Life After Christmas

Happy New Year's! I'm currently in Arizona with two of my best buddies for vacation. We drove the 13 hours down here a few days ago and I just got around to posting. The weather has been a little bit chilly and cloudy, but we have had a great time regardless! Especially with In N Out in our bellies. Yum. Here's what I have been wearing for the past few days. I have a review and then a glitter gradient to show you, so keep reading after the break.

This is my first Kleancolor polish that I got for Christmas. It's called Metallic Yellow

Candy Canes!

Merry Christmas! I know I had a great day. You know, saw some family, got some gifts, ate some food. It was awesome.

This is what I wore for Christmas! Classic and overdone, but I love it. Candy canes!

 I did the white first, it's L.A. Colors White, then I used some scotch tape and striping tape (after the white dried completely) and then covered it with Sally Hansen's Cherry Red. I absolutely love these, I kept them on for a full 5 days! It was insanity!

A day before Christmas, my middle nail broke and I had to trim down all my nails to stubs! I was so sad!!

Song of the Day: If I Were A Boy by Beyonce

China Glaze Flying Dragon

Happy Day-After-Doomsday! I'm wearing a classic color, one that everyone knows and talks about. But I just had to do it, it was calling to me from my Helmer: "Pick me! Pick me!! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!" So I just had to wear it.

Definitely click on the pictures, you can see the teal glitter in the pink. These swatches are all with topcoat, without the topcoat the polish dries to a matte (like most neons do) and I really didn't like it AT ALL, but with topcoat, it's absolutely gorgeous. This is two coats, and it's still a little bit blotchy in some places (thumb, for example) but it was good enough for me, I had to leave pretty quick after I did them.

Keep reading for more pictures and my review!

China Glaze Lubu Heels

I'm so behind on posting. Today was my last day of finals! And I'm now free! Unfortunately my last chem final didn't go as well as I had hoped, but we don't have grades back yet so we will see what happens. Here is what I wore last week (my first attempt at getting into the Christmas spirit with some red). This is China Glaze Lubu Heels, which was really popular a few years back with the Lubu manicure (this color on top and Ruby Pumps under the free edge).

Lubu Heels is a jelly-like black base with red microglitter. On it's own, it takes a while to be opaque, so this is a coat over a coat of Revlon's Black Lingerie.

It was really hard to get a decent picture, all of the red glitter seemed to want to run away from the camera. This is also after a few days of wear, so there is definitely some tip-wear. Pay no mind. Also, I'm dying from this Colorado dryness, we have yet to get a true snowfall and there is absolutely no moisture in the air at all. That coupled with my jobs and the stress of finals, my hands are in desperate need of moisture!

Pro's:

• I love the black with red glitter. Nice and subtle.
• Dry time was pretty quick
• Extremely easy-to-apply formula

Con's:

• Needs to be layered, or extra coats for opacity

Lubu Heels (a classic) gets......an A! Yay!

Song of the Day: Bad by The Cab

Fan Brush Stripes!

So I saw this tutorial on Youtube that SimpleNailArtDesigns did: Fan Brush Striped Nail Art Tutorial. So obviously I wanted to try it too, it looked so simple (she did her name right). So I got home a few days later and decided it was finally time to take off my gold mani (from last week). I started rooting through my drawers and I wanted some good colors but I was hoping to not use the same ones as in the video.  However, after I did them I realized that I used the same color scheme! Whoops! But anyways, it worked out really well and I have gotten so many compliments on these! And they were so easy to do, I will definitely be doing this one more.

More pictures and details on the colors after the break!

Go Buffs! Spring (?) Version 1.0 and 2.0

My friend texted me last Saturday and said "do you want to go to Wyoming?" And I said sure, since we were having the crazy basketball game that night. So we all piled into a couple of cars and caravaned up to the border, took a few pictures after some games of Padiddle, then went to the game. Unfortunately, the Buffs didn't pull out that victory, which dropped us from our NCAA ranking.

Then on Wednesday we had a double-header against CSU, our biggest rival (not in the Pac-12).  I'm thrilled to say we won both games, and after 5.5 hours for the band, we were able to go home to our final papers and projects under the adrenaline of a Buffalo victory. 

