Ruby Wing Sweet Fantasy Collection

Spring is here bringing all the pretty polish with it!  Ruby Wing has released their newest color changing collection for spring with the Sweet Fantasy collection.  This collection has an equal split between some big chunky glitters, cremes and shimmer polishes.  

In Your Dreams is a baby blue creme indoors.  The application was great and gave full coverage in two coats.  In direct sunlight the baby blue darkens to bluish-greige.  This shade is great for business or work since it has nice neutral shades and a gorgeous pastel shade indoors perfect for the coming season.

Here is where I started having some issues.  Centerfold is a pink jelly base with large silver hex glitters, small silver glitters and huge black hex glitters.  I don't think I've ever seen such large hexs before.  The jelly base was nice and intensified in color as you layer.  The problem I had with this polish was the glitters.  There was some pretty bad curling with the silver glitters.  You can actually see the it in the light reflecting off of the silver glitters in both the outdoor and indoor shot.  Another problem I had was the glitters clinging to one another.  When you are trying to spread thin layers of polish it is difficult when you have a stack of three glitters clinging together that won't separate!  Outdoors Centerfold changes to a deep purple.  While I love the color change, I just can't get past the curling difficult glitters and because of that, wouldn't recommend this shade.

Silk Sheets is a peachy shimmer full of gold!  This shade is one of the gentlest color shifts of the season.  In sunlight the peach turns to a yellow-orange.  The coverage was great and the golden shimmer is really beautiful in the sunlight!

Dolled Up is a sheer nude base with all the primary colors in glitter.  There are medium blue, yellow and red hexs with small red glitters throughout.  In the sun the base turns a muted red.  and hides the red glitters so the blue and yellow ones really pop out.  Unfortunately, like Centerfold, these glitters curl like crazy!  You can easily see the curled bowl shape of the glitters in both images.  The corner of the glitter caught on things and refused to lay flat.  Happily, this completes the glitter shades in this collection.

Kitten Heels is a fuchsia creme with great coverage at two coats.  This shade is super bright and hot!  In sunlight it becomes a coral red/pink.  

My all time favorite from this collection has to be Deepest Desire!  This metallic mossy green is a tiny bit streaky but that is where the complaints end!  The gold metallic in this shade is bright and reflective.  I'm not much of a green girl but that's okay because in sunlight this shade has a drastic change to a golden chocolate.  I want to wear this around Easter.  For some reason it reminds me of Easter Baskets.  

These Ruby Wings are available for $10 a bottle.  My favorites are Deepest Desire, Kitten Heels, Silk Sheets and In Your Dreams.  I'd skip the glitters shades, Dolled Up and Centerfold because of the curling glitter.  If Ruby Wing reformulates the glitter shades I'd love to try them again.  What do you think of Ruby Wings Sweet Fantasy Collection?

Cooooooookies!

So I was having a sugar craving.  They come on suddenly, I can't help it.
I decided to get creative and healthy by painting some cookies instead of eating them!

For this look I used Color Club Look, Don't Tusk from the new Safari Garden spring collection.  The cookies are hand painted and they're topped off with Butter London's Matte Finish Top Coat.

Of course, my cookie nails just made me more hungry and I ended up baking a whole batch from scratch with dark chocolate chips so I could "do a photo shoot with my nails".....and eat a bunch.  Oops!

LVX: Cliquot, Azzurrum and Avalon

Fashion week was a whirlwind!  Branka, one of the founders of LVX, was also in attendance and we were trying to plan a meet up.  Unfortunately everyone was so busy it never happened.  But, the amazing LVX representatives were kind enough to send me a few of their polishes to try out.

I have heard of LVX before but never tried it.  I knew LVX was a high quality brand but it wasn't available anywhere around me.  I was so happy to see Cliquot, Azzurrum and Avalon when I opened up the mail.

Cliquot is a neutral peach cream.  I used three coats for a nice even coverage.  I'm so into nudes right now!  It's a perfect finished look that's classy, elongates the fingers and works for any look.

Azzurrum is a deep navy blue.  This one was a one coater!  The formula was great.  This shade actually looked almost black in low lighting.  

Avalon is a rose gold bronze.  The shimmer is great!  I don't think I've ever seen rose gold in a polish before.  This is great for more options and matching to your rose gold accessories.

The LVX polishes I tried all had beautiful finishes and are on point, trendy colors.  I love their website where they match each shade to runway looks.  LVX polishes are 5 free, vegan and cruelty free!

Thanks so much for the beauties, Branka.  Hopefully we'll get to meet up in September for the next fashion week!

February Ipsy Glam Bag 2014

Aww, how sweet!  My February Ipsy Glam Bag arrived right on Valentine's Day.  Ipsy must love me. :)

This month included an eye shadow palette from Jesse's Girl, Benefit High Beam highlighter, a Zoya polish, Mally Waterproof Eye Liner, Uberliss Straight Hair Oil and Pop Beauty Lip Gloss.

This months bag is pink on the outside with a white zipper.  The inside is a pink leopard print!

