I'm going to happily dedicate my next two manis to swatching my Tryst Lacquers Date Night Collection I bought as a birthday present for myself a couple weeks back and haven't gotten around to photographing. Kimberly Maranan, the brand's lovely owner, is a jelly polish genius who deserves an indie Emmy!!! I'm just now building up enough indie polishes to qualify as an extremely modest collection. I'll admit that I'm not exactly a franken-polish connoisseur; clear bases and glitter bombs (though beautiful) just aren't my style, but since I received a hefty amount of money for my past 18th birthday, I decided I would delve into the indie polish world while my wallet was open and willing for a risk here or there. Kimberly's polish style is everything I think an indie polish should be. Its unique, interestingly eye-catching, gorgeous, practical, and made up of all the glittery goodness that you just can't get with mainstream polishes. But what really sold me, was her pigment-based cremes and jellies.
"Meet Me At Midnight" swatched above pretty much speaks for the collection, and Kimberly's brand as a whole, for itself. It's jam-packed with large copper hex glitters, small blue hexes, and the cherry on top; the abundance of micro white hexes that totally makes the polish and fit's its name sake perfectly. And seriously, that gorgeous navy blue jelly?! I'm in love.
This only took three coats on it's own for opaque squishy jelly amazing-ness. One easy coat of Seche Vite smooths all the glitters out to a glassy to-die-for finish! You can buy this beauty and others in both full sized and cute little mini try-out sizes at Kimberly's etsy shop here.
Now that's a title that has got me salivating! A week or two ago, I pleaded with the wonderful owner of Laquerlicious, an upcoming indie polish brand, to grace me with the honor of swatching some of her newest concoctions. Unbelievably, she obliged! Getting three little gorgeous polish mini's in the mail was a euphoric experience; finally I was like (or on my way to being) those uber popular swatchers on instagram who get to blog beautiful indie nail-potions and rub elbows with some of the best franken-ers in the industry! AND I haven't even gotten to the good part: the polishes!!!!!! Miss Laquerlicious sent me three cute little mini's that each raced to a special notch of my 'OH MY GOD' meter! 'Zebra Kisses', clear-based choc full of matte white and black shards, 'Pink Granite', my absolute favorite that packs heat with tiny pink and black hexes, large black and white square shards, the occasional pink translucent hex, and an army of micro pink dots, and last but certainly not least 'Rainbow Sugar', another shocking favorite of mine that teems with a beautiful pink-tinted jelly base complete with all the colors of the
rainbow in the form of translucent and patterned hex glitters, each different but oh-so wonderful! I'm going to proudly start out with the polish that is certainly the best nam-ed (in my opinion) of the bunch; 'Zebra Kisses'!!! Not only does the name of this black and white topper give you THEEEE cutest image in your head but it is surprisingly chic on top of my neon-green base (which is 'Nikki' by Julep, a beautiful neon with a rubbery finish). I'm in love with the unconventional approach this sharded white and black matte glitter takes on a normal salt-n-pepper sort of topper.
The application for this one is genius. I've owned quite a few black and white toppers in my day, and by far this one is the best application wise. Absolutely no fishing! What you see is what you get! A nice smooth finish with just enough pieces in your first coat to obtain desired effect. This one is definitely worthy of a full-size purchase. It's fresh, new, and versatile, looking totally chic over bright colors
(especially in the winter!) or interestingly classic over dark cremes, making it a no-brainer buy for any polish junkie.
Can you believe I was on the fence about this beauty? I'm not
normally one for colorful toppers, so besides loving the name, I wasn't
sure about 'Rainbow Sugar'. It was my last to swatch, pictured here with
three thin coats over Revlon's 'Pink Lingerie'. I kept telling myself
that it was pretty, just not my style. These dark thoughts were said and
done by morning. In the daytime, I fell into a whirlwind romance with
my colorful tips. I just felt fun while wearing this polish. Its milky
pink base, if im not mistaken, actually has a tiny tiny bit of teal
shimmer which took me by surprise and got me to look at silly and fun rainbow glitter toppers in a whole new light.
