I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier Swatch And Review

Purchased

I'm so stoked.  I finally splurged and bought my HG facial moisturizer, Kiehl's Rose Artica, after going on a vacation from it for a few months.  I was being stubborn and wanted to find a similar moisturizer for cheaper using the Sephora VIB discount.  I tried both Dior Hydra Life and Korre's and neither were heavy enough for my super dry skin in the winter.  I've always appreciate a good Dior product and Hydra Life has a nice light texture but was more suitable for normal skin.  Korre's, which was super popular on the Sephora website and had tons of great reviews, was similar but had a stronger smell and a lower price point.  After my skin going through a number of break outs this past month I decided to suck it up and spend the extra money to buy a product that I know works for me.  Do you have this problem?  Are you stuck on an expensive product with no cheaper option available?  What's your HG moisturizer?

Today's eye candy is I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier, metallic light blue duochrome that shifts from a metallic cobalt blue to silver.  Formula is on the thin side but easy to manage with the wide brush and applies with minimal pooling and thankfully no major brushstrokes.  I used three coats here with no topcoat.

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier 

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier 

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier 

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier 

This is one of those colors that you HAVE to stamp over, so I pulled out my neglected Bundle Monster plates and used the peacock print.  I wanted a dark blue cream but ended up using China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway which I don't think was dark enough.  It a subtle print, but is pretty to look up when seen up close.  I finished this with a layer of topcoat.

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier Stamping

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier Stamping

I Love Nail Polish My Little Glacier Stamping

My nails are still too long to take to a regular stamping image.  I wish there was a better selection of larger stamping plates out there that didn't cost an arm and a leg.  I seem to be in a nail art rut as well and haven't done any other techniques lately.  When this happens, what do you use for inspiration?

Purchased

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown Swatch And Review

Purchased

Ok, I impulse bought a new point and shoot camera.  My rational self knows that I don't need a new camera, but the sales goggles were on and I couldn't stop myself.  I need to convince myself that rather than buying a new camera, I should work on my photography skills and improve my lighting set up.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I would love to know what lighting you use for your photos!

The other day after I received an email from CVS for $3 off a Revlon purchase, I headed over to my local store with the intent of getting some of the Revlon Parfumerie polishes.  Instead, I spied a new display for Revlon Leather Effect polishes and was immediately drawn to the dark eggplant purple shade called Downtown.  There was a black, blue, and I believe a grey shade as well, but purple being my favorite was the obvious choice.  The formula on these are spectacular, especially consider that it's a texture polish.  I was expecting some resistance with the formula, particularly around the cuticle area, but the formula was so silky smooth and applied exceptionally well.  It was a near one coater but I did two out of habit.  No topcoat so you can see the natural textured finish.

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown

It indeed has a leather effect, which is a texture that is between a sand and a matte.  I don't know the chemistry behind it, but it seems that the polish glides on smooth like a cream but then begins to dry and form little bumps, almost like a coagulating effect.  The blank canvas begged to be decorated, so I broke out my Winstonia W113 plate and used the beehive image and Color Club Angel Kiss to stamp.

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown Stamping

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown Stamping

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown Stamping

Revlon Leather Effect Downtown Stamping

I like this image because the stamp isn't too busy and allows the base color to shine through.  I gravitate toward geometric patterns in general, so this particular pattern is a favorite for me.  Out of the plates I own, the Winstonia ones are my favorite because the image always seems to transfer over cleanly and easily.  I wish I could do it more often but with the LO around, it's hard to find that extra time to do nail art.  I like quick and easy accents and I'm always on the lookout for new techniques.  What's your go to nail art?

Purchased

Hare Polish The Red Room Swatch And Review With Pueen Stamping

Purchased

Have you heard of qi wireless charging? I'm trying to get my S4 set up so that I can charge it wirelessly at work.  Wires are the last thing I want to deal with on my desk when I have stacks of papers everywhere and qi charging seems so convenient.  I need to find a qi pad for a decent price and if you see one, please let me know!

