Wednesday, May 30, 2018

LynB Designs for June Polish Pickup: Your Cow Plant or Mine?

Press Sample

Happy hump day, dear readers! I am back with another Polish Pickup post for you before the shop opening this Friday!

As I mentioned in my previous post, the theme for the June Polish Pickup is Video Games, and the makers participating this month have quite a selection of stunning nail polishes that will be available for purchase. For today's blog post, I have the offering created by LynB Designs to share with you. A wildly popular life simulation game series is The Sims, and this is where Jenna, the artist behind the brand, pulled her inspiration to suit the Video Game theme. Your Cow Plant or Mine? was specifically inspired by the bizarrely cute? scary? adorable? (YOU DECIDE) bovine vegetation found within the game. This polish is for all you flakie lovers out there! Check it out!





Your Cow Plant or Mine? starts off with a gorgeous light minty green base with added magenta to purple to gold shifting shimmer, scattered holographic micro shreds, and a metric ton (slight exaggeration, but still A LOT) of purple to blue to red AND blue to green to gold shifting UCC flakies. Jenna did not hold back on the flakies with this beauty! In spite of containing so many flakies, the application was quite nice! Not too thick or thin for my preference, it applied easily for an even finish to opacity with three coats. It was almost a two coater for me, so depending on how thickly you tend to apply polish to your nails, you may find that two will suffice. I had no trouble with the flakies clumping or even digging into the base shade like I occasionally do.


Your Cow Plant or Mine? will be available for purchase from the Polish Pickup website from this Friday, June 1st through Monday, June 4th ONLY. It will retail for $12 per bottle, and there is no limit to the number of bottles that will be made available for shoppers.

Please note that all purchases made through the Polish Pickup is submitted as a pre-order and to allow three weeks until shipping.

Are you in flakie heaven with this stunning shade? I just love the combination of these flakies with the base shade! Will you be picking this up from the Polish Pickup this weekend? What other shades do you have your eye on?

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

KBShimmer for June Polish Pickup: Insert Coin

Press Sample

Greetings, dear readers! I hope your week has been off to a wonderful start, and if you had the pleasure of a three-day weekend for Memorial Day, I hope yesterday was a fun one for you! My husband and I always opt to lay low during the holiday weekends to avoid the traffic and crowds, but I don't think the boys minded too much. They got to "help" do some painting outside the house, but more importantly, they got to break in the new Slip 'n Slide we recently picked up. Since we're close to the coast for a short trip, we'll likely be beach-bound this upcoming weekend, but until then, let's jump in on the week and today's blog post!

Withe May racing to a close in the next few days, I figured I better get to showing some swatches of polishes for the June Polish Pickup! For those not familiar with the concept, let me briefly fill you in. Each month, a theme is voted on by Facebook group members and polish makers get to work creating beautiful nail lacquers inspired by individually selected inspirations that fit within the encompassing theme. The first weekend of the month, the creations are then made available for purchase. Customers can buy as many or as few as they wish, and there are no obligations for future purchases. It's a great way to share your love of different themes on your nails, although I must warn you: the makers have been KILLING IT with their polishes and it is difficult to narrow down choices!
The winning theme for June is Video Games, and makers have been sharing some pretty incredible polishes that will be up for purchase later this week. One of the makers is longtime indie brand KBShimmer, and Christy, the creative mastermind behind the brand, went old school with her inspiration. Long before the days of fun phone apps and game consoles in homes, gamers spent their time and quarters in the arcade playing their preferred addiction. Fumbling through pockets, players would desperately seek out their coins to get started, or even more frantically to keep the game going. KBShimmer pays tribute to those days with the magnetic Insert Coin.

First up are swatches of Insert Coin with normal application without using a magnet. The following photos are shown with two coats plus KBShimmer's Clearly on Top top coat.

Insert Coin is an unassuming polish when worn with a traditional application. It is a lovely bronze shade with a dusting of holographic flakes, and even in this state, you can see some colour shifting action going on as you angle your nails in lower light settings. With this application, the colour shift appears to be from the bronze to a touch of mauve, as really seen in the second photo, but keep reading below for more shifty goodness! I actually quite like this polish like this as a fun dark shade when I don't want to wear a plain black polish on my nails.

That being said......

Insert Coin becomes a little more "extra" once you hit it with a magnet. I added a third coat and held a magnet on its broad face for approximately 45 seconds over each nail for the following photos. I also added a coat of Clearly on Top over the final coat after using the magnet. Check this out!


