Pick N Mix #15-Pink, Aqua and Dotting Tools

 Hello Everyone, 

Week 15 of The Pick N Mix Challenge is here with pink, aqua and dotting tools.

  

 I used two pinks, two aquas, a inky blue base with a special matte/glitter topper.I love projects where I can use a bunch of colors and brands. This was certainly one of those.

I started out with a big dot of East Austin at the top of my nail and then went from there with contour dotted lines. This is a very straight forward design, just follow the dots!

From Left To Right: Orly's Fancy Fuchsia, Mineral Fusion's Lagoon, Milani's Ink Spot, Color Club's East Austin, My-Stash's Shaken Not Stirred, and Jenna Hipp's Freshmaker.

That's what I did for this round. this link up is a dual one. There are two challenges with this code. So doubly enjoy! Until we meet again, take care.
                                                                                            

 Terri

And here is my IG photo, if you follow me there. I really like rectangles, but squares are the thing over there.

An InLinkz Link-up

Donatella Has Tanlines-Two From Floss Gloss

My title is a tad dorky, but these polishes go together so well, I had to write it!

This is a nail design using Tanlines and Donatella by Floss Gloss.  I am just one of the legions of fans of this brand.

Quick Notes About These Two Colors

Tanlines

Tanlines is a tan with a pink overtone. Floss Gloss describes it as "pinto bean brown".  It is a thick cream that could be a one coater if wanted. 

It is the prettiest, in fact a stand out from the other tans I own. 

I got out my tan toned colors and you can see how Tanlines really stands out from the colors I own.  Tea And Toast is the only one that also has that richness, but with a lot darker tone. 

Donatella

Donatella is one of Floss Gloss's latest creations. It is one part of the three part set "Life Styles Of The Floss And Gloss".

Donatella, to me, is a rich caramel cream with copper and gold flakies. It is a beautiful color indoors but in natural sunlight the copper really stands out. 

A little closer view of those flakies

Floss Gloss is the creative brainchild of Janine Lee and Aretha Sack, two art students out of San Francisco. Their lacquer quality (color and technical), packaging and presentation is just top drawer.  The Lookbook on their website is a visual feast. It is an incredibly fun company to follow on IG.

Right now my Floss Gloss sticker is on one of my Yoga bricks. For no more than I use them, it is good for a while. 

Well, that is this for this time, so until the next, take care...........Terri

P.S.  Floss Gloss is Cruelty Free and "5 free", so needless to say it is Mr. BB approved.

A New Collaboration Between Brooke Anderson and Gabriel Cosmetics

Press Release

I'm just a tad bit excited about this new collection from Gabriel Cosmetics!

Brooke Anderson has gotten together with Gabriel Cosmetics to create a new limited addition set of nail color that will certainly appeal to the southern lady in us all. So let's head down South with Brooke Anderson and Gabriel Cosmetics!

So one by one, here we go!

 I Do Declare

I Do Declare is a Graphite Sparkle

Southern Belle

Southern Belle is a rich Boysenberry Shimmer

Shine Y'all

Shine Y'all is a Chrome Glitter

Blue Belle

Blue Belle is a Mariner Blue Shimmer

Darlin'

Darlin' is a Aqua Blue Glitter

Hush Hush

Hush Hush is a Steel Grey Shimmer

These polishes are a gorgeous addition to the Gabriel line.

Gabriel's polishes run $8.50, which to me is reasonable for their quality. They can be found at better organic stores, including Whole Foods.  However, Gabriel is offering this whole set for only $38.50 on their website!

Gabriel offers free shipping for $50.00 and over orders so you may want to look around and see what other goodies you can pick up.


And if you already didn't know Gabriel's cosmetics are vegan and cruelty free. Their products carry the Leaping Bunny logo. The company also received a certified organic rating from the USDA. 

It goes without saying that they are also "5 free". Gabriel's polishes are free of: Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP,  Camphor and Phthalate.  

Personally, I use Gabriel polish and would recommend it to my friends. I have been trying to mainly purchase cosmetic products that are cruelty free. For me, this line is top drawer without the exorbitant price. 

Again, this polish is cruelty free and Mr. BB approved (yes, I have a bunny).

That's it this time. So until next time, take care.......Terri

There Was A Wedding

 Well, the wedding has come and gone. My baby is married. We worked on nail ideas earlier this summer and this is what she decided on.

 I am sharing two nails from the wedding. The first is Rachelle's, the bride. And I am proud to say she did them herself.  I can't show you the polishes because, although mine, they are at their apartment and they are in the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon. 

