Foxycontin Fashion

Hurrican Irene update

2011-09-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a planned haul post scheduled to go up this week, but due to Hurricane Irene I have been without power for almost a week now, so that will have to wait. The past week has just been crazy- we had an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week. You may not know but I work as a 911 dispatcher and I had to work the day Irene passed through NC and it was just insane. It generally takes me 20 minutes to get to work and when I was finally able to leave and go home it took over 2 hours because of the condition the roads were in.

I've been staying with the boyfriend since his power never went out, so that's how I'm able to post this in case you were wondering. Yeah, I could do my post here but I got so much stuff and I don't feel like toting it over here just to make a blog post. Hoping that by Monday at the latest we will have power back on at my place and I can finally get my post up. In the meantime here is a photoshopped picture of my cat, Prissy, all ready for Halloween!

Earthquake in North Carolina!

2011-08-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, I was sleeping good (preparing for night shift tonight) when I was woken to my whole house rumbling and shaking! Just as I woke up and figured out what was going on, a ceramic picture frame of my cat fell off my dresser and broke. This is the second earthquake we've had in NC. We had another, much smaller one back in 2003. Accord to weather reports it was a scale 5.8 quake and was felt up through Canada. We also have a hurricane coming through this weekend. Looks like the end of the world is finally upon haha. So, who else felt the earthquake?

My Top 10 Favorite Fall Polishes

2011-08-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

I LOVE fall! It's only about 33 days away (not that I'm counting or anything) and I am so excited about it! I love the colors of the leaves, the cooler weather, and Halloween is in fall and that's my favorite holiday. Everything about fall is just so magical to me, it just has this atmosphere about it that I love so much. So, I decided to celebrate the upcoming fall season by posting my top 10 favorite fall nail polishes. I'm one of those weird people that like to paint my nails according to what season I'm in (light/pastels in spring, brighter/neons in summer) and fall polishes to me are darker, more earthy type colors and those are my absolute favorite colors to wear! Just another fantastic reason to love fall! Below I have my favorite fall polishes listed in order from my least favorite (even though I am IN LOVE with all of these!) to my number one favorite!

Nina Pro in Salsa- I love this green. I don't think most people typically think of green for fall but to me, this just fits in with fall so well. It's dark and earth toned and if you layer it with a gold glitter it goes perfectly.

Nina Pro in Molten Gold- Another Nina Pro polish, but this one is a fabulous duo chrome that just screams fall leaves to me. I included 2 pics of the bottle just to show how is changes colors somewhat. It can look very golden then changes to a more bronzed polish with a pinky shimmer to it. This is one I will be wearing a lot this upcoming fall.

Orly in Glam Rock- Here is another bronzey polish. I do tend to lean towards bronzes a lot during the fall. They just go so well with fall and this polish can be used in 2 different ways. If some of you may remeber this polish came out with Orly's Metal Chic collection maybe around 2 years ago? The collection consisted of this and a gold and black polish that dried matte. Glam Rock is such a beautiful matte polish, but you can add a glossy top coat over it and it becomes this stunning sparkly bronze polish with bronzey glitter. I wish I had thought to take a photo of it with a glossy polish over it but, alas.

Zoya in Faye- This one is a very pretty and unique shade. It's hard to describe, it's kind of a purple/mauve with gold glitter. It makes me think of Thanksgiving dinner with candles on the table. Weird description, no? But that's why I love it for fall.

China Glaze in Ick-A-Body- This one came out with China Glaze's Halloween collection last year and I wore this one out when I first got it. I love Halloween so, so much and this is the ultimate Halloween polish to me. This is a black jelly base with orange glitter in it. You can put a glossy top coat over it and the orange glitter in it just sparkles like jewels, or you can put a matte top coat over it and the orange glitter transforms in what makes me think of glowing embers in a fire place. How fantastic is that for fall/Halloween?!?

Zoya in Rica- I love this beauty for fall because, once again the color makes me think of leaves changing color on trees. It's a unique coral with golden shimmer to it. I know a lot of beauty bloggers were saying this was perfect for summer but it just seems more suitable for fall to me. I think in the fall I tend to stray away from shimmery polishes more, but this one fits in perfectly with the season to me. I also included 2 different photos of it swatched to show how multi-deminsional it can be. In some lights it's a darker coral, then in some lights it takes on a lighter golden peachy tone.

Zoya in Dree- This is from the latest Zoya collection, Smoke, from the Smoke and Mirrors collection. I just got this one in the mail the other day but as soon as I saw swatches of it online I knew I needed it pronto for fall-and I was right! I am in love with shade! I don't think many people are into olive greens but I adore the shade! This is so perfect in everyway, I had to paint my nails with it immediately when it came and I can't stop looking at my nails!

China Glaze in Zombie Zest- I think this polish is really better suited for Halloween than the fall season, but I love Halloween so much and this is THE ultimate Halloween polish! I mean it's called Zombie Zest and that's exactly what it looks like. It looks like slimy, murky, ucky zombie flesh with shimmer. It's one of the polishes that it's so ugly, it's pretty! I feel like the if a zombie breathed on me and his breath had a color, this is what it would look like, lol.

Orly in Galaxy Girl- This came out last year with Orly's fabulous Cosmic FX collection. That was the most amazing collection that has come out in years and this was my favorite from the whole line. I love the dark burgundy base and the teal shimmer. It makes me think of burgundy wine. I wear this one all the time throughout the year because I love it so much but it is perfect for fall. It would be the perfect polish to wear to a dinner or a party during the fall season and would look great on anybody.

