Nail Challenge Week 26: Neon Nails

Hi Lovelies! Another week and another challenge! Can you believe we're already halfway through the year?? (and TWO MONTHS from today it will be MY BIRTHDAY!!!! Yaaay!! Mark your calendars;)

Anyway, this week's challenge was Neon Nails. I found this funny because the challenge was written at the end of last year, and did people really know then that Neon was going to be sooo big this year?? I didn't do anything fancy, I just used Color Club Jackie-Oh that I got in my Birchbox a few months ago.

Ta-da! It's a really pretty pink; very bright... lol to the point where I'm almost distracted when I see my nails moving as my fingers tap tap tap against the keyboard;)

So since there's not a whole lot to show you, I wanted to share you some info I'd read about neon polish a month or so ago.

Are you sitting down? This may come as a surprise to you, so I want to let you down easily...

Neon polish is illegal in the United States.

Yep, you read that right. But let me explain a little further because it may not be what you think it is. See, it's not illegal to use/wear neon polish, what is illegal is the production of neon polish. Apparently the neon color is determined by the chemical composition, and the chemical composition needed to make *real* neon has not been approved by the FDA. Companies can put in a request to be able to do it, but it would be very costly, causing most companies to just make very bright colors that look neon-ish but are not completely neon...

Does it make sense?

Bottom line, if you have a "neon" polish and it was manufactured in the US? Probably not *real* neon. It can really only be a *real* neon if it was imported or is a foreign polish.

You can read more about it here or just Google "neon polish illegal in US" and you'll get all the info you could ever want ;)

How do you feel about neon polish? Are you okay if it's not *really* neon??:)

What's in my May Birchbox?

Lovelies! The week is half over! Yaaaay!! I've gotta tell you, there are some weeks I only get thru by planning what I'm going to do on the weekend, hahaha. Sometimes even if there are no plans, it still helps to think about Saturday to get thru the week! lol. How do you get through long/hard weeks??

Anyway! Today is another box to show you! My Birchbox!!! I feel like Birchbox can read my mind or something and somehow knew that I was thinking about cancelling so they send me a package with products that I actually enjoyed! To me, Birchbox has been really hit or miss. I'd get a box that I liked and was like, "ok, cool, well done!" then I'd get a box and be like, "what is this?? what in my profile made you think I'd want this??"

Well, this month their theme was "Gossip Girl" which, I've honestly never watched, but I feel like it's a show I would like. So maybe I'll check it out sometime (is it on Netflix?). And when I opened my kit, I pretty much liked *everything*

Without further ado, let's get right to it and see what I received!:)

Arquiste L'Etrog

This transporting scent will take you to an exotic Mediterranean cabin built out of palm leaves and foraged branches. Beneath these opening woodsy notes hovers a bright base of Etrog citron, which is native to Calabria, plus lush date and fragrant myrtle. The overall composition is warm and citrusy without veering into overly sweet territory.

Okay, I actually really didn't like how this smells. But it will not go to waste! I gave it to my mom for mother's day:) lol She'll enjoy it!

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25+

A moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum all-in-one, this tinted balm even helps hide imperfections—so there’s no need for foundation or cover-up. Think of it as the Swiss Army Knife of your beauty cabinet.

A combination of glacier water, deep ocean water, hyaluronic acid, and aloe vera deeply hydrate skin to ensure you that you look dewy, never dry. Sebum-regulating ingredients keep your complexion from becoming greasy, while portulaca oleracea extract protects skin from environmental damage. The cherry on top of this multi-tasking product is broad-spectrum SPF 25+, which blocks harmful UVA and UVB rays from reaching your skin.

I'm super excited about trying this!! This is definitely the kind of product I'd pick up on my own; though I've never heard of Dr. Jart+ so I'm glad that Birchbox introduced me to it:)

Color Club® Foil Collection

Give your nails an unexpected look with Color Club’s edgy foil shades. A favorite of top beauty bloggers (not to mention everyone in our office), these polishes have a super-reflective metallic finish that’s truly mesmerizing. We’re warning you now: you won’t be able to stop staring at your nails.
 
Disco Nap is a metallic gold with a silvery finish, while Foil Me Once is an icy pink with faint mauve undertones. And you’ll be happy to hear that all of Color Club’s nail polishes are free of harmful ingredients like formaldehyde and parabens.

