Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Zoya Holly & Julep Oscar)

 Happy St. Patty's Day! As mentioned previously, I'm on a pastels-only kick until my nails regain a healthy pink glow, but what kind of polish junkie passes up a holiday? Especially a holiday where bright, awesome green is encouraged and even required? Not this girl. No way. Throw in some glitz, and I'm good to go.

 For my St. Patty's Day fun, I started with a coat of Essie Grow Faster base coat, then two coats of Zoya Holly. Holly was released as part of the Gems & Jewels Holiday 2011 Collection, and as the name indicates, is a lovely green the color of holly. Holly is well-pigmented and goes on like buttah. The shimmer is gorgeous, and I barely noticed when I put the top coat on. It took me an hour before I decided my nails really were dry. It's that glossy.

 If the photos look a little awkward, it's because my Holly is a mini bottle, courtesy of my December Birchbox. If you don't know about Birchbox, you should. I blogged about my January Birchbox here.

 The accent nail is one of my favorite trends in nail polish, so having received a new glitter last month, I figured this would be the time to bust it out. For the accent nail, I used Julep Oscar. Julep's Maven subscription is another great service. I've blogged about their polish quite a bit. More info here.

 There are two things you need to know about me: 1. I do not wear yellow gold. Like, ever. 2. Glitter polish usually requires 8,000 coats of topcoat to feel smooth.

I was actually a little bummed when I got my February Maven box. Red carpet glam: a red shimmer and a yellow gold glitter. Meh. Put 'em in the drawer and didn't even swatch. I thought Oscar might be an okay accent nail, so I put it on. SO sparkly. I wish it was a little softer, as I can't say the color is incredibly flattering, but it's really glittery. Oscar also goes on really smooth, and could probably be opaque in 2-3 coats. One coat of top coat, and I the nail was pretty smooth. I took some closeups of Oscar to give you a better idea of the color and shine. I would love, LOVE a pewter or gunmetal glitter like this.

 And there you have it: My St. Patrick's Day manicure! Not too fancy, but nice and festive.

What shade of green did YOU choose for St. Patty's Day?

Back to Nature (Sort Of) - Part One

 

I tweeted (@MWGirlieGirl) yesterday about my grand master plan to de-yellow my nails. Within a matter of hours I had a few questions, a new follower and my tweet had been favorited. I think I may have struck a nerve.

One of the goals I had when I started blogging was to give some how-to information, along with sharing my favorite products. I realized that nail polish makes for a little quicker posting, so I've fallen into a rut. Sorry.

I digress.

If a girl decides to undertake a project, the first logical step is to do some research. To the interwebs I went.

Lemon juice, toothpaste, and even bleach. Didn't work. Didn't work. No bleeping way I'm literally bleaching my nails. Buffing works if your nails are thicker, but mine don't grow in very thick. Then, I found it: Peroxide.

Well, duh. Want to go blonde? Peroxide. Seems like it would work to bleach your nails, too. It's also a lot more gentle than bleach.

The "recipe" I found said 1/3 cup water and about 3 capfulls of hydrogen peroxide. I soaked my nails for about two minutes at a time, then used a soft toothbrush to scrub my nails. I did notice the nails lightening slightly, so I repeated the process a few times.

Sadly, I didn't take any photos before I started. My nails were never that bad to start with, but swatching polish all winter stained them a bit. I trimmed them down, and I'm hoping they'll grow out nice and healthy looking. I'm also taking a break from dark and bright polishes that might stain until they're healthy.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, but I can safely report that my attempts have been successful so far!

Also part of this grand master plan is to get my hair back to it's natural color...or at least close. More on that later...

Rimmel Glam'Eyes Mascara

 Today I'm taking another break from nail polish. I bought yet another tube of my favorite (completely underrated) mascara, and I felt like more people needed to know about this gem.

 There are a lot of things I love about this stuff. The brush is a bit like having two brushes in one. There are two sets of short, thick "bristles," and two sets of longer, thinner "bristles."

