Essie: Set in Stones & Van D' Go

I was super excited to try out essie's set in stones luxeffects nail polish that I received in this month's birchbox, which a lot of you guys also seemed interested in. 

Whenever I see a glitter nail polish, I think "accent nail". I just love the look and it makes removing the nail polish slightly less of a hassle. I paired set in stones with another essie polish, van d'go, a veteran in my collection that has gotten gloopy and extremely hard to work with, but I still can't resist the pretty color that is perfect for spring/summer. 

I love this color combo. It's super girly and definitely attention-getting; it's one of those manicures that puts me in a good mood whenever I look down at my nails. 

I wasn't expecting this glitter nail polish to be super opaque because it does state on the label that it is a topcoat. With one coat it is definitely just a few chunky glitters dispersed in a clear polish, but it is buildable if you want a full on glittery nail. I have on three coats of the stuff and surprisingly it doesn't sit too thick on my nail. The trick with these not so dense glitter polishes is that sometimes you need to dab the brush on the nail instead of sweeping it through. 

I have fallen hard for the glittery nail trend and cannot resist the prettiness of a glitter polish in the bottle and on the nails. The ones that I have are all chunky top coats, but I would love to try the ones that have the very refined glitters in them. 

As always, let me know what you think,

~Vida

March Birchbox

March's birchbox was a bit of an improvement from last month's box, which was so unimpressive that I passed on blogging about it. This month's box featured some slightly more interesting products including, Peter Thomas Roth's max anti-shine mattifying gel, Essie's set in stones top coat, Tarte's lipsurgence in peaceful, a twistband hair tie, and coupon for modcloth.com. 

The anti-shine mattifying gel came in handy today for keeping my shine at bay while walking around Soho in the beautiful weather. It is a nice product that does seem to lessen the oil buildup on my face and instantly smooths your face after applying it. However, I'm not sure I would repurchase the full size, as I feel the l'oreal magic perfecting base does something similar for a fraction of the price. 

The two products that I was most excited about when I opened the box were the nail polish and the lip tint

I was surprised that they included a full size of this, seeing that it retails for $24. I was less impressed once I actually tried the product - it gives practically no color on me and is more or less a fancy lip balm. 

The nail polish I have not tried, but am looking forward to because coincidentally a few days earlier I saw  this polish and made a mental note to try it someday. 

This is my final birchbox that was given to me as a gift. I probably will not be starting a subscription of my own because as much as I am in love with the idea, the actual "product" leaves something to be desired. It is very hit or miss and because of that the excitement usually lasts from when I receive the box in the mail, to the moment I open the box and examine its contents. Maybe one day I will be sucked back into this subscription service, but for now I will save myself 10 bucks a month and get my samples the old fashioned way - by asking someone behind the counter. 

~Vida

Current Combo: Urban Decay Dark Horse, Illamasqua Katie, MAC Creme D' Nude

L-R: Urban Decay Dark Horse, Illamasqua Katie, MAC Creme D' Nude

After a long period of not wearing eye shadow, I felt that I should probably start using some of the eye shadows I've collected, and busted out my trusty naked palette. The colors that I almost always go for are naked, sidecar, and occasionally buck, but I was feeling a smokey look that day and used darkhorse. 

I paired it with my new all-time favorite blush, Illamasqua's Katie, and a nude lip to pull it all together. I am in love with this look and have been trying to get as many wears in before spring weather has me wearing lighter makeup. 

Darkhorse is a beautiful cool-toned dark brown with gold flecks of shimmer. It is super creamy and glides onto the lids without losing its pigmentation. It also blends out really easily and leaves you with a nice smokey eye without needing any other eye shadows. I've found that with my eyelids, eye shadows look better when there isn't a heavy crease color or anything really blended above my natural fold, so I've been doing a lot of single eye shadow looks, which makes it so much easier!

When paired with katie blush it is unbelievable - the combination just makes them each even better. 

I love the naked palette, but haven't experimented with it nearly as much as I would like to. For now, I am crazy about this combo and looking forward to finding more favorites from the palette.

~Vida