NOTD: Zoya Remy

The You Remy lovers were right; it's a gorgeous polish! My photos do not do it justice; the greenish gold shimmer is mesmerizing! A super easy one coat formula.

NOTD: Zoya Blaze & Tomoko

I squeezed in a red for theme week with my new Zoya Blaze. I like it a lot but am not sure if I love it yet. It was a bit of a darker red than I was expecting and I thought the scattered holo would be a little more prominent. The formula was a little thin and patchy, but 2 coats evened it out. Zoya Tomoko is beautiful and it will go well with so many polishes. I got a little lazy and painted Tomoko over the top of my accent nail from yesterday, lol. Super happy with my Zoya order overall.

Thoughts on 2nd Kitty's Konfections Order

Cold Sniff thoughts-

Victorian Tea Shop (almond macaroon + tea & cakes):

I adore this one; it's as scrumptious as I thought it would be! There is a rich, warm bakery aroma with a hint of black tea leaves, mixed with a sweet nuttiness from the almond cookie. Strong and delicious!

Amanda's Aspiration:

I'm so glad to have this one; it is also exactly as I'd hoped. Delicious fresh citruses blended with sweet pink bubblegum. Fairly strong.

Pink Panties:

Top notes of sweet and spicy pink sugar with the slightest hint of strawberry and the warm bakery aroma of tea & cakes. So yummy; moderate scent.

Another winner; it has all the aromas of the traditional Serendipity type scent; especially the almond and sweet cherry notes. There is an extra bit of sweet creaminess from the sugar milk. I love it! Strong.

Free sample-

Tropic Escape (pineapple mojito):

This is very yummy; smells just like a Pina colada with fresh pineapple juice and sweet coconut milk. No boozy note detected. Strong.

I am quite happy with my two Kitty's Konfections orders and hope to place an order from her Cirque De Solil themed restock at the end of May. Once again my order had very quick shipping and excellent customer service. I was not able to get every scent I wanted due to the Hunger Games style opening where everything sells out quickly, but I'm ok with that. It saved me money in the long run as I've been ordering way too much wax lately.

Update on the scents I've melted from my first order. So far I have melted Briar Rose, which is a strong and glorious fresh cut rose type scent. Super happy with the strong and long lasting throw on this one and would reorder it.

I've also melted some coconut delight and although it is a yummy coconut cream pie and cherry scent, the throw was rather light. I mentioned this to Kitty and she recommended letting it cure for a few more weeks; so I will revisit that scent later.

I look forward to melting more of my Kitty's Konfections scents; I think I will try Toucan Sam next!

NOTD: Julep Caitlin & OPI Super Star Status

I wanted something bright and this definitely fits the bill. Julep Caitlin is a squishy crelly with subtle shimmer. It is a smooth, easy to work with formula. This is two coats. It reads coral on camera but is a true hot pink IRL. Accent nail is 2 coats OPI Super Star Status which I love; it's so blingy!

NOTD: A England Incense Burner

It was raining yesterday so I couldn't take pics, and today it was still difficult to capture the subtle green/gold shimmer shift. This polish isn't exactly what I was expecting; the in the swatches I looked at before ordering the base color looked black and the shimmer seemed more noticeable. In reality it is a deep, plummy burgundy, which is very elegant, but the shimmer only comes out to play in the brightest of lights. I feel like my nails look dull in doors; I wish I could look at the pretty sparklies all day! On the plus side, this is a super smooth, one coat formula. A quality polish overall. I added accent nails of Sassy Pants Polish Temptation for some extra bling.

Starry Skies Wax Cold Sniff Thoughts

Cold Sniff Thoughts:

Avo Rose flower: this is an approximately 3.4 oz sized flower and it's so beautiful! Avobath and Rose Jam are my two favorite Lush scents, so of course I had to get the largest size available! Immediately upon opening the bag I could strongly smell Avobath, which to me is a wonderfully fresh and tart mix of green grass and bright citruses. The Avobath part is a very accurate dupe imo.

The rose jam seemed to be very light to nonexistent. I think the Avobath overwhelmed it, but this tart hasn't been poured for very long, so hopefully the rose and sweet lemon will come out more when curing and melting. I also get undertones of laundry detergent, which I don't usually like, but overall this is a very pleasant and strong scent.

Sweet Mint (lavender vanilla + peppermint + cotton candy):

I am currently getting strong notes of herbal lavender with undertones of cool, herbal mint. So far this doesn't have as much sweetness as I thought it would. I do hope the cotton candy will temper the strong herbal scents and make them a bit sweeter and creamier as they cure. Still a strong and generally pleasant blend.

