Emerald & Ash Your Face

Good evening!  Making the most of my "sittingin the car at the field waiting for my son to finish soccer practice" time.  Thank goodness for DVD players in cars (my other littles are watching a movie while I blog!).  I HAD to share this with you NOW (sorry for yelling) because in a couple hours you too can own this fabulous shimmery-shifty matte topper!  Ok, ok so here's the details about this polish.  Your Face was an exclusive polish for the Las Vegas Cocktail & Colors event but Ashely and Nate decided to let everyone else get in on the fun too!  And tonight is their grand re-opening with lots of new cuticle oil scents (YAS), Period Poops is making a full time comeback and Your Face will be released.  The shop opens at 7pm MST so get your wallet ready!  Your Face will be available in 2 sizes; 10ml for $7.00 and 15ml for $9.00.  So let's jump in and check this beauty out!

*press sample*

Emerald & Ash: Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

Here is Your Face!  First off I love that this is one of Ashley & Nate's inside jokes and they turned it into a polish.  If you've met them in person you know how adorable they are together and I can totally picture them saying this to each other.  Your Face is a "versatile topcoat filled with color shifting shimmer and flakes that can be applied over another polish to create a beautiful shimmering matte look."  This is so lovely and it's matte!  I'm super into matte right now so huge bonus points!  The formula and application were both fabulous.  1 easy coat over the base colors I chose and I have full coverage.  Your Face dries quickly too!  The first pictures are of Your Face over a deep emerald green creme.  

Here's what Your Face looks like with a shiny topcoat.  The green and purple flakes really pop and the shifting colors are more noticeable this way.   

Finally, I grabbed a few macros of Your Face over different base colors.  I tried Your Face over a red creme, a purple jelly and a blue creme.  Different elements of Your Face are more prominent over different base colors so if you pick up a bottle make sure you try it over a few bases to find the one you love the most!  In my opinion they are all equally gorgeous!  

NYC New York Color Midnight Beauty Collection 2014 (partial review)

Good morning!  I've got some Halloween polish to share with you today!  Grab your coffee and have a seat while we check out some of the new NYC New York Color Midnight Beauty Collection.  This is a limited edition collection, full of shimmer, creme and a very interesting "smoky topcoat."  The polish in this set of beauty products (there are also eyeshadow quads, lipsticks, eyeliner and mascara) are $1.99 each - such a great price for a good quality lacquer!  So let's jump in and take a look!

*press sample*

NYC New York Color: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

*available to purchase at: Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, Duane Reade, Target, Kmart, Family Dollar

I started with Rock Muse Smoky Topcoat.  This is a sheer grey/black base with silver metallic glitters.  It's meant to be worn over other colors to give a dark, smoky look.  I like the idea of this polish but found it a bit hard to work with.  Smoky Topcoat would be great if I could have gotten even coverage in 1 coat, but it was streaky and uneven.  So I added a 2nd coat and it ended up looking looking darker than I thought it should.  I used 2 coats of Smoky Topcoat over Sally Hansen OMGhost and Pumpkin Queen.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

The other shade I have to share is Animal Instinct.  This is a soft orange-peach shade full of subtle golden-pink shimmer.  Animal Instinct had a great formula and applied perfectly.  It was creamy and opaque and such a fantastic color!  It's very Fall yet not because of the softer hue.  I used 2 coats of Animal Instinct for full coverage and 1 layer of topcoat.  

Barielle "My Perfect Mani" & a Giveaway!

Hullo!  Happy Monday!  My boys are back to school so today is a little bittersweet, I will sure miss them during the day but it will also be nice to have a couple hours of peace and quite and get the house back in order.  I think it will be the perfect day.  You know what else is perfect?  This mani kit I put together from Barielle!  I thought hard about what I would use and I think each step in this kit I put together really does create the perfect mani.  Let's take a look at the products I chose...

*PRESS SAMPLE*

Barielle: Website/Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

I started my mani with the Barielle Non-Acetone Nail Polish Remover.  I cleaned up my nails, removing any leftover polish or residue.  The remover worked really well, it was quick and easy to use.  My nails and cuticles did not feel dried out after use.  I also enjoyed the baby powder scent of the remover, it is very clean and (really who doesn't like the smell of a clean baby).  Fortifying Nail Builder Base Coat - for overworked, stressed nails.  The base coat leaves my nails feeling very strong.  It's very shiny and fast drying.  I have actually been using it alone with no color on top and my nails look very lovely.    

I then applied Straight A Coral, a neon coral shade.  I had to pick this one, it just screams Jen.  I am a sucker for corals and this one is really fabulous.  Of course, it's a perfect summer color too!  The formula and application were both fabulous.  I used 3 thin coats.  

I topped Straight A Coral with the Barielle Ultra Speed Dry Manicure Extender, a quick drying topcoat with UV protection.  This topcoat has a very glossy finish and high shine.  I wouldn't really say it dries that quickly, but my nails were good to go in about 5-8 minutes.  

No mani is complete without some moisturizing cuticle oil so I put on some Intensive Nail Renewal Oil.  The website says to apply the cuticle oil at night, which you can do, but I apply through out the day.  This oil helps heal dry cuticles, prevents nail breakage, builds strong healthy nails and works over nail polish.  I found the oil very moisturizing and it absorbed quickly.  My skin didn't look oily once absorbed in.  This oil is non-scented.  

Here's my mani with freshly rubbed in cuticle oil.  See, not greasy!

I also hydrated my hands with the Professional Protective Hand Cream.  This is the ultimate chapped hand treatment.  Formulated with rich emollients and vitamin E it helps protect and heal hands.  I liked this lotion a lot, it was rich and absorbed quickly.  My hands were left soft and nourished.  They didn't feel greasy at all.  There is not really a scent to this lotion, it honestly smells like lotion or my grandma's old Pond's Cold Cream.  I remember that had a distinct "lotion" smell and this was similar.  It's not overpowering or artificial.

And now that you've made it  this far it's time for a giveaway!  YOU can win a brand new set of all the items I used to create my perfect Barielle manicure.  Please read all the details and enter.

Giveaway Details

• You must be 18 to enter
• Open to US residents
• 1 winner will receive 1 bottle of Non-Acetone Polish Remover, 1 bottle of Intensive Nail Renewal Oil, 1 bottle of Fortifying Nail Builder base coat, 1 bottle of Ultra Speed Dry Mani Extender topcoat, 1 bottle of Straight A Coral polish and 1 bottle of Professional Protective Hand Cream
• Giveaway will run from August 18th, 2014 to September 5th, 2014 12:00 AM PST.  
• Prize must be claimed within 48 hours
• Please follow all the rules...follow and/or like all the provided links
• Prizes provided by Barielle
• My Nail Polish Obsession and Barielle are not responsible for lost, damaged or stolen goods

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