Oh, I Wish I Was A Bar Of Naked Soap...#‎NakedBarSoapCo‬

Press Sample. All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

My husband's grandfather used to sing a little song about how he wished he was a little bar of soap, "I'd go slippy, slippy, slidey - over everybody's hiney, Oh, I wish I was a little bar of soap!"

Well, if I could be made fresh, from amazing ingredients and pure essential oils like the soaps at Naked Bar Soap Company, maybe I'd want to be a little bar of soap, too.

Glitterati with the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's BBCFL roundup is all about makin' it rain! Yes, glitter!  I've rounded up a bunch of different looks I've created with different kinds of glitter used in different ways.  Hopefully, you'll find a look that inspires you to wear glitter your own way.

The Makeup Show Orlando Blogger Preview!

Hello, Fireflies!

Just a quick post today, because I'm busy at The Makeup Show!

Yesterday was the Blogger Preview.  James Vincent is a passionate speaker, and I never tire of his stories.  We should all be so lucky to love what we do.

The focus of The Makeup Show is education and collaboration.  James is all about the mentorship,and encouraged us to go forth and meet the people behind the brands, as well as the many speakers at the show.  I'm so excited to get back there later today!

Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida Wear Pink!

Hello, Fireflies!

This month, the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida decided to think Pink! So, we all did some kind of look with pink.  I have a head to tips pink extravaganza to share!

I don't have a full picture of the dress I wore, but the dress is black with a fuchsia top that is has a sort of starburst pattern. I based the majority of my look today off that fun pink!

I know that not everyone was able to get the Lorac Mega Pro eyeshadow palette, but if you wanted it, I hope you got it! I really like Lorac shadows.  I used a few of the mulberry-type shades to create this look.

I had also just gotten the It Cosmetics new QVC collection, so I'm wearing their new Hello mascara with the melted fiber technology.  I don't get crazy long lashes with it, but that's fine with me.  If my lashes are too long, they touch my glasses, which makes me cray-cray.  I'm also wearing the It Cosmetics Black/Brown gel liner and I'm in love.  Really great liner, and the color matches my eyes.

Perfect ensemble to pair with a bright pink lip!  I picked up the new colors from the ELF matte lipstick line, and they are all fabulous.  This is ELF Fuchsia.

This nail look turned out a little more neon than expected, but I still liked it.  I started out with China Glaze Strike a Rose, which was so bright! Layering Wing Dust Feel The Burn over it gave it a little bit of a neon coral feel. 

I used Dashika Big SdP-D to make the stamp.  I like how they include reverse images of the same pattern!

I like stamping over glitter and seeing the little flashes peek through.  I wish my stamping had come out a little clearer, though.  I used Cult Nails Nevermore to stamp, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Bottle shot:  China Glaze Strike A Rose, WingDust Feel The Burn, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

I'm also wearing the new It Cosmetics Celebration Illumination Foundation in Light, and the ombre' pink blush.  I'm a fan!

Need a pick-me-up? Try hot pink! How do you rock pink?

BBCFL Roundup - Favorite Thing

Hello, Fireflies!

The Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida decided to do a link up of our favorite product this month!  But, how do you narrow down all the pretties to just one? Impossible.  So, I decided to focus on my favorite scent.

Can you smell it? If you've ever had anything from the Satsuma line of The Body Shop, it's unmistakable.  I always have at least one product from this line in my shower, and when I need a pick-me-up, it's my go-to.

It's a sweet tangerine-type smell, but with a floral orange blossom note.  It both refreshes and relaxes me.

I love getting a massage with the Beautifying Oil (also good as a facial or body moisturizing oil).  The Satsuma Body Polish has gentle exfoliating beads (I believe they are jojoba beads) that aren't too rough, but gently polish the skin, leaving it soft and smooth.  And whenever I want to feel clean inside or outside of the shower, I reach for the soap, shower gel, or hand sanitizer.  The shower gel also goes in some of my liquid soap pumps that I keep in the kitchen and bathrooms.

