Vapid Lacquer Swatches & Review!!!

Hello all!!! Today I decided to bring back the polish posts! I've had SO many sponsored posts to do lately, that honestly, I haven't had time to do much else, but I've been DYING to show you these colors I received from Smelly Goods & Pretties!!! She makes an indie brand of polish called Vapid Lacquer, and they are SO SO wonderful! 

Months and months ago, when Glambox was still around, I received a color called hypomaniac, and looked at her site to find out more. WELL, what I found was like a million AMAZING holos, and I knew from that point on that I would need to have ALL OF THEM!

So far, I have three of them, and now I'm going to share their greatness with you! 

I'm not the best swatcher by any means, as I'm pretty new at this, and VERY new at swatching acrylics, but you should definitely get the point!

First up, is a fantastic color called Catch Me If You Can. 

This one is an awesome teal polish that has TONS of linear holo. This picture seriously doesn't do it justice. The formula is awesome too. Not streaky at all which is always a bonus, and I'm pretty sure I used two coats here and got full coverage.

Here's a sunlight picture, but it still doesn't do it justice. I LOVE this color. It's so hard to capture how awesome it is with a cellphone camera. If you want to buy it CLICK HERE!

Next is Grapestomp. Out of the original two I purchased, I was the most excited for this one. It's seriously SO SO pretty and has SO MUCH FREAKING HOLO!!!!! I love purple polish, and this is essentially perfect. It's a jelly, so I used like 3 or 4 coats because I like to over compensate but whatever. :P I had a teensy issue with this staining the crap out of my acrylic nails though... but on natural nails. It's a total must have.

This was before I made the mistake of putting on acrylics...

ANND after. For the record, I took this picture at night, with my phone, and there is still THAT much holo. If you want to purchase this bad boy, CLICK HERE!

NEEEXT is Twerk-uoise, which I was lucky enough to receive after my staining incident. I picked this one, because it's just plain pretty, and figured I'd try out something lighter. ANNND swatch!

Just ignore how awful my acrylics look and focus on the polish. It's sooo pretty. This is like three coats, but you could easily get away with two. Again, AMAZING formula, LOTS of holo that you can't see in this picture, and I LOVE IT!  CLICK HERE to buy IT!

I ALSO want to comment on the fact that I got to test out Vapid Lacquer's topcoat, and it is equal to, IF NOT better than HK Girl, which I have been using for months now. So if you're unhappy with your current topcoat, seriously give it a try. It's awesome, dries super fast, doesn't smudge, and is only $6.99! CLICK HERE to buy it! It totally smooths out the polish, seriously.

So there's my thoughts on what I have so far from Vapid Lacquer. Seriously, awesome indie polishes right here. I definitely plan on getting ALOOOT more of them, if not ALL of them. PLUS there's a white holo that is calling my name.

CLICK HERE for their website to see the pretties! :)

Until next time,

Xx Ashley C.

Rainbow Honey May 2014 Mini Mystery Bag Unboxing & Review + My very first order!

Okay so I know it's technically June now, but I've been waiting to make sure everyone received theirs and all that Jazz before posting up my Rainbow Honey Mystery bag. Thanks to my friends Melissa and Liz, I am officially addicted to all things RH. They polishes they carry are absolutely stunning. Some holo, some packed full of the most random awesome glitter combinations ever, some just awesome. 

Since this is my first time ordering from them, I decided to just do the $10 version, which has mini polishes instead of full size. However, that being said, their minis are pretty big! I also bought a fullsize of the color Midnight Fountain, which I wanted to get in one of my Ipsy bags a few months bag but tragically didn't. 

I used a 25% off code and my paypal hoarded money, and ended up spending only like $3 for the whole order AFTER shipping. WOO! Future Coupon Queen over here.

Here is what I received in my May mystery bag:

This, my lovelies is my May mystery box!

It contained: 

• Waves - Mini 15 mL
• Neon Blossoms - Mini 15 mL
• Petit Four - Mini 15 mL
• Summer Juice Perfume Rollerball
• Summer Juice Shea Butter Soap
• Honey Mint Lip Balm
• Little bag of adorable nail studs

My favorite of the three polishes here is DEFINITELY Waves. It's the only one I currently have a swatch of so I'm totally sorry for that, but it's super summery and pretty and I basically LOVE IT! :)

Sorry for the wretched cuticles, but isn't this SOO cute?!! It's from their upcoming summer collection, I can't wait to see more.

Here it is sandwiched in between Midnight Fountain, which is the other color I had to order a fullsize of! I love them both! And before I get to the other colors in this months bag, here it is MACRO STYLE:

SOOO Many Gorgeous layers of glitter here!  I love this one! It's so complex and wonderful!

