Nails Inc. Sweets Way

My very first Nails Inc polish! I saw swatches of these Sprinkles polishes months ago and vowed to get all of them. When Sam and I went to Sephora they were out of a couple and of the few they had left only two appealed to me. Sweets Way is blue, pink and white glitter in a milky blue base. Application was just fine, three coats to opacity but this sucker is top coat hungry. My only complaint is that the cap makes the brush a little awkward for me to hold. This is a unique color (at least in my collection) but it doesn't completely wow me like I thought it would. I'm still happy with it though.
Can anyone else believe September is almost half over already? Summer seemed to drag on and I was so happy when we got to fall but now it's going too fast. Seriously, September through December is my favorite time. Plus Fall and Holiday nail polish collections are always my favorites!

Review: Up and Up Dip It Nail Polish Remover

In case you couldn't tell I really like glittery nail polishes. But they are so hard to remove. For a while I had been using the foil method of removal but my friend Sam told me I had to try the Dip-It from Target.

The Dip-It is a container with little brushes around the sides and it's filled with acetone. You stick your finger in it and let it soak for a few seconds and then rub it against the brushes to remove the polish.

It works very well. Is that a surprise? It is a lot quicker than the foil method. The little bristles do a great job of scraping away polish and glitter. Everything is contained in a cup and you don't end up with residual polish on your cuticles and glitter all over everything. There is one downside to this though.

This method drys out my nails, cuticles and finger tips, which should not shock you since it is acetone. The little bristles actually kind of hurt and damage my cuticles. They need a little more care and cuticle cream after I use this method. (Keep in mind, I have a very very low pain tolerance so it's probably not all that painful for most people.)
Ultimately, I'm lazy and while the Dip-It takes less time, the foil method requires less scrubbing on my part and the acetone doesn't get all over my fingers. I'll keep this around and continue to use it because it's not bad but I'm only using it for glitters.

OPI Pepe's Purple Passion

As we continue to work through my stash, I figured I could show you some more from OPI's Muppets collection (Holiday 2011). This was the first collection I ever felt like I needed to own every single one. It wasn't because of the colors but actually because of the names. Muppets was a huge part of my childhood and to have a themed collection is so awesome. Anyways, this is Pepe's Purple Passion. It looks like a plummy burgandy flakey in the bottle but it dried so much darker on the nail. I struggled to capture it. All of my natural light pics turned out so red looking so this is artificial light. The flakies didn't end up as pronounced on the nail, they just give it a glow from within type look. It definitely fits into the oxblood trend for fall. I'm very happy with it.
Another note on the Revlon Colorstay top coat. It's working just fine for me. Formula is very reminiscent of the OPI top coat but it's a little shinier than OPI. It's nothing like my favorite, Seche Vite but it's earned it's place in my heart.

August 2012 Favorites

Little late but let's talk about my August favorites! It was actually hard for me to pick favorite things this month. I feel like I love a lot of the same products month to month.
NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Tea Rose I got this gloss in a gift exchange for the one year anniversary for a makeup group I belong to on Facebook. Tea Rose is a bright berry color and would definitely work year round. Seriously, NYX is one of my favorite drugstore brands. The quality and wide range is awesome!
ELF Essentials Blending Eye Brush I pulled this out of my extra brush storage at the beginning of the month. Sometimes I struggle with blending and my eyeshadow ends up looking so muddy. This brush has made it a million times easier. It's a little smaller and a little stiffer than my other blending brushes. It's also round instead of tapered. At $1 each, ELF essentials brushes can be hit or miss but this is completely a hit for me.
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden I got this baby primer potion with my Feminine palette (the old school Feminine palette, not the disgusting new one). It's the love child of my two favorite primers, Original Primer Potion and MAC Paint Pot in Painterly. It feels light on the lid and blends really well but it also has the light skin tone color that I like. I will be buying the full size when the mini runs out.
Urban Decay Naked Palette I have so many freaking eyeshadow palettes. Like more than I should since eyeshadow isn't even my favorite products. I used Naked by far the most this month. I'm interested in Naked2 but the original is perfect for me. It's mostly bronzy and gold toned shadows but that's what I use the most anyways.
Redken Real Control Slim Supreme Slimming Serum Redken is one of my favorite brands for hair products and this stuff does not disappoint. It makes my hair feel hydrated and soft and it looks so shiny. Plus it keeps my hair from getting frizzy or sensitized. I use one or two pumps through towel dried hair and occasionally just a drop or two after blow drying. This cost me $17 but I've had it for over a year and I'm only 1/4 of the way through the bottle.
So that's it for this month! I'm so excited for fall. It's my favorite season. We have so much good stuff in store for the rest of the year, I can't wait!

Project Pan

It's been a while but I'm back today to share my project pan with you. After Sam left I decided it was probably time to cut back on my shopping habits for a while, at least until we move. I've basically grown out of my current storage. I do have a new vanity waiting for me for when we move so I will re-evaluate once I get all set up at the new place. Another reason I'm cutting back is that I've never actually hit pan on a product. I almost never use anything up (besides mascara). To me, it's important that I appreciate the products that I have and get rid of things I don't want hanging around any more.

