Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Pink and gold star nail art with Zoya's Winter Holos

Press Sample

Greetings, dear readers, and happy hump day! It has been a little while since I've shared nail art here on my blog, and I have a simple design to share with you today. I had originally planned to create a Valentine's Day look with the Zoya Winter Holos, but alas, the time has come and gone quickly with sickness playing a major role in my household all month long. I wasn't sure what other nail art look I wanted to do with these polishes until I stumbled across a pretty pink and gold celestial design while shopping for something online this past weekend. The unusual colour choices caught my attention, and I knew I had to get it on my nails! Let's check it out!


To create this look, I started off by painting my nails with two coats of Zoya Cadence


I then pulled from my old stash of Nail Vinyls a star pattern and circle designs that I overlaid to create waxing and waning moons.


Because Brighton, the gold Zoya polish isn't particularly opaque, I opted to thinly apply a coat of white polish over the vinyls and then Brighton. Adding the white base certainly helped to bring out the colour. I then removed the vinyls and added a layer of top coat to finish off my look.


While there are some things I'm not happy about, I do like this design overall. I had some polish with vinyl application issues as the white base polish had to dry first before applying Brighton, resulting in the vinyl pulling off some of the gold layer when I removed the vinyls. I think this design would have turned out better if I removed the vinyl between the white and gold layers. I had freehanded the gold on top in some areas where a substantial amount of polish was removed, but my caffeine-induced jittery hands were of no match for the accuracy needed. In spite of the flaws, I cannot help staring at my nails from time to time and will definitely have to recreate it under better circumstances!

Have you been enjoying the Zoya Winter Holos? I would love to hear about any nail art looks you have created with them!

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


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Monday, February 25, 2019

Ellagee returning to the March 2019 Polish Pickup with Funhouse!

Press Sample


Happy Monday, dear readers! Do I have some great news to share with you today! I am thrilled to share that ellagee polish will be returning to the Polish Pickup for this weekend's opening! 

For those not familiar with Polish Pickup, let me fill you in! Each month, theme suggestions are submitted by polish fans, narrowed down by the Pickup, and then voted on. The winning theme is then used as the inspiration by indie brands to create stunning polishes. These polishes (and other fantastic goods) are then available for purchase during the first weekend only of each month. It is a great way to pick up items that fit your favorite themes without having to subscribe to a box or end up with polishes you don't want. With Polish Pickup, you can choose as many or as few polishes or items that you want, and there is no obligation to make a purchase each month. The concept is genius, and it has taken the indie world by storm since it was created!

The theme for the March Pickups (the Polish and Indie Pickups have been combined and is now "The Pickups") is Album Covers. I have bee enjoying the reveals as they have been coming, and this particular polish is going to be a favorite for the upcoming spring and summer months. After taking a break the past few months, Laura's latest creation, Funhouse, is bound to be a found on many fingertips as the weather warms up. This polish is a thermal so you can really appreciate it in its full glory this spring. Let's check it out!

Cold State

Funhouse is described as a coral red to clear thermal polish with hot pink to gold shifting shimmer and gold flakes. This shade was inspired by the P!nk's album of the same name. This is what Laura of ellagee had to say about this beauty:

I love P!nk for her bold individuality, her amazing music, and her incredible performances. I hope you'll find this polish as eye-catching and fun as she herself is!

I can only speak for myself, but I know I love it!

Warm State

With the cold front that has come through Arizona, I actually got to enjoy both states covering the majority of my nails. When it comes to thermal polishes, it is common for me never to see the cold state, other than maybe on my nail tips when my nails are on the longer side, so this has been a fun wear for me. I've not made it a secret that I'm rarely drawn towards thermals as I tend to strongly prefer the colour of the cold state, and thus not get to see it much on me, but there have been a few that I've come across that I enjoy immensely. Funhouse is one such polish. While I do have a preference for the cold coral state, both versions are lovely! I'll be sad when it inevitably stops transitioning, but I love the coral shade so I won't mind when it comes to pass.