I love that I can take this scent anywhere I want, for a burst of sweetness wherever I go.

Do you hoard products in a particular scent? Or do you like a particular product in many scents?

An InLinkz Link-up

Girls' Day Out - BBCFL at The Salt Room Millenia

Hello, Fireflies!

Last week or so, my handlers let me out of my cage, and I met up with some of the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida for a complimentary salt room experience!

A Different Kind of Summer Sunset

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Summer Time Nail Art Challenge is sunsets, and the BBCFL put together a Summer roundup, so I present my version of a summer sunset!

I was inspired by this post from Plump and Polished, where she describes doing a gradient with a craft brush!  Being as crap as I am at gradients, I thought I'd try it.  Definitely will take me a little practice, but it's a lot less messy!

When KBShimmer put out her early summer collection, I knew I needed the neutral holos.  From nail bed to nail tip, the gradient is: In Bare Form, Big Tan On Campus, Run! It's the Coppers!, and Stark Raven Mad.

I put a drop of each polish in a vertical line down the center of the nail, and then used the brush to swipe horizontally across the nail. 

Probably shouldn't have made my first attempt at this technique with holos, and they are notoriously finicky and did get a little patchy when I over-brushed. Also, next time, I'll use the lightest color for a base, and then try the gradient after it dries.

Bottle shot:  KBShimmer In Bare Form, Big Tan On Campus, Run! It's the Coppers!, and Stark Raven Mad.

I love the orange glow that Run! It's the Coppers! gives the look, as if the sun were just disappearing behind the horizon, lighting the sky on fire.

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

Also shared on The Nail Files and the Nail Files Pinterest Board. Please feel free to click through for more nail art.

Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida - Purple For Lupus Awareness #BBCFL #PutOnPurple

Hello, Fireflies!

Do you know what Lupus is?  Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. (Lupus.org)

It's one of those diseases that is often misunderstood because the person may not 'look' sick.  They have flareups and remissions, too - so they can be fine one day and incapacitated the next.

The Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida are linking up today to show their support for one of our own who has this disease, in hopes of bringing more awareness to it.  Put on Purple today!

I started with Revlon Gwen's Crush, a red-leaning violet with an awesome shimmer. 

I needed undies for this because Lacquerhead Polish Space Cadet 2.0 is a very sheer jelly, and would take too many layers to get opaque... but look at those glitters! I really like how you can see some of the violet shimmer from Gwen's Crush, and then flashes of the holo glitters.

I really liked the way the stamping looked over the glitter in Dressed Up Digits' mani, so I tried to do something similar with Shany 20 and Finger Paints Silver Sculpture.

Purple over purple over purple - lots of layers.. kinda like Lupus, I guess. It doesn't appear to be a straightforward disease.

Those glitters!

Bottle shot:  Revlon Gwen's Crush, Lacquerhead Polish Space Cadet 2.0, and Finger Paints Silver Sculpture.

For more information about Lupus, please visit Lupus.org.  Do you have any experience with Lupus? Will you be wearing purple today?

An InLinkz Link-up

Also shared on The Nail Files! Please click through to see other Nail Files manis.

Cover FX and Phyrra Host Find Your Shade Event #BBCFL

Hello, Fireflies!

The other day, I went to the Sephora in the Mall At Millenia in Orlando, FL for a very special event presented by Cover FX and hosted by fellow Beauty Blogger of Central Florida, Phyrra Nyx.

It's awesome to be so welcomed to an event, and the sponsors, Vic Casale and Britney Munguia of Cover FX were pretty amazing.  Britney even came out to dinner with some of the BBCFL afterwards!

picture credit: Eugenia Lung - GeniaBeMe.com

I really enjoyed listening to Vic talk about how he got involved with makeup as a means to help women who got a confidence boost from using makeup.  He talked about helping women with vitiligo, scarring, that sort of thing.  It eventually branched out into beauty makeup, but with the same goal in mind.  To that end, their makeup is cruelty-free, vegan, and is made to be as much skincare as it is makeup.

