My first attempt at ombre nails

I did this last weekend and only took two pictures before I had to leave with my family for something.  Super bummed I forgot to take more pictures.  I have always wanted to try the ombre effect and finally gave it a go with China Glaze's Refresh-Mint and Zoya's Jules.  I like the antiqued look it has.  I used a sponge eyeshadow applicator to get the effect.  I'll try some more of this.  I'm kind of curious to use three colors.  Daring, I know.

What colors have you used that look good with an ombre effect?  What technique do you use (sponge)?

-polish. impress. repeat.

January 2013 Birchbox

Well, I'm super disappointed with this month's box.  I guess this one out-weighs some of the awesome boxes I've gotten from Birchbox in the past.  You can't win them all I guess...

This month's theme was about having a great start to the new year and making this year 'awesome'.  Ironically, this box was not a good start to the year.

Here's what I got:

This was the only really awesome thing in the box.  This is nail polish by Alessandro in the shade Blue Lagoon  I'm not sure if I like this color, but I've really liked quite a few blue colors this year, so I'm hoping this is another good one.  I've never heard of this brand before, but that's the beauty of Birchbox, discovering new brands and products.

I've only found about three perfumes that I've actually liked from the 20 or so perfume samples I've gotten from Birchbox over the years.  This one, Skinny Chic by Harvey Prince is actually okay.  I'll use the sample, but I don't think I'm going to go out and get the full sized bottle.  It does have a spray top which is a plus.

This is Instant Restorative Hair Serum by Ojon.  "Instant" huh?  We'll have to see.  I've gotten two hair serums in previous Birchboxes that I've loved!  One by Orofluido and the other my Amika.  They both worked wonders and smelled delicious.  This one is in a little tiny vile and doesn't smell that great.  Not impressed by those, so hopefully the actual product works well.

I've gotten a product from The Balm in my last couple boxes.  This is an eyelid primer.  I just use my Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencils for a primer, so I don't know what I'll do with this.  It's a pretty good sized sample for an eyelid primer.

I got two of these cards with foil packaged samples in them for my 'extra' of the month.  I guess that's nice that these weren't put in as my regular items because that would have been even more disappointing.  This is face cream from Fresh.  I'll probably take these when I have to travel some time.

I'm a huge proponent of Birchbox and am usually happy with my box even if it isn't 'amazing' because I still feel like I'm getting $10 worth of products.  This month is the first month in 2 years of being a subscriber that I feel that this box was worthless.  I know there is a lot of competition out there with beauty sample box subscriptions and this one didn't score any points for Birchbox.  I hope they can step it back up.  :)  I have full confidence that they can.

What other subscription services are you subscribed to?
Did you like your Birchbox this month?

-polish. impress. repeat.

Exclusive Butter London Polish - Two Fingered Salute

Wowza.  I have been hoping I'd get this polish one day.  Nordstrom's was having a buy two get one free sale after Christmas on their Butter London polishes.  If you don't know, Two Fingered Salute is a Nordstrom's exclusive color.  It is GORGEOUS!  It is a dusty robin's egg blue/green with copper glittery flecks.  There are moments when my manicure hits the light at just the right point and I am mesmerized.  This is probably one of my favorite polishes just because it is so incredibly unique.  This is two coats and it is opaque at that point.  It was hard to photograph this polish to get the copper flecks to stand out.  I apologize for some bad pictures, but I was trying really hard to get you all a good idea of what this polish really looks like in person.

What is your favorite 'unique' polish?

-polish. impress. repeat.

Delayed Glitzy NYE Manicure

Here are my nails that I rung in the new year with; better late than never!  I used Color Club's Disco Nap (which I received in one of my Birchboxes).  For an accent nail, I used a few coats of OPI's The Living Daylights.  It was a fun combo.  I wanted something shiny and glitzy, but not too much.  I really liked this combo except for the face that Disco Nap started chipping after a few days.  I haven't had problems with chipping nail polish in the longest time, so that was frustrating.  It really is a gorgeous color though! I love that Disco has little gold flecks in it, and it is like liquid metal.  The Living Daylights is stunning in itself too, so yea....

Let me know what you wore on your nails for New Years Eve!

-polish. impress. repeat.

My Holiday Manicure with Essie's Leading Lady

It has been a month since I last posted on nail polish!  With the holidays, school was chaotic and I didn't have enough time to paint, take pictures, and post.  My nails have been nail polish free for about three weeks.  Even my kiddos at school were asking why my nails weren't painted.  (They know me well!)  Now that I'm on break, I had some time to get back into the swing of all things nail polish.

I recieved Essie's Leading Lady from the Winter 2012 Leading Lady collection in my Winter 2012 Luxe Box this week.  Honestly, out of all the colors, this is the one I wanted least.  I love Where's My Chauffeur and Beyond Cozy, but I won't complain about a full size polish by Essie.  I don't know that I'd wear this any time of the year besides Christmas, but it's fun.

Leading Lady was very runny for a glitter polish.  It applied really nicely.  It dries to a jelly finish with red glitter.  I hated it on the first coat, but after the second coat, it looked much better with the layering of the glitter.  Thank goodness!  I didn't want to do all red, so I did an accent nail with Butter London's West End Wonderland  It is one of my favorite polishes and I thought it would be a nice festive edition to Leading Lady.

I'm really liking this combination for Christmas!  :)  What do you think?

-polish. impress. repeat.

December 2012 Birchbox

Merry Christmas to you too Birchbox!  A great box this month!  Let me show you what was inside this "All Wrapped Up" themed box. 

The Birchbox team put this months box in a super cute striped box.  I love it!  They also included a cute little gift tag to use for this holiday season.

Included in my box is this 12 Benefits Instant Healthy Hair Treatment.  It smells good and I cannot wait to try it out.  This seems like something I would actually buy, so I hope it is as good as I think it will be.  I love protective sprays.

I got this HUGE perfume sample by Fresh called Citron De Vigne.  It was a great size and in a spray bottle!  Unfortunately, the smell wasn't for me.  My mom loved it though!  It was a nice smell, just not for me.  I'm glad someone is going to get good use out of it!

I'm also excited to try this out.  I love the pump top.  This is Ultra Hydrating Fluid from Sampar.  It sounds intriguing.  I'm assuming it is like a facial moisturizer, but a serum instead of a lotion.

While I'm not a huge fan of the picture on this product (seriously!?  Have some dignity!), I do love the packaging and the product.  The color of this blush from the Balm is stunning!  I'm excited to start using this up!

My lifestyle extra this month was a Dark Chocolate Peppermint Holiday Fortune from Emily's Chocolates.  I think I drooled a little.  I'm saving this for when I have a chocolate craving; which will probably be in an hour or so knowing me.... haha.

Lastly is this $50 off coupon from renttherunway.com.  I guess it is a website where you can rent a dress?  I probably won't be using this, but it was an interesting addition.

What was in your box?

-polish. impress. repeat.