No-Miss Country Christmas

Christmas is coming up fast - today my boyfriend said "Let's get a tree!".  I was kind of happy with my little tinsel tabletop tree, but maybe I need to get into the spirit and invest in a nice 6' to sit in the living room.  Maybe.  To help get me in the mood, I figured I'd bring out No-Miss nail polish in Country Christmas - a festive red and green glitter in a clear base.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 2 coats of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.  For white I used CND Brilliant White and for black I used nubar Noir.

For just 2 coats, this does cover well!  I don't prefer it on the bare nail or really over black but absolutely love this color over a white.

Same story in the shade.  Over black the colors just don't pop as well to me as they do over white.

Finally indoors with the flash.  If you're looking for a nice red and green microglitter, this is a great one to have.  There isn't any filler colors (silver/gold/blue) which I like and the glitter is a fine cut so it's not too big.  Removal wasn't terrible using the foil method which apparently I need to add a little tutorial for my non-nail polish loving friends who look at me like I have two heads when I say "Just use the foil method."  Coming soon!

No-Miss can be found in several health food stores like Whole Foods or purchased on their website for $7.95.  You can follow No-Miss on Twitter or like them on Facebook as well.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

CND Sheer 24K Sparkle

The complimentary "effects" in The Look 2011 by CND is Sheer 24K Sparkle.  It's a nice gold flakie in a gold base.


I decided to try this look over Dark Amethyst, Midnight Sapphire, CND Brilliant White and nubar Noir.  One coat of the effect was used on each swatch.

Here in the sun you can see that it's a bit hard to see this effect properly.  The sun really washes the color out which is sad because it's a nice color!

The shade is much better.  I love this gold because it goes perfectly for both my high school and college alma maters (black and gold for high school, blue and gold for college).  Over white, however, this color doesn't work at all.

Finally indoors with the flash - again this color doesn't stand out as well as it should.  It almost gets lost over the purple as well which is sad because the colors do compliment each other well.  I'm still very in love with the effects line - from the way it changes the colors to the opacity of the polish itself!  Pair it with CND Stickey and CND Air Dry and you definitely have a winner!


CND is available for $9 per colour, and $11 per effect and you can find locations to buy here.

TransDesign and Head2ToeBeauty has the colours for $4.50 and effects for $5.50.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

Pop Beauty Blog

If you're into Pop Beauty, you'll definitely want to read the following release!


Pop Beauty creator, Sara Strand is giving readers an all-access pass to everything that is Pop – introducing:

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On her new site, Sara will discuss inspirations behind the Pop brand, what drives her creatively, as well as her flares, tastes and passions in all that is POP culture. These musings in fashion, makeup, art and music will be updated monthly, sharing an in depth look into Sara's taste-making style.


To join the fun subscribe today at: http://saras-sonnet.blogspot.com/

Meow! by Katy Perry

Please enjoy the following release from B|W|R. :]

KATY PERRY DEBUTS HER SECOND FRAGRANCE

MEOW! BY KATY PERRY,

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT NORDSTROM

*IN STORES NOW*

New York, Los Angeles – Best-selling superstar Katy Perry has extended her fragrance brand with the launch of her second fragrance, “Meow! by Katy Perry,” which is available now exclusively at Nordstrom stores nationwide and Nordstrom.com.

In partnership with Gigantic Parfums, “Meow! by Katy Perry” is a companion piece to the recording artist’s first fragrance, “Purr,” which debuted a year ago. Perry created ‘Meow!” while on her “California Dreams” World-Tour promoting her platinum-selling second record, Teenage Dream. This rich sister scent is a wearable interpretation of the fun, sensual spirit of the tour–so fun, in fact, Perry felt the name of the fragrance needed an exclamation point at the end of it. While “Purr” marks Perry’s first foray into the fragrance world, “Meow!,” more than anything, embodies her energy.

“Meow!” commands a soft sexuality appropriate for use during any time of day. Its signature comes from a pairing of honeysuckle and pear with the backdrop of creamy vanilla, musk, and amber.

