FEBRUARY NAIL MAIL

A while back I posted here and on Instagram looking for nail mail buddies, and I ended up with two awesome fellow polish lovers, Carlene and Jasmine.  We began our trades in February, so I wanted to show what I received from both ladies because they sent me such fabulous polishes (and extras, too!).

First up is Carlene!  She and I chatted a little bit before shopping for polishes and discovered we have pretty similar taste, so I knew I'd love whatever she sent to me...and I was right!  Polishes from left to right are: Milani (with precision brush) in Draw In Pink, OPI's Top Coat, Spoiled in 2 Weeks Sober, Spoiled in Checkin' Into Rehab, and Orly in Va Va Voom.  As an extra, she also sent me an awesome wet/dry Beauty Rush shadow in the shade Peachy Jean, which I am obsessed with!  The polishes are all such gorgeous shades - I can't wait to try them all!  I'm sure you'll see them in some upcoming "Nails of the Day" posts :)

Jasmine and I decided to set monthly themes for our polish trades.  For February we chose "Some of My Favorite Things" and sent some of our favorite shades to each other.  Polishes from left to right are: Revlon Top Speed in Guava, Butter London in Pillar Box Red, and Spoiled in Show Me the Money.  She also threw in some french manicure tip guides which always come in handy!  I already used Guava, and I'm just as excited to try out the rest!  I'm pretty stoked about the Butter London polish because it is my first from that line.

By the way, Jasmine has a fabulous blog called Green Eyed Monster - check it out here... and she's also a fellow YouTuber so check out her channel, Making Pale Pretty, here.  She has awesome tutorials and sure knows her beauty stuff! :)

I'd say my first month of Nail Mail was an absolute success, and I can't wait for March's trades.  I'm hoping to do an unboxing video with the next packages I receive!

I've totally been slacking on my blog lately... I promise to get a post up later today or tomorrow!  I hope everyone is having a great week! ;)

NAILS OF THE DAY

I wanted to do a quick NOTD post with the Revlon polish I showed in my last haul video.  I picked it up on clearance at Target and it's called Popular (from Revlon).  I love it, but I think I'd love it even more if I used another color underneath it to make it a little more bold.  It's a pretty light lavender color with both thin and chunky silver glitter.

A BREAK FROM BEAUTY - VALENTINE CAKE POPS

Apologies in advance for this post which is completely irrelevant to my normal beauty banter...

I'm not terribly big on the whole Valentine's Day thing, but I love any excuse to make cupcakes and other yummy treats!  Over the weekend my Mom and I tried our hands at a new endeavor...cake pops!  I've seen the most adorable cake pop pictures floating around on Pinterest for the past year, but I was never quite sure how to make them.

Well, I invested in the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker and it made things super easy!  We used a regular box of strawberry cake mix from the grocery store and candy melts from Michael's for the icing.  They were really fun to make and decorate - so I thought I'd share with those of you who love this kind of thing or even those who want to just do something fun with their kiddos for Valentine's Day or any holiday!

SUPERSIZE SOCK BUN SECRETS

So a few of you have inquired about my supersize sock bun from my haul video last weekend...

Normally my sock bun is teeny tiny and kind of...limp.  So I decided to pump up the volume!  I'd love to say it was my own original idea - but I got it from one of the great YouTube beauty gurus, Nicole Guerriero!

She always has fabulous tutorials and does a much better job at explaining and showing the deets on how to get this sock bun (which includes hair extensions)!  You guys know I'm a hair extension fiend, and I've tried many times to wear them with a sock bun, with no luck.  I never thought to turn the clips upside down!  The only thing I did differently was separate my bangs with a small front section and pin it to the side of the bun rather than straight back with the rest of the hair...just because I prefer a little more "oomph"  in the front :)

Check out Nicole's video for more (and subscribe to her channel if you haven't yet!)

MARK LIP CRAYON IN PEONY

This seems to be a running trend for me now just because it's so much easier to post on Instagram than my blog, but if you follow me on IG (@NikkiLynn_BC) you've seen the picture below.  I wore my new mark. Make It Rich Lip Color Crayon in the Peony shade yesterday.  I LOVE the lip crayon formulas, and I'm also ecstatic over this color.  I'll try to get better pictures the next time I wear it - which will probably be soon!