Before we left for the game on Saturday, I sat down and pulled out the other Milani I got when we were in LA for the USC game. It's Gold Glitz, and it's from their "One-Coat Glitter" collection. It's a warm gold glitter with a touch of copper glitter too. I actually got so many compliments on this color! We couldn't wear gold for the Wyoming game since their students were doing a "gold-out" so I wore this insane gold on my nails instead!

You can see how each nail looks different depending on the light.

Keep reading for the full review and more pictures!

Revlon First Class

Oh man. Finals week is officially one week and 3 days away. Oh man. This is gonna be rough, but for now, here's Revlon First Class. I smudged the tip of the middle finger right after I did them but I was literally on my way out the door to get to class so I didn't fix it. This dusty blue creme was opaque in 2 coats.

Pro's:

• Good opacity
• Really really nice formula, it was incredibly easy to apply.
• Color pretty enough to be worn on it's own.

Con's:

• I can't really think of anything at the moment. It's a pretty color, but not the prettiest.

Overall, we're going to give this one a B+ just because it's not my favorite color but it's still pretty darn cute.  Now off to write a paper!

Love & Beauty Red with some striping

Alright, so I'm celebrating the end of a long and disappointing football season with the celebration of my favorite color (shhh, it's a secret), and the most hated color of my university: RED! I pulled out a red in my collection that I never really use, it's by Love and Beauty, the Forever 21 brand. Originally when I started getting polish from there, I was skeptical but I was pleasantly surprised. The quality is actually pretty good! Their polishes have great colors, are well pigmented, and dry in a good amount of time. This is their cooler red crelly that is only named "RED." 

 Read on for some more swatches, a review, and some nail art.

Influenster College VoxBox

I just got the College VoxBox 2012 for free in the mail last week, and I've been so busy I haven't had a change to write about it! So here it is!

Alright, so we have: ImPress Press-On Manicure, NYC New York Color Show Time Glitter Eye-liner Pencil, Necco Tropical Wafers, Pentel EnerGel-X Campaign, and Energy Sheets.

 Read on for descriptions and reviews!

Go Buffs Fall 2012 Version 9.0

A few days ago we had the last football game of the 2012 season. It was against Utah and we definitely lost. It was a close game for a lot of it, and after swapping return touchdowns, we realized it just wasn't going to happen. Before the game I was wearing a gradient with China Glaze Electrify, and I didn't have time to change it before the game, so I ended up taking it off. I was really upset, but it did have red glitter in it, after all. So my nails were actually naked for our last day. Naked and vulnerable.  It was the first time in 3 years that I had naked nails for more than a couple of hours and it was probably a good experience to have. Go Buffs, we had a great season.  Well.....the band did anyway.

Song of the Day: Some Nights by Fun.

Go Buffs Fall 2012 Version 8.0

I love the Buffaloes, they're my favorite team! I love the uniforms they're so nice and clean! I love the Buffs! Can't get enough! They really make me want to scream!  We played Washington last weekend and with the hustle and bustle of the past week I didn't have a chance to post my nails.  So here they are! It's Revlon Black Lingerie with some striping tape over it in alternating colors of gold and silver.

Song of the Day: I Got by Young the Giant

Band Prom Round Two!

You guys. Band prom was last night and it was incredible (as expected). Last year I did a post on band prom 2011, and I was so excited about it! This year, I knew what to expect and I still had an incredible time! I decided on a black dress this year (keeping it classy, you know?) and so I had to have nails to match! I just got a BUNCH of striping tape on ebay and of course I couldn't resist playing with it. Here's what I did:

 Keep reading for more pictures!

OPI DS Magic

Here's another of the untrieds in my Helmer, and I am SHOCKED that I haven't tried this one before! It is so pretty! That definitely means this post is going to be a little big picture heavy.

Also, the first men's basketball game was yesterday (FINALLY a Buffs win!), as well as BAND PROM! One of my favorite nights of the year and I'm really excited about it, hopefully it is just as fun as last year, especially since I have a date this year! :)

Anyways, here's the polish.  Be sure to read on after the break for more pictures and a review!

In the bottle Magic seems to have a super duochrome that doesn't come across on the nail very well

But the color is still SUPER pretty!

