Jenna Hipp Polish

Ok.. I am on a total nail polish kick. I love all of the summer colors that are coming out. Bright yellow, coral, teal, pink and more.... I made a promise that I would no longer purchase anymore nail polishes. That is, until I went to costco and bought these beauties.

I love wondering through costco and finding random makeup/beauty products. These Jenna Hipp colors are so much fun and it came with 8 trendy summer colors. I have tried each of these colors over the last month, a few of them I tried several times. Some were really great, others not so much.

This is "Ain't Life Grape?". It's a beautiful pastel purple. I love this color, but the application isn't the best. I'm beginning to realize just how much the formula changes based on the colors. It was really thin and streaky. It did have a really nice finish and I liked that it had the same look as a gel polish.

This was by far the color I was most excited to try. "Say Yellow to my Little Friend". This one packs a lot of color, but the polish is very gooey. It makes the application tricky because it sticks and you can definitely see it when the polish dries. The color is lovely, but I really hated applying it. I wore this color several times, each time hoping for a different outcome. This one also took the longest to dry on the nails.

"Daft Pink" is a really bright hot pink. Overall I was least excited about this color. There are so many pinks out there that are a lot more interesting. The application was also very thin and streaky. It took several layers of application to get it to look like it does in the bottle. After the second layer it looked a little heavy on the nails, so I took it off and went back to two layers.

"Jenna and the Giant Peach" is a very subtle orange color. I love it. It was thin to apply, but it is really pretty. I can honestly say that I don't have a lot of peach tones in my collection.

"I Cast a Spell on Blue" is my favorite color in the collection. It applies easily, it doesn't stick and two layers is more than sufficient. It is the darkest color in the collection and I adore it. I've work it about 3 times so far.

"Just One Bite" is the super trendy redish orange color in the collection. I am super in love with the coral trend that is happening right now. I feel like it compliments any skin tone.  The application is wonderful and the color is flawless. I really enjoyed this polish and have worn it several times over the last month or so.

Ok. So. I  saved these two for last. "We Are Mint to Be" and "I Surf with Boys". I have a love hate relationship with these polishes. The colors are almost identical in the bottle. On my nails they looked like the same color until I saw my hand under direct sunlight.

We Are Mint To Be

I Surf With Boys

The mint color is really subtle and very hard to distinguish from the blue. I liked the application of "We Are Mint to Be" much better. This probably my biggest complaint, they shouldn't have put two colors that were so similar in one collection.



Ok. So my overall judgement of the colors is good. I really liked having 8 little samples to try. It also came with a cute little nail file that has already been lost... whoops. I love how adorable the small bottles are and  I think the Jenna Hipp label is pretty.

So. I can't have a blog without baby pictures. In my nail craze I decided it would be a wonderful idea to paint her nails while she was sleeping. Perhaps next time I should make sure she is in a deep sleep.... Yes.. that is nail polish all over her feet, and on my hand.

Nail Polish Galore!!!

So. There are a few items in my makeup collection that I obsessively collect. I LOVE mascara. I'm obsessed with trying to find a mascara that will take my short, thin lashes and make them look like false lashes. I am also in love with lip products, which is weird because I hardly ever wear them anymore. Now that I think about it... .I also really like eye shadow.... Such is the life of a makeup addict.. Anyways, moving on.

I love nail polish. I love the way different colors reflect my mood, change with my outfits and show off fun designs. My favorite thing used to be sitting in my house in Flagstaff, or my apartment in Seattle and painting my nails with my best friend Kirsta. We would put on episodes of Real Housewives or watch a Haunting (woo! love reenactment shows!) and paint our nails. She taught me the value of having a nice nail bed and not letting your cuticles get too crazy. We were both dirt poor and couldn't really afford to go to a nail salon and have them do it for us. Now a days, I don't have that luxury. SOMEONE moved across the word to Australia. Also... we kind of had babies.

Kirsta and the beautiful Clementine

 Parenting tip, if you ever need to wake your child from a nap, try painting your nails. Or eating a sandwich. Or, the best one yet, try taking a nap. It's like babies have a 6th sense. Oh, you're trying to sleep after a long day/night of taking care of me? It's time to scream like a rabid banshee.


Painting your nails with a baby is very tricky. Once again my nail polish guru gave me some amazing advice, Sally Hansen  Insta-Dri Top Coat. It's in the red bottle. I am also a huge fan of the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. They are really great at getting polish dry quickly. I find that Sally Hansen dries quicker, but Seche Vite stays glossy for longer. So really, it all depends on how long you have. Now for the fun part!

There are some new polishes at the drug store promising fun colors and quick dry times. I also tried a brand that my friend Summer told me about. Cameo Colours. 


This is the Sally Hansen Color Foil. I bought two colors, Rose Copper and Liquid Gold. I was a little unsure of these because you aren't supposed to use a base coat or a top coat with them. I'm a huge fan of metallic nail polish. I love the shine and sparkle. This nail polish was not my favorite. It is super opaque, which is wonderful. It pulls when you put it on and it can be very streaky. The end product was pretty, but within an hour it started to chip. There was one amazing part. It dries almost instantly. I was able to paint my nails and move get on with my day in about 15 minutes. These are great if you are going somewhere and you only need it to look good for about an hour or two.