Passionate Lavender (passsion fruit guava + lavender): This one is very yummy and unique! The top notes of guava and passion fruit have a wonderful tropical fruitiness, and the sweet and creamy lavender rounds it out. An excellent combo. Moderate scent.

Dusk (LOM + French Vanilla + Zucchini Bread):

Another excellent and unique blend! The zucchini bread is prominent, as it tends to be, and it is tempered by lovely vanilla bakery aromas with just a hint of musk and lemon from the Lord of Misrule. Very yummy and intriguing; moderate.

Jinx (pink sugar + peppermint + tangerine): Mmmm... love! The tangerine is the star of this scent and blends amazingly with the spicy sweetness of pink sugar, and I get just a hint of coolness and sweetness from the peppermint. This is a very clever and unique blend that really stands out to me. Moderate.

Starburst (orange + cotton candy + vanilla smoothie):

This smells quite like a orange starburst candy! It isn't exactly an orange creamy sherbet type scent as I was expecting; the orange is more a fresh, tart, realistic citrus and there is just a hint of sweetness from the cotton candy. I don't detect much vanilla yet. It is a very pleasant, moderate blend.

Lavender Jam (lavender vanilla + rose jam): An excellent blend, just as I'd hoped for! The sweet, creamy, fresh rose of rose jam is the star of this blend, with a background of mild, calming lavender. An absolutely delightful and strong spring scent.

Free Samples-

Celebrate (no description):

This cute star shaped melt smells to me like orange and tangerine, with perhaps a bit of spices and musk. It has similar notes to the Jinx and Starburst scents, but a little spicier. A very good and strong blend.

Kettle Corn:

A super realistic and strong scent; smells EXACTLY like kettle corn! I love it when scents are dead on. This one's getting melted in the next couple days. :)

Trichomania (no description): 

I'm not sure what this blend is, but I like it! To me it smells like creamy, unsweetened coconut milk (similar to BBW Oahu Coconut Sunset) with some musk, peppercorn, and a bit of fresh sea breeze . A very intriguing strong summery scent.

Lavender Martini: This blend is both creamy and tart lavender, but not too herbal. It's a bit boozy but not too much. A very fun, strong scent!

Jamaica Me Crazy: a very realistic and fresh Pina colada scent! The pineapple is wonderfully tart and juicy and the coconut is creamy and sweet. Lovely and strong.

So White (no description): 

Lush's So White scent is just ok to me, but this tart does a very accurate dupe. To me it's like a sweet and tart powdery candy, like Sweet Tarts. Very good and moderately scented dupe.

As much as I love to order from established wax makers who have a consistent reputation for quality products, I also love to get in on the ground floor of a new wax vendor's opening and become a fan from the beginning. I must say I am blown away by the success of Starry Skies Wax grand opening and I am definitely becoming a fan of many of the scents. 

Standouts to me from my order were the Jinx and Lavender Jam blends. Favorites from the samples were Kettle Corn and Jamaica Me Crazy. Some scents were amazing and ready to melt, and others were good but could benefit from some curing. I can't wait to start melting some of them in the next few days!

I am most impressed with Lorena's customer service! She is super sweet and dedicated to her budding business. She handled an issue with Paypal on her site very quickly and included a ridiculously generous abundance of free wax! Seriously, I received almost as many free samples as I purchased. She also takes time to reply to each comment and and message on her Instagram and Facbook pages. She also took the time to include a lovely personalized card in my order. I also love that her wax was ready to ship so it had a super fast turnaround time, but it also didn't sell out too quickly and I got every scent I wanted, so that's a great, balanced business model. I ordered on Saturday and received the following Wednesday which is great! It is super convenient for me that Starry Skies is based in my state.

Overall I think this was a wonderful first performance for Starry Skies Wax and I wouldn't hesitate to order in the future. First, however, I need to melt through my enormous mountain of wax!

Recent Wax Reviews

Front Porch Apricot Vanilla Lemon Birthday Cake:

A truly superb blend! Both on cold sniff and when melting I could smell each of the notes individually and they all blended well into a heavenly aroma. Top notes of ripe apricots dripping with juice, middle notes of lemon and vanilla bean curd, bottom notes of freshly baked vanilla cake. This tart was also an excellent performer with strong throw that lasted a good 10 hours. Always yummy and never cloying. I am very happy with all the Front Porch scents I've melted so far. Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

Scentsationals Dazzling Sky- Sky Lantern and Amythest Sky:

this was a very intriguing and unique scent combo. Sky Lantern was a warm amber and Amythest Sky to me was a sweet, dusky plum with prominent hints of musk. I loved these mixable scents together; they really worked in harmony. The throw was not quite as strong as I am used to from the Scentsationals brand. I would say it had moderate throw for 8 hours or so. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

SGA Avobath Noel:

This was a glorious combo of two of my favorite dupe scents; Avobath from Lush and Vanilla Bean Noel from BBW. I had never tried the two together before, but the combo turned out to be wonderful! I got fresh green citruses from the Avobath and gorgeous vanilla bean bakery notes from the VBN. An excellent combo and scent dupe. Not to mention it had super strong throw all day and into day 2. I'm always impressed with the stellar throw of Sassy Girl Aroma chunk tarts. I definitely need more. Overall grade: A+. Would purchase.

