Red and Gold Glitter Gradient

Happy Friday everyone!

I have one final mani to show you from my collaboration with Milani. The trend was Gilded Rebel and this was the look I came up with: a glitter gradient. Definitely one of my favorite nail art techniques!

I hope to be back tomorrow with an indie review! Have a great weekend!

Flame Nail Art by Dustin

Hello hello!

I have yet another mani that was worn quite a while ago to show you today. This was in collaboration with Milani to come up with nail art based on a few trends using only their polish. The trend this one falls under is Haute Rod. Since my husband, Dustin, is super talented in the art department, I let him take the reins on this one. I love how it all turned out! It's not something that I usually go for but I can definitely appreciate it!

I thought it fitting to post a mani done by my sweet husband today because we are celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary today! My blog and nail polish hobby definitely wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for his support. He's also quite the enabler....he just got me 4 Butter Londons and the OPI Mariah Carey minis as part of my anniversary gift! :)

Have a good one!

Purple Glitter Gradient

Hey everyone!

I am finally getting around to posting today after a day filled with spending time with my family. The rest of my week will be the same, so I'm gonna try and balance everything the best I can! :)

This is another mani I did in collaboration with Milani with exclusively Milani polishes. I love a good glitter gradient!

Do you like glitter gradients?

Cloud Mani Inspired by My Heels!

Hello and TGIF!

I know I have been doing tons of swatches and not so much nail art lately, so I am changing that with today's post! 

I recently collaborated with Milani (as did other bloggers) a few months ago to come up with some nail art looks inspired by current trends using their polish. Stamping wasn't allowed...so that was a challenge for me since I love stamping! 

So the one of the trends was colorblocking. I got these cute heels a while back for $10 (how can you pass that up?!) and thought this would be super fun to translate into nail art.

And here is what I came up with! A Nailside inspired cloud mani using only colors from Milani. I loved how it turned out and these polish colors match my shoes perfectly. :)

Have you gotten into the colorblocking trend? It's such a fun way to play with color and go outside of your comfort zone a bit.


*Polish was sent for collaborative purposes. 

Jindie Nails Winter Chic Collection Swatches and Review!

Hey lovely readers!

I think it's safe to say the holiday season is in full swing. I've got a few loose ends to wrap up with my gift shopping and I am just gonna sit back, relax, and have fun with my family after that!

I've got another amazing collection from Jindie Nails to share with you guys today! This one is called Winter Chic and let me tell you - you guys are in for a treat! Let's check it out!

Burrberry is fabulous! I layered 2 easy coats over Milani White on the Spot (which is a fantastic white creme by the way!).

Next, is Strawberry Cupcake. A girly girl's dream! I layered 2 coats over OPI Pink Friday. Also, check out the super  pretty blue shimmer in this!

Dream in Color is super fun. I layered a coat over Sinful Colors Black on Black. It applies a little patchy so it takes some skill to achieve an even coat. This can also be full coverage in 3 coats.

 Yule Love This has dots! And yes, I do love this. ;) Remember when it was a big deal for a polish to have squares in it? I think dots are the new squares. The subtle difference from hex glitters makes an impact for sure. I layered 2 coats over Milani White on the Spot.

This is Honey Blue Blue. This is one coat over Orly Frisky.  I think this would be so cute with some snowflake nail art!

Here is Barbies Have More Fun. I used Milani White on the Spot again with 2 coats of BHMF.  Very cute!

 And finally, we have Battle Royale. This is one coat over China Glaze Ride the Wave. The formula was awesome for this...one coat and all the glitter dispersed evenly!

And for a quick recap:

So there you have it! Which ones are you eyeing? Or maybe you already have some of these?

Jindie Nail's shop is currently on vacation to catch up on orders, so be sure to follow her on Facebook to know when she is planning to open back up!

*Product sent for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Milani Crystal Eyez Sparkling Eyeshadow Review

Ok. So I really wanted to like this product. It looks amazing in the tube and who can say no to holo glitter? I think I was expecting something more along the lines of a cream eyeshadow, but this is a gel based formula. If this product were to be remade into a cream with more pigment, I think this would be a winner!

I am talking about Milani's Crystal Eyez Sparkling Eyeshadow in Lovely and Luminous. In the tube it looks like a charcoal gray, but when swatched it is actually very sheer and gritty. I felt like a 10 year old with my first makeup kit using this product. I will say though, this product would be great for the use of costume makeup.

Here's the packaging, which I think is lovely. Definitely sucks you in.

In my quest to salvage my first impression of this product, I layered Lovely and Luminous over a bunch of my eyeshadows to see if I could find a winning combo.

From L to R before and after- All ELF Mineral Eyeshadow- Outdoorsy, Beachy, Royal, Socialite, Flirty, and Angelic

Before and After with shadows from Wet n Wild's Spoiled Brat and Enter a New Realm Palettes.

Before and after with shadows from Wet N Wild Earth Looks Small from Down Here, and Blue Had Me at Hello palettes.

