Lilypad Lacquer : The Seasons of Change Collection : "Wintery Bliss"

Happy Monday, Twinklings!!  I have so many beautiful things to share with you, and so little time to do so!  It was my birthday this past Friday (!), and between a magical woodland walk, ice skating, and beating le boyfriend at croquet (unprecedented!), it was a wondrous, magical day.  A bittersweet one too, because the next morning I was on my way back to Oregon for my last year of college.  But this year, I'm really trying to embrace the present, and find happiness in the moment.  Through the years of long distance, I am finally learning that it is a choice that I can make.  I'll always be happier with my better half, but I'm realizing that if I just wait for happiness to be granted to me when the stars all align... well, then it will be long-awaited and short-lived.  Happiness is created and nurtured, not achieved or acquired.  And therein lies the foundation of my thesis work this year :)

Lilypad Lacquer "Wintery Bliss"

Speaking of happiness, Lilypad Lacquer has been busy unveiling a ton of gorgeous polishes in the past couple weeks and they will all make your color lover heart trill with joy (and your pocketbook tremble in fear).  Several Llarowe exclusives, including the eagerly-anticipated Seasons of Change collection, debuted with a huuuggge Llarowe launch Tuesday September 16, and I mean it must have been monstrous, because it took a full week for my package to ship out.  It was quite unusual for Llarowe; even on sale days, I've never experienced anything near such a long processing period.  It was making me quite anxious; I was afraid that it wouldn't arrive before I had to move, but then "Wintery Bliss" arrived Friday morning, just in time for my birthday manicure!!

Lilypad Lacquer "Wintery Bliss"

Lilypad Lacquer "Wintery Bliss"

Candy Lacquer : Halloween 2014 : "Pumpkin Fairy"

Hello, lovelies!!  In the spirit of the deepening autumn, I have a darling polish for you today from Candy Lacquer's 2014 Halloween collection.  Happy news: they are glow-in-the-dark for extra spooky fabulousness!  Naturally, my immediate favorite of the bunch was "Pumpkin Fairy".  I just love the idea of a pumpkin fairy.  I imagine her plump and motherly, and never without muffins or pies or warm creamy soup for anyone who wanders by her quaint thatched cottage nestled in the autumn woods.  I think she would knit cozy things with thick plooshy wool, and have a fat little Welsh corgi.  Her garden patch would always have at least one glossy, fat pumpkin at the ready, just in case some damsel in distress should need a carriage for the royal ball.  And she would never be seen without this polish on her nails!

Candy Lacquer "Pumpkin Fairy"

KBShimmer : Fall 2014 : Rust No One, Flannel Surfing, & How Do You Dune?

Happy Fall Equinox / first (official) day of autumn, Twinklings!!!  I hope it was as beautiful for you as it was here.  For me, autumn is the season most saturated with sensations, wonders, and delights.  There is nothing like crisp mountain air, color-soaked leaves, and pumpkin-spiced scents to make you feel alive.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate than with some of KBShimmer's utterly beautiful and unique new nail polishes for fall!

KBShimmer Fall 2014

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Wet n' Wild : Enchanted Halloween : Happy Hour Hop, Roadwork, Pot of Gold, & Under Your Spell

Hello, Twinklings!!  It's my last week in Montana before I have to go back to school, and it's been bumming me out but I can't be too sad because it's my birthday week!!!  Whee!!  Yes, I am unabashedly a birthday week person.  I can't help it, I just love birthdays.  Secretly, I've been kind of having a birthday month, mostly because it has been my last-ditch validation for all of my makeup shopping :)  As a result of Birthday Month activities, I have lots of fun new stuff to show you before I become bogged down with thesis research next week.  My fall collections packages have begun arriving *today* so while I'm swatching those like crazy, I wanted to share with you part of a collection that has come as a pleasant surprise to me: Enchanted Halloween!!

Wet n' Wild : Enchanted Halloween

Nyx : Simply Vamp Lip Cream : "Enamored" & "Temptress"

I've always been fascinated by plum lips.  It's totally not me, really; my usual lip look is peachy, rosy, and buoyant.  But you know what, there are times when you just need to let your bad self reign.  And when it comes to sultry and seductive, there really is no better time than autumn.  Bring on the vamp.

