NOTD: Orly's 'Gilded Coral'

I AM IN LOVE! I saw this nail polish at Ulta and knew I had to get it:

This is Orly's 'Gilded Coral' and I love love love it! The color basically looks like the inside of a seashell. It's a perfect peachy pink metallic-y golden color.  I think it looks like if 'Rubanesque' paint pot by MAC or 'X' eyeshadow by Urban Decay were nail polishes.

Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee? Golden peach shimmer :) LOVE <3

And one more pic for ya just so you can see all of the beautiful different reflects in this one color. Orly is great because it comes with slightly more product than other 'high end' nail polish brands. It is $8.00 and I can find it at Ulta and CVS. 
The application was easy and great with this polish! Two coats achieved full opacity. My one complaint is that this polish chips quite easily at the tips so be wary that touching up may be necessary!

Would you rock this metallic shade?
xxSJ

NOTD: Essie's Lilacism

Today's nail of the day is putting my favorite purple in the spotlight: Essie's 'Lilacism.'  I love love LOVE this color. It's the perfect pastel purple. See for yourself!

Pretty! It's a shade lighter than O.P.I's 'Do You Lilac It?' which is what I really like. It's so pretty for Spring and Summer (though unfortunately it's a bit bright to carry over into Fall or Winter...sad).
This is hands down one of my favorite polishes!
Also, fun fact time! This was the first Essie polish I ever bought!

Pretty purple :)
What is YOUR favorite purple polish?

xxSJ

Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday Gift Review!

This year all Sephora Beauty Insiders get a free gift on their birthday and I wanted to show you what it looked like! August birthdays woot woot!!
It is the 'Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo.' It's really great to get these little products for free to try out because these lip balms run for over $20 for full size!!

It says 'Happy Birthday' on it! Thanks Sephora!

The packaging on these guys is great. They are little aluminum tubes (very sturdy) and to get the top off you have to turn it just a little bit. This is great because it will ensure that the caps don't fall off in your purse!

You get a regular moisturizer as well as a rose tinted moisturizer which gives just a pinch of color.  These both have SPF15 and when they say moisturizing they are REALLY moisturizing! This is one of the best lip products I have ever owned as far as moisture is concerned. The tiniest swipe of this on my lips and it feels like my lips have bathed in vaseline or something equivalent for hours... immediate smoothness and moisture!
I may consider purchasing the full size of this when I run out of my little guys...it seriously may be worth the $20+!!!!
Also the smell of these is amazing! It smells like lemonade or like a lemon drop candy. So so so good. And the weirdest part is that they don't taste terribly strong if you accidentally lick some of this off.
These samples are very very tiny:

Tiny! So don't be too surprised when you go to pick it up during your birthday month!

If you're not a Sephora Beauty Insider you should really consider joining! It's not a credit card or anything like that, just a way to keep track of what you buy and how much you're spending. For every dollar your spend you get a point and there are little 100 point gifts (deluxe samples usually) and even larger 500 point gifts! Also beauty insiders get perks like the free birthday gift and also stay up on the latest trends and sometimes receive special offers.

Are you excited to get your birthday month gift?
xxSJ

Sunday Funday! My Favorite Things From the Week

Hello lovelies! These are some of my favorite things from the past week. Hope you enjoy!
1. MUSICCCCCCCCCCCCCC

One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful'- This song is so catchy and I feel like I was swindled into liking it because it was played so much at the place I work!

2. Makeups :)

My Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub. This stuff works awesome for getting all of the dead skin off my lips in the morning (yuck!). Best part is that it tastes like mint chocolate and you can just lick it off your lips when you're done scrub-a-dub-dubbin! It was $9 for 25g

OOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOOOO purdy :) I've been loving my MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in 'Star Wonder' from the Heavenly Creatures collection.  When you swirl the colors together it makes the prettiest pink blush color that absolutely glistens and glows on your skin. MAC MSFs are $29 for 7g of product.

3. This Video:

 

This guy does food reviews and someone auto-tuned his '5 Guys Burgers and Fries' review. Love the restaurant. Love this song. Golden.

4. This Picture:

 Bear meets bear. So. Cute. Can't. Handle It.