Playing With Ciaté's Beach House-Part Two

I have been having more fun with Caité's Beach House mini set.

This is the second post for this series. The introductory post can be found HERE.

This time around I wore Off Shore (cobalt blue cream), Surf's Up (glitter top coat) and Beach Bum (tan cream).

POLISH CLOSEUPS

Off Shore seems to me to be a ringer for the deep blue look that the trendsetters have been calling for this summer.

Surf's Up looked a lot more dramatic on top of the blue than the green.

Extra Design

After putting on a white base coat, I did a double sponging of Off Shore then topped it with Surf's Up. Beach Bum was then put on with a dotter. I probably could have lived without the sand effect, but it was worth a try. I did want the beach and surf effect.

That's it for this round. I have Raspberry Collins on right now and will have that post next week.

Raspberry Collins

Take care, until next time..............Terri

Light And Bright Summer Greens

Before Summer was over I wanted to wear and get in some beautiful light and bright greens.

POLISH NOTES

Cult Nail's Thrive

 Thrive was part of Cult Nail's Spring Radiance collection this past spring. Cult Nails had some fabulous sales this summer and I made sure I picked Thrive up. This is a light mint green with teal shimmer. On top of that it has a slight texture and dries to a waxed finish. For me, it is a classic Cult Nail look and I love it. It can still be purchased at the Cult Nail website. 

Rescue Beauty Lounge's Fire Queen

The one brand that I have been really wanting this past year has been Rescue Beauty Lounge. I finally have a few in the stash. Fire Queen was part of the Fan 2.0 collection that came out during the late fall of 2013. Fire Queen is a light jadeite cream. It's inspiration comes from the vintage green glass and  Fire King cookware of the mid-20th century. It is very unique in it shade and being Rescue Beauty Lounge it goes on 
flawlessly.  

Floss Gloss's Glowstar

 

Floss Gloss's Glowstar is a cream that reminds me of those glow in the dark stars that you buy for the kids' rooms. This is probably my favorite of the four colors presented today. Glowstar was the one polish that attracted me to Floss Gloss which was created by two art students. Floss Gloss has a very unique website to visit and see their other lacquers. 

CrowsToes' Green Thumb Of Doom

 I got Green Thumb Of Doom in an Ebay auction last winter to support dog rescue. This is from the 2013 Spring THIS collection. It is still buy-able at Llarowe. Green Thumb is a brighter green shimmer polish with green micro-flakes. In the bottle I didn't think I would like it. But on, it is an entirely different thing. The micro-flakes get a silver look about them when in the sun and it is just stunning. This one will be around for awhile. 

 Nail Art

I wanted to keep Glowstar on a little longer and so added a quick design using Nuf-oh 56. 

I hoped you enjoyed my curated light and bright greens. Usually I just pick three, but it was harder this time so four made the cut. And all four of these polishes are cruelty free. I cannot find out 100% about Nfu-Oh.

So that is it until the next time............Terri

And here is a link to Norway Nails for CrowsToes and Cult Nails

Pink, Pink, And Pink

There was a time in my life when I would not be caught in pink. It seems I am making up for it now, at least in polish. There were some wonderful pinks that came out this year. Here are three that really caught my eye.

POLISH NOTES

Cult Nail's Angel Whisper

When I saw the samples of Angel Whispers this Winter, I knew my first Cult Nails order was not far off. As part of their Passionate Dreams collection, Angel Whispers has three things going on: texture, massive shimmer (light teal, lavender and maybe a pink), and delicate but matte finish color. This reminds me of a reserved Zoya Pixie Dust which makes it a lot more versatile than Pixie Dust. This is at least a three season polish. I don't know if I would wear it for Fall but the other seasons it a big go. I really like this one. It can be purchased from the Cult Nails Website which has free shipping at $24. Cult Nails is Cruelty Free. 

Hard Candy's Piece Of Papaya

Piece Of Papaya is a warm pink with a hint of orange and is packed with gold shimmer. It almost looks metallic because of it. Papaya came out in 2013 and is part of Hard Candy's Itzy Glitzy collection. I think this would be a great color for summer pedicures. It is only found at larger Wall-Marts and is $4. Hard Candy is cruelty free. As much as I hate shopping at Wall-Mart, Hard Candy keeps calling me back.

