The Time Has Come...

I have been contemplating writing this post for a while now, and I can't put it off any longer. I have been blogging for a long time, si...

Monday, April 29, 2013

Katie Cazorla Color Flash Instant Gel Nail Color


Katie Cazorla is owner of the Los Angeles-based nail boutique The Painted Nail and star of TV Guide’s Nail Files. She is known for her nail expertise and is trusted by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars seeking beautiful nails.

Katie will launch her newest product, Color Flash Instant Gel Nail Color, as a ShopNBC Today’s Top Value. It will premiere as part of her new ShopNBC show, Hollywood Trends™ with Katie Cazorla.

Why the Color Flash Instant Gel Nail Color is Different:
Unlike other at-home nail gel systems, the Color Flash Instant Gel Nail Color System works in one single step. Forget second coats, pre-polish nail cleansers and endless time under an LED lamp - with Katie’s specially formulated kit you simply apply the color and cure under the lamp for 60 seconds. Additionally, Katie’s system includes a special, fast-acting polish remover that’s unlike anything else on the market. Gentle on your nails yet tough on polish, the included remover is a welcome change from traditional acetone.

Why it works:
The secret behind flawless nails is in the Color Flash’s LED lamp and specially formulated gel nail polish. Quick and easy, the device uses LED lights to cure treated nails in seconds. By combining the LED technology with the special gel nail polish, you’re left with a long-lasting, high-gloss nail color that rivals the best professional treatments.

What’s included:
The Color Flash Instant Gel Nail Color by Katie Cazorla gives you everything you need to get bright, glossy nails at home – just in time for the warm summer months ahead. Included in the kit is the device, three gel colors, a buffer block, a nail file, gel remover, a metal cuticle pusher and 30 foil wraps.

This video shows Katie showing us how to use her new product.

The show launches on ShopNBC on Tuesday, April 30 at midnight ET with additional show times at 5:00am, 10:00am and 2:00pm ET. For more information, visit ShopNBC.com.

I love Katie, you remember when I got to meet her at CosmoProf a few years ago? This product looks awesome and I can't wait to get my hands on it! I especially want to try that gel nail polish remover :)

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Ozotic - #609

Ozotic number 609 is a beautiful scattered holographic silver polish. It is thin enough that you can layer it over different polishes to produce a holo topcoat look or you can build up the coats to make it opaque as I have done here. This is three coats.

Ozotic polishes are made in Australia by the brand Picture Polish. They come in beautiful square bottles with a slightly rubberized handle that carries a nice long brush. The brush head is longer than most, which can be harder to paint with on shorter nails, but I find with a lighter touch they work well for me.

You can buy this online at Picture Polish's Australian website for AUS $12, on Llarowe or Harlow & Co for $14.50. What do you think? I love this look on my short little nubby nails :)

Product samples were provided for consideration. Disclosure Policy

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Color Club - Beyond

This is Color Club Beyond. Stunning. Sickening. Sexy. I am loving Color Club's Halo Hues collection and this one comes from the newest group released earlier this year. I reviewed another polish from this collection a while ago, Over the Moon. This one might top my excitement over that one though. This black explodes in a rainbow of holo! I might prefer if it was a tad darker overall, but the effect in real life is just beautiful. This is two coats.


You can get this polish and other Color Club polishes from their website for $8-10 each. What do you think of this holo black beauty? I'm loving it!

Product samples were provided for consideration. Disclosure Policy

Saturday, April 20, 2013

BB Couture - Blind Love

Today I have a fabulous BB Couture nail polish to show you called Blind Love. It's a very cool gold silver hybrid foil. Gorgeous and I've heard it mentioned as a possible Chanel Kaleidoscope dupe. I've never seen it in person so I can't attest to that, but it is gorgeous in it's own right.


I love how this polish looks either almost platinum or gold in different lights, with just a hint of green tint. The texture is buttery and easy to apply without very obvious brushstrokes, as some metallics are prone to. This is two coats.

