Ampersand ring from Forever21
& Ruffian nail polish in Hedge Fund
Category
Beauty & Skin
Ampersand ring from Forever21
Birchblogger challenge #RuffianManicure …
or a reverse french manicure (similar to a half moon nail)
Basically a Ruffian Manicure is a reverse french manicure. Some people also might consider it a half moon manicure (though I think a half moon mani is actually supposed to mimic the moon shape you sometimes see at the nail base.) Whatever you want to call it, it’s as simple … or as difficult as a french manicure!
Your color choice can really affect the outcome so I decided to give several color combinations a try to find my favorite.
My main color:
- Ruffian Fox Hunt nail polish which is a lovely burnt orange color. It’s actually very similar to about 5 other shades I own but instead of a matte, it has some goldish shimmery undertone to it making it a more fall-like shade.
Accent colors that I tried:
- Zoya Jacqueline which is a neutral cream shade.
- Zoya Ziv which is a super gold shimmer. More metalic looking than glittery.
- Zoya Noel which is a deep teal shade.
Additional tools used:
- Masking tape yup that’s it. I used masking tape to tape off my nail to get the crescent shape at the base. (See photo at right.) It may not be pretty during the process but it does in fact work pretty well.
Putting your accent color on first does in fact work better than trying to put the accent color on after you have your main color on. Also you don’t have to wait for your main nail polish color to dry so this is a fairly fast manicure to do.
My favorite combo I think was the Ruffian Fox Hunt and the Zoya Ziv. I really wanted the Noel to be my favorite accent color because it was the bold and contrasting choice but it just didn’t seem right on my nails. I don’t think this teal was quite dark enough to go well with the Fox Hunt burnt orange.
OTHER Tools that might help you achieve the crescent shape:
- Painters tape (the blue kind) or french manicure stickers guides seem to work the best in my opinion.
- Some people like to do french manicures with a special thin nail polish brush that is small and easier to paint a thin line with. This does require a more steady hand.
- I have tried doing a french manicure before using reinforcement labels for hole punched paper. It didn’t work out well because the dampness of the nail polish didn’t work well with the paper labels. The label did not peel back off correctly after being painted over … peeling off either wet or dry after painting did not work for me. If the reinforcement labels were plasticy or coated they might be the best option however. So far I haven’t found reinforcement labels that were plastic however.
See more examples of the Ruffian manicure on pinterest!
Here’s how Birchbox did their Ruffian Manicure:
Sorry Ruffian but in the birchbox video above it doesn’t look like your round nail stickers are sticking all that well – love the nail polish though! (I distinctly saw camera angles done to avoid showing smudges in your crescent shape.) If anyone has personally used these and this they work better than they look in the video – please leave a comment!
Even if they work better than they look in the video, the ruffian stencil set is $6. My thinking… masking tape is cheap, versatile, I have it on hand and it works so I’d rather spend the money on another shade of nail polish! (Yeah I probably just disqualified myself from winning a set of nail polish for saying that… sigh.)
Ruffian Nail polishes are sold exclusively at Birchbox.com – go sign up! 🙂
Ipsy glambag unboxing September 2013
Ipsy Glambag Unboxing September 2013
In my September Ipsy Glambag:
Elizabeth Mott It’s So Big Volumizing Mascara – it’s supposed to be smudge proof but I can’t find anything say about waterproof and I really prefer waterproof in a mascara. Color is black and it only comes in one color. The brush shape though looks good and it’s a bristle brush (instead of a weird plastic brush) so it should do a good job with making eyelashes bigger looking without clumping.I’m holding off on using this though in case anyone wants to swap (if no one is interested in it, I may try it.) It does use parabens which I prefer to avoid but it still turns out to be a 4 with the cosmetics database (lower numbers are better.) I’m a little more lenient on eyelashes particularly with waterproof since it shouldn’t be on my skin. At the same time it’s close to my eyes so anything that irritates also still has to go.
