I'd Like Some Lime With That

Thanks to my old, stubborn camera, I finally got a chance to play with the fruit fimo I bought from Sally Beauty Online! :D Making lemonade out of the lemons I was given! The fimo was very fun to play with and wear, but it couldn't conform to the curve of my nails. :( The fimo was too stiff to do so. 

For this mani, I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors Timbleberry and 3 lime fimo slices. I placed them onto my fingers using an orange stick while the second coat of Timbleberry was still wet and secured them with 2 coats of Color Club Clear Coat. This mani was so bright and fun! I can't wait to do another mani with fimo!

The fimo slices were pretty good quality, but were not flexible enough to conform to the curve of my nails and some slices were not cut well. :( The top of the container was also hard to slide, but, luckily, the lime fimo slot was already open. Bottom line: I know you can get fimo that's better quality, better cut, more flexible, and cheaper than these ones elsewhere. I paid $5.99 for these Sally Beauty Online fruit fimos.

What do you guys think of fimos? Have you guys had the pleasure to play with them yet? :D

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Essie New Luxeffects Polish!

I just saw this among my e-mails today! A new Essie Luxeffects polish, Stroke of Brilliance. It seems like it is a blue glitter top coat. I'm looking forward to it! I really like how Essie is really stepping out of their comfort zone in recent years.


What do you  think of Stroke of Brilliance? 


See you guys on the other side of the day!


- M

My Julep Maven Intro Box!

My Julep Maven Intro Box came in the mail yesterday! :D It was shipped and arrived in two days. The waiting (since last week or so) almost killed me! As you can see, my style is "Classic With A Twist". The intro box came with The Best Pedi Cream Ever (It really is the name, not my opinion as I haven't tried it yet.) and two polishes: Robin and Rose. I will be giving each beauty its own swatch and review post. The toe separators were included as freebies!


Bottom line: I love the packaging, the service, and the perks. I have not swatched the polishes yet, but they seem very promising! I can't wait until I can swatch them! My referral link is http://www.julep.com/?r=22021468. 


See you guys on the other side of the day!


- M

WAH Nails Book of Nail Art U.S. Release!

The Wah Nails Book of Nail Art is going to be released, with this cover, in the U.S. on July 10th! You can pre-order it from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com for $9.14*. It will be filled with Wah Nails' many designs and have easy step-by-step tutorials. For some pictures of the inside of the (U.K. version) book, you can visit The Nailasaurus' post.

Sharmeadean Reid is the woman behind Wah Nails, which is known for its awesome nail art, and has nail salons in the U.K. You can read more information on Wah Nails and see its creations on its site.

I was so excited that I pre-ordered this book this morning! I can't wait until July (or after ochem session 2...), when it arrives so I can do some zany nail art! 

What do you guys think about Wah Nails? Are you guys excited?

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sally Hansen Lady Luck

Sally Hansen Lady Luck with top coat

Lady Luck is a dark fuschia glitter with holographic hexagonal glitter and takes 3 coats to become opaque. Lady Luck dried quickly, but dull and bumpy. It took 3 top coats to become shiny and hydrated. Unfortunately, it was still bumpy even after all those top coats. The formula was great. I would say the formula was easy to work with, but the stem of the brush was too long for my tastes and made it slightly difficult; the polish would flow down the stem and pool onto my nails if I didn't take enough off the stem. I would not pass up Lady Luck, though, because it's a very pretty polish.

Lady Luck is a part of the permanent Sally Hansen Gem Crush line.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Julep Maven - July 2012

I just recently became a Julep Maven! Some of the many perks of becoming a Maven are always having the option of free shipping, only paying $19.99 for over $40* worth of products monthly, and adding on up to 2 items to your monthly box (each for $4.99). You can also cancel at any time or skip the monthly box if you don't see anything you like! I used code "COLOR2012" at checkout (which comes after finishing the style quiz) in order to get my intro box for only $0.01. Unfortunately, I do not know how long the code will last.


I am sooo excited to get my intro "Classic with a Twist" box! For the month of July, however, I opted to switch to the "It Girl" box. There are 3 polishes included in that box, plus 1 free polish (America the Beautiful if you live in the U.S. or O Canada! if you live in Canada). I also decided to add on O Canada! to my box. Here are the five options for July:

The add-on options for July:

The free polishes, only for July:

As I said before, America the Beautiful is for residents of the U.S. and O Canada! is for residents of Canada.

*Each Julep nail polish retails for $14.00. The surprises included in each monthly box usually cost around $20.

