Revlon - Bare Bones & Essie - Mademoiselle

Hellooooooo!

Today I have a classic manicure for you. I borrowed this idea from one of my favorite nail blogs, LetThemHavePolish.com. It includes Bare Bones from Revlon's Colorstay line, and Essie's Mademoiselle. The only difference is that I used Bare Bones and she used Essie's Brooch the Subject. The colors are VERY similar as far as this manicure is concerned.

Revlon - Bare Bones without flash.

As you can see above, Bare Bones is a tan color. It is very pretty by itself, but I REALLY wanted to see how adding Essie's Mademoiselle would transform it.

Revlon - Bare Bones with flash.

Bare Bones applies just like the rest of the polishes I have used from this line, HOWEVER, it seemed to take quite a while to dry. I'm not sure if that is because of the way I applied it, or if its the formula. I will definitely use this color again, so I'll pay attention as to whether or not it dries as slowly. The photos above are 2 coats.

Topped with Essie - Mademoiselle without flash.

And here it is covered in 2 coats of Essie - Mademoiselle. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Mademoiselle on my nails by itself, but it is a sheer pink jelly. The idea of layering these two polishes was to create a nude color with a little something extra. After adding Mademoiselle, the tan color transformed into more of a pink-ish nude. And doesn't it just look so squishy?! I really love it.

Macro shot of finished product.

Different shot of the finished product without flash.

I got a lot of compliments on this manicure and I definitely plan to do it again. I'd also love to wear Mademoiselle by itself, and when I do, I'll be sure to share it with you.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to make them bigger! :)

Thanks for hanging out!

--Dixie

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Revlon - Bold Sangria & Essie Luxeffects Pure Pearlfection

Happy Tuesday!!

(I'll give you a minute or two while your eyes adjust to my new layout.)

Today I have a manicure I did a while back, but I really wanted to share it because it involves one of my current favorite lines of nail polish... Revlon Colorstay.

As usual, all photos are clickable to enlarge.

Without flash.

It is very difficult to see from this photograph, but Bold Sangria is a deep plum color. At least that is how I would describe it. My husband tells me I'm colorblind. Anyway... moving on. :)

Without flash.

To make things a little less boring, I added a simple accent nail with Pure Pearlfection from Essie's Luxeffects collection. I thought about doing it on all of my nails, but Bold Sangria is so yummy by itself I couldn't bring myself to do it. :D

With flash.

In this photo taken with the flash you can get a better idea of the color of this polish. Wouldn't you say plum-ish?

And similarly to the other polishes from this collection, I would describe this as a creamy jelly. It's super shiny, with a little help from the Seche Vite top coat. It applied like a dream in two coats, and lasted for about 4-5 days before it started to fall apart.

Macro shot of accent nail.

Macro shot.

It was a little difficult for me to get a good macro shot of this color, but I did my best. I hope you enjoy this color as much as I did, although this seems to be a little out of season now.

Thanks for gawking at my nails!

--Dixie

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OKC Thunder Fingernails: China Glaze - Splish Splash & Orange You Hot?

Hello Thunder Fans (and everyone else)!

After posting my last "OKC Thunder Fingernails" manicure, I stumbled upon several other far superior versions of Thunder manicures. I felt a little silly for calling my plain blue fingernails a themed manicure, so I'm back again with some improvements. 

My best rendition of the basketball in the Tunder's logo

I started by applying 2 coats of China Glaze's Orange You Hot? to my thumbnail. After that was dry, I used a smaller brush to paint the blue portion (China Glaze's Splish Splash) you see in the photo above. I then used a fine-tipped nail art brush I purchased from Sally's Beauty Supply to draw the black lines of the basketball and then outlined it in white to mimic the logo as much as I could. It's not perfect, but I think I did pretty good for my first try at free-hand nail art.

Other thumb

The black lines were done with Pure Ice - Black Rage, and the white outline was done in Finger Paints - Paper Mache.

China Glaze Splish Spash & Orange You Hot? from the Summer Neons 2012 Collection

Here's a shot of the rest of my hand. I did an accent nail in orange with three different colors of polka dots using my dotting tool (also purchased from Sally's).

Other accent nail

 The dark color is Essie - Midnight Cami. It is actually a dark blue, but it always looks black. The middle color is Splish Splash. And the last color is Pure Ice - Silver Mercedes.

After letting things dry as long as I could stand it, I topped everything off with Sally Hansen's Inta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat. Tada!

Also: The Thunder won again! :) :)

Thanks for stopping by...

--Dixie

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May Birchbox

For the record, this post is taking place BEFORE I received the June Birchbox. YES!

Gossip Girl themed box

I do not watch Gossip Girl... so I don't know what that means. Ha. :D

The back of the card. I don't know why I've never posted this before?

twistband - Skinny Headband (6 pack - $20)

These are just plain silly. Looks like something I would make at work out of the elastic loop on my mask when I need a hair tie. I mean, I'll use it, but 20 bucks for 6 of them? Meh.

beautyblender - blendercleanser (Full-size $17.95)

This is basically just soap. It is soy-based and claims to remove built-up bacteria and oil. It smells funny, too. I have some brush cleaner that I purchased from Sephora for much cheaper... so I will use this, but I won't repurchase.