I was surprised to see that even though this gel has a gray tint to it, it really didn't change any if the shadow shades at all. It just added glitter. I settled on using ELF Socialite since this one is closest to the Milani gel color. I used a tiny dot and dabbed it on top of the shadow. I had to keep my eye closed for a few seconds to let it dry. For me, the effect was still underwhelming and juvenile.

L-R: Before and After

Overall, I would only recommend this product if you want to add some extra glitter to your makeup look, which in my opinion isn't very functional for most people. I don't think this adds the "sparkling finish" the packaging promises though. Maybe my expectations were too high?

What do you think ladies? Have any of you used this and had different results than me? Please let me know if you have!! <3

*This product was sent to me for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso Review

Good morning! For today's post I reviewed one of Milani's baked blushes. The shade is Luminoso. Since last summer, I have converted to using only cream/mousse type blushes. I love the flawless look that comes from that formula. So I was nervous of what my opinion of a non cream blush would be.

For reference, this is how this blush comes packaged. I like it and didn't think it was too cheap looking or anything like that. The actual blush pan lifts up and underneath there is a mirror and little brush there.  

Now onto swatches! This is a peachy blush which was a bit out of my comfort zone...I always gravitate towards pink/bronze shades. But I really think this shade can be universally flattering on any skin tone...I would love to see what this looks like on you ladies with darker skin. When I first swatched this on my hand, I noticed more shimmer/glitter than what I am used to. But when actually using it on my face it wasn't too much at all! I quickly fell in love with this shade!

Here are swatches...all the same shade but I feel like the multiple pics help capture what this blush is all about best. See how natural this looks? It really compliments the skin instead of taking over.

 And finally, here is the look I put together with this blush. I love the glowy look that this blush creates without it just looking like I have on a bronzer.

This blush retails for $7.99 on Milani's website. Have you ladies tried any of Milani's Baked Blushes? Thanks for reading!! <3

Become a fan of Milani

http://www.facebook.com/milani

Twitter: @milanicosmetics

*This product was sent to me for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Milani Lip Flash Pencil Review

Hey hey! My husband and I are babysitting today and got locked out while the kids were riding bikes outside. I was freaking out until my amazing husband climbed up the balcony on the house and happened to find a spare key! Crisis averted!! 

I have another makeup item to show you today. It's the Milani Lip Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Gloss Pencil. The shade is Photo Flash. When I first saw this it really intrigued me that a gloss could come in pencil form and actually work decently. Although it's not totally a gloss, it definitely has some moisture to it.

My overall opinion of this product is I LOVE it! Even though the color is brighter than what I tend to gravitate toward, it was super wearable and I didn't feel silly or self conscious when I had it on. It has a clean application, and I like the consistency because it's thinner than lipstick, but more rich than a gloss. I  definitely want to try out the other shades! 

Here is a swatch of Photo Flash. The only thing I haven't been able to form an opinion on is that fact that this pencil sharpens and isn't retractable. In my past experience, softer pencils like this tend to use lots more product up during the sharpening process. 

This color had great staying power and lasted a good portion of the day for me. 

For more drama, add a clear gloss on top!

Finally, these seem to be almost identical to Urban Decay's Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color pencils at a fraction of the price! The Milani Pencils come in 8 different shade and retail for $6.99 on Milani's website. Have any of you seen these in stores?

Become a fan of Milani

http://www.facebook.com/milani

Twitter: @milanicosmetics

*This product was sent to me for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

LA Splash Golden Seahorse

Hey ladies! I have this post scheduled for today because I will be traveling to New Orleans. This is my first time scheduling so fingers crossed it works! ;)

So this mani reminded my sister of Jasmine from Alladin. You will have to let me know if you agree! :) Definitely one of my favorite Disney movies! 

(photo credit)

This is LA Splash Golden Seahorse as the base. I posted this a while ago when I thought I was good at taking pics of nails. haha Next Dustin stippled on Orly Luxe as a gradient at the tips, and then layered Milani Jewel FX on top of that. The ring finger is Orly Luxe with the Milani layered on top.

I wanted to show the Milani Jewel FX up close because it really is a unique polish. This is 3 coats with Orly Luxe underneath to cover any bald spots. The Jewel FX really lives up to it's name! My nail looks like a molten metal. The flash on my camera makes the individual glitter flecks show up more than they do in person...and surprisingly with a topcoat this smoothes out to the point where I would never guess I had a glitter on.

So there you have it! I hope you like this look and thank you for reading! <3

Milani 3D Holo Gradient

Hey everyone! How are you all today? I have been running around shopping and enjoying NOT being at home! haha

I found the Milani Hi-Tech at CVS the other day and I happened to have my other Milani 3Ds with me on my trip so I had Dustin create this "snowcone" mani.

This is Milani Digital, Cyberspace, and Hi-Tech. I love these even if they aren't totally linear. I'm sure you guys know by now I am a sucker for anything sparkly!

This is in more direct sunlight:

What do you guys think? I want to try this with other holos! <3