Summer 2016 Polish Lookbook.

I'm kinda done with spring. Zach and I moved very recently, and where we are now is much more rainy than where we were. And, like, I'm done with the rain. And the clouds. And the chill. 

I was cleaning out my nail polish organizer and getting rid of some shades that just don't speak to me anymore. It had rained for days and was still raining so my rebellious little self decided to pull out some of my most summer-ready shades and share them with you. 

These are shades that I love for the summer months, and if they don't shout summer to you, hopefully you'll get inspired and find some colors that rock your summer world. (And 'scuse my chipped thumbnail polish.)

Wet 'n' Wild 1 Step Wonder Gel in "Pardon My Peach"

A coral with a little bit of heat to it and simple application theory--tell me what is not to love here, I dare you ;). I wore this shade a few weeks ago and posted it on the Instagram (@kteacupcake), in case you want to see it in action. The formula of this polish is pretty easy to work with, but I do try to avoid really thick layers with it. The fact that you don't *need* a base or top coat makes this one great for summer traveling as well. 

You can get this color directly from Wet 'n' Wild, or from any number of retailers that carry the brand. 

Another coral I love: Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in "Coral Reef"

Revlon's "Fearless"

This red orange just jumps right off the nails. I love it, and I don't love reds and oranges often. The formula is A+ and the price is too right. I have a feeling this would be fabulous on any skin tone and any shape or length nail, simply because the polish just speaks for itself. It transcends the wearer, you feel me?

You can purchase "Fearless" and other Revlon products from a ton of retailers, but I find the lowest prices and best color selection on their nail enamel at Wal-Mart.

Revlon's "Copper Penny"

Rose gold came into style and we realized it was what the world was missing. There are a ton of these light, coppery polishes, but this one by Revlon is a great option. It reminds me of hot sand and sunsets, and will complement any blues and greens in your summer wardrobe fantastically.

Once again, I would suggest Wal-Mart.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in "Barracuda"

While the formula on this one can be a little sketchy, the color is worth it. It's a pastel blue with just a little bite to it. No I'm not being punny, but that worked out nicely. Pale girls (like me) can rock this polish, too, but I think it really pops against medium and deep skin tones. 

Normally I would suggest Wal-Mart for the price point of the Complete Salon Manicure line, but I couldn't find "Barracuda" stocked online there. Here's a link to ULTA.

Wet 'n' Wild's Megalast in "Skipping Stones"

This. Polish. The color is perfect. The formula is perfect. It wears well and lasts a decently long time. I wore this about a month ago and I've never had so many people ask what was on my nails. I love this shade, and I have to ignore its calling to my soul every time I do my nails. 

I picked mine up at a Dollar General; they have the largest selection of the Wet 'n' Wild Megalast polishes, and I didn't have any luck finding a link to purchase it online. 

Revlon's "Sultry"

This is a cobalt blue with some pink-ish/purple-ish shimmer action. I'd say it's a unique shade in the nail polish world, and I love it for summer. I think I tend to gravitate toward flat, bright, simple colors for the warmer months, but this a great multi-dimensional shade for the season. 

Just to keep things interesting, here's a link to this one on drugstore.com. 

Another bold blue winner: Sally Hansen Hard As Nail Xtreme Wear in "Blue It"

Essie's "Romper Room"

Nudes and neutrals are always my favorite, regardless of the category. "Romper Room" is a pretty, milky pink that is decently opaque and has a good formula, and, trust me, those are difficult to find. I think it's perfect for summer because it's clean, fresh, and bright.

I picked mine up in store at Walgreens, but you can also get it here online. 

What is your favorite shade for summer? Let me know, and if I haven't tried it yet, I probably will. Besides, I definitely need another reason to go nail polish shopping...

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you're here again soon :)

Get that Vampy Lip Look: Burgundy Lip Trend Tutorial.

Guys. It's my first tutorial. I'm super stoked.

I worked really hard to cut down all the video I had to just under 15 minutes for you. As you're watching, you will notice that I sped up some parts. Sometimes during those parts, it looks like I am talking. I am in fact talking, but I'm not saying anything overly important, so don't feel as if you are missing anything crucial. 

This may not be the look for everyone, but I love a bold lip. And the eyes are so simple that anyone might want to watch at least the first 10 minutes. I'll list all the products I used below the video. 

Eyes.
Wet 'n' Wild's "Take on the Day" Eyeshadow Primer from the Fergie Collection
NYX's Love in Paris Palette in "Je Ne Sais Quoi"
     You just need a light, shimmery taupe, a warm medium brown, and a cool, really dark             charcoal.
NYX's Love in Paris Palette in "Mon Cherie"
     You need a dark, cool brown. Mine had some sparkle, but that isn't necessary. And a                shimmery vanilla. Or a not shimmery vanilla. You decide.
L'Oreal's Voluminous Butterfly Mascara in "Blackest Black"
Brows.
A mixture of shadows from e.l.f.'s 96-Piece Geometric Palette
Lips.
NYX's Slim Lip Pencil in "Currant"
Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in "Black Cherry"
Face.
Revlon's Colorstay Foundation for Normal/Dry Skin in "Ivory"
Hard Candy's Lite Brite Undereye Concealer and Highlighter in "Fair" 
Revlon's Photoready Eye Primer + Brightener in 003
A mixture of eyeshadows from e.l.f.'s 80-Piece Day-to-Night Palette for my Contour
e.l.f.'s Studio Blush in "Mellow Mauve"
e.l.f.'s Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder

This is exciting. Thanks for stopping by.