MAC in Dry Martini- This one came out a couple of years ago in a MAC collection that I can't remember the name to, but I thought I was going to have a stroke when I saw this at the counter. This is the most expensive bottle of polish I own but it was well worth the money. Obviously, I looooove olive toned polishes, and this is the king of olive polishes. You can't really tell from the swatch, but you can pick it up more in the bottle shot. It has this mixture of dirty brown and olive green. It is so unique and everything I want in an olive polish. I love this so much that I rarely wear it because it was limited edition and I have not found anything that is an exact dupe. But I am going to wear this one out this season. It is fall in polish form and that makes it absolutely perfect to me <3

Jazzing up China Glaze's "Re-freshmint" in under a minute.

2011-08-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, today I have a quick blog post on how to jazz up a plain manicure in under a minute! I had been wearing China Glaze's "Re-freshmint" for several days. I love this polish but after looking at the same thing on my nails day after day I get a little bored with it sometimes but don't always feel like taking it off and painting my nails all over again. So, what I did was use a silver glitter nail art brush and just basically put an "X" shape at the tip of my nail to add some sparkle to my nail without just painting a layer of glitter all over. I thought the silver compliment the pastel green polish nicely. It took me just under a minute to do this to all 10 fingers and I really like this. What do you think?

I have a few fall themed posts, including an massive haul lined up. I need to post more often than I due, so hopefully this will be the kick in the butt I need in order to get that accomplished.

Nail Art Deco silver glitter polish and China Glaze in "Re-freshmint"

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

2011-07-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I honestly haven't had anything worth posting in a while. I've also been super busy and working a lot of hours at work and haven't had the time either. But I just wanted to make a quick post in remembrance of the passing of one of my absolute favorite singers of all time. The first time I heard Amy Winehouse's voice i was floored. She was so unique and talented. She was definitely what the music industry needed. I don't know about any of you but I just can't handle the cheesy pop music that you hear everywhere you go. It's been done before and it's tired. But I thought Amy was so refreshing and absolutely my style as far as music goes.

I know she got a lot of slag for her fashion sense (and sometimes she really did look pretty rough) but over all I really liked her style. I thought it suited her and her musical style. I always looked forward to what she was going to be wearing next.

I am saddened the the music world has lost such a phenomenal talent. I know she had her demons and I was hoping she would be able to overcome them and come back stronger and better than ever. However, hopefully her passing will teach people not to use drugs, and to seek help if you have a substance abuse problem. The 27 club claims another. Above is one of my favorite songs of hers. I hope you enjoy. R.I.P Amy <3

Wearable yellow look

2011-06-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I just realized that I have never really posted any of my makeup looks on here! That's crazy! So, today I am going to have a really short post but of a makeup look that I really like and think is kind of different. It's a yellow and brown look. I used glamour doll eyes "lemonade" on my lid and a brown discontinued Estee Lauder shadow in my crease and a shimmery champange highlight. It's nothing to difficult and I think most anyone could pull it off. I don't see a lot of yellow "everyday" looks on people and I think it is because it intimidates people. I think people think that if you're going to wear yellow shadow it has to be with some bright, bold, crazy look and that's not true. I've worn this look several times and really enjoy wearing it- I think it could even be suitable for work! Well, here are a few pics- let me know if you guys try this look out or post pictures of a wearable yellow look you have done! I'd love to see :)

Awesome new MAC collection coming soon!

2011-06-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

I saw this post on Temptalia's blog and am soooo excited for this new MAC collection to come out! I haven't been excited for a MAC collection since the Venomous Villains collection came out in September of last year. I really am only interested in the eyeshadows and the pink blush, I think I can totally live without the lipsticks and glosses. But wow, those eyeshadows are amazing! I'm not sure when this collection is supposed to be available but I think maybe next month is what I read on Spektra? Anyway, just click on the link to Temptalia's webpage and you can see photos and swatches. I think I may actually skip out on that bright yellow shadow, the swatch just looks silver/grey and I want some of that vibrant yellow to stand out! But the rest of the shadows are just so pigmented and gorgeous and I have nothing like them in my collection, so these babies are a must have! Let me know what you guys think about this upcoming collection, what are you planning on getting?

Sayanythingbr00ke is going to have a charity raffle!

2011-06-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Sayanythingbr00ke is going to have an upcoming charity raffle in which she will be donating all the money towards a local animal charity. She is one of my favorite beauty guru's and I think this is an amazing thing for her to do. I love animals so much and they need our help. I strongly urge everyone to check out her video explaining what she will be doing and about the prizes she will be giving away. I've offered to send her some China Glaze polishes to put towards the prize, so I'm hoping to here back from her soon! I am going to donate as well once the raffle is in effect. Let me know if you participate in her charity raffle as well :)

Klean Colors nail polish and gorgeous ring from Target

2011-06-04T04:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so first off I am so irritated. I had taken several pictures of this mani I did using Sally Hansen's Complete Salon in "Fairy Teal" and now they are alll gone save one! UGGH!!!! I have no idea how I managed to delete all the pictures I took, but alas, life must go on. Since I did manage to salvage one picture I suppose I will still a post about it since it was fortunately, the best pic in the bunch anyway.

I can't remember how I discovered the brand Klean Colors, but I'm glad I did. They have the most unique and amazing glitter polishes I have ever, ever seen. I saw a swatch of one called "Afternoon Picnic" and thought it was just so different, I have honestly never seen a polish like it. It has small gold, green, fuchsia and blue glitter with larger hexagonal silver glitter, very cool! I had the polish for a few weeks before I used it, I just couldn't figure out how to use it and make it look amazing. Then I saw "Fairy Teal
one day in a drug store and knew that would look amazing with it, and I think I was right. I wore it to work one night and the girls at work said it looked like something that would be on a crown, like royal jewels. How better a complement can you get than that?? I really do have to agree with them because when I first applied it that was pretty much my same thought. I feel like I do have to say that the only thing that really bummed me about "Afternoon Picnic" was that it went on really thick and took hours to completely dry, even with a fast dry top coat. However, it's so pretty that the drying time factor is worth it. I definitely plan on buying some more Klean Color polishes and reviewing them in the future as well.

