Revlon Moon Candy-- Satellite & Orbit

  Hi all!!  The Revlon Moon Candy Nail Art duos have been around for a couple years and they've never really seemed to catch on, despite the fact that they're easily accessible flakies perfectly matched with a corresponding base color.  The other day I went to the display at my most frequently used watering hole and dusted (yes, dusted) a couple Moon Candies off and brought them home with me.  Brace yourselves because I've got a lot to say about these.

Revlon Moon Candy

Weekend Revlon and Neuma Small Haul, PLUS LLPT Featured on 15 Minute Beauty!

  Hi all!!  I haven't done any serious checkbook damage in a while and I've not gone all out on hair products for even longer.  A little back story on the hair product thing-- I've been seeing the same hairstylist since I was 21 and needed to get a "temporary" black home dye job undone as neatly as possible.  She fixed my screw up with minimal damage and she made a customer for life.

  At the time, this meant I bought ALL my hair products from her ever rotating stock, which meant beaucoup bucks on Bedhead (when Bedhead was still good), S-Factor, Colure, and others I'm sure existed but escape my memory.  A few years later, I made the life changing discovery that the humble bar of Dove soap cleaned my face the same way my $30 Shiseido cleanser did (though I do miss using that luxurious line from time to time).  I decided to apply the same principle to my haircare routine and my days of spending $20+ on a bottle of shampoo were over.

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

  Hi all, and Happy Halloween!!  This year, my decision of what to wear on my nails was an easy one.  Since I've been feeling a little glittery this week, I chose an oldie but goodie-- Revlon Facets of Fucshia, aka Scandalous, that gorgeous fuchsia glitter in a black jelly base copy of Deborah Lippmann's Bad Romance.  I used one coat of this beauty over WetnWild Black Creme; finished with one layer of topcoat.

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

  And with that, I'm off to the races.  Thank you for reading, and have a safe and fun Halloween!  What's on your nails today?

July Favorites and the Return of the Happy Caturday Poll!!

  Happy Caturday, guys and gals!!  August came in like a lion, lol, with a big night-long thunderstorm.  It's though to choose between watching a spectacular light show and sleeping, I must admit, but sleep sort of naturally won out.  It was wonderful to drift off to thunder rumbling, though... Just the coolest thing ever, electrical storms (as long as the lightening doesn't touch down).

  Anyhoo, July was a really fun product month as I discovered four products that I've been pretty much living in.

July Favorites-- L'Oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector day/night cream, Butter London Ladybird, e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder, Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Striking

Revlon Parfumerie Espresso

  Hi friends!!  Yesterday was my birthday and I've taken the opportunity for the last three years to wear my favorite nail polish color, the basic black creme.  I know most gals don't see any use for blacks beyond being a base for spectacular art or an amazing topcoat but I LOVE the simplicity, edge, and element of unexpected black nail polish still provides-- at least in certain areas.

  I finally picked up Revlon Parfumerie polish in Espresso the other day, something I've been curious about since seeing it on Be Happy and Buy Polish.  Espresso played a little trick on my brain.  The name says dark, dark brown and the photos say not quite black in a way I couldn't explain.  Like reds, black polishes seem fairly straightforward but they are not anywhere close to being the same.  Espresso is, oddly, a verrrrrry dark blue leaning black, in fact just this side of being confused for a deep midnight blue.  Here's one swipe on paper, next to jet black WetnWild Wild Shine Black Creme.

LLPT's Best Of 2013!! Mainstream Polishes

*contains press samples

HI everybody!!  It's that time of year again, New Year's is imminent and Best Of compilations abound.  My list loving self has been eating all this up with a spoon, both checking out my fellow bloggers' choices and compiling my own selections.

It's been a pretty freaking fantastic year for a lot of reasons but narrowing my choices down to a top 15 ended up being a fairly easy task once I thought about the ones Ive reached for the most and the ones that have truly wowed me.  So, let's jump right in (and please enjoy the continuing evolution of my nails; it seems inconsistency is my signature), in order of release.