Insert Coin also contains a magnetic gold shift, so when you hit it with the magnet, a gold bar shifts into place below your magnet placement, making the blue and purple multichrome aspect of this polish really POP. I was really in the mood for the mottled colour effect when I swatched this photo, but if you prefer more obvious golden "coins", you can use the magnet on its thin side held closely to the polish immediately after application for a minute. 


Not only is Insert Coin beautiful in both situations, the formula is fantastic. Two creamy coats reaches opacity on my shorter nails perfectly. My magnetic photos utilize three coats as I didn't want to remove polish and start all over again, but you can certainly get a magnetic effect easily with two coats.

In spite of the weather getting warm around here, I'm really loving this darker shade right now as a great break from the ultra-bright hues! Whether you choose to enjoy it now or save it for the cooler fall months, there is no doubt that Insert Coin is a gorgeous polish and a fabulous hommage to the old school gaming life of arcades!


Insert Coin will be available for purchase on the Polish Pickup website from this Friday, June 1st through Monday, June 4th. You can purchase the polish and magnet combination for $14.50, or if you already have a magnet from KBShimmer's Launch Party Collection (or other polish magnet, of course), you can purchase Insert Coin by itself for $11.50.

Please note that all order made through the Polish Pickup are submitted as a pre-order and to allow up to three weeks for shipping.

Are you a fan of magnetic polishes and plan to pick up Insert Coin this weekend? Would you rather wear Insert Coin with the traditional application or use the magnet for the full effect? What other Polish Pickup shades do you have on your wishlist? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


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Wednesday, May 23, 2018

LynB Designs June 2018 Polish of the Month: Alexandrine

Press Sample

Greetings, dear readers, and happy hump day! This week has been flying by quickly, and I have a three-day holiday weekend to look forward to! We're not really big fans of traveling for holiday weekends and prefer to avoid the crowds, so we're going to be staying close to home and trying to get some home repairs taken care of. I'm so fancy, right? Haha! Now on to today's blog post!


With May quickly coming to a close, that means another month is upon us to include a new Polish of the Month by LynB Designs! Jenna, the creative mastermind behind the brand, has opted to pull her inspiration for the monthly polishes from birthstones each month, and she has been knocking it out of the park with every release! She selected Alexandrite for her June inspiration, and Alexandrine will be launching this week! Let's get a closer look at this beauty!


Like its inspiration, Alexandrine is a unique and complex polish! Alexandrine starts off with a reddish brown base shade and contains intense red to green to purple shifting shimmer and blue to purple iridescent flakes. Alexandrine was a little tricky for my camera to photograph, and the green shift in particular was much more obvious in real life than in the photo above.


Away from my light setup and at certain angles, the red and purple shifts came out to play. This is such a fun and pretty polish!


I have no issues regarding the formula to report about Alexandrine. It is slightly on the thicker side as I've come to expect from indie polishes in general, but it certainly was not too thick to apply to the nails. I had no issue with it whatsoever and had no need to add thinner to it. The first coat was the slightest bit streaky, but it evened out nicely with a second coat. I wore it with two coats plus top coat for these photos.


Alexandrine will be launching this Friday, May 25th at noon EST. It will retail for $10. LynB Designs is also going to be having a special Memorial Day sale this week starting at the same time, so if you want to save some money, be sure to pick it up this week for half off the normal price! Two polishes for the price of one? Oh, yeah, sign me up!

Are you a June baby? Will you be adding Alexandrine to the rest of your birthday Polish of the Month polishes? What other LynB Designs shades are you thinking of picking up during the Memorial Day sale? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful night!
XO!




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Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Preheels: Heels Don't Have to Hurt You!

Press Sample


I love wearing high heels! From the look it gives lengthening my legs to giving my backside a little extra oomph to the just making me look taller, there isn't much about heels that I don't like. My biggest issue with high heels, besides the issue of finding those that are comfortable with my high arches and wide feet, is breaking them in and trying to avoid the dreaded blisters. No matter how much time I spent slowly breaking in my heels, I always inevitably end up with blisters on the back of my heel. UNTIL NOW! Preheels has released a simple spray that prevents irritation and blisters with a fast-dry application.