This is such a fun color!! I don't have any metallic polishes and this is just really pretty and soft. Plus, when it comes to football season, I bet I can use it for some good Steelers black and gold manis;) (to all my international friends, that is American football;)[p.s. I just realized this wasn't in my box when I took the picture! oops! I really did get it!]

beautyblender® blendercleanser

We’re all guilty of being a bit sporadic when it comes to washing our makeup sponges and brushes. But since we found this lavender-scented cleanser, we’re fully committed. Originally designed to be used with the bestselling beautyblender®, it’s also great for any other tool that comes into contact with our skin. The earth-friendly formula gets rid of the bacteria, dirt, and oil that can accumulate over time. Plus, the gentle low-suds formula doesn’t contain any artificial dyes or irritating ingredients.
 
Use this soy-based cleanser to clean your tools regularly and keep them in pristine condition. It’s also a way of doing your skin a favor. Soy has natural moisturizing properties and dissolves any dirt and debris trapped in your brushes and sponges.

I'm not gonna lie, I don't clean my makeup brushes nearly enough or as much as I'm supposed to (or really at all, it seems at times...) I know it's such a simple thing that can really keep my face safer and cleaner... No excuses! Especially not since Birchbox sent me this! I used it on Sunday to clean my brushes--all of them--and it's like I have a brand new set!! Yay!! I'm going to keep doing it every week now--just like I'm supposed to:) Thanks, Birchbox!

A greeting card was also stuck in my box. It's a really cute red card that says "xoxo" on the front and came with a pink envelope! Someone will get a special message from me!:)

But my absolute favorite thing in the box?? It's actually the cheapest, littlest thing ever haha. It's a

Twistband Skinny Headband

We never seem to have a headband when we need one, like those times we’re trying to salvage a bad hair day or running on a treadmill with sweaty bangs. Happily, these hip elastic bands are remedying the situation for good. Perhaps the most versatile hair accessory ever, they look equally awesome paired with your workout gear or a sweet sundress. This six-pack comes with a variety of fun colors—from orange to turquoise—to match every mood and outfit.
 
Skinny and stylish, each band is made of super-soft elastic that won’t leave a crease behind or induce a dreaded headband headache. They’re especially great for those growing out their bangs.

I LOVE THIS!!! Mine is bright yellow, but these things are seriously the best!!! It doesn't hurt my head, doesn't slide, it's just amazing! I would definitely buy more! When I opened my Birchbox, I put this in my hair right away--tag still on 'cause I hadn't even taken pictures yet lol--but it is simply fabulous!! If you haven't tried one of these, you totally need to!:)

A final thought on Birchbox for today: I thought since it was a special Gossip Girl box, everyone was going to get the same box (I have no basis for this opinion, just thought it) SO! When I saw Arielle's box, Daanielle's box, and Lizzy's box I was both surprised (and impressed) that no one got the same exact thing! And out of all of them, I think I really like mine best! At least this time, haha, usually I see other people's boxes and get jealous that they got something "better" than I did. But Birchbox definitely got it right this time;) Another month I won't be cancelling... but I'm still not totally sold on Birchbox, so I'll keep you posted!

What was in your Birchbox this month?? Do you watch "Gossip Girl"? What do you think about it??:)

Nail Challenge Week 15: Easter Day Mani

Happy Easter, Lovelies! I hope you all are having a fabulous day celebrating with friends and family! This week's nail challenge is Easter Day. Obviously the first thing that comes to mind with Easter is bunnies and eggs; flowers and crosses; and pretty pastel colors!

Instead of using all pastels (I know a lot of girls used yellow and minty green), I stuck with just pink, purple, and blue. I wanted to keep it simple; so I did it in the same order on both hands... purple, pink blue, purple, pink, blue, etc.

 I used Essie "fiji," Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Lacy Lilac" (my favorite polish!), and Color Club "Hydrangea Kiss."

I was going to leave my nails just like that. I liked the simplicity of it. But it seemed too boring to blog about, so I added a little nail art using both my Sally Hansen Art Pens and my Migi Nail Art Pens.

I started by using the Sally Hansen pens just to do some little zigzag marks and dots on my nails--kinda like decorating Easter eggs. Then I decided to do a little something more on each middle finger as an accent nail and put tiny flowers using the Migi pens.

This is how it turned out:

I think they turned out pretty well; and in the end I almost wished I'd done flowers on all of them! But, I'm sure I'll get around to that in another nail challenge;)

What do you think? How did you do your nails for Easter? Have you tried the Sally Hansen and the Migi Nail Art pens? Do you have a favorite? :)

Nail Challenge Week 13: Ruffian Nails

Hi Lovelies! Yes, I am still a week behind, but tomorrow you will see that I am caught up;) For now, I want to show you my Ruffian Nails!

