February Popsugar Must Have Box + More

Ok, I actually got my February box a couple of weeks ago ... sorry it's taken so long to post on it! I also have gotten a few other random things to post on ... so here goes! The Must Have Box ...

I was really surprised this month ... they charged me the first of the month and shipped it not long after. I received my box on Valentine's Day! (great gift to myself!) 

Ok, I LOVE this month's box!! It came with ... 

Brokedown wrap and a Hanky Panky thong in cobalt.

Mariebelle Cacao Nibs.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic. (difficult to get a close pic for some reason)

I also received the Safe Haven book, jewelry cleaner and Sweethearts. There were also discounts for items. There was a 30% discount for a purchase at Brokedown, a free song download from the Safe Haven soundtrack, 15% discount on a purchase at Hanky Panky as well as a free Zoya polish with purchase in Hanky Panky Purple. I actually already used the code for the free polish. If you sign up for their email updates you get $10 off your first purchase, which was a better deal than 15% off. So I also got another pair of the undies but in Passionate Pink. They also sent me some Lingerie Wash Powder.

Box value : 

Brokedown Spa Wrap : $84

Hanky Panky Thong : $20

Mariebelle Cacao Nibs : $12

Revlon Balm : $7

Connoisseur Jewelry Cleaner : $8

Safe Haven Book : $8

Sweethearts : about $2 I'd say

Total Value : $141

Again, this box is $35/month. If you want to sign up for next month use this link : http://popsu.gr/KXP You can use the code REFERFRIENDS to get $5 off your new subscription. This code is good until 2/28. (however this is the same code it's been the last couple of times)

Next up ... MAC came out with a new collection called Archie's Girls. So many cute items! I wish I could've bought one of everything, but they're pricey. So I limited myself to one item. I chose the Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me.

I've been using it everyday ... such a nice powder! I bought this on MAC's site for $30. It's currently sold out ... check local MAC stores! 

I also received another sample from Popsugar's Sample Squad! I requested both the Wella Professional Thermal Image Heat Protectant spray and the Dial lotion.. but I only got the Wella. I'm thinking they may have more people signed up than when I first signed up and you may not get everything you request. They only chose 100 people for the Wella. You also have to check the site regularly for new samples. They don't send out alerts to your email like you can request them to do. So I missed requesting the Dove body wash. Anyway, I do love the Wella spray! Everything they send out is full size... I love that! The spray smells so good and works great. It doesn't make it difficult to curl like other heat protectants I've tried. I recommend this one! 

Finally I also bought three of the Pixie Dust polishes from Zoya! 

I bought Nyx, Dahlia and Godiva. I love this polish! It's so simple! No base or top coat needed. Just three thin layers of this polish. It dries to a sandpaper finish with sparkle. 

Here's Nyx with all three layered on my ring finger to make a navy.

And Godiva ...

I forgot to get picture of Dahlia while I had it on ... maybe I can remember for the next post! Anyway, love these polishes and hope they come out with more shades! Their polishes are $9 each.

Quite a lot for this post! Now I'm waiting on a super cute glow in the dark case for my phone from Victoria's Secret in Lemon Lime and of course my March Must Have box! I completed a survey for Influenster the other day to opt in for the February Voxbox ... so hopefully I'll get that and have more things to post here next time! It'll be my first actual Voxbox! Til then, glam it up! 

Minx Review and Other Polishes

Hi Y'all! Ok, so I was going to just do a post on the things I've tried in the last couple of weeks... but I realized that there were more things that I forgot to post about! First, some polishes I've done recently!

 

This is a Nails Inc polish called Baker Street. I LOVE this shade. I'm not normally a fan of blues on my nails, but this one is so fun and is really flattering. Love it! 

OPI's Thanks a Windmillion from their Holland collection. I got this one because of Lauren Conrad posting her nails looking lovely in it! Very fun and different neutral shade! 

This is a Sally Hansen Salon Effects set from the Avril Lavigne collection called In the Spot-Light. I LOVED this one and got tons of compliments on them. It's one of my favorites from the Sally line.

This is one of my favorites. I bought a kit from Orly called Neon FX which had two polishes (white and this pink 'Oh Cabana Boy!') and a top coat along with guides for french and chevron tips. I wasn't as crazy about the white and pink as I thought I would be.. I do still need to try the chevron tips though. Anyway, this look is from Pinterest using that pink and the paper reinforcements as guides and just my top coat. Seriously one of the easiest looks you can do!

Ok, now to the things I've tried in the last few weeks. I finally did the gradient from Pinterest and I LOVED it! Got tons of compliments. It was much easier to do than I thought it would be. I'll definitely be doing this one again and in other shades as well! 

