Are You An Essie or O.P.I. Girl?



photo credit

 Last weekend my roommate and I were out doing a little holiday shopping and having some much needed girl time. During our excursion we stopped by Ulta. It's been so long since I've been in there so I just couldn't help myself. We decided we were going to get small gifts for each other and she had just got me something out of Nordstrom Rack. I know she loves polishes so I thought Ulta was the perfect choice. She didn't want to go in but I baited her by saying "Let's look at nail polish". She quickly walked across the parking lot with me lol.

Once inside I knew she was going to go straight for the O.P.I. which I used to do. However, now I find myself going straight to the Essie colors. While perusing the polishes I said "Well let's see if Essie has the color you're looking for." to which she replied "No Essie is so girly."

It really made me stop and think about it. My roommate and I have totally different styles. She's more edgy and fashion forward and trendy than I am. I'm more of the ultra feminine plain jane. I do the nudes. She does the color. Maybe it's true. Essie is for the super frilly lace and bows kind of girl and O.P.I. is for the funky girls. My most daring O.P.I. colors are "Lincoln Park After Dark" (which every woman has to have) and "Vodka and Caviar" which is like a Russian Red.

What are your thoughts ladies? Do you agree with Essie being way more girly than O.P.I.? What kind of girl are you? Are you an Essie girl or an O.P.I. girl?

xo

Candice Olivia

Tutorial Tuesday: Colorful Zebra Nails

photo source: SCCasteneda

I thought I would switch it up and post a nail tutorial. Here is a colorful zebra nail design inspired by a Lisa Frank notebook. For the full post click here. I thought it was going to be very difficult in the beginning but its really easy, as long as you have the right tools. For more details watch the video below...

Monica To Launch Nailpolish Line with Orly

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Singer and newlywed Monica Brown has announced that she too will be entering the world of nail polish collaborations. Unlike other who have teamed with O.P.I. and/or Sephora, Monica has inked her deal with Orly. Her line will not only be nail polish but a complete nail care system. (Differentiation…I love it)



The bottles will have inspirational quotes for women. Where on the bottle they will fit is unbeknownst to me, but that's neither here nor there.
 
Not too sure if I'm going to be excited about the colors, but I am rather excited about the nail care portion. I'm in desperate need for a really good primer, top coat and cuticle repair. The new line will launch in June. Let's see what it has to offer! I hope I can get my hands on it early...pun intended.
 
 

*peace love & couture*

"Each nail bottle will have an inspirational quote to remind women to just stay encouraged, stay focused, enjoy life and know that hard times will come in many different fashions like relationships, work, whatever it is. I always try to motivate the next person to just stay encouraged and to continue to push and strive to have the best life you can. So in something as simple as nail polish you throw in a message like that maybe it will brighten someones day." -Monica

Couture Favorite: Winter Polishes

WINTER POLISH

Here are some of my favorite nail polishes that I will be wearing this winter. I think I may just alternate between these 4 and call it a season!

Lincoln Park After Dark

MAC F/W 09 Nail Trend

MAC has teamed up with famed manicurist Jin Soon Choi to release a new and exclusive nail lacquer line. The F/W 09 Nail Trend collection features a new high gloss formula to enrich the cream finishes for each polish.

Here is a look at the new collection below.

Polishes from l to r: Under lacquer, Over lacquer, "Cool Reserve", "For Fun", "Dance All Night", "Dry Martini", "Rich, Dark, Delicious", "Beyond Jealous"

I'm most excited about the green and brown shades. I think they will be rather lovely for the fall and winter. I'm really into earth tone colors and I'm obsessing over blues and greens right now. Those 3 I must get my hands on.

Product Review: Pure Ice Nail Polish

I was in Wal-Mart with my mom looking for something very specific but didn't find it. But hey when you're in Wal-Mart can you actually leave the store without buying something? If you can please let me know how you do it. 

My mom and I ended up in the beauty aisles of course. I wanted some new nail polish colors and she was going to buy them for me. So I didn't want her to have to dig too deep in her wallet because she had just splurged on a wonderful dinner for me and drinks. I saw the Pure ICE colors and a few of the colors I wanted to try. I ended up getting a stark white color (superstar) and a coral color (twinkle). I swatched both of them on my nail and said "you're coming home with me." And they were only $2 a piece. So that excited me. 

Of course I couldn't wait until I got home to give myself a mani and pedi. But it went downhill from there. I used the stark white color. I've seen my hair stylist with stark white nails and I thought it was so cute. I  had been wearing a really dark purple, almost black all week so I thought this would be a nice contrast. 

Dislikes

• Too thick. 
• Don't like the way it comes out the bottle. 
• Really have to use 2 coats. 
• Have to apply it really thick on the first coat so you don't get a streaky or chunky application

Likes 

• Price
• Assortment of colors

I'm not saying that I would never buy them again. But I've learned things that I would do differently for the next application. I guess you get what you pay for. Clearly not like the $7-$10 polishes that I'm used to. 