I found this awesome little (about a minute and a half) video that explains how Cover FX was born. It's pretty inspiring!

Then, Vic started talking about how women over 40 were having a new skin concern where they would get blemishes, treat them with the same harsh products they used in their youth, and end up making the problem worse.

Vic, Phyrra, and Britney

Hello, that's me! He said they were coming out with a brand new product, BB Gel, directed at those who have oily (and often, sensitive) skin and are getting breakouts - but need gentler, yet still effective ways to deal with it - without damaging our aging skin.

You betcha I ordered that product the minute I got home. 

I asked them to act as if they were just talking, and I was taking a candid photo.  Yeah, that worked!

I really enjoyed my experience getting color matched for Cover FX CC cream.  I'm a P Light-Medium, which means I have pink, or cool, undertones, and light skin.  My makeup artist, Andrew, was a hoot and a holla, and really made the experience so awesome.

Eugenia from Genia Be Me, Brittany from Clumps of Mascara. and me, all color matched! 

Doesn't Mina's skin look flawless?

Vic the Brand, Phyrra the Host, me the Face, and Andrew the MUA

Cover FX has a new groupie - me!

They had goodie bags for the first 30-or-so people to get color matched, and I received a primer with SPF 30, and a matte powder in medium.

My first impression of the primer is that it is just about the best one I've ever tried.  It's a clear gel that dries down to a matte finish.  It was suggested to me that I use the powder more for contouring, but maybe if I get a bit of a tan... (oh, who are we kidding.)

I'll be testing out these products, plus the BB Gel and the foundation brush I bought, and hopefully the CC cream, too. 

If you want to see the absolutely best pix taken of me at this event, you need to head over to Phyrra's blog to see her recap of the event.  Eugenia has a video and her take on the event on her blog, too.

If you'd like more information about Cover FX, please check out their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and/or Instagram.

K what? Reviva Labs Vitamin K cream review and #CFLBeautyBlogger Giveaway!

Hello, Fireflies!

You may have heard me sing the praises of Reviva Labs once or twice - I love everything of theirs that I've tried! I'd only heard rumors of Vitamin K cream, but when I got a chance to try it, I jumped! And, boy am I glad I did.

I have a ton of pix to show you, and a GIVEAWAY at the end, sponsored by Reviva Labs and put together with the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida, so I hope you'll join me after the jump!

Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida meet Spa Touch, LLC and IBX

Hello, Fireflies!

A few weeks ago, I got together with a few of the lovely ladies of the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida for a unique nail-portunity!

Cat from Beauty By Cat, Su from Chronicle Stones/Nail Veils, and Brittany (and baby Clumps) from Clumps of Mascara

Karen of Spa Touch, LLC introduced us to a new product - a new idea in nail care, really - the IBX system.  Currently, it's only available as a salon service.  Phyrra from Beauty for the Bold and I got to experience this amazing system firsthand.

If you'd like to read Phyrra's take on her Spa Touch, LLC experience and IBX treatment, click HERE.

Phyrra of Beauty for the Bold, and Karen of Spa Touch, LLC

The IBX System is the first repair system of its kind - instead of strengthening nails by layering something on top, it actually penetrates the top layers of the nail and stays there permanently. It'll just grow out with the natural nail!  It's applied like a polish, heated with either a lamp or blow dryer, and then cured with UV light.

I have weak, peeling nails, and my index nails tend to split vertically down the middle of the nail.  As much as I'd love to have longer nails, I really haven't been able to grow them out.  I'm hoping after several treatments, I'll be able to have some length - I'm already seeing some improvement on that vertical splitting of my index nails after one treatment!

IBX was developed to help mitigate the damage people were doing to their nails by picking off or otherwise improperly removing gel nails, but it also helps repair and strengthen natural nails.

