Top 5 Nail Polish Colors for Winter

Well, my first ever blog post was "Top 5 Nail Polish Colors for Summer" (read that here).  Now, about 6 months later, I feel like I have grown so much as a blogger and makeup lover.  I decided to repeat that post, but chose shades that I love in the winter time.

L-R: OPI Russian Navy, OPI You Don't Know Jacques!, Nars Disco Inferno, Essie Vested Interest, Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear 370 Black Out

OPI Russian Navy:  This is an amazing navy color (who would've thunk it?!).  I really love blue, so this is my go-to winter blue.

OPI You Don't Know Jacques!:  This looks really brown, but it ends up being a taupe-y, neutral on the nails.  I love a good neutral every now and then.

Nars Disco Inferno:  I got this in my stocking and couldn't wait to put it on!  It is a shimmmery, silvery iridescent color.  This is what I have on my nails right now!  (Spoiler:  I'm writing this and scheduling if for later.)  I thought it would be a fun, festive nail polish for the New Year.

Essie Vested Interest:  Ever since my friend gave this to me for my birthday, I have been OBSESSED with this.  It is a burgundy color.  The deep red is so gorgeous.  Plus, Essie nail polishes are so well-formulated.

Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear 370 Black Out: Sometimes, you've just got to go with the classic black, right?  I grabbed this because at Halloween it was the cheapest black nail polish I could find.  I will definitely be purchasing more nail polishes from this line!  It stays on so well, and is very chip-resistant.

I hope you liked this post!  What is your favorite nail polish for the winter?

13 for '13

It's the end of the year!  I hope you had a wonderful 2013, and I hope your 2014 will be even better!  I've picked out my 13 favorite products that I purchased in 2013.  These have been staples in my makeup, and I have adored them this past year. So, in no particular order:  13 of my 2013 favorites!

Urban Decay Naked Flushed Bronzer: This stuff is amazing!  It actually works with my skin tone and blends really well.

Maybelline The Falsies Flared/The Falsies: At this point, you're probably sick of hearing me (and everyone else on the face of this planet) rave about this mascara.

Essie Mint Candy Apple:  This is my absolute most favorite nail polish ever ever ever.  It's also my favorite color.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder:  Keeps me shine free.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in 005 Nude: Also in my December favorites.

Nars Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base:  This primer is amazing at keeping my eyeshadow where I want it to be.  It doesn't smudge or wiggle around at all!

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque: One of my good friends told me about this.  I use it mostly as a base for my eyeshadows, and it keeps them where I put them and adds a coppery/goldy undertone.  It is also amazing when you build it up and use it by itself.

EOS Raspberry Pomegranate: Raspberry and Pomegranate are two of my favorite fruits and scents.  So naturally, I love this EOS!

Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner in Brown: This stuff works a trick.  I don't think I've gone a week without wearing it since I got it!

MAC Lipstick in Amplify:  You might notice that my two favorite lipsticks look similar.  I loved this one for fall/winter as it is a darker bright pink.  It's super creamy, and I always get complements on it.

Topshop Lipstick in Ooh La La:  This was my spring/summer lipstick staple.  (review)

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked: One of MAC's most loved eyeshadows made it's way into my heart this year.

MAC Eyeshadow in Amber Lights: Another MAC crowd favorite.  I love these two coppery colors.  Because I have blue eyes, they suit me really well.

There it is!  Hopefully 2014 will bring me many new products to love!

NOTD | Summer Collection

Hello!  Here are some NOTDs that I collected and forgot to post.  I thought I could just leave a couple with you to show you what I've been wearing on my nails this summer!

 

Sephora by OPI's Slushied (from the Glee collection)

Accent: Sephora by OPI's Iris I Was Thinner

OPI's Thanks a Windmillion

Loreal Colour Riche Nail Lingerie in 703 Elite Chic 

Essie's The More The Merrier

OPI's Thanks a Windmillion

Accent: OPI's Pirouette My Whistle

NOTD

Hello!  After an eventful trip to the lake with my family, I'm back!  I painted my nails, and I really liked how they turned out, so I decided to do a "Nails of the Day" post.

 Pardon the mess; I haven't had time to clean up around the sides yet.  I used Essie's Mint Candy Apple, my absolute favorite nail polish ever (reviewed here).  I have been using this color a lot, so I decided to spice it up.  I layered Sephora by OPI's Celibacy Club on top.  I absolutely love this glitter!