I also just wanted to show off this gorgeous ring I got from Target last week. It's amazing, it reminds me of pirate treasure! It is a green cocktail ring that has iridescent holographic gold inside it that changes colors as it hits the light at different angles. I took a few pics of it to try and capture the different colors. If you see this one at your local Target I suggest picking it up! I paid $8 for it :)

Bubbly Bombshell & Here Comes Trouble Crackle Mani

2011-06-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I have the perfect summertime mani to share with you all today and it was super easy to do! I recently purchased Orly's Bubbly Bombshell and Here Comes Trouble from their new Pinup Collection and could not wait to try them out, so I used both at the same time. I just alternated the polished on every other finger, but once I painted my nails I felt like something was missing. I had purchased quite a few new polishes all at once and was trying to figure out how to incorporate another one of my new polishes into this look. I finally got my hands on the China Glaze white crackle polish in Lightning Bolt so I just swiped that on my tips at and angle and in different directions and voila! I just absolutely adored how this turned out! It's so summery and fun looking and oh so sparkly, and what's better than sparkles in the summer right? My only grip about the new Orly glitter polishes is that they are buildable but I feel like they would look best layered over a similarly colored base as I was able to spot a few tiny bare spots here and there. Here are a few pics of my beloved mani, enjoy!

Ross's & TJ Maxx finds!

2011-05-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

I went out of town last weekend with my boyfriend to go see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but we had some time to kill before the movie started so we went to the mall to look around. I went in Ross's, I love to go there because they have great designer bags, shoes and clothes at reasonable prices. As usual for me I went straight for the handbags and was really not finding anything that really stood out to me until I got to the last aisle and spotted this amazing Steve Madden bag with roses on it! I was totally just drooling over it but couldn't afford it at the time so I made a mental note to go back on payday, and I did. I went back to Ross's yesterday and grabbed it as soon as I walked in the door. I was so worried that they may have been sold out but they had been moved to a front end cap just for me :) Haha, well, not really, but I'd like to think that.

I just love the design on this bag. It looks like a piece of art that is still a work in progress, it's just a perfect bag for this time of year. It's very well made and a hefty bag that holds a ton of stuff. The inner pockets are very well made as well. You know how most handbags have that little pocket on the inside that are meant to hold your cell phone, but your cell always ends up falling out of it and lands itself at the very bottom of your bag? Well, mine fits perfectly in the cell phone pocket and doesn't fall out at all! Very impressive!

Inner zipper pocket

Close up of logo

I also stopped by TJ Maxx, as I also love their handbags and shoes. I wasn't even planning on getting anything, just wanted to browse but we all know how that goes... So, I saw these most perfect purple strappy N.Y.L.A. wedges and knew I had to make them mine. I really do love these but I wore them for about 10 minutes today and had to take them off. The straps are made of cloth which are super comfortable but the sole of the shoe just made my feet cry out in pain. I guess I'm going to have to break these suckers in. Anyone have any tips on how to break in wedges like these? I have other wedges but none have ever made my feet hurt as bad as these do. Oh well, enjoy the pics! I have a few new mani posts coming your way soon, btw!

Thrift Store Deals!

2011-05-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, my boyfriend and I went to a thrift store the other day and naturally, I gravitated towards the shoes. I almost immediately saw these Steve Maddens!

I got these for only $5! They had a ton of shoes in this place so I just kept on looking, hoping to find another steal and then, I saw them. I saw these AMAZING dark brown wooden heels with an orange strap with a buckle and gorgeous metal embellishment on the heels. I knew these shoes had to be mine. These were even less expensive than the Steven Maddens at just $3!

These shoes are by a designer I have never heard of before, Jessica Bennett. There was something about these shoes that had a vintage feel to them and I was thinking that there was a good chance these shoes were made in the 70's. After I got home and did my research, I discovered I was quite wrong. These shoes were originally over $144! holy cow! These are not vintage shoes but high end designer shoes, and I got them for only three freaking dollars!

I absolutely adore the metal detail on the heels, I am sure to be noticed when I wear these babies out. I wore them to work last night and I have to say that because they are made out of solid wood they are not something you want to wear all day, but they are fairly comfortable for a good amount of time. They do have some wear and tear but nothing that I don't think I can't solve with some wood stain...or I might just leave alone, I actually kind of like the worn look... as long as they don't get nicked too much worse anyway.

I am definitely going to be going to more thrift stores. It's amazing what you can find in these places, and yard sales too! You don't always have to buy direct from the designer or a department store to get great designer items, you just have to look hard enough sometimes and you might be in for a surprise.

Zoya BOGO!

2011-03-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

I just love Zoya! They have some of the most unique polishes, great customer service and are always having amazing sales! I just read on Xsparkage's blog about a BOGO Zoya is having for their new summer collections and had to take advantage of it. Basically, you can purchase up to 7 polishes from the 3 new collections, Summertime, Sunshine and ModMatte, and get 7 polishes for free! Plus, shipping is only $2! Xsparkage already has on her blog the info you need to take advantage of this so just go to her blog and read about it if you are interested. I purchased the entire Sunshine collection excluding the green polish, Apple. I just wasn't so much into that one, but I think the rest of the collection is super gorgeous. I hope you all take advantage of this, I believe the offer expires on 3/26/11.

