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

bikini

JulieG - Swatches 2012 Line - Part 1

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

christmas 2012

JulieG Polish - Swatches of Holiday 2012

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

ipsy

July Ipsy Glam Bag

Monday, July 29, 2013

Hi guys! Sorry this post is so late but I had a little glitch with my bag this month. They forgot to include one of my items but were VERY quick to fix it! I am SO happy with everything in my bag and although not all of the things work the way I wanted, they are items I would have used had they been cooperative.

This time around, not everything was full sized, but here is the breakdown and MSRP if applicable:

POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon - Set of 6 $25 / Each ~$4.17
bh Cosmetics California Collection Sampler - no value | Full size $17.95
Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray - trial size ~$5 | Full size $19
Coola Mineral Face spf 20 Moisturizer - sample size | Full size $36
Nailtini in Mai Tai - $13
BONUS item: Nicole by OPI - Pretty in Plum - $8

Total retail value for everything that could be priced is about $30. Without my bonus item, it's $22 which is double what I pay, but kinda on the skimpy side this month. Still, I'm very happy with my Ipsy subscription. On to the individual products and review for each.

Okay, Coola sunscreen moisturizer. Do not like. I tried it out thinking it was going to be like other moisturizers I have that also have spf. Well, it's a hot white mess on my face. Maybe it would be fine on skin that's lighter than mine, but I won't be using this one up.

Okay, next is the eyeshadow sample in the bag. So I heard from other that the shadows weren't pigmented enough and that they shouldn't have mixed different colors from different palettes because it wouldn't match. I agree that the shadows aren't as pigmented as they appear. The swatches below show 3 layers of color. I had to pick up a lot of shadow on my fingers to build it up too.

On the other hand, I do enjoy getting a sample of colors. The will last me a while so it's not like it's a complete waste. If I wanted all 3 palettes, they're only $7 a piece with my Ipsy code. You get 16 eyeshadow colors and 4 blush colors in each palette. Even for $17.95 you get a lot of product. Purchase yours HERE if you're interested.

So, I love lip pencils and crayons because they're like an all-in-one product. This one is great, but WOW. Look at that pink! It certainly is super bright and not suitable for every day use. It glides on really smooth so the product is good quality. It comes in a pack of 6 on the website but I have no idea if they are sold individually.

This was the one item I was really looking forward to this month. It was also the item that was originally missing from my bag. So, it smells AMAZING! It smells like the beach...beach in a bottle! It did nothing for my hair except make it kinda crispy, haha. I was hoping for a little more texture than what actually happened, but oh well. I may have to give this a try when I actually go to the beach. If I do, I'll update.

Now to my favorite part of the bag -- nail polish! This is my first Nailtini and I love it! Mai Tai is a creamy burnt orange color. It applies so smoothly and in just 2 coats it's opaque. It is shown with top coat below.

Thank you to the 2 people who signed up for Ipsy! That's how I got this bonus item. I have a few NOPI polishes in my collection. I like their flat brush because it covers my nail pretty well but it does make it a little hard to round the cuticle area. This color is really pretty and a perfect purple for Fall.

So, what did you think of this month's July bag for me? Price-wise, it's still okay. Even though some of the items I won't be using often, it still helps me decide what is right and what is wrong for my overall makeup collection.

What's your favorite item from this month?

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

This post contains affiliate links. I purchase my Ipsy subscription each month.

jesse's girl

Jesse's Girl EPIC Nail Mail

Friday, July 26, 2013

butter london

butter LONDON - 2 Shades from Autumn/Winter 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Hi guys!!! Today I feel so lucky to be able to share with you 2 colors from butter LONDON's Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection, The Colour Clash.

Yesterday I received Cake-Hole, a bright and fun almost neon hot pink polish and Cotton Buds, a creamy opaque white polish. As you know, polish has been changing me into loving all of these pink shades and this one certainly isn't helping my case. Scroll down to read my review on each and to view a simple nail art design with these 2 colors.

Cotton Buds is a very creamy and opaque white polish. It's hard to find nice whites out there that will cover in 2 coats and not be too streaky. I'd say Cotton Buds is on the money. I applied the first coat somewhat thin and when the 2nd layer was applied, it pretty much covered up any patches that may have happened in layer 1.

Now, I know this will completely vary depending on how thick you make your first coat and what your application style is. At the very least, this is a great polish for nail art if you need a nice white base [for a neon] or just a great white for general designs.

I did also apply a layer of the Hardwear P.D. Quick Top Coat [my new favorite] and that did help to smooth out any minor imperfections in your 2nd layer of polish.

