NOTD- 'It Starts With Me'

hey guys, just a quick post tonight.

Many of you may know by now (I feel like it's quite obvious) that I'm a sucker for metallics- particularly in the polish arena.

Tonight's number is no exception.

I JUST SO HAPPENED (read:forced myself to remember needing cotton rounds so I could have an excuse to go to the nail polish aisle) to be browsing the nail aisle in Walmart tonight & I found some lovely metallics from the 'Liquid Metals' collection (one of which I already have, see it here).

I behaved & only chose to get one,

and it hasn't disappointed :D

Behold, NOPI's 'It Starts With Me':

This is a wonderful, golden-rose metallic. The way the two colors look in the polish reminds me very much of how the gold & red look in OPI's 'Designer... de Better', for some reason.

I tried to do a better job of capturing the gold & rose here, but my pictures just can't seem to do it justice :/

* fluorescent lighting-- you can see more of it's golden tint here

As with other NOPIs, I really love their brushes. I have short, fat (or so it feels), wide nails- & this brush really is just a perfect fit for me to quickly & easily slap this puppy on. No clean up was really even necessary on this one.

All in all, I absolutely love this gal. Metallics are already high up on my list, so that combined with the fact that it's a great neutral color- makes it one of my new favorites for sure.

Do any of you have this?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading!

:)

st. patty's day look

good evening, friends!

I have had an extremely relaxing/lazy day today due to not getting in bed until 5 am due to going to NiT GriT last night (that was a mouthful)-

but t'was amazing.

he threw down so hard.

& my face melted :)

Anyway,

I know st. patrick's day is still a week or so away but I wanted to go ahead & post tonight's look.

'metallic white' from ULTA palette, Urban Decay's 'Homegrown', & UD's 'Misdemeanor'

Voila!

I really like green & blue on my eyes lately,

& these colors were no exception.

There you have it- short & sweet.

Hope everybody had a great weekend!

DayGlow splatter mani

hey guys,

super excited about tonight's post.

DayGlow was in town recently & I wasn't able to go due to not having anyone to watch my daughter :/ boo.

SO, i thought I'd at least do a little mani inspired by it's amazingness.

For those of you who don't know what it is,

let me enlighten you:

......

YEAH

THAT F-ING AWESOME.

jangkjabgkjabgjkadbgajkg

:)

Anyway,

I had been wanting to try a splatter mani for awhile & this finally sent me over the hump to do it.

xD

This was a ton of fun to do.

I made a total mess & felt like a 5 year old in art class.

I used the straw method with some cheap bendy straws I found at Kroger.

The polishes I used are:

China Glaze's 'White on White' as the base

Zoya's 'Robyn'

Sally Hansen's 'Sun Kissed'

PureICE's 'Wild Thing'

China Glaze's 'Gorgeous'

It still looks really wonky compared to the other splatter manis i've seenm

but you gotta start somewhere, right?!

:)

'do-re-me....'

helloooooooooo!

the week is halfway over,

& Nit Grit is just one more day away :tup

Tonight I have a stamping mani for you. I'm still really new to the stamping world and working on my technique, but I did do something today that I quite liked & wanted to share.

* woo, flipped photo!

*fluorescent lighting

Hoorah! Though I messed up my thumb, I really liked this little design. With the show coming up, I felt like doing something musical :tone

I used China Glaze's 'White on White' as the base (2 coats), then stamped this pattern from Konad plate m73 with konad's black nail polish.

I wish I was ambidextrous because the nails on my right hand are in SO much better shape,

but alas- i am not. I'm really going to try to start getting more pictures of them, though.

Anyway, short little post tonight,

but I'm happy with it :)

pot o' gold!

SUP.

So tonight I tried my first gradient... >.<

It wasn't pretty, I'm afraid. It was much harder than it looked, wtf.

One of the reasons why I'll stick to mostly makeup... :P

Anyway, I thought I'd share it with you guys nonetheless,

& maybe ya'll can give me tips!

* initial idea

*i know this is cropped weird; I did a wonky job on my middle finger & was attempting to crop it out as much as I could :x

So obviously I had St. Patrick's day in mind when I did this- the whole pot of gold thing.

If I could actually DO a gradient, I think it actually would have looked really good.

:/ oh well.

I used NOPI's 'Khloe Had Little Lam-Lam' from the Kardashian Kolor collection as the base. This polish is a deep, almost forest-green creme. It was a litttttle gloopy, but still easier to apply than I thought. One coat was enough for me, believe it or not.