You can buy BB Couture nail lacquers from their website and from Overall Beauty. Be sure to follow their Facebook and Twitter to keep up with their latest releases and news!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lynnderella - Pink and Red Went to Bed


Hi everyone! Today I have a special polish to show you. It's one of my most beloved lacquers of all time. Probably mostly because I paid way too much for it. But hey, you only live once right ;) This is a limited edition polish from Lynnderella that I got on ebay called Pink and Red Went to Bed. It's is made up of large and medium matte red hex glitters with a slightly shimmery almost clear pink tinted base and blue iridescent shards. It's pretty magnificent. I layered two coats over Essie Cute as a Button for this mani.

It's made up of mostly glitter so it is incredibly dense. Quite hard to paint with, and it takes a hefty dose of topcoat to smooth. But look how pretty!! I'm irrationally in love with this. What do you think? Am I totally crazy? It's ok if you say yes, I know I am :) Have a great day!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

My Cuticle Story

I have gorilla cuticles. At least, that's what a sassy manicurist told me one day as she cut them, a few years ago when I was getting a mani, before I had gotten into doing my nails myself. The rest of the manicure was less than relaxing. Needless to say, I have a bit of a complex about my cuticles as a result, even now. I have always had dryish skin around my nails and my cuticles grow like weeds. Apparently, more so than anyone that manicurist had ever seen.

When I really got into photographing and blogging about my nails, I was always searching and experimenting with new products to try and combat this problem. Ragged and cracked cuticles in up close and personal photos = no fun for anyone. It got to the point where I would cut my cuticles almost daily to keep them tamed. If you didn't know, cutting your cuticles is pretty much the worst thing I could do for my problem. It was a vicious cycle, I cut them so they would look better, they would grow back harder, uglier and more ragged, so I had to keep cutting them just to have them appear presentable. More than once I've sliced too deep and created a wound, ouch.

No amount of cuticle remover would work to totally eradicate them like cutting did. Oils, creams, and balms didn't help me. I have some OCD tendencies, and whenever I saw the slightest bit of extra cuticle or skin, I'd cut. I thought I would be doomed to be a slave to my nippers forever. Then about a month ago, I decided I was strong enough to quit my habit. Having normal, healthy cuticles was my right and I was going to have them dammit!

On the advice of some of my fellow bloggers and nailphiles, I quit cold turkey and started using a gentle cuticle remover about every other day, pushed them back often, and started using rich cuticle balm morning and night. I had just gotten a sample of Famous Names new Dadi'Oil, a cuticle oil with avocado, jojoba, vitamin E, and olive oil that is non-greasy and absorbs quickly. All the oils I'd tried in the past kept my hands yucky and greasy for hours and never came close to softening my skin. Dadi'Oil is truly a miracle worker for me and I believe is a big part of my success of not cutting for the past month. I applied it basically whenever I thought about my cuticles. Unfortunately, it is a pro-only product, so you need a license to be able to buy it. I used Blue Cross Cuticle Remover from Sally's, orangewood sticks from Walmart, Qtica cuticle balm from Qtica, and Dadi'Oil from Famous Names.

It has taken this long, about a month, for them to finally be in semi-fighting shape. The first week was brutal, but it got easier. Not that they are technically perfect or even close to, but they do look more natural and normal. And I no longer have such an intense urge to cut them, though I don't know if that will ever go away completely. I don't know if it's terribly apparent in my photos to you as a reader, but it was a huge sense of anxiety for me and now I am happier with them than I thought I could be. And it's only going to get better :D

Some of the products mentioned were provided for consideration.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Rescue Beauty Lounge Emoting Me Collection


Today is the big day! The revealing of Rescue Beauty Lounge's new collection, Emoting Me. Below is the trailer creator Ji Baek made for the collection, and her blog post explaining the collection is here if you haven't already seen it.

