Nail Polish Challenge Week 17: Glitter!

It's Glitter Week!

            Hello again everybody! It's a rainy gloomy Monday where I am, but I hope the weather is better where you are right now. So this week is all about glitter. The problem with that is half of my nail polish collection is all glitter. Needless to say I had a really hard time choosing just one. I came to my decision by picking a polish that matched the season, was one I didn't think I'd use again in the upcoming challenges, and lastly one that I thought not alot of people new about. Thus that's how I narrowed it down to Zoya's Crystal which, for those of you who don't know, is actually a nearly perfect dupe of OPI's rare Reflecting Pool, which I believe has been discontinued.

\I really wish my camera picked up glitter better.

A better close up on the glitter.

        Zoya's Crystal is such a unique and pretty glitter polish. Seriously this one is much prettier in real life and my camer does it NO justice whatsoever. As you can see at first glance it looks to be a cool cerulean blue, but when the lights hit it you see tiny microglitter flecks of silver, bronze, and gold. And believe me when I say that this one really pops when the lights hit it. I really like this one because it's great to wear in both winter and summer. In winter it matches the cold tones, but it matches the pretty watery blues of summer. This particular polish is said to be an exact dupe of OPI's ultra rare Reflecting Pool. I believe Reflecting Pool was only released in Europe so getting your hands on the shade is quite hard if you aren't from there. But luckily Zoya has us all covered with Crystal. Plus how perfect is the name for this polish. This one just has a really unique and amazing effect. So that's it for this week's nail polish challenge, please look back next Monday for another challenge post. Bye guys!

Nail Polish Challenge Week 16: Tribal Print!

Nope, Its Monday again...

              Hello again everyone. Sadly the weekend is over and Monday has once again arrived to torment us all. Why is Monday never a good day? Anyways this week's theme is tribal print which is another form of nail art I had never tried before. I looked at a lot of reference photos online and then looked at my own nail polish collection and made do with what I had. Overall I'm actually quite happy with it since I figured it would turn out much worse than it did. So here is how it turned out.

Shown with me holding a NYC top coat.

And another for a better look.

        So for the blue base coat I used Zoya's Tahlula which actually turned out a tad bit darker than I had expected but still turned out pretty good I think. Then for my thumb and half of my middle finger I used China Glaze's Harvest Moon from the Hunger Games Collection. Then for the black detailing I just used LA Color's Art Deco nail striper in black and for the white details I just used my cheap dollar store white nail striper. To top it all off I used my always present NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat. Tribal prints can really range to so much but given my level of nail art talent (or lack there of) I decided to keep it simple with mainly stripes and dots patterns. I also stuck to just two colors instead of a lot more like I see alot of people do. It's nothing too fancy but I'm proud of myself for trying it and what I had accomplished when I put my mind to it. That's all for this week. Next week's challenge will be Glitter!! Now the hard part is to pick which glitter polish I want to wear. Seriously about 70 percent of my nail polish collection is juts plain glitter. Anyways see you guys next week!




Nail Polish Challenge Week 15: Delicate Print!

Happy Monday Everyone!

          Well it's Monday again. The weekend was so nice and warm where I live, but sadly now that the weekend's over it went right back to freezing rain again. I already can't wait for summer to come back. Anyways it's Monday and you now what that means. Time for our next installment of the 31 week nail polish challenge. This week's theme is delicate print and I have to be honest at first I was like, "What does that even mean?" So I had to look it up. Needless to say though I figured it out and it is kind of like a delicate type pattern. So here is what I came up with.

Delicate Print Nails!

         So for the nail base color I used two coats of Zoya's Jo. I have to say it is one of my favorite blues I have, because it's muted, but still so pretty. Then I just used my cheap dollar store white nail striper to create a random pattern of dots and stripes diagonally across the tips of each nail. Truthfully this could be a lot cleaner looking, but I was doing this while watching the Asian drama King 2 Hearts. Has anybody else watched this? OMG so good! It just draws you in and has a great plot, wonderful cast, and the scenery is so beautiful. Needless to say I'm a little obsessed with it at the moment. Anyways that's it for this week's nail polish challenge. Please stay tuned for next week's theme which will be tribal print nails. Still not sure what I'm going to do for that one, but please look forward to it!

Special CBV Create A Scent Review In: Alice Cullen!

I See A CBV Order In Your Future...

