OPI Neutrals - Swatches & Reviews

OPI Neutrals - Swatches & Reviews

Today I am going to be showing swatches of some of my favorite neutral polishes by OPI! I have a very wide range of nail polish colors, but 99 percent of the time I end up reaching for colors like these, neutral nudes and neutral pinks. All of the swatches are taken in natural sunlight with no flash, and using two coats of color, with no top coat. All of these colors are still current and available at Ulta or anywhere OPI polish is sold.

Left to right:

Tiramisu For Two, Pale to the Chief, My Very First Knockwurst, Be There in a Prosecco, Beyond the Pale Pink, and Patience Pays Off.

Tiramisu For Two is a nude with a hint of pink/mauve undertones.

 Pale to the Chief is a very warm toned nude. It has strong orange/yellow undertones. It is my least favorite on me but I wanted to show it for the sake of comparison. I think it would look really good on someone with a dark skin tone!

 My Very First Knockwurst is a cool toned mauvey-pink. If this was any darker I wouldn't consider it a neutral but its just on the right side of the spectrum to be pretty universal and soft.

 Be There in a Prosecco is a white cream with a hint of warmth. Its like bright white nude.

 Beyond the Pale Pink is a bright white cream with subtle pink undertone, a cool toned shade.

 Patience Pays Off is a lot like Beyond the Pale Pink, but it has a more prominent pink (and maybe a hint of purple-ish ) tone to it. This is my favorite out of the bunch!

What are your favorite colors of polish to wear? Let me know if you like this type of post! If so, I have so many more nail polishes that I could share!

Thank you so much for reading! XO, Bre

Isla's Nursery

 

Isla's Nursery

Today I am happy to share my daughter, Isla's, nursery with you! Her nursery is one of my favorite rooms in our place. It is so sweet and girly, and I love all of the little details of the space.

Starting with the center piece of the room, her crib. I chose to do all white furniture for her room. I wanted to keep the room light and bright and the white does that. Plus, knowing that she would have the furniture for years to come, I knew it would match any theme we did in the future! I remember when I was a little girl, I had a canopy over my bed and I LOVED it, I had it for years. That is what inspired me to do the canopy over her crib. I think it's unique and adds a chic girly-ness to her room. Also, having something that high up in the ceiling really draws the eyes up when you enter her room, in tern, making the room appear bigger than it really is. The canopy is from Target, there are also lots of options on Wayfair. Staying with the simplicity, her bedding is all white. It is by the brand Living Textiles, found at Nordstrom. The crib itself is by Graco. It converts into a daybed, and then into a headboard for a full/queen size bed. I would definitely recommend getting a crib that converts like this one, they are a little bit pricier but it saves you from having to purchase furniture down the line when babies grow out of the crib!

Her dresser is also by Graco. If I could go back, I would have shopped around more for a dresser. I do love this one and the detail it has on the top back edge, but the drawers are TINY. Baby clothes are pretty small themselves so right now it isn't a huge deal, but I can see it becoming an issue as she gets bigger and into toddler clothing. But, overall, I am happy with it. It's really sturdy and the top surface is a good size! The lamp is from Target. The "Oh baby" sign is handmade by a dear friend in town, Melody. She makes so many cute signs and there is another one in Isla's room that you will see in pictures below. If you want her info feel free to contact me, she personalizes them too! I bought the little pink round metal tray at Target also, I use it to hold her little security blanket animal and a couple stuffed animal rattles. The owl is a nightlight/sound machine by Skip Hop. I LOVE this owl, it plays daytime play songs, lullaby's and white noise. It has a nightlight on the belly and it also has tiny projector that shines stars onto the wall or ceiling!

 These prints are another favorite of mine in the room! These are hand painted watercolors that I bought off of Etsy. They didn't come in the frames, I found those at TJ Maxx. The paintings are so beautiful and bright, and I just love that the animals bring the theme of Isla's African roots to the room.