Those were my faves from the past week! Here's to starting a new week and whatever adventures come our way! 

Chins up, Buttercups!!

xxSJ

NOTD: China Glaze 'For Audrey'

Today's nail of the day is 'For Audrey' by China Glaze. It is said that this polish is as close to Tiffany Blue as it gets! I think many girls have a special place in their heart for that Tiffany blue color...I mean, how much does your heart flutter when you see that little blue box???

As you can see it's a beautiful teal blue green color.... it's just gorgeous and is such a happy and cool color :) I have worn this at all times through out the year, even in Fall! I always get compliments when I'm sporting this pretty manicure :)
The application of China Glaze polishes is also awesome and easy.  The polish is just the right amount of thickness and the brush is the perfect size for my nails. This polish also has hardeners in it so it lasts forever!

Seeeeeeeeeeeeee? Purty:)

What's your favorite blue nail polish to rock?
xxSJ

Urban Decay Vegan Palette: Review and Swatches

I got a package today in the mail!!!!!!!!!! So much excitement. I was giddy :)
I got the Urban Decay Vegan Palette, a palette with 6 small eyeshadows, a mini eyeliner in Zero, and a mini primer potion in 'Sin.'

First let's start with the samples. I got a thank you card (why your welcome Urban Decay!) with a sticker and a $5 off my next purchase promo code. Swell!
Next I got a Naked Skin Smart Shade Sample card:

Inside the packet:

So what's inside the card is four samples of the most 'universal skin shades' (I don't know) so you can find your skin shade and try out their new foundation.  There is enough in these little packets for probably one or two full faces of foundation. I'll definitely try it one day and see how nice it looks!
Now for the packaging:

The point of the vegan palette is that the shadows included have absolutely no animal products or bi-products used in their production. Pretty cool I think (not something I normally look for but hey, it's a nice thought!) and also what's great is that Urban Decay does not do animal testing so that is why this little palette has animals all over it! YAY ANIMALS!

The palette says 'We don't do animal testing...how could anyone?' pretty. darn. cute. I took this picture holding it so you could get an idea of how small this guy is.

The back. I spy a rabbit! A bunny? A hare? Same difference.

Inside! The colors included are (top row) Minx, Urb, Gunmetal (bottom row) Twice Baked, Smog, and Half Baked. And there in the middle you can see the widdle 24/7 glide on eye pencil in 'Zero.'

Boom. Angled artsy shot.

That right there is a nickel so you guys could see the size of these shadows. They are definitely decent sized but are smaller than what comes in a normal pot!

Aaaaaaaaaaaand finally swatchy swatchy. From left to right: Minx, Urb, Gunmetal, Twice baked, Smog, Half Baked, Primer potion in 'Sin', Eyeliner in 'Zero.'
As far as pigmentation is concerned, I am not impressed with 'Minx.' It's a little chalky and blotchy I think because it has a lot of glitters in it. 'Urb' is a nice muted green that I think will be easy to wear. All the other colors are AWESOME... what you'd expect from Urban Decay.  Something to note is that Gunmetal, Smog, and Half baked are all colors in the naked palette so you may find it redundant to have both of those. However, if you don't have the naked palette you should definitely get your hands on this because smog and half-baked are seriously such amazing colors and you won't regret having these neutrals in your collection.
The primer potion is a nice champagne color which will look great with glittery colors on top of it and the eyeliner is uh-mazing as I expected. Pigmented, blackest  black, and smudge-proof. Ka-chow!
I snagged this palette during the Sale on the UD website for only $13.00 and for that price, this is wayyyyy worth it.  This palette was originally priced at $34.00 which is kind of steep...but for $13.00 I think you will be very satisfied with this!!

What are your favorite Urban Decay shadows?
xxSJ

Julep Maven: NOTD And Why I Won't Be Subscribing

Alrighty folks.  Here is the continuation of my last Julep Maven post when I tried the white color from my Julep intro box.  I tried the raspberry color in 'Rose' this week and so here are my thoughts. First of all, let us start with a picture:

 

Okay. So some of you may be thinking wait a minute SJ....those nails look pretty nice to me. Well, here is why I'm disappointed in this color. This color was described as being a raspberry color. The color that showed up on my nails--bright red.  I have red nail polishes and I wanted a bright pink-red raspberry color (which is what was promised on my little card description thingy!) and that is not what this gave me. 

