Indulgent Intermission with Marisa of Polish Obsession

Between Carmela and I, a sparkly accent nail or two is something we tend to gravitate towards. Me for the shine (obviously!) and Carmela for the added oomph, as she likes to call it. So we're very pleased to have such a mani to show off today, thanks to the lovely Marisa from Polish Obsession.

We salute Marisa for her everyday posts. Just trying to maintain our MWF schedule is taxing enough for us without adding mommy duties in the mix, but Marisa juggles it all with equanimity. We adore the mix of brands, colors and finishes that she features, as well as covering different price points that are sure to appeal to a wide audience. Indeed, the mark of a nail polish lover! We've been so happy to have gotten to know this sweet lady who leaves us some of the best comments that brighten up our day. :)

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Hi fellow nail polish lovers!! I’m so grateful to Carmela to have this opportunity to share on her blog.  I was truly honored when she asked me. I really love reading her posts and seeing her beautiful nails ;0).

When deciding on what to come up with, I thought, maybe I should try some nail art because Carmela is pretty good at it and posts some every once in a while.  But I was kidding myself; I’m not great at nail art, so I decided to go with one of my favorite polishes, Revlon Lily.  Lily is a beautiful pastel purple from Revlon’s Top Speed line.  While the first coat is streaky, it completely levels out with the second coat.  It’s a very easy pastel to work with.

I love a mani with an accent nail, so I decided to add Elixir Lacquers Supa Sugar Bee to my ring finger and thumb.  Elixir Lacquers is a fairly new indie brand from a fellow nail blogger, Nicole from Nail Polish Wars, and Supa Sugar Bee was a polish released in the first collection.  It is such a beautiful glitter that goes really well with Lily.  

For my mani, I used Essie All in One Base, two coats of Lily, one coat of Supa Sugar Bee (ring and thumb) and Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat.

Artificial Light

Artificial Light

Sunlight

Sunlight

I was really happy with the way this manicure turned out.  It’s very simple and pretty, but the accent nails definitely grab attention.  I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Carmela, thanks again allowing me to do a guest post.  Hope you’re having fun on your vacation!!

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Marisa, don't sell yourself short! What nail art you've done has been pretty amazing (those little red hearts are a favourite!) and we're more than happy to have you over. This color is right up our alley and truly spring appropriate. I must have Carmela get some of those Elixir Lacquers! The sparkly accent nails are my personal favorite, but can you blame this hamster? It looks wonderfully delicate yet fun, all at once. This is but a taste of what Polish Obsession has to offer, so in the spirit of "Simon Says", Hammie says stop by and show Marisa some love. (Oh, you know you have to do it. Wouldn't you want to?)

Indulgent Intermission with Esther of Fab Fingertips

Blue is our absolute favorite color here at Polished Indulgence. Why then, you might be wondering, is everything purple? Now that was mostly my input. Not to undermine our love affair with blue at all, but because purple has always been associated with royalty and, hence, indulgence. Makes sense, no?  Nonetheless, we love a great blue and along with Esther from Fab Fingertips and her impeccable taste, today's featured polish is no exception.

This one hot momma (and we mean that in the most non-insulting, complimentary and positive way possible) has such an amazing style that we'd love to emulate but instead opt to live vicariously through. Indeed, who else would have the gumption to sport sparkly foil lips (I've read somewhere than an appropriate adjective for these would be 'amazeballs') and teal lipstick? We love the mix of nails and beauty on Esther's fabulous blog, and enjoy ogling her latest nail designs. But our favorite aspect is how she holds her nail polish bottles like a veritable hand model. Love! (P.S. I might be personally biased as this lovely lady is also very generous with the hamster treats, for which I'm very, very grateful. So sue me.)

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Hello everyone, I am Esther from the blog Fab Fingertips, and I want to say a big thank you to Carmela for inviting me to do a guest post for her! I love Carmela’s perfect nails and I feel very privileged to be asked.

I don’t know about you but I’m slightly addicted to feeding Carmela’s blog mascot Hammie! Have you had a try? If you have no idea what I’m on about look to the left of the blog and down a bit!!

