defy & INSPIRE Made

Press Sample 

 Last week, Target announced that starting on January 17, 2016, they would be launching their first ever private nail brand defy & INSPIRE, a new affordable collection of high-shine, wear-resistant nail lacquers.

 Not only are they releasing, they are releasing 38 on-trend shades in addition to a top and base coat - all of which are available for $7.49. Each shade name is inspired by pop culture, and today I have Made, a rose pink creme that is perfectly on trend for the Pantone Color of The Year "Rose Quartz." The pop culture reference, I believe, is in reference to the MTV reality show that started in 2003 and is relaunching this summer.

 I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Glisten & Glow H K Top Coat. The bottle is the same type used for the H-E-B exclusive "Orchid Professional Nail Lacquer" but Orchid is distributed by Parkway Mft & Trading Company in San Antonio, Texas and defy & INSPIRE is distributed by Beauty Partners LLC in Hauppauge, NY. The brush is a flat wide brush, much like an OPI ProWide or Morgan Taylor brush (which I LOVE by the way). 

 The first coat of polish was slightly streaky-thick but my thin second coat quickly self leveled itself out and covered up any issues. It really was a buttery smooth application overall. Because I do not have the top and base coat, I am unable to give an accurate wear time on the polish. All defy & INSPIRE polishes are 5-free to include camphor, and remove with any traditional nail lacquer remover.

A beautiful addition to my collection if I may say so myself. I love the clean look and opacity of just 2 coats. It's also a great office neutral and palette cleanser polish if you're looking to take a break from holos and glitter.

 The full defy & INSPIRE collection will be available in all Target stores and on Target.com starting January 17, 2016.

 Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.
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(seed) Healthy Hand Cream: Relaxing Lavender


Many moons ago, I wrote about a brand called (seed) on the blog Beauty Debutante. Unfortunately the post isn't available anymore but I was reminiscent about it on Twitter last year & the brand reached out to me to see if I'd like to try their Hand Cream. Then life got ridiculously busy and it's been sitting here on my desk saying "USE ME". Finally, tonight after noticing how dry my hands have become, I decided to grab the bottle and USE IT.

 First off, (seed) was launched in 2009 by Rebecca and Benjamin Gournay because they wanted to focus on making healthier choices. I originally tried out their soap & body lotions and overall I was happy with it. (Be nice, this photo is 5 and a half years old.)
The Citrus lotion was a great wake up lotion each morning and the Lavender Sage was great for when I was ready to wind down in bed. The soap was a neat addition to my routine, although I'll admit, I didn't use it until it was gone. I'm more of a body wash person.

 Body wash you say? (seed) launched their own body wash in 2015 along with new lip oils and custom blend body care. Want to see more? Check out their website!

 Back to the Hand Cream! So (seed) says that it's rich and creamy without any greasy after-feel. This was pretty important to me because I type a LOT at work, and I can't have an oily keyboard. Also I hate the greasy feel that happens with many lotions.
So far so good! Then came to rub in and test. I was excited to feel that my hands felt moisturized without feeling greasy. I even put more on my hands just to make sure I had put enough.

 (seed) is paraben free, cruelty free, soy free, phthalate free, gluten free and does not contain any artifical colors. As you can see on the front of the bottle, it's grape seed enriched as well. The lavender was just the right amount of flowery goodness scent and I found myself sniffing my hands (as strange as I'm sure that looks) because it truly is relaxing.

 And the cost? Only $8.95 for a 3.5 fl oz (100 mL) bottle. When you only need about a dime for both hands, this lotion is going to last you a good while for great quality.