St. Patty's day mani's! (pic heavy)

2011-03-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's day everyone! I have two St. Patrick's day inspired manicures for you today. My family is Irish so of course we get into the whole wearing green, eating potatoes and corn beef hash thing on today- So I had incorporate some green nails into all the fun. The first mani I did last week was extremely simple. I painted 2 coats of Sally Hansex Xtreme wear in "Green with Envy" and then took a cosmetic sponge and using Sinful Colors in "Show Me the Way" sponged a gradient on the tip of the nail to darken it up and add some dimension. Finally, using a gold glitter with large and smaller sized pieces of glitter I just added that over the darker green gradient. One layer of top coat and that's all! I just loved the gold glitter, I don't usually name my manicures but I called this one my "Pot of Gold mani" because it just made me think of gold coins. Here are the results!

Here is a photo of products used

This week I've been sporting a green, white and gold holo glitter mani and I am in love with this one! I had so much fun creating it too! I used the same to green polishes as I did with the previous mani but added Orly "Green with Envy" (that's two polishes with the same name...wondering if the polish company's ran out of steam trying to name polishes?) and Orly's French Tip white polish in "White Tips''. After I did the marble and let it dry a few minutes I put one layer of Claire's Gold holo glitter top coat over the design, top coat and that was all.

And below is another photo of products used

I zoomed in for a blurry shot so you could better see the holo effect of the glitter

And a video of the gold holo-glittery goodness! Hope you guys enjoyed! What did you all do far St. Patty's day? If you did anything special for your nails or makeup I'd love to see pics :)

winter mani

2011-03-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

So, today I am posting a mani inspired by winter. I decided that since winter is pretty much out of the way I wanted to get in one more winter inspired look and this is what I came up with. This look just totally reminded me of ice! I loved this look and the pictures just do it absolutely no justice whatsoever. I do have to admit this was one major pain in the ass mani. Just before I started working on it I popped in a Harry Potter movie (because I knew this was going to take a while and wanted to watch something long to keep me entertained) and was still working on it for at least 30 minutes after the movie was over! So, that should give you guys a good idea of how long it took to create this look. With that being said, I will NEVER attempt to recreate this look again, lol.

I used a silver chrome polish for my base and then added one layer of silver glitter over top of the chrome. Then I took the Sally Hansen HD polish in "Laser" and a cosmetics sponge and dabbed the blue polish over the tip of the nail. After that dried I (painstakingly) fished out the individual holographic silver glitters out of a random glitter polish and placed the pieces over where I put the blue polish. I then used these transparent holographic flakies that I purchased from Sally's Beauty Supply, and placed on the silver parts of my nails. This was what really took the longest because they are so thick and have a plastic texture to them that they don't stay down to well. I ended up having to put some clear coat on them and press each piece down with tweezers until they laid flat enough for me to add a coat of Seche Vit top coat. As with my purple and silver holo flakey mani I did a while back it again took several layers of top coat to smooth out the texture of my nails.

I feel like from now on when I do mani's where there are so many steps involved I will try and film a video tutorial instead of just trying to explain step by step what I am doing. Especially since I failed to take step by step photos, which may have made it easier to understand what I did (but then would have made this post more picture heavy that I feel it needs to be.) So, with that being said here are the photos of the outcome of my 2011 winter manicure!

I tried so hard to capture the holographic goodness of the flakies but alas, winter=lots and lots over cast days.

Here is a video of me trying to capture the holo

tri-color zebra print mani

2011-03-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, but as usual life just stays crazy for me. I have several new manicures to post but for today I am going to upload my last oldie manicure I did at least 6 months ago. It probably looks similar to my tiger striped mani, and it should because it's using the same konad plate image. But the good thing about this is it shows you that there is more than one way to play around with konad. Here I panted my nails white then used a turquoise, hot pink and bright purple polish at and angle on the konad image and just stamped it onto the white polish. It didn't turn out quite as nice as I was hoping but I think it is because I didn't have any konad special polish in the colors I wanted to use, so I had to use what I already had and it just came out way to sheer. But once my collection of konad special polishes grow I will try this mani again and hopefully will get the desired results.

Xmas purses and Valentines Manicures

2011-02-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

I know it's February but I wanted to do a post on what I got myself for xmas this past holiday season. Yeeeaah, I'm one of those people who usually gets themselves a present for xmas...and for my own birthday. But what's wrong with that? I think everyone deserve to splurge and treat themselves to something they have been pining over for months or even years once in a while, don't you? Well, anyways, I went shopping with my mom and cousin over the summer and we went in TJ Maxx and I saw this Betsy Johnson purse and fell in love immediatly! I really wanted it but was having to be careful with my money at the time and ended up not getting it. I had spent about 5 months thinking about that purse and when I went back in TJ Maxx in December to finish up my xmas shoppiing it was still in there! Last one too! So I decided it was fate, I had to have it.

So, as I was walking around the pocket book area just browsing, certainly not planning on buying another purse I saw this stunning Kathy Van Zeeland bag. I am a sucker for copper and bronze anything and this little beauty was just screaming at me. I said to myself "Don't let this happen again, don't pass up another bag that you KNOW you are going to be mentally going over in your head for months that you really wished you would have grabbed it." So, I listened to that little retail demon in my head and got that purse too, and I am so glad I did! It was worth the money spent. In fact, these are the only 2 bags I have been using since the early part of December. They are great and I am constantly getting compliments on both of them when I go out.

I realize the Betsy bag is huge, but I work 12 hours shifts and am unable to leave my office so it comes in handy to take to work. I can fit everything from my flat iron, makeup essentials, my wallet, a bottle of water, books, my work notebook, body spray and even my lunch in it! Most definitely money well spent on that one. And on my off days I just quickly switch a few items into my smaller Kathy bag. I love the Kathy bag because it stays on my shoulder without slipping too much and the lining inside is too cute! It's pink and purple zebra stripes. Time for pics!