Up next is Neon Blossom, which is a neon topper filled with Neon Pink and Yellow Hearts and flowers. It has smaller metallic glitters as well and is absolutely STUNNING! I will post a swatch as soon as I can!

And Petit four is a yellow cream polish filled with red, turquoise, and pink glitter. Honestly, this is my least favorite of the bunch. The color palette just isn't calling my name. But it is definitely very different from anything I've ever seen before.

The soap in this bag smells AMAZING! I haven't used it just yet, but it smells exactly like the perfume, and they're both super fruity and summery and great!!! 

I also LOVE the lip balm. I figured I'd receive the lime one like everyone else seemed to, but I really love the Honey Mint flavor, its like a mild Burt's Bees and is just minty enough, but not super intense.

Overall, my first mystery bag is a HIT! I'm definitely going to be ordering another one as SOON as possible. 

If you'd like to learn more about Rainbow Honey and their polishes, Visit their website HERE!

Until Next time,

xX Ashley C.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Foundation Review!

Today I want to share with you my favorite drugstore foundation! I don't typically use drugstore foundations, however, a few months back I went to Walmart during a makeup emergency and made the best decision ever!! To top it all off, I received another one courtesy of Influenster in my Uni Vox Box!

Sorry my bottles are dirty. :D I've been using both of them religiously since bought/received. On the left is True Ivory (103) and on the right is True Beige (203). I prefer the one on the right for summer and the left for winter. 

Who's ready for a swatch?!!?!

Left is True Ivory and Right is True Beige. When you first apply them, they aren't matte right away. These are FULL coverage foundations. I generally apply them with my beauty blender, otherwise they are a BIT too much and have the potential to be a little too much on your face. However, with careful application they can cover up basically any flaw and match my skintone perfectly.

Here's another where I rubbed them in to show you their matte quality. I HATE having shine on my face and these are an excellent solution when you don't have time for a matte powder or finishing powder or whatever you like to use. They are absolutely positvely NON-GREASY which is what I look for most in a foundation. I can't STAND having an oily, dewey, nasty looking face. It is like my number 1 pet peeve. Another thing I really love about Rimmel Stay Matte Foundations is that they provide a great base for your bronzer or blush. In my opinion they make them really POP since the foundation kind of acts as a primer as well. 

Here's a full makeup look using Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Foundation!

I have acne prone skin, and generally full coverage foundations break me out, but Rimmel Stay Matte does NOT! This is awesome and I will definitely be repurchasing when I run out.

Ready for the best part!?! You can get them for only $5-$10 at most drugstores and online!!! For a product that works as well as high end, this is a STEAL!!

Who's used these foundations?? Anyone love them as much as I do??? I really want to try the powder one as well. It's next on my list!

Until next time,

Xx Ashley C.

Pretty & Polished March Beauty Box Review!

It's 12:30 AM and officially my birthday!! YAY Happy Birthday to ME!
I am majorly slacking off on blogging lately, but I've been dealing with the loss of a job as well as the emotional baggage that goes along with that. I've been meaning to post this up for a week or two now, and I've mentioned it a couple of times to you so here it is!!!

Earlier this month, Pretty & Polished announced their new Beauty Boxes! Each month they are going to be offering a subscription box full of 2 full sized polishes, a mini of an older polish that is currently sold in the store, a beauty/skin care product, as well as other bonus items to go along with that! Pretty in Polished is my favorite indie brand ever EVER, so this works for me. I will ultimately probably end up cancelling my Julep subscription for this, or at least one of my other subscriptions, once my three months runs out.  That being said, they are offering this in 1, 3, 6, and 12 month lengths but the one month option sold out QUICK this month, so you have to be super fast! It's $22 and you can purchase one HERE! If you love these colors, you can actually still get a 3 month subscription and get a March box right now! So head on over!

My March box contained:

Matte Topcoat

Liquid Gold

Day in the Park

Jawbreaker (mini)

Coffee Junkies cuticle balm stick

Nail File

Flower Fimo Stick

15% off coupon for March

Now, before I get to the swatches, I want to talk about the other stuff. First things first, I use their regular cuticle balm on the regular in the scent Coffee Junkies and am pretty much just as addicted to it as I am coffee. I was super stoked to receive this in stick form because it is infinitely more portable and easier/less messy to apply. This stuff smells GREAT, just like a fresh cup of coffee.

As for the Fimo stick, I've never used one of these before but this little thing is pretty cute, and I will probably cut off a slice or two and try it closer to summer. And I don't know about you, but I can never have enough nail files, so that was a happy bonus as well. 