On with the post! I am featuring today a different colour from Max Factor. All the hype surrounding Fantasy Fire meant that some equally beautiful polishes from the same range were slightly overlooked. But I’m here to bring you one of them, this is Meteorite, a beautiful blue with silver fleck/shimmer.

Below is the polish under bright sunlight along with a close up photo to see the shimmer!

Below is under warm tone bright spotlight and slightly out of focus to see the shimmer!

This is a truly beautiful polish and was opaque in 2 coats, but I did three for the purpose of photos. The bottles by Max Factor in the Mini Effects are notoriously small and expensive but in my opinion are worth it. Let's face it, if you really like a colour you’ll always buy more of it! Well, knowing what us polish addicts are like.

So I hope you have enjoyed looking at this post and I will be sending dear Carmela a bottle of it to say thank you for letting me guest on her blog! Hope you are also having a fantastic holiday Carmela! :)

Thank you everybody! xxx

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What a gorgeous sparkly blue! How wonderfully generous that Carmela gets to have her own bottle of it! Thank you so much! Generous with the treats *and* with nail polish, too? Seriously, how can you not love Esther? It was such an honor to have you on the blog; indeed, the pleasure was all ours. This is one ecstatic hamster on a sparkle high so before I wax poetic over the merits of visiting Esther over at Fab Fingertips, do us all a favor and just click the link. (You know you want to.)

Indulgent Intermission with Joanne of Northern Nails

Why yes, we're turning dotty here at Polished Indulgence! Oh, goodness me. I hope you didn't think I meant the mad, eccentric sort, but, well, actual dots. With Carmela's new found fondness for polka dots, I'm fairly certain she's ecstatic with Joanne's take on them.

Joanne, whom we fondly call Jo, is someone we feel we'll be eternally grateful for. For starters, she snagged us our first Barry Ms (wahoo!) AND just the most coveted little bottle of polish called Fantasy Fire. Then, she comes to our rescue like a mind reader on a mission with this gorgeous take on the polka dotted design. Coincidence? We think not. Best of all, she's become such a great friend that we're so glad to have met. After seeing what awesomeness she has in store for us, do visit her at Northern Nails as this is only the tip of the iceberg!

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Hi all! Well, the lovely Carmela asked me if I could do a guest post for her while she was on holidays , how could I let a fellow nail polish buddy down? Never! So here we go with what I hope is a good enough mani for you all! Hope you have a fab holiday, Carmela!

This mani is a favourite one with me, as I am pretty poor at freehand art, so I rely a lot on stamping or dotticures. Without further ado,here is my springtime dotticure.

For this mani I used:
Base: Power Basecoat
Base Colour: Two coats of Cutex, Sweet pea
Dots: Collection 2000, White
Topcoat: Rimmel Super Dry

I love this shade of green (actually I am a sucker for any green) but this muted pea green is yummy; it applied opaque in two coats with no streaking.

Next, I used the Collection 2000, white to dot random dots on my nails and topped off with a topcoat, I really like how this turned out and reminds me of some kind of mushroom, maybe one you might find Tinkerbell sitting on, then I remembered a Tinkerbell that I have what do you think?

Hope you all enjoyed my springtime Mani!

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This is lovely, Jo! That military-esque green reminds me a bit of Fingerpaints Military Green but a whole lot richer and more vibrant. Doing the dots in white certainly led to a spring-time feel! Now while this humble lady freely admits that her freehand work *might* need more practice, her stamping skills are pretty topnotch! Trust this hamster when he says you need to check out her other designs over at Northern Nails!

Indulgent Intermission with Marta of Chit Chat Nails

Hello there! Hammie checking in. You see, Carmela was getting run down by all the little errands and things on the to-do list before the trip that she had me take over writing some of the posts. Now, as strange as it might seem to you, hamsters are pretty busy themselves! Between exercising with my wheel to keep fit and hobnobbing at the Hampstons to keep the folks happy, I don't usually have a lot of down time, myself. But I was determined to help (a hamster does not go back on his word!) and I was a hamster with a plan. Okay, so it wasn't originally *my* plan but it worked!