Revlon has recently come out with Colorstay Gel Envy. This nail polish has a pretty bold claim. Supposedly you can go 11 days without a chip. It also claims to stay just as shiny as gel nails without the hassle of taking the time to remove them. You don't need to put on a base since they include that in the color. They have a specific top coat to use with these. It's the Diamond Top Coat. I have three colors plus the top coat ($2 a piece with coupons!) Queen of Hearts, Full House and High Stakes. So. First impression of these polishes wasn't good. I like how shiny it was, and I'm sure they would be great for someone with time. If you don't give each layer enough time to dry the polish pulls. The top coat takes forever to dry. An hour after applying the top coat it was still not dry enough to change a diaper. That is how I determine if it dries hard enough. Can I change a diaper without damaging the polish? I love the color selection and I want to try these again on a day that someone is watching the baby for a few hours.

High Stakes

I have a ton of Sally Hansen nail polish. I love them. I use the Complete Salon Manicure line usually. They have a wonderful thick brush that makes it easy to apply the polish, especially with my long nail beds. A while back they came out with the Triple Shine line of polishes. I bought 4 shades, Kelp Out, Reef-Raf, Make Waves and Wavy Blue.  I have tried the Kelp Out and Make Waves so far. I love them! They are super rich in color and incredibly shiny. They also have the same wonderful shape for the brush.

Make Waves

Kelp Out

So now on to the brand I am so excited about! My friend Summer told me to check out Cameo Colours Lacquers. I am totally obsessed. I purchased 3 colors; Gini's Passion Potion, Allamanda and Burn!  I have tried all three. My favorite was Gini's Passion Potion. It is a super fun color and I love the different sizes of glitter with it. Damn you glitter for being so enticing! It is a pain in the ass to take off, but that comes with the territory. Allamanda was a really pretty yellow color. Unfortunately it was pretty goopy to put on. Now. For my disclaimer. I order these polishes online since they aren't sold in stores. I live in Arizona. When I got the polishes they were too warm for me to put on immediately. These polishes are 3 free, meaning they don't have a lot of the chemicals that stabilize the formula, so I think the heat changed the way it applied. I will definitely be purchasing more, however not over the summer time. Here is the link to the website: http://www.cameocolourslacquers.com

Gini's Passion Potion

Allamanda

Burn!

I love nail polish. I really enjoy trying different formulas and colors. One of the things I am most looking forward to is teaching Mads to paint her nails. I love the thought of sitting down after a long week of work/school and painting her nails and talk about all of the things moms talk to their daughters about.

Fake Tanner Debacle

So yesterday was my two year anniversary with my wonderful husband!!! It was absolutely wonderful. He walked in the door with two bouquets of flowers (roses and daisies) and three cases of diet coke. That man knows the way to my heart. We also went to the melting pot where I ate my bodies weight in melted cheese, bread and chocolate (of course). My dad was watching the Mads so we were able to take our time and really enjoy our anniversary. Minus the food poisoning afterwards, it was fantastic!

 


Ok. So I would like to preface this conversation with the fact that I have never fake tanned. I have never used a product to alter the tone or shade of my skin. That being said, I decided that it was a great idea to dip my toe into the fake tanning waters. I wanted that wonderful, healthy glow. The same one that you get after a day at the beach. Well... The same one that other people get. I am super fair, as you can see from my pictures. Since I am so fair I decided that I would do a baby step. Before spending tons of money on mitts, mousses and sprays I tried the Jergens Natural Glow. I used shade Fair to Medium.

My first impression was "How bad could this be?". Let me start by describing how I used it. It says to put it on evenly and rub it in. It also says to be wary of your ankles, elbows and knees. I'm assuming that's because it will cling to those areas.

On the bottle it says "Gradually creates flawless natural-looking color". Yes. Totally natural. If you decide to take a dip in chemical waste. I had a lovely orange glow similar to what I assume bathing in radiation looks like.  Here is a picture of my ankle compared to my feet.

I left my feet without product so I could see if there really was a profound difference. Silly me. After one application I was orange. Now, keep in mind I applied it while Mads took her surprisingly short nap. Could I have applied it more evenly? Absolutely. When I went back and finished I did it correctly, and it was still terrible. The color was unnatural, it was very splotchy over my dryer patches of skin. It takes a lot to get my husband to say I look anything but perfect. He took one look at my arms and said "that looks terrible". I would post more pictures but I scrubbed and exfoliated my skin within an inch of its life.


I think the moral of this story is that I need to accept that I can have a nice healthy glow to my skin. I will just need to rely on bronzer. I think this will be my last attempt at a fake tan to preserve my dignity and my marriage.


Alright. It's that time again. Feast your eyes on baby pictures! Because I am that Mom, and I can't help myself.

Normally she looks like Anthony, in this picture she is all me.