Peanut Butter and Jelly anyone?

Gifted

I am absolutely LOVING this polish! Its soooooo gorgeous! It went on like buttah! I used two coats and then topped it with Gelous and SV. Just look at the sparkly!





Peanut Butter and Jelly is very squishy, very easy to apply, (love the brush!), and so darn gorgeous!
(more bottle photos here)

You can get yours from Whimsical Ideas by Pam

Whimsical Ideas by Pam: Kismet's Pajamas - Matte!

LOVE it this way! Thanks again to Whimsical Ideas by Pam for making such a beautiful polish!

My polish storage

3/29/2012
I was recently asked about polish storage for my collection and I've been posting this photo at MUA for at least a year maybe longer so I thought I'd share it here too.


I used four Scrapbook drawer cubes made by JetMax and then I went to Home Depot and got the widest shelf they carry and cut it down to about 5 feet. I trimmed the raw edges with white iron on melamine tape and then placed it on top of the cubes. I had planned to silicone it down, but the shelf is so heavy it wasn't necessary. I then lined each drawer with felt, tacking it down with re-positionable glue spray and Viola!
Easy peasy and the drawers are the perfect size for all my polish bottles. Each drawer holds about 100 bottles.


Update: 3/26/2018
I wrote this so long ago, the desk you see above doesn't exist any more. It was filled with four more cubes between those and to their left on the other wall is a whole other set. I also have boxes of polishes that haven't been sorted because I lack the cubes to put them in. I have not ever purged polish in the nearly ten years I've blogged. I think it's about time.



The brand of these drawers changed from Jet Max to Recollections and now is Ashland. I have cubes from both the first two and they have held up well. I have been hearing that their quality has declined though. So if you are on the hunt for these drawers from Michael's, make sure to put them together and check for durability before filling them and deciding to keep them.

Polish and Bottle Spam!

First, a mattified I Believe in Fairies! Isn't it gorgeous this way too!?



I've had some awesome nail mail days lately, especially this gift package from Pam. The timing could not have been better. I'd had a pretty chaotic and stressful week and this arrived unexpectedly and brightened my day! Along with Peanut Butter and Jelly and Kismet's Pajamas, was a thank you note from Pam for reviewing the Fairies polish previously. What a sweetheart! :)




For my mani this week I chose Kismet's Pajamas from Whimsical Ideas by Pam. KP has a charcoal jelly base with tons of gorgeous silver and hot pink hex glitter, as well as silver micro glitter. I'm wearing this over Orly Shine, which is a silver foil topped with two coats of KP. As you can see, the jelly base builds to black pretty well. I like it both ways, but I'm a sperg and -had- to do two coats. Pam's polishes are so beautiful and have such depth, I am really impressed with all three of these and cannot wait to wear Peanut Butter and Jelly!




More bottle spam from the rest of my lovely nail mail! A few swaps and purchases from the blue and other Indie polish shops.



Front and back of these, cause they're tough to see from the front:

Haus of Gloi - Upcoming Reverie

Just saw this tweet, thought I'd share!

Also, banana puddin' as a Reverie scent. Must. Happen.

I Believe in Fairies and Dots, Do you?

I Believe in Fairies, created by Whimsical Ideas by Pam

Bottle photos were taken prior, and now I'm wearing it!


I also took a few bottle comparison shots of this, Lynn's Bride of Franken and my own, Jasmine's Dress





My Connect the Dots from Llarowe also arrived yesterday and I took a bottle shot of it to share as well.


I am thinking I may wear it over She's Picture Perfect first, still thinking about it though!

Coffee Wishes

I recently saw a coffee flavor posted at the Bath board on MUA called coconut marshmallow. It sounded heavenly and so I planned to order a package of it. Only thing is, it was ground already and did not come in decaf. Since I drink coffee both at night and in the morning, I like to get decaf so I don't have to worry with it keeping me up at night. I also much prefer whole bean, the stuff that's already ground just doesn't taste that fresh to me.

So I went searching for a coffee in this flavor that would suit my needs and I stumbled upon an ebay shop called Coffee Wishes. They had a heap of flavored and gourmet coffees both, as well as tea and coffee makers! I spotted a Marshmallow Cream coffee so I went to the product page and found that they let you choose decaf or regular and whole bean, french press, or drip grind. Perfecto! So I ordered that one and the Coconut Cream one. I cannot wait to receive them!!

Nail Glossary

Today I have added a new page to my blog and thought I would also make a post here. If you have something to contribute please comment!

From the lovely ladies of Makeupalley's nail board, I bring you our dictionary!

Blurple - A Blue Purple colored nail polish
Boobies - NfuOh nail polish bottles
Chunky - Big pieces of glitter which are "chunky" as compared to others like micro glitters.
Clean up - Cleaning up skin and cuticle area of nail polish. The Megan Chair method is very popular for this.
Crack - Crackle style nail polish, it cracks apart after application leaving a crackle effect.
Crelly - creme-jelly. Squishy but not translucent enough to be called jellies.
Dupe - An exact replica of another polish. Exact color, exact glitter shapes and sizes - if there are any differences its not a dupe.
Dusty - A store that has older nail polishes that are "dusty" from having been there so long. Many a treasure is found at dustys!
Enablers - Those evil nail board folk who encourage you to buy more polish!
Funky French - French manicure done with colors other than the traditional white tips and pink/nude base.
Fimo - a type of clay used to create sticks with designs rolled into them. They're then cut into very thin slices and used to glue on nails for decoration.
Flakie - a light see through almost cellophane jagged cut/shredded material, much like glitter but not as rigid. It is usually iridescent, but some are simply clear.
Foil - A type of polish finish in which it looks like foil when applied. Very shiny, metallic looking and opaque.
Foil Method - best way to remove glitterbombs. Acetone soaked cotton or felt placed on the glitterbombed nail, covered with foil and left for 5-10 minutes.
Franken - mixing custom polish, preferably while saying "Mwah-ha-ha, it's alive!"
Glitter sammich - The application of various glitters sandwiched between jelly polish.
Glitterbomb - Glitter polish layered so that its opaque and on all ten nails.
Gravender - A Gray-lavender colored Nail Polish
Greige - A Greyed Beige colored nail polish
Haul: ... of shame! - Purchases of polish. Up in here we buy in bulk.
HAZMAT!!!! - Inside joke that stemmed from discussion about shipping nail polish and it being a hazardous material. This is the appropriate response to the "No Time" comment.
Holmer- A helmer purchased from Hobby Lobby
Jelly - Colored polish that is not opaque, it looks like jelly.
Lemming- A nail polish you want so badly that you'd consider giving up your firstborn for it.
Lobster hands - When a nail color clashes with your skin tone & makes your hands look red.
Mannequin hands - a nude color that matches your skin tone and causes your hands to look like a Mannequin's hands.
Melmer - A helmer purchased from Michaels
MUA - Makeupalley.com
muggle - Taken from the Harry Potter book series and morphed a bit for NB use. A person who does not understand the Nail Polish Enthusiast, an outsider.
Nailgasm - Self explanatory I believe!
Nailspiration - nail inspiration, what NB is for
NB - MUA Nail Board
Nip cream - Nipple Cream or 100% Lanolin. Used as cuticle cream by many nail boarders.
NO TIME!! - see Hazmat
NOTD - nail of the day
Ruffian- Kind of a backward French, however the curve follows that of the Lunula. This is often done with bright and dark colors.
Secret shimmer - Shimmer that shows in the polish bottle but not so much on the nail. A lot of companies add this to create depth of color on the nail.
S-flair: Spectraflair, a linear holographic pigment used in many Frankens.
Sheet marks- evil markings from sheets on a fresh mani caused by having gone to sleep before completely dry.
Shrinkage - When nail polish shrink away from either the free edge or cuticle area of the nail. Seche Vite is often said to cause this to happen.
Skittles - Each fingernail painted in a different color. Brights and pastels are often used for this style.
Smurf fingers - when your cuticles, skin around your nails, nail plates and fingers get stained from removing a blue (or often green, but Smurfs are blue) polish.
Spam - A lot of pretty polish or bottle photos, its a good thing!
Squishy - often used to describe a jelly or crelly type polish.
Squoval - squared oval shaping for nails
Swatch - A photo of polish applied to the nail or a nail wheel to show others what the color/finish looks like.
Tape mani - A style of nail art that uses Scotch tape to create the design.
Telmer - A helmer purchased from Target
The Angry Vag - Scrubby Tub or Up and Up NP Remover Dip, these are jars with sponge or brush soaked in acetone. Used for easy nail polish removal.
Tipwear - When polish has worn off at the free edge.
Troll - Instigator, not welcomed at the NB.
Underwear / Undies - A color painted under a sheer color to make it opaque and hide VNL
VNL - Visible Nail Line, often seen through jelly or sheer polishes. This is the line at the end of your fingertip that meets the free edge.
Water marble - A style of nail art that uses a cup of water and polish to create a marbled effect.

Haus of Gloi Spring has Sprung!

If you haven't made your purchase yet, head on over to Haus of Gloi's Spring section!

I've already ordered some faves from last year and samplings of the two new scents!

Lassi - Cool, fresh mango cream, Tunisian orange blossom absolute, black ginger to ground, splash of green tea and a soft squeeze of lime juice.
I stocked up on the pumpkin butter and perfume oil. I believe this is my most favorite scent they make.

Ploughman - Well worn leather, dirt n' dandelions, carrot, a pinch of tobacco and a light sheen of feral skin musk.
I ordered a soft bubbling scrub in this scent. It reminds me of freshly rained on dirt. I LOVE how it smells!

In the new scents, I ordered mini pumpkin butters:
La Florida - A breath of fresh florals, bergamot, ylang ylang, lavender, violet leaf, rose absolute, orange blossoms, lemon zest and a touch of clove.
Mintha - Fresh parsley, ginger grass, Oregon mint, ho wood and a touch of litsea.

And I just received an email from Bree, of Happy Button Soap Company. She is offering a discount of 25% on the Winter Wonderland collection, Fall in New England collection, and Valentine's kits with code SPRINGSALE

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is the last mani in the green series. I've topped the Olympia with Mermaid from Nina Pro and the accent nail is Savvy Green With Envy. And a backward re-cap of all the green manis for March. Enjoy!













Next up will be purple!

Pretty and Polished

Pretty and Polished opened and restocked today!
If you're looking for something unusual, stop on by and visit this indie nail polish shop!

I ordered a few minis today in Jawbreaker and The Amazing Technicolor Topcoat. So excited for them to arrive!

Whimsical Ideas by Pam: I Believe In Fairies

Today I received a new nail polish from Whimsical Ideas by Pam. When I first saw it, I knew I had to have it!
Purple, Sparkly, Glitter, Stars and the mention of Fairies? Yes please!

I first found Pam on facebook by sheer accident, and when I spotted her polishes I knew I had to have one!
As I perused her facebook album and page, I spotted the one!
I then contacted her via email to inquire and she responded faster than I could click send! When I asked to make the purchase, I had an invoice in minutes! Pam brought a smile to my face with her friendly humor in our email conversations; and take a peek at the TAT: ordered - 3/13 late:30, arrived - 3/16, wow!


All that and a bag of chips! Just look at this bottle! Its square, which I love, and is adorned with the cutest perfect little bow!


Micro glitter, check! Holo hex glitter, check! Twinkling pink stars, check! -swoons-


Wanna see it in action? Mmmmm! Delicious Jelly!



Get yours!

Franken: Jasmine's Dress

The name was inspired by Disney's Princess Jasmine. I <3 Disney!

L to R
1 coat over 2 coats Purple Pizzaz
3 coats on its own
2 coats over WnW black
2 coats over WnW White

recipe!
1/2 bottle Starry Glitter from NYC
About 1/3 bottle of Purple Pizzaz from SH
And a dab of white. I tilted the bottle to pour and when the white started to flow wholey/freely, I tilted it back up. Hope that makes sense!

Whatcha think?

Sinful Colors - Olympia

I color swatched this and Essie's Navigate her on paper and they were close enough for me to call them dupes and save some dough.

In very bright light, one of them had just a teeny tiny bit more yellow than the other. It really was difficult to see this difference. If I had not taken a second closer look, I would not have seen it.

Haus of Gloi - Summer Announcement

Just visiting Haus of Gloi's facebook page and saw their post and thought I'd share!

Haus of Gloi
Hi Everyone,

Spring is almost here and that means that it's time for fresh new scents from the Haus! For 2012's collection, we have brought back old favorites as well as two new scents, La Florida and Mintha.

This year we have opted to offer all scents in whipped soap instead of bars in order to reduce production times and minimize the backup caused by Britton's recent jury service. Bar soaps will definitely be coming back as soon as all production is back in order.

On to the stuff you really care about! Spring release will be at 12PM Pacific (GMT minus 8 hours) on Sunday, March 18th. We will be restocking a number of general catalog items in advance as well.

La Florida
A breath of fresh florals, bergamot, ylang ylang, lavender, violet leaf, rose absolute, orange blossoms, lemon zest and a touch of clove.
(Whipped soap/pumpkin butter/perfume oil)

Lassi
Cool, fresh mango cream, Tunisian orange blossom absolute, black ginger to ground, splash of green tea and a soft squeeze of lime juice.
(Whipped soap/pumpkin butter/perfume oil/emulsifying scrub/bubbling scrub)

Milkmaid
Flushed, but demure. Fresh milk, clean linens, pale musk and pink sweet pea blossom.
(Whipped soap/pumpkin butter/perfume oil/emulsifying scrub/bubbling scrub)

Mintha
Fresh parsley, ginger grass, Oregon mint, ho wood and a touch of litsea.
(Whipped soap/pumpkin butter/perfume oil)

Ploughman
Well worn leather, dirt n' dandelions, carrot, a pinch of tobacco and a light sheen of feral skin musk.
(Whipped soap/pumpkin butter/perfume oil/emulsifying scrub/bubbling scrub)

Selkie
The break of waves, gurgling sea foam, kelp, rain tinged air, sand smoothed driftwood and wild sage.
(Whipped soap/pumpkin butter/perfume oil/emulsifying scrub/bubbling scrub)

Thanks all and we will see you on the 18th!

Matt & Britton
xoxo

I am so excited about this release! Haus of Gloi's products are made from scratch and very high quality. Britton blends the most beautiful and unusual scents. Lassi, being one of my favorites. It reminds me of summer fruits, bright sunny days, and all that is good and happy! I have been rationing my Lassi scented products and now I can restock my stash! I'm also very excited about the two new summer scents this year, La Florida and Mintha; they both will be joining my stash soon!

If you have never tried Haus of Gloi, this is the time! You can thank me later. ;)

Yoplait Yogurt Splitz!

Trying the birthday cake flavor for the first time right now and omg its good!
If you have not tried these, do it. You'll thank yourself!

I also have a pack of Rainbow Sherbet flavor, that I haven't tried yet. Yum!!

Dollish Polish

Dollish Polish re-opened today with a new Gamer Series and several other polishes. After about an hour and a half nearly all the new shades were sold out. I am so happy for her business being so successful! Just look at the gorgeous polishes in her recent blog post!

I set my alarm and planned on trying to get the Urban Camo and Hip Hop Hippity Hop polishes, but one thing stopped me from it..I forgot about the time change! There will be a next time though, Dollish has reassured us that these will be permanent and restocked. Yay!

Fragrance Friday!

The name Friday comes from the Old English Frīġedæġ, meaning the "day of Frigg"
But here at the xoxo-Jen blog, its cause for celebration! Its the end of the work week, and the beginning of the weekend! I thought it would be fun to share the scents we wear each Friday; and our thoughts about each.


Body Wash - BBW Exotic Coconut: This takes me away to warm summer days where the sun shines bright and the waves gently wash over the sparkling sand.
After shower Lotion - BBW Coconut Lime Breeze: I really like how fresh and like Summer this smells. I have about 1/3 of the bottle left to use up!
Perfume - Chia! A lovely Mua'er (Thank you Gail!!) from the perfume board offered to send a decant to me, out of the blue! I didn't know her and don't typically frequent the perfume board. How awesome is that! This smells very much like Pink Sugar, only I think the musk is stronger which softens this up a bit and makes it a little more grown up. I am in LOVE with this scent!
Hand Lotion - I use this through the day and today it will be Haus of Gloi's Spring Tonic #1! Lemon, Lime, Parsley and Dandelions - a super yummy combination and perfect to brighten up the day!
What did you wear today?

I have a green thumb! (St. Pat's day greens)

Well, in the more literal sense!
I decided to wear green polish until St. Patrick's day passes, so here are my first few!

China Glaze Entourage


Sinful Colors Last Chance


Topped with Fingerpaints Motley


Topped with LA Girls Purge, Accent nail is Milani Gold








Recent purchases:


I also got a few Sinful Colors Zeus and took a bottle shot to share. :D