Maybelline Summer LE Color Tattoo in Waves of White

If you recall, I had previously bought another shade of the LE summer Color Tattoos, Seashore Frosts but had struggled with using it. So naturally... I bought another one. Yeah, it doesn't make very much sense to me either. However, I have since figured out one way of making these products work.

In the past, I've always put a cream product under a shadow product, it seemed counter intuitive to me to wear it on top. But when I saw how G of Nouveau Cheap layered her Color Tattoos on top, I had to give it a try.

Layering it on top of black made it POP. Here, the bottom swatch is Waves of White by itself, followed by Waves of White over black matte shadow. The top swatch is Waves of White built up. Similar to Seashore Frosts I never could really make it completely opaque.  It is so beautifully duochrome over black, most of the time it looks teal but I also have seen it look blurple.

These FOTD pics aren't the best since I took them in my bathroom with flash (and also didn't finish the rest of my face aside from foundation!). I used a hoof shaped brush to stipple the cream product on top of matte shadow.

I used:

LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, Rock & Republic Fatalistic shadow, LORAC Cappuccino shadow, Maybelline Waves of White Color Tattoo, Prestige Total Intensity Deepest Black liner, Milani Grandissimo mascara

Now that I've figured out the best way to apply this Color Tattoo, it has worn remarkably well. No creasing or fading when paired with a matte shadow underneath for over eight hours. I definitely think that this pretty shade is one that everyone should pick up!

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

7 Deadly Sins Collection by The Polish Well

My friend Mich from The Polish Well is absolutely brilliant at making polishes. She has such an eye for creating polishes and they are all so gorgeous. I was so incredibly happy for her when she opened up her Etsy shop and started to sell some of her creations. I was even happier when she and I swapped, and I found a stuffed package full of her polishes in my mail box! I didn't know what to swatch and wear first, so I started with her first polishes and decided to work forward from there. Behold, the 7 Deadly Sins Collection.

 These are the 5ml mini bottles, aren't they adorable? I have to say, these have the best brushes of all the mini bottles of polish I have ever used. The brushes are full sized and comparable to the size of say, a Zoya brush.

 Greed. A black jelly with brown, caramel and gold glitter and sparkle. I really have a love for brown glitter and this one is just simply exceptional! Here, I've worn it over black. It looks absolutely fantastic by itself, a ton of depth but since I have a mini I wanted to use it sparingly.

 Wrath. Ah, the color of anger! A glossy red jelly with square gold glitter and sparkle, as well as little sooty black glitter thrown in. It's like looking into a volcano. An angry, vengeful volcano. Three coats, by itself.

Envy. I really love this one. Green glitter is my weakness, did you know? There are three sizes of green hexes here, small medium and large. There is also smaller black glitter and tiny multi colored sparkle. This one has a clear base so I've worn one coat here over Le Chat Dare 2 Wear Enchanted Forest. I think a similar effect could be achieved by Illamasqua Rampage (but that might be a bit bluer).

 Sloth. I had a hard time capturing this one because it is a milky white polish with soft aqua square glitter and small opalescent glitter. The over all effect is really dainty and well... soft. Just so soft. And sleepy. Three coats. The picture looks a tad funny in terms of skintone color because I had to darken it so you could actually see the glitter.

 Gluttony. A rainbow confection! Another clear base with rainbow and white satiny/matte glitter in all sizes and shapes. I was a bit brain dead so I couldn't think of anything good to pair it with, so I just put one coat over black. Mich has a picture on her blog where she has it over pink and a light teal and I think that looks much better.

Pride. Another clear base, this one is packed with satin white and aqua glitter, as well as iridescent pieces and a sprinkling of micro black glitter (?) unless my eyes deceive me. Worn here over Revlon Royal. 

Lust. Ah, perhaps my favorite! A wine jelly with so many shapes and colors of glitter. I see silver, bronze, black and red for starters. I love all the different sizes too. It's one sexy polish, I assure you. Three coats.

I absolutely adored this collection. Each polish is such a beautiful reflection of the sin that inspired it. Like I mentioned before, these are the 5ml minis (which go for $4) and there is also a 10ml size ($8).

Mich's shop is currently open the first and last three days of every month. The polishes are also made to order, so keep that in mind as you shop. Be sure to follow her on Instagram for the latest updates (@thepolishwell).

Products featured were sent in a polish exchange. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

31 Day Nail Challenge v2: Yellow Nails

I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like the yellow nails I did today. I don't use fimo very often, mostly because the flatness of the slices doesn't usually look too good with my curved nail beds. However, while rummaging through my nail art supplies I saw the cutest chicks in this wheel I received from Winstonia, an online nail art supply store.

 For the straw background, I started out with a base of Orly Prince Charming. I then drew the straw with a thin brush using Barielle Aura Angora and China Glaze Kalahari Kiss. I drew the legs of the chicks with China Glaze Papaya Punch and OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys, then glued the fimo slices on with nail glue.