With three easy coats, the layered look of green, red, blue, pink and sometimes tiny purple hexes and squares gives the appearance of a really fun watercolor without all the back-breaking nail art work. After boycotting cheesy rainbow toppers for so long... 'Rainbow Sugar' has definitely made me a believer. Oh how I've saved the best for last; 'Pink Granite', another spot-on name that kind of makes you go "OOOOooohhh" when you look at it. My go-to undies for this one was a deep steel gray that's dark enough for granite, but light enough to remain gray and not black. Essie 'Smokin' Hot', an untried smokey gray creme I had sitting around made this mani an unquestionable instant fave. In an easy to work with clear base filled with tiny pink micro glitters, small black and pink hex and squares, large white squares, and the kicker: large translucent pink hex, this polish gives your nails an instant girly-granite make-over.
With one super smooth coat, a perfect helping of glitter is easily distributed. The translucent glitters that overlap each other and other glitters give the illusion of actual glittering layers of granite. This beaut is one for the polish gods. Bravo Miss Laquerlicious. Bravo! These polishes totally did all the work for me just by being beautiful to photograph, fun to wear, and a breeze to apply. I hope ( and how could I not have?!) I've convinced you to take a little trip on over to the Laquerlicious etsy shop to get the real delicious experience. May your wallets be open and your helmers full! ;) Sincerly, Lizzie
I’m definitely not a follower when it comes to makeup
trends. I’m particular about my ultra-simple ultra-natural look and most of the
wacky makeup that trends on Instagram or television doesn’t quiet fit into my
light-blushed, nude lidded world.
The TV has
recently totally been bombarding my program viewing with commercials for
Maybelline’s new tinted lip balm called “Baby Lips”. Honestly upon first
encounter with the add, I hadn’t been impressed. I’ve used a lot of tinted
balms before and they’re normally cake-y with too much metallic shine or taste
gross with hardly no ‘tint’ at all (or a horrid mixture of all the above).
After seeing the colorful tubes so often around cash registers and make-up
kiosks, my inner natural-faced make-up girl dressed in her dare-devil gear and
was bugging me to try them, but I was still on the fence about subjecting
myself to another tinted balm experiment.
It was just yesterday morning when
I was scrolling through Glamor's 18 Brand-New Beauty Products to Try in 2013
that I finally became convinced I needed the lippy that Glamor dubbed as a
“Yummy” must-have; and oh my goodness, am I glad that I caved in!
With an
awesome sale at my favorite drug store, I bought one and grabbed another for
50% off and after trying them both…I think I may have to go back for the rest
of the collection!
But for now, I have ‘Pink Punch’, a
dynamic Barbie pink that would be too overpowering in an opaque lipstick but is
gorgeous in sheer, and ‘Peach Kiss’ which seems to have a little more shimmer
than ‘Pink Punch’ and totally lives up to it’s name: a creamy peachy shine that
for some reason makes me feel like an instant babe!
'Pink Punch' (left) and 'Peach Kiss' (right)
As if gorgeous sheer color and
eye-catching shimmer wasn’t enough, the formula is pretty unbelievable. The
thick sticks make me feel like I’m five again using those huge cherry bomb
chapsticks except with a much more luxurious feel. I would compare their
application to a drink of water for your lips; instantly smoothes and beautifies.
They also live up to their 8 hour lasting claim. I put some on before bed,
because I became instantly addicted to their light fruity smell, and when I
woke up I was still able to smear my lips together with the moisture that was
left over from my first application.
'Pink Punch' (bottom) and 'Peach Kiss' (top
I would totally recommend these fun
and youthful lippies to any girl who is looking for a touch of color that
remains on your lips like a stain but moisturizes like a medicated balm, and
smells DELISH! For me, the elegance of these fun little balms are perfect to
dress up a natural makeup-ed face or in place of a nude lip; totally kissable,
totally cute but still totally sexy!
Maybelline, I am impressed. You
deserve a standing ovation for this one. Really, Bravo!
With renewed ambition after some
serious online window shopping I rushed to my favorite makeup supplier (which
means the nearest Walgreen’s) first thing in the morning with eyes only for
shadow. I went a wee bit crazy and ended up spending about $32 in product I
wasn’t even sure was going to work.