Go Buffs Fall 2012 Version 7.0

We played Stanford last weekend! Yeah and we got shut out....for the first time since I've been here. I mean it was really sad, but it was also expected, and we cheer for the Buffs so much, but we know that there most likely won't be good results.

This week I did a gradient (much to the surprise of my roommates, who know I do gradients constantly) with two Revlon colors. The first color was the black creme Black Lingerie and then I sponged Silver Screen over that, followed by a topcoat.  Also, my middle nail broke (as per usual) so I am debuting these stubs :( I was pretty heartbroken, but thank goodness my nails grow relatively quickly.

I would post something substantial about election day, but I'm totally over the whole election season, so maybe later!

Song of the day: Abracadabra by Jessie J

Milani Purple Gleam

Happy Halloween weekend #1! We definitely have had a good one so far.  There are days that I absolutely can't believe I'm in college and this weekend definitely was one of them.  However, it really made me realize that I could not imagine being anywhere other than where I am right now.  It's a great feeling to feel like you're where you're supposed to be.  Anyways, I didn't do a Go Buffs mani this weekend, just to keep up with the spirit of Halloween, so instead I'm showing you what I was wearing earlier this week.

When we went to LA we went to a CVS across the street from the hotel we were at. I was halfway across the store when I glanced at the Beauty section (always a bad idea) and noticed the Milani display.  My heart almost stopped as I ran over and discovered all the nail polishes were on sale. I'd been looking for Milani polishes for a couple of years, as the brand isn't in Colorado. And thank goodness it isn't, I know where all my money would be going. So I picked up the color I'd been wanting for years: Purple Gleam.

This is with tipwear from 3 days

Read on for more pictures and the review!

Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale

Uh oh.

One of the bloggers I follow definitely posted about the Urban Decay Friends and Family sale (20% off on everything!), which meant that I got my hands on that coupon code.  My bank account is pretty upset with me, but I just got the message that my package was delivered and I almost started hyperventilating. And I (being the brat that I am) decided to tell my roommate about it, and she definitely spent some moolah too! After some discussion between the 2 of us, we decided on what we would get.

She decided on the Naked 2 palette, since she has a fairer complexion than I do, so the taupe colors would look better on her. I decided on the original Naked palette (both palettes are $50 originally), since I have more of an olive skin tone, which means the darker browns would be perfect.  And then I decided that the browns and neutrals weren't exciting enough, so I got a few of the vintage eyeshadows on sale ($6 each before the discount!) that were brightly colored, so I was very excited.

With shipping, I ended up paying $56! So I was absolutely thrilled.
Read on for details on what I got in my package!

Go Buffs Fall 2012 Version 6.0

We traveled to Los Angeles this past weekend for the CU vs. USC game (in which we were absolutely demolished, let's be honest) but the GBMB had a great time!  We got to LAX around 5:30pm on Friday night, and a lot of us went out to dinner and/or went to the pool. We decided that we would go hang out with the USC band for the night, and while there were multiple people that were less than accepting, we met a few people that were very nice and made it worthwhile. We got back to the hotel and fell asleep around 4:30AM, then we woke up at 9 on Saturday, had some DELICIOUS hotel breakfast (riddled with sarcasm) and went to the game.  While we went knowing fully that it was going to be a bad beat, we definitely missed our Buffalo fans (I've never seen so many middle fingers pointing in my direction just for wearing my uniform).  But on the plus side, the altitude difference made it really incredible how much louder our small band was!

After the game, we decided to just stay up all night (since we had to get on the bus at 5am Sunday morning).  So we called a cab and I went to my first In N Out restaurant! I took that first bite and I was in heaven.  And the Animal-Style Fries? To die for. It was incredible. Then we went to the beach! It was around 11 when we arrived at the beach.  Now I haven't been to the beach since I was 12, so I felt like a little kid riding around in the waves.  I even found a sand dollar! But as soon as I got home, I realized the amount of sand I had in the layers of my bikini was ridiculous. 

