Saturday, September 28, 2013

Femme Fatale Cosmetics Awesomeness!!!

**All products were provided for an honest review 

When were were given the opportunity to review for Femme Fatale Cosmetics I nearly fell to the floor. I LOVE their stunning polishes (even though I have yet to own one of them). The glitter combinations they have are like no other. And now, after having the chance to use their polishes, I can say they are top of the line. 


 ☽ ☆ ☽ ☆ ☽ ☆ ☽ ☆ ☽ ☆



First up is Sea Pony, a bright purple crelly shimmer base with pink, yellow and red different sized glitters. Pictures show two coats of Sea Pony with two coats of HK Girl top coat.

(All photos in this post are taken outside in natural daylight because one of my light box lights broke.) :(

The formula for this polish was great. It went on as smooth a chunky glitter can. I had to manipulate the glitter a little bit. I didn't have to dig for the bigger glitters, which makes a big difference to me.


This is definitely a great Spring/Summer color. I can't wait to bust it out again next year!!




You can see how nicely the coats layered and peek through the crelly base. LOVE THAT!






Next up is Fatal Attraction, a deep magenta with scattered holographic particles. 


Like most people, I had a really hard time capturing the beauty of the holo goodness in this polish. It was super sparkly and beautiful in the sunlight. 


It did eat up my top coat. I used two coats of Fatal Attraction and two heavy duty coats of HK Girl top coat. After all that I still didn't have a smooth surface. That's make me sad. :( Where does all that top coat go?? 





This fabulous beauty is Edge of the Cosmos, a name so perfect because of the large moons and stars (swoon). Here is the description from the Femme Fatale website: Edge of the Cosmos is a blackened purple base with fine holographic particles, and a variety of holo shapes and sizes. Resembles  being out in space and is amazing over Twilight Meteorite. To make this a little more interesting we vary batches slightly, replacing one or two glitters with another of same size and shape but different colour. We wanted to embody the ever-changing beauty of the universe with our mini version in a bottle ;)
How amazing is that? 


This polish is more sheer so I used one coat of Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous as a base, one thick coat of Edge of the Cosmos and two coats of HK Girl top coat. I am so blown away by this polish! The holo glitters pop out like crazy! I got TONS of compliments on this polish, and who doesn't love that??


The thing I love most about this polish was that the stars and moon didn't jut out and catch on everything. You can see the star in the picture below looks almost rounded to my finger. EVERY nail had a star or moon or BOTH and none of them stuck out! Amazing! Oh, did I mention I didn't have to fish for glitter in this polish either? 






Lastly is the lovely Wolfsbane, a deep purple almost blue base filled with navy hexes and shreds, blue moons and small red flecks. 


While this could probably be opaque in 2-3 coats, I chose to use a base coat to avoid clumping the glitter. I used one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Currant Trend, one thick coat of Wolfsbane, and two coats of HK Girl top coat. The formula for this polish was a little trickier than the others. It was goopier, so I had to play with it a bit to make it even across the nail. After the top coat I was happy with the coverage. Again, the moons did not stick out and I didn't have to fish for them. :)





**MACROS**




Aaahhhhh.....I just can't get enough of some good macros!!!

Overall, I was super pleased with the Femme Fatale polishes. One thing I was disappointed about (not to sound greedy at all) was the mini bottles. I LOVE the Femme Fatale bottles SO MUCH!!! As a hoarder...I mean collector of polishes I would have loved to add a full Femme Fatale to my collection. I'll have to just keep it on the list. :)

You can find Femme Fatale Cosmetics polishes on their website here.
Follow them on Facebook too!

XOXO Nail Addicted Sisters
~Erika

**All products were provided for an honest review 




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Seafoam & Grey Gradient

This mani is my way of transitioning to Fall.  The seafoam green represents the bright color of the ocean that I will miss swimming in until next summer and the grey is the impending gloom of fall and winter with the bare trees, cold nights and (gasp!) snow.  Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I hate being cold!  I'll try to be positive.  Fall isn't so bad, we have the changing leaves, pumpkin beer, apple picking, and a lot of candy for Halloween.  


The colors I used are Essie Where's My Chauffeur? and Zoya Dove.  I'm totally digging this color combo.



I learned my favorite gradient method from this video on YouTube:  HannahRoxNails gradient tutorial.  I like it because you don't have to pour out a ton of polish and it's not as messy as using a sponge.  If you have avoided the gradient look because of the messy sponge method, I highly recommend you try this one out.  I buy 12-packs of soft-tip eye shadow applicators from CVS for $2.99 and they work great.  

