Monday, December 24, 2012

Nail Polish Challenge Week 12: Stripes!

It's Christmas Eve!!
            Welcome back everybody! Tomorrow is Christmas and I'm so excited. I've spent most of my weekend cleaning and baking my traditional Christmas cookies and Rice Krispy Treats that I give to all of my family members as an extra present. So in honor of this week being Christmas and the fact that the theme for this week is stripes I decided to try my hand at candy cane nails.
Such a shame you can't see the glitter!
        I used 2 coats of Avon's Ruby Slipper as a base which is a really pretty and glittery red and then I just took my cheap dollar store white nail polish striper and made thick side-ways stripes for that twisty candy cane effect. Then as always I sealed it all in with my trusty NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat. I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope you all stay safe and enjoy your holidays. See you guys on New Year's Eve!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Can't Melt Me I'm The Gingerbread Man!

Only a week till X-mas!
        Yes! Only one week to the day that Christmas will be here. I'm super excited if you couldn't tell. Being in the Christmas spirit I decided to melt one of my wax gingerbread men that the wonderful Shannon C. got me in my secret santa present. These little guys are so cute so I hesitated about cutting them up and burning them but I was in a bakery mood earlier so...off with his head! Funny story actually I had placed the gingerbread man on my desk and was going to just cut off it's head because it is the perfect size for my tart warmer, but when I cut off his head the thing went flying right of my desk. I searched for like ten minutes and still could not find it! Now I have the head of a gingerbread man hanging around somewhere in my bedroom. Lol so I had to cut off a leg instead and pop that in my warmer. So here is a little review on my gingerbread man wax tart.
How adorable are these?!

Hello Dolly:
Color: Gingerbread Brown
Cold Throw:  So this particular bakery scent is a mixture of baked goody fragrances. It is supposed to be a concotion of Bubbling Butterscotch Sundae, Coconut Cream Pie, and Fudge Brownie. No one scent really stands out as all of them blend together wonderfully and make it's own unique fragrance. You can of course pick out some certain scents if you try hard enough like you can pick out the chocolateyness of Fudge Brownie, and the rich butteryness of Bubbling Butterscotch Sundae, but Coconut Cream Pie isn't discernable at all to me in this except for maybe adding in the creaminess. This scent to me smells like a really rich, decadent, baked dessert.

Warm Throw: The scent is a bit more subdued once burned, but it is in no way a weak scent. It still smells like a declicious baked dessert. It smells like something I seriously want to eat! For those of you put off by butter type scents or artificial chocolate scents, but still are looking for something bakery I would reccomend you give this one a try. The butter and chocolate scents meld together with the rest of the fragrances so that they aren't too noticeable unless you try hard to single them out. In the end it just smells yummy, bakery, and like a heavy dessert. I love it!
Scent Expectations: Exceeded
      I just want to thank Shannon C. from the Pouring Pot again for sending me these adorable little gingerbread men in a scent that I had never tried and would probably have overlooked otherwise. I'm falling in love with this scent and it is so me. Thank you so much sweetheart! I will enjoy these little guys for as long as their gingerbread lifespan maintains. Though judging by how much I like the scent that probably wont be for too long lol! Love you girl! For the rest of you I hope this little review helped you some and that you all have a safe and happy Christmas! I will be back on Christmas Eve for the next installment of the 31 Week Nail Polish Challenge. See you then!

I love you Shannon!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Nail Polish Challenge Week 11: Polkadots!

Pretty much what my day will be consisting of.
        Welcome back internet! Today I have been busy getting chores done before the holidays roll around. I've been doing laundry and running errands all day and I still have to dust and sweep everything. Good news though is that I've got all of my Christmas shopping done and wrapped. The only thing I have left to do is to bake some Christmas cookies as is my tradition every year. Despite being busy this morning I still had time to do my nails for this week's nail polish challenge. The theme for this week was polkadots!
Polkadot nails!
        So polkadots are a little boring for this time of year (I really wanted to make snowflakes lol) so instead I found a compromise and just paited my nails a light blue and added white polkadots in hopes of a falling snow effect. Didn't really come out as well as I had pictured in my head, but whatever I'm still happy with it. The pale blue base coat I used was Zoya's Jo which is a super pretty micro-shimmery pale sky blue. It is kind of sheer though two coats would be enough I added three. And then I just used a dollar store cheap white nail striper to create the dots. Well that's all for this week, I've got to get ready to take my mother to her doctor's appointment. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Nail Polish Challenge Week 10: Gradient!

