A-England Tristam

Tristam is from The Mysticals collection of Adina's polish brand, A-England. It is a dusty night sky blue with a ton of shimmer. The application was super easy. I find that Tristam was a lot easier to apply than Lancelot. Maybe it was because I've moved to an even dryer state? I noticed that all the polishes I've been using since I've moved are less runny. I'll have to try an oldie to test that theory.

Tristam is my favorite out of the 3 A-England polishes I have (Galahad, Tristam and Lancelot.) It is just BEAUTIFUL, possibility my favorite polish. I think the color is unique and the shimmer makes it pop. I bought Galahad and Tritam during a sale, it turned out to be about 10 dollars a bottle. I am waiting for a sale so I can buy some of The Legend collection. You can purchase A-England directly from the website, Adina the owner offers free shipping. But it takes me about 2 weeks to get the package. Or.... you can purchase them from Llarowe, the US stockist, for $12 per bottle with very reasonable shipping.

I love getting foreign packages so I've always purchased through the website. I will review Galahad next week!

Review: Julep Essential Cuticle Oil

Giveaway winner announced! Continue reading.....

I feel bad that I brushed off this cuticle oil yesterday. When I put it on, I thought "meh." but as the day went on, I noticed that my cuticles are dry and actually they looked pretty good. I was using Qtica before but there were still cracks, and looked pretty nasty. But with just one time use of Julep Essential Cuticle Oil, they are looking back to normal. I moved from a dry state to a even drier state. Like I said last post, I really liked the roller ball. I don't know how to describe the scent but it's not like any of other oils I've used. It's not bad or strong. If you put on hand lotions afterwards, you can't tell at all.

The major downside to this cuticle oil is the price, $18 for .28 oz! I am not sure how long it will last me, I am putting it on 2-3 a day. You don't have to, I just love putting on lotions and creme.

Now on to the announcement, this is strictly a facebook giveaway, you have to be a fan of my facebook page to win. If you are not a fan yet, head on over! 

The winner is.....

* I am wearing Julep Marisa

If you would like to try Julep, click here :)

My February Julep Maven Box

Hi everyone! I am all moved in and almost all unpack. The moving has done a serious number to my nails. I tried to take pictures but they are just so unattractive. One more week, and swatch pics will be back.

Our winner for the Revlon giveaway never emailed me so I will be picking another winner. Keep reading and find out how.

Anyways, today is about my February Julep Maven Box. Julep is a nail company based out of Seattle. You can purchased their product on their website Julep.com or you can become a Maven and get a monthly preselected box mailed to you. The first mail ever at our new place WAS my Maven box! How lucky is that? What is different about Julep Maven as opposed to other beauty box is that you get a preview before Julep ships the box to you. If you don't like what is coming to you, you can request a "shelf pull." That's what I did this month, I didn't like the polish colors for my "American It Girl" profile, so I went with BoHo Glam.

This is what I got!



Black box is this month, Red was December. I decided to skip January because of the move. Oh yeah, you can skip or ship your box to a friend as a gift!



I love their packaging. It always looks so festive! February has an Oscar theme, but the navy blue was perfect for the Big Game!

Left to right: Marisa, Oscar, and Julep Cuticle Oil Roller.

I have Marisa on right now, the formula is good, but because the brush is so long that it will pick up a lot of extra polish. So I always get rid of some in the bottle every 1 to 2 strokes. I will re-swatch later and show you the pictures. The blue is not super unique but I don't have it in my stash do I'm happy.

I also tried the cuticle oil roller, it's a lot cleaner than a brush, but the oil isn't anything too special. Feels like any other cuticle oil. after a whole day of use, I am LOVING the cuticle oil roller!!! It deserves it's own post. which is coming soon.

I got my first maven box for a penny and was able to get this one free from the referral credit. If you would like to try Julep Maven, Click on this link  http://julep.com/?r=18136990

If you google julep coupon code you can usually get the first box for $5 (normally $19.99) Shipping if free, just make sure you select the right option.

