September 11th

Photo credit: http://destrekor.deviantart.com/

I never know what to say on days like these, but I do like to make it known that I haven't forgotten. 

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Sephora by OPI | Traffic-Stopper Copper & Finger Paints | Paper Mache

I have some sparkles to show you!

The glitter I am sharing today is a glitter that caught my eye quite some time ago. I can't even remember... maybe 6 months or so? Anyway, I passed it up because I didn't want to spend $9 on a glitter, much less a glitter that makes me fish it out of the bottle. HOWEVER, I couldn't stop thinking about it. If you're not a HUGE fan of nail polish like I am, that will sound nuts, but I'm serious. So I finally purchased the glitter... and I don't regret it. Thank you very much. 

Finger Paints - Paper Mache

The first photograph is of the base color that I decided to use. I swatched this glitter on about 9 different colors to see which one would show it off the best and I ultimately decided to go with a clean, crisp white. The photo above is 2 coats of Finger Paints Paper Mache on top of 1 coat of base coat. No top coat. Application of this color is pretty easy, however, it seems to dry very slowly. I ALMOST decided to just stop at this step because the plain white nails were quite pretty. If you keep reading, you'll notice that I couldn't resist the sparkles.

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

What you see above, as well as all of the photos that follow, is an attempt to show how pretty this glitter is. Of course the name Traffic-Stopper Copper indicates that the glitter is a copper color, but it also looks like a rose gold shade to me. As you all have likely noticed, rose gold jewelry has become quite popular recently, and I LOVE it. I may as well have some nails to match my jewelry, right? Yes.  

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

As I mentioned at the very beginning of the post, you have to fish this glitter out of the bottle. It is not very densely packed, so it is a bit of a pain to get on the nail. However, once you get the hang of it, you can get a decent amount of sparkles to cooperate. In all of the photos, there are two coats of the glitter and one coat of fast-dry top coat. 

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

You'll see better in the macro shots above and below that there are two different sizes of glitter: larger hexagonal glitters and smaller micro glitters.

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

Sephora by OPI -- Traffic-Stopper Copper

I took photos at several different angles with various amounts of lighting to show you the color of the sparkles. What do you think? I quite like this glitter. :)

Later Gators

--Dixie

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Orly - Androgynie and China Glaze - Rare & Radiant

I shall rename this polish "Awesomesauce"

I went to Sally Beauty Supply to look for one thing and ended up finding about 5 other things instead. I'm so glad I did. This polish is one of my new favorites.

Click to admire more closely!

The black polish is Orly Androgynie. Although it is spelled differently, the term "androgyny" or "androgynous" basically means that something is partly male and partly female in appearance. In that case, I think the name of this polish applies quite well. 

It is a black jelly base (the manly part) filled with multi-colored and iridescent glitters (the girly part). I only needed two coats to make it opaque, and I love how the glitters from the first coat show through the jelly of the second coat. It is kinda like a jelly sammich, except not. The formula was super easy to work with, too! As usual, I am wearing a base coat and a top coat in the photos. 

For my accent nail, I used China Glaze Rare & Radiant from the Fall 2012 New Bohemian Collection. It is a lovely duochrome that shifts between green and gold. The color shift is much easier to see in the bottle at the bottom of this post, it is very difficult to photograph on the nail. :-/

Macro shot

In this photograph, you can see the colors better on the accent nail and the bottle. Lovely, yes? :)

Well, that's all for today. See ya next time...

--Dixie

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July Birchbox

In July, I received a Birchbox that I was quite happy with. I hope you'll keep reading so you can see why I liked this box so much. :)

"GLAMOUR" themed Birchbox

Ada Cosmetics - Peach Bronzer (Full size $12.45)

Prior to receiving this peach bronzer, I had never heard of the Ada Cosmetics brand. Initially, because of the cheap plastic packaging, I wasn't really interested in using this product. Also, since I have fair skin I tend to shy away from bronzers. It always seems to make me look orange and like I am wearing too much makeup. 

I can't remember why I decided to eventually try this, but I did, and I LOVE it! Since it is a peach shade, it works really well with fair skin tones. It adds a nice little shimmer, but it's not too heavy. It helped to give my face a little extra color that was very subtle. I also used it to highlight below my brow bone and at the inner corner of my eye. This bronzer is very versatile!

