Nail Polish Haul

These are the nail polishes I've picked up recently. I thought I'd share them with the nail polish addicts that read my blog :)

Sinful Color's Unicorn: I showed this one in a NOTD, but I thought I'd include it here since I did buy it recently. It was $1.99 at Walgreens.

Essie's Off The Shoulder: This is such a pretty pink. I've heard that people are having a hard time getting their hands on this one. I picked up the last one at my Target. I haven't tried this one on my nails yet, but it's going to be my next NOTD most likely.

OPI's Last Friday Night: This was from the Katy Perry collection from forever ago. I don't really know why it was still on the shelves at my Target. I've never seen this color in person because it was always sold out at Ulta when the collection came out. It was a lucky find, and I figured that if it was the only one, then it was fate. The sparkles mesmerized me as the polish threw itself into my cart, I swear.

That's all the nail polish that I've bought in the last couple weeks. I'm sure there will be more! I really haven't bought much recently, but there will be more hauls coming soon when I start to get ready to go back to college, rest assured.

Nail of the Day

This is my nail polish of the day. I used Sinful Color's Unicorn and Julep's Daisy. Unicorn applied kind of sheer (to get it opaque took me 3 coats) and it applies a little streaky, but I think that's to be expected of a color that cost me $1.99 at Walgreens. And who doesn't want a color called Unicorn?! Daisy on the other hand applied perfectly opaque. I didn't have to go over the stripe a second time or anything. I can't wait until I get to paint this all over my nails! Daisy was one of the colors I received in my first Julep Maven box.

Overall, this is a really easy design, and it didn't take me too long to paint, so I'm very pleased with it!

Nail of the Day: Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color

This is my nail polish of the day. This is Sally Hansen's Magnetic Nail Color in Polar Purple. I received this in my summer influenster voxbox. Purple is my favorite color, so I knew that I HAD to try this out. I painted this on my fingernails last night, and then took the picture, which is why it isn't the best paint job. Whoops.

Anyways, onto the review:

Color: The color is beautiful, but it isn't anything super unique. It is however made unique by the magnet, and I think that is true to any magnetic nail polish. What I really loved was the each nail was unique with the use of the magnet, and I think it gave it a much more interesting look. My sister was even obsessed with checking out my nails, even though she is not remotely into nail polish. The dark purple that the magnet brings out is just super pretty.

Application: The polish is a great consistency. It doesn't streak, and is opaque in one coat. The picture above is only one coat. Because you have to use the magnet, it takes a couple of nails to get used to using the magnet and being speedy enough to allow the magnet to do it's magic, but the result is worth it.

Directions: These are the directions that come on the bottle:

Easy steps

STEP 1 

Shake and Apply 2 coats

STEP 2

Hold Magnet for 10 seconds over wet nail polish

Instant Attraction!

Let dry and seal with a top coat for extra shine

Each nail polish comes with directions, and I think this is what I had the most issue with this nail polish. The directions tell you to paint one coat, let it dry, and then paint a really thick coat and quickly put the magnet over top of the nail polish. I followed the instructions exactly as they were on the package for my left hand (because my dominant hand is my right) and it was a complete fail. The polish was too thick, and it wasn't drying like it should. I ended up having to remove all the polish and try again. I will point out in the polish's defense that I'm super impatient with nail polish, and it might have just been that I wasn't waiting long enough for it to dry, but I think it also wasn't drying properly in general. There was something wrong with the directions. The polish is completely opaque in one coat, and so I just used the magnet on the first coat instead of the second coat, as I was originally instructed. The design from the magnet was the exact same on one coat as it was two, and it dried perfectly with only one coat. I don't recommend two coats with this, or if you want to use two coats, don't do such a thick coat the second time around like instructed.

Dry Time: Dry time was average. You have to give it a couple extra minutes to set, I think because if you swoop in quickly to put a top coat on (like I do because I'm impatient with nail polish) then you are likely to smear the colors into each other. I did this on some of my nails, but it actually really looked cool like that.


Staying Power: In the first day of wearing this, I lifted up a table in camp the wrong way and chipped my nails. I don't fault the polish for this, and the only chipping that has happened since I painted my nails was on the nails that were chipped from the table. It looks like the polish doesn't chip for the first three days at least (unless you are like me and prone to bashing your fingernails into tables when the fold-able table slips out of your hands...)

Here are some more pictures that I took, trying to capture how shimmery and pretty this polish is (which was a fail. The best way to see how brilliant this looks in in direct sun light):

I really do love this polish. The color is gorgeous, and now that I know to apply it with one coat, it works like a charm. I would definitely purchase more of these, and in fact, I plan on purchasing at least the red one, and maybe the blue or silver as well.