My rules are fairly simple. Items will be counted if I hit pan or use it up. I'm not completely banning myself from shopping but I'm not buying as much and trying to limit myself only to limited edition products. I put 5 items I'm really focusing on in this little basket that I keep on my vanity. Obviously everything in my stash is fair game but I'm really working on these 5 things. I don't really know how this project will end. It might be a number of products or a certain time frame, I just haven't gotten that far yet.

 These are three things I'm trying to use up. I've had this bottle of Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Enhancer for a long time. It's not really a tinted moisturizer as much as it's a light foundation. It has a slightly dewy finish, SPF 20 and it works well with dry skin. I also love airless pumps. But it can be difficult to work with and many days I struggle with it to keep it from looking slightly patchy. I probably won't repurchase this.
The EOS lipbalm is about half way, not including the wedges underneath. Lots of people love these but I don't really get it. It smells nice and the packaging is unique if not a little inconvenient. But it feels very waxy and it doesn't really hydrate my lips all that well. I'm ready for this to be out of my stash.
Maybelline's the Colossal mascara is probably my very favorite mascara! It makes my lashes look long and full and dark. But I have several other mascaras that need to be used up too so I'm working on getting this used up. It's very near the end of it's life.

Two products I'm just trying to hit pan on. ELF's Studio Blush in Tickled Pink is definitely one of my favorites. It's a little more peachy than what's showing up here. It works well with my skin tone and goes with almost everything. One of my things to do is layer it under a little bit of Benefit Hoola. It's the most natural way for me to look a little more sun-kissed.
I've had Maybelline Dream Matte Powder for as long as I have had the Neutrogena tinted moisturizer. It's a great powder. A little but not too much coverage, matte finish and it buffs into the skin really nicely. I've never found a foundation that this doesn't play nicely with.

So that's it! I'll update you periodically on this project. No hard and fast rules here, just trying to be appreciative of what I have. I love reading these types of posts so if you are working on one and blogged about it, let me know!

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

AHHH! I love this! I was wanting it pretty badly when I got it but for real, this is incredible! Uriah actually picked this one for me to wear and I'm so glad I did. Across the Universe is a blue jelly with light blue and green glitter. This is 4 coats plus Colorstay top coat. I probably could have stopped at 3 but there was a little bit of unevenness that I wanted to fix. Formula was fantastic. I didn't have to fool around to get lots of the big glitters on my nails. I got just the right amount with a normal technique. Overall, this is a fantastic polish. I don't have anything else like it!

Polish Debauchery Haul!

What happens when two polish junkies spend a week together?

This! We ended up going to three different malls, one Cosmetics Company Outlet, Ulta twice, and Target three times (I think). We did other things besides shop but this is what I have to show you today. You might want to get a drink and settle in, this is a LONG post.

 Zoya Charla, Sally Hansen CSM Loves Me Not, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue, Wet N Wild Megalast Through the Grapevine, Wet N Wild Megalast Bite the Bullet, Revlon Colorstay Top Coat

The first three were lemmings, especially Pacific Blue. I've hunted for Pacific Blue for a while. The Wet N Wilds were buy one, get one 50% off but they aren't that expensive at full sale price. I know I've said this a few times but I really just needed a new topcoat and I've heard good things about this one.

Nails Inc. Topping Lane, Nails Inc, Sweets Way, Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe, Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream, Butter London No More Waity Katie, Butter London Lovely Jubbly

All of these were major lemmings for me and my firsts from these brands! 

Lush Mask of Magnaminty, Bubblegum Lip Scrub, Heavanilli Massage Bar, Sultana of Soap, (not pictured) Cosmetic Warrior Fresh Face Mask

My first Lush items! There are two near me and even then they are both more than an hour away. We ended up visiting both. The only things I was absolutely determined to get were Bubblegum, Sultana of Soap, and a fresh face mask. The first Lush didn't have any of the fresh face masks so I ended up with the Mask of Manaminty. It's the only thing I haven't used yet. I love everything else. It all smells wonderful (except Cosmetic Warrior).

Benefit Sugarlicious set, Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, MAC Fix+ mini, Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup, MAC Lipglass in Pink Lemonade, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Lovesick and Honey, MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in In Anticipation

AHHH! I'm such a Benefit fangirl and I'm LOVING this set! Pretty much everything here has been major love even though half of it was unplanned. It's been a struggle to find the right match for me in the Invisible Fluid but this one is perfect (1N1, if you are wondering).

MAC 15 Pan Pro Palette, Motif, Jest, Woodwinked

Well, I got caught up in being at a MAC store for the first time and ended up with a palette. MAC is quickly turning into one of my favorite brands. I have 4 other shadows that I already owned that I need to depot.

Overall, I was happy with everything I got. I'm definitely going to be on a no buy for a while. I'm not really sure the terms of my no buy but we have so many things coming up in September and October that it probably won't matter that much anyways. If you want a review or swatches of anything in particular, let me know!