May favorites & a simple, colorful look!

Hellooooo.

So alas, SOMEHOW, May is already at an end. This summer is already flying by :/

But with the month ending I figured I'd share with you some of my favorite finds or products from this month in case any of you might like to try them! :)

1) Maybelline's Baby Lips in 'Quenched'

My lips have been so chapped lately, and Burt's Bees just wasn't cutting it. So I spotted this in Walmart & grabbed it up. I had seen a commercial or two for it, but didn't know if it would actually work or not. However, it only cost like $2 or $3 bucks, so what the hey. Anyway, this stuff is AWESOME. It boasts 8 hr long hydration for your lips along with some new 'secret' formula with SPF 20. It's also supposed to visibly renew your lips in 4 weeks. I've been using it about that long and I definitely feel/see a difference, so I dub this product legit! and definitely worth buying.

2) Select shadows from Urban Decay's BoS 4

(Baked & Bender are reversed in this picture for some reason...?)

So as most of you know, I'm obsessed with UD and use it on a daily basis, but there's some new shadows that i've just been HOOKED on this month. I've switched up the usual, daily neutral look I do with some different neutral shades that I hadn't really used too much before:

'Skimp' as a base

'Bust'

'Missionary'

'Midnight Rodeo'

^ the last 3 I used in the crease

It's super simple, takes 4 minutes to do, and is a great, new neutral look for me. I love 'em!

3) Dove's Go Fresh Bodywash 'Cubumber & Green Tea'

I guess this falls under the umbrella of beauty...?

Anyway, all i can say about this stuff is BUY. IT. I bought this initially because I wanted to try a new brand, but the awesome smell of this body wash makes it stand head & shoulders (pardon the pun) above the rest. I feel like a lot of body washes I've used before I can never smell again once I wash them off. But this stuff not only makes my skin smell great (& moisturizes it, of course) but it permeates the bathroom and my adjacent bedroom, and it just gives this amazing fresh, calming feeling to the rooms AND- in turn- me :)

So there's my favorites for May!

Have any of you tried them?

What do you think?!

Lastly, I wanted to post a quick & easy look I did yesterday. It was inspired by a very similar look that I saw on Pinterest, so it's by no means my own- just something I wanted to try my hand at.

I used:

Urban Decay's 'Missionary' on the lid as a base

UD's 'Omen' on inner corners

UD's 'Jinx'

UD's 'Bender' in outer area of lower lash line

This is a really easy look that business on top & a party on the bottom :party :p

But I really love it, especially because it's a lot more wearable than a lot of looks I do.

:)

What do ya think?!

simple, Victorian-ish mani

Hey guys!

I'm taking a break in between studying for my final tomorrow to blog. Tomorrow is the last day of my Maymester class, and then i've got Friday and the weekend to relax before another summer class starts up :/

Anyway,

I had a go at stamping again today. 

This is one of the areas of the nail world that I need to work on the most, but practice makes perfect! Or so they say...

Okay, so awhile ago I bought a couple of the polishes Maybelline just released in their new nail polish line. I've been itching to try one of them & see what they're like, and since it's been awhile since I did any stamping I decided to combine the two.

Here's 'Chiffon Chic' with Konad stamping plate m57 & Konad stamping polish in black.

'Chiffon Chic' was surprisingly awesome! I mean it just looked liked a typical pink creme, but it totally exceeded my expectations. It's a lovely, Barbie pink creme that applied really well. I used 2 coats here. I also wore this mani for 3 days, & it barely chipped at all- which is a LOT more than I can say about some polishes that cost triple what it did. so wow!

So I seem to have the hardest time aligning the stamper on the same place on each of my nails. The design was supposed to be on the right side of each nail, but some are more towards the middle, diagonal, or even backwards LAWL. i'm a n00b.

You can see the the bubbling of 'Chiffon Chic' on some nails, and I think that was due to one the polish drying while I was still trying to apply the same coat (I was sitting directly in front of the vent, so I'm wondering if that's what caused it...).

Anyway, the stamp really reminded me of the Victorian era, for some reason. I like the dainty -ness and simplicity of it :)

What do you guys think?

Serendipity inspired: 'In Search of the Saveopotomus'

Hey everyone!

I have another look from my 'Serendipity inspired' series for you today. I've only managed to do two so far (seen here and here) because everything has been so crazy with finals, moving, and summer classes... but I finally found some time for it today!

So for all you new followers out there, this makeup series is based off a series of children's books that have been in my family for years, and i'm now reading to my daughter. They all have totally cute little morals and are known for their super vivid illustrations. This is what inspires me most about then :)

For tonight's post, I used 'In Search of the Saveopotomas' from the Serendipity series as my inspiration. This lovely little story is about not putting all your stock in material things, and how often, giving is better than receiving! 

