Surprise Wax Package

I cannot tell you all how much it makes my day when I receive goodies in the mail! There was so much awesomeness in this box that it didn't all fit into one photo. Of course I had to sniff each and every item and give you all my thoughts. 

Cold Sniff Thoughts:

Beezy Endless Love Type:

This is one of the few VS Fantasies scents I had not sniffed. I don't know how accurate of a dupe this is, but the tart is both fresh/clean and sweet/floral. I don't usually care for scents like this, but it it's very pleasant and super strong.

Southbound Soap Co Cotton Candy Birthday Smoothie:

A lovely and realistic cotton candy and vanilla cake blend. Light.

Potion Dust The Goblet of Fire:

Such an interesting blend! Musky, citrusy, spicy; I can't even identify all the notes but I like it! Strong.

Minerva McGonagall:

Both chocolaty, minty, and a little fruity. This frog shaped Harry Potter themed tart is adorable! Strong.

Haley's Heavenly Scents Pink Chiffon Lavender Birthday:

A strong herbal lavender mellowed by the pink sugar and sweet florals of pink chiffon. I think the birthday cake is overpowered, but it's a very nice blend. Strong.

Blank Label Joy: Not sure what the notes of this one is, but I like it! I get bright, tart, lemon, creamy vanilla, and a touch of fresh laundry. A cheerful and super strong scent. The heart shape is so pretty!

SBS Bas-ice-ball:

Not sure what brand/scent this is, but it's a warm, orange aroma, like Satsuma. Very pleasant and super strong.

Webby's Tarts: Chocolate Strawberry: This nails that super sweet, candy like chocolate covered strawberry type scents, and in an adorable cupcake shape to boot! Very strong.

Waxie Lady Hello Sugar Stawberry Melon:

This definitely has lots of pink sugar mixed with ripe strawberries and melon. It is quite strong and busy, almost overwhelming my nose so that all the scents become dull together. It also has a bit of a waxy, play doughy base note to it. Hopefully this is one of those types of scents that really brightend up when melting. Strong.

VSC GG:

Many people are huge VSC fans; haven't yet placed an order yet, partly because of how quickly they sell out, and partly because most of the sample I've tried have been too powdery/fresh/perfumy for my liking. I would be exited to try some of their bakery blends. GG seems to be a nice slightly powdery rose with hints of fruit. (Just my impression as I don't know the notes.) It's pretty light on cold sniff, but the macaron shape is adorable!

VSC Margot's Yellow Submarine: I seem to get mellow lemon curd, vanilla cake, and hints of powder from this one. Why are all VSC's powdery to me?? Pleasant and moderate.

CFTKR Crunchy Berry Cereal Milk:

Yum! Smells just like a bowl of Capt'n Crunch Berries and sugar milk. CFTKR sweet/bakery scents never disappoint. Strong.

CFTKR Ultimate Berry Cake:

Mmmm... juicy mixed berries atop a funfetti birthday cake; how delightful! Strong.

CFTKR Strawberry Milk: 

Juicy ripe sugared strawberries and cream. She really nailed these blends! Strong.

CFTKR Caramelized Fig & Vanilla Custard:

This tart may be a bit old. The description sounds so good, but I'm just getting a dull play dough base note with hints of dried figs. Sadly I don't really get the caramel or vanilla. Light.

Swanky Lavender Paris:

A lovely, not too herbal, creamy lavender well blended with other sweet florals. Sooo pretty, both the shape and scent!

Swanky Roses On Paris:

A light, creamy rose and sweet floral blend. Pretty, but not quite as impressive as I thought it'd be. Light.

Swanky Lemon Cake Sweet On Paris:

Oooh, a lovely lemon bakery and sweet floral blend with a hint of strawberry. Very unique and delicious! Strong.

Swanky Blue Sugar Pink Sugar Waffle Cone: A gorgeous gourmet blend of equal parts sweet & spicy pink sugar, berry like blue sugar, and brown sugar. Like sugared berries served in a waffle cone. Amazing! Strong.

