Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015: Day 6!

Hey guys!

Nothing To Disclose

You knew it was inevitable, right? Obviously I had to talk about a Nine Zero Lacquer polish for yearly favorites! And in fact, I'm talking about 2! Both polishes are from the launch collection, Harvest Festival.

September Skies is a dark blue linear holographic polish. This is one coat, folks. Yep.

Cypress is a forest green (get it? Cypress... forest... hahaha) linear holo. This was two coats, no topcoat.

Are you done drooling? Even on my shorty nails, these polishes are stunning! I love love love everything I have tried from the Nine Zero Lacquer line (which is everything, minus one Halloween crelly, lol). The formula's are all fantastic and extremely easy to work with. I highly recommend her polishes!

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015: Day 5!

Hey guys!

Nothing To Disclose

I'm quickly realizing that I should have started my Favorites List earlier in the month, lol!! Whoops!

Anyway, today we have Priti NYC Midnight Blue Gerbera. Priti NYC is available at boutique's in NYC and various online retailers. I purchased mine on Hautelook earlier this summer. I enjoyed all of the colors I purchased but this was the standout, for sure.

Midnight Blue Gerbera has a blue jelly base with blue and green glitter. This was 3 coats, plus topcoat. The formula was a bit thick at three coats; however, I am usually a bit heavy handed with my coats of polish :-p I just love this color and it looks completely mesmerizing in person!

Have you tried Priti NYC before?

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015: Day 4!

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Welcome to Day 4 of Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015!

While indies have taken over my heart, I did have a few drugstore polishes for this list, lol. And this polish is too pretty to not include!

Orly's On The Edge is an indigo creme. This has a really great formula and covers easily in two coats. It dries a bit matte so I added topcoat.

I feel like this is such a 'me' color, lol. Probably because it's blue 🙊.

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015: Day 3

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Welcome to day three of Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015! I hope you had a fabulous and safe and heartwarming Christmas and holiday weekend!

Now back to the polish! Stardust Polish is one of my favorite indies so it's no surprise that one of her polishes made it's way to this list.

This is Blue Skies, a sky blue aqua subtle linear holo. I just love this color so much. For as much as I love blue, I don't have a lot of colors like this one! This was 2 easy coats, plus topcoat.

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015: Day 2

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And here's Day 2 of my favorite polishes of 2015! I forgot to mention yesterday but I didn't pick a specific number of polishes, just whatever I really loved. Not that it matters, but just so you know ;-)

Today's polish was immediately placed on the Favorites list the second I applied it. This is Love, Angeline Bourbon from the Let's Grab A Drink collection. Simply a stunning color, this is ONE COAT! Dead. Done. Dead. SO perfect.

BUT THEN!! You add topcoat and the golden shimmer completely comes alive and I cry a little due to its beauty!

This was one of my favorites from this collection because.... well, look at it! But all of the polishes that I have from this collection are stunning and I recommend any of them!

YOU GUYS! IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! I won't be posting tomorrow but we will resume Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015 on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015: Day 1

Hey guys!

Press Sample

It's hard to believe that it's the end of 2015!! It's time for my Favorite Nail Polishes of 2015! This is actually the first year that I have done this because I usually forget until the last minute and then it's too late. This year, I was prepared and kept a running list ALL. YEAR! It was must easier than trying to remember what polish was released when, lol!!

Instead of compiling one big list, I decided to break up the posts by individual polish. I don't know about you but I don't really love reading long compilation lists so that is my reasoning for breaking it up.

Now to get to the polish!

Today we're going to talk about Sally Hansen Yummy Yam, what I would describe as a butterscotch color. This is probably not a favorite for a lot of people but it's so different! I just love it! This was 2 coats and no topcoat, but look at the shine!!

Stay tuned for Day 2 of Favorite Polishes of 2015!

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Twinsie Tuesday: Holiday Manicure

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It's truly shocking to me that it is time for Christmas manicures already! What? How? Where did the year go?? SIGGGHHH!!! LOL

I went for super simple this year, using OPI The Spy Who Loved Me from the 007 collection. I forgot how lovely this polish is, with all of the orange shimmer! <3 This was two coats. Then I topped it with my the new to me OPI Pure 18K White Gold Flakie topcoat. Over the red, it looks gold rather than white gold, but I still love it. Topcoat and good to go, yo.

Do you have fabulous plans for Christmas? What are you going to do on your nails?

Tiffany at Polished To Precision

Steph at Lovestruck Lacquer

Sharon at Behind Green Eyes

Savannah at Addicted to Polish

Sarah at Cloudy with a Chance of Lacquer

Sara at The Call of Beauty

Róisín at Cuti-CLUE-les

Megan at A Beauty in the Business

Marisa at Polish Those Nails

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Lisa at The Polish Playground

Jessica at Blue Velvet Lacquer

Claire at Kerruticles

​ ChiChi at I'm Just Me...ChiChi

Chelsea at Nailed Blog

Bridget at A Painted Nail

Amber at Nails Like Lace

Amanda at Amandalandish

Alice at Nail Art in Wonderland

Alaina at The Little Canvas

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Essie Nail Art: Serena Van Der Woodsen Wedding Dress!

