Cherry Culture Sale!

Right now through 9/30, Cherry Culture's entire site is 40% off!!!

CODE: FBI2013

If you haven't heard of CherryCulture.com, then you are missing out my friend! I get almost all of my NYX and Milani products here because they are cheaper and shipping is free when you spend $40! They carry several different "drugstore" type brands but they also carry brands like Beauty Blender, Juice Beauty, Model in a Bottle, and what I noticed most recently; Ardell and China Glaze!

Normally several products on the site are offered at a discounted price. For this 40% off sale, all items are marked up to their MRSP price and then you receive 40% off. Even with products at their MRSP, you are still saving money.

I don't really need anything but as an avid false lash wearer and nailpolish addict, I opted for some Ardell's and China Glaze polishes. Best part: lashes came out to $2.34 a pair and China Glaze for less than $3....Hell Yea! I'm not affiliated with Cherry Culture in any way, I just got so excited about the savings that I had to share!

I also recommend purchasing a Beauty Blender if you don't already have one or need a new one. At 40% off, you can't beat that!

Well, what are you waiting for? Click this link and start shopping!!!

OPI: Rock Goddess Review & Swatches!

This month OPI has released their Halloween 2013 limited edition mini nail lacquer set. The set includes four rocker-inspired mini nail lacquers and an adjustable skull bracelet. The set retails for $12.95 at Ulta but I have seen varying prices online.

First, I must thank my friend who got this for me. As a polish addict, I could never have too much and a friend that supports my addiction is a keeper, if I do say so myself! Ok, now on to the review and swatches!

Wet n Wild Haul with Swatches!

Last week Wet n Wild was 40% off at Walgreens and Rite Aid, so naturally this happened:

I'm a big fan of Wet n Wild's megalast polishes and lipsticks and at 40% off, saying they are a steal is an understatement! I've also never tried anything from the Fergie line aside from the polishes, so I picked up a few of her lipsticks as well.

SinfulShine At Sea

Previously I reviewed VIP from the SinfulShine line and mentioned that I wanted to try a few more to see if the formula was the same in all of them. Lucky for me, I had received At Sea in my Influenster box to test out. I'm so glad I did, because I absolutely love it!

Almost every negative I had mentioned in my review (which you can read here), was the complete opposite with At Sea! The formula was so much better with this color. It was almost opaque in 1 coat, the formula wasn't too thick, dried in a reasonable amount of time, and it lasted a few days without chipping! I also like that I can get away with not having to put a top coat on because these polishes dry with a nice shine finish.

I definitely have my eye on a few more colors that I need to add to my collection!

At Sea

4th of July Nails

*Never got this post up in time but thought I'd post it anyway*

In true nail art addict fashion, I of course had to pay homage to America on my nails. My nails still have not grown out and this was super last minute...not my best work for sure. I came across my Julep polish in 'America' (how appropriate) and did a quick mani before all the BBQ's and celebrating ensued.

(L-R) 

ColorClub- Insta-This

Julep- America

Circus by Andrea's Choice- Reverso

Nailtini- Bloody Mary

Happy Birthday 'Merica!

Review: Sinful Shine with Gel Tech

A few months back I noticed a new line of Sinful polishes at Walgreens. If you are unfamiliar with sinful polishes, they are an affordable nail polish line that offer a wide array of colors for only $1.99. I usually get mine at Rite Aid or Walgreens and sometimes they even go on sale which makes them a freakin' steal! The quality of the polish is quite good for the most part, and some colors I think rival more expensive polishes.

The new line which is exclusively at Walgreens, goes for $2.99 and claims to provide brilliant shine, 5x more glossy than a patent leather shoe in fact! Well, so says their website.

I picked up VIP, which is an awesome bubble gum pink color. If patent leather was in liquid form, the formula is just that. It is a mix between a cream and jelly polish which I really like. I found the formula to be a bit streaky for the first coat but would get opaque nails with 2 coats. Sometimes I would apply 3 coats on certain nails where the polish was not applying evenly.

Golden State Warriors Nails!

The first home game of the playoffs is tonight so you know I had to represent! I had to use my left hand for the nail art (I'm a righty), so the lines aren't as clean as I would like them to be but they turned out better than I expected! Still not patiently waiting waiting for my nails to grow on my left hand but that's a whole separate issue. Anyways, GO WARRIORS!!!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for other nail looks and beauty things that I don't always post on the blog! @GaudyGlam

Random Ramble: Pussy what now?