The glitter is China Glaze's 'Blonde Bombshell' which is a fantastic gold glitter with teeny pieces, larger pieces, and 'strips' (for lack of a better word) of gold glitter, as well.

I really like the two together :)

What are your thoughts?

Tips?

Let me know!

Have a great night/early morning!

Emerald City of Oz = reality!

Happy Tuesday!

It's a GORGEOUS day here in Tennessee, my daughter isn't fussy, & things are just all around great :)

Today I have a beautiful, St. Patrick's-ish ploish for you:

China Glaze's -Watermelon Rind'

*right hand

*left hand

I haven't even posted many pics lately of my nails because my cuticles are so deplorable (especially on my left hand- the one I photograph the most),

but I just had to post this one.

'Watermelon Rind' is a gorgeous emerald-green shimmer packed with glitz. My particular formula was a little runny, but nothing too bad. I used 2 coats here, but could have probably used another- it's a bit sheer.

In the sunlight, this stuff glistens like crazy. 

It really is pretty amazing.

It REALLY reminds me of Emerald City in 'The Wizard of Oz'.

totally magical :)

my 'go-to' look & Laine blogger award

happy monday!

 I just signed up for a bigger apartment & am so. stoked. to move in!

:dance

Anyway, I know I do a lot of more over the top looks,

so today I figured I'd post my newest everyday, daytime, 'go-to' look.

*outdoor light, shade

So I really love this look.

 It's a great subtle, neutral look that goes with anything, is super easy to do, & takes MAYBE 5 minutes. 

I used(all Urban Decay):

'Spotlight' on the inner corners

'Wreckage' on the outer corners

'Skimp' on the brown bone

All can be seen here in UD's Mariposa palette!

:)

Very simple but effective !

NOW, on to the award:

The lovely & amazing Nails Like Lace passed on this award to me! She always does some super awesome, atrsy stuff to her nails that I've never seen before- you definitely need to check her out if you haven't already!

The rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Blog about your award.

3. Give this award to 5 bloggers & let them know you gave it to them.

I now pass this one to a few of my favorite blogs:

Glitter Obsession

GaGa for Nails, my bestie

I Bleed Polish

Mandy's Secrets

Captivating Claws

all matchy matchy

Hey everyone,

hope those of you who had to worry about it survived the storms today. Our weather person kept telling us how bad it was going to get, that 40 tornados touched down in our state, yadda yadda... but my county hardly saw a thing.

wtf.

Anyway, in getting out my spring & summer clothes, I came across one of my favorite warm weather dresses, & decided to do a look & nails using it as inspiration!

Yay! I love color blocking.

I had no idea what direction I was going in when I started this look,

But I actually quite like how it turned out :)

I used:

a metallic white on the inner corners, metallic salmon, metallic teal from ULTA's metallic palette

Urban Decay's 'Blackout' on corners

UD's 'Skimp' on brow bone

Covergirl's Line Exact Liquid Eyeliner

Too Faced's 'Lashgasm' mascara (LOVE this stuff- may do review later)

Then for the nails:

I attempted some form of crappy color blocking. In the end, my hand just shook to much for the black line to be straight, & the other two colors (though I only used 2 coats) became thick & gloopy :/

Polishes used:

OPI's 'OPI on Collins Ave.'

Sinful Colors' Rise & Shine'

black nail art paint on striper brush

Now obviously I wouldn't wear these together because I would look hilarious, but I thought it was neat to play with the dress on both my eyes & nails.

What do ya think?

:D

a little shirtspiration

supppp.

i'm blogging from my bed tonight because my poor baby girl is struggling with acid refulx, and REFUSES to sleep anywhere but my chest :x

So here we lie.

Anyway,

I wore a shirt the other day that suddenly made me think it'd serve as good inspiration to try some nail art.

After looking at it further, I discovered the color of the shirt matches almost EXACTLY China Glaze's 'Kinetic Candy'... so I free handed a little design from the shirt.

*thumb

voila!

Nothing particularly creative since I copied it straight from the shirt,

but I thought it was kind of neat, nonetheless :)

I used 2 coats of 'Kinetic Candy' as my base... & it was quite the let down. I just bought it a couple weeks ago but I don't know if I just got a bad bottle or what, because the formula of this polish was uber thick and sticky. Though I love the color, it's almost not worth the trouble :/

Then I used a Konad stamping plate (can't remember which one- would go find out but i'm trapped in my bed at the moment) for the hearts. I used the same Konad polish with a dotting tool, nail art brush, & striper to do the rest!

Weee!

I enjoyed this & would like to do some more,

so hopefully I'll think of something else soon :)

Have a good night!

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