Keeping my
pale skin in mind rather than my eye color (I’d really rather not wear green
and violet eye shadow everyday), I picked up some nude, brown, and pink pallets
in various shades that were sold in either a trio or duo. One of the palettes
even had a convenient little diagram on the back for shadow noobs like me. I
also opted for a $5 primer which was a much better choice than the $12 dollar
ones that were eyeing me.
I carted my
frivolously-bought pallets home and proudly spread them out around my bathroom sink
like little color pigmented soldiers readying for battle. Armed with remover
pads and blending brushes, I went to work following all the neat little tips I
had acquired through my YouTube tutorial ventures a couple days ago…I even
tried following one of said tutorials while I was applying: I paused, applied,
played, watched, paused again, blended, but it was no use. My poor little
shadow soldiers never had a chance…
In short my
experiment was a complete and utter disaster. The colors either made me look
like I lost blood in my eyelids, or like I got into a fight at a pink-powder
factory. Most of the browns/neutrals that were any darker than my skin tone
made by lids look ruddy. Even after some serious blending and tests of
different light, medium, and dark color combos, I still looked like I got
punched in the face by a dirt devil.
With a
horrid conglomeration of tan, brown and pink shadows more on my face than my
eyelids, I got to thinking. Am I a one shadow girl? I remember getting
compliments on a day-to-day basis when I wore a peachy-shimmer with just
mascara as my daily look. There was nothing wrong with how I looked when I used
only one shadow shade, but settling on such a fate made me nervous. Didn’t you
have to be a multi-shade girl to be officially inducted into the beauty maven
world? Don’t I have to gush over the latest ‘Naked’ palette or Lime Crime trio
to fit into my aspired title as a beauty guru? Was it okay to be happy with a
single paint pot I got for six bucks at Rite Aid?
I finished
the night with clean lids and my normal before-bed skin care routine. I’m still
unsure if I feel confident with my single-shade identity. I don’t know whether
to rue it or embrace its simplicity….but hear this fellow beauty-lovers, a
silly army of shadow will not be my downfall! Nothing can stop a girl with
red-hot glitter in her veins <3!
Today while putting on my
normal-everyday makeup I had a sudden urge to be glamorous. Normally when I
want a little extra flair, I brush on one of my many shimmery shadows, add
liner, mascara, and call it a day. But this simple sparkle fix wasn’t quite
satisfying my inner movie star today. I wasn’t going anywhere extravagant, but looking
at my bare-lidded reflection I decided it was time I got a little more creative
than just one tone shimmery eye color.
Recently I’ve been taking to
telling women around me that it’s important to take those extra steps
through-out the day that make you feel beautiful. This could be as simple as
wearing a new pop-of-color lip gloss…making sure your cuticles are moisturized…
or even just giving yourself five minutes of quiet time in the morning to sip
tea and download (A calm woman is a beautiful one). As I prepared to embark on
my eye-shadow adventure, I reminded myself that it’s okay to take an extra five
minutes or so to make myself feel like my
best me.
With my feel-good mantra chanting
in my head, I did what every girl in beauty distress does…I YouTube’d it! There
were plenty of videos that showed me how to do smoky eyes and shimmery night looks,
but I wasn’t looking for a night-on-the-town look for my afternoon errands
around town. I did eventually happen upon a couple of helpful videos that
illustrated the proper places to put what shade, how to blend, and what brushes
to use, (one of the videos I used to get a general idea below) but even after following step by step… I felt I still
appeared to be a shimmery raccoon-looking mess.
My conclusion after about a
half hour of fooling around with my mediocre selection of shimmer packed
gold-orange and white-pink shadows was this:
-I need to invest in some matte and velvet finish shadow
palettes so I don’t look like a glitter fairy threw up on my entire face.
-I need to learn how to prevent fall-out while applying
so I don’t end up with matching freckles of shadow color.
-Look especially for palettes with neutral colors that
compliment my very fair skin and blue-green eyes. I’m not the kind of girl who
wants to where violent or green shadow everyday.
-It might not be a bad idea to take a look at the
slightly more expensive brush choices to replace my mini drug store set as I
progress.
