Category: nail polish

OPI Skyfall Collection – the reds

Post author By tiffany
Post date December 14, 2012
5 Comments on OPI Skyfall Collection – the reds

Although I’m not usually a red nail polish person (I much prefer pink) I can’t help but feel a little bit more in the holiday mood when I have red nails. The OPI Skyfall collection has gorgeous shades of reds that are perfect for the holidays.

“Die Another Day” is a gorgeous red with lots of shine but no shimmer and is my absolute favorite if the bunch. It’s so gorgeous on and when I was wearing it, had so many people ask me what color this was as everyone loved it!

“Skyfall” is a deep maroon also with no shimmer and is a good darker color for those of us with pale skin. I think this color would look pretty as a matte too! I’m going to try it with my matte topcoat next time.

“You Only Live Twice” is actually more pink than red and has a hint of shimmer in it. My apologies for the bad picture of this color but it’s actually really pretty in person and definitely a pink that I will be reaching for often.

“The Spy Who Loved Me” is a pretty red with shimmer in it and I think perfect for a holiday party.

I received the entire Skyfall Collection and I have to say, there is not one color that I don’t like out of it! It’s seriously one of my favorite collections that OPI has done.

Disclosure: Products were provided by PR for consideration. All opinions are my own.

beauty nail polish popsugar shopping Uncategorized

Popsugar Must Have Review

So I mentioned last month that I subscribed to the Popsugar Must Have box. I received it last week and wanted to do a quick review for those of you that were curious about it. They were pretty vague about what was going to be in it, unlike the other boxes that are popular now that just focus on cosmetics, nail polish, etc… they were pretty general about what they were going to include so I was intrigued.

First, the fun packaging! I’m a sucker for anything pink and white so I was excited to see the box 🙂

The contents minus two KIND bars that I gave to my husband (I’m not a fan of nuts)

Body Scrub and Body Lotion by Body Drench | nail polishes by RGB | Lip Products by Ilia | Reusable Bag

Read more for the rest of my review…

My inital reaction was just “oh”. Slightly unimpressed but still happy by the contents. The cost of the box is $35 so I did expect for the products to be nicer (and not samples) so I was happy about that. I had never heard of two brands (Body Drench & Ilia) so I just didn’t know if they were good or not.

I’m impartial to the body lotion and scrub. The body lotion does smell good but it’s not anything that I would’ve picked out. I have yet to use the body scrub as I already have a brand that I love but will test it out after mine is done. I have a huge stack of reusuable bags (Seattle has a ban on plastic/paper bags) but I can always use another one because you need them even when you shop at Nordstrom! This one is pretty roomy and sturdy so great for the grocery store. And I know my husband is excited to carry a Popsugar bag out of the grocery store. hahaha 😉

So at this point, I was feeling a bit ‘meh’ about the box. What changed my mind was after I used the Ilia lip conditioner and lipstick. The lip conditioner looks bright red but when it goes on your lips it’s a very sheer and pretty color. The nude lipstick is also really great on. Both go on smoothly, the lip conditioner definitely moisturizes my lips and the lipstick doesn’t dry out my lips. They work great layered together too! I’ve worn them consistently through the past week and they both get a thumbs up from me. They retail for $24 each so that in itself already pays for the bag.

I’m a total nail polish addict so I of course didn’t mind adding more polish to my collection. I’ve heard of RGB but have never bought it before. Mostly because I’ve never seen it at a store around here so I’ve never been able to test it out. I have been wanting a good mint color and so happy that I got this one. This color is perfection. I love love it and the polish itself is fabulous. It goes on smoothly, not too drippy or thick. I have yet to try the nude but come fall, I’m sure I’ll be wearing it a lot paired with other colors. These retail for $16 each so definitely well worth the price of the box.

Here’s my instagrammed picture of the color on my nails. It’s more closer to the green than the blue (you gotta love instagram filters but it definitely changes the colors). **Follow me on Instagram: TiffanyIsh**

So in the end, after using the products I do think that the cost of the box is great for what you get inside. Obviously the downside is that you don’t get to pick your colors or anything like that and you get brands that you’ve never heard of but the good thing about that, is trying out the brands that you many never have tried before. I’m signed up for this month’s box too so I’ll do a review on that once I get it! If you want to try out the box, sign up here (my referral link is attached) Did anybody else get the box? What are your thoughts?

beauty nail polish organizing Uncategorized

Julep Nail Polish Storage

It’s no secret how much I love Julep and the Julep Maven boxes. I get so excited when I get my box in the mail, I loooove getting new nail polish every month! But because of this, I’ve collected quite a few nail polishes and needed a solution to store them. The problem with nail polish is that the bottles are all different shapes and sizes so what works for one brand, doesn’t work for another. If you may recall with my nail polish storage video, most of them are in a clear shoebox holder with my Zoya polishes in a fancier acrylic box. I didn’t like storing the Julep polishes in either of those because the way that the Julep polishes are shaped, you can’t see what color you are looking for. You just see a sea of black caps. And I don’t want to store them upside down because then the polish would all be trapped up by the lid and that’s not a great way to store them.

