Blogmas Day 13: Butter London Review

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a great week!  Today I wanted to do a review on a new base and top coat duo by Butter London that I picked up at Nordstroms recently!

 I immediately gave myself a manicure the next day using Butter London's Patent Gel Base and Top Coat Duo over "Girl on Fire" nail polish by Painted Polish (review coming soon).  This base and top coat duo by Butter London claims to make your manicure last longer than if you used ordinary base and top coats.  In fact, they are comparing it to salon gel nails, which last a very long time.  So I did have high expectations with this product!

I followed the instructions (one coat base, two coats polish color, one coat top coat) and loved the way it looked that first day.  My nails looked very glossy, just like they do when I get gel nails in the salon.  However, it quickly went away and I found that it did not make my manicure last any longer than other topcoats I have tried- and not to mention cheaper top coats I have tried.  This Butter London Duo was pretty pricey, coming in at $40.00.  My OPI or Essie Topcoat work just as well for a fraction of the price.

Four days into my mani, as you will see in the pictures, I had chips on my nails.  Now there is one last hope for the Butter London Patent Gel Duo- and that is the the fact that I did not use it in conjunction with a Butter London nail polish, but do you guys think that would make a difference?  I find it hard to believe that this duo is formulated to only work with Butter London polishes, but if that's the case, it certainly doesn't justify the hefty price tag.  I would rather invest in top and base coats I can use with any nail polish brand!

My final thought, if you want a long lasting manicure with minimal chips, stick with the salon gel nails.

I hope you guys found this review helpful!  Let me know if you have tried this Patent gel duo and have had success!

xoxo
linds&bells

Blogmas Day 12: Peppermint Plates?!

Hey everyone!  Today I wanted to show you a super fun and creative idea for the holidays!  All you need for this project is a few bags of peppermint candies, an oven, wax paper, and a baking sheet!  The end result is an amazing platter you can use for decor or for serving holiday desserts!

To begin, start by lining a baking sheet with wax paper.  Next, arrange the mints in any shape you like! For this post, I used a bowl to get a circular shape!

After you are satisfied with your shape, bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes!  As a side note, I did notice that the shape does shift during the baking process- as my perfect circle was not so perfect after the 8 minutes in the oven!  Oh well, I still love the way it came out!

Carefully remove the wax paper from the baking sheet and let the mint platter cool on the wax paper for at least 30 minutes.  It is VERY fragile, so be extra careful!

After cooling, you can use the tray as a decoration or to display some yummy desserts!

What do you guys think?!  You can also use green mints, or a combination of both for a super cool look!

I hope you enjoyed this holiday post!
xoxo
linds&bells

Blogmas Day 9: DIY Peppermint Lip Scrub

Hi everyone!  Welcome back to Blogmas Day 9!  Today I wanted to do a super easy DIY Peppermint Lip Scrub!  I think this is absolutely perfect for the holidays, both for yourself and to give as gifts!

What you will need:

• Granulated Sugar (2 cups)
• Coconut Oil (1/2 cup)
• Peppermint Extract (1 tablespoon)
• Green Food Coloring (one drop)
• Jars or containers to house the lip scrub
• Any decorating materials you wish, I used string and holiday gift tags

Directions:

In a microwave safe bowl, heat the coconut oil for 20 seconds so that it liquifies.  At room temperature, coconut oil is a solid, which makes it hard to work with, so don't forget this step!  Next, mix the liquid coconut oil, sugar, peppermint extract, and food coloring until all of the ingredients are well blended.  One drop of green food coloring will give you a nice mint color.  If you want your scrub to be a true green, add a few more drops!  After everything is mixed, it should look something like this:

After everything is blended together, you can begin to fill up your jars, and decorate them however you wish!  I tied mine with holiday ribbon, and attached gift tags! I think these will make adorable little Christmas gifts!  

I hope you guys enjoyed this easy DIY post!  Let me know if you try making this at home!  I think I might whip up another batch tomorrow using some red food coloring!

xoxo

linds&bells

Blogmas Day 8: Lashes in a Box

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  Today I wanted to do a review on a new false eyelash brand I recently tested out!  I first learned about Lashes in a Box through instagram and have loved their eyelash selection and finally ordered a few different styles!  

How it works:

As you may have guessed, their lashes come pacakaged in a super cute black box!  For $25.00, you get TEN pairs, so if you break it down, its only $2.50 per pair!  Such a great deal, right?!  Right now the lashes are currently available online through their website or if you are in the southern California area, you can find them at the beauty store Naimies.  If you are interested in purchasing them, you can check out their website here.

The lashes below are the #10's, which caught my eye because they gradually get shorter towards the inside of the eye.  Once applied, the lashes were super comfortable to wear and did not irritate my eyes!  They also stayed in place, not budging at all!  I will definitely be purchasing more lashes from Lashes in a Box!  They are a big thumbs up in my book!!

I opted for a natural eye with a MAC pressed pigment on my lid.  For the lips, I used a combination of MAC's "hautecore" lipstick and MAC's "rebel" lipstick.  The pictures below were taken on my iphone with instagram filters, so they are a bit grainier than normal, sorry!  

 I hope you guys enjoyed this look!  Thanks for reading!

xoxo

linds&bells

Blogmas Day 7: Statement Necklaces

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all having a great weekend!  I did some shopping recently and picked up two statement necklaces that I am absolutely in love with!  Both caught my eye immediately and just begged to be a part of my collection (I mean, maybe thats not exactly what happened, but close enough)!!

These statement necklaces are great because they can be dressed up for a night out look, or easily dressed down with a tshirt and jeans for a unique & chic look!  See my finds below!

I absolutely love the shape of this necklace and the way it looks with a graphic tshirt and a chunky knit sweater!  This will definitely be my go to look for cold weather days!  What would otherwise be a casual tshirt and jeans look is instantly transformed into a chic and fashionable outfit with just this necklace!  While it may look pretty pricey, I thought it was reasonably priced at $78.00!  If you are interested in this Tasha Bib Necklace, you can order it online from Nordstrom!  It also comes in black!

My second pick is this gorgeous crystal necklace from Macys, for $46.50 + 25% off!  Great deal!  I love the sparkliness of the rhinestones, and the clear crystlas in the middle allow the color of your top to peek through!  I think it really pops over this fushia sweater I have been obsessing over lately!  What do you guys think?!

Some of these statement necklaces can be pretty pricey, but if you hunt around, you can find ones that easily fit into your budget!  I would love to see pictures of any statement necklaces you guys are loving right now!!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo
linds&bells