My Patriotic Play with Makeup - Red, White, and Blue!

OFRA and Cover FX are Press Samples.
All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

I didn't think I'd be doing a makeup look for Independence Day, but we got an invite to a friend's party, so I decided to have a little fun with my makeup and nails.  The pix above was taken as we were getting ready to leave, so I'm a little melted!  It has been so hot here in Florida, I scarcely want to leave the air conditioning!

Happy Thanksgiving! #ChallengeYourNailArt #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's the last day of the November Challenge Your Nail Art Fall-ing for Nail Art Challenge! 

A Wild Lippie Appears!

Hello, Fireflies!

I love lippies! I have so many in all different colors and textures, but lately I've found myself attracted to colors that are a little outside the box.  So, I picked a few of the wild ones to try on and tame!

MAC Pure Heroine, from their Lorde-inspired line, is a dark aubergine purple.  It's a great vampy color that is so gorgeous! It's my first MAC lipstick, and its everything I hoped for.  Great color, and feels great on. 

 

Milani Bella Blue is a mottled purplish-blue lipstick.  I love the purple sheen, but I wish the color were more opaque.  I felt like this color just accentuated every crease on my lips.  I'm going to try and layer this one over a nice, creamy, opaque color.

I really wanted to try the purple trend this year, and Milani Violet Volt hit the mark perfectly! It's a very wearable purple that is actually flattering.  It feels great, wears well, and I love it so much, I accidentally bought it twice.

Milani Violet Addict looks like it might be the same color as Violet Volt from the packaging, but this one pulls more bright fuchsia on me.  This is my first color from Milani's Lip Intense line, and I really like it.  I do tend to prefer a liquid lipcolor to a gloss.  I just like more opacity, which this definitely has. 

I was actually hoping that Sally Girl Magic Green would be green! Not that I could actually pull off a green lipstick.  Well, maybe.  This turns bright pink as soon as it's applied.  There is some tingling action with this one.  After trying this one and Magic Orange, I had to stop trying on lippies because my lips were hurting!

Sally Girl Magic Orange also changes colors on the lips.  This one turned coral pink on me.  The orange is more prevalent in the inside of my lips, almost like an ombre effect.  I really like this one, even with the tingling. 

Do you 'gotta catch 'em all'?  What colors have you tried (or wanted to try) that were outside your comfort zone?

GOT Polish - Blue Ruffles

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Golden Oldie Thursday challenge is a Ruffle mani, which is, of course, a striped mani done with a dotting tool, so that the stripes are, well, ruffled.  Natch.

Personally, I like Pointless Cafe's version on Instagram.

I started with Models Own Beth's Blue.  So gorgeous.  So temperamental.  So worth it.

First dotted layer - Sinful Colors Jolt, a bright robin's egg blue.  Great formula.  The color reminds me a bit of that Rockstar Nails fiasco from the Beauty Box 5 sub box.  This one is about $2 and is awesome.
  

Next, MAC Blue India, a muted grey-blue.  I love the artwork on the bottle. Lawd, I am making a mess, though.  Clean up on Aisle 9!

Finally, Zoya Sailor, a navy blue creme.  And, maybe a few dots of Beth's Blue to make the Ruffle a little more obvious.

Topcoat smooths it out and melds the layers together.

Rrrrrruffles have rrrrrrrridges! Such a fun mani to do, and hard to mess up.

Bottle shot:  Models Own Beth's Blue, Sinful Colors Jolt, MAC Blue India, and Zoya Sailor.

What do you have with your Ruffles?

An InLinkz Link-up

Autism Speaks - Light it Up Blue

Light it Up Blue is the kickoff for Autism Awareness Month, and it starts today, April 2nd.  This is a world-wide initiative to raise awareness for Autism.  Many landmarks around the world will light up with blue lights today. 

This post is my small homage to Autism Awarness - I'm lighting up my blog with lots of blue manis in different shades and finishes today!

Takko Lacquer Marie Antionette.  Gorgeous baby blue with a pink shimmer.  I did a little nail art on the thumb - it's the lightbulb from the Light It Up Blue campaign!

This polish is a little thick, but still applies pretty well, especially for a pastel.  Thin coats is the way to go with this polish.

Takko Lacquer Kaleidoscope Eyes.  A gorgeous aqua/teal duochrome with a scattered holo.  The formula was perfection.

Elevation Polish Muztagh Ata and Marmolada.  Muztagh Ata is a lovely blue scattered holo.  Lots of great depth in this polish.  On my ring finger is Marmolada on its own, and on my thumb is Marmolada over Muztagh Ata.

I love the round glitters and color combo in Marmolada, but it wasn't as easy to apply as some glitters - the round glitters were heavy, and dripped off the brush back into the bottle, or dragged down to the nail tip.  They require a little dabbing and pushing around to make sure you get them where you want them.  Its also not tinted enough to become opaque on its own - it would be way too thick, so undies are recommended.

Zoya Pixie Dust in Nyx.  I didn't jump on the sandpaper polish bandwagon right away, but I'm glad I picked up some of these Pixie Dusts from Zoya.  The texture isn't annoying, but it is different, and it wears really well.

I couldn't resist adding a little topcoat.  Oh, the shiny...  but be prepared to use Gelous or a few layers of topcoat, because this glitter eats it right up.  Om nom nom.

MAC Rain of Flowers.  In the bottle, this looks like a blue shimmer, but it's more of a blurple with a deep blue flash.  One of those polishes that just glows from within.

I added a little holo accent with Ludurana Supernova Fenomeno.  It really pops over a dark color!  Great linear rainbow, too.

Are you lighting it up blue sometime this month?  What is your fave blue?  pale with a pink shimmer, duochrome, holo, flash, glitter?

For more information about Autism Speaks and Light It Up Blue, please visit their webpage.