You there! Come on!
           Welcome back internet. We are on week 10 already and we've started to get into the more challenging nail art. I have never done a nail gradient before so this was my first attempt. I'm not all that happy with the results but what the heck I did my best and you have to have a starting point somewhere right? So doing these nails was a complete mess because first off my make-up sponge kept absorbing all the nail polish before I could pat it onto my nails so in the end I gave up and just used a Q-tip to make the gradient effect instead.
My sad attempt at a pink gradient...


Closer look at my #FailNails.
     So I know it is kind of hard to see the gradient effect but there is actually three different polishes that I used. The first one (which is closest to the nail bed) is a pale cream pink called Bella from Zoya. The middle color is a glittery darker light pink from Sally Hansen Diamond Nails in Pink Promise. And the tip color is Avon's Viva Pink. I was really hoping I could do better than this but after trying and re-painting my nails twice I finally conceeded that this wasn't too bad for a first shot. Anyways that's all for this week's challenge. Next week's doesn't look to hard so the results should be better then. Tune in for next Monday's challenge. Until then guys!

Monday, December 3, 2012

CBV Secret Santa Box!!

Was that the UPS truck?!!
        So I decided to participate in Candles By Victoria secret santa that was organized by the wonderful and sweet Liz on The Pouring Pot.This was my first time participating in something like this especially with people I have never actually met before and I have to say that this was a wonderful experience and I'd love to do it again next year. It was so fun picking out presents for my match and hoping they liked my gift along with the thrill and mystery of not knowing who was my secret santa or when and what I'd get. So today I was actually waiting for some stuff to arrive that I had purchased for my match when I opened the door however my secret santa package was there instead. I was so excited to see that the lovely Shannon C. was my secret santa. So here is what she got me. 
All my Christmas goodies via Shannon.
A little candy stuffed elf and a santa ornament!
       So the first thing that I pulled out of the box was this adorable stuffed elf whose stomach is actually a container of candy! It has some Reese's and some mini Hershey bars in assorted flavors and it is just so cute and so clever because his head twists off to get the candy inside. The second thing I pulled out was this antique looking santa ornament and it matches my tree so well because most of the ornaments on my tree are ones we've had for years. (My mom still has ornaments from when she was a kid) It just fits in so perfectly I love it! Oh and there was a little soft fluffy stocking that instantly caught my eye.
The first thing I said when I felt the little stocking.

Cute little snowmen!
          Inside of the stocking I unearthed this mini-snowman snowglobe. I don't think a lot of people know this but I collect snow globes like an old lady lol. I've been shaking this little guy so much the snowman inside probably has whiplash. I love watching the tiny snow flakes swirl around. I'm so easily amused... The next item I pulled out was this big ceramic snowman coffee mug. I squealed when I got it because I drink a lot of coffee and tea and I always run out of clean mugs by the end of the day. I also like the size of it because it is pretty decently big and will hold a lot of coffee. The mug was actually filled with more candy (YUM!) like Hershey's kisses and some more Reese's. (The Reese's sadly did not make it to this post. lol) Somewhere in there too was a package of these little white crystals that if you put them in a bowl with water they turn into real looking snow. What a cute idea!
The card along with CBV Gingerbread Men Tarts!
     In the box was this adorable santa card that has a sweet note from Shannon inside. Now I knew there was some CBV in this package because I could smell it as soon as I opened it. They turned out to be a set of three big gingerbread men wax tarts in the scent Hello Dolly, which is one I have never tried before. It is an amazing bakery scent that smells like Fudge Brownie with some yummy rich buttery notes to it. It smells like a baked dessert that I really want to eat. I can't wait to burn these little guys, they smell so delicious! The only problem is the gingerbread men are so cute I'm going to feel like a sadist when I chop their heads and limbs off to put in my tart warmer. (Rest in pieces my poor little gingerbread men.) 
 Pretty much my face when I smelt the box.
      I loved everything in this gift it was so thoughtful and it just touches my heart. I can tell that Shannon put a lot of thought into it and I'm so thankful to her for sending me this. Shannon you are such a sweetheart and I'm so glad I met you. You are a truly wonderful and lovely lady. Thank you so much for everything and I wish I could give you a real hug, but since I can't I will just have to make do with posting these GIFS which is what I would have done if I could. 
 

