BBC Round-up - June 29, 2012


The one with random manis!

I don't have any major plans for a post today, so I thought I'd show you some random manis I've had lately.
Jelly sandwich with OPI Big Hair, Big Nails and Teenage Dream
Skittle with Zoya Yummy (blue) and Zoya Lael (purple)
OPI Rainbow Connection over a minty colored polish - I can't remember which!
Ahh look at the length! China Glaze Shower Together


**DISCLAIMER**  I was not paid for this review by anyone. I either purchased these polishes myself or were given gifts as friends because I could not find the particular shade I wanted myself.  I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I want to be. I'm just someone who enjoys polishing my own nails :)

The one with It's So Easy Summer Nail Art contest!


Join in on the Summer Fun Nail Art Contest

Los Angeles, Calif. (June 2012) – Take a dive into the world of nail art with It’s So Easy® and the Summer Fun Nail Art contest. Beginning on Sunday, July 1, nail art fanatics throughout the United States are invited to enter their nail creations to win cash or gift cards.
         
The prizes are as follows:

                   1st: $1,000
                   2nd: $500
                   3rd: $250
                  
Twenty congratulations prizes will also be awarded, offering $25 gift cards to shop at Sally Beauty®, the largest source of professional beauty products in the world.

The Summer Fun Nail Art contest ends on Tuesday, July 31.

For more information about the contest and to enter, visit the NEW It’s So Easy® website at www.itssoeasynails.com.

About It’s So Easy®
It’s So Easy® provides the highest quality nail art products for nail art applications. The line includes loose glitters, cracked ice flakes, sealer and dryer, rhinestones, brushes, and more. It’s So Easy® products are available now at Sally Beauty®. To find a store near you, visit www.sallybeauty.com.

Like It’s So Easy® on Facebook:
Follow It’s So Easy® on Instagram:
@ItsSoEasyNails
Follow It’s So Easy® on Pinterest:
Follow It’s So Easy® on Twitter:

Beauty Blogazons Round-up - June 29, 2012


  • Mama Fashionista- In the on going quest to perfect her skin care routine, Mama Fashionista discovered a match made in heaven: LUSH's Angels on Bare Skin and the Clarisonic Mia!
  • My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog- Laura reviewed and swatched the Romantic Eye Shadow Collection from Too Faced.
  • Ishah x Beauty-What's on Ishah x Beauty's menu? A Glitter Sandwich! Lovely layers of shimmer, glitter and flakies.
  • Lucy's Stash-Parrot nail art manicure - Scarlet Macaw in the jungle painted with acrylic colours
  • Liquor, Lube and Lipstick- I See Rainbows Everywhere! - Would you go to work with bright eye makeup? I did!
  • Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom- Milani browns are in the spotlight.
  • Adore-a-Polish- A little Colorstay for your day with this Revlon Colorstay Top Coat review.
  • Captivating Claws- Shows you an amazing green sparkly Zoya gradient
  • Cosmetics Aficionado -This Minnie Mouse Manicure is not only super cute and super easy, but it is short nail friendly!
  • Phyrra -Phyrra is in love with the cult product inspired by beauty balm creams, Illamasqua Skin Base!
  • Dorothy's Little Wonderland - What I brought with me during my travel adventure
  • Beauty Product Review- A shiny face isn't pretty, check out what makeup product I used to get rid of shiny face!
  • Tolmu Rull tells all -Have you ever bought anything big and been insanely happy about it? Tolmu Rull's biggest beauty buy ever comes from Poland and weighs 12,5 kgs!
  • Shades of Beauty, Inc.- Klout Perk...Essie Mojito Madness
  • Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist - BB Cream. I found my favorite one and I want to share!
  • The Stepford Witch- Who doesn't love makeup that's meant to make our beauty routine simpler? Now let's see if Speed Brow is the right eyebrow product for the job!
  • The Polished Zombie -No need to call a medic, It's Just A Flesh Wound.
  • The Beauty Delicacy - Go Pastelle this Summer.
  • Beauty by Miss L -Do you want to know what was in this month´s Estonian monthly subscription box called Glambox?

The one with radio station-inspired nail art!