Ok, now for my Minx reviews...... I was really (really) excited about these. Minx was something that before you could only get done in salons. I think there's like one salon in town that does these and I didn't feel like trying to find this place to get them done. So I was pretty excited to hear they were coming out with stickers like Sally. I snatched up two sets when they came in at Ulta. They're $18 a package and come with a mani and pedi. First of all, they apply completely differently from Sally's... you have to rub them to heat them up before you peel them off. Then you have to cut the pedi set down to size. Then apply. Then cut off the excess. I have no problems with the toes.. those look great! Fingers are the same for applying except they tell you to gently file the excess off. That sort of worked... anyway.. my first set was the gold moons...

I love the look! The things I didn't like on this round: since it was my first set there were some messed up spots... it felt like the edges of my nails were a bit rough from the file (and maybe even a little sticky from the ends of the stickers)... and really those were the only two things. I did apply a top coat on these. I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not... it didn't say. But since I use it on my Sally's I went ahead and put it on these. I felt like it didn't quite look as good... but it was still ok. My next set was Wild Pink Cheetah..

This one applied much better since I knew what I was doing this time around... I decided to not put on a top coat, which I later regretted. This set almost had like plastic or something peeling off the edges the very next day. It still had the rough sticky edges as well. So I put on a top coat which helped with the plastic stuff for a few days. But today more was coming up so I just took them off. Left the pedi set on as those still look great and don't seem to have the peeling or rough/sticky problems as the mani sets. I wish they just sold a pedi set because I would continue to buy those. But overall, I wasn't impressed enough with these to continue to spend $18 on them. I'll keep buying Sally Hansen. I love the metal look... but it just isn't worth it. 

I had so much to update with this time! Can't believe I forgot some of those... I'm thinking I might try Jamberry next. Has anyone tried those? If I like those well enough I may try to sell them! (something I would actually LOVE selling!) Until then, glam it up! 

Ulta Mini Haul!

Hi y'all! Ok, so it's been FOR-STINKIN-EVER since I've posted anything.... I was kind of wondering if anyone has been reading this! But I got several new fun things today at Ulta, and thought I might as well make a new post on them!

So, I went to Ulta today with the intention of buying only a couple of Zoya polishes.... and of course ended up leaving with much more! haha I went in to get two polishes so I could try a gradient polish. Well they didn't have one of the shades, so I'll have to order it.... BUT I found much more! Here we go......

First, I got these fun nail stickers! OPI came out with their own stickers... they had some different designs, and I may have to try some other ones. They're pricey at $11.95... but they do apply well. I kept my file from the Sally Hansen Salon Effects and it worked exactly the same. Sally Hansen also came out with Salon Effects specifically for pedicures. Which doesn't completely make sense to me only because I am able to do a full mani/pedi with the regular Salon Effects. But they do have a few different designs for the toes that I haven't seen for manis. The one I got was Strike a Posie. They both look really nice and I love them! Not sure how often I'll get the pedi ones... probably only if there's a pattern I really love. I also just saw that Sally is coming out with (may already be out) Rock of Ages inspired Salon Effects as well! 

Ok, so first thing, the packaging is completely different in these Sally Hansen pedis! I actually was afraid someone had stolen one of the packs, especially since there were two instruction sheets inside! But no, they put both sets together. 

A little blurry I think... sorry! But anyway, here's the two strips.... you have to tear them apart at the bottom. But otherwise, they are exactly the same as the mani packaging. I'm not taking a pic of my feet... but trust me, they look nice. lol 

This is the OPI strip.... just like the pedis! I'm sure you can apply these with the smaller gold and some black on the ends... but I went with the other side... maybe next time I'll try it that way! 

This is the finished result! Very sparkly and gold! I love it. Very pretty!

These are all the shades I bought today!

Ok, I did try out the shades... this is Arizona from Zoya's new Beach and Surf collection. Looked pretty similar to OPI In My Back Pocket... but it might be a little more... burnished? It's slightly different. Anyway, this is one of the shades in the gradient and I wanted to be sure to get the exact shades! This is nice on it's own as well! 

It was hard to get this one photographed because of the glitters... but it's also from the Beach and Surf Collection. This one is called Kimber and is pretty much a bright pink with tiny gold glitters. It's really pretty on. This picture doesn't do it justice! 

Also from Beach and Surf... Shelby! To me it's a bubble gum pink. I don't have any pinks in this shade, so I'm excited to wear this one! I can't help but think of Steel Magnolias and Shelby with this shade... 'Pink is my signature color!' Mine too, Shelby. 

