My Birthday Mani!

I wanted to wear something fun on my nails for my birthday and I came up with this.  I color blocked Essie's "Orange, It's Obvious!" and China Glaze's "Wicked Style".  I really like the way these two look together and it's a festive combination great for the summer!  Here are some more pictures:

 Orange, It's Obvious! is a bright opaque orange.  I got out my Crayola collection and this is exactly the same color as the "Orange Red" color.  It does have a little bit of a red tint to it.  This color is part of Essie's Spring 2012 collection.  It's such a bold color for Essie that it really stood out to me and I gave in and purchased it.  It only took two coats, but it was rather runny leaving me with a good mess in my cuticle beds to clean up.  The nice thing was that it cleaned up easily....

Wicked Style is from China Glaze's Electropop Spring 2012 collection.  It is a bright fuchsia color.  It's gorgeous and something I wouldn't mind wearing on my toes all summer long.  This went on really nice, but it did leave some small bubbles.  The smallest bubbles I've actually ever had with nail polish.


I like the fact that these are really bright bold summer colors, but they aren't quite neons.  It's a small change up from the neon craze, though I'll return to it shortly!  :)

What are some good combo's that you like to color block with?

-polish. impress. repeat.

June 2012 Birchbox!

It's that wonderful time of the month!  No... not that 'time of the month".  Birchbox time!!!  I was excited for this month's box because the theme is "Jet Set".  They wanted to give products that were useful during and for the travel season.  It's perfect because I am actually flying out next week to go visit my brother!  Little does he know that Birchbox even sent me a little something for him!  Lucky guy!  I was really hoping to get the full-sized Stila bronzer, but alas, I didn't.  This box was still amazing and I am super excited to try the products out.  If you don't know what Birchbox is, here is a previous blog post here where it is explained in detail.

Here's a better look through my box:

This is the sample that I'm going to give my brother.  It is John Varvatos's cologne "Star U.S.A.".  They sent it for Father's day as well as to promote Birchbox Man.  I took a picture of the sleeve with the explination.  Birchbox Man is like Birchbox, just with 'manly' products and items.  This month they gave out a watch!  If you know a guy that would be interested or if you're a guy that is interested, it's $20 a month and you can check it out more at Birchbox's website by clicking the link I'll paste at the end of this post.

This is probably my favorite item of the box.  This is Eyeko's Fat Eye Stick.  I have pictures of this swatched  below.  I got this in the color "Old Gold" which is an antique looking gold.  It's gorgeous and long lasting.  I'll add, this was a full-size product (always a plus)!

Birchbox had quite a few different lifestyle extras that I saw in other subscribers' boxes. I got this adorable zip bag by tili.  This will be a fun way to pack all my liquids for when I go through security at the airport next week.  This is quart size, and they sell different sizes.  This has a slider to zip it closed which I like a lot better than the other way.

I am really interested to try these out!  These are Self-Tanning Intensive wipes from Comodynes.  These wipes give you a tan that forms to your skin.  You can build up the color or just use it to get a nice glow.  It takes about 3 hours to fully develop the color.  Neatooo.  Tan without having to use UV rays.  :)

All the Birchbox subscribers were so excited to try Staniac by theBalm cosmetics.  I think everyone got this in their Birchbox.  I like using stains on my lips, but not a huge fan of using them on my cheeks.  We'll see how I like this.  Below I included a  picture of what it looks like swatched and blended out.

I have been a huge fan of the skincare products that Birchbox has worked with.  I'm sure this one will be just as great as the others.  This is the Facial Moisturizer + Sun Protectant SPF (Normal to Oily) by Likewise.  I love a good moisturizer and even better that this has 50+ spf!  WOW!  It is anti-aging and water resistant too.

The total value of my box was $27.65.  If you are interested in signing up for Birchbox, please use my referral link here:  https://www.birchbox.com?raf=gafkf 
What do you guys think about this month's box?  If you get Birchbox, tell me what you got in your box this month!

-polish. impress. repeat.

Essie - Mojito Madness

I had seen way too many great things about this nail polish for me to go without it!  This is Essie's Mojito Madness.  It is a creamy kelly green color.  I've heard many people refer to it as a 'Starbuck's green', while I think it is still a tad lighter than the Starbuck's green.  This is such a great vibrant color and I think it will be one of the number one polishes of the summer for nail polish junkies like myself.  The formulation was fine.  It was a little patchy and sheer with the first coat, but it all evened out with a second coat.  Look at how fun this color is!!!!!!

