Polished Lifting

Hey guys. Today I have Mist and Shadow, Cloud and Shade from Lucky 13 Lacquer. After seeing all the lovely swatches out there I knew I finally needed to wear this beauty.

I had so much fun with last month's He Picks My Polish challenge, that I asked Brian to pick for me again. I'm not going to lie, his ego was pretty inflated last month with all of your compliments. When I showed him what you all said he replied back with "you're welcome" in a kind of cocky tone. I'm pretty sure he thinks he can run this blog. Here are Brian's picks for this month:

I'm unsure what the name of the blue is because it has been missing its sticker for years now. After some googling I think it might be China Glaze Shower Together. Maybe one of you owns it or a similar color and can confirm?

This is two coats of my mystery blue topped with one coat of Ulta Frosted. I think Brian has figured out that you can put glitter over anything. I tried to encourage him to pick another color to add to the challenge, but he said I needed to stick with his two choices or he wasn't going to pick again.

What do you guys think of the combo? I like it, but I definitely think his first pairing was much more interesting.

By now I'm sure you have heard of the super amazing multichromes KBShimmer released a while back. I finally got my hands on one and they hype doesn't even begin to describe how much I love this color.

It's a rare treat when we have a weeks worth of sunny weather this time of year. After spending most of the week working in the yard, Brian and I decided to get out of town to enjoy a new hike a few Saturdays ago. We recently got into hiking, so we try to take advantage of every sunny day that comes along. This adventure took us to Latourell Falls. The hike is 2.4 miles will take you past two waterfalls.



The lower falls could be seen from your car, but you could get a much better view by walking up a short path. We saw a ton of people doing just that and opting out of the hike.


During the hike we saw some interesting plants. I'm not sure what either of these are, but they were everywhere.


Once we got closer to the upper falls, it was nearly impossible to stay dry. The footbridge that took us across the creek was soaked.

Today I have four super unique colors from Daphine Polish's Top Ten Collection. The collection consists of ten different colors inspired songs. There are some really fantastic colors in this collection that I did not swatch and review, so I highly recommend that you check out her store and Facebook page to view the rest of the collection.

Little Black Heart

Cosmic Girl

Last Beautiful Girl

Drop In The Ocean

***Product was provided for review

I first saw this color on Chalkboard Nails last Spring and knew I had to have it. I tend to waffle on polish purchases and ended up waiting too long to snag this beauty. When it was finally back in stock, I didn't hesitate to grab a bottle. Light it Up Blue was inspired by Autism Speaks and World Autism Day. For every bottle purchased, Different Dimension will donate $2 to Autism Speaks.

I have to start off by saying that I am a HUGE fan of quirky nail polish. If it glows in the dark or changes color I need it. When I got this awesome skull I had to know if it lived up to it's glow in the dark claims.



Sweet Dreams is a glow in the dark, neon pink creme with small bits of silver glitter. For not being a huge girly girl or a pink lover, I like how loud this color is.


I used two coats of polish and was able to get really nice coverage, and the formula was pleasant to work with. The third photo shows how intensely it glows with just one minute of charging. If you were to wear this color all day in the sunlight I think it would glow for several hours.

Polishes used: Black Heart Beauty- Sweet Dreams, Revlon- Quick Dry Top Coat

Do you like glow in the dark polish?

I have two colors from the upcoming Pretty & Polished Saved By the Bell collection. The whole collection consists of six creams and six glitters and will be available May 1st. These two lovely shades were inspired by Kelly Kapowski.

Kelly

Give Me A K!

***Products were provided for review

Today I have another unique stamping combo to share. I wanted to get away from stamping with black, white, gold & silver for once. After rejecting several other color combos this is what I settled on:



I used two coats of Ulta- Maine Attraction and sealed it with a layer of Poshe Top Coat before stamping. Once everything was dry I stamped over it using Sally Hansen Insta Dri- Pronto Purple. The image came from BM-221. This image plate is hit or miss for me. If you look closely you can see that the flowers are not fully opaque. This was caused by shallow etching. Every time I remove the excess polish to stamp, it removes nearly all of the color from a few of the flowers.



Swatching and blogging about polish has made me one antsy person. I wore this mani for about a week before I got bored with it. That has to be some sort of a record for me.



Are there any unlikely color combos that really wow you? I would love to see them!

I know some of you are die-hard Julep fans, while others completely despise the brand. These were gifted to me by a friend who just wasn't in love with the colors. I love natural colors, so these were right up my alley.



Roc Solid is a grey cream. Pictured above is two coats with no top coat. The formula was really runny to the point of flooding my cuticles. I was really surprised that I was able to achieve full coverage with just two coats. Despite the cuticle flooding, I really like the color. It's unbelievably glossy even without a top coat.