On to the look!

Here's the page from the book that served as inspiration:

^ the Hoardasaurus 

And I came up with...

(prior to eyeliner)

So I've never used these colors together and had really no idea what I wanted to do when I started playing around with them (that seems to be the case most of the time... a wing & a prayer, i guess)... BUT, i'm okay with how it turned out. I debated using a UD eyeliner in the blue on my waterline instead under the lashes, but I didn't know if it would be as noticeable, so I went with the shadow instead.

I used:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Sugarpill's 'Buttercupcke' as base

SP's 'Tako' on inner corners

Urban Decay's 'Graffiti' in crease

UD's 'Peace' on lower lash line

Too Faced's Lashgasm mascara

I'm still trying to master the liquid eyeliner and wings. I can't do the eyeliner line thick above my lashes because then you can't see any of the eye shadow if i'm looking straight on, like in the last picture. Though I see that's how all the pros do it, so I don't know if it's just something I can't do because of how my lids are OR if it's just a technique I need to learn...

any suggestions?

What do you guys think about it & the color combo?

Also,

DON'T FORGET to enter my giveaway!!

We have a ton of great prizes up for grabs! :)

Thanks for reading, gals!

Memorial day polish

Hello, dear readers!

Quickly, (once again) WELCOME to all my new followers! 

You have no idea how much I appreciate it! :)

Anyway,

happy Memorial day! My grandfather was in WWII & I know several people who have done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, so this day holds great significance for me. It really is a day to think on just how MUCH these people have done for us, allowing us to retain the freedoms that we Americans take for granted on a daily basis.

SO, for today I decided to use a polish that i had initially planned to use in November because of it's title, but I decided I couldn't possibly wait that long :x So today was a great day to use it instead!

I give you 'Election Day' by ParisSparkles !!

'Election Day' is a creamy white base with holographic micro glitter and medium red & blue hexagonal glitter. It actually wasn't that sheer at all, but I used 3 coats here just to be safe.

This stuff looks totally awesome in the bottle, but I have to say I was a little disappointed with it :/ The glitter is nowhere near as shiny or clear to see as some of it is in the bottle. The larger glitter just got lost in the white base, and the micro glitter got so lost and covered up that it just made the polish look bumpy/bubbly :( Not the effect I was hoping for. I tried applying this verrrrry thinly and building up that, thinking that  initially I had just applied too much and that's why the glitter was getting lost. But each new thing I tried yielded the same result :/ I did apply a coat of SV afterwards, but that hardly did anything except it's basic function.

SO, all in all, i'm not sure what to make of this polish. It looks like it has a ton of potential, but unless i'm doing something wrong that can be corrected, I don't see it becoming the awesome polish I thought it would be.

HOWEVER, parisparkles has a TON of other for sure awesome polishes in her shop,

so those you definitely need to check out. Her shop is closed at the moment, but get yourself on the email list!

What do you guys think of this polish?

Any of you have it?

What did you do for Memorial day?!

Thanks for reading! :)

lemme follow YOU!

Just wanted to say

 heyyyyyyy, thanks, and WELCOME 

to my new followers! I had no idea the giveaway would be this successful and i'm so excited that so many of you have already entered! :)

I would love to return the favor for those of you that have followed me recently (if I haven't already), so for this one time and this one time only I am ASKING that you guys leave the link to your blog in the comment section so I can follow you back!

Blogger is being wonky and it's super tedious to go through everything and try to find/follow everyone, and since i've had flux of new followers, it'd be easier for me if you guys wouldn't mind just leaving your blog link as a comment for me :D

Thanks!

If you haven't already,

enter my giveaway that i'm co-hosting here!!

(Ends June 8th)

Good luck, everyone!

neon popsicles & blog hop

Good morn'!

I'm pretty stoked this morning because we're heading to the Renaissance festival here in a second, and it's been quite awhile since i've been. Though it's going to be 347373 degrees, it should still be fun! :)

Quick post today.

I'm wearing a neon orange/yellow striped shirt today and figured today's polish would just be too perfect.

I give you ORLY's 'Melt Your Popsicle' !

Yummy! Look at all that rich, neon orange goodness!

'Melt Your Popsicle' is a vivid neon orange from ORLY's Feel the Vibe summer 2012 collection.    I figured it would apply like most other neons i've tried latley, but it was actually better! It's formula was super fluid and smooth. Though thin, it didn't go on all that thin (if that makes any sense...?). I figured the first coat would be all but see through based on the consistency, but it was a lot more opaque. I used 2 coats here and was ALMOST at opacity, so 3 coats is probably necessary.

