Artificial Sweetener

Today I have a polish from Orly's Spring 2012 line. My Aunt accidentally bought two of them so she let me have one, she's the best :) She loves nail polish just about as much as I do, so we feed each other's addictions lol!

Orly Artificial Sweetener. Two coats. It is so delicate and pretty. I'm really in love with it. It does have some subtle silver shimmer, but it's almost invisible. I really have to stare to see it.

I somehow misplaced my bottle, I may have left it at my Aunt's house, so I substituted my EOS smooth sphere for these pics. It's looking a little dingy because of being in my purse lol.

If you are loving these soft, pastel-like colors for spring like me, then you should run out and buy this one! I don't think you'll be disappointed! :)

Milani Madness Part 1 !

Today I grabbed four polishes from that amazing Milani bag that I posted about here. Let me just say, they are sooo gorgeous!!! Enough talking, on to the pics!

This is Sail Away. Umm, how pretty is all that silver shimmer?! I'm so into these types of polishes right now...and lucky for me tons of brands are doing it in their spring lines! 

This went on perfectly in two coats. I love that it reminds me of denim!

Here is Signature Gold. This one is super pretty except it showed some of the peeling spots on my nails as well as some brush strokes. Other than that, I really like it.

This also went on in two coats.

Beach Front. Wooow, I'm speechless. Again, with the silver shimmer. And the shimmer paired with the beautiful sky blue is such a winner! Love it.

Two coats on this one as well!

Here's Orchidia. Same shimmer as Sail Away and Beach Front! Good job Milani! I'm so obsessed.

This one actually took three coats. The formula was not problematic, its just a little more sheer than the others.

My top two favs of this foursome are Sail Away and Beach Front!! These colors are beautiful for spring and the shimmer in them makes them unique! All four can be purchased here.

*These products were provided for me by Milani Cosmetics for review.

Avon Enchanted Spring Collection

I became an Avon Representative back in November and since then I have fallen in love with most of their products, ESPECIALLY their nail polish...but I'm sure thats no surprise! I was super excited when I saw the previews for this new collection and now I'm even more excited to be showing you guys the swatches :)

Here are all four of the new shades from the Avon Enchanted Spring Collection: Illusion, Nude and Infused, Perplexed Purple, and Apricot Mystery.

*Just a little disclaimer before we go any further, I'm still getting the hang of taking pictures and getting the right lighting, so bear with me lol. Also, my cuticles aren't in the best shape right now, so I am sorry for the dryness!

First up is Illusion, this is hands down my favorite one of the collection. Its such a unique color! The base color is like a gray/beige/soft green (depending on the lighting) and it has beautiful pink shimmer. I got so many compliments when I wore it to the Beauty Blogger meetup!

This was two coats.

I know this picture is dark but it really shows the pink shimmer in the polish. Stunning!

This is two coats of Perplexed Purple. The name and color look a little familiar don't they? That's because this color looks a lot like Revlon Perplexed. I'd say the base in this Avon polish is much more purple though.

I think I actually prefer this one to the Revlon one because it seems much more shimmery to me. Perhaps, an upcoming post should be comparing the two? :)

This is two coats of Nude and Infused. This one has the same beautiful pink shimmer as Illusion!

When I first applied this one it seemed like I was going to need a bunch of coats...

This is the first coat of Nude and Infused...see what I mean? It was sooo sheer. But, miraculously the second coat did the job! I love when polishes are like that!

In this photo it looks like I have a small amout of visible nail line but I couldn't see it in person. If you're thinking that this polish could compare to Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude, I'd say this one is a bit more of a jelly and Cruisin' Nude is more of an opaque cream. I wish I could do a comparison, but sadly, I dont own Cruisin' Nude.

And, lastly, this is Apricot Mystery. I'm not sure what's so mysterious about Apricot Mystery...its just an apricot/peach cream, but its pretty nonetheless.

This was two coats.

All in all, I REALLLY love this collection. Illusion is a must have in my opinion, I've never seen anything like it. I hope Avon continues to come out with cool collections like this..so far they have not been disappointing!