Cake-Hole. LOVE. I'm done.

Haha, I'm just kidding! This is probably one of the BEST neon/nearly neon polishes I own now. Would you believe me if I told you this applied perfectly in 2 coats? This polish has the consistency of a neon [pretty thin] but it's sooo incredible creamy that it doesn't act like a neon would in application. It does dry with that matte/satiny finish so I added some Hardwear P.D. to take care of that.

I bet if you put this on top of Cotton Buds you'd totally blow everyone away. I still have this one right now and I honestly love the way it looks on my nails. This will probably be a polish I'll use quite a bit.

Now for a little nail art! How could I not do spun sugar, right? Have you seen my tutorials yet? Well, since Cotton Buds turned out to be such a creamy polish, I knew it would be the perfect one to use for spun sugar. On top of Cake-Hole it definitely pops.

My lines are so thin that with a top coat on, you don't necessarily feel them. I know some of you like the texture of it, but I prefer spun sugars for the look, not the feel.

So I hope you enjoy these two colors! Cotton Buds is most definitely a white polish that I'd recommend to anyone and Cake-Hole is just another fantastic neon pink!

Now for purchasing details! Head on over to the butter LONDON website to see all 6 colors in this collection. They are US ONLY colors and are priced at $15 a piece.

Get Social with butter LONDON:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

These products were provided for an honest review. All opinions are my own. For more information, please visit my disclosure policy page.

metallic

Polish & Co. - Swatches and Review

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Today I am very excited to share with you 4 shades from Polish & Co. I actually came across this brand just searching Google for nail polish brands. I love to find nail polish brands that I've never seen before or have heard very little about.

Theresa Williamson is the woman behind Polish & Co. based in Greensboro, NC. As it says on the website, "...you can have at least your nails emulate that syrupy, southern belle look."

Let's take a look at the packaging. I was so impressed with how each polish was carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, and then placed in individual pillow boxes. I felt like I was opening a present with each polish!

I also don't usually write about the brushes [and a picture won't really tell you much] but they are nice and long so you feel like you have a lot of control when applying the polish. The brush is also a nice rounded brush so you don't have to turn it a certain way to use it. I personally found these brushes to be one of the easiest to use.

These are the four colors Theresa sent to me. Oh Hello No, Any Place Any Time, Too Much Info, and Mint To Tell U. I love ALL of these colors....YES, even the pink ones! Polish is certainly changing my outlook on the color pink. With each color, I have 4 pictures so that you can try to get as much detail as possible about these colors. All swatches are with 1 coat of top coat. Shall we start?

This GORGEOUS metallic, pearlescent baby pink is called Oh Hell No. To start, it has a smell that is very nostalgic. Polish & Co. is a proud 5-free company so don't worry about all those chemicals. Like most metallic and pearly polishes you'll have a few visible brush strokes, but as you can see it's really not that bad.

This is such an elegant color and polish that I feel like it could be a GREAT wedding manicure polish. The name, well, not so much, but it's fun and definitely gets your attention.

Any Place Any Time. A fitting name for this creamy, vibrant purple. This is the only polish that gave me any sort of trouble. It was pretty streaky with the first coat. I'm not sure what happened but it felt grainy coming out of the bottle. After I let that dry, I applied a 2nd coat and everything smoothed out and was completely opaque. This is such a great summer color but would be appropriate for really....Any Place Any Time. =D

Too Much Info is my favorite of the 4. It's a bright, vibrant, hot pink, creamy polish. This polish also applied so flawlessly and works in 2 coats. On the website and in these pictures, it shows a little bit on the orange side, but it seriously is one of the best hot pink polishes I own.

I'm on a mint kick. Most people are right now and this lovely gem is called Mint To Tell U. I thought this one was going to be my favorite but it comes in a close 2nd. What can I say about this that I haven't already said for the other 3 colors? I have 2 coats ad top coat. The first coat applied isn't as streaky as Any Time Any Place, but just as that one did, the 2nd coat here took care of any mistakes and bare spots.

Overall, I am loving these polishes. The brushes are amazing, the formula is so creamy, very opaque, and not too thick. The colors are so vibrant and you can easily find a shade that works for you.

There are currently 36 shades to choose from. Visit the Shop Me page to view them all!

Get social with them and visit all their links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Which one is your favorite of the 4? Let me know which ones you would get from the website!

These polishes were provided for an honest review. All opinions are my own. For more information please visit my disclosure policy page.