I feel bad for judging this product by its packaging. The price isn't too bad, so if I ever run out, I may just purchase this one. :)

Alterna - Bamboo UV+ Color Protection Fade-Proof Fluide (Full size $24)

Here again we have a moisturizing product for the hair. This one is different in that it claims to be a finishing gloss that prevents UV rays from fading hair color. I really love the smell. It isn't too overwhelming, but you notice it throughout the day, and I like that about hair products. It seems to help control the frizz quite a bit and it makes my hair feel extra soft. As for the claim about preventing fading... I cannot necessarily say I noticed a difference, but I don't spend all that much time in the sun anyway!

I have seriously considered purchasing this product as well, but I have so many other oils and conditioners that I would like to finish up first. I'll definitely keep it in mind. 

Jouer Lip Enhancer (Full size $14)

Prior to this product, I have tried one other product from Jouer. I liked the product, so when I saw this lip enhancer, I was excited to try it.

This product "gives you the moisturizing punch of a balm with the satiny texture of a gloss". That is how the card in the box describes the product and that is exactly what it does. It has a light pink tint to it and no flavor. I very much like it, and I'd also consider purchasing this product. I have a slight obsession with lip moisturizers. ;)

Stila - "In The Moment" shadow palette (Full size $39)

I recently used this sample on two different days and I got several compliments on my eye makeup both days. I am accustomed to using either Urban Decay or Tarte eyeshadows, and Stila seemed to be a little different in pigmentation (a little lighter) but I still liked the finished product a lot. I actually went to Sephora recently to purchase this eye shadow palette, and ended up getting something different (that I will write about soon), but I regret not getting the Stila palette. I do plan to eventually purchase this product. 

Suki - Nourishing Kit (Full size $50)

Ahhh Suki Suki. (Sorry. You know you were thinking it.) I was NOT impressed with this product. I will be honest... I only tried the "Moisture -Rich Cleansing Lotion" and hated it so much that I couldn't bring myself to try the other samples. The texture was weird and it left a horrible, sticky film on my face after I rinsed and dried. I had to immediately wash my face with my usual cleanser.

Maybe if I was expecting it, I wouldn't have been so caught off guard, but there was no warning. So I panicked! And I don't like things that feel weird on my face. I can't handle it.

LARABAR - Uber (Variety pack of 16 - $27.95)

I'm going to be honest again. I haven't tried this. I eat Luna protein bars all the time and love them, and I imagine this would be similar, but I just haven't tried this yet.

Birchbox Earbuds

I never used these earbuds. Earbuds like these do not fit and will not stay in my ears. I gifted them to someone, and that is all I have to say about these. They were a lovely gesture. :)

There were quite a few products in this box that I loved. It always makes me happy to get my Birchbox every month. It makes me even happier to get one that allows me to discover a lot of new products I love! I hope I don't bore you with these beauty box reviews... I really like to share all the new things that I try.

Feel free to give me feedback about things that you like or don't like about my blog. If you have any recommendations about topics that you would like to see more of, please speak up! I'm very open to suggestions. :)

Until next time...

--Dixie

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OPI & Wet N Wild Jelly Sammich

Hello, lovely people!

I'm quite excited to share this manicure with you all today. It's just perdy. The kind where I can't stop staring at my nails. 

I used two polishes: OPI MonSooner or Later & Wet N Wild Glamorous from Fergie's collection. Thanks to my awesome coworker and friend, Heathen, for the gift of the lovely gold glitter!

Click to enlarge! 

A lot of you have likely heard of a jelly sammich manicure. I suppose you could also say "sandwich", but I prefer the term "sammich" because it is fun to say. Anyway, for those of you who are NOT aware, a jelly sammich simply consists of a jelly nail polish and a glitter. You paint a coat or two of the jelly polish, followed by a coat or two of the glitter, and then one last coat of the jelly polish. Hence the term "sammich" because you've sandwiched glitter in between the jelly polish. 

You must use a jelly-type polish because they are fairly sheer and this allows the glitter to peek through. Each jelly varies on its level of sheerness, and the one I chose was not as sheer as I would have liked, but it still worked well enough.

I tried to take several different shots that might show the glitter a bit better, but unfortunately the photos do not do this justice. It was a lot easier to see the glitter in person.

I REALLY love the shade of MonSooner or Later. It is a shiny orange/red jelly that is fully opaque in two coats. This is the first OPI polish I ever purchased, and I bought it over 6 or 7 years ago. It is such a versatile color and has the typical great formula of OPI polishes. I can't believe I haven't used this polish more, I just forgot how awesome it is. 

