Products I Am Loving

 Over the holidays I ran out of my makeup.  I have been wearing MAC Studio Fix forever and a drig store brand that I use for whatever.  I got a sample of this Clinique Stay Matte Oil-free makeup and I loved it.  I tried the beauty balms but I need a little more coverage.  When I was 14  I was in a really bad car accident.  I lost my front teeth and was left with scars all over my face.  It was horrible especially because of my age.  I had two reconstructive surgeries over the next year achieve.  Remember we are talking 1979.  There is still some slight scarring if you look closely but I am always conscious of it.  That is why I need more coverage in my foundation than a balm can provide. This makeup is light as a feather goes on smoothly and provides medium to full coverage.  It does keep my skin matte where the MAC would get a little oily and I had to use blotting tissue.  Here is a tip,  bathroom liners work fantastic for blotting tissue.  I've used store bought and paper liners and I cannot tell the difference.  But this makeup stays on and doesn't make me look pastey.  I love it so far, we will have to see what happens during summer.  We have had some summer days and it held up but what would happen in 100 degrees.  I'll let you know in a couple of months.



The next thing is this mascara from Clinique.  It is called High Lengths Mascara.  I have short lashes and it does bring then out the only thing is that you need to use another mascara to volumize.



Here is a picture of the brush.

                             

The Close up


The next thing I am loving the Essence color and go nail polishes.  They have great colors.  A great formula and at 1.99 what more do you want.  I buy mine at Ulta always with a coupon.



This is a color called I Love Bad Boys.



Here is a swatch of I Like Bad Boys.   I will do a full review next week.  It is just a nice powdery blue.  These polishes are great to use as undies for your precious indies.  Plus, they are fine to wear alone as I showed you in a post Day 60 Chic Reloaded.


The next thing is that I joined Julep.  I have heard their polish is really good and I had to them.  So, far,  I am pretty happy with them.  You take this test and it tells you what your style is I am classic with a twist so on the 20th of the month I think they send you an email and show you what is going to be in your box.  If you don't like it you can change it to another box if you don't want the box you can send it to someone or just cancel till the next month.  Certain bloggers have a badge that say become a maven for a penny that is what I did and by first box cost $5.00 for shipping.  Each month you pay $19.99 for a box.

This is the starter box.  Two polishes and a cuticle oil.



 

This is the first box I got.  It had three polishes a gel top coat.  Two chocolate hearts and this really cool little eyelash curler.  These colors are really pretty.  I will also review them next week.

 

Well those are just a few things.  I have a couple other new things I am trying and liking so watch for that post to come.

 

Please take a minute to answer the poll on the left side of the column.  Thanks and have a good evening.

 

Ciao bellas,

Patty

Eggnogaholic Girly Bits

 Good Evening,
I hope everyone had a great week and are ready to enjoy a wonderful weekend.  I know I am ready.  The weather in Houston is absolutely gorgeous.  The sun is out with highs in the 70's.  it is amazing how weather can affect a person's mood.

Tonight, I have an extraordinary polish for you.  This is from Girly Bits.  It is called Eggnogaholic. Yeah, I know a couple of those. My son in particular.  He loves eggnog.  It's ok, I like but can't handle it since I am lactose intolerant.  That's another one completely forgot about.  I guess I have just lived with it for so long it doesn't phase me.  Sometimes I think people think I am making all this up just not to eat their goof or for sympathy but I am not.  The only thing I really miss is my dark chocolate and Parmesan.