       So today I decided to play mad scientist and try out a scent mixture that a few people like over on the Candles By Victoria message board The Pouring Pot. The scent's name is Alice Cullen and was originally created by the member stardustgirl I believe. It is a special create a scent mixture of the scents Fizzy Pop & Raspberry Violet. Seeing as I have both of those fragrances in scent shots I decided to give it a go and see if it was a good match. So I popped in one fourth scent shot of each and I just have to say WOW!

       This turned out to be such a pretty and fun scent! While the Fizzy Pop was a tad bit stronger than the Raspberry Violet, I still smelt plenty from each fragrance. The Raspberry Violet added this soft and airy sweet floral background for the citrusy lemon lime bubbly kick of Fizzy Pop. You still get the tingly carbonation from the FP, but the RV tones it down and makes it a lovely and fun aroma.They really blended well together to make a completey new and unique fragrance. It had a really strong throw to it as well. The aroma filled up my entire living room, hallway, and even traveled upstairs. While it was strong it wasn't a punch you in the nose type of fragrance. Plus, I'm not even a big Twilight fan, but I thought that the scent matched it's character's personality very well. I don't know how this one hasn't made the master fragrance list yet. I was really suprised by how much I ended up liking this one. On the forums Stardust girl said that the Fizzp Pop part of the scent is stronger when you mix the two scents together yourself in a tart warmer as opposed to ordering the fragrance in candle form (page 8 on the website). However I'm seriously considering getting it in the candle form anyways. I think I might have stumbled onto a new favorite. So far out of all the customer create a scents I've tried this one is right up there with Faerie Ring (which also has Raspberry Violet in it) and Warm Apple Fritters. So if you've got Fizzy Pop and Raspberry Violet scent shots lying around the house I would recommend mixing them!

Nail Polish Challenge Week 14: Flowers!

Keeping up with New Year's Resolutions still?

      Happy Monday everybody! The first week of the year has officially ended. Are you guys still sticking to those New Year's resolutions? I know I've been excercising every day of the week so far and I can already tell that my flexibility is getting better. I can do lunges now much better than before so hurray for progress! Let's hope I can keep the motivation going though. Anyways the theme for this week's nail polish challenge is flowers!

I tried for Daisies.

       So for flowers I wanted to do something a little bit different and tried to go for something like Daisies although they look more abstract than I had wanted I am happy with them. It was my first time doing something like this on my own. For the base color I used two coats of China Glaze's For Audrey and for the yellow center's I used Avon's Sunshine, then for the petals I just used a cheap dollar store white nail striper that has no name, and as usual I topped it all off with my trusty NYC Long Wearing Super Shiny Top Coat. That's it for this week's nail polish challenge. I don't know if Blogger is being buggy or if it has a really glitchy update or what, but for some reason it won't let me upload pictures straight from my computer anymore. I had to upload them on Photobucket and then paste the url link to get them. Am I the only one having this problem? Whatever it is I hope it works itself out and goes back to the simpler way it was before. Please look forward to next week's post!

New Year, New Scents!

Hooray! The world didn't end and we made it to 2013!

         Happy New Year everyone! It is a new beginning for us all and that means new resolutions to try and keep. I have a few resolutions for this year such as losing some weight, reading at least 25 books, ect... but on a more individual note a resolution I made was to try at least 100 scents that I haven't had before from Candles By Victoria. With over 800 fragrances and counting it shouldn't be too hard to achieve. I got into CBV last June or July I believe and I've been constantly impressed and amazed by the scents I get. So for this year I wanted to expand my candle comfort zone and try some fragrances that I might have passed up on before. I found last year that I had always believed myself to be an avid floral hater, but I've had a few floral scents from CBV that I fell in love with and they made me rethink my stance on my preferences. Truth is I don't really know what I like and hate any more. Lol. So with that being said here is January's CBV review and I warn you the choices are a little eclectic.

All the shots for this month.

Bubble Gum:
Color: Bubble Gum Pink
Cold Throw: This smells EXACTLY like Bazooka Joe gum. It is a perfect bubble gum fragrance. It reminds me of being a little girl at our town's 4th of July parade where every other float would have people throwing out bubble gum to the kids in the crowd. I thought the throw on this one would be on the weaker side, but boy was I wrong it's a medium to strong scent throw.

