Cow Nails

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings | Gifted

Today I'm sharing one of the cutest nail looks I've done in a while, cow nails! I have to admit I have a slight obsession with baby Holsteins, I think they are one of the cutest things ever. When I saw this plate I thought the design in the middle would make an excellent cow print. The plate is from Born Pretty Store, I love their plates, always great quality and work very well.

I am so in love with the result that I got! I painted all my nails with Avon Gel Finish Iceberg and then on my ring fingers I took Duri's Jamberry and painted about half of them. Then I took a dotting tool to make the eyes and the nostrils. For the rest of my nails I used the stamping plate to create the cow print. I also used the very edge of the image and my stamper to apply a few spots to my ring fingers too, so the would look more cow like.

Super cute, right? I can now mark #11 Animal Print off of the #SBBNailChallenge list!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Waterfall Nails

I wanted to do a Thanksgiving themed mani, but didn't want to do turkeys, so I thought I would try out a new technique and do Waterfall Nails! I like the way these came out! I've had a few people tell me that they look like flames and I've had a couple tell me they look like Turkey tails :)

Waterfall nails is a super easy technique to do and is something that I will do again in the future. I'm thinking white nails with Neon 'falls'!

For this look I used Avon's Gel Finish polish in Mudslide for my base and used Sinful Colors Clementine, Revlon Delicious, Mark's Saffron and a Yellow for my 'falls'.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Anyone go out and hit the Black Friday sales today?

Tomorrow I'll be back with a super cute nail look :)

Blue and White Water Marble

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen this nail art sample I was working on. 

Well I got it finished up, but had to leave out the silver, Which was Sally Hansen Celeb City. It did not want to be water marble friendly. I also had to take out Maybelline's Frozen Over, it did not work well either. 

So that left me with Frostbite from China Glaze and Iceberg from Avon's Gel Finish line. These two worked very well for marbling! I absolutely love the way it came out!

If you haven't noticed I'm on a water marble kick LOL

Hope you all have a great day and thanks for stopping by :)

Cosmic Water Marble

Super short post today, I wanted to share with you my favorite mani I've done this month, a water marble! I used 2 of Avon's Cosmic polishes, Eclipse and Super Nova. These are classified as holographic polishes, more on the scattered side than linear. 

These polishes worked so much better than I expected for marbling, I didn't even put down a base color and it still came out opaque and vibrant!

The only issue I did run into was that I should have got fresh water before I started on my second hand. It came out with the colors mixed up a little bit. These seem to spread out really well and do not dry quickly in the water. 

This is going to be my Holographic mani for the #SBBNailChallenge

See, super short post ;) Hope you all have a great day!

Delicious Red

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings | Gifted

I'm not a huge fan of red nails on myself, mostly cause I can't find a true red polish. Here I used Delicious from Revlon Colorstay, the formula is great, dried fast and I only needed 2 coats. However, it is not a true red either, it's more of an orangish red.

Y'all know I can't just leave my polish plain, so I added Top of the Gold, a gold flakie type polish from NYC. It was kinda hard to see so I topped that off with Matte FX from Salon Perfect. 

I liked the way l this came out, but it did not last long at all! I got a few nicks and dings not even an hour after completing this mani. The polish was super soft, so much in fact that I was able to just scrape it off with one of my nails. I don't know which polish caused that issue, gonna have to do some research and see if I can't figure it out. In any case I can now mark Red off the #SBBNailChallenge

Tomorrow I'll be back with a gorgeous water marble!

Chevrons

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings | Gifted

Knocking another number off the #SBBNailChallenge with Chevrons! I purchased some chevron nail vinyls from The Little LacquerBean a few weeks ago, so I thought now would be a good time to try them out. I have never used nail vinyls before, only stripping tape and nail decals. I feel these are pretty much the same concept as stripping tape, but a lot better quality, thicker and more durable. The nail vinyls worked great for me, I was even able to stick them to my nail then re-position them and they still stuck to my nail. I do think I should have waited for my base color to dry a little more before I stuck them on, but for my first try I think I did a pretty good job.

I also have got into this phase, shall we say, that if I am stamping my nails or in this case using the vinyls, I don't want all my nails looking the same so changing up the way I placed the vinyls I was able to create a different look for each nail!

