Manicure of the Day: Mint Green & Rose Gold

Today's manicure of the day is a combination of Revlon Minted and Sephora by OPI Traffic Stopper Copper.

3 Coats Minted + 1 Coat Traffic Stopper Copper, Natural Light

Every once in a while I feel like my plain nail polish colors are getting a little boring, and that is when I know I need some glitter in my life. Mint green and rose gold are both huge trends right now, so I decided to combine the two for a fun summery manicure.

Simple Skincare Soothing Facial Toner Review

Today's review is from a UK brand named Simple, which recently began selling their products in the US. I could not wait to try their skincare line, as they claim to be "sensitive skin experts," creating hypoallergenic products without dyes, perfumes, and other irritants. And the best part is, they do all of that at drugstore prices! So as soon as I saw their new soothing facial toner in stores, I had to test it out.

Nail of the Day: Revlon Milky Way

Today's nail of the day is Milky Way from Revlon's new Moon Candy 3D Cosmic Effects Collection.

2 Coats Grey Polish + 2 Coats Glitter Polish, Natural Light

Milky Way is a duo containing a dark grey creme base, and a flakie-like holographic glitter top coat. The grey polish dries darker on the nail than in the bottle, and essentially looks black once applied. I said that the glitter is flakie-like because I don't think it is a true flakie (like Essie Shine of the Times). For one thing, the flakes are much larger (more along the lines of China Glaze Luxe and Lush). But they are also much thicker and stiffer, so it appears that it is just glitter cut irregularly to resemble flakies. However, I am not complaining. I love holographic polishes, I love chunky glitter, and I love flakies. So a combination of the three is a win in my world, regardless of its actual composition. The base is slightly tinted, but is so sheer that it essentially applies clear. As with everything holographic, the holo effect is much stronger in person than it is in pictures.

Nail of the Day: China Glaze Kalahari Kiss

Today's nail of the day is Kalahari Kiss from China Glaze's fall 2012 collection, which is called On Safari.

2 Coats, Natural Light

Kalahari Kiss is a cross between beige and mustard yellow. It is a unique spin on nude, and I don't have anything else like it in my collection. I really like mustard polishes in the fall, but find that it isn't the most flattering color next to my light skin. This toned down version is a great for anyone who feels the same way. I love that China Glaze put this color in the fall collection. I always think it is nice to have some lighter options in the colder months, since most of the polishes tend to be dark and vampy.

Review & Swatches: NEW Urban Decay Smoked Palette

It is always an exciting day when Urban Decay releases a new palette! Urban Decay is my absolute favorite eye makeup brand. So when I got an email about the new Smoked Palette, I had to order one immediately. After releasing two Naked Palettes intended to create natural, everyday looks, a darker smoky palette is a perfect addition to their collection.

 

Nail of the Day: Island Girl Aloha Heat

Today's nail of the day is Aloha Heat from Island Girl Cosmetics.

4 Coats, Natural Light

It is a light neon green with very small silver shimmer. The shimmer just comes across as a sheen in most lighting, but is slightly more noticeable in the sun. It is definitely more prominent in the bottle than on the nails. This is a really unique color because most neon greens are much darker, and tend to look border-line Halloween costume-y to me.

Nail of the Day: Essie Bikini So Teeny

Today's nail of the day is Essie's Bikini So Teeny from the Summer 2012 collection

2 Coats, Natural Light

It is a light blue polish with a hint of purple in it. The color is interesting because it is too blue to be a true periwinkle, but too purple to be a sky blue. Similarly, it is too dark to be a pastel and too muted to be neon, but it looks both bright and light on the nails. It also has a very small amount of silver shimmer. It is visible in the bottle in the picture below, but on the nails it is so subtle that it disappears altogether.

Nail of the Day: Claire's Candy Shop

Today's nail of the day is Candy Shop from Claire's Cosmetics.

2-3 Coats, Natural Light

To be honest, I haven't shopped at Claire's for years, and it certainly isn't a place I would think of when looking to buy a new nail polish. But as soon as I heard that Claire's came out with a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Candy Shop, I had to run out and get it. I find it amusing that Claire's not only designed a polish to copy Deborah Lippmann, but even used the same name too. But I am not complaining – at $5, the Claire's version is just over ¼ of the price of Deborah Lippmann's original (which retails for $18). Looking at swatches, the coloring of the two is exactly the same. The only difference is that the large glitter in the Claire's polish seems to be a little bit more dense. But unless you are closely looking at them side-by-side, you probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

Nail of the Day: Essie Fiji

Today's nail of the day is Essie's Fiji.

3-4 Coats, Natural Light

This is a popular color from Essie, which is a brand well known for their huge range of nude and light pink polishes. Fiji is a white-based light pink with a creme finish. Cameras tend to pick up the white in this polish better than the pink, so it is a touch more pink in person. I think it would complement all skin tones, but looks especially great and really stands out next to a tan. This is the same effect that a white polish would have, but the touch of pink makes it less harsh and more feminine in my opinion.

Review & Swatches: Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain in Rendezvous

When I saw Revlon's new Just Bitten Balm Stains in the drugstore, I immediately bought one to test it out. I was very intrigued by the combination of a stain and a balm, since traditional lip stains are much to drying for my already dry lips. This new product also excited my greatly because they seem very similar to the Tarte LipSurgence Natural Lip Stains. I have never gotten around to trying the Tarte product since it is quite pricey at $24. Now I am happy that I didn't spend that much money, since Revlon's version retails for only $8!

Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain in Rendezvous

Nail of the Day: Revlon Zealous

Today's nail of the day is Revlon's Zealous.

4 Coats, Natural Light

This is a relatively new shade from Revlon, that appears to be an addition to their permanent collection. Zealous is a bright chartreuse with subtle gold shimmer. In fact, the shimmer is so subtle that the camera couldn't really pick it up, but you can see it in person if you look closely. For the most part, it just seems to add extra shine and a hint of a golden sheen. The slight shimmer makes it a bit more unique, as other chartreuse polishes that I have seen are cremes.

Nail of the Day: OPI Designer...De Better!

Today's nail of the day is OPI's Designer...De Better! from the Muppets Collection.

2 Coats, Natural Light

It is a taupey-silver metallic foil with orange microshimmer. At first, I was skeptical about the mixture of silver and orange. However, the orange shimmer is so small that it blends right in and creates a gorgeous effect, which makes the polish appear different colors in different lighting. The inclusion of orange also makes this polish different from anything I have ever seen. There are plenty of silver metallic foils on the market, but I'm not aware of any others that contain orange. Plus orange is a major color trend right now so it is a perfect nail polish for this season! The second picture provides a good look at the orange microshimmer, but the first picture above more accurately shows the overall appearance of the polish.