July Julep: California Coast Edition

This is my very first post at my new desk! So exciting! 

Today I have a review of my Julep July box: The California Coast Collection, 

brought to you by this East Coast girl. 

I usually skip my Julep box every month, because honestly, I find that the swatches they post online are...just a little misleading and the colors don't always strike me as particularly unique (to my extensive collection). However, what spurred the purchase this month, was the Beach Tonic. 

WIN.

I love it.

It smells SO good, leaves my skin soft and it isn't greasy at all. 

Good thing we got a full size bottle, because at $23.00 I will definitely not be purchasing it. 

I'm cheap. Maybe I will ask for it for Christmas.

Boots No7 and Organix both have a Dry Body oil for less than $10.

On to the polish!

I went with the Boho Glam collection.

First up is Faye, which ended out being my favorite of the bunch.

Faye is described as a liquid bronze shimmer. It went on perfectly in 2 coats, no top coat shown here. There was sort of a military green/mossy undertone to it, but I just loved this color. I think it is going to be awesome in the Fall, but somehow, it is so totally summer too. I don't have any color like this.

There is the military green undertone.

In direct sunlight. 

Next up is Karen.

Karen is described as a Peach Bellini frost. I wanted to like this one, but I don't think it went that great with my skin tone. This is 2 coats, no top coat.

It is a peachy shade, but I think my skin brings out some weird yellow/tangerine undertones that aren't my favorite. Application was flawless, and the frost was quite nice.

I ended out adding on Fireworks to my box this month, because after all, I do live in RI and we love the 4th of July.

I swatched Fireworks over (L-R), OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Essie Avenue Maintain, Layla 6123 and Zoya Carmen.

I think Fireworks looked the best over Layla! The glitter did lay flat on the nail, despite reflective curling you see.

Overall, I am happy with this months box, even though Karen was a dud for me.

Did you get your box? What did you think of the Beach Tonic? Any recommendations for another brand of Dry Body Oil?

Tips on Tuesday: Business Basics Formal Wear

Wah! So the absence of posts this week is due to me working the CVS Charity Classic. I was a superstar handing out free samples of stuff to everyone who came to watch the pros play! Unfortunately, the tearing and ripping open of boxes has taken a toll on my poor cuticles and well....they look like they used to look when I was a nail biter. 

I also went to the RI Charity Gala this week, and as such, needed a nice neutral polish for the formal occasion.

I choose OPI Melon of Troy. This was one of my very first OPI polishes and is almost half gone I've used it so much!

Melon of Troy is a light peachy with a nice subtle sheen. I guess this is kind of an "old lady" color if you know what I mean. But, for such a formal work event, I wanted an appropriate color.

The first coat was a little streaky, but it leveled nicely with a second coat.

Train played at the Gala, and they were so great live! All of their old music is really good, so overall it was a fun event and we raised a ton of money for local Rhode Island charities.

This is a continuation of my Business Basics Series.

You can find my post on nude polishes HERE and Zoya Godiva HERE.

Happy Tuesday!

Stop at the Sign of the Lemon

I live in Rhode Island. And if there is anything you know about us, we have the biggest and oldest 4th of July celebration in the whole country. 

We talk wicked weird, drink coffee milk and cabinets (yes, I said cabinets), 

and on hot summer days we go to Del's. 

To me, Del's is summer.

Del's opens on April 1st, unless it is too cold or raining. From then on, there will be a line into the street on most hot days for some frozen Del's lemonade. 

My favorite flavor is lemon and it even had real lemon bits in it. Every year they come out with a new flavor and a couple years back I fell in love with Peach- Mango. I usually get a cup of both now! They also have Watermelon, Cherry, Blueberry and this year they have Guava Grapefruit!

For this mani I used OPI Jade is the New Black.

The yellow is Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow.

And for the white I used CG in White Out.

I used striping tape for my ring finger to get the lines on there and a small nail art brush for my pointer finger. On my thumb, I started with a base of Mellow Yellow and dabbed on JITNB using the plastic wrap method.

I love Del's and I don't think I can ever get enough of it. It is always a sad day at the end of the summer when the shop gets boarded up and it says "See you Next April"!

But for now, 

Happy Summer Solstice and cheers to SUMMER!

