Kat Stays Polished | Beauty Blog with a Dash of Life: June 2013

Hot Pink Tips for my Cousin's Wedding

Friday, June 28, 2013

June Ipsy Glam Bag

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Hi guys! Today I have my June Ipsy bag to show you! I was so impressed with my May [and first] Ipsy bag and I'm pretty impressed with the June bag too. I think I'll actually use every single one of these products...the orange blush is a little iffy, but we'll see.

Everything received was a full sized item or an item that can be purchased from the company's website in that size. Here is a breakdown of MSRP/value:

Freeman Beaut Psssst! Dry Shampoo travel size: $2.99
J. Cat Beauty Sparkling Cream Palette in Suzie: $4.49
Cailyn Line-Fix Gel Eyeliner: $21
Starlooks Lip Pencil in Tipsy: $12
Nyx Rouge Cream Blush in Orange: $6

So, in this bag, I received just almost $50 worth of products. If you want to get technical, it's $46.48 and everything is available in these sizes to purchase from each of the brand websites.

Okay, so getting into the first item. I have been only a recent user of dry shampoo. The one I currently use is from TRESemme and I love it. I started using it because I had gotten bangs and I heard it was a lifesaver. Now I'm seeing the dry shampoo trend for volume. I've definitely noticed extra volume with the other dry shampoos I have used and this one is no different. This tiny can won't last me long, but now I have another brand to seek out next time I'm out to buy dry shampoo.

GLITTER! EYESHADOW! WOW. So I completely didn't expect this to be COMPLETELY glitter, but it is! I thought maybe this would have been a super creamy glitter shadow but it's mostly glitter and very non-creamy. I wouldn't use this alone but it would be great for glitter accents on your eyes, or anywhere on your face, really. Don't use your fingers to apply it because you'll end up with more on the finger than your face.

This is my first eyeliner in a pot and I am impressed. The brush it comes with is great and you can easily control where the liner goes. It's also most definitely smudge- and waterproof. When I tried to remove it after swatching, it took a little scrubbing to get it off. You definitely don't have to worry about it going anywhere. Even though it's a purple color, it's dark enough that your eyes won't be screaming color to the world. As you can see, you can apply it any which way you'd like and it will stay put.

Okay, so I'm not a lip pencil [or any product] pro, but I actually really love this formula and color. It glides on super smooth and isn't too pink for my liking. I might be incorporating this into my "natural makeup" look/collection.

Lastly we have an orange blush. This is my first orange blush and my first cream blush. I was a little apprehensive about the orange, but I think if I stick to the "just a dab'll do ya" then I'll be just fine. It's all about the blending. =P

So, what did you think of this month's June bag for me? Did they do right with the items? Price-wise, it's still worth it for me and it's helping me to grow my makeup collection with things that I wouldn't normally buy for myself.

What's your favorite item from this month?

If you're convinced that this is a GREAT deal each month, join the Ipsy community HERE.

4th of july nails

4th of July Patriotic Spun Sugar for Jesse's Girl

Thursday, June 27, 2013

giveaway

Incoco Nail Appliques Review and GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Hi guys! Today I'm on a mission! My mission is to get you to love Incoco Nail appliques! To celebrate their new website, Incoco is allowing me to review their product and they are giving one lucky person a set of appliques!

Incoco nail appliques are actual nail polish strips that are 3-free and include a base coat and a top coat already. You will have a salon quality manicure that will stay beautiful for up to 14 days.

Below are 2 sets that I was sent. Today I'll be showing you the one on the left, Topaz Treasure.

There are 16 strips total -- more than enough to suit all your nail sizes. To choose one, simply hold it up to your nail to get a pretty accurate measurement. These are double sided to give you more sizing options.

I have always been a fan of nail polish strips. I used to wear them all the time before I got serious into nail art on my own. It has been a long time since I've used polish strips, especially ones that I love. Whoop, there, I said it. I LOVE THESE!