-Do some research and find a cheap brand of eyelid
primer that I could find at my local drug store.
-Invest in palettes with three to four complementing
shades that have a variety of matte and shimmer finish. (This conclusion was
hard for me because I so desperately wanted to immediately be like the
pro-makeup girlies who design their own trio’s from single pots. I consoled
myself by remembering that even the pros had to start somewhere).
So with optimism and a new
adventure ahead of me, I ended up settling on my normal-every day simple makeup
with bare lids, liner, and mascara. I plan to go drug-store hopping in the very
near future (and maybe a little trip to target as well) to buy a couple of
simple and cheap options to experiment with. Because I’m just starting out, I
will resist the temptation to travel to Sephora and buy ungodly priced brushes
and paint pots. For a beginner who will probably hit pan just by practicing, I
believe sticking with $5 trios and mini brush sets will work just fine. Once I
return from this mission, I will record my findings and buys as well as fresh
questions that I am sure I will have about the mysterious world of eye-shadow….
As a younger teen I never really got bad face acne, the hallmark to puberty. I've been lucky for quiet a few years until just about two years ago I began to notice an extreme oil problem on my forehead, beneath my nostrils, or even on my chin. Us girls (or aesthetically in-tune boys ;p ) hate nothing more than having a shiny forehead! I found myself having to 'powder my nose' more than just once in a couple hours before I'd catch a glimpse of myself in a store window or something and notice that my forehead was reflecting beams of sunlight from its oily shine... I couldn't combat my oily face with just make-up powder. I did some research and decided I'd go out and get myself some of those oil absorbing sheets. I used those stupid little blue papers for the longest time before I got disgusted with them: I knew using them in public probably looked really weird and after they were used the oil that it picks up from your skin turns the sheet clear and greasy like I cooked bacon on my forehead or something. So out the door those gross things went! Using the oil removing tissues really helped me realize how bad the oil problem I had actually was, and like any girl who was in my shoes would do, I took to the internet. At first I searched around for oil-fighting products with good reviews but the results were just too overwhelming and diverse to narrow down what I thought would work for me. Every girl's skin is different, so what helps one girl may not help the next. I was desperate! I started to wash my face with soaps that were drying to my hands in hopes that they would dry my forehead too, but quickly ceased the practice once pimples started to pop up around my hair line. Fail after fail... I had no where to turn and no extra money to spend on a consultation with a dermatologist. Would I just have to except my oily fate?! I was browsing my local drug store's skin products in what I thought was a vain attempt to narrow down the unbelievably large playing field when the skin gods spoke to me and on beams of golden oil-free sunshine, presented me with the two Clean & Clear products I still use religiously today. "Go Forth!", the gods told me, "and spread the word of this glorious product!". And like any good beauty guru, I obeyed their heavenly request.
(Clean & Clear deep action cream cleanser (left) and Clean & Clear essentials deep cleaning astringent (right) )
What first drew me toward the Clean & Clear cream cleanser was not it's pretty packaging. (although the designs pop off the shelf and scream "TRY ME!". Really though, Clean & Clear needs to give their design team a raise! ) I was convinced I needed it when I saw that it claims to fight oil and dirt clogging your pours that you can't even see and that it wasn't some annoying flower-y smelling gel with painful little beads that are meant to pulverize your skin into cleanliness but really just end up stuck in your hair and eyebrows. I was sold. The astringent isn't hard to miss either and I'll admit, looks a little scary in the bottle. An orange like that screams to me "EXTREMELY PAINFUL CHEMICAL PEAL", but I was so desperate I was ready for anything (Beauty is Painful!). I use the cream cleanser in the shower or at the sink with my hair tightly pulled back in a headband. It comes out like a wonderful thick cream that lathers just slightly when you rub it in. Once rubbed in to all my serious problem areas, I enjoyed sitting back for a minute or two and indulging in the minor cooling and tingly sensation (like my pores were going skinny dipping!) before I rinsed thoroughly and very gently patted dry. It's important you pat dry (I found this one out the hard way). Your pores have just been opened up and are very vulnerable, so rubbing harshly with a towel will definitely cause some nasty irritation (please learn from my mistake girls! No joke!). After the cleanser I already can feel a 90% improvement in the feeling of my skin which no longer feels soggy on my face. This next step can be slightly painful if you have open wounds (like scratches or pimples) on your oily problem areas, which you probably do. The astringent is meant to not only deeply clean anything that the cleanser didn't get but help treat and prevent pimples. Get this: Both products do what they claim to do!!!!!!
