2019 Fall Nail Art | Halloween fun and rhinestones galore

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel like I literally spend half my life painting my nails...and I'm ok with that.

Nail Art Part Two: experimentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These nail looks are from the tail end of 2017 into the fall of 2018 when I was starting to grow my nails out so I would have even more space to decorate them. One of my main methods of decor was using Kiss nail art products:

I love adding applique to my nails to elevate a plain look to something cutesy and unique. Also using nail art tools has helped with perfecting my artistic applications with certain looks; stickers lay so much better using that white smudger thingy. Recently, I was lucky enough to pick up a stamper by Kiss Nails (it was the last one left in the store!) and I'm hoping I'm able to create even more sophisticated looks like the ones I see on instagram that make me feel like I'm a five year old with poor hand-eye coordination. 

Another technique I employed was using pigments to rub on the nails as an overlay instead of polish to create a more intricate color schemes. Most of my pigments I use are by MAC:

 

They are messy to use, but still a very viable creative way to switch up plain polish and because they are basically dust, they dry the polish a bit faster than putting a coat of glitter on.

nail art | still a thing for me

I'm just gonna post all the nail art I failed to post starting with this sponged on look from back when I was obsessed with sponged on looks...I didn't care for the color combo, but I liked the matte effect.

...clown nails maybe? I was playing with negative space at the time and I remember the glitter was from Urban Outfitters.

 

A few moments with chevrons. The neon one was with Orly nail colors, a brand I was using for the first time; their base coat is still a favorite of mine.

 

This isn't artistic really, but this is one of my all time favorite nail colors by Essie, "high class affair"; I think it's such a luxurious color against my skin tone.

...some color blocking or whatever. The yellow is Essie's 1000th color called "aim to misbehave" and I wish I just kept it on its own, it's pretty with a french tip.

Also from Essie around the same time, their water color palette sets were so cute and fun, above and below are the two looks I tried; I think the one below turned out better...

 

Finally, this was my holiday/winter nail art look; second day so it's a bit chipped. I worked so hard on the tree, meticulously placing a chunk of glitter for the star on top (at first it was just going to be an evergreen, but then I was like, 'why not act like I have Christmas cheer?'). 

Right now my nails just have a neutral nail look that I had professionally applied for the first time ever while I was on a winter vacation in San Diego. I'm sure I'll come up with more nail art looks in the new year, but getting the salon treatment every now and then might become a thing as well.

drugstore beauty revival

 

I'm trying my very best to save a little money in the beauty department so instead of going on a zombie-like shopping spree at Ulta or Sephora I'm hitting the tiny selections at the grocery store. 

First, Orly's polish bond is so legit; I've been using it for a while now and I find that it's extremely compatible with Essie polishes (more so than Essie's own base coat). It does such an excellent job of keeping the polish from receding and cracking (along with Essie's new couture gel top coat).

Physician's Formula products have always had a decent drugstore reputation and I remember hitting pan on their shimmer strips when I used them years ago. I have to say I do think Mac's mineralize skin finish is better, but I'm trying to save and these strips give me a pretty nice glow when I swirl my brush in them for an all over the face bronze. The only drawback is that the powder composition tends to absorb oil quicker leading me to scrap off the top layer every now and then so I can still pick up the product. Other than that, it's a decent value and lasts all day long. (color: "vegas strip")

The powder palette blush is new PF product and a new product altogether as I have never tried blush before (I'm more of a highlighter gal). I'm still trying to decide if I like the product at all, so far I can say that the pink I chose shows up very subtle on my dark skin, which I wanted, but I also wanted a pink shimmer which I think is more of a presentation thing as the shimmer particles seem to disappear as I use the product more. I'll keep using it and playing around with mixing it with my highlighter before I make a final judgment. Definitely still on the hunt for a legit pink highlighter however. (color: "rose pearl").

The final product is another pink hue for my face from Nyx's liquid suede line. "Pink lust" is the perfect popping pink against darker skin tones and has a waxy, comfortable formula consistent with the rest of the line.

beauty things...new in and in review...