So here were the steps I took. I always start with my pinky finger and work my way to the thumb. The smallest one is usually always the one that fits my pinky. I tore off the single nail applique off of the row, peeled off the clear plastic covering, and gently pulled the applique off of the paper backing with the silver tab.

Then I gently laid it at the base of my nail, smoothed one side, then the other, and worked it down to the tip. You can also stretch the applique to give it a tighter seal and to reach the sides of your nail if you need to. No folding occurred and I was able to get a full seal on every nail!

As you can see in the pictures, there are a few minor naked spots near my cuticle, but nothing super obvious.

I didn't buff my nails prior to application but if you have harsh ridges, gently buff those away before you begin. All I did was wipe mine clean [twice] with rubbing alcohol. Total time for 1 hand took about 5 minutes...probably less. This manicure will last you up to 14 days, but that also depends on how much you use your hands. Typically, because I'm typing a lot and doing things around the house, I can get a good 7-10 days without a chip. I even had to file down my nails with the appliques on and there wasn't even the tiniest bit of lift along the nail edge.

I CAN'T STOP STARING AT MY NAILS!

Okay, now that you've heard me rave about how much I LOVE Incoco's nail appliques, here is a trick for you. I know that some people have complained that appliques are a waste because the strips that you don't use just dry up--that there's no way to preserve them. Well, I've got a solution.

While some of you may not be able to utilize this idea, maybe you know of someone that could help you out with it if the situation ever occurs.

When I was done with my 5-minutes-or-less manicure, I put the leftover strips back into the plastic envelope and that back into the cardboard envelope. Can you guess what I stuck THAT in next?

My FoodSaver!!! YES! I decided to vacuum-seal my appliques to prevent them from getting dried out. If air is what ruins the leftovers, then why not take the air completely out?

If you have any sort of vacuum seal device at home, put it to good use for your nail appliques, nail polish strips, whatever! You will never have another wasted strip again!

[If you want a FoodSaver for a great price, Costco has them!]

Now that you know all about Incoco and how you can easily store your leftovers, are you ready to win some of your own? Incoco sent me an extra set of nail appliques to give to one of you!

This set is from their Summer 2013 collection! The set you'll be winning is in the color Barcelona Beauty. Incoco describes these as, "Ripe, creamy, and oh so beautiful, this raspberry shade is just the right deep pink shade to give your nails a little juicy flavor for the invigorating summer months."

Follow the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win! This is open to all US and International readers! Good luck!

Be sure to visit Incoco and order you some cool designs for the summer! Get social with them, too!

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

These products were provided for an honest review. This giveaway is sponsored. All opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure policy for more information.

glitter

KKcenterHK Nail Stamp & Stud Review!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hi guys! Today I have 2 items for review from KKcenterHK. The first is a N.NAIL Hello Kitty KT Heart Bow Flower Doll Stamping Plate [product NNAIL-SPPMF13] and the second is a set of N.NAIL Studs Circular Silver 1.5mm Nail Art Decorations [product NNAIL-DRN659].

Of course I had to go for the Hello Kitty stamping plate because I LURVE Hello Kitty! I have a HK stamp already, but none that actually look like her. This one is pretty spot on. I also don't have ANY studs for my nails so I figured this would be a great opportunity to try them!

The stamping plate is just like most of your typical stamping plates. It's sturdy and the images are etched pretty well. There is no paper backing on these like you get with Bundle Monster but that's not an issue for me.

They also sent their scraper and stamper to try out with the plate. The scraper is attached to the other end of the stamper. I tried it, but I found myself going back to my Konad scraper. The KKCenterHK one just didn't get enough of the polish off. I was picking up extra polish in addition to the image.

Okay, so on to my manicure. When you think of Hello Kitty, you think of pink, right? Most of you know I am not a fan of pink but I do love Hello Kitty. I'll give into the pink just for her. I am using ALL JulieG polishes for this. The colors shown below are White Orchid, Cupcakes & Castles, Julie's Fave, and A Star is Born.