First in the collection is Thank You. It's one of my favorite RBL polishes of all time, for real. What a great start to the collection, my heavens. I always try to show my gratitude and make others feel appreciated. Sometimes it really is enough to say thanks, it might make all the difference in the world to that someone. This polish is a classic naked shade of nude with an angelic pink shimmer haze. This is three coats.

Next is Be Humble, another amazing soft shade which I am head over heels with. I have a lot of experience learning to be humble and it's gradually gotten easier to remember I am just a small bit of spirit in this great big existence. This color is a soft greyed taupe with a shimmer glaze in blue, pink, and lavender. Three coats.

We all need a little Forgiveness now and again. I find myself needing to ask for it more than I would like to admit sometimes. It's a brave heart that can admit when they have done wrong and it's most definitely a lesson we all have to keep learning throughout life. This is a dove lavender opaque creme that leaves me feeling as if my nails are wrapped in soft cashmere sweater. Two coats.

And now for a Smile! I've been told more than once that my smile is infectious so I try to use it often. Even if I'm not 100%, I try to tell myself to wear a grin to show others the strength of my spirit. This color is a bright and happy pinky red with sunny shimmer bits of gold. This is two coats.

Now let's all Pause for effect... :) Remembering to take a second and take a deep breath and just be for a moment can be hard, but is oh so necessary. Those moments give us a chance to catch up, regroup, and appreciate. This vibrant violet shimmer is complex and full and quite striking. Staring into it's deepness gives me time for that necessary pause indeed. Two coats.

Our next emotive color is called Become One. I have always been an appreciative resident of the earth we live on. Us, our planet and everything together on it are all one living, breathing karmic organism out here in our spot in the universe. This bright lush green creme is a great representation of nature. This is two coats.

And last in the collection is called Turn It Around. We cannot hide away from the negatives in life if we desire to experience positives. I take comfort in the knowledge that if things go down, they must come up. This polish has a mossy green base and is exploding with copper and pinky metallic shimmer. Two coats here.

So what do you think ReBeLs? I'm incredibly impressed with Ji's vision for these lacquers and there isn't a color in the bunch I don't love. All of the formulas were spot on and flowed wonderfully onto the nail. I did notice that if i tried to use top coat right away some smeared a bit, so I would suggest to allow them dry a tad longer than normal and then to put on your top coat.

Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polishes are exclusively available at www.rescuebeauty.com for $20 per bottle. The 48 hour Pre-Order event starts on 4/12/13, then the collection will be available to the public for regular purchase at the end of April.

Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polishes are created with resin and high molecular polymers to improve flexibility, durability, and high shine. They contain no harmful Toluene, Formaldehyde, DBP, and Formaldehyde Resin. They do not test on animals.

Product samples were provided for consideration. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Color Club - Over the Moon


Color Club has released two holographic collections, called Halo Hues, in the last few months. Six at the end of last year and six around the beginning of this year. You know I'm obsessed with holo so I naturally HAD to have at least some of them. They have an amazing holo effect and glow in beautiful colors. Here is one of the colors from the 2013 set, called Over the Moon. It's a beautiful vibrant yet soft sky blue with a strong holo finish. This is two coats.

You can get this polish and other Color Club polishes from their website for $8-10 each. What do you think of this stunning blue? Are you into holo as much as I am or is it too flashy for you?


Product samples were provided for consideration. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Ozotic - #910

This is a Picture Polish lacquer under their label Ozotic, number 910. It's a gold duochrome that glints green at certain angles, with large holographic scattered shimmer bits. I LOVE this polish. It's one of my few coveted Ozotic polishes and it combines three of my most loved characteristics in a polish. I love holo of any kind, I love gold, and I love duochromes! This reminds me a bit of Chanel Peridot but I had an easier time with this formula and this one is overall more gold. This is two coats with topcoat (after two days wear!)

You can buy this online at Picture Polish's Australian website for AUS $12 or on Llarowe for $14.50. What do you think? Are you digging 910 as much as I am?


Disclosure: Product samples were provided for consideration. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
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