If you'd like to purchase any of these they are available on my site here, and they are on sale right now for $2.99 each!

I'm Back!

Whew, I didn't really mean to be gone that long (well, actually I didn't want to stop posting at all), BUT I got super busy with a lot of things plus school so that left no time to do my nails, let alone take pics of them.

Anyways! I'm back and I'm so glad I am :)

I bought this polish about a week ago and it was kind of an impulse buy, but I'm really glad I bought it.

This is three coats of Nicole by OPI It's All About the Glam. It was released with all of the other Kardashian Kolors.  I probably could have gotten away with two coats of this, but for some reason I felt the need for a third on this one.  My pictures don't really do this color justice, there is a lot of really pretty shimmer that I couldn't really capture. In the sun I could see glints of pink and blue in this polish, but in regular light it mostly just looks like silver shimmer.

As you can see, I had to chop my nails off. My middle nail and thumb nail all broke in the same week so I just decided to start fresh lol!

I also wanted to post a picture of my cat, Ebony, that passed away today. She was going to be 18 this year and she had just been really sick and frail so we made the hard decision to have her put down. We first got her when I was almost 5 years old and so it's really weird to know that she will not be physically here anymore. Even though today was a sad day, I feel so happy and relieved that I know she is resting peacefully now. <3

So, I just wanted to post one of my favorite pics of her because when I took it, it was just an accident that she happened to stick her tongue out :)

Love you Ebby<3

Once I get back into the swing of things I'll have more exciting posts :)

Tagged by Ali and Leandra!

So, last night Ali from NiftyBa and Leandra from Nail Polish Therapy both tagged me in this fun little getting to know you game! I am going to kind of break rule #1 because I am just going to answer both sets of questions that Ali and Leandra thought up!


The Rules
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus eleven questions for the people you have tagged to answer.
3. Choose eleven people and link them in your tag.
4. Email the person to let them know that they’ve been tagged.
5. No tag backs.
6. You legitimately have to tag.


Questions from Alicia:

1. What was your Outfit of the Day?
Dark skinny jeans with a plain black tshirt and leopard print flats

2. What was the last thing you broke?
umm...I broke my thumb nail last weekend, does that count?

3. Do you have a custom ringtone on your cell phone?
nope, its just always on vibrate!

4. Are you named after anyone?
no, my mom just liked the name Alyssa. My middle name is Noel because her due date was supposed to be Christmas day, so I guess I'm named after christmas? lol

5. What was the last thing you were complimented about?
My friends at school complimented my nails on Monday, it was when I wore Captivated!

6. What has been the farthest you’ve traveled?
Costa Rica!

7. What does your umbrella look like?
Its, zebra print!

 8. Do you have a favorite guilty pleasure meal, treat, or restaurant?
I guess my guilty pleasure is that I like fast food. Actually, I just like eating out in general...lol its a really bad habit.

9. What is your most prized makeup possession?
Does nail polish count? I do wear makeup, but I dont love makeup as much as I love my polish!

10. What is your most prized possession (non-makeup related)?
This one is hard. I have a lot that I could name, but the first thing that popped in my head is my Coach scarf. My boyfriend got it for my birthday last December. We both don't have a lot of money and when he surprised me with that, I literally cried. It wasn't the item itself that made me cry..it was the thought he put into it! <3

11. Does Zoya have a nail polish with your name on it?
Not my first name, but they have one named Noel! I bought it of course :)

 

Questions from Leandra:

1. If you could name yourself something other than your birth name what would it be and why?

I would choose Isabella because that was my great-grandmother's name and I think its really beautiful.

2. When you were 5 years old what did you want to be?

An artist!

3. Pick a song that you could hear over and over again for the rest of your life without getting tired of it.

Oh man, when I like songs I play the crap out of them. So really I could name sooo many....ummm..I guess maybe it would be Always be my Baby by Mariah Carey. I sing that song so loud in my car haha!

