Sizzling Summer Giveaway! [CLOSED!]

Congratulations to Melissa R. for winning the giveaway! Thank you to everyone that entered! There will be another giveaway soon! :) 

How about a giveaway?! 

(Use this image on Instagram- for extra entries on the Rafflecopter form).

Prize Includes: 

1. 4 pack of OPI Brazil Beach Sandies (Mini),
2. CND Solar Cuticle Oil (Mini)
3. Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray
4. Jersey Shore Sun- Sans Tan Sunscreen 
5. Recbecca Minkoff Tropical Makeup Bag

Enter on the Rafflecopter Form below! 

(or by clicking here)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends: August 8th, 11:59pm EST. Open to USA ONLY.  

NOTE: Just an update because I've already seen a few, but if you have an account that is set up for giveaway posts only- you will be excluded from the contest. It's below in the terms & conditions, thanks!

Terms and Conditions: Giveaway ends August 8th at 11:59 PM EST. All prizes have been personally purchased by Tunay Na Mahal. You must be 18 or older to enter. We have the right to request proof of age if it seems appropriate. Entrants must live in the USA. All entries will be verified. No following and unfollowing once the giveaway ends. Prizes cannot be shipped to P.O. Boxes. There will be one winner chosen. Winner(s) will be selected by Random.org and notified by email. Winner(s) have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. We may choose a new winner(s) at our discretion for any reason. No giveaway only accounts. We will make every effort to safely package your prize, however we are not responsible for any damage which may occur during shipping. Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin’, and Instagram are in no way associated with this giveaway. Any personal information provided will be used only for the purpose of contacting the winner(s).

RIP: Pumpkin & Buttercup

The past 24 hours have not been so great... we lost Pumpkin, Tuesday morning. She had passed away in her sleep. She had been ill for awhile with a respiratory infection which she got over, but because she was over 2 years, she was having a hard time bouncing back. She was very frail, still being fed by oral syringe, and was having balance issues this past week.

Buttercup has been energetic, even yesterday she was excited to get a yogurt peanut. She would have been 3 years old around Nov/Dec. She had a golf ball, and a tennis ball sized tumor. She could still get around pretty okay, though we had her in a 1 level cage. This morning she was having some breathing issues, and didn't want to take any food. Which is unusual for Buttercup... she eats everything/anything. She did have some water by herself, and I decided to put her back in the cage to rest because her breathing was better. Not even 10-15 minutes had passed, when my husband checked on her and we found she passed away... was not expecting that at all...

This post is going to be a bit picture heavy so after the jump....

My Thoughts on Kindle Unlimited.

I am a huge fan of Amazon.com.I constantly shop on Amazon, I buy the majority of my books and music on Amazon. I rent movies on Amazon. I've even upgraded every year that a new Kindle Fire device is released. (Since 2011).

I was pretty excited to find out about Kindle Unlimited.600,000 titles free to read, including audio books for $9.99 a month. Sort of like the 'Netflix' of books. Amazon includes a 30 day free trial so you can test drive Kindle Unlimited, so I decided to take the plunge.

Tip: You can download the Amazon Kindle App free on pretty much any mobile device, so you don't actually need a Kindle to use this service. 

[Kindle App for Android or iPhone]

Navigating Kindle Unlimited: From your Kindle you go to the store, and there's an option called 'Kindle Unlimited' that will show you all the titles listed under your Kindle Unlimited membership.

Click below to read more!

Review of Sinful Colors: Anchors Away

✯ PR Sample ✯

I was recently sent the Surfs Up Voxbox from Influenster. Included in my box was Sinful Colors, Anchor's Away. It's a bright orange yellow color. Immediately I had thoughts of doing some sort of sunset gradient.

This was my first time trying Sinful Colors polish. The formula was really nice. I tested the color alone on my pinky, and it was opaque in two coats. For the gradient design I used OPI Suzi's Hungary Again, and dabbed on Sinful Colors Anchor's Away. I topped it off with China Glaze Fairy Dust, and Seche Vite. For the stamping I used Konad white, and Winstonia Store W-04.

Here's how the gradient looks without stamping:

Press Release: @ZoyaNailPolish- Naturel Deux Collection

✯ Press Release ✯

Perfect as every day go-to colors, the Zoya NATUREL DEUX collection bridges the transitional gap between late summer/early fall 2014 with three, rich brown family shades and three plum based beauties. All in the long-wearing, BIG5FREE formula Zoya is known for! 

