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Monday, June 24, 2019

Beauty Without Harm: YAPA Beauty Nail Lacquers

Press Samples

Happy Monday, dear readers! This weekend flew by quickly, and I have nothing to show for it other than a few household errands. Oh well, there's always next weekend to do something fun and exciting! Now on to today's post!

While browsing on Instagram earlier this month, I happened to stumble across the nail lacquer brand YAPA Beauty YAPA touts itself as a non-toxic, quick drying, hassle-free, and a high performance nail lacquer; naturally, my interest was piqued! As I was starting to check out what the brand had to offer, they reached out and asked if I wanted to try out a few of there colours to share with you. I love when I have to opportunity to share new-to-me brands with you, so of course I jumped at the chance!

The motto of YAPA Beauty is "Beauty Without Harm", and they stick to it in more ways than one. To start off, the brand is Vegan and Cruelty-Free. While I personally do not ascribe to a vegan way of life, I know some of my readers do, and there really is no reason to harm our furry friends with beauty products. In addition to not harming animals, YAPA Beauty nail lacquers limits the harm that you can do to yourself by being free of toxic chemicals that can be found in many other nail polishes. YAPA's products do not contain formaldehyde or the resin, toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or camphor. There are a few other chemicals it doesn't use, but these tend to be the ones that people look for most when considering what polishes to use or avoid.

Let's jump in and get a closer look at the three shades I was sent!

Lily

Three coats plus top coat

I love a good pink creme, and this medium pink hue is deliciously vibrant for the hot summer months. I found the formula to be smooth and creamy, exactly what I want from this kind of polish! The formula is nice and easy to work with, but for those that use a lot of indie brands, you will likely notice the formula is a little thinner. This is a non-issue for me, but you will want to be aware of it so you can adjust your coat coverage accordingly. Because I tend to stick with thinner coats, I needed to use three for full and even coverage on my nails. Those that use thicker coats will likely find they only need to use two.

Cheryl

Two coats plus top coat

Cheryl is a slight purple silvery hue, especially when in the bottle, but against my olive skin tone, the purple is much more apparent. Those with cooler skin tones are likely to find the purple to be more subtle, so that is something to keep in mind if you have your eye on this metallic beauty. Easy to apply, this felt more densely pigmented to me than Lily, the previous polish. I only needed to use two thin coats to cover any visible nail line. I'm not one for metallic polishes for a full manicure, but I do love them when it comes to nail art. I've actually testing this out with multiple stamping plates and am happy to report this stamps quite nicely. Please keep in mind this is not a stamping polish, so the effect is more subtle that the ultra opaque stamping polishes, but if you love a more subtle metallic stamped design, you're going to love this!

Caroline

Three coats plus top coat

If you are looking for a soft neutral pink shade that is work appropriate, Caroline is an excellent option. Loaded with fine silvery shimmer, this polish is an understated beauty, and I loved it on my nails more than I expected. Again, the formula is a little thinner that the indie nail polish brands I often use, but it is still easy to apply to the nails. Because of the thinner formula and my normal thin coat application, I needed to use three coats to cover any visible nail line. Those that prefer to use thicker coats may find only to coats will suffice.

I have really enjoyed trying out these polishes! The formulas are a little thinner, closer to what I expect from most main stream nail lacquer brands, but they still apply easily to the nails with minimal effort. The colours are beautiful, and just this selection alone gives a nice variety for fun summer nails or something more "work appropriate". If these shades aren't quite your jam, be sure to check out the other shades YAPA Beauty has to offer! There are currently 71 shades to choose from, from muted hues to bold brights. There are several that have certainly caught my attention!

YAPA Beauty nail lacquers retail for $18 each. They can be purchased directly from the website here or in select stores.

Have you tried any nail lacquers from YAPA Beauty? If so, what are your favorites> I'd love to hear from you!

