Monday, September 23, 2013

Swatches/Review: Lac Attack - Cell Block Tango Collection

Hey, guys! Today, I've got a major swatchfest. This post will be pic heavy, because I have the entire Cell Block Tango Collection from Lac Attack to show you! It's inspired by the song of the same name in the musical, "Chicago." So, lets jump right in. You can click to enlarge these photos for a better look.

Lac Attack - Cell Block Tango Collection
Top to Bottom, L-R: Cicero, Uh-Uh, Lipschitz, Six, Pop, Squish

First up, Pop. From the site: "Pop contains hot pink and black matte glitter in circles and hexes in a clear base." This glitter topper is so fun. I love the matte circle glitters. It screams 80s pop art. I think this would be great over most cream colors. Something I noticed was these glitter toppers dry really fast! I had just finished my second coat of Pop when my daughter asked for help with something. I was worried I had dinged my mani, but it was already dry! Bonus! There was no fishing, but as with any glitter, some placement was necessary. This is 2 coats and topcoat.
Lac Attack - Pop

"Squish contains black, gunmetal silver, and red glitter in hexes and bars." This was my least favorite in the collection, but that is just my personal taste. This is 2 coats with topcoat. No problems, quick dry time. The bar glitters make me think of pom poms for some reason. Thus, Squish would be great for any fans of sports teams with red and black team colors. Also reminds me of 101 Dalmatians. ^_^
Lac Attack - Squish

"Six contains six different kinds of metallic glitter in a clear base, in green, purple, and blue!" If two's company then Six is a party! Three of my favorite colors in two different sizes. On my pinky is 3 coats on it's own. The rest of the nails have 2 coats over black, all with topcoat. This is very pretty and sparkly. No issues, great dry time.
Lac Attack - Six

Blurred to show the sparkle.

"Uh-Uh is a purplish/magenta color with a beautiful shimmer." I would describe it as raspberry, but either way, it's beautiful. The first coat was a little streaky, but not terrible. The second coat fixed everything. This is 2 coats with no topcoat. This is a great shimmer that can be worn anytime.
Lac Attack - Uh-Uh

Cicero is described as "...a deep purple shimmer with coppery flakies" but the flakies come off more pink in my opinion. It really lightens the polish up and it actually wears lighter than shown here. This is 2 coats with topcoat. The first coat was streaky and pulled a little, but the second coat smoothed everything out just fine. The color is gorgeous. I absolutely love purples and this is no exception.
Lac Attack - Cicero

"Lipschitz is a lovely medium green shimmer and tiny charcoal-colored flakies." Lovely indeed! The blue shimmer really lightens up this polish and almost gives it a jade tone. The charcoal flakies, I think, add to that jade/stone feel. It's a really unique color and if you like green, I highly recommend this one. Possible one coater, but two for best results. This is 2 coats with topcoat.
Lac Attack - Lipschitz

Wears Closer to The Color Above ^

Sorry for the pic overload. So, what do you think? Will you be getting any of these? I think there are some really unique, fun, and pretty polishes in this collection. If you like what you see, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Let me know what you think. I love to hear from you all. I hope you have a wonderful week!

**Disclaimer: These polishes were sent for my honest review. All opinions are my own and were in no way influenced.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Fancy Schmancy NotD

I'm still having fun with  my scrapbooking scissors. Today, I have another tape mani but with brighter, higher contrasting colors. I had seen swatches of Urban Outfitters Flip Flop and absolutely loved it. It's the perfect aqua color. Not too minty, not too blue or green. Even though I've had mixed results with their polish in the past, I knew I wanted this. I also picked up Bandeau and a couple others that you'll see when I use them. So first, Flip Flop.

Urban Outfitters Flip Flop
Just gorgeous! It went on perfectly in two coats, no issues. Then I got tape happy. Haha.

Direct Sunlight

Indirect Sunlight

Florescent Lighting
I have no idea why my skin looks so discolored. Anywho, if it weren't for the crooked design on my middle finger, I would have absolutely loved it. I think the silhouette has a very eastern feel. Like, maybe Moroccan or Indian? I should do it again with red and gold. Hehe.

