Available at drugstores nationwide
Size: 9mL
Price: $1.99
xoxo,
~Tenns
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Haul...what more is there to say!
So yeah, as you all can see I went a tad wild with polish hauling, but I had good reason, I promise! LOL, I would seriously justify this very unjustified haul, with any reason that would make it make sense (Still following me there? I think I confused myself for a sec). Anyhow, after several weeks my Sally's finally got Up, Up, & Away and apparently I'm the only person in my time that knew about it, lol. They had one display with pretty much one color of each shade in the collection and I grabbed the only one of each of the colors I'd been eyeing. Thanks to GildedAngel of Naive Nails, who mentioned via Twitter that her Sally's had gotten them in. I kept that in mind all week and kept a mental note to drop my local Sally's today.
I'd picked up three shades from Ulta last week, you can see them in my Ulta Haul post, but I knew I'd probably return them if my Sally's got them in. They were $6.50 @ Ulta and $3.50 at Sally's, and I knew I wanted more than just three colors, but wasn't willing to shell out $40 for all the colors I wanted. I had a Beauty Rewards coupon from Sally's, plus three $1 off coupons for ChG polishes, so I took full advantage of my deals. I am a self-proclaimed recessionista, and even if we weren't in a recession I still low ball shop...what can I say. Anyhow, before I ramble on and on I included pics below on my haul and since I just did a haul, I won't be doing one for this haul. This is why I'm going into a little more detail than I usually do in my haul blog posts. I also swatched all but 3 colors on my nails (ran out of fingers,lol!), but all the polishes I got are included in the pics below.
L-R: All China Glaze - Heli-yum, High Hopes, Grape Pop, Flyin High, Four Leaf Clover
L-R: Claire's Kelly Green, Claire's True Blue, OPI Jade Is The New Black, OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, OPI Meet Me On The Star Ferry
Claire's Kelly Green and True Blue. I forgot about these to in the first pic I took w/ all of the polishes I got today, so I decided to include them here.
No worries, I will be doing full swatches and reviews on all the polishes and products (especially the Orly kit) very soon. I just wanted to throw up a a quick compilation of everything, and I was super excited to see what each color really looked like too!
Edit: I realized that Ulta didn't give me my free gift with my OPI purchase, had to go back there today(2/28) and get it. I will include a pic of it some time later, as well as swatches.
xoxo,
~Tenns
Swatches > Maybelline Express Finish | Timely Turquoise
I picked Timely Turquoise up at Walgreen's along with the shade Grape Times (swatch coming soon!) mainly b/c I had two $1 off coupons and didn't want to waste them. Usually I don't purchases drug stores anil polishes, because it never fails that I'm sorely dissapointed in them. Anyhow, Timely Turquoise was no exception, and netiher was Grape Times, but they were worth swatching. Usually colors, or rather formulas that don't go over well on my fingers go to the "toe stash". The 'Toe Stash" is a group of colors that only are worn on my toes...mainly because they look better further away from my eyes (LOL!)<---cheesy. Anyways, seems as if the formula, as I mentioned before is the issue. Its that same streaky, 'can't get smooth for the life of me' type of formula, which you oftentimes find with shimmery polishes of like consistiency of Timely Turquoise. Don't get me wrong Timely Turquoise is a beautiful color, but i could pretty much tell from the bottle that I wasn't going to like it on my fingers. We probably won't be breaking it back out until my toes come out, which will be whenever the temp decides to reach above 80.
Available @ drugstores nationwide
Price: $4
Size: .5 fl oz./14.7 mL
That's all folks!
xoxo,
~Tenns
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Link Love Roundup | 2.27.10
Phresh Mentality paints a few PHRESH mani's in an effort to raise funds to help Haiti
Helen's Nice Things has swatched a Ciate Paint Pot color, but you have to click the link to see which one. :)
Naive Nails has a little Lilly on her tips brought to you from Zoya, of course!
Konadomania is felling a little lot spring like and she is showing it off... on her nails!
The Swatchaholic brings out a lusted over discontinued color from her stash and rallies for the maker to bring the color back. Please be sure to take her poll located in her blogs sidebar and maybe our voices will be heard.