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

Helpful Links

Store: YAPAbeauty.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/YAPABeautyUSA
Twitter: twitter.com/YAPABeauty

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Friday, June 21, 2019

Highlights from the Beauty Spotlight Team

Give your dry skin the gift of Manuka Honey with the Airelle Hydrating Manuka Mask! Prime Beauty recommends it for over 40 women and she slips a spoonful in her morning tea too!

Little excites Lola's Secret Beauty Blog more than exquisite ultra-luxe skincare products, and for that very reason Graydon Fullmoon Serum is currently being featured as one of our greatest recent discoveries. This anti-aging serum, which is cruelty-free and vegan, leaves skin soft, smooth, supple and hydrated. It also gently exfoliates dead skin cells while plumping fine lines. It is a holy grail discovery that you really must try for yourself, and once you do you will be hooked!

Not only can you help improve your skin but you can also donate to City of Hope at the same time with MURAD's Hydration skincare. Beauty Info Zone shares some of the products that will help you and cancer patients.

Want to celebrate Pride month with some fun skincare? Pammy Blogs Beauty loves Youth to the People's Limited Edition Pride Superfood Cleanser.

Could this be the perfect BB cream for summer? Never Say Die Beauty thinks so! Cruelty-free Derma E Tinted Moisturizing BB Cream with mineral sunscreen SPF 30 in 5 shades feels light as air on her skin.

There are so many anti-aging skincare myths that we've all been told. You can read about 5 of them that we should stop believing over on The Makeup Obsessed Mom.

The days are heating up quickly, and with so many exciting adventures ahead, everyone needs a quick 5 minute makeup routine to get put together and out the door fast. Jen from Laugh, Love, Contour shared her quick look for the summer this week including a tip you’ll want to use year round. Be sure to check it out!

Could your makeup bag use a little refresher for Summer? I Know all the Words explores some great options from Almay sure to see you through the season.

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Thursday, June 20, 2019

Testing out Born Pretty Store's Passionate Desert Stamping Plate

Press Sample

Stamping is arguably my favorite nail art technique, and when I had the opportunity to combine it with my beloved desert, I was all too eager to test out this plate from Born Pretty Store. The BP-A04 Passionate Desert Stamping plate contains 14 different images to chose from, and with the relatively large image sizes, should be able to cover fairly lengthy nails.

In spite of having several cute cactus and very obviously southwestern designs to choose from, I was really feeling the chain link pattern on the bottom right corner when I went to create my nail art.

I used multiple polishes to test out this plate. Once my black base was dry, I used a white stamping polish on the image. I then used two non-stamping polishes side by side and layered over the white to see how they would hold up with this plate.

The white stamping polish picked up the image perfectly from the first roll of the stamper. I already knew the white polish worked well for stamping, so the ease of use with this particular image certainly made me happy. While the pink and purple polishes don't quite have the "wow" factor in regards to intensity, these are not stamping polishes that normally take two if not three coats for opacity.

Born Pretty Store stamping plates can be a little hit or miss for me, and this one was a win! The images are etched deeply enough that it can work with both stamping and non-stamping polishes pretty easily. This is the primary thing I look for when it comes to stamping plates as the designs themselves are a matter of personal preference.

You can pick up the Passionate Desert Stamping Plate from Born Pretty Store here. This plate retails for $5.99, but at the time of this post, it is marked down to just $2.99. The full price is fair, but why not save some extra money and pick it up while it is marked down?

Speaking of saving money, you can save 10% off full priced items with the discount code QWL91. Born Pretty Store offers a range of items to choose from, and you are sure to find something that suits your nail art needs!

Are you a fan of cacti and other desert-themed nail art? Will you be picking up this stamping plate? I'd love to hear from you!

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

XO!

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Store: www.bornprettystore.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BornPrettyStore2010

Twitter: twitter.com/bornprettystore

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/bornprettystore/

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Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Get out the door quickly this summer with my 5 minute beauty look

Ah, summer! The days are long and hot, and if you want to do anything outdoors, you want to be leaving the house as quickly as possible. We're in triple digits here in Arizona, and I've seen other parts of the US are getting surprisingly close. Whether you are here to find a quick new look for this summer season or just want something easy you can carry on throughout the year, do I have a post for you! I'm less likely to wear a full face of makeup over the summer, but I still like to add something to my face so I feel more put together. Let's jump in and check out what I've been wearing lately!