The propriety formula is simple to use and yet incredibly effective. With just one single spray application, the formula dries to form a barrier on the skin that blocks friction from your shoes, preventing hot spots, irritations, and blisters from forming. Where one-size DOES NOT fit all pads and bandages may slip as you walk or just not quite fit your shoes (not to mention just looking unsightly), Preheels conforms to YOUR body to give you the ultimate personal protection that is flexible and moves WITH you.


Preheels is easy to use with a quick spray application by holding the bottle four inches away from the location you want added protection. The area is try after approximately 90 seconds, and you can follow up with a second or even third layer for stronger, longer-lasting coverage. I opted to test this stray out with two quick coats so I wouldn't have to worry about irritation while in my heels for approximately six hours of wearing. Depending on the specific shoes I am wearing, I have sprayed Preheels on the back of my heel, along my ankles where my straps occasionally like to rub, and the top of the toe box for some of my newer shoes that weren't quite as broken in as some of my others. In each of these cases, I am happy to report that I had no irritation in any of these areas! I've not used Preheels with these shoes for any longer than about six hours, but since it is reported to start to breakdown at about that time, you can easily add another coat if needed.


The Preheels solution is clear and dries to an invisible finish as long as you use thin coats to build it up. If you spray with a heavy hand, you can see the barrier the slightest bit, but even then, you have to really be looking at your ankles/feet/wherever you might have sprayed it. It is not fragrance-free, and this is one of the features that may be a deterrent for some individuals. The scent is very chemically and not too unlike the older hairsprays I used to use in my hair. The smell seems to fade as the solution dries on your skin, although I'll be honest and say I've not actually smelled my feet to be sure. It's possible to scent still is present and just isn't as strong as when freshly applied to the skin. Once your need to the Preheels has past and you've kicked off your heels for the day, the protective barrier washes off easily with warm soapy water and a gentle scrubbing with a washcloth.


I am excited to add heels back into my daily life now that I have been introduced to Preheels! It really does live up to the claim of preventing blisters, and I like that it lasts a long time without having to worry about ugly bandages or balms rubbing off onto my shoes. We're always on our feet and rarely give them the proper attention they deserve; it's about time we introduce our feet to their new BFF!

Preheels is available for purchase at Preheels.com in 1.5oz and 2.5oz bottles for $14.99 and $22.99 respectively. You can also purchase a 2-piece set containing one of each size for $35.00 or a trio of 0.5oz mini bottles for $30.00. Whether your feet or ankles need protection from constant wearing of heels or you just have new shoes that haven't been broken in yet, Preheels is there for you!

Have you tried Preheels? I'd love to hear how it worked for you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


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Thursday, May 17, 2018

That's a Wrap! 13 Products Were Emptied- What will I buy again and What did I throw away early?


Greetings, dear readers! I hope this post finds you well and you have been having a wonderful week! I may not have anything specific planned, but I am looking forward to the weekend! Hopefully you have something fantastic in store for you as well!

For today's blog post, I have another collection of empty products to share with you. It was becoming overwhelming to plan to go an empties post every month, so I've switched over to filling up my little collection box, and once filled to overflowing on my desk, I'll be getting another post up. What this means is I'll likely have a post up every few months, unless I end up going finishing all the things at once! I'm sure I'm not the only one that doesn't empty anything for a little while and then suddenly BAM! All the things are being emptied at the same time. Rather than continue rambling on and on with my incessant chatter typing, let's jump in and check out what I finish this month.

Body Products

Coconut Milk Body Butter, Bath & Body Works
This was something my boys picked up for me for my birthday in March, and it is already empty! I really liked this body butter: it was nicely moisturizing without being too heavy for my skin. It is a little spendier than I like for a body moisturizer at almost $15 a jar, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next Bath & Body Works sale and pick up more!

Lemon Curd & Rose Milk Coconut Butter Sugar Scrub, The Bathing Garden
I was gifted this by one of the members of a birthday group, and I sat on it a little while before opening it. I've not made it a secret on this blog that I detest the fragrance of roses, and I was expecting to not be a fan of this due to the scent. That being said, I am happy admit that I was wrong and I actually enjoyed this! The lemon curd scent toned down the rose just enough so it wasn't overly "rose" for me, and the combination was delightful! This scrub was also great and gently exfoliating my skin!