The ever-so-gracious-with-the-hamster-treats Marta from Chit Chat Nails suggested culling together some guest posts to take the load off some. My, what a genius idea! I'm honestly surprised Carmela didn't think to do it sooner, but knowing her penchant for taking on a lot all at once, she probably realized too late that it was all just too much to do with the time frame she had. Luckily, we've had a few amazingly talented and kind-hearted ladies come to our rescue!

As she provided us with our eureka moment, it seemed only appropriate that Marta gets to fire the opening salvo. What more can I say that hasn't already been said about this Nail Artist Extraordinaire? I gravitate towards her design aesthetic that always has that touch of elegance, no matter how simple or intricate the design is. Now that, my friends, is a feat in itself as elegance is something I believe to be an innate quality that can neither be learned nor acquired. Apart from that is a sense of whimsy, that coupled with elegance, brings forth wonderful color and design combinations that speak volumes of Marta's lovely personality. Oh, and have I mentioned she's very generous with treats?

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Hello Lovely Ladies:
I am so glad to be here while Carmela is away on a much needed vacation.  I hope she is resting up and having a wonderful time!!!  In the meantime, I am super honored to be here!

I'm Marta and I run a little Canadian blog, ChitChat Nails.  I'm so happy Hammie was willing to step down and allow me to put together this Guest Post ;).

I think very highly of Carmela; she is intelligent and I really enjoy her kind spirit and spunk for life!  A while back I did a polkadot accent-nail manicure and Carmela mentioned that she is on a big "polkadot kick".  Armed with this 'knowledge' I have come up with what I hope is a fun and sophisticated polka dot design.  I hoped to channel Carmela's personality, the way I perceive it.  I'll let you be the judge. ;)   Onto the manicure:

I started by painting my nails with one coat of OPI Planks a Lot followed by two coats of OPI The Colour to Watch (I applied the cream first because I know that The Colour to Watch is VERY sheer).

I then used a BornPrettyStore dupe plate, m79, and Sally Hansen Whirlwind White.  The accent nail is two coats of China Glaze Marry a Millionaire.

I liked how this turned out, but I felt the itch to pull out my matte topcoat, and so I did ;) using the Joe Fresh brand:

Here are all of the shades that I used to achieve this look:

I hope you enjoyed this look.  Shortly after I turned 30, I started to question my manicures for "age appropriateness" and the polkadot look is something that I keep going back and fourth on: is it cute and age appropriate, or is it too cute and too young for me?  What do you think? Do you have a polkadot guideline that you think should be followed?

THANK YOU FOR READING!

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Now, isn't this just sublime? Elegance with that sparkly accent nail and subdued purple. Whimsy with the white polka dots. If Carmela were here, she'd be squealing about how she absolutely adores the polka dot look. Thanks to Marta, I'm starting to understand why. And if that doesn't give you the itch to check out her blog, Chit Chat Nails, I honestly wonder if there's something wrong with you. No, really, get yourself checked; it might be something serious.

Tocca Stella Crema de Mano Photos and Review

While I love to try new things, once I find something that works, I generally remain loyal to said product. After all, why fix something that ain't broke? But you know what they say about how the grass is always greener on the other side? Well, that plays a huge role in how I'm managed to amass a little army of hand creams and lotions.

I tend to have drier skin than most and when I was in my teens, my brothers would jokingly ask me what grit of sandpaper my hands were. Seriously. They were that bad. So it doesn't really come as a surprise why I've become somewhat obsessed with hand creams. I carry little tubes of them everywhere. If other girls have 20 lip glosses in their purses, I probably have the same number in hand cremes. Okay, maybe not 20. Maybe 5. And I have at least 3 kinds on my nightstand. So after trying a truckload of these, I've learned to be more discerning. I still have my go-to favorites but I'm always in the market for the next best and biggest. My latest acquisition is an Ebeauty.ca find. I went a little crazy with excitement when I found out that they're finally carrying DHC (a Japanese brand that has an oil based cleanser that's been favorably compared to the Shu Uemura cleansing oils; review in the works!). When trying something out for the first time, I like to get a smaller size, if possible, just so if it doesn't work out, I won't feel so bad about wasting all that product. But to get free shipping (I hate paying for shipping), I needed to add something else. I ended up with this hand cream and I've had no regrets at all.

