A Couple NOTDs

I've been wanting to do realistic turquoise stone nails for a while and I finally picked up a good turquoise polish; SC Rise & Shine. Super easy to work with 1 coat formula. I just dabbed black and gold veins on top with NYC Black Lace Creme and Zoya Aggie with saran wrap. Used a dotting tool on the black nails. Pretty happy with how it turned out.

The sun was just coming up when I was taking these, so it doesn't completely show off the amazing holo sparkliness of these polishes. 2 coats of both. Too Violet is pretty similar to Zoya Aurora. I plan to compare swatches when I get home to see if it's worth keeping both.

A Couple OOTDS

Cardigan, tee: JCP

Skirt: Target, thrifted 

Bag, sandals: Payless 

Necklace: thrifted 

Cardigan: Old Navy 

Dress, flip flops, belt: Walmart 

Bag: Payless

Necklace: F21, flea market 

Front Porch Candle Co Order

Cold Sniff Thoughts:

Rose Milk: A creamy sugared floral scent with a hint of bubblegum. Not distinctly rose, but yummy and strong.

S'mores: Realistic cinnamon graham crackers with a bit of chocolate. Yummy; hope the chocolate and marshmallow will come through more when melting. Strong.

Pink Marshmallow Birthday Cake: some pink sugar and spice with vanilla bakery. Very accurate and strong so far.

Sandalwood: creamy, mellow sandalwood. Very nice. Moderate.

Blueberry Pumpkin Vanilla Noel: so unique; love it. Blueberry muffins with a touch of pumpkin spice. Strong.

Satsuma Warm Vanilla Sugar: mmmm... to die for! Strong, brigh orange tempered with just a bit of vanilla extract and brown sugar. Super strong!

Caramel Latte Pumpkin Waffle: another favorite! Such a delightful caramel coffee scent with a hint of pumpkin spice and bakery. Amazing and super strong!

Root beer float: Quite realistic and yummy! Fizzy root beer soda and creamy melting vanilla ice cream. Strong.

Apricot Lemon Vanilla Birthday Cake:

terrific blend: equal parts tart lemon, fresh apricot and vanilla cake. So good and strong!

Overall very happy with my first FP order. Shipping took about 10 days, but I really love that it's free. Totally worth the wait and lack of free samples. Plus I was sent several emails to keep me notified of my order status, so excellent customer service! I love not having to wonder where my stuff is. Would definitely order again; can't wait to melt some of these babies!

NOTD: Blue Raspberry Rock Candy

This is a very pretty tealish holo. It is thin and patchy on the first coat, but looks great with two. Very fun color for spring and summer.

Recent Wax Reviews

Mainstays Cotton Candy candle: 

This popular new candle for spring has had mixed reviews. Some report strong throw and others light, so I had to try it for myself. For me this is a nice sweet cotton candy scent which has light to moderate throw. I catch delicious whiffs of this candle, but only when I'm near it. It does not seem to fill up the room with scent. It is still a nice accent candle to burn with other scents and for only $3 is not a huge disappointment. Overall grade: B. Might repurchase.

Scentsationals Pink Velvet: Another popular scent for spring that I was happy to finally find. To me this is a sweet pink sugar/bakery/citrus blend that is cheerful and delicious. I find it captivating; I've not smelled another blend quite like it. It had fairly strong throw in my small rooms and lasted all day. Very impressed! Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

Can Do Starbucks:

I was very excited to try this often raved about coffee blend from Can-Do Candles as I love coffee scents. I like it a whole lot, but am not absolutely in love with it. I think I was expecting it to be more of a strong, freshly ground black coffee bean scent like what greets you upon walking into a Starbucks. To me it was a sweet, mild coffee aroma with hints of cream and cinnamon. It was a decent performer, it had fairly long to moderate throw that was noticeable all day, but I would have liked it to be a little stronger. Still a very nice scent, but I have a couple coffee tarts I like more. Overall grade: B+. Might repurchase.

Can Do Lavender Twinkies: 

This is a winner for me. I love that this is a mellow, creamy lavender instead of being strongly herbal, and it's absolutely divine blended with the sponge pastry and cream filling of the Twinkie. A spot on scent in my opinion. It had had decent throw for the past few hours. Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

NOTD: Periwinkle For Spring

This is two coats SC Alfresco. I love how fresh and vivid it is! The first coat was streaky and floody as the formula was a bit thin, but the 2nd coat evened it out and it was totally worth it. I love this polish by itself and also with the iridescent shimmer coat I added: SH Miracle Gel Let's Get Digital. I tried to take photos in different lights to show it with and without the shimmer.

NOTD: Native War Paints Watermelon Bubblegum

I'm home and recuperating from vacation. As much fun as I had, I'm really enjoying having time to relax and finally pamper my nails again.