P.S. I received my small Ulta haul today! :D I am sooo excited to swatch them (or at least one of them... Curse ochem!) that I won't be doing nail art for tomorrow's post.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sally Hansen Blue Me Away! + Ulta Pinata-Yada-Yada

Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!

Blue Me Away! is a very pigmented, bright blue creme and is opaque in 2 coats, but could have easily been a 1 coater. It dried relatively quickly and very shiny. The formula was great, easy to work with, and applied like butter even though it has been in my collection for a couple of years already and is separating a little. The only issue with Blue Me Away!  is that it stains (because of how pigmented it is). You definitely need at least 2 coats of base coat!

Ulta Pinata-Yada-Yada

Pinata-Yada-Yada is full of multicolored hexagonal glitter in a clear base and dried smoothly. It is one of the many dupes of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, which I unfortunately don't have to compare. Judging from ThePolishAholic's comparison, it seems like Pinata-Yada-Yada's glitter is much richer in color and of a different shape. I prefer the richness of Pinata-Yada-Yada, which, sadly, did not translate onto the nail. You see more of the silver glitters than the rich yellow, red, and magenta glitter. Like some glitter top coats, you have to dab Pinata-Yada-Yada to get a sufficient amount of glitter on your nails, and, as such, took a while to dry. I'm a bit disappointed with this pinata, but I got it when Ulta had a buy-2-get-2-free deal on their nail polish and I still have a Happy Birthday from Milani. (See what I did on both polishes? ...Okay, I'm sorry. Just trying to be witty. :( )

I will be studying for my exam, finals, and lab practicum this weekend and during next week. Which means... Only 5 (not including next week) more weeks of ochem!!! YEAH! Then I will be able to post consistently again! :D I miss painting my nails~

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sally Hansen Without A Stitch

Sally Hansen Without A Stitch

Without A Stitch is a yellow-toned beige creme and is opaque in 3 coats. It is not at all stark and dries with a nice shine. The formula was extremely creamy and easy to work with: it was thick enough to be opaque, but flowed easily. Dry time was good. 

I have read that people have problems with Without A Stitch, but I believe it's because of the brush, which people either love or hate and really affects the application of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line polishes. The polishes from the CSM line themselves are superb, with great, opaque formulae. However, the paddle-styled brush (which I love) can send blobs of paint onto your nails if you aren't careful and is friendlier with wide nails.

Unfortunately, Without A Stitch was released as part of the Spring 2011 collection and is no longer easy to find. Don't you guys hate it when good polishes are part of seasonal collections?

*I used Without A Stitch as the base for my fade away nude and black manicure, which you guys can check out here!

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Fade Away: Nude + Black

Fade Away with Nude + Black

This manicure was really simple to do! Perfect for those who want an awesome manicure that's not too time-consuming. I followed polishyoupretty's tutorial. Make sure you guys put the polish near the tip of the makeup sponge and tape the surrounding area of your nails! I wasn't being careful and put polish on the tip and the nearby area of the makeup sponge. Big mistake! I made the fading take up more than half of my nails and nearly swamped my pinky. :( It also brings me to another point: this manicure is even easier to do and looks much better if you have long nail beds and/or long nails.

I think my first attempt was alright. (I have high standards for everything. :( ) Since I liked the relative ease and simplicity of these fade away manicures, I think I'll do more! I love how there are endless possibilities. I'm thinking about a fade away with white and neon pink for the next one!

What I used:

From left to right:

Sally Hansen Black Out

Sally Hansen Without A Stitch

Makeup Sponge (which I bought from Sally Beauty Online)

Color Club clear coat (as top coat)

What do you guys think about fade away manis? Also, be sure to check out my swatch and review of Sally Hansen Without A Stitch that's coming soon! My review of the makeup sponges will come once I have a clear idea of how they are.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby, Color Club Platinum Record + Jelly Sandwich

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

Ruby Ruby is a red crelly (jelly-creme hybrid) that is opaque in 2 coats. True to the crelly finish, it applied BEAUTIFULLY and dried extremely shiny. Though the first coat showed the nail line (which jellies tend to do), the second coat completely covered it up just like a creme. Dry time was good as well. Unfortunately, my camera did not capture Ruby Ruby well. It is not as virbrant/orange in real life; it is a true, classic red. Ruby Ruby was so magnificent that it made me wonder what I really had against reds (...it's actually because I think of "sexy" when I think of red polishes and, thus, tend to stay away from them). Bottom line: I highly recommend this polish!

Note: I generally don't fair well with Sinful Colors. They're either hits or misses. Some other Sinful Colors polishes that I own have really bad formula. But this one is just awesome. I'm starstruck.