How are you all handling the cooler weather?  Unless, of course, you live somewhere that's always warm and in that case, I am jealous!!   xoxoxo ~V
Friday, September 20, 2013

Kozmik Karma

A while back I picked up a bunch of minis from MOD Lacquer. This particular glitter bomb was the one that piqued my interest in this fab indie brand.

Behold the magnificent Kozmik Karma. This chunky glitter topper has multiple sizes and colors of hex glitters. The super larger silver holo hexes stand out the most!


I used OPI Onyx as my base to make the colors POP! I used a nail art brush to paint on an accent nail. It's kind of an upside down stiletto. 



I don't know what it is about these glitters that are different from others, they just shine more or something!! I love it!



On my right hand, big hexes landed just so on my pinky and ring fingers. Don't they look like studs?



XOXO Nail Addicted Sisters 

~Erika




Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Wantable Makeup Box Review

**All products were provided for an honest review 


A couple of weeks ago the folks over at Wantable asked us if we would review one of their monthly cosmetic boxes.  Of course we were more than happy to oblige☺ Wantable offers several different subscription boxes including makeup, accessories and intimate apparel.  All of their boxes are $36 for a montly subscription or $40 for a one-time purchase.  Makeup boxes come with 4-6 full-size items and each box is valued at $80-$100.  Accessory boxes come with 3 or 4 items and intimate apparel boxes come with 4-5 items.  To sign up you simply choose the box you want and fill out a profile specifying your likes and dislikes.  Items are hand-picked to match your unique style and no two boxes are ever the same.  Wantable also gives you the option of returning the box if you're not happy with the products and you can choose to skip a month.  Okay, enough with the details, now on to the fun stuff!! 

When I received the box I was blown away!  Since it is a makeup box I figured it would be mostly makeup like eyeliner or mascara and maybe one or two polishes, but we got four!





The box included: 
1) Lise Watier eyeshadow in Beige Scintillant ($18)
2) Angled foundation brush by Japonesque ($25)
3) FACE Stockholm polish in Cream Crocus ($12)
4) Color Club polish in First Looks ($8)
5) Laqa & Co polish in Blurple ($11)
6) KnockOut Flatte polish in Pool ($14)
  
A trial size of Echo Vie Organic Body Oil was also included.  I like that the box comes with an itemized printout describing items you received and their retail prices.  All of these products are valued at a total of $88!  Wow! That's a lot of stuff!  Now I know the monthly price of $36 is a total steal! 



Lise Watier eyeshadow in Beige Scintillant


This eyeshadow is a shimmery gold shade that is great for any season.  It applies very evenly and feels velvety smooth.



This is FACE Stockholm in Cream Crocus.  I love this deep purple navy color for Fall!


Here is Color Club First Looks from their 2012 True Fashion Collection.  This dark teal shimmer is another great color for the upcoming season.


Laqa & Co's Blurple is the perfect grape color that can be worn year-round.  This polish went on so smooth, I was very impressed!


Knockout's Pool was my favorite polish of the bunch.  This matte turquoise is just my style.  Knockout's super tall bottle really caught my eye and I was surprised by how much more controlled it felt when I was applying the polish because of the extra long top.





I love that the box came with brands that I have never tried before (excluding Color Club) and the colors are all on trend for Fall.  All of the brands are high quality products that I would definitely try again.  All in all, I was very impressed with this box.  Signing up is easy, shipping was fast and I loved all the products.  I'm sure their accessory and intimate apparel boxes are great too!  Visit Wantable's site here to check out subscription options and sign up for your own personlized box, you won't reget it!   

XOXO Nail Addicted Sisters
~Vicky

**All products were provided for an honest review 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Fantastic Clash-Tastic

Indie Polish is, you guessed it, an indie polish brand that makes an array of amazing glitter polishes. They are always having flash sales to go along with their already great prices!!

This spectacular chunky glitter is Clash-Tastic! There's a lot in this polish, which is what makes it so FANTASTIC! Smaller red hexes, medium light purple hexes, large blue hexes (these are the hard ones to get out the bottle), medium magenta circles and tons of bright blue micro matte glitter (this is my favorite part I think). 


