OPI Banana Bandanna. This is three coats of this creamy, pastel yellow polish. As with all yellows, there is still a visible nail line but I don't mind it with this polish! It is a beautiful color and I cannot stop looking at my nails. =] It is actually a bit more like banana yellow than what is showing up in the picture though.
On the accent nail I did a vintage looking flower pattern. I used N.Y.C 122A (hate that there is no name for these polishes, unless I am wrong and I am just missing the label?) for the darker flower color which is actually a orange shimmer in the bottle but looks much darker when applied. The brighter flower were done with Maybelline Wet Shine in Juicy Tomato, which is a bright red orange. For the stems I used China Glaze Zombie Zest! And of course I used my handy dotting tools to create this simple look.
Base color: CND Eclectic Purple
Accent Nail: dotted with American Apparel Peacock and OPI Banana Bandanna
CND Eclectic Purple is opaque in ONE COAT! Did I just say that? ONE COAT?! Yes... one coat. I love it and the color is awesome. It is actually about a shade darker than what is picking up in this picture. Application wasn't bad at all and neither was clean up!
This was my first time using this CND, American Apparel and OPI brands and I am very satisfied with CND. I have yet to do a full mani with Peacock and Banana Bandanna but I can't wait! Of course the colors aren't appropriate for the season, but I guess I am a polish rebel ;p
I believe I have a new obsession. After watching numerous YouTube demo videos and hauls, I decided to take the plunge and head over to my nearest LUSH store. I am actually a little disappointed because the LUSH "store" closest to wear I live is actually inside of a Macy's, having its own store. That is fine though, no biggie =]. Below, you will find pictures of the few items I purchased, descriptions and a demo video! Enjoy!
Bath Bomb: Sex Bomb 6.3 oz $6.45
For those that are not familiar with LUSH products, a bath bomb, when tossed into a bath, releases aromas to help make the bath more relaxing. It is much like what you would get from bath salts and other similar products. Some of the bath bombs even have little surprises in them!
Sex Bomb smells mostly of jasmine. Jasmine is supposed to be a aphrodisiac, hence the name "Sex Bomb". Upon tossing this bath bomb into the bath, it starts to fizz up immediately, releasing the scent of jasmine into the air. The top part of the Sex Bomb is a pink rose made out of rice paper. Although very pretty, it does get mushy quickly in the bath and you may want to take it out before settling in.
Bath Bomb: Twilight 6.3 oz $4.95
I LOVE THIS BATH BOMB! No, not because it is names Twilight. (I swear I am not a die hard Twilight fan!) Besides the cool star and moon design, this bath bomb has a light sweet scent that I found to be quite pleasing. This bath bomb does have glitter in it, so if you do not like that you could try socking it (putting it into a nylon sock and then placing in bath). For more on this bath bomb, check out the demo below!
Bath Bomb: Cinders 3.1 oz $3.95
This bath bomb is about half the size of the bath bombs above. Do not be fooled though, the aromas released from this bath bomb are potent! Cinders has more of a smokey and citrus scent (perfect for men!) The red specks you see on the top of this bath bomb are pop rocks that crackle and fizz in the water. Also, unlike the above bath bombs, Cinders sinks to the bottom of the bath. The only turn off about this bath bomb is that it turns the water into a yellow urine color ;/ Check the demo below =]
Bubble Bar: The Comforter Bubble Bar 7.0 oz $9.95
The only way to describe LUSH Bubble Bar's is to take the description straight from the LUSH website: "We make our bubble baths solid so that we can avoid using preservatives and only use minimal packaging: a little bag and a sticker to tell you what's in there. (It's also a lot more fun to create lovely shapes and colours with solid bubble bath than liquid ones.)"
All you have to do is crumble just a bit of it under the running faucet to experience tons of bubbles!
I love love love love love love love (did I say LOVE?!) this bubble bar. It smells so sweet and fruity. The scent is VERY potent and lingers on your skin long after your bath. I used this bubble bar with my Twilight bath bomb for a very sweet smelling bath!