If you're interested in purchasing, the lip crayons are available at my eBoutique here for $11.  My favorite shades are Peony, Punch, and Royale.  They are so pigmented and really stay on your lips for a long time!  I'd choose these over lipstick or gloss any day!

TOUCH & GLOW WARM PALETTE

I blogged recently about the mark. Touch & Glow Warm palette... Well, I finally received mine and just as I anticipated, I LOVE it!  Such pretty, creamy, golden shades - can't help but think of how nice these will look this summer when I actually have a tan!

I wanted to put up some swatches of each color, although, it's hard to see the difference in pictures.  Each cube really is its own shade of gold, copper, or bronze.

If you're interested in purchasing one of these, they are available here for just $16!

Top 3 cube swatches

Middle 3 cube swatches

Bottom 3 cube swatches

MAYBELLINE COLOR WHISPER IN OH LA LILAC

I'm in the process of uploading a new video to my channel!  In the haul, I talk about Maybelline's Color Whisper shade in Oh La Lilac.  I wanted to post some pictures of it because the true color is hard to see in the video.  It's to-die-for!

CONNECT THE DOTS SCARF

Today I received my mark Connect the Dots scarf and I'm in loooooooooove!  Here's a little sneak peek, but I'm planning to film a mark/Target haul later this week!

The scarf is too darn cute and is available at my eBoutique, http://www.mymarkstore.com/nikkichapman

I'm uploading my January Favorites to YouTube right now, but it's moving verrrrrry slowly.  Should be up tomorrow morning!

NAILS OF THE DAY

I decided today it was time for a new nail look.  If you've seen my NOTD posts before, you know I normally stick to neutral colors, and reds/pinks.  I decided to step out of the box and go with a dark blue this time and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome!

The blue polish is from Maybelline, and it's called Sapphire Siren.  I picked it up at Kmart last week for around $4.  The NYC polish is called Starry Silver Glitter and it's from Target.  I don't remember the price but no more than $3.  I just love the two together!

COLOSSAL VOLUM' EXPRESS

In my last haul video on YouTube, I mentioned this mascara - Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express.  I'm so hooked!  I took a picture this weekend without any other eye  makeup on just to show how much it actually lengthens my lashes.  I'll work on getting a before and after picture soon!

ELF SHIMMER PALETTE

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again - I love elf products!!!

This time around, I tried their shimmer palette (from Target, for around $5).  I used to have a similar one from Wet n' Wild and really liked it, so I figured the elf version would be a safe bet.  It makes a phenomenal highlighter!  The pictures below are from my iPhone, so they aren't the greatest, but I like to apply the shimmer to my cheekbones up to my brow bone.  I use any of the shades, but my favorite is the one with the golden hue.

HOOKIN' YOU UP!

mark is offering a pretty sweet Valentine's Day deal!

Get a FREE makeup bag with Glow Baby Glow Lip Gloss and Scandalash Mascara (including a hook up connector) with your $40 order!  Use promo code MKHOOKUP at http://www.mymarkstore.com/nikkichapman

NAIL MAIL BUDDY

I've seen some #nailmail posts on Instagram and I really want to find a nail mail buddy! You can read up on it here and let me know if you're interested :)

VALENTINE JEWELRY

Today I was doing some online shopping/browsing and couldn't help but notice all of the super cute Valentine's Day jewelry!  Too adorable not to share!

Greeting Cardio Mint and Gold Heart Bracelet from LuLu's, $15

Pastel Heart Necklace from Love Culture, $11.90

Linked Enamel Heart Ring from Charlotte Russe, $6.00 

Lacquered Love Bracelet from Love Culture, $8.90

Rhinestoned Love Chain Necklace from Love Culture, $11.90 

Embellished Love Ring from Go Jane, $6.30

Faux Leather Love Watch from Go Jane, $21.90

Ruby'n Hood Red Heart Earrings from LuLu's, $11

Wrapped Heart Bracelet from Love Culture, $8.90 

Red Kiss Ring from Make Me Chic, $7.20

Love Script Enamel Bangle from Charlotte Russe, $6.00 

Love Letter Ring Set from Forever 21, $5.80

Cupid's Arrow Necklace from Nectar, $14.99