**I have a "Caption This" Contest going on on my Facebook page! Make sure to head over and enter your caption to get a chance to win a prize pack from me!**

What summer treats are exclusive to your state or country? I want to know! Tell me in the comments!

Tips on Tuesday: French Tips Tutorial

Everytime I am running late on a post, I feel like I need to give an excuse for some reason. But the truth is, I am totally sitting here eating a Swiss Roll and reading some of my fellow bloggers posts...nomnomnom....

Anyway, today I have a Tutorial on super easy peasy French tips. I like to 'test' my tutorials on my nail art novice friends -- and this has definitely passed and I swear, anyone can do it! 

French Tips are my go-to for any fancy or formal occasion. They are so classy and are perfect for where ever I am going, no matter the season. I have a method to doing French Tips and here it is!

First off, you will need 10 round Band-Aids, like the picture, and any polish of your choice.

Start with a clean, bare nail. You can totally use a base coat if you want. I did in this photo. However, if you use a base coat, make sure you wait until it is totally dry to stick on the band aid!

I like to stick the band aid to the palm of my hand first a couple of times so it isn't so sticky. Then I placed it away from the tip of my nail leaving as much nail as I want peeking out! I like to turn my hand around and look at it from a couple of different angles to make sure I have the line even. If not, I just move the band aid around until I am happy! Make sure it is sticking firmly to your nail by pressing it down.

Paint the tip with any polish you want. I chose a basic white by China Glaze. I like to use one thick coat so it is opaque the first time.

After painting the tip, slowly peel off the band aid starting in one of the corners. I like to stick the band aids on all of my fingers on one hand and then paint on nail at a time, peeling off the band aids as I go along.

Edit: A reader told me you can cut the band-aids in half to get more use out of them! Good idea!

So easy! No free handing or trying to have a steady hand at all!

Look easy? Will you try your own French mani?

Happy Tuesday!

Crazy for Coupons! June 16th- June 22nd

A little late on this post today. If you follow me on Facebook then you know what a mess my polish stash is. Well, I have been working on rectifying that situation in the form of a nice wooden desk. Which came unfinished, being finished by me. I was carefully staining it tonight!

Lets get to couponing!

CVS

Loreal is Spend $12 get $4 in ExtraBucks

Covergirl is spend $10 get $3 in Extrabucks

Milani Cosmetics is Buy One Get One 50% off (BOGO50)

Salma Hayek Products are 25% off

Revlon Nail Polish is 2/$10 and get $4 Extrabucks

Revlon Cosmetics is also Spend $10 get $4 Extrabucks

Suave Lotions are 2/$5.97

Walgreens

Revlon, Covergirl, Wet n Wild Fergie and Loreal is BOGO50

RiteAid

Loreal, Maybelline, Revlon, Wet n Wild Shine or Fergie and Covergirl is BOGO50

Spend $30 on Polish, tools or products and get $10 in +UP rewards

Any good deals or polishes you are going to snag with this weeks sales?

Summer Sprinkles

I am back with another fantastic polish by Ashley at Spellbound Nails! If you missed my watermelon mani using Watermelon Seeds and Jaded for Green, you can check it out here!

Today I have Pishsalver for you from her Alice and Wonderland Collection. 

Lets jump down the rabbit hole, shall we?

I don't really have much to say about this polish besides it is AMAZING and you need it. 

I am so in love with the mani I created using this I wished it would stay on my nails 

for-absolutely-ever.

This is definitely one of my polishes I would snatch out of your hands and shriek "That's Mine!" and totally not share. Sorry :)

Pishsalver is a glitter topper packed with all white matte hex glitters of various sizes in a clear base. I did no fishing and all my nails show one to two swipes of glitter.

There seem to be some translucent white hexes in there too. I wanted to try applying the glitter on an angle and it turned out to be such a neat way to use it! You can get this look too by following my Tips on Tuesday Tape Mani Tutorial HERE. Just substitute the second color with a glitter topper instead!

I am in love with the cute speckled look Pishsalver gives this mani! I used it over Color Club Mrs. Robinson with a SH base coat and 1 coat of NYC topcoat to smooth it out.

Each bottle comes with a little "Drink Me" tag. While a little hazardous, it is a fun touch! 

(NOT for drinking just for painting!) :)

I used China Glaze in my mystery white shade (one day I will go to Sallys and find out which one this is) and 2 Kiss Nail art Striping polishes (in pink and turquoise) and a purple Art Club striper for the fancy design on my accent nail that took me too long and too many tries.