The fimo chicks are from this wheel of cartoon fimo slices sold by Winstonia. Since these nails turned out pretty well, I really want to go back and use the other cute slices, especially the bears!

Thanks for checking out these nails! Have a great weekend.

Some of the products featured were sent to me as press samples. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Goodies From Mont Bleu

I was going to have two posts yesterday... and then I fell asleep. Story of my life. Here's the promised post! I recently received some more products to review from Mont Bleu, a company that specializes in glass ware such as fabulously decorated nail files.

The two files included are just wonderful. One is a standard sized nail file from the CRYSTAL line, which all feature beautiful Swarovski elements on the handles. The small size makes it easy to store in its velvet case in a desk at work or at home for when ever you need a bit of filing. The other one, with the little etched foot is foot file (you may have deduced that) which is almost the exact size and dimensions of the NailTek XL crystal file, one of my favorites. It is fantastic for shaping nails during a pedicure, the size makes it easy to handle while reaching for your toes.

This hair tweezer was beautiful, but only so-so for plucking hair. The gripping circle is a nice touch, and the red crystal elements are beautiful but the tips are more thicker and a tad more blunt than I'm used to using. It also comes with a clear protective packaging with velvet backing.

I absolutely love the foot file. I could rave about it all day long. I previously used pumice stones but  glass files such as this one are much superior. This file has a smooth red area that serves as a handle. I also like that this file has both a smooth and a coarse side. The coarse side gently sloughs away dead skin at a nice rate but without taking too much off while the smooth side sort of polishes and smooths out areas like your soles. I find that sometimes pumice stones can wear away a bit too much or cut/grind up the skin's surface. Pumice stones being porous and all, also cannot be sterilized; another thing I love about glass files. They can be sterilized in salon autoclaves and UV boxes (at home I use a disinfectant and then rinse with boiling water to sanitize the files).

And here are a few extras included in the package. An well very well crafted Shamballa bracelet that fits both men and women with the adjustable sizing strings.

These however crystal studs however, were my favorite. I love the unusual triangular shape and red is my favorite color, look how they glow! I did notice that the backing was a tad too big for the posts, I would recommend replacing them with your own as they do not "click" to ensure that they stay on and can become easily lost.

Mont Bleu products are of excellent quality, I still have the crystal files that I was sent from last year and they are in tip top shape. I still keep the hard cased file in my purse and use it all the time. In fact, they have a lifetime warranty on their Czech tempered glass. I also like the impressive number of products they offer, so many different crystal files! There are also all sorts of prices, starting at just €4 in the classic line (about $5.20).

What are your favorite crystal files?

Products featured were sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Sephora Favorites Deluxe Sampler For Her

Hello, all!

I've got a lot of unpublished posts piling up so today you get two! I want to briefly talk about the Sephora Favorites Deluxe Sampler that Morgan gifted me last month. 

This sampler set contains 11 mini vials of pretty popular perfumes carried at Sephora. I uh, would caution that you use a butter knife to pry out the vials instead of grabbing at them like I did. I ended up spraying myself in the mouth the first time I accidentally pushed down on an outwardly spray facing sample. Derp. Included in the box are a little Sephora bag and the card that you can redeem in store (US Sephoras only, not redeemable online or in JC Penny Sephoras) for a full bottle of your favorites scent out of the bunch. 

As per the Sephora website, the card redeems into the following sizes:

- BVLGARI Omnia Crystalline redeems to a 1.37 oz Eau de Toilette Spray
- Chloé Chloé redeems to a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- CLEAN Skin redeems to a 2.14 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- ESCADA Especially Escada reedeems to a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia redeems to a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- Gucci Flora by Gucci redeems to a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh redeems to a 2.5 oz Eau de Toilette Spray
- Paco Rabanne Lady Million redeems to a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- Philosophy Love Sweet Love redeems to a 2 oz Fragrance Spray
- Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y redeems to a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray
- Tocca Cleopatra redeems to a 1.7 oz Eau de Parfum Spray

The little pouch is well made but honestly, I have loads of them laying around the place!

I already know what I'll be redeeming this card for- my signature daily scent CLEAN Skin. I'm down to less than a fourth left on my first bottle and since Morgan is crazy for that fragrance, he wanted me to get another bottle. Normally the 2.14 oz EDP is $69 but the sampler set is $50 so it's a bit of a bargain. I actually ordered this during Chic Week so the Favorites Deluxe Sampler For Her was 15% off, making the total savings on a bottle of CLEAN Skin to be near 40%. Not too shabby right?

This is definitely a great way to try popular scents at Sephora and save a bit on full sized bottles, particularly if you already love one of the perfumes in the set.

Are any of these fragrances in the Sephora Favorites Deluxe Sampler For Her among your faves? I do wish that they'd bring back the For Him edition, that would have been helpful when I was trying to pick out some scents for Morgan earlier this year!

Product featured was given to me as a gift. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.