruple Bronzer

:)

This stuff is great.

I was fair skinned when I started, so I knew I needed something that wasn't going to cause me to burn or just be overall bad for my skin type.

Though "quadruple bronzer" sounds over-the-top for a light skinned person,

It ended up being perfect.

Now, I'm sure some of that had to 

do with how LONG I let myself stay in the tanning bed when using said lotion (I start out at 5 min, then slowly work my way up- but that's just what I've found works best for me)

... but still :)

First off,

the bottle is HUGE and lasts forever.

( even for me, who tends to use a generous amount before tanning)

It works quicker than most- showing results about 12 hours after tanning.

After like 2 or 3 days of using this, I already noticed a difference- & that's rare. 

For me, anyway.

PLUS your color lasts longer than a lot of other lotions I've tried. 

It smells lovely, made with avocado and coconut extracts, 

so I don't smell all nasty & gross after I get out.

The biggest perk of this lotion (aside from the almost instant color) is the way it makes my skin FEEL. Now of course this was the last item on my mind when I was looking for a tanning lotion,

but my skin seriously almost feels as soft as my infant daughter's.

It's that awesome.

I bought it from this fantastic website,

which has a TON of lotions for dirt cheap, considering.

Regular retail price for mine is $57-

and I got it for about $26!

Hollaaaaaaaa

Another plus with them,

shipping was super fast :D

So yeah,

definitely a good place to hit up if any of you are looking to begin tanning soon.

I'm also in the process of trying some new nail art,

so hopefully I'll have some of that up soon!

Ya'll havea  good night!

Rasta look :)

What a hellish evening :v

My daughter has cried for no apparent reason for the past 4  hours,

& when I finally get a chance to shower- there's no hot water.

yAY, LIFE.

....

/end rant.

Anyway,

I meant to do this look the other day to go along with my 'rasta' nails, but I just didn't have time.

So when I got a second today I gave it a go.

I'm quite happy with the results :O

I managed to use all 5 colors from my nails last night, 

with the help of a great lipstick :)

( I realize the left eyeliner wing is kinda wonky, but I was too lazy to fix it :x)

*close up

*closer up

ta da!

I used:

ULTA's metallic white shadow on the inner corners

ULTA's metallic yellow in the middle

Urban Decay's 'Homegrown' on the outer part of the lid

Urban Decay's 'Black Out' on the crease

Covergirl lipstick in 'Hot Passion'

This was my first time using any ULTA brand makeup,

and the shadows worked like a dream!

I didn't use any primer & they're staying power was still pretty damn good.

Not quite as good as UD, but still great ;)

Welp, there you have it-

my take on a Jamaica/Rasta look!

What do ya'll think?

Rasta mani & mini haul

TGIF!

Woo! Another week closer to Spring Break- yus.

So yesterday I went into ULTA & rewarded myself just a tad :$

Urban Decay's Melt Down Makeup Remover!

Too Faced's Glamour Dust 

UTLA's metallic palette

yay!
I've used several things from the first 2 brands,
but I've never tried ULTA's eye shadow before,
so I'm anxious to see how that goes.
:)

Also,
it was a staggering freaking 75 degrees here yesterday,
and totally felt weird & summery.
This somehow got me reminiscing on my summer trip to Jamaica a few years ago,
so I figured I'd do a little mani in honor of that.

* indoor light, no flash

I purposely didn't want the black lines and colors in my middle finger to look precise. It looks more artsy to me that way- like it was done with a paint brush or something.

I did this little design using inspiration from the Jamaican flag :)

* a rare pic of my right hand :o

Polishes:

Zoya's 'Kimmy' on thumb (LOVE this)

Nubar's 'Reclaim' on index

Zoya's 'Pippa' on middle

Sinful Colors' 'What's Your Name' on ring

Zoya's 'Gaia' (LOVE) on pinky

ya mon.

there you have it.

Do any of you have any of the products I bought from ULTA?

If so, what are your thoughts on them?

Thanks for reading,

& have a great day!

:D

belated 'Fat Tuesday' cupcakes!

