Friday, September 26, 2014

Cupcake Polish: October Sweet Addictions Box


Cupcake's October Sweet Addictions box theme is Think Pink! The featured brands are Smitten Polish and Bear Pawlish, and its host Sara's, Cupcake Polish. Also included in the box is a pretty pink heart shaped pendant which has a chocolately brown backside. It was carefully handmade by Sara's mom and packed in it's own coordinating box.

xoxoJen's swatch of


Cupcake Polish - Fight Like a Girl is a vibrant raspberry holo with holo glitter sprinkled throughout. I am really loving this shade of pink and it's super sparkly rainbow goodness! Two coats and gelous then topcoat and there's still a bit of texture poking around, this can be seen in the macro shot. The formula was a bit thick so I added a few drops of thinner for a more fluid application.

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Fight Like a Girl
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Fight Like a Girl
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Fight Like a Girl

Bear Pawlish - Paws for Ta-Tas is a very pretty nearly neon bubblegum pink holo. Something about this shade makes me feel young and feminine, but with a little bit of a punch because there's just something bright and vibrant about this color! Three thin coats with topcoat to cover vnl. Two thicker coats may also work well.

xoxoJen's swatch of Bear Pawlish Paws for Ta-Tas
xoxoJen's swatch of Bear Pawlish Paws for Ta-Tas
xoxoJen's swatch of Bear Pawlish Paws for Ta-Tas


Smitten - In October, We Wear Pink is a neon pink jelly packed with holo microglitters.
COLOR DISCLAIMER!
My camera does not photograph neons well, especially pink ones so this is as close as I could get - but this puppy is a bright neon pink with tons of holo sparkle! My camera wanted to shoot this more purpley because it was catching the purple holo in the microglitters! I don't feel like I've done this one justice, it's so much better in person! I wore two easy coats and topcoat. The application was smooth as butter and there was very little to no texture before topcoat. No one does a microglitter quite like Smitten!

xoxoJen's swatch of Smitten Polish In October, We Wear Pink
xoxoJen's swatch of Smitten Polish In October, We Wear Pink
xoxoJen's swatch of Smitten Polish In October, We Wear Pink

The Sweet Addictions box for October will be available on Sunday, September 28th at 11am CDT at Cupcake Polish's online shop.

Which pink is your favorite?


xoxo, Jen signature

Friday, September 19, 2014

My Birthday and a Meet Up!

Twin Manis and My Birthday Mani!

My birthday is today, September 19th! Yay!!
I met up with Connie Friday and Saturday last week and we did twin manis for the occassion. We both took part in choosing the polishes and this is how it turned out!

I'm calling it my birthday mani because I was still wearing it into the wee hours of Friday so it's my birthday mani for half a day, too!

I hope everyone's Friday is awesome!

xoxoJen's birthday and twin manis

We wore a purple holo on our thumb, index and middle finger. Connie's was Llarowe This Girl is on Fire...Help! and mine was Llarowe Toga Toga Toga!

On our ring and pinkies we wore a group custom by Smitten called Pigment of my Imagination. I bought one for Connie and sent it to her after our last meet up to show my appreciation for her visit!

On top of the middle fingers we wore Lynnderella Aquamarine Calm and on our thumbs and ring fingers we wore Lynnderella Magic Fairy Stars.



xoxo, Jen signature

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Hobby Polish Bloggers Cash Giveaway!

Hobby Polish Blogger Giveaway with xoxoJenHobby Polish Blogger Giveaway with xoxoJen

The Hobby Polish Bloggers facebook group have joined forces once again to offer an amazing giveaway!
The giveaway starts today, September 17 and ends September 30th. It's Open worldwide to those 18+
(please see terms and conditions on the widget for more info)

Prizes include:
First place $165 USD
Second place $90 USD
Third place $75 USD

The giveaway is sponsored by these lovely bloggers:

A Little Polish http://alittlepolish.blogspot.com
acidicice http://www.acidicice.co.za
Addicted to Polish http://addictedtopolish.blogspot.com
BeginNails: Every Journey Has A Beginning http://www.beginnails.blogspot.com
B'Nails http://boomernails.blogspot.com/
Canadian Nail Fanatic http://canadiannailfanatic.blogspot.ca/
Carinae L'etoile's polish stash http://www.carinaeletoile.com
Copycat Claws http://www.copycatclaws.blogspot.ca
Doctor Crafty https://doctorcrafty.wordpress.com
Fashion Footing http://fashionfooting.blogspot.com
I Feel Polished http://www.ifeelpolished.com
Imperfectly Painted http://www.imperfectlypainted.com/
LacqueredGeek http://www.facebook.com/lacqueredgeek
Lavish Layerings http://www.lavishlayerings.blogspot.com/
Les essais beauté de Schette http://schette08.free.fr/essaisbeaute/
Lit From Within http://beautylitfromwithin.blogspot.com/
Lustrous Lacquer http://www.lustrouslacquer.blogspot.com
Manic Talons http://www.manictalons.com
Manicure Addict http://www.manicureaddict.com
Pamper with Polish http://www.pamperwithpolish.com
Peer Pressure Polish http://www.peerpressurepolish.com
Plump and Polished http://www.plumpandpolished.com
Polish Galore http://www.polishgalore.com
Polished and Glittered http://www.polishedandglittered.com
ProcrastiNails http://www.ProcrastiNails.com
Sammy Gail's Nails http://sammygailsnails.blogspot.com
Sassy Shelly http://www.sassyshelly.com
Shelby Lou Nails http://shelbylounails.blogspot.com
The Dalai Lama's Nails http://www.thedalailamasnails.com
The Polished Hippy http://thepolishedhippy.blogspot.com/
The Polished Mommy http://www.thepolishedmommy.com/
The Sparkling Hoard http://www.thesparklinghoard.com/
xoxo, Jen http://xoxojen.com