That's all for now. Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

September Maven Box

Hi-hi! Today's post is on the September Maven Box I got from Julep. Recently, I've been passing on them, but I really wanted to try the cleansing oil this month. I chose the Boho Glam box.

Julep September Boho Glam Maven Box

Julep Bare Face Cleansing Oil
 
I know that oil is a bit taboo in American skincare and cosmetics, but I think there's some misconceptions about it. I know that cleansing and facial oils have been popular in Japan for quite some time. And let's face it, they have fabulous skincare and well...skin! I also read an article that said "oil-free" cosmetics and skincare aren't oil-free at all. They're only free of natural oils, but often contain synthetic oils, which can be even worse for your skin.

So, with all that in mind, I thought I'd try it. Lord knows my skin has been on the fritz lately. Anyway, I've been using it for about a week and I really like it. It has a refreshing citrus scent. The instructions say to use a generous amount. I've been using it before bed and use 3 pumps. It rinses off easily with no residue and in the morning I have no excess oil on my face. I hope to see some nice improvements in my skin by the end of the bottle. If so, I'll definitely buy it again.

On to the polish. This box contained two polishes: Kristy, a deep midnight blue, and Tatiana, an orange shimmer.

Julep Tatiana (top) and Julep Kristy (bottom)


I picked this box for Kristy. I thought it looked very pretty on Julep's site. Well...(insert deep sigh here), you can imagine my disappointment when I find that it's a thick, gloppy, stringy mess. Now, not everyone's was. I asked someone else who got the same box and theirs was fine. Just my luck, I guess. So, I don't know if it was because I got one from a bad batch or not, but it was also darker than I expected. I know my pics may not be the greatest quality, but even in real life you could almost never tell that it was blue. You can see that it's blue around the cuticles and tips, but that's about it.

Julep Kristy

Against my black purse you can tell it's blue.

Again, near black, you can tell it's blue.

Next is Tatiana. A pretty orange shimmer in a peach base. So much more than just orange, it has multiple colors of shimmer going on. I love this for Autumn. The formula on this was perfect. Go figure. This is two coats.

You can see the peach undertones in this pic.

Julep Tatiana

See the different shades of orange you get out of this? Love it.

One more thing that came in the box was a sample of their nail polish remover wipes. It was a single wipe in a pack like a wet nap. The wipe itself was really thick, almost like a piece of felt. This held a lot of acetone. If the wipe had been a little bigger I could have done all 10 fingers with one single wipe, and I'm used it to remove Kristy! So, if you're the type who hates to walk around with chipped polish, these will be super convenient.

So, that's it! I really hope Julep improves their consistency. I really like the variety of polish they offer, but it's always hit or miss quality. Have any of you had problems with Julep polish before? What do you think of these colors? Do you think you'd try an oil facial cleanser? Do you think they'll catch on they way bb cream did? I hope so. I'd love to try different ones without blowing my budget.

Well, I hope you all are having a great week. Thanks for reading! ^_^

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Just a Couple Manis

Hello, everyone! And welcome to all my new readers. I'm sorry I haven't had anything new up. I was sick last week. I don't have any nail art to show today, but I do have 2 very pretty polishes.

First is China Glaze Secret Peri-winkle topped with KleanColor Aurora.



China Glaze Secret Peri-winkle & KleanColor Aurora

I love KleanColors but I hate the dry time. I really want all the chunky holo polishes they have, but if I'm just going to be annoyed every time I use them, it's not really worth it to me. (-_-)

Next is the gorgeous JulieG Mermaids Tale. This is a teal foil finish in a blue base. This is one of those polishes that you just need in your collection. I was at the gym staring at my nails in between workouts. People probably thought I was a space case. Haha. Oh well!



JulieG Mermaids Tale


JulieG Mermaids Tale
Welp, that's all folks. ^_^ If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway. I will be adding more polishes from the Leather Luxe collection. So, it will be a little sweeter of a prize. kthanxbai!