If you don’t know what Julep Maven is, it’s a subscription box where you get at least 2 polishes each month along with other goodies for $19.99. If you haven’t joined yet, well you should because if you use the code COLOR2012 it’s going to cost you 1 cent! Yup no joke. Join here. (my referral link in included)

I went to storables and found these great little stackable trays that fit them perfectly and what I like best is that there are dividers. So now I divide them into colorways so reds/pinks are in one section, purples/blues are in the next section, etc… That way at least I know which section to look for when I want to choose my colors.

Nothing fancy but just wanted to share because storing nail polish is one of those annoying things that it’s hard to find just the right thing to put them in.

I change my polish on a weekly basis so I am kind of crazy about finding the right products to make it easier for me. I stopped getting my nails done professionally because it was getting too expensive and now I really enjoy doing my nails but having the right tools is crucial. These are the 3 things that I love and need to have when doing my nails.

Nail Tees Precision Applicators – I LOVE these. It’s nearly impossible not to get nail polish on your cuticle or sides of your nail so these little q-tip like things are slight pointy and less “cottony” than regular q tips (you know how it q tips always unravel a little? These don’t so they don’t get into the nail polish that you want to stay on your nail.) I just dip the pointy part into a bit of acetone and drag it along the areas that got polish on them and it creates a nice clean line. I also use an eyeliner brush
dipped in acetone to do clean up too. Both work great but these are a bit more precise.

Dispensing Bottle with Stainless Steel One-Touch Pump – my manicurist always had a little pump like this for her nail polish remover and I didn’t realize the genius of it until I started using it for myself. Rather than having a bottle and having to pour it upside down onto your cotton ball this dispenser pumps UP and onto your cotton ball so that you get just the right amount. This is especially helpful when using the precision applicators or the eyeliner brush for clean up. I used to have to try to stick them into my nail polish remover bottle and try to get just the right amount. The dispenser, when you pump it, leaves just the right amount into the lid part which you can just dip your brush into. It just makes it so much easier.

Pretty Nails Jar Polish Remover – You know how sometimes just one nail gets chipped and you want to fix just that one but then if you have to get your cotton ball and polish remover out, it potentially ruins other nails? Well, these jar polish removers make it so that you can just stick one or two fingers in and remove the polish and let the others stay pretty!

It’s the little things that make the biggest difference sometimes! Do you have any great tools/tips on doing at home manicures? I’m not the best so love to learn what others do to get a nice manicure as well!

beauty nail polish reviews Uncategorized

Butter London Lippy!

I’m not one to match my nails and toenails when painting my nails. I like mixing it up! However, have you ever thought of matching your nails to your lips? I haven’t but when I saw the Butter London Lippy and the matching polish, I loved it!

Trout Pout Lippy and Nail Polish | Yummy Mummy Lippy and Nail Polish

I tried out Trout Pout which is a vibrant peachy-orange and Yummy Mummy which is a beige-y nude. I loved the combo so tried a scalloped mani. It didn’t turn out as well as I’d like but wanted to show you the colors. They really go well together and Yummy Mummy is a great color on it’s own for the “mannequin nail” trend.

click here for my bow ring!

It’s really pink in that picture but Trout Pout is more orange in person. It’s a lovely color and really great for the summer. And swatches of the Lippy glosses to show you that it comes out pretty true to the color shown in the tube. On the lips, they are true to the lip gloss consistency of being more sheer which I liked. So although they are pretty perfect matches in the tube, if you wear them together nobody will really notice that you are wearing the same color on your lips and nails, it just coordinates in a good way.

Trout Pout is my favorite on the lips as it’s a perfect glossy peach that looks great on it’s own or layered on top of lipstick. Yummy Mummy makes my lips look a little gray so I don’t wear it alone but it works well to neutralize a too bright lipstick so I have been wearing it as a top gloss for my lipsticks.

These are my first Butter London polishes and I really like how creamy they go on. I barely needed a second coat! The Lippy glosses are really smooth on and are a bit sticky but not as bad as MAC Lipglass sticky. The one thing that I did not like was the fragrance of the lip glosses. It’s almost a fruity scent, reminds me of watermelon candy. If you aren’t a fan of fragrances in your make up then probably stay away but if you don’t mind it, I do recommend these glosses.

Here are the other colors in the collection. I definitely want to get another but can’t decide which one, I love all of them!

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by PR for consideration but does not affect my review or opinions in any way.

Oh and I posted on how to do DIY Polka Dot nails so check it out! It’s easier than you think!