 Also the application was....meh. Similar to the white polish, this stuff is THICK. Seeing as I paint my nails at least twice a week, I am pretty good at painting and using techniques to ensure a pretty mani with a smooth finish. This was extremely difficult to work with and I didn't like how much trouble I had to go through to get a color that I didn't even really want.

Here it is in a different light...as you can see, its still bright red.

All in all, this polish is okay. It leaves you with a nice finish and it is pretty chip resistant.  I'm not going to throw these polishes away but I also know I won't be reaching for them often because they are so difficult to work with.  

These polishes retail for $14 and are coming to Sephora so I wanted to throw my thoughts out to you all: That is a very high price for nail polish and these bottles only carry about half of the product that is in an OPI bottle.  True that this a '3 Free' nail lacquer so is free of toxins and icky stuff, however for the same price you could buy a Butter London polish which is also 3 Free, has more product in it, AND is super easy to apply.

My final say about Julep polishes: They're okay, but there are WAY better polishes out there for the price. I do not recommend these.

What's your favorite non drugstore nail polish brand?

xxSJ

Too Faced 'La Creme Color Drenched Lip Cream' Review and Swatch

Too Faced just came out with some new lip sticks that are so so lovely! Too Faced claims these lipsticks are a 'moisture rich lotus flower and power peptides' lip product. These lip cremes are super moisturizing yet have the color payoff of a lipstick.

The packaging is so lovely with these lipsticks (as with most Too Faced products). It comes in a pink box with gold embellishments. The tube is a heavy gold metal with 'Too Faced' inscribed on the side. I love that the tube is actually pretty heavy. It makes the product feel very luxurious.

I bought the color in 'Juicy Melons' which is a wearable coral color.

My only packaging complaint would be that if you were to buy multiple colors of this product, you wouldn't be able to tell what color it is from the outside (similar to MAC lipsticks). Not a huge deal...all you have to do is flip over the lipstick to check out the color or store these upside down for a quick grab.

I've been looking for a color like this for a while! A beautiful coral with more pink than orange and perfect for the Summer time. I know the Summer is winding down but I can definitely carry this color over into the Fall.
Swatchy swatch:

This color was achieved in one quick swipe of the lip stick.  Seriously, the pigmentation is amazing and this is the most moisturizing lip product I have (even better than MAC cremesheens). It is so luxuriously smooth but has staying power as well.  Also I love the idea of a product with conditioners in it. I have super dry lips so anything I can wear that will also maintain a healthy appearance (let us all say 'ew' to crackly alligator lips!) is an A+ in my book!
Another great thing about this product: The smell!!! It smells really nice...almost sweet like frosting.  I think its the lotus flower extract that gives this a hint of a nice smell (not overwhelming though!) so you won't get any plastic-y or waxy smell/taste that some lipsticks will give you. 
This product is $21 for 3g and you can buy it at Sephora, Ulta, or anywhere else in your town where Too Faced is sold.
This is my new favorite lipstick so I recommend you check it out next time you're in a store!

What's your favorite coral color?
xxSJ

Sunday Funday: My Favorite Things!

My favorite things from the past week!
1. MUSSSSSSICCCCCCCCCCCCCC

I'm on my 'Call Me Maybe' kick right now and I've been playing it quite a bit. Just a great upbeat song!
2. This Eyshadow:

Urban Decay's 'Half Baked'. I love this color as a lid color. It is the most perfect vibrant gold ever!
3. This Picture

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Also book update: I finished 'Shiver' a couple days ago and I loved how it ended. That book sucked me in and was quite the easy read! I really really enjoyed it and recommend it to the young adult readers out there looking for a fun romance novel. My current read now is 'Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern.

Those were some of my faves from the past week. There aren't many since I haven't had much time to derp around because I've been working lots and lots!