When it comes to a quick makeup look, the most obvious place to start is by keeping it simple. Don't get me wrong, I love eyeshadow palettes and creating elaborate looks, but when I need to get out the door quickly, I stick with a simple swipe of colour to brighten my eyes.

Nobody would say this look is fancy, and I'm ok with that! I value my sleep, and I will happily trade being glamorous for an extra hour or so of sleep! Are you ready for me to divulge my biggest secret? It's quick and easy and something I'm going to be using throughout the year myself!

It's no secret that I love my CōTZ Face Prime & Protect Sunscreen; after all, I have been using this product for over a year when it was previously named the Face Natural Tinted SPF 40. The tint itself doesn't offer any coverage, but it does help to prevent the unattractive white cast look left by many sunscreens.

With it getting hot, I had been on the search for a foundation that felt light on my face but still gave the coverage I wanted. I stumbled across No7 Match Made Custom Blend Foundation Drops while killing some time at Walgreen's and my curiosity was piqued. After picking up a bottle and trying it out, I am hooked! This highly product is highly pigmented, and you simply add a few drops to your favorite products, mix it in, and apply to your face. No7 recommends adding it to your moisturizer or primer. I tried it with my moisturizer, but since it is more gel-like, I felt the pigment of the foundation drops had more slip around my face than I liked. Once I added it to my beloved CōTZ Face Prime & Protect Sunscreen, I knew I was on to something! Add a single drop of the foundation drops for ultra-sheer coverage and three drops for medium to full coverage. By going this route, I can skip foundation altogether and still know my skin tone has been evened out.

Once your skin tone evened out (with bonus sun protection!), the remaining details are really up to you! If I opt to use fewer foundation drops for more sheer coverage, I can often skip any blush or highlighter as enough colour from my skin peeks through. On days where I wanted more coverage and added more of my No7 Match Made Custom Blend Foundation Drops, I'll add a quick pop of blush and highlighter. I'm currently obsessing over the warm rose gold glow of Laritzy Cosmetics Light Stix in the shade Utopia!

I'm definitely a lipstick kind of a girl and like to swipe some colour onto my lips before leaving the house. My current go-to is Just the Tip by Dirty Mind Cosmetics since picking it up last month. This peachy-pink hue is a gorgeous everyday shade with a great brightness to match the sunny summer months.

I complete my quick look by adding a touch of colour to my eyelids; here I am using It's A Carrot! eyeshadow single by Etude House. I've filled in my eyebrows with Etude House's Drawing Eye Brow (I'm not crazy about it but had to make due while waiting for a cosmetic order to come in the mail) and added the 3-in-1 Brow Fibre by Full Brow. I do really like the latter, reviewed it previously here, and have since bought it again!

Is this look fancy? Ha! Not even close! That being said, I can be out the door in five minutes to tackle my day, be it to run errands or just to go out and spend time with friends or my guys. There is something nice about keeping my look simple over the summer; I like being ready to go with little notice nor do I have to worry about the time spent doing my makeup when deciding on yet another pool-filled day.

Does your makeup routine change over the summer? Do you use different products altogether, or do you switch up colours? I'd love to hear from you!

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

XO!

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Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Have Your Nails Match the Heat This Summer with KBShimmer's New Seas The Day Collection

Press Sample

Happy hump day, dear readers! I had planned to get this post up first thing this morning, but my computer apparently had other plans for me. I had received the new KBShimmer Seas The Day Collection to review for you and had all 10 shades swatched, photographed, cropped and ready to go. I got the collection pretty far in advance, so I had been sitting on photos waiting to share until close to the launch date, and now all my individual swatch photos are missing. After hunting for them, the best I can figure is when my computer software was upgraded and updated, my previous backup wasn't current and my pictures are now gone. I've been unable to locate other things on my computer that were saved around the same time; needless to say, it has been a pretty upsetting day. That said, I'm making the most of it that I can with this post and sharing some quick photos and the nail art I have recently created with these polishes.