Oh how I love a pretty textured mani and Bright Lights Big Color is showing off just that!
Hot & Spicy are the words to describe Polish Freak's mani. Be sure to leave her a comment on how you feel about the color.
Dying to see some swatches of the new Diamond Cosmetics spring 2010 polishes?! Well, Nail'd & Polish'd has just what you need.
Magic Maid has brought you some beautiful swatches from a well known European brand polish.
Tuli's Nails has on polish that's "as pretty as a picture" thanks to our lovely polish blogger Nicole.
Travels with Euridice also has some Essence swatches. The more the merrier I always say.
Nail-Design is giving us a peek inside her stash and showing us how she stores her polish.
Perfect 10 Beauty has swatched a polish called FABULESS... see if you can guess the brand.
Metallics are deemed to be big for the upcoming season and Manicure Mommas has showed you how to make it look luxe.
polishSWATCHES brings you a closeup of Rihanna's "Pretty Kitty Manicure." What do you think of the design?
Now for the Network Giveaways...
Konadomania is celebrating 300 followers... click her name to see exactly how. It's so worth it!
Travels with Euridice is having a Holla for Holos giveaway to show her followers her appreciation.
Neglelakkmani is having a giveaway that's scheduled to end on Monday, so please enter if you haven't already done so.
Swatches > Sinful Colors | Mint Apple
This is a darling color. It reminds you of a mint green, but a kinda blue/turquoise one. It’s a warm color with shimmer. This color was a total surprise to me, in the sense that I wasn’t sure how it would look outside of the bottle. When I put it on I fell in love! I can’t believe this color just now caught my eye, but I’m glad it did. This is two coats in the pictures, w/ out flash. If you don’t have this color, I highly recommend it. I think it’d be great for the toes too!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Swatches > LA Splash | Blue Splash
This is a gorgeous color, bright cobalt blue. I would love to love this polish, but the formula was not up to par. It could have been in to the way I applied, but I definitely wasn't happy with the way it dried. Can we say airbubbles everywhere?!? This is exactly two coats in the pictures, and I let the first dry completely before I applied the second. I think I'm going to give this polish another go and re-apply it over the weekend to seeif i get a smoother finish. I can always Konad over it too, so one or the another I"ll have to "fix" it.
This picture is probably the most accurate, b/c it really captures the intensity of the blue and looks surprisely smooth. With flash, the color came out a really weird shimmery inaccurate blue.
Another close up with a little more light.
Available @ Ulta.com and Ulta Stores
Price: $5
Size: 10mL
xoxo,
~Tenns
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Would you do this to your nails?
Tokyo Nail Expo 2009 Takes Place
- Yes, definitely. I think its super cute (1 vote)
- Maybe, for like a holiday or something fun (3 votes)
- No, but I think its cute (6 votes)
- Absolutely not, never in a million years! (7 votes)
Swatches > Essence | Fabuless & Flowers
In keeping with my promise to swatch and review the Essence products from my Ulta haul, I present the nail color: Fabuless <---cute name, right?! The pictures with the flash are much more accurate, but I went ahead and posted a non-flash (below). Fabuless is a dark charcoal (how redundant…but that’s honestly the best way to describe it) that has a little bit of shimmer/pearlescent to it. Its not your typically flat, black nail polish, although its not one of those super rich shiny polishes.
The consistency is quite nice for a .99 cent polish. I had no problems with application, however 2 coats minimum is needed. I didn’t find it particularly thick or thin, just a regular smooth consistency. The bottle claims that it dries in one second, however I can’t say that completely true for me. I’ll say it was completely dry to the touch after about 7-10 secs. Even without a top coat this polish looks pretty good, but I did apply the China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat on top for a more finished look. I also decided to jazz up the polish w/ a single white stamped flower. I thought it added good balance and an elegant look to the near-black polish. Overall, I really like this polish and I plan to purchase more from the line.
Available @ Ulta.com and Ulta stores.