The polishes I used were both from Avon, the white is Iceberg from the Gel Finish line and the silver is Moonbeam from the Cosmic Collection.

Woo Hoo! I have completed 4 of the 54 prompts. Looks like I need to try out the right side LOL

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Half Moons

Marking another mani off the #SBBNailChallenge today with a half moon manicure! This was my first try at this technique. I used Plum Power from Sally Hansen and Saffron from Mark.  I wasn't satisfied with just the half moon design so I decided to add some dots and turned it into a mani that I absolutely love!

Don't forget you can participate in this nail challenge too, just remember to tag your post and instagram photos with #SBBNailChallenge You don't have to work the list in order and you can post as often or as infrequent as you like.

Review: Infiniti Pro by Conair 3Q

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings | Gifted

Infiniti Pro by Conair 3Q claims to do some things that would make any lady's hair routine seem less daunting; 70% faster drying time, 40% less noise***, 75% less frizz and longer dryer life due to brushless motor technology****.

The dryer has a metallic silver plastic body, but don't let the sound of plastic fool you, it is a very well made dryer and really does not feel like plastic at all. It has Ion technology for enhanced shine and 75% less frizz. Titanium ceramic technology that provides infrared heat to gently dry hair. One really nice feature is the locking cold shot button, it also has 3 heat settings; cool, warm and hot as well as 2 speed settings; low and high. It is the first brushless motor hair dryer available at mass market! It comes with a concentrator attachments for straightening the hair and a diffuser attachment to make your curls look their best! It gets 3 Q's for being Quick and Quite and good Quality.

My past experiences with hair dryers have been terrible when compared to my experience with this one. The Conair dryer dries my hair so much faster and does not leave it frizzy like my old dryer. This is also the first dryer that I've used with a concentrator or diffuser attachment. I was blown away, no pun intended, by the results I got when trying to blow dry my natural curly hair straight. It actually, much to my surprise, ended up pretty straight, with hardly any frizz. It took me about 30 minutes to fully dry it and that was with a lot of stopping to maneuver hair or re-position the brush and dryer. Once I finished with the blow dryer I did  run a flatiron over it and that took about 15 minutes, usually a 30-40 minute process after allowing hair to fully air dry. So all together it took me about 45 minutes to achieve the final look.

After using flat iron

The difusser works amazing! Was able to get my hair about 90% dry in about 15-20 minutes. My curls were full and had movement, something I never get by letting it air dry. I did not experience any frizz from the difusser and was even able to wear my curls for a second day! One thing I really loved about using the diffuser is I was able to get some volume on the top of my head instead of having it really flat on the top and super curly down towards the lower half. 

First day curls

Second Day Curls

I loved having two speed and three heat settings, I was able to find the perfect setting for each of the ways I styled my hair. The locking cold shot button was great too, not only does it help lock in your style, it was great to use for cooling my head off a bit while drying.

This dryer definitely gives me a faster drying time and way less frizz. As for the 40% less noise claim, it is quieter than some blow dryers but it's till noisy. After drying my hair with this blow dryer it still felt super soft and not dry and crunchy and I feel that was due to the Titanium Ceramic Technology. This dryer packs a punch with the air flow too, when I was maneuvering it around while straightening my hair, I kept blowing my hair ties and clips off the counter. I would also have to turn it off before laying it down on the counter or it would blow it's self off the counter.

I highly recommend this dryer! It was launched in September 2014 and is priced at $119.99 It can be found at Target, Walgreens, Ulta, Walmart, Rite Aid, CVS and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

* When compared to T3 dryer model 83808

*** When compared to the 3Q hair dryer without patent pending nois reduction technology

**** When compared to standard AC motor dryers

** This item was provided for review courtesy of Beauty Stat **

Empties

I'm a week later on my empties post than I had planned. I had the opportunity to go spend a week with my family, so I jumped on it. This will be the first empties post I have done since May so let's just get right in to it!