 

Nail Polish Challenge Week 9: Rainbow!

It's rainbow week!!
           Hello again internet! This week's theme is rainbow! I was actually looking for a little something different than the usual rainbow nails so I decided to go with a bold primary colored focused rainbow nails. The colors kind of reminded me more of school paints for some reason. Maybe I'm just weird lol. Anyways here is how they turned out.
You can't really see the glitter on the red polish.

Some polishes look brighter in different light.
           On my thumbs is Zoya's Holly in two coats, on my index finges is Avon's Blue Shock in three coats (the formula is REALLY sheer), on my middle fingers is Avon's Ruby Slipper (it is actually a really pretty red glitter but you can't tell from the lighting in the pictures.), on my ring fingers is Avon's Orange Creamsicle, and last but not least on my pinkys is Avon's Sunshine. All of them are topped of with my NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat. Sorry the pictures aren't that great, but I made the mistake of painting my nails before going Christmas shopping so I took the pictures in haste before I went out which is why the lighting is so terrible. Just got my secret santa gift so I will have that post up for you soon. Hope you all have a happy Monday. Until next time guys!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

It's Beginning To Smell A Lot Like Christmas...

OMG Santa's coming!
      Season's greetings my fellow wax addicts! It's Christmas time again and the holiday cheer has already been spreading around. I decided to join in on the Christmas spirit and participate in the Pouring Pot's secret santa. I hope that the person I got will like their presents. I can't wait to find out who my secret santa is as well. I love everyone over on the message board and I'm so glad we can all pull together and send some holiday cheer to each other. I will probably take some pictures to show you guys what I got when I get it. Anyways on to the reviews. I have 14 scents for you guys today. Some of them are Christmasy, but some aren't. I have of course reviewed more Christmas scents in the past like Holiday Wassail, Mistletoe, my favorite Sweet Snow, Blueberry Candy Cane and Strawberry Candy Cane. You can find them in my previous CBV posts if you are interested. All of them are from the regular line except for one which is from the Top Shelf Black Label line. So without further ado onto the review.
All the shots.
Faerie Ring:
Color: Crayola's Purple Mountain's Majesty
Cold Throw: So this is a customer created scent. It was created by Jandre from the Pouring Pot (check out her blog on my blogs I follow!) and it is a mixture of Apples N Oaks and Raspberry Violet. I've never had Raspberry Violet, but I do have Apples N Oaks and based on that I get a lovely mixture of the both of them. I get the barrel aged apples, but it is accompanied with a sweeter slightly floral scent. I've got a review for Apples N Oaks further down below in this review if you want to see more on what that smells like on its own.  

Warm Throw: Smelt just like it did on cold sniff. The two scents blend wonderfully to create an entirely new scent. Not one part of the mixture is stronger than the other. You get the Apples N Oaks and the Raspberry Violet. It's a fresh sweet airy scent that's so hard to put into a catagory because it isn't fruity, floraly, or earthy yet at the same time it is all of those. A truly unique scent that just has to be tried. Plus the throw is pretty good as well.

Banana Coconut Cream Pie:
Color: Crayola's Lazer Lemon
Cold Throw: Smells just like banana coconut cream pie filling. On cold sniff alone I don't smell any pie crust at all, just the fantastic smell of the filling. It reminds me of those Jell-o instant pie filling packets after you've made it. I love this so far, but I will say the throw is a little weak in the container.

Warm Throw: Once again Victoria has managed to make a perfect replica from food to wax. This smells just like the real deal. I still only get the banana coconut pie filling without any hints of a crust smell. Smells Delicious!

Cinnamon Donuts:
Color: Maple Brown
Cold Throw: This smells like sweet baking cinnamon and sugar crystals with a tiny hint of fried dough underneath it all. It does smell like a fried donut topped with cinnamon and sugar. It has a medium scent throw in the container, but it smells delicious just like the real thing.

Warm Throw: So I bought this because I had Warm Apple Fritters last month and Cinnamon Donuts made up half the mixture and I really liked it so I had to try it by itself without the Macintosh Apple. I was not dissapointed either! Smells just like the real deal.   

Singapore Sling:
Cold Throw: This one is from the Top Shelf Black Label line which means it can only be bought in scent shot or Black Label candle form. This one smells like a lemon poppyseed muffin. On just the cold throw I don't get much of the bakery kick from the muffin and vanilla cake batter. It just kind of smells like sweet lemon baking crystals that come on certain lemon poppyseed muffins that you can buy at the store.