Diamond Theory



Diamond Theory is a copper/bronze glitter topper made up of tiny hexagons and micro glitter. Shown above is one coat brushed out to create a gradient. The formula was the exact opposite of Roc Soild. I actually found myself putting glitter back into the bottle because the formula was so thick. I think I will add a few drops of thinner to get it to a more workable consistency. I'm definitely a fan of the glitter overall. My huge complaint is that this didn't come in a larger bottle.

Conclusion

I'm not sure how I feel about Julep. Their formulas are off on both ends of the spectrum, and the bottles are tiny considering what they retail for. I like the colors, but they need to reevaluate the formulas.

I was recently contacted by NeoCell about trying a few of their products and giving away the same products I tried. Considering that their products are useful from both the athletic and cosmetic side, it seemed like an obvious choice.

NeoCell specializes in collagen based products. Why collagen? Well, collagen plays a huge role in the make up of of our bodies. It can be found in tendons, skin, ligaments, corneas, bones and many other structures.

NeoCell sent over Collagen Sport Ultimate Recovery in Chocolate and Beauty Burst Soft Chews in Fruit Punch flavor.



The Beauty Bursts state that they are soft chews packed with vitamin C and collagen. They do not contain: gluten, soy, palm oil, or artificial flavors.

Upon first consumption, I was actually surprised how hard the chews were. They are softer than hard candy, but they aren't jelly bean or even Starburst soft. I found that I preferred to suck on them for a moment until they softened up a bit. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't suggest chomping down on them.

The flavor tasted more like pomegranate mixed with some other kind of fruit. It definitely had a slightly different taste to it, but that's to be expected from a supplement. Compared to a lot of other products I've tried, the Beauty Bursts are superior in taste.


Collagen Sport Ultimate Recovery contains 30g of protein and BCAAs. The recovery formula does not contain gluten, sugar, lactose, artificial flavors or synthetic ingredients. The protein content and the BCAA content is typical of many popular protein powders. If you are trying to avoid lactose in your protein powder, this would be an excellent choice.

The back of the container stated that if you weren't able to use a shaker bottle (recommended) that their product will dissolve is water using a spoon to stir. I decided to test this claim and found it to be no better or worse than other protein powders on the market. Most of the product mixed in, but I was left with a few floating chunks I couldn't seem to get rid of.

Taste wise, I found the powder to be average. It wasn't overly chocolaty or bland. I did notice a bit of a bitter aftertaste, but once again that isn't uncommon. If you want to take advantage of the subtle chocolate flavor I recommend blending it with strawberries and bananas to make a smoothie.

Do you want to try these products for free? One lucky winner will receive the Collagen Sport Ultimate Recovery drink in Chocolate and the Beauty Burst chews in Fruit Punch. All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter widget below.

Rules:

• You must be 18 or older to enter. We have the right to request proof of age if it seems appropriate.


• Entrants must live in the US or Canada. 


• All entries will be verified


• No following and then unfollowing once the giveaway ends. Unfollowers will be banned from future giveaways. 


• Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize from the moment the email is sent. If the prize goes unclaimed a new winner will be chosen.


• The giveaway will end on April 28th at 11:59 pm pst

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hey guys! Today I have a custom color from Conjured Polish. A dear friend of mine wanted a dupe of a very hard to find, out of production color. She loved it so much that she ordered a second bottle for me.





Mamma Mia is a reddish-brown scattered holo. I used two thin coats to achieve full coverage. It almost had full coverage with one coat, but I did two just to be on the safe side. The formula was nice and exactly what I expected from a holo. The shipping on this was also crazy fast. According to my friend it made it all the way across the US only three days after ordering. Now that's a fantastic response time!

I'm slowly getting into stamping when I have the time. There are so many gorgeous manis out there now that stamping plates are readily available. I finally got the hang of stamping a few months ago.





I started with three coats of Dollish Polish- Totes Magotes and sealed it with Poshe. Once that was completely dry I stamped over the top with Essie- Penny Talk using BM-205. I like how this came out, but next time I think I will pick two really different colors to make the image stand out.

Do you have a favorite stamping plate? I am always looking for new recommendations.

I'm back with another color from Ulta. A good friend spoiled me rotten when they were having a huge sale on polish, so I have a handful more scheduled in the future.





Maine Attraction is a robins egg blue crelly. Shown above is two coats with Poshe Top Coat. The formula was nice and flowed easily without flooding my cuticles.

I have a really strange relationship with crellies. They can be hit-or-miss for me depending on their thickness, pigmentation and if they contain glitter. I was actually surprised that this was a crelly when I started to apply it because it looked like a cream in the bottle. You probably couldn't use glitter between the layers as it would get lost in pigmentation. Despite this, the crelly finish does give it slight squishy appearance, which I am fond of.

Are there any formulas you love or hate?