Polished! Vol. 5

Psst!

Okay, I know I'm pretty late on this one.. seeing as this manicure is already chipping and I'll probably be doing my nails again within the next day or so.. However, I still *must* share this gorgeous color, late or not! ;)

OPI-Sapphire in the Snow

OPI-Sapphire in the Snow. Beautiful deep purple with a hint of blue. This one is light enough that from a distance you can tell it's purple and doesn't just look black. But it still fits into the "dark nail" category. This color has a super creamy flat finish . It's also super fabulous on the toes as well! Came out in the Holiday 2009 collection and I can't get enough of it--not to mention my slight (slight? Who am I kidding--COMPLETE) obsession with snow, has me loving the name even that much more! ;)



Adding a dab of fab to your day,
-A

Clean fresh hair...No water needed!

Psst!

One of the greatest inventions in the cosmetic industry- Dry Shampoo! Well, in my opinion anyways :) It is so convenient when there's no time to wash your hair. Quick fix when your running out the door or just too lazy to wash, blow dry & style! I have noticed since using dry shampoos, my hair actually produces less oil. As a matter of fact, I put some research into it.. Your scalp (entire body, really) has glands called Sebaceous glands. They secrete a waxy oil called "sebum" to protect the hair & skin. This is the same oil that clogs pores and causes acne. Touching or rubbing your hair & skin can trigger these glands to secret more oil as well as washing our hair every day. When we wash our hair, we are stripping our natural oils away leaving the glands to think they need to kick into overdrive and produce more oil. I typically wash my hair every 2-3 days. (With baths in between of course!) Yes, I know that sounds crazy to some of you but once you train your glands to slow down it's secretion they produce much less oil. Here's where the dry shampoo comes into play! The first couple of weeks of washing your hair less will probably be the worst but then you will slowly notice less oil. In those in between days, I spray dry shampoo all over my roots, massage into my scalp & brush through. It leaves my hair dry, refreshed and adds volume!

My favorite Dry shampoo to use is Batiste. I use the Blush scent. Its smell SO good, similar to Michael Kors perfume in my opinion. They have 2 other scents; Original and Tropical. Original smells like grass or leaves or something.. not my cup of tea! Lol. I've never smelled the tropical so I cant attest to that one. Batiste is the cheapest dry shampoo I've found and the most effective..go figure! Retails around $7 and can be found at most grocery stores and Sally's. When sprayed, it comes out white on your hair. However after being massaged in and brushed through, there is no more white remnants left behind. I used to have dark brown hair and it never left that white dusty look. Here is my before & after pics...Please excuse the roots.. I have an appointment next week ;)

Batiste-Before

Batiste-After

Another Dry shampoo I have been trying out is the Kenra Platinum color care dry shampoo. I found this travel size at Ulta and decided to give it a try. It has a different texture than the batiste, it's almost like hairspray. It's somewhat wet when it hits the hair but then dries taking the oil with it. It has a nice coconut scent. With the full size retailing $19, I still prefer my trusty Batiste. However I don't mind buying the travel size every now & then.

Kenra-Before

Kenra After

 I have also tried blotting powder. It works as well. You just have to be sure you really rub it in. Hope you all have enjoyed this beauty secret of mine.. This isn't just for the gals but guys as well (If you can find one without the super girly scent.. Batiste original maybe?) Try to wash your hair less and you will be so surprised at how much less oily it is!


Adding a dab of fab to your day,
-A

Polished! Vol. 4

Psst

This week I have on one of my newest editions to my collection. Chanel "Black Pearl". Gorgeous deep gray with a tint of bluish-green sheen running through. This is from Chanel's Spring 2011 collection. They say this is THE color of the season and i gotta say-- I'm convinced!! I love this color. I even have it on my toes. Can't get enough of it! :)



Now for the FUN part...

OPI- Black Shatter over Chanel-Black Pearl

I was also lucky enough to get my hands on OPI's limited edition "Black Shatter". It's essentially crackle paint for your nails and it is oh-so-fun! You paint it on over any dry nail polish then sit back and watch as it crackles before your eyes! It looks good with all kinds of different colors. I must say though, this needs a top coat over it because even though it's dry it has a slight tackiness to it. I love the effect though and have received lots of compliments. If you come across this at your local salon, I suggest snatching one up because these babies are hard to find!




Adding a Dab of Fab to your day,
-A

I LUSH you ♥

Psst!

I hope you had a fabulous Valentine's day! Wanted to share some LUSH goodies I picked up last week!! I had a coupon from a gift box for 15% off your entire purchase so I splurged a tad.. :)

I got my hands on the Valentine's day goodies and, oh my, are they FAB!! 

