NOTD - Zoya & Essie

Hey everyone! It has been forever since I've had a moment to just sit down and blog. I had to give up blogging for a while because I've been insanely busy with the holidays and then I moved to a new apartment at the end of January so that took a lot of energy and time. Anyway, I'm back! And hopefully I'll do a blog post every week or so.
In my Birchbox this month I received a FULL SIZE (!!!) Essie polish in "As Gold as it Gets." It's meant to be worn over other polishes. I've seen people where it over dark/blackish colors and it looks super cool. I already had a Zoya polish on that I actually got in January's Birchbox in the color "Kristen." So, I just put Essie's "As Gold as it Gets" right over top and I think it looks very pretty. I can't wait to try it over all different polishes! Hopefully it won't be too difficult to remove. I also wanted to note that the Zoya polish from Birchbox is my first experience with using Zoya and I thought it was a very nice nail polish. It lasts just as long as an OPI polish and it goes on smooth and dries super quick.

Zoya's Kristen - Cream polish in a gray color with a mild bluish hue. Covers fully opaque in 2 coats.

Essie "As Gold as it Gets" over Zoya's "Kristen"

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Glitz Blitz Nail Polish Strips

Hey everyone! I wanted to do a quick NOTD. I picked up some Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in Glitz Blitz from Ulta the other day and I almost forgot how neat these are. They seriously look like actual nail enamel, but last forever. Right now I'm feeling busier than usual so having nail strips on really cuts down on all the time I spend on my nails...I'm kind of a weirdo and if I get a chip I have to completely redo my polish. My only issue with these is...well they are a little pricey at $10 and by the cuticles it can kind of peel up if you didn't press down enough on the edges when you first applied the strips.
I also saw a display of new Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips at CVS and I picked up plum colored nail strips which I'll be applying next :)

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips in Glitz Blitz

Also, I wrote a blog entry showing exactly how to apply these nail strips if you want to check it out: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips Tutorial

Essie Very Structured

I am so excited that it's almost officially fall and even more excited about Essie's Fall 2011 Collection! If you guys haven't had a chance to check out the newest Essie polishes you can view all of them on their website here: Essie's Fall 2011 Collection.
Out of all of the polishes in the newest collection my favorite is "Very Structured." I think it's one of the most unique polish colors I've seen. Essie's website describes it as a "classic burnt sienna." I don't have any reddish brown colors in my polish collection so I really had to get this one. I think it's a perfect color for fall, but I'm not sure if it's the most fitting color with my skin tone. I think it's a little dark and would look better on someone with a warmer skin tone...oh well I'll still wear it, but it's definitely not a favorite! Also, Essie's "Case Study" is an interesting color described as a "rich camel beige." Last weekend I went to several different stores specifically searching for "Very Structured" and I found every color from the Fall Collection EXCEPT for that one! Well, today I went to Walgreens and I was lucky enough to find it there (they only had 2!). I usually get most of my Essie polishes from Ulta, but lately they really are lacking on their selection. It seemed like Walgreens had ALL of the polishes in stock.
Anyway, here's some pics of Essie's Very Structured, it's a creme polish, my favorite!

With the flash on...no top coat. I think it looks a little more red than it actually is

Fall Favorites

Hey everyone! I am going to go ahead and do another entry today. It's one of those lazy days so I have nothing better to do!
Angela, or HoneyFlower3, is a YouTube beauty guru who I LOVE. She's super sweet and has some very creative and helpful videos on YouTube. Anyway, she just did a Fall Tag video and tagged me in it and said I could do it on my blog since I don't make videos. Well, I thought it was a neat tag so I basically put together a variation of the tag. If you want to do the actual/original tag you can go watch Angela's video at www.youtube.com/honeyflower3. She listed all the questions in the below box :)
Anyway, here's what I put together inspired by the Fall Tag video:

1. Some of my favorite things about fall are all of the warm spicy scents that get released at Bath and Body Works. I just bought one of the new scented candles in "S'Mores" and I absolutely love it! I also love amber scents like B&BW's "Sensual Amber" body mist and Hilary Duff's "With Love" perfume.
2. A favorite wardrobe item for fall is moccasins. I've never actually owned a pair, but I think the pair I put in the picture is super cute. They are from PacSun: Black Poppy Black Poppy Tessa 182 Moccasin

3. It seems like owls are especially popular in the fall and I can never have enough owls in my life. This is a cute owl pendant necklace from PacSun with an antique look that will compliment a fall wardrobe : With Love From CA Circle Pendant Owl Necklace

4. I love any nail polish from Essie's fall collection. I looked at 3 different stores today hunting for Essie's Very Structured polish which is a burnt sienna color....soooo pretty! (I never could find it though!)

5. I love skinny jeans for fall even though flares and boot cuts are coming back. Levi's has a new fit released for their jeans that are supposed to have a more custom fit depending on the curves of your body. This pair is the "demi" curve which PacSun and Urban Outfitters both carry. I think they'd look really cute with a pair of moccasins.

