Black and White Skull Nail Art

After being surrounded by all the holiday glitz and glam for the past month, I decided today would be a day for total badassery, hence these black and white skull nails were born. There's so much going on here that I love, silver studs, metal spikes, rhinestones and little stamped on skulls. I feel like I should switch into  my alter ego and be playing guitar in a smokey underground club  or something with these nails. Rock on!

Polishes Used: Orly-Liquid Vinyl, Konad White, Seche Vite Topcoat

I started out with 2 coats of Orly-Liquid Vinyl and once that was dry I got to work hand placing the studs, rhinestones, and metal spikes. I wish the camera had picked up the spikes better, they are a bit hard to see but in person, but trust me, a complete stranger on the internet - they are the bomb. And if you can't trust complete strangers on the internet then hey, who can ya trust, right?

By the time I finished sassing up the ring and pointer fingers, my polish was dry enough for me to begin the stamping with Konad white stamping polish. The white skulls are from the MASH-29 stamping plate, and the white checkerboard stamp is from the Pueen48 plate. As always, you know I had to give it a good layer of Seche Vite topcoat to give it extra shine and complete the look!

December 2014 Ipsy Bag - Pics and Review!

For those that are not familiar, Ipsy is a monthly subscription box. Each month for the price of $10,  Ipsy will send you four or five different makeup and beauty items to try, some of them will be deluxe samples and when you get really lucky, some will even be full sized. In addition to the products, every month they also include a really cute specially designed makeup bag! 

Ipsy is my favorite of all of the beauty subscriptions, over the past year I have gotten and enjoyed a lot of products that I never would have thought to try on my own. Plus, every month the value of my bag always ends up being over the $10 that I paid. If you end up with items you aren't so fond of, Ipsy has a swapping forum right on their website where you can trade with others for items you would prefer. Can't go wrong with that!

 Cailyn Just Mineral Eye Polish in Orchid – FULL SIZE! Value $15

First Impression: At first glance, I really love the shimmery champagne color of this mineral eye shadow. It looks like it would be fairly pigmented, and comes with a nice soft sponge tip.

Review: The formula of this eyeshadow is nice and creamy, but is definitely less pigmented than I had hoped it would be. Application is very easy, and since the sponge tip is pointed I was able to apply it exactly where I wanted it. I ended up using it in the center of my lids, and also as a corner highlight. This shadow is one that definitely needs to be set with a bit of translucent powder for sure. It did leave a nice soft shimmer on my eyelids and seemed to wear fairly well without any creasing.

Tarte Lights, Camera, LASHES 4 in 1 Mascara – MINI! Value $8-10

First Impression: The bristles on the brush seem to be pretty nice, and look like they will give good coverage. It claims to be lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning, that's a lot to ask of one little mascara! Being familiar with the Tarte brand, I have always been a fan of their products so I have high hopes for this one.

Review: The mascara itself is a nice jet black color, which I am definitely a fan of. Application is nice and easy, the brush covered all of my lashes completely in 2 swipes. I did notice my lashes looked a tad bit thicker, but in my opinion I did not get any truly noticeable extra length or volume. Bummer!

NYX Lip Butter – FULL SIZE! Value $4

First Impression: The color is a nice nude with a tiny bit of shimmer to it. It has a very fruity smell too, which was completely unexpected but very nice!

Review: This lip balm goes on super smooth, and isn't thick at all. The pigmentation is very sheer, it really was just barely noticeable on my lips. Since it is just a balm, it doesn't have a lot of staying power, so it is necessary to reapply often.

Sexy Hair 450° Blow Out Spray – MINI! Value $8

First Impression: Since I am a person that has a tendency to flat iron my hair on a regular basis, I am always a fan of any kind of heat protectant! The scent is really nice, it's fruity with a hint of coconut which totally reminds me of the beach. I love anything with this type of scent, so I'm already a fan. PRO TIP: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use a heat protectant before blow drying, curling, or flat ironing your hair!