This was actually part of a recent Polish Pickup, and I knew I needed to have one! I really enjoyed the fragrance, and I had plenty of bubbles in my bath from this single bar. I actually ended up purchasing two of these (after giving some time to allow others to pick one up as it was capped) so I am looking forward to that one in the not-too-distant future. Unfortunately, due to the nature of Polish Pickup, I will not be able to buy more, but I am hoping to see more foaming bath bars from Lollipop Posse Lacquer show up in the Polish Pickup!

Butterball Bath Bomb, LUSH Cosmetics
It seems like it was a "bathier" than normal two months, and this includes two different bath bombs by LUSH. I've mentioned both the Avobath and Butterball bath bombs on this blog a few times, and for good reason- they are my favorite LUSH bath bomb scents! You know I'll be picking up more of these babies!

Face Products

The All-In-One Facial, Hanacure
Whew, where do I even start with this one! After seeing the ads pop up on Facebook over and over (and over and over) again, I finally decided to bite the bullet and pick this up. Rather than getting a single sample set, I opted to splurge with the larger pack for four facials. This way, I had a greater chance of seeing improvements in my skin. I was really hoping that by the fourth treatment, if not sooner, I would have seen improvements in my skin, particularly in regards to the darker spots on my face. I am sad to report that this did absolutely NOTHING for my skin after all four treatments. The box may contain four treatments that are cheaper than paying for four individual facials at the spa, but $120 is just too rich for my taste with zero results. At least I can say that I tried it and could share my results, or lack thereof, with you readers and hopefully save your money for something better!

Regenerating Serum, Olay Regenerist
Olay's Regenerating Serum is once again here on my blog and for good reason- it just works so well with my body chemistry and it makes my skin look good! This product is just further proof that good things don't have to cost a fortune, and I'm already working on another bottle.

Vitamin C Suspension 30% in Silicone, The Ordinary
I'm not sure how well you can tell in this photo, but this product is actually not empty. I know some people are big fans of The Ordinary products, but they just don't seem to work well for my skin. I used this as much as I could, but it made my skin burn often, and it wasn't friendly with my other products. Under my day moisturizers and makeup, it would pill up horribly, and when I used it at night, it would gum up my assorted night creams. After fighting with these issues for some time and leaving this sitting in my cabinet, I decided it was just time to free up that space and use something I actually enjoy.


Hair Care

Perk Up Dry Shampoo: Amika
I picked up the travel sized version of this dry shampoo for my recent trips, and I am definitely a fan! The dry shampoo absorbed the oils in my hair quickly, and I didn't have issues with the grey/white cast that dry shampoos generally leave on my hair. The only issue I had with the Perk Up Dry Shampoo is the scent. The fragrance is a little more perfume-like than I prefer, but it isn't a deal breaker for me and won't be preventing me from picking up a full-sized container for use at home!

Argan Oil Hair Masque: Luseta Beauty
I am guilty of putting off hair cuts a little longer than I should, although in my defense, I've had the hardest time finding a stylist that actually listens to what I am going for and not cutting my hair so much shorter than I want. As a result, my hair definitely appreciates the TLC of hair treatments and masks from time to time, and this one by Luseta was fantastic! Obviously, t isn't a magical cure-all for split ends that already exist, but this hair masque helped my hair stay healthy and better able to withstand the occasional blow drying and flat iron treatments. I have a few other hair masks on hand right now that I am trying out, but I am very likely to pick up another one of these from Luseta once those are empty.....or sooner if the others end up being terrible!

Nail/Cuticle Care

Cannabis Flower Cuticle Oil, Bohemian Polish
White Chocolate Apple Cuticle Oil, Bohemian Polish
It's no secret that I have several cuticle oils open at any given point, and they can be found all over my house, in my purse, and at my desk at work. These rollerball cuticle oils by Bohemian Polish kept my cuticles nicely moisturized and looking healthy, and I especially appreciated how quickly the oils were absorbed into my skin. As for the scents, I was expecting Cannabis Flower to smell closer to the actual flower, and I found this fragrance to be a little too earthy and musky for my personal taste. White Chocolate Apple, on the other hand, was more to my taste with a nice strong apple scent. Bohemian Polish has so many scents to choose from that sound incredible, and I intent to pick up more once I can narrow down what I want to try next!

Lemony Flutter, LUSH Cosmetics
Ah, Lemony Flutter, the holy grail cuticle/dry skin product that I keep going back to again and again. This cuticle butter is so rich, and I like to apply it to my cuticles prior to going to bed. Even just one treatment yields incredible results, and this is why I have been using this item for several years now. A little goes a long way, and the tub lasts for quite some time. That being said, this product is best used fresh and you will want to keep an eye on the expiration date- that will likely happen sooner than you actually finishing up the container depending on how often and where you use it. It is great for use on dry knees and elbows as well! I'm sure it goes without saying that I already have another jar currently in use!