Can-Do Candles Creme Brûlée Cupcakes: I had an exceptionally good week of meltings, because this tart is also amazing! It was a bit generic vanilla on cold sniff, but when melting the creamy vanilla curd and beautiful, rich carmelized sugar tones came out. This is a mouth wateringly realistic creme brûlée scent and I feel that I want to buy all things creme brûlée now. I just started melting it a couple hours ago and the throw is strong with this one.

Overall grade: A+. Would repurchase.

Updated NOTD

I put Sassy Pants Polish Temptation over yesterday's NOTD of Colores De Carol Mystical Orchid and Cupcake Berry Good Looking. The level of holo goodness is blowing my mind! Temptation is a gorgeous bronzy holo with rainbow flakies. Smooth, easy formula and would make a great topper over many polishes with one coat or look great on it's own with 2-3.

NOTD: Purple Holos

Today's mani is 2 Coats Mystical Orchid and accent nail is 1 coat Cupcake Polish Berry Good Looking. I absolutely adore how both these polishes look! Neither has the greatest formula, but it's totally worth it because they are toooo gorgeous! As many have said, Cupcake is a little thick, but it goes on fairly smooth and is not too difficult for me to work with. Mystical Orchid goes on a little thick and lumpy, but it smoothed out with TC. I did thinner coats on my other hand and it looked great. Overall, love the way these look so much!

NOTD: A England Sleeping Palace

1 smooth coat of A England Sleeping Palace. It's very dull indoors but is a deep plum polish with a beautiful rainbow holo in the sunlight.

NOTD: Native War Paints Tulip Time

I didn't get to capture the shimmer of this polish very well because it was raining, but I did get some lovely raindrops on the roses! Tulip Time is a beautiful rosy mauve pink with subtle shimmer. This is 2 coats. The accent nail is Julep Mia.

NOTD: Native War Paints Robins Egg

This morning I have many photos for you in different lights of Robin's Egg and Fields of Flowers (on thumb and ring finger) from the April Springtime subscription box! I also kept with the flowers theme and used Color Club Harp On It and MoYou London Pro Plate 04 to stamp roses. Love the Robins Egg Polish! It has great formula that applies smoothly and evenly. I probably could have gotten away with one coat but this is two. I really love the Fields of Flowers holo glitter topper as well! It could add extra sparkle to any mani. I am also using the NWP Shirley Temple top coat from the March box; I adore it. It smells like cherry candy instead of chemicals, it's high shine but doesn't dull holos, and it is durable and helps prevent chips. Very impressed!

Cosmic Gems Wax Sleepytime Sampler

Cold Sniff Thoughts:

Tea Time: top notes of freshly baked sugared scones and relaxing undertones of lavender and tea leaves. Absolutely love it! Strong.

Lord's Brew: I have not smelled the original Lush Lord of Misrule scent, so I can't say if this smells similar, but it does smell wonderful! Again the prominent note is warm bakery, like tea cakes and scones. I do also detect a bit of fresh citrus. Strong.

Snuggly Sheets: Smells like Downy fabric softener and fresh, creamy rose. I don't usually care for detergent type scents, but this is delightful! It really does smell like roses and fresh sheets; a perfect blend! Strong.

Harbor Island: Heavenly! Smells just like juicy watermelon and pink sugar. Refreshing but not overly sweet; an ideal summer scent. Strong.

Sweet Dreams: Sweet cotton candy and calming lavender go really well in this blend. I would describe it as a creamy jolly rancher. It's hard to detect the marshmallow, as it is in many blends. This scent is both sweet and relaxing. Fairly strong.

Indulge in Relaxation: This is not as strong as I thought it would be. I get the light hint of fig and brown sugar, but it's hard to detect the berry. Will definitely let this one cure for a couple weeks. Moderate.

Free samples-

Lavender Camomile Tea: a moderately herbal lavender with a bit of a sharp bitter note; maybe that's the camomile? Will let this one cure too. Moderate.

Peach Soda: Smells exactly like fizzy soda and fresh, juicy peaches! A great blend for summer; I'm glad to have it. Strong.

This was my first experience ordering from Cosmic Gems wax melts and I'm very pleased! I heard about this vendors through Instagram and had to order this Sleepytime sampler as they all sounded like scents I would love. So far I'm not disappointed; I can't wait to melt them!