12 Days of Christmas Nails!! Day 3-- Hot Mess Lacquers Across The Trailer Park

Hi everybody!!  Day 3 of my 12 Days of Christmas Nails is Hot Mess Lacquers Across The Trailer Park.  There's something to be said for posting about a purchase in a timely fashion, especially, I'm thinking, if it's an indie.  I've been sitting on this glitter for a year and it seems the etsy shop has gone the way of the dodo and the facebook page hasn't been updated since April.  It made a bit of a splash for being one of the first, and only, copies of Deborah Lippmann's smash hit Across The Universe.  Fortunately, there are other easy to acquire copies out there now, but this one is mine.

Across The Trailer Park is a royal blue jelly base filled with small metallic kelly green and cerulean hex glitters and tiny cerulean glitters.  The base is super sheer and the glitter quite chunky, so I put down one coat of Revlon Royal before layering two coats of Across The Trailer Park.

Revlon Parfumerie China Flower

Good morning, everyone :) I didn't realize how much I actually neeeeeeded another Revlon Parfumerie polish until I started writing about Italian Leather yesterday.

China Flower is a bright coral-red crelly (creme-jelly hybrid) with a soft, non-sweet floral scent.  I adooooore this color!  Sometimes, life just calls for something vibrant and the whole experience of this one reminds me of flowered cheongsams and beautiful jade jewelry.

Revlon Parfumerie Italian Leather

Hi everybody :) First I want to say THANK YOU for the comments, messages, prayers, hugs, and warm thoughts regarding my Sally.  Your kindness and support means the world and I'm so fortunate to be a part of such a caring community ♥ I feel like it all happened at the best time possible because C and I could both take our time and have our privacy over a long weekend and now we have the day-to-day and the fun of the holiday season to keep us occupied.  Besides, the show must go on.  She'd miss napping here in my lap if I'd decided to take any more days off from la blog.  Also, I'm excited about something I have planned for December but I really wanted to show you all my new Revlon Parfumerie polish first.

You maybe know that I love perfume perhaps more than nail polish.  I wear my fume every day and I'm loth to wear anything that might conflict with that, which means I do fragrance free everything-- soap, fabric softener, laundry detergent, body lotion, etc.  So while those cute little Parfumerie bottles that combined two of my loves and promised relatively complex fragrance did intrigue me, I had my doubts about how strong and just how nice the scent would actually be.  Curiosity got the better of me, though, so I picked up Italian Leather, a dark olive shade boasting one of my favorite notes and a subtle, golden RBL-esque shimmer.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Red Velvet

I've been on a couple different missions lately, one of which is to find the perfect sheer red lippy.  Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet isn't it, but it has become my favorite go-to, every day red.

 I just love the quilted packaging on these things.

Obvi, I've used this a few times :) The Lip Butters are great because of how moisturizing they are.  I've been using a couple of the lighter shades off and on for the past year and my only issue is the longevity, but Red Velvet doesn't have that problem-- maybe because of the red pigmentation.  It's super moisturizing AND long lasting-- a red I don't need to wear balm underneath.  Beautiful.

Red Velvet is a darker, bluer leaning shade of red with an ever-so-slight provocation towards brick.  It's a great, wearable daytime red because it is very slightly sheer with a touch of gloss.  It does require reapplication throughout the day, but as the glossiness fades from each wear, it leaves lips with the prettiest stain.  Application is great.  I've learned to use a clear pencil under all my reds, but as I reapply this during the day, I don't keep up with the liner and I don't get any bleeding.  It's the most perfect, low maintenance red I've tried.  It makes me want to put a gigantic dollop of cream cheese frosting on it and take a bite, too.

 So, the mission continues for a nice, sheer red but I'm stoked to have Red Velvet in my life ♥

What about you?  Got any favorite Lip Butters?  or a rec for a sheer red?

Thanks for reading! 

BadAss Polish Dusk

Today I've got another BadAss glitter to show you, and this one's the standout of the line so far, in my opinion, and the one I've been most excited to play around with.  This is Dusk, one coat over Revlon Midnight.

Dusk is, oh my gosh, holy smokes gorgeous.  It's densely packed tiny navy blue and gold glitter in a clear base, beautiful, elegant, and festive, and right at home over a dark teal.  If that old Christmas carol, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, was made into a nail polish, this would be it.  I love this so, SO MUCH!  I was seriously ready to bombard you all with eight photos of it, too, but C stepped in and helped narrow it down, lol.  The base is a little thick going on but evens out nicely.  It smooths out well enough with one layer of topcoat.  Two would have been perfect, but one is certainly not that bothersome, and it all wears remarkably well.  

