Essie To Buy or Not to Buy + Nail Art

Hey everyone!

I have a quick bit of nail art to share with you today. I recently saw Essie To Buy or Not To Buy in Target and quickly fell in love with the blue shimmer it had. Sadly, that didn't translate on the nail at all. It is a pretty pastel purple shade though!

I added some stamping with Kleancolor Metallic Purple. I like how this came out but the Kleancolor took forever to dry, which led to some streaking! I have heard this about Kleancolors before but I figured stamping wouldn't be that big of a deal. Guess I was wrong! 

Have you guys tried stamping with the Kleancolor Metallics before?

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1500 Follower Giveaway- Indie Extravaganza!

Hi polish lovers!!

I am SO excited to finally unveil what I have been planning for this giveaway! Thank YOU for supporting me and making blogging so much fun!

As the co-owner of You Mix, I have the opportunity to interact with some amazingly talented and super sweet ladies who make their own polish. Regardless of this connection, I LOVE indie polish...like a lot. So it makes it even more special to have these ladies featured here for this giveaway! Their shops are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's out there in the indie community. I wanted to feature ones that I have purchased from in the past or admired from afar that are also customers of You Mix...but don't get me wrong...I wish I could purchase from and feature everyone! My husband would say I am coming close and one look at my indie collection may prove that. haha

Ok, so what am I giving away you ask? I have 10 wonderful indie brands whose owners have graciously donated polishes from their lines and they are all amazing! This means there will be 10 winners!! 

So let's get to what's up for grabs:

Prize #1 is Trick or Treat, a super fun Halloween/Fall polish from Daring Digits owned by Ashley. She currently has her shop in vacation mode, but she is reopening with a sale this Friday! You can also stay updated on Daring Digits by liking their Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of Daring Digits

 Prize #2 is Starlight Starbright from Jamie who owns Kawaii Nail Lacquer. Jamie has a lot of amazing themed collections! You can stay up to date with Kawaii Nail Lacquer by liking her Facebook page *here*.

Photos courtesy of Kawaii Nail Lacquer

Prize #3 is 3 minis from Hit Polish. I love Rachel's shop...she has a ton of unique polishes to offer. Definitely something for everyone. You can visit her site *here* or her Etsy shop *here*. And to stay in the loop like her Facebook page!

Photos courtesy of Hit Polish

Prize #4 is Sugar Daddy from Lush Lacquer. What makes this indie brand stand out is that it's a collaborative effort between a mother and a daughter team: Karin and Lexi! And their polishes are total eye candy...one look at their Etsy shop and you'll know what I mean. :) Be sure to follow Lush Lacquer on Facebook to stay in the loop! 

Photos courtesy of Lush Lacquer

Prize #5 is Vampire Kiss, Halloween Candy, and Sugar Skulls from Sandra at Candy Lacquer, just in time for Halloween! She has a bunch of amazing polishes in her shop that are all very original, as you can see from what she is offering for this prize! Keep up with Candy Lacquer on Facebook *here*.

Photos courtesy of Candy Lacquer

Prize #6 is Float On by Sandy of Dandy Nails! Float On is one of her newer polishes and it's just gorgeous. Also, Sandy recently got picked up by Ninja Polish, which is an awesome accomplishment! Be sure to see what's new with Dandy Nails by following them on Facebook! 

Photos courtesy of Dandy Nails

Prize #7 is Chunky Cow from Jenn, Lacey, and Lexi, sisters AND owners of F4 Polish (how fun!). They have some awesome creations in their shop! Stay in touch with F4 Polish on Facebook *here* .

Photos courtesy of F4 Polish

Prize #8 is Dangerous Driver from Darling Diva. It's not everyday you see this kind of polish in an Etsy shop. This shop offers a wide variety of polishes for all tastes (I love Slutty Pumpkin! haha). Be in the know with Darling Diva by following her on Facebook! 

Photos courtesy of Darling Diva

Prize #9 is Satellite and Violet Sky from Janice, owner of The Polish Bar. Janice is super sweet! And her polishes are gorgeous! Visit her on Facebook *here*. 

Photos courtesy of The Polish Bar

And FINALLY(!), Prize #10 is Primadonna and B.A.M.F from GlitterDaze! Be sure to check out Sana's new website. It's gorgeous! You can see what's she's up to on Facebook as well!

Photos courtesy of GlitterDaze

Are you guys still with me? That was quite a bit of prizes!

So once the winners are selected through Rafflecopter, the first one drawn has first choice of the prizes, second has the next choice, and so on. 

Now that you have made it this far, go enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Good luck, readers!! :)

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China Glaze Sexagon + Lush Lacquer Midnight Affair

Hey hey! How's all my polish lovers doing tonight? :)

I recently hauled a bunch of minis from Lush Lacquer, one of my favorite indie sellers out there. They have a huge selection of polishes that are always in stock. I recently decided that buying minis is what works for me when purchasing indie polish because I know I will never use up an entire full size bottle! 