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A few months ago, my buddy Alaina and I watched Gossip Girl (via Netflix, duh. Because we're cool like that, lol!) as I had never seen it. After watching the finale, I was mesmerized by Serena Van Der Woodsen's wedding dress. So I found this picture of the dress and decided to recreate it on my nails. Months later, I remembered that I never actually posted the manicure! Ha! I'm crazy.

Now, my problem was that I couldn't find a polish that was a brassy enough gold to fully replicate the color of the dress so I had to make Essie's Good As Gold work for me. I used Essie's Blanc for the white and a nail art brush for my "stripes".

Obviously this is not an exact replica of the dress but it's the best I could come up with because I don't think a gold polish exists to match that dress! If you know of a brass, "liquid" gold color of polish, please let me know! But I quite like this manicure! What are your favorite brushes for nail art??

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Round 19 Bestie Twin Nails with The Little Canvas

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It's time for another Bestie Twin Nails with my buddy Alain from The Little Canvas. You know the drill: let's get to the good stuff.

For this prompt, I chose a manicure by Sensationails4U on Instagram. Super festive!

I started with ILNP Cherry Luxe (2 coats), on my index, middle and pinky nails. Then 2 coats of ILNP Juliette (which is gorgeous!!). For my Christmas tree, I used Lucky One and Limelight, with Iconic for the little tree stump. Finally, I added a green nail stud to the top of the tree!

Whatchu think? I'm not usually so festive with my nails, lol!

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

PUR Cosmetics Cameo Contour Sticks - Swatches!

Hey guys!

Press Sample

PUR Cosmetics has joined the contour game and given us the Cameo Contour stick, a dual ended highlighting and contour stick, available in 5 shades.

Shades available: Light, Medium, Tan, Dark, Deep.

Each colors comes with a Contour Blending Sponge and a little brochure with tips on the best places to apply the contour and highlight shades. I found this very helpful, as I am a contour newbie.

I am in the shade Medium. These are creamy and easy to apply. Since I am such a newbie to contouring and highlighting, I did follow the guidelines they recommended in the brochure and after getting the beauty sponge wet and wringing it out, the products blended very nicely. I will definitely have to keep playing with this and if I get brave enough, post a picture of the before and after, lol.

Do you use cream products to contour or highlight? And have you tried PUR Minerals? PUR is available at Ulta, as well as purminerals.com!
Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Stardust Beauty Matte Eraser

Hey guys!

Press Sample

Today I have a little review of a new product from Stardust Polish, one of my favorite indie brands :) Drema is releasing a new matte lipstick remover and was kind enough to send it to me to try!

The Matte Eraser is made of organic vitamin E, coconut, and shea oil. It comes in a twist up pen with a brush tip. The product itself is unscented. I was expecting an oily gel type product but the product is thin and very comfortable. Personally, I don't love gel products on my lips or face; something about the texture just makes me feel grossed out, lol!! So I was glad that this wasn't a gel!

I wore several different colors to test this so let's take a look!

First, ColourPop Ultra Matte lippie in Beeper, a mid-tone taupey brown. This is my "oh wow. brown lipstick is rather odd on me" face, lol!!

Next I tried Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso, a bright red. I am incapable of taking normal pictures, I'm so sorry. This is more entertaining anyway!!

To use the Matte Eraser, I simply twisted the pen up until there was a a generous bead on the end and then applied the product to my lips. I used a tissue to wipe the lipstick off and then wiped the brush tip on a clean portion of the tissue.

And after! No more lipstick! Matte Eraser did a great job of removing all of the lipstick and it did not leave a greasy feeling on my lips! I call this a success!

The Matte Eraser will be on sale 12/18/15 at 7pm EST. It will retail for $5.50 plus shipping and handling. Be sure to follow Stardust Beauty (notice the name change..... ohhhh what sort of other things are coming from Drema??!) on Instagram and join the Facebook group!

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Stocking Stuffer Ideas For the Beauty Lover! Part 2!

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Press Sample

Part 2 of the stocking stuffer ideas for the beauty lover in your life! Today I have 4 out of the many ELF kits that are available this holiday season! These are available at Target and many places makeup is sold. I personally have seen all of these at my local Meijer, as well.

The first set, also the largest that I have to share, is called the All About Nude 32 Color Eyeshadow Palette. It comes with, surprise surprise, 32 eyeshadows, the elf Eyeshadow Primer (which is really good, by the way!), and two brushes: a flat brush and an all over shadow brush. This set retails for $10!! A great gift for pretty much anyone, as there are nudes but also a few pops of color!