Dusk is available for sale at BadAss Polish's etsy store, found here. Show support and keep up with latest news and new releases on their facebook page here, and by all means, treat yourself and pick up a bottle of this beautiful glitter.

This item was sent for review.

Revlon Royal

Hello hello!!  My notd is the lovely blue jelly that is Revlon Royal.  I got this right around the time Rescue Beauty Lounge's IKB:2012 sold out for good, and while nothing can compete with the energy behind that kind of collaboration, let's face it, a pretty color is a pretty color.  Lots of gals said Royal is the superior shade and formula, so I decided to go for it.  

The color is gorgeous.  And the formula's not bad, either.  The brush is really big and moppy, which concerned me until I actually applied the polish.  Everything stayed put nicely, and while with two coats, my nail line is visible in the photos, it is not in real life.  This one does stain and is messy to clean up.  I should know, it took me four tries to get these photos right....

I'm not wearing topcoat in these photos.  Insanity is what, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?  I'd been using my standard Out the Door topcoat and every photo showed all these terrible brushstrokes.  I wanted to show you all a closeup, but apparently I deleted everything but the last batch in a fit of despair, lol.  That's never happened before, which leads me to believe that maybe this polish is best worn minus topcoat.  Anyone else have an experience with this?

Bottom line, Royal is a rich and striking color and I totally see what all the hype was about.

Tomorrow is US Thanksgiving and I'll be hanging out at home making tasty food and waiting for C to walk through the door so our festivities can commence, lol.  You'll find me at Ulta at midnight. ;) You all have a safe and happy day.  Thanks for reading. <3

Halloween Lights

Hello guys and gals!  The single most fun thing about Halloween for me is the all-out flashy and over the top hair, costumes, and makeup.  Over the top has different meanings for everyone, and for me, it means wearing four different colors on my nails... at once!!   lol.  Earlier this month I was driving home from work and I passed a display in a boutique window with little Halloween lights in purple, orange, and light green.  I thought they looked so pretty and festive, and that those colors would make a spooktacular manicure (clever and original play on words no extra charge).

I used Revlon Facets of Fuschia over Essence Black is Back (an excellent and inexpensive black creme), Zoya Midori, and WetnWild 9.0.2.1. Orange.  I was pretty stoked that I had the perfect colors already in my stash. 

 I brought my camera to work (I make my living in a retail pharmacy) and decided to surreptitiously (sort of) take pictures of my nails next to Halloween costumes and decorations.  If anyone noticed... they didn't let on. ;)

   

Ooh, creeepy!! :D

 

I just love these colors together, and I really like how my first foray into seasonal looks turned out.

Thanks for reading, and have a terrifyingly terrific Thursday. ;p

Zoya Trixie + Revlon Coral Me Wild

Good Monday!!  I'm in the home stretch (sort of) of Gosia's ABC challenge.  I'm on the letter T, and I was honestly going to skip it because I couldn't think of anythinggg!!  But, good things come to those who wait till the last minute, lol.  My friend Essie at iheartprettypolish used the silvery, shimmery good Zoya Trixie for her letter T, which jogged my memory that I did, in fact, have the same polish.  In the interest of challenging myself and not being a total copycat, I decided to try my hand at sponging with Trixie.  Here it is over Revlon Coral Me Wild. 

Sponging might just be the easiest art to do, like, ever. I found a nice little tutorial here at The Nail Polish Addict on how to do a gradient, and I just simplified it.  I used two coats of Coral Me Wild, let those dry, and added a drop of Trixie per nail on the corner of a makeup sponge, blotted off the excess, and sponged it on the tips to my desired effect.
Coral Me Wild is the perfect bright summer coral and one of my favorite summer pedi colors.  It was LE when I bought it a few years ago, but it's now part of Revlon's core line.  Trixie's available through Zoya's website.

Thanks for reading! :)

Zoya Ivanka + Revlon Posh

Good morning!!  I'm back on track in Gosia's ABC challenge.  Today is more semi-creative license, as usual in these parts, with Zoya Ivanka and Revlon Posh in a Jade mani.   This is Posh on my index and middle, and Ivanka on my ring and pinkie.