Color Club Platinum Record

Platinum Record consists of large, medium, and fine hexagonal glitter in a clear base. Here, it is shown with 1 coat over two coats of Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby, which is swatched above. I thought I was going to have a terrible time applying Platinum Record because of the reviews I've read. However, it was pretty easy to apply! It went on with minimal effort; no dabbing and placing of glitters necessary. (I can't wait to try the other glitters from the Color Club Backstage Pass Collection now!) Dry time was also good.

(Sorry for the blurry picture. My camera was running out of battery. :( )

Jelly Sandwich with Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby and Color Club Platinum Record

I decided to just go for it and try my first jelly sandwich! I was afraid that Ruby Ruby might be too opaque, but it was actually just right! I used 2 coats of Ruby Ruby for the base color, 1 coat of  Platinum Record, and then 1 coat of Ruby Ruby over Platinum Record. Not much else to say; just stare at it's beauty! Mmmhmm.

(This picture is more color accurate in showing Ruby Ruby, though I do think it's a teensy bit redder in real life.)

Have you guys ever tried a jelly sandwich before? How did it turn out?

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Love & Beauty Green (Glitter)

Love & Beauty Green

Green is made of large, small, and fine hexagonal glitter in a clear base. Here it is shown with 1 coat over two coats of Love & Beauty Green (creme), which I swatched before here. I don't think it'll ever reach opacity on its own so it's best as a top coat. I found Green (glitter) was a bit hard to apply in that you need to dab the large hexagonal glitters onto your nails and, in the process, swamp them with the clear base. Because of that, Green takes a while to dry. I think the wait was worth it though as it's VERY pretty in real life. 

I'm getting into glitter polishes now~ I wasn't really before because of the difficulty with removing them, but I've since found a way remove them painlessly! What I do is a "variation" of the foil method: I don't use foil, but I do leave cotton balls (that are wet enough with nail polish remover so that the cotton balls stay in place) on my nails for around 30 seconds and then slowly, while rubbing them across the surface of my nails, remove them. However, I haven't tried this technique with glitter-packed polishes or foils...yet. ;)

And since I'm just getting into glitter polishes... Are there any that you guys think should be in everyone's collection? Please let me know! :)

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sally Girl Pink It Up

Sally Girl Pink It Up

Pink It Up is a coral pink crelly, is opaque in 2 coats, and dried to a very shiny finish. The first coat was sheer, but the color and opacity built up with the second coat. The formula was good on this one and leveled out sort of well, but it's still noticeable if you look closely at my ring finger. Dry time was average.

Pink It Up was bright (but not enough to qualify it as a neon), which freaked out my camera. It is definitely not as orangey as shown in the first two pictures. The color is shown most accurately in the bottle in the last picture.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sally Girl TTFN

Sally Girl TTFN

TTFN is a dusty mint-sage creme with blue undertones and is opaque in 2 coats. The formula was a little thick, which can give you cuticle drag if you don't let each coat dry, but was easy to work with. It does not level well, though, as you guys can clearly see on my pinky. Dry time was a bit slow because of the somewhat thick formula. TTFN dried with a nice gloss.

*For the record, TTFN was a little separated at the top of the bottle, meaning it was a bit old when I received it.

I'm sure you guys are wondering if the bottle is really as small as shown. It really is! To give you guys a clearer picture of the size, here it is next to Essence You Belong To Me:

Essence polish bottles are 0.16 fl.oz/5 mL while Sally Girl bottles are 0.18 fl. oz/5.3 mL. I find this very interesting because it looks like Essence has more product inside their bottles than Sally Girl does, probably due to the bottle size and shape. Both also cost $0.99.

TTFN is my first Sally Girl polish. What do you guys think of Sally Girl?

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Sally Beauty Haul + Rescue Beauty Lounge Lemming

My Sally Beauty Haul

Face Secret Cosmetic Wedges with Vitamin E - They feel very soft and squishy, but definitely have structure to them. Can't wait to try them out for gradients, galaxy nails, and etc.! :D

Select-A-Style Wheel (Fruit Fimo) - This thing is so hard to spin! It gets stuck on certain areas of the wheel. Bleh! Already, I can see that some slices are not cut very well and missing some pieces.

Finger Paints Late Night Rendez-vous - A shimmery blue that appears to flash green and gold.

Sally Girl TTFN - A dusty mint-sage that is blue-toned.

Sally Girl Pink It Up - A pink coral.

*In-depth reviews of the cosmetic wedges and fruit fimos will come once I have a good idea of how they work.