Price: $.99/ea
Size: 0.1 fl. oz.
xoxo,
~Tenns
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ulta Haul and new product line: Essence
So I was visiting my Mom this weekend and today we dropped by Ulta to browse for some goodies. We ended up getting some good stuff. I’ve posted a YT video about all of it as well, so I don’t want to be redundant w/ this post. However, I did want to go into a little more detail about some of the products more than I did in the video. Mainly, this new product line that Ulta has started to carry called Essence. Funny thing is that I was catching up on reading blogs that I’m subscribed to and TravelsWithEuridice did a post of the line. I’d never heard of it and it was super ironic that I came across a post giving some insight on it. Apparently, the line is German and was supposed to debut in Ulta stores in April, but Ulta already has it out. The products are very affordable, like seriously affordable and with the recession still being a factor for many, this line is a good alternative to other more expensive lines that carry like products. They even have a Konad knock off, which of course I had to get. Even funnier was that I’d be browsing around before I purchased my Konad to see if I could find it anywhere other than online and I came up with no luck, until of course I already have mines and wasn’t looking for it anymore and say the Essence one. Anyhow, I’m pretty excited about this line and look forward to getting some more things from it.
Don’t forget to watch my video and be on the lookout for swatches of the polishes!
xoxo,
~Tenns
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Lacquerize’s Giveaway
Lacquerize is doing a giveaway to celebrate reaching 250 followers on her blog. She one of the best swatchers out there and one of my fave as well.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reposted from http://lacquerized.blogspot.com/2010/02/yeah-baby-giveaway-time_20.html
Ok, the rules!
1 - You have to be a follower of my blog
2 - Please enter your e-mail address along with your preference for set 1 (the 4 shades) or set 2 (the 3 semi holos).
3 - It doesn't matter where you live, entering is open for everyone!
4 - You can earn extra entries by:
- Reposting this giveaway on your blog (feel free to use the pictures in this post!),
- Following me on Twitter
- Tweeting about it
If you do this, please let me know in your comment by showing me the URL's.
Note: You can only use these for extra entries if you follow my blog.
5 - You can enter till the 10th of March, 11:59pm - CET.
6 - Since I love you all so much, I'll let www.random.org decide who the lucky winners will be ;-).
I really hope you'll enjoy the items I gathered and if you choose to enter, good luck!!
Swatches > Zonad Manicure | Zoya Anaka & Orly Blue Suede
So, I’m still experimenting w/ all of my Konad image plates as well as what polishes, other than the one white special polish that I have works well with them. I find that thicker polishes like cremes and mattes work best with the Konad image plates, as well as darker colored polishes. Shimmery polishes stamp well too, but they need to have a relatively thick consistency to them to get the best result. I was playing around with some different polishes and image plate designs when it dawned on me that even though the ‘matte trend’ is slightly out of season, a matte/suede type polish would stamp well considering the consistency of them. I put on two coats of Zoya Anaka w/v Seche Vite as a top coat. I then stamped the m63 plate the swirly design and applied another layer of Seche Vite. I find that the stamping come out better on top of a top coat, or maybe its just a safety net for, lol. In actuality, I get a much smoother application w/ applying a top coat before I stamp.
I was beyond happy that the design came out so well and that the color scheme coordinated well together. I’m also going to visit my Mom tomorrow and I think she’ll really get a kick out of my nails. Maybe I should bring my Konad stuff just in case she asks me to give her a manicure. Overall, I think this is a really versatile look and I’m so glad that I got the hang of the whole stamping thing. My images are coming out so smooth and crisp, so I will definitely be posting a sleuth of “konadicures”. Anyhow, I hope you all like it and be sure to let me know what you think!
xoxo,
~Tenns
A Lovely Surprise
My b/f surprised me w/ an Edible Arrangements bouquet today. He's in Va in training(he’s a Marine) and even though we were able to spend Valentine’s together last weekend, he still went the extra mile. The arrangement is so beautiful, and I mean seriously who can resist delicious fruit. Its comprised of Strawberries (even chocolate-dipped ones), cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapples, and grapes. Sooo yummy!