4. What 3 things could you not survive without on a deserted island?

water, shelter, and food. lol yes, I am taking this question literally :P

5. What article of clothing or makeup do you most identify with based on your personality?

Clothing wise it would be tank tops and flip flops, I love simplicity.

6. What was the best day of your life?

Hmmm, I really don't know. I've had so many amazing experiences in my life, I really can't choose just one. I am not married and don't have kids and I feel like if I did, then those would be my answer!

7. If you could meet your favorite celebrity/actor/actress (dead or alive) what would you say to them?

I would want to get to know who they actually were minus the hollywood glitz and glamour.

8. What do you know, for certain, that you're good at?

Remembering things. I'm also good at my job and I'm good with my school work.

9. If someone told you 10 years ago your life (activities, interests, accomplishments, etc) would be what it is now, would you believe them?

For the most part yes, I always knew I would go to college and thats where I am in my life right now.

10. What is your favorite place and why?

Dang, Leandra, you're stumping me again lol! I'm just gonna say where ever I am when I'm with the people I love, because it's really true.

11. Fill in the blank: I feel most alive when ________

I'm having fun with the people I love most

 

 

I am tagging:

Steph from Imperfectly Painted

Courtney from Phyrra

Cristina from Let Them Have Polish

Kimberly from Libby's Pink Vanity

Judi from JudiXo

Eugenia from GeniaBeme

MariBeth from Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!

Stephanie from AquaHeart's Obsessions

Janelle from Life. Love. NailPolish.

Michelle from The Suitable Informant

Ice Queen from Ice Queen's Nail Parlour

 

 

My Questions for you:

 

1. What do you think is your best physical feature?

 

2. What do you like most about your personality?

 

3. Do you have any funny nicknames?

 

4. What is your favorite nail polish color and/or eyeshadow to wear?

 

5. If you could have a different accent, which one would you like to have?

 

6. Coke products or Pepsi products?

 

7. If you had the chance to create your very own nail polish color for a company, what would it look like and what would you name it?

 

8. What is your all time favorite movie?

 

9. What are you wearing on your nails this very second?

 

10. What are your 3 favorite nail polish/makeup brands?

 

11. What is your favorite scent?

 

 

 

Thanks for tagging me girls! That was fun :) !

The Hunger Games is fast approaching!!!!!

I am getting so excited for The Hunger Games movie to come out, so I decided to finally use one of my China Glaze Hunger Games polishes. I am not going to be able to see the midnight showing tomorrow night, but my boyfriend and I are going on Sunday!!

I only bought three from the China Glaze collection: Stone Cold, Luxe & Lush, and Mahogany Magic! I was tired last night so I needed a polish that I knew would dry quickly, so I grabbed Stone Cold!



This is two coats of China Glaze Stone Cold. It actually dries matte, but I really wanted the shimmer to shine through so I added a top coat.

Isn't it pretty?! I really love this color...its not too silvery, yet not too black, its perfect! I am so glad I went back to buy this one, I passed it up the first time because I just didn't think it was that great. I kept seeing swatches of it, though, and decided that I needed to have it!

Is anyone else super excited for the movie to premiere?!

Captivating Coral

I've been super busy with school this week, so this post will be a short one!

I finally got to use my Cult Nails Captivated that I got and I decided that it went perfectly with Revlon Craving Coral!

This is two coats of Revlon Craving Coral and one thick coat of Cult Nails Captivated over top!

I love this combo! It was so bright and sparkly and it reminded me of summer. Captivated is such a beautiful polish! I love that whether I'm in the sun or just inside it has those shiny glints of gold.

Captivated was sold out for a long time and has now made a come back! It is available on the Cult Nails website, here.

Ok, well that was fun while it lasted.....but, back to homework now :(

*This product was provided for me by Cult Nails for review.



Going Nude!

Here's another polish I received in that HUGE Milani bag from the meetup!

This is two coats of Milani A Rose Mylady.

I have been really into nudes lately, so I LOVE this color. It's got a nice pink base to it. I believe this color is new to Milani for spring, but I do not see it on their site.

