31DC2013 - day 14

Press Sample

Hey guys! Another scheduled post from me while on my trip. Today is the day I see blink-182... SO EXCITED.

Today's theme for the challenge is Flowers and today I will be showing something I've never shown on my blog before! Nail strips! Can you believe I've been a nail addict for over three years and never tried them before?

Aren't these fabulous?!

I was sent these strips for review from a company called OMG Nail Strips.
I was skeptical, having never tried these before and especially where I hadn't heard of the brand, but I am actually sooooo impressed.

You get 14 strips per package and there are many sizes however I have pretty small nail beds so I had to trim them for myself. The smallest strip in the pack actually fits my index and ring finger. Trimming them is very easy though, so that didn't bother me at all.

Once you match the size of the strip with your nail bed, you apply the strip and smooth it out. It stretches and conforms to your nail and is very easy to apply without bumps or wrinkles. 

As you can see, the strips are very long. Instead of wasting the extra, I trimmed the excess to fit the next nail! So I got 2 nails with every strip. 

To remove the excess, you lightly file downward to release the extra and create a perfect edge along your own nail. 

Here's their page for application instructions. 

They recommend you apply a topcoat for more longevity but I didn't even feel the need where they are glossy on their own and feel extremely secure. 

I'm actually wearing these for my trip!! 

Edit from during trip:

These strips lasted for 5 full days with not even so much as a lifted edge and I have been traveling, shopping, showering, everything. So impressed. They would have lasted much longer but I got antsy and picked them off at the concert tonight.

What I also like about them that they don't dry out like some strips can, so you can use them once and save the rest for later use. 

You can buy these strips from their website at OMGnailstrips.com

They are currently offering a 4 for $20 promotion with the coupon code “4pack” and 10 for $45 with the coupon code “10pack”.

Be sure to check out their Facebook page also for giveaways each month!

Press Sample

Born Pretty - Fimo Review!

Hi everyone! Look at the cool stuff I have to show you today!
Born Pretty generously sent me this fimo set to review.

As you can see, it comes with 100 canes, 2 empty wheels to put your fimo in, as well as some super glue and blades for cutting the canes.

I prefer to use topcoat to adhere the fimo to my nails but you can also use fimo for things like decorating cellphones or other trinkets or even scrapbooking! You could use the superglue in those cases.
(However I really like the super glue for making nail polish jewelery!)

I wanted to show you all the fimo you get so I took pictures:

So many cute ones! I especially love the hibiscus flowers, the fruit, and of course the cupcakes!

Another cute one is the watermelon because you can use them whole or cut them lengthwise to make half slices!

I cut up one entire cane to show you how many pieces you get from one cane.

A whole lot!
But it does take some practice to cut the pieces the right size - you will make some mistakes!

But you make more good ones than mistakes. You get the hang of it!

You have to practice cutting them thin so they will lie more flat on the nail.

One cane makes so many that they totally fill a compartment in the wheel!

Now I'm going to show you some looks I did with this fimo!

Fruit fimo manis are some of the most popular! They are super cute, especially in the summer.
(Polish color - Orly Frolic)

I love the pink grapefruit one!

This is a mani I did that is more winter-appropriate! This snowflake fimo is really cute. I got a lot of compliments on it!
(Polish colors - Zoya Neeka with a glitter franken)

The fimo pieces do stick off of your nail a bit depending on how thick you cut them but you can mostly flatten them with a few coats of topcoat.

Here is the link to this item on Born Pretty.
As always, they ship for free, world wide!
And don't forget, you can still get 10% off anything with my code RCJ61! It's only valid until the end of the month so if you are thinking about buying something, now is the time!

(As well - their stamping plates are all on sale for $1.55! You can't use the discount code on the special priced items but $1.55 is a steal! They have dupes of a bunch of the best Konad plates. I bought 7...)

Tomorrow I am starting an exciting posting series! I decided on my top 10 polishes of 2011. Stay tuned tomorrow for #10!

massive e.l.f. review! part 2

Hi guys! This post is gonna be a long one so let's get right to it.

I'm going to show you half of my e.l.f. polishes today!
A lot of you seemed really excited about seeing these swatches so I hope you like them.

I'll start off by saying that the colors of the polishes on the website are not quite accurate, but pretty close.
And the formula on most of them is shockingly good! And considering these are just $2 each, they are a really good deal.

I had heard before that they were not great but I found mine to be awesome except 1 or 2.
Most of the shades have a sticker that reads "New Improved Formula!" and I really do think they must have improved it!

On to the swatches!

Innocent, Desert Haze, Nude, Smoky Brown

First I'm going to show you the neutral shades.
These first 4 have a great formula and dry really quickly.

Innocent is basically the perfect nude for my skin tone. The formula on this one was really lovely and it takes 2 coats to cover perfectly.

Desert Haze is very similar to Innocent but a bit darker. Same great 2-coat formula.

This one is called Nude but as you can see it is a bit more of a peachy color than a nude. Again, 2 coats, great formula!

This is Smoky Brown and it again has a great formula and almost covers in 1 coat, but you need 2.
This one is an exact dupe of OPI You Don't Know Jacques. Great dupe for a much better price!

Punk Purple, Royal Purple, Purple Dream, Dark Glitter Purple

Now for the purple shades!

Punk Purple. This one is not the newer formula and you can tell because it does not dry as quickly. It does cover well in 2 thin coats so that is still a plus!

This is Royal Purple and the last photo is the most accurate. This polish is really pretty but the formula isn't the best. It takes 3 coats to cover and you need to let it dry between coats to avoid streaking.

This is Purple Dream and this is also very pretty! The third photo is color accurate, and in the second photo you can see the fracture in the bottle! This is the one that broke in shipping. The fracture doesn't go into the polish, just the bottom of the bottle, so it is okay!

This is Dark Glitter Purple! See how pretty it is? It is a deep, almost black, inky purple, with blue and fuchsia microglitter in it! It's very pretty and I really like it.
This is just 2 coats!

Mango Madness, Dark Navy, Matte Finisher

Now for three random shades that don't fit in another category!

Mango Madness is what I would call the "problem child" of my e.l.f. haul. The formula is really thin and doesn't dry quickly. And I'm not a fan of the color. This one is 3 coats.

This is Dark Navy and I think this one is my favorite out of all 20! It's just lovely. This is 2 coats but it was almost perfect in one.

This is one coat of Matte Finisher over Dark Navy. This matte topcoat is decent but a bit streaky. It also smells stronger than the other polishes but that doesn't bother me.
I also tried a second coat to see if it would get better:

2 coats makes it much better but still a tiny but streaky. This is a great matte topcoat for the price, though.

That was a long post! I hope this helps you guys!
Remember, e.l.f. polishes retail for $2 each and you can buy them here!
And keep in mind, they currently have everything on sale buy-one-get-one-half-off or free shipping!

The products in this post were sent to me for review.