I am not totally convince to signed up for the program yet, I am a commitment-phobe. We are trying to decided wither we should buy a house or not, CAN YOU IMAGINE??? I want to rent for a year, hubby wants to buy now! It is very stressful. But the good thing is, I can keep skipping months if I don't feel like buying :)

Now on to the giveaway, just enter below. It is super easy to do :) Let me know if you have any questions.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Icing Magnetix Polish Blue

Today I am showing you the Blue version of Icing Magnetix. If you haven't read my Gold version, click HERE.

Honest truth, I am not as in love with the blue as I am with the gold. I think the gold has more depth, especially with the flecks in it. The blue has more of a watery effect. I might try it again and position the magnet differently, I'll let you know.

It's just NOT as special as the gold but still pretty cool. If you don't have the patience for nail art, magnetix is a perfect alternative. This trend is just going to get more popular, and there are a couple of brands out there that has magnetic polishes already, but they are either expensive or hard to find. China Glaze will be coming out with their own version and they will be selling the polish and magnetic separately. Which is great because you can purchase China Glaze online or at Sally Beauty stores nation wide. There are several plates for sale so I will be purchasing those when they come out. 

What do you think? Blue or Gold?

Zoya Marley

Keep reading to see if you are the winner of my Revlon Whimsical giveaway winner!


Zoya has described Marley as "lightest baby lavender touched with a hint of gray-silver and a subtle pearl finish." You can't really see the gray-silver on the nails, but you can see it in the bottle.  It's a great color to wear in the winter if you are sick of wearing dark. Marley is subtle without being boring. 

Marley did not apply as easily as some of my other Zoyas, but it could be user error. Different types of finish applies differently, so I might have been picking up too much on my brush and needed to have thinner coats to get a more even finish. Overall I am glad I got Marley. I don't have this color in my stash yet and glad to have her.

And now for the winner of Revlon Whimsical is............. Tiffany Crooker!

Please email me at blogthenail@gmail.com to claim your prize. Congratulations!

Review: Butter London Powder Room

Today I am reviewing Butter London Powder Room. It is an acetone free nail polish remover. I got a tiny bottle as part of a set when I purchased Yummy Mummy. It has a floral smell but not too overwhelming. The thing with acetone free polish remover is that it is not very good at removing nail polish. I usually buy removers with some acetone in it. But this is not the case with Powder Room. I used it to remove my Clairvoyant mani and it worked like a champ. A little goes a long away and I like that it doesn't have a strong chemical smell.

It is pricey though..... $5.00 for a 2 fl oz. I might get more when this buttle runs out but I won't use it for every removal.

Icing Magnetix Polish Gold

I've been wanting magnetic polishes for a while, but just couldn't quite plop down $16 for a bottle of Nail Inc. So when I read The PolishAholic's post yesterday I was ecstatic! She showed swatches of Icing's version of magnetic polishes and they were only $9 a bottle PLUS buy 1 get 1 50% off. There is a Claire's at my local mall but no Icing. Coincidentally, I was meeting my family for lunch near another mall and that mall had an Icing store. I really thought it was my LUCKY day.

Since I've never tried magnetic polish before, I decided to only buy 2, but there are 4 in the collection: gold, silver, blue, and red. I bought gold and blue. If you don't know what magnetic polish is, it's basically regular polish, but the cap has a magnet that you place just above your nail for about 10 seconds. Then magically a pattern appears! The pattern will vary depending on how you position the magnet above your nails.

Today I am showing you the Gold/Green version. IT IS AWESOME!

That's my thumb on the magnet part of the cap. The little "lip" is where you place on your cuticle so you don't accidentally touch the polish with the magnet. The direction says to apply a thick coat and place the magnet directly over for 10 seconds. What I did was, I applied a base coat, a coat of color, then another coat of color, magnet, then top coat. When applying the second coat of color, you'll have to use the magnet right after you apply the color on each nail. It is more work but well worth it. The result is more than what I had hoped for! I LOVE IT! I love the gold flecks too. I'll be showing the blue one with a different pattern another day. But out of the 2, this one I like far better.

You can't purchase Icing online, and I have yet to confirm if Claire's will be carrying this line.