Mally Beauty-Evercolor Waterproof Eyeliner in Starshine: $15 (.04oz full size)

Mally Beauty has a line of waterproof eyeliners in multiple colors.  This month I received a metallic silver in Starshine.  

The liner is very metallic and applied wonderfully.  However, I just don't see myself using a silver eyeliner anytime soon.  I received a silver eyeliner from Ipsy a few months ago that I've only used once or twice. I think I'll be putting this up for swap on my Edivv shop.

POP Beauty-Plump Pout Mini in Peony Petal: $7.47 (4g travel size)

POP Beauty's Plump Pout Mini glosses are full of lip plumping peptides, avocado and jojoba oils and very intense! 

Look at that color payoff!  Application was very smooth and not too sticky.  While I love the color I did not notice as much of a plumping effect as with other brands I have tried.  My only real complaint with this Plump Pout Mini gloss is the smell of the rubber cap!  It was funky.

Uberliss-Rituoil: $3.50 (10 ml sample size)

I had never tried hair oils before I started using Ipsy.  Now they are one of my favorite products!  Uberliss Rituoil smells like heaven, delectable orchid!  A little bit of this product smoothed into the hair will preserve moisture, safeguard hair from damage using blowdriers, curling irons or straighteners and leave your hair soft, shiny and frizz free.  I apply hair oil after showering when my hair has dried a bit but is still damp.  It makes my hair smell fantastic, smooths and protects.  I heard some complaints this month that many of the Uberliss bottles leaked during shipping.  If you had this issue contact Ipsy's customer service.  They're great at fixing issues.

Jesse's Girl-Eye Shadow Compact in Behind Blue Eyes: $3.99 (full size)

I"m kind of an eye shadow snob.  My go to is Urban Decay and I don't use much else.  I do like some of the blues included in this palette but, I always worry about cheap eye shadow.  I know that nasty fillers that can be dangerous to your eyes can sometimes be included in cheap shadows.  I opted not to swatch this palette since I'll probably just put it up for trade.

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette: $9 (.05oz full size)

Odette is from Zoya's Natural Collection that just released this past January.  Odette is a dusty purple/maroon cream.  This is typical Zoya formula which is great!  I'm looking forward to using this shade this coming spring. 

Benefit-High Beam: $26 (13ml full size)

I have always heard amazing things about High Beam from Benefit.  When it was available as a bonus item if you had Ipsy points I grabbed it right away!  I thought it was a travel or sample size and I was very excited to open open my Ipsy bag and find a full size box!

This luminescent complexion enhancer is a shimmery pink in the bottle.  When smoothed out the shimmer gives a dewy, radiant glow.  I have used NARS Albatross as my highlighter previously but I am really loving the complexity and sheen of High Beam.  I could be a convert to Benefit!

Overall, I received a $38 value for this $10 bag. :) $64 when you include the Benefit High Beam! To sign up for your own Ipsy subscription simply click here and take their beauty quiz.  The quiz will match you with products tailored to your tastes and color preferences.  You can cancel at anytime.  For a measly $10, I've always found it worth it! 

Color Club Safari Garden Spring 2014 Collection

Color Club has sent me their newest collection to swatch for their Spring 2014 collection!  I have been a busy bee swatching through this nor'easter that's hit New York.

The collection is a bit unexpected for Spring with mostly deep hues and shimmery metallics.  The only pastel "spring" shade is a very light blue.  I like the change up here since we're bound to see lots of light floral shades this season.

Color Club has overhauled their bottles!  The old bottles are on the left and the new is on the right.  The shape is still square but the lids and logo has changed!  The bottle lids are now a white, rubbery, easy grip top.  The logo is a smaller white 'Color' encapsulated in a large black 'Club'.  The top of the brush handle has two C's spooning each other.  The old bottles did have a more juvenile feel to them so I am enjoying this sophisticated new look.

In De-Nile is an opaque creamy baby blue.  I used three coats for full coverage.  The formula is very glossy when dried.  I'm loving this shade for spring.  Aside from this pastel blue the rest of the collection is very striking and varies from the typical light colors you'd expect to see.

Safari Sunset is a metallic?  Or maybe just full of shimmer?  It's hard for me to tell!  I'm going to go with metallic.  Unlike many metallics that streak this does not! The gold hues pick up on any light that may scamper across the nail.  This is one of my favorite shades from the collection!

I've never really been positive on what the actual color of eggshell white is.  When I saw Look, Don't Tusk for the first time a light bulb went off, this is it!  This off white, like many whites, needed three coats for full coverage.

Since today is Valentine's Day I decided to cover Look, Don't Tusk with some stamping.  This design is from Bundle Monsters H16 plate and features a full nail rose design.  The Bundle Monster plate was sent courtesy of Nail Polish Canada.  If you're lucky enough to be Canadian shipping is free!  I topped the design off with a matte topper to give the roses a softer look.  