Betsy bag on left, Kathy bag on right

See the pretty, clear sequins that covers the entire bag?

The inner pink and purple zebra print lining.

Now, changing course a bit. Here is my Valentines manicure! I really like this more than I thought I would. I used 3 coats of Jessie's Girl "Beach Baby'' (which kind of disappointed me. It looked like a super hot pink neon in the bottle, but when I applied it it was actually a neon red. An exact dupe for China glazes "Rose Among Thorns" which I already own. But alas...) and then used my konad stamp plate in M13 and stamped a black rose at the base of each nail. However, on my thumb I stamped a black rose and the right lower corner and then a white rose on the left lower corner. I put a white bead in the center of each black rose and a black bead in the center of the white roses. Three coats of Seche vite top coat and there you have it! I just hope I can keep this manicure up till the 14!

Water Marble Nails

2011-01-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

So, this is my first attempt at water marbling. Don't know what that is? Then you need to check out My Simple Little Pleasures blog. She is THE expert on water marble manicures and is so creative. The designs on each nail are completley different from the next, but as I said this was my first attempt at this. I really enjoyed doing this and I may make another attempt at one soon. I think the color combo I used is super gorgeous! I used a base coat of Zoya's "Malia" and then the blue is Zoya's "Robyn" and the purple is Orly's "Purple Crush" and then I just layered it with Orly's "Shine On Crazy Diamond" to add a bit of sparkle to it.

I have to apologize for how blurry these turned out, it was so overcast the day I took these pics that my camera just refused to focus. But, I think you guys can get the idea and still see how beautiful the color combo with the glitter is. This is def a manicure that needs repeating!

Tiger Striped Nails

2011-01-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

So today I wanted to share with you all another manicure I did not too long ago, and this was so simple but one of my all times favorites! All I did was use an orange nail polish (I used Revlon in "Swoop") for the base and took Konads image plate in M69 with the Konad special polish in black and just stamped it onto my nail. I have to admit, I wasn't sure about how to exactly place this design. I wanted the design to cover my entire nail so after the first initial stamp there was still some blank areas, so I would re-stamp the design which caused the pattern to overlap in some areas and I just didn't like that way that looked. It's really up to you but I feel that just doing one stamp and then if there is a small amount of blank area around the edge of your nail it should be ok. I just think the overlapping looked sloppy, but it's totally your preferance! Anyway, here is a closeup of my thumb without overlapping, I think you will see that it looks much cleaner.

Zoya giving away 3 free polishes!

2011-01-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

Zoya is giving away 3 free polishes! Yes, that's right, 3 FREE polishes! I'm not sure how long this will be going on but if you use coupon code "FB2011" You get 3 free polishes of your choice, just pay for shipping! Hurry up everyone and take advantage of this great deal! I ordered mine last night, I got Kelly, Starla and Edyta. Which ones will you get?

Silver Holographic Chunky Flakey Nails

2011-01-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I thought today I would share with you all a mani I did over the summer. I Really liked the way this came out but it was honestly a total pain to accomplish. I used Sinful Colors nail polish in "Let's Talk" as my base. It's probably the most beautiful purple polish I've ever seen and it was only $1 at Walgreens! Then I used some really thick, chunky holographic silver flakes I got from Sally Beauty Supply and layered them over my final coat of Let's Talk so it would adhere better to the nail. After I let it dry for about 2 minutes I had to put at least 8-10 coats of Seche Vite over it because the flakes are soooo chunky that I could just feel the edges of them and it was driving me crazy, you know like how if you put a chunky glitter polish on and you don't add a top coat and it feels gritty? I just hate that, everything has to be smooth lol.

So the final result was gorgeous in the sunlight. The holographic element of the flakes really sparkled and was so vibrant and I loved how it looked against the purple polish. The one thing that really sucked about this mani was that because it required so many coats of top coat that the polish was soooo thick that after a couple of days the polish just started to fall off, like my whole nail just peeled off entirely. Not to mention the remaining polish was a real bitch to take off, even with pure acetone. But if you like how this looks I would absolutley recommend giving this a try. I have some clear holographic flakes just like the silver ones but I have yet to attempt a mani with those, so I need to get crackin'! I don't think the clear ones are quite as thick as the silver ones but I'll try and do a post about those as soon as I can. :)

here is a slightly blurry photo with flash, I was completely unable to capture the radiance of the flakes just right :/

New Year, New Life

2011-01-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

This post isn't really beauty related but I feel like I need to rant a little bit being it's a new year. I'm really hoping 2011 will be kinder to me than 2010 was. In 2010 I lost my house which in turn forced me to drop out of college and move 4 hours back home to live with my parents. My boyfriend and I were living together in Lexington, NC and now he lives with his brother. We also loved our most cherished pet and what we considered basically our child, our pot bellied pig, Fester. Loosing him was really the biggest hurt I've ever felt in my life. He died so suddenly, there was nothing we could do to save him :( I think about him every single day and have pictures of him all around which does make me feel better- He's always with me.

I also had to quit my hellish retail job in Lexington when I moved back home. I didn't mind quitting my job but looking for work since I've moved back has been absolute hell. I had a really great paying job as a 911 Dispatcher, a job I absolutely loved, but after 3 months of working there I was laid off because my idiot boss is incapable of doing her job correctly and miscalculated her budget and couldn't afford to pay me and 2 other employees that she hire- thus laying us off. I'm currently on unemployment which is really not helping all that much. I'm searching for work constantly but nothing yet. My car has also been acting up a bit over the past few months since I've moved home and have had to get my parents to pay for all the work it's needed. Of course now that it will be paid off in a few months it wants to act up.