So I was just doing my weekly perusing on the Ulta website when I saw their ad for OPI's The Bond Girls collection. So I'm quickly glancing over the colors and what's that I see? A polish called Pussy Galore....uh, what?! Re-read for the third time...yup, that sure says Pussy Galore. I immediately start laughing because I'm not thinking about a surplus of cats, that's for sure.

*Image from Ulta.com*

Upon further googling, I learn that this was in fact one of the Bond Girls' name (my knowledge of Bond Girls is quite small) but c'mon, Pussy Galore?! I'm dying. You might say I should get my mind out of the gutter but I doubt I'm the only one that thought that this polish name could also moonlight as a porn title.

Apparently Nars also had a polish named this is as well, both demure light pink colors....haha, of course they are. Some things I guess will always make me giggle like a 1st grader: public farting and the word pussy (which never refers to a cat in my mind).  Pussy Galore...haha, too much!

Dollar Tree Finds!

I have to share a few things that I was excited to find at the Dollar Tree today! I love the Dollar Tree and I'm always excited to find name brand items for a $1. A dolla makes me holla honey boo boo! I always go there for my cotton rounds and kleenex tissue (damn allergies), but today I saw some beauty goodies I haven't seen before!

Color Club: Halo Hues in Blue Heaven

Holy Halo Batman! This polish is amazing! As I finally get my hands on one of the polishes from the 2012 Halo Hues Collection, Color Club has already come out with their 2013 collection! Oops.

I've been eyeing this collection since it came out last year, but for some reason I never got around to purchasing it until a month ago. I really wanted Harp On It or Cherubic but the place I go to was sold out, so I picked up my third choice: Blue Heaven. Let me just say, no regrets on this purchase! I love this color because it has the hint of blue that I like but in other lighting it also looks like silver halo.

The formula is thin which is nice because you can layer coats without a problem. I found that it was a little streaky so about 3 light coats was perfect for me. I absolutely love the holographic effect! It looks exactly the same on your nails as it does in the bottle! But I'm sure you could care less about what I have to say about the polish, let's let the photo do the talking!

*3 coats applied, no top coat. Taken in direct sunlight, no filter on photo.*

Can we just all take a moment to awe over how effing amazing this polish is?! Ugh, I can't. Seriously, speechless.  In love. The end.

Polka Dots & Floral Print Nails

Spring has arrived! Polka Dots & Floral Print are definitely on trend this Spring so I thought I'd combine the two for an easy but very cute nail look. Instead of using all pastel colors which would also look great, I decided to make it a little retro by using the good ol' black and white combo. Enjoy!

Polishes Used

Black: Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris 

White: Circus Reverso

Darker Pink: Sinful Colors Beautiful Girl

Lighter Pink: Spoiled My Button Fell Off

Green: Mixed Julie G Gelato in Venice with Color Club Age of Aquarius

Fergalicious Cheetah Nails

I entered a Facebook contest in the beginning of March that Wet n Wild is hosting featuring the Fergie line of polishes. You can vote here: Fergie Polish Contest by clicking that link and hitting 'like' (voting ends April 27th).  I decided to do 2 fun looks and I have been asked what colors I used. For the first look, I did a "rainbow" gradient with cheetah spots. Again, I used all Wet n Wild polishes from the Fergie line to achieve this look. I'll post part 2 by tomorrow. Hope you like it!

Polishes Used

Gradient from cuticle to tip of nail:

Glowstick

Miami Spirit

Fergalicious

Layered 'New Years Kiss' on top of the gradient for some sparkle

For the cheetah spots:

Going Platinum

Blue Eyed Soul

Pastel Nails

Whenever Spring starts to shine its way through, I'm always in the mood to paint my nails in pastel colors. Maybe it's all the Easter merch that pops up everywhere but to me, pastels = spring! Using all drugstore polishes, I went for a different color on each finger because it was just more fun. (Plus, it's a good way to rock all the colors you love if you can't decide...haha.) This picture is taken on the 4th day of wear and I'm quite impressed nothing has noticeably chipped yet!

