Pastel Confetti Nail Art

 


I created this fun nail look for spring using two of the polishes that came in the Julep Cupid’s Mystery Clutch. The pastel pink base is called Fifi and the heart confetti is called Yuki. I love how this look can be achieved without any special nail art tools. It was also very easy to create.

After painting on the base colour and letting it dry for a few minutes, I used the brush in the confetti polish to dab random bits of white and pink confetti onto the nail on my ring finger. Next, I used the brush to pick up a white confetti heart and place it in the centre of my nail. I finished the look with a layer of top coat. The look lasted a long time and I received many compliments on it. I think this nail design is very versatile—it’s office appropriate yet also a pretty look for a bride to wear on her
wedding day.

What do you think of this spring nail look?

Dashing Digits Floral Nail Accessories (Review + Pictures)

When I’m in the mood for an effortless and pretty summer nail look, I love to combine a light polish colour with a floral design. Sometimes I create my floral nail looks using a dotting tool, but that can be time consuming. An easier and simpler option is to use Floral Nail Accessories like these ones from Dashing Digits.
With their pink and purple petals and subtle splashes of glitter, these dainty flower decals are perfect for adding a pretty accent to your already polished nails. I painted my nails with Essie’s Topless & Barefoot for a professional event I was attending one morning; when I got home in the afternoon, I added these flowers to make the nail look more appropriate for a summer party I was attending that evening. The decals stick very well and I did not bother using a topcoat because I knew that they would be fine on their own—I was right!

If you have never heard of Dashing Digits, it’s an online store that offers a line of full coverage nail wraps and nail accessories. One thing that I love about their products is that they are more accommodating for small nails. As someone with tiny hands and nails, I often have trouble finding decals to fit on my small nail surface. As you can see from the photos above, I had no trouble with these.
The product comes with a generous amount of flowers in shades of pink and purple. Aside from this design, the company has many other floral and other decal designs, as well as nail wraps. You can check them out on the company’s website (http://www.dashingdigits.com/).
The company is always adding to its inventory and updates customers on new arrivals and promotions on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DashingDigits)
To receive 15% off your next order, you can use the discount code WELCOME at check out.

In addition to trying out these floral nail accessories, I also had the opportunity to try out the dazzling pink cheetah nail wraps in the photo above (see my post on them HERE).
What are your thoughts on this floral nail look?
*Although the products mentioned in this post were sent for review purposes, all opinions expressed are honest and are my own*

NOTD: Zoya Gei Gei

Is it Gei Gei or Gie Gie? The spelling on the website is different than that of the bottle’s label. I think that I prefer the website’s spelling of Gei Gei,

The polish came out in the Spring 2013 Lovely collection from Zoya. In the words of Zoya, “Gei Gei can be best described as a full-coverage, blushing cherry blossom pink metallic. A shimmery light shade for an always-appropriate natural pink nail look. Originally created as a custom runway shade for fashion designer Zang Toi.”

In my opinion, this polish is capable of more than just your average “natural pink look”. It’s bursting with silver shimmer particles that make nails look like they are gleaming all the time. The cool tones and subtle hints of lilac make the polish very wearable and perfect for spring.

This polish was a little streaky during application but it smoothed over nicely during the drying process. I used three coats to achieve full coverage.

Despite Gei Gei’s embedded shine, the finish itself is not glossy when the polish dries. A top coat is necessary if you want the glazed look.

Overall, I’m very impressed with this polish and recommend Gei Gei to those who are looking for a unique light pink shade…something a little different than the cream finish pastel pink shades that everyone has been wearing lately.

NOTD: Zoya Rory

After a long winter of dark, cream finish polishes, Zoya Rory is a breath of fresh, spring air!

At first glance, this shade appears as a standard pink with a hint of purple, but a little sunlight brings out its truly unique properties. Zoya describes Rory as a “medium mauve pink with lilac tones, gold and silver reflective metallic shimmer accents, and a foil-like finish.” As you can see from the photos in this post, this description is fairly accurate.

Rory was introduced to the Zoya family in Summer 2012 with the release of the Surf collection. The other five polishes in the collection have a similar finish. Despite being a medium shade, Rory is fairly pigmented and becomes opaque with two coats. Zoya gives this polish a 5/5 in terms of opacity.

I’m not sure if I agree with the Zoya site in its classification of Rory as a warm toned shade. I can usually only pull off cool toned shades, but Rory did not compete with my skintone. I think that the lilac tones neutralize the mauve and allow Rory to have a neutral base.

Also, while the finish is quite metallic, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that it is “foil-like”. I consider a foil-like finish to be smooth and reflective, or mirror-like (for example, the Sally Hansen Chrome polishes). The metallic-look of this polish is created by gold and silver shimmers which make the finish shiny and glossy but not quite reflective. Either way, the finish is unique and gives the shade dimension.