Hey guys!

so after my disastrous checkerboard mani yesterday,

I attempted the other idea I had for madi gras/fat Tuesday-

cupcakes!

I personally don't really like cupcakes, but I feel like they were more than appropriate for fat Tuesday & I always wanted to try to some more nail art.

I got the idea from here, so it's by no means my own idea.

Unfortunately, I took these pics prior to clean up, but I learned my lesson from yesterday....so I quickly took them as soon as I finished.

* indoor lighting, no flash

* fluorescent lighting, with flash

* fluorescent lighting, no flash

So i know this is super sloppy compared to the rest of you nail gurus,

but i AM still a noob, & you've got to start somewhere :p

I actually really liked them,

though of course there are a ton of things I could and need to improve upon.

Polishes I used:

Zoya's 'Robyn' for cupcake base

Konad special nail polish in white for icing

Zoya 'Gaia' over the Konad 

China Glaze's 'Ruby Pumps' for cherries

CG's 'Re-Fresh Mint', CG's 'Strawberry Fields', 'Robyn', & Zoya's 'Pippa' for sprinkles

But there you have it

Second ever attempt at nail art :)

What do ya'll think?!

nail mail, mardis gras, & awards! (long post)

Happy Mardis Gras! :party
Woo! Though I won't be showing my ta-tas to get any beads today, 
I still think it's a fun 'holiday'.
I did a lovely little checkerboard mani today with the appropriate mardi gras colors,
& OF COURSE I just didn't allow it to dry in time, my daughter got fussy... and well, you can figure out the rest.
 Basically they looked like a smudged mess after I'd spent a couple hours (on and off) on them. humph >.<
So although I don't have a picture of the mani, 
I at least have a pic of the polishes I used:

Kleancolor's Metallic 'Jungle', 'Yellow', & 'Purple'.
They don't have names because they're mini's and are part of the Techno set, which I swatched way back in the beginner days of my blog.
Basically, they're some of my favorite metallics ever. The whole set is SO RICH and luxe, it's ridiculous.


** note: a few of these polishes DO stain quite badly :/




ALSO,
I got my polishes from the recent Zoya promo:

'Gaia', 'Kimmy', & 'Pippa'
YUM!
I'll swatch these in later posts,
but I'm already totally excited about them.
 I got one for free + free shipping-
so all for $16! :)




NOW, on to the awards!


The lovely I Bleed Polish gave me these next 2 awards. I've gotten several from her; she's so sweet to think of me! :)

First up,

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person who awarded the award to you

2. Answering the following questions

3. Award to other bloggers and let them know

The questions:

1. What's your favorite song?

'Hide & Seek' by Imogen Heap!

2. What's your favorite dessert?

my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies

3. Who's your favorite pet?

I don't have any right now :/ My german shepherd, Ajax, died this past July

4. Black or White?

Black

5. What's your biggest fear?

Losing someone I love &  not being able to protect my daughter 

6. What's your best feature?

I've been told my hair.

7. What's your everyday attitude?

must...get...sleep

haha, not really. though having an infant pretty much puts you in that constant frame of mind.

I suppose a perserverent(sp), determined attitude would be my most common... lots to do!

8. What is perfection?

my baby girl :)

9. What is your guilty pleasure?

trash shows, like 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' and the competition gameshows on MTV...

also, dark chocolate...

and sex :x

I pass this award on to:

GaGa for Nails

The Giveaway Lifestyle

Nails like Lace

Glitter Obsession

Next,

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person you got it from

2. Tell seven things about yourself

3. Give the award to ten bloggers

I've listed 7 things about myself here for another award, but I will try to list 7 more without repeating myself :)

1. The Disney movie 'The Great Mouse Detective' warped me when I was a kid, & I refuse to watch it to this day.

2. I think it would be fun as hell to go to a gay bar, even though I'm not gay O_o

3. I could watch 'House Hunters' & CNN all day- i'm a 70 something year old woman at heart.

4. I wear contacts & am legit almost legally blind, my vision is so pathetic.

5. I had a benign tumor in my leg when I was 12, and got the nickname 'Tumor Taylor' in middle school :/

6. I love talking shit to other gamers in my boyfriend's headphones while he plays :x

7. Roller Coaster Tycoon is my favorite game ever. Apparently I'm 12, but 70-something every now and then.

I tag the same people for this award as I did above :)

I love doing these little things.

