Nail drama & Not Too Polished review

There's a wide array of nail polish drama in the world right now. Whether or not you're a Lynnderella or Sinful Colors fan, is not any of my business. Just like with the Chick-fil-a debate, you must decide for yourself where you stand and also understand the some may not agree with you but it's your opinion and your right to feel, think, and believe how you want, and to others the same.

I've never been one for drama and gossip, nor do I ever post anything religious or political. I'm also not going to take sides in a public debate. Fighting to change someones mind over Facebook or any other forum is like telling a 4 year old not to do something. They're gonna look at you like you're an idiot and do the opposite regardless of how right you may be.

That being said, just because I make nail polish, doesn't mean I'm gonna be a brat and not buy other indies. They make a living the as I and whether I trade or buy, we are all helping each other out. (Can't we all just get along?)

This is only the second indie company I've ever gotten polish from. I received 3 full sized bottles and 1 mini but today I'm concentrating on Watermelon, which I got strictly because it was pink and black.

This polish had micro black glitter, small white hexagons and large black dots in a light hot pink base that covered opaque in 2 coats.

Not only is it super cute and girly, but Not Too Polished adds a gem on the top of every polish. This one had a pink heart while the other ones had a white round crystal. It adds a little bit of creativity and straight from the heart touch to this indie that you just don't find everywhere.

Visit Not Too Polished on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NotTooPolished
Or Etsy at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nottoopolished
And as always, my Etsy link is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MakeupYourFace 
And my Facebook is: https://www.facebook.com/muyf1

Caviar Nails? Still uncertain.

I tried my hands (literally) at caviar nails last night. I combined the caviar nail style as well as the ring finger accent together since I didn't want to waste my microbeads not knowing what I was doing. Also, I used Pure Ice brand as the base as I didn't want to use one of my more 'expensive' brands on a manicure I wasn't sure would last. You can buy Pure Ice at Wal-Mart and other places for around $1.97 a bottle.
To get the caviar effect, you apply your polish as usual, then apply a generous second coat and immediately pour on the microbeads. It's best to do this one nail at a time. Press the beads into your nails and brush off any that aren't held on by polish. Let dry and apply a nice even layer of top coat.
I know it sounds easy, but they don't always look perfect, at least mine didn't, and I've seen some good looking caviar nails. I should mention that you should probably do this over a bowl or something of the sort to catch the beads that WILL fall off. Don't want you spending an hour picking up tiny beads. I poured mine onto a folded piece of paper from the bowl and then right back into the container. Easy.
The result? Well, I'm still unsure. I like the look on others when done correctly and I would like to try it again. Maybe if I didn't all my nails I would like it better, but who knows. Also, the feel of the nail is a lot like glitter nail before you put on the tip coat to make them smooth. It doesn't bother me, but some may not like that. If you have done or decide to try your hand at caviar nails, I'd like to see and know what you think! For now, here's my picture from my first try last night.

June Birchbox Review

      So I received my very first Birchbox today!  I was so excited that I didn't even snap a picture until after I had opened it.  Oops!  Next time I promise :)
      Since it was my first Birchbox, I had no idea what to expect.  I was hoping for girly stuff (aren't we all) and got some and some other goodies.  For those of you that don't know, Birchbox's are $10 a month (they have a man box for $20) and have a variety of sample from different companies.  Sometimes you even get full sized samples (which I guess really aren't 'samples' but oh well). 
      Getting signed up for Birchbox was a real pain.  I emailed, joined, emailed again, and comtinued to try to join until finally I had to call to get the confirmation email.  They say it takes 2-4 weeks to get the confirmation email so sign up now if you would like to start receiving boxes.  Here's a link for you: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=f4nn3  Go now, I'll wait for you before I continue :)
      Ok, you're back, so now on to the box.  First I received Color Club's Blue-Ming nail polish.  It's a greenish-turquoise polish that's perfect for the summer.  It took me 3 coats to get complete coverage which I guess it ok.  I'd rather have a two-coater unless it's a glitter but I still liked the color.  Here's a pic of the bottle & swatch.  Full size bottle is $8.