ZOYA NATUREL DEUX (2) - 2014

ZP742 – Spencer: Camel Cream, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP743 – Chanelle: Toasted Almond, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP744 – Emilia: Dark Chocolate, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP745 – Marnie: Deep Warm Plum, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP746 – Aubrey: Medium Mauve Cream, Full Coverage Formula.

ZP747 – Madeline: Muted Rose, Full Coverage Formula.

$9 (US) Each 

COLLECTION PRE-ORDER, STARTS JULY 21, 2014

ZOYA IS THE HEALTHY COLOR OF FASHION!

Available on Zoya.com

Sparitual: Quest Swatches, Topcoat Review.

✯ PR Sample ✯

Good Evening! I have a few colors from SpaRitual's Quest Collection to share with you all. These were provided by SpaRitual for an honest review.

Go on an unexpected adventure. Six dramatic and highly textured nail lacquers offer a complex though optimistic view of what we might find as we head out into the world. Multiple layers of glitter & color reflect the emotions we face as we set out on our own personal journey to find abundance, knowledge & acceptance.

Pioneer: A pink glitter cream. This one reminds me of L.A. Girl Birthday Cake. Though the pink base in Pioneer is a bit lighter. I used 3 coats. Formula was thin but build-able.

I also used the SpaRitual Mattify Topcoat. I like Pioneer matte, rather than shiny.

Beyond: is so pretty! It reminds me of an Indie nail polish. It's a black sheer cream with silver hex glitter, red, pink glitters, and pink circle glitter. That said, the formula was very thick! Too thick, so I had to add some nail polish thinner so I could work with it. Once I added the thinner, it was perfect. This is 2 coats, over black polish. You will have to fish around for the pink circle glitters.

Here is Beyond, with the Mattify topcoat:

Summit: reminds me of frost on a mountain. It has holographic sparkles, and white & blue circle glitters. I can see myself using this in the winter, and stamping snowflakes over it. I do wish the base was a cream instead of a shimmer. I think the glitter would have stood out better that way. I feel like with the shimmer base, it's got too much going on. You will have to fish around for the blue circle glitters. I used two coats over Blue Lagoon.

Here it is with the Mattify Topcoat:

Thoughts: You will want to use a thick-ish topcoat for these glitters, otherwise you'll end up with a very bumpy look. I used Seche Vite Dry Fast topcoat on all of the above photos. The reason I layered Beyond and Summit over colors, is because they are sheer, and too many coats looked clumpy. It's better with 1-2 coats layered over a similar color. Pioneer was fine by itself, no undies.

Removal: You will want to either do the foil method, or use a base like Glitter-A-Peel for easy removal.

Click below to read more!

Makeover!

So.... you may have noticed things look a bit different around here. I was up all night working on customizing a new layout for the blog. I wanted something a little wider and cleaner looking, but while still incorporating my favorite color (purple!) Let me know what you think in the comments below! :-)

OPI: Today I Accomplished Zero.

When I saw swatches of OPI's new Coca-Cola Collection, I knew I had to have Today I Accomplished Zero. Besides being unique, it's also based on my favorite soda of all time. Coke Zero! (I always have to have a few bottles stashed in my fridge).

Today I Accomplished Zero is a black jelly base full of red glitter. The colors are reminiscent of Coke Zero's label.

Three coats, and Seche Vite Topcoat. It's so squishy looking with a topcoat... it actually looks fizzy! Mmmmm.... 

(You will need some sort of topcoat because this dries very bumpy on it's own).

But... add a matte topcoat (I used NYC Matte Me Crazy), and that's when the magic happens! This is how I love wearing Today I Accomplished Zero... look at that... it's gorgeous! 

(To make things smooth, use a regular topcoat, then a matte coat). 

*whew* I don't know about you, but looking at these swatches made me thirsty... so I'm off to get a glass of Coke Zero. Mmmm... ;-)

Sparitual: Drift- Summer 2014 Collection

✯ PR Sample ✯

SpaRitual was kind enough to send me a few of their nail polish collections, topcoats, and even a hand serum. I will be breaking these up into about four different blog reviews, so not to overwhelm everyone. This is the first time I've tried SpaRitual, though I have heard of them. 

Today I have the SpaRitual Drift: Summer 2014 Collection. It features six different colors: Blue Lagoon, Buoyant, Low Tide, Barefoot, Sea Glass, On the Dunes.

Inspired by a day at the beach, Drift features colors found in the frosted, semi-translucent pale greens and blues of sea glass. Multi-dimensional when layered, they catch the light just like in the shallow waters of the ocean.

My thoughts on the bottle design: The round bottle is easy to hold, and I especially like the rubber grip lids. The brush is a bit small, but easy to manage. 