For these swatch photos, I applied two coats of Funhouse and followed up with top coat for an extra glossy finish. Because the warm state is clear, you may want to consider layering this over a nude polish if you wish to avoid visible nail line. With two coats, I could still see some nail line, but the gold flakes do offer quite a bit of coverage. A third carefully placed coat would likely cover the little bit that remained for me. I had no issues with application and found that Funhouse applies beautifully to the nails.

Funhouse will be available for purchase from The Pickups this Friday, March 1st through Monday, March 4th. It will retail for $12 per bottle, and there is no cap on the number of bottles available. Please note all orders submitted through The Pickup is submitted as a pre-order. Because indie brands have to ship to Pickup headquarters for final shipment to customers, orders take approximately three weeks to ship out to consumers.

Will you be adding Funhouse to your Pickup order? Do you have a preference between the cold and warm states? Do you think ellagee capture's P!nk's energy with this polish? I'd love to hear what you think!

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


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Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Huangjisoo Broccoli voluming mask and pure perfect cleansing Oil

Press Samples


I really enjoying trying out new-to-me skincare products, and the past few years, I have discovered a few K-beauty products that I keep returning to time and time again. When I was given the opportunity to test out a couple samples by Huangjisoo, it was a no-brainer to jump at the chance.  I received a face mask and a sample of their cleansing oil to test out. My thoughts about these are located below.

Broccoli Voluming Mask

My mask was labeled as "Broccoli Voluming Mask" and is the same mask as their "Broccoli Plumping Mask". They sell through their own website in addition to a US storefront on Amazon.com (both linked below), so this is something you will want to know depending on which site you opt to purchase this mask from.


In addition to vitamin rich broccoli extract to revitalize the skin, the serum packaged with this mask also includes mushroom extract for an ultra moisturizing treat for your skin.


Once opened, the sheet mask is unfolded and placed on the face. Unsurprisingly, since facial features vary from person to person, this type of mask generally isn't going to be a perfect fit for everyone. That said, I was still able to place it on my face and didn't find the eye cutouts to be intrusive to my vision like they occasionally can be.


An interesting feature about this mask is the area that covers the cheek has a slit towards the center of the mask. This is a great feature that allows the mask to cover those with longer faces or those with shorter faces to just overlap them like I have shown here. After 20 minutes, I pulled the still damp mask off my face, tapped in the serum on my face, and rubbed the excess serum from the packaging onto the backs of my hands.

I don't find a single use of a mask to be efficient when it comes to full testing purposes, so I really cannot say if consistent use will help with the appearance of your skin. I can tell you that my skin felt incredibly soft after the first use, and I did not experience any unpleasant side effects.

Pure Perfect Cleansing Oil

I also received a sample packet of the Huangjisoo self-proclaimed holy grail product, the Pure Perfect Cleansing Oil.


My experience with cleaning oils is limited, largely in part because I'm not fond of rubbing oil onto by already combination-to-oily skin. In spite of my trepidation, the ingredients in this particular cleansing oil didn't set off any alarm bells in my mind so I went into the testing relatively comfortably.


I figured the best way to test out this cleansing oil was with a full face of makeup, and I was pretty amazed with the results. Sure, I was already pretty confident my makeup would come off without issue, but in spite of putting oil on my face, it still didn't feel like a greasy mess when I was done. After rinsing with warm water and a gentle foaming cleansing step, my skin felt soft and, well, nice! Between the natural ingredients and how this sample package treated my skin, Huangjisoo has turned me into a cleansing oil convert! I should add that it does have a subtle scent that I found to be warm and a little citrusy, but unless you are incredibly sensitive to smells, I suspect most could tolerate it well, if not even enjoy it.


These products were a great introduction to the brand for me, and I look forward to seeing what future products they release! Since I'm trying to not buy any more sheet masks, I don't foresee going that route, but I plan to pick up more cleansing oil and would like to try out their assortment of facial cleansers in the future.

Have you tried any of the products by Huangjisoo? If so, what have been your favorites? Do you like to use cleansing oils? I'd love to hear from you!

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


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