6. Mod Cloth is coming out with some really cute tops for fall including this one, the Pumpkin Roulade Top. I love the colors burnt orange, mustard, azure and jade for fall :)
7. A favorite hair product for fall is Redken's Velvet Gelatine. It will definitely help you achieve soft bouncy hair...and in the fall I tend to go for a loose curled look, so Velvet Gelatine is a must. And it smells soooo amazing.

8. Fall and candy corn go perfectly together! Like Cadbury Eggs and Easter...yum.

9. I love scarfs like this for fall in jewel tones. This one is from Mod Cloth, You're the Pom Scarf.

10. A favorite fall makeup item for me is definitely Stila's Natural Eye Palette. I also like the Urban Decay Naked Palette for fall. Smoky brown eyes and a natural lip or neutral eyes with cat eyed liner and bold lips are always great fall makeup looks :)

One of the questions in the tag was what you plan on being for Halloween. I really have no clue what I'm going to be for Halloween! I want to put together something creative, but I'm really lacking in the creativity department lately...my mind has been focused on 1,000 other things blaaah. Anyway, what are you all being for Halloween?

Cover Girl Lash Perfection Mascara Review

I think it's about time I wrote a review on the newest Cover Girl mascara, "Lash Perfection." I just purchased a second tube of this mascara at Ulta today and that is extremely rare for me. I am constantly trying new mascaras so for me to repurchase this...it must be good!
First of all, I have medium length lashes that are pretty straight and definitely not full or fanned out by any means. I really love the Cover Girl Lash Perfection mascara for its ability to separate each individual lash giving a fanned out, feathery full effect, which is exactly what I'm looking for! I don't think this mascara is meant to provide any curl effect, but if I curl my lashes first with an eyelash curler and follow with this mascara it holds the curl all day. I also think it's great for lengthening your lashes without clumping or making your lashes look spidery. I haven't had any flaking or smudging and I love that the brush is not fat like the CG Lash Blast mascara so it reaches and coats the inner lashes and lower lashes really well.
I definitely think this mascara is better for a daytime look and creating a defined lash effect. It doesn't provide any dramatic volume or anything like that so when I am going out on the weekends I will do a second coat over top with Maybelline's One by One mascara.
A description of the mascara says, "Our innovative brush surrounds each lash with our amazing conditioning formula so each lash is individualized and volumized!" What I have noticed is that it really does have some sort of conditioning formula because my lashes do not fall out when I take off my mascara. It keeps them strong and soft...not brittle and breaking off!
Also, I should mention that the brush is made up of rubber bristles which I normally don't like, but the wand and brush are really sturdy unlike Maybelline's Define A Lash wand which is super flimsy and hard to control.
So if any of you are in the market for a mascara that creates feathery full and long lashes then check out Cover Girl's Lash Perfection mascara.

Mod Cloth Confetti Falls Dress

For my birthday, which was in February (!!!!), my good friend Sarah bought me the Mod Cloth Confetti Falls dress. She is so sweet! She actually read a blog post of mine where I had posted about wanting the Confetti Falls dress and she so thoughtfully got it for me. :) I think it was one of the nicest and most thoughtful gifts anyone has gotten me. I know it has been several months and I kept meaning to do an OOTD featuring the dress, but it is such a nice dress that I don't wear it very often. I feel really fancy when I wear it hahah. I definitely think it's going to make a great dress for "nicer events." It's one of my favorites and I thought I'd do a little update blog post about it. I only have a few pictures from my birthday of me wearing it and they are kind of goofy pics, but better than nothing!

Ulta Haul - Featuring Redken and Stila

Ulta is draining my wallet! There is an Ulta way too close to my apartment and I pass it every day on my way home from work. I keep finding myself creating little lists in my head and convincing myself that I need all of these random things. Well, that is exactly what happened in my latest Ulta trip. Check out some of the items I picked up:

I'll get the boring stuff out of the way first...let's see I picked up my favorite razor refills, Venus Embrace. I also got some dry shampoo. I really like Batiste! I think it's one of the best dry shampoos around and at Ulta they had two new scents, "blush" and "fresh." I think the fresh scent was the best while blush smelt too floral. I also bought a new black gel liner from Maybelline. It was a bit pricey, nearly $10. I like it a lot though. It's super creamy so you don't have to tug on your eyelids to create an even line and it stays on so well without fading. The brush that comes with it is not so great, but I still recommend it.
Now onto one of my favorite items that I picked up...the Redken Cooling Deep Conditioner from their Nature's Rescue line. On the Redken website it is described as an ultra moisturizing conditioner that helps rebalance hair while cooling and soothing the scalp. I am obsessed with the scent of the Nature's Rescue line. It seriously lingers in your hair and I love smelling my hair all day long, hah...I just love this line! My only issue is I wish this conditioner came in a tube like the Redken's All Soft Heavy Cream. I hate dipping my fingers into a tub.
Last but not least, I picked up a Stila long wearing lip color in Coquette. It is definitely a "my lips but better" color. It's sort of a rose color and I think it stays on a little longer than a normal lipstick. I wouldn't say it's long wearing though. At $20 I expected long wearing results....but at least I'm happy with the color :)