With Valentine's day quickly coming upon us, I felt Hare Polish The Red Room was a perfect prelude for the holiday.  The Red Room is from the recent Twin Peaks collection, and it's a squishy red jelly with matte white squares, matte black squares and microglitter, along with white flakies and shimmer.  Formula was smooth and easy considering the jelly base, and in contrast with Hare's normal formula of glitter overload, this was less burdened with glitter and I felt after two coats that the glitter was too sparse despite the base being sufficiently opaque.  I was happy with the amount of glitter after the third coat, and after drying to a satin finish, I used GlitterDaze Super Smooth to add shine and smooth out the bumps.

Hare Polish The Red Room 

Hare Polish The Red Room

Hare Polish The Red Room

Hare Polish The Red Room

I ordered the newest set of Pueen plates the other day and felt that it would be a great opportunity to try them out.  I like these plates because the patterns fill up the entire plate, similar to MoYou UK plates, but instead of rectangle plates, these are the standard small round plates.  I used my standard WnW black creme and found that the images didn't transfer as smoothly compared to my other plates. Hopefully its a one time fluke.  The image on my ring finger didn't transfer well at all - after getting onto my stamper I had to use acetone to clean the image up. It dried during that time so I had to make a decal or if it.  Not cool.

Hare Polish The Red Room With Pueen Stamping

Hare Polish The Red Room With Pueen Stamping

Hare Polish The Red Room With Pueen Stamping

Despite all the hassle I do like the way it turned out.  The Red Room works as the perfect background red for the hearts in the Pueen image. I'm not huge into celebrating Valentines but I think the black accent makes it not too corny valentines-y. Are you going to do any  special nail art for the upcoming occasion? 

Purchased

Butter London HRH Swatch And Review With Bonus Stamping Enchanted Polish Mercy

Nothing To DisclosePurchased

Occasionally I feel nostalgic when I think of the days when I use out to Hollywood Blvd to go dancing.  There's something about the energy and the comraderie amongst all the dancers, and the pulsating beat that would move my soul.  I miss the creative process of imagining new dance steps and watching other dancers move in new innovative ways in the cypher.  I know there's some of the old crew who are still dancing, despite having kids and jobs... I wish I could do it because I miss the creative outlet but I know I'd be super wiped out and feel guilty leaving LO at home.  Heck, I haven't even seen a movie since she's been born!  How do people do it?  Fellow moms, will I ever get over feeling guilty?

Anyway - not sure what brought that on, but let's get back to the point at hand - nail polish!  I have for your eyes today Butter London HRH, a gorgeous royal purple shimmer.  True to Butter London's formula, it's a bit on the thick side which is tricky when working with a shimmer.  You have to apply it in as little swipes as possible to minimize brush strokes.  I found that it leveled fairly well except for the areas around the base of my nail.  It applies with a lot of streaks, and three coats are needed to avoid any visible camera patchiness.  I finished this with a layer of GlitterDaze topcoat for shine.

Butter London HRH

Butter London HRH

Butter London HRH

Butter London HRH

Butter London HRH

Butter London HRH

Next, I decided to add some extra eye appeal by adding some stamping with my Winstonia plates.  I've been wanting to use this particular pattern for ages but never found a good opportunity to use it until now.  I went with subtle stamping and used Enchanted Polish Mercy to stamp my pattern - I wanted to use a purple holo and I realized that this was my only one.  How did I let that happen??  I'll have to rectify that ASAP!

Butter London HRH Stamped With Enchanted Polish Mercy

Butter London HRH Stamped With Enchanted Polish Mercy

Butter London HRH Stamped With Enchanted Polish Mercy

Butter London HRH Stamped With Enchanted Polish Mercy

Butter London HRH Stamped With Enchanted Polish Mercy

I still consider myself really clumsy when it comes to stamping, but I think the Winstonia plates make it easier with their crisp construction.  My only complaint is that my nails are getting too long for the designs, so I won't be able to use any of the full nail patterns unless I shorten them.  I don't know why I wanted so long to use this pattern either, it transferred over without any problems whatsoever.  I love stamping with holos - they really add a lot of visual interest to a mani and are easy to stamp with.  Have you braved stamping yet?  If not, I definitely think you should give it a try, especially if I can pull it off! 