When I first saw this polish, it reminded me of a color that I already had...so I thought I'd do a quick comparison.

The color it reminded me of was Zoya Pandora.

Index finger and Ring finger: Zoya Pandora. Middle finger and Pinky: Milani A Rose Mylady.

As you can see, even though they are similar, A Rose Mylady is definitely more pink than Pandora. Pandora is more of a truer nude, in my opinion, because it matches skin tone better.

I really love both of these colors though. They are great to have if you have a job that you can't wear really bright colors to.

Are any of you finding that you like to wear nudes? Or do you despise them? Tell me your opinions!

 

*This product was provided for me by Milani Cosmetics for review.

Spreadin' the love Sundays!

Ok everyone, I had the idea that every Sunday I am going to do a post about someone I love! It'll either be a friend of mine or a family member, and I am going to somehow relate it to nail polish! Like maybe I'll post a color that reminds me of them or a design!

For my first Spreadin' the love Sunday I decided to write about my cousin that  I mentioned yesterday, Brynn. She is two years older than me and we are super close! We are oddly alike in the way we act and think. When we're together we get on everyone's nerves because we are super obnoxious, but I love it <3

Anyways, Brynn has been obsessed with the color "mustard yellow" for awhile now and yesterday she mentioned an AWESOME nail idea. She said she wanted to paint all of her nails gray except for her ring fingers and then paint her ring fingers mustard yellow! So after we were done laying by the pool we went to Sally's to hunt for the perfect yellow. We found Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta! It was perfect.

Now, not only do these nails feature Brynn's fav color at the moment, they incorporate one of her fav nail polishes! Zoya Dove! As far as nails go, these are beyond perfect at representing what reminds me of Brynn!

Here are her nails:

Another plus to these nails are that they match her favorite pair of Toms :)

We both used two coats of Dove and three coats of Like Butta. Like Butta wasn't too streaky, but it wasn't surprising that we need three coats because yellows are usually finicky like that. I also adore the name of this polish because of the reference to Saturday Night Live.

I hope all of you like this new feature I'll be doing, I'm really excited about it!

And of course, thanks Bree for the amazing nail idea, Love you <3 !

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not Irish, that I know of, but it's always fun to have a reason to celebrate AND do themed nails of course :) I spent the day laying out by the pool and drinking "champagne punch" with my cousin Brynn! It was such a nice day. Here are my festive nails:

The polishes I used were OPI Alpine Snow-Matte, Revlon Posh (green), and on top of the two white nails I put Sinful Colors Green Ocean! For the little clovers I used some nail stickers that I got at Sally's a long time ago. I really like how these turned out!

After Brynn and I were done laying out by her pool we went to Sally's and bought some new nail polish...I'll post the nails we did tomorrow :) I hope everyone has had a good St. Patrick's Day and has a fun night tonight also!

Greens Galore!

To keep with the St. Patrick's Day theme, I picked out 4 greens from my stash that I have never tried before. I always see them and think I should use them, but like I said, I am not so fond of greens once they are on my fingers.

The 4 I chose are (from Left to Right): China Glaze Re-fresh Mint, Color Club Glitter Envy, Barielle Myrza's Meadow, and Color Club Twiggie

These are all three coats because I had some dragging issues at the cuticles. I think it was my fault though, because it was getting late and I wasn't waiting long enough between coats and then they would drag. oops!

My two favorite of the four were Color Club Glitter Envy and China Glaze Re-fresh Mint! I will definitely be wearing these again! I didn't love or dislike Twiggie, it was just ok to me. My least favorite for some reason was Barielle Myrza's Meadow. I thought I would love it, but I just didn't. Maybe it's a little too yellow for my liking..oh well.

Within the next few days I am going to try some St. Patty's Day nail art to show you guys!