I just love this. I am already fantasizing about how I can use this glitter again for 4th of July and Halloween and Winter snowflakes and Christmas Sugarplums and New Years...

Ashley should be restocking her shop any day now and I assure you I will be running there when she does. I need Carnival Lights!

You can find Spellbound Nails on facebook HERE and on Etsy HERE.

She is posting new shades this restock and has shown some sneak previews on facebook already! Keep your eyes peeled.

Her polishes are $8 for a full size and she also offers a variety of mini sample packs from $4.50 (for 1) to $22.50 (for 5). 

All of Ashley's polishes are 3 free and cruelty free.

What do you think?! Will you try wearing glitter this way?

Essie Naughty Nautical Collection Nail Art & Review

I figured the Essie Nautical Collection has been swatched to death at this point, so I picked up the 2 colors that reminded me the most of Summer for some nail art. 

And of Margaritas. And Limes. 

Did I already say Margaritas?

I picked up Sunday Funday, the coral, salmony pink shade of the bunch. This one is a tad more orange than it appears in the bottle, but it is so nice! There is a subtle shimmer to it, that didn't seem to translate well onto the nails and I just couldn't capture it.

Surprisingly, Sunday Funday went on opaque in 2 coats, shown here with 1 coat of NYC topcoat.

I used The More the Merrier, the only polish in the collection without a shimmer. This one I would probably describe as Shrek Green or maybe puke green. But, as a reader pointed out on my facebook page, this color is Chartreuse. I thought that was just a drink...

But it is, indeed, a color.

And quite a nice color for nail art Limes, I might say! I used The More the Merrier to create little limes on my pointer and ring finger and I used a dotting tool for the dots. Using a white Art Club striping polish, I added the finishing touches to my limes.

Told yah I would have more fruity nail art!

If you missed my summer Watermelon Nail Art -- Go Check it out HERE!

I am sort of wishing for the teal in this collection but I am pretty happy with these two!

What do you think? Did you scoop up any of the polished in this collection?

Tips on Tuesday: NEONS Over White?

I think Tips on Tuesday might be one of my favorite days of the week! :)

The Essie Summer Neon 2013 collection was the inspiration for today's post. On their display they are also featuring a white polish. I was wondering: 

Should Neons be layered over a white polish for the extra POP of color or does it even matter? 

I pulled some of the neon polishes out that I have in my collection and put them to the test!

I started with China Glaze in White Out? Snow? I think. I actually have NO idea what this white is named since it has lost its sticker on the bottom. Regardless, this is your basic white-out white. I used one generous coat for the base. I wanted to get it as even as possible.

I chose Color Club Feelin' Groovy from the Poptastic collection and Essie's DJ Play That Song from their Summer Neons collection. And there is my mystery white.

I used one coat of white as a base on my pointer finger and my ring finger. I swatched 2 coats of polish alone on my middle and pinky fingers.

DJ Play that song, looks slightly brighter and more opaque over white (Pointer finger) than it does alone (middle finger). I don't think this is too much of a difference, but if I really wanted to brighten it up, I would definitely wear it over a coat of white. Feelin' Groovy is obviously much more amazingly neon over white. The white really made this color POP! 2 coats of it alone on my pinky, doesn't even do this neon green justice!

I then tried Zoya Ali and Wet n' Wild Pin Em' Slater over white and alone.

Zoya Ali is shown 2 coats over white on my pointer finger and alone on my middle finger. Like DJ, this one doesn't show the biggest different over white and alone, but you can see that it does appear just a bit more opaque.

POP! 

Pin Em' Slater shows such a difference over white! This yellow is so blah on my pinky alone, but 2 coats over white and it really is a bright, highlighter yellow.

Overall, I probably would wear DJ Play that Song and Zoya Ali alone if I didn't feel like waiting the extra dry time, but I definitely will not be passing on the white when it comes to neon yellows and greens.

What do you think? Do you use a white base before Neons for the extra pop of color?

Crazy for Coupons: June 9th thru June 15th

Have you noticed I am a little crazy for coupons?! 

Don't forget this coming Sunday is Father's Day. 

(I try hard NOT to forget these things, but I usually do!)

Lets jump right into this weeks coupons, shall we?