I am honestly very disappointed with Sally Beauty Online. I ordered from the site believing I will be satisfied and because I don't have a Sally Beauty store even remotely near me. However... After two days of ordering, I was curious as to why I didn't receive an e-mail that my order had process and shipped. (Why only a couple of days? It's because that's how long it takes for my orders from other sites to process and ship.) On the third day or so, I received an e-mail saying my order was delayed. Alright, fine. At least they got my order and finally notified me. I got another e-mail a day later showing what and the quantity of what I purchased and notifying me that my order finally shipped. It wasn't until I received my package yesterday that I knew why my order was probably delayed: one of the polishes I ordered, Finger Paints Movie in the Park, was out of stock and Sally Beauty was probably scrambling to update the inventory. But what my real problem with Sally Beauty Online is this: my second e-mail did not say anything OUTRIGHT that the polish was out of stock and that I was getting my money back. Instead, they listed the polish as still on my order, but with quantity: 0 and total: $0.00. Granted, I was not carefully looking at the e-mail, but I did see the polish was still listed. I really think Sally Beauty should have e-mailed me in a separate e-mail (or, at the very least, in the same e-mail and before stating that my order was shipped) that it could not send me the polish because it was out of stock and that I would be refunded, instead of just implying it. 

This problem also occurred when I ordered a haul from ULTA online. However, they e-mailed me actually saying that Nicole by OPI Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam (which I got the next time I ordered from ULTA) was out of stock, how they didn't have a backorder process at the time, and that I would not be charged for any missing items/pending holds. ULTA was very honest and up-front about it, which Sally Beauty was not at all. Bottom line is that I will probably not order from Sally Beauty online again (also because of the quality of some of the products). I will be sticking to ULTA online.

On a much happier note... My lemming for Rescue Beauty Lounge Jane has finally been FULFILLED!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Jane

Love the packaging and how Ji Baek (the owner and creator of the lovely, awesome, magnificent, etc. RBL polishes) put it as first-class mail! (No wonder shipping was more expensive than I was used to!) I can not wait to wear this gem!

If you want any RBL polishes from the Real Housewives of Tudor Dynasty collection, they are still online (brought back by the Vintage Bring-It-Back system). Anne, whose beginnings were from that collection, appears to be a part of RBL's core collection, but I'm not sure. However, even core collection polishes can be sold out. Act fast!

Well, that's that! I hope everyone has a good weekend!

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Confetti My Favorite Martian

Confetti My Favorite Martian

My Favorite Martian is a green-yellow glass fleck and is opaque in 3 coats, with the first coat sheer. The formula was a little runny, but not as much as Moonstruck. I didn't have a hard time applying either polish. Dry time was pretty good. 

Much like Moonstruck, I can't believe I waited so long to try My Favorite Martian out! Jeez, what is wrong with me? Granted, I was afraid the yellow tones would clash with my skin tone, but it doesn't. It's so pretty up close.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Confetti Moonstruck

Confetti Moonstruck

Moonstruck is a taupe creme that leans purple and is opaque in 2 coats. The formula was a bit too watery for my tastes, but the dry time was pretty good. It dries very shiny; I love it when polishes do that! 

I've been meaning to try Moonstruck  for a while now (read: for 2 years now), but another polish would always catch my eye. Such a shame because Moonstruck reminds me why I love cremes so much. Especially ones that dry very shiny! 

Confetti polishes, from what I know, are only sold at CVS.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Orly Space Cadet

Orly Space Cadet

First of all, I need to get this out of the way.

Do you see that gorgeous color shift?! I'm warning you, if you continue reading this post, you will go out of your way to find this stunner! You have been warned!

Actually, for some suspense, I'm going to post the rest of the pictures after my review! ;)

Space Cadet is a multichrome and is opaque in 3 coats. It flashes rose-pink, orange, yellow, golden green, pink-purple... I'm actually not sure. It flashes so readily that I don't even know how many or what colors there are. One thing is for sure is that the teal base peeks through. Anyways, the formula was great! It applied SO well! The polish was packed with pigments too! As always with Orly, the brush handle was very nice to use and rested comfortably between my fingers. Dry time was quicker than average.

...YOU NEED THIS POLISH. YOU NEED IT. End of story.

Now here's the rest of the pictures, which shows the beautiful color-shift. Have you guys died of suspense yet? :

In the shade:

Bottle shot! :

I believe a part of myself just died and went to nail polish heaven. R.I.P.

Anyways, I wanted to swatch this beauty for you guys because I have some pretty sad news. I got in organic chemistry lecture and lab this summer. It lasts 10 weeks and covers one whole year of ochem. I'll be much too stressed and busy to post often. :( Posts will, hopefully, be here and there until the class ends. ...At least you get to see this treasure before I'm on temporary leave, right? 

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M