Monday, June 29, 2015

Negative Space Flowers

Hey everyone! I can't believe I'm back from vacation already. Well, I'm kind of on vacation for the next two months so really I can't complain (#teacherlife). The BF and I had such a great time in Colorado Springs and Denver. It was absolutely gorgeous there and the mountain views were breath taking. We even got a free upgrade to first class on the flight home! It was very exciting and BF loved the extra leg room. I put together a little collage with just a few of my favorite photos from the trip. And yes, that is me feeding a giraffe. It was awesome.


So for today's mani I went with negative space flowers, something I've been wanting to try out for a while. It's super simple! You just paint on your favorite base coat and then with a dotting tool make your flowers. I chose to use three colors, but you can do whatever you like. After you've got your flowers just slap on your top coat and that's it. Told you it was easy! I love this look because you could use endless color combinations.






Don't forget, I still have my giveaway going until July 6th! Link to the original post with the entry form can be found here. Before I leave you I just had to share some exciting news. Next year I'll be teaching second grade! I can't wait to have my own classroom. If any of you teachers have some advice I would be glad to hear it.

xoxo,
   Brooke

Friday, June 19, 2015

Summer Giveaway!

Hey everyone! Monday is my last day of school and all of you teachers out there know how exciting it is to have summer break just around the corner. In honor of the arrival of summer I'm doing a fun little giveaway!

What better way to get your hands and feet ready for the beach than some mani bombs?! I bought the Forever a Mermaid box a little while back during a Forever Polished restock and since it's been sitting on my desk unloved, I thought I'd pass it along to one of you! I may even throw a few extra goodies into the package ;)



Ocean Breeze - A fresh floral with hints of ocean mist
Sea Salt & Drinks - Creamy rice flower, citrus peel, cotton blossoms, night-blooming jasmine, azure sky ozone, grey sea salt, bamboo leaves, vanilla bean, and sheer musk
For the Love of Ariel - A fresh ocean scent with notes of daylily, sea spray, water floral and musk
Sea Kelp and Mermaid Tears - A fresh and intriguing blend of agave, sea kelp, ocean breeze, citrus zests, sparkling bergamot, dewy cyclamen, and soothing sandalwood. Organic kelp leaves added
Let the Sea Set You Free Cuticle Balm - Contains tea tree oil along with kelp powder. Absorbs nicely and leaves your skin feeling super moisturized

Now for the giveaway details. You must be 18 or older, U.S. residents only. The only entry you must complete is telling me in the comments section what you love about summer. Each extra activity you complete will increase your chances of winning, although they are not mandatory. One winner will be selected at random. Contest ends 12:00am EST on 7/6/2015. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo,
   Brooke

*Note: Mani bombs are delicate creatures, so I cannot guarantee that they will arrive in one piece. I will package them the best I can, but if they do break please know that they are still usable!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Zoya Blaze

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? I feel like mine was jam-packed! The cavity filling on Saturday morning went very smoothly. It only took about 10 minutes, no novocaine! And then Fall Out Boy that night was awesome, of course. I think they're probably my favorite band to see live because they never disappoint. On Sunday I went with my brother and the BF to see Jurassic World. You should definitely go see it because the special effects were amazing! Chris Pratt isn't so bad to look at either, am I right? After that we had all you can eat sushi and then I was in a food coma for the rest of the night. So worth it, though.

Ugh this looks so good I would eat it all over again right now.

So today I was in the mood for red and sparkly. I ended up pulling Zoya Blaze out of my stash, even though it is a tad dark for summer. Oh well! Blaze is a gorgeous plummy cranberry red with lots of fine holographic glitter to give it depth. This color is so gorgeous and I will definitely be wearing it a ton in the fall. PS had to use my right hand for photos because I have a broken nub on my left :(






This week is the last week of school! So excited for summer to start. Hope you all have a lovely start to the week!

xoxo,
   Brooke

Friday, June 12, 2015

OPI Color Paints Review

Hey everyone! Recently I picked up a mini set of the OPI Color Paints from Ulta and I finally had a chance to play with them. I love the packaging for these!