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot to post today!! Very quickly here's a rundown of this mani! The local radio station, z102, (which is the BEST radio station EVER!) is giving away tickets to a local amusement park, Holiday World. Today, to win, you had to take a picture of yourself with something saying "I <3 z102." So yeah, I did my nails.
I tried to make the background look like their 'logo' on the top of their Facebook page. I don't think I did too bad :) I didn't win the tickets, tho. They chose by random draw!
For the letters/numbers and the heart I used nail art polishes in black and red from LA Colors. For the background, I used a base of Essence Romeo, a grey polish. Then I used make-up sponge thingys and dabbed Milani Black Swift, Mirror Mirror from the Snow White and the Huntsman polishes and Milani White on the Spot. I just dabbed on layers until I got what I liked.
So what do you think? I think I will try more sponge manis like this! I really like how it turned out :)


DISCLAIMER: The products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I have any formal training in nail care. I'm just someone who likes to polish her nails :) Please read this post for more information.

The one with Fail Art Thursday - a sort of Milani ombre doticure!

I seem to be stuck on doticures lately. Every time I decide to do some nail art, I pick up the dotting tools. I have to break out of that and try something else! hahah But last night I was checking out my nails (in the second day of a sort of ombre), and I decided dots were the answer. The polishes I used are all Milani: High Speed Black Swift, Hipster Plum, Orchidia and High Speed White on the Spot. Each nail has a different base with different dots hehe
I didn't knock the dots around all willy nilly like I usually do. I actually laid them down in diagonal lines. Sort of. I think they turned out well :) Now my thumb...hahah that's a different story! I decided to try something different with it. So I swiped on one line of Orchidia, then next to it, one line of Hipster Plum. Then across the bottle of the nail, curving the cuticle, I put a swipe of Black Swift. Then I used a dotting tool to swirl them together. Hmm. Didn't actually turn out all that great hahah
I dunno what possessed me to try it, I have no idea where it came from. hahah


DISCLAIMER: The products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I have any formal training in nail care. I'm just someone who likes to polish her nails :) Please read this post for more information.

The one with Milani Hipster Plum and Orchidia!

Milani purples today!! Let's just jump right in, shall we? I don't have any anecdotes to share today...

Up first is Hipster Plum. I love this color! It's a deep, rich grape-y purple that goes on so smoothly, one coat would suffice if you play your cards right! Formula is very pigmented and nice. No streakiness or goopiness at all.
A light, shimmery purple, Orchidia has a good formula and covered in two coats. This polish only has the vaguest of shimmer indoors, but outside you can see it pretty well.
I think these two polishes would look good in nail art together. Maybe a watermarble? I haven't tried this Milanis with watermarbling, so maybe that might be something to try :)


DISCLAIMER: The products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I have any formal training in nail care. I'm just someone who likes to polish her nails :) Please read this post for more information.

The one with Milani Jewel FX Lavender!

Ahhh Tuesday. Is there anything special about Tuesday? Haven't found it yet...at least not this Tuesday! I think my son and I are getting way too used to sleeping in on Mondays and Tuesdays. I really need to start getting myself up earlier on those two days, but having to get up early on the last three days of the week just make me wanna sleep in the first two hehe

For today, I've got one of the Milani Jewel polishes - Lavender. I do not have a swatch of this polish by itself. It's so packed with glitter that I wasn't about to put it on my nails and have to struggle to get it off. Yep, it's that packed. Lavender is, you guessed it, a light purple glitter. There's hex glitter and teeny tiny microglitter. I chose to layer it over two of the browns I showcased yesterday.
Lavender over Dark Coffee
Lavender over Dark Coffee
Lavender over Dark Coffee
Lavender over Brown Teddy
Lavender over Brown Teddy
Like either of these combinations? What polish would you layer Lavender over? I thought about the traditionals - white, black, purple - but I decided to go with something non-traditional, And I just love browns and purples together :)


DISCLAIMER: The products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I have any formal training in nail care. I'm just someone who likes to polish her nails :) Please read this post for more information.

The one with Milani polishes - Brown edition :)

Hello Monday! Today I've got another Milani spam post for you - this time showcasing some of the brown polishes that I have! I do like brown polishes...I just don't see myself wearing them a lot in every day life, if that makes sense. I typically just them use for (failed) nail art. hehe I love the formula on Milani polishes. I haven't had a bit of trouble with any of the ones I've tried.