Nothing To DisclosePurchased

Christmas Sweater Stamping With L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

Purchased

Hooray for the weekend! I of course have to work today but that won't stop me from enjoying my weekend.  I hope to finally catch up at work and then do some chores at home afterwards.  On Sunday my parents dock in Long Beach so I'll pick them up and go to OC. They can get some decent Asian food after being on a cruise for two weeks.  Ha!

I can't believe that Christmas is around the corner and I don't feel prepared at all.  To help get me motivated I pulled out a lovely blue by L'Oreal called Notting Hill Blues.  This was released as part of the London 2012 collection and was limited edition.  It's a darker blue than what's in the photos and has a slight shimmer that gives it a glow from within look to it. The shimmer was difficult to capture but I assure you it is there.  Formula was too thin for my taste and made application difficult to control.  The was some streaking but by the third coat it evened out. I added topcoat to give it shine.

L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

Next I used my trusty Zoya Purity to stamp the Winstonia Christmas sweater image onto my nails. I had some trouble lining it up straight but I guess it's passable.  I used Lynnderella Snow Angel on my accent nail and stamped some individual snowflakes to finish.

Christmas Sweater Stamping With L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

Christmas Sweater Stamping With L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

Christmas Sweater Stamping With L'Oréal Notting Hill Blues

Not my best work but it definitely has a holiday feel to it.  I really like the shimmer in Notting Hill Blues and I'm compelled to keep it in my collection because I adore the shimmer.  The Winstonia plate is exceptionally well made and easy to use for a stamping novice like me.  I also discovered that my NYC GCS topcoat doesn't smear my stamping as much as my Poshe topcoat does, and it seemed to work again for this mani.  I snowflakes and print remind me of my winter days on the East Coast, especially living in SoCal where one can easily forget that winter exists with its lack of snow and ugly winter sweaters.  Have you been doing any festive nail art for the season?

Purchased

Enchanted Polish October 2013 And November 2013

Purchased

Hello my dears!  I hope you're enjoying your week!  It's still chilly here in SoCal and I've been trying to keep myself and LO warm.  I made little leg warmers for LO out of an old pair of knee highs that I had lying around, and it seems to be doing a good job of keeping her ankles warm.  She's been learning to walk, and with all her tumbles, her pants have a tendency to ride up.  I love the way the leg warmers turned out and I bought some more knee highs for her, in bright fun colors.

I had my trigger finger ready for the last Enchanted restock and managed to pick up the monthly release holos.  I have to admit that I was super impressed with the formulas of both polishes compared to previous releases.  Both were super pigmented and nearly opaque in one coat, with formulas smooth as buttah.

First is October 2013, a dark charcoal grey holo.  I missed the OPI My Private Jet original holo and I've always been on a lookout for a good dupe.  This one hit the spot for me, it was nice and dark without looking too silver from the holo pigment.  The flare is strong when in direct light - this is complete perfection!  One coat here with no topcoat in these pics, with the first in the light tent and the rest under direct light.

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Enchanted Polish October 2013

Next I have November 2013, a red holo than leans towards a rust shade.  I've been lemming a nice red holo and this one is a good fit.  I used two thin coats here for good measure and no topcoat in these pics.  First one again is the light tent, the rest are under direct light.  Another perfect holo flare here.

Enchanted Polish November 2013

Enchanted Polish November 2013

Enchanted Polish November 2013

Enchanted Polish November 2013

Enchanted Polish November 2013

Enchanted Polish November 2013

Enchanted Polish November 2013

DH got me some Cheeky plates from my Amazon wishlist for Hanukkah and for shiggles I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.  I chose what I thought was a snowflake pattern but I think it's more of a map/compass related pattern instead.  In any case, I got to practice my stamping technique and it seems like I did ok, although the image on my thumb was crooked.  I need to work on my aim!

Enchanted Polish November 2013 Stamping

Enchanted Polish November 2013 Stamping

Enchanted Polish November 2013 Stamping

 I think this print managed to not overwhelm the holo flare like it can sometimes do when it's a print heavy pattern.  From afar I think it can pass as a snowflake pattern.  I want to try to incorporate some holiday themed manis so this will have to do!  Hopefully it will get me into the holiday spirit - are you getting ready for the holidays?

Purchased