Post #200 is Dedicated to Something That Needs to be Said

Well well well, whaddaya know? This is my 200th post. I'd like to thank all of you for sticking around and continuing to read even whenever I'm not the most *diligent* blogger. I know I always say I need to update more, which I do, but I appreciate all of the understanding and loyalty.

But enough with the nice stuff..

This post is about something that needs to be said.

Instagram is fantastic, and I really love the concept of it. But it has also become an extremely popular outlet to show off your fresh manicure. And not necessarily the one you got at the salon, the one you did yourself at home while watching Boy Meets World reruns.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with that.

There are certain nail jobs that deserve to be flaunted. My friend Julia is a nail art GENIUS. When she posts a picture of her nails, they are always adorable and cute. They're totally worthy of being shown off.

She copied this design after seeing it on Instagram

Cute little cherry blossoms!

But not everyone is Julia. We are not all skilled with the nail polish brush. And that's OKAY. YOU ARE STILL SPECIAL.

I want to just say that whenever you take a picture of your nails, with no design on them, and you've got the paint ALL OVER THE SKIN AROUND YOUR NAIL - nobody is looking at it and thinking "oh my gosh that is such a pretty color!".. They are thinking: Did she let a blind 3 year-old paint her nails. I have talked to so many people that don't understand this fad - and I have to say I'm right on board with them. 

Either dip a cotton swab in some remover and clean up your freaking MESS or think before you post. Just a friendly suggestion. It's not the worst thing you could do - but this is a beauty blog. These are the issues we cover.

Here's to paint-free cuticles, ladies. Cheers.

Eyeko Nailpolish & Graffiti Eyeliner!

The cutest company on earth (better known as Eyeko) sent me a couple things from across the pond to try out and report on for you guys. I had never tried the brand before, and I had only heard it mentioned on other blogs a few times - so I was pretty excited to see what it was all about. They sent me over some of their "must have" nail colors, as well as one of their new products - the graffiti eyeliner pen.

I am a huge fan of liquid eyeliner pens. It's seriously like lining your eyes with a marker - you get awesome control and the color payoff is usually fantastic. It's great for people who like the look of liquid liner but might have trouble keeping their hand steady enough to apply it with a brush. Personally, my hands shake uncontrollably - so this works out for me :o)

Available here for $8.00 .. I tried out the Navy Blue one.

Like I said, you get great color pay off and the navy blue really POPS. It's not a typical navy that borderlines the look of black once you put it on. It's a deep blue, but it's not dark by any means. I've got blue eyes and it enhances them really nicely. The tip of the pen is sort of flexible, as well. So it's great for doing winged out edges because it's easy to "flick". If you're looking to try out liquid liner pens for the first time - this is a great product to start with. The lid snaps on, as well - which keeps it from getting dried out too quickly, which is a major bonus for me.

Now although I had never tried them before - all of the blog posts I read in the past about Eyeko have focused on their nail polishes. Apparently these little buggers have become somewhat of a "cult classic" product and I'm happy to say that I agree to how awesome they are. I tried out 3 shades:

Posh Polish, Tea Rose Polish, & Petite Polish

(all 3 are available in a set with 2 others here for $21)

I really loved these polishes because of how well they covered in just one coat. I didn't notice any streakiness or anything, and I actually painted over a french manicure that I'd gotten with the Tea Rose polish & check out after just one coat (there is a glitter topcoat overtop):

You really can't see the white tips AT ALL! And please bear with the fact that this is a blackberry pic because my camera battery is currently charging :)  I was very impressed with the color payoff & the 3 colors are extremely WEARABLE shades. Tea Rose is a beautiful dark pink, Petite is a very girly light pink (which is one of those colors that gives you an instant HAND TAN), and Posh is a very chill brown color that's an awesome neutral to have in your collection. Brushes aren't too fluffy and the bottles are cool, too since they're not the "typical" nail polish bottle shape. Loved these polishes & I'd reccomend all 3 of these pretty pretty shades :)

If you're inerested in checking out Eyeko - make sure you enter the code E8814 when placing your order for a free gift! They've also got some pretty good free shipping deals going on now, as well! Let me know what you're planning on trying & I'll talk to you all soon! MWAH xo

Smell My Finger. No Seriously, Smell It.

