Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil Winner!!!

Thanks for all who visited and entered to win my Tropical Traditions giveaway! There were 24 entries in total, including all the entries on Twitter. So I counted them up, alternating between the comments on this post and the tweets and used Random.org to pick the winner.


Entry #2, a tweet from kandiedkeondra is the winner! Congratulations! Send me an e-mail with your name, mailing address and email address.
Thanks again to Tropical Traditions for sponsoring the giveaway and thanks for reading/subscribing to Polished Beauty Blog!

My Salon Tools Giveaway Winner Announced!

Well, there were only two entries in this giveaway! One entry on Twitter and one comment on the post. So I went to Random.org to pick a winner out of the two. The number generator gave me the number 2, so ArtsyAndi you are the winner! Send an email to lachelle AT polishedbeautyblog.com to claim your prize.

Reminder: I still have a Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway so find out more information and enter to win here.

Sinful Frenzy + OPI Blue My Mind

I'll admit, I've never been big on layering polish, especially glitter polishes. I'm like either the polish has it or it doesn't. However,lately I've been picking up some Sinful glitters that make me think otherwise. Frenzy is gorgeous all by itself:

I decided to layer it over one of my favorite blue polishes ever, OPI's Blue My Mind and I was pleased with the results.

Under my lamp + flash

Indoor + flash

With this manicure, I tried Posh Super Fast Drying Topcoat for the first time. I'd always wanted to try it but I had a bottle of Seche Vite and I had no need to get it. Finally, my SV has gotten impossibly low (and thick) so I decided to try Poshe. It dries just as quickly as SV and very glossy. It also smoothed this glitter polish so my manicure was very smooth to the touch. I have no complaints...I'm just glad that topcoats like Seche Vite and Poshe exist because I cant wait forever for my nails to dry. I don't know how I polished before without them!

Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil Review+ Giveaway!!

Coconut oil is not just for cooking; you can use it for your hair! You'd only have to do a quick search of the Internet to find many coconut oil "recipes" for the hair. Two of my favorite hair sites, Long Hair Care Forum & The Anti-Hair Slave both boast the benefits of using coconut on hair. Here is more info from OrganicFacts.net:

"Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shinny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. Coconut oil is normally applied topically for hair care."
source

So I figured I would try it out on my own hair. I currently switch back and forth between going natural (no longer getting a relaxer) and then giving up and simply "stretching" the time between my next relaxer. Regardless of what phase I'm in, I have new growth that needs special care. My new growth gets drier than the rest of my hair so I figured coconut oil could help me maintain it better and give it some moisture.

I've been using the coconut oil two ways.

1. Applying it daily to dry hair.
2. Applying it to my freshly shampooed hair, then mixing with conditioner. Put on a shower cap and let sit for 30 to 60 mins.

Both methods have been giving me good results but in different ways. For immediate results, option number 1 is the way to go. Immediately my hair was shiner and felt smoother. Coconut oil is a great daily moisturizer for hair in my opinion because it does not weigh my hair down. My hair is light and moves unlike when I use heavy hair grease or pomades.

Option number 2 is a great way to deep condition your hair and can be done with or without heat. Although coconut oil usually liquefies at temperatures above 78 degrees, I like to warm it in the microwave for less than 30 seconds. The warm oil feels great on my head and scalp. Then I put on my conditioner and shower cap. When its time to rinse my hair, it feels amazingly soft! After I blow dry my hair, it looks noticeably shinier than when I don't use coconut oil.

Coconut oil is amazing. Its natural and doesn't have any harmful ingredients that you cant pronounce. Its a great choice as far as money goes because you can buy a jar of coconut oil and it lasts a while. You can take some of it and put it in a spray bottle for your hair and then use the rest to cook with if you'd like.

So now that you've heard about coconut oil, wouldn't you like to try some? Tropical Traditions has offered to send one lucky reader some of their virgin coconut oil!

How to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address.
• Subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter and let me know you did in a comment on this post
• Send me a tweet on Twitter that says "I want to win the Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway!

This contest will end on midnight CST December 26th. Good Luck!





Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

My Salon Tools Giveaway!!!

The holidays are here and gift giving mood is in full swing! Need some last minute gifts or gift ideas? Maybe you want to give yourself a Christmas gift, I know am planning my MAC shopping trip for after the holidays. Well, My Salon Tools has offered to give one lucky Polished Beauty Blog reader a $25 gift certificate to use!

My Salon Tools is one of the newest eCommerce retailers specializing in professional-grade salon tools. Including hair straighteners, shears, blow dryers, and cosmetology school supplies.

They have just marked down their entire inventory of Kamisori shears for the Winter season, so start shopping and saving today!

There are two ways to enter:

• Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment on this post telling me what you want salon tool you want most at My Salon Tools.
• Follow me on Twitter and reply to me saying "I want to win the @mysalontools giveaway!"

This contest will end at noon (12:00pm) CST on December 22, 2009. I will announce the winner on either Dec.22 or Dec 23. Good Luck!

Sephora by OPI Ocean Love Potion

So this is my first Sephora by OPI polish and I am very happy with it. I love the long handle and the bottle shape. It looks so much NOT like an OPI polish and I like that about it for some reason. I picked Ocean Love Potion, from the Mermaid in the Shade collection, because I have nothing like it in my stash. Of course, I could have picked the infamous 212, but this cheery blue called my name from the swatch lineup. Actually they have a pretty decent range of colors in the Sephora by OPI collection which you can check out here.