      Next was EYEKO by London's Skinny Liquid Eyeliner.  I'm not usually big on eyeliner.  I only wear it on my inner lashline (thank you ANTM) and usually use my powder shadow to foil my liner so that it's just a tint darker than the color I'm wearing on my lid.  BUT, that's because I suck at trying to get eyeliner to go on smooth and perfect and I just can't get those details at the end.  I think my life may be changing though.  The color I received was black, which is good, that's what I would have purchased myself anyway.  It writes so fine and smooth and you can barely feel it go on.  It set's in 30 seconds or less too and is smudge proof.  You could literally draw any design you wanted to on your eye.  Use the fine tip for a liner or tiny dots or press a little harder to make thicker lines.  The picture of "I <3 MUYF" is written with this liner.  Full size is $15.

       Hello.  <----- That's the name of my 3rd sample from Harvey Prince.  It's a lemon, white grapefruit, and pink plumeria perfume.  I sprayed it on one wrist as soon as I opened it and here 5 hours later, I can still smell it.  It's not overwhelming but it doesn't go away in 10 minutes either.  It is a little pricey though with prices ranging from from $26-$55 with this 50ml bottle being the largest and $55.

      My fourth sample was some Luminizing Moisture Tint from Jouer.  I'm not much for tinted moisturizer but it blended so well with my skin and gave it such a shimmery look that I couldn't stop looking at it.  They have 5 different colors to match your skin tone and they are all oil free and contain SPF 20.  It smooths over any fine lines and has antioxidants like ginseng and gingko biloba leaf extract.  It really seems like a great product but at the full sized price of $38 for 1.7 oz, I can't say I'll be running to purchase it any time soon.

      For the yummy part of my box I received a LÄRABAR® über Bananas Foster bar.  And there's a reason these are already out of stock.  It was delicious.  At a pricey $12.69 for a box of 5 bars, the healthy goodness is worth it.  It's all natural and sugar free and it didn't contain a single word I couldn't pronounce.  The bar was packed with dried bananas, walnuts, almonds, pecans, dates, sea salt, and cinnamon, all held together with some honey and brown rice syrup.  You could literally taste every ingredient.  I'll be looking for these soon!

      Lastly I got some super cool earbuds that I even used to chat with my mom on my iPhone tonight while I typed up this review.  These were an extra item that are not available for purchase through the Birchbox store and are a super cute alternative to the same old white ones.  This picture shows pink and blue, however mine were pink and green :)

      So now that you've seen all the cool stuff you can get for only $10, run over now (if you didn't listen to me early) and get your Birchbox's coming!  https://www.birchbox.com?raf=f4nn3

Nail promoter status

Nail Polish Promoter Status

I have to say, I'm <3'ing the hunt for a promoter and glad to have so much interest!  I have 5 candidates right now and will be finalizing soon.  I can't wait to get this nail polish line underway!  More to come!!!

6/30/2012 Julep Box Mani

I received my 5th Julep box this weekend. Completely free by the way, more on that later. I really like how they add all the extra little goodies. You can totally tell they put in a little extra effort every month. This month I received Kate, Daphne and Mila. They also sent their new color America. They always send their Mavens their intro colors free! How awesome is that!?! I also added on O' Canada for only $4.99 extra. I wasn't a fan of Kate, it's a nice pale sea foam color but it just doesn't suit me. I pretty much choose this box for Mila.
I did my manicure for the forth of July with Juleps's Ellen and the new America. Here's how it turned out.

AMAZING! Only my favorite manicure ever :).
So here's how you can get your first box for only $.01.
1.) Follow this link:  http://julep.com/?r=20073631
2.) Take the quiz and get your style. (you can change it if you want)
3.) Enter code Color2012 at checkout and choose free shipping!
There you go. 3 easy step to a penny Julep box.
Now, how do you continue to get free boxes? It's simple. Just have your friends and family sign up through your unique link available on your accounts page and follow the same 3 steps you did when you signed up. For ever person you sign up, you get 1 credit and for every 2 credits, you get a free month! I haven't seen a company yet that gives a better referral program offer.