Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Did somebody say GIVEAWAY???

Yep, that's right. I finally decided to sponsor a giveaway. Fellow Pennsylvania blogger, Amanda, is hosting it over on her blog, Adorkablii, so mosey on over and enter!


She also took the time to review 3 of my polishes: Carnival Lights, Jaded for Green, and Sugar 'n Spice. Look at those pictures!! This is definitely one you do not want to miss this so go, go, go!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Sally Splatter and Real Life Love

Hello everyone!! I have a bit of nail art for you and some real life love. :)

I'll start with the nail art since I figure that's what you're here for.

nail art Sally Hansen Splatter Spellbound Nails Fuchsia Power Lacey Lilac Blue Me Away

I've been calling this one Sally Splatter in my head and it's been sitting in my nail art folder for a few weeks at least. I started with my own white base and used Sally Hansen Fuchsia Power, Lacey Lilac, and Blue Me Away! It uses only Sally Hansen nail polish and is a splatter mani hence the name. Very original, right? ;)

Ready for some real life love?

rain clouds real life

There's been a lot of rain and nasty storms this summer. Dark storm clouds like this just roll in suddenly and let loose floods of rain water. Not fun when vacation is barely weeks away and I'm still working on my tan!

sunset real life

sunset real life

Still, all that rain (if it stops before nightfall) does create the most stunningly gorgeous sunsets. And if you're wondering, yes, the rain and the sunset pics were taken on the same day. :)

moon macro close up detailed

And leaves the moon so bright and clear! Like, with the rest of the world around me, it was washed clean in the rain water.

While I want more than anything for some hot summer days I wouldn't give up these beautiful nights for anything!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Influenster May Wax VoxBox: VEET EasyWax Electrical Roll-On Kit REVIEW

*All products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Influenster. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I hate reviews like this, and always feel bad about giving them, but when I agree to try a product I give my word for an honest review. I'm not going to tell you, my lovely followers, to purchase something that I wouldn't repurchase for myself. I think I've been exceedingly lucky to be asked to review some really great products; it's not all bad, but the time has come for a review that isn't rainbows and puppy dogs.


I received this Veet EasyWax Electrical Roll-On Kit compliments of Influenster. I've tried waxes before, but only those that come in a pot that you stick in the microwave and zap for a few seconds to a few minutes, so I was really excited to try this one.

The first slight disappointment came upon reading the instructions and finding that instead of seconds or minutes it would take 30 minutes (or more) just to heat up!! That doesn't even take into consideration the amount of time it will take to actually wax.

I didn't time this step exactly, but I think it took closer to 45 minutes to a full hour to get the wax to roll out smoothly. That's fine; I didn't have anything else to do today, but for someone in a hurry that is definitely something that is off-putting.



Finally, the wax is heated up, and I have my supplies ready. I have washed and dried my legs completely as the instructions recommend. Having clean legs and leg hair will make the wax stick better. You can also dust your legs in baby powder for optimal hair removal. The baby powder acts as a barrier between your skin and the wax. This (supposedly) cuts down on irritation and makes it easier for the wax to grab just hair. I didn't use baby powder for this review, but I wish I had. Things may have gone more smoothly.

I was a little surprised at how hot the handheld wax warmer was to the touch. The wax inside was the perfect temperature, but the warmer did feel a lot hotter than I expected. Not 'burn your fingers off' hot but just hotter than I expected.

Things started out beautifully! The wax went on smoothly, the strips seemed to be of a better quality than other waxing kits, and while the first strip hurt slightly it really wasn't anything to scream about. I actually stopped after that first strip and raised an eyebrow. Very little in the way of pain and lots of hair on the strip?? That was definitely something to smile about.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly. However, my hands got sticky very quickly ... meaning the waxing system got very sticky very quickly. I also realized that the strips weren't grabbing all the hair. The instructions specifically stated not to wax the same area more than once. However, I was made to break the rules so going back over them even a few times didn't catch them. I even used different directions since I know some of my leg hair grows oddly. "Nope, not gonna happen," my leg hair screamed at me.

I was starting to get frustrated but refused to give up! I soldiered on; some hair removal was better than none, right?  Until I realized that the wax wasn't rolling on smoothly anymore. I had nowhere near an outlet to set up, so I had unplugged the unit and taken it with me. I trusted the directions when they said it would stay at the right temperature for 15 minutes. I say I only got about 5 minutes before I had to pause, still exceedingly sticky on both leg and hands, and plug the unit back in.

I let it sit and heat back up for a few minutes before I got back into position and started again. And again, I only got about 5 minutes before the wax started getting thick and tacky again, pulling uncomfortably on my skin. And again, I paused to plug it back in.

This continued on for nearly an hour as I wrestled with just one leg. I finally got the whole way around, cleaned up my sticky hands and leg with one of the provided wipes. They cleaned up the wax but left my hands so itchy!!

After cleaning up and seeing the finished product I decided that it wasn't even worth attempting my other leg. The wax had taken a lot of hair, but left nearly as much behind. In addition to having the prerequisite prickly, wiry hairs I have finer, slightly softer hairs. I'm blond, so while these can't be seen they can be felt. The wax had left all these behind.

My final thoughts: The wax took a lot of the wiry hairs, yes, but also left a lot behind. It also left behind all of my finer leg hair, leaving my legs just as touchably hairy as when I started. The red irritated bumps and sensitive skin left behind was expected, but is extra frustrating because I still need to shave!

*Update to final thoughts: That night my leg broke out in a horrible rash of irritated bumps and itchy red skin. Far worse than the expected bumps and irritation. You can see below a small pic of the irritation - it is actually much worse than the picture shows. The flash downed out most of the red. I don't have exceedingly sensitive skin, so I would be extremely hesitant about using this product if you have any doubts about the sensitivity of your own skin.




Would I recommend this product? I am very sorry Veet and Influenster, but no.

*All products were sent to me for testing and review, completely complimentary, from Influenster. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Patriotic Drips Nail Art Tutorial

Hello everyone!! It's been forever since I posted anything. I knew running a nail polish business was going to take time, but I guess I never realized just how much of my blogging time it would eat into. I'm working really hard to keep up with orders, restocks, and developing new releases. Any free time I manage to grasp is spent storing up nail art and swatches so I can start posting again - hopefully within the next few months.

nail art Spellbound Nails Patriotic 4th of July red white blue stripes stars glitter America Independence Day

My patriotic nail art has been getting a ton of stardom lately. My nails can even be found in the July issue of People StyleWatch magazine! If you don't have a subscription to this magazine I recommend getting one. It's one of the best magazines I've read in a long time! I didn't have to search and skim, skipping large portions of the magazine, because every page had something interesting to me.

Spellbound Nails People Style Watch StyleWatch patriotic 4th of July Independence Day red white blue

Now, onto the nails!!! With all that interest for my patriotic nails I decided to try something different. I won't claim that I created this - someone, somewhere has probably done this before - but I will say it is something I have never seen before! I would love to see your nails if you decide to try the tutorial, so don't be scared to send them to me. I don't bite. Promise!! :)

Right click and open in a new tab if you're having trouble reading the tutorial.

Patriotic Drips nail art Tutorial Spellbound Nails red white blue stripes glitter America Independence Day 4th of July

That's it for now. For those who don't follow me on Facebook but enjoy my polish I will be having a big restock, complete with a ton of NEW polishes and the return of those sold out polishes some of you may be waiting for! Head over to my Etsy shop tomorrow to see what I've come up with. Hope to see ya there. :)