Target Haul: Alba Botanica, OPI, and Soap and Glory

This is my second Target haul in a month and I was thoroughly excited by this haul. I got quite a few things and only spent $54.00. May seem like a lot to some considering its a recession and I was only buying a few beauty products, but I couldn't have been  happier. Here is what I purchased:

• OPI polish (I'm India Mood for Love)
• Alba Botanica Pineapple Enzyme Facial Scrub
• Alba Botanica Aloe and Green Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer
• Soap and Glory gift set
• Two vinyl cosmetic bags

O.P.I. (I'm India Mood For Love) - $8.50

I absolutely love love love this polish. As much as I love O.P.I. polishes I haven't found that many colors lately that I like for the summer time in the pink and coral family. Maybe I just need to go to better stores that have better selections. I was so in love with the color I immediately gave myself a pedicure as well as two of my cousins (age 3 and 4). These little girls were so excited and were in love with their pink toes. People will be seeing this color a lot on me this summer. 

Alba Botanica Pineapple Enzyme Facial Scrub -$11

I didn't even know this brand existed. The display in the store had Jessica Alba's face so of course I assumed that it was something that she had  her hands on. Once I got home and looked up the line...her face was nowhere to be found on the site. Not even a mention of her name. I wasn't disappointed, however I still was intrigued by their products and might be trying some of the other things that they have to offer. All products are hypo-allergenic and 100% vegetarian products. The line also boasts no animal testing. Now that I have a dog those are things I pay more attention to. 

LIKES: 

• I love the packaging for the scrub. It looks very cute and tropical. 
• The consistency of the scrub was nice and it felt so natural like I could have made it in my kitchen using household ingredients. 
• I like the way my skin felt after using it and the smell was pleasing. 
  

DISLIKES: 

• I didn't like that it seemed like after washing it off my face that the granules from the scrub were still there in some places. When I initially rubbed my face I didn't feel anything. It wasn't until I went to put on moisturizer that I could feel granules on my face. 
  
• I didn't like the fact that it didn't give instructions on how often you should use the scrub directly on the packaging. But a recommendation was found on the website saying up to 2 times per week. I have been using it about every 3 days and haven't had any adverse effects up to this point. So I will probably keep it up. 

OVERALL= I like it. My skin looks and feels good. I will continue to use it. I recommend buying it. 

Alba Botanica Green Tea and Aloe Moisturizer - $17

I saw the moisturizer before I saw the scrub. The moisturizer is what made me buy the scrub. I always like to try products from the same line. I think its just something about the products coming from the same company and having the same ingredients and tested to work well together. My skin has been really dry lately and moisturizers that I have been using just haven't been really working for me at all, nor have they been good enough to use under my foundation. 

LIKES:

• I absolutely adore the consistency of this moisturizer. Its very deceiving. It appears to be thin but it distributes very well. You only need a very tiny dot on your finger and it goes on your whole face and throat. 
• It sort of has a warming sensation when I put it on. I don't know if its supposed to or its just my skin reacting to an ingredient but I haven't had any break outs or red areas as a result. 
• I like the smell. 
• Goes very well under my foundation. Leaves my skin feeling very supple and hydrated. 

DISLIKES:

• NO COMPLAINTS

OVERALL = I love it. Will continue to use it. Recommend it. Because it distributes so well and you just need a dab on your finger I feel its worth the $17. 

Soap and Glory Gift Set - $8

I became familiar with the scrub from watching a haul video on YouTube from DulceCandy87. She said she really liked it. I had never heard of the brand prior to and when I saw it in Target I thought to myself hmmm I'll try it. She said it was wonderful for the legs and I'm especially trying to get my legs in order for shorts and dresses. I didn't want to buy the full size container just to try it out. I was looking all over the shelves and was liking a lot of their products. Then I came across a cute little gift set that had a body scrub, shower gel, and body butter. 

LIKES:

• I adore the smell of all the products. 
• The scrub and the body butter both have shea butter in them. I LOVE ALL THINGS SHEA BUTTER. 
• A little bit goes a long way. I can use these products every day and will have a lot left in my container considering they are smaller sizes. 
• Love the way my skin felt after using the products. 

DISLIKES:

• NO COMPLAINTS

EXPERIMENT!

Since the scrub is a sugar scrub I knew that I could use it before or after shaving my legs. So I decided to do a little experiment while in the shower to see if using the scrub before vs. after made any difference. The result wasn't that shocking but there was definitely a difference. The leg where I used the scrub prior to shaving was much smoother than the leg where I used the scrub after shaving. 

(Sugar scrubs provide moisture as opposed to salt scrubs that pull moisture out of the skin. Salt scrubs should be used prior to shaving  your legs and not after. Just think about putting salt into an open wound... Not a good feeling.)