Halloween Candy Corn Nail Tutorial

I have been in the Halloween spirit with all the costumes in stores and seeing people dressing up this weekend! I don't really dress up every year but I love doing a Halloween manicure. Here is my manicure from last year. This year, I decided to do candy corn nails. I got the tape tip from this post. Below is my tutorial of how I did this simple manicure and some pictures:

Here is what you need:

-Orange Nail Polish

-Yellow Nail Polish

-White Nail Polish

-Base Coat

-Top Coat

-Tape

The colors I used:

Sally Hansen Sun Kissed

Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow

Sinful Colors Snow Me White 

Zoya Anchor Base Coat

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Candy Corn Nails!

This is a simple manicure but just takes some patience. Happy Halloween!

Will you be trying out this Halloween nail tutorial? Did you a Halloween Manicure? Feel free to link me to pictures of your festive nails!

Current Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Co-Bolt Blue

First of all, I wanted to thank you guys so much for a great blog sale! Thank you to those that purchased and spread the word. It means so much! The packages that have been paid for are going out tomorrow morning. If your invoice has not been paid yet, please do so.

Here is the link to the blog sale if you haven't checked it out yet! http://cutiegingerbread.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-sale.html

On to the nail polish!

I have found a polish I just can't get enough of: Sally Hansen Co-Bolt Blue. I can wear it for weeks and not get tired of it!

Co-Bolt Blue is a GORGEOUS cobalt, electric blue. The name is so appropriate! This polish goes on perfectly and is opaque in two coats. LOVE

What is on your nails right now? What nail polish are you loving?

Sephora Friends & Family Sale Info- 20% Off

I wanted to share what I found regarding the Sephora F&F Sale since it starts today! For now it's online only. Go to this page and get your unique, one time use code: http://www.sephoralove.com/friendsandfamily. The sale last from today, October 20th to November 2nd.

I don't know if there will be an in store coupon for the Beauty Insiders or VIBs but when I know more, I will be sure to post it here! Happy Shopping!

Thank you Musings of a Muse for the info!

Will you be participating in the Sephora Friends & Family Sale? What is on your wishlist?

What I Ate Today: Lunch

I seem to get the most creative with my lunches so I guess I post those the most. I packed a delicious lunch today, I think I might have the same for dinner! This may not be the leanest meal (because of the way the chicken was prepared mostly) but it filled me up and tasted so good.

-Trader Joe's French Green Beans

-Trader Joe's Quinoa Duo with Vegetables

-Chicken kebab (from Russian store)

What is your favorite lunch?  Do you always eat the same thing or do you like to mix it up?

October Birchbox

I recently got my October Birchbox and wanted to do an accompanying post to my video to show some up close shots of what I got. I'm not thrilled nor disappointed with what I got, which I have been feeling lately with Birchbox! Here is my first reaction video:

Love the pink logo =]

The card that tells you what came in the box and the overall theme. This month's theme is about prepping your skin as well as adding finishing touches.

What is in my Birchbox this month

Inside look! I love the way they package the items every month.

What I got:

-AHAVA Mineral Foot Cream

-Blinc Mascara

-Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel

-Pangea Organics Facial Scrub

-Lash Cards

The Lash Cards are so funny, they are backwards! You can read them as you are holding them up to a mirror to put on mascara.

Do you subscribe to Birchbox? What was in your October Birchbox?

What I Ate Today: Lunch

I haven't been doing these posts lately because I haven't been too original with my meals. I don't think you guys need to see 3 posts in a row of oatmeal! I want to share interesting things with you, not the same old thing everyday. =] Today I made ("made" is used loosely lol!) a lunch that was so delicious!

-Trader Joe's French Green Beans

-Trader Joe's Saucy Scallops with Mushrooms

I would just like to express my LOVE for Trader Joe's, especially their frozen food aisle! There are so many amazing ready to eat meals that you just pop in the microwave for 3 minutes and ta-dah: yummy food! Both the components of my lunch are from that aisle. I love trying all their different options.

What did you have for lunch? Have you ever shopped in Trader Joe's? What are your favorite things from there?

Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze (Review and Swatch)

Since I have a huge nail polish collection, it is rare for me to find one that is unique to everything I have to my collection. Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze is one of those nail polishes. I had heard about it when Nouveau Cheap posted about it (check out her post!) and saw how gorgeous it was. Bronze Ablaze is a bronze with gold and amber shimmer to it. The shimmer is so fine that it is like a glow. The formula is very smooth and is opaque in two coats. I believe this polish is limited edition so I highly recommend that if you see it, you pick it up!

 

Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze  

Do you own Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze? What do you think of it? Will you be picking it up?

Jesse's Girl Stiletto (Swatch)

Recently Youtube's JulieG713 came out with a nail polish collection with Jesse's Girl. It's so exciting to see Youtubers branch out and get creative! One color from the collection immediately stood out to me, Stiletto. This polish is a gorgeous taupe (I have been loving taupes!) with a subtle silver iridescence. This was opaque in 3 coats.

 

Jesse's Girl Stiletto 

Did you get any polishes from the Jesse's Girl JulieG713 collection? Did you get Stiletto nail polish ? What do you think of it?

Essie Power Clutch Swatch

I recently picked up Essie's Power Clutch from their Fall collection, which also has Case Study in it (swatch here). Power Clutch is a deep,inky grey. It is perfect for those of you that love really dark polishes for fall. It applied nicely, with two coats. It has lots of depth for a dark grey, it has almost a forest green undertone to it.

Essie Power Clutch 

Did you pick up any polishes from the Essie Fall collection? Do you have Essie Power Clutch? What do you think of it?

Essie Cute As A Button vs. Essie Peach Daiquiri (Coral Comparison)

Even though Fall has come, I am still loving the summer corals. I have two Essie corals in my collection that are  gorgeous yet similar. I thought I would do a comparison if any of you were interested in both!

 

Left to right: Essie Cute As A Button, Essie Peach Daiquiri

 

Swatches:

Index and Ring Fingers: Essie Cute As A Button

Middle and Pinky Fingers: Essie Peach Daiquiri 

Essie Peach Daiquiri  is darker and has more orange tones to it. Essie Cute As A Button is about a shade lighter and has more of a peach tone. They are similar but I think if you are a coral lover, you can justify both!

Are you a coral nail polish lover? Do you have Essie Cute As A Button or Essie Peach Daiquiri? What do you think of them?

What I Ate Today: Starbucks Bistro Box

The title isn't necessarily correct, I ate this Wednesday! It was a great mid afternoon snack while catching up with a sweet friend. Starbucks has introduced a line of Bistro Boxes, which include healthier options for snacking or even as lunch. These boxes include small meals that are much more nutritious than their usual cake/bread offerings. I chose one with more fruit in it since fruit is 0 PointsPlus on Weight Watchers.

Protein Bistro Box:

Cage Free Egg, white cheddar cheese, honey peanut butter spread, multi grain muesli bread, apples and grapes.

The peanut butter in it came in a little packet (like the ketchup packets but bigger!). I have seen Katie with these in almond butter. I think these are such a great idea for on the go! I sneaked it in my purse ;) 

These Bistro Boxes are pretty filling. They include nutritious items that will fill you up as opposed to just junk. I approve! :)

For those of you observing Yom Kippur, have a easy fast!

Have you tried the Starbucks Bistro Boxes? What do you think of them?

Butter London All Hail The Queen vs. Color Club Love 'Em/ Leave 'Em Comparison

I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Butter London's All Hail The Queen and how gorgeous it is. I had also read that Color Club Love 'Em/ Leave 'Em might be a dupe for it. Not wanting to pay the money for the Butter London (but admitting to myself I may buy it eventually), I bought the Color Club on Ebay.

left to right: Butter London All Hail The Queen, Color Club Love 'Em/ Leave 'Em 

Index and Ring Finger: Butter London All Hail The Queen

Middle and Pinkie Finger: Color Club Love 'Em/ Leave 'Em 

I would not say these are dupe of each other, but if you like one you will like the other. Butter London All Hail The Queen is more of a taupe-y brown with subtle holographic microshimmer. Color Club Love 'Em/ Leave 'Em is a copper-y brown with more obvious holographic shimmer.