Dark Coffee is a rich, deep brown. If I had been careful, I could have made this a one-coater! But I got a little swipe happy and brushed too many times, leaving some bald spots. This is the perfect color of dark chocolate. Seriously makes me wanna take a bite out of my nail...
Next up to Teddy Brown, a nice tan latte-esque color. It's very subtle, and sort of flat (but it dries very shiny!)... Again, could've been a one coat polish if I'd been more careful with application. It's very densely pigmented, which is a good thing :)
Chocolate Sprinkles is a deep brown base packed with a golden, possibly bronze-ish, shimmer. The formula on this one was thinner than with the cremes, but not so bad that it was an issue with application. It may have made it easier to stack the shimmer, to really make it pop off the nail :)
Do you have any of these polishes? Do you have a favorite brown polish? I'm always partial to the melted chocolate look of Zoya Dea :)


DISCLAIMER: The products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I have any formal training in nail care. I'm just someone who likes to polish her nails :) Please read this post for more information.

What would you do with a $300 Visa gift card?



The Beauty Blog Coalition members may not all be American, but we do love to celebrate all holidays with our friends, so we bring you the 4th of July Competition, with not one but two $300 USD Visa gift cards!  All terms and conditions may be found at the bottom of the Rafflecopter widget.  Please allow the widget to load in full.  Competition ends 5 July 2012.  You may enter on any of the blogs below - Rafflecopter won't allow you enter twice.  You may tweet about the giveaway (the last option in the Rafflecopter) every day for extra entries!  

Thank you to the following - the members of the Beauty Blog Coalition, Rafflecopter, HTML Tables, Flag Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net


Please visit the lovely sponsors of this competition!

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Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist Endless Summer
Future Derm Geniabeme Beauty Blog
Making Up the Midwest Midnight Manicures
Moxie Reviews My Beauty Bunny
My Highest Self My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog
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Beauty Blogazons Round-Up 6-18-12


  • Pink Sparklz- On Wednesday's we wear pink! Pink NOTD! Sinful Colors & O.P.I.
  • Mama Fashionista- Allow Mama Fashionista to introduce you to Evie Evan and the last concealer you will ever need (it's HG status)!
  • Ishah x Beauty- It's Girl's Night at Ishah x Beauty! Check out some good eats, drinks and my FOTD.
  • Phyrra- Wanna steal the spotlight? Phyrra tells you to break out the Anastasia See and Be Seen Kit.
  • Midnight Manicures- Water Marbling with Patricia, see this nail art technique at it's best.
  • Beauty Product Review- Discover the mask that has completely changed my complexion and made every night a spa night!
  • Cosmetics Aficionado- Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Ballet might be your perfect Barbie pink.
  • Creatively Yours by Ro- Smooth out your edges with Carols Daughter Macadamia Hold & Control Smoother
  • Adore-a-polish- Get scrubalicious with this yummy grapefruit sugar scrub from Qtica.
  • Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom- Check out four lovely Zoya shades at Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom
  • Sincerely Stephanie- Looking for an easy way to do nail art? Check out how you can create art using your own fingerprints!
  • Shades of Beauty, Inc.  It Works!  BZZAGENT REVIEW: Smooth 'n Shine® Keratin Power Semi-Permanent Hair Tamer
  • Mani Curiously- The First 50 Giveaway Celebration! Come celebrate Dom & E's first follower milestone with this great giveaway!
  • Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog checked out the Hey, Sailor! collection from MAC and shared her review on the limited edition Fleet Fast blush!
  • Beyond Beauty Lounge- Easy Ombre with The New Black
  • The Beauty Delicacy- The sweetest shade of red gloss perfect for Summer
  • Beauty by Miss L- Check out Miss L´s bright summer eye makeup look
  • Emily Hudspeth, hair design & makeup artist- The Big Reveal is here! Part 3 or the "After" of the makeover series for this soon to be new mom, is on the blog. Next up, the makeup lesson.
  • Liquor, Lube and Lipstick- My latest hair adventure, combining my two favorite loves, neons and ombré hair.
  • Cosmetically Challenged- Cosmetically Challenged shows you what Orange Neon nail polish is all about with Sations "One & Only Orange" from the California Gleamin' Collection
  • Nails Beautiqued- It's summertime! Want some nailart ideas?  How about some Wispy Flowers.
  • Dorothy's little wonderland- What should I do if I would like to change the skincare routine. Tips and tricks to minimize the irritations
  • The Polished Zombie- Star Wars and Nail polish? The Polished Zombie proudly lets her geek flag fly with an out of this world polish from Amy's Nail Boutique.

