Saturday, April 27, 2013

Review and Swatches--Essie First Timer

What, another creme nail polish? Yup, that's my spring mood so far, and recent collections in stores have been very accommodating. 
*I purchased this product with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*


Essie makes some of my favorite creme polishes, so I have been on a little kick with them lately. This beauty is call First Timer and is from their Resort 2013 collection (the same collection as In the Cab-ana).


The consistency was thin, but fortunately it didn't make the coverage poor or streaky. All photos show two coats Essie First Timer and one coat Poshe top coat


Inside the house under natural light, First Timer pulled a lot more blue. Most of the time, it was the vibrant green that you see in my sunny photos. 


I was very happy with this polish. I am a big fan of green and kept looking at my nails while wearing it. It chipped sooner than I would have liked, which isn't a big deal for me since I change my polish so often, but maybe something to keep in mind if you want your manicure to be long-lasting. 


Essie nail polish usually retails for $8.00 and can be purchased at stores like WalMart, CVS, and Target as well as on their Web site. 


*I purchased this product with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Manicures with Friends Part 2: Tot's Dots

The most recent hand model for Rouge Required is my friend Tatiana. We call her Tot or Tater Tot as nicknames, thus Tot's Dot's. She wanted something that she wouldn't do for herself, and we were having trouble deciding which polishes to use, so we used several of the top choices for this 'dotticure'. 
*Products shown below were either purchased by me or received in a trade with one of the other members on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*


 

I first painted Tot's nails with a base coat of Orly Bonder, then two coats of Essie Play Date. I applied Poshe quick-dry top coat before creating the dots.



The dots were created with my Martha Stewart dotting tools that I bought at Michael's. These photos are before I applied a final coat of Poshe over the dots, indoors under artificial light. If you choose to do a similar manicure, I recommend waiting longer than you think you need to before applying the last top coat. The dots are thicker than a normal coat of polish, so they tend to smear if you top coat them too soon.



The polishes used for the dots:
Lavender--Julep Renee
Purple glitter--Zoya Aurora


*Products shown above were either purchased by me or received in a trade with one of the other members on makeuptalk.com. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*




Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Emily de Molly Regal Beginnings Revisited

Emily de Molly Regal Beginnings is one of my most treasured polishes. See my previous post HERE for a review. Today's post is to show the photos that I preferred, but were stuck in my new-to-me camera (I needed to buy a card reader to make my computer load them) at the time. 
*I purchased this polish with my own money. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by Emily de Molly.*












*I purchased this polish with my own money. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by Emily de Molly.*


Monday, April 22, 2013

Photos--Essie In the Cab-ana

Essie In the Cab-ana is a fabulous polish. However, it did not photograph well for me in artificial light. I will try to photograph it for you another day in sunlight, and then I'll give you a real review. The photo of Miss Blu's (my four-year-old cousin, my beloved one) hands is the most color accurate of these. I dislike these photos, but I was really happy with my nails that day...sigh.













Sunday, April 21, 2013

Shorty Post--Giveaway over at Lacquer or Leave Her

One of my favorite nail bloggers is Mishka over at Lacquer or Leave Her. She recently hit a big milestone, her one year anniversary of blogging (a.k.a. blogiversary). She has also reached 600 followers. To celebrate, Mishka is hosting a giveaway. The prize is a $20 gift certificate to Ninja Polish, an online seller that has an amazing selection of indie polishes and makes their own line of polish (check out Divinity--stunning!).

My favorite aspect of Lacquer or Leave Her are the Before and After manicures. Check out the blog and the giveaway here:
http://lacquerorleaveher.blogspot.com/2013/04/one-year-blogiversary-and-600-followers.html

Congratulations, Mishka! :)

Friday, April 19, 2013

Zoya Earth Day 2013 Nail Polish Exchange

This post contains a referral link. If you choose to order from Zoya.com, please use my Share the Love referral link: https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01853244.  This gets discounts/coupons for me and a free bottle of polish for you. See details at the end of the post.