Also, my aunt gave me this ring last week while I was at the lake.  I think its so gorgeous!  It is a Chantilly silver spoon ring.  I took a couple fun pics while at the lake, so I decided to share them with you!

My brother caught this fish!  (We threw it back--don't worry!)

I have the cutest dog ever!

Rainbow Cake from the local bakery is a new fave!

I went shopping while I was there and picked up a bunch of new clothes.  Let me know if you want me to do a haul post!

Organizing My Collection | Nail Polish

Hello!  I am currently in love with nail polish.  I paint my nails every Sunday.  I have collected so many different polishes, and they are stored in the back of my makeup drawer because I don't use them as regularly as I use my other products.  This makes them hard to see.  Also. I have many collections of box sets that I have to pull out if I want to see what colors I have.  This can make it difficult to pick a color to paint my nails.

My Ridiculous Collection of OPI Sets: Top to Bottom: NYC Ballet, Sephora Glee, Best of The Best, Best of the Best, and Insider Collection

Recently, I have been in an organizing mood, especially with my makeup collection, so I thought I would find a better way to organize my nail polish collection.  I picked up color wheels from Sally Beauty Supply for $4.94 (They were on sale!).  With ten wheels in the package and eighteen nails on each wheel, I think this was quite the bargain!

The Process

The Result

Actually painting the wheels and keeping a record of what color went where was quite time consuming.  It took me about two hours to do this, as I wanted everything done well.  I made sure each nail was well painted so that I would have an accurate picture of what the color would look like on my nails.

Wheel #1

Wheel #2

Wheel #3

I made a list of which number on the wheel corresponds to the color of the nail polish as well as the brand, so this way I will be able to look at all the colors in one place, and I won't have to pull out every bottle.

I snapped some photos of my OPI and Essie colors to share with you.  The majority of my collection is OPI, but I'm really loving Essie at the moment.  I definitely will be looking to them when I want to expand my collection.  The other few colors are random brands.

The More the Merrier, Mint Candy Apple

Teal the Cows Come Home, Divine Swine, Thanks a Windmillion, Blasted Gold

Base Coat, Iris I Was Thinner, Top Coat, Nail Polish Remover

**I absolutely abhor the name of this nail polish.  I hate what it implies.  I never would have purchased the color, but it was Sephora's 500 point perk, so I got it for free.  Also, I really needed a base and top coat.**

My Pointe Exactly, Don't Touch My Tutu!, Care to Danse?, Pirouette My Whistle

Alpine Snow, Bubble Bath, Tickly Me Franc-y, Strawberry Margarita, Cajun Shrimp

Big Apple Red, I'm Not Really a Waitress, You Don't Know Jacques!, Russian Navy, Lincoln Park After Dark

Miss Bossy Pants, Slushied, Celibacy Club, Gleek Out, Sue vs. Shue, Express Yourself to Yourself

Hope you enjoyed this post and are inspired to organize your own nail polish collection if you need to!  Let me know in the comments if you would like a review of one of these polishes.  Have a great day!

Summer Target Haul

Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder, Revlon Lip Butter, Essie Nail Polish, Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, Elf False Lashes

Hello!  Last week I went to Target to buy several items that I have been wanting for quite some time.  I went after my last exam to celebrate summer!  I have been using these products a lot over the past week, and I and I thought it would be great to review them for you.

  

To start things off: Rimmel London's Stay Matte Powder.  I picked this up in the shade Translucent because of my extremely fair skin.  I have been love, love, loving this powder!  My skin tends to get oily, and I feel like when  I wear this powder, my skin stays nice and matte for a lot longer than when I wear the powder I had been using.  I got it for $3.99.  My other powder was around the $30 mark, so I'd say this is a definite win!

 

Next up, the Elf false eyelashes.  I got both the natural and dramatic.  I am going to be in my school's musical next fall, and we have to wear fake eyelashes on stage.  I bought these because they were cheap, and I thought they would be a good way to practice using the eyelashes before I had to do it in a dressing room getting ready for a show.  These are a HUGE disappointment.   I watched a video on YouTube explaining how to wear the eyelashes, and I applied them correctly, but the ends did not stay put.  They kept popping up and it was so aggravating.  I tried waiting longer for the glue to get tacky; I tried waiting less time for the glue to get tacky; nothing seemed to work.  These were only $1.00 each, but I would much rather invest more money into false eyelashes that actually work.

 Essie's nail polish in "The More the Merrier" has been so great!  I have it on right now, and I absolutely love the bright, chartreuse color!  I already wrote about it on my blog here, so read that if you want more information.  It was $7.79.