Finally, I also got a new OPI shade from their Brights collection. This is Bright Lights - Big Color! Very pretty shade that I'm super excited to wear! It's a pinkish orangish shade with gold flecks. (I LOVE gold flecks if you haven't noticed haha) 

Anyway, that's my haul for the day! Had to share! Hopefully I can keep up with this (and get more readers?!) from now on! 

By the way, want a coupon for FREE polish with Zoya?? Click this link ---> https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/01184D05 It's part of their Share the Love program. I signed up with it, so when someone clicks this link for the first time and signs up as well, they get a free bottle of polish! After that, you earn points for discounts by sharing the love! Pretty awesome! 

Enjoy!! 

Butter London Manis

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long again.... since my last post, I've done two more butter London manis! The first I did was using Disco Biscuit... this polish is very sheer and is probably best for layering. However, if you apply around four coats ( kind of like with Knackered) it looks good. The only thing with this polish that I didn't like is how it dried.... it was fairly rough and not a shiny finish at all.... in fact, I felt like it was almost more matte really.

It probably doesn't come across in this picture really.... but it definitely wasn't a smooth finish. I liked the polish, but wasn't super happy with the finish. I know it's glitter and those usually aren't smooth, but this one seemed different. You'd probably have to try it to see what I'm talking about. lol But I do love the color. It's very bright and fun! 

The one I have on now (and will be taking off tomorrow to try something new) is Slapper. And this is the one that I was pleasantly surprised with. I normally don't care for bright blues or greens on my nails, but this one is different. 

Anyway, I love this shade.... it's kind of turquoisey. haha Highly recommend this one! Not sure what I'm going to try next... I have Trout Pout still to try, but I'm thinking I might save that for spring.... I also still have a couple of Sally Hansen's to use.... I'll figure it out tomorrow. haha Oh and I also got a set of thin brush polishes... like the nail art ones that salons use.... so should be easier to try manis from The Beauty Department! And I'll try, once again, to not wait so long before my next post. Til then, glam it up! 

New Mani & An Ulta Mini-Haul

Hey y'all!! Ok I promised I wouldn't wait as long between posts and I'm keeping it! haha Last week I did some shopping at Ulta and had a mini haul! (I'm not really sure what constitutes a full haul... haha) Anyway! They FINALLY have butter London's Spring Collection!! YEAH! I got all but one color. I actually got one that I hadn't planned on! Well, from butter anyway. I also got a color from OPI's Nicki Minaj collection that I wasn't planning on either! Ok, so here they are!

This is Save Me from OPI's Nicki Minaj collection... I couldn't resist the unique glitters in this!! So fun!

This is Disco Biscuit... fun color! Bright pink with bluish glitters.

Trout Pout... gorgeous salmon shade! This will be perfect for spring!

Knackered... gorgeous oyster kind of shade... very sheer! If you put on about 3 or 4 coats it looks super pretty! 

This one is the surprise butter shade, Slapper..... usually I can't stand brighter blues on my nails... but this shade is sooo pretty! I was pleasantly surprised by this one. =) 

Ok, so my newest mani......

I tried to get different lighting on this... with flash and without. Anyway.... the base is Knackered and I put Save Me on top. I love it!! I almost left it just with Knackered because it was really pretty on it's own (again, with 3 or 4 coats), but I really wanted some of that awesome glitter on. haha Anyway....... highly recommend these shades!! I'll be back soon with another mani! Til then, glam it up! 

Sally Hansen Salon Effects - Love Letter

Hey y'all! Sorry it's been so long since I last posted! I didn't have much to post on really.... I couldn't decide on what I wanted to do with my nails! Such a problem. haha Last night I finally decided to apply some of my newest Sally Hansen prints... Love Letter.  And I have to say... I love it! I've gotten tons of compliments on them already! Several asked if I did them myself. (of course I did! ;-) haha ) Anyway, here they are!

These prints were another set that applied really easily. I'm not sure why their prints would apply differently... but they do. And these went on well! 

I also got a new phone cover! I don't know about you all that have iphones... but I've found it difficult to find cute cases! I finally found some from a company called Agent18. 

I love this pink and orange combo! So cute! Not only that, but their products are on tv shows... like How I Met Your Mother and Up All Night (Christina Applegate's phone) 

Finally, if you're a classic movie fan or basically just a fan of really good movies in general... you MUST go see The Artist! What an amazing movie. It really takes some great acting to be in a silent movie. And it really makes you focus more since you have to pay attention to their facial expressions and the words. I was expecting a good movie, but it was beyond what I thought it would be. GREAT movie. It deserves every award it's up for! It'll definitely be one that I buy when it's out. Great acting, great storyline, great music and a super cute dog (Uggie). GO SEE IT! http://weinsteinco.com/sites/the-artist/

I couldn't help it. I had to post a picture of Uggie. Seriously, a bow tie! I want that dog. 