 It's a little tricky to photograph, but the two types of bristles give this brush a lot of versatility. The shorter, thicker bristles put a nice, thick coat of product on your lashes, giving you thick, dark lashes. The longer, thinner bristles offer a more natural look. I personally use the thinner ones for my day-to-day. For nights out, I'll start with a thicker coat, then comb over the lashes with the thinner ones to get out the clumps. The fact that the whole brush isn't very big around makes it pretty easy to maneuver. If you prefer a curved brush, all you have to do is jab it in the tube haphazardly (as I do, inevitably, every time), and it gives a nice curve.

 The other thing I like is that the brush is kind of rubbery, so it's pretty easy to use a brush shampoo and sterilize periodically without damaging it. Not everyone may be concerned about that, but I have contact lenses and allergies (and a nasty habit of getting things in my eye), so I'm pretty susceptible to pink eye if I'm not careful.

 I've used mascara from higher end brands like Stila, Lorac and Smashbox all the way to drugstore brands like Cover Girl, Maybelline and Revlon, and this is my go-to. The formula doesn't seem to flake off my lashes and into my eyes, I don't get nasty clumps, and it doesn't smudge unless I actually get water on my face or cry. Humidity doesn't seem to have much impact. Removal is still pretty easy, too. No makeup remover required, just normal face wash or cleansing wipes.

Another great feature? This stuff is like $6 at Target. Compared to brands that run $15-$20 (or more), I'll take this any day.

Facebook!

Thoughts of a Midwestern Girlie Girl can now be found on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/ThoughtsOfAMidwesternGirlieGirl

I'm still in the early stages, but stay tuned for fun stuff in the future.

Julep Emma and Kelly

 Following up on the unboxing of my March Maven Box from Julep, I figured I should get some swatches up!

First up is Kelly. She's described as a blushed white creme, and one of the newest neutrals for Spring. Kelly has a peachy tone, which I found really pretty. The finish is like glass. Just pure shine. I really like this color. I'm not sure I've worn peach since 1990, but this one makes me want to.

 The March box also included Emma, a pretty seashell pink shimmer. It's a very delicate color, and would take an eternity to get completely opaque, I would imagine. I layered Emma over Kelly as something of an ombre to start.

 This combination was really pretty. So soft. If I were taking a vacation to the coast, I feel like this would be an excellent neutral to wear.

 I also layered Emma over OPI Thanks A Windmillion, which really brought out the pink shimmer. This was after about 3 days of Thanks a Windmillion, so kudos to OPI on the lack of chips, but please excuse the tip wear.

I'm really happy with the color selection this month. I almost requested a shelf pull to get a new flakie glitter, but I think I would have missed out.

China Glaze Stone Cold

Today is another Capitol Color from the China Glaze Hunger Games Collection: Stone Cold.

I was completely unprepared for how awesome this polish would be. A matte? Intriguing. With a little shimmer? Better. Still...the formula is fantastic. I picked up Zoya's Lolly, and the I can never get it to look good. There are always streaks and ridges. No good. Stone Cold goes on smooth, and the finish is nice and even. No pooling, no dragging, brushstroke free. Fab.

AND IT GETS BETTER! I added a top coat, just to see what it would look like. Wow. That's all I can say. I kind of want to buy a backup bottle, because this one is gorgeous. I see this one getting worn a lot, especially in the fall and winter.

Dear China Glaze,

Please make Stone Cold part of the permanent collection. Please???

Sincerely,

Polish Lovers Everywhere

Julep Maven March 2012

 I've got a quickie post today: My Julep Maven box for March! This month, Julep joined the sparkly top coat bandwagon, which means a pretty shimmer and a great formula. Here is the unboxing...

 They send a card every month with information about the products, which is nice.

 The packaging from Julep is always adorable. Rando digs the little crunchy things.

 Emma, Kelly, Argan Oil and a nail file. The Argon Oil has been doing great things for my nails, and I have swatches coming soon for Emma and Kelly.

Mommy's little helper, hard at work. He made a good mess with those crinkly black paper things. Cute.