Nyx "Enamored", "Temptress" // Essie "Sable Collar" // Essence "Time for Romance"

Nyx "Enamored", "Temptress" // Essie "Sable Collar" // Essence "Time for Romance"

Candy Lacquer "Nouveau Riche"

Something about autumn puts me in the mood for a masquerade ball.  (Because I've attended so many and am just so impatient for the next.)  Yoohoo, chamber maid?  Do please fetch the butler to fetch the manservant to fetch the coachman to ready the pumpkin carriage; I have an appointment.  With destiny.  And the ball's snack table.  Oh yes, if I was in Ever After I would quite unabashedly be Jacqueline.  Only with Danielle's dress (and shoes!!!) because, swoon.  But in all seriousness, if there is anything more bewitching than a romantic stroll through a midnight garden strung with fairy lights, while a decadent ballroom spills golden light and lilting music and the sparkling rustle of masked dancers...  then it would have to be "Nouveau Riche".

Candy Lacquer "Nouveau Riche"

Rainbow Honey: "Calabaza" September Limited Edition Polish & "Great Pumpkin" Scented Topcoat

Well hello there, Twinklings!!  I hope you've been having a beautiful weekend <3  It's been nothing but glorious sunshine and blue skies here, with a bit of autumn spice in the air.  I think this "Calabaza" mani, scented with "Great Pumpkin", pretty much sums it up.

Sephora Formula X "Moon Glow" + Ciaté "Risky Business"

You know how sometimes a color is so beautiful and entrancing that all reason is eclipsed by lust and, despite what anyone says about how terrible it actually is, you just can't resist?  I should have just left the word "color" as a blank, and let that paradigm apply itself to every single situation in life.  Heels.  You know you'll hate yourself in three hours, but damn don't your calves look good.  Ice Cream. [That's all.]  Cute little fluffy dogs.  You think you can live with the yapping; by 3am you mean murder; then you look into their sweet poofy face... and it starts again.  Similarly with love interests, minus the barking (unless perhaps you have a particularly hoarse-voiced honey).  "Moon Glow" was like this for me; a siren song.  But I mean, can't you see the temptation?? 

Sephora Formula X "Moon Glow" & Ciaté "Risky Business"

SpaRitual : Explore Collection [nail art]

SpaRitual's Explore Collection was inspired by adventures in the great North American forests, and by "bright flashes of color that punctuate the rich, earth colors of a well-worn hiking trail".  I love hiking my Montana mountains, and while this color palette is completely unexpected, it also completely makes sense.  Rather than a record of the literal hues of a forest, this collection is a powerful abstraction of the emotional experience of exploration.  For SpaRitual to communicate a feeling without relying on an image association indicates true color mastery, and with that I really cannot give higher praise to their creative team.

SpaRitual Explore Collection

While this collection was released for Spring 2014, there are two reasons I bring it up now; first, because *right now* is absolutely the best time to hike Glacier National Park, the crown jewel of this country's great parks.  And I think the Explore Collection is perfect for the occasion; and anyways, I feel the vibrancy of this collection is perfectly suited for the transition from late summer to early autumn.  The second reason is that these are HALF OFF on the Ulta website!!  Wheee!!  So in my mind, now is the time if ever to pick these up :)

SpaRitual Explore Collection [nail art]

Rainbow Honey: September Mystery Bag!!

It's here!  IT'S HERE!!  I rode like the wind to get home and see this month's mystery bag, which I've been anxiously anticipating for one whole week (I'm so very impatient about shipping these days, but particularly so for my Rainbow Honey parcels <3 ).  I'm sure I looked ridiculous- that is to say, ridiculously CUTE- pedaling furiously along on my mom's old pink bicycle.  Or vintage, I should say, for the fashionable ones among us; my boyfriend informs me that an object becomes vintage at 25 years of age, and the Flamingo certainly qualifies.  It legitimately predates my existence.  It's faded and a bit tired, and I love it so much.

The Rainbow Honey Lab has churned out a warm welcome for September with autumnal scents and vibrant hues; this mystery bag will put you in the mood for crisp apple cider and lolloping through leaves!  (But just wait until you see this month's limited editions!!)

Rainbow Honey : September Mystery Bag

Rainbow Honey "Asteroid B", "Sugarberries", "Salacia"

Stila: Eyes Are The Window "Spirit" [eyeshadow palette]

Happy weekend!!  Today is one of those idyllic early autumn days, with a most perfectly pure periwinkle sky saturating the blushing landscape with sunshine and contentment.  It's a treasure of a day.  And speaking of treasures...

