Beauty & Skin

March 29, 2012

“Foiled Again” – gold foiling or gold leaf on clothes & nails

“Foiled again” get it? Ok, that would make more sense if I had previously written about gold foiling or even any kind of gold on clothes, right?

Apparently I’ve been getting into golds lately. As exhibited by both some recent clothing purchases as well as nail polish choice.

Outfit Top to bottom (click images for a larger version):

Earrings: Kohl’s daisy fuentes® Gold-Tone Hammered Drop Earring Set I had removed the chain portion of the coin style earrings and they look better.
Tank: Talbot’s Outlet (one of my recent gold purchases) cream with gold foil streaks.
Wrap: Tabot’s Outlet (in the fall) it’s a heathered cream linen that’s a perfect weight for spring and fall. Very versatile.
Bracelet: thrifted.
Jeans: Walmart (shhhh … why do I end up with jeans from there?)
Shoes: Lauren Conrad leopard print ballet flat from Kohl’s. Loving these, they also go with a LOT.

Then there was the yoga capris I bought that had a foil leopard print pattern. This wasn’t actually on purpose. It was more because I didn’t like the pairs that had funky color tops and they didn’t have a plain black and I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket:

Close up of the leopard AND the Talbot’s tank’s gold stripes.

Then there are the nails.

Three coats of Essie in “A Crewed Interest” which is a Spring 2012 color.
Topped with a single stripe of Sally Hansen Crackle polish in “Antique Gold”

It’s a nice subtle effect that reminds me of gold leaf. And the peachy pink is like a less sheer version of Zoya’s Lulu. That “point shoe pink / peach” I had been looking for for years and suddenly found. Repeatedly apparently.

via YouTube

The gold crackle is actually a little preview of something I’m going to do a giveaway on sometime in the next month. So if you don’t normally read my blog, you might want to stay tuned by either subscribing to the rss, the emails or my twitter or youtube channels!

Are you wearing more gold lately? Is this a trend or just a weird accident that I’ve recently purchased more than one item that was gold foiled?

Next thing you know I’ll own a gold sequin mini skirt…. uhhh probably not anytime soon (though they are CUTE on other people!)

March 27, 2012

Glittery Pinks – Essie “Luxe Affects” Multidimensional Top Coat in “A Cut Above” vs Wet N Wild Shine in “Sparked” or 435G

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Nail Polish, Subscription boxes

Right to Left (reverse of what you’re probably used to): 1 coat of Essie “A Cut Above” then 3 generous coats, 1 coat of Wet N Wild “Sparked” then 3 generous coats, and the last one on the left is one coat of “A Cut Above” over 2 coats of Essie “A Crewed Interest.”

The color is almost identical but the application is totally different. I almost would say you shouldn’t compare the two and would not consider this a “dup.”

If you’re looking for a finer glitter I would go with the Wet N Wild but if you want a more confetti glitter look I would go with the Essie.
If I had to pick between the two and could only buy one, I would go with the Essie even though it’s more expensive because it just somehow looks a bit more upscale and classier. I did however get the Essie in the March “Teen Vogue” Birchbox.

There is also apparently a Revlon color that is, based on the swatches I see online, somewhere in between the two I’ve reviewed here. Revlon 261-Sparkling.

And Butter London also has a pink glittery color called “Rosie Lee.” B-you-tifullness via Pretty Project via High on Polish via Snappette (aka I saw it on Snappette and the source is B-you-tifullness) has a great example of a pink glitter and nude mani using the Butter London “Rosie Lee.”

I did a quick little video so you can see the two colors I reviewed just a little better.

via YouTube

March 21, 2012

NEON NAIL Mix N Match – “Bikini” pink & “Did I dye it too blonde?” yellow

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

Sinful Colors in "Bikini" 1101
First I started with a coat of Sinful Color base, then Sinful Colors in “Bikini” which is a BRIGHT pink shade. And to think, at the beginning of February I thought that Zoya’s “Lo” was bright.