Warm Throw: This scent is woefuly under-rated I think. It is a DEAD ON pink bubble gum scent. I bought this one on a whim and I'm so glad I did because I underestimated just how much I love the smell of bubble gum. It's just a really nostalgic scent that just brings me right back to my childhood days and makes me happy. So if you like sugary pink bubble gum like Bazooka Joe or Hubba Bubba then you need to try this one! Love it!

Tiffany D:
Color: Pacific Blue
Cold Throw: This is one of the houseblend scents inspired by the beauty youtuber MakeupByTiffanyD. It is a mixture of Watermelon, Cotton Candy, Honeydew Melon, and Vanilla.  On cold throw alone I mainly get the sugary Cotton Candy and the juicy Honeydew Melon. I get that super sweet spun sugar fragrance along with some fruity basenotes. This one kind of reminds me of a lighter more airier version of Spellbound only instead of apples it smells of melons.

Warm Throw: Smells the same as in the container only I can smell more of the Watermelon mixing with the Honeydew and Cotton Candy. The throw on this one is really great as well, the smell filled my entire room and that was just when I cut a forth of it and placed it in the warmer BEFORE turning it on. It is a very sweet, sugary, and girly fragrance to me. Being a fan of Tiffany D myself I think it matches her personality very well. I really like this one. 

Fizzy Pop:
Color: Hunter Green
Cold Throw: This one smells just like Sprite to me. I get that citrusy lemon lime soda drink smell. I can even smell the bubbles from the carbonation. I have no idea how Victoria is able to duplicate the scent complete with the fizzy bubbles that tingle my nose. The throw is kind of weak on cold sniff alone though, but you still get the fragrance well enough.

Warm Throw: This smells just like in the container with a really nice throw. You get that bubbly and cool citrusy soda smell. What makes me love this one so much, other than the bubbles, is that this one is going to make a great mixer. The scent alone isn't something that I feel I'd love to smell over and over again, but I believe mixing this one with other scents is going to give them that special kick that I love so much. Can't wait to get Raspberry Violet and mix it with this to make Alice Cullen. I know Ali over on the Pouring Pot really likes that mix so I really want to try it.

OMG I love Bubble Gum, Tiffany D, & Fizzy Pop!

Blue Raspberries:
Color:Raspberry Blue 
Cold Throw: So I decided to get this one because Kristina over on The PP did a video review of this one and said it smelt like candied blue rasberries and I gotta say I think she was dead on the nose with that description. I get a strong sharp and sweet candy blue raspberry. Kind of reminds me of the blue raspberry Tootsie or Blow Pops. It really matches it's namesake.

Warm Throw: While it does smell the same warmed up as it does on cold sniff, I did notice that the throw was stronger in the container than it was on warm throw. It is still a pretty decent  warm throw, but the cold throw is just like in your face candied blue raspberries while the warm throw is more subdued, but still noticeable.

Clothesline Fresh:
Color: Faded Blue Grey
Cold Throw: This to me smells like it's name sake. It smells like laundry that has just been washed and then hung on the clothesline outside to dry in the summer. My mother used to do that a lot when we were younger and my brothers and I (being the heathens that we were) would go running through the sheets that hung and blew in the breeze. It is a very clean, yet airy fragrance.

Warm Throw: Despite it being an airy scent the throw on this is not weak at all. It has a pretty moderate scent throw which is really nice. It smells so fresh like clean laundy that was air dried in the summer sun with by a cool breeze. Once again this scent is bringing back fond memories from my childhood. If you like clean scents, but don't like that strong laundry detergent or Pine-Sol scent then you might want to give this little baby a try. 

Bonsai:
Color: Crayola's Lazer Lemon
Cold Throw: This one is from the Top Shelf Black Label line. It is supposed to be Japanese Rice Pudding with Vanilla Blossoms. I definitly smell the rice pudding with like a creamy basenote. It just kind of smells like semi-sweet rice pudding. This is a really "steady" feeling aroma to me. It isn't really sugary or super sweet, but it still has a hint of sweetness and you can smell actual rice grains in this. It kind of has a rice porridge background.  

Warm Throw:  Smells like it does on cold throw. It smells like a semi-sweet rice pudding. The scent throw is pretty moderate and this was just a real steady not too sweet bakery type fragrance. So if you aren't looking for anything too sweet or heavy, but still want something in the bakery category then I'd give this one a try, but only if you are a fan of the smell of rice pudding.