I'm really digging Watermelon Bubblegum from Native War Paints subscription box! It is a thick glowy neon hot pink that leans coral in some lights and has a very subtle shimmer. This is two coats with NWP Shirley Temple top coat. I was a little iffy about the formula at first; the first coat was thick but a little patchy and began to try really quickly, so I had to work fast. The 2nd coat smoothed it out a lot and it's a very bright and pretty pink. Very pleased with my first NWP polish overall and looking forward to trying more.

These swatches are NWP Watermelon Bubblegum, NWP Blue Raspberry Rock Candy, SH Let's Get Digital and SC Rise and Shine, which brings me to my 200th polish! That escalated quickly, lol.

Food Related Vacation Highlights

If you ever visit Vegas, the Venitian Hotel and Casino has some absolutely spectacular sights and restaurants. We ate lunch at Lobster Me inside the Venitian, and although it was ridiculously overpriced ($50 for 2 lobster roll, fry, and drink combos), it was absolutely delicious. Then we wandered along the Vanitian canal replica watching the gondolas and popped into Le Macaron for a delicious little morsel, I chose a hazelnut macaron!

Dinner was probably in my top 5 dining experiences. Mr. Lucky's Restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel has a $7.77 Gambler's Special steak and shrimp dinner that's not on the menu; you have to get a free player's club card and ask for it. The best and cheapest surf and turf meal I've ever had! Dessert may have been my favorite part though; the Bourbon Sticky Toffee Pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce was to die for!

Bath & Body Related Vacation Highlights

I'm having a blast in Vegas! The 2nd place I went after the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was the Lush store in the Mirage. I've never been to one in person before and it was glorious! The SA's were really nice; they helped me test out a few products and gave me some lovely samples I wish I could have purchased some things, but the shower gel scents I want are seasonal and everything is so $$ there. It was a fun experience though.

I ended my first evening with a warm bath and a rose scented shell shaped bomb from Raa Love on Etsy. It was not as fizzy as most bombs I've used, but the rose scent was wonderful and the oils were so softening. It worked miracles on my tired muscles!

Nail Related Vacation Highlights

Having an absolute blast in Vegas! Travel photo post to follow soon. Travel is a nightmare on hands and nails though. I'm glad I received a mini bubblegum scented cuticle oil from Native War Paints right before I left. It is the perfect size to pack, and the fact that it's brush on makes it really quick and easy to apply. Nice scent too.

 I haven't had time to change my mani; I've just been touching up Bonita Golden Girl. That's what I love about glitter; wears like iron and even when it does chip it's easy to make it look nice again. Plus the sparklies always impress; I got compliments from the nice SA's in the Lush store. :)

I'm staying at my cousin's which is way cooler than a hotel because Sadie the cat helps me do my nails.😻

Recent Wax Reviews

Candles by Victoria Vanilla Coffee Crunch:

I unfortunately was not very impressed by this tart. On cold sniff it was a light and artificial smelling vanilla. When melting it had weak throw and was a very generic vanilla. I didn't get coffee or bakery from it at all. Also, no matter how little or much I used of the tart, the wax never fully melted. Both my warmers had weird unmelted rings around the edges. I believe I heard someone mention this problem with CBV tarts a long time ago, so it may have something to do with the wax used. I was sent this tart by a friend so I don't know it's history. The label was a bit worn so it could be an older tart and it's scent may have changed or diminished over time. I have not tried many CBV tarts so I don't have much to compare it to. All I know is this one did not perform well. Overall grade: D. Would not purchase.

Scentsationals Passion Fruit Coconut: Both on cold sniff and when melting this is a creamy, not too sweet coconut scent with a touch of tart fruitiness from the passion fruit. It had fairly strong to moderate throw most of the day. Very pleasant. Overall grade: B+. Might purchase.

Can-Do Candles Midnight Pomegranate: 

I do not recall what the BBW scent smells like as it's been so long since I've sniffed it, but I like this tart a lot. To me it smells like tart pomegranate juice, ripe plums, and juicy black cherries mixed with sensual musk and creamy sandalwood. It's a dark, sweet, dusky aroma. It had moderate throw for about 6 or 7 hours. Would have preferred it to be slightly stronger/longer lasting, but a very nice scent. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

Native War Paints Candy Shop Box

right before I left on vacation, so I quickly stuffed the contents in with the other polishes I had packed, lol! This month's theme was "Candy Shop." I received a full sized neon pink polish that appears to have subtle shimmer called Watermelon Bubblegum, a full sized top coat, a mini bubblegum cuticle oil, and a mini blurple holo polish called Blueberry Rock Candy. I will have to post swatches and thoughts on them on Friday when I get back. Overall I think this box is a decent value for $17.50 so far and a fun surprise to look forward to in the mail every month.

