Life happens

Hi, everyone! Just posting to  let you know that I'm still around, but have just pushed this blog to the back burner. I do plan to go back to posting eventually, since I still love polish! I also have a few posts that I definitely want to be out in the blogosphere to help others. Among the topics I will post about in the future are

-Inglot 207, the blue flakie

-Where to find a Flip Flop Fantasy dupe for the original formula. Didn't know Flip Flop Fantasy had changed colors? See for yourself in this post from Chit Chat Nails showing the two formulas.

-Where to find glycerin to make your own Fauxnad

-How I made my own nail polish racks out of styrofoam, and the extra tips that youtubers don't always mention.

The video above is for a diy styrofoam wall rack, and the Prettyfulz blog post links to a good one for a tiered one!

Nail polish rack from Prettyfulz blog. Her post includes a great video tutorial!

If you comment below with another topic of interest, it'll be good inspiration for me to get myself into action and get back to posting soon! In the meantime, I will be back with at least the 3 topics listed below. I pledge to do those posts by the end of the year, at least! :P

Fragrance Fridays-Items I Regret Buying!

Avoid these products: Creative Home, Elegant Expressions and Ikea brand fragrances!

One of my favorite type of videos to watch on Youtube are the "Products I Regret Buying" tag.  I think those often serve as a good way to warn people against wasting their hard earned money on bad products. 

In that same spirit, I wanted to share a few home fragrance products that I regret buying.  If you follow me on Instagram, you might know that I'm a huge fan of wax melts and candles. Unfortunately, sometimes the quality of these products isn't what it should be. Here are a few such products I want to warn you against.

IKEA candles. I won't lie, IKEA candles smell great. However, they have absolutely no throw!  I bought thee strawberry scent because it was such a yummy fragrance when I held it up to my nose to smell it. However, once I started to burn the candle, I couldn't smell it anywhere else in the room. A quick Youtube video search reveals that other IKEA candle variations have the same problems. Unless you want them just for decorative purposes, avoid IKEA candles!

Two other products I bought on a whim is are wax melts I found at the 99 Cent Only Store. Yes, they were only 99 cents so it may have been unrealistic to expect much. However, you definitely get what you pay for!!  Neither the Elegant Expressions Cran-apple scent nor the Creative Home Mixed Berry scent from did anything for me once I melted them. The were not strong at all, the throw was non existent. I definitely recommend avoiding these wax melts. Spend your 99 cents on something that's actually worthwhile, instead!

I'd love to hear from you if you've tried these products, as well. Did you have a similar experience, or did these brands work out well for you?

Inspiration Wednesday- Zoya Maya with flakies

Zoya Maya topped wth Color Club Snowflakes, sunlight

Here’s a manicure that was inspired by someone’s pet. A month or so back, I was saddened to hear that an online friend’s beautiful cat had passed away unexpectedly. The cat’s name was Maya, and I had just happened to have received Zoya Maya in the mail from the Zoya Freedom Sale around that time. Because of this, I decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to wear the coral jelly  and pay tribute to Maya the cat. Once I had applied Maya, I wanted to top it with something, but none of my glitter seemed quite right. Then, it hit me...flakies! Beautiful, delicate flakies would look lovely in combination with the gorgeous coral jelly. I applied Color Club Snowflakes, and voila! My delicate coral mani now had a special something extra with the green to orange shifting flakies.  I love the combination, so much so that I took a ton of photos. See more pictures afer the jump, including a couple of mattified ones!

Zoya Maya topped wth Color Club Snowflakes, shade

Tips and Tricks Tuesday- DIY exfoliating lip balm!

Here's a quick DIY trick that stems from a product I'd been meaning to try for a while. I've been wanting to try out a product like the ELF Lip Exfoliator for a while. However, I never seem to get around to putting in an order with ELF, so I came up with my own version. I just softened a lip balm I wasn't hugely fond of, then opened a packet of "Sugar in the Raw" large grain sugar onto my palm.  I pressed the softened lip balm into the sugar grains, and voila! The sugar was imbedded into the balm. Once the lip balm hardened again, I used the sugared lip balm as an exfoliator.  I feel that the sugar grains in the balm are doing a great job of exfoliating my lips!

Tips and Tricks Tuesday- Cuticle Oil pen!

Make your own perfumed cuticle oil with an old perfume rollerball!

Here's a quick tip that I wanted to share because it was such a pleasant surprise to me. I recently used up my rollerball of perfume from Tattooed by Inky. Rather than throwing out the empty container, I decided to try using it for cuticle oil. I had tried the cuticle oil from Julep at Sephora, and liked the rollerball format of the packaging. So I pried the top off of my old rollerball of perfume, then filled the container to the top with olive oil. I replaced the top, and voila! I now have a new rollerball of cuticle oil.  My favorite aspect of my new cuticle oil? The remnants of perfume in the bottle have totally affected the oil in the container, so all the oil that comes out smells exactly like the Tattooed perfume. The combination of a great fragrance with being so easy to use makes this my new favorite way to moisturize my cuticles!

Inspiration Wednesday- Eva So Bright

Sinful Colors Eva So Bright with gold stripes

I’ve noticed that a there’s been quite a bit of traffic to this blog coming from people who searched for Sinful Colors Eva So Bright.  It’s  definitely an appropriate color for the summer, so I can understand the interest.  Because of being inspired by my readers, I’ve decided to post these pictures I have of  the last time I wore Eva So Bright. The quality of the pictures isn’t ideal, which is part of why I hadn’t posted  them prior to this.  A lot of them have a misty quality to them.  Hopefully you’ll still get a good idea about Eva So Bright, which is a limited edition offering from Sinful Colors.  

Sinful Colors Eva So Bright with NOPI Not a Gold Bigger stripes, shade

 I wore Eva So Bright a while ago, when I got a craving for a bright, happy coral. I decided to add some decorative stripes to Eva So Bright using Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger with a striping brush.   I really like the overall look of the mani. It’s bright and fun, with a bit of added sophistication. 

How does Eva So Bright compare to the classic color, OPI Cajun Shrimp? Judge for yourself, plus check out a bonus mani, after the jump!

Inspiration Wednesday- Leopard French mani

Leopard French Manicure, featuring pastel dots over Wet n Wild 2% Milk

What do you do when you are craving pastel polish but can’t decide which color to wear? If you’re me, you decide to de a pastel leopard French manicure!  This look is totally inspired by Rebecca Likes Nails, who originally posted a neon version a couple of years ago.

Rebecca Likes Nails' original, neon, version

  Rebecca is much better at nail art than I am, but I’m still pretty happy with my results. At least you can tell what it’s supposed to be, which is not always the case with my designs.  To learn what polishes I used in this look, join me after the jump!