SGA Hello Lover Waffle Cone Birthday Cake:

Errmahgerd SGA! How I love thee! It's got the fresh, fragrant coconut and pink sugar of hello lover with a perfect sweet bakery cake and waffle cone. Genius! Strong.

SGA Pink Sugar Sleepytime:

A top notch pink sugar and creamy lavender blend. Very mellow and relaxing. Strong.

SGA Cherry Slush Pistachio Whipped Cream Cake:

Surprisingly I haven't tried any pistachio scents, despite them being all the rage. The pistachio in this blend seems to be very sharp, green and nutty, almost overwhelming. Bottom notes of candied cherry and subtle whiffs of vanilla cake. I'm not sure if I love it or not. Hopefully it will calm down a bit when melting.

SGA Florida Citrus and Birthday Cake:

a yummy citrus and bakery blend! Very cheery and summery. Super strong.

SGA Fugi Apple Sweet Lavender Marshmallow:

Wow, very unique! I didn't know if I'd like it, but I think I do. Top notes of crisp, tart green apple, middle notes of sweet creamy lavender, bottom notes of gooey toasted marshmallow. Amazing! Strong.

SGA Blue Sugar Sweet + Creamy:

Wow, the way these blend together is almost a sweet herbal scent to me. Smells kind of like a sweet blueberry tea to me. Very nice and intriguing. Strong.

Whew, I can't believe I got through all of those! Thanks for reading all, and a huge thanks to my waxy friend; I had such a fun afternoon of sniffing! :)

Front Porch Order Thoughts

Cold Sniff Thoughts:

Caramel Aspen Woods:

OMG, what a great blend! This is crisp and woodsy without being too masculine and has gorgeous bottom notes of delicious golden caramel. Moderate.

Black Cherry Bomb Caramel Vanilla Noel:

Smells similar to cherry vanilla cola to me. Slightly artificial but still yummy. Hopefully it will mature a bit with curing. Very strong.

Salted Caramel Marshmallow Cheesecake:

I definitely get salted caramel sauce over a rich base of creamy cheesecake. Delicious! Strong.

Coconut Rose: I was most excited about this blend as it is two of my favorite scents and I haven't seen them together before. Cold sniff did not disappoint; it is equal parts sweet, creamy coconut flakes and fresh, fragrant rose buds. Absolute heaven! If it throws well I'll definitely be ordering it in large quantities. Strong.

Warm Vanilla Sugar and Pink Chiffon:

Two of my favorite classic BBW scents.This is a great marriage of the two; the pink sugar and sweet florals of Pink Chiffon are prominent, along with and added sugary vanilla sweetness from the WVS. Makes me want to wear these two together in lotion and body spray now. Moderate.

Coconut Marshmallow Bread: 

Smells similar to freshly baked sweet bread, like pan dulce. Perhaps the slightest hint of coconut. Strong and yummy.

Cantaloupe Cotton Candy Orange Sherbet:

Wow, a very impressive blend! Top notes of creamy orange sherbet with plenty of sweetness from the cotton candy, and a refreshing juicy finish with the cantaloupe. Strong.

This is my second Front Porch order and I've been super pleased with all my scents and ordering experiences so far. The scents I've melted from my first order all had strong throw, and with the great prices and excellent service I think I will be ordering from FP for a long time to come!

NWP May Box: Alice In Wonderland Themed

Native War Paints subscription box for May was Alice In Wonderland themed. I was really excited about it, but this is my first of 3 boxes so far where I wasn't as wowed by the contents. There is a hot orchid type pink called We're All Mad Here with a subtle metallic finish. It's very pretty but not super unique, and not all that dissimilar from the previous month's Tulip Time color. On my swatch it took about 2 thick or 3 thin coats to be opaque. 

The 2nd color is a teal glitter with flecks of gold. In the bottle I thought it would be really similar to Model City Teal Next Year, which I love, but nope, it's more of a topper since the polish is clear rather than teal. Hopefully it will look good over other polishes or with a few coats by itself. I'm not really digging the 2 coats on the swatch; looks kind of dirty/dull rather than glittery.

