#radiantorchid Ulta Super Shiny Lip Butter Chicago

  Hi all!!  It's a winter wonderland around these parts, like I know it is for a lot of you.  Once a year we get a fairly decent sized snow storm in here in OR and yesterday we got something like 6 inches... I wasn't one who brought out my ruler to measure it, nor did I pay attention to the folks on facebook who posted shots of their own rulers in the snow, and I don't really pay attention to the local news, lol, so really, I'm just speculating.
  Anyhoo, a couple weekends ago, when it was merely cold without being precipitous, Candice of Mommy Does Her Nails and I got together for another one of our brunch/shopping dates.  I was on the lookout for a Pantone Color of the Year-named radiant orchid lip color and I nearly left Ulta empty handed, which was odd.  As we were in line to check out (she found some polishes to take home) my friend noticed a couple Ulta Super Shiny Lip Butters in one of those rounders they keep up front so you can find even MOAR goodies you can't live without as you wait to be rung up.  At the price ($8 regular but I got it on sale for $4), it was worth a small risk and the color in the tube, a warm, medium toned purpley mauvey pink, was decidedly more orchid than anything their prestige lines had to offer (also odd).  And you know what?  It totally works!  The beauty of this year's color is how inclusive it is-- it encapsulates orchid purple as well as bright and deep magentas, and I wanted something sort of true for my lips.  The color is Chicago and it's gorgeous and wearable.

Ulta Peppermint Bark

Good morning, everyone!!  Lots of people tend to freak out a little at how early Christmas carols are played on the radio, decorations in cities and stores are put up, etc etc. and I used to be like that.  C is a huge Christmas fanatic, though, childlike in his enthusiasm, and over the years of being together that enthusiasm has rubbed off on my skinflint little heart a bit.  Why not listen to carols and decorate early?  The point of it is to make people happy and if busting out your wreaths and tinsel sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving brings you any amount of joy, have at it and Godspeed.  So, yeah-- this all happened at our house Sunday night.  We were going to hold off for another weekend but we'd been in the stores doing some early Christmas shopping a couple nights before and were totally ready to be fully in the spirit.  Our tree is up and decorated , stockings hung on the mantle, the whole nine yards... in the house, at least.  We'll wait to put lights up until closer to December.

Naturally, I felt like dressing my nails up in something Christmassy after all that, so I pulled out Ulta Peppermint Bark, a gift from a good friend who rightly knew I'd adore this color.  Peppermint Bark is a light rosy pink foil with pale pink, gold, and green shimmer.  I used two coats; probably should have used three... maybe just a little bit lazy, lol.  The formula's great, as most foils are-- one of the easiest finishes to apply.

BadAss Polish Chocolate Covered Cherry

Hi friends!  Today I get to show you the second new BadAss Polish spring release, the delectable and sparkly Chocolate Covered Cherry.  

Chocolate Covered Cherry is a semi-dense red, brown, and gold glitter with holographic bits that flash bright green and ultra violet in a clear base.  It's a twinkling and complex beauty and my mind's been spinning with layering possibilities.  First, I layered it over Ulta Chocolate Kiss, a deep, reddish brown metallic shimmer.

Chocolate Kiss and Chocolate Covered Cherry.  Is a run to See's in order, yet?

 Here it is over L'Oreal Broadway Boogie, a toasted marshmallow creme.  This is totally giving me a mid morning sweet tooth, lol.

 Next to each other, the two look pretty cool.  I thought the gold might bounce off this a little more.  On the nail, though, it's not my favorite.  Broadway Boogie doesn't really do anything for the glitters, but now you know how it looks over a lighter base.  If you're going to go light, I think a shimmer or metallic would work better.

As I was going through my stash looking for layering duos, I could not help but notice that Zoya Jem is a near perfect match to Chocolate Covered Cherry.  Observe.

Of the three duos I tried, this one's my favorite.  The slight duochromatic purple-green-gold nature of Jem plays perfectly with the holo bits, and the reflectiveness of both make this duo so sparkly.  The tiny, uniform size of the glitters keep this look elegant and classy, which is what I love so much about BadAss glitters in the first place.  They're glitter for grownups.

I used one coat of Chocolate Covered Cherry over each base.   This is topcoat hungry and I used three coats of my Out The Door before I was satisfied with the texture.

Chocolate Covered Cherry will be available for purchase for $8.75 in BadAss Polish's etsy shop here on Wednesday, March 20, BUT creator Amy is holding a flash giveaway for one bottle before it is officially released on BadAss's facebook page.  Like the page here and share the giveaway link for your chance to win a full-sized bottle of this beauty.

Thank you for reading and have a lovely day! ♥♥

Some product(s) used in this post were sent for review.

Milani Red + Ulta Red Carpet Red

Good morning!!  This is the without a doubt the least creative I've been with a name in Gosia's ABC challenge.  For the letters R and S I made a Red  Sandwich.  Lots o' thought went into that one.  But, I'm stoked about having done my first glitter sandwich, and while I prefer my reds straight up and creamy, this does look pretty freakin' rad. ;)  

In case you're wondering, a jelly/glitter sandwich is a technique in which you layer a glitter polish between two or more coats of a sheer, or jelly, polish, allowing the glitter to peek through at less intensity.  The result is a nifty, suspended in plasma effect.  It's super easy and really fun to look at.  It's fun to take pictures of, too... I can't seem to narrow it down from four... You have been warned!!

I used one coat of Ulta Red Carpet Red, a really lovely blue red jelly, one coat of Milani Jewel FX in Red, a simple, red hex glitter, another coat of Red Carpet Red, and a topcoat, which in no way detracts from the squishy feel of this. 

Ulta Chocolate Kiss

Good morning!!  Today is K day in Gosia's ABC Challenge, and I admit the letter had me stymied.  I couldn't think of a polish starting with K in my stash (or at least, not one I hadn't posted about recently, unlike yesterday's... bad me), or artwork beginning with K, so I went out and bought a new polish, lol.  This is Ulta Chocolate Kiss, a warm, dark, molten brown metallic.  I used two coats.

Chocolate Kiss is my first brown polish.  Brown's a color I've never been into, and I never thought I would go so far as to own one, let alone enjoy it.  This is such a gorgeous, warm, shimmery thing, and I really kind of love it!  Chocolate Kiss a deep, rich brown with red undertones and silver, gold, and copper shimmer.  The formula is a breeze to work with, which I surprised me for a lower priced house brand.  I should have wrapped my tips, though; I experienced a minor amount of shrinkage almost immediately.