I started off this mani with a coat of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter-A-Peel. I layered one coat of Clash-Tastic over 2 coats of China Glaze Refresh Mint. I know what you're thinking: That looks blue! It is. I have a faulty bottle of Refresh Mint that looks like robin's egg blue. I've read some other bloggers have had the same issue. Go figure. Anyway, I topped this off with Sally Hansen Dries Instantly and then Essie Matte About You.


I love glitter polishes matted, don't you???


MACROS :)


I used a pointy orange wood stick to push down the larger glitters to help with lifting. Do you have any tips/tricks to applying these chunky type glitters?

XOXO Nail Addicted Sisters

~Erika

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Neon and Pastel Patches

I'm still suffering from the end-of-summertime sadness... SIGH, I heart you Lana Del Rey.  This patchwork design is full of the bright colors that make me wish summer would never end.  I am hoping to squeeze in a few more beach days before fall is officially upon us.  And maybe I can even get in one more bright summer nail design too.  Don't forget, Labor Day is not the end of summer, September 22nd is!! 


I painted my nails white, let them dry and used striping tape to create the patch pattern.  Then I ever so carefully painted each section various colors.  I liked the idea of putting the colors in different places on each nail.  


I got a lot of compliments on this one and many of my friends thought they were stickers, that's the best compliment of all!  How are you all handling the end of summer?  For me, the only way to ease the transition is to buy new clothes and polishes!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Nails All Jeweled Up

I've been trying to expand my nail art skills beyond a simple accent nail. I'm not the greatest at coming up with ideas for nail art though. If I see something I like, I can usually emulate it to a certain extent. 

Dressed Up Nails is one of my favorite bloggers. She comes up with awesome designs that are simple yet intricate. I've figured out that I can use a dotting tool pretty well, so I'll stick with that. :)

This was a something she did that I loved. Of course she did it better, and I liked her color combo better too. (Click the link above to see her beautiful mani.) It took a few nails before I got into the hang of it.

My base color is Maybelline Limited Edition Color Show Coral Glow that I won from the 'Copy this Mani' contest at Get Nailed Here. The darker color is Sinful Shine Steel Reserve and the jeweled color is Essie Beyond Cosy.


All I used to create this design was different sized dotting tools. Can you tell I started on the pinky? Splotchy mess! I also did this mani fairly late at night. I didn't notice until the next morning that some outer spots were left un-blinged! HAHA That should totally be a word! But I did this on both hands, on more than one finger. What the??? I was probably watching Real Housewives of NJ and was really distracted. LOL


I'm pretty proud of the fact that I was able to pull off this design on BOTH hands. It's possible my right hands looks better than my left hand. Thoughts?


XOXO Nail Addicted Sisters

~Erika

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Subscription Box Comparison... Nail Addict and You Polish

Hey ya'll... we're trying out some new subscription boxes and this month we tried out Nail Addict and You Polish boxes.  These are not really subscription boxes, you don't have automatic monthly payments and you can order just once or every month, whatever you choose!  Both are released towards the end of each month and you have a few days to order thereafter. 


I like the Polish Addict box because it comes with so much stuff!  Four full size bottles, 2 minis and a surprise item (this time it was caviar beads, hand cream and a pedicure kit).  Yowza! That's a lot of polish!  However, this is a mystery box and there is no telling what you might get each time you order.  Some might love the idea of being surprised but I would prefer to know what I am getting before I order.  This box is $19.99 plus S&H and turns out to be about $25.99.  

You Polish is a smaller box and is just $14.99 including S&H.  It includes 2 full size bottles and a nail art product (like the striping tape and dotting tools shown from this month).  Each month there is a choice of 2 boxes and you can see everything you're getting before you order.  If I were to order from either of these again I would lean towards You Polish because I prefer knowing what I'm spending my money on.

Next up I want to try Glitter Guilty and Square Hue.  They are both true subscription boxes that arrive monthly, so there is a little more commitment involved in these ones.  Glitter Guilty comes with yummy guilty pleasures like artisan chocolates, yum!  And I'm particularly interested in Square Hue because part of their proceeds go to charity.  With all the money I spend on nail polish, it would be nice to know that some of it will go to a good cause.   Are there any other subscription boxes we should check out?  I would love to hear your suggestions!  ~V
Monday, September 2, 2013

The Nail Files 2 Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

We are so excited to be a part of The Nail Files 2 Year Blogiversary!!


Click on the banner below to see the orginal post and see all the awesome prizes, including the one from us!!


US residents ONLY!
(See rafflecopter for all rules and restrictions)


Good luck!!

XOXO Nail Addicted Sisters