Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Orly Fall 2013 Surreal Collection: Angel Rain and Purple Poodle

While perusing Ulta yesterday for new Fall offerings, I came across some of the new colors from Orly. The new collection is not what most would consider to be typical for Fall - it is a collection of pinks, purple and blues that seems like it would be more at home in the spring.  However, I absolutely fell in LOVE with Angel Rain and Purple Poodle and so I snatched them up and brought them home to try.

First up is Angel Rain:
 
This color is basically a duochrome frost and I was worried that it wouldn't apply smoothly (I seem to have issues with streaking with frosts/metallics) but it applied BEAUTIFULLY.  It is somewhat thin so I applied three coats with no topcoat for these pictures.  It is difficult to see the purple shift, but it is there.

Second is Purple Poodle:
First off, I have too say I LOOOOOOVE this color!  It looked amazing in the bottle and it is definitely unique.  It is a jelly packed with flakie and glass fleck goodness.  I used three coats and was pleased with the coverage and I added Seche Vite to punch up the shine a notch.  The bottom pic best represents how it looks in person and I was glad I was able to play with the lighting so I could do it justice.  The top pic uses different lighting that doesn't set off the shimmery magic!

Overall, I am very pleased with these two colors and still have my eye on a couple of other colors from the collection.  My recommendation is make sure you buy Purple Poodle no matter what other colors in the collection you consider!


Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Julep Moisture Mask Trio Part 1: Hands

Welcome to my very first product review!

Although known primarily as a fairly mainstream Indie polish company, Julep also dabbles with other products geared towards skin and hair care.  For those who may NOT be aware, Julep has a monthly subscription service (Julep Maven) which allows you to receive 2-3 polishes +/- one of their beauty products for $19.99.  Last month (August) one of the items featured in the Julep Maven boxes was the Moisture Mask Trio and I was very excited to try the masks, especially the mask for feet!




The first of the three that I tried was the Hand Moisture Mask.




Inside were two gloves attached to each other (just pull apart at the wrist to open). 




Each glove has a sticky tab that can be used to "cinch" up the wrist so the gloves do not fall off.  The directions say to leave the mask on for 20-30 minutes, but I nodded off and therefore left mine on for about an hour.  Oops. 




When I removed the gloves my hands felt great!  There was a bit of a residue left from the moisturizer that I had to rinse off, but rinsing did not remove the soft feeling at all.  24 hours later, my hands still feel soft and hydrated which is fantastic!



Please ignore the horrible staining on my nails....

Overall I was pleased with this product and look forward to trying the foot and nail masks!

PLEASE NOTE:  Although I do subscribe to the Julep Maven service, I am in no way affiliated with, nor have I been compensated by Julep.  For information on Julep products and the Maven subscription service visit www.julep.com.  

Monday, August 26, 2013

Transitioning to Fall

It is beginning to feel like Fall in Sacramento, so I felt like pulling out some darker colors for tonight's mani.  This was done using Zoya Purity, Bevin & Natty.

Some of My Favorite Manis!

These are just a few of my favorite manis that I have done over the last few months!  Enjoy!




My New Blog!

I have to admit that I have been avoiding starting a blog for my nails for a loooooooooong time.  I started out as basically just a nail polish enthusiast.  However, as time went on I started to try different nail art techniques (I still have a long way to go!) and have found myself becoming a part of the nail community on IG.  I have even entertained the idea of creating my own polish.  Slowly, but surely, nails are consuming my free time (what little I have).  I am not complaining.

My husband does not share my enthusiasm for collecting polish, but he IS a die-hard entrepreneur and thinks it would be fun to develop and market an Indie polish line!  

Later tonight I will be posting my very first review on the Julep Moisture Mask Trio that was a part of last month's Maven Box.  I also will be adding a review on Orly's Nail Rescue Kit in the near future.  I will review polishes and products as I can afford them (I am not good/popular enough for companies to send me products to review for them yet!) and post pictures of my manicures, which I change about every 2-3 days.

Welcome to my new blog and I hope you will stay a while!

AY 

aka:
marketeerwife on IG
NorCal Nails