Recently, I have really been loving Revlon's Lip Butters.  I purchased two colors this winter, and I wore one all the time.  I love the way the feel and the way they look on my lips.  They are so nice and they do moisturize really well.  I picked up a third shade, Pink Lemonade.  I love this color!  It is really light (I tried to do a swatch, but it barely showed up!), and it's a nice pinky wash of color.  I love this for when I don't want to look like I'm wearing a ton of makeup or if I have done bolder eyes and lots of blush and highlighter so I need something light to balance it out.  It was $6.49, and well worth the buy!  I think I will continue to buy these until I have them all!

I have never tried gel eyeliner before, but I have wanted to for a long time.  I've seen so many people praise the Bobby Brown gel eyeliner, so I was set to try that.  Then, I started noticing people loved the Maybelline one just as much.  Because it is much cheaper at $7.99, I decided to purchase it first, so that I wouldn't throw too much money down the drain if I hated it.  I have not hated it though!  It is so nice and lovely to apply.  I got it in brown because my coloring is really light, and black eyeliner is so dark on me.  It is a great dark brown color, and it shows up really well.  It is also so easy to do a little cat-eye flick with this stuff, which I absolutely adore!  It can be hard to do that with a pencil because it can be tough to make it go exactly where I want and liquid just goes everywhere, so I've definitely found myself a keeper!

 

One random skincare item I got was Aveeno's Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream.  I wasn't planning on blogging about this, but oh my word!  I picked this up because it was the only non-comedogenic  lotion that Target had, and I was out of the stuff I usually use.  I was bummed about it being in a pot rather than in a bottle with a pump, but I have gotten used to it more quickly than I would have imagined.  This lotion is so extremely moisturizing.  I think it is absolutely perfect. It stays on all day too, which is nice as I have found that some lotions tend to fade away.  I absolutely love this product.  It was $11.59, but this pot will take me a long while to work through!

 

So that's it!  I got so many things that I've been wanting to try, and I've loved most of them.  Leave me a comment telling me what you think about these products or tell me about something that you've recently picked up and are loving!

Top 5 Nail Polish Colors for Summer (First Blog Post--Yay!)

Hello, loves!  Before I just dive into the post, I'd like to introduce myself.  I'm Andy.  I am completely in love with makeup, and I decided to create this blog for two reasons: to share my love of makeup and to kill the summer boredom!  Now, onto the actual post!

I am absolutely mental about nail polish!  I paint my nails every Sunday, and I have built up quite the collection of colors.  I thought I would share the top five colors that I love for summer.

L-R: Teal the Cowboys Come Home, Cajun Shrimp, The More the Merrier, Strawberry Margarita, Mint Candy Apple

First off is "Teal the Cowboys Come Home" by OPI.  I love this color because it is such a great shimmery blue.  It is nice because it doesn't sparkle, but it shines with an incandescent sort of glow.  It is a darker blue, but the shimmeryness makes it a great summer color!

Next is "Cajun Shrimp" by OPI.  This is a reddy, coral color.  It is great for the feet when you want a pop of color on your toes to show through your open-toed shoes.   I love coral, but being fair-skinned can make it hard to wear sometimes, but I don't find that this color looks funny with my skin tone at all.

"The More the Merrier" by Essie is the newest addition to my ever-growing nail polish collection.  (I plan on doing a post about all the items I just bought for the summer, so stay tuned!)  I don't have a good green color, so I was really excited about seeing this in Essie's new summer 2013 collection.  I loved how it was almost lime, but not quite.  It makes me think about picnics on golf courses.  I can't wait to rock this color all summer long!

Another pinky color, "Strawberry Margarita" by OPI definitely makes the cut for great summer colors!  I adore this bright pink.  It is so girly and so much fun to wear.  I personally believe that everyone needs a staple pink in her nail polish collection, and this is most certainly mine!

Last, but certainly not least, is "Mint Candy Apple" by Essie.  This is my all-time favorite nail polish color!  I am in love with the glorious, pastelly blue.  It is light and happy and I always get so many complements when I wear it.  In fact, I wore it a while ago to dance class, and everyone noticed it.  Since then, two of the girls have bought the polish!  This is a lighter color, but it is so bright that I would definitely recommend it for the summer.

Well, that's all five of my picks for a great summer nail polish.  Leave a comment telling me what your picks are or letting me know what you think about mine!