Pink Wednesday: Ice Cream

Hello everyone

Today I have ice cream cone bowls. Why bowls you ask? My nails are short and I couldn't fit a full cone. :) I got the idea from CutePolish's drip mani, but again my nails are short, so it looked awful. I ended with just simple Strawberry and Vanilla ice cream cone bowls with a cherry on top.

What do you think? I honestly cannot remember what polish I used for these. So this is kind of a short post. But ice cream can sometimes be a short and sweet enjoyment. I hope you guys enjoyed my nails for Pink Wednesday. 

Youtube Tutorial Tuesday: Beach Balls

Hey everyone

Today I have another YTT design inspired by CutePolish. Below is her video.

Super cute right? Well I tried something a little different. I used my whole nail and used matte vs shiny dots as the rest of my nail design.

The final product turned out great. Polish used: 

1. OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls
2. Zoya's Sookie
3. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri's Lightning
4. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's Blue Me Away

They do totally remind me of Legos though. May have to try those in the very near future. Hope you guys like these!

MSMD Monday: Matte Nude Cheetah Print

Hey everyone

I'm cutting it awful close today! I have a very special MSMD Monday. I have been lusting after these nails for forever. Today's feature is by PackAPunchPolish. I love her name, it's so much fun to say. Anyway, she did this amazing matte cheetah print that I knew I would have to do some day. Well that day is today!

I started off with 2 coats of Love & Beauty's Camel. It's so pretty. I love it. Even if it gives me a slight case of lobster hands. 

I used Pure Ice's Beware to set up the glitter dots and then used my black striper to outline the print.

As you can see I used silver glitter for mine instead of goal. I think the gold would have looked better, but I can't seem to find the right gold. 

I then used my new favorite matte top coat, NYC's Matte Me Crazy. 

Seriously this matte finish is amazing. I love it more than Essie's. 

Here's the final product. I love it! I ended up not doing it on all of the nails and I really like the accent nails. I almost wish I would have used brown instead of black for the outlines though. What do you think?

June Julep Maven Box

Hey everyone

Today I have a post regarding the June Julep Maven Box.

I never seem to have luck with makeup, I am the color of paper so finding foundation and things of that nature that match my skin tone can be hard work. Julep came out with their DD Creme which is supposed to be the newest thing on the market. I was so excited to try this make up out. They had a shade that looked like it would work with my skin tone, so I switched to Modern Beauty and got the Foundation and Concealer combo.

I also added Char from the It Girl Box and Kennedy from the Classic With A Twist Box. 

I got off work and immediately used my makeup when I got home, that's how excited I was. Below is my email that I sent to Julep after using it.

I wanted to send a notice regarding the June Modern Beauty Box. I was very upset. To begin with the containers were only half full. One would assume that with the cost involved (and the fact that the Modern Beauty box says 2 full sized beauty products) they would be full. I put it on my skin and it spread. Not in a good way. It became water-like and left a streaky mess. The final product was my face was caked with makeup and I'd only used maybe 2 dollops the size of my finger tips. The pictures on your website show how it smooths the skin out and completely blends in any facial blemishes. All this did for me was turn my normal complexion yellow and leave my skin dry and itchy once I removed the makeup. Which I did immediately. I haven't used my Julep subscription in almost a year. But the last few polish collections and make up collections gave me hope. This box has all but turned me off. I will not be purchasing a Modern Beauty box if this is the kind of product that comes with it. I was so happy with Char. However, the make up makes me completely regret spending $19.99 on them, when I could have got the other 2 polishes in the It Box instead.

That is a baby wipe I used to clean my face off. Now when I sent this I had no idea of the uproar that was going on everywhere else. I went on Instagram to post a picture of my swatches of the polish (I actually deleted the photo of the DD Creme on my face because it looked awful) and saw that some people were upset. After getting on the Julep Facebok page I saw that I wasn't the only one complaining. In fact most people who received a light box were very upset. Fast forward to June 11th and I got a response from Julep. To make up for everything that were gifting me 2000 Jules so I could purchase a free Julep box in the future. I was completely shocked. I never anticipated getting anything in return. I just wanted to voice my frustrations and let them know that this kind of product was not acceptable. Julep's customer service has completely blown me away. They went above and beyond to make me feel like they valued my opinion. I may have trouble from time to time (more on that later), but they never fail to assist me.

And now we have the swatches! First up is Kennedy.

Kennedy is supposed to be a Khaki color. The swatches on the website show it as a very soft shade. This was very yellow as you can tell. It gave me a major case of lobster hands.

I wasn't really sold on this polish. And after the whole mess with the make up I was not excited for Char. Well, that is until I put a matte topcoat on Kennedy.

It may be a strange yellow color, but when it's matte it has something extra that I can't quite put my finger on. The formula on Kennedy was fantastic. Very smooth and shiny after 2 coats.

