Cult Nails All Access Collection Giveaway

*Sorry for not posting yesterday. This weekend was insane with The Makeup Show. I will get back on track with Share With You Sunday next week! 

The Makeup Show this weekend was a blast. You can expect a write up later this week about the show. Cult Nails had a booth again this year and they were offering their new fall All Access collection. This collection is probably my favorite so far this year! I bought myself a set, and later that day at the show, I was like why not get another for a giveaway?

I know I just ended a giveaway a little while ago, but this collection was too awesome to pass up. I don't even know why I bother saying that, it's not like you all are going to complain about having another giveaway!

Prize: 
One winner will receive one set of the Cult Nails All Access collection. This includes the shades Disillusion, Feedback, Wack Slacks, Lamestain, and Grunge. * Giveaway was paid for by me, but was purchased at a reduced rate for The Makeup Show Orlando

Guidelines:
- Open to USA residents only. *Note if you are international and have someone in the US willing to ship you, you may enter. I will only ship to US addresses.
- Giveaway is open until Wednesday, Oct. 9th at 11:59PM EDT.
- One winner will be chosen and will have 48 hours to claim their prize.
 - Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below only.
- All entries are optional, but be sure the email you have attached to your Rafflecopter account is an email you check.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to follow Cult Nails on Facebook and Instagram! You can also pre-order this set though October 5th on the Cult Nails website.

Happy Monday!

Glitt-A-Licia Guest Post: Khan: Mad, Bad, and Fabulous

My husband decided that since I love Star Trek Into Darkness, I need to watch the original Star Trek Wrath of Khan and meet Khan as he knew him.

Considering I am a chick who never watched much Star Trek growing up, I will give you my thoughts on the two movies.

A Non Trekkie Chick Guide to Khan from Star Trek:

1- When I watched the original, I was immediately intrigued by Khan's attire. I know I have seen this outfit on Lady Gaga, but she did not have the boobs to pull it off like Khan does. It's daring, but who is gonna mess with a dude dressed like that with man boobs that big?! I dare you! Plus one for Original Khan!

 (Clip of Star Trek:Wrath of Khan of Paramount Pictures)

2- Holy Canoly Batman! Benedict Cumberbatch has the SEXIEST VOICE EVER! He is like "blah, blah, I'm going to destroy you," and I'm all fangirling like "OK!!!" Plus he doesn't look half bad in that black outfit ;) Plus one for New Khan!

(Clip of Star Trek Into Darkness by Paramount Pictures)

3- It seems like the cockier the bad guy is, the more I love him (just ask my husband)! Plus one for both Khans!

4- Both Khans really want to destroy the world, and that's not cool  :/ Minus one for both Khans!

5- I am in such awe watching the New Khan's monologue about his crew, but I can not help to notice that when he gets mad, he looks kinda like a V. Raptor from Jurassic Park :/ We know those Raptors were super smart, but seriously up to no good! Minus one for New Khan.

(Clips of Star Trek Into Darkness by Paramount Pictures and Jurassic Park of Universal Studios)

6- OmG! THE FREAKING OLD KHAN PUTS DISGUSTING WORMY BUGS IN PEOPLE'S EARS! EEEEEEWWWWW!!!! GROSS!  Minus one for Original Khan!

So basically, it all boils down to who would you rather get into a fight with in a dark alley??? A dude with a mullet, killer sense of style showing off his huge man boobs, and bugs that crawl in your ear??? Or the sexiest sounding dinosaur that is bent on destroying the planet???

Well, that world domination sounds all good and fun, but I rather stay home and mix a nail polish based on Khan. 