CVS

Rimmel and Maybelline are Buy One Get One 50% off (BOGO50%).

When you spend $10 on any Revlon Cosmetics or Beauty tools get $4 in Extra Bucks

Save $2 on an Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail polish or the Complete Salon Manicure

Walgreens

Loreal is BOGO50% 

Buy 2 get 1 Free Wet n' Wild Megalast or Fast Dry nail color

Carmex Lip Care if 3/$3 (Their chapstick is awesome!)

RiteAid

Maybelline, Revlon ColorStay and Covergirl Cosmetics are BOGO50%

Ulta (June 9th- June 29th)

Sally Hansen, Elegant Touch, Rimmel, and Loreal are BOGO50% (the ad shows the new SH Fuzzy Coats and Sugar Coats!)

Revlon Brilliant Strength polishes are $5.99 (regularly $7.99)

OPI polishes are 2/$15. -- Such a good deal! The deal even includes the Designer Series that are regularly $12.50!)

Ulta nail polishes are either 2 for $6 (Salon Polish) or 2 for $10 (Professional Polish)

If you spend $15 on Select brands of Sunscreen, you get a free Ulta Towel!

I am in the market for some Sunscreen, so I will probably be heading to Ulta for my free towel!

Any sales tickling your fancy?

A Little Sunday Shimmer

Hi all! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I got a bit of a sunburn but other than that it was quite enjoyable.

I have been searching high and low for Sinful Colors Island Coral for awhile now and I finally found it! I snagged the very last one off of a display I saw inside Walmart a couple of weeks ago.

I saw Island Coral on my friend and I just had to have it!

It looks quite flesh toned in these photos, but it is more pink in real life. It happens to be just the right amount of pink and coral for my taste. Since I purchased this polish, I have worn it on at least 3 separate occasions. :Gasp: that hardly happens!

I have been wanting to try a glitter gradient. I practiced A LOT on my swatch wheels before I tried it here. I think it came out alright but I want to practice more on my right hand...

I used Sally Hansen's Gem Crush in Big Money and putting a glob on my tips, I gently/lightly spread it towards my cuticles to create a gradient of sorts. I like how Big Money has larger hex glitters in pink in there.

This is one of my only Sinful Colors, but definitely won't be my last! I loved the formula and couldn't believe how smoothly it went on. I hope they are all like this!

Sinful Colors retail for $1.99 at Walgreens, RiteAid, Walmart and Target.

Do you have any Sinful Colors Polishes? Do you have any tips for glitter gradients?

Indie Review: Spellbound Nails & Nail Art

I wasn't going to post this until later this week but I got too excited and posted a spoiler to Spellbound Nails facebook page :D

Just recently I ordered 3 polishes from Ashley and today I have 2 of them to show you.

On the left is Jaded for Green and on the right is Watermelon Seeds. 

I had a very specific mani in mind when I ordered these 2 together!

Watermelon nails!

I started with a SH Basecoat and used 2 coats of Watermelon Seeds and 1 coat of NYC topcoat. Watermelon Seeds is a cool bubble gummy pink filled with tiny black matte glitters. It is a tad lighter than the photos show.

There was absolutely no need to fish for any 'seeds' and it went on so smooth!

Here is a close up! Check out those cute seeds!

For the watermelon rinds and my thumb, I freehanded french tips using Jaded for Green. JFG is a beautiful emerald holographic green. This one also went on smoothly.

It was a bit cloudy today but I tried to capture as much of the holo as I could! It is much nicer and has more holo goodness in person.

Dry time on both of these polishes was amazing, as was application. 1 coat of NYC topcoat completely smoothed out any bumpy seeds. I absolutely adore both of these and they are so perfect for summer!

I know, I know, you need these...

Ashley will be restocking Watermelon Seeds within the next week or so and Jaded for Green will also be back in stock as soon as possible!

Like her on Facebook to get the latest on when the restock will be HERE.

You don't want to miss it!

And check out her Etsy shop HERE.

(My next purchase will be including Fuchsia-ristic, Do the Polka Dot and Carnival Lights!)

Her polishes are $8 for a full size and she also offers a variety of mini sample packs from $4.50 (for 1) to $22.50 (for 5).

Do you like to rock favorite summer treats on your nails?

I do! And you'll be seeing some more coming up in the next couple of weeks!