We got home to Boulder around 1pm on Sunday, and I would have taken a nap if not studying for my Chem exam tomorrow.  Around 5 we left for the Parachute, Boys Like Girls, and All American Rejects concert in downtown Denver!  The 14-year-old me was extremely happy and the concert was so incredible! Then, after 39 hours of being awake, I finally went to bed.  Thank goodness, I was about to sleep standing up! I'm not going to be doing that again for a while, but I have absolutely no regrets, I'm happy to report this was one of the greatest weekends I've had in college so far! Go Buffs!

I'm in love with Parachute

Can the BLG bass player be any more attractive?

All American Rejects for the win.

Anyway, here's the mani that I wore to LA this weekend, I got a lot of compliments on it from fellow Buff fans! It's two layers of OPI Glitzerland with a layer of Claire's gold glitter topcoat (a gold holo) in a gradient from the tips.

Song of the Day: Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute

OPI Don't Mess With OPI!

So one of my roommates is painting her nails and she asks me "do you have any nail polishes that you haven't worn yet?" And I answered her "probably about half of my collection I've never worn." And she was SHOCKED, so now I am going to be going through a bunch of untried polishes and making my way through them. I don't think I'll do them all in a row (I have too many favorites), but I hope to be doing more of them than I was before.

The first one I have is OPI's Don't Mess with OPI from the Texas Collection a few years ago.  It's a dusty medium green creme.  It was opaque in two coats, and had a nice and shiny finish.  It was very easy to apply and came with a really good brush.  Sorry about the bluriness of the second picture.

Pro's:

• Easy-to-apply formula with a good brush
• Shiny finish!
• Opaque in 2 coats

Con's:

• Stained nails (even with 2 coats of basecoat)

Don't Mess With OPI gets an A! Too bad it stained :(

Song of the Day: I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons

Go Buffs Fall 2012 Version 5.0

We had a Thursday night game this week, and it was an absolute killer. We got home around midnight and I had to finish a couple of papers for Friday.  It was pretty brutal, but now the hell week is over (thank goodness) and I have some time to relax (after I get through practice, a volleyball game, and Buffs Madness tonight).  Anyways, this is what I did for this week of Buff pride: it's two coats of OPI Black Onyx and then a coat of China Glaze Tarnished Gold Crackle.  I haven't used any crackle or shatter polish in a while, and I was totally over the fad, but it was a really fast, easy way to get some spirited nails.

My poor dry hands :(

Song of the Day: My Body by Young the Giant

Color Club Insta-This!

Okay so I got my September Birchbox and in it was a sample size (7 ml, so really not that small) of this beauty.  Oh my gosh. I'm so obsessed.  It's like this blurple creme that I've never seen before. It's very very bright but not exactly neon, but really bright. In some lights it looks really purple and in some light it looks really blue! It also exactly matches the lid on our orange juice jug, but that's not the point. I'm so in love with this one. It applied really smoothly and I had no bubbling, which is a big deal for me, since a lot of my cremes come out looking uneven. This was two coats but it could definitely be a one-coater with a thicker coat.

I don't know what's wrong with this picture, it must have gotten stretched. I swear my middle nail doesn't actually look like this!

Keep reading for more pictures/review!

China Glaze Riveting

I normally can't do any color straight.  As pretty as they are, they just aren't great enough to be worn alone.  This is one of my exceptions.  I wanted to do something to it but nothing I thought of could do the color justice so I just left it.  And ladies, here's the kicker.  My guy friends even noticed this color, if that tells you anything.   The pictures are definitely NOT color accurate, my camera would not photograph them well.  In reality, this orange is much brighter, not so much of a deeper base, and has more of a golden tint.  It definitely shifts between the orange shimmer and the golden shimmer, so it looks different in every light.  I had some light bubbling, but I definitely used a thicker base coat layer than usual, so I take responsibility for that.  This was two coats and I reached full opacity with the slightest visible nail line not visible in person. Riveting launched with the Hunger Games collection and was meant to exemplify District 3.

Most color accurate

Read on for more pictures and review!

Go Buffs Fall 2012 Version 4.0

Here's the nails for this past game day weekend.  I used two coats of Sally Hansen's Gilty Pleasure followed by Revlon's Black Lingerie with my trusty dotting tool for my drips. 

I'm literally dripping with Buff pride.  Haha get it?

Song of the day: Everyday by Britney Spears