Arquiste - L'Etrog perfume (Full-size $165)
Dr. Jart + - Waterfuse BB Cream (Full-size $32)
Color Club - Nail Polish in Disco Nap (Full-size $8)

The photo below will tell you more about the perfume. It smells okay. Definitely not $165 okay though. :-/

Dr. Jart + BB Cream: BB creams seem to be the "thing" right now. And I love them. But I'm kinda ready for everyone to stop doing their own version and move on. This one is not good for my oily skin. As soon as I put it on, my face looks shiny. I don't need that.

And can I just say... if it wasn't for them throwing some nail polish in to this box, the whole box would've been a flop. Color Club - Disco Nap would not have been a purchase I would have made, but when I painted it on my nails, I LOVED it!! Sorry I didn't take pictures of this color. I regret it now, but I will definitely use it again soon.

Notecards (Set of 12 $10)

What?! This is a May Birchbox. MAY. Not FEBRUARY! And a notecard? Bleh.

Okay... There you have it. Caught up on the Birchbox posts until my June box comes in. :)

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April Birchbox

Don't even point out the fact that it is June. Just shut up. ;)

Quickly, now.

tarte - LipSurgence lip tint in Peaceful (Full-size $24)

Swatch of Peaceful on my hand

I feel like I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE tarte makeup!! It is so ironic because just before I got this box in the mail, I had gone on a serious Sephora shopping trip and purchased an identical lip crayon in a different shade.

This one is very sheer and you can hardly tell that there is much color to it at all, but I love it. It's better than just clear lipgloss for sure! I wouldn't have purchased this one since they cost $24 a pop, but it is a nice color to have.

Marula The Leakey Collection - Omega Rich Pure Oil (Full-size $78)

I have used this a few times when the skin under and around my eyes seems extra dry, and it really seems to help. HOWEVER, I have very oily skin as it is, and this is not a product that I would purchase for myself. I am always looking for good skin care products, and I can see how this would be fantastic for someone with dry skin, but it's just not for me.

It claims to be sourced from the rare East African marula fruit, and has sky-high levels of antioxidants that fight premature signs of aging.

Yu-Be - Moisturizing Skin Cream (Full-size $16)

Quoted from the card in the box: "This bestselling Japanese cream has a highly concentrated formula that heals cracked hands, chapped lips, and all other forms of dryness."

It's such a small tube that I put it aside for when I have really dry skin, and since it has been so warm, this has not been tested yet. I'm sure it is lovely.

Wonderstruck Taylor Swift (Full-size $49.50- $59.50)

This scent is hard to explain... Maybe it is kind of sweet and playful? I like it, but I'm not really drawn to it as much as I am to other perfumes.

MicrodermaMitt - Body Mitt (Full-size $28.50)

LOVE this thing! The photo doesn't do a good job displaying the size of this mitt. It is big enough to fit your entire hand inside, plus your wrist. This does a FANTASTIC job of exfoliating. I've used loofa sponges forever because I feel they exfoliate well... but not even close! Now this is not meant to be used with soap. Directions say to use it on wet skin alone. I prefer to bathe first and then exfoliate.

I recently got a sunburn on my shoulders and it started to peel just a bit. I hate being all flakey and peeley, but usually just have to deal with it. This removed ALL of the nasty dead skin and made me feel soft and smooth immediately. No embarrassing flaking skin. It also works really well on your face.

It is made of all-natural silk, which is likely why it is so expensive, but I think it is worth it. :)

Okay, on to the May Birchbox. Right now. And then I'll be caught up.

--Dixie

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Revlon - Indigo Night (aka OKC Thunder Nails!)

Heyyyyyyy there, good lookin'!

Today I have a pretty blue manicure for you all. As you can tell by the photo below, it may or may not have been motivated by the OKC Thunder game tonight. No, I'm not going, but I WILL be rooting for them from my comfy chair at home. :)

Modeling my manicure :)

I realized after I started going through my photos to pick which ones I would put on this post... I've posted about a different Revlon blue nail polish that is similar to this one. Do you remember Revlon - Royal? I mean, how could you forget? Look at it!

The difference between these two polishes is that Royal is much deeper than Indigo Night. Royal is also very much a jelly polish, and Indigo Night is more of a crelly (for those not fluent in nail polish speak, that's a mix between a cream & jelly). 

With flash

Indigo Night applies very much like the other polish I have posted about from this particular Revlon Colorstay line, Revlon - Velvet Rope. It goes on smoothly, doesn't streak, self-corrects, etc, etc. I did a little clean up, but that was mainly because I got a little heavy-handed and smeared the polish too far past my nail tips. Oops.

Without flash

All of these photos have one coat of base coat, two coats of Indigo Night, and one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat (which promises to dry your nail polish to the touch in 30 seconds, and it does as it says).

Macro shot without flash

Thanks for stopping by! And GO THUNDER!

-Dixie

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Finallyweds!

What's up, Buttercup?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently visited Las Vegas, Nevada and came back with a husband. If you are friends with me on Facebook, Twitter, or any of those other fun social networks you have likely already seen my photos. If not, I decided to share several of my favorites below! The ceremony took place in the Valley of Fire Park, which is GORGEOUS at sunset as you can tell. I couldn't have asked for better wedding photos. :)

All photos are clickable, so click away to make them bigger! :)

Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed my photos.

-Dixie

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