I have started a hobby that has now grown into an obsession. Making my own original polish from scratch is my zen time. I love watching the glitter mix and see how everything comes together. Even if the polish turns out as ugly as those ear worms (shudder) it was incredibly soothing to make. Mixing polish is the eye to my hurricane. Everything around me is twisting out of control, but I am at peace in the center of all the chaos. Please, please bear with my nubs and pitiful paint job. My nails were crushed in my wreck a month ago. They are finally growing out, but break right at the tip. Also I still have not gotten used to painting my nails with my franken thumb. It is numb and hurts at the same time, which makes painting very awkward and uncomfortable. I still try! Lol!!!

Without further ado,  I introduce you to "Khan: Mad, Bad, and Fabulous" 

Sorry the pics are not great. Since I do not have a light box, my stove light and iphone will have to do for now. ;(

Polishes used in this mani are Cult Nails Fetish (from http://cultnails.com/), Khan: Mad, Bad, and Fabulous (made by me), and Digital Nails ANGTFD quick drying top coat (from http://www.etsy.com/shop/DigitalNails)

Me and my worked all night, mascara all smudged, stopped all up, can't breathe, where is my nose strip so I can sleep self. You know I like to keep it real ;) lol

Also, if you actually made it this far in my post you need to be rewarded! I will let you in on a little secret!!!! All of the glitter used in Khan came from a fantastic new website called Didspade.com! I hate revealing secrets this good, but since they are so awesome at Didspade, I must tell the world about them!! Plus they are so freaking friendly, with the best customer service, that I just keep giving all of my money to them! Lol!!!!

Please drop me a comment and let me know what you think about Khan, super villain and polish :)
Sparkle On Reader,
Alicia

Maya Cosmetics New Fall Colors & Top Coat

* I received the following products in exchange for my honest review by Maya Cosmetics.

I have some brand new fall nail polishes to share with you from Maya Cosmetics today. These polishes release today! Also, Maya Cosmetics is currently running a 25% OFF your entire purchase between now and Monday, September 30th. The sale will apply to the new colors and the new top coat.

Let's get right into it!

Glitter is the New Black

Glitter is the New Black is a black base with black, silver, silver holo, purple holo, pink, and orange micro glitters.

En Fuego

En Fuego is a muted orange jelly with gold, orange, and bronze glitters and a subtle scattered holo.

Stargazing

Stargazing deep blue base with silver micro glitter. it’s a night sky polish.

Maya Cosmetics Top Coat

Colors: Awesome mix of colors here. I love all of these! Glitter is the New Black is a excellent mix of black and holo glitter. En Fuego is the perfect color for autumn with a nice touch of sparkle. Stargazer is to die for gorgeous. This one reminds me so much of the coveted and unattainable Essie Starry Starry Night. They're not exact dupes according to Pointless Cafe, but I am completely satisfied!

Formula: I liked the formula on all of these. Glitter is the New Black and En Fuego I used 2 coats for the swatches. Stargazer I used 3. The formula on the nail colors were easy to apply and use. The top coat was a breeze to use as well, and dried around the same rate as other popular quick dry top coats. I've been wearing the top coat on my current mani for the past 3 days, and I do not have any chips or shrinkage at all.

Price: $9.50 per bottle on the nail colors and $4.00 for the top coat, but remember the 25% OFF fall special between now and the 30th. You will need to use the code FALLSPECIAL. You can purchase on the Maya Cosmetics website.

Overall: Excellent colors. Great formula. All around, I'm impressed with Maya Cosmetics again! There are actually more colors in this collection so be sure to check out the website.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Be sure to follow Maya Cosmetics on Facebook!

* I received the above products to review by Maya Cosmetics. 

Happy Friday!

The Makeup Show Orlando

Two posts in one day? This is what happens when you have a bazillion things on your plate, forget how to manage your blog schedule, and are a terrible multi-tasker!

I wanted to mention I will be attending The Makeup Show Orlando this year. If you remember, I attended last year and had a great time.

The Makeup Show features amazing brands like Dermalogica, OCC, OFRA, Nars, Makeup For Ever, and so forth. The show will have over 50 exhibitors this year!

