Olive & June Blue Jeans Set: Swatch & Review

For the first time this year, I don’t really have any Christmassy content to share. I guess I have been a little underwhelmed with the Christmas collections or my collection has ballooned so much that I’m not buying as much polish. It’s not the latter, let’s be real 😛 We’re just going to jump into some wintery polishes because they work for Christmastime too! After seeing Olive & June all over Instagram, I decided to grab some of their polishes earlier this year. I don’t know why, but creme polishes always draw me in and their line thus far is mostly cremes. The darker blue shade CNH is what tipped me over the edge to make a purchase. Olive & June offers sets of four polishes plus top coat, which I thought was a fun way to try the polishes. You can buy seasonal collection sets, but these sets are also available if you don’t want every polish in a certain collection. The Blue Jeans set was right up my alley with two shades of blue including my coveted CNH, a greyish purple, and a slightly off-white. The images online show all four being worn as a skittle ombre mani, so I decided that’s how I would wear them too for this trial! The cool tones are perfect this time of year and make for a winter wonderland on your nails.

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Olive Ave Polish Deciduous Fall 2020: My Picks Swatch & Review

I know that fall doesn’t technically end until the winter solstice, but in my USAmerican mind the day after Thanksgiving signals the start of Christmas/winter, so this will be my last fall blog post of the year. Compared to last year, I REALLY slacked. But hey, if one of the terrible things that happens to me this year is that I don’t keep up with my blog very well, then I’m walking on sunshine. I reviewed picks from Olive Ave Polish’s spring collection earlier this year and was just delighted with them (I did swatches for the summer release too but never got those posted). I made my initial purchase because I wanted to support Walker aka Olive Ave Nails, who is definitely one of my favorite nail YouTubers, but at this point I’m buying her polishes because they are genuinely SO GOOD. While Olive Ave only has three collections total thus far, this one has got to be the best. The formulas on the ones I grabbed are S T U N N I N G. Couldn’t ask for better cremes! Best of all, she plans on keeping her collections stocked much longer than just seasonally, which is the number one way an indie polish brand makes its way to my heart. I understand releasing a bunch of LEs from a business perspective, but it’s a bit exhausting as a customer. Let’s luxuriate in these polishes today and, hopefully, for many years to come!

Hand & Nail Empties: October-December 2019

I feel like I just did one of these posts… because I did, I posted my last one so late! Thanks for hanging in there with me, this should be the last 2019 wrap-up post I have to share and then we will be on to some more “normal” reviews. I did not use up as many products this time around, but there is some good stuff in here. These are my last empties of 2019.

OPI Things I’ve Seen in Aber-green: Blogstravaganza Fall 2019

OPI Things I’ve Seen in Aber-green, 2 coats plus top coat

Today is truly a glorious day! We get to look at the one single green in OPI’s Scotland collection as we march on with my series. I think it should be a legal requirement for OPI to have at least one green in all their fall/winter collections. The Washington DC Collection gave us two absolute bangers (yes, there were three, but I didn’t care too much for one of them), the Iceland Collection had an interesting one, last year’s Peru collection gave us the divine Ayahuasca Made Me Do It, and this year we get some murky dark forest green goodness with Things I’ve Seen in Aber-green. I always say that my favorite polish color is teal but everyone seems to associate me with green so I guess I’ll just embrace it. (I made that sound so begrudging, as if there are not about a million green polishes I’ve gushed about that have made y’all recognize me as a queen of green!)

First Impressions: Lime Crime

I have been, over the past week as I have prepared this post, a bit hesitant to put it out in the world for a couple reasons. Reason #1 is that Lime Crime does not actually sell polish anymore so you cannot get it easily. That made me feel a little bad until I stumbled upon Reason #2 which makes Reason #1 seem stupid. Reason #2 is that Lime Crime is a SERIOUSLY controversial brand. I really wish I had known that throughout all these years that I have lusted after their bright polishes in the cute unicorn bottles. Just Google it. I don’t even know where to begin with it, but just know that Lime Crime is not a great company and the point of this blog post is not to suggest here that you support them in any way. I just want to review an obsolete nail polish. Knowing what I know now, I don’t even feel bad that Lime Crime did not directly profit from this polish ending up in my hands (it was a gift and I am 99% sure the person who got it for me had to search a little far and wide to find it). If you like fun colors and looking at stuff that’s hard to find, read on! If you feel that Lime Crime should not be talked about in anything but a 100% negative light, then I get you. Go ahead and get yourself out of this blog post. There are plenty more you can feast your eyes on :] I chose, of the two Lime Crime polishes I own, to take Peaches & Cream for a test drive first.

Hand & Nail Empties: January-March 2019

It’s already empties time for the first quarter of the year! Between being late on my last empties post and switching up the frequency of posting, this one really snuck up on me. I used a decent amount of products up in this time period. I think these posts are going to be a lot more digestible going forward – as much fun as it is to write about 20 products at once, I know that can be exhausting to read. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this short and sweet journey through the hand and nail care I was enjoying!

Part I: Hand & Nail Care

Baroness X Acetone Antidote in Cranberry Orange and Deborah Lippmann Smooth Operator

I am continuing to love the Baroness X Acetone Antidotes! Removing my nail polish is doing less of a number on my skin and cuticles, which is especially important for me during the cold, dry winter. Cranberry Orange was a lovely scent, but it did get a little lost in the the scent that my nail polish remover already has.

I am not the kind of person that EVER buffs the surface of my nails, so why and how do I have a nail buffer in my empties? Well, friends, I received this in a little Deborah Lippmann gift set a year ago and I discovered that using #1 on the buffer really helps get rid of those little bits of nail that are sometimes left sticking out from the tip after filing (I pretty much never cut my nails – I continually file them down). I wore it out so much that I ended up getting another one!