So,  this polish was popular and still is but since people who really wanted finally got it of course it is more readily available.  It I a cream colored base with small gold glitters.  Just enough to sparkle in low light.  Don't let the name keep you away from this one.  It is definitely something you wear year around.  Everything I am ready is saying the color for spring will be whites and crimes.  What I did with this is used OPI's Titan Your Toga.  This is an old discontinued polish but it is a perfect creme.  You can use any creme colored polish you have.Just don't use white .  it loses some of it's color and then you have to use three coats.   I used two light coats of the Eggnogaholic.  It was not much of a jelly so it dried rather quickly.  I used a coat of my new favorite topcoat Nubar Diamond Seal and shine top coat.  If you don't have it some good alternatives is OPI's My Vampire is Buff which is from the new Euro-Central line.  Here is a tip, I can't believe OPI has raised their prices.  I got my OPI's from eBay for $7.50.  The Euro Central line, free shipping.  I also bought some from a new vendor I had never heard of but thought I'd give it a try called trendy hands.  The polish was 6.95 and shipping wasn't that high.  I did not check to see what other brands they had but if you are cruising the net check them out.





















Please take a couple of seconds to answer the poll on left column.  Have a good evening
Ciao
Patty

Trendy Hands

With the price of OPI going up to $9.00 what is a girl to do but start looking for bargains.  I bought 3 from the new line off ebay but I found another site called Trendy Hands.  I had not heard anyone talk about it and was a little leary of trying something new but they were actually a good place to buy OPI each bottle is $6.95 and the shipping is not that high.  If you want to check it out it might be an alternative to payin $9.00.  On ebay I bought four for $7.50 that is a savings of $1.50 shipping was free. 

Kimber’s Challenge A-Z Letter F

Today, I have Funky Fingers Factory Girl.  Six Weeks now.  I really thought I wasn’t going to get it this week but I found one that brand was started with an F and the name of the polish was F.  It was on the top self of the the far right side of  the polish self but there it was.  Light dusty pink the bottle and the polish but it was in great condition.  It has been about seven months since I wore it.  Then I stamped with my DRK-B with the image that had butterflies.  I really love butterflies when I was in college we were out retrieving soil and plant specimens and someone moved something and what seemed like hundreds of butterflies flew out.  It was beautiful.  I’ve been a little down these last two days but remembering about that changes.  Maybe making a list of  little memories like that would help anyone when they are down to give them a little lift.  Something to think about.
Here are my nails.

Ciao for now,

Patty

Valentine’s Day Manicure Marbling

Today, I have another Valentine’s Day manicure.  This time I did some water marbling.  I used Zoya Areej, American Apparel, T-Shirt, and China Glaze Platinum.  There is just one thing I want to say about water marbling, when I was doing this I thought if I could only make a heart then I would be a real pro.  I got a  heart on my second try but it was too big.  Now a lot of people are scared of water marbling.  You don’t need to be scared.  It is really easy.  The reason I see people mess up is because they use too many colors.  Three is best.  They really think they need a white base.  You do not need a white base use the lightest color of the marble you are using as your base.  You need to use drinking water and make sure your water is clean after each marble.  I use a urine specimen cup I got from my doctor.  It is easy to use after you finish just wipe it down with acetone and it is good to go for the next use.  I’ve used Styrofoam cups and they don’t work well for me.  I like the plastic.  Sometimes another problems people have is that the water is so cold that the polish won’t spread or you don’t wait long enough for it to spread.  I make sure I use a couple of drops on my first round to make sure it covers the whole top of the cup.  If you really want to see a pro water marble on YouTube there is a girl called Simple Pleasures and she can get a heart on her water marble.  I learned from her and then you just practice. I taught my niece when she was 11.  This is not rocket science.   If you’ve never done it just get in there and do it you’ll have fun and then come out with some pretty cool nails. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, pull out your polish and try a water marble you might surprise yourself.

Ciao bellas,

Patty

Owls and Lacquer Mooney

This is the creation of Mara from Owls and Lacquer.  It is a clear base with black and silver glitters.  I paired it with Zoya Avril which is what I call a baby pink.  I like that color combination.  It creates a bery sft yet a little sexy look.  My husband really liked it.  To me that is always the sign of sexy.  Why I really like about Mara's clear base glitters is that they dry pretty fast some take a little while and when I am working I want fast dry so I can take pictures outside.  I have the light box but I just really prefer taking pictures outside.  I just think I get better pictures that way.  So, check these polishes out.  I have three and I really like them.  You can go to her website http://www.marainpolishland.com/2012/12/introducing-white-owl-lacquers-first.html for information on how to
buy.