The set comes with:

Silver Canvas Base Coat
"A clean-slate silver to illuminate your masterpiece."
I used one coat of this underneath my mani, but I think next time I may try using white instead and see if it makes the colors look brighter. It's definitely a great opaque metallic silver and would look awesome alone.

Chromatic Orange
"This freshly squeezed orange is awash with color."

Primarily Yellow
"Paint some sunshine with this glowing yellow."

Pen & Pink
"I'm irresistibly drawn to this rosy pink."

Purple Perspective
"The depth of this purple is mesmerizing."

Turquoise Aesthetic
"Beauty is in the eye of this deep aqua."

The mini set does not include Magenta Muse, Landscape Artist, and Indigo Motif.

For this mani I decided to layer Chromatic Orange, Primarily Yellow, and Pen & Pink. The result was amaaaaazing! My nails look like a sunset. These polishes were so much fun to use, I really enjoyed the whole process. I can't wait to try out the other colors!




I wanted to try all the colors on my thumb and I thought it looked kind of cool so I left it, even though it doesn't really match the rest of my nails haha.



Hope you all have a great weekend! On Saturday morning I'm getting a cavity filled (boooo) but I'm also going to a Fall Out Boy concert that night so I'm super excited for that.

xoxo,
   Brooke

Monday, June 8, 2015

Essie Madison Ave Hue

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? On Saturday the BF and I went to Rosa Mexicano by Lincoln Center for dinner and it was so good! If you ever go make sure you get the table side guac. Oh and the white sangria. Yumm. On Sunday we walked over to Sprinkles Cupcakes and I finally got to try the famous red velvet cupcake. I would definitely go back to try other flavors. We also walked around Bloomingdales scoffing at the ridiculous prices and having a good laugh at some of the weird men's clothing. You know, just a typical Sunday.

For today's mani I have on Essie Madison Ave Hue. This color has been on my wish list for months and I definitely do not regret buying it! Madison Ave Hue is the perfect shade of pink with just a hint of shimmer. The formula is great too, full coverage in two coats. I tried out the pink flower decals from Born Pretty Store and love how they look, plus they're a lot easier to use than the water decals.

That shimmer though!




Hope you all have a great start to the week! I recently picked up a mini set of the OPI Color Paints so I will definitely be playing with those soon and sharing my thoughts with you.

xoxo,
   Brooke


Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided for my honest review by the Born Pretty Store. All opinions are my own.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Julep Something Blue & Graffiti Accent

Happy Friday! Guys, I have two weeks of school left. It's so funny because all of the teachers have countdowns to summer on their boards haha I definitely think we're more excited than the kids are. I have a lot of big things happening this summer, but I'm not quite ready to share yet :) Soon!

For today's mani I chose Julep Something Blue, a gorgeous Tiffany blue creme. I was able to get full coverage in one coat, though if you don't have just the right amount of polish on your brush you'll need two coats to avoid patchiness. I topped two of my nails with these seriously awesome graffiti water decals from Born Pretty Store. Make sure you read the directions before using any water decals! Once you know how to use them it's a breeze and they look super cool.




Have a great weekend everyone! It's supposed to be a gorgeous one.

xoxo,
   Brooke



Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided for my honest review by the Born Pretty Store. All opinions are my own.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Butter London Molly Coddled & Ombre Chevron

Hey everyone! Did you have a good weekend? Date night with the BF was awesome. We had some really good sushi and saw Pitch Perfect 2. The AC was actually broken in the theater so it was a little toasty but the manager offered everyone free medium drinks, which were the size of my head haha. The movie was a bit ridiculous at times but it did make me laugh.

For today's mani I went with Butter London Molly Coddled, a light lavender orchid creme. It is one of my all time favorite polishes. Just an absolute dream to apply and opaque in two coats. I paired it with Zoya Thea on my middle finger and then did an ombre chevron design on my ring finger nail using Julep Ciara, Zoya Aurora, and Zoya Lux. To get those nice crisp lines I used the help of some V shaped vinyls from Vinyl It Up. Not gonna lie, I'm really digging this look and it could work with so many different color combos!






Hope you all have a great start to your week!

xoxo,
   Brooke