Nail Polish Essentials.

we all have our favorites. here are five of my most-loved (and used!) picks:

from L to R:

1. Seche Vite Top Coat: $5 (half off!!) via Amazon

 i never understood the hype around this one until i used it for myself.

it is FANTASTIC. and essential if you paint your nails frequently or hate waiting for them to dry.

the topcoat is glossy and dries within a minute. it's magic. seriously. 

2. Ulta Salon Nail Base Coat: $3 via Ulta

a pretty solid base coat, i love this one and the Sally Hansen Diamond version, it dries quickly and applies nicely. an basic that every girl should have in her nail polish arsenal.

3. O.P.I.'s Barefoot in Barcelona: $8 via Amazon

my personal favorite. i use this ALL the time. it is the perfect nude for slightly tan to olive skin tones.

it's a pinkish brown but it looks lovely on. i reach for this when i don't know what color to paint my nails and it never fails. i also really love the consistency of OPI nail polishes. the brush is just right and it always ends up looking fantastic.

4. Essie's Fifth Ave $8 via Essie

another favorite. this is my go-to red. it compliments my skin tone (as well as many of my friends! so i think it'll work for everyone) and is a true old Hollywood-esque red. The formula is great but the brush can be a little tricky at times. Despite that it's still one of my all time favorites and the opacity is spot on.

5. Nicole by OPI's Kardashian Kolor in Rainbow in the s-kylie $7 via Target 

every girl needs a fun glitter topcoat, and i love love love this one. the glitter is chunky and it looks awesome paired with OPI's Barefoot in Barcelona.  I tend to just stick to this one on one or two nails to keep the look moderately glam, but I think it would look great for an event painted on a solid colored base such as black, white or gold.

what are your favorite nail colors? any recommendations?

xoxo,

Bella

summer beauty love: Sephora by O.P.I. nail lacquer in I'm Wired

my favorite summer nail polish right now,

the perfect tangy coral.

whats not to love?

xoxo,

bella

Quick Update: Favorite Things January 10'

I meant to do this two days ago lol but life got in the way, so here are my favorite things of January:

• Benefit Beauty to Go Bestsellers: I did a review about this one, and i LOVE it, it sits in my bag and is just plain handy and comes in use so often.  Great Buy :)
• Makeup Gurus on Youtube: a little hard to stop watching once you turn them on, loving the fantastic sister duo of Elle and Blair (juicystar007 and allthatglitters21) they have some great advice on there.
• Shakespeare: ahh Hamlet. time consuming but worthwhile.
• Sephora by O.P.I. nail polish in Domestic Goddess. seriously gorgeous purple. Its not dark, not light, just right for my varying moods. Im actually wearing it right now :)
• Organizing-beyond useful, annoying but so worth it. I love knowing where everything is in my room!
• Being young..only happens once :)

BTW, just ordered a whole bunch of stuff from Coastal Scents and I cant wait to review it.  There brushes are becoming quite loved by the youtube world and are supposedly very good dupes for their MAC counterparts so we'll see how that works out.  

 

Domestic Goddess by Sephora for OPI

fun reads,

bella

ps: loving the sass on beyonce ;)

Drugstore Deals: Sally Hansen+OPI

Daune Reade is so on top of the whole beauty scene right now! lol, so i stopped by once again, and they have a pretty large variety of nail polishes on sale.  Not the cheap stuff either, its mostly just O.P.I., Sally Hansen's Salon Line, and Essie.  Of course i was intrigued and had to buy something.  I purchased "Pat on the Black" from the Sally Hansen salon line and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with it.  I tried it on with no base coat or top coat, but just the polish itself, and within two coats, it was the color inside the bottle.  I was very happy with the overall results.  Pat on the Black is a deep rich purple with dark black undertones, it looks black in some light and then purple in others, which is a lovely touch.  I have to go back and grab some more before they're gone.  There are a variety of shades available from the Sally Hansen Pro line for $3.12. 50% off. Very fair price.  As far as OPI goes, there stuff is also fifty percent off, but the shade selection is more limited.  Getting quality nail polish for $4.25 though, is a good deal, there are select shades for half off in the Essie line as well.  Here's to happy healthy nails for the new year.  [Disclaimer: Every product I review is something that i bought myself or was given to as a gift, if anything i review was sent to me by a company, i'll definitely let my readers know of it.  But seriously, my review are based on my own personal opinions, not any company's sponsorship.]

thats "pat on the black" sorry the quality is so shoddy, i couldn't find my regular camera

ps: wow sophia loren, classic.