FingerPaints Limited Edition Holiday Sets – Patent Leather Manicure and Holiday Glitz

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Ah, FingerPaints, how I love thee!  You are a fabulous formula at a fantastic price, it is a shame more people don’t know how wonderful you are!  I hope your limited editon holiday kits are given to many beauty lovers who have yet to discover your brand!

The FingerPaints Limited Edition Patent Leather Manicure Kit contains two polishes – Patent Red and Patent Black – plus a shiny top coat.  These polishes can be used to create a Louboutinesque manuicure… mine turned out more “funky french” since I didn’t have much free edge to paint red underneath!

If you don’t own a one coat black yet, then you need this kit because Patent Black is a OCW!

The FingerPaints Limited Edition Holiday Glitz Kit contains 3 polishes – Glitz & Glam, Tangled in Tinsel, and Sparkle with Me.  Glitz & Glam is a standard silver foil.  Tangled in Tinsel is a rainbow glitterbomb with a mixture of multicolored hex glitter and small micro glitter.  Sparkle with Me is a fun mix of matte white hex glitter, white micro glitter and silver holographic micro glitter).  I applied a matte topcoat when I wore all three together for a fun twist!

These kits are available now at Sally Beauty where they retail for $12.99 (Beauty Club Price $12.49).  They would make wonderful gifts for someone… or for yourself!

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Beauty Spotlight Team Weekend Reading 11/22/14

Nothing to Disclose

Check out Prime Beauty's list of The Best Beauty Gifts Under $25!

Grab your sneakers and go! It's time to streak with Urban Decay Naked on the Run Palette Review and Tutorial by Phyrra.

If you ever wondered whether Urban Decay Stray Dog and Suspect were dupes for Burberry Midnight Brown and Pale Barley, then take a look at their glimmering swatches, and review on Lola's Secret Beauty Blog. I think you will agree that all four shades are gorgeous, but would you consider them similar enough to justify having all four?

It's that time again – holiday gift giving. Beauty Info Zone has several gift guides to help you choose. If you know a Glam Girl then check this one out but if your list has more Practical Fashionistas then we can help you there too.

If Guerlain Un Soir à l’Opéra is the collection Sunny from Mostly Sunny was looking forward to the most, Burberry Winter Glow has turned out to be the best surprise! Come check out the swatches of 6 drool-worthy pieces !

The Painted Rogue is addicted to both ballet and pretty pink-coral lip products! This week she's combining the two with a tale of the adorable Ballet Monster who gave her a Lancôme Lip Lover in Rose Contretemps!

Pammy Blogs Beauty has found the perfect tool for super quick and easy hair volume that lasts: the VOLOOM!

Perilously Pale shows us her favorite Holiday Eyeshadow Palettes and will have you drooling!

Find out why China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose you is the lastest polish to make polish insomniac's Top 20 List!

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You

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As you may have noticed, my new job doesn’t give me as much time to swatch as my old one.  The China Glaze All Aboard collection arrived a little late, but I could not wait to share this polish with you for ONE MORE SECOND!

China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You

Words cannot describe how much I love this polish. 

I received so many compliments when I wore it!

And look at that green flash!  Be still my heart!

You won’t be surprised to hear that Choo-Choo-Choose You is already on my updated Top 20 List!

I’ve swatched a few other polishes from the China Glaze All Aboard collection, but I still need to swatch the rest.  Same for the China Glaze Twinkle collection!  Are there any you are dying to see?

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

A England Elizabeth & Mary Collection

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A England is a brand that I have always wanted to own more of, so when Nail Polish Canada offered to send me their new Elizabeth & Mary collection, I jumped at the chance! 

Virgin Queen is a stunning holographic polish that shifts from platinum to pewter.  This one is a stunner and I can see it becoming an instant classic! The holo is subtle, but oh so pretty… Even if your day job is strict about the types of polish you wear, you could pull this off because indoors is appears as a just a pretty shimmery polish, but outside in the sun and the rainbows dance across your nails, it’s magical!    In fact, I love it so much I’ve already added it to my Top 20 List!

Fotheringhay is a nail polish fanatics dream… a funky green holographic polish!  A mossy green with gold and holographic shimmer that can look much lighter in certain lights.  Perfect, easy to apply formula.  What more could a polish lover ask for?

