Natural - and Convenient - Aloe Vera! #lalunenaturals

Press Sample.  All opinions are my own.

 Hello, Fireflies!

When it comes to Aloe Vera, I pretty much treat it like the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding treats Windex.  Put it on everything!  It's pretty much a miracle worker for most skin-related issues, as far as I'm concerned.  So, I was pretty excited to get to try La Lune Natural's Aloe!

I Paint Groot

Hello, Fireflies!

Time for another superhero/villain nailart! Today, I, we, are NCC!

Space Movie: Wall-E

Hello, Fireflies!

Ready for another Challenge Your Nail Art challenge?  This month, it's 4 days of Space... the Final Nail Art Frontier..  These are the voyages of Lit From Within...

An-I-Mal! Animal!

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's challenge is animals.  I did a cute puppy stamping mani with a little tribute to my heart dog, Goliath, for the first mani, but today's mani features a very different animal Animal.

Purple-Grey Wallpaper

Hello, Fireflies!

I was playing around with some of my Black Dahlia Lacquers, and came up with a design I thought might fit this months NCC Wallpaper challenge.

It starts with Black Dahlia Japanese Painted Fern, a medium grey with purple shimmer.

The Phantom Tollbooth

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today, I have my last book-inspired challenge mani to share with you.  I couldn't resist picking my husband's favorite book, The Phantom Tollbooth.  He even got his picture taken with it for a READ poster for his University's library!

MMMM... Pie! #ChallengeYourNailArt #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Challenge Your Nail Art prompt is for Fall Food.  Nothing says Fall to me more than baking!  It's too hot here in Florida to do a lot of baking in the summer, anyway, but the really good apples don't get ripe until the Fall.

So when I saw this nail art (original author unknown) for cherry pie, I thought, well, I'd rather have apple.

I started off with Revlon Orient Express, but it was too red, so I put a layer of OPI Glints Of Glinda over it, which gave it a milky, softened look that was more like what I wanted.

I used a short brush to daub Zoya Flynn in a cross-hatch pattern, like a lattice-top pie.  To give it more dimension (and golden-brown deliciousness,) I added little spots of Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, a dark brown holo.

Yeah, it still looks like a cherry pie, I guess.  Which is okay.  It's still pie, after all.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Orient Express, OPI Glints of Glinda, Zoya Flynn, and Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn.

Will you be indulging in a little pie this week?  What's your fave?  It's so hard to decide, but a good peach pie is hard to beat!

I Adore You, Too, Teadora!

Products provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I am all about the bold lippie.  Mattes, stains, creams, brights, vamps, you name it.  Most of these, I have to remove with makeup remover.  And then, there's the drying weather.

Let's not forget the smooching, either.

My lips are in need of some rehabbing, and when I got to try Teadora's Nourishing Lip Butter, I was excited.

But, but, it's a pot.  I don't *do* lip stuff in pots.  Or, shall we say, I didn't.  I will for this stuff.  It's the most unique lip stuff I've come across.  It's almost the texture of a shea butter - hard, and a little gritty in the tub.

But if you rub your finger over it, it melts and then you can apply it to your lips.  For more exfoliation, scrape a little bit of the balm out, and you'll get a more gritty texture that melts away after a few minutes.

I've been using this for weeks now, and I've barely made a dent in the tub.  For $15, it's a bargain!

The products at Teadora are made with their proprietary Elixirs - Rainforest Youth, Hydration, and Restoration, each containing ingredients to target a specific purpose.  What's also important is what their products DON'T have - no parabens, synthetic fragrances, silicone, gluten, Phlalates, sulfates, harsh chemicals, or animal products.  Their products are 100% vegan, and they do no animal testing.

Not only does the lip balm feel great, taste amazing, and is made from great ingredients, Teadora is committed to doing business in a socially responsible way, by using ingredients that are fair trade sourced, sustainably harvested, carbon reduction focused, recyclable and biodegradable.  They are also involved in efforts to help preserve the Amazonian Rainforests.

Teadora Lip Butters come in two versions - Rainforest at Dawn, and Rainforest at Dusk.  The Dawn Lip Butter is in a flavor they call Laranja, and is a light, sweet orange.  It is DELICIOUS.  Totally addictive.  Dusk's flavor is called Acai-Acu, and is a berry-chocolate blend.  Yum.

As always, you know I'm loving something if I'm inspired to do nail art!  I based this on their logo - in color on my middle finger, and the black and gold version on my thumb.  To do this nail art, I used Milani Black Swift, Sally Hansen/Revlon white, Sephora X Enriched, A Rhyming Dictionary Polish Show and Tell, China Glaze Metro Pollin-tin, and Urban Decay Bang.

If you'd like more information about Teadora, which means, "I adore you" in Portuguese, or to purchase any of their butters, oils, cleansers, or other skin care products, you can find them on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.

How are you taking care of your lips?

Sad Monsters

 Hello, Fireflies!

This month's NCC prompt is books.  I used to read a lot.  All the time.  You know what killed it for me?  College.  I actually read textbooks and articles, and somehow, through 4 years of undergraduate, and some years of graduate work, I no longer read for fun.

So, I was fumbling around for this first mani.  Not sure if I should go back to the many bookshelves we have and find an old book of mine, or one of my husband's many books.

I was wearing this polish, Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, a deep brown, bordering on plum holo.  And, I thought to myself, Self, I should do something based on this polish.