 Now what's better than reading my review? WINNING A BOTTLE FOR YOURSELF! And thanks to (seed), I have a bottle of the Healthy Hand Cream: Fragrance Free and a bottle of the Healthy Hand Cream: Invigorating Citrus to giveaway. The giveaway runs today until midnight of 20 January 2016. Open worldwide to those 18 and older. All terms and conditions may be found in the Rafflecopter widget - please wait for the widget to load fully.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

(seed) can purchased on their website. You can Like them on Facebook, follow on Twitter, follow on Instagram and follow on Pinterest 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.
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China Glaze Wanderlust

Press Sample 

 With a pep in my step and a renewed sense of blogging, I decided today to grab China Glaze Wanderlust from the Spring 2015 Road Trip Collection. This light lavender/baby pink color has this really pretty rose shimmer that hits just when the sun is right.

 I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with Glisten & Glow H K Girl top coat. This polish is a little thin and I did have some pooling in my cuticles, but a clean up brush and acetone fixes it.
Here in my light box, you can see the base lavender/pinky color but very little of the shimmer. This is a great office neutral and very close to the Rose Quartz color of the year. I think this would be a really pretty base for some nail art!
I was able to get a photo in the sun as well. Here you can see the shimmer both in the bottle and on my nail. It's subtle and dreamy... like wanderlust, right? ;]

 I didn't think I'd originally like this color but it's growing on me.
China Glaze [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Instagram] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty, Sally's Beauty Supply as well as TransDesign.

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

Nothing To Disclose

 This past month, I participated in a Secret Santa swap with a $50 indie bracket. As you may know, I have completely gone from "OMG NO INDIES" to "Well, that's pretty much all I buy now." KBShimmer is definitely one of those brands that tends to be a repeat purchase by me and I was lucky enough to get Chilly Pepper as part of my Santa gift. This creme red is perfect for Christmas or really, just any time... which is why I decided to make this my first official polish to wear in 2016.

 I used a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, 2 coats of polish and finished with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. Honestly, this polish was pretty opaque in one coat, but I went with two to be safe and not have any bald spots. I did get some polish on my skin because I have very short nubs, but it wiped away cleanly with acetone - no staining into my cuticles like some reds can.
Now normally I have a photo in the sun, one in the shade, and one in indirect light but new year, new photos hah. We've had very unusual weather here in South Texas - 80 degrees one day and 42 the next... Sunshine for miles and then grey skies with lots of rain. Because of all that, I decided to just pull out my MyStudio MS20 and let's do this. I'm tired of the weather being my excuse for blogging. I have too much polish here to complain about the rain.

 For those interested, I purchased the MyStudio MS20 after reading about it on the Cult Nails blog here. There will be obviously a learning curve as I get photos and I may still reserve my holo polishes for sunlight, but with a basic creme, you can't go wrong.

 Speaking of basic cremes - KBShimmer Chilly Pepper reminds me of a VERY special bottle in my collection. The one and only Christian Louboutin "Rouge", the signature red from his red soled shoes. I grabbed my can of swatches and pulled them out to sit side by side.
Can you tell which polish cost $7.50 and which cost $50.00?

 No?

 Me either.
They are pretty dead on dupes. Both were 3 coats of polish and one coat of top coat. I was very surprised but also a bit happy inside. I'm sure your wallet will be now too.

 KBShimmer Chilly Pepper was from their 2015 Winter Collection. Be sure to scoop up this staple red in case it ever goes away.

 KBShimmer [website] can be purchased through their website for those in the United States and through Harlow and Co for international sales. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.75. Connect with KBShimmer through their social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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

Press Sample 

 2015 has been really crazy, really scary, and really awesome all at the same time. I had a baby, I quit a really good job but for an even BETTER job, and I've been really busy on the home front. I'm still attempting to balance home, work, and fun but while I'm figuring that one out, I wanted to show you a few "nails in real life" - polishes that I didn't review for the blog but I actually wore. Some were press samples (which is why I've labeled this post as such) but some I bought myself. I tend to post more to Instagram when it's quick snapshots like this but now I hear that even Instagram is limiting what people see (thanks Facebook for buying Instagram and applying the same 'pay for play' business model).