What were some of your faves from the week?
xxSJ

Highlighters! My faves, swatches, and how-to

To buddy up with my bronzing post, here's a post about bronzers best friend: the highlighter!!!
Highlighting is the perfect way to give yourself that dewy look. I love highlighters because I find that sometimes my face looks a little too matte (since I have dry skin patches...sad day). Here are some of my favorite highlighting products:

Let's start this journey with Benefit's High Beam:

$26 for .45 fl oz.
This is a pinky toned highlighter with a nail polish type applicator. You are supposed to dot this along the top of your cheekbones and lightly blend in. I also use this for down the center of my nose. This works great to add some light catching glow to your skin and a little bit goes a loooooooooooong way.
NARS illuminator in 'Copacabana'

$30 for 1.1 fl oz (this is a .32oz sample size)
This is a 'glistening pearl' and comes in a squeezy tube.  You use it the same way as the benefit highlighter as it is the exact same consistency. This product has less pink undertone and is more silver/gold. You need the tiniest tiniest amount to highlight your cheekbones, cupid's bow, and nose. I like this one a little bit better than benefit's High Beam because it applies more evenly.
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in 'Milk':

~$4 for 5g
This is a completely matte white eyeshadow pencil that is perfect for using in the inner corner to highlight your eyes. That's all I would recommend this product for because it is so matte (and almost chalky) that it would not look natural on your face or as pretty as the dewy highlighters. It was worth a mention though for its inner corner dominance!
Maybelline's 'Champagne Fizz'

$3 for 2.6g
This product has an entire blog post dedicated to it if you want to check it out! This product is great for just dipping your finger in and patting onto the top of your cheekbones. It is also great as a brow bone highlight.
Urban Decay's 'Virgin'

$18 for 1.5g
This guy is my FAVORITE brow bone highlighter. It is a pearly white with beigy undertones. The shimmer is barely noticeable at all and the shadow is so so so velvetty it's amazing! This color also works great as an inner corner highlighter. I like it better than the Maybelline shadow because that shadow can be a bit gritty while this one is so smooth.
MAC cream color base in 'Hush':

 $18.50 for 3.2g
This highlighter stands out as my only truly peach highlighter and it is my go to highlighter for the summer when paired with a bit of a tan and some bronzer. I love the creamy consistency and it keeps my face from getting 'cakey' from too much powder. This is my current favorite highlighter! I use it for my cupid's bow, the top of my cheekbones, and down the center of my nose.

From left: High Beam, Copacabana, Milk, Champagne Fizz, Virgin, Hush

So here is the final swatch! As you can see, the colors are all just a tad different and have different finishes.  The liquid ones on the left are nice for fall and winter as they look a little more silvery and 'icy'....weird? I don't know. But the colors on the right are nice because they have a nice peach undertone which I love for my skin tone.
Honestly, a highlighter is a highlighter. If you dont have one yet, I would get one of the cheaper ones to learn how to use it first and then as you get samples and kits, you can start plugging in and adding to your collection.  For the most part, highlighters will all do the same thing no matter the cost!

What are your favorite highlighters????

xxSJ

NOTD: 'Pink Friday' with a touch of 'Tart with a Heart'

Today's Nail of the Day is OPI's 'Pink Friday' from the Nikki Minaj collection. Also on one of my nails on both hands I painted a glitter over the top just for some fun and added oomph. We all could use some more ooomph every once in a while!

Pink Friday is a bright bubblegum pink. I always call colors like this one 'princess colors' because its what I imagine a fairytale princess would wear in a storybook :)
This color is super duper opaque and this look was achieved in two coats with my seche vite top coat to add some gloss (shiny! MUST. TOUCH!)