As you can see, I love stuffed animals! The brand Jelly Cat are my favorite, they are so so soft and every design is so cute. The pink bunny, small puppy, kitty, hedgehog, and big puppy are all by them! The pink elephant is from Dillards. And for the most beautiful stuffed animal, with her long lashes and gold nose, is the swan. I go this from Pottery Barn Kids. The sign on the top shelf is another one from Melody, it has Isla's name, birthdate, weight and other cute things.

 I love her little knickknacks...

Lastly is her changing table. If you're a mom, you know how much time is spent here! I thrive on organization, so I got these baskets from Target to keep things as organized as possible. I keep burp cloths in the far left, bibs in the next, third basket is her "medicine cabinet", things like thermometer, gas drops, baby Tylenol, nail clippers, saline nose wipes etcetera. The bin on the far right has her body lotion, Noodle and Boo is my absolute favorite, and the Honest Co Lavender is another good one. Sunscreen and other toiletries are also in there. The canvas bin on the top of the changing table holds diapers, wipes, Honest Co baby powder, and the Honest Co lavender hand sanitizer. Then, on the bottom shelf, I just keep stocked with wipes, Kirkland from Costco, and Huggies which are our favorite diapers.

I hope you guys enjoyed the peek into my baby girl's nursery! I had so much fun putting it together! It's the perfect oasis for my little princess. Before long I am going to have to find a place to put toys, right now she obviously doesn't "play" with much, but that will be coming before I know it and I will need to add something in here to house all the toys! I also want to get curtains put up eventually too.
If I left anything out and you want specifics on something, just comment below. Thanks so much for stopping by! XO, Bre

Our Beauty Favorites

OUR BEAUTY FAVORITES

We love all things beauty and are constantly trying new products and buying new things. But, like any girl, we have our staples and our favorites that we buy over and over, the things we can't live without. We wanted to each share our top 5 favorite products with you and why we love them so much!

Kait's Favorites

 I'm going to start with my all-time favorite thing, my Marc Jacobs Remarcable Foundation. I have tried so many foundations and while there are a couple others I like, there is nothing like this one. I have combination/oily skin and have a lot of discoloration from past acne problems and picking at my skin. I have quite a bit of redness around my nose and on my forehead also. This foundation covers everything. So much so, that the only concealer I use is for my under eyes to brighten them up a bit. It is a matte finish, but won't show any dry patches like some matte foundations do. It stays on all day, even when my skin gets oily. I set it with Clinique Stay Matte Powder which is very sheer and gives me a little extra oil control throughout the day.

Next is my favorite eyeshadow palette, the Tarte Tartlette In Bloom Palette. This palette has the most beautiful, warm-toned, earthy shades. The shimmer shades in this palette are my absolute favorite and the dark maroon-ish plum color is so pretty on brown eyes. You can create a super natural look with this palette or a dark smoky eye and anywhere in between. The matte shades are super pigmented while the shimmer shades are buildable, the more you put on the more shimmer you get. It also has 2 great liner shades, one being a very dark, almost black, brown and the other is a perfect espresso brown.

If you have never tried anything from Lush Cosmetics, you are missing out! My favorite product from them is the Lush Cosmetics Ro's Argan Body Conditioner. This is my most favorite body moisturizer I have ever used. It has the best rose scent and the best part about it is you apply it on wet skin in the shower and then lightly rinse off. I've made it part of my shower routine which is so much easier than applying a lotion all over my body when I get out on dry skin. A little bit goes a long way and it leaves your skin feeling so soft and the smell lasts on your skin all day. I have used this on dry skin and it definitely works, but will feel a little oily since it's meant to be rinsed off.

This is the first tube of this mascara that I've ever bought, which tells you how great it is because I have already declared it my favorite. The Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara gives my lashes so much volume and thickness and the best thing about it is that it doesn't clump up my lashes, it feathers them perfectly. Something that drives me crazy with some mascara is how hard it is to wash off in the shower, this one comes off easily with my face wash but it also lasts on my lashes all day long.