Are you planning on jumping on the bandwagon and getting Mojito Madness?

-polish. impress. repeat.

Update on Nails Inc. Baker Street.

I cannot rave about this polish enough!!!  My last post was on Nails Inc. Baker Street.  I had been wearing it for a full week before I took it off today, and it looks like I had just painted my nails yesterday!  The wear time of this polish is unlike any other I've seen before.  It is definitely worth the price!  Here's what my nails looked like after a full week:

There is a little bit of wear at the tips and it isn't as shiny as when I first painted them, but a WHOLE week and they look like this!  I'm impressed.

The only reason I didn't repaint with this color is because I had to try out Essie's Mojito Madness which I'll do a post on next. 

What color(s) from Nails Inc. should I try next?

-polish. impress. repeat.

Nails Inc - Baker Street

Ooooooh my GORGEOUS!  I cannot rave about this polish enough.  This is by far the most stunning polish I have ever seen.  I was at Sephora the other day and this little guy caught my eye.  Baker Street by Nails Inc. is $9.50 and well worth every cent.  Another incentive to the polish besides the amazing color is the name.  For those who know me personally, you know why....  ;)

These pictures don't pick up the stunning color very well, but this is a true royal blue.  It's almost blinding it's so bright, though I would not categorize it as a neon.  The bottle even mentions that this is a "trend shade" and it really is.  I've been using Ulta's Blue Streak up until now when I've wanted a bright blue, but I'll be using this one from now on.  Additionally the application was great; this is two coats.

If you are looking for a fun bright color to wear on your nails this summer, I cannot suggest this one enough.  I've found my new staple summer color, that's for sure.

-polish. impress. repeat.

Spring 2012 Beauty VoxBox

I'm very excited for today's post!  The kind folks over at Influenster sent me the Spring Beauty VoxBox complimentary to try out some new products to review and share with you all.  When I got the box in the mail, I couldn't wait to open it and see what goodies were inside.  Here's what I got to try out:

 

The Sheer Cover Duo Concealer is first on the list.  I like that it is duo mainly because the medium is too light for my skin tone, but the tan is too dark.  Blended together, it gives the perfect coverage.  I don't use much concealer, so this will probably last me a long time.  It says on the card that they are sold in one month supply kits.  If this is one month, I'll be set for a while!  Overall, it is nice a creamy and it stays put well.

This is the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing body wash, and it is a GREAT sized sample of the product.  .  I'll really get a feel for how I like it.  I love Aveeno's products so I'm sure I'll love this too.  So far, it has left my skin feeling soft and clean.  It has a fresh scent that would suit men or women.

This is one of the products I was most excited for!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE anything that moisturizes lips and this one from ChapStick is great for the summer because it has 50+ spf (amazing right!?) and it is also great for the winter time too!  I've been using this all week and I really like it!  It makes my lips soft and it has just a hint of lemon scent to it.

In my opinion these Sally Hansen Salon effects nail polish strips made the box amazing!  I've always wanted to try these being the nail polish addict that I am.  They are so expensive though!  Thanks to Vox Box I get to try these out!  They stay put on for about a week and half to two weeks!  I really like the pattern, I just don't know if it is a pattern I would typically wear during the summer, but who cares, it's something fun and new to try!

Vox Box included a FULL SIZE body spray from Bath and Body works!  I really enjoy a lot of scents from Bath and Body Works and I have my fair share of body sprays and lotions.  I was dissapointed to get Moonlight Path because I'm not a big fan of how it smells.  It's too 'old lady-ish' for me.  But I was stoked to see this product in my box nonetheless.

SOYJOY!  I had gotten a sample of the banana SoyJoy bar a couple months ago, and I really enjoyed it, so I was excited to try another flavor!  These snack bars are made of real fruit and soy.  The texture and taste reminds me a lot of a Fig Newton.  These are soooo delicious!

Last but not least, these Dr. Scholls for her Ball of Foot pads were included as well!  I don't know why they weren't put on the card though.  I am always looking for ways to make my shoes more comfortable and these are the perfect solution.  They are gel-like and very comfortable.  It give some nice support and padding to help alleviate uncomfortable pressure.  These are much appreciated.

The products in this box were so fun to try out and review!  I really enjoyed it and I hope that I get to partake in future VoxBox's and see what other fun things they send out.  There wasn't one item in this Spring box that I didn't love.

-polish. impress. repeat.