NYX Hot Green

Here's another polish I got at the Beauty Bloggers Meetup! I just realized that I forgot to include it when I was taking pictures of all the products I received...oops! Anyways, I wanted to post this one because it's a perfect color for St. Patrick's Day! Now, I must admit, I hardly EVER wear green nail polish. I know, some of you are probably gasping right now. I always think they're so pretty in the bottle, but when it's on my nails, I usually can't wait to take it off. I just think most greens look really bad on me for some reason.

This nail polish on the other hand, I didn't hate. It could be because maybe it has some blue in its base? I'm not sure.

This is two coats of NYX Hot Green. I loved the way it applied. It wasn't streaky or patchy at all and it kind of had a jelly finish, which I really like. Plus, it dried really fast in between coats! The website for NYX Cosmetics is here. I tried to see if this was available on the site, but I couldn't find it. It may be new and not available yet, I'm not sure though.

I loved that it was such a primary green...not too blue..not too yellow! I only swatched this and didn't wear it as a full manicure...but I think I am definitely going to. We'll see if I can break this not liking greens habit! :)

*These products were provided for me by NYX Cosmetics for review.

My Deep Thoughts of Seduction

Today I want to show you two polishes that I got at the recent meetup I went to!

I started with Milani Deep Thoughts. This was only ONE COAT! It went on really nicely. If I was going to wear this alone, then I would have done another coat so that it'd last longer, but I knew I was only using it as a base.

Then I layered one semi-thick coat of Cult Nails Seduction over top. I really like how it turned out!

Next time I use this polish, I think I'll use a lighter purple for the base. Even though I really liked Deep Thoughts...when I put Seduction over top, it kind of just looked like I layered it over black. Still, such a pretty combo!

My cuticles have been really dry lately, so that's why I have the cuticle oil on in the pictures. Also, sorry my picture quality is kind of weird..I'm still getting used to this whole taking pictures of my nails thing!

Deep Thoughts is one of Milani's new shades for spring and can be purchased here. Seduction is on pre-sale now along with the rest of the new Divas and Drama collection for Cult Nails, available here.

*These products were provided for me by Milani Cosmetics and Cult Nails for review.

Central Florida Beauty Blogger Meetup!

As I promised yesterday, today I want to go more into detail about the meetup I went to this past Saturday. Brittany, from Clumps of Mascara, put it together and there were a total of 21 of us! It was so amazing. We all came equipped with polishes and/or makeup that we wanted to swap with each other and met up at Cafe Tu Tu Tango in Orlando! While there, we went around the table to introduce ourselves so we could get to know each other better. We all ate some delicious food and we got to take home some pretty polishes and makeup! It was seriously like a dream come true! And, let me tell you, this was such an amazing group of girls.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of all the polishes that I grabbed from the other girls' boxes, but here are pictures of the things I received that were provided from the companies:

I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to the companies that provided us with these unbelievable products: Milani Cosmetics, Cult Nails, NYX Cosmetics, Overall Beauty, CVS Beauty, Nuance, Tarte Cosmetics, Venomous Cosmetics, Pure Ice, and BC Spa via Su. It was really so generous of them to give so much. I became an Avon rep. in November, so I also provided all of the girls with a nail polish and a lipstick sample!


Here is a list of all the beautiful girls that attended:

Cat:

Beauty by Cat

Beauty by Cat Blog

Phyrra:

Phyrra Blog

Ali:

niftyBA!

Pamela:

Pamela's Closet

Safia:

Lipstick Mixtapes

Toni:

Toni Nicole Unlimited

ToniizBeauty Blog

Kimberly:

Libby's Pink Vanity

Kari:

Once Bitten

Steph:

Imperfectly Painted

Maria:

Cult Nails

Cult Nails Blog

Brittany:

Clumps of Mascara

Leandra:

Nail Polish Therapy

Judi:

Judixo

Rhonda:

Nails Beautiqued

Cristina:

Let Them Have Polish!

Margaret:

Margaret's Twitter

Su:

Chronicle Stones

Tiffany:

And Then There Were Nails

Deborah:

DeborahYanni

Leslie:

Cherubic

Less Stress Food

I think we are all hoping to have another one of these within the next month or so and I am so excited, I can't handle it! :)