What's on My Toes? L'Oreal Color Riche Nail Polish in VIP Status

I have grown quite fond of the newly released L'Oreal Color Riche polish line. I picked up a couple spring colors a few months ago (read the post here) and was really pleased with their formula. A few weeks ago I picked up VIP Status and have been sporting it on my toes (and my hands) for the past few days. 

VIP Status is a really cool charcoal color with blue and teal undertones. In the bottle it looks like it has a slight multichrome tendency, but this doesn't really show on the nail. You definitely do, however, get flashes of the blue teal shimmer, which lends the color a nice complexity. Though this is dark, it feels really fresh and appropriate for spring. 

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Everyday Favorites: Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System

It has been a while since the last installment of my everyday favorites. I thought really hard this week about what some of my favorite skin care products are. I am a big fan of Olay in general. I featured their Regenerist Anti Aging Eye Roller in a previous installment of the series - read the review here. I received the Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System last Christmas. I have used it consistently for over a year, and it has become an integral part of my beauty routine. Read on to find out why!

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Olay-Professional-Advanced-Cleansing-System/

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Color Block Nails

I love the color blocking trend. I just picked up a pair of bright blue - cobalt - capris and some fun tanks to wear with them this summer. I have been wanting to do a color blocked manicure for a while, but just didn't have the guts to try it. Well, here it is ladies. I even did it free hand! Maybe some nail art is in my future...

For this manicure I used two China Glaze polishes - For Audrey (the Tiffany blue) and First Mate (the royal blue). I was originally going to do this with tape, but that turned out to be a horrid mess. I finally gave up and free handed it. More pictures after the jump!

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How to Feel Beautiful and Look Your Best During Allergy Season

Spring is officially upon us. If your area is anything like where I live, everything outside is covered in a find dusting of yellow. Even my shoes turned yellow when I took my dog for a walk yesterday. Pollen this year is ridiculous, and so are my allergies. I have been an allergy sufferer for years and years. This time of year really takes a cut into my self-confidence because I end up walking around with red puffy swollen eyes and a bright pink nose. I have learned some tricks, however, to feeling beautiful during allergy season, that I would like to share with you today.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/

1. Combat Redness - Just take it as a fact that your eyes and nose will eventually turn red at some point during the day. The best thing to do is to combat redness before you go out into the pollen war zone. For problem areas, such as the nose, I use an extra layer of redness combating concealer before I step outside. I like to apply this over my foundation but under my powder. These types of products can also be used on the eye area, but I caution that you want to avoid getting anything in your eye during allergy season. I like to apply the concealer to the eyelid and outer corners of the eye, but avoid the eye rim. If you must wear eye shadow, avoid anything with red undertones.

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Neon Nails - What a Shock! by Color Club

I wandered into Ross yesterday to look at their beauty products and came across the ElectroCandy collection from 2009. I love these neon beauties and can't wait until summer to wear them. They are perfect for summer pedis. Still, it seems a shame to wait so long to wear these fab colors, so I decided to go for bold and sport one on my nails today. 

What a Shock! is an electric neon green. It isn't as yellow as a lime green and has a bit of blue undertone to it. It is like a cross between a lime and a mint and reminds me of really light bright grass for some reason. I really love this color. I feel like I am in a Wham! music video! It rocks.

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Comments Are Back Up!

Thanks to those of you who notified me that my comment system was down. Intense Debate decided to update their system, but didn't notify me. The problem is now fixed. I look forward to reading your always fabulous comments!

Stay beautiful!

Spring Blues with China Glaze Shower Together

Raise your hand if you are ready for spring? I was ready several weeks ago. It is finally warm enough here to wear shorts, but it has been raining like crazy here the past couple of days. It really put me in the mood to wear something blue and springy, but still a little dark. Enter China Glaze Shower Together. 

Shower Together was originally part of the Ecollection, but has since become part of the permanent collection. This is a really lovely peacock blue with a bit of teal. It comes out darker on the nail than I expected, but it is still really beautiful. More photos after the jump!

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Beauty & Life: 11 Questions Tag

I kind of like these tag posts. I think it is really fun to get to learn about my fellow beauty bloggers and to share a bit more about myself with you. I was tagged for this tag post by Stephanie Louise over at All Things Beautiful. As this tag post goes, I reveal 11 personal things about myself and then answer Stephanie's 11 beauty questions she presented. Here we go!