This show is predominantly makeup, but they had few awesome nail products, like Cult Nails who will be returning this year. These OCC nail lacquers have me drooling too!

What I really enjoyed about this show is how informative it is. I'm not someone who plans to have career in the makeup industry or blog professionally on it, but I learned so much about the passion and dedication people have for this industry. That was one of the highlights for me.. Of course, I love ooohing and ahhing over all the beautiful products, but to see so many people come together to share their love and educate others in this field is very admirable and inspiring. 

I look forward to being able to share my experience from the show with you all this weekend. I will be Instagraming photos, so be on the look out. I'll also being do a write up on the blog afterwards. 

If you're curious about The Makeup Show you can find more information on their website.

Avon Mega Watt Shock

It was recently revealed that Pantone's top color for spring 2014 will be Dazzling Blue. Pretty familiar, eh? I think Dazzling Blue at least for me has been my "it" color for the past 2 years! You can never go wrong with a bright vibrant blue. I think I have an another awesome Dazzling Blue candidate for you nail polish stash by Avon. 

Shock

Shock is a bright royal blue jelly.

Color: Yes, I said jelly! This is a saturated in your face bright blue. I can't say it's entirely original, since we've seen tons of bright blue polishes out ther, but it's gorgeous nonetheless. 

Formula: This formula is very sheer, but I achieved the look above using 4 coats. This isn't as jelly-like as L'Oreal Miss Pixie, and it's slightly lighter. It's slightly more opaque than the L'Oreal summer jellies, but I'd still classify it as a jelly. Look how squishy it is! 

Price: This is around $6.00 on the Avon website. Avon always had awesome deals going on, so you can usally find this for less with an offer. If you're looking for an Avon rep to buy from, I recommend my  friend, Alyssa. 

Overall: This is bright blue and it's a jelly! What more can I say? The formula could be a little less sheer, but as I said it's bright blue and a jelly! :)

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: Bejeweled

It seems like the muted colors for fall has been ditched for 2013. I like muted colors, but I always gravitate towards rich jewel tones for fall. I've always been partial to jewel tones since people have always told me they look good on me. Considering I have zero fashion knowledge, I'll take the compliment, and stick to jewel tones!

I did the jewel toned inspired fun mani recently and loved it! 

Polishes Used:

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, Rimmel Midnight Blue, Cult Nails Nevermore, NYX Girls Gilded Glitter, and China Glaze Golden Enchantment.

Manicure Description: I painted my thumb, index, and pinky with OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, my middle finger with Rimmel Midnight Blue, and my ring finger with Cult Nails Nevermore topped with NYX Girls Gilded Glitter and China Glaze Golden Enchantment. 

I love these colors! I love this mani! 

Zoya PixieDust Chita

I must admit, I was not fully into the whole textured nail trend thing until I tried Zoya PixieDusts. I liked some from other brands, but I wasn't in love with the trend. Zoya really knew what they were doing with the PixieDust polishes. They have the perfect texture, they're fine, not bulky or bumpy. They have the right amount of sparkle to them to keep them from looking dull and flat. I'm very impressed!

I have Chita from the fall 2013 Zoya PixieDust line to show you today.

Chita

Chita w/ top coat

Chita is a sparkling forest green.

Color: This is a beautiful shade of green. I know many of us are green lovers, but green can be a finicky color on some skin tones. I think this green would be flattering on most. The color is rich and just a tad bit muted.

Formula: We have another one coater here. The formula on this was excellent.

Price: This is $9.00 on the Zoya website.

Overall: Beautiful shimmering textured green for fall. The formula is excellent, and this just an all around great polish!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

Share With You Sunday: 9/8/13-9/22/13

Sorry for there not being a Share With You Sunday last week. I always write up these posts the day of, and Sunday's happen to be one of my busiest days! Actually, September & October are proving to be incredibly be busy!

Today, I'll have a combination of stuff from the past 2 weeks.

