CG "Starboard"

This is yet another China Glaze Spring 2011 color. This one is called Starboard and it is a creamy opaque true green. Loving it.

OPI "Black Shatter"

Okay, so not everyone may remember the crackle polishes from back in the day? Which day? The 90's. Covergirl made a big fat fail polish that was supposed to crackle. Recently, BarryM made a great one. Now the major league polish companies are catching on. OPI released their first ever crackle polish in the new Katy Perry collection. Basically, you put down a base coat and let it dry completely, then you put a layer of the crackle polish over it and it cracks right in front of your eyes.  Then I suggest putting a thick top coat over top such as Seche Vite.

This is OPI's Black Shatter crackle polish applied over top of China Glaze's Snow (just a shiny opaque white) and topped off with Seche Vite quickdry topcoat.

OPI has announced that they will be coming out with some more colors very soon.




On that same note, China Glaze, my holy grail nail polish company... has also released a crackle polish line. They have 5 or 6 colors I believe. I know they have a black, white, pink, grey, and purple for sure. I have heard from multiple accounts and seen first hand that the purple does not do right. The pink is AWESOME. The black is the same as OPI's and I don't know yet about the others. I went today and purchased the pink and grey so I will be reviewing those for you soon. By the way... As you can see the crackle is sort of latteral? This is because I just did a thin layer like you would normally paint your nails. If you kind of zigzag the polish then you will get more random cracks. Make sure you use the sheerest layer possible though to get the most crackle. :)

China Glaze "Ahoy!"

This is another polish from the Spring 2011 China Glaze collection. This one is called Ahoy!  It is a purplish-fuchsia with red and magenta sparkles. It is really pretty and a great consistency. Its sort of like a cooler toned "Strawberry Fields" It may be my top polish from this collection.

China Glaze "Knotty"

This is the first polish that I'm reviewing in China Glazes spring 2011 collection called "Anchors Away" It is a nautical/summer-like theme.  This particular polish is called Knotty. It is a sheer yellowish nude with lots of shimmer. I like this... I just wish it was more opaque. This is two coats. The problem is that it almost gives a yellow tinge to the nail. It wears quite a while though. I love this new collection and I will be reviewing all of the colors in it.

China Glaze "Strawberry Fields"

This was my color for Valentine's. I LOVE IT. Its a vibrant fuchsia pink with lots of gold shimmer. I really can't tell you how unique this color actually is. I can't think of a dupe or close comparison. I definitely recommend this one.

China Glaze "Wild Mink" and accent nail.

This is China Glaze's Wild Mink. This is one of my all time favorite pink polishes. It is a lovely opaque creamy almost mauve like pink. It has the smallest hint of gold and pink shimmer.  I really love this color. As an accent, I painted my ring fingers with one coat of Wild Mink and the two coats of a polish called "Spitfire" from the brand Pure Ice. This is a brand that is commonly available at drugstores and they have some great glitter polishes. I topped all my nails with a thick coat of Seche Vite Quick dry top coat.

China Glaze "Mrs. Clause"

YES, I am aware that Christmas is long gone. I actually painted my nails this color and took this picture before Christmas. I did not review this because I felt that it missed the mark for me as a holiday color. It was definitely not what I expected. Mrs Clause was supposed to be a  red with lots of glitter. Instead it is like a hot pink.. with a good bit of glitter.  I do however, like this color. It is not one of my favorites but I thought it would be cute for around Valentines. This was in China Glaze's holiday 2010 collection.

Sally Hansen "Sheer Strawberry"

This is Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails polish in the color Sheer strawberry. This took 2 coats and is very difficult to work with. It is pretty streaky, and the tiny brush means you have to use  more strokes to get a coat down, causing more streaking.  If you can work quickly and with a lot of polish, then this is actually a very nice, affordable light, sheer creme pink.

NYX Pearl Mania Pigments Storage and Review

NYX is a great Lower end makeup brand.  It’s really a shame that drugstores don’t carry it. You can however, find this brand at your local ULTA and online. I love their mosaic blushes and a lot of their single eye shadows are exact dupes for MAC shadows. They are very pigmented and packaged cutely.

Today I wanted to review and show you a way that I store my NYX Pearl Mania Loose Eye shadow pigments.  These are around 3 dollars each. They are tiny but there is so much product inside these little jars.  The formula is very pigmented and beautiful. You can use them wet or dry and there are 30 lovely colors to choose from.

The problems I have found with these pigments (as with any pigments) is that they tend to be very messy. For most people who dabble in makeup though, they are worth it once you get the hang of them. The big problem with this particular brand and product is the packaging.  Although it is cute and adorable… It is very impractical. The only brush you can get in there is a liner brush so you are forced to dump a bit of product out while making a mess and losing product.

My solution came in the form of a 7 dollar container purchased at Wal-Mart that is meant to store beads.

This clear box came with 24 small gram jars with screw on lids, and a lid for the box. I can store it sideways alongside my palettes. I just dumped the jars into their own gram jar. The lids are secure and they are the PERFECT size.  I’m sure you can find this container at most craft stores. I do not know the exact size of the jars but I think they are all about the same.

 The only problem is, I didn’t label these jars. You could easily get some round tags and type or write the names on them, or you could peel the name off the jar and stick it to the gram jars.  Either way, I wasn’t concerned with the product names.

Here are a few random swatches of some of the pastel colored pigments.

China Glaze "Rose Among Thorns"

 

This is China Glaze's "Rose among Thorns" This is considered a Neon I believe? It is my favorite hot pink. It is so bright, and it has a nice jelly finish. Top this with a little Seche Vite Quick dry Top coat and it will look like  acrylic plastic yumminess in just two coats.

VS Beauty Rush Lipglosses

Well, I am finally back from a mucho needed Hiatus. I was gone a little longer then I intended, but I gladly got swept up with all the holiday fever. My nails are finally growing in healthy (thus far.) They are not as strong as I’d wish for them to be at this point, but I am working on it. I am keeping them semi-short for a while until I trust their strength. Also, I write a lot so length isn’t very functional for me at the moment.

This month will be filled with lots of lovely love inspired beauty products and ideas. I have pretty pinks and reds planned for nails. Later this month, I’ll give you some of my favorite scents for Valentine’s. I might even have a makeup eye look or two for you.

This post is for kissable, yummy lips. These glosses are looked over sometimes because the formula of tube glosses tends to be a little too sticky. The Beauty Rush lip-glosses from Victoria Secret are fabulous though. They have a great consistency, cute colors, scents, and even flavors.

I’ve tried many of them over the years but I will review 3 for you here. These glosses are priced at 7 dollars but I believe you can get them 5 for 20 dollars or something along those lines.

This is one is called Taffy go Lucky. It smells very bubble-gum taffy-like. At first glance it looks like your standard hot pink gloss however, this gloss has lots of gold shimmer which makes it pretty unique.

This gloss is called CupQuake. I promise you, you will want to lick your lips ALL day... (and so will he.) It honestly smells just as it sounds. The color doesn't exactly match the name or scent to me... but heh? It is a fuscia/purplish color with lots of sparkles but pretty sheer.

This is called Spearminty. It will give you a bit of a blue sheer hue (basically adds a blueish cast shine.) This can help make teeth appear slightly whiter. It smells very minty but isn't over the top. Its a very sweet-smelling light mint. Kissable much?

All of these glosses taste as good as they look and smell. I would definitely recommend them as a sheer light option on a low maintenance day. Wear them over lipstick or on their own. A little goes a long way and they are great for all ages.

 

Top:     Taffy Go Lucky

Middle:       CupQuake

Bottom:      Spearminty