Hooray For Earth Day! The Zoya Nail Polish Exchange Is BACK for 2013...
Announcing the 2013 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange*

Hooray for Earth Day! Once again, Zoya is helping you do a little spring cleaning with the return of the Earth Day Zoya Nail Polish Exchange* for 2013. Clean out your nail polish wardrobe and get rid of old nail polish that may not be BIG5FREE (Free of Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, DBP and Camphor) and exchange it for a greener alternative - long lasting, award winning, healthy Zoya Nail Polish bottles!

Now's the perfect time to make the switch to an eco-chic beauty routine! From April 19, 2013 - April 26, 2013 (11:59pm EST), exchange your old, unwanted nail color for toxin-free ZOYA Nail Polish for only $4 per bottle plus shipping and handling fees. Rest assured - ZOYA will properly dispose of your old polish. 

Here's all you need to do!
 
 
 
If you choose to order from Zoya.com, please use my Share the Love referral link: https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01853244.  This gets discounts/coupons for me and a free bottle of polish for you. See details at the end of the post.
  1. Go to www.zoya.com and pick out the polishes you would like (excludes ALL Zoya PixieDustTM Collection shades) and add them to your cart. You must select at least 6 bottles and no more than 24 bottles of polish (Salon accounts minimum 12 maximum 48 bottles.)
  2. Apply the code: ZOYAEARTH2013
  3. Your order value will be adjusted to reflect a 50% discount (we use these funds to properly dispose of the old nail polish).
  4. SUBMIT your order!
Then Zoya will ship out your NEW polish! HOORAY! This is what your order should look like...
Once you get your order
Here's where the exchanging* happens...
  1. Ship back the equivalent number of bottles you received to the return address below (ie. If you ordered 6 bottles of Zoya – you would send us 6 NON-ZOYA polishes). Please check with your carrier on the proper way to ship nail polish.
  2. Include a copy of your order. 
To clarify the exchange: You do not have to send us the exact amount of bottles that you are ordering. You can send any quantity up to that amount. You can also donate. If you decide you don't want to do either, it's ok "Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish" we will still love you and will send the Zoya polishes... we'll just send you on a guilt trip for a while :)

Ship Your Old Nail Polish To:
Art of Beauty, Inc.
c/o Polish Exchange
5060 Taylor Rd, Unit D
Cleveland, Ohio, 44128, USA


Once we receive your polish we do the rest! It’s that simple!

IMPORTANT!
The bottles you send in cannot be Zoya, Qtica or Nocti polishes (but they can be any other brand). We are using the honor code here folks! We want to make sure you get your Zoya Nail Polish! We send you the polish first then you send your old polish back to us! If you do choose to send us your old polish we promise to properly dispose of it according to EPA guidelines. This offer is only good for 1 week so hurry – Don’t Wait!
*Offer valid online at www.zoya.com only. Offer expires on 4/26/2013 at 11:59PM EST. Continental US ONLY. Excludes ALL Zoya PixieDust Collection shades. Not valid with any other codes, coupons or promotions. Shipping and handling fees apply. Consumer accounts must exchange a minimum of 6 polishes with a 24 bottle maximum. Salon accounts must exchange at least 12 with a maximum of 48 bottles. Polish can be from any brand EXCEPT Zoya, Qtica or Nocti and can be exchanged for in-stock .5oz Zoya Nail Polish. Offer is not contingent on customer returning polish. Zoya Exchange code is unique and non-transferable. One code per account. Art of Beauty is not responsible for incorrect addresses, credit card entry errors or errors associated with declined credit cards. Please allow standard time for processing and shipping, however if volume is higher than expected please allow up to 6 weeks for shipping and processing. Art of Beauty, Inc. reserves the right to remove any polish that is out of stock from your order. You will not be charged for this polish. Backordered polish is not included in this promotion.
 
