Plaid Accent Nail

Kate's Nails

I have always liked the look of plaid nails, but after a horribly botched attempt at them last St. Patrick's day, I haven't given them a try.  But after seeing a bunch of great ones lately, and with the holidays coming up, I wanted to give them another go.  I decided on just an accent nail - baby steps! I really like how this turned out, and I'm sure I'll be doing some holiday plaid in the near future!

Polishes Used:

Zoya Natty

LCN London Beat

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Revlon Cherry

Glitter Bomb 2!

Cara's Nails

Good morning all! Today I am continuing with my homage to all things glitter!! This glamourous manicure was the perfect addition to the amazing day I had yesterday! I used Essie Set in Stone over a base coat of Ulta Professionals Joined at the Hippo. I love this Essie chunky glitter with its variety of little silver flecks and large hexagonal pieces. It only took one coat to get this beautiful sparkle effect. My accent nail is 3 coats of Set in Stones over a base of Essie Blue Rhapsody for a little extra bling. It is not an easy polish to photograph unfortunately. I wanted to make sure to really capture the glamour of this glitter. Amazingly enough I found the best lighting under a street lamp in a poorly lit parking lot! 

Glitter Bomb #1

Cara's Nails

The holiday season is officially upon us! I love this time of year mainly because of all the pretty lights and glitter. I am not quite ready for the holiday manis so I thought I would ease into it with some glitter bombed manicures. I have been on a huge glitter kick most likely brought on by the holiday season. Here are a few of my more recent favorite glitters.

My thumb is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Rockstar Pink. I just recently re-brought this color because my original became way too chunky to use. But I really love the color! The green is Orly Halley's Comet. This is a gorgeous blue-green with flecks of silver. This was an easy 2 coats. My middle finger is Sally Hansen Gem Crush Glitz Gal. On my ring finger is Pure Ice Strapless. I really love this vibrant blue but it took about 5 coats to get it opaque. It also looks nice over a coat of black. My purple pinkie in LASplash Vernis a Ongles. This was another one that took several coats. 

Baltimore Ravens Nails - Week 13 - Purple Patchwork

Kate's Nails 

This is a huge week for the Ravens!  If we beat the Steelers and the Bengals lose, we clinch the division.  A win over the Steelers is always a wonderful thing, but if we can clinch the division with it too, there would be even more reason to celebrate!!

I've been loving glitter polishes lately, and wanted to use some in my design today.  I couldn't decide which ones to use, so I used a few in this patchwork design.  I've done this design BEFORE, and really like how they look.  

Polishes Used:

Milani White on the Spot

OPI You Don't Know Jacques

Milani Hi-Res

Ulta Little Black Dress

Milani Purple Gleam

Baltimore Ravens Nails - Week 12 - Purple Ombré

Kate's Nails 

This week the Ravens take on the Chargers.  I'm wishing I was is San Diego for the game today - I'm hating this chilly, windy, Maryland weather!  

For these nails, I painted Butter London's Teetotal on my thumb, and then did the laces in Sinful Color's Snow Me White.  On my index finger, I painted Spoiled's 2 Weeks Sober.  Then for all the other nails, I mixed 2 Weeks Sober with Snow Me White to get progressively lighter colors.  I made sure to not use any fast drying colors so that I could keep mixing as I painted and not have to worry about the colors getting goopy.  This is an easy way to do ombré nails without having to coordinate a bunch of different polishes. 

Go Ravens!!

November Birchbox

Time for a review of the products in my November Birchbox!  This is a bit late, but November has been a crazy busy month so far.  If you're wondering what a Birchbox is, or if you want to see last month's post, click HERE.

This month's box.  So exciting!

So here's the lowdown on the products.

ModelCo Fibre Lashxtend Lengthening Mascara:  

Well, my Birchbox just paid for itself.  Twice.  This is a full sized mascara ($24), and I love it.  It's a perfect mascara for a light, fresh-faced look.  It doesn't clump, and it gives you a very natural enhancement.  As someone with eye allergies, I'm pretty picky about my mascara.  This one feels like you aren't wearing any mascara, and doesn't bother my eyes at all.  This one is a win!

Lulu Organics Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder:

Ok, I'll admit it.. I have greasy hair.  I have to wash it every day or else my blonde hair turns brown.  I have tried dry shampoos in the past and not had any success with them.  Unfortunately, I didn't have success with this hair powder either.  It didn't do anything to revive my hair, and it smelled pretty bad.  Oh well.  (Full Size - $30)

Mox Botanicals Pomegranate & Fig Lip Butter:

I have mentioned before that I'm a lip gloss snob.  Last month's lip balm was a winner, but this one didn't do anything for me.  It was a bit sticky and waxy, and I ended up giving it away.  

(Full Size - $16)

One Love Organics Aromatic Body Serum:

This serum spray had a pretty overpowering scent, but I used it anyway.  I used it on my feet, elbows, and knees, and it did a good job of softening them.  I probably wouldn't buy it again, just because of the scent.  But if they came out with an unscented version I'd be all about it!  

(Full Size - $39)

John Varvatos Artisan:

The theme of this month's box was "Give", so they included this sample of cologne to share with a "lucky guy".  I gave it a sniff before giving it away, and it was a nice scent.  Not overpowering or too musky!

So there you have it.  I'm pretty happy with this month's box, mostly thanks to the awesome mascara!  If you're interested in signing up for Birchbox (or giving a subscription as a Christmas gift!) you can use my referral link here: https://www.birchbox.com?raf=xdgbr

Turkey nails

Cara's Nails

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I have been terrible about posting this week. My nails were starting to look pretty rough and I thought they needed a little breather. But now I'm back with a Thanksgiving inspired turkey manicure. 

Sorry for the quick post. I'm doing this during a short break in cooking Thanksgiving dinner!