 In July, I went to Cosmoprof North America for less than 24 hours. Not sure that I will ever put my body through that again, but it was still fun. I really wanted something flashy so I knew I was going to wear ILNP "Mega (X)" from the Summer 2015 collection but I wanted some base creme to layer it over, so I went with Love, Angeline "Did You Say Peppercorn?!" which is a matte grey creme.  Add 2 coats of "Mega (X)" and we were in business.

After Cosmoprof I needed something nice but neutral for my job interview so I went with ILNP "Long Walks" from the Summer 2015 collection. It's a dusty purple/taupe with a little bit of bronze shimmer - nothing too flashy but still had something to keep me interested.
A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

After my neutral color, I wanted something flashy, so I grabbed F.U.N. "Goodness Of The Dawn" from the Summer 2015 collection. Only 2 coats and removal wasn't too terrible despite the glitter overload.
A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

So I didn't get to see any of my Cosmoprof beauties for a few days because I had to have them shipped to me (THANK YOU SO MUCH THE DAILY NAIL!) but one that wowed me was Fair Maiden Polish - "Just a Mirage". I already love all things purple and holo but this was a nice plum with red base and only 2 coats.

After getting my new job, I knew I wanted to start off with some color. I blindly picked China Glaze "I Brake For Colour" from the Spring 2015 Road Trip collection. I felt like I wimped out a bit by not going crazy neon holo nuts but I didn't want anyone to think I was too crazy (yet).

My second week of work seemed to be a bit more demanding on my hands, so I opted for Gelish MINI "From Rodeo to Rodeo Drive" from the Fall 2015 Urban Cowgirl collection. It reminded me a little of ILNP "Long Walks" minus the bronze shimmer. This was only 2 coats but I should have used 3.

Then I snapped a few nails so I decided to cut them down to super nubbins - absolutely no free edge. I forgot how liberating they can be, especially when typing! To show off, I used ILNP "Missed Calls" which is a fantastic charcoal black holo that I am obsessed with.

Next I decided to go with Colors by Llarowe "As Rome Burned" from the August 2015 A Box, Indied collection. I seriously want to wear this all the time. NO staining either which is something I was really worried about. Only 2 coats but it did dry matte so I needed a good top coat to bring out the shine.

I decided to go for another Gelish MINI after that - this is "Brights Have More Fun". I was nervous about trying a neon without a white base coat, but you can see it did pretty well on its own.
A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

Two weeks later and my nubs got out of control as well as my cuticles. I also tend to get hangnails on my index and middle fingers and I really try to leave them alone. But to feel pretty, I put on Glam Polish "Bohemian Rhapsody".

But then I decided to go dark blue to match my outfit when we were headed to a wedding. This is ILNP "After Midnight" from the Fall 2015 Collection.

Just one day later, I was moving to ILNP "Money Bin" to coordinate with the La Palmera #ReadySetGold Fashion Show that I attended.

 Just a short time later, I was heading to Florida for training at my new job. I was super excited to go on a trip so I decided to bring a little ILNP with me. This is "Walking Home" and the purple holo is SO in your face. I was obsessed.
A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

Despite owning tons of ILNP, I hadn't worn any of the multichrome crazy polishes yet so I decided I was going to wear ILNP "Cameo". I ended up going almost a whole week in this polish and couldn't stop playing with the color shift from purple to green to gold. Loved it!

Last week, a friend was eloping, so a bunch of us did manis to surprise her. I wanted something red and holo-y so I used both Morgan Taylor "Ruby Two-Shoes" with Starrily "Poisoned Apple" for this beautiful combination.

And now on my hands I have Polished by KPT "No Makeup Needed" which is a nude holo. After all the red and purple I had been wearing, I felt like wearing something a little neutral. I'm on Day 5 of this mani and while I need to remove it before Saturday (family photos!), it's held up very well.
A photo posted by PolishGalore (@polishgalore) on

And there you have it! That's been my "Nails In Real Life" and while I wished I had properly photographed and written a review for the blog, I'm glad that I at least documented them on Instagram. Do you have any favorites from what I wore?

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