LUSH Valentine's Bath 2011

 The Frog Prince bath bomb(right) is my favorite in cute-ness! He smells very floral. Almost a baby powder-y floral. Nice, fresh and subtle. He makes the water the coolest shade of acid green! Also, a little surprise awaits you when he's done fizzing.. a prince! Okay, so not a real prince but it's a picture of a prince saying something along the lines of "the prince is here to kiss you". Super cute, right? The Magic Mushroom bubble bar (middle) smells divine! It's a very sweet strawberry scent and makes tons of frothy bubbles and red water! It is the same scent as their discontinued (but oh so loved!) "Yummy Yummy Yummy!" shower gel. The Ex Factor bath bomb (right) smells very good too. I think they nailed it on "delicious factor" with all of these V-Day treats! It smells like a very sweet yet musky vanilla. It's a very interesting smell. It makes your water a pretty ocean teal blue! It's supposed to be a spin off of a VooDoo doll so you can "fizz away appendages and head until your thirst for revenge has been satisfied." Lol! I was impressed with all these guys and at $4.95 each I'd say they're worth it! Okay too much blabbing! :) Lets move on to the other goodies I bought!

Mask Of Magnaminty (L), Silky Underwear Dusting Powder(R)

I have been lemming over the "Silky Underwear" dusting powder for quite some time so I decided to pick one up. It smells so good! A mixture of jasmine and coconut. It's infused with cocoa butter so as you rub it into your skin it dissolves leaving your skin buttery smooth and smelling great! The girls at the counter also said that you can use it as Dry Shampoo. And let me tell you; I LOVE me some dry shampoo! So I was even more convinced! :) I haven't tried it as DS yet but I'll keep you updated! I also bought another tub of one of my all-time favorite masks- Mask Of Magnaminty!! It's mainly composed of seaweed and mint leaves. The mint makes it tingle while it's on your face.. Super soothing and relaxing after a long day! I keep mine in the fridge and it adds extra tingly-ness from being cold! When you wash it off your face looks so amazing! Smooth and even..it's great!!

I picked up a bath bomb I've been lemming over called "Fizzbanger" I just LOVE the way this one smells!!! Toffee-apple scented..How yumm-o does that sound? Super sweet and tangy. I haven't used him yet but they said on the inside it's hiding a blue powder surprise so it makes your water green-ish teal.. sounds pretty!

I picked up another bath bomb I've been oogling over called "Twilight". I bought this as a gift for a friend at Christmas and she said it explodes with glitter. (But washes down the drain.. haha) Its smells like lavender & vanilla. Very soothing. It's supposed to help you relax into "twilight" for sweet dreams! Love it! (Not to mention, I'm somewhat of a Twi-hard so I was intrigued with it before I even picked it up.. lol!)

The little sample is a little jar of Vanilla Dee-lite lotion they poured up for me. Smells super sweet.. I love it. Also, I wanted to update you guys on my last sample.. The "Ultra Bland" makeup remover. It's fantastic!!! It's super thick(infused with beeswax) so you only need a tiny dab under each eye and it does the job! It is very gentle because it's 20% rosewater. You can even open your eyes while using it with no irritation(coming from someone with very sensitive eyes!). Wipes off super clean and grabs it ALL! No double application needed! The sample is lasting me a long time so I can tell the the full sized jar would be well worth the money! ($14.95 for 1.5oz) This can be used for all over face but I like to use wipes for my face and UB for my eyes before washing at night.

P.S. I have a special OPI treat coming up in my next edition of Polished!.. stay tuned!!

Adding a Dab of Fab to your day,

-A

Cupcakes & Starbucks on ice??

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This past weekend was fun! We had an "ice storm" and it was super cold-LOVE it! There's something so calm and serene about everything being iced over; majestic almost. If only it were to snow.. It would have made it perfect; the icing on the cake! (or cupcake?) Haha! 

Speaking of cupcakes, I baked some for our Super Bowl Party. Yellow cake with Chocolate icing.. yummm! I tried a new tip on the icing bag this time.. I cant decide which one I like best.. haha

 

My Super Bowl Snack :) The best!!

Hope you all had a great weekend! LUSH haul is coming up next!! :)

Adding a Dab of Fab to your day,

-A

Polished! Vol. 3



OPI- You Don't Know Jacques!

Psst!

This week's color is OPI's "You Don't Know Jacques!" (Pronounced sorta like schok) It came out in the France Collection. The color is a pretty milky brown-gray; a perfect neutral that you can wear year-round! It's a super popular color and receives rave reviews! However, I must confess, the name is a tad annoying to recite when someone asks you what color you're wearing.. I always get that "Huh?!" stare & have to explain! Lol!


