Birthday Manicure

Tags

birthday, glitter, manicure, Milani, nail polish, Revlon, Sinful Colors

I came up with this fun little manicure for my birthday and it’s absolutely one of my favorites of the last few months. It came together so nicely!

Supplies Used:

• Sinful Colors’ Cinderella – this color has been hyped on a lot of nail polish blogs and I do have to say it’s lovely. It took a few coats, but it’s so pretty in the sun.
• Revlon’s Gold Coin – this is my favorite metallic currently. In fact, I have it on my nails now as an accent to Essie’s Fear or Desire (which I got for free as a Klout perk!) and it’s a pretty fab combo.
• Milani Jewel FX in Gems – this is another new-to-me cruelty free drug store brand that I bought on impulse and I was very happy with the results! A fun multi-color glitter.

Outfit Post: Cool Spring Day

Tags

China Glaze, Etsy, Forever 21, Lip Butters, manicure, outfit post, Sinful Colors

Last week I went by a few shops to pick up a couple things for spring. This top was one of my favorite finds! The shape is my new favorite and the print on this one’s super cute. As tends to happen in spring in Southern California, the weather goes back and forth pretty quickly between super hot and fairly chilly. The past couple of days have been on the chilly side, so this outfit was perfect.

Sunday Funday: Mermaid Manicure

Tags

Color Club, cruelty free, cruelty free products, manicure, mermaid, nail polish, Sinful Colors, Sunday Funday

So I realize I’ve been writing quite a bit about nail polish lately, but it’s just so fun! Case in point: this gorgeous color from Color Club. I spotted it at Rite Aid and figured I’d give it a try. Imagine my surprise when it was better than I ever could’ve imagined and may just be the nail polish I’ve been looking for my entire life without realizing it.

To give this manicure even more oomph, I decided to accent my ring fingers with the practically corresponding glitter color that I also picked up, Sinful Colors’ Nail Junkie:

So fun, right? These two look like they were made for each other and when I got a good look at that shimmer, I couldn’t help but think of mermaids.

I tried to get a couple good shots of the finished product, but it’s honestly tough to capture in a photo just how shimmery and fantastic this is! Plus for $7 total for the two polishes, it’s loads cheaper than going out and getting a professional manicure. Winner! Also great? Color Club is not only cruelty free, but vegan as well and Sinful Colors is also a cruelty free brand. Guilt free & gorgeous. <3

Treat Yo’ Self: Nail Polish Haul

Tags

cruelty free, cruelty free products, Essie, manicure, nail polish, Sinful Colors, treat yo self

It’s no secret that I’m a nail polish fan. After all, the above is currently sitting on my bathroom counter and there are plenty more bottles tucked away in a drawer. I’ve been an avid Essie fan for quite some time, but a couple things have given me pause lately: 1. the price tag. $8 a pop adds up quickly. 2. I recently read that Essie’s been bought by L’Oreal (which I suppose explains why they’re suddenly everywhere), which breaks my heart because L’Oreal is a company that still does animal testing.

While the products in the Essie line aren’t tested on animals, it comes down to the ethical dilemma of supporting a parent company that does. It’s eternally difficult for me to decide whether supporting a company’s animal and eco-friendly brand sends a message that the consumer wants more of those standards or if it’s just further supporting bad practices. It’s a tough decision.

Enter Sinful Colors! At $2 a pop, 3-Free (aka Toluene, formaldehyde & DBP free), and cruelty-free, I may have a new favorite on my hands. I picked up (from left to right) Rise & Shine, 24/7, Dream On, Thimbleberry, and Let’s Talk. Yes, I also picked up Essie’s Shine of the Times – I’ve been lusting over it for months and haven’t been able to find a good dupe.

So far, I’ve tried two of the colors and I’m pretty darn happy with them! They’re true to the color in the bottle and while they dry a bit matte, I always use a top coat anyway, which shines it right up. Overall, I’d say you are absolutely getting more than your $2 worth for that little bottle.

I currently have Rise & Shine on my fingers with some little freestyle flowers. Such a fun spring combination and I love this green! Plus I got great coverage with only two coats, something I can’t say for a lot of Essie’s polishes.

This is the combination I currently have on my toes. Dream On is hard to capture in a photo – it’s much richer than this would indicate, almost a neon fuchsia. These two together are pretty ridiculous and I absolutely love it.

I’m glad to have found another brand that fits my ethical standards as well as my aesthetic ones! I may be switching my loyalties to Sinful Colors and China Glaze (another cruelty free brand). It just gives me more fun colors to discover!

Tutorial: Craft Scissors Manicure

Tags

Essie, how to, manicure, peach daiquiri, red-y set ex, tart deco, tutorial

The other day I gave myself a seriously fun manicure, so I figured I’d share how to do it here! To be perfectly honest: yes, this one is kind of a pain in the butt. It certainly takes some patience. But I think the results are cute enough that it’s worth it!

You’ll need:

• 3 polish colors of your choice: I went with Essie’s Tart Deco, Peach Daiquiri, & Red-Y Set Ex
• Your base coat and top coat: I use Essie’s Rock Solid and Good To Go
• Scotch Tape
• Craft scissors in the pattern of your choice
• The beer is optional