Can You Believe It's Manicure Monday?!?!

Because I can't.

It's been far too long. Far, far too long. But not without good reason. I have been really really busy getting engaged. And working through all of everything that comes with being engaged.

I love these picture update moments, so here we go...

Zach and I have been together for close to seven years. This is a picture of us going to his prom when he was a junior in high school and I was a freshman. We grew up going to the same church with our families and started growing as friends earlier that school year. I had had a pretty consistent crush on him since I was...12, maybe? so those early convos on AIM were pretty much dreams come true.

We started dating when I turned 16 and spent the rest of Zach's time in high school together.

Zach graduated and headed to college in Virginia and I finished my last year of high school. We were already planning to be with each other for a while. so we just kind of let long distance happen. 

I went to school in New York. Zach visited me my sophomore year and my friend Ashton took some pictures for us. Some people were suspicious and thought they might have been engagement photos, but we weren't planning to get married until we both had graduated, so there was no reason to rush things.

And then Zach did propose to me. For real. I knew we were going to get married, but I had no idea he was going to ask me when he did. Happiest October 4th of my life yet.

He brought all the letters I have written him and all the cards I have made and laid them out in a path to him. And then he started to read me something from a letter I wrote him as he was leaving for college. I couldn't handle myself for a moment.

Being proposed to was genuinely one of the most joyful and exhilarating experiences of my life. If getting married is important to you, I sincerely hope you get to experience a proposal (from either side :)). And another huge thank you to all our friends who helped with the planning and executing...of the plan.
In case you aren't tired of pictures yet, I'll just share a few more from our inevitable engagement session. Once again, with the fantabulous Ashton. 

I feel like this one just screams "Christmas Card." Am I right?

Oh, and Zach has a puppy. So I also have a puppy.

For anyone who plans on getting some pictures taken for any reason but isn't sure about finding a photographer or being able to afford one, I'd like to just take some time to share what I worked out for these photos. I found a friend who likes to take photos. My fiance happens to have a nice camera, but even if he didn't we still would have gotten some perfectly fine shots with a basic digital. Then I used PicMonkey, which is a free online photo editing website. I just tweaked the pictures til I liked the way they looked, and they save in really high quality. Money saved. Check it out here. 

Now for the manicure. Can I just say that I am also fantastically excited about the nail polish I am about to show you? It is most definitely a new favorite color, and I was more than impressed with the virtual lack of chipping. 

Meet Revlon's "Fearless."

The lighting never seemed to be ideal, so I don't necessarily have a fantastic picture of this polish in action. Here is a shot in natural, but very cloudy, light.

This is really not a normal color for me. I tend to stay away from reds in general; I just don't usually love how either average or bold or bloodthirsty they look. But this caught my eye the last time I was in Wal-Mart and I took a little risk on it. Turns out it is going to be one of my all time favorites. It applied nicely; two coats and I had the opacity I wanted. It's a really bright, clean, orangey red. Not necessarily the first color I think of for the winter months, but I l-o-v-e-d the way it looked with some of my cheetah print accents and gold jewelry, and it really just gave me a nice pop of brightness in the middle of the snow and rain and grey. If I ever get a picture that does it justice you will be the first to see it. 

As usual I used Orly's Bonder Basecoat and Polishield Top Coat. This polish wore for a good week with only some shrinkage from the topcoat. No real chipping to speak of. Awesome. 

Thank you oh-so-much for stopping by. I'm going to get caught up with some fall posts and then all the winter-themed thoughts in my head are coming your way. 

Manicure Monday! Featuring Revlon's "Foxy"

I'm not happy about it, but it is time to accept the fact that fall is here to stay. I will certainly miss sunbathing, swimming, and tank tops, but now it is time for chunky sweaters, boots, and hot drinks from the coffee shop. Truthfully, I do look forward to fall styles, trends, and colors, I just don't like being cold as much as I adore being warm. But those chunky sweaters do help soften the blow ;).

I've got something of a fall nail polish lookbook coming your way later this week, but I want to share my first manicure of the season with you now. You'll see me go on and on about why I don't generally ascribe to the rules of "seasonal colors" later, so suffice it to say that while I will wear any color I want on my nails regardless of the season, I do like to be inspired by the changes of climate and nature as I dress myself, do my makeup, and paint my nails.

Let's just get to the polish.

Please excuse the minor rubbings at the tips of some of my nails. I had just spent the afternoon at the barn moving fences.

Meet "Foxy" by Revlon. I picked up this shade at a Meijer grocery store. I wish they existed around me because it was basically a store with the relative fanciness of Target and the prices of Wal-Mart. (At least the one I visited.) That's a lot of winning. I grabbed a Revlon polish because I was curious about the inventory and the price of makeup items, and I have to say I was very pleased with both. You are blessed if you live near a Meijer.

I used the usual Orly Bonder Basecoat and Polisheild Top Coat with this manicure. 

"Foxy" is a lovely, deep, purply, brownish sea of rich chocolately goodness in nail polish form...I think.
It makes me think of those barrel-shaped rootbeer flavored candies but with a bit of purple thrown in there. The normal two coats gives a basically flawless finish with completely opaque color, and the polish applies very easily, as most of Revlon's do. In the bottle you can see silver bits of shimmer worked through the color, and that's what helps it give such a high shine. I'm hoping the above picture helps you see how it is very brown and also very purple at the same time.

I highly recommend this polish for all skin tones, no matter the season, but especially in the fall. Thanks for viewing another Manicure Monday! I've got a lot planned for this week, so don't go too far.