Everyone have a great day!

beach-y in winter :)

hello everyone!

Quick post tonight.

I got confirmation that we're going to the beach in May, so of course I can't stop thinking about it, i'm so excited.

SO, in honor of that I did a look that reminded me very much of the ocean :)

* outdoor shade, no flash

* fluorescent lighting

* darkness, with flash-- sorry about the weird smudge?

SWATCHES!

(all Urban Decay)

* From L to R: 'Evidence', 'Jinx', & 'Flipside'

I actually really like how this turned out, & it totally reminds me of the colors of the ocean.

I started out with 'Flipside' as my base, used 'Jinx' on the outer corners, & 'Evidence' in the crease with my UD crease brush. I applied the other two shades with my fingers :0

Other Products Used:

Lime Crime's 'Mirror Mirror' on the inner corner of my eyes

Covergirl's LineExact liquid eyeliner

Tarte's Amazonian clay smart mascara

What do you guys think?

Let me knowwwwwww!

ruh-roh raggy--dupes?

hello all!

I took a slight hiatus this weekend because we went back into Knoxville to see all our family and friends, & it was pretty awesome, for the most part.
:|

Tonight I have a little post that I just wanted to do for myself, if nothing else.

I've bought 3 crazy good multi-colored glitter polishes over the past couple months, and now I realize that - they're basically all the same.

sigh xP

So here I have a comparison to show you!

*From L to R:

Finger Paint's 'Fun-Fetti'

NOPI's 'Rainbow in the S-kylie'

Ulta's 'Pinata-Yada-Yada'

....

Can you guess which is which?

:brow

So yeah, 

they all totally look almost exactly the same- aside from very subtle differences.

The first on the nail wheel is the Ulta polish. It's a clear base with small hexagonal gold, magenta, orange, green, dark blue, silver, and red glitter. Then it has larger hexagonal glitter in magenta gold, silver, and orange.

The next on the nail wheel is the NOPI from the Kardashian Kolor collection. Quite honestly, this really looks the EXACT same as Ulta's version. Of course with a clear base, 'Rainbow in the S-kylie' has small, hexagonal magenta, silver, gold, orange, green, and light blue glitter. The larger pieces of glitter are the same colors. What gives this polish an almost pastel feel is the light blue rather than dark blue, and the absence of red.

Lastly, we have the Finger Paints polish- my favorite. This polish has a clear base with teeeeeeeny tiny green glitter, small hexagonal glitter in orange, gold, silver, and magenta... and then loads of large hexagonal pieces of glitter in the above colors plus green, red, and dark blue. The concentration of large glitter in this polish is greater than the other two, and really adds a glamorous touch to the polish. 

Though all the polishes use verrrrry similar colors, I find the colors in 'Fun-Fetti' to be the richest. It glistens more in the sun, and is therefore more mesmerizing :)

Do any of you have these?

What are your thoughts?

Feb. Birchbox :)

good afternoon, fellow bloggers :e

It was sunny and nice long enough today for me to take my daughter to the park and let her swing on a swing for the first time ever- hilarious.

Anyway,

like a lot of you, I received (finally) my Feb. Birchbox a couple days ago!

This was my first one & it was filled with lovely goodies.

From L to R:

Juice Beauty's Blemish Clearing Serum

Juicy Couture's 'Viva La Juicy'

Benta Berry's G-1 Moisturizing Face Cream

Eye Rock's 'Designer Liner'

I actually already have a larger bottle of Viva La Juicy, reviewed here. It's definitely my favorite fragrance to wear right now :)

The 'designer eyeliner'... looks hilarious. You peel them off and stick them on.

...

:r

Can't wait to devote a post to that one, haha.