Take a look at some of the other success stories from IBX:

After a second treatment, my nails are looking even better!

If you'd like more information about IBX, check out their website HERE.  If you're in the Central Florida area and you'd like to get an IBX treatment, please check out Karen at Spa Touch, LLC!  She's a pioneer with IBX and is very knowledgeable about it.  Ask her about her 3-hour pedicure, too!  She can be reached on Facebook, her website, or by phone (407-523-5088) or text (407-432-3712)

Would you be interested in this kind of salon service?

I'm still rocking my nubs in the meantime, and at 9am Eastern today, my #NailArtForNubs post goes live, with my flowers over flakies nail art!

The Makeup Show Orlando - Blogger Preview (and nails!)

One of the most exciting opportunities I've received as a Beauty Blogger of Central Florida is to attend The Makeup Show Orlando.  It is an amazing conference with workshops, demos, lectures, and lots and lots of makeup.

There are a lot of pix, so I'll put in a little break here.

The Makeup Show - Orlando!

The Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida were invited to the Makeup Show in Orlando this year - as press!  I wish I could gone for the Blogger preview, and Sunday, too, but I could only go on Monday.  It was an amazing, fun experience!

Well, I had to do my nails special, right?  I started with Pure Ice Draped, a magenta suede.  I had no idea it was a suede until I put it on!  So pretty.

Here's where my camera and I disagree about what I actually wore to the show.  Sure, I started out with Smitten Polish Hocus Pocus.  Look how pretty it is!  And, it looked good with my outfit.  The purple microglitter... so awesome.

But, then I realized I would be helping out at the Cult Nails booth, so I took this off and put on the Draped again, but with Cult Nails Seduction over top. My camera...well, it didn't take that pix.  Or something.  It was a similar color scheme, but with flakies, instead of glitter.  Very classy.  You'll just have to trust me.. or, better yet, get yourself a bottle of Seduction.  It's the near-dupe of Unicorn Puke, but it was made once they couldn't get the green - gold flakies anymore.

The Makeup Show was held in the Peabody hotel, and the first celebrity sighting I had was of the famous Peabody ducks.  Every day at 11am, the ducks ride down their reserved elevator and walk down the red carpet to their fountain in the lobby of the hotel.  Every night at 5, they have another procession back up to their penthouse suite in the hotel.  Fancy!

I also got to see some amazing makeup artists at work.  Toby Sells is currently one of the makeup effects artists making zombies and such on one of my fave TV shows, The Walking Dead!

He was so nice, and we bonded over his 4 dogs - Chihuahua/Papillion mixes, and Jack Russells. 

I also got to meet Roy and Laura from Face-off.  I thought Roy was going to win for sure.  I was so disappointed when he didn't!

 Another funny and handsome makeup guru - AJ Crimson.

I was sorry to have missed his branding yourself workshop.  He made quite an impact on the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida who did go.  Also, he looks a bit like a young Eddie Murphy.

So many interesting things to see and do - and BUY - at the show.  Many artists were doing special effects makeup, both horrifying and beautiful.

 Amerikan Body Art had a Nail Polish Frankening station, and I made my first Franken-polish!

They had many different colors of mica, and different glitters to choose from.  I couldn't resist this light blue, and some holographic sparklies.

In truth, the best part was seeing other beauty bloggers and meeting new friends at the show.  These ladies are all so gracious with their time and knowledge, and I am so happy to have them in my life!

 Kim from Libbie's Pink Vanity, and Alyssa from Pretty Little Bottles

 Kari from Once Bitten

Brianna, Maria from Cult Nails, and LaShon

Maria and I.  I'm cracking up about something silly.

 Safia from Lipstick Mixtapes.  I'm trying to emulate her fabulous 'do.

 Me and gorgeous, bold Phyrra

Meeting Judy from BeautyJudy.  

So many of the artists were awesome to meet.  Sure, I scored some deals on Crown brushes, Eye Kandy glitter, and some Cult Nails, but the people were the best part!