Anywho.... I'll try not to stay away so long next time! Til then, glam it up!

Sweet Tart-an

Hey y'all! Ok, so I love the Zoya polish..... but I had one finger that chipped pretty badly a bit too fast for me. Who knows, maybe I was extra rough on them this week. I'll try again. Anyway, I was told I should put some pink on. Gladly! Pink is my signature color! So, I decided to finally use one of the Sally Hansen prints I bought awhile back. It's the pink argyle called Sweet Tart-an. I like it much more than the black and silver one I had before!

Today I also tried the braid trend! I put my hair up and figured, I have to use bobby pins on my layers anyway... why not try a braid?! So I did. And I love it! I really wish my hair would grow faster because there's so many things I want to try on my hair!! 

I also ordered two more brushes from Sigma... as soon as I get them I'll have more pics and another review. I've had a chance to really try out the brushes... let's just say, I was missing out before I got these!! I should be getting my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette tomorrow!! Pretty excited about that one. =) Also started using a new foundation and concealer that I'm really loving so far... so I'll go over that another time too.  

Other things to discuss.... you know I love my man Tim Tebow. Well, his foundation just started Team Tebow! All you gotta do is donate $25 and you get a shirt, a car decal, newsletters and the first opportunity to volunteer at the foundation's events! Check it: http://timtebowfoundation.org/teamtebow

 I'm pretty pumped to be a part of this and am eagerly awaiting my membership pack! Go check it out... pretty awesome deal!

Finally, I started reading a really great book the other night. 'Kisses from Katie' which is about a young woman who gave up everything she had to move to Uganda and help the people there. On top of that, she adopted 14 girls there! Such a great book! http://amazima.org/katiesbook.html Thanks to my friend Kristin (whose blog is on the left in my favorite blogs list) for suggesting this read!

I think that about covers it for this post! I hope you all check out the things I talked about today! I'll hopefully be back soon with my new stuff!! Til then, glam it up!

Sigma Brushes & Zoya Polish

Hey again y'all! Well, I got my Sigma brushes!! I ordered The Cities - Paris. I love them!! However, I will have to order some brushes separately. I found that I still need a few others, but luckily you can order whatever you need! Ok, so the pictures!

Love this packaging! So stylish!

It also came with this lovely guide about all of the brushes it comes with, as well as descriptions of the other three cities brushes.

This is how everything looks for travel. This should be very convenient for vacations! 

Somehow I can't get this photo to flip, but these are the brushes it comes with! From top to bottom: Eye Liner - E05; Tapered Blending - E35; Small Tapered Blending - E45; Large Shader - E60; Small Contour - F05; Duo Fibre Powder/Blush - F15; and Large Powder - F30. The small silver brush came free and is another blending brush. So far I am loving these brushes! The bristles are very soft and they're all around well made brushes. These brushes are red to represent the romance capital of the world, Paris. Very pretty!

Here they all are in one of the cups. I love this! It works so perfectly on my countertop! I used a few this morning, and they work wonderfully! I'm excited to try more! I highly recommend these brushes! I hope you all give them a try! Like I said, I'm going to have to buy a few more for my purposes, but is that really a bad thing? ;-) 

Ok, now for my Zoya polish! Another product I am highly impressed with! I was going to wait until my Nails Inc started chipping more, but boy did that stay on well! But since I got my brushes, I decided to go ahead. As you all know, I purchased the shade 'Kelly'. How could I pass that up since it's my name?! Anyhow, I love the shade! I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not a huge fan of gray, but this is really a different shade of it! It has blue and purple undertones and really just is beautiful. I also was completely impressed with the application! It went on so smoothly! I'll have to try some other shades, but they all go on this well... Zoya may be my new favorite brand of polish! Dare I say I like it better than butter London and OPI?! I'll try more shades and see. But I expect that statement will be true. Here's the picture!

Well, there you have it! My newest purchases! I am very happy with both!! My next debate is whether or not I should buy Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette. I've seen varying reviews on it. And having three Too Faced palettes I'm not sure I need it. Any thoughts? Til next time, glam it up!

***Update*** I ended up buying the palette with my VIB discount. I figured that was a better buy than lip balm that with shipping ended up being $27. Lip balm! The palette had free shipping plus comes with 12 shades, a double sided brush and gloss. Soooo better buy I'm thinking. Will update when it arrives!