I'm very, very happy with the March Box! I've been DYING to try a matte topcoat for awhile now, so I was super excited to find this item! And LUCKY for you guys, I tried it tonight for my pre-birthday nails. 

This is "Cutie Pie" from their limited edition Sweetheart Duo this Valentine's day with "Day in the Park" as an accent nail. "Cutie Pie", the yellow, is actually already matte, but the topcoat made it even better, and I really like that there is no shine AT ALL. I will say that my bottle of "Day in the Park" has ALOT of glitter in it and it is a teensy bit hard to work with, but it's definitely still BEAUTIFUL and is even more awesome with the matte topcoat over it. 

Here is a bottle shot of "Liquid Gold". I've been trying to figure out a way to best describe this polish, and what I've come up with is a Bronze/Goldish to Pinkish Duochrome Holo. Does that make sense? It's so so pretty in the sunlight, and while I typically don't love bronze polishes, the holo factor totally sells me.

Here's a flash shot of it so you can see the holo goodness. You can also see the bronze to pink shift in it, which is really subtle and nice. :)

I think it's super appropriate that the first box would have "Jawbreaker" in it. This was my very first indie polish, and also my very first Pretty & Polished color. I've actually already reviewed it on here in November, and you can read it HERE. I love this color, it looks JUST like a Jawbreaker and reminds me of my childhood. It's also got a really great formula. 

I'm happy to say that this box is a total win for me. I usually wait until at least the second month with subscription boxes, just to make sure they aren't going to be horrible, but I'm glad I got this one. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I didn't have "Day in the Park" in my collection for this Spring!

My favorite part of this box is that the colors are exclusive to the month, and they will ONLY be sold in that month's box. How can I pass that up?! 

I hope you like these polishes! If you've never heard of Pretty & Polished, make sure and check them out on their website HERE. They're a GREAT indie brand with awesome customer service, and their products are basically amazing. :)

More posts tomorrow!

Xx Ashley C.

Pretty & Polished Old World Blues and Kimono'ver Here Swatches & Review!!

As many of you guys already know, Pretty & Polished is basically my favorite indie brand ever. So, needless to say, I've been SUPER excited to show you all these since I received them the other day!!

Last Monday, Pretty & Polished announced a TON of new colors coming out March 1st including, the "Spring FX" collection, "A New Equation" (which based on the show Adventure Time, and they are AWESOME), two new "Country Girl Swag" polishes, as well as two awesome color changers that were sent to me to review, that I am going to showing you today!

Who's ready for some swatches?!?! *Warning Lot's of Pictures!*

First up is Old World Blues, which is my favorite of the two. It's a holographic polish that is a blue holo when cold and a whiteish/silver holo when warm. I've actually been wearing it for a couple of days just to test it out, since this was my first color changer ever. Not going to lie, I was super excited. :)

This is what it looks like cold. I ran my hands under cold water, but these polishes are super sensitive and also change based on your environment, or if you're like holding a cold drink or something. It's really awesome because when you're wearing them they just change randomly throughout the day.

This picture is just for a bonus. I drink Monsters every day, plus you can tell how blue and shiny it is next to the blue table. :)

Here is what it looks like warm. I like how you can definitely still see that it's holographic.

And here is an awesome picture of what it looks like when I ran the tips under cold water. :)

Up next is Kimono'ver Here. It's a reddish orange to gold color changer with lots and lots of multicolored & Gold flakes in it. It's super pretty and really does remind me of a Kimono! :D 

Here is what it looks like cold. It's nice and bright and you can really see the gold flakes in it! 

And here is warm! I think this color would look really really good on someone with a dark skintone or someone super tan. :) It's a nice light goldish color and I like how you can still see the flakes in it even though they match the polish color! :) 

It looks even cooler when half is warm and half is cool in my opinion. You can really see how complex the polish is! It's super pretty! :) All the little gold flakes like fade into the red. 

So, like I said these two BEAUTIFUL new polishes will be available for purchase on March 1st, as well as the others they are releasing! I'm super excited about all of the changes that were announced last Monday!

They are also releasing a Beauty Box, which I subscribed to as well, and have already, so I will be reviewing that for you very, very soon! 

For more information about the Press Release on 2/10/14 you can CLICK HERE for all the details!!

And to purchase from Pretty & Polish or add it to your favorites for when these babies come out, you can CLICK HERE to visit their website. 

If you don't know anything about them, or haven't heard of them, definitely take a look. As well as nail polish they carry some other GREAT items that I use all the time and love such as sugar scrubs and cuticle balms!

So what do you guys think!?! Love?? I love them.

See you soon with the Beauty Box review!

Xx Ashley C.

*Note these products were provided to me for my honest opinion and review.