Let me first take a brief moment to appologize for that disgusting title, but seriously - I couldn't resist. We're going to move on from that temporary lapse in judgement and get to the reason that it even happened.

The Revlon "Scents of Summer" Nail Collection

Apparently these aren't exactly "new" since the article states that this is the 2nd year for these, but it's all very fresh to me. Not gonna lie - I think the scents are pretty appealing since there's a cotton candy and a bubblegum one (two of my FAVORITE schmells ever), but I am still skeptical. Nail polish is probably one of the most strong, chemically smelling substances on the planet earth. I can't count how many times I've been painting my nails and my mom comes home and asks me if I'm embalming a body. I'm skeptical that these are going to smell kind of like how your house smells after you cook fish and then spray cheap air freshner. It smells like fruit with a lovely undertone of rankness. Nothing like the sweet smell of rankness.

I mean obviously I'm hoping for the best here because I would love nothing more than to sit here smelling my nails at my desk all day, but one can't help but have their predetermined opinions when it comes to shit like this. They claim you'll still be able to smell it even through a topcoat, but I'm almost positive you'd have a side of rankness if you tried that. I am smelling the smell right now in my head and I am sensing a headache. Nothing like the sweet scent of chemical injected cotton candy on a hot summers day. They're coming out in July 2010 and trust me, I'm buying one. You'll be hearing about it.

In other news, let's talk about how Revlon hasn't updated their packaging since 1993.

OPI's "Mad As A Hatter" = Obsessed

First of all, I'm going to apologize about posting about the sexiest nail polish ever because I'm pretty sure you can't get this little bitch anywhere anymore. OPI needs to learn that limited edition shades aren't cool. Especially when they're as hot as this one. I just about peed my pants when I saw my nail salon had it, so of course I barreled in front of the other girl picking her color and snatched it before she could lay her grubby little paws on it. But don't get it twisted. I am determined to get this. Even if it means paying some hustler on eBay twice the amount it's worth. I don't care. I need this to call my own.

...And that, my friends, is only after TWO COATS.

TWO FREAKING COATS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

in the words of Buddy The Elf -

i'm in love i'm in love and i don't care who knows it.

The shade is called "Mad As a Hatter" and it's part of OPI's LIMITED EDITION Alice In Wonderland Collection. They have some other colors, but none are quite as saucy as this one is. If you can still hunt this down in your local OPI retailer - run - do not walk - and purchase it. I checked my ULTA and Sephora and neither one of them had it, and the salon didn't have any extras for sale. Bitches. And of course it's out of stock on the website, too. I just checked ebay and saw one for .99 and was like "SWEET!" and then the $10.99 shipping charge punched me in the face.

The sad thing is, I will probably pay it.

Okay so I'll be sitting here in my bed staring at my hands. 

Love you guys! xo

 

Nailene! I Love You!

Let's start off this post by saying that the folks over at Nailene are absolutely amazing. Not only have they sent me quite a myriad of things to review for you guys - they make awesome products which makes my life even easier. Before I do reviews, I like to use the product (or in this case - wear) for a few days to really get a feel for them. I'm not into people who do the reviews fresh out of the mailing box because let's face it - you don't have a good feel for what you're even reviewing.

So anyways, I reviewed some of their "couture" full cover nails first & they went on so easily! I didn't have any trouble fitting them & the length was great (although I did have to file my thumbs down to make using my blackberry easier haha!).. I've had them on since Friday & haven't lost one yet which is also a big plus. One thing I definitely recommend when using glue-on's is to lightly buff your nail with a file before applying the glue. Make sure you apply glue to both the artificial nail AND your nail. It'll create a better bond :)

The design was really pretty & not too over the top for work, which is a big plus. The color on the nailbed is natural which was another major factor for me since I can't stand the overly pink or white looking ones. I got them done at a salon that way once and haaaated them. So these worked great for me.

They run about $6-$7 at drugstores & there are TONS available. You can even find them at Target or Wal-Mart next time you're there blowing all your money ;) I did some research and found that there are zebra tip ones! Totally need to be getting those holy CRAP! I've got some more stuff from them to review for you guys, so keep on the lookout for those. If you have any questions, wanna try nailene, or already have - let me know! As always, I'm all ears :)