Polished Lifting

Cauldron Bubble

Acetone Antidote - Cauldron Apple Bake

Scent: Baroness X house blend of apples, cinnamon, and bakery notes

Price: $8

Notes: This is a 1oz vial of Acetone Antidote. To use, shake vial and mix half with 4-8oz of acetone. Use 8-16oz of acetone if you wish to use the entire vial. Shake the mixture well before each use for best results. There is no cap on this product.

Fox Fire Hydrating Foxy Gloss - Kitsune

Formula: Nice consistency

Finish: Holographic shimmer, scent free clear gloss

Price: $9.50

Notes: This is a non sticky lip gloss formulated to hydrate and plump. The formula is vegan and uses eye and lip safe holographic pigment. Each tube holds 5ml of gloss. This is a really nice, subtle holo that can be worn anywhere for any occasion. There is no cap on this item.

All items featured in today's post will be available exclusively through the Little Box of Horrors shop. The shop opens for wishlisting on Wednesday, September 15th. The shop officially opens on Saturday, September 18th for shopping.

Baroness X & Fox Fire Wax Sol Cheirosa '62 Scent Comparison - Press sample

Sol Cheirosa '62 is a wildly popular scent right now, so I wanted to do a comparison post to see how different dupes match up to the original. Baroness X was kind enough to send over some of the original Sol Cheirosa '62 Bum Bum Cream for a direct comparison.

Sol Cheirosa '62 Brazilian Bum Bum Cream

Baroness X New Moon Cuticle Oil - Sol Cheirosa '62

Fox Fire Wax - Sol Cheirosa '62

The Butters Hygienics Co. Fall Moisturizer Round Up - Press sample

With all of the extra handwashing this year I thought it would be a good time to lean in and do a post on moisturizing. Many of us think about our face when it comes to moisturizing but neglect everything else. Today we're going to explore a few different options from The Butters Hygienics Co. and how layering can be beneficial. 

Complete Care Lip Balm

Healing Balm for Scars, Wounds, and Tattoos

Organic Aloe Vera Gel

This is my first pick if I need moisture when I know I have to touch a lot of things (keyboard, phone, etc). The best part is that you can use aloe from head to toe. It can be used to smooth split ends, as a lightweight face moisturizer, or wherever you wish to quickly soothe dry skin. Aloe vera allergies are quite rare, so it's a safe option for most people.

Ingredients: Aloe, guar bean powder, potassium sorbate

Satsuma Guava Aloe x Shea Body Moisturizer

The Butters Hygienics Co. Satsuma Guava Aloe x Shea Body Moisturizer is a medium weight moisturizer packed with a ton of great ingredients. The texture is similar to The Body Shop body butters without the high price tag.  

Ingredients: shea butter, grapeseed oil, olive oil, coconut oil, soy oil, palm oil, aloe, guar gum, apple cider vinegar, less than 2% polysorbate 80, isopropyl myristate, fragrance and/or essential oils, vitamin e, vitamin c

Now that you've (hopefully) read everything let's talk about what you can do if you have ultra dry skin. I'm a huge fan of layering products for my facial skincare routine, and have adopted this method for my hands as well. For any layering situation I start with the lightest formula and then work my way to the heaviest over the course of an hour or two. In this instance I started with the Organic Aloe Vera Gel, followed up with a small amount of the Satsuma Guava Aloe x Shea Body Moisturizer, and then finished it all off with the Healing Balm for Scars, Wounds, and Tattoos. Build each layer slowly so that you can allow previous layers to sink in. Layering products isn't required, but I find that it gives me an extra boost when I really need it.

All products featured in today's post are currently available through The Butters Hygienics Co. website. You can use code: COURT5 for 15% off your order. This also gives me a kickback which helps me pay for things like website hosting and camera maintenance. Just a reminder, I only endorse products I believe in regardless of affiliate codes. 

Baroness X Griswold Family Xmas Collection + Fox Fire Wax Co New Releases - Press sample

I have oodles of fun new things to share today! Because there is so much to cover I'm going to start with the Baroness X Griswold Family Xmas Collection and then we'll check out everything else. 

Griswold Family Xmas Collection

If You're Not Man Enough to Put an End to This Sh*t, Than I Am!

'Tis the Season to be Merry

Formula: Nice consistency

Finish: a red jelly with red metallic microflakies and metallic gold shimmer added for warmth

Coverage: 2 coats

Price: $11

Xmas 1955

Formula: Nice consistency

Finish: a glitter blend a vintage Xmas, red, pink, green, blue and snow glitters with silver microflakies

Coverage: 1 coat as a topper, 3 coats alone

Price: $10

Notes: The first three swatches show 1 coat over If You're Not Man Enough to Put an End to This Sh*t, Than I Am!. The fourth swatch shows 1 coat over 'Tis The Season To Be Merry. The final swatch shows three coats alone (no base color).

She Wrapped Up Her Damn Cat

Formula: Nice consistency

Finish: orchid leaning light pink with blue to violet shimmer, holo and blue microflakies

Coverage: 2 coats

Notes: This color is only available free with the purchase of one of the first 25 sets sold.

New Moon Cuticle Oil

I had the pleasure of trying out two new application methods for the New Moon Cuticle Oil. The first was a doe foot applicator in Lit Dole Whip scent. The applicator itself is easy to use and makes applying a breeze. You use this style applicator just like you would a nail polish brush. When pulling out the wand you want to wipe off the excess oil from the applicator on the inner edge of the bottle. I usually find that after wiping off excess oil that the doe foot applicator has enough oil to oil both hands (sidewalls included). 

As for the scent, Lit Dole Whip is one of my top Baroness X scents to date. It's a nice, boozy version of my favorite treat! Lit Dole Whip is a blend of soft serve pineapple ice cream and rum.