Watermelon:
Color: Crayola's Razzmatazz is a perfect dupe of this color!
Cold Throw: I just want to say that I LOVE to eat real watermelons in the summertime. I also happen to like artificial watermelon smells. So I don't know why it took me so long to finally order this one. This one smells like a combination of both a real watermelon and a candy watermelon. It is too sweet to smell like a real watermelon and yet it doesn't have that thick sugary quality that most artificial watermelon scents tend to have. Like it doesn't remind me of a watermelon Jolly Rancher or a watermelon lip gloss, but it is just a touch too sweet to be real. Still I like this one a lot and if you are a watermelon lover than you need to try this one!

Warm Throw: While this one does smell as juicy and delicious as it does on cold sniff I have noticed that about ten minutes after I turned off the warmer the scent faded almost completely. While the throw was good while the warmer was on I noticed that this one is a bit quicker to dissapate once it was no longer heated. Still it is a nice sweet watermelon scent.

Banana Nut Bread:
Color: Maple Brown
Cold Throw: First off the cold throw on this one is kind of weak and I have let this cure over a month now so I think this is as strong as the cold throw is going to get. I get a toned down fresh baked bread smell. With a bakery sweet undertone, but I can't seem to pick out even a hint of banana in this one. There is also no signs of any nutty aromas either. On cold sniff it just kind of smells like sweet bakery style bread.

Warm Throw: The banana definitely comes into action once it is warmed up. It smells altogether like some ripe bananas (old not rotten though which is how I make my banana bread in the first place) with some sweetened fresh baked bread. Neither scent overpowers the other so the two scents blend together really nicely. It really does live up to its name in my opinion. Good if you are a fan of the SMELL of fresh baked banana bread. 

Apple Martini:
Color: Jaded Olive Green 
Cold Throw: Smells like a legit virgin apple martini. It's tart green apples with an underlying dry and cooling ice-like note to it that gives it that perfect chill to it that most alcoholic drinks tend to have without an actual alcohol smell. This kind of reminds me of an old Kool-Aid mix that I don't think they make anymore, but it was called Artic Apple. Did anybody else ever try those? If so this is a pretty similar scent.

Warm Throw: This one is the same on warm throw as it is on cold. It really is a perfect imitation of an apple martini. The throw itself is medium-average; not too strong, not too weak. This is probably the tartest apple frangrance from CBV that I've tried to date. So if you are expecting a sweet drink fragrance this is not it.

Enchanted Apple:
Color: Maroon Pink
Cold Throw: This one is a little tricky to describe as it is a combination of so many scents. The main scent is definitely crisp apples, but it isn't a straight Macintosh or green apple. I get some other deeper fruity notes mixed in with this one, but they aren't easily discernable. There is an underlying hint of a green leafy note, but you don't smell it right off of the bat. Overall it just kind of smells like a mixture of fresh air and crisp apples, with a tiny hint of mixed fruit with a pinch of something green underneath.

Warm Throw: First off the throw on this one is really great! It totally filled the room in a matter of minutes and even after I turned off my warmer the scent lingered an entire day later. It smells just like it did in the container only stronger and fresher. This one smells like fresh air and crisp apples. A really nice refreshing fragrance.

Storm Watch:
Color: Blue Green
Cold Throw: Smells very ozone-y like heavy air mixed with your typical "rain" fragrance. And call me crazy but I kind of get a hint of something that reminds me of sea salt. Like the ozone air smell smells like ocean air. Maybe it is just me though since I'm not too familiar with "elemental" nature scents like these. Still it matches its namesake because it does indeed smell like the calm in the air right before the storm.

Warm Throw: This one is still mainly ozone like, but it has a fresh clean fragrance about it. It doesn't really smell like laundry detergeant, but more like just fresh pure air after it has rained. It has a pretty moderate throw to it. It is a good nature like fragrance.

Sunflower Fields:
Color: Sunflower Yellow
Cold Throw: This houseblend is a mixture of Sunflower, Gardenia, & Baby Powder. This is a very fresh breezy light floral scent. It reminds me a lot of fresh air in the summer time. I am not a fan of powdery smells, but the baby powder in this is blended well enough with the florals that it doesn't bother me at all.

Warm Throw: This scent is very fresh and clean smelling once it's warmed up. The baby powder mixes with the florals to create a sort of fresh laundry in the summertime smell. Though you can definitely tell there is baby powder in there it doesn't smell dry or powdery at all. This is an okay fresh and clean summertime scent to me and the throw is really powerful.