Look how big this bubble bar is!
Very pretty design.
Since this bubble bar is huge, it can be used for multiple baths. If you are using a regular bath tub, I suggest cutting this bar into 3 or even 4 parts for tons of bubbles. If you don't like many bubbles, cut it even smaller to get more for your dollar! If you have a bath with jets, I suggest using 1/5 or 1/6 of this bar because you will get TOO many bubbles if you use more than that! In the Twilight demo video, I showed you all the immediate bubbles that I got from this bubble bar. However, if you turn the jets on again later in your bath, the bubbles will increase and increase and increase! A little goes a long way with these bubble bars!
Bubble Bar: Candy Cane 3.5 oz $5.95
This bubble bar should have been named something else! The name suggests that it would smell peppermint like, as most candy canes do. Although it did have a slight minty smell, I could not really exactly point out the scents that came from this bubble bar. The LUSH website states: "Candy Cane smells like a freshly spun candy-floss cloud sprinkled with icing sugar and bubblegum drops."
I used this with the Sex Bomb. I should have definitely cut it up into smaller pieces because just like The Comforter, this bubble bar gave me tons of long lasting bubbles.
In conclusion, I have fallen in love with LUSH. I am excited to try out all their other products that they offer. Sigh what have I gotten myself in to?!
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat, Confetti Moonstruck, Confetti Wedding White
Confetti polishes were on sale for $1 (orig. $1.99) at CVS about two weeks ago. The display was pretty much empty when I discovered this so I picked the two polishes that stuck out the most to me. Moonstruck is a wonderful taupe polish. I LOVE IT! It is a bit more like the bottle color than what is showing up in the manicure photo. I believe I used 2 coats. I did the design with Confetti Wedding White using a dotting tool but this can be easily done using a toothpick or the ends of a bobby pin.
A quick review on Seche Vite:
I am a little late on the Seche Vite train. I actually never cared too much about what base coat and top coat I used but after hearing rave reviews about the top coat I decided to buy it. Except I accidently picked up the base coat LOL. I did go back and buy the top coat a few days later.
In regards to the base coat, since it is called "Crystal Clear Base Coat", I don't care for it much. I actually prefer my Milani base coat. What I do like about the base coat is that it provides a smoother surface which helps with polish application.
Now the top coat I LOVE. It dries super fast and leaves a beautiful shine! I also notice that I don't get tip wear as quickly as I did when using other top coats. I am a believer! LOL
Today, I have a small Bath and Body Works haul for you all! Bath and Body Works has been having a few sales and have also been handing out their holiday coupons, so I took this opportunity to pick up a few things.
Left to Right: Zombie Squad PocketBac (marshmallow), Warm Vanilla Sugar, Candy Corn PocketBac (caramel). Halloween items were 75% off!
Homemade Cookies 4 oz. candle. (They were still on sale for $5!) This smells SOOO delicious. The scent is much like warm vanilla. YUMMY!
Of course I had to pick up more of the Vixen's Sweet Mint PocketBac. These smell awesome, even my boyfriends loves it!
3 Nail Files (I believe they are $1.25 each) and True Blue Spa: Just a Minute 60-second Hand Scrub ($12)
One of the holiday coupons stated "FREE item of your choice with any purchase of $15 or more (free item being up to $13 value)"
After looking around I chose True Blue Spa: Just a Minute 60-second Hand Scrub ($12 value). This 5 oz jar of product includes sugar (as the exfoliator) and shea butter. This product smells of citrus, almost exactly like orange Starbursts. All you have to do is massage a little of the product into your wet hands, paying special attention to rough spots.
Immediately after using this product I was amazed as to how soft my hands felt and how radiant they looked. However, a few minutes later I found my hands to be a little on the dry side. I have only used this product once since I have purchased it so I will have to give you guys an update!
Emily over at SquaredNails is having a blog sale! She has OPI polishes for $4, China Glaze for $2 and much more! Check it out before everything is gone!
