Month: February 2025
Miss Runway
Emily de Molly “Miss Runway” is inspired by a dress (probably for a masquerade ball) because it’s from January’s Masquerade Polish Pickup.
“Miss Runway” is a magnetic polish and although I did get what I thought were adequate results with the ring magnet, they are not striking enough to be picked up in picture. I counted to 30! and it still wasn’t long enough…I need to practice, because in the sample pics, I should be able to get a more striking light blue magnetic effect. Arghhhhhhhhhh.
This is two coats of “Miss Runway” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
February 2025 Ipsy Icon Box – Gabrielle Union
Leave it to Gabrielle Union to come up with an ipsy Icon Box that I’ll actually try ALL of the products, instead of giving half of them away!
After several quarters of reality show stars and “influencers”, ipsy has nabbed an actually CERTIFIED movie star in Gabrielle Union. Homegirl is four years older than me and she looks as amazing as she did in the 90s. How even?
As soon as I saw it was an option, I SNATCHED the Anastasia Beverly Hills Nouveau Eyeshadow Palette ($55). Believe me when I say this palette might be as good as the OG – Modern Renaissance. (My eyes popped when I saw the price increase in just 8 years – from $42 to $55.) Nouveau has a full range of shades – classic neutrals to sparkling metallics to moody darks. I’ve only played with it once or twice, but I cannot wait to have an opportunity to go all out that isn’t a grocery store trip.
My other product choices were Origins Clear Improvement Blackhead Clearing Mask-To-Scrub ($37) and Dew of the Gods Amalfi Glaze Body Serum ($36). I did not read the label (AGAIN) on the Origins Mask and used it as a scrub in the shower the first time – oopsie. I used it as a mask the next time and I really liked it – it sucked the oil out of my pores like a fucking SHAMWOW. The Amalfi Body Serum smelled nice, but it made me sparkle like a stripper. I’ll save it for a special occasion.
Gabrielle’s picks included Beautystat Triple- Plump Coconut Milk Serum ($42); Byroe Oat Yogurt Moisture Barrier Cream ($106 – I’ve been using it as a night cream and it is SO luxurious…wish it wasn’t so spendy); First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub 10% AHA Fresh Strawberry ($30 – I love this for my bikini line…I’ll rotate it into my shower after I finish the Fenty Skin Cherry Dub Scrub); Make Up For Ever The Professionall 24HR Double-Ended Lifting & Volumizing Mascara in “Black” ($28 – I love the double brush design that lifts and thickens); and NARS Powermatte Lipstick in “American Woman” ($34 – although I love the Lolita-esque Chestnut Rose color, it’s a lipstick and didn’t last through a Taco Bell run).
This might be the best Icon Box I’ve received so far! $368 worth of products for less than $75…
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and Icon Box (formerly Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Year of the Snake
So…I already mentioned that my reading comprehension is shall we say – lacking? Allow me to explain…
I was so excited to try the Le Mini Macaron Lunar New Year Nail Polish + Sticker Collection – Year of the Snake. I opened that sucker up and started in with the red one (after a base coat, of course). My first thought was that this stuff sure is goopy. Thick and goopy. I soldiered on. After two thin coats, I started adding stickers to each nail. The stickers slid around a bit, but I’ve seen that before. Surely a coat of Glitter Grabber would help…it did not. Now the red polish has turned to jelly. I make a last ditch effort with my top coat…and the polish totally liquefies. I have red jelly glitter shit dripping from my nails and I have to pick my daughter up from work in 10 minutes. I quickly remove the polish so I can touch my steering wheel. While I’m waiting for her to get done closing down, I start googling…I have made a grave mistake. This gel polish requires a UV light to cure. I do not own a UV light, nor am I interested in getting one. I just spent $40 on stickers.
Ultimately, I redid the manicure using Atomic Polish “Redrum” starting with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat, two coats of “Redrum”, my $40 stickers, Glisten & Glow Glitter Grabber, and Glisten & Glow Top Coat. About half of these fucking stickers decided to lift off, but the other half stayed nice and flat. What’s the secret? Someone MUST know!!!
There is a happy ending though – my son’s girlfriend does have a UV light, so I gave the polishes to her. I kept the stickers.
P.S. I’m saving some of the extra snake stickers for Reputation (Taylor’s Version).
Polish Pickup January 2025 – Masquerade
In anticipation of Mardi Gras (which is rather late this year – March!!!), January’s Polish Pickup theme is Masquerade.
DRK Nails “Nothing to Hide” ($13.40) is inspired by a Masquerade – Mardi Gras colors!
Emily de Molly “Miss Runway” ($13) is inspired by a dress. It’s magnetic!
Cuticula “Dance with Me” ($13) is also inspired by a Masquerade…but different colors.
Penelope Luz “Secret Allure” ($13.50) is inspired by a mask…for a Masquerade Ball. It’s also magnetic.
With all these magnetic polishes, I purchased a Ring Magnet ($6).
I cannot wait to Karma Chameleon all over the place!
Glow So Bright
Kathleen & Co “Glow So Bright” is the last polish I picked from November’s Nostalgic Toys Polish Pickup. It’s inspired by the Lite Brite, which contains the 3rd most painful toy part to step on after Legos and Barbie heels. I never owned a Lite Brite, but my sister had a Lights Alive, which was WAY better, because you didn’t have to worry about those dumbass pegs.
