Candii Blossom Cosmetics

At the end of June, Candii Blossoms Cosmetics closed their Art Fire shop due to lack of sales in favor of giving Etsy a try. To mark this she did a 30% off promotion to get rid of some stock. I always loved mineral eyeshadows and thought she had some beautiful colors so I figured I'd order a couple. BEST DECISION EVER! I absolutely fell in love with her eyeshadows! They apply perfectly smooth and have fantastic pigmentation! I purchased them purely for my own personal use, but when I tried the shadows, I knew I had to do a review and share them with you.

Please excuse the bloodshot, angry allergy eyes :( All eye shadows are applied by themselves with Urban Decay Primer Potion in original as a base.

Caribbean Sand

Enchanted Forest 

 Oceanic

 Pot O' Gold

I was expecting this to be more of a true metallic gold but it is a beautiful yellow with a bit of an orange shift. Not what I was expecting, but it was a very pleasant surprise!

 Seaweed

 Supernova

Tangerine Dream

Velum

Chocolate Covered Cherry

 Teal in Red Heels

Teal in Red Heels has a stunning pink glitter shift that was difficult to photograph but AMAZING in real life!

In My Dreams

If you're looking for mineral eye shadows in a fantastic assortment of colors that rival designer brands in quality, head on over the Candii Blossoms Cosmetics' Etsy store and pick up a few for yourself. I promise you, you won't be disappointed!

Deborah Lippmann: Across the Universe

I know, I've been away for a while. I just started a new job as a pharmacy tech, which requires tons of training, and I was studying for the MCAT. That did leave me much time for blogging, or for even painting my nails! Well, I almost completed my training and I took my MCAT last Friday so now I finally have time to paint and blog once more. Hooray!! 

As promised earlier on my Facebook page, today I am bringing you Across the Universe by Deborah Lippmann. Across the Universe is just filled with micro blue glitter and medium light blue and green hex glitter suspended in a dark blue jelly base.

Up first I have the standard bottle shot.

Isn't it lovely in the bottle? This is definitely one to keep out on display! You can just see how packed with glitter it is.

I decided to swatch it over another Deborah Lippmann color: Dancin' in the Sheets, which is very deep shimmery purple.I was hoping some of the purple shimmer would show through but the dark jelly of Across the Universe covered it up. I will just use a plain black base from now on.

I used two coats of Across the Universe to reach my desired level of glitter. You could definitely get buy with only one coat but I wanted a lot of glitter. 

Across the Universe went on like a dream! It is the perfect consistency. The glitter distributed itself perfectly without me having to physically place glitter or dig it out of the bottle. If you've used a polish with large glitter before, you know this is a rare quality.  

This polish also wears well. As you can probably tell from the tip wear, I've had this polish on for a couple days. There has been no chipping what so ever even on my dominant hand! 

Just look at all that sparkle!!! I know, tons of pictures but it's so pretty I had to post them all. And now for the close up shot so you can really see this polish shine.

So... much... glitter! You know how you know it's a stunning polish? When a ~50 year old straight man stops you to admire your nails. Now that's a complement! I also had several women stop me at work to ask if they were painted because they couldn't believe anything this pretty wasn't a sticker. 

If you couldn't tell, I love this polish. I'm not typically one to purchase an $18 polish, but this would be the exception. Now, I was lucky enough to get mine through a polish swap on Reddit, and my swapper is my new best friend! If you're only going to splurge on one polish, Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe should be it. You can purchase it directly from the Deborah Lippmann website or on Amazon. 

Until the next time, happy painting!

Ozotic 513

I know it's been a while since my last post. Sorry. I have been super busy training for my new job as a pharmacy tech. There is SO much to learn! Today however, I managed to find time to post about Ozotic 513 before heading for more training.

Ozotic 513 is part of the Oziotic line being discontinued. From what I heard, I believe there are only 30 bottles left! The only place you can still find it for sale is at Llarowe. I'll wait here while you go grab one of the last bottles. 

Ozotic 513 is a purple linear holographic polish from Australia. Look at all that holographic goodness! These first two pictures were taken indoors in normal light and it's still so sparkly!

If you've tried holographic polish before, then you know that it's an absolute no-no to apply a topcoat. Well, I totally wasn't paying attention and put on a coat of Seche Vite out of habit. To my great surprise, there was no effect on the holographic sparkle! This is the first holographic polish I have ever been able to wear a topcoat with!

Thanks to actually being able to wear a topcoat, this polished stayed on perfectly for 4 days and I was able to photograph is in the sun. Of course Ozotic 513 is just as stunning in the sun as it is in shade or artificial light. 

I have never tried such a stunning holographic polish! Not to mention, I've never had one that stayed perfect for 4 days and allowed the use of a topcoat! Now, aren't you glad I told you to grab one of the last bottles first? 

Pretty and Polished Pointers: Surprise Fan Appreciation Giveaway!!!!

Pretty and Polished Pointers: Surprise Fan Appreciation Giveaway!!!!: SURPRISE!!!! I truly appreciate each and every one of my followers. I have been slightly MIA lately with being in nail school. With trying m...

Liquid Jelly: Liquid Jelly 1,000 Follower Giveaway!

Liquid Jelly: Liquid Jelly 1,000 Follower Giveaway!: Hey all!  Sorry about the lack of posts these past few days.  Liquid Jelly recently reached 1,000 followers on GFC, so I've been putting tog...

glitter obsession: Giveaway Time!

glitter obsession: Giveaway Time!: I am so late with this post, and I do apologize. I've been grabbing the polishes, I just haven't posted it yet. I appreciate all of the loya...

Tequila Sunrise Mani!

It's been raining pretty much non stop here in Boston since Sunday, so I decided I needed to perk up my nails a bit. Since we are nearing summer and I have tropical things in mind (even if I'm not going anywhere tropical this summer), I wanted to do a tropical drink mani. I then realized this could be a good series for me! So here's the first in my series of tropical drink: Tequila Sunrise!

I used Sinful Colors Unicorn, Island Coral, and Hazard to create the gradient (using the make-up sponge method). I sponged the colors over a white base to really help the colors pop and added my favorite topcoat Nfu Oh #61 to make the nails sparkle. I then topped off my accent nail with a (fimo) lime slice just like the drink! Unfortunately, I didn't have any orange juice to make a tequila sunrise while doing my mani, so I enjoyed a Blue Point Toasted Lager instead. Close enough!