Smitten Polish swatches and reviews

OK! Just look at what I've got to show you today! Two great glitter polishes from Smitten Polish. Follow her on Facebook.  Noelie has a beautiful blog too, where you can see her own swatches and keep up with what's new. Purchase at her Etsy shop.

Smitten Polish - The One On the Right, Moonbeam Dreams

 This is Moonbeam Dreams. A lovely "Blue and purple glitter suspended in a purple milky base". How pretty is this? Application was easy, no issues, but I should note..do two thick coats (as you can see on the middle finger) or 3 thin coats. What you see here is 2 coats, but seeing them enlarged I feel I should have done 3 coats.

 The One On the Right - a clear winner for me. "Several sizes of pink and blue glitter suspended in a creamy bright blue base." This went on easily, coverage in 2 non streaky coats. Did I say I love this one? I think it's perfect in fact!

Which is your favorite? I have two other Smitten Polishes which I now can't wait to try. And..in fact, I want them all :D


Have a great night!
~Victoria



*Disclosure* These were sent to me for my honest opinion and review.

July Bloom Ambassador box - hair products

Hello everyone!
A quick break from nail looks, to show you the hair products that I received in the July Bloom.com Ambassador box.

 I'll start with the Sundari Hair Treatment Oil
The info from Bloom.com makes it sound very promising and shows that it has only the finest chemical free ingredients.



"Rejuvenate and protect your hair with this therapeutic treatment oil. Sundari Neem and Coconut Hair Treatment Oil strengthens hair shafts and protects hair from heat styling. Prevents hair loss and is great for sensitive scalps with its anti-inflammatory effect. Soothing and highly moisturizing, this hair treatment is wonderfully fragrant and great for all hair and skin types. Sundari products are formulated primarily with organic ingredients. All are dermatologist tested (never on animals), and use therapeutic grade essential oils."

 I normally wouldn't think of putting any sort of oil in my already oily head. I have the kind of hair that needs to be washed everyday. I followed the instructions and applied the oil throughout my scalp and hair and let it sit for half an hour. It smelled pleasant, mainly of lavender and rose, which I like...but be aware, the smell is not mild! In fact, it gave me a bit of a headache...but I am very sensitive to smells. I needed 3 shampoos to feel like I got the oily feeling out of my hair, and blow dried as usual. I noticed the softness and shine right away. My dry ends feel less dry. As much as I hate feeling oily...I'd use this again :)

Next up are the two T'eez products I received. The first, a styling cream and the other a volumizer. Find them here: Bounce me styling cream   Build me volume spray

Cream: "This carefully crafted formula keeps your hair free from frizz and flyaways. Plus, it really adds volume where you need it most – at the roots. Versatile enough for curly, wavy, or straight styles, this super styler works equally well with short or long locks."
The style cream is probably better suited to other hair types. Mine is very fine and long. I can only use certain products before it starts to weigh my hair down. This one did give some volume without feeling stiff or sticky but didn't help so much with holding or creating a shape.


Spray: "Designed to build incredible volume at the roots and keep your hair looking salon-fresh all day, this lightweight, non-tacky spray is great for all hair types and contains natural plant extracts to keep your hair healthy, beautiful, and in control." 

This worked very well for me. A light non-sticky formula that gave my hair every day body. Add to that a pleasant watermelon like smell! I could see making this a part of my hair routine.

Hope I helped you find something you like/need! ~Victoria  

*Disclosure* These products were sent to me for my honest opinion and review. 

Lattice Nail Art with tutorial-Lazy Days of Summer Dotting tool challenge

I've been working on this post for a few days now. It's the 7th theme for my Lazy Days of Summer Challenge - Dotting tool summer fun. The first idea I had was a complete FAIL. I didn't even take pics, it was that bad :/ So then I was stuck on what to do next, when my hubby comes home with a new tie!!! It was perfect! Dots and all. My last giveaway included a comment for what you would like to see more of. Tutorials was top on that list, therefore this post will be lengthier and include some behind the scenes photos ;) So here you go!! I'm super happy with how this turned out.

 The inspiration! My husband's new tie! 

OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, A England Galahad. These are two of THE most perfect shades ever for nail art. <3

OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. LOVE.

 For this design I started with base coat and 2 coats of MBSW. Then cut sections of striping tape and painstakingly apply and re-apply until they look right and even. I did all the bottom ones going in the same direction first, then a second round of strips on top, perpendicular to the first lines. Make sure the tape is pressed securely onto clean DRY nail! Paint over the whole nail with an opaque polish. Galahad is perfect for this. Then lift each strip carefully, starting with the ones you laid on top first. Then remove the bottom strips.

 I always do one nail at a time, because the tape can get in the way if you tape up all your fingers first. Be super careful, obviously, to not smudge all your hard work while getting the other nails done.

 This image shows after I painted over the strips, and already removed the top layer. 

Mostly done! This is what it looked like before I added the dots! I let this dry a bit then added dots with my dotting tool to each corner and finished with Seche Vite. 

I'm really thrilled with how these look as you can see by the abundance of photos!! I actually narrowed this down from 71 pics. I figured that would be a little over kill :P I somehow managed to do my other hand too, and it came out just as nice! People I came across could not believe these weren't nail stickers!

Here's a list of what's next!!

Check out all the other awesome ladies doing this challenge with me!! -- If I have forgotten to add you, please let me know and I will fix it!!

Alyson @ BEADS. NAILS. FOOD.

Mandy @ Mandy's Polish

Hannah @ Polished Prisms

Sue @ Creative Nail Design by Sue

Katee @ A Girl and Her Polish

Charlotte-Louise @ Charlotte's Nails

Karine @ Karinea0a

Jen @ The Polished Zombie

Jessica @ Jessica's Nail Tales

Ashley @ One Nail to Another 

Pryanka @ Nail Sparks*

Anna @ Polished Cousins

Maribeth @ Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite!

Kayono @ Neues von Kellerkind

Sharra @ The Blahg

Stephanie @ A Little Polish

Jess @ NearlyNaturalNails 

Heidi @ DIY Polish 

Amanda @ Counting Down to Bliss

As always, thanks for reading!! See you next time :D 

~Victoria 

The Polish Bar swatches and reviews

Hi :) Please forgive the following three finger swatches!! I've never done this before and don't mean to make a habit of it but when I was thinking about what pairings to do for these lovely polishes today...I felt very strongly about putting them over the same color! And well, this is what happened :P

Each of these are shown over 2 coats of Ciate Stilleto which is my favorite green, ever! I couldn't help but include some shots of my "underwear" to share with you, also, so you can see that these glitters are in a clear base.

The Polish Bar- Strawberries N' Cream, Citrus Squeeze, Oceanside

Ciate Stiletto

This is showing two coats of Stiletto and two coats of each Polish Bar color. Easy application, I did dab on, it places where the glitter smeared off the nail with the brush stroke. Not a big deal and often happens with glitters.

I really love each of these!! Please follow The Polish Bar on Facebook and to shop, go to her Etsy store. She is currently in vacation mode, but says she will re-open soon :)

Which one is your favorite? Not sure I could pick but if you forced me I'd have to say Oceanside, both for the name and the combination of colors and types of glitter. <3

Thanks for reading!!
~Victoria



*Disclosure* These minis were sent to me for my honest opinion and review.

Aphrodite Lacquers Secret and Tempt swatches and reviews

Hi there!

Two more from Aphrodite Lacquers to show you today.  These are part of "The Romance Novel" collection. "Vibrant jelly polishes, with names straight out of your favorite summer poolside read."
Honestly, after trying these jelly glitter polishes...I just want all of them!! 

This is 2 coats of Tempt,  a blue jelly base, packed full of sky blue micro glitter, and white glitter. Awesomeness!

This is 2 coats of Secret, a hot pink jelly base, packed full of dark pink micro glitter, and white glitter
Easy application, high gloss shine! 

To purchase any of these go to her Etsy store. To keep up to date with Aphrodite Lacquers, go to her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter!
I really love jelly sandwiches and these make it easy :)

 Hope you are having a great day!
~Victoria



*Disclosure* These minis were sent to me for my honest opinion and review.