Cuter Cuticles Mani Bomb in Cheshire Grin and MDJ Creations Smooth Finish Fast Dry Top Coat

I got this set of two mani bombs by Cuter Cuticles from Polish Pickup last spring because they were a fun berry scent and had cute little Cheshire Cat grins on them. They proceeded to sit in my drawer of nail stuff for almost a year. Soaking my hands does not really appeal to me (they spend too much time in water) so I finally decided to use them for foot soaks instead! They worked perfectly, I enjoyed the sweet and tart fragrance and my feet got clean and soft. Score. I would get some mani bombs again, but not for my hands. It’s not going to happen.

I finished my bottle of MDJ Creations Smooth Finish Fast Dry top coat and the only reason I have not started another bottle yet is that I am testing out another top coat. This MDJ top coat is the best out there – way better than Seche Vite and that’s coming from a Seche Vite worshipper. It dries faster and does not require nearly as much thinner to keep it going as Seche Vite does. I want a life-time supply of this stuff!

Emz Blendz Jojoba & Avocado Body Lotion in Vanilla Chai and Baroness X Acetone Antidote in Pistachio Macaron

For a couple years now I have been carrying around a locally made lotion in my purse for dry hand emergencies. I find that a lot of small batch-type lotions have a thicker texture and work well as a hand cream substitute all year round. This Vanilla Chai lotion from Emz Blendz smells absolutely divine. I already have another bottle of it in my purse!

I used up another Baroness X Acetone Antidote, this time in Pistachio Macaron. It is a lovely gourmand scent, not to sweet but smells exactly like the pistachio macaron I ate a few weeks ago! It is the type of scent that goes well with nail polish remover, if that makes any sense.

Part II: Hand Soaps

Bath & Body Works Nourishing Hand Soap in Spiced Gingerbread Swirl and Gentle Exfoliating Hand Soap in Toasted Vanilla Chai

During the winter I cannot use foaming hand soaps; they dry my hands out too much! Spiced Gingerbread Swirl was a nice scent, not super sweet or overly spicy, but definitely smelled like the holidays. Toasted Vanilla Chai is one of my favorites, I reviewed the foaming version last post and found I still loved the scent this time around! Clearly I have a Vanilla Chai problem.

Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in Clementine & Chamomile

I started this soap around the beginning of March when my hands finally went back semi-normal. It had a lovely sweet citrus smell. The chamomile note did not take center stage, which is good because the smell of chamomile by itself makes me feel nauseous. This was not Bath & Body Works’s most creative scent, but it was very pleasant.

I hope that was easier for you all to take! I will have my first ever skincare/bath & body/hair care empties post coming up, so watch for that. There will definitely be some more nail content before then, so be on the lookout! I have so many photos, just not enough time to edit and write posts.

Hope you all have been doing well! What’s the best product you have finished recently?

xx, Ashley

Fall Favorites: OPI Alpaca My Bags

Hello friends, we are going to try out this every two weeks schedule because, for the time being, I am just not finding the time to swatch! That is a good thing, though, because it means I’m out doing other stuff and generally enjoying life (well, at least enjoying not being at a desk for 8 hours). I hope all my US friends had a delicious Thanksgiving and that you all survived Black Friday. This will be my last fall post of the year because now that Thanksgiving is over it is officially Christmas time – WOO HOO!!!!! Christmas is the second most wonderful time of the year; the first is fall because it leads me to wear colors like this one. OPI’s Alpaca My Bags was the one polish that I needed to have from the Peru collection. It is moody and saturated and clean and cool. I love it lots.

Pretty Serious Cosmetics Rainy Days Collection: Swatch & Review

The perfect time to review a polish collection is always when said collection and said brand are no longer available, right?! I am a master blogger, kids, take notes. Sadly, Pretty Serious, the maker who is featured in today’s post, is taking the rest of the year off while they revamp the brand, so you will not be able to snag any of these polishes for the time being. We do not yet know what the future is going to bring for Pretty Serious, but based on past collections like this one, Rainy Days, we know it’s going to be quality. I think Pretty Serious really took that quote, “Whatever you are, be a good one,” to heart because their polishes are magnifique. I have a few floating around (and scored a bunch more in their clearance sale) but never purchased a full collection until this one. I mean, look at it. If you are in any way familiar with my polish tendencies, you can see this was made for me. This post has a lot of pictures, so get your tea/beer/cat on lap/whatever, sit down, and enjoy the ride.

Butter London + Pantone 2018 Nail Lacquers Swatch & Review

Butter London and Pantone have become the best of friends over the past couple years and I believe we are all the better for it. I love any reason for Butter London to give us a new collection, and when it is a collection consisting entirely of purples, sign me the hell up! I am known to favor blues and greens, but purples (also in the cool-toned family) are also a favorite of mine. Purple used to be my ultimate favorite color. I had a purple backpack, purple TI-84 calculator, a collection of purple pens, numerous purple scarves, and my first favorite nail polish was a purple from Sinful Colors. I think it was called Noel or Noelle. I wish I still had it. No need to dwell over lost purple polishes, though, when we could be looking at the six new purples Butter London has graced our nails with this year. I have them all for you, so sit down, turn on some Prince to get yourself in the mood, and let’s go!

A Year of Polish… Here’s to Another!

Another year… New Year’s does not hold too much significance for me, but I thought that on this New Year’s Eve, I would to take a moment to reflect on my favorite polishes of 2017! First, I’ll start out with my favorite polishes that were released in 2017 and then we’ll look at my favorites that I discovered/wore for the first time in 2017. There are a lot more of those, as I am super behind on wearing all my polishes! The post should not be too wordy today, mostly lists and links.