All of these photos have a base coat, two coats of MonSooner or Later, two coats of Glamorous, one more coat of MonSooner or Later, and one coat of a fast-drying top coat. Believe it or not, all of that wasn't terribly thick on my nails. And since these polishes dry fairly quickly as it is, there were no major smudging issues. 

This last photo shows the glitter the best, I think. So pretty! And the best part is that the combination possibilities with jelly sammiches are endless. I can't wait to do more. :)

--Dixie

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Butter London - Slapper

OMG! 3 days in a row?! You're not dreaming, I'm just FORCING myself to take a break from my book. If I post this quickly I will still have time to read this evening. Two birds! :D

Today I am sharing a lovely turquoise/green/blue color from Butter London called Slapper. To add a little sparkle, I added some polka dots with Zoya Carly (purple shimmer) and Zuza (bluish-turquoise shimmer). 

Clicky Clicky!

For those of you unfamiliar with the Butter London brand, it is a little more on the pricey side. Most bottles of this polish will run you $14. I've really never heard anything bad about these polishes, so quite some time ago I finally purchased this bottle of Slapper. Unfortunately, I didn't think the formula on this particular color was worth that price tag. After the dots and top coat, it ended up looking fine, but I'm not sure when I'll wear it again. :-/

Click to grow this photo

As you can see in this macro shot, I didn't wait long enough for my polka dots to dry. UGH THE IMPATIENCE! It gets me every time! However, this photo makes it easier to see the details.

Enlarge Me Please!

This is a photo without bright light or flash. Unfortunately, this color is difficult to photograph and this is a bit closer to the true color of the polish. 

Click This Photo!

Seriously, please click to enlarge.

Alrighty then... I think my work here is done. For today. Thank you all SO much for dropping by!

--Dixie

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June GlossyBox

Happy Tuesday!

Today I am writing about my June GlossyBox. I am behind as usual on the beauty box reviews, but there are usually products in each box that I really want to share with you. This box has been one of my least favorite so far, but I still love the surprise of what is in the box each time.

Before you get to the photos of the samples, I want to warn you that most everything is covered in sticky soap and lint. One of the samples leaked and made a huge mess. Luckily it all cleaned up nicely. I contacted GlossyBox's customer support and they rushed me a new sample of the soap that leaked. How nice is that?! :)

First Aid Beauty - Smooth Shave Cream (Full size $16.50)

I was very interested to try this product because I've never really thought of using a shaving cream that was anything other than my usual Gillette gel from Walmart. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I can shave with some of my moisturizing body wash and get less razor burn than I got with this. I wouldn't recommend it because I couldn't even bring myself to finish the bottle. :(

AHAVA - Mineral Botanic Hibiscus & Fig Velvet Cream Wash (Full size $22)

This is the leaky culprit. I also didn't really care for this sample, which is unfortunate because this is the one that they sent me a replacement for. I finished off the first one, but I just haven't gotten around to the second. I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about this, but I just didn't like it.

Wella Professionals - Enriching Moisturizing Treatment (Full size $12)

This product wasn't all that bad. It moisturized quite well and made my hair feel very soft. It also smelled quite nice. This is one thing that beauty boxes LOVE to send. Moisturizer for the hair. Because of that, I've discovered quite a few that I like, but none so far that I just cannot live without. I likely won't purchase this, but only because I know I'll probably get another sample next month and I still haven't finished several of my other samples.

OFRA Cosmetics - Eye Shadow ICE (Full size $14.95)

As you'll see below, I swatched this on my hand. Other than that, I haven't touched this product. It looks cheap, like something you'd purchase at the dollar store, but it is nearly $15?!! Not to mention I'm not a fan of cream eyeshadows. SO.... that's all I have to say about this one.

vBeaute' - Lite Up, Eye Never, & Buying Time (Full sizes $150, $85, & $135)

These are nice little samples of some anti-aging creams. I've used them and like them well enough, but definitely do not see results that will make me shell out the dough they want for each product! I'll use them until they are gone, but that will be the end of my relationship with this brand.

A Perfume Organic - Urban Organic (Full size $65)

Finally, we have the required perfume sample. It smelled horrible. I can't even explain the smell because I took one sniff and just about choked. I took another sniff just to make sure I wan't mistaken, and I wasn't, so I chunked it in the trash. Most of the time, if a perfume sample is not up my alley, I'll think about giving it to someone who might have a different nose for perfumes than I do. However, this one didn't even get a second thought before it found its new home in the garbage.

Well, that's the June GlossyBox. I tried to keep it short and simple. Thanks for reading!

--Dixie

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