Pina Colada:
Color: Dusky Pearl
Cold Throw: A pretty typical Pina Colada scent. It is mainly heavy on the creamy coconut. I do smell the tiny hint of rum in the basenotes, and it does have a tiny pinch of pineapple in there somewhere as well. Still coconut is the main fragrance only it is much more richer and tropical than just Victoria's straight up coconut.

Warm Throw: This is a really milky creamy true Pina Colada fragrance. It has a strong scent throw and smells just like the drink only without that nasty alcohol smell. Coconut still seems to be the main note of the fragrance, but you still get the pineapple and rum in the undertones. If you love Pina Coladas then you'll probably fall in love with this one.

Fuzzy Navel:
Color: Bright Orange
Cold Throw: This is a really fruity juicy fragrance. I smell mainly oranges and fizzy pop, but there is undertones of peaches in there as well. If you have ever had a virgin mimosa this is kind of what it smells like to me. Like orange juice and Sprite, but with a hint of peaches.

Warm Throw: The throw on this one is pretty good and it continues to smell like a virgin mimosa to me lol. It's a very juicy fruity and fun fragrance. You get the tangyness from the oranges, the sweetness of the peaches, and then the citrusy carbonation from the fizzy pop.

I like all the above.

Oatmeal Milk & Honey: 
Color: Aztec Gold
Cold Throw: I should have known by the clean catagory this was placed under that it wasn't going to smell like I had hoped. Call me crazy but I was kind of hoping for a bakery type fragrance. This however is not and is in the right category. This smells like all the other oatmeal milk & honey body lotions and soap that you can get just about anywhere. Smells like grainy soap to me, but I'm not a big fan of the oatmeal, milk, and honey trend in lotions. But if you do like those things then this is a legit dupe for you.

Warm Throw: Well first off I want to say that I don't know what I was expecting really. I mean it does smell just like the lotions it is duping, but I guess I wanted this to smell like actual real milk oatmeal and honey. I guess I wanted the sweetness of honey, the richness of milk, and then the slight bakery/porridge aroma of oatmeal. Sadly this was not it. However despite my expectations this does smell like your generic run of the mill oatmeal milk & honey drugstore lotion.  The scent is perfect for those of you who are fond of the simple clean and fresh smell of the soap and lotions of the same name, however I would have much preffered this to be a bakery scent, but eh what can you do? It doesn't smell bad in anyway just not what I wanted. I did notice that it almost has a "powder" like note to it, but that could just be me.

Pretty much my sentiments on Oatmeal Milk & Honey...

         So that's it for this month's review. I can't wait to start the new year with a lot of new and different posts as well as overall lifestyle changes. It felt like 2012 just swept right on past me so I'm really going to try to get the best out of 2013 as much as I can. I've already started the process of re-decorating my bedroom for a new change maybe when I get it how I want it I will make a blog post on it, but for now I still have a ways to go until I'm satisfied. Anyways please look forward to another year blogging with me! Happy New Year guys!

Nail Polish Challenge Week 13: Animal Print!

Happy New Year!!

          It's New Year's Day everyone! Got any big plans for the day? My plans just include getting organized to help me ring in the New Year. I have a ton of resolutions for this year, well not a TON, but I have a few. Some of which is that I plan to read at least 25 books, try 100 new Candles By Victoria fragrances, lose a little bit of weight, and of course to complete this nail polish challenge. I can't believe I've been doing this for 13 weeks already! That sounds crazy to me, but doing this challenge has forced me to try things I probably wouldn't have before and what better way then to bring in the New Year than with something I've never tried, nor had the guts to try before, and that animal print nails!

Funky Zebra Nails!

      So I tried to do a Zebra like pattern, but I thought a white background was too boring to put it on so I used Viva Pink from Avon. Which in turn kind of doesn't make it look like zebra prints, but just a funky pattern lol! Oh well it turned out better than I expected because the Art Deco Striper I used to create the black lines was startin to get really thick and goopy, making it hard for me to draw the thin lines that I wanted. But eh, I still like it. It isn't like any other type of nails that I've done before so I'm glad that I tried something new and on what better day then New Year's right? Anyways I'll be posting my January CBV monthly review in just a bit so please stick around for that! Happy New Year's guys!!