This concludes today's That's a Wrap post! Have you tried any of these products? What other products have you used that you've been loving or hating lately? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


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Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Enter to win my current favorite face masks by MustaeV!

Greetings, dear readers, and happy hump day! It's been a struggle to get fully back into my normal routine, particularly because both my boys have been sick and needed a trip to Urgent Care this past weekend, but I think things are finally settling down and getting back to normal. Cross your fingers for me that things continue to improve and I haven't just jinxed myself! Now on to today's quick post!


On my recent trip to New York City to attend The Makeup Show, I stopped by the MustaeV booth and stocked up on their Mood Therapy face masks. I particularly love their Moisture-Lifting Pleasure Mask and the Whitening Joy Mask, but all four are great depending on your skin's specific needs. Because I love them so much, I wanted to share the love with you, my wonderful readers! I picked up a boxed set that contains each of their masks, and I will be sending it out to one lucky reader! This giveaway will be open internationally and all are welcome to enter. Please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. All details and rules are located within the widget.

Best of luck to you!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!


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Monday, May 14, 2018

Highlights from The Makeup Show New York City


Greetings, dear readers, and happy Monday! It has been almost a week since the conclusion of The Makeup Show in New York City, and I figured it is about time I get this post written. My time in NYC seemed to go by so quickly, and it was back to business as usual as soon as I got home. I hope you are prepared for this- this post is LOADED with photos, and I even cut down from how many I originally had planned. Let's take a trip via blog post to The Makeup Show NYC!


The Makeup Show NYC was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion. Each morning before the show, beauty professionals lined up outside the door, eagerly awaiting the opening.

Art Gallery "Shades of Beauty"

I could have easily put together a single post featuring the Art Gallery at the show, so if you are interested in seeing more of the art featured, please chime in below with a comment to let me know! I did want to at least include a mention and a couple photos from the gallery for your enjoyment below.

Violet Dreams
Danessa Myricks

Paint Me Beautiful
Moshoodat Sanni

I had the opportunity to attend the Press Preview event prior to the show opening, and James Vincent gave us a wonderful introduction to what the show was about this year. This show was organized with many keynote speakers, workshops, and seminars, and it truly was an educational mecca for those who wanted to expand on their expertise in the beauty industry.

Jordan Liberty was one of the keynote speakers on Sunday with his talk specifically focusing on Image and Influence. Those who wanted to advance their careers, particularly when it comes to social media and capturing amazing photos learned a lot from this insightful talk!

Bobbi Brown was the first keynote speaker on Monday morning, and her session was titled "Making Your Mark". Her talk was about her experiences of creating her brand to create a renowned name in the beauty industry. After her session, attendees of the show had the opportunity to briefly meet with her and attend a book signing.

In addition to the keynote speakers, there were multiple seminar stages throughout the floor with short seminars and demonstrations. Here, Yvonne MacInnis gave tips on strip eyelash application for KISS USA.

In addition to the various learning opportunities at the show, several brands were on site for beauty professionals to pick up favorite and new favorite items to add to their kits. Ready for a quick run through of some of the brands present? Let's go!














Hair by Ivan Betancourt
Makeup by Sheila Kett from Kett Cosmetics










Collaboration with Moises Ramirez. A portion of proceeds for the purchase of these bags went to Empowering Through Beauty.













The Makeup Show in New York City was THE place to be last Sunday and Monday for any beauty professionals! It provided individuals with the perfect opportunity to socialize with like-minded individuals, and there was so much to learn! I almost wish there was another day of the show so I could take even more in, although I did thoroughly enjoy the time I did spend at the show.

The Makeup Show will be in Orlando this September 15th and 16th. While this show is for beauty professionals only, I strongly encourage you to keep an eye on their social media account to see if a Pop Up Shop is announced. The Pop Up shops are open to the public, and the last one was located in March in San Francisco. There hasn't been another one announced yet, but you never really know where The Makeup Show is going to pop up next! For those that are licensed beauty professionals, this is a show not to be missed, and I hope you are able to make it to one of the future shows!

Until next time dear readers, I hope you have a wonderful day!
XO!



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