What's This?! Jack Skellington Nails

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween classic, and I have several friends obsessed with the movie. I admit, I only saw it for the first time last year! But Jack is such a lovable character. Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, lover of Christmas, and he's a little scientist to boot! 

Casually reading The Scientific Method <3

In the spirit of Halloween, I had to do some Jack Skellington inspired nails. Here's the result!

October Ipsy Review and Spooky Kitty Nails!

Another month, another Ipsy delivery! October's Glam Bag theme was "Beauty Candy". The bag itself may have been my favorite part this month. I loved the color and the little squares reminded me of Candy Crush. So cute!

 

Ayres Body Butter in Patagonia

The first product in my bag was Ayres Body Butter in the scent Patagonia. I wasn't wild about the scent; it had notes of rosemary and jasmine, but also contains patchouli, fir, among others. It was just way too earthy smelling for me. However, the formula itself was really great. The lotion was not greasy but made my hands super soft. I would look into this body butter in a different scent for sure. It retails for $28 for a full sized, 6.75oz jar. My sample was worth $4.14.  

Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser

Next up is Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser. The cleanser itself smells like candy, so I understand why it was picked for this month's theme. The formula was also really wonderful! It is designed to be a cleanser that also hydrates, tightens, firms, and provides blemish control. It can also be used as a gentle exfoliator if  left on the skin for 5-10 minutes, and it can be used as a makeup remover with a gentle cotton pad. I have only used it as a cleanser, but it does an excellent job of removing eye makeup. It doesn't make me break out and my skin feels great after I use it. I actually used most of it before I remembered to take a photo of it! Oops. This retails for $32 for 4oz. My sample was worth $4.

Nicole by OPI in "On a Gilt Trip"

Up next is a product I am already quite familiar with: Nicole by OPI nail polish. I wasn't ready to remove my cute halloween nail design (see more below!) so I didn't swatch it on my real nails, but I did paint it on a swatch stick. I received the color "On a Gilt Trip", which turned out to be a very pretty gold color unlike anything I currently have in my collection. The formula was smooth and the coverage was even. This product was full sized, and retails for $7. 

Noyah Lipstick in "Deeply in Mauve"

This lipstick by Noyah is not only beautiful, but has all-natural, kosher ingredients and does not test their products on animals. The color I received was "Deeply in Mauve", which ended up being very complimentary against my skin. The formula is buttery and buildable, so you can keep it work appropriate during the day and layer a bit more on for a night out. The company also has a conscious: for every photo of their product you post online with the hashtag #livedivinely, they donate a lip balm to the homeless through the National Healthcare Coalition for the Homeless Council. This retails $18 for .16oz but my sample was worth $5.62. 

Skone Cosmetics Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner

Finally we have Skone Cosmetic's Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner. I'm not sure if I just got a bum sample or if the product is just like this, but the brush on this was WAY too stiff. It's a shame because the point on it is super fine, which would be great for sharp, clean lines. However, the stiffness of the brush made it borderline impossible to use. I started to draw a cat eye on my eyeshadow look one day and ended up switching to my Jesse's Girl eyeliner halfway through because I just couldn't get good control over the brush. I would definitely not buy this brand again, especially since there are so many more superior brands of liquid liner at all price points. This one was also a full sized product, retailing at $15. 

I always enjoy getting my Ipsy bag in the mail, however, I found this month to be one of the most underwhelming bags to date. I didn't like the smell of the body butter and I likely won't use the eyeliner. The facial cleanser was a great find, but not something I find myself excited to receive. The only real stars this month were the lipstick and the bag itself. This month also had the least bang for my buck: $10 for $35.76 worth of product.

As a final treat this week, I did another halloween themed design on my nails. I recreated thenailtrail's Spooky Kitty nails, and I have been absolutely LOVING these!

Next week will be my last halloween themed manicure, so make sure to stop back to check it out! 

Color of the Month: Opal + Pier 1 Inspired Halloween Mani

Hey all!

When I sat down to do my October manicure, I realized that the birthstone is Opal, and that I have already done an Opal manicure, which you can see HERE. But for those of you who like the historical/geological aspect of COTM, I did discover that Opal is a formation of non-crystalline silica gel that seeps into crevices in the sedimentary strata. It then hardens to make the opals you know from the jewelry store! 