Overall, I feel that Rory offers a pretty pop of colour, and a surprising splash of shimmer with its metallic micro glitter formula. The formula is easy to work with and it took five days for minor chipping and tip-wear to begin. A perfect spring and summer polish!

First Impressions: Joe Fresh Beauty Products

About a week ago I was browsing through the grocery store in search of ingredients to make a taco dip (see this post if you would like to read about the dip and watch a tutorial: http://putbeautytowords.blogspot.com/2011/04/easy-taco-dip-recipe-for-parties.html) when the Joe Fresh Beauty display caught my eye.
Joe Fresh Beauty (http://www.joefresh.com/en/bath_beauty/) has been sold at Loblaws stores since 2009 and I can’t believe that it took me this long to try it out. I decided to purchase three items to see how I liked the brand. I got a lip stain, a tinted lip balm, and a cheek tint.
Since I have only been using the products for a few days I don’t think that I have a strong enough opinion of them enough to write a full review on each. However, I would like to tell you about my experiences with the products so far.
Lip Stain in Peach
I was most excited to try the lip stain because it has been very windy here and I do not like when my long hair gets stuck in my lip gloss. I wanted something that would give my lips a nice flush without a sticky texture. So far the only lip stain that i have tried is Benefit’s Benetint. While I love Benetint, its brush applicator does not always give a precise stain and I often worry that the bottle will leak in my purse. The Joe Fresh lip stain solved these problems because it has a precise marker-like tip that is perfect for lining lips and then filling them in. The package also closes very tightly and does not seem like it would leak. As for the colour, I think that it is very pretty and natural but is a bit more brown than I had expected. The outside of the packaging shows the colour as a true peach but, in reality, it is a slightly more beige-peach. That said, I still really do like the colour. It gives my lips a your-lips-but-better flush. For me, the only downside to to this product is the smell. It has a peach alcohol scent and I don’t mean rubbing alcohol—vodka is more like it! I really do not like the smell of vodka or any other type of alcohol so I do have to hold my breath a bit when I apply this product. Luckily, the scent does not linger for very long after application and the product does not have any distinct taste. It dries thoroughly and lasts on the lips for a few hours. At $6 I think that the price of this lip stain is very reasonable. Next I would like to try the shade Grapefruit for a brighter more coral-pink tint.
*click photos to enlarge*

Tinted Lip Balm in Papaya
I bought this product because I have heard a lot of good things about it. First I must say that the colour in the tube looks nothing like the colour that shows up when the product is applied to the lips. In the tube Papaya looks like a hot pink with slight orange undertones. On the lips Papaya shows up as a pretty light pink. Normally pink lipsticks turn an orangey brown on me which is why I usually stay away from them. When this product is first applied it looks slightly orange around the edges of my lips but the orange quickly fades to reveal that pretty natural looking light pink colour. In the centre of these balms is a lip conditioner and I have to say that the product leaves my lips very moisturized long after the product fades. It does have good lasting power though and I love how it leaves the lips looking glossy and moisturized. I am really impressed with the packaging. The mirror-like tube looks very classy and expensive and somehow picks up very few fingerprints which is always a plus. The best part of this product is definitely the scent; it is very sweet and fruity and lasts for a long time once the product has been applied. I can actually smell the product while it’s on my lips! I only wish that the product had an equally good taste. It really has no flavour at all. Overall I really do like this product but at $8 I think it is a bit expensive for a lip balm.

Cheek Tint in Pink
The last Joe Fresh Beauty item that I purchased is the Cheek Tint in Pink. Like the tinted lip balm, this product looks a lot brighter in the tube that it does on the skin. In the tube it is almost the same colour as the tinted lip balm in Papaya with that hot pink base and slight orange undertones. On the cheeks this tint shows up as a pretty rosy pink that gives that just came in from a jog look. It is very flattering and makes the skin look smooth and glowy. The product has a very faint and subtle shimmer that is not visible on the cheeks. I like how it is easy to blend and dries to a smooth finish that does not leave the skin feeling sticky like some cream blushes do. There is no scent to this product which is probably a good thing because it decreases its potential to cause irritation or reactions on sensitive skin. It comes in a plastic tube and twists up like a lipstick. At $4 this product is very affordable and definitely worth trying.

Overall I am pretty impressed with Joe Fresh Beauty products so far. In addition to the pros and cons that I have highlighted about each of the three products that I have tried, I want to point out two other advantages of these products: 1. They are sealed very well so you don’t have to worry about buying a product that has been opened or used in the store. 2. They do not do any animal testing!!!!