I thought this would be the perfect polish to make me feel better about my new shorties. I had to cut & file my nails down after taking off my falsies, so I'm back to my natural nails. This is two coats because this was pretty opaque and topped with Seche Vite.

American Apparel Nail Polish Launch

I got some information in my e-mail today about American Apparel's new nail polish line. Here are some pictures:

Taken directly from the press release:

American Apparel Nail Lacquer is priced at $6 per bottle and is available in a 3-pack for $15. It will be sold at American Apparel stores worldwide as well as online. The nail polish is DBP, toluene and formaldehyde-free. The full color palette, ingredients and photographs can be found in the American Apparel web store.

Looking at the first picture, I am most interested in that mint green (Office) and that gray next to it (Factory Gray) on the top row. I found out from the press release that "Office -- was matched to the color of an accounting notepad found on the seventh floor of American Apparel's headquarters. Factory Grey is the actual shade used to paint all floors of the company's manufacturing operations." I think that's pretty cool, so I want to get my hands one some of these. source

If you're interested, you can check out swatches or order these on American Apparel's website.

Sinful Pinky Glitter + Orly Passion Fruit

I bought four Sinful polishes because they were BOGO free this weekend! Unfortunately they are no longer having this sale, but they are always at my local stores 2 for $3. Here is the first one I tried out, Pinky Glitter, on top of Orly Passion Fruit. This is only one coat of Pinky Glitter so the glitter is kind of subtle.

With Orly Passion Fruit:


In other news, I've ordered my first Sephora by OPI polish! I cant wait until it gets here to show you guys. Plus I have 3 samples waiting on me in that order + a YSL mascara sample! I'm really starting to like that store and that is only my first Sephora order...can you believe it?

Zoya Hot Lips Review

At the beginning of November, when Zoya did their Hot Lips Promo (In case you didn't know about this promo, it pays to follow Zoya on Twitter!) I took advantage of the deal and got three of the lip gloss that I had been wanting to try. Although I took note of this event and made a mental note to order, but I almost forgot really close to the deadline. So, I ended up picking three very quickly and was almost disappointed when they came to my house looking all alike.

L to R: Kiss Kiss, Starlet, Sweet Tart

One of the main reasons I wanted to do a review on these was that when I was searching for swatches, I couldn't find any on brown girl skin. :-( One of the problems I have when buying lip gloss is wondering if the color will actually show up on my lips. So first, here is a picture of them swatched on my arm:

Same order, L to R: Kiss Kiss, Starlet, Sweet Tart
They actually look the same in the tube kind of, but different on the skin. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the color showed up on my brown skin, so go Zoya for making these glossy lip balms that actually show up well on all skin types!

Here's my favorite of the bunch, Kiss Kiss, on my lips:

• The consistency of these are really thick which is great in my book. They are really moisturizing in my opinion, since its been really cold here in Texas lately (yes, I said that) and my lips haven't been feeling dry since I keep one of these in my bag.
• Another thing that I ended up loving was that they are applied using the ball at the end of the tube. I wasn't too fond of that at first, but since I use them on the go a lot, its convenient for application when I'm not near a mirror.
• I thought they were really small at first but its okay because a little goes a long way with this product.
• One thing that I didn't like, and this may just be my personal experience, is that on my favorite one, Kiss Kiss, the tube split open right under the cap. It is a slit going halfway around the opening so when I squeeze the tube, the product oozes out of that slit as well as the ball tip. I have to be careful about either not squeezing too hard or using that product that comes out of the slit.

Overall, I felt these were great. They moisturize and give your lips nice color and really isn't that what all great glosses and balms do? Well these do and they are a good buy. You can check out more swatches or order them here.

P.S. Did you notice this is my first non-nail related review? You're welcome to leave any feedback in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

Disclosure Statement

This policy is valid from 06 December 2009

Here's my disclosure statement. I will be putting a link to this post somewhere on my blog!
**EDIT: You can find this link for future reference right under the About Me section, above the followers box**
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact lachelle AT polishedbeautyblog.com.

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Recent Manicures

I just wanted to show you what I've been doing with my nails lately. As a college student, I dont have the money to buy every new collection that comes out so I have to come up with inventive ways to be happy with the polish I currently own. Lately, I've been doing my manicures weekly. (gasp!) because I've been so busy with school this semester and I just haven't had time to do my usual 2-3 polish changes a week. One thing I've found that helps me keep a chip-free manicure all week is fake nails. I've been using Nailene nails, here's a picture I twittered of them:

My polish never chips on fake nails and I can play around with the length. With the ones pictured above I actually don't clip them because they come to a perfect manageable length, but when I want longer nails, I usually use some Kiss nails.

So,to do something different to my manicures, I've been painting one nail a different color from the rest of the nails. Like an accent wall, ha! See...

Claire's Black and Sally Hansen Celeb City

Also with Sally Hansen Deep Purple and SH Celeb City:
A note about that polish I'm holding in the last picture, Nailene Acrylic Strong Protecting Topcoat. I underestimated that topcoat. To my surprise it dried very quickly and glossy. You can never have too many quick drying topcoats in my opinion.

So what do you think about painting one nail a different color? Would you try it?

Upcoming posts on this blog:

• I'm going to try and post my review of the Zoya Hot Lips glosses I ordered when they were doing their Twitter promo.
• A review of coconut oil I'm going to use on my hair.
• My experience with my first MAC foundation
  

Now I know these are not nail related posts, but I fully embrace all things beauty so I want to try and branch out for a little. Keep reading and we'll see how that goes!