Your suitcase is packed, your flip flops are ready, and the ocean is calling your name: it's time for a vacation! Join KBShimmer on a tropical journey, where the drinks are chilled, the sun is warm, and bathing suits and shorts are the only attire.

This new 10-piece collection consists of 7 perfectly sun-faded neon hues and three multichrome flake toppers. I did get some quick swatches in so you can get a peek at these bright shades. Let's check those out first before we get into the nail art!

All the faded neon polishes are shown with two coats plus top coat. The formulas are a little trickier to work with, something that I expect with neon polishes, but application was easier for me as long as I used coats that were slightly thicker than I normally would use. For the flake toppers, these are with one coat plus top coat.

Bored Shorts a faded orchid purple that leans pink.

Guava Nice Day a faded neon coral cream.

Papaya Don't Preach a bright orange cream

Pink Or Swim a bright, not quite neon pink cream polish

Party Like A Guac Star Like an avocado, bright shades of green, lime, soft pink and gold accent this flakie polish

Off Tropic mimics that rainbow of hues with multichrome flakes that shift with every change of viewing angle.

Harbor A Crush a soft blue cream inspired by ocean blue waters.

Sand By Me a lemon yellow cream with a hint of neon.

Lime All Right a pale green cream with a brightness that makes it work on any skin tone.

Nauti Girl a multichrome flake polish that shifts from a daring fuchsia to leaf green with shades of orange and gold.

I am really loving these soft neon hues, and the flake toppers definitely add something extra special to the nails. If you would like to check out more swatch photos, please visit My Nail Polish Obsession's blog post here!

Photo Courtesy of My Nail Polish Obsession

Not only is Jen's blog post great for swatches, she has compared the shades from this collection with older KBShimmer shades. Do be aware, her post will make you want to track down some of these older shades as well!

I've been trying to do more nail art recently, and I have been playing with these polishes. Here are a couple looks I have created.

I really enjoy negative space designs, but I like my negative space to be, well, slightly less negative. The flakes in topper Off Tropic made for the perfect base I had in mind with this design. I paired it with Lime All Right and Papaya Don't Preach for this fun design.

I've always found that I really like neon nail art that involves random placements- it just feels so free not having to have an exact shape or be in a particular location! For this design, I started off with a white base and randomly placed strips of Harbor A Crush, Guava Nice Day, and Sand By Me. I love how the shades in this collection coordinate, and I am likely to do something similar with other colour combinations this summer!

I'm not including several photos of this one as it will be in its own dedicated blog post very soon, but I did want to mention it briefly in this post. I used both Bored Shorts and Pink Or Swim in this double stamped design over a white stamping polish and black base. I was actually pretty surprised to see that both showed up pretty well over both colours although they aren't ideal for stamping. The consistency is a little off so the image was a little distorted and didn't have an excellent transfer, but these aren't advertised as stamping polishes so I cannot fault them on that. This was just a little experiment with these polishes and did add a nice little touch of colour to the design.

The Seas The Day Collection will be launching Friday, June 14th at KBShimmer.com and select retailers. Each shade will retail $10. As a bonus, each order of $50 or more for the first week (June 14th through June 20th) placed at KBShimmer.com will receive the KBShimmer holographic drawstring bag. This is a great little bag to take to the beach- it is perfect to toss in your sunscreen, sunglasses, a water bottle, and a book for some fun summer reading lounging on the beach.

Are you excited to be adding neons into your summer nail wardrobe? Which shades have caught your attention? Will you be picking up any of the flake toppers as well? I'd love to hear from you!

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

Helpful Links

Store: www.kbshimmer.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KBShimmerBathandBody

Facebook Group (I Need KBShimmer In My Life): www.facebook.com/groups/256991577811155/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kbshimmer

Twitter: twitter.com/kbshimmer

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kbshimmer

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