Do you have Butter London All Hail The Queen or Color Club Love 'Em/ Leave 'Em? What do you think of them?

Revlon Fierce Nail Polish (Review & Swatch)

The other polish I bought from the Edgy Elegance is Fierce. Both this and Princess drew me in with the addition of silver shimmer, which gives more depth. This, like Princess, applied like a dream with two coats. Fierce is a purple-y magenta with silver shimmer running through it.

Revlon Fierce

I am very impressed with Revlon collections lately, especially the polishes!

How do you like Revlon nail polishes? Did you get anything from the Edgy Elegance collection?

Comparison of the Sandy Beige Nail Polishes

I have been loving the nude polish trend and feel that for Fall, it has evolved into the sandy nudes trend. For Fall, I typically wear darker polishes and it makes sense that the nudes will be darker as well. I have three polishes that while they might be in the same color family, they are all very different (and therefore I can justify having all of them!)

 

Left to right: Essie Sand Tropez, Revlon Smoky Canvas, Essie Case Study

 

Swatches: (left to right)  Essie Case Study, Revlon Smoky Canvas, Essie Sand Tropez

As you can see, Essie Sand Tropez is the lightest of the three, a light sand color. Essie Case Study has more brown/camel tones than the rest. Revlon Smoky Canvas looks more grey compared to the other two.

What is your favorite nail polish trend for the fall? Will you be picking up any of these polishes?

Butter London Haul (Swatches)

A few weeks ago, Ulta had a BOGO Free on their Butter London polishes. Since NYC does not have an Ulta, I had to get them online which was fine with me until the polishes ALL sold out! I had 3 in my cart and didn't want to wait for them to be lost so I just checked out as fast as I could, only getting one free polish. One free is better than none any day though! Here are the polishes I got:

left to right: Teddy Girl, Yummy Mummy, All Hail The Queen

Teddy Girl- This is a gorgeous light pink cream. It was opaque in 3 coats. It reminds me of OPI Mod About You, except the OPI chips so quickly!

Yummy Mummy- A taupe-y brown. This is a nice neutral for the fall, opaque in 3 coats.

All Hail The Queen- A taupe-y brown with subtle holographic shimmer. I have heard so much about this polish, I had to get it! It's a gorgeous neutral with a subtle twist with the holographic shimmer to it.

Another cool concept with the Butter London polishes is that the cap comes off and you have only the handle. The Chanel polishes also do that, a cute little feature.

Did you get any Butter London polishes during the Ulta BOGO? What do you think of their polishes?

What I Ate Today: Breakfast

I am loving doing these What I Ate Today posts, it helps me get more creative with my meals. I do have lots of nail polish posts coming out if you are tired of these! Today I added some pumpkin to my oatmeal (a suggestion I found on Healthy Diva Eat's blog). I bought a can of Organic Pumpkin at Trader Joe's (LOVE that place!) and it's a great addition to the oatmeal. It makes it more full and adds some nice subtle flavor.

 

-Weight Watchers Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

-Frozen Mixed Fruit (I add this before so the fruit defrosts as the oatmeal cooks)

-Sliced Almonds

-Chia Seeds

I love that the WW oatmeals come in the cups because I usually have my breakfast on the go and it is much more convenient than the regular paper pouches!

What is your favorite breakfast? Are you a pumpkin fan?

What I Ate Today: Post Workout Shake

I love having a shake after my workouts. It's my favorite way to get my energy back and they are so refreshing. My favorite ingredient in my shakes is bananas, they are naturally sweet so no need to add sugar. =]

 

-Skim Plus milk-1 cup

-Frozen Raspberries

- Banana

-Whey Protein

-Peanut Butter-1 tsp

-Chia Seeds

 

I LOVE this thing, it's a single serve blender. It has the handle and the extra top so you can take it to go. After a morning workout, it's so convenient to take the shake with you and then clean it once you get to work. It's one of those little conveniences I didn't know I was missing!

Here is my video on my favorite post workout shake:

What is your favorite post workout snack?