The third color, Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk, is like a tiny bottle of primordial ooze. It's seriously sooo goopy and sludgy going on the swatch. This one should have been named I'm Sooo Swamped instead of the OPI by that name which actually has good formula and is pretty. I'm not feeling this one at all right now.

To give them a fair shot, I will still do a mani with each of them eventually and show you guys. This is the first box that I haven't been super thrilled about, but I guess that's bound to happen from time to time. I still find this box to be a great value overall and will continue to subscribe to it for as long as I can afford it. I can always try to swap, sell, or give away colors if I don't like them. I always anticipate with excitement what surprises await me in each box; I hope next month's box comes with more of their Hurry, Hurry top coat and cuticle oil; they've become HG for me!

What NWP polishes have you tried? Any favorites?

NOTD: Leopard Print Nails

This was my first time doing leopard print nails. It wasn't very difficult but was very time consuming to paint evey dot and stroke. The base is 2 coats Model City Glisten, the blue is MC Frozen and the black is NYC Black Lace Cream.

Recent Wax Reviews

Cosmic Gems Snuggly Sheets (rose jam + laundry):

I normally hate anything laundry, but the rose makes it so lovely! Looks how pretty it is too! Both on cold sniff and when melting it is a lovely realistic rose mingled delightfully with freshly washed linens. Does Downy have a rose scent? To me this = rose + Downy. It had strong throw for a good 10 hours. I love being pleasantly surprised when trying new scents! Overall grade: A. Would repurchase.

 Starry Skies Avo Rose: 

These are my two favorite Lush Dupes! Both on cold sniff and when melting this blend is heavy on the Avo. It is predominantly a fresh, green, citrusy scent with a touch of soap and the slightest hint of fresh roses. I would have liked the rose to be more noticeable, but overall it's a great and super strong blend. Overall Grade: A-. Would repurchase.

SGA Pink Chiffon/Chocolate Orchid/Shaving Cream:

So I got this SGA tart Pink Chiffon/Chocolate Orchid/Shaving Cream in a Round Robin box from my wonderful waxy friend nuttycoconut. I can tell you it's not a scent I would have ordered for myself. It sounds like a pretty wacky blend TBH. Shaving cream?? Why is that a thing now? So I am kinda scared of this tart but I decided to give it a shot because it actually smells rather delightful on cold sniff. It opens with the sweet girliness of Pink Chiffon, has middle notes of chocolate and dusky orchid, and closes with a freshness (shaving cream?) that really seems to work. Is SGA a genius?? I've only been melting it about an hour, but it has strong throw, like most SGA tarts. Those that have tried this blend, any thoughts? Overall grade: A. Might purchase.

NOTD: Sea Inspired

This is 3 coats Pinwheel Polish Sea Glass & Surf. It's such a beautiful glitter crelly. It's only the 2nd crelly I've ever worn and I can tell I'm going to have fun experimenting with it. I would love to try it with a white base for a more crisp look and as a topping. I do love it as is though; so fun and squishy and not too patchy. It was surprisingly easy to work with.

The blue is Pure Ice Fairytale Forest, a favorite one coater. This mani makes me want to go to the beach so much!

VS Rose Lotion Review

This is a great lotion overall. It is a thinner lotion formula, comparable to the texture of BBW body lotions. I usually prefer the thicker texture of body creams, but this lotion is perfectly adequate for moisturizing normal skin on arms and legs. I don't know how it would work on super dry skin and I wouldn't recommend it for sensitive skin since it's fragranced. I never really believed those 24 hour moisture claims; I'd say it left my skin smooth and moisturized for about 8-10 hours. The rose fragrance was wonderful; it was a pretty and realistic tea rose, a tad perfumy but not overwhelming or cloying. I would say the fragrance was only noticeable for about half an hour on my skin, but it would be a good lotion for layering with other scents. The packaging is chic and it has a cute little bow. The locking pump nozzle is very handy. I don't think I would have wanted to spend the full price of $18 for the 12 oz bottle, but on sale for probably under $10 I'd feel like I got a good deal. Overall it's a very nice lotion, but nothing super special.