Zoya's Lux

Lux is part of Zoya's new Pixie Dust series that they brought out this Spring. Lux is a light rose pink and in sunlight it almost looks silver (to my eyes at least). This is probably a result of all the holos flashing on such a light color.

Lux has larger glitter than the original Pixie Dust. As you can see some of it is also holographic. This is probably why at times it doesn't look too pink (as mentioned before). Lux makes for a very glitzy look. For me, this is a great special occasion polish. I wore it to a wedding which it is very suited for. Zoya has released three new Magicals for the summer. You can view them HERE. Zoya is cruelty free.

 Ever since signing up with the 40+ bloggers, I have tried to show that us "Advance Style" ladies can use our polish to help create our style. 

With the exception of  the vintage gold mesh belt, I played it pretty classic at a family wedding. Zoya's Lux really sparkled against this backdrop.

This is just a few things I have been up to with my nails and style. That it for this time. Until the next, take care.  

Terri

And don't forget about my Koco giveaway. 

G+ Circles-when you add me it shows up in my G+ feed and I will add you back. If we are already friends, let me know your G+ ID so I can make sure you are in one of my circles.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

KOCO by Beauty Brands

KOCO is the new in house brand of beauty brands. KOCO includes 60 different shades each of nail polish, eye shadow, and lip stick. Eventually, the line will include makeup brushes.

So you have never heard of beauty brands? This does not surprise me. It's the Kansas City, Missouri (USA) home grown beauty store.

There are stores in twenty cities, throughout eleven states.  There is also a website to shop online.

This makeup line is cruelty free. I emailed beauty brands and asked KOCO's status. They answered me within the hour. Their reply was,

"Hi Teresa,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.  Yes, our KOCO products are cruelty free and never tested on animals.  We appreciate you asking!"

 I picked a product from each category and didn't coordinate colors. What caught my eye first went home with me. 

This is primarily a nail blog so I am going to start out with my polish pick.

The Polish-Apricotious

Apricotious caught my eye the minute I walked up to the display. It was just so 1930's silk charmeuse slinky gown. I see this as a duochrome that is mainly golden apricot but flashes a pinky peach.

It is neither thick or thin and went on smoothly. I used two coats. It wore well and I finally took it off on day three. This is a great summer color and I think a good quality for the price. The shape of the bottle and labeling appeals to my design sense. I will be purchasing more KOCO polish.

KOCO Eye Shadow

I fell in love with this matte dusty violet. It is not in my possession at the moment. My daughter saw it and just had to take it home to play with. It is fairly well pigmented and I am going to build a color palette around Mystic. I like the fact that there are 20 mattes and 40 shimmers to choose from and I can have a customizable set.





 Here's is the look I am aiming for:

And Finally The Lipstick

Miami Vice

This was a no brainer*. I saw the name and had to have it. It is a gorgeous coral orange and I am going to (and already have many times) wear it a lot this summer. 

 

This is the first time I have ever presented lipstick (or shadow) and wanted to do something extra. I put together a chart for how skin tones effect the appearance of the lipstick. You could say this is a makeup version of Warhol meets Josef Albers.

I am just so happy that beauty brands has created a makeup collection that is on trend and reasonable priced.

OTHER POSTS ABOUT KOCO

Guilty As Charged and Back In The Saddle
Blue Moon by Koco 

Open Mica Night 
dconstruct Bracelet Design 
Peek A Blue 

A last parting shot of Koco. All displays emphasize color and are organized from warm to cool shades. This makes so much sense to me.

Again, here is the link to the Beauty Brands website.

  There's some fun extra I added for this post. But, you are going to have to "read more".

Nail Journal #4, August '13-Orly

Polish: Base coat-Orly's Life's A Peach
             Top Coat-Orly's Peaceful Opposition

Notes: Life's A Peach is a beautiful peachy orange that I love for Summer. I then created a gradation with Peaceful Opposition. Peaceful Opposition is various sizes and shapes of silver glitter suspended in a milky white base. I love what this top coat does to a basecoat. 

Orly is cruelty free.

"I Just Love The One Color" Of The Week

She Walks In Beauty And Goddess

Polishes: She Walks In Beauty by a-england and  Goddess by Ulta

Notes: I wore this type of french manicure to my high school reunion. She Walks In Beauty is a gorgeous rose tone gold glitter. I have a lot of gold and this one is my favorite. 

For the background color I needed a tempered neutral gold and found that Ulta's Goddess worked perfectly. 

I really though the two pulled together a pretty classy mani. 

A-england and Ulta are cruelty free.