I love a good black polish with rainbow microglitter…but I feel like I buy one every month and maybe need to back off? We’ll see if I keep on buying them…
This is two coats of “Glow So Bright” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Play Rosé
Oh, you noticed that the background of my nail picture isn’t my yard?
What is it, you ask? It’s my CAR…Holo Taco “Play Rosé” is a perfect match for my new rose gold colored car.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Holo Taco. This particular polish is a finely textured holographic micro glitter. I got full coverage in two coats and it lasted like a champ. I went SNORKELING IN COZUMEL and didn’t get any chips. What?
I am a Holo Taco convert – thinking I might be adding a new bottle with every Ulta order…
This is two coats of “Play Rosé” over Holo Taco Pink Smoothing Base Coat and under Holo Taco Glossy Taco Top Coat. The top coat did not make the polish 100% smooth. It was still a bit pebbled, but not dramatically.
Holo Snake Ulta Haul
I was SO excited about this Le Mini Macaron Lunar New Year Nail Polish + Sticker Collection – Year of the Snake ($40)…that I didn’t bother to fully read the description. The included nail polishes – “Magic Noire”, “Serpentine Sheer”, and “Lucky Red” – are GEL POLISHES. They require a UV light to cure…fuck that noise. I guess I paid $40 for some really cute stickers…
My disappointment was mitigated by the fact that Ulta carries Holo Taco now! I started with just a few products: Holo Taco Pink Smoothing Base Coat ($12), Holo Taco Specialty Nail Polish “Play Rosé” ($14) and Holo Taco Glossy Taco Top Coat ($12). I cannot wait to try them!
I was able to use a $3.50 off $15 coupon, as well as qualify for a Free Beauty Break 4 Piece FENTY Gift with $60 purchase, which included Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Blush in “Peach Face”; Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer in “RiRi”; and Fenty Beauty Hella Thicc Volumizing Mascara in “Cuz I’m Black”, all in a cute makeup bag. Not sure about the peach blush, but I’ll use the rest.
$1,044 to Diamond in 2026.
Truly Truly
Sure, I love Barbie…but I was OBSESSED with Jem. I had the doll – just the original Jem – but none of her friends. She was so much more expensive than Barbie! And none of Barbie’s clothes fit, because she was so much bigger…If she wanted to change her clothes, she often had to borrow Ken’s. I know what that’s like…I was buying mens jeans until 1999-2000, which is about the time that Old Navy started carrying bigger sizes and longer lengths. Jem was my soul sister.
Garden Path Lacquers “Truly Truly” is from November’s Nostalgic Toys Polish Pickup and is inspired by the truly outrageous Jem. I cannot find the words to describe every thing in this polish – so I stole this description from the maker: Truly Truly is a clear base filled with blue holographic microglitter, pink-blue-gold shifting large particle Aurora shimmer, and a mix of purple, pink, and blue matte circle glitters in various sizes and small matte hot pink hex glitters. To me – it looks like Jem’s original dres – see pics here.
This is two coats of “Truly Truly” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
Oh, for Oz Sake
This is it!
The FINAL OPI x Wicked polish…I didn’t expect it to take this long to get through all of them, but with all my Polish Pickup purchases, it was gonna take three months to get through 12 polishes.
I suspected that OPI x Wicked “Oh, for Oz Sake” would be a “Tokyo Pearl” dupe and I was half right. Although a bit more sheer, it does look like a dupe…except the OPI is more sheer and does not have quite as bad an issue with brush strokes. It DOES lean pink, but nothing wrong with a little pink.
Thank you, and hallelujah – I’ve found the perfect white pearl polish! Maybe not perfect…I did get a bubble on my ring finger…let’s just pretend that was intentional…
This is two coats of “Oh, for Oz Sake” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Tropical Oasis” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Blackberry Passionfruit“.
January 2025 Ipsy Bag – A Clean Slate
A brief hiatus was just what I needed…
This month’s theme is “A Clean Slate” and included a different kind of makeup bag than usual. It doesn’t zip – it has a magnetic snap. It wouldn’t work inside my purse, but I’m sure I can find a use for it…
My product choice this month was Dr. Lili Fan Probiotic Recovery Cream. I am in LOVE with this face cream – and not just because I just got crispy-crittered in Cozumel. In my mind, it is that luxurious “Pearl Cream” from the 90s commercials…(I have no idea what the original “pearl cream” was like, I’m just talking shit.)
I’ve been using the Pamper + Polish Sugar and Coconut Infused Body Scrub (damn, the sugar is sharp), but I haven’t tried the other three products. I’ll probably get around to using the Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Acid Lip Gloss Balm, but I won’t ever use the Seraphine Botanicals Mimosa Mist Glass Skin Setting Spray. I might *possibly* use the Illuminati Cosmetics Multi-Chrome Gel Eyeliner in “Prime” – not sure.
Not a horrible bag, but not a lot of product types that I use…it’s been a bit since I’ve updated my ipsy preferences, so maybe I should do it.
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and Icon Box (formerly Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.