NOTW - Rage, Pink Forever, Blue Me Away!

Orly - Rage

Rage - (with Suzi and the Lifeguard, Jewelry Heist) Unimpressed. Rose gold is huge right now and even though I don't wear a ton of jewelry I am soooo close to giving into this trend. Well I guess technically with this polish I did give in. Basically every aspect of Rage fell short of my expectations. The rose part of rose gold was too subtle, application got more frustrating as it became progressively more goopy, the finish was streaky, and the glitter/sparkle/metallic effect was grainy. Clearly it sounds like I hate it, but now that I'm looking at it I guess I'm only moderately disappointed. Here's the thing, I could look past the application issues if this was more rosey and was distinctly different than any other gold metallic polish I own, but it's not. Honestly, if you want a rose gold polish, you could probably do better with something else, and if you're looking for any gold polish option, you can definitely do better.

Sinful Colors - Pink Fovever

Pink Forever - I was contemplating doing another ombre manicure with pinks this time, but I realized I only have really pale pinks or dark pinks, and nothing seems to go together. Let me give you some background on me, when I decide to do an ombre my OCD comes out in full force; the polishes I use have to be the same tone and finish (only creams, only shimmer, etc.). ANYWAY! I realized I don't have any medium pink cream polishes, well this had to be remedied immediately. I found this polish at Target and it certainly fit the bill and as an added bonus, didn't break the budget (ahahhaha budget, nail polish, me, ahahahah). There is nothing ground breaking about this polish, but for $2 it's a great bubble gum pink cream. No complaints about application, easily opaque in two coats. It is possibly a bit runny, as it dripped off the wand part of the brush, but that may have been due to operator error.

Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away!

Blue Me Away! - Cute name, but false. The main reason I wasn't blown away is because the color was a lot darker on my nails than it looked in the bottle (the pic is actually a lot lighter than real life). The polish was very opaque so I'm wondering if you were really careful and only applied one coat, if that would keep the polish lighter like the bottle. On my accent nails are Blue Me Away! and Pacific Blue, yeah that lighter color is the same polish as the rest of the mani. I used Konad plate M57 (I think I need to expand my Konad collection, I have a whole mess of Bundle Monster plates, but the quality just does not compare) and stamped the flowers individually, alternating colors. I liked the mani because it worked with my outfit that day, but I'm not sure this color will make it into the favorites, or even likes, rotation.

Nails Of The Weeks

I would love to be motivated to post nails of the day (NOTD), but there is no way that's gonna happen. I think I can manage to post my nails on a weekly basis.....maybe. So I started this little photo project on facebook, but by posting here everyone can share in my ridiculous nail polish obsession. So I'm catching up/picking up where I left off on FB. ENJOY!!!!!!

Sally Hansen - Coral Reef

Coral Reef - I saw a couple of people wearing this online and I was in love. It's bordering on a neon, but not quite. I want to say the color is somewhere between CG-Shocking Pink (see below) and CG-Flip Flop Fantasy. The name says it all, definitely a coral. A great spring/summer polish that is really pretty and flattering. 

Spoiled by Wet n Wild - Deeper Dive

Deeper Dive - I wasn't sure if I was going to like this as a full mani, but I did! The reason I liked it is the same reason I like CG-Ruby Pumps. Its glittery, but not chunky, as if the glitter is trapped in jelly. I think in real life this polish is a bit more green than the picture.

Essie - Play Date

Play Date - A slight variation on my purple obsession, this purple is much more pink toned than other ones I own. The color actually photographed fairly true to life, as opposed to showing up super blue (FINALLY!), but the pinkyness is less subtle in the pic. I have to admit I was in a fight with Essie for a while, but the last few polishes I've tried have begun to change my mind.