And, so I did.  I found this book cover art for Sad Monsters, and decided to give it a try.

First, I stamped with Maybelline Bold Gold and Dashika Big SdP-A, and tried to hi-light with a yellow nail art pen.

Then I drew in the eyes, mouth, and teeth of the sad monster on my ring finger.

He's a sad, sad monster.

Bottle shot:  Lacquerhead Polish Ashlyn, Maybelline Bold Gold, and nail art stripers in black and white. I used a yellow nail art pen, too, but I guess it didn't want to be photographed?  Not sure how I missed that..

When you're looking for inspiration, where do you look first?  Pinterest?  Google? Your workspace? Nature?

An InLinkz Link-up

Ghosts In The Mist

Hello, Fireflies! 

Today, I have a boo-tiful no-water-marble-turned swirly ghosts mani to show you!  This is straight up a Robin Moses design.  I just did it in polish instead of acrylic, and with much less talent than she has.

Still, this is the first even remotely successful needle drag marble I've ever done, so let's celebrate!

I painted the nail with OPI Glints of Glinda, and then, while the second coat was still wet, dropped little bits of Revlon Sequin (silver), Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar (metallic pink), and Finger Paints Black Expressionism (black) and Paper Mache (white) on one nail at a time.  I ran a small nail art brush through the drops of polish to create the swirls, then pulled the excess polish off my finger the way Robin Moses taught me to.

Using a little more Paper Mache, thinned a little with polish thinner, I added the ghosties and outlined them with the black striper and added the faces.  Then, I added in some of the pink glitter.

Bottle shot:  OPI Glints of Glinda, Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar, Revlon Sequin, Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Paper Mache, and nail art stripers in pink glitter and black.

I think these may be the prettiest ghost nails I've ever done! Brava to Robin Moses for their conception and great tutorial.  Are you more of a fan of the gory Halloween, or the pretty costumes?

Mangled Spider? Nailed it!

Hello, Fireflies!

I absolutely love the gorgeous acrylic designs on Bianca Fredrich's Facebook page, and I picked one to inspire me for today's Tri-polish Challenge.  Unfortunately, it didn't come out so much like I wanted, and looks more like I mangled a spider and then drowned it in glitter.

I suppose there are worst ways to go.

I started this look with Sally Hansen Salon I Lilac You.  Yes, I Lilac You very much!

Orly Sparkling Garbage is still my 'if I had to pick one polish to take to a desert island' polish.  I love it, and it goes with so many things.  It's just stunning.  These pictures don't do it justice.

Here's where the malfunction starts.  First of all, there's just not enough contrast with the silver.

Second of all..

Yeah, Jackie doesn't know what to make of it, either.

Bottle shot:  Sally Hansen Salon I Lilac You, Orly Sparkling Garbage, and a silver striper.

Have you ever had a Jackie Chan makeup moment?

Zoya Flower Teacup

Hello, Fireflies!

Time for another tea party!  This time, I'm making floral abstract cups with the Peter Som trio of polishes from Zoya.

I wanted to love Zoya Cole.  It's the perfect orange creamsicle color.  But the formula.. ay, Zoya.  you rarely fail me, but this pastel is a mess.

Zoya Edie is a gorgeous blue.  Slightly dusty, maybe a little lighter than a traditional denim color.  I can't get enough of these blues.

This pretty dusty light green is Zoya Alexa.  I feel like this mani is looking like a disservice to Edie and Alexa at this point.  Cole is just ruining it for everyone.  She's such a beatch.

Oh, if I were a poet, I would write an ode to topcoat.  How she smooths away our wrinkles, and blurs our imperfections.

Forget foundation, I'm going to start wearing Seche Vite on my face.  Think it would work? 

Bottle shot:  Zoya Cole, Edie, and Alexa.

Despite her flaws, why does Cole have to be so pretty?  I'll probably wear her again, like I'll try a staining blue just *one* more time, to see if I can make it work. 

Do you have a makeup product that you should just throw away, but you can't for some reason?

An InLinkz Link-up

Saturday Swirly Stripes

Hello, Fireflies!

Just a little nail art for you today, based on a cute stripey pattern I saw on Fairly Charming's blog.

I started out with a Julep Joanna, a frosty, icy blue.  I like using these light, fairly unobtrusive colors for the base of a nail art instead of all the bare nails or sheer pinks I see so often.  I have way too many polishes to be going naked for all of these manicures.

These are probably the messiest stripes I've ever published on my blog.  I seem to have a problem replicating the shape of the original nail art.  Time to break out the compass, or something.  What a mess.  But the polish is pretty - a coral from Deborah Lippmann called Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

From coral to radiant orchid with Nails Inc Devonshire Row.  I must have been sorting through my mini bottles - two in a row? Weird.

When you want pseudo jeans, try jeggings.  Or Ginger + Liz Jeggings, which fit me much better.

I like how the other colors are sandwiched between different shades of blue.

Even though these are mostly trendy colors, this look feels somehow dated.  Doesn't it kinda look retro?

Bottle shot:  Julep Joanna, Deborah Lippmann Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Nails Inc Devonshire Row, and Ginger + Liz Jeggings.

Are you more likely to do adventurous nail/makeup/fashion looks on the weekend, or do the opposite and go as nekkid as you possibly can? I'll chill out with a bare face when we're at home, but I love playing with nail art on lazy days.