This post contains a referral link. If you choose to order from Zoya.com, please use my Share the Love referral link: https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01853244.  See below for details.




Remember EVERYONE WINS with "Share the Love":  
When someone clicks on your personal link and sets up an online account, a $5 coupon a coupon for a FREE Bottle of Zoya Nail Polish will automatically be placed in their account and can be used immediately on their current order. TIP: If you use this coupon and add 2 more polishes to your order, you get free shipping too! The coupon will appear in the "My Coupons/ Promos" section of their "My Account" Page.



You get 100
Share the "Love Points"
added to your account when the following three things happen:
  • A person who clicks on you link creates an online account
  • That account places any online order
  • That order ships and is successfully invoiced and charged

Share the
"Love Points" can be redeemed for valuable coupon code and gifts. Check out the New Monthly Special Redemption Offers in the "Redeem Points" section of your online account. New ones are always being added.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Review--March 2013 Goodies Box

Okay, so this is a little off-topic. I usually get beauty subscription boxes. However, the ladies on makeuptalk.com are the ultimate enablers, and we always alert each other to a good deal or new sample subscriptions, whether they be glamorous, fun, or edible. :)
*I purchased this subscription with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*



You can learn more about the Goodies Company subscription here: https://www.goodies.co/.  The short version is that you get a bunch of samples of snacks for $7.00/month. It is by invitation only (at least at this time), so you enter your e-mail address and they send you a message when an invitation opens up. Having watched many new sample subscription services get overwhelmed and the customer service and other factors be compromised, I think that this is a smart way to begin. 




The Taster's Box for March had a breakfast theme. 




I'm showing you the March box a little late because I wanted to try everything before actually giving a review. The included information card tells you the regular size and price for each product.




This caramel-filled waffle was delicious. I ate it with my coffee, although I did not use their recommendation of setting it atop your hot beverage to melt the caramel a little.




These breakfast biscuits had a good flavor, close to the taste of graham crackers. I found them to be dry, though, so I dipped them in my coffee and that was better.




I was happy with this bar, but not blown away. I love Greek yogurt, berries, and most granola bars, so it would have been difficult for this to be a miss for me as far as taste. It was moist, too, which was nice. This bar was not filling; that was the only downside for me. 




This was my favorite sample. Strawberries are my favorite food. I didn't go a breakfast route for this one. I went with a classic peanut butter sandwich and added the preserves as my 'jelly'. I used the whole tiny jar on one sandwich, and it was worth it. Delicious! It tasted as great as it smelled. 


 


I sprinkled this on my Corn Flakes. It was good, but not outstanding. I think that it would have been better if I had paired it with yogurt. I do think that it's very nice for those with nut allergies to have a nice granola option, though.


 


This was my least favorite item in the box. It did not taste like a cookie. It wasn't bad, just meh. It was very moist, but not strong on the chocolate. It was more filling than the Greek yogurt bar.




So, yeah, coffee is the theme of my breakfast. I don't feel like eating in the morning, so I am only successful regarding a good breakfast about 40%-ish of the time. Anyhow, this protein shake mix was a good compromise for me. I mixed it with my coffee. The coffee masked the protein-y taste that usually occurs in these shakes. The mix served as a good flavored creamer of sorts for my coffee. 




The Newtons went to hubby because he already loves them. I cannot vouch for this exact sample, but I have tasted the Triple Berry flavor before and it was delicious, as are all of the Newtons I've tried.

Overall, I was very pleased with this box. I felt like I got my $7.00 out of it. It was less gourmet than what I have tried previously with Love with Food (a similar type of subscription), but I also didn't feel any doubt about wanting to try everything. Goodies offers points for giving product reviews on their Web site, and these can be redeemed toward full-size versions of the snacks you have sampled. I always appreciate some sort of loyalty/rewards program.
*I purchased this subscription with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Thanks for reading!
zzzzZZZZ Sleepykat =^.^=