Stila: Eyes Are The Window "Spirit"

...witness Stila "Spirit", a mystical eyeshadow palette sheathed in an luxe metallic compact of romantic rose gold and opulent white gold.  Something about this particular palette has the feel of prophecies and mysterious magic to me, like fate parting the mist before you.  Wistful and ethereal, this Eyes Are The Window installment so elegantly illustrates the element of spirit in shimmering mists, roses, and precious metals.

Stila: Eyes Are The Window "Spirit"

Rainbow Honey: "Pink Lemonade" + "Watermelon Fizz"

Today the summer heat flicked off like a light switch, and in the deepening chill I abruptly noticed the reddening leaves, and realized that my baby aspen tree isn't dying after all.  Simply, fall has come.  But I'm not done with this season quite yet... only after my favorite happy summer colors have had their day will I concede to the brooding shadowed tones of autumn.  But for just a second, let's rewind a bit back to sunshine and lawn chairs and sparkling cold drinks, and no cares in the world... :)

Nothing captures the feeling so well as "Pink Lemonade" and "Watermelon Fizz" of Rainbow Honey's Summer Treats collection.  Behold:

Rainbow Honey: Summer Treats Collection

Nail of the Day: Rainbow Honey "Siren Song" + "Pinkie Promise"

This is a bit cruel, but I'm sorry, these are too fabulous to keep to myself!!  The awesome Carolyn of Rainbow Honey surprised me with a few treats tucked into my giant RH haul package, and they just made me so happy :)  "Siren Song" of the Spring 2012 Chrono Cross collection and "Pinkie Promise" of the Summer 2012 Equestria collection are colors that I missed out on long ago and it was like a balm on my aching heart to see them in person!!  Sadly they are discontinued, so I will not torture you with descriptive odes to their gloriousness.  But can we just appreciate for a second the years and years of endlessly imaginative creations that the RH Lab has dreamed up??  Color me impressed.  And in love <3 

Rainbow Honey "Siren Song" + "Pinkie Promise"

For the curious, this is two coats of "Pinkie Promise" over OPI "Sorry I'm Fizzy Today" on my ring finger, and two coats of "Siren Song" on the rest.

Rainbow Honey is may be found online { http://www.rainbowhoney.com/ }.  I am SO UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED to see what's in the September Mystery Bag, and to try out my Limited Edition of choice, Calabaza!!!  I've been looking forward to this for WEEKS!!!! xxxooo

Icing: Liquid Sugars

Happy September, lovelies!!  I didn't even think about it at the time but I guess it's fitting start to the month that for Labor Day the famdamily, the boyfriend and I went sapphire mining.  It's my birthday month (!!) and therefore my gemstone, so I was delighted with all the little sapphires we found!   I don't know that there are any cuttable stones amongst our tiny treasures but it was still a good time.

I randomly went in to Icing the other day, lured in by a $2 sign on the nail polishes (and you know I can resist neither a sale nor a closer look at a lacquer), and left with more than a few goodies... some of which I'll share with you today!  Icing seems to have revamped their entire polish offering in packaging and formula.  They have two lines that make kind of lame attempts to mimick the stylings of Butter London and Essie; honestly, a more sophisticated typeface would probably do the trick.  But that's neither here nor there.  I am immensely relieved that the noxious chemical fumes of a few years ago are gone, I could feel my braincells face-planting every time I opened a bottle from back then.  I didn't feel like I could expect much from a two dollar bottle of nail polish, but I was pleasantly surprised.

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Pixie Dust, Gumdrops, Liquid Sand, Sugar Coat, Liquid Sugar, Liquid Pixie, Sandy Gumdrops... whatever works anymore.  The texture real estate was quite flooded for a while there and yet these manage to be unique.  The pearlescent base twinkling with tiny shimmers and iridescent glitters are factors that I haven't seen before from a texture collection, and the look does have a sweet, confectionery effect.  They are also scented, which is an interesting feature; though based on the names you would think the scent would be predictable, yet I was surprised each time.  I used four coats for all the swatches, as these do go one quite sheer, though the brush is nice and wide so application was quick.  Watch out for denting, though!  Best not to be too impatient with these four-coaters. 

Icing Liquid Sugar [Peppermint, Lollipop, Dreamsicle]