Another Mani(cured) Monday!

I can hear the fireworks bellowing off in the distance as I type. The heat that has taken Southern California by storm, is still ravaging outside despite it being near 11:00pm. Yep, it's summer alright! I just had a big bowl of angel food cake topped with a nice heaping dollop of whipped cream, sweet strawberries and juicy blueberries. For the 4th, I painted my nails a fire engine red courtesy of Sally Hansen's complete Salon Manicure entitled 'Right Said Fred' - a near perfect red in my mind. I picked this bottle up for free last year at Hollywood and Highland when they were trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most manicures performed in a day (they were unsuccessful). The Sally Hansen reps were literally giving these bottles away for free! I painted my ring finger a cobalt blue by Butter LONDON's Blagger which I previously reviewed here.

For a base, I used one coat of Butter LONDON's Nail Foundation and painted all my nails with two coats of either 'Right Said Fred' or 'Blagger'. I topped each nail off with one coat of Seche Vite Top Coat. 

I was thoroughly impressed with the Sally Hansen polish, and the extra wide brush made application a breeze. I got a pretty even coat with just one swipe but pushed for a second for more opaqueness. The polish dried fairly quickly, and bleeding wasn't an issue by the time I was ready for the clear top coat (usually a pet peeve of mine with red polish in particular). Overall, I give this polish an A+ (the fact that it was gratis doesn't hurt either). 

I know we are the land of red, white, and blue and that this manicure only consists of red and blue. Can anyone recommend a great white nail polish that doesn't look like a bottle of white out? 

What is your favorite white nail polish (assuming you have one)?!! 

May 2011 Favorites

Even though May had 31 days in it, it did seem to go by rather quickly. Here are the products (some I have talked about before, some I have not) that I got a lot of use out of and helped keep me purdy throughout the month: 

• Le Metier de Beaute eye lash curler is in a class of it's own. This replaced my Shu-Umera curler the instant I tried it. Ever since, I have been giving Shu the cold shoulder. Retails for $18.00 and is worth every penny.

• Butter London's nail lacquer in 'Snog' looks great to use in a summer pedicure or for those more daring, just as great on the fingers. It is as hot-pink as you get without venturing into neon territory. Retails for $14.00

• Chanel's Base Lumiere is a fantastic illuminating makeup base that gives you that "glow from within" look, perfect for layering under your foundation. Retails for $42.00 

• Edward Bess' Ultra Luminous Shadow in 'Storm' is my holy grail shadow to date. I love how buttery soft the texture is and the color is gorgeous! I have a weakness for silvery/mauvey taupes (and yes that is a color! ;) ). Retails for  $30.00 

• Le Metier De Beaute's Crease Brush is a recent acquisition of mine. From the day I received it, I wondered how I got by without it. The capability to make my makeup look blended is awesome with this brush. Retails for $45.00 

• Chantecaille's Brillant Gloss in 'Love', with one swipe my lips look perfectly kissable. *mwaaa* It is also such a delicate pink -- perfect for running my errands in. Retails for $28.00

• Another one of my favorites is Le Metier De Beaute's Dualistic Eye Pencil in 'Tamarack' which can serve as both an eye shadow base or as a liner. The color depth of this gorgeous brown is something that one can only be appreciated in person. Retails for $36.00

What were your May favorites? Please share, I love finding new product discoveries.

NOTD Butter London's All Hail The Queen

I had been wanting Butter London's 'All Hail The Queen' nail polish ($14.00) ever since I heard it was universally flattering on skin tones. I had liked what I saw online and was eager to try it out firsthand. I'm pretty gun shy when it comes to buying cosmetics sight unseen, so I waited until I could find it in a store. The only problem was for months it was sold out where ever I went. Imagine my delight when looking at The Butter London stand at a local Nordstrom's a couple of weeks ago there was 'All Hail The Queen' and the tester too! Every once in awhile, I feel like the cosmetic gods like me.

With one swipe on my finger I knew that 'AHTQ' was a no brainer. It went on smoothly, dried quickly, and most of all I find the color to be sophisticated. Yes, there is shimmer, but in an intriguing "is there or isn't there" kind of way? Plus, it adds depth to the color.

All of Butter London's polishes are '3 Free' which means they are free from products that are known as carcinogens and do not contain: formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP (Dibutyl phthalate - a known cause for birth defects).

I think the color is perfect as a neutral for those that want a departure from baby pinks. I also like how easily this polish applied, seriously I found no flaw in applying it. I think it is appropriate for the office and would also look great if you were stepping out onto the town.

*As always I apply my polishes in two coats (unless it is unusually stubborn like 'Mimosa' was) with Seche Vite as my top coat and Butter London's Nail Foundation as a base coat.*

Can be purchased for $14.00 USD in high-end department stores (Nordstrom). Internationally http://www.zuneta.com/ carries the non-toxic brand.

So glad to have 'All Hail The Queen' in my collection, what polish would you like to add?

How do you deal with a beauty disappointment?

*Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a nail polish review, but rather my experience with a product disappointment.*

We all have one. The one product that we were suppose to love, but for some reason couldn't muster up the energy to. That one product for me, is Butter London's, Limited Edition, 'No More Waity, Katie', an ode to future princess Kate Middleton. This bottle just fell short of my previous experiences with Butter London (normally, I'm a huge fan). So onto the good (the lack of carcinogens), the bad (the way off color description), and the ugly (the chunky glitter). ...

'No More Waity, Katie'

I wanted to love it, really I did. In theory I should have loved it, but in reality it was a different story. Let's see...lilac? (love) glitter? (love) griege? (who doesn't?) Put them all together and you should have a recipe for true, feeling-it-all-the-way-to-your-toes love, but instead you 'ehh'  -- a take it or leave it bottle of polish. This nail polish is easily the biggest beauty disappointment I've experienced in a long time and at $14.00 a bottle, I realize it could be a lot worse. So I'll cut my loses here, and instead view it as a memento of the royal wedding du jour.