I just wanted to share my happiness!
xoxo,
~Tenns
Friday, February 19, 2010
Product Interest: Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
"An eye prep product that provides smoother, longer-lasting, and absolutely crease-proof eyeshadow—and is now offered in a very-wearable, tawny, matte hue." - Sephora.com
So UDPP Eden is the third eye primer released by Urban Decay. its supposed to result in a matte look for your eyeshadow. Last year Urban Decay came out with the shimmerly, champagne hued Sin, which for many could be worn by itself, but overall makes those shimmer based eyeshadows pop that much more. Matte is all the rage, even still with nails, but more so with foundation and eyeshadows. The flat, no shimmer, no sparkle look has hit and its taken off running. I'm not a big matte person per say, however, I'd be more than willing to give this product a go if it works anything like good ole regular UDPP (you know, the one in the purple bottle.) "The genie in these bottles fulfills three wishes: eyeshadow that lasts, more vibrant and lasting color, and absolutely NO creasing." In referencing the aforementioned quote from Urban Decay, I do believe that this product will do all of those things. Most matte finishes don't have major issues with creasing, although they can although be finicky when it comes to color payoff and vibrancy, so if this product does the trick, I'm all for it. Since Eden has a tawny hue to it, it might work better for darker skintones, even though I think all of UD's primer potion can work for pretty much any complexion, I have heard otherwise. I, myself, being a woman of color have had no issues with either the regular PP or the Sin PP as far it not blending into my skintone smoothly. Urban Decay also went with their new wand style, which they call a "magic wand with a flocker applicator". I take it they will stick with that one, since there was so much gripe over the original straight wand. The titled new version is supposed to make it easier getting all of the product out of the bottle and for a better application overall.
As always promises by Urban Decay there products are cruelty free and vegan, so they are formulated without harsh ingredients such as:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
Price: $18
Available exclusively at Sephora.com
Sephora by OPI Modern Flowers Collection
"SEPHORA by OPI's latest assortment of Nail Colours is inspired by simple, dramatic blossoms like the elegant Calla Lily, exotic orchid, and vibrant iris. These iconic flowers, in their most colorful forms, have been artistically re-imagined into this bouquet of spring shades that will have your fingertips flourishing with sophisticated color."
Shades:
Leaf Him At The Altar - Metallic Vine Green
It's Bouquet with Me - Sheer violet with silver and holographic glitter
Iris I was Thinner - Medium iris purple
Handpicked for Me - Light pink lilac with silver shimmer
Go with the Flow-er $9 - Bright tulip pink with hot pink shimmer
Cover me in petals -Vivid tigerlily red orange
Price: $9/ea
Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.com
Zoya 2 Free Nail Polishes - Fashion Reward *Extended*
In honor of NYFW(New York Fashion Week) Zoya, The New Color of Fashion, wants to give a "Fashion Reward" to all our followers and fans.
Place any Zoya or Qtica order of $10 (on http://www.zoya.com, http://www.qtica.com or http://www.artofbeauty.com/) and get any 2 Zoya Nail Polish shades (0.5oz bottles) as our Free gift to you. Simply add all the items that you want to purchase online to your shopping cart. Enter the code NYFW in the "code" field and press the "update" button. A $14 discount will appear in the shopping cart for the value of the 2 Zoya Nail Polishes.
Offer valid from Wednesday, 2/17/2010 extended to Sunday, 2/21/2010, at 5PM ET. Standard shipping charges apply. Offer valid for consumer online orders only. Free ground shipping for orders over $55 in Continental USA only. Not valid with any other coupon code or offer.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Zoya Ibiza & White Plaid Stripes
I must say that this is the one color that looks better on camera than it does in real life. Mainly, because the flash picks up the gorgeous blue in the polish. In real life, or rather natural light, it just looks black. This was a little disappointing b/c I really thought it would come out the really pretty blue color that it looks to be in the bottle. Overall, I really like the white plaid strips layered on top of it, b/c it gives it some pizzazz. I thought Ibiza would have been fun in a bottle, but it was a little messy in application(aren’t most dark polishes?). You can almost get a way with one coat, but two gives you a nice even, smooth look.