China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise with Techno

Turned Up Turquoise - LOVE! Supposedly this is a neon, but I'm not so sure, it certainly is bright though.  I don't think I would call it a neon because it has a shimmer and isn't a matte cream like all the other neons I have. I think this is what I wanted CG-Aquadelic to be, but was pale and very muted. In some lights this looks green, but it's really pretty regardless of trending green or turquoise. On my accent nail is CG-Techno, which has really awesome giant holo glitters.

Essie - Fiji with OPI - Extravagance

Fiji - Super gorgeous pale pink. It's a better version of CG-Go Go Pink, mostly because Fiji is much more opaque. You know how in the summer wearing white makes your skin look amazing and tan, well that's how I felt my skin looked with this color, like my nails and skin were glowing. My accent nail was stamped with OPI DS-Extravagence using Konad plate M-57. This was the first time I used a non-special polish to stamp, it didn't work out great. I think it's partly because I couldn't be patient enough to wait til Fiji was dry so I could press as firmly as I needed.

OPI - Opulence

Opulence - This was another Designer Series polish I found, but I wasn't as blown away with this one. You can see there is a little bit of a scattered holo, but not tons. Maybe I just didn't see it because it's never sunny. Yay Michigan! I'm still on the fence about this color. Sometimes it's a dusty rose or nice bronze, but most of the time it's this in between meh color. 

Layla - Ultra Violet

Ultra Violet - I remember a time when I thought OPI DS and CG-Fairly Dust would be the closest I would ever get to owning a holographic polish.......AND THEN I FOUND LAYLA HOLOGRAM EFFECT POLISHES!!!!!! I am so excited to finally have some true holos of my own. I got them at Ulta, but they are kind of expensive and smaller than a usual polish so I only bought 3 (silver, black, purple).  Although if anyone wanted to get me Ocean Rush or Retro Pink for my birthday I wouldn't hate it. These polishes are really special when the light hits them, as you can see there is this awesome rainbow effect. I would suggest reading Scrangie's post about application, I followed her tips and I didn't have any problems.  This polish chips like crazy and super quickly because you're not supposed to use a base coat or top coat. Next time I use this polish I will use the Gelous top coat suggested by Scrangie, as it doesn't seem to disturb the holo effect (wish I had gone to Sally's and gotten Gelous before I tried this out for the first time).

China Glaze - Shocking Pink and Orange Knockout with Studio M - Grape Escape

Shocking Pink -  So I've gone neon crazy and I just can't help it. This is a bright 80's hot pink cream and I can't stop looking at my hands, there is just too much awesome happening. This color really seems to glow. My accent nail is CG-Orange Knockout (also a neon, think traffic cone orange) with Studio M-Grape Escape stamped using Konad plate M-57. Not sure if you can tell but I dotted some of the leopard spots with a mix of CG-Purple Panic with Shocking Pink.

Birchbox April - Natural Wonders

April Box

Natural Wonders

The Box: 

Befine Skincare Sampler:
   Exfoliating Cleanser with Brown Sugar, Sweet Almond, & Oats  -  Most times when you get foil samples there isn't enough product to actual know if it works, you like it, etc. Luckily this box came with 3 large samples and one was definitely enough for one use. I was hoping this would be a bit sweeter smelling (like B&BW Warm Vanilla Sugar), but instead it has more of a traditional cleanser scent. I was reading the ingredients and I think the scent that is most dominant is Eucalyptus. I've never used an exfoliator on a regular basis, but I have a feeling this product is going to make it into the skin care rotation. I was worried that my skin might feel raw, but my face felt so soft and smooth after just one use. They say it's gentle enough to use daily, but since I will be using it with my Clarisonic I will probably just use it twice a month to keep up the softer and smoother skin.  
Full Size 4 fl oz, $25; Sample Size .34 fl oz X 3, $6.38