I have now reapplied this color when it started to chip. AND it’s stayed on without chipping for a very long time (I’m thinking around 7 days) before chipping. And I’m not gentle to my nails. I love how smooth this polish goes on and the fact that both times I’ve used it, I’ve been smudge and dent free on top and stayed that way.

Then I found this at CVS: Spoiled by Wet N’ Wild in “Did I dye it too blonde?” 🙂 And I was thinking “let’s take this to the next level, it’s only $2, I want to try this neon yellow thing out too.”

Next was several failed attempts at applying this yellow. It’s rather sheer:

The first try I just applied it to my existing color which made for a really nice orange shade but it wasn’t what I was looking for.
Second attempt I used it just on top of a base coat. It lacked “oopmh.” It looked very plain, very boring, still sheer. I could have more color on my nail if I used a highlighting marker.
Third try was the charm. I used a coat of white first and finally got that in your face shade I was seeing in the bottle.

Love it!!

Pictured here with the heart nail file from one of my previous Birchbox’s.

Review of the polishes (not the colors) below:

I will say I’m not amazed by this particular brand nail polish, Spoiled, just because it IS so sheer and it does stay as clean and smooth looking as the Sinful Colors. I’m not sure if this is the entire brand or the color itself. I would give both a second chance. I do think I might invest in a better neon yellow though if my second attempt doesn’t go so well with this yellow.

I am in love with the Sinful Colors “Bikini” pink though because it goes on and stays on so well. I do think the quality there is almost on par with $7-10 nail polishes (did I mention Sinful Colors is a $2 nail polish as well?)

It IS a cheap way to give neon a try.

Affiliate link below (the opinions above are my own, I only sought out the affiliate link because I like the product so much!)

March 11, 2012

March 2012 Birchbox – Teen Vogue :: essie Luxeffects in “a cut above”, twistband Hair tie, tarte Lipsurgence lip tint in “amused”, Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Papers, Annick Goutal Petite Chérie perfume,

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Subscription boxes

In the box:

Shiseido – Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Papers. I didn’t notice the perfume in the ingredients list for the Shiseido blotting paper which changes my mind on it. A blotting paper should be simple. May also contain parabens (the ingredient list on the package doesn’t match the ingredient list on Birchbox’s site.)
Annick Goutal – Petite Chérie perfume. You all know how I feel about perfume by now right? Synthetic is a no go. And my allergies make it hard to find even natural perfumes that work.
essie – Luxeffects in “a cut above” pink glittery top coat. Nice!
twistband – Hair tie in neon yellow. Yup.
tarte – Lipsurgence lip tint in “amused” a hot pink gloss stick. See video.
Modcloth promo code: take $10 off any $75+ order with code MODPROM vald 3/1 – 4/15 2012

I’m actually really happy with the contents of this box. What I got was a little more along the lines of things I will use (with the exception of the perfume.)

I do think it’s funny that both times that they’ve sent me nail polish, it has been super similar to something I already own. I will at some point do a side by side comparison of both the teals and both of the glittery pinks.

And sorry if I sound a little congested in this video. Also note – changed my mind on the blotting papers. See above.

via YouTube

Birchbox is only $10/month so sign up here!: http://www.birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7

March 10, 2012

China Glaze Capitol Colors line for the Hunger Games

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

China Glaze has recently come out with a line of nail polish themed for The Hunger Games but their website doesn’t quite do the colors justice.

All Lacquered Up’s blog post has done a really good job of describing, swatching & photographing them.

China Glaze Agro & China Glaze Fast Track are my top picks though there are others that I like and would consider buying (though I’m still not 100% sure about the Agro green, I think I need to see that in person.)

Which one(s) are your favorites?

Also to note there is a giveaway contest for these nail polishes on Lauren Conrad’s site (ends March 12, 2012)

March 5, 2012

Zoya Blair nail polish (plus what I wore)

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Clothing, Nail Polish

Zoya’s Blair – THIS is the color I was wanted when I bought the cheapy Confetti Masquerade Ball nail polish at CVS here: http://clothingcult.com/2011/12/10/confetti-masquerade-ball-wet-n-wild-sparked-nails/

Try and ignore the fact that I keep smudging my nails just a bit!