Good luck!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
xoxo, Jen signature

Monday, September 15, 2014

Nail Art with Vivid Lacquer and Literary Lacquers


Every once in a while I like to do stamping and nail art with my Vivid Lacquer rectangle stamper and stamping plates. I had a lot of fun doing these over several of the Literary Lacquer polishes from the Wrinkle In Time Collection that I previously reviewed. I used Konad black and Mundo de Unas stamping polishes. I hope you enjoy these!

xoxoJen's stamping nail art


VL020 chainmail design over Aunt Beast

xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer Plate vl020 and Aunt Beast

VL002 stars and VL017 planets over Camazotz adorned with a few loose star glitters. Huge thanks to Jenna from Inky Whiskers, she helped design this look.

xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer Plate vl017 and Camazotz
xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer Plate vl017 and Camazotz

VL001 xoxo and heart design over Megatron. Any time I think about stamping over purple or lime green I almost always end up using the xoxo design, how could I not?!

xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer vl001 and Megatron
xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer vl001 and Megatron

And finally VL008 over Tesseract - with this one I did what's called a reverse stamp or decal. It was quite challenging since the flower petals are teeny tiny, but it was fun and I was able to use every Literary Lacquer polish from the WIT collection, yay!

xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer Plate vl008 and Teseract
xoxoJen's swatch of Vivid Lacquer Plate vl008 and Teseract

Which is your favorite? And any tips on a fast dry topcoat that doesn't smear nail art?

xoxo, Jen signature

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Cupcake Polish: Falling Back In Time Collection

Cupcake's newest polish collection is called Falling Back In Time and will be available on Sunday September 7th. The collection consists of five holographic polishes and one microglitter. The color palette for this set makes me feel warm and happy.

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Next Taupe Model

Too Haute To Handle is the color of a golden orange flame with a super strong linear holographic effect. It's vibrancy is very eye catching! I wore two coats, the formula was smooth, no issues to report.

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Too Haute To Handle
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Too Haute To Handle
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Too Haute To Handle

Next Taupe Model is a beautiful smokey purple holo with flashes of rose shimmer which give it a very unique effect. The shimmer was very difficult to capture on the nail with my camera so I also took a bottle shot to show it better. I wore two easy coats, great formula.

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Next Taupe Model
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Next Taupe Model
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Next Taupe Model
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Next Taupe Model

As Good As Rose Gold
is the microglitter of the set. Most of the glitters are a rose color however; it is packed with golden glitter and holo glitter as well. You'll see a lot of purple flashes from the holo glitter in my photos. I wore two coats and top coat to smooth it out, perfect formula.

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish As Good As Rose Gold
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish As Good As Rose Gold
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish As Good As Rose Gold

Neither Here Noir There
is a smokey charcoal packed with purpley shimmer and is a vibrant linear holo as well. A favorite of mine because it is so different from other holo polishes in my stash. Perfect formula and opaque in two coats.

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Neither Here Noir There
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Neither Here Noir There
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Neither Here Noir There

Rusting Over A Boy
is the same shade that my Autumn Blaze tree turns mid September or early October. Very rich and vibrant, even more so than a brand new copper penny! Two easy coats and an awesome formula to boot!

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Rusting Over A Boy
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Rusting Over A Boy
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Rusting Over A Boy

Remembering Blue
might remind you of the bright blue sky of summer's past. This linear holo is laced with gold dust for a super shimmery and holo effect. Two coats and good to go!

xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Remembering Blue
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Remembering Blue
xoxoJen's swatch of Cupcake Polish Remembering Blue

I really enjoyed trying out this collection from Cupcake Polish. Falling Back In Time launches on Sunday, September 7th at 11am Central at the Cupcake Polish store.

Which ones are your favorites?

xoxo, Jen signature

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Tailgate Party!

I'm part of the Culture Committee group at work that plans events and fun activities for our organization. Last week, I was in charge of the tailgate party pot luck where I advertise, promote, plan, set up, and tear down the event. I had just gotten my order from Llarowe which included a silky brown Color Club polish called Fondue For Two and this was the perfect opportunity to use it - Football Nails!

As I was brainstorming how I would make this nail art a reality, I remembered the big box of flocking powders in all different colors that my Uncle Mark had given me for Christmas last year. I hadn't gotten to use them yet and thought they'd be perfect to top a couple of nails with for a realistic turf effect!

Color Club Fondue For Two Football nail art

Color Club Fondue For Two Football nail art

I absolutely LOVE the Color Club polish. It's the most perfect shade of chocolate in two coats and the formula is so silky and smooth. I just don't see how it could get any better than this!
The nail art was super easy to do - a couple stripes and lines with a striping brush and just a couple of dips into the flocking powder with wet nails for the others.
I love how they turned out!
What do you think?

xoxo, Jen signature