Wimpy Girl "Zombie" Nails

So tomorrow is Halloween and my team at work decided the team costumes would be zombies.  This is what happens when the team wimp is out sick for one day. lol. Totally was not at that meeting. And when I say wimp I mean WIMP.  There is only one haunted house that hasn't scared me half to death...the Haunted Mansion...at Disneyland.  You know, the haunted house geared toward 5 year olds.  Yup.  That's how brave I am. 

So, when the uber wimp does "zombie" nails that means messy and shades of grey.  I have glanced at some epic gruesome zombie manis online.  I say glanced because...well I'm too wimpy to really look at them...

I did a base coat in Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Eel Skin then did a layer of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Grey Area and used plastic wrap to pull up some of the wet polish.  The result was messy and grey and I'm quite happy with it.  

So now the pics of my wimpy girly girl zombie mani

Without flash: 

With flash: 

Hurricane Sandy

Even for a little beauty blog based out of the west coast, my heart goes out to those on the east coast going through the storm.  I am very lucky that my family out there only suffered a few broken tree branches and loosing power for a day.  For those of you out there, or with family out there, my heart goes out to you and here is hoping you are all safe. 

I would also like to take a moment to honor a few of the fallen from the storm. 

Yesterday the HMS Bounty went down after loosing power and taking on water.  For those of you who do not know, the Bounty is a replica tall ship whose most recent time on film was in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. 

Hearing about her going down broke my heart.

But more importantly, life was lost as well.  I would like to pay my respects to deckmate Claudene Christian who was claimed by the sea while the crew abandoned ship.  Captain Robin Walbridge is still missing and even though it has been almost two days, I am still hoping for a miracle and the sea will give him back.  

As a member of a family with strong roots to the sea, my grandfather and father are US Coast Guard and we all grew up on the family sailboat in the San Francisco bay, this hit us all very hard.  The Bounty was a floating piece of history, and every sailor lost is even harder.  I want to thank the USCG for their hard work helping the crew of the Bounty and for their continued efforts helping the entire coast while the storm continues. 

All of you, stay safe! 

Manicure Monday (GO GIANTS!!! Edition)

First off, as a San Francisco bay native, OMG WOOHOO GIANTS SWEPT THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!! *happy dance*

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, mani time! 

So as the title not so subtly hints, this week I went for Giants colors.  Which just happen to be Halloween colors so it totally works!! I started with three layers if Sephora Drama Velvet Pearl then whipped out my dotting tool to do a line of dots down the middle of my nail in wet n wild Black Creme. 

Without flash: 

With flash: 

And YAY GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!! Totally might wear orange and black to work tomorrow =P 

Swatch: Sephora Collection in Torrid Shimmer

So I found this polish at my local Sephora.  And it was on sale! Usually $7 and now only $3.  If you check the end caps in the back of the store, that seems to be where they hide the sale items.  I love this polish.  It dried super fast and the color oh I love it.  Its a great deep orange with this amazing shimmer. 

Without flash: 

With flash: 

AND because the Giants are in the World Series (WOOHOO LOCAL TEAM GO GIANTS!) I added a black crackle accent nail. 

Did I mention GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Manicure Monday

I'm kinda over crackle, but still love the effect and love how it is a quick and easy way to add interest to a mani.  Today I did a base in wet n wild megalast in Venomous Vixen.  I then masked off the outside corner of each nail and did an accent in black crackle.  Usually I like a top coat on my crackle, but I really liked the contrast of the matte crackle over the shimmer of the base.  

I also have a feeling this mani won't make it till morning as it is late and I am tired...and its not quite all the way dried.  Fingers crossed! 

Without flash: 

With flash: 

Influenster Relaunch

So as some of you may know, what really helped this blog get off the ground was my very first voxbox from Influenster.  I mean it is no secret that I ADORE samples, and a box of free ones? SIGN ME UP!!!! I was beyond excited when I got my first Voxbox.  They have totally revamped their site, and as with everthing, there are pros and cons.

Pros:
The site is prettier and easier to navigate.  There is also a new points system where you can see where you stand in completing badge tasks and among other Influensters.  This appeals to my inner nerd who likes to see "100" (as if this was some epic beauty test or something?!? lol. and no..not even close to a score of 100...)

Cons:
The points system, while awesome, is a bit flawed.  One thing that irks me is that one of the tasks is to write reviews, but these reviews are not verified.  I have seem reviews that are "I would love to try this product!!!" umm...thats not really a review.

Overall, it is still fun, and I will keep participating due to my love of free samples.  If you wanna check it out, head to influenster.com

Swatch: wet n wild megalast Wet Cement

I held out all of 4 hours after buying a polish to wearing it! Not bad! lol. I find it funny that within a week I went from not owning one wet n wild megalast polish to owning 6.  These polishes have "ManiCurve Pro Brush" which is a flat wide brush, similar to Sally Hansen Instadri.  At first I was dreading this, but once I got the hang of it, I actually really like the brush.  It is easy to control how much polish you have on the brush and I had minimal clean up.  

Think one reason why I haven't bought any of these before is the colors didn't really stand out to me.  But the B1G1 free sale at CVS tempted me to buy some and I have to say this color is better on the nail than in the bottle.  Many of the colors seem classic to me.  

Oh and the bottle itself, LOVE it! It seems more expensive than a $1.99 polish.  wet n wild keeps impressing me! 

Finally...swatches!

Without flash (shows the true color): 

With flash: 

CVS wet n wild sale!!!