I'm really hoping 2011 will be the turn around year for me. I'm thinking about taking a phlebotomy course that is offered in the fall, and on top of that medical coding so that way I can hopefully, always at least have a part time job on my own terms. My long term goals are to get a good paying job and save my money up for probably at least 2 more years then try and move to Raleigh. I have always loved Raleigh, always something to; museums, shopping, eating, site seeing, concerts- you name it. I love the way the city looks and the feel to it, it's like there is electricity in the air. So anyway, I'm just hoping I can get a break at life this year, hopefully sooner than later and I can accomplish the few small things I'm asking for out of life. Here's to 2011!

A cheaper alternative to Beyonce's Heat perfume!

2010-12-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, Just wanted to share this great find with you all! I was shopping in Cato clothing store recently and when I was ringing up at the counter they had a few bottles of perfume on the counter. I noticed this really cute red bottle that reminded me of a genie bottle and sniffed...it smelled SOOOOO good! The cashier handed me a box of the perfume called "Hottness" and told me it was an impression of Beyonce's famous Heat perfume. I absolutely loved the spicey, incense type of scent it had and when I noticed the price HAD to have it. It was only $5!

So after going into Target about a week later they had an actual sample of Heat and it smells exactly like Hotness to me. The small bottle was $40 at Target! So, if anyone of you are looking into buying Heat I would suggest you run to your nearest Cato and snag up Hottness, it smells exactly the same and I think the bottle is way cuter than Beyonce's!

Great nail polish giveaway!

2010-03-12T21:52:00.001-08:00

http://toxiclipstick.blogspot.com/

Subscribe to her blog! I love her posts!!!

just my luck

2009-12-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

Well now that the holidays are pretty much over I made out like a bandit on nail polishes and I wanted to post a blog and swatches on all the goodies I got but due to an unfortunate accident, a friend accidently dropped my poor camera and broke it. I do have a backup camera but I haven't any batteries for it so I hopefully I can get my lazy butt up and go get a pack of double A's.

I got several polishes from China Glaze including some of The Wizard of Ohh Oz collection and they are freakin fan-tastic! Especially Ruby pumps. Makes me happy on the inside ^_^. Anywho, I haven't forgotten about my blog again, so check back soon and hopefully I will have some pics to share!

Orly Bonder

2009-12-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've ALWAYS had a problem with keeping nail polish on my nails for any period of time. I mean, most of the time, the nail polish is halfway chipped off my nails by the next day, my nails literally repel polish. It doesn't matter what brand of polish, MAC, China Glaze, O.P.I, -- the polish just always chips off so quickly and ends up looking like this

So after years of having this problem I had pretty much given up on nail polish. I was in Sally Beauty Supplies about a month ago and saw this bottle of bonder and was like, "ok, I'll give this a shot." Not really expecting it to make a difference at all. Boy was I wrong! This stuff is AMAZING! I have been using it ever since I bought it with all different kinds of brands of nail polish, from that cheap $1 polish at walmart to MAC, Polish will last for days and days on my nails now! I don't know how I have ever lived without this stuff. I'm not exactly sure what is in it but it says it is a rubberized basecoat. It's kind of an amber color in the bottle but it goes on clear and dries very quickly but is slightly tacky; this helps the nail polish adhere to the basecoat and the basecoat adhere to your nail better.

So, for example, I painted my nails 3 days ago with Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry nail polish in the color "Sonic Bloom".

I wasn't really sure what to think about this polish because with my past experiences with quick dry polishes they are usually the quickest to chip on me but it's day 3 and I only have the slightest chip on one finger.

I'm sold on this Orly bonder. I will never ever go without using this stuff ever again! I have never had this longevity with a polish in my whole life. I paid $6 for my bottle but the bottle is quite large (.6 fl oz) so one bottle will last an extremely long time. I would absolutely recommend this stuff to anyone who has a problem with keeping polish on their nails like I do. It will be the best $6 you will ever spend!

Dun Dun DUN!!!!

2009-12-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have gone 6 months and not posted anything, I totally didn't ever mean to abandon my blog like this. But alas, I have returned and I plan to post regularly from now on. As much as I read other peoples beauty blogs and watch videos on youtube I might as well be posting my thoughts on all things beauty as well!

So I'm actually going to be doing a "project" coming up in the next week, so look out for that! I will post a review on something tonight or tomorrow, promise!

A memorial video for my sweet Fester J

2009-06-04T00:35:00.000-07:00

I know this is not makeup related but it is about something that meant more to me than any material possesion ever could, and that is my pot bellied pig, Fester J. He passed away saturday May 30 and my heart is broken. I miss him so much and love him still. He was more than a pet to me, he was my friend.

my first MAC dazzleglasses

2009-05-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, sadly this is the first time I have ever purchased or used a MAC dazzleglass but I have to say that I LOVE them! I only got 2 and they were both limited edition. I got Goldyrocks and Smile. I really really loved love alert because it is this vibrant hot pink with amazing glitter in it but since it is now on the permanent line I decided to wait and get that one later. So anyways, I'm really pleased with Smile, it is such a beautiful peachy color (I'm a sucker for peach colors) and the glitter is amazing! It's very shimmer and you can not feel the glitter at all, not even if you try to you just don't feel any glitter. They are pretty sticky but I can deal with the stickiness because sticky glosses do tend to last longer and I haven't had to reaply any since I bought it and it's still going strong! I haven't had a chance to wear Goldyrocks yet but I will update with pictures after I get to play with them a bit more. And like all MAC glosses they have the most delicious vanilla smell, YUMMM!!! Also they have a brush and not one of those stupid sponge applicators, so yay for that. So that's my review for now. I know I never update here regularly but I have such a busy life it's hard to keep up with everything. So check out a couple of pics of my dazzleglass haul!