Butter London's 'Tart With a Heart' is a multi color glitter that is mostly beige toned. It's very pretty painted over basically anything because of the mostly beige glitter. It's glitter but still neutral. Keepin it classy.

a close up of the butter london polish so you can see the beige-ness.

aaaaaaand a close up of my glittery finger

I like this mani and I've gotten many a compliment on my 'princess nails' :)
OPI retails for about $8 and Butter London retails for $14

What's your favorite color and glitter combo???

xxSJ

Bronzers! My Favorites, Swatches, and How-To

It's Summer time which means the perfect makeup (for me at least) is looking sun kissed and glowy. The way for me to achieve that is following my bronzing routine! Here are the bronzers I own (and love <3) and how I use them:

1. NARS 'Laguna' bronzer (this is a sample size so only 2.5g) full size: $34 for 8g
2. MAC bronzing powder in 'Refined Golden': $24 for 10g
3. Hoola Bronzing Powder by Benefit: $28 for 8g
4. NYC Smooth Skin bronzing powder in 'Sunny': $2.89 for 9.4g

NARS Laguna is described as a 'diffused brown powder with golden shimmer.' This one is really soft and natural looking when applied. Since I have such a small container, I like using this for contouring my cheek bones. The shimmer is very subtle but leaves your skin glowing. This color is also said to be ideal for all skin tones.
MAC bronzing powder is a 'finely spun golden with soft pearl.' This is their lightest bronzer and I like it for bronzing all of my face.  It is pretty sheer on application but certainly buildable.  Due to the shimmer, it is a bit gritty to the touch, but you don't feel it at all on your face.
Hoola by Benefit is an extremely pigmented and soft matte bronzer.  Since it's matte, I apply this first to the hollows of my cheekbones and temple area as well as under my chin. I use this more as a contouring powder. It is super soft but warning: It is very easy to put too much product on the little brush applicator!
NYC Bronzing powder is wonderful especially considering how inexpensive it is. It is matte and a lovely color for a quick brush over the whole face for some color. It is soft to the touch and I really like this one! If you're just getting into bronzers I highly recommend this one!

NARS, MAC, Hoola, NYC

Contouring vs Bronzing:

Contouring the face is when you are making the natural angles of your face a bit more defined. You can make this is dramatic or as subtle as you like.  To contour, you can focus color on the hollows of the cheekbones (right underneath where your cheeks stick out. If you can't find this then make a fishy face!), as well as your temples (diagonally up from your eyes).  You can also lightly focus color around your hairline which helps blending of color into your hairline, and you can place color right on the edge of your jawline to emphasize your jaw structure.
Bronzing the face is kind of the opposite of contouring.  Rather than placing color in the hollows of your face where there would naturally be shadows, you are going to place color where the sun would naturally hit you! That means you are placing color on the top of your cheekbones, your forehead, down the center of your nose, and just a touch of color on your chin.  This will give you that sun kissed glow everyone's after in the summer!
Contouring and bronzing is all about playing with shadows and lighting, basically tricking an onlooker into seeing more definition than is really there. When you get really good at it, you can really dramatize your look while still not looking like you're wearing a ton of makeup.
I would recommend using darker matte colors like Hoola for contouring and using the more sheer colors like the MAC or NYC bronzing powders for bronzing all over the face.
I hope this was helpful and let me know what your favorite bronzing powders are!

xxSJ

Sunday Funday: My Favorite Things!

A belated Sunday Funday post of my favorite things from the past week!
1. My go-to eyeshadow look:

helloooooooooooo sunshine and brightness

My go to look this week has been a neutral eye. I have been working a lot this week so I needed something I could do fast before sprinting out the door! I can do this eye easily in about 2 minutes.

I put 'kitten' by Stila on the lid followed by 'Mulch' by MAC on the crease. Follow that with some liquid liner and some drugstore mascara and you're done!

2. The Farmer's Market!
What a great place to check out some fresh produce and be inspired and excited by so many bright colors!

 3. THIS BOOK THIS BOOK OH MY GOODNESS THIS BOOK

'Shiver' by Maggie Stiefvater.... this book can be found in the paranormal romance section of Barnes and Noble and yes, it's about a werewolf and a girl who fall in love (though the story is a little bit backward). This book is a good Summer read for me...pretty easy and fluffy.  I'm tearing through this book pretty rapidly and it is the first in a trilogy so we'll see if I get the next one. Not my normal selection but I was feelin the romance!

4. Cute pic of the week:

Even deer need hugs! If you needed a hug today then I'm sending you an air hug through my bloggy blog :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and let's conquer this week with chins up and the wind at our backs!

xx SJ