  

Can I just start by saying what a complete and utter pain this one was to photograph?  I don't even know why.  I love the way this looks in real life, but it just wouldn't translate properly onto the camera until I put a third coat on my pinkie and took a third round of shots (and honestly, at this point, I'm sort of done. lol.). Everything involved in these shots is behaving badly today.  The last shot is the best I could come up with holding the Revlon bottle, lol.  Part of the problem is my inability to get Ivanka to photograph as green as she really is.  Okay, enough kvetching.  I love greens, and these are two of the prettiest out there.  Seriously.

Oh, one more thing!  LLPT is on facebook now.  That's all a work in progress as of yet, but go check it out!  I'm so impressed with my technologically impaired self that I actually got the facebook button to appear on here AND link to the correct page I can hardly stand it... ;)

Thanks for reading. ;)

Revlon Posh

Good morning!!  I treated myself to my first professional pedicure in, like, ten years on Saturday, and my toesies look so pretty!  I felt a little bad for the nail tech, not that my feet are particularly gnarly, but ten years of doing my own pedis has left then in questionable shape, I'm sure.  In case you're wondering, I'm wearing L'Oreal Penthouse Pink. :)

I've had my eye on Revlon Posh for a few months now, and in light of my AWESOME new pedi, I decided it'd look great on my toes next time around, but of course I had to test drive it first (and maybe I'll end up liking the color better on my fingers.) 

 Posh is a really vivid jade green creme that applies beautifully and is opaque in two coats.  I love darker greens, and this one is bright enough to still be a summer color.  It reminds me of lush green trees, freshly cut grass, all the vital greenness early and mid summer have to offer.  It feels a little elegant to me as well, like it would be a lovely, slightly edgy color to add to a little black dress ensemble.

So I actually had an idea in mind for a mani when I picked this polish up.

I tried a Carly manicure with Posh and WetnWild On A Trip, then topped it with Essence Special Effects Topper in Soft Touch.  The effect was pretty nifty.  My nails were kind of fun to touch, lol.  The finish isn't exactly matte, more of a satin, and is kind of pretty; but, it seems to really highlight nail flaws.  I almost kept it all on for the novelty, but I'm a simple gal with simple tastes and I had to have my glossy one color mani. lol.  But hey, it was fun being adventurous for a minute or two. ;)

Thank you for reading!  Have a lovely second day of the month. :)

Tape Manicure Update... lol.

I was so stoked about how my tape manicure accent nails turned out yesterday that I had to try it full on. :)

It's sprinkling a little outside, see the little droplets? ;)

This is totally fun, but way flashier than I'm used to.  Even so, other components would make this totally cute.  C thinks a chess piece stamp in the middle would look cool.  Any other thoughts?? 

First Attempt at a Tape Manicure and Revlon Colorstay Midnight

I just heard some crashing in the kitchen and I could only assume one of the cats was up on the counter again.  So I yelled at Beau (because Sally's on my lap) to get down, but I heard no telltale thump indicating a jump down, only more clanking.  So, I went out to investigate, but there was no sign of him anywhere.  Just light clanking.  It occurred to me that he likes to climb around in the cabinets (he's figured out how to open them, naughty little cat) and I backtracked to which ones I opened when I was making breakfast.  Sure enough, there he was, in the bottom drawer usually reserved for big pots. 

Anyway.  I'm so enamored with Zoya Trixie that I decided to wear it longer and incorporate it into some nail art (which I've never attempted.)  I decided a tape manicure would be a good place to start.  Here's my second attempt.

The first attempt was last night.  My base color and topcoat weren't dry enough, so when I removed the tape the base color came with it.  This morning I used special paint tape which worked like a charm and didn't lift anything off (though my nails being dry clearly helped, too...).  I'm pretty stoked about my second try!  I did an accent nail only, just in case it looked like absolute krap.  Then I'd only have to do two nails over instead of ten.  

Speaking of the base color, I had backup pictures ready in case the tape job failed.  This is Revlon Colorstay Midnight, which is a gorgeous and shiny dark teal, just like the color Midnight in the crayon box.  Sometimes I think there's nothing prettier than a dark, elegant creme.  

And about those cutes.  I swear they looked stellar last night.  I was so proud.  Now it looks like I took a machete to them.  The moral of the story is, make sure the cats are out of the cabinets before you shut them. :)