I just wanted to post this picture because look at that glitter! It's amazing!

swatches. Smile on left, Goldyrocks on right

Smile is on top, Goldyrocks on bottom

new stuff comming up

2009-05-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I know I neglect my blog terribly, but I'm planning on posting several reviews and hauls in the next few days so keep a look out!

my pretty pink box review

2009-04-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.myprettypinkbox.com

My entry for nikkietutorials contest

2009-04-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blog very much, but it is hard for me to find time to update in between classes, work and just simply having a life. But I will try my best to do better. Anyways, just a short update I guess here. I entered a contest on youtube for nikkietutorials and I chose camp earthly nymph because I don't do natural looks often and thought this one would be more challenging for me. I had a lot of fun doing this look and I'm really please with how it turned out. I have also begun doing makeup reviews on my youtube channel so I will proably post more on there than I will on here. I've only got a couple of videos up so far but I'm hopeing to do at least one a week. Go check it out and subscribe! http://www.youtube.com/user/f0xyc0ntin

mini haul

2009-03-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

Just showing off some makeup I got in the mail today that I bought from the store on www.makeupgeek.com. I have GOT to rave about the super speedy shipment I got on this. I ordered these 4 items thursday and recieved them today (saturday) I have NEVER gotten anything that quickly that I bought online ever! I would definetly recommend anyone looking for NYX items to check out the store on MUG. It's cheaper than on the NYX site and, I mean comeon, 2 day delivery! That's undheard of! I haven't been feeling good today and even called out of work today because I couldn't sleep any last night and felt so nauseous (SP?) this morning. But when I got this in the mail today it just made my day so much better :)

Anyways, this is the first time I have ever used any products from NYX or Ben Nye and I have to say that I am very pleased with the quality of both products. The lipgloss goes on sooo smooth and feels so good on. It has a gorgeous pigmentation to it and sparkle. It would look perfect for just about any look I think. The NYX eyeshadow, I haven't worn yet but it is so soft and creamy feeling and the pigmentation is just as good as MAC. I can't wait till tomorrow so I can give it a go. I put on the Ben Nye shadows and they are also just as good as MAC. I got Indian Copper and Rose Gold and they look fantastic together. The Ben Nye shadows sell on the website in samples but they are less than $2 and you get enough to last for a long, long time if you use it right. Overall I am just so happy with my purchase and it didn't even cost me $20 for all 4 items, including shipping! So you all need to go check out the MUG store now!

Body Shop Shimmer Pallet

2009-03-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

This review is on the new shimmer pallet from The Body Shop. I have to say that The Body Shop is quickly becomming one of my new favorite stores. They have THE BEST body butters on the planet. I bought the olive body butter about a month ago and I have used it almost everyday. It has the most wonderful, fresh green scent to it and is really hydrating. But moving on.

This is new shimmer pallet from TBS. It retails for $22. I really quite like the packaging on this one. each individual cube comes with its own plastic container with a lid on it. I think some people might be annoyed by that and end up throwing the lids away but I like it because it keeps any fallout from the other pallets from muddling up the colors around it. None of the colors, nor do the pallet itself have names, it's just called shimmer palette number 18. Also, if you go to the website www.thebodyshop.com the photograph shows the colors much darker than what they really are.

The pigmentation is lighter than I thought it would be. I was able to swatch it in the store and the shadows looked a little darker to me ( but it may have just been the lighting). So I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I put it on when I got home. It's pretty much just a shimmer pastel pallet, but I think that it is perfect for a spring/easter look. I wore it to work the other day and I was also disappointed in it's staying power. I wore it over top painterly paintpot and by the end of my shift it had worn off significantly. To me that is saying a lot because PPP is such a good eyeshadow primer and I have never had a problem with eyeshadow not lasting with PPP before. with that said, if you are looking for a lighter, more shimmery or pastel eyeshadow I think this would be good for acheiving such a look, or the pink or white would make a fantastic highlight shadow. Below are some swatched.

with flash

without flash

Jane Mineral Gel Liner and Brush

2009-03-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

I am doing this review more so about the brush than the actual liner. This is THE BEST eyeliner brush I have ever owned. Seriously. the bristles are soft, yet stiff enough that I can easily draw a thin line under my waterline without the line becoming to thick. It's also angled well so I don't have to finagle (sp?) the brush all around my eye as well.This brush is just as good as any high end eyeliner brush. I prefer to my L'oreal HIP liner brushes (those I think are to wide and the bristles are too rough for my personal taste). And I only paid about $4 at Walmart for the gel liner and the brush together (the brush obviously comes with the liner). If anyone is looking for a good eyeliner brush go buy the Jane mineral liners that come with the brush. There are several different shades of liner like teal, navy blue, brown, plum and of course, black. The actual liner it's self is pretty decent stuff for $4, but it tends to smudge easily under the waterline. I've been using the liner almost daily for about a month and it hasn't dried up at all and I've heard that the HIP liners dry up easily, so this may be another reason to purchase this instead. So, there ya go. Here's some pics.

MAC Feb. Haul

2009-03-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

So why not start off my first blog entry with a haul review?

So, in June of 2007 I moved to Lexington, NC and just last month found out that there is a MAC store within 15 minutes from me in Winston-Salem NC. And conveniently enough I am taking a night class once a week in W-S. So basically before I go to my night class I make a quick pit stop at the MAC counter and these are all the goodies that I have acquired thus far. Assuming that anyone reading my blog halfway keeps up with MAC you can tell which products are shown above, but I will list them anyway- I think you can figure out what I'm listing without me having to tell you "starting from the top going clockwise blah blah blah..." No, I'm just going to list them however,figure it out.