Mac Snob

 Today, I have Mac's Snob.  It is such a pretty pink with lavender undertones.  It is also my favorite lipstick color that is why I went ahead and indulged in this product.  As far as formula goes it is not very pigmented and it did take three coats to achieve this color.  Mac polishes are ok but I really don't see any colors that wow me.  I wish they would re- release Bad Fairy because I would stand in line for that one.  I have heard that Model's Own Pinky Brown is a dupe but I don't know.  My sister has Bad Fairy and I have Pinky Brown maybe she will lend it to me to compare.  For me because of my love for the lipstick I justified this purchase.  I never say never but if MAC does come out with something great then I will buy but right now nothing special has jumped out at me.

Ciao,
Patty

KB Shimmer Let's Get Start-ed

 On Imperfectly Painted blog a poll was created by Steph and she wanted to know who we as bloggers wanted to know who was our favorite indie.  I think we had three choices.  I did vote for KB Shimmer and two others but that doesn't matter right now because the winner was KB shimmer and I had no problem with that choice.  I have been buying polish from Christy the creative mind behind KB Shimmer since before I started blogging.  I absolutely love her polish.  This one is Let's Get Start-ed and it is beautiful.  White nails are going to be big this summer.  I have read at least five magazines that are saying this.  So, pull out those whites or buy at least one or two.  This one is just so pretty.  I also have Party and it is great too.  Now, I did put undies on this.  I used of course my favorite white OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls and then two light coats of Let's Get Start-ed.  My indies are my little jewels and I think putting undies on is a way to help conserve these little jems of jewels. This polish has blue, grey and black glitters of different sizes and with black star glitters.   I can't wait till February 15th because the spring line will be released.  I also found that there is a location here in Houston that sells KB products.  I want to try the bath bombs and soap.  I might order some on Friday. 














You can purchase KB Shimmer Polishes at her website KB Shimmer,  Harlow and Co.,and Etsy
Ciao for now bellas,
Patty

Valentine’s Day Mani 3

Hello,
Today I have another Valentine’s Day manicure.  Ok, though this is a total steal from the manicure that Anne Hathaway wore to the Golden Globes.  I got it from my new Nailed It magazine subscription.  It is a really easy look to reproduce and I thought it would look great for Valentines day.  Anne’s manicure had rhinestones to make it look more like a Valentine’s day manicure I put two heart glitters where the glitter went.  The glitter I used was Techno from China Glaze but just very lightly.  I did not use my sponge method and do feel like it did not spread right.  Next time I wear this I am going to use the sponge or even a pink glitter but it looks fine like this.  This was my favorite manicure I saw in the magazine and the front cover.  I am totally going to recreate that one so keep an eye out for that one.
So, I guess I left you kind of hanging from the last post.  So, since my husband was never going to call me again because that is what I asked.  Years went by and he didn’t call.  So, one lonely Thanksgiving evening I was dealing with my depression in the wrong way and found his brother’s phone number.  I called him and he was so happy to hear from me.  He immediately told me Michael was single and gave me like his beeper number, two cell phone numbers and two home phone numbers.  During the time that I had been married I saw his brother many times and we would always talk but always avoiding the subject of Michael.  So, I put my big girl pants on and called Michael.  He did not remember at first until I told him remember we were supposed to get married.  Then he remembered.  We talked and realized that we only lived four hours away from each other.  We met in January and saw each other on weekends.  On Valentine’s Day weekend he showed up with a big teddy bear and flowers.  We went to dinner and had a great time.  The next night we decided to stay in and watch movies.  We made a trip to the supermarket and I think it was down the bread isle he stopped me and hugged and kissed me and said, “Do you want to get married?’  I just laughed and said yes.  Only Michael would propose in a supermarket the one material thing he loves more than anything in the whole world is food.  It was very fitting.  The next day we went and decided on a ring.  So, I am a hopeless romantic and hope that every girl or boy reading this know that true love does exist and can last a lifetime.