The second application option for the New Moon Cuticle Oil is the dropper bottle. This bottle was scented with Sol Cheirosa '62. From my experience the dropper style bottle is just as easy to use as the doe foot applicator. You really don't have to squeeze the bottle at all in order to apply a small amount of oil. Gently tip it sideways while touching the end to your cuticle and it will deposit a small bead of oil. Once I drop a bead on each finger I usually rub it in by putting my fingers together cuticle to cuticle. Hopefully that made sense? Think index finger to index finger with cuticles touching. That may seem odd but it keeps my fingertips clean so I don't oil up everything I touch. 

This was my first experience with Sol Cheirosa '62 and I feel like I've been living under a rock. It smells absolutely wonderful! Baroness X describes this as addictive gourmand notes of salted caramel, pistachio, jasmine, and vanilla. It's hard to put into words because I don't find this overly sweet or floral. It really toes the line between the two scent categories for a wearable, year round fragrance. 

Vegan Matte Cuticle Balm

One of the most popular products on the Baroness X website is the Matte Cuticle Balm. Earlier this year the old formula was retired and the new Vegan Matte Cuticle Balm was launched. I am so happy that a vegan formula was introduced because I'm trying to be more mindful of the products I purchase. I don't always purchase vegan, but as I replace items or purchase new items I always look for cruelty free items.

To use, apply a small amount of balm to each cuticle and rub up to your first knuckle and into your sidewalls. This is less glossy than applying oil right before taking photos which is why it's often referred to as "swatcher's balm". I know a lot of people have an aversion to cuticle oils because they linger for quite a while, so the Vegan Matte Cuticle Balm makes a nice substitution. All swatches in this post used a small amount of balm applied after removing each polish color. That gave the balm enough time to sink in between photos.

This is also scented with Lit Dole Whip. It coordinates well with the Lit Dole Whip New Moon Oil, and it gives me an alternative cuticle care option. As I previously mentioned, I love this scent so I picked it twice for a reason.

Acetone Antidote

One of my personal favorite items from the Baroness X shop are the Acetone Antidotes. I've been using these for years in my acetone and I honestly can't imagine going back. Well, I did briefly "go back" and it was miserable. I was organizing my hall closet a few months ago (where I keep acetone and Acetone Antidotes) and discovered an unused bottle of Sally's Acetone with additive (the pink tinted one). It was miserable to use. I used to think that was the best acetone because it had an additive and wasn't as harsh as the 100% acetone. After using Acetone Antidotes for years the comparison between those and Sally's Acetone with additive are night and day. Baroness X Acetone Additive cleans better, is less harsh (no white marks), and comes in oodles of scents. Sally's Acetone required more than twice the number of cotton balls for removal, turned my cuticles a dry, dusty white, ruined my clean up brush, and only comes in a single scent. The scent thing is no big deal, but having to use so much cotton and acetone to clean up my fingers and stamping plates is borderline ridiculous.

Today I have two new scents to try: Bananas Flambe and Sol Cheirosa '62. Bananas Flambe is a nice, sweet, toasty, and boozy banana scent (just like the real deal). Sol Cheirosa '62 smells identical to the cuticle oil! It's just delightful. 

*Bananas Flambe is going to be the December Polish Pickup Scent. This will retail for $4.25 with no cap.

To use: Add one vial of Acetone Antidote to 6-8oz of acetone (I currently do about 8oz). Gently shake before each use. *For your safety: DO NOT smell the acetone after mixing. You can smell the scent on your fingers after nail polish has been removed.

Acetone Antidotes currently retail for $4.50 for a custom scent and $3.75 for a scent of the month.

Fox Fire Wax Co. Charcoal Soap Sample - Sweater Weather + Champagne Toast

This charcoal soap sample was a bonus addition to my blog package. It's scented with a house blend of BBW Sweater Weather and BBW Champagne Toast. I would have never though to blend those scents together but the outcome is so cozy! I've tried a few different soaps from Fox Fire Wax Co. in the past and wanted to do a quick comparison between the versions I've tried. From most moisturizing to least I found this charcoal soap to sit right in the middle. The sea salt soaps tend to be the least moisturizing (but not drying), while the general cold process soaps are the most moisturizing. This isn't at all drying, and offers a nice, clean experience. This isn't a scent currently available on the website but there are a ton of soaps currently available including a Champagne Toast soap and a Sweater Weather soap.

Fox Fire Wax Co. - Sweater Weather & Champagne Toast Wax Melt

This is the wax version of the charcoal soap sample mentioned above. It may seem silly to have so many duplicate scents, but Demi knows that when I love scents I like having them available in different formats. This was a custom wax blend of Sweater Weather and Champagne Toast. The scent blends champagne, nectarine, black currant, green & mint, apple & peach, musk & mist. It ends up smelling a touch sweet and fruity but then mellows with greens and musk. The blend makes my home feel very cozy without giving it an overtly winter/pine scent.

Sweater Weather/Champagne Toast had fantastic throw throughout my house and I ended up turning off my warmer after an hour because of how fragrant it is. My husband even picked up on the scent from 6 feet away before I even turned on the warmer. It's by far one of the strongest scents I've melted to date. Right now I have my seasonal warmers out so this review was based off a 15 watt warmer with my central air turned on. I imagine if you used a stronger warmer you might be able to smell this in a much larger house.

While this particular blend isn't available on the website you can request a custom wax blend over on this listing. A custom blend runs $13.50 for a 10oz minimum.

The Baroness X Griswold Family Xmas Collection will be available on Wednesday, November 25th at 6pm pacific. You can currently purchase any of the other items mentioned in this post (aside from the charcoal wax sample). 

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