1. I have a current obsession with Game of Thrones - both the HBO series and the books.

 I have started reading the second book in the series and am hooked.
I can't wait for the second season to start in April!

2. Along those lines, I am voracious reader. I read at least a leisure reading book a week, sometimes two depending how long or interesting the books are.

3. My favorite season is fall, but this year I am really excited about spring and summer.
Let's break out those shorts!

4. I really want to be a better cook. I am doing really well with beef, but am terrified I will under cook chicken so I end up way over cooking it - until it is unchewable.

5. I will always choose wine over beer.

6. I am also a big Disney fan. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know this given my Halloween series. My favorite princesses growing up were Aurora and Belle, 

but in my teens I really started to respect Mulan and Jasmine.

7. I can't wear socks to bed. It makes me feel all constrained, and I won't be able to sleep.

8. I'm a jeans kind of girl. Khakis just look strange on me. 

I have over a dozen pair of jeans and do indeed wear them all.

9. I don't have a favorite movie, band, or food. I have a lot of diverse tastes,
but that doesn't mean I'm not passionate about those things.

10. I love it when it rains! There is something magical about sitting on my porch with a cup of tea,
 watching the rain come down.

11. I used to be a compulsive nail biter, but I finally bucked the trend! Woohoo! 

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A Belated St. Patty's Day Mani

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, but I wanted to show you my St. Patrick's Day manicure. For the base I used OPI Don't Mess With OPI, which is one of my favorite greens in my collection. I really does remind me of a plain of grass in the spring. For the stamping I used China Glaze White on White. This was my first ever attempt at stamping! I think it turned out really well.

I love this mani for the holiday. It went very well with my homemade corned beef and potatoes!

Stay beautiful!

You Tell Me: What is the best nail base coat?

Hello readers! This is the first post of new series call "You Tell Me" where I need YOUR advice on beauty issues. I am looking for another good base coat for my often dry and thin nails. I currently use Seche Rebuild (which I love), but I am also looking to branch out a bit as it doesn't work very well with my Orly polishes and some other brands. So ladies (and gentlemen), what is your favorite nail base coat? Is there a particular one that just doesn't work for you? Are you loyal to one brand in particular or do you tend to circulate a bit more? Let me know in the comments below!

Stay beautiful!

What's On My Toes? China Glaze Gothic Lolita

It took me a while to come around to the Electropop collection, but I did end up purchasing two of the colors - Gothic Lolita and Wicked Style. I immediately went home and put Gothic Lolita on my toes, and it is a great pedicure color.

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Maybelline Baby Lips Review

Maybelline Baby Lips lip balms have intrigued me for a while. They product claims to be not only a lip balm but a "lip renewal" product. I picked this up using at $2 off coupon, which means I purchased this for under $1. I am willing to give any product a try at that price point.

**Be sure to check out my reviews of Maybelline's High Shine Lipstick and Maybelline's Jewel Collection Lipsticks**

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China Glaze Prismatic Chroma Collection = The Mother of All Glitter Collections

I'm sure you all have seen this floating around the blog-o-sphere, but I am quite excited for this collection, so I wanted to share it with you all. Here is the upcoming China Glaze Prismatic Chroma Collection:

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Battle of the Nail Trends - Which will win?

Over the past few seasons, we have seen an explosion of flashy nail trends. From the popularity of crackle top coats to extreme glitters to unique flakie top coats, all these trends focus on giving your manicure a unique texture. The question is which will rein supreme? Read on to hear more about the contenders and cast your vote!

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New Product Discovery - C.O. Bigelow Lavender Salve

I happened upon Bath and Body Works today and came across something that I have never seen before - a Lavender Salve. I am a huge fan of Rose Salves and have been using C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve for years. Needless to say, I immediately purchased the Lavender Salve, and let me tell you it is wonderful!

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THE Collection of the Year - China Glaze Colors From the Capitol

I have a not so secret confession to make...I am a HUGE Hunger Games fan. I love the entire series, including the much debated final installment "Mockingjay." The books made me laugh and cry, root for the survival of some characters and hope for the demise of others. Accordingly, I have been eagerly awaiting the China Glaze Colors from the Capitol collection for months. I was only expecting to purchase one or two of these, but when I got to Sally Beauty and saw the collection, all bets were off. I walked out with six colors, loving each and every one. Let's take a closer look at my selections from the collection.

Dress Me Up, Fast Track, Harvest Moon

Stone Cold, Riveting, Agro

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