The Quick Take

Brand/Name: Tocca Stella Crema de Mano
Price: $8 CDN for 60mL
Seen at: Ebeauty.ca, Tocca.com
Note(s): Sephora also carries the Tocca brand but as far as I've seen online, they don't have the hand creams. Maybe check in stores if you prefer to do your shopping at brick and mortar establishments. Also, if you're wondering why there are no box photos, it's because it didn't come in one. What you see is what I got.

The Fun Facts

 The hand creme that blew me away.

 "Love Yourself" indeed!

Ingredient list. Notice anything awesome? (Aside from that it's made in Canada, of course.)

A dab of the cream on the skin. All nice and creamy.

The Lowdown

This was love at first use. I kid you not. This is a nice thick cream out of the tube, as you can see above. Now while the majority of hand creams or lotions tend to just sit on the skin, this one really feels like it absorbs into your skin. And it does it fast. There's no greasy feeling afterwards as instead, it leaves your parched skin feeling all velvety smooth and supple. Sandpaper hands begone!

From the Sephora website, here's a description of the fragrance:

Stella is infused with the slightly sweet, never bitter, and always fresh scent of blood orange. With its origins coming from 17th Century Sicily, the blood orange is harmonious with Tocca's philosophy of combining the best of old world traditions with modern influences.

Notes:
Bitter Orange, Blood Orange, Watery Accord, White Freesia, Wild Diamond Orchids, Spicy Lily, Sheer Musk, Sandalwood.
 
Style:
Sexy. Sensual. Impetuous.

I find it fairly accurate in terms of what little I do smell from the hand cream. See, it's nothing like those Bath and Body Works products where using just a bit is enough to have the entire room smelling like the stuff (not entirely a bad thing unless your sinuses are acting up). This is a mild and subtle scent that won't irritate more sensitive noses. The slight floral scent is far from cloying or old lady-ish. It's a lovely modern floral that's tempered by the slight citrus and musk scents. I've enjoyed the scent so much that I'm considering looking into the actual perfume next time I find myself at Sephora. It's that good!

But what really sold me on this one was something I noticed in the ingredient list. Two words: Sodium Hyaluronate. This is the salt form of hyaluronic acid which is a naturally occurring substance in your skin that helps sustain the nutrient transport framework and keep the skin hydrated. With age, the production of hyaluronic acid decreases, thus leading to skin dehydration, flaking and the appearance of fine lines among other things. Sodium Hyaluronate has a very high density and smaller molecular structure compared to its acid form, allowing it to be absorbed more readily by the skin. Amazingly, this substance also has the ability to absorb a thousand times its weight in water. (That's a lot of water!) When applied on to the skin, it easily absorbs into it and helps retain, maintain and attract water which results in smoother and softer skin.

Basically, the takeaway from all that is not only does this topically smoothen your skin, it also works on a deeper level where upon absorption, it helps maintain and retain moisture to keep your skin hydrated. Hydrated skin = healthy smooth and supple skin. Now, isn't that something everybody wants? I know I definitely do! Also, notice how it has no parabens (preservative antimicrobial/antifungal chemicals that may cause allergic reactions on sensitive skin). Even better!

Hammie loves the scent just as much as I do. But more than that, he's most interested in the science behind keeping the skin hydrated. Knowing that using this hand cream actually helps replenish your skin's moisture makes Tocca Stella Crema de Mano a definite keeper. He scores it:

10 Hammie Points!

Are you a hand cream fiend? What's your favorite hand cream? Would you purchase a perfume based on another product that had the same/similar scent?