Imperfectly Painted Posts:
Shimmer Polish Fanny, Katie, Mary
Silly Bee's Chickadees Always Azure
Way-Cool Mani Wedneday: Avon Brights
Zoya Maria-Luisa
Deborah Lippmann Do the Mermaid

Posts I'm Loving:
Break rules not nails shows us her Degas inspired nails.
nail loopy shares with us her Half & Half nails.
heartnat shows us her Essie Naughty Nautical water marble.
Luster Lacquer shares with us her studded floral nail art.
Fairly Charming shows us her autumn inspired mani.
Polished Prescription shares with us her green gradient splatter nails.

Posts You're Loving:
Polish Obsession swatches LAV Lacquer.
Try My Hand shows us her Helen Dardik red flowers nails.
thebubblybrunette shares with us her blue ombre nails.
Marine Loves Polish shows us her Cubism inspired nails.
Queen of Polish shares with us her gradient dot nails.
Nail Polish Sleuth shows us her jelly sandwich flower nail design.

You can submit your blog posts for Sunday posts here.

Reader Manis of the Week:

Name: Victoria Oen
Location: Indonesia
Manicure Description: To create this manicure, first I painted all my nails white with OPI Mummy Knows Best. Next I painted the black triangles using black acrylic paint and a stripping brush.
Favorite Polishes: OPI Come to Poppy, OPI Rally Pretty Pink, OPI Pussy Galore, OPI You're Such A Budapest, Sally Hansen Cherry Red
Blog: vicandhernails.blogspot.com
Instagram: @victoriaoen

Name: Violet
Location: California
Manicure Description:  Basically, I just used a dotting tool and three different shades of blue polish to create this mani.  I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Nabi Hot Flower, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue It, and Revlon ColorStay topcoat.
Favorite Polishes:  NYX Enchanting Ocean, China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, Northern Lights topcoat, Zoya Beatrix, and a lot more.
Blog:  thequeenofpolish.blogspot.com

I need manis for September and October! You can find information on how to submit your manicures for Sunday posts here. 

Happy Sunday!

Deborah Lippmann Do The Mermaid

You can relax, this isn't a repeat of Mermaid's Eyes!

When I first saw Do The Mermaid, I knew I had to have it. Purple is one of my favorite colors and purple version of Mermaid's Dream would be perfection in my eyes. I don't frequent Deborah Lippmann as a brand in my stash. The prices are way too steep for me, so Deborah Lippmann's are usually holiday and birthday treats. I picked Do The Mermaid for my birthday, and I think it was a good purchase!

Do The Mermaid

Do The Mermaid is a soft lavender base with gold shimmer and purple glitters.

Color: This is what I'm talking about! I love a good lavender to begin with, but the addition of the glitter and shimmer really makes this very special. The balance of the color, glitter, and shimmer is  perfect. Can you imagine if this what Mermaid's Eyes looked like? I so wish that one was like this!

Formula: The formula was easy to apply. This is on the sheer side, that is my only complaint. I used 3 coats in the swatch above. 

Price: I purchased this for $19.00 from Nordstrom. Yes, this is very expensive, but personally I really like it. I would love if Revlon or Urban Outfitters tried to replicate this one like they typically do with other Deborah Lippmanns. 

Overall: I really enjoy this polish. I love the color and the glitter and shimmer make it magical for me. The formula is a bit of a downer, which will keep it from getting a perfect score for me. The same goes with the price, at $19.00, I expect perfect formula. That being said, the color can't be beat!

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Friday! 

Zoya Maria-Luisa

I love something different in nail polish collections. I love gold toppers too. Zoya's Maria-Luisa was an awesome surprise for me in their recent fall collection. This is a gold topper that is unlike anything I own, it's so cool and different.

Maria-Luisa over Zoya Caitlin

Maria-Luisa are gold semi-translucent flakes in a clear base.