The one with SoFlaJo Summer Breeze!

Hello out there everyone! I have a gorgeous new polish to show you today - SoFlaJo Summer Breeze! It's a light, airy, shimmery, sort of holo-y purple, best used as a topper for other colors :) It's handmixed by my friend Jody. Summer Breeze is part of her Life's A Beach collection :)

On SoFlaJo's post, Summer Breeze is described as "Start your morning with a walk on the beach and enjoy the “Summer Breeze“. Our color changing polish is light and airy with hints of purple, pink, blue and green. Opaque enough to wear on it’s own. Transparent enough to wear as a topcoat. Put this one over black and you’ll be blown away at it’s transformation!"

I liked it on it's own as it added a subtle shimmer to my nails....but I really loved it as a top coat :) Here's two photos of the polish, two coats, alone.
Just the very vaguest of shimmer! If my nails were prettier, I'd wear it alone more often! But how does it looks over colors? I know black is an obvious choice, but I wanted to put it over shades of purple. So first, I chose Milani Orchidia, a shimmery light grape-y purple. One coat of Summer Breeze over two coats of Orchidia. Really helps it pop!
But my favorite? One coat of Summer Breeze over two coats of Zoya Lael. Ohemgee, people. It's flat-out gorgeous! And reminds me of ORLY Mysterious Curse...
I will be wearing this combo quite often!!! I love the shimmery holo-esque swipe of Summer Breeze! :) Want your own SoFlaJo polish? Check out the etsy store! You can see swatches of the rest of the Life's A Beach collection here.


DISCLAIMER: The products used in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration. This blog is written and edited by me, and the opinions are not influenced in any way and are not compensated. I am not a professional nail tech, nor do I have any formal training in nail care. I'm just someone who likes to polish her nails :) Please read this post for more information.

Beauty Blog Coalition Roundup - June 22, 2012


The one with Franken Friday - some random polishes I've made

Not much to say today. I'm tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired. And hungry. After I get this post done, I need to go eat something. Or maybe I'll just pick something up on the way to work. hmm Starting Monday, I'm recommitting myself to my diet and exercise plan, so I'd better get all the crap out of my system this weekend haha Anyway, today I've got some random frankens I've made lately for people...
A milky white base with pink and black glitter for Jamie at Nails Adored
A sky blue holo for Kari at Got Polish?
And a shimmery blue base with red and blue glitter for Mary :)

I need to get back to making frankens. I've been so busy lately, tho, that it just doesn't cross my mind like it used to! Maybe now that baseball season is over, I can begin to settle into the routine of making polishes again :) I have a really AWESOME idea for a franken set!!

China Glaze On Safari Collection!


UNTAMED COLOUR AWAITS YOU

China Glaze® Introduces 12 New Crèmes and Glitters for Fall 2012

Los Angeles, CA – (May 2012):  China Glaze® nail lacquer invites you to take an exotic expedition with its Fall 2012 collection, On Safari.  Be captivated by the earthy tones, rich plums and celestial sparkles that make up this adventurous assortment of polishes.

The China Glaze® On Safari features 10 rich crèmes and two glitters including:

·         Kalahari Kiss: Light sand brown
·         I’m Not Lion: Glistening gold and multi-color glitter
·         Call of the Wild: Beautiful chocolate brown-dark cherry blend
·         Adventure Red-y: Vivid red
·         Desert Sun: Delicious caramel
·         I Herd That: Brilliant copper glitter
·         Man Hunt: Bold cobalt blue
·         Exotic Encounters: Lush green crème with blue undertones
·         Elephant Walk: Cool graphite grey
·         Jungle Queen: Smoky violet
·         Purr-fect Plum: Bold burgundy
·         Prey Tell: Daringly dark red 


On Safari is also available in:
·         6-piece “Native” Collection: Man Hunt, Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, Jungle Queen, Purr-fect Plum and Prey Tell
·         6-piece “Tourist” Collection: Kalahari Kiss, I’m Not Lion, Call of the Wild, Adventure Red-y, Desert Sun and I Herd That
·         12-piece counter display

The China Glaze® On Safari collection will be available at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide in July 2012.  Individual polishes retail for $7 MSRP; the 6-piece sets retail for $42 MSRP.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries
For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.