Toner didn't work for me, even after keeping a daily regimen of applying it for a while. Since I've started using the Clean & Clear astringent and cleanser I have little to absolutely no problem with oil. Eliminating my daily oil problem didn't come as an instantaneous effect but I immediately felt that my skin was more fresh and clean the day I started using it. After repeating this regimen when I went to bed, and applying some extra astringent in the morning before I put on my makeup, it took about 3 weeks to a month to completely guard me of my oily nightmare! Not only is my skin healthier now, my confidence about my skin has multiplied as well! :) Remember: Each girl has different skin and therefore different things that work for them, but if you are as desperate as I was, it doesn't hurt to give this pair a try!!!
I've seen the new "Ruffian" manicure trend going around the nailstagram world quiet a bit lately, especially with all of the beautiful colors combos that our winter and fall season offers. Yesterday I decided, I have had enough of my jealousy! I was ready to tackle the sought after and almost odd design. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't exactly the very very first time I tried my hand at a Ruffian. A couple messy attempts before, I had used the binder enforcers method, where you use the curve of the little circle as a guide for the half-moon sliver against your cuticle; this was a mess and I wasn't even satisfied enough to grace Instagram with my DIY disaster. (Even though this didn't work for me, I'd still recommend newbie artists to try it out! Everyone's experience is different,and who doesn't like getting a little dirty once and a while? ;p Especially when getting dirty means getting covered in gorgeous polish!) So I took the plunge in a last minute decision to free hand it. I was quick to put brush to nail before I chickened out and spared my beautiful red undie Milani "Rapid Cherry". As soon as I shakily finished my first nail, I nearly cried tears of joy.
(Pictured is Jordana "Purple Glam" and Milani "Rapid Cherry" topped with Seche Vite)
How did this happen?! I must have traded hands with some elite nail art bloggerbecause what was before me was not the work of poor little amateur Elizabeth painting with her non-dominant hand. I haven't decided yet if this miracle was pure luck or if I have found an unknown talent, but I'm ecstatic about how these came out. (The nails, not the pictures. I'm in desperate need of a light box. I've been relying on good 'ole nature for light who is obviously going through 'her time of the month' becauseit's been nothing but an overcast rainy mess!)
(Here I am chaneling my inner 'Chalkboardnails' while "Purple Glam" looks more like "Blue/Royal Purple Glam" in a darker light)
I used Milani's "Rapid Cherry" as a gorgeous pop-of-color base. I am absolutely in love with Milani's polishes. I've only owned three or four, but so far my experience with them has been nothing but posies. The polish is opaque in one thin coat, regardless of the color and the shades they offer are fresh and bold. I'm convinced you can't go wrong with a Milani purchase. The rarely seen (at least for me) purple jelly glitter featured on the bottom part of my ruffian is called "Glam Purple". The name isn't too creative but boy were these polishes a find! I picked it (and some others to keep it company ;p ) up at one of my extremely rare trips to Kmart. Jordana, a polish brand I haven't even seen circuiting around nailstagram, is a 99 cent polish with the formula of an $8 lacquer. Though the colors I saw there weren't crazy impressive, I'm pretty sure that I'd love any polish I picked up from this brand, from this amazzzziiinnggg purple to a simple pink, it's divine! (I might even venture online to get some more of this polish jem!)
(Ruffian mani photo taken beneath a natural light lamp inside)
Is it just me or do ruffians sort of look like a botched attempt to jazz up acrylic nails that haven't been filled for a while? I know that doesn't sound too appealing but LOOK AT THIS PAYOUT! I'm in love, and reader, you will surely see more of this oddly appealing design in posts to come! BTW! Feel free to email, comment, or kik me with requests or ideas for future designs or even tutorials! Email: manimaniacnails@aol.com Kik: manimaniac Instagram: @manimaniac Send me some <3!