Butter London Jaffa

I had no idea what a Jaffa was but this color is just to DIE for! The orange is bright and vibrant but it's not in your face like a neon. And it's my favorite finish, creme. I love can't wait to wear it for spring/summer.

So it took me a bit longer to figure out what a Jaffa was. First Wikipedia said it was a seaport of the  Mediterranean coast, but I don't think that was it. It has to be something English related. Next on the search was Cricket, I knew I was on the right track because that is an English sport. "Jaffa (also corker) an exceptionally well bowled, practically unplayable delivery, usually but not always from a fast bowler. Taken from the idea that a 'Jaffa' is the best type of Orange." I don't know what any of that meant except for the last word, ORANGE!


Jaffa is a fruit, or more specifically, a type of orange! In the UK and Ireland, they eat something call a Jaffa Cake which consist of the orange flavoring. I love learning about other cultures.


On to the swatches!

The color is bright but not off putting, not to me at least. And it doesn't make my skin look weird, which is a big bonus. This is 2 coats, perfectly opaque.


BTW, have you ever wonder how this weird rectangular bottle actually works? I thought it would be really hard to hold and pain until I bought one. Check it out!

Have I mentioned how much I love Butter London? I only have one more Butter London in my collection to show you but I will wait a little bit. That one has my favorite name EVER. 

Butter London Yummy Mummy

::don't forget about my giveaways::

I just LOVE Butter London polish names! Today I am showing you Butter London Yummy Mummy. I knew mummy meant mom but I didn't know exactly what "yummy mummy" meant so Wikipedia to the rescue. "Yummy mummy is a slang term used in the United Kingdom to describe young, attractive and wealthy mothers." Think Victoria Beckham. 


Yummy Mummy, the polish, is a beautiful beige color with a slight sliver shimmer. The shimmer is not too noticeable but it keeps the color from looking flat. It is a wonderful nude and it works well with my skin tone. This is great to wear to work or on a mellow day. 

I only needed to apply 2 coats for opacity. The formula was great. If Butter London wasn't so expensive, I would have more...... I really like their products!

Cult Nails Clairvoyant AKA Unicorn Puke

Super sad news, Maria from Cult Nails announced that the lab won't be able to make any more Clairvoyant AKA Unicorn Puke because one of the ingredients is no longer available. I was lucky enough to be able to pre-order before Thanksgiving and got the whole super power collection. So I decided to show case Clairvoyant today. Also, I received Cult Nail's base and top coats yesterday so I will be reviewing those as well.

The line up for today's NOTD (nail of the day):

L to R: Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulatior, Cult Nails Get It On base coat, Cult Nails Wicked Fast top coat, Cult Nails Clairvoyant, Wet n Wild Black Creme.

I won't give review on the Qtica, I am waiting for 2 full weeks of use to do that.

If you don't know what Clairvoyant is, here is what I know. Clairvoyant was previously named Unicorn Puke. Only a limited amount was released and that was it. But Maria, the owner of Cult Nails, brought it back renaming it Clairvoyant. It is a purple tinted base with lots and lots of flakies. It is meant for layering but I believe with 4 coats, you can get it opaque enough to wear it along.

I wanted to layer and here is the result:

I applied one coat of each: Qtica, base, Black Creme, Clairvoyant, and then top coat.

The bloggers RAVE about Wet n Wild Black Creme saying that it's the best creme polish out there. It was pretty cheap and applied easy. If I was going to wear it alone, I would have to apply 2 coats, but since I was layering, I decided to do just one.

I thought the Get It On base coat did well to grab on to the polish. It was not necessary for me to apply another base coat with the Qtica acting as well. But I did anyways.

For just one coat of Clairvoyant, a lot of FLAKIES got on the nails! There are blue, orange and green yummy-ness. Wicked Fast top coat is pretty great too. In my opinion, it does NOT dry as fast as Sache Vite, but it smells a whole lot better. Actually, I don't remembering it smelling at all which is a big plus with the hubby.

On a side note, see how bad my index nail broke?? BOOOOOOO

Cult Nails could be purchased on their website. What I love about Cult Nails is that they are a 4 Free brand! I find that nail polishes without camphor stinks A LOT less. I hope the lab can figure out some other substitute, because everyone should have a bottle of Clairvoyant.