Lastly we have Char. This polish. I adore this polish. If I could have gotten a box filled with Char then I would be happy.

It's so rich and shiny. I cannot get over how beautiful this color is.

The formula was amazing. 2 and a half coats later we have this masterpiece. And just wait until you see it with a matte finish.

It's completely to die for. I got so many compliments on this shade. It's beautiful.

Now, I realize this wasn't a completely happy Julep post, however, due to their customer service I would completely recommend Julep to all of my girlfriends. If you would like to sign up for Julep you can use my referral link <HERE>. I hope you enjoyed my swatches!

Youtube Tutorial Tuesday: Saran Wrap

Hey everyone

Today I have a new type of mani for you. Have you heard of a Saran Wrap mani? It's where you paint 2 different polishes and while the 2nd is wet you dab some off with Saran Wrap balls. Sound confusing? That's what YTT is all about. I'd never done one before, but it was the challenge for 6/10/13 on Instagram (I know I'm a day late). So I went to Youtube and found the video below from GetNailedd.

Sounds super easy right? Well, not if you forget to buy Saran Wrap. So I had to use a pleated sandwich bag. Which is not as sticky, but still got the job done. 

I used Zoya's Wednesday and China Glaze's Mahogany Magic. To be honest I should have used a darker brown. I was going for the look of a tuquoise stone, and I still think I nailed it. What do you think? Have you tried the Saran Wrap (Sandwich Bag) Mani? How did yours turn out?

MSMD Monday: Ikat

Hey everyone

Today I have a special mani for you. Today we are featuring an Ikat design. Funny enough I discovered I'd been mispronouncing it. I've been saying it eye-cat. It's apparently ee-kaht. Go figure. I was going to look for a Youtube video to feature an Ikat design on Youtube Tutorial Tuesday, however I couldn't find one as good as Kayla's tutorial on her blog. Who am I talking about you ask? Kayla at KaylaShevonne. She did a picture step by step tutorial that's fantastic.

Polishes Used: 

1. Salon Perfect's Bellini
2. Art Deco Long Brush's White
3. Salon Perfect's Black
4. An unnamed blue polish by Sweet T Lacquer (Tara's Nail Polish aka Me!)

I love it! I've seen this design before and never really was that interested in it, but it's a design I haven't tried so I had to at least attempt it. Like I said Kayla's tutorial is fantastic, so I really didn't have a problem attempting this design. Here tutorial is HERE I recommend trying it out if you are at all interested in Ikat. I hope you enjoyed today's mani!

May Julep Maven Polishes

Hey everyone

I have the polishes for May's box to show you today. If you remember I got the Modern Beauty box so I didn't actually get polish, but I did get 2 add ons. I ended up getting 2 of the 3 polishes from the May It Girl box. I got Coco which is described as a Oxblood Creme. And I also got Paris which is described as a multidimensional holographic glitter top coat. I almost didn't get Paris because it looked similar to Oh Canada and I ended up strongly disliking that polish. However, I was totally wrong.

First up is Coco. I had to have this because on the description. 

Wonderful! It's a little streaky at first. This is 2 coats without a top coat. The 2nd coat is what really makes this polish. If covers up any streaks and really gives it that shine. 

The formula is also fantastic as well. Once you get past that first coat, which could easily be corrected with one thick coat. 

Next up we have Paris. I added it over the swatch of Coco.

Yeah this polish is nothing like Oh Canada. I loved it. This is 2 coats.

You don't have to fish out any glitter at all. It comes with big and small holo glitter. It would probably look better over a cooler color instead of Coco, but it's pretty nonetheless.

I was 100% happy with these polishes. They were fantastic. My only thing was why are there Swatch Me Stickers on top of the bottles. The brush is attached to the top. How exactly are you supposed to swatch the polish on the sticker on the lid with the brush that's attached to the lid? :) Did you guys enjoy your Julep boxes for May? Sound off in the comments!

May Julep Box

Hey everyone

I have had a Julep account for almost a year now. I've posted some of it before, but I haven't been getting a box. I've been going in and skipping the boxes. Usually I get an email that reminds me. Something happened and either I deleted it or I didn't get it, but I actually missed the cut off for May's box in April. So I went on Julep's website to see which box I would be getting and I loved what was in it. I checked my bank account and nothing had come out. Turns out I had an old card on file and it never processed my box. I was very sad at this point. I actually wanted a box for a change and couldn't get one! So I emailed Julep's customer service and asked if I could still order the box. I also wanted to get my Jules as well because I was half way to a free add on. They let me! Their customer service was so fantastic. They completely went above and beyond. I told them which box I wanted, which add ons I wanted (so I could pay the add on price instead of the full Maven price) and which card to use. They did everything no questions asked. I am so pleased with their level of assistance.