Color: Amazing! This is not your standard gold opaque flakes, gold shreds, or gold glitter. The flakes in Maria-Luisa have some translucence. These flakes really give an unique antiqued look to the base polish. This so so interesting!!!

Formula: Great formula. The formula was easy to use and applied nicely.

Price: This is $9.00 on the Zoya website.

Overall: You need this. I think this is one of the coolest polishes I've come across this year. This all means I'm calling it a must have and adding it as a contender for my Top 20 of 2013 (Zoya is really hitting it out of the park!). I love the unique finish this has, and it's nothing like I've seen before. I am so impressed!

My Rating 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: Avon Brights

It seems like in the past few years that neons have become appropriate to wear in fall. I wouldn't wear neons as a full outfit, but neons as accents and accesories in fashion seems really cool to me. I love the combination of fall deep and muted shades with neon accents. Mind you, I'm about as fashionable as a banana slug, so my fashion sense should probably be disregarded. However, I do like to try to coordinate fashionable trends through color, that typically being through nails and makeup.

I did this neon, bright, and fun mani recently, and I think it would look great during any season!

Polishes Used: 

L-R: Avon Hot Pants, Shock, Electric, OPI The Man With The Golden Gun, and Finger Paints Are You Hoppy?

Manicure Description: I painted my thumb, index, and pinky fingers with Hot Pants. I painted my middle finger with Shock topped with The Man With The Golden Gun, and my ring finger with Electric topped with Are You Hoppy?

I'm very happy with this mani.  I love the colors together with the glitter accents. It's manis like these that make me feel good. They're fun and they pop!

Happy Wednesday! 

Silly Bee's Chickadees Always Azure

* The following product was sent to me by Silly Bee's Chickadees in exchange for my honest review.

 I have a new to me indie brand to share with you. I have heard of Silly Bee's Chickadees (what a cute name!) before, but I had never tried the brand. Today, I have Always Azure to show you. This polish features one of my favorite color combinations!

 Always Azure

Always Azure is a soft blue crelly with gold and copper micro glitter.

Color: This is a beautiful combination of colors. I absolutely love blue mixed with warm-toned metals. This color combination makes a color go from pretty to rich! I don't own anything like this in my stash, so it's unique to me. 

Formula: The formula is sheer and tinge on the thick side, but it built up to my liking in 3 coats. 

Price: This polish is $10.00, 25% of the proceeds will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities. You can purchase Always Azure on Silly Bee's Chickadees etsy site. 

Overall: I really love Always Azure. The combination of colors is one of my favorites, and it stands out as unique in my stash. I also love how proceeds of this polish help to benefit a charity in need. Oh, and that bottle is just too darn cute!

My Rating 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Be sure to follow Silly Bee's Chickadees on Facebook. 

* I was sent the above product for review by Silly Bee's Chickadees. 

Happy Tuesday! 

Shimmer Polish Fanny, Katie, and Mary

*The following products were sent to me by Shimmer Polish in exchange for my honest review.

I have my last batch of Shimmer Polishes to show you! Again, I'm very impressed with these! I love great glitter bombs.

Fanny over Cult Nails Nevermore

Fanny is a mix predominantly purple and pink glitters in a clear base.

Katie over Cult Nails Nevermore

Katie is a mix of gray, green, and pink glitters in a clear base.

Mary over Cult Nails Nevermore

Mary is a mix of red, silver, and black glitters in a clear base.

Colors: This is another great mix of colors. I love how all the colors in each shade compliment each other nicely. The combinations look uniform, but are fun at the same time.

Formula: I used 2 coats over a base with all of these. I found them all to be easy to use and apply.

Price: These polishes are $12 and can be found on etsy. You can also purchase through Shimmer Polish directly via email. There are directions on her site on how to do so.

Overall: I love these glitters. I didn't have any issues with them, and the color combos are great!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Be sure to check out Shimmer Polish's website for a full list polishes and follow on Facebook!

* I received the above products by Shimmer Polish for review. 

Happy Monday!