Finger Paints Asylum

I am flying home today after a weekend in Denver house hunting. We had to get up at 4 am for a 7 am flight. I am sitting in the airport now, editing this post because I know I will be dead the rest of the day. And I miss my kids like crazy so we will be doing whatever they want :)

Flakies! If you don't know what they are, they are basically the new "glitter." Flakies are just that, flakes of different colors in a clear (sometimes tinted) base. Today I am showing you Finger Paint Asylum. There are 5 bottles in the collection but I only bought Asylum and Twisted. I feel that the other flakies are too similar to have bought all 5.

This is Asylum over A-England Lancelot. Asylum consists of red and blue flakes but since they are holographic, the flakes can look orange or green and sometimes purple.

I love buying these "special effects" top coats because they bring new life to the polishes you own already.

Depending on how much flakies you want, you can apply just 1 coat or if you're like me, and wanted a flaky explosion, I applied 2. The formula was easy to work with and with a clear base you can apply this to virtually any color polish and it will not change the color. Flakies are big this year! See if you can score some at Sally Beauty Supply.

Zoya Faye

Still super depressed about my broken nails, because it took my a long time to grow them out. Now I am on day 2 of using Qtica Growth Stimulation treatment, so far so good. I will give full review after 2 weeks of use.

Anyways, on to today's swatch, Zoya Faye!

She (I like to call all zoya polishes "she") is described on the website to be "A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle." The gold sparkle is unavoidable. It is in your FACE, which makes photographing the mauve part hard. 

My nails look even shorter in pictures! ::Sniff Sniff:: Faye is really feminine which is not really my thing. But She is just SO pretty to look at.

 The formula was easy to apply, like most of my Zoyas. I did use 3 coats to achieve a darker color. Because of the gold glitter, this will be harder to remove than a regular polish.

Please excuse my dry cuticles, have I mentioned that I live in a very cold and dry state? I am constantly using lotion and cuticle cream, otherwise they would be a lot worse. 


You can buy zoya at zoya.com or in store at Ulta.

A-England Lancelot

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! I have a foreigner to show you today.

Boy oh boy, did I have trouble with this one or WHAT? A-England is from, you guessed it, England (unlike Butter London)! Lancelot is from The Mythicals collection with characters from King Arthur mythology. Lancelot is a jelly/creme polish that I always always have trouble with. It doesn't matter what brand it is, I have trouble applying jelly/creme. I know this looks black, but it is actually blackened red. If I could only apply it right, it would look awesome.

It looks like my nail had dust particles on it and I painted my nails before they were completely cleaned off.

From everything I have read, when wearing dark nail polish, your nails are suppose to short. My nails were short so I decided to swatch Lancelot. I'm going to give this another try some day. I'm an inpatient person and this is the result. It's not bad, but it's not perfect either.

I ordered 2 more from The Mythicals collection and they should be here next week or there after. I can't wait to try the other colors. Quite honestly, I can't remember which one I ordered on the top of my head. But hopefully by then, my nails will have grown out more and cuticles will be in better shape.

You can purchase A-England at http://www.a-england.co.uk/ or if you don't feel like making an international purchase, Llarowe is their US stockist. BTW, Adina, the owner of A-England, has mentioned on Facebook that a new line is coming out soon! I can't wait to get my hands on some of those.

Zoya Trixie

Zoya Trixie, Hellooooooooo foil! It is as shiny IRL (in real life) as it is in the picture. On Zoya's website, Trixie is described as "Stunning light silver with a sparkling metallic foil finish." It She makes me wanna PARTAY!

.

This color is not for the faint of heart. People can notice this color on your hand from miles away. The formula was very easy to apply. Many foil finish polishes can leave streaky marks but not Trixie. 

I couldn't stop looking at it her after I was done painting my nails. She demands your attention.

This color really is great for "night activities." I don't think it's work safe. Who can get any work done when your nails are "bling-ing?" I have a couple of silvers in my stash but Trixie is by far my favorite! Trixie can be purchased at zoya.com.