Nail-Robi is an inky indigo cream.  In light this shade seems more of a violet hue and in dark it becomes a brooding navy.  Typically, darker blues like this are a popular winter color but here it is for spring.  I love dark blues so I am looking forward to incorporating this into matching looks this season.

Lion's Den is an impossible to capture glittery shade.  Upon first look it is a strong gold.  I caught some greenish hues at angles.  Even with three coats Lion's Den is a bit sheer.  One coat is very light so this could be very fun to pair over solid creme colors for enhancement.

Although crelly sounds like some kind of bad hip hop term it's really just nail speech for a cream/jelly hybrid.  Tribe and Tribute is a sheer green shade in one coat.  Layer it to two or three and you'll start to build opacity until, ta da!  Full coverage.  Shown here are three coats.  Now, I traditionally don't like green.   Yellow and green are my no-no shades.  They make me look ill when I've got them on.  If you can pull off this avocado green go for it!  I'm actually hoping Color Club will release some other shades in this crelly finish.

I am excited to see Color Club's new bottles.  I feel that they'll be stepping their polish up to a more sophisticated realm.  I am liking this collection since we're bound to see an influx of pastels this season and it's nice to have some options.  What do you think of Color Clubs Safari Garden collection?  

Ruffian Fall/Winter 2014 Runway Show

Today was day three of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City.  This morning I attended the Ruffian fall 2014 runway show.  I was especially excited for this one since Ruffian released their own nail polish line with Birchbox!  You can always expect nail art on this runway.

For today's outfit of the day I wore Trina Turk's Mandahl Ponte dress, black leggings from H&M, an Iris leather jacket, Vince Camuto Winchell boots, Michael Kors Quilted Studded Hamilton tote and a statement necklace from Modcloth.  

To match my dress I created some black and purple Ruffian nails!  The Ruffian pattern first appeared at Ruffians 2009 fall runway show.  I used OPI Black Onyx on the base along with Essie's Boxer Shorts layered on top.  

The show started off with bold leggings and flowing garments. This organic gold print was reoccurring this season.

I loved Ruffian's dresses!  This gold printed dress had a great fit and I loved the flared skirt. 

The Ruffian collar showed up a few times this show with a nod to the Renaissance.  The layering of black and white on this garment made for a very interesting effect during the walk, almost like a birds wings. 

This dress had a delicate trim to the bottom that I was really feeling.  So it wasn't too red overall with matching of the tights, a stark blue was paired with these.  Again is that recurring gold pattern in the coat. 

Here we see the oversized Renaissance collar.  The sleeves also recall an older time.  The busiest print of the show is displayed here on the high waisted pants.

Some of the hats the models wore were reminiscent of Renaissance style military helmets with high narrow sides and sharp angles on the edges.

This was my favorite look of the entire show!  The dress had linear long white lines enhancing the feminine shape.    

 This dress has a mod style cut being baggy with sharp lines but retains the baggy sleeves with a tight wrist from the Renaissance style.

Sets!  This skirt and jacket set use the same print and create a beautiful business chic effect.  The high collar on this model's blouse is reminiscent of early priests.  The music at the show had a monastery feel to it with gong ringing and chanting.

This gold and black pattern was reoccurring through the show.  This hat and coat set really show the metallic catching the light. 

Oversize has been everywhere this season! 

I loved this entire look.  From the hair to makeup to shoes, tights and garments!  The red lips really set off the tights.

Later in the show there were a few of these long coats.  They have pleating towards the top and are tied around the waist with large bows.  I'm loving the cinch of the waist for shape and how the pleating keeps it's folds on the top but fades away after the waist tie.  Very complex!

This look closed the show!  Everything Ruffian was going for this season is here.  The Renaissance influence is seen in the collar and sleeves but, the more modern touches are seen on the skirt and red lining on the bottom.  The metallic sheen of the skirt is there as well.

One of my absolute favorite parts of this show was the shoes!  All shoes from this show were from Walter Steiger. The models wore heels or wedges, all of which had a bowed out heel, Steiger's signature style.  I want to wear a pair of these just to feel what the balance is like with the weight being  a bit further back.

The organic shape of the heel curving really gave a modernity to the collection as well as tied all the looks together.  I'm thinking boyfriend needs to get me these for Valentine's Day.  Who needs chocolate when there are stilettos?

Picture Credit: Cheryl Natoli

Ruffian always has classy, unique nail art.  This season they they went with an enhanced half moon mani dubbing it the 'lunar eclipse moon manicure'.  Instead of keeping just the half moon covered, the semi circle is pulled out and to the middle of the nail using black, hence lunar eclipse!  The three metallic shades selected for the nails all tied into the shades and metallics seen on the runway.  These three Ruffian shades of polish are exclusively available through Birchbox and unfortunately you won't be able to snag them until this May. 

Picture Credit: Cheryl Natoli

On the models you can see a hint of blue sheen on the lunar eclipses!  Nail art was done by Cheryl Natoli, a freelance nail technician.

I'll have more fashion week posts this Monday and then I'll be posting some Valentine's Day nails!  What did you think of the Ruffian fall 2014 New York Fashion Week runway show?