Nail Art Wednesday: Mixing Nudes and Neons with Hot Pink Dot Nails

Now, I'm not entirely sure where the single dot manicure originated but the first time I saw it, Janine from Beauty Geeks was sporting it. I thought that it was such a fun way to get into nail art whilst keeping your mani understated and still very much work appropriate. Bonus points that the color combinations you can work with are pretty much endless. When trying to figure out which colors to go with, I took into account the burgeoning trend of nudes and neons and came up with this:

Neutral with a pop of neon!

Models Own Beetlejuice Collection: Pinky Brown

So last week, we talked about how duochromes aren't always as amazing as their promo photos can make them out to be. Well, today's polish initially was something of a disappointment as well. I don't know what it is about promo photos, but I now feel that I can't completely trust them anymore. I say, give me a great swatch from a nail blogger any day. Chances are, the nail blogger will get it closer to what I'll actually get. Now, don't get me wrong; that's not to say that major brands are now selling under the guise of false advertising. I'd like to think of it as something akin to staging a house that someone is selling to make it look the best it possibly can so that a potential buyer can say, "hey, this looks like something I can see myself living in". As it were, while this particular polish seemed (and I can't stress that word enough) to be another disappointment, it turned out to be so exactly what I wanted, after all.

Really, how can you be disappointed with this?

Unboxing Julep Maven St. Patrick's Day Mystery Box

I actually skipped on this month's Julep Maven box because I wasn't all too happy about last month's box. Granted, I could've gotten better color choices if I had only bothered to change my option for that month, but I just didn't think it's been worth the $20 when I can get mystery boxes like these that make my $20 go a longer way with more products to try. This month's not as awesome as the Valentine Mystery Box I got last February (now *that* one was pretty epic!) but it still holds its own in terms of value for price. Read on to see what this month's mystery box has in store for us!

Same size as the monthly boxes so I wasn't expecting much...

Nail Art Wednesday: Neon Polka Dotted Nails

Ideas can hit you at the most inopportune moments sometimes. While brainstorming for Easter nail art designs, I knew I wanted to something that had dots and incorporated neon colors instead of the usual pastels. I already had an existing mani that was due for a change so I thought to paint over it just to see how neon polka dots would look like. I ended up liking a lot how it all turned out that I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of photos without realizing that on one finger, the older color was peeking through at the cuticle area. Oops. So yeah, just disregard that particular finger, will you? I didn't want to waste the photos so here they are in their (albeit, flawed) neon glory:

Why yes, highlighters and neon nail polish go very well together!

Butter London Knackered

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for anything chameleon-like. In that I mean the color changing aspect not the whole reptilian thing. Basically, if it shifts colors (in different angles, lights, with temperature, with UV exposure), I'm all over that. So it really comes as no surprise that when I saw a color shifting nail polish from Butter London, I knew I had to have it despite the over $10 price tag I've limited myself to. But as awesome as the promise of a color shifting nail polish is, when the colors it shifts to aren't as unique as you first thought, it can be a let down. Read on to see if this was true for Knackered:

What I expected.

What I got. Color shifting, check. But strangely familiar looking...

Nail Art Wednesday: Flakie Rainbow Nails

I'm generally a fan of the minimalist aesthetic and I'd like to think that translates into my nail art designs. Today's is particularly minimalist and easy to do. See, I've been wanting to play a bit with my Fingerpaints Special Effects flakie top coats but I haven't found a way to wear them all together (without resorting to skittle nails) until I had a eureka moment and thought to do it this way. The beauty of this particular design is how you can do this by freehand without using any special tools or brushes other than those that already come with the nail polishes themselves. Indeed, the only hard part was having to take it all off when a color change was finally in order!

Not exactly the ROYGBIV kind, but close enough, I'd say.

Unboxing Loose Button Luxe Box for March 2012

This was supposed to be posted sooner but it had to give way to the Hunger Games series. (It was a no-brainer, at least for me.) Anyway, better late than never is what they say, right? March's Luxe Box is even better than my first box from February. But while the products themselves were pretty good, I have to admit that 3.75mL of something isn't what I'd call a deluxe sample. But at least I can use all of the samples this time! Well, enough suspense and let's just jump to the photos (beware: photo heavy!) and let them do most of the talking:

Wonder what goodies await us this month?