BTW, I went to LUSH today and got some great goodies! Another haul coming soon!! :)

Adding a Dab of Fab to your day,
-A

What's in My Bag?

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I love seeing other people's "What's in my Bag" tag so I thought I'd share the love :) This is my Juicy Couture handbag that I bought at the outlet last summer. I instantly fell in love with this bag and had to have it! We went to Juicy first and I told myself if I didn't buy anything else the whole day I would let myself go back & splurge on it. Needless to say, I ended up getting it and it has been my loyal companion ever since! I think that a quality handbag is something every girl should invest in. A good sturdy bag will last you forever! Plus, if you get a neutral color like mine, it matches everything and can carry you through all seasons!

I always carry around a ton of stuff in my bag and it always weighs a million pounds! :) However, it's SO worth it when you're in need of something and you just happen to have it stashed in your bag :)

Here it is all laid out aside from a few receipts and stray gum wrappers..lol.. good excuse to clean out my purse right? The jewelry in the bottom right is just a random necklace and rings I found accumulating in my purse. Necklace- Forever21, Gold rings-Charlotte Russe, Silver Ring-a local boutique

First up, we have my Makeup Bag (MAC from the CCO last Christmas).. This will have to be another blog in itself because it's packed full of goodies!! Then we have my B&BW Twilight Woods lotion, mark Lemon Sugar lotion, Juicy Couture edp roll ons (Original & Couture Couture), Wet naps, headache medicine, extra pony tail holder, bobbi pins & bag of  "Feminine Products"

This wallet I found on Clearance at Dillard's about 2 years ago and it still has no rips, tears or anything broken! It's fabulous & I always get compliments. The Chipotle tin is from a Gift Card I got from my dad a while back and it's perfect to keep all my GC's in. An extra pen- always need a pen handy! My iTouch with skull candy earbuds (Which are amazing, by the way, and can be found at TJMaxx for cheap!) MyTouch phone, extra charger & Juicy Couture key chain. I love my key chain; I got it for Christmas from a close friend and am obsessed with the cute little charms and big logo faceplate!

I always have gum & mints with me and most of the time I have 2 gums- a fruity kind and minty kind (Trident Splash's Strawberry Lime is the best!). I also always have floss & toothbrush with me... Dental hygiene is a must ;) Then finally, I always carry an extra pair of contacts with me- just in case anything happens to the pair I'm wearing. Nothing worse than a contact popping out when you're away from the house!

So there's my what's in my purse tag.. Now I tag all of YOU! Send me a link in the comments if you upload a blog/video!

Adding a Dab of Fab to your day,

-A

The Lipstick Chronicals

Psst!

What kind of makeup addict would I be without a lipstick collection? For me, lipstick it a must; It adds the finishing touch to your look! These are my MAC lipsticks. I do have a few others from different brands but MAC is my main collection. MAC has different textures of lipsticks ranging from glossy sheen (Lustre) to flat & opaque (Matte) depending on how much lip gloss they add to the formulation. I prefer the glossier ones since I don't typically use lipgloss on top. Lustre, Glaze, and Cremesheen finishes are my favorite.

MAC Lipsticks

I love my little lipstick holder! It's super convenient and easy to store.  It has 21 holes (3 rows of 7) and as you can see I've already outgrown it! Lol! I've also added 2 more to the collection recently that aren't pictured. Plink! & Utter Pervette.

 

MAC Lipstick Swatches

First Row;
1. Viva Glam V (Lustre),
2. Viva Glam Gaga (Lustre)
3. Viva Glam Cyndi (Lustre)
4. Lazy Day (Lustre-To the Beach Collection)
5. Garden Bed (Lustre-Graphic Garden Collection)
6. Ever Hip (Cremesheen- Liberty of London Collection)
7. Innocence, Beware! (Lustre- Disney Collection)

Second Row
8. Archetype (Lustre-Alexander McQueen Collection)
9.Patisserie (Lustre)
10. Marquise D' (Lustre)
11. Phlox (Glaze)
12. Dressmaker, Dressmaker (Lustre)
13. Quiet, Please (Lustre)
14. Lollipop Lovin' (Glaze)

Third Row
15. Sandy "B" (Frost)
16. Vanity's Child (Lustre)
17. Lavender Whip (Cremesheen)
18. Way to Love (Lustre)
19.Frecketone (Lustre)
20. Pretty Please (Lustre)
21.Creme D' Nude (Cremesheen)
22. Glaringly Hip (Dazzle)


There is my collection as of now. Buying, Swapping & Receiving gifts of one or two here & there really adds up! If you're trying to build your collection, don't give up.. before you know it you'll have a substantial assortment.

Adding a Dab of Fab to your day,
-A