It dried super fast and was just dreamy all around. It makes me thirsty for a Sonic slushie...

Anyway, that's that.

ALSO, DON'T FORGET to enter the giveaway i'm co-hosting!!

There are so many prizes, and it ends June 8th!

Also, BlogLoveTherapy is hosting a blog hop!

There's already a TON of great blogs on there (including mine! :p),

so go check it out!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

HEY FRIENDS.

I'm so excited because it's finally giveaway time!

My bestie at GaGa for Nails and I have been wanting to do this for awhile and we both finally conjured up enough moolah and time to do it!

We've got a crap-ton of goodies for one lucky winner!

Here's a sneak peek ;p

Hollaaaaa!

She's a nail guru and my first passion is definitely makeup, so we threw both into the mix.

The makeup/beauty products I chose are really general, but I didn't know if the winner would like some of the crazy shadows, liners, etc that I like :X If I/we do another one, I may get more into the nitty gritty!

This giveaway is not open internationally! :/ Sorry!

It opens today and will last for 2 weeks, closing on June 8.

As I said before, there will be ONE winner.

I hope everyone enters, & good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ulta haul & giveaway peek!

Hey everyone!

It's like Friday night for me since I don't have class tomorrow,

so i'm feeling pretty good :)

Pretty short, but exciting post for ya'll today!

I got an Ulta giftcard for Mother's day and i've been itching to use it, and today I finally got the chance when the bestie & I went shopping! :)

Here's what I grabbed:

Hoorah!

Since we've moved we have slightly less counter/under counter storage space in our bathroom, so i figured giving in and buying a makeup case t store everything in would be the easiest thing to do. I'm quite happy with that sucker.

**ALSO,

just a little head's up-

my bestie over at GaGa for Nails and myself are doing a giveaway here very soon,

and a few of the items you see above might just be part of it ;)

Stay tuned for more info on that!

Spring Fling inspired look using SugarPill !

Hello lovelies!

I'm finally moved in enough and well enough to post a makeup look!

It's been too long since i've done one,

but it's just been almost impossible to find the time to do one with everything going on.

Anyway,

I got some WONDERFUL makeup mail yesterday... SugarPill's Sweet Heart Palette!

'Dollipop' (top left), 'Afterparty' (top right), 'Midori' (bottom left), & 'Tako' !!

*not used with a primer here

Yay!

So after getting this palette, I used the lovely colors from my polish in my last post as inspiration for a look :)

So here we go...

WARNING: my camera charger is MIA again so these had to be taken with my phone! :(

*fluorescent light, no flash

*Oooooh girl, look at those atrocious eyebrows! :x

** indoor lighting, with flash

* sorry for the blur, had to use my phone to take these!

* shade, no flash.

Whew. Okay, so there you have it.

This is much more bold than I normally do, but the colors in the Sweet Heart palette are just so vivid, that I couldn't NOT do something like this :P I basically just picked the 3 colors I wanted to use, then played around with them until something worked.

I used:

Too Faced's Shadow Insurance

'Tako' on the inner eyelids

'Dollipop' as a base

'Midori' in the crease and lower lash line

Tarte's Amazonian Clay mascara (great stuff, fyi)

I chose not to use a liquid eyeliner because that's usually a finishing touch to add drama (or at least that's how I use it) and I found this look to be dramatic enough as it is.

These shadows are all matte, and are AMAZING. Fallout was almost zero, much less than I get with Urban Decay products O_o Of course I found the same results with their Burning Heart palette, but it's still an amazing little feat.

I really like this look. I've never worn these colors together, but they completely surprised me. I found them to have a fun, whimsy feel about them :)

What do you guys think?!

ALSO,

for those of you that haven't already,

don't forget to 'like' my fb page!

I'll gladly like yours in return ;)

'Spring Fling'

Okay so it's not spring anymore, but I'm featuring this polish anyway tonight because it's an indie and i'm obsessed with them lately...

I'm taking a minute from my Lorabtab (?) induced stupors to blog. The nausea/side effects from the pain med are worse than the pain from my empty wisdom teeth sockets, wtf. AND this stuff is a step DOWN from what they were going to give me...

Anyway, on to tonight's little beauty!

I have another polish from Lush Lacquer for you- 'Spring Fling'!

'Spring Fling' is a peachy-light pink iridescent base filled with green, pink, and gold glitter of all shapes and sizes... tiny circular glitter, HUGE hexagonal glitter, bar glitter, etc. Their website says it's opaque in 2 coats, but you really need 3.

