NOTD: A Mani Monday for Once!

Here's my little bit of nail fun so far this week:

Products/tools used:
Avon Nail Experts Ridge Filling Base Coat
Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Sweet Pea Dream (limited edition)
Avon Gel Finish 7-in-1 Nail Enamel in Royal Vendetta
Avon Dual-Ended Nail Brush and Dotting Tool
Avon UV Gloss Guard Top Coat

They look like eyes.

Quick Nail of the Day

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram then you know that I did a little experiment last night on my nails, taking inspiration from the Fall 2013 Rebecca Minkoff show.

Quick Nail of the Day

I had a little fun this past weekend and painted my nails for Independence Day! :)  Here's the products I used:
Avon Gel Strength Base Coat
Nailwear Pro+ in French Tip White
Nailwear Pro+ in Tangtastic
Nailwear Pro+ in Stunning Cobalt
Speed Dry+ in Clear to top it off.

 

Have a happy 4th!

Product Sneak Peek! C17 2013

Here are a couple of the new products coming out in Campaign 17:

Product Sneak Peek for C14 2013

Here are a few highlights for products coming out in Campaign 14 this year:

Mark Bath & Body collection in Coconut Treat:

This scent is described as "a deliciously tropical indulgence, with refreshing coconut water and mandarin mingling with luscious hazelnut and coconut cream."  Yum!!  I'm a sucker for coconut and citrus...

Big Color Eye Pencils ... Diamonds

 Since some of the original Big Color pencils already contain shimmer, I'm going to guess that these new ones have actual glitter in them, much like the Glimmersticks Diamonds.  I'm curious to see.

Last, but not least...

Nail Art Stickers

 I like subtle nail art.  These are too much for my short tips. :)


That's all for now, check back in two weeks for the next Sneak Peek!

Avon Haul and First Impressions: Campaigns 1 & 2

Note: I submit my Avon order every other campaign.  This means that I receive products from two campaigns at once, but half as often as the regular timetable.

Happy late Monday!  I got my Avon order in tonight, which is earlier in the week than usual due to the holiday shipping schedule.  Here is a pic of most of what I got:

Lots of pink and black this time!

Nail Experts Gel Base Coat;
Nailwear Pro + polish in shades Red Reveal, Coral Reef, and Pastel Pink;

Nail Art Enamel in Black Drama;

Raspberry Hibiscus Shower Gel;

Faceted Iridescence Earrings;

Cream Eyeshadow Brush;

Irresistibly Sexy Lipgloss in Undressed Nude;

Beauty Carry All Bag (pictured below);
Bejeweled Key Chain, K (not pictured);

Body Illusion Legging in size XL (not pictured).

I'm trying out a layer of the gel base coat as I type this.  Application was typical and smooth; drying time was very quick, to a surprisingly glossy finish.  After about 20 minutes there was no residual smell, which told me that all the chemicals were gone (meaning faster drying time for subsequent layers of polish!)

The Nailwear Pro + polishes aren't exactly a new thing anymore, but I got them because recently I've noticed that I have a lack of pretty, feminine polishes in my collection and sometimes I feel like a sparkly blue is just a bit too juvenile for me. Red Reveal is a true blue-red and great for my skintone.  Coral Reef is a beautiful, deep peachy-pink which will be perfect for spring and summer.  Pastel Pink is a nice creme which, although I haven't tried it yet, looks like it won't take a dozen coats to be opaque.

The shower gel smells nice, although a bit synthetic fruit-ish.  More hibiscus than raspberry, it is very sweet and reminds me of the pomegranate mango scent.

 

I got the cream shadow brush because looks like it will be great for applying powder shadows wet. The bristles are dense and stiff but soft to the touch and not too thin; however the brush head is pretty small, about the width of my pinky finger.  I think it will do nicely.  Although I was tempted to order one of the new cream eyeshadows, ultimately I decided not to since I prefer to use a pencil as a base instead of cream shadow.

So far I'm very happy with the Nail Art Enamel; the brush is long and flexible and the formula is thin but opaque and smooth.  My only complaint is that the tip of the brush seems a little rough-cut.

Undressed Nude lipgloss: I'm always looking for that perfect nude lip shade, so I picked up this one.  It looks a little bronzey in the tube, but applies pretty sheer with multicolor shimmer.  The applicator is a little different: a slightly flared doefoot with a sort of "cup" for gloss in the end.  What I can't get over is the scent... it's faint, but is like a slightly sweet sunscreen.  I'm pretty sensitive to smells, and so I couldn't even leave it on my lips for the evening. :(

Now for the bag: I thought this beauty bag would be a plain, clear blue bag.  Not exactly!  The plastic is grooved in such a way that it distorts objects which aren't right up against the side.  The yellow arrow is pointing to the bottle of Red Reveal sitting inside the bag, maybe 2-3 inches from the polish I am holding up.  Pretty cool!

As for the leggings and the keychain, I'll keep it short: leggings are super comfy and a keeper; keychain is small and cheap-looking and will be going back to Avon.

I hope this was helpful, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post below!

All thoughts stated in this post are my own, honest opinions.  I have not been compensated to review these products, and all were purchased with my own money.