Crown of Thistle is a ANOTHER stunning holographic polish… Words just can’t describe how much I love this polish! The purple shade is absolutely divine and looks different in every light!

Gloriana is a burnt-orange red shimmer with gold flakes.  My pictures don’t do this one justice!

Queen of Scots is a wonderful blue shimmer.  This one doesn’t have extra glitter or shimmer in it because frankly, it doesn’t need it!  Amazingly pigmented, you can almost get way with just one coat!  I can’t wait to use this one for nail art, it would be fabulous for stamping!

The formula on each and every one of this polishes was amazing.  I am totally lemming ALL OF THE SHADES I missed when A England stopped shipping to the United States.  Now that I know I can pick them up from Nail Polish Canada, I don’t think my bank account will be safe!  You can pick up the entire Elizabeth & Mary collection for $54.00, which also qualifies you for FREE SHIPPING!  Can’t beat that!

Now excuse me while I go plan my order…

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

My Secret’s Out (aka How I overcame my fear over curling irons with the Conair Curl Secret)

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HeartMyHair #CollectiveBias

I’ve got a secret.  I don’t know how to use a curling iron to curl my hair.  No, seriously!  I haven’t even owned a curling iron since the mid-90’s.  Back then curling irons were not what they are today, but no matter I am still traumatized by memories of curling my bangs… thank goodness Facebook wasn’t around back then!  I’m going to tell you my hair story - how I overcame my fear over curling irons with the Conair Curl Secret!

My hair isn’t curly.  Nor is it strait.  It IS fine, but I have a lot of it, more than most people would ever want.  That is a horrible combination!  If I let it air dry, it turns into a frizzy mess, but if I straiten it it tends to stick to my head as if I were wearing a skullcap.  In the summer I can easily scrunch my hair with product to product some pretty waves, but I still have the flat-on-top issue.

My hair in the summer.  Somehow wavy and flat at the same time.

It’s not that I don’t want to curl my hair, believe me, I do!  After almost 20 years of avoiding curling irons, I decided I would find a way to get the hair I desired!  So I dragged my husband along for the ride and ventured out to Health & Beauty aisle in Walmart to find something that would breathe some life into my hair!

I grabbed both the Infiniti Pro by Conair® 3Q™ Brushless Motor Dryer and Infiniti Pro by Conair® Curl Secret®.  I also purchased a new round brush and some new clips!  I am long, long overdue for a new hairbrush and the Velvet Touch line from Conair felt amazing in my hand! 

The Infiniti Pro by Conair® 3Q™ Brushless Motor Dryer is a new type of hair dryer with an advanced brushlless motor technology that promises to be Quick, Quiet, and Quality.  There is nothing more important to me than quality when it comes to my hair tools!  The Pro 3Q has a brushless motor’s allows it last up to 10x longer life than a DC motor dryer.  It also allows for increased airflow to reduce drying time by up to 70%, Ionic technology for smooth, shiny hair and up to 70% less frizz, and (my husband’s favorite part) uses patent-pending technology to reduce noise by up to 40%.

The Infiniti Pro by Conair® 3Q™ Brushless Motor Dryer also comes with a large diffuser attachment that I am dying to use.  Look how big it is!  I can just imagine how much faster I can dry my hair curly!

I love the perfect combination of smooth hair and volume I was able to achieve using the Pro 3Q and my new round brush!  But why, you ask, am I showing you strait hair when I am supposed to be showing you curly hair?  Because you need strait hair to use my new secret weapon, the Infiniti Pro by Conair® Curl Secret®!

The Infiniti Pro by Conair® Curl Secret® has 2 heat levels and 3 timer settings to allow for different types of curl.  Since I have fine hair, I will always use the lower heat setting for the best results.

The first time I used the Curl Secret only took me about 5 minutes!  I didn’t even section my hair off, I just grabbed random sections of hair.  I used the lowest time and lowest heat settings, and focused my attention to the ends of my hair.  I also used it on the crown of my head to add some volume and lift.  The end result looked like I had a body wave!  (If you were born in the last 20 years you probably won’t know what that is, but that’s ok.)

A video posted by polish insomniac (@jbrobeck) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:38am PST

I can’t believe how easy the Curl Secret is to use, even for a clumsy person like me!  You can check out more videos on using the Curl Secret on Conair’s You Tube channel!