October babies also can claim tourmaline as their birthstone, a gem known for its color-shifting properties. 

Since I didn't have any new ideas for Opal, I decided to just link to my old mani and do a halloween themed manicure this week. My inspiration was a tea towel that we got in at Pier 1. 

I'm hoping to get a couple more halloween manicures done before the holiday. I have a couple cute designs in mind, so keep your eyes peeled!

Zoya Fall 2014: Entice and Ignite Swatches and Review

With fall officially in full swing, I thought it would be a great time to swatch and review Zoya's fall 2014 line of polishes! This was the last polish purchase I made before my no-buy about a month ago. This year Zoya released two collections for the season: one collection of 6 shimmery polishes, and one collection of 6 cremes. I have the entire Ignite line and 4 out of 6 Entice polishes for you today. 

Zoya Fall 2014: Top row - Ignite, Bottom Row - Entice

First, I'll start off with the Ignite line. Most of you know by now that I am a sucker for glitter. If it sparkles and shines, I tend to gravitate toward it more than a basic creme polish. The Ignite collection was no different. Each gorgeous fall hue is loaded with amazing gold shimmer that resulted in some classic color combos as well as some unexpected new favorites! 

L to R: Teigen, India, Autumn 

Zoya "Teigen"

 

Teigen is described as a pink-toned cranberry with copper liquid metal. I'm not crazy about pinks, but the color is rich and is a beautiful jewel tone to have on hand (ha! On hand!)

Zoya "India"

India is described as a deep red with gold metallic liquid shimmer. It is a BEAUTIFUL vampy red, there is just something straight up sexy about this color. I can also see it getting a lot of use in Christmas manis. 

Zoya "Autumn"

Autumn is described as a varnished copper liquid metal, and could it be more appropriately named? This color was the first one I bought of the fall line. It is such a gorgeous color and it reminds me of turning leaves and pumpkin spice everything. 

L to R: Remy, Sansa, Yuna

Zoya "Remy"

Remy is described as a brilliant indigo with copper and gold liquid metallic. I gotta say, the second I put this on my fingers, I actually gasped. This color quite literally took my breath away. It almost has an ILNP style color shift to it, switching subtly from blue to green. And the copper and gold sparkle really sets it apart! 

Zoya "Sansa"

Sansa is described as a deep eggplant with gold metallic sparkle. Any Game of Thrones fans out there? This one is for you! Sansa is such a great name for this polish. Purple and gold are historically representative of royalty. This is another vampy one. I almost wish it were just a hair lighter, because to the casual observer it may not appear purple at first blush. 

Zoya "Yuna"

Yuna is described as a warm grey with copper and gold liquid metal. Another stunner here. I was really surprised at this color combination. I love the copper and gold within the grey. It is truly unique and completely gorgeous. 

And now for the cremes from the Entice line!

L to R: Claire, Ryan, Margo, Genevieve

Zoya "Claire"

Claire is described as a warm, rich burgundy. This color reminds me of a great Pinot noir. It is a beautiful dark Oxblood color, a definite must have for any fan of red!

Zoya "Ryan"

Ryan is described as a classic indigo. I, personally, consider it more of a navy. I think of it as the blue counterpart to Claire; deep and sexy! 

Zoya "Margo"

Margo is described as a modern red plum. I found this color the most "spring-y" of the bunch. I actually thought it would be more fitting for Zoya's transitional line, Naturel Deux. But make no mistake, I loved this color! It was actually my favorite of the cremes. 

Zoya "Genevieve"

Genevieve is described as a cool leather grey. I do not own a lot of grey polishes, and I really liked this one. I can definitely see me matching it up with my grey winter boots and charcoal cardigan :) this color reminded me of a creme version of Yuna. In fact, I wouldn't at all be surprised if this was the base to Yuna before they added the sparkle in. 

Overall, I am loving these fall lines. I am into Ignite more than Entice. Aside from Entice's lack of sparkle, I really just felt as though many of the colors could have been in a Naturel 3 or 4 collection; I was not impressed by the variety of shades. However, the colors in Ignite more than make up for it, and Entice still has some great fall staple cremes. My favorites of the whole lot are Remy, Autumn, Yuna, and Margo. Honorable mention to Claire! 

Have a favorite? Did I convince you to pick any of these up for yourselves? Post it in the comments below!