This week at CVS wet n wild is buy on get one free. Which is already a great deal. Then I went to the Magic Red Box and I got a $2 off $4.99 wet n wild purchase.  SOOOOO here is my haul! 

5 megalast polishes, full price $1.99 each

1 fastdry polish, full price $1.99 each

After B1G1 free and $2 off....what would have been $11.94+tax was $4.47 with tax. Not bad!!! Make sure you hit up the Magic Red Box for coupons!! 

AND!!!! G at Nouveau Cheap even named me in a post after I tweeted her my find!!! I feel like a celeb now!!! Look!  I know I'm a total dork, but Nouveau Cheap is my fave beauty blog and I was able to help!!! teehee And everyone MUST check out her blog.  She really is amazing! 

Manicure Monday

Found a pic on Pinterest, and luckily the pic was watermarked so I can give credit to Enamel Girl.  I am not sure which post exactly though, but I am really glad I can give credit where it is due.  I interpreted this look as making the visible nail line intentionally obvious with a jelly polish.  I started with white french tips then did three layers of wet n wild Hannah Pinktana.  Oh how I love this polish. Micro halo in light pink jelly base. *happy sigh* Overall this is a fun look and makes me want to play with layering jellies over cremes more. 

Without flash: 

With flash: 

Review: Garnier Fructis Color Shield Shampoo and Conditioner

Today is another sample! I was a bit hesitant to give this one a try as I haven't had much luck with Garnier shampoos.  But, wanted to try it out just to see, and this one actually worked for me! 

Overall Thoughts:  As this is a sample, I can only give my first impressions.  Since I only used it for three days and my dye job is old and already toast, I cannot comment on how it prevented color fade.  So I will comment just on its properties as a shampoo and conditioner.  I was happy to say this is the first time I have been happy with a Garnier shampoo and conditioner.  It made my hair feel really smooth and soft.  The only part that was frizzy was the ends, but only Tresseme split remedy has made my ends smooth (yay a million split ends from a razor hair cut...a year ago) This one didn't irritate my scalp too much either.  

This is the first Garnier shampoo/conditioner I would ever consider buying (so far).  I am glad I was able to find something that works for my oily, super fine, pin straight, and damaged hair.  The only thing that made me question this one is my scalp was a little itchy, but then again, almost everything makes my super sensitive scalp be evil.  But shampoo is one of those things that varies so much from person to person. That is why I love samples, I am able to see if a product works without being stuck with a giant bottle of product I have to try to pawn off to someone.  

Swatch: Fantasy Makers Nail in the Coffin

I am so glad I was killing time at CVS the other day and gave this polish a second look.  The first time i picked it up I brushed it off as another black polish with silver glitter.  I picked it up again, and noticed the glitter is more wine colored than silver.  And so of course, I had to have it! I am really glad I picked it up.  It is a black jelly base with fine glitter.  The glitter is silver and wine and it makes the color seem more wine colored in certain lights.  I really really love it! As with most glitters, a top coat is a must for a smooth shiny finish. 

No topcoat without flash: 

No topcoat with flash: 

With topcoat without flash: 

With topcoat with flash: 

Manicure Monday

Today I wanted a bright mani so I instantly levitated toward two Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear colors, Crushed and Hot Magenta.  What I didn't realize until I already had the base coats on just how similar these two colors are. The dots don't show up very well in real life, but I love the colors so much I kept going with it.  

Without flash: 

With flash: 

Swatch: Sinful Colors Fig

Today is a quick swatch of Sinful Colors Fig.  This is a great color and muted enough to feel like a autumn color, but not so deep and dark I miss my summer brights too much.  These are with two coats

Without flash: 

With flash (flash totally changes the color of this polish)

Swatch: wet n wild Night Prowl

Oh I loves me a cheap polish, and I really loves me a pretty cheap polish lol.  I am so glad that wet n wild has upped their game since back in the day.  When I first used their products in...Jr. High...ummm wow...I'm not going to count how many years ago that was! But now they are a reliable affordable brand with surprising quality. Yay! This 99 cent polish is one of em.  Nigh Prowl is a black jelly with fine purple glitter in it.  It kinda reminds me of the little sister to Revlon's Scandalous.  Def not a dupe, but its along the same concept.  This took three coats to be opaque and dry time was nice and fast.  My only complaint is that this one took two coats of top coat to be super smooth.  Then again, I want my top coat perfectly smooth so one layer of top coat might be fine for you.  

Without flash: 

With flash: 

Review: Simply U Color Shine Shampoo and Conditioner

Time for another sample! Received this sample for Simply U Color Shine shampoo and conditioner from Walmart.  

Overall Thoughts: This could be summed up as just a shampoo and conditioner.  There is really nothing outstanding about either product that stands out to me.  I had to use almost twice the amount of product that I usually use, and even then my hair did not feel that clean.  The conditioner didn't leave my hair feeling silky at all, it was almost like I did not use any at all.  The worst part was this one really irritated my scalp.  For a color care shampoo/conditioner, I was shocked at how much it irritated my scalp.  Usually sulfate free shampoos are more gentle, but this one seemed to zap all moisture from my scalp.  This shampoo might work for "normal" hair, but for my super oily really fine hair and sensitive scalp, it was a fail. 

Manicure Monday

Sorry a little late! Yesterday was just one of those days. This week I did a bright french tip in Sinful Colors Dream On then added some dots with my dotting tool. I really love a bright tip over a nude nail, makes the color pop even more for me.

These pics are with top coat. This mani needs a top coat to really make it look its best