I started out by painting all of my nails with 2 coats of Cupcakes & Castles except for my ring finger which is 2 coats of Julie's Fave.

Next, I took White Orchid and with my dotting tool, created a "dotticure" on my middle finger. Now, the plate has images other than Hello Kitty so to make the design flow, I used both of the heart designs [White Orchid and Julie's Fave]. One is on my pinky [with dot accents] and the other one is on my pointer finger [with dot accents].

For my accent finger, Hello Kitty made an appearance. I took A Star is Born and diagonally sponged it on because I wanted it to look like Hello Kitty was peeking out behind the glitter. I also added a little stud to her bow since it was the perfect size! Hello Kitty needed some bling.

On the thumb, I used a full sized HK image and the strawberries that are at the top of the stamping plate.

Finally, I added 7 studs to my middle finger [the one with the dots]. They applied easily with top coat and have stayed on without chipping.

I threw on top coat over all the nails to protect my precious design. I'm quite happy with my nails and with the products I got to try! I'm most happy that the images worked completely. I had no issues with stamping--I just took forever to come up with a decent mani.

Enjoy the pictures and be sure to check out KKcenterHK on:

Website | Facebook | Blog

Stamping plate and studs were provided for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Please see my disclosure polisy for more information.

budget nail polish

Raining Glitter Skittles Mani

Monday, June 24, 2013

beach

Joby Nail Art Sticker Review and Giveaway! CLOSED

Friday, June 21, 2013

Hi guys! Today I have a review for you plus a giveaway and some nail art! I received two packs of nail art stickers - one of dolphins and one of beach-themed things.

It was SO hard to decide which one to use and which one to give to you guys! I started a quick poll on my Facebook page and most people liked Beach vs Dolphins - I wasn't about to take what you all would love!

Also, quick side note. I'm REALLY happy I used the dolphins one because my husband and I....well, here's the story: Do you know that song Sweet Nothing ft. Florence Welch by Calvin Harris? Well, my husband likes to make his own lyrics up with songs and this one was no different? He said that the line, "I'm living on such sweet nothing" sometimes sounds like, "I'm riding a sexy dolphin."

Anytime I hear that song now...that's what I hear! Anyway, on to the review!

This is the pack that comes with a bunch of cute and playful dolphins.

I decided that doing a beachy-themed manicure wasn't too far off. So, I started out by using the long sticker at the bottom and cut it to fit across my middle finger. It applied beautifully and all I had to do was file my nail edge and add top coat. It was smooth and you couldn't even tell there was a sticker on my nail!

Then I took Zoya Godiva and painted that on my pointer finger and thumb. This was going to be the "sand" for my beach. While I let the first coat dry, I painted 1 coat of JulieG Cabana Boy on my ring and pinky finger.

While that set, I took a palm tree sticker and placed it on my thumb, added a layer of top coat to seal the sticker, and then one more layer of Godiva to keep it textured.

Taking Tokyo Nights first and White Orchid second, I saran-applied those colors over Cabana Boy to create my ocean. I used Northern Lights on top of that to match the sparkle of the ocean wave sticker.

I then added a sun on my middle finger using Zoya Piaf and a playful dolphin sticker on my ring finger.

Finally, I sealed off my middle, ring, and pinky finger with top coat.

Here is the final look! This is a simple design anyone can do with just a little bit of patience! The stickers are thin enough that you can't even tell they are stickers when you apply a top coat! They blend in beautifully with the polish on your nail.

If you want your own Joby Nail Art stickers, go check them out on:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

To make it even easier for you to get the ones you love, enjoy this promo code from Joby:

JOBY10OFF (10% off when you buy THREE or MORE Joby Nail Art decals) -- Cannot be combined with any other promotions, combo packs excluded -- Expires 12/31/2013

NOW, the fun part! Win these Beach Joby Nail Art Stickers sponsored by Joby! This is open to both US and International readers! Follow the Rafflecopter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

These products were provided for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Please see my disclosure policy for more information