Spellbound Nails Unholy Holo + Halloween Stamping

Happy Halloween!

I don't have a lot of experience with thermal polishes but I know that there are a lot of them popping up in the indie world lately. I bought a mini thermal duo from Spellbound Nails from her Halloween collection this year. Not only are they thermal, they are scented! I am showing you Unholy Holo from this duo today. I chose Apple Cinnamon for my scent. The formula was pretty sheer so I did about 4 coats for coverage. The polish looks orange in the bottle but once it dried on my nail it turned a light green. You can see the orange still just barely at my tips.

I added some stamping from Bundle Monster's holiday collection in black and topcoated it.

Here I just dipped my tips in ice water to make more of the orange visible. I also used my flash to show off the pretty holo effect.

And here they are after a full dunk in ice water...totally orange! Thermals are super fun! I just wish I could figure out how to get the two toned effect to last longer because I think that's when they look the best.

What do you ladies think of thermal polishes? I would love to know any tips or tricks you may have!

Also, I wanted to share my Halloween nail art roundup post, here, from a couple years ago in case you are looking for some last minute inspiration!

A Glittered Halloween Mani

Good morning!

I'm feeling more than a little sleep deprived after being up with my little one half the night. Let's hope I make it through this day with my sanity still intact! ;)

On to the 2nd mani of Halloween week! I had fun playing with my polishes to find a fun combo of festive colors for this look. 

Here's what I used: LCN Spice Up Your Life topped with Sephora Tangerine Tango Shimmer and then LA Girl Purple Splatter. My accent nails are Zoya Mira topped with Cauldron from Forever 21.

I love how festive this turned out! It's been a while since I layered and used so many polishes for one mani. 

OPI Didn't On 'EM + Jindie Nails Monstar

Hello!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

I will be featuring some Halloween manis this week leading up to the holiday! To kick things off, I'm wearing OPI Did It On 'Em and Jindie Nails Monstar. I bought this last year and never wore it in time for Halloween so I made sure to make it happen this year! It's such a fun glitter, I can't believe it took me so long to use it!

I look forward to seeing what everyone else in the polish community comes up with for Halloween this  year!

Also if you missed it, Butter London is on Zulily today and there is only ONE more day to enter my giveaway!

Butter London on Zulily Today!

Good morning!

I just wanted to share with you that Butter London is on Zulily, my favorite daily deals site. You can get 2 polishes for $17.99, 3 for $26, or a Lippy and a polish for $24. There are also some sets available with their treatments as well! Awesome deal for this brand! Take a look *here* and tell me your thoughts!

If you do decide to purchase, I would love you forever for using my referral link below! :)

http://www.zulily.com/invite/amberajohnson89535

Are you going to take advantage of this deal?

LCN's Charade Trend Box + Ultra Fast Dry Coat Swatches/Review

*press sample*

What's up polish lovers?

Hope you all have fun weekend plans!

I've got one of the more recent Trend Boxes from LCN to show you today! It's the Charade box and it comes with 4 8ml polishes that are on trend for the fall season.

First is Rita, a mustard yellow in 2 coats. This color is similar to Trendsetter that China Glaze put out a few years ago. It's the a color that either ya love or ya hate! ;)

Next is Marilyn in 2 coats, a deep orange absolutely perfect for autumn! This one is screaming for some seasonal nail art.

Audrey is an olive green with golden flecks in 2 coats. They are more visible in the bottle than on the nail though.

And finally, Liz, a wine red in 2 coats. Another pretty fall shade.

I am always impressed by these Trend Boxes. The colors are relevant and the 3 free  formula is always fantastic.

Tell me what you think of these shades! 

I was also sent a bottle of LCN's new Ultra Fast Dry Coat. I wasn't really expecting much just because it takes a lot for me to be impressed by a nail treatment. BUT I was very surprised by this! I almost want to say my new Holy Grail topcoat? It reminds me of Seche Vite minus the stinky smell and super thick formula. This dries very quickly (60 seconds is the claim) to a glass-like finish that is noticeably more shiny than any other topcoat I have used (similar to Seche). This also has a UV filter to help prevent discoloration. I am just sad because I checked the LCN site and  it looks like this top coat only comes in this 8ml size which is too small for regular use if you do your nails multiple times a week. I hope LCN decides to put this in a bigger bottle because this top coat is really that good and I would totally spring for it!

You can purchase LCN *here*.

*polish sent for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Sinful Colors Crystal Crushes Select Swatches

*press sample*

Hey guys!

I have one more set of Sinful Colors polishes to share with you today, this time from the new Crystal Crushes collection which is the brand's foray into texture polishes. The press release I got describes these as a matte texture with a reflective pearl tone. Let's take a look at the 2 I have from this collection!

This is Treasure Chest, a Tiffany blue with golden shimmer. I did 2 coats. The formula took a bit to dry down to a textured finish so I was able to snap a photo that sort of looks like it would with top coat. This is one of my favorite colors so I really like this one. The shimmer is the kind that gets everywhere during removal though, so beware!

Before- not totally dry:

After- textured effect.

And this is Emerald Envy in 2 coats. The formula and removal were the same as Treasure Chest, except I feel like the texture was a little more visible.

Before- not totally dry.

Dry- Texture finish.