Now, I had *no* idea what "Ruffian Nails" were. "Ruffian" to me sounded like some kind of street urchin in Oliver Twist or something lol. So, I Googled. And I found out: "This manicure is created by Creative Nail Design (CND) especially for the NYFW Ruffian Fashion show. Since then everybody has been calling this manicure the Ruffian, or Ruffian inspired, manicure." To me, it just looks like an upside-down French manicure (if done correctly.)

Mine, however, is not nearly as nice as what it could be. But alas, the whole point of the Nail Challenge is just to try new things! Doesn't mean you'll master it the first time you try!

Here are the polishes I used:

After essie all in one base coat, I applied one coat of Color Club Jackie Oh! (from my March Birchbox!:) This polish goes on so smoothly and perfectly that one coat is all you need! And it is simply stunning!!

After that, one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black out:

And Hard Candy's Matte Top Coat, so the finished product looks like this!

I love how the matte makes it look! I think these colors together really compliment each other! Clearly I'm not a Ruffian expert (yet), but I really do like the effect; so I may try it again and do some other polishes and techniques as well!

Have you tried this mani? What do you think of it? Do you do it free hand or do you use french tips stickers?

What's in my March Birch Box?

Hi Lovelies! I know last month I expressed much disinterest in Birchbox. It was only my first month, and I was about ready to cancel on the spot! However, I stuck it out another month and it was well worth it!

I still don't have *as* good of things to say about Birchbox as I do about Beauty Army. I still think overall Beauty Army has more quality products; much better customer service; and it's super cool you can choose your own samples! But Birchbox is still fun because they send more affordable, easier to buy products that I might actually purchase in every day life.

Birchbox had announced that in March it would have a Teen Vogue box in addition to it's regular monthly box, and you could choose which one you wanted. Okay, clearly I am no longer a teen, but I was so disappointed in last month's box, I requested a Teen Vogue one anyway just to see what it contained!

I, however, did not receive the Teen Vogue box... Not sure why, but that is okay!

Now, my one (and only) complaint with Beauty Army is that it takes soooo freaking long to get here! (not their fault, they ship from Cali and I'm in Florida; I understand that's a long distance lol) But Birchbox is only coming from New York, and it traveled pretty fast last month. When I got the shipping notification it said it would be at my house approximately on March 13th... On March 15th, I received my box. *sigh* I'm giving up expecting things and even looking at the tracking info; I'll just be surprised! hahaha

So here's what they sent me:

I won't go thru every item, 'cause I'm probably one of the last people to post about my box this month, but I do what to point out a few of the things I was really excited about!

The polish! It's Color Club Jackie Oh! and it is simply stunning!! I love, love, love pink! This hot pink I might not purchase on my own 'cause it's just sooo bright, but I will definitely be using it! I'm sooo excited to get it on my nails! Also, while it's a mini, it's the absolute perfect size polish!!

The Miss Jessies's Quick Curls! I have naturally wavy hair and especially in the hot summer months I really don't want to be blow drying--so anything that I can use to watch, scrunch, and go is good for me!:) It promises "no fuss" and "frizz free" and even claims "curly, wavy, & relaxed textures including white gals too!" So this is encouraging:)

I will be continuing with Birchbox to see what other fun surprises I get!:) What did you get in your Birchbox??

Color Club Hydrangea Kiss Swatch

Hello, Lovelies! So the title promises a nail polish swatch (which, I promise I will get to:) I got this nail polish from a giveaway on a lesser known blog, so I first want to start this post with sharing her blog with you!

Thoughts of a Midwestern Girlie Girl was one of the first blogs I followed when I started out on my own blog journey several months ago. I'm honestly not even sure how I found it, but when I read D's profile description, it sounded just like me and I instantly wanted to be her friend! She posts a lot of different nail polishes and nail designs with some other fun stuff and recently joined Bloglovin (which, you know, I am a huuuuuge fan of!) I love the simple layout of her blog, and she is just a fun person--well, for as much as I can tell by talking to her on Twitter:)

Anyway, she had a giveaway last month, and I won!! (February was sooo good to me! I won like three giveaways in a row! lol) I got a polish from Color Club! This is my first ever Color Club polish and I was super excited to get it in the mail.

The shade is Hydrangea Kiss and it's a beautiful, soft light blue--perfect for the Spring trend of pastels. I've loved blue polishes since I was 13 and wanted to wear a dark blue Wet 'n Wild polish every day of my life, lol. But I've had a hard time picking the right soft blue polish. Until I received this, Orly Snowcone was probably the closest I'd come to getting the perfect blue.

This color is simply wonderful though:

with flash

no flash

Needless to say, I will definitely be using this color in the near future! ---well, if I can fit a mani in among all my other Nail Challenges!!:)

What do you think of this shade? What is your favorite blue polish? Have you checked out Midwestern Girlie Girl yet??? :)