So tonight I am showing you Lush Lacquer Midnight Affair layered over ChG Sexagon. I love layering glitters over the China Glaze Kaleidoscope polishes. When I first started collecting polish, it felt like a sin to layer over a precious holo! haha But I am so glad I tried it because the effect is definite eye candy! Anyway, Midnight Affair wasn't a total breeze to apply, but any headache is so worth it. Plus topcoat makes it all ok in the end. Just look at this...SO pretty!!

Just looking at this makes me happy. What a gorgeous polish.

And in case you are wondering, this is the mani that I experimented using my glue base coat for!

So tell me what you think about Lush Lacquer Midnight Affair!

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Using Elmer's Glue as a Basecoat AKA Easiest Glitter Removal Ever!

Hey ladies!

I have been super busy doing the shipping for You Mix Orders today, but I wanted to make sure I posted tonight because I have been wanting to share with you the latest discovery in the nail world. I hadn't seen any blog posts on it, so I figured I would share!

Recently, Essence came out with a peel off basecoat. It applies like a normal base coat, and then when you are ready to remove, instead of using polish remover, you just peel it off! So far this basecoat is only available overseas, but a super observant person ( I am not sure who this discovery should be credited to, but if you know, I would love to do so!) noticed that the ingredients in the Essence base coat and school glue, like Elmers, are essentially the same thing! So, I wanted to share this method with you, but again, this is not my original idea...it's just too genius not to share. :)

 If you love glitter polish, but hate removal, then this one is for you!

The other awesome thing about this method is that it's super cheap! I bought my glue for .79 at Walgreens and expect it to last me quite a while. So all  you need is some school glue and an empty polish bottle.

Next, use the nozzle tip on the glue and squirt glue into the empty polish bottle. Be careful not to let it come out too fast or it will pool around the opening and make a big mess. I left a little space in mine so I could put a tiny amount of water in the bottle to thin it out just a tad, but I think it's a preference thing, not mandatory to this working.

If you do add some water, put on the lid and shake it up good!

And those super simple, cheap, and easy steps get you a headache free, fast glitter remover! 

I tested this out recently and used 2 thin coats of the glue base coat before doing my polish (I will be featuring this mani before I took it off soon!). I made sure it was totally dry before polishing. Since I was so antsy to see if it would work or not I peeled this off after about 24 hours and this is what I got! I just used my nail and found a spot to start peeling and it came right off!

Final Thoughts: This is hands down the easiest way to remove glitter. No foil, no acetone, nothing! It leaves my nails nice and clean as well. I only needed one cotton pad of remover for both hands to completely clean anything left over. For a super long wear mani, I wouldn't use this method. But at the same time, I don't this method really hinders how long a mani would last. Just knowing it comes off so easily makes me want to pick at it! haha But I love whoever came up with this because it's really a game changer for us glitter lovers. I can now wear any thing I want without dreading the removal process. LOVE!

So how many of you have heard of this? Or tried it? I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

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Orly Preamp

Hi readers!

Guess what? I am only 11 followers away from 1500 and I have an AMAZING giveaway in the works that I am so excited about! Hopefully we get there soon so you guys aren't left in suspense too long. ;)

I was in Sally's a while back taking advantage of their clearance sale when I saw the beauty that is Orly Preamp. This wasn't a clearance polish, but I couldn't say no. The shimmer is to die for, and this is such a unique pinky-purple shade.

I believe I did about 3 coats.

This bottle shot shows the shimmer and the sort of shift it has to an orangey color. Love!

So the moral of the story is, sometimes you have to see a polish in person to decide you like it! 

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iPhone Cases from Born Pretty Store

Hello!

I have a little something different for ya'll today. I'm sure by now most of you know I am a fan of Born Pretty Store.  They are mostly known for their affordable nail art supplies and nail polish. But they also have jewelry, hair accessories, and lots of other fun things. Today I am showing you a couple of their iPhone cases. These are cute, blingy and make it fun to switch things up every once in a while. 

This case is a sheer black shell with different sized rhinestones and a big heart as the centerpiece. Very cute! You can find this here for about $9. They also have these with a clear shell.

This case reminds me of the bottle for the Marc Jacobs fragrance Daisy. These are 3D flowers, so it seems a little more delicate, but this would be a fun case to have in rotation. You can find this here for a little over $8.

I LOVE shopping for iPhone cases because they are cheap and a fun way to refresh your phone. If you are looking for something cute for your iPhone definitely check out Born Pretty! They have a ton of cases to choose from made of all kinds of materials. You can use this coupon code: AJ10W21 for 10% off and shipping is always free worldwide!

Have any of you checked out these cases from Born Pretty Store recently?

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*Products in this post were provided for me to review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Pahlish Dark Parades

Good morning and happy Friday everyone!

I recently got in on a group order for Pahlish and Dark Parades is one I picked up from that. I have been procrastinating wearing it because of the inevitable glitter removal, but it really wasn't so bad! Dark Parades has a darker tinted base, so I layered one coat over Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Tealy Fast for this mani.

I like this take that Shannon has on the rainbow glitters that we see a lot in indies. Very fun!

Have you tried Pahlish before? Any favorites?

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