If you are looking for an affordable way to jump on the texture trend, the Crystal Crushes line is a great option!

I believe this is a Walgreens exclusive line and they retail for $2.99.

Have you spotted the Crystal Crushes collection yet? 

*Product sent for review in exchange for my honest opinions. 

My Nail Graffiti's Back to Blogging Giveaway!

 Hello again!

I am back today to kick off my little giveaway in celebration of my returning to blogging! I truly missed my little corner of the internet where I get to share my love of polish with others just as obsessed as I am. It's nice to have an escape when I need it...especially now that I am a mom of 2! ;)

 So to share my excitement with you guys, I am giving away 6 polishes from the newly released Sinful Colors Decorate Decadently collection! Sinful Colors has really been upping their game lately and this huge collection is full of gorgeous shades. I narrowed it down to a few of my favorites and there will be 2 winners.

I also wanted a chance to find more of you on Instagram since I am fairly new on there. So if you have Instagram be sure get an extra entry by leaving your info for me to check out!

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sinful Colors Leather Luxe Selected Swatches

*press sample*

Good morning!

I have a couple of the new-ish LE matte polishes from Sinful Colors to show you today. These come from the Leather Luxe collection. Matte finishes have been popping up quite a bit in the beauty world this season....although I don't wear it very often, I do like it.

Laced Up is a bright red-orange. I did 2 coats and the formula was very good. It didn't start to dry too fast before I was finished painting. It dries down to a pretty satin matte finish.

Whipped is a matte black. This is also 2 coats and the formula was the same as Laced Up. I like this take on the typical black nail polish...very chic!

The Leather Luxe line is exclusive to Walgreens and retails for $1.99.

Are you into the matte nail polish trend?

Follow Sinful Colors on Twitter and Facebook!

*Product sent for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

My October 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag

Good morning!

This is my 4th Glam Bag from Ipsy and I have to say I am obsessed! The value of the bag's contents have always exceeded the $10 monthly subscription price and the items are always things I will use but are still fun things to get in the mail each month. If you subscribe to one beauty box, this should be it!

Let's see what I got for October!

I can't say I am loving the bag this month. A little cheesy for my taste. I prefer cute designs instead. That's about my only disappointment with Ipsy's October offering though!

First up is a ridiculously yummy smelling hand creme from Cake Beauty. I got the Strawberry and Cream flavor...good enough to eat! This came just in time for the cold, dry weather to help pamper my hands. I like that it isn't greasy at all. Plus the bottle size is very generous and should last me a while.

Next item, is a plumping lipgloss from Bare Escentuals Buxom line in Dolly. My lips are pretty full on their own so I don't feel like the plumping effect is very noticeable for me but that aside I am loving this gloss's formula. Not too thick, super shiny and lasts for a while. The shade is flattering and versatile as well. Perfect to pair with a smokey eye!

I got a deluxe sample from Big Sexy Hair of their Blow Dry Volumizing Gel. I haven't had the chance to use this yet but I am interested to see what it does for my fine, straight hair. The idea of a gel seems like it could weigh it down but we will see!

I was super happy to find out Zoya was going to be a part of the Ipsy bag this month. I am a huge fan of the brand and already own a bunch of their polishes. I got Mason, from their Fall 2013 line.

And the final item in my Ipsy Glam bag is a moisturizer from H2O Plus. It's a little tacky once applied so I only use it night but it hasn't broken me out and it seems to moisturize well. I like the gel formula because it feels lightweight on my skin but still feels like it's doing something.

As my husband put it, "It's like getting a present each month!" My September bag came while I was still in the hospital after having baby #2 and he brought it to me there. It was so nice to have a little pick me up after being so exhausted from having a baby!

If you want to subscribe to an Ipsy Glam bag you can use my link to get you started *here*. Ipsy also started a new points program where you can earn points toward a free full size product by reviewing your bag's items, among other things!

You can view my past Glam Bag posts *here*.

Tell me what you think of this month's Glam Bag!

Bundle Monster's 2013 Create Your Own Plate Collection Review

Good afternoon!

I've got one more catch-up review for you today. I'm sure you've heard the buzz about Bundle Monster's newest stamping plate collection featuring designs created by it's fans. I have close-ups of all the plates as well as a couple manis I did using this set...lots of photos today so I'll keep it short on words!

I thought the packaging was a little funky for this set but if you have an established storage solution for your plates it's probably not a big deal. I need to get my hands on this storage book Bundle Monster carries!

Now for the actual plates! There are 26 in this set full of all kinds of fun designs.

I don't think I can choose a favorite! Endless possibilities.

I tried to create two diverse manis to show this set's versatility. This first look is a more subdued, sophisticated one. I used Nabi Beige for my base, stamped using BM406 and topped it all off with Jordana Lunar Lights.

And a completely different vibe for this mani...Orly Black Vinyl stamped with China Glaze OMG using BM416. I love this effect!

I would love to know what you think of this new set!

You can also read my review of BM's awesome holiday set *here*. My thoughts on plate quality and packaging can be found in that post as well.

There are all kinds of ways to keep up with Bundle Monster:

Website: http://www.bundlemonster.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bundlemonster
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bundlemonster
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bundlemonster/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bundlemonster
Google+: https://plus.google.com/104479749953158052045/posts

*Product sent for review in exchange for my honest opinions.