Warm Throw: This one is one of the more popular Black Label scents. It was reccomended to me by Jason and Emily on the Pouring Pot way back. Once again they both have excellent taste...or smell that is. It smells just like a lemon poppyseed muffin no joke. I smell the sugar crystal toppings, the bakery lemon cake and the poppyseed muffin. This is a heavy bakery scent so if you love the smell of lemon cakes or muffins then this is a must try for you. Smells mouth-wateringly delicious!
 I adore FR, BCCP,CD, & SS!
Sugar Plums:
Color: Crayola's Purple Mountain's Majesty
Cold Throw: This one is very dificult to describe because I can't categorize it in any certain fragrance category just like Faerie Ring it is a blend of scents. The other problem is the throw on this is very weak. I actually smell the plastic container a bit more than the real scent. But taking it out I smell a very soft and light floral mixed with maybe a sweet fruity undercurrent. It doesn't smell like sugar or plums really, but the scent itself is very nice and lightly sweet. 

Warm Throw: The throw was better once it was melted. It smells just like it did on cold throw only a little stronger. It's a blend of sweet light florals and an unknown fruit. It's a very nice and lovely scent all it's own that doesn't remind me of any other scent before it.

Blueberry Cheesecake:
Color: Blueberry Blue
Cold Throw: This is a big time favorite to a lot of other addicts I have talked to and I just got around to trying it. This smells delicious on cold throw. You get that candied blueberry smell blended with a sweet cream cheese filling that rounds the overall scent out. It's sweet, but not sickeningly so and it makes me want to eat the wax. Smells like cheesecake and candied blueberries.

Warm Throw: The cheesecake smell really comes out more into play when its melted. I smell more cream cheese frosting than the blueberries although they are still there. It really does live up to its name.  Personally I liked this one better on cold throw, but its still pretty good either way. It has a medium throw to it as well.

Apples N Oaks:
Color: Saddle Brown
Cold Throw: This one smells more like the aged oak barrels than the apples on cold throw. I've never smelt an apple scent quite like this one before. It has a sort of subtle woodsy air about it with undertones of green apples. It isn't as sweet as a lot of other apple scents I've tried. The throw in the shot is kind of weak, but it could be because the scent itself smells like the air in the fall in a apple orchard.

Warm Throw: I got this one because Amanda on The Pouring Pot had burnt it for like a week straight and loved it and as an avid apple fan I couldn't pass up trying a new apple scent. This one was true to the cold throw, but the scent came out a bit more so the throw is a moderate one instead of the weak one in the container. This one is great for fall and for those of you who like apple scents, but aren't a fan of the really sweet or heavy apple fragrances. 

Sugared Corn Pudding:
Color: Crayola Lazer Lemon
Cold Throw: This is a very popular scent on the board so I had to try it. Trying to describe it is a bit tricky though. It smells like creamy warm porridge with an undertone of sweet corn. It's a very comfort food type of smell. It's very rich, creamy, and yummy smelling. It almost smells like something I would love to eat for breakfast. 

Warm Throw: The throw on this is one of the more stonger ones though not chokingly so. It smells like a warm creamy breakfast type food to me. Like a mixture of oatmeal and porridge or grits. It has an undercurrent of butter in it that I didn't smell on the cold throw. The scent is very heavy, rich, and comforting. I can see why it is a popular scent.

Caramelized Pralines:
Color: Saddle Brown
Cold Throw: First off to those of you who have no idea what a praline is it is basically a confection made out of nuts and sugar. Whether it's boiled or baked or ground. So onto the review. I really get the nuts in this wrapped with Victoria's caramel scent. It smells like the nuts that you get on ice cream toppings with burnt caramel.

Warm Throw: This has a moderate throw and stays true to the scent in the shot. Smells just like it's namesake. It is a sweet and salty fragrance. I'm not big on nuts in general be it food or wax, but I decided to try this after beauty youtuber Sayanythingbrooke said that this is her favorite CBV scent and after I saw that it was on a lot of The Pouring Pot members favorites. While I'm not a big fan of this scent because it is too nutty for me, I would recommend it to those of you are nut fans or who love sweet and salty scents. Overall it's not bad at all it's just not for me. 