Review: I loved this blow out spray! It has a silkyness to it, but is not oily at all. My hair turned out super soft and silky and smelled great. The scent lasted for the entire day, but was not overpowering at all. I will definitely buy this one again!

BWC Facial Cleanser – MINI! Value $3

First Impression: This facial cleanser is a clear gel and is 100% vegan, paraben free, soap free and has no synthetic fragrance so already we're off to a good start! The scent is very citrusy and the ingredients include sweet orange, geranium rose, and lavender oils.

Review: I am pretty loyal to my tried and true Noxzema facial cleanser, so I always feel a bit anxious when it's time to try anything new on my face, but in the name of beauty I decided to give this a try for you all. I figured if my face turned into some hideous aromaticity in a random facial cleansing disaster, you'd all just have to live with that on your conscious. The show must go on! The good news, both me and my skin survived! The cleanser was very gentle, but still did a nice job of washing off all of my makeup (trust me, it's a LOT), and my skin felt smooth and soft after using. Thumbs up on this one from me!

The Verdict: – This bag was a hit for me! I will end up using all of the items that I received and overall have zero complaints! I do wish I had gotten a more colorful NYX Lip Balm, but that's no big deal. This was a win!

The Grand Total: $38 worth of products!

If you'd like to sign up and start getting goodies in your mailbox every month, JOIN IPSY!

What did you get in your Ipsy bag this month? What did you think of your items? What was your most and least favorite out of the bag?

White & Gold Flakes with Handpainted Ornament - 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Manicures Day 12

It's the final day of Christmas manicures, can you even believe it? It feels like it went by so fast,  I  have so many more ideas! I either need more days until Christmas, or more nails...  I started with a base of OPI- My Boyfriend Scales Walls, then I decided to go out with a bang today and break out both my handpainting nail art skills AND 18k gold topcoat for this one. I'm so faaaancy!

Polishes used: OPI- My Boyfriend Scales Walls & Mariah Carey Pure, China Glaze - Blonde Bombshell, Seche Vite Topcoat   

While I do love the OPI - Mariah Carey Pure 18k gold flake topcoat, I have to admit that the flakes are quite small, which is a bit of a disappointment. It seems like every time I use it I always end up wanting more. The other day while I was out and about, I spotted  Maybelline Color Show Jewels - Gilded in Gold and I just couldn't resist picking it up. These flakes are much bigger, and are exactly what I was hoping for out of the OPI topcoat. By layering both of these polishes, I got exactly the look I was going for.

For maximum blingage, I added a gold accent nail using China Glaze - Blonde Bombshell and used acrylic paint for the hand painted ornament. I gotta admit, the ornament turned out way cuter than I thought it was going to, I'm pleasantly surprised! A nice coat of Seche Vite added so much shine to these it's insane. Can't wait to wear them to my family Christmas party! Well that's a wrap on my 12 Days of Christmas manicures, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! In other news, I'm considering trying out video tutorials for my nail art, but I'm honestly just not even sure where to begin,. Let me know down below if you have any tips or tricks for getting started!

What do you think of these gold flakey nails, just enough bling or too over the top?

Elegant Red and Gold Ruffian Nails - 12 Days of Christmas Holiday Manicures Day 11

I seriously can't get enough of the sparkles this week, I am obsessed! Is this where I'm supposed to put #sorrynotsorry? There's not too much to say about this one, I think the look really speaks for itself!

I started out with 2 coats of OPI - My Favorite Ornament, then I used one of my absolute favorite reds for this manicure. The red polish is called Red Cameo by Ruby Kisses. It's not from a hugely popular brand but I will say that it is highly underrated! I got a pleasant surprise today when I realized that the red is slightly jelly and allowed the glitter polish to shine through which made this even more awesome in my opinion.

I used striping tape in a criss-cross pattern to create the look for my index finger and added a tiny snowflake to my ring finger to give this a wintery touch. That's it for today, see you tomorrow!