Blue Lagoon an ocean blue cream. I really adore this color! Three thin coats and it's opaque. I did a little design with striping tape and On The Dunes. (Ignore my wonky striping tape lines... wahhh...)

Buoyant is a peach cream. It applies much like the other creams in this collection, three thin coats and it's opaque. I also paired it again with On The Dunes and another striping tape design.

Barefoot is described as a sandy shimmer. It's a nude cream, with little bits of orange and silver glitter. It's really a unique color, I was surprised by how much I liked it. It was opaque in just two coats.

I was also sent the Mattify Matte Topcoat, here is two coats over Barefoot. (I'll be using the matte topcoat in a few upcoming posts too).

Low Tide is a very pretty turquoise cream. Three thin coats and it's completely opaque. I decided to do a gradient with On The Dunes.

On The Dunes: a sandy gold color, with tiny silver specks. As you can see, On The Dunes really pairs well with all of the colors in this collection. This is two coats.

Sea Glass is a sheer shimmery green/purple duo chrome, with glass fleck. It's very very sheer, so if you want to wear it on it's own, 3-4 coats will get it semi-opaque. (I did 4 coats below). You could probably also layer this over black or green polish for a stronger effect.

SpaRitual products are vegan. And their nail lacquer doesn't have a very strong scent, which is nice. You can read more about SpaRitual's philosophy here.

We formulate our body care products with vegan ingredients from around the world, including many specially sourced and selected plant essences that are Certified Organic and Fair Trade. Our nail lacquers and nail care essentials are vegan and formulated without DBP, toulene, formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin. 

Click below to read more!

Have a Happy 4th!

Have a Happy and safe 4th of July tomorrow! My husband and I will be heading up to my parents new place tomorrow (2 hours away), to celebrate.

This years 4th of July design, I created with OPI Solitare, Zoya Chyna & Liberty, and Painted Polish Drunk on Holo. I stamped with Konad white and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue. I used Winstonia Store stamp plates W107 & W110.

And... since this was stamped over texture, I decided to fairy dust & topcoat my design. Stamping over texture looks pretty, but it usually only lasts a day at the most.

Mwahahaha. If you haven't read The Mercurial Magpie's blog post on China Glaze Fairy Dust, you need to. I made the above graphic for her, in honor of how popular her catch phrase has become! ;-)

Winstonia Store: Pastel Impressions, Nail Wraps.

✯ PR Sample ✯

Winstonia Store recently gave me the opportunity to review some of their new nail wraps. A few weeks ago I reviewed the 'Americano' design. Today I'm reviewing the 'Pastel Impressions' nail wraps. 

They are similar to Sally Hansen Salon Effects, and apply in the same manner.

I love Winstonia Store products, I adore their stamping plates. That said; the 'Pastel Impressions' design performed worse for me then the 'Americano' design. 

When I reviewed the 'Americano' design, I used Seche Vite fast dry topcoat. What I thought happened, was that the fast dry topcoat shrunk the wraps, and accelerated the creasing, and peeling. The 'Americano' wraps only lasted me one full day. When I would run my fingers through my hair, it would snag on the strips because they were peeling up. So at the end of the day I ended up removing all of the strips. (They remove very easily, peeled right off). 

To give a fair review this time for the 'Pastel Impressions' design, I used a regular topcoat. Sally Hansen Triple Shine Topcoat. But... this did not help the creasing or peeling. As you can see below in my photo the wraps were peeling up at the sides, no matter how much I pressed them back down. Sadly; these also, only lasted me one day of wear. 

Honestly, I think these nail wraps are best for a evening out, or a one day event. They are affordable and there are many designs to choose from, without going through all of the trouble to paint your nails yourself. It could just be nail chemistry, but these do not last me 14 days. If I had to choose, I would say I liked the 'Americano' design better. I also think that particular design helped hide the imperfections better. 

Pro's:

• Price is much cheaper than Sally Hansen Salon Effects.
• Lot's of pretty designs & colors to choose from.
• Strips are thicker, so if you align it incorrectly you can fix it easily. 
• Plenty of extra strips to find the right fit for your nails, (or in case you mess up).

Con's:

• Even though I followed the instructions exactly, and used a regular topcoat, the strips creased, and started peeling up after only one day of wear. 
• Because the strips are thicker, I had to be very gentle when using the emery board to file off the excess. As you can see from the photos the 'Pastel Impressions' seemed to tear more easily, so I am missing some at my nail tips. 

Don't forget to check out Winstonia Store's Facebook & Instagram.