 

Estee is my bitch okay, these eye shadows are so legit, like the white lady who helped me out at the counter today kind of fucked up (she legit tried to sell me caucasian make up like....? It was so bizarre, but what else should I expect), but it's cool because their product speaks for itself as far as I'm concerned. After enjoying the lilac shimmer shadow I picked up a little while ago I decided to pick up a couple more in the Pure Color Envy line in "silver edge" and "emerald envy". The formulation is so perfect; blends perfectly, no fall out and wonderful staying power.

For my lips I found another Nyx Lingerie color in "lace detail" (sadly the only color available) and I picked up another color in the bougiest lipstick I've ever tried, "private party" from the Lipstick Queen Velvet Rope collection. The formulation on these lipsticks is superb; so moisturizing with a wonderful opacity even with more understated colors (I also have "star system").

Finally, I decided to check out Bare Minerals' attempt at the matte lipstick trend and an unfamiliar Fiona Stiles. With Bare Minerals, I got the color "weekend", which is my usual mauvey pink shade and after my brush with Stila's "amalfi" (still upset this color didn't work out for me), I decided to get "crosby" a peachy magenta from Fiona Stiles matte lip line. I'll be testing both this weekend and updating on my next beauty post.

essie gets twisted

 

...I mean the packaging wins all the awards first of all, but also I'm super excited about their already legit gel top coat getting an upgrade--review coming soon.

what is this shit? | goopy and overpriced

First up, some lip products I just didn't connect with, but like, I TRIED. I've been trying a lot of new beauty stuff lately because putting new things on your face is fun, no? More fun when they work and don't dry out for no apparent reason (the Tarte Lipsurgence in "hope") and don't go on like a sticky goopy mess (Maybelline's vivid matte liquid lipstick in "pink charge").

Milani has awesome eyeliners in my opinion, but these eye crayons were kind of a let down with not nearly enough pigment and a rather patchy application.

...speaking of patchy applications, I have no idea what all or any hype is about with Victoria's Secret lip products, if these crappy crayons are any indication, I should probably just stick to buying their underwear.

 

I'm sure MAC lip pencils are awesome, but unfortunately they really didn't work out for me and I have no use for them whatsoever. Like, I've never really had time for a lip liner and I only bought them because the Russian sales lady sort of handed them to me and like her accent was just so persuasive and like.........I have a problem.

I've pretty much given up on large glitter polishes altogether. With the Revlon ones I even tried using primers and top coats of superior quality and they still chipped away within 48 hours.

Again, Milani does fabulous things, it's such a pity my area doesn't stock more of their products however, I wouldn't miss these eye shadows one bit. The application was horrible as the pigmentation was pretty underwhelming. I actually really wanted to like these and would do my best to create looks with all of them, but unfortunately they were very much a cliche drugstore quality.

 

The L'Oreal voluminous superstar mascara isn't the worst thing in the world, but when you're a bougie bitch and Dior is your go-to, this is bullshit. The primer doesn't really prime for anything special as the formula for the actual mascara is flaky and thin. However, if I ever was in a bind of some sort and I still wanted to feel like I was getting a little extra umph with my mascara..............actually nevermind I would probably use the pink and green one like all the other thrifty ladies.

Finally, and painfully, this Simone Rocha bag just like...was such a fail. I'm kind of embarrassed that I actually waited and waited until it was on sale for me to buy it, but I'm also kind of glad I got something taken off the price (50 percent actually) because that beautiful chain strap was useless after just a couple weeks (it kept unclasping for no reason) and it was a constant annoyance until I had to go to a craft store and tie the damn thing on when it finally broke. It is a genuine shearling, which is really the only value aside from the simple and still charming design, but ugh, the quality is a disaster and turned me off to her label entirely.

Also, the shirt that has been in the background of all the photos is a part of this set I bought seen here. I'm pretty sure their poor quality contributed to American Apparel's financial snafu; the fit/quality on these simple layering pieces was shockingly disappointing as they each stretched to a misshapen mess after only a few wears.