The suggested retail price on these polishes is $9.99 and you can buy them at chain drug stores, food stores, and mass merchandisers nationally.

Disclaimer: This polish was provided for review in my Influenster Voxbox. All opinions are my own, and my reviews are honest, as you can see above.

Monday Update

I thought I would start doing a Monday Update. It can be about what happened today, what happened over the weekend, what is going on this week, or anything in general that I feel like sharing.

First off, my Julep Maven box came in the mail a couple of days ago!! I've already taken pictures of the products that I got, and I'm working on testing them out. There should be a blog post coming in a couple of days for that :)

Second, I burnt my foot today when I got into the shower. It still hurts, which is the only reason why I'm thinking about it. I think Monday Updates are quickly turning into "what random thought is on Katie's mind now?"

Third: This week, I'm going to the Dark Knight Rises premiere with a friend. I'm not a huge Batman fan at all but my friend is. I like Catwoman though, and my friends mean the world to me, so I agreed to go with my friend. I've only been to one midnight premiere before, and that was for Harry Potter 7 Part 2, and I just love the anticipation and excited feeling of midnight premieres. I'm actually really excited for Thursday night :)

Fourth: I'm tired, and I have a headache, but that isn't going to stop me from posting today (although that explains the lack of pictures for today's post...)! I'm super proud that I've kept up my goal of blogging every day in July. I just hope I can keep up with it in the next couple of days!

I think that will conclude the Monday Update. If you'd like, I can do sort of like a questionnaire every monday, and you can post questions down below :) I'd totally be up for that, and I think it's a great way to interact with you all!

Have a great night and I'll see you tomorrow with another post!

Nail of the Week

This is my nail polish of the week. I say "nail of the week" instead of "nail of the day" because I've had this color painted on my nails since this past Saturday, and it is now Wednesday night. I'm wearing Chinaglaze's Ruby Pumps with a basic red color on my accent nail.

I really judge nail polish quality on how long it stays on. I'm not the kind of person to repaint my nails every over day. I'm just too busy and too impatient with nail polish. I'm super happy with this nail polish because it has lasted me five days. As you can see, it has started chipping in the corners of my first two fingers, but that's to be expected after five days. I'm also REALLY rough on my nails, so for a polish to stay more than 3 days on my nails is a huge plus. 


This nail polish is gorgeous. It sparkles in the sunlight light a beauty, and I get a lot of compliments on the color because it reminds people of the Wizard of Oz. If you don't already have this polish in your collection, I really recommend getting it at Ulta, Sally's, or anywhere else that sells Chinaglaze polishes.

Mini Excitement

As I'm sitting here watching the season premiere of Covert Affairs (which is amazing so far!), I thought I'd tell you about what I just ordered: My first Julep Maven box.

If you've paid attention at all to my previous blog posts you'd concretely know two things:
1) Bath and Body Works is an addiction.
2) Nail Polish is pretty. I like it, and am addicted to it as much as Bath and Body Works.

Julep Maven is like the monthly beauty boxes except that it's a box of nail polish! I decided to become what they call a "Maven" by buying my first box. I'm super excited because I ordered it a couple of days ago and today received an e-mail saying that it shipped. I'll post pictures and the works when I receive it, for sure! :)

Have a great Tuesday! I'm going to go finish Covert Affairs and then go to sleep because I have to get up early in the morning for camp. I'm tired already just thinking about it...

Purple Polish Obsession

I mentioned yesterday in my influenster box opening that the Polar Purple color that came in it was perfect for me because I love the color purple. I thought I'd touch upon that a little more and show you all how deep the obsession is...

Exhibit A:

It might be hard to see all of the different shades of purple, but these are all of my purple nail polishes. This is about half of my collection. There's clearly a problem with me...

Here are the polishes a little closer. Some of them still don't look that purple in the bottle, but they are a shade of purple on your fingers.

 (From left to right: China Glaze's Coconut Kiss, Joy, and Harmony)

  (From left to right: Gap's Violet, Ulta's Last Fling Before the Ring, Essie's No More Film, 

and NYC's 133A)

 (From left to right: OPI's Meet Me At The Star Ferry, OPI INK, and Nicole by OPI's Virtuous Violet)

My favorite, you ask? Definitely OPI Ink. It's name reminds me of the show LA Ink, which was on TLC for a while. It's also a polish that my sister gave me for my birthday, and it's SO pretty in the sunlight. It looks pretty dark on your fingers, but it sparkles this really vivid purple color in the sunlight. It's beautiful. 