I did 2 coats here, and it's still pretty sheer. Aside from that, I love the shimmery/metallic like quality that the base gives, and the glitter certainly does portray a spring-ish feeling. Even though I bought this, when I saw it in person when it came in the mail, I wasn't so sure about it... but now that I've tried it on- i love it, It subtle but yet not-so-subtle in it's own way.

I really like it :)

I got this off Lush Lacquer's Etsy shop for $8.75!

Do any of you have this?

What do you think?

a little 'salt n peppa' :P

Hey guys!

I'm FINALLY about 90% moved in... just in time to get my wisdom teeth out in the morning!...

xP

YAY.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say I probably won't be posting in the next few days,

but we'll see.

I might recover quicker than we think, who knows.

If my OBGYN said I have a high pain tolerance and I STOOD UP during labor almost until the exact moment I had to push (with no epidural), i'd like to think I can get some freaking wisdom teeth pulled without too many problems.

o_O

Anyway, exciting post tonight!

I ordered a couple indie polishes forever ago,

and it had been so long between my ordering them and me finally getting the email that they've been shipped that I completely forgot I bought them.

So them getting here the other day was a pleasant little surprise!

Tonight I have my favorite of the 3 I bought-

Lush Lacquer's 'Salt N Peppa'!

THIS POLISH IS AWESOME.

'Salt N Peppa' has different sizes (& shapes) of white & black glitter in a clear base. They've got the standard hexagons, bar glitter, squares, etc. PLUS, they've added some iridescent micro glitter in there, as well, which gives the overall effect a really nice touch.

I chose to use it over one of my new polishes from my mini haul the other day:

*excuse my messed up middle finger :/*

Weeee!

I was most excited when I found this polish because it reminds me of the elusive 'Connect the Dots' of Lynnderella's, which I will probably never get my hands on... but that's ok with me now. This polish is FABULOUS. It looks great over anything, and it just so awesome looking. This particular mani reminded me of an 80's design, for whatever reason.

I used 1 coat of 'Salt N' Peppa' over 2 coats of this lovely pink/light coral creme polish (it has no name :/) by Julie.

This little number is definitely one of my new favorites. You can buy this polish along with several others in Lush Lacquer's Etsy shop. This one was $8.75.

I bought one other polish from them aside from this one,

and I'm definitely planning on buying more.

They're really great!

What do ya'll think?

Do any of you have this?

First deborah lippman, nail mail, & mini haul!

Alas!

In between a new class and moving, I have FINALLY found a second to blog & it couldn't come soon enough- I have quite a few exciting things for you :)

Firstly, the amazing Kaki over at Glitter Obsession nominated me to receive an Apothica gift card!! I know, right? How awesome is she? (Go check out her blog. She covers a little of everything, though mostly nails, and is quite witty :P)

Anyway, I had been wanting a DL polish for awhile but couldn't rationalize forking up the money for it's expensive price tag, so this gift card was an answer to my prayers!

I decided to buy none other than the magical 'Across the Universe'!

This is a rather sheer blue jelly base with large blue, green, and silver hexagonal glitter and dark blue microglitter. It's downright DREAMY, forrealz. My only caveat with this polish is that it IS a jelly- i'm not tooooo fond of them because they can just get gloopy every now & then, but this polish is beyond worth it.

So, uh, wait a minute... why only the 3 fingers?

WELL, 

I was so overly anxious to out this on that I did so without thinking it through... like thinking of how I was about to have to pack up & move a whole apartment. So by the time I was able to take pictures, really only 3 fingers remained halfway decent looking :( But I've been so determined to just get this sucker posted that I said "what the hey", and am posting this sad little picture. The day I took this OF COURSE wasn't sunny, so this picture really doesn't do the polish justice- but it's all I could get.

So there's my disclaimer :/

I used 3 coats by itself, but this would probably work/look better over a base coat of something else (like Essie's 'Aruba Blue'). 

Now on to some exciting nail mail I received yesterday!

:) :) :)

This is all i'm going to post about them for now :p

But CAN'T WAIT to show you more.

**Also, thinking of using one of these in my giveaway with GaGa For Nails...

what do you think??

Lastly,

I dropped into my local RiteAid today in hopes of finding a wonderful stash of Color Club like I did at the one in Chattanooga a month or so ago...

but no Color Club :/

HOWEVER,

I did find these 3 little beauties,

two of which are completely new brand names for me.

Tada!

I've heard of the last brand, but not the first two.

So I'm anxious to try these as well!