This, friends, is what happens when you order something sight unseen, in the middle of the night bored out of your mind, surfing the Internet trolling for your next beauty fix and getting caught up in the hoopla of royal weddings, limited quantities, and exclusive releases.

As soon as I opened the box disappoint set in, first, the nature of the color was not what they were touting it to be (a beige lavender mix), nor did it resemble the promo pics. In fact, I can find no beige in there for the life of me. Second, they claim this has a 'splash' of glitter, however, it was far too chunky for my liking and looked like something a little girl playing dress up would wear, not a future real-life princess. Thirdly, it took three full coats for it to really evenly show up on my fingers. Despite my initial disappointment the night I received it well over a month ago, it was the last time I touched it. It's now relegated to stay on top of my Clear Cube as if it is mocking me for my haste of jumping on the beauty bandwagon. Lesson learned, do not buy makeup without first testing it, or at least reading reviews on it. I just wished I had picked up Butter London's 'Yummy Mumm' instead.

To sum it up,  'No more waity, Katie' just wasn't what I was expecting. The glitter could have been more subtle and even though the lilac color is pretty, I would opt for Le Metier's 'Lavande' for a far more sophisticated lilac, after all, it was inspired by a Bergdorff Goodman shopping bag - doesn't get more sophisticated than that. Princess or not.

What were your recent beauty disappointments? 

Butter London's Blagger

I love a pale, pink nail as much as the next girl, but every now and then you want a punch of color...let me introduce you to Blagger.

Blagger

While shopping at Nordstrom's over the weekend I was drawn to Butter London's display case. Blagger is described as being a "striking cobalt blue" and is one of their newest colors featured from their Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Being American, and not at all familiar with Butter London's slang terms (even though, ironically, they are an American company) I did a little googling into what the heck a 'blagger' was, it turns out it is a 'smooth talker'.

For those not well versed on Butter London they are a nail polish company whose products do not contain any of the following:  formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP (Dibutyl phthalate - a known cause for birth defects). I appreciate a company that avoids things that maybe harmful to my health and yet remain on the cutting edge of the season's hottest color trends.

Normally, I like the way Butter London's polishes apply, but for some reason this particular bottle's formula (maybe I just got unlucky with my bottle?) seemed thick and needed a bit more coaxing to apply, not very "Blagger" like at all. In the end, I still really like the color and look forward to having it adore my fingers well into summer. Blagger retails for $14.00

I always begin my manicures by filing my nails into a nice, short round shape. Following filing, I buff my nails to rough them up a little bit to help the polish adhere better. I then wash my hands, to rid my nails of any oils that my be lingering around. After washing my hands, I apply Butter London's Nail Foundation. I've also used this color as a stand alone and thought it was a pretty natural, nude shade. By the time I finished applying the Base Coat to all my nails, they are dried and ready for the polish. I always apply two coats to achieve optimal coverage. Then I finish off with a fast drying Top Coat -- in this instance, Seche Vite (which I love for the glossiness). Before bed, I use Butter London's Cuticle Oil (which smells like a pina colada in a bottle, yum!) and rub it into my cuticles for some nourishment along with my Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream (reviewed here). Those are the steps I take to give myself a great manicure at home! 

Full on view of the polish

Butter London's Nail Foundation, a great base coat

Seche Vite's Fast Drying Top Coat

Cuticle Oil

The trio I use to achieve a great manicure

 Would you wear Blagger, what are your opinions? I would love to hear them!

Spring!

Springtime flowers from Descanso Gardens

Now that Spring is here, do you find yourself changing your makeup look or routine? Have you stashed away those red nail polishes from Christmas to more fully embrace the brights being ushered in for Spring? Speaking of nail polishes, a fun color I stumbled upon was Butter London's Snog (a bright, in-your-face fushia). I love how happy it is just in the bottle, and it definitely makes a statement while on your fingers or toes.

'Snog'

Being a resident of So. California where it is not uncommon to have 80 degree days in January, I know we are lucky that we don't have to suffer through three long months of gray (I lived in Pennsylvania, been there, done that). With the sunshine, I find we can get away with more color during the winter months.

One switch I make is abandoning my heavier foundation and opting for instead my La Mer The SPF 18 Fluid Tint in light. I apply this over my moisturizer and regular SPF. I like that it provides sheer to light coverage while still giving myself some color. I still use a separate SPF of 30 because I don't think an SPF of 18 is adequate, especially here in sunny CA.

Fluid Tint

I also have been reaching for my Le Metier De Beaute Blushing Bronzed Duet in Romeo and Juliet more and more. I like that this one compact conveniently holds both a bronzer and blush. I rely on the bronzer to fill in any areas that the fluid tint may have missed for a more balanced application. The blush is also a really pretty shade of pink, flattering to my usual pale NW20 skin.

'Romeo & Juliet' Bronzer Duo

Another substitution I make for Spring is the way I control shine, especially in my t-zone. I ditch my powder for blotting papers. During the spring and summer months, I want my skin to shine through, not be buried under layers of foundation, but still control shine. I find blotting papers are an excellent solution for this! I buy my Blot Film from the MAC counter for $13.50.

Blotting Papers

I'm a lipgloss kind of girl. I've never been fond of lipstick and liner so nothing has changed in that arena. I do stash my mauve and taupe glosses from Winter and instead grab bright pinks, corals, and baby pink lipglosses. Doesn't this Chantecaille lipgloss scream Spring?!?

Chantecaille Brillant Gloss in "Love"

How does your beauty routine change with the seasons?