The ordering process was very smooth; this was a 3 week pre order. I ordered on March 24th and received my order on April 20th so she did well on estimating the time needed for making the samplers and shipping them. I also greatly appreciate the two generous free scents. The cups appear to all be 1.5 oz size (the same as LSC's regular tarts.) For $9 + $6 shipping I would say this sampler was a good value and I wouldn't hesitate to order again.

NOTD: OPI Absolutely Alice

This classic gem is finally mine! I'm so glad I was able to score it from a trustworthy person at a low price. This is one coat of Absolutely Alice over 1 coat of Sinful Colors Rise & Shine.

NWP Subscription Box: Springtime

My Native War Paints subscription box arrived today! The NWP box theme for April was Springtime. I received a full size of Tulip Time, a bright mauvey pink with subtle bronze shimmer, full size of Robin's Egg, a pretty baby blue creme, and a mini of Fields of Flowers, a holo glitter topper with a slight bluish gray tint. Very happy with these for $17.50 shipped and it's so fun waiting to see what comes every month.

Recent Wax Reviews

Starlytes Rose candle (.99¢ Always Store):

This had moderately good throw for such a small candle. It was a nice non-artificial rose scent that burned well with an even wax pool. Definitely worth a dollar. Overall grade: B+. Might repurchase.

Kitty's Konfections Briar Rose (Lush Dupe):

Both on cold sniff and when melting I thought this was a lovely fresh and slightly creamy rose scent. It did not have that hint of sweet lemon/citrus that is present in the original Rose Jam, so I would not say it is a true dupe, but a gorgeous rose scent none the less. It had fairly strong throw for 8-10 hours and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall grade: A-. Might repurchase.

Kitty's Konfections Coconut Delight:

This is an amazingly delicious and realistic coconut cream pie scent with an extra hint of candied cherries. On cold sniff it was the lightest scent in the order. Unfortunately it was also rather light when melting. I really wish it had been stronger since it's such a delectable scent. I contacted the vendor privately to let her know about the light throw and she was very gracious. She recommended I let her wax cure for a couple more weeks and try again. She also said she would look into adjusting the oils of that blend. Overall grade: B. Might repurchase.

Yankee Lavender Vanilla: This was a lovely sweet lavender scent with a predominant vanilla note. Yankee tarts  usually have very weak throw for me, but this one did slightly better than I was expecting. The throw was almost moderate; it didn't fill the rooms, but I could catch occasional whiffs without having to stand near the warmer. It also seemed to last all day. Such a well done blend; I would like this scent in a candle in hopes that the throw would be stronger. Overall grade: B. Might repurchase.

Mainstays Sweet Lavender candle:

This candle has moderate throw and is a super sweet lavender; it was almost cloying at first, but I got used to it and enjoyed it. Like most all Mainstays candles I've tried; it burns really well and quickly. Overall grade: B+. Might repurchase.

Sugar & Spice Sweet Potato & Brown Sugar:

On cold sniff this tart smelled wonderfully of brown sugar and cinnamon and had a similarity to pumpkin pie spice. When melting it actually smelled like burning pie for the first 15 minutes or so. It's calmed down a bit into a warm, spicy brown sugar scent. But the burnt note never entirely went away. It's not too unpleasant, but it's not my most favorite aroma either. Amusingly enough, it's one of the strongest tarts I've melted in a while and has great throw. Overall grade: B-. Probably wouldn't purchase.

NOTD: 3 Untrieds

Here we have 2 coats CC Harp on it with 1 coat CC The Uptown over 1 coat Julep Octavia. All great formulas; love them!

NOTD: Super Girly Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty Starry Eyed For Dear Daniel; I love it sooo much! I threw a couple coats on over yesterday's mani because I wanted to recycle the adorable bow accent nail. This might be the girliest NOTD ever, lol.

NOTD: Neon, Polka Dots and Bows

3 coats LA Colors Flicker and 2 coats Sally Girl Cool over Kiss French Tip White. Bow charm from nailartelegance.com.

NOTD: Attempting to Dupe A Polish

I can't buy every single polish I want, so I've decided to start trying to duplicate some by layering polishes I already have.

I'm sooo happy with how my mani turned out! I can't stop staring at my nails. :) Unfortunately it's pouring rain outside; it's so sparkly that I wish I could have gotten sun pics.

This is two coats Zoya Loredana, one coat Pure Ice Faraway Land, and one coat Revlon Holographic Pearls. It's not an exact Ascalon dupe as my version has a more blue shift and Ascalon a purple shift. I think if I had used Grey's Anatomy instead of Faraway Land it would have that purple shift. But I'm very happy with what I created and not sad I didn't buy Ascalon anymore. :D