Wednesday, January 14, 2015

KBShimmer: Men Are From Mars-ala

KBShimmer's Men Are From Mars-ala is based on Pantone's color of the year for 2015, Marsala. I had the opportunity to review the polish and jumped at the chance! I do have to admit that when Pantone announced the shade, I was a bit underwhelmed because my first thought was how it would translate to polish - but my mind was quickly changed when I received KBShimmer's holographic version of the color.


Men Are From Mars-ala looks to have a mauvey base color, but the holographic rainbow can make it look more pink or orange which makes it a really fun color to wear. In fact, if you google search images you'll see several different looking shades for this one polish! And really, it looks like all of them. The formula for this polish was smooth and fluid; easily applied and controlled. It was almost opaque in one coat, but I used two coats to ensure even coverage across the curve of my nails.

xoxoJen's swatch of KBShimmer: Men Are From Mars-ala
xoxoJen's swatch of KBShimmer: Men Are From Mars-ala
xoxoJen's swatch of KBShimmer: Men Are From Mars-ala


With my review kit, I received KBShimmer's prep to finish products which I used for this manicure: Unscented Cuticle Oil Pen, Nail Prep pH Balancing Pre-Polish Nail Treatment, Basic Training Nail Polish Base Coat, Clearly On Top Quick Dry Top Coat. I was very excited to receive these, as Clearly On Top is my very favorite top coat and I've been wanting to try the prep and base. I've worn my mani for about five days and so far I only see the usual tip wear, no chips. The cuticle oil is packed full of skin loving oils and was super easy to use with the brush tipped applicator pen. After use, my skin was left feeling moisturized and looking great.

xoxoJen's photo of KBShimmer: Prep to Finish products


I also received zig-zag nail vinyls to try out so I chose a black holographic polish for contrast. This is my second time using vinyls and I had a little bit of trouble getting them to stick down along the free edge on the sides of my nails. I think it's because I have a pretty curved c-curve. I think it still turned out really well though, what do you think?

xoxoJen's swatch of KBShimmer: Men Are From Mars-ala


You can get your very own holographic color of the year and many other great products at the KBShimmer online shop.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Alamo Candelaria: Buttah Fingers


I had the opportunity to review a new cuticle butter called Buttah Fingers from Alamo Candelaria, one of my favorite indie bath and body companies. The butter is available in two options, Mint Truffle and Natural Aroma. Because the butter contains cocoa butter, it has a naturally chocolatey fragrance and coupled with mint, it smells divine!

xoxoJen's photo of Alamo Candelaria Buttah Fingers


Cocoa butter melts at skin temperature, but is rather hard at lower temperatures. A few rubs across the open tin creates a bit of friction, and it easily melts. Cocoa butter is high in antioxidants, which help fight off free radicals, it has been noted to heal sensitive skin, and is great at hydrating the skin.

xoxoJen's photo of Alamo Candelaria Buttah Fingers


I, personally, like this butter because it doesn't leave a shine behind after application, which means I can use it and then shoot my photos right away. This photo was taken right after an application of Buttah Fingers.

xoxoJen's photo of Alamo Candelaria Buttah Fingers


Alamo Candelaria's Buttah Fingers moisturizes well and smells delicious! You can get yours on this page
at the Alamo Candelaria shop. Kyme at AC also makes beautiful Artisan Soaps, candles, lotions and perfumes.

Monday, December 22, 2014

HPB Presents: Holiday Manis

What is Jen up to with this mess of nail supplies?

xoxoJen's Holiday nail art supplies 2014


She's doing a special mani for the Hobby Polish Bloggers' holiday link up!

Hobby Polish Bloggers is a group of nail bloggers on Facebook. We're a diverse group who help each other discover new ways of getting the blogging done, sharing feedback when asked, and growing our friendships inside and outside the group. Each and every lady in our group is special and supportive of each other and we each contribute in different ways.

The theme for December is Holiday manicures. I've created some nail art to share some of my holiday memories!

The first nail reminds me of the snowstorm a few years ago on Christmas Eve when Jason and I ended up spending the night at my mom's because there was so much snow, we couldn't even back out of the driveway.

The second nail is Santa's suit which reminds me of Christmas's past when my grandpa would dress up in the Santa suit my grandma made for him. He'd hand out presents to my sister and I every Christmas.

The third and fourth nails are a Christmas tree and a gift, which are always a part of our holidays - past, present and future.

xoxoJen's Holiday nail art 2014
xoxoJen's Holiday nail art 2014
xoxoJen's Holiday nail art 2014


I hope you've enjoyed my nail art and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday!