February Giveaway!! WIN 46 ITEMS! Includes Philosophy, Color Club, American Apparel, Korres, e.l.f., Essie, China Glaze & MORE!

Hello, Beautiful!

February is one of my favorite months; I hate the weather, but it's full of love. Of course there is Valentine's Day, but it's also my wedding anniversary (7 years on the 7th!) and it's also my grandmom's birthday (and I love her very much).

To celebrate, I've put together a big beauty giveaway! You have until February 25 to enter! Keep reading for details on how to enter this contest!

Here's what you can win...

List of items (46 items!!!):

• Sephora Pink Grapefruit Travel Set (includes pink grapefruit 2.5 fl oz body wash, 2.5 fl oz body scrub, and 1.7 oz body butter).
• Victoria's Secret Love Spell Ultra-Moisturizing Hand And Body Cream (6.7 fl oz)
• Philosophy 4 fl oz Oatmeal Raisin 3-in-1 Shampoo/Shower Gel/Bubble Bath
• Philosophy 2 fl oz Amazing Grace Perfumed Firming Body Emulsion
• Philosophy 0.5 oz Peppermint Bark Lip Shine
• Korres 0.68 fl oz White Tea Facial Cleanser
• Skincare Face Scrub Brush (great for applying your cleansers - it will get your face so much cleaner vs. using just your hands)
• American Apparel Nail Lacquer in Malibu Green
• China Glaze Nail  Lacquer in Tree Hugger
• Essie Nail Lacquer in True Love
• e.l.f. Cosmetics nail polish in Mint Cream
• e.l.f. Cosmetics nail polish in Desert Haze
• e.l.f. Cosmetics nail polish in Party Purple
• 10 different Color Club nail polishes! These are not labeled, but they do have names. I can provide you with them if you'd like.
• 3 different Goldie nail polishes! These are also not labeled and I have not been able to track down any names for these.
• Rimmel Super Wear nail polish
• Rimmel Faster 60 Second top coat
• 3 Rimmel Lycra Wear polish in Posh Trash, Tequila Sunrise and in Oyster Pink
• Rimmel 60 Seconds Vinyl Shine in Ethereal
• Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Color in Candy-licious
• Love My Nails nail polish in Hot Tamale
• Pro 10 nail lacquer in Daydream
• Yellow-Out Clear Acrylic Top Coat
• Nutra Nail Magic Growth
• Nutra Nail 5 to 7 Day Growth Protein Formula
• Milani Nail Strengthener
• Milani nail lacquer in Lilly Valley
• 2 zipper flower rings (from Hard Candy polish bottles). One is purple, one is red.
• 2 Sure Foot anti-slip soles. I love these - I have them in bulk and put them on the bottom of all my slippy heels. They make it safe to wear heels - especially in winter weather. You'll get two pairs of these.

HOW TO ENTER:

Enter between February 1 and February 25, 2011
*Open to United States residents 18 and older*

1. You must become a follower of my blog if you aren't already. It's easy to become a follower: Go to the left side of the blog and follow with Google Friend Connect.

2. Once you've become a follower, CLICK HERE to go to the online giveaway/contest entry page (the page is on ValentinKisses.com). Fill out and submit your contest entry form. You may only enter once through this method, so be sure to check out the bonus entries listed below so you have even more chances to win!

BONUS ENTRIES:

I pretty much never have time to keep up with Facebook or Twitter, so becoming a Facebook friend or Twitter follower will not gain you any bonus entries. You're still welcome to become our Facebook friend or follow us on Twitter, but just know that I almost never make updates. I wish I had more time to, but there just aren't enough hours in the day!


[5 Bonus Entries] Make a blog post about this contest on your blog.

• Just mention "ValentineKisses.com is holiding a contest on their beauty blog", etc. and be sure to link your readers to the contest.
• Once you make your blog post, leave a comment below including a link to your blog post and your email address [email (at) email (dot) com] so we can get in touch in case you're the winner!
• You may post about our contest on your blog as much as you want, but we'll only count a maximum of 3 blog posts towards the contest (a maximum of 15 bonus entries for blog posts). Each blog entry must be posted on a different day in order to be valid.

[5 Bonus Entries] Make a YouTube video about our contest.

• Just mention "ValentineKisses.com is holiding a contest on their beauty blog", etc. and be sure to link your viewers to the contest.
• Once you post your YouTube video, leave a comment below including a link to your YouTube video and your email address [email (at) email (dot) com] so we can get in touch in case you're the winner!
• You may upload as many YouTube videos about our contest as you want, but we'll only count a maximum of 2 YouTube videos towards the contest (a maximum of 10 bonus entries for YouTube videos). Each YouTube video must be uploaded on a different day in order to be valid.

[2 Bonus Entries] Tell your friends about us on your Facebook!

• Just mention "ValentineKisses.com is holiding a contest on their beauty blog", etc. and be sure to link your friends to the contest.
• Once you make your Facebook post, leave a comment below including a link to your Facebook and your email address [email (at) email (dot) com] so we can get in touch in case you're the winner!
• You may post on Facebook about our contest as much as you want, but we'll only count a maximum of 5 Facebook posts towards the contest (a maximum of 10 bonus entries for Facebook posts). Each Facebook post must be posted on a different day in order to be valid.

[2 Bonus Entries] Tweet about us on your Twitter page! 

• Just mention "ValentineKisses.com is holiding a contest on their beauty blog", etc. and be sure to link your friends to the contest.
• Once you make your tweet, leave a comment below including a link to your Twitter page and your email address [email (at) email (dot) com] so we can get in touch in case you're the winner!
• You may Tweet about our contest as much as you want, but we'll only count a maximum of 5 Tweets towards the contest (a maximum of 10 bonus entries for tweeting). Each Tweet must be made on a different day in order to be valid.

PLEASE NOTE: I will be selecting the winner within 48 hours of the contest end date (ends February 25). If you reply back by February 28 I will be able to ship out your prize before my surgery (my surgery is scheduled for March 2). If you do not reply by February 28 I will not be able to ship out your prize for at least 1 to 2 weeks after my surgery.

Nail Art: Inspired by Jason Mraz and Getting Engaged

Hello, Beautiful!

It's not secret that I love Jason Mraz; his music is so relaxing, uplifting and happy. He inspired my "Be Love" lifestyle and my "Be Love" tattoo. He also inspired some nail art!


Right now I only have one Jason Mraz nail art design to show you, but I can promise you I'm working on more (I have some sketches, I just need to find time to make the on nails).

Geek In The Pink

Inspiration: The first Jason Mraz song I ever heard was "Geek In The Pink", and from that day on I was hooked on his music. The word geek became something hip, something even sexy (at least in my eyes - but I've always been into geeky, artistic and muscial guys over the muscle heads). I still listen to that song pretty often, and it's my default ringtone on my phone. All that lead to this very simple nail art:

Nail colors used to create the above design:

Color Club - She's Sooo Glam (pink), Nail Ritz Nail Art Pen - White (white), Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

And although not technically Jason Mraz, it was sort of inspired by him. He recently became engaged so I made two nail art designs inspired by engagment:

Showing Off The Ring

Nail colors used to create the above design:

Hard Candy - Sky (blue), American Apparel - Summer Peach (arm/hand), Claire's - Glitter Top Coat (ring), Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Ring Finger

Nail colors used to create the above design:

American Apparel - Summer Peach (base color), Sally Hansen - Celeb City (silver), Claire's - Glitter Top Coat (glittery diamond), Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

And then I did one love inspired nail art design:

Nail colors used to create the above design:

Sally Hansen - Celeb City (silver), Butter London - Primrose Hill Picnic (pink), Nail Ritz Nail Art Pen - Black (black), Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

My Custom Nail Polish Shelf! (updated pics) Plus: Help me decide how to orgaznie my polishes!

Hello, Beautiful!

As promised, I have some better (non cell phone pic) photos of my custom nail polish shelf. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have the best husband in the world! Thanks to him, and his complete understanding of my beauty obsession, he (and my 5 year old son) created a custom nail polish shelf for me!!

Originally it was going to be a book shelf design with a back, sides, top and bottom. But it turned into a floating shelf system that I love even more! I do need to paint it eventually, but for now I actually don't mind the bare wood.

My husband is going to extend the length of the shelves soon because the shelves barely hold my current collection. My collection will continue to grow, so more room is needed. I have 6 Essie polishes, 11 Sephora by OPI polishes and a NARS polish coming in the mail soon to add to this shelf, plus 7 Color Club polishes my mom found for me.

And by the way, Sephora has Sephora by OPI polishes on sale for just $5 each! They just added 15 colors to the sale section. Grab a few before they sell out.

Anyhow, back to the shelf...

I need some opinions on deciding which way to organize my polishes on the shelves: by brand or by color.

I have photos of the shelf showing it both ways and I'm leaning more in the direction of sorting by brand. I do like to sort things in color order. My closet is color coordinated and in order by sleeve size (for tops) or by length (for pants, skirts, dresses). Can you tell I'm a bit obsessed with organizing things?! :)

* Click on a photo to view it larger. *

So here it my custom nail polish shelf sorted BY BRAND:

And here is my custom nail polish shelf sorted BY COLOR:

How should I organize them?

OPI Katy Perry Collection: Swatches and mini review!

Hello, Beautiful!

Below are swatches of the OPI Katy Perry collection, including extra examples of the Black Shatter. A mini review is at the end of the post. Enjoy!

 * Click on a photo to view it larger. *

Teenage Dream (NL K07) - from the Katy Perry collection

Shade Description: A semi-sheer micro glitter pink with holographic glitter.

Last Friday Night (NL K10) - from the Katy Perry collection

Shade Description: A sheer light blue with iridescent glitter.

Not Like The Movies ( NL K09) - from the Katy Perry collection

Shade Description: A duo chrome silver/gray that flashes shades of green, purple and blue in different lights when you move, with micro silver glitter.

The One That Got Away (NL K08) - from the Katy Perry collection

Shade Description: A pinky berry shimmer with flecks of micro silver glitter.

Black Shatter (NL E53)

Shade Description: A matte black that, with one coat, dries to a shatter/crackle effect. A different effect is created on each nail.

Shown below over OPI - Teenage Dream

with topcoat:

OPI Shatter shown over top Icing - True Blue

with topcoat:

OPI Shatter shown over top Funky Fingers - 220 Volts

with topcoat:

OPI Shatter shown over top Icing - Sunset

with topcoat:

OPI Shatter shown over top Funky Fingers - Manic Flamingo

with topcoat:

*As always: All swatches are shown with 2 coats. Only one photo shows the polish with a top coat (the last photo), as I feel top coats make all shades look better; some top coats even save a horrible shade and transform it into something beautiful. I want to show the colors for what they are and what they could be when you apply a top coat. *


 

REVIEW:

Overall, I really love this collection. I was the first person at Ulta to pick these up (yes, I waited almost 30 minutes in the parking lot before they opened to ensure I would get my hands on these... I'm a bit obsessed with nail polish!). Upon swatching them I was really pleased with all but one... the pretty blue glitter, Last Friday Night. It looked soooo pretty in the bottle. An electric blue with glitter that made me go crazy when I saw it in person. It was the one shade I had to have. But it was so sheer that all that electric blue I was hoping to have was nowhere to be found.

I still like it, but I have two other shades that are exactly like it (OPI's version has more glitter). I will do a full post on those dupes and how to layer Last Friday Night over top another shade to get the color you see in the bottle.

Teenage Dream was the first that made it onto my nails.

Black Shatter is something I'm not really into. I almost didn't even pick it up, but figured I would just so I could swatch it and have it just in case. I actually hate the look of it without a top coat, but with a top coat it's actually kind of cool. Sorta. I go through phases with what I'm most into when it comes to makeup and nails, so I'm sure I'll go through a phase where I'll want to use the Shatter but for now it will sit on my shelf.

What do you think of this collection? What shades do you own or want?