Ehm... from the Hello Kitty collection: pallet in "Too Dolly"
lipgloss in "Fast Friends"
lipstick in "Big Bow"
moving on...

~the other 2 shadows are "Trax" and "Beauty Marked"
~the 217 brush
~Liquidlast liner in "Aqualine"
~Dame Edna lipglass in "Possom Nose Pink"
~Plushglass in "Plus Luxe"
~Painterly Paintpot

So, as far as the hello kitty stuff goes I really like the lipstick. It is a very beautiful hot pink color with shimmer and last a fairly long time without reapplication. However, the one thing I absolutely hate about it is the shimmer feels SOOOO clumpy and goopy on my lips. I almost feels like that cheap lipstick crap you buy from the dollar tree. It's the nastiest feeling and even with a good, smooth lipgloss on top it still feels gross. But it does have an impression of hello kitty on the lipstick itself, which, even though I'm not a fan of the cat, is very cute.

See?
Now the hello kitty lipgloss in "Fast Friends" I find rather disappointing. Purple is my favorite color, and I'm a bit obsessed with all things purple so I was hoping that this would be a very lightly tented lavender color I could wear on top of lipgloss without looking like to much of a freak. Well, it goes on smooth, is not sticky, has lovley shimmer but has not fucking hint of tint to it what so ever and I thik that sucks. The orange gloss called "Nice to be Nice" (which I don't have) does have a slight hint of orange to it and so does the pink kitty gloss called "Nice Kitty" so I feel like I got ripped off on the purple gloss. But the shimmer is pretty so it makes a nice translucent lipgloss if that is what you are looking for.

Moving on to the eyeshadow palette...I acutally asked for the "Lucky Tom" pallet at the MAC store, but stupid me didn't check until I had gotten in the parking lot at the college to see that I had actually been given the "Too Dolly" palette. I've decided to keep it because I actually do like it. The colors (in order from left to right) on the palette are "yogurt" "romping" "too dolly" and "statley black". Romping is very pigment and almost seems to me to have a slighty blue undertone to it and goes on very smoothly. With Too Dolly it's a bit more translucent than I would like but if you put on enough it shows up nicely. Yogurt, well, I can't really tell if I like it or not because I am so fair skinned that it doesn't show up on me but I do use it as a matte highlight. Now, Statley Black is a hard color to blend with. I really have to add color and blend constantly just to get it to barley show, but once I get the effect I'm looking for it's quite a nice shimmery black. Now-moving on from the friggin hello kitty stuff.

The plushglass is awesome, I really love it. It looks great on top of the hello kitty lipstick and by itself. Its a very sheer hot pink tint with shimmer (which I can't feel, and I love that). It also makes my lips tingle a slight bit, more like a cooling sensation and has a nice smell to it.

I think that the best thing I have gotten so far from MAC is the Dame Edna lipglass in "possom Nose Pink'. It is the best lipgloss I have ever owned. It is a gorgeous hot pink color, but not to bright. The shimmer is excellent and I can't feel it at all. It's not sticky and smells fantastic. I wear it often and I think you should get it before MAC discontinues it. Plus, the lid is red and purple, my 2 favorite colors together. LOVES IT!

Ok, so enough with the lipstuff. Here are some swatches.

So the 2 MAC shadows I bought I really love. Beauty Marked looks like a dark purple with golden shimmer but when applies it looks to me like a matte black with golden purple shimmer. I was disappointed at first because it was not what I was expecting and didn't look that way to me when I swatched it at the counter, but I actually really like it now and use it almost everyday. The Trax shadow is this kind of smoky purple color with a hint of that golden shimmer and in certain lighting it almost looks pinkish. I'd recommend these shadows to anyone who doesn't like very bright shadows but likes color because they are beautiful together but not extremly bright-almost earth tone.

I had been eying the aqualine on the MAC site for months but as soon as I saw it the counter I had to have it. It's the most gorgeous shade of teal/aqua ever. I have never seen a liquid liner in a shade like that before and I think it's absolutly fantastic. The one thing I hate about it is that it takes foever to dry but once it does it doesn't smudge one bit and is actually kind of difficult to wash off. I had to use eye makeup remover, soap and them another kind of makeup remover to get it all off.

OK, so almost done! I got painterly paintpot because if any of you ever watch makeup tutorials on youtube, then you know almost everyone and their mother uses painterly paintpot, so I had to try it out. I already have Urban Decays Primer Potion and I really love that stuff but I hate that it takes a while to dry and the packaging fucking sucks. But with PPP it goes on very smoothly, dried instantly and the packaging is perfect. There are only 2 things I found that I don't like about it. It is a littler harder to blend with than UDPP and it is about half a shade darker than my skin tone, so I always have to put a lighter eyeshadow over it first to keep it from showing through and making my eyes look diseased. But overall, fantastic stuff.

Last but not least the 217 brush. I think this brush is the holy grail of makeup bbrushes. Everyone on youtube or anyother makeup site out there seems to have this brush so I had to have it to, and it's worth the $14. It makes blending sooo much easier and putting shadow in the crease area. It's really a multiuse brush because you can use it for eyeliner, crease, and blending depending on how you use it. So if anyone is looking to buy a brush from MAC, I would go with the 217 first.

The rest of the swatches(all of these are overtop the PPP)

Well, thanks for sitting through my lenghty blog. I'm not sure what kind of feedback and all I will get on here or exactly what I am expecting with this, but I like makeup so much and can't always find reviews out there on stuff that I am looking for. I won't always be doing reviews with high end stuff like MAC and UD because I can't always afford so I'll do stuff on Cover Girl and Revon and crap you can get anywhere as well. Well, I'm tired of typing shit now so I'm going to watch the Dark Knight now. Maybe I'll do a review on that too. Heath Ledger=<3