Fancy Desserts

There's an interesting fusion tea and dessert place that opened up a few months ago near us called Sno Crave and the hubby and I finally got a chance to go there. Everything was spectacular! I tried both creme brûlée and a coffee macaron for the first time. Exquisite! The Thai milk tea was really good too, and hubby got a mango sno ice that was amazing! The place was decorated so cute too and had board games for the customers to play. The decor and atmosphere were really fun. Definitely hope to go back again.

NOTD: Cupcake Polish Berry Good Looking

This polish is popular for a reason; it's so amazing you guys! This is one coat with Salon Perfect High Shine TC. Indoors it looks like a fairly basic purple shimmer, but in the sun it comes to life. It's full of almost neon purple holo-y goodness.

Concert OOTD

Going to a concert tonight to kick off vacation with the hubby, yay!

Dress: Walmart 

Kimono jacket: Ross

Bag, sandals: Payless 

Necklace: On Trend Boutique 

Review: HoG Vice Perfume Oil

It's magnificent! I really love HoG's sultry foodie/gourmand blends the most. This to me is a rich dark chocolate with spices and coffee. It has the intriguing spicy dark chocolate notes that I loved from their Coconut #3 blend, but with coffee instead of coconut. No off notes on me, nothing discordant or shouty; everything's masterfully blended in perfect harmony. I may order all things Vice and I would die for a tart in this scent! The only problem is it's making me sooo hungry, haha! If you want to smell like a chocolaty cinnamon dolce latte, this is the scent for you!

Another St. Patty's Day Mani

I couldn't resist doing one more St. Patrick's Day mani. I had one untried green left; OPI I'm Sooo Swamped. Others are WnW Fergie Gold Album and Lolita Lacquer Horchata with SH Big Matte Top Coat.

Recent Product Reviews

Haus of Gloi Cozy Rose Perfume Oil: To me this is a a fresh, green rose scent mixed with a very "vintage" musk. Sadly I don't really care for it. The musk is too dusty and powdery for me, and the rose is too much of a green floral when I prefer a sweeter rose. I feel this fragrance is too mature and too much like a vintage perfume for me. I have heard other say they love it, so I'm sure it must work for some people. It is a good quality perfume oil with moderate silage that lasted 2-3 hours.

Haus of Gloi Haus Amber Perfume Oil:

This amber blend is much different than any other amber fragrance I have tried. It is neither sensual nor masculine nor "shouty." If this fragrance had a personality, I would describe it as the strong silent type. It's an introvert with a commanding presence. When I first sniffed it in the vial I thought it would lean masculine, but as soon as I applied it, I realized it was more feminine: musky and powdery, almost more like a soft cashmere than an amber. It's a very comforting fragrance and the silage sits close to the skin, wafting delicate whiffs for hours. I like this fragrance quite a lot. It wasn't love at first sniff, but the longer I wear it, the more I like it.

Not Your Mother's Sea Salt Spray: Beach Babe: Not many hair products can help tame my long, super fine, dry, wavy, frizzy hair, but this sea salt spray does a fairly admirable job of my waves look more beachy and less crazy. My favorite thing about this product though is the lovely sweet coconut scent. I would recommend this product for those that want to achieve beachy waves and smell like a yummy coconut.

Recent Wax Reviews

Sassy Girl Aroma Hello Lover Pink Coconut: On cold sniff this is a creamy coconut with a touch of spicy pink sugar. When melting the coconut is most prominent and to me the pink sugar is barely noticeable. It smells quite lovely, but I would have liked it to be more than one note. The throw was fairly strong for most of the day. Overall grade B+. Might purchase.

Cleanse Your Soul Butterscotch Rum Brittle: I really like this one! Smells like yummy butterscotch candies and had fairly strong throw all day. Overall Grade: A. Would Purchase.

Beezy Cranberry Orange Scone: Amazing! On cold sniff it smells like sweet orange with a bit of tart fruitiness from the cranberry and a slight warm bakery aroma. When melting the orange was most prominent and the blend smelled very much like delicious orange creamsicle to me. Strong throw all day. Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

Can-Do Candles Strawberry Roses: I absolutely adore this blend! Both on cold sniff and when melting this smells like a boozy, perfumes strawberries and champagne type scent with sweet, fresh rose. So pretty and unique; I've never smelled anything like it before! I'm very impressed with the few Can Do scents I've melted so far. Fairly strong throw all day. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

St. Patrick's Day NOTD

2 coats of Zoya Ivanka with accent nail of Zoya Aggie and dotting tool shamrock. I think Ivanka was the first green np I fell in love with and it's still one of my favorites. It's even more stunning IRL. 

NOTD: OPI My Geko Does Tricks

Chipped the first one all to hell doing the dishes. 2 coats OPI My Gecko Does Tricks. Formula is meh, pretty thin and patchy on the first coat, but it does match the spring grass really well and looks pretty in the light.

NOTD: Frosty Metallics

1 coat of Color Club Perfect Molten with accent nail of Foil Me Once.