I'll go into the rest of the products in more depth once I've had a chance to use them & whatnot.

Have any of your tried any of these products?

What do you think?

beauty/nail mail & simple V-day manis

Happy Valentine's day!

normally i think this holiday is totally dumb & overrated, but it has a whole new meaning for me now because-

1 year ago today is when I found out I had a bun in my oven xD

now my little munchkin is my Valentine.

Anyway, I got a few goodies in yesterday.

My Feb. Birchbox!

stamping plates

stamp set

yay! can't wait to use these, although I've still got to get some Konad polishes :/

And I haven't even had a chance to really look in the Birchbox yet,

but I'll try to do that soon & devote a whole post to it :)

On to the nails.

Both of these are super simple and were done, obviously, in light of Valentine's Day.

NOPI's "Hard Kourt Fashionista' ( a rich, chocolate-y creme) & Milani's Jewel FX in 'Red' (clear base with very large red hexagonal glitter)

I just bought the Milani yesterday because it. is. phenomenally. pretty.

so ridic.

I used 2 coats of the NOPI & one coat of the Milani- then one of SV.

It reminds me of a V-day chocolate box, for some reason.

Super simple, but I really really love that red glitter.

Fabulous! <3

Next up,

* daylight, it's a gloomy day :/

* artificial light w/ flash- messed up on middle finger... this cold has really dried out that one

So this is apparently all the rave right now- using 3 colors from the same color family and going from pinky to thumb with the lightest to darkest colors. The lightest on your pinky and ring, medium shade on your middle and pointer finger, and the darkest on your thumb.

Again, totally simple... but I like the effect.

NOPI's 'Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi' on pinky & ring

CG's 'Ruby Pumps' on middle & pointer

PureICE's 'All Nighter' on thumb

Then just for kicks, I used OPI's Designer... de Better' and a dotting tool to make little hearts on my thumb.

I like the simplicity of both of these.

Hope everyone has a fantastic V-day!

:)

a 'Tainted' Valentine's Day look (pic heavy)

Happy (or rather, boo  on) Monday!

My poor munchkin is teething and fussing up a storm,

but she finally fell asleep for me long enough to post :p

So I made this little look with Valentine's Day in mind obviously, but I also just wanted an excuse to use my new glitter eyeliner :)

* dim bathroom lighting

* fluorescent lighting

* straight on shot

* i know it's blurry, but I wanted you to see this angle nevertheless

Swatches!

From L to R:

Urban Decay's 'Vanilla' on the brow line

Lime Crime's 'Mirror Mirror' on the inner corners

'UD's 'Tainted' also on the inner corners

UD's 'Gunmetal' on the lid crease

UD's 'Blackout' on the outer corners

I used Covergirl's 'Line Exact' liquid precision eyeliner in 'very black',

 then used Urban Decay's Heavy Metal glitter eyeliner in Groupie', which is a fantastic, rosy pink color.

I actually really liked the way this turned out. It'll be a great nighttime look, and the glitter eyeliner is just fabulous. It adds that extra bit of spice that the look needs. 

What do you guys think?!

Let me know!

:D

oonz oonz oonz

^ techno beat

Hey guys,

hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. I had some family come down and spend time with myself and my daughter, and t'was good times.

ANYWAY,

tonight's polish just might be in my top 10. or even 5.

It's amazingness is neverending :L

forrealz.

China Glaze's 'Techno' !! :tone

*outside, no flash

* fluorescent light

I chose to not use it as a topcoat because I wanted you to see the sheer greatness of it, even on it's own. I used 3 coats here & no topcoat.

pure awesomeness :e

I literally can hardly take my eyes off this little guy. Every few seconds I grab up the bottle and just twirl it around to see the explosion of color from every direction. It's pretty pathetic. and mesmerizing. 

So, 'Techno' is a clear base with tiny and then large hexagonal holographic glitter, and it's from CG's Electropop collection.

 SO. FREAKING. FUN :o

Im quite anxious to just use a coat or two of it over something else next.

Anyway, short post tonight- but there you have it!

xD