That's about it for tonight :)

newest additions to the wish list!

Hey guys :)

As much as it sucks to be back from the beach, there's still something nice about being able to just relax on the couch with my favorite blanket...

... But that's only nice for a day.

Then i'll be ready for the beach again. Meh.

There's a million things I could be doing to pack up the apartment to move, but i'm just too drained from driving today to do anything but sit here :x

Anyway, i've found/added so many new things for my little wish list I just had to finally write them down so I wouldn't forget them, and i'm also curious to see if any of you have them or any opinions/recommendations on them, as well.

SO HERE WE GO.

1) Sugarpill's 'SweetHeart' palette

I was waiting to buy this until I tried the 'Burning Heart' palette since it was the first product i've tried of theirs, but now that I know i LOVE IT, i want this palette immediately. I see myself purchasing this in the very near future :p

2) Urban Decay's NAKED2 palette

Most all of you know this palette; it's nothing new. Despite the fact that I use neutrals on a daily basis, i've never found myself drawn to either Naked palettes because I already had my favorite neutrals that I used, and I didn't want to deviate  from them... until now. Naked2 actually still has some of my favorites in it, but with just a few more that I'd like to try. And with me using neutrals as often as I do, there's really no reason why I SHOULDN'T have this :p

3) ULTA's metallic palette

This little sucker turned out to be quite the gem. I had no idea when I bought it how AWESOME it would be, and how much I would totally love it. Unfortunately, I was trying to carry too much recently, and this palette took an accidental tumble down a flight of stairs :( Leaving much of it al broken... so being that it's only $10 (or was last time I checked), I'd like a new one, me thinks.

4) Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette- Mi Vida Loca

This little beauty is really just on a whim. I've never used any Kat Von D cosmetics and don't know a thing about them, (which makes me hesitant to get it), but the colors sure do look vivid and tempting. Do any of you know anything about this line of hers and the quality? Any help would be appreciated :)

5) Select Urban Decay's Deluxe Eyeshadows

Knowing that a few of my favorites shades from UD are being discontinued, I feel that now is really the time to stock up on them here, as they are currently still offered as Deluxe Shadows (and may remain so, i don't know). I've got several favorites (Peace, Zero, Underground, Graffiti, etc.), one of which is also 'Ransom', which is pictured above. I haven't found shadows that are REALLLY that comparable to these, so I want to grab 'em before they're gone.

Tada! I'm sure I have more, but I can't think of them right now :x

What do you guys think?

Which would you like to see most?

Thanks for reading!

everyone loves a boy toy... right?

HEY YA'LL. 

So i'm pretty sure i've never had an actual 'boy toy', but I like the title of this polish anyway ;)

I couldn't NOT feature this polish while I'm at the beach since it's name is just so appropriate, but i barely got it in as i'm leaving the beach today :(

Waaaaaaa.

Back to reality.

So here's China Glaze's 'Towel Boy Toy' for you!

'Towel Boy Toy' is a bright/neon (though it's not marketed as technically a neon) sky blue from the Poolside collection.... (i've actually featured several from this collection in my recent 'Live Loud!' week, seen here, here, and here.) It has a lovely, light blue shimmer to it but it's very subtle. It dries matte, of course, so I applied a coat of SV over the already 3 coats of polish- it's a bit sheer, so at least 2 coats are needed!
This polish reminds me VERY much of Zoya's 'Phoebe' prior to SV.
What do you think?

I was surprised by how much I liked this. As i've said before, i'm not usually a huge fan of bright blue on my hands, but this one was just so bright and happy and beachy that it really grew on me :)

This might be my last post for awhile because i'm getting home late tonight from the beach, have only tomorrow to finish packing up the apartment, then I start my summer class AND we're moving Monday :( So it may be a few days before I have time to blog again, but i'm going to do my best :)

Margarita, anyone?

Alas, it is my last day at the beach :(

Time really does why when you're having fun...

Anyway,

short little post again tonight as i'm busy having to pack errrrry'thang back up :/

So, for tonight I have a gorgeous little 'go-to' polish for you- 'Strawberry Margarita' by OPI!

**Okay, I apologize in advance for my cuticles. I forgot my Burt's Bees so they're super dried out :(

'Strawberrry Margarita' is a lovely, medium-pink creme. It was almost opaque with 1 coat, but I did two for good measure. It's super glossy and girly and just a fun, summery, easy polish.

 It actually reminds me very much of China Glaze's 'Rich & Famous'.

Anyway, that's all for tonight.

Lots to do before the 8 hour drive tomorrow :/

Thanks for reading! :)