"Meow! is my second baby in the fragrance world. I created it during my California Dreams Tour, and I can't wait for people to be able to experience my intriguing, amusing, candy-land like fantasy whenever they spritz it! We have A LOT of fun on tour so there's a lot of fun infused in this bottle! Meow! It's simply the cat's meow!" explains Perry.

Perry has an affinity for all things feline, and so she carries this theme throughout her fragrance names and bottles. She used this inspiration when designing the bottle for “Purr by Katy Perry,” and now “Meow! by Katy Perry” reflects that vision as well—complete with similar jeweled eyes, metallic accents, but with a light pink coloring.

The eau de parfum, developed with Givaudan, is available at Nordstrom stores nationwide and Nordstrom.com in 1.7 and 3.4 fluid ounce bottles at a suggested retail price of $45.00 and $65.00, respectively. Gift With Purchase (GWP) products will be released seasonally, beginning with a holiday perfume solid locket at launch.

"We are thrilled to partner again with Gigantic Parfums on Katy Perry's second fragrance Meow! Our customers responded really well to the debut fragrance Purr and our teams loved selling it! Everything about the fragrance embodies Katy's fun, spirited energy and we hope customers will relate to the new fragrance's fruity floral notes with a sophisticated twist,” explains Cheri Botiz, National Beauty and Fragrance Director, Nordstrom.

“After achieving global success with “Purr by Katy Perry,” now available in 54 countries, the brand continues to positively gain presence in the market place. We see great potential with her brand and wanted to deliver a unique sister fragrance, Meow! to support and expound on that excitement,” said Isaac Lekach, CEO of Gigantic Parfums.

Katy Perry has cemented her status as a best-selling superstar with the global success of her second studio album, Teenage Dream, which debuted at #1 in 8 countries. All five singles released so far ("California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework," "E.T.," and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”) have hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart. Perry ties with Michael Jackson to become the second artist in the 53-year-history of the Hot 100 chart to produce five No. 1 singles off the same album and is the first female to set this record. This follows on the heels of her multi-platinum debut album, One of the Boys, which generated four hit singles: "I Kissed A Girl," "Hot N Cold," "Thinking of You" and "Waking Up In Vegas." She wrapped up 2010 in style with 4 Grammy nominations, including one for "Album of the Year." Katy kicked off 2011 with sold-out shows on the European leg of the California Dreams Tour, and has played sold-out shows around the world. Perry has just wrapped up the California Dreams Tour. To learn more about Katy Perry, visit www.katyperry.com

Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 203 stores located in 28 states.  Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 115 full-line stores, 85 Nordstrom Racks, two Jeffrey boutiques and one clearance store.  Nordstrom also serves customers through its online presence at www.nordstrom.com and through its catalogs.  Nordstrom, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.

Gigantic Parfums is a business venture whose products can be found in a variety of major retail and specialty chain stores in the United States and International markets.  Gigantic Parfums is headed by CEO Isaac Lekach and President Rudford Hamon.  Isaac Lekach was instrumental in identifying the potential of Katy Perry and Selena Gomez, who is set to debut her fragrance in 2012, as well as the Paris Hilton and Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier fragrances licenses. He was also involved with the marketing and development of Guess? fragrances for Parlux Fragrance and served as a member of the Board of Directors for the company from 2005 to late 2006.  Hamon brings over ten years of experience in the fragrance industry. From 2004-2007, he managed the International distribution of Parlux Fragrances.

CND Dark Amethyst

The other creme from "The Look" winter 2011 from CND is Dark Amethyst, a red-purple opaque creme.  While it's not my favorite purple that I own, I do love it - especially the whole "one coat" idea.


I used a base coat of CND Stickey, 1 coat of polish and a top of CND Air Dry.  Formula was fantastic.

Hello sun!  Lots of red tones to this purple - at least for me.  It's almost plummy?

In the shade I have fantastic lobster hands but also just a lovely purple color to match.

Last, but never least is indoors with the flash.  Love how opaque this is!  Coming up tomorrow - the "effect" from this line.  I definitely loved this little set from CND!

CND is available for $9 per colour, and $11 per effect and you can find locations to buy here.

TransDesign and Head2ToeBeauty has the colours for $4.50 and effects for $5.50.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.