Next we have the Glossy Glam Lips set, which retails for $5. This has 3 lip glosses in subtle shades, including a clear shimmer, peach, and bright pink. These have quite a perfume-y smell, which I don't mind but I do know that some people are sensitive to scents so I wanted to mention that tidbit.

Next, the Shimmer Eyes 5 piece eyeliner set, retailing for $5. These are wooden pencils but each pencil has a built on sharpener on the lid, so you never have to worry about finding a sharpener! These are surprisingly creamy for wooden pencils! Four of the five eyeliners have glitter; only the white is glitter-free.

Lastly, for the lip lover! The Long Lasting Lips kit includes two of the Moisturizing Lipsticks, one Long Wear Lipliner, and one Lip Lock Pencil, which can act as a primer or as a clear lipliner to prevent feathering and bleeding. This kit retails for $10.

Lipliner: Natural Blush
Lipsticks: Berry Kiss and Pink Mink

Have you spotted these elf sets anywhere? Elf is such an affordable brand and this is a great way to get a lot of bang for your buck and deliver a fantastic gift, at the same time!

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for the Beauty Lover! Part 1!

Hey guys!

Press Sample

I have a few gift and stocking stuffer ideas for you for the beauty lover in your life! This is actually going to be two parts because I have a ton of pictures and don't really want to bog down your web page loading 20 pictures, lol.

The first item is actually quite exciting to me, even though it seems simple. The Olivia Garden Holiday Essentials Folding Brush and Mirror set can be purchased at local Ulta stores and Ulta.com for $3.49 and is available in two colors, cranberry and gold. I am definitely going to be keeping this in my car because this is so handy to have at all times!

Vapour Organic Beauty, a leading luxury beauty company committed to creating high-performance cosmetics that are natural, pure and beautiful, launched three limited edition holiday sets exclusively at Target.com. Each of these kits captures the spirit of the holiday season through rich, shimering hues to add a vibrant and sophisticated glow to your winter beauty look. All Vapour products are 100% natural with 70% organic ingredients and 30% mineral pigments and essential oils.

The Kiss Duo Set is the set that I was sent and comes with a Siren Lipstick and Elixir Plumping Lip Gloss in shades that will compliment any skin tone and offer luscious dimension when layered together.

The Elixir Plumping Lip Gloss in Mystery has a brush tip applicator. A beautiful sugared plum, this gloss adds dimension and shine to the lips while organic liposomes lock in moisture for naturally voluptuous lips.

The Siren Lipstick in Plush is a dusty rose pigment that softens the lips with rich, luscious color and silky, moisture-rich formula. This is a bit sheer but can be built for fuller opacity.

I know I would love to receive either (or both!) of these beauty items in my stocking! How about you??

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

PUR Cosmetics Browder - Swatches!

Hey guys!

Press Sample

PUR Cosmetics recently released some new Browder products and I have swatches to show you!

"Bold brows are in! With PÜR’s long-lasting brow powder, you don’t need to be a makeup artist to get perfectly defined brows. This unique fiber formula adds naturally bold definition to sparse and uneven brows for a look that’s always natural, never “drawn on”. Use the innovative flocked applicator to groom and sculpt for the perfect arch or reach for your eyeliner brush for double duty use as a smoky eye lining powder." 

Available in three shades: Blonde, Medium Brown, and Brunette.

From top to bottom: Blonde, Brunette, Medium Brown.

I typically don't use brow products, other than a clear wax, as I have naturally very full, black eyebrows. However, the product is very easy to use, albeit a bit messy when you pull the wand out of the tube. Since I'm not at all a professional at explaining how to use brow products, this is the description on the PUR website: "Brush brow hair upward and outward with a brow groomer. Apply Browder directly onto brows with the built-in precision applicator. With light feathery upward strokes, fill in gaps to add natural fullness and shape to your brows. You may also apply Browder to the lash line with an eyeliner brush to create a soft, smoky eye." 

As I mentioned, this is a very easy product to use, even for a brow novice such as myself. The Brunette color was closest to me; however, it didn't quite match my eyebrow color, which is black. I can say that if there were a darker color, I would definitely continue using these to fill in the front of my eyebrows, where they are a little bit more sparse.

Have you tried the Browder Perfecting powder? What do you think of eyebrow products, in general?

Talk to you soon!
Amanda

Grace-full Polish Swatches

Hey guys!

Nothing To Disclose

I have a few Grace-full polishes to share with you. Of course, it looks like most of these aren't available any longer, which I hate to do but they are too pretty to not share!

The White Rider is a silver micro holo glitter. This was pretty dense and covered in two coats, plus topcoat.

Queen Arendelle is an aqua polish packed with tiny green flakies. This had a a great formula and was opaque in two coats, plus topcoat.

Mt. Fang is a deep charcoal holo. This was one coat! Whoa! Plus topcoat.

So as per my previous experience with Grace-full, these were all lovely and beautiful and definitely worth owning :)

Have you tried Grace-full polish? What are your favorites from the brand?

Talk to you soon!
Amanda