I mostly had hair stuff, so we'll check that out first. I finished up Avon Advance Techniques Restoring Shampoo and Conditioner, not anything special about it, didn't notice any changes in my hair, will not repurchase. Next is Suave's Humectant Moisture Shampoo, I liked this it smells nice and seems to give my hair a little moisture and it's inexpensive, would probably repurchase. I also finally finished off the Suave Moroccan Infusion Shampoo, love the way it smells! As with all Suave products I would probably repurchase just because it's inexpensive. Tresemme Flawless Curls Mousse, I liked this and it's affordable, would likely purchase again but right now I want to try out some gels and cream products for my curls. Suave Touchable Finish hair spray, used to be my all time favorite, but I fell in love with an old favorite in September while at the beach, so I probably will not be repurchasing this product. My new/old favorite hairspray Rave! I used to use this stuff all the time back in middle and high school, picked up a travel size while at the beach and fell back in love with it. Obviously will be repurchasing this. Finished off another bottle of Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Moroccan Sleek Oil Treatment, love this stuff on the days that I wear my hair in it's naturally curly state, gives it the extra hydration it craves, will repurchase. Lastly in the hair care empties I have some Dove Oxygen Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner, I received these samples from PinchMe back in the summer, best I can remember I really liked these products and they smell amazing, may purchase in the future.

I also had a few face items. Two packs of Epielle facial cleansing tissues, I get these at Big Lots for $1 a pack, they work well and are in my budget. I have already repurchased some back ups. ELF makeup mist and set is my favorite setting spray. I tend to use this more often when I wear a full coverage foundation, I would repurchase. Love the L'Oreal Hydrafresh toner, this is the second bottle I have finished! Have already repurchased. The last face product I finished off is Avon Elements Moisture boost, love this as a spring and summer moisturizer, but now that it is fall my face feels like it needs some extra moisture, so I would repurchase this but for spring and summer use.

Lastly nail and hand items: Onyx professional acetone remover, something that I will repurchase over and over LOL Also finished up a bottle of equate regular polish remover. Lastly I finished off my Sugar Lemon hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works, I love lemon scents so I have to repurchase this!

What products have you been finishing off?
Do y'all enjoy these empty posts?

Multicolored Stamping

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings | Gifted

Today I am checking off another number from the SBBNailChallenge, 26 Stamping! This stamping is different from other stamping manis I have done, I used 3 colors instead of my usual one. The colors I chose to use were Essence Break Through, Revlon Wild Strawberry and Pink Ice Mint Crush. For my base color I used Avon's Gel Finish polish in Iceberg. I'm hoping it won't begin to crack on my nails like other white polishes tend to do.

The plate I used is another one from Born Pretty Store, it's the Elegant Lace Bow Knot Pattern QA59. As with all the plates that I have received from there, it's great quality and has endless possibilities! If you are like me and want all of their stamping plates you can save 10% on your order by using coupon code: SMBW10

For how I done this multicolored stamping I have provided a picture tutorial :)

Here is the completed mani after clean up! I really like the way this came out and is something I will do again in the future!

You can take part in the SBBNailChallenge too, just tag your post with SBBNailChallenge or your Instagram photos with #SBBNailChallenge

Tomorrow I think I'll have an Empties post for you guys. I've been hoarding my trash for a while now LOL Hope you all have a great day!

Avon Starlight

Sponsored | Bought Myself | Press Sample | Nothing to Disclose | Giveaway Winnings | Gifted

Happy November!

Today I am checking off another number on the SBB Nail Challenge, number 4 Green. I am using a polish that I had bought a while ago and it just got pushed to the back of my unworn drawer, Avon Starlight from their Cosmic Collection.

This is a gorgeous greenish-yellow holographic polish. Unfortunately I did not have any sun to photograph this in, so I just used my flashlight on my phone as my light source. In the light it does tend to look more green than yellow.

Even as pretty as this was on it's own, I just couldn't leave it be, as you see in the photo. So I added some chevron stamps to it using a plate that I received for review from Born Pretty Store. I love the stamping plates from there, they are always great quality, work well and come in a wide variety of designs. The plate that I used was the Zebra Stripes Love Pattern QA91. It is a great plate and lots of potential manicures in it and at a price of only $2.99, you can't beat that! Plus you can save an extra 10% with coupon code SMBW10
This plate would also be great to use for Valentine's day!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! We are getting a first snow of season today, it does not seem to be as big a deal as the weather man made it out to be, but it sure is cold LOL