Cold December Night:
Color: Blueberry Blue
Cold Throw: This is a customer creation made by the other Kayla on the Pouring Pot. It is a mixture of Sugared Spruce and Sweet Snow. I have not had sugared spruce yet, but I can definetly pick out the cool mint of the Sweet Snow. It has a sweeter and sharper undertone in it than just plain Sweet Snow.

Warm Throw: Smells like it did in the shot, only once it's warmed up it has more depth to the scent than before. This scent really lives up to it's name because it is a very cool minty fragrance. The throw on this one is one of the better ones as it travelled from my room to the hallway all the way to the living room. If you are a mint fan then you will probably love this one.

Frenchville Coffee:
Color: Pearl White
Cold Throw: This smells like Victoria's coffee scent mixed with heavy vanilla creamer, which in a way is pretty much what it is supposed to smell like. I don't think that Victoria's coffee fragrances smell like straight up coffee though it does smell really similair. But then again I'm a coffee snob and I like my coffee rich and decadant.  Still this one smells like it's namesake. This one has a pretty moderate throw to it when it's cold as well.

Warm Throw: Stays pretty much the same once it's melted. It smells like generic coffee with a heavy dose of vanilla creamer. It has a pretty decent scent throw to it as well. The scent remains steady and will be a good thing to burn in the morning when I don't really feel all that awake.

Chai Tea:
Color: Chocolate Brown
Cold Throw: While I am a big tea fan I have never actually had a Chai Tea before so I was curious as to what one would at least smell like so I decided to get this. On cold throw I can pick apart and smell almost all of the scents said to be in this. I get the brewed tea, the tiniest pinch of baking cinnamon, I can really pick out the clove and ginger and just the hint of vanilla to steady it all out. This scent isn't really all that sweet or all that spicy. It is a very nice relaxing scent.

Warm Throw: While I have never had a Chai Tea before, but my older brother assures me that this smells just like it's liquid counterpart. The scent was really relaxing and different from a lot of the other scents I've tried. The throw was pretty good as well and it smelt like hot brewed tea with some soft baking spices that aren't really too noticeable that round out the scent really well. I actually enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. A nice steady relaxing scent is what I would describe it as.


Bonfire Bliss:
Color: Burnt Sienna
Cold Throw: First off the cold throw is pretty strong. This one is supposed to smell like an actual bonfire and it does a pretty good job. I can instantly pick out the cedar notes mixed with some charred or burned woodsy notes. I get a deeper musky background that I'm not really a fan of only because it kind of reminds me of sweat a little bit. I think my nose is just strange so don't let that scare you away. The description says that this has some marshmallows, brown sugar, coconut, and some vanilla in it, but I don't get that on cold sniff at all. I just get the heady earthy wood notes and the heavy musk at the bottom.

Warm Throw: This one smells more like an actual campfire than Campfire Marshmallows does. It smells just like it does on cold throw only there is a background of brown sugar in there that adds some sweetness to an overall earthy scent. The throw on this one is really powerful and it will linger around for awhile as well. Overall it smells just like a real bonfire.

Jaqen H'ghar approves all the above. (Game of Thrones reference.)
Genevieve's Tea Ring:
Color: Saddle Brown
Cold Throw: This is a houseblend made for Charlene Howard and it is a mixture of Granny's Pie Crust, The Porridge Pot, Brown Sugar, Cherry Creme Brulee, Vanilla and a touch of Cherry. That is a lot to mix in one tiny scent shot. On cold throw alone I smell the cherries and the creme brulee. Plus I get a deeper bakery note that is probably The Porridge Pot though I can't tell for sure since I've never tried any of the scents in this mixture. The throw is pretty strong as well.

Warm Throw: This fragrance is powerful! I mainly smelled just strong Maraschino cherries with an almost maple syrupy like background. There is a definite bakery kick in the middle of it all as well but it didn't smell like porridge or pie crust.. Despite being a bakery fan I did not really care for this and neither did anybody else in my family. It was just too powerful and too complicated for us. But if you love cherries, maple syrup, and perhaps Victoria's Zucchini Bread scent then you might want to give this one a try.
Phew Genevieve's Tea Ring is STRONG!
     Well that's all for this review. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holidays. And I know the rush to buy presents for everyone is stressful but always try and remember what the holidays are really about. (It's not shopping!) Anyways I will see you all next time. peace and love to everyone!