Base coat, two coats of Ibiza, Seche Vite top coat
Available @ Artofbeauty.com
xoxo,
~Tenns
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Valentine’s Day Manicure
I decided to redo my nails for Valentine’s Day. I have CG Red Pearl w/ a fun Konad image stamped(I haven’t yet memorized all my plates yet, I will included later) on it. It came out very well and I am so pleased at the result. I only wish my V-days plans would come through, but that’s another story!
I hope everyone receives lots of L-O-V-E on Valentine’s Day and every day of the year! With love, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
xoxo,
~Tenns
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Konadicure ~ 1st Successful? Attempt
Let me know what you think guys! I’m getting the hang of the whole Konad thing, so I’ll be putting up more konadicure as I perfect the art of nail stamping!
xoxo,
~Tenns
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Konad Haul
So my Konad order finally came on yesterday, and I was super excited to tear open the box and play with it. I got 4 plates (M60, M63, M57, M77), a stamper, a scraper, and Special Polish in White. I was pretty impressed with everything, although I do wish the stamper was two-sided. I attempted a few designs on my nails, but was pretty much unsuccessful with them. I hear it takes a little bit of practice, so I’m hoping to get better at it in due time. Anyhow, once I get the hang of the whole thing I’ll definitely be posting some konad-manis. Stay tuned!
P.S: If anyone has any tips for Konad beginners, please in the comments or hit me up on Twitter!
xoxo,
~Tenns
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday Nail Polish Swatch Compilation
So for whatever reason I was off my nail painting game this week. I was pretty tired, mostly sleepy, all week and none of my nail polishes wanted to stay on. I did managed to change my nail three times throughout the week, which is pretty standard for me anyways, so that was good. However, I did IMO a pretty sloppy job of painting them…i.e. this first swatch of Zoya Pinta. I figured I’d go ahead and post it given that I have already gone through the trouble of painting my nails and had worn it for two days. The 2nd swatch is CG Shower Together, the swatches are pretty good (guess i had a steady hand that day), but this is seriously a love/hate polish for me. Its a cream, but applies weird. You can apply any more than 2 coats before it looks too thick and for it to be a cream, you’d think it would apply smoother. Also, for some reason it seems to take longer to dry. Anyhow, I absolutely love the color, that milky blue is just too pretty! Hopefully, this week will be a better week for nail painting and all my polishes will apply smoothly and beautifully.
Zoya Pinta
Two + base coat and Seche Vite Top Coat
w/ flash
w/ out flash
Purchased @ Zoya.com
$6 - $7
China Glaze Shower Together
Two + base coat and Seche Vite Top Coat
w/ out flash
w/ flash
Purchased @ Sally’s Beauty Supply
Price: $4 - $6
xoxo,
~Tenns
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Nail Polish Swatches: Zoya Davincia
This is such a pretty color, or rather it photographs much prettier than it actually is IMO. I typically like deep wines as far as nail shades, and i think that’s why I get a little bored with them. Davincia is a very safe, yet sexy color. its perfect for an evening out, but I don’t think that it has that ‘melt you heart’ feel to it that say, Isla has. It looks pretty much like another wine colored nail polish on the nail, reminds your of a glass of Cabernet or Merlot for sure. The finish is glossy with some shimmer, not overload though. I dries no faster or slower than any other polish, definitely doesn’t fall into the realm of “fast-drying” polishes though.
I have two coats of Davincia on, any more than that and it would be too thick. I used Seche Vite as my top coat and so far overall, no chipping, well only one on my thumb. I’m pretty rough w/ my nails, so I don’t blame the polish or top coat for that. I do see a little receding my pinky nail, which you can see in the picture. For some reason this happens to me pretty often though, not sure why. Maybe, the receding is due to the application of a top coat too soon after polishing? Anyhow, all in all, I really like Davincia and would definitely repurchase it. I’m a big fan of Zoya polishes and have plenty more to swatch, review, and purchase.
Davincia - Available @ Zoya.com $6-$7
Seche Vite- Available @ Sally Beauty Supply
xoxo,
~Tenns
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)