   Daily Moisturizer with Rosemary, Pomegranate & Rice - Well there is actually an interesting story behind this sample. The box came with 2 of the large foil packets, but I never actually tried them. Before I even had a chance to use them I got an email from Birchbox saying that some of the samples were expired (because of the SPF in the moisturizer). I've heard they have really good customer service, and I have to say that my experience was great too. They gave you a link to a survey that asked you a few questions about the expiration dates on your sample, and if you had received an expired product they would put 100 Birchbox points in your account. You can use points to purchase products through their site and each 100 points = $10, so they basically repaid you for the $10 you paid for your box that month.
Full Size 1.7 fl oz, $25; Sample Size .34 fl oz X 2, $10

Lulu Organics Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder - I was really interested to try this because I only wash my hair every other day (the hair color I use has a lot of red in it and it washes out fairly quickly). I've tried some other dry shampoos and hair refreshers, but they mostly weighed down my hair or practically caused me to choke to death. It's a white powder that you're supposed to rub between your hands and then comb through with your fingers. I would suggest using small amounts on several layers instead of a huge pile at once, unless you want to look like this. I wore my hair down all day after using the powder and it definitely didn't feel as oily as it normally would. The only downside is that it's fairly expensive, but I feel like you don't use that much product at one time. I'm going to keep trying this out to see if it's worth the price.
Full Size 4 oz, $30; Sample Size 5 grams, $1.32

Wonderstruck Taylor Swift - I was prepared to hate this on principle, but I kind of like it. The first thing I thought of when I smelled this was "Andrea," I'm guessing that description is only useful to a small group of people. It's a little too sweet/fruity for me (like I said before I'm more floral and woodsy), I think the sweet is freesia/vanilla and the fruit is more berry than citrus. I like that I have been getting perfume samples because they can be so expensive and for me it's really hard to make a good fragrance decision in the store.  
Full Size 1.7 fl oz, $49.50; Sample Size .04 fl oz, $1.16

Zoya True Collection (Bevin) - I'm in a fight with Zoya. I've been trying a lot of their polishes recently and it's been a really mixed bag. Creams seem to apply well, but I only have neutrals so I'm not dying to grab those polishes all the time. All the colors I have been really excited to buy, have had major application flaws and then I just get sad and depressed and go out and buy 654,984,651 China Glaze polishes instead (the girl at Sally's once asked me if I have a nail polish obsession, true story). The only thing I know that I love is the polish remover, it strips polish quickly and it has an almost pleasant scent (plus I love the pump, because I have a spilling problem and now I just buy the big bottle and refill the pumper). ANYWAY! The sample size was great because you have plenty of polish to actually try out the color a few times, unlike other brands (*cough* OPI *cough*). I wasn't in love with this color, a very blue/grey toned green. I have to be careful with cool toned green/blue polishes because they have a tendency to make my skin look just awful. I did end up purchasing two other colors from the True collection (Tru and Lotus), both purple, SHOCK!  
Full Size .5 fl oz, $8; Sample Size .25 fl oz, $4

Yes To Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes - The claim is these wipes "cleanse and moisturize all-in-one." I do think they lived up to the claim since my skin felt less dry than with my usual wipes. Even though I like how they make my skin feel, I'm not really a fan of these. The wipes don't seem super moist, I felt like they were almost dry before I was done wiping my face, and there was definitely not enough moisture to start taking off eye make-up. Additionally, I was not a fan of the smell. Alex said they smelled sort of like lemon poppy seed muffins (I wish), there is some lemon pledge wipe smell and then really fake blueberry scent. I just did not like it.  
Full Size 30 count, $7.99; Sample Size 8 count, $2.13

Wrap Up:

Value of the Box - $24.99

The Good - Befine exfoliator, Zoya polish (but not the color Bevin)

On The Fence - Lulu hair powder, Wonderstruck

The Bad - Yes To face wipes

The Verdict - I know that it was Earth month and that Birchbox was into the eco/natural theme, but initially I was not excited for this month. Who looks like a jerk now? I have to say there were some good/new/interesting products that I will totally use and keep trying out. 


If you're interested in your own Birchbox click here. If you have any questions about cost or how you can earn/use points, let me know.