The next morning I woke up and still had a lot of body left in my hair!  Normally it’s stuck to my head by this time so I just decided to use the Curl Secret again on my second day hair.  This time I did section it off - those clips came in handy!  Even though I did my whole head in the longest time setting (12 seconds) it still took me under 10 minutes to get these results!  It even makes “hat hair” look cute!

I’m so happy with my new purchases - I still can’t believe I can finally curl my hair!  What do you think of the Infiniti Pro by Conair® 3Q™ Brushless Motor Dryer and Infiniti Pro by Conair® Curl Secret®?  Do you want to give them a try?  There is still time to tell Santa what you want for Christmas!

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Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Gwen Stefani for OPI Holiday 2014 ♥ Swatches and Review

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Brrr!  It’s finally cold enough here that I feel like it’s a great time to share the Gwen Stefani for OPI Holiday 2014 collection with you!   In addition to some traditional reds, OPI’s holiday collection has a festive green, a gorgeous purple and some drop-dead fabulous glitters!

All swatches are two coats, unless noted otherwise!

Fashion A Bow is a bright, orange-leaning red that is perfect in just one coat.  Who doesn’t love a OCW, as my friend Karen would say!  (OCW - One Coat Wonder).

Love is Hot and Coal is a deep greyish brown with a thinner-than-normal-but-not-bad formula.  After three coats the brushstrokes were minimal… perhaps due to that thinner formula?

What's Your Point-setta? is ANOTHER OCW.  This red is exactly what I think of for the holidays – bright and cheery.  Truly the perfect holiday red!

I Carol About You is a deep royal purple with hidden shimmer.  My pictures don’t do this one justice.

Cinnamon Sweet is another red crème, this one slightly darker and than I Carol About You.  This is a blue-based red, rather than an orange-based red like the first two.

First Class Desires is a deep eggplant with gold shimmer.  It’s very similar to some past OPI’s, but I don’t care I love it anyways!  I mean, just look at that glow!

I'm In A Holidaze is what OPI calls maroon, but to me it’s more of a deep red.  Just a shade or two deeper than Cinnamon Sweet.  (See how I’m putting them in order for ya?)

Christmas Gone Plaid is a smooth forest green that looks oh-so-chic on my nubbins!

Red Fingers & Mistletoes is the lone red shimmer of the bunch.  It’s so happy and shiny, it looks like a Christmas ornament!  These are my favorite type of reds from OPI.

Rollin' in Cashmere is a yellow gold frost with a satin-y finish.  It’s not just plain gold though, when you see it up close it has amazing (yet tiny) multicolor shimmer particles.  Definitely different than every other gold in my stash.

Just BeClaus is a maroon red crème.  Enough said.

Unfrost My Heart is a highly reflective silver foil.  Pretty, but not unique.

Kiss Me - Or Elf! is a red violet shimmer.

I'll Tinsel You In (over black) is a dizzying array of black and white glitter in a clear base.  Bar glitter, square glitter, micro glitter.  This one’s got it all.  I didn’t have too much trouble getting the larger pieces onto my nail, but I did use two coats.

Sleigh Parking Only is an amazing easy to apply raisin crème.  A light vamp, if that makes sense?  If you find most vampy polishes too dark for you, give this one a try.

Comet in the Sky (over black) is a stunning mix of holographic glitters with larger pieces that I somehow managed to get on my nail without too much trouble.  Invert your bottle for an hour before applying so that the larger glitters don’t stick to the bottom.  Again, I used two coats.

So Elegant (over Unfrost My Heart) is a mix of black glitters with larger silver and grey hex glitters in a clear base.  This one was the hardest to apply, even after inverting the bottle.  It also happens to look horribly lumpy over a black base, though I do like it over silver.  Again, I used two coats.

Snow Globetrotter (over black) is another amazing mixture of holographic glitters with pops of white hex glitters.  I didn’t expect much from this one based on how it looks in the bottle, but it really comes alive over black!  My surprise favorite.

When I first saw promo pics of this collection, I felt let down by all the reds.  Now that I’ve swatched it, I have realized that a) there is a red for every skin tone b) there are some truly amazing glitters in here.  My must-have’s from the collection are Christmas Gone Plaid, Red Fingers and Mistletoes, Snow Globetrotter, Comet in the Sky and What’s Your Point-setta?

What are your favorites from Gwen Stefani for OPI Holiday 2014?

Disclosures: polish insomniac at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.