I got the Modern Beauty box. This is the makeup only box that replaced with previous American Beauty box. It came with mascara, sugar lip scrub, and lipstick.

Now as far as I was aware you are supposed to recieve 2 full size beauty products. These lipsticks are about the size of my pinkie. Granted you do get 3 different ones, I still was disappointed. The lipstick was the only reason why I picked this box. Lady in Red is amazing. I've never been a fan of red lipstick, but this one is just amazing. I really hope they start selling it full sized, because I need more.

This is the sugar scrub. I love the container so much. I've also never used a lip scrub before so I was curious as to how it would feel. When I opened the container I smelled something very similar to my coffee creamer, which I was not happy about. It's almost too sweet to smell. I put it on using my finger and aftewards my finger was so greasy I had to wash my hands. Normally I can just wipe it off on a napkin, but there was no getting this stuff off without a little elbow grease. Maybe if I buy a lipstick wand I'll enjoy it more.

This mascara. Wow oh wow. This mascara is amazing. I don't even know what it is about it that makes it so great. I have short lashes and this mascara makes my lashes actually stand out. I love it so much. My eyes are kind of sensitive and I have to be careful with mascara because they can make my eyes itch. Not this one. I don't even have a problem with clumping. I seriously recommend this mascara to everyone. It's amazing. 

This box also had some cute little bobby pins that came with it. I love the roses on the end. I just wish they had something on the end of the pin, they can be very sharp. 

I also got 2 bottles of polish that I'll feature in a separate post. This month's box was wonderful, sure it wasn't perfect, but I'm also kind of picky. This box restored my faith in Julep boxes. I had been debating on cancelling my subscription in all until I got this box. Now I've got May's box as well and I couldn't be happier. Hope you guys enjoy your maven boxes.

If you aren't a Maven please use my referral link HERE and use the code FREEBOX to get your first box free. 

Youtube Tutorial Tuesday: Floral Doodle

Hey everyone

Today I have another design from CutePolish. This design was perfect for 3 different reasons. 

1. I love CutePolish
2. I needed flowers for my Instagram challenge
3. I needed a Youtube video

Perfect right? This was a super cute design that I'm very excited to show you guys. Here's the video:

My colors are a little darker than what CutePolish picked, but I think it's cute nonetheless. My flowers are totally crazy looking too. 

I probably should have used a toothpick or a dotting tool, I think they would have looked better than. But they are still cute. 

Polish Used:

1. OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls
2. NYC's Midtown Mimosa
3. Orly's Snowcone (which seriously smells bad)
4. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri's Mango Motion
5. Salon Perfect (Long Brush)'s Black

I made sure to have the color picking out past the flower. I gives it a little something extra I think. What do you guys think? I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

MSMD Monday: Palm Tree Gradient

Hey everyone

Today I have a gradient for you. I love doing these. Granted I don't do them like other people apparently. I start by putting on the top color, this is typically the lightest color. Then I start sponging them on starting at the bottom and going up until it's smoothed in with the lightest polish. Then if I mess up I can get the top color and go back over with a sponge. Does that even remotely make sense? I might need to do a video to show you what I mean. 

Anyway, one of my favorite bloggers, Alice from OneNailToRuleThemAll, did this gradient palm tree design. I immediately fell in love with it. There's also a June Nail Art tag on Instagram and day 1 was Summer. (Go follow me there!) I knew this design would be perfect, it just screams summer to me.

I love it! These turned out so great. I haven't done palm trees in almost 2 years, it's like riding a bike. Seriously love these. 

Polish Used:

1. OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls (the base)
2. NYC's Midtown Mimosa 
3. Salon Perfect's Bellini
4. Sinful Colors' Summer Peach
5. Salon Perfect (Long Brush)'s Black

Check out Alice's design HERE. She finished hers with a matte top coat, but I just couldn't leave them matte. I work at a computer all day and matte polish doesn't last long with me. I want these bad boys to last. Love them!

I do want to take a second to talk about Salon Perfect's long brush collection. The bottle is a nightmare. I was shaking it and the balls are obviously way to big and the bottle shattered in my hand. The brush is fantastic though, so I took an hour or so out of my life to try to salvage the black base and move it into an Art Deco bottle. Luckily the brush can screw on to those bottles. This polish is also strange. It dries matte and if you have put on a top coat before you dry, you can literally just wipe it off and start over. This can be both good and bad. Another bad thing about them is that it's a completely pain to get off if it gets on your skin. The brush is completely worth all of the trouble though. It's very firm and shorter than most long brush's. I very much enjoy drawing with it. Keep in mind this is only the long brush collection. The regular bottles are fantastic and they have great colors to chose from. 

I really hope you have enjoyed today's edition of MSMD Monday!