NYX Single Eye Shadow in Cryptonite (ES63A) – no cones yay! (for me at least.) It does have parabens, mineral oil and talc though. It’s a 4 with the cosmetics database which isn’t all that bad though. I may give this a shot (I could have sworn though that the last NYX product I was sent included dimethicone that ruled that out.) This is a nice shimmery looking charcoal eyeshadow that looks like it might work well for a smokey eye.
Starlooks Obsidian Kohl Eye Pencil – no cones again and no fragrance or parabens here either (yay!) – negatives, petrolatum (not natural but not unhealthy) and talc as well as carbon black …. I’m not sure about the carbon black and why that’s given such a harsh rating. Anyway, cosmetics database report on this is only a 3 overall which is good. I’m not really looking for another eyeliner pencil because I’m really preferring gel eyeliners these days. Maybe because I’ve gotten good at putting them on and they’re sharper looking. Again, I’m holding off on trying this on in case someone wants to swap for it but if there’s no interest I’ll give this a try myself.
Freeman Beauty Facial Paper Masks in Starfruit, Blue Agave & Rose – They all have synthetic fragrance, DIAZOLIDINYL UREA, and coloring that doesn’t seem necessary. The Blue agave is a 5 with the cosmetics database. The Rose is a 5 as well. And wow – the one I thought would be the healthiest, the Starfruit is a 6. So no interest in even trying these personally. I want a healthier face. REALLY meh about this one.
J.Cat Beauty Fantabulous Lipstick in Honeycrisp (FL107) – this is a very nude shade of lipstick. It ended up making me look REALLY washed out (see video.) I wasn’t wowed by the parabens, fragrance or mineral oil but there was no dimethicone so I gave it a shot. Someone else said that this might be a good color to use if you want a lighter version of a dark lipstick that you own. I don’t really have a lot of dark lipsticks and tend to lean towards lip glosses. Though I’m open to trying different lipsticks, I’ve just never fallen in love with many. This one is also a 5 with the cosmetics database which is still a little high for my taste. Since I wasn’t wowed I think this will be thrown in with Halloween makeup options (once a year isn’t going to kill me and sometimes you need something odd for halloween.)
Bonus : EM Michelle Phan Makeup sample blush and eyeshadow. No fragrances, no parabens, BUT dimethicone is going to keep me from using this. http://www.emcosmetics.com/
So overall this month with Ipsy I’m really underwhelmed with the products I received. I would have loved to get the Butter London Nail polish or even another Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter (already have it and use it almost daily now.) But you win some and you lose some. The bag is cute this month and I’m using more of the bags than I expected I would. 🙂
Sign up for Ipsy:
http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051sec1kqq5g8p
{affiliate link – I get 250 points which points equal products but it’s still a little unclear how many points to the dollar}
Recently on Pinterest: Chevron edition • September 17 2013
I’m a little obsessed with Chevron and have pined … I mean Pinned many cute chevron items on Pinterest. I thought I would share a few of those items here with you now.
You can click on the collage version below and zoom in and out as well as click through to the items. Just double click on an image within the collage below to be taken to the associated page. Some are items that are no longer for sale but a few others are still available for purchase.
A couple of previous Chevron posts on this blog include:
Birchbox September unboxing 2013
Birchbox September unboxing video 2013:
Sign up for Birchbox: http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }
In my September Birchbox • a rundown of my items and reviews:
• RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer in Fox Hunt – This is a lovely fall shimmery burnt orange color that I’m really happy to get. Not too orange so you don’t look like you’re ready for halloween a little too early. I expect this to be a very versatile color to wear. I saw photos of some of the other colors and I may just have to go back and buy the olive-y green called Hedge Fund that I saw in some other box photos. These nail polishes appear to be “5-free” so they are less toxic than some of the nail polishes on the market (it was a PAIN to peel off that label to get to the ingredient list so I’ve posted that below. So tiny!) I’m not quite ready to switch to fall colors yet but I’m really happy to get this in my box! Swatch of Ruffian Fox Hunt shown below side by side with the Nailtini Mai Tai swatch.
• Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips – 100% Medical Grade Lanolin… that’s it! It’s a 1 with the cosmetics database. This company apparently makes one product from one ingredient and it’s healthy. If you are opposed to sheep wool, you’ll be opposed to this but animals are not harmed in this process (so it depends to what extreme you take your “no animal products” stance.) For more info on how it’s processed, visit: www.drlipp.com So aside from the strange name this stuff is awesome. This actually should be wonderful come winter for chapped winter lips!
• amika Obliphica Perk Up Dry Shampoo – No dimethicone – yay! Still has synthetic perfume so there’s that but overall I was excited to try this. It IS however a 6 with the cosmetics database as a custom report which is a little higher than I prefer to go.
Review: is that it really does what it’s supposed to do even on brown hair. The main drawback is the scent – it’s a bit overpowering for me so this relegates this product to occasional / emergency use only category. Absolutely going to keep this product around but I would be happier if they also offered a scent-free for those times when you just want to use dry shampoo for added volume and for people like me who are trying to avoid a lot of synthetic fragrances because it can mess with my sinus allergies.
If they could get rid of the fragrances it would have a better score with the cosmetics database as well (hint hint.)
• SARAHPOTEMPA The HALF-UP™ bun tool – No ingredients here to worry about. I sometimes wear my hair in a bun so absolutely going to try this. I DO wonder how long it will last since it seems to be a combination of foam and metal but otherwise looks like a pretty nifty and useful hair styling tool.
This does a decent job of making a bun and it’s comfortable. Where it’s a problem is layered hair – it’s really hard to bring the tool towards the bottom of the hair without loosing pieces IF you have layers. Not impossible but something to keep in mind if you’ve had problems with other bun tools as a result of your layers. I think I’m most impressed with how comfortable it is to wear. We’ll see how much use I get out of it over then next couple of months. I’m curious how long it will last simply because of the materials it’s made of as well. I have a plastic bun tool somewhere and though this is easier to use because it grips the hair a little more it just doesn’t seem as durable.
• VOESH New York Aroma Spa Pedicure Lotion – Dimethicone … but it goes on your feet and since I’ve never had my feet break out in acne and my feet are REALLY far away from my face I may still give this a try (if you’re new to this blog, dimethicone causes major acne problems for me.) The synthetic fragrance is the other concern but … my feet could really use some hydrating and pampering after the summer sandals so and I might just have to try it anyway. It is a 5 with the cosmetics database as a custom report. I really prefer scores below 5 … again synthetic fragrance is keeping this from being healthier.
So my birchbox rocked for me this month. It has it’s ups and downs but the last few months have started to make up for the crappiness that was last fall’s boxes. Now if you got the same box as me this month but you were looking forward to makeup, well there was no makeup in this particular box but it looks like a few had makeup items available. This September seemed a little light on the makeup inclusions though based on what I’m seeing in the Birchbox “Shop September” section though. But I’m good with hair tools, nail polish and natural lip treatment. Particularly since they are things I CAN try and I’m not flat out allergic/have a reaction to. YAY!
Still not signed up for Birchbox? 
http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }
Pacifica perfume & makeup haul September 2013
What I ordered:
- Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Reed Diffuser $16.00
- Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Pillar Candle 2×3 $8.00
- Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Pillar Candle 2×3 $8.00
- Pacifica Purify Coconut Water Cleansing Wipes $6.00
- Pacifica Enlightened Lip Gloss Shade: Pink Coral $12.00
- Pacifica Enlightened Lip Gloss Shade: Opal $12.00
- Pacifica Smolder Eye Lining Gel Shade: Tahitian Pearl $14.00
- Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Solid Perfume – .1 oz Sample $0.00
And I used the ipsy discount for 20% off on this order
I’ll be doing a few swatches of each of the lipglosses and the eyeliner hopefully sometime soon. Watch the video above to get a quick idea. 🙂
REFERRAL NO LONGER ACTIVE – CHANGING THIS OUT THIS EVENING
Get $10 off with your first order of $25 or more!
{ affiliate link so, yes, I would get $10 credit too! }
https://www.pacificaperfume.com/referral/2f781a79