Polishes Used:

Pinky Finger: Sinful Colors  Sugar Rush

Ring Finger: Revlon Sunshine Sparkle

Middle Finger: Sinful Colors Candy Coated

Pointer Finger: Sinful Colors Orange Cream

Thumb: Julie G Gelato in Venice

Easy St. Patrick's Day Nail Look

I posted this photo on the new Gaudy Glam instagram yesterday (@Gaudy__Glam) and as promised, here are the polishes used. This look was super easy to do and took maybe 10 mins including the drying time. I hope it inspires you to create some of your own awesome St. Patty's day looks as well! I'm really digging the green glitter base combo :)

Green base color: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Going Green
Green glitter top coat: Sinful Colors in Call You Later
Gold Glitter Accent Nail: OPI When Monkeys Fly
For the Rainbow-
Red: L.A. Colors Art Deco in Red Glitter
Orange: Circus by Andrea's Choice in Spectacle
Yellow: China Glaze in Lighthouse
Blue: L.A. Colors Art Deco in Blue Glitter
Purple: Color Club in Jingle Jangle

OPI: When Monkeys Fly

While browsing online, I saw a photo of OPI's Oz The Great and Powerful collection and I wasn't that impressed...at all. Then a few days later, I find myself gawking over a swatch of When Monkeys Fly at a local beauty store. Seriously, holographic glitter with large flecks of gold...yes, please. I had no idea from my initial online pursuing that those large gold flecks were part of the polish. It just looked like another gold glitter polish online. So of course, I had to have it and I put it on immediately when I got home.

 Now as much as I love how awesome this polish can look...it was a BIOTCH to work with. To achieve the look I wanted, I had to blob that shit on..literally. The formula is a bit thick and the application of gold flecks was sporadic with each coat. Like I said, I just blobbed it all over my nails to get the gold flecks to pack onto my nails. The gold flecks are basically confetti pieces placed throughout the polish so it might have been easier to just apply confetti pieces to my nails for the look I wanted. It dried pretty quickly which was a plus side for how much I was putting on, but if you hate glitter polishes in general...steer clear of this one.  I personally don't like this as a top coat but rather worn alone which I show in the second photo.

The photos below are a bit blurry but hopefully you get the idea.

*For the final look, again I "blobbed" or rather patted the brush on my nails instead of using a swiping motion so I could get the nails packed full of the gold flecks.

Finger-Licious Nail Entry

Hey there beautiful people!

I decided to enter a little nail contest on Facebook that Wet n Wild is hosting. The most likes wins so if you like the nail looks I created using all Wet n Wild polishes from the Fergie line, please go here: Fergified Nail Look Entry and 'like' the photo! It would make me one happy girl! Thanks!

Oz: The Great and Powerful Inspired Look

In honor of the movie Oz: The Great and Powerful coming out tomorrow, I thought I'd bust out my Urban Decay Theodora palette and do an eye look. I'm so excited to see the movie, I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Colors Used:

Brow Highlight: Broken

Above the crease: Beware

In the crease: West

Lid and lower lash line: Jealous (darker green side)

Outer Corner: Spell (Black shadow)

Lips: UD Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Theodora 

*You can find my initial review of the palette here: Urban Decay Theodora Palette

Other products used:

Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 330 Natural Tan

Powder: Sephora Microsmooth face powder in 30-Medium

Blush: Benefit Dallas

Eyeliner: MAC fluidline in Blacktrack.
Water Line: Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black

Brows: Benefit Brow Zings 

False Lashes: Ardell Wispies

Mascara: L'OREAL Telescopic Shocking Extensions


*Bonus: Oz inspired nails!

How fitting that pantone named Emerald as the color for 2013 and Oz comes out in 2013...(hello, Emerald City...get it?!) Anyway, I love this green glitter polish I found at Walmart for under $2. The color is I'll Behave by Pure Ice (which is like an exact dupe of OPI's Fresh Frog of Bel Air). I decided to pair it with black polish just to give it some contrast but the polish also looks great on its own.

NOTD: Fergie Going Platinum

OMG...Can we say OBSESSED?!?! I am so in love with this Wet n Wild polish from the Fergie collection in Going Platinum. Out of the 100+ polishes I have (I wish I was joking about that number, shh...I'm a nail polish hoarder), I actually do not have anything like this color. It's a silver metal with gold shimmer throughout and it is amazing! The color is opaque in just one coat but I always do two coats out of habit. The formula is great, not streaky like many metal polishes, and the brush is large which is my fav because it makes painting your nails so much easier. If you like the brushes on the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes or the Wet n Wild Megalast polishes, then you will love this. The quality of this polish is just as good as higher end polishes but for much less. These polishes retail around $3.49 at drugstores but I got mine at Walgreens on a 2/$5 sale....hell yes!