Valentines Manicure Day 2

(Read this before you read Valentine's Manicure 3)

Good Evening,
I should have posted this last night but I fell asleep.  Here is a very simple manicure but still not plain .  I stared with 2 coats of American Apparel.  After it was really dry I put a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust.  If you have never heard of it, it is a fine holographic glitter.  They say it is discontinued but you can still get it at Sally's or almost anywhere they sell China  Glaze.   If you don't stamp this as a good option for the reason that it really sparkles and in low light it really sparkles.  Remember, Valentine's Day is a great day for proposals.  You know Valentine's Day really brings out the romance in me.  I remember when my husband first proposed he was 16 and I was 14 and we were in the swimming pool.  Then he signed my yearbook and reminded me that no matter what when I turned 18 we would get married even if we were not in the same place he would look for me. He ended moving away and even though he called me my father always answered the phone and he always told him I was not home but Michael kept his promise.  When I was 18, he found me and called me.  I remember telling him it was too late.  I had gotten married and had a child.  He said he did not care, I could get a divorce and he would be a father to my son and even adopt him ( he was adopted so he had no problems with adoption).  I held back my tears and asked him never to contact me again.  He never did.

American Apparel Downtown LA with China Glaze

 

 

Stamped using Bundle Monster Plate 317

 

Well, Ciao for now bellas,

Patty

OPI Press Release for OZ

OPI Celebrates Disney’s Oz The Great and Powerful with Limited Edition Nail Lacquers, Including NEW Liquid SandÔ Hue

I know I said I wasn't going to buy anything but there are a couple I like.  I can't wait for the movie to come out.  Please note that the whole press release is not here where it talks about the movie it was too large and I had to scale it down.  You can go to OPI.com for more information.

Happy Valentines Day

It is five day's till Valentine's Day.  Do you have any plans?   If you do of course besides what you are wearing what are you putting on you nails?  I feel weird saying this but sometimes I plan my outfit by my mani.  So, for the next five days I have five mani's or ideas if you don't have exactly what I have or maybe you just get an idea.  We all get inspiration from each other but everyone' interpretation is different.  Even if we put the same mani on five people they would be different.  So with that said let's talk about this look.

I used American Apparel's Hassid.  One coat was all it took.  I love these polishes.  Then I topped with In the Whole Wide World.  Now, this was a tricky decision because I wanted to put it a light blue but Polishaholic used a light blue.  I tried other colors and black worked great.  If you don't have heart glitter polish Klean Kolors has a polish that is just hearts and then you can use a fine glitter and get something close to this.  Now, I tried something new.  Last week I did a mani and only wanted to do the tips I ended up sponging the whole nail with the glitter.  There was nothing left on the sponge and I was very satisfied with the outcome.  I had struggled with this one so I remembered my sponging from last week.  It worked great because I could control the number of hearts on each nail and even arrange them where I wanted them and was able to press on.  Now the black was dry and I had layered with  Seche Vite to ensure I had a dry surface to work on.  I am going to try it next time I use glitters I am doing to try it. I think a lot of us have a problem with chunky glitter but if this consistently works then it is an option  for some of us who have problems.  It has worked twice but it could be serendipity and I don't want to give a tip until it has worked for me several times and has worked for some other people.  If you try it and it works let me know.  I know I am using the scientific method but I want to be on the safe side before I really share this with the masses.

Update: Ciate Nail Polish

I have shown four ciate polishes to this point.  If you want to just give them a try before buying a bottle.  EBay sells mini's and they are only $7.99 free shipping in most of them.  And guess what they come in the same bottles like the big ones,  So cute.

That's it.
Ciao,
Patty