My most worn color? GAP's Violet. This was a gift from a friend, and it is another vivid purple color. LOVE. I just wish it didn't chip so quickly. 

Most unexpectedly pretty? ULTA's Last Fling Before The Ring. This color looks NASTY on my toes, but SO pretty on my fingers. I just can't explain or describe how that's possible, but it is. 

Let me know in the comments what nail polish color it your favorite, what colors you LOVE wearing, and just for kicks, what your favorite color is :)

I Got My Influenster Summer Voxbox!!!

 I got my Influenster Summer Voxbox yesterday in the mail!!! I'm so excited!! Here is the box: 

(It's around 8pm here and the sun is almost set, so the lighting may be a little funky, but hopefully it's manageable!)

I've only had one day to kind of play with the products and try a couple things out, so here's what's in the box and my first impressions (from left to right):

Quaker Soft Baked Bar in Banana Nut Bread: This little bar looks SO good! I haven't tried it yet because I still needed to take pictures for my blog, but the minute I can, I'm going to chow down on that sucker!

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Color: The minute I saw this, I was ecstatic! My roommate introduced me to magnetic nail polish, and she bought hers from like $15. It wasn't the Sally Hansen brand, but it still looked really cool. The color I got was in Polar Purple, which is perfect because I'm obsessed with the color purple. I can't wait to try this out!

Sally Hansen Nails and Cuticles Hand Creme: To be honest, my first impression was that it smells like sunscreen. I'm not a huge fan of the smell at all, but I put it on anyways, and it's definitely moisturizing. The smell isn't too bad, so I'll still use it, it just isn't my favorite. I'm going to keep using it and see if I grow fond of the smell or not.

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen SPF 30: Unlike the Sally Hansen Nails and Cuticles Hand Creme, this smells great! It's very tropical and girly, and it's perfect for the summer by the pool or at the beach. This is a 2oz bottle, and I don't know how long that will last, but I'm about to work at a summer camp, so I'll bring it along and see how well it works. I'm very excited for this, though.

Tampax and Always Radiant Collection: Sadly (or not so sadly, depending on how you look at it...) my period literally just finished (TMI? Ok.), so I won't be able to test these out for a couple weeks, but my first impression of these was positive. I liked that they came in the little bag, and that the bag doesn't say TAMPAX all over it. You can throw it in your pool bag or your backpack and be discreet about it. Also, they have redesigned the closures on the tampons, and it looks like they are going to be more sanitary to use. Overall, good so far! I'll test these out the next time mother nature graces me with my monthly gift :P

I'm very happy with this box. It was free, so it's kind of hard to NOT be happy with it, but the products seem promising, as well. I also love getting things in the mail, so I'd been looking forward to this voxbox since the moment I got the e-mail that I would be receiving it!

If you haven't heard about influenster, you can visit influenster.com to sign up! It's free to sign up, and what you do is you answer surveys about yourself so that they can put you in their demographics, and then from there, you earn badges that dictate which box would be right for you! You aren't necessarily going to get a box every time one is available, though. I've been a part of the site since April of 2012, and this was my first box. If you decide to join, just make sure that you unlock the badges that fit you, because from what I understand, that is how you begin to get boxes. Also, if you do receive a box, you have to agree to do a review of the products, not only on their site, but on any other media outlet (blog, youtube, facebook etc.) that you are a part of.

Comment below if you received a voxbox, if you are familiar with/have tried other Influenster voxboxes, or if you have tried any of these products before, and let me know what you thought of them!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!


Disclaimer: Influenster sent me this box for free so that I could review the products inside of it. All reviews are honest.

What's On My Toes?

 Happy 4th of July to all of those in the United States! In honor of the red, white, and blue colors, I thought I'd share the perfect red nail polish for all of your festive designs:

Introducing Ole Caliente by Essie. I really love this color. I bought it about 3 months ago when I was still in college, and have worn it on my toes ever since. It's the perfect red, and it stays on your toes without chipping for a while. What I especially love is that it's a super bright red instead of being a deep red, so it's perfect with a tan!


I used this with a pretty blue color from Revlon and a basic white polish to make some red, white, and blue nails for the holiday. If you see the polish, I'd suggest you pick it up! It's got a great formula, and is super pretty!!! I got mine at Target, but I know they have them at Ulta as well. 


Have a happy 4th, and let me know if you pick this color up!