The Kat Von D Tattoo Liner is the absolute best liquid liner. I have tried numerous different brands and I always come back to this one. My favorite part about it is that it has a matte finish. Other brand I've tried have a sheen or a glossy finish and I am really not a fan of that, especially in photos. This goes on so smoothly and has the perfect felt tip and makes it so easy to get a perfect wing. It is very affordable too especially for the quality you get.



Bre's Favorites

The Anastasia Brow Definer is something that I never go a day without using! I have naturally dark brows, but I use this to fill in any areas that are sparse to give a full, but still natural look. It has the product on one end and the other end is a spoolie, which is so convenient! The color I use is Medium Brown. No matter if you wear a lot of makeup or minimal makeup, I think everyone can use this product because full brows create such a beautiful frame to any face.

My next favorite is the Lorac Alter Ego Lip Gloss in the shade Socialite. It is the prefect nude pink! It's a very opaque and high shine gloss, as you can see from the swatch below. It has really good staying power, I usually reapply every hour or two. I love wearing this color regardless if I have much makeup on at all since it is a pretty neutral color, it gives a good pop on the lips without being too much.

Next is the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard. I use this under my eyes to cover any darkness as well as a spot concealer for blemishes. When used under my eyes I only need to use a small amount, it's full coverage and blends really easy. I usually apply it with a damp beauty blender, but if I am in a big rush I just use my finger tips and it still applies nicely! This does not crease on me and stays put all day long.

YSL came out with a new lip product recently, the Vinyl Cream Lip Stains. This is shade 407, a dusty rose. These are unlike any lip product that I have tried! The texture is pretty thin, but feels so smooth and silky. It isn't sticky or drying, it's the perfect consistency. As you can see in the swatches below, the color is so beautiful, especially for fall! Thank you Kait for the perfect birthday gift!

My last favorite for today is a skin care product. I am always searching for the best cleansers! I love this one by Glamglow, the Supercleanse Daily Clearing Cleanser. I have oily acne prone skin so this is great for me because the charcoal draws out impurities and clarifies my pores. Its unique because it is almost like a cleanser and mask in one. You apply it to dry skin, then I let it sit for a couple minutes! After a minute or two, take warm water on your hands and rub onto your face to create a lather, then rinse off. It has a nice tingly/cooling effect and leaves my skin super soft!

 SWATCHES

We both have very different skin tones. While Bre has a medium skin with a light olive undertone, Kait has a light to medium complexion with some yellow undertones. We did swatches on each of our arms of the Tart Tartlette In Bloom palette so that you can see what the shades look like on different skin tones.

Tarte In Bloom Palette on Bre's skin 

Tarte In Bloom Palette on Kait's skin

Nars Concealer, Anastasia Brow Pencils in Medium Brown and Caramel, Lorac Gloss, and YSL Vinyl Cream Gloss on Bre's skin

Product Review: Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist's Palette

This weekend I picked up the Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist's Palette. This palette cost $55 and comes with 12 different shades ranging from pink/purple to taupe/brown colors, all with a cool tone. There are 6 matte shades and 6 shimmer shades, so this is a very versatile palette! It also comes with two much darker shades that could be used as a liner.

The shades include:

Sparkling Dew: shimmering champagne with a slight pink undertone
Vanilla Nuts: matte cream
Guava: shimmering light peachy pink
Primrose: shimmering light rosy pink
African Violet: shimmering purple with a gold shimmer
Fresco: matte mauve
Plum Smoke: matte grayish purple
Bamboo: shimmering taupe
Kir Royal: shimmering purple
Truffle: matte cool-toned brown
Violet Ink: matte dark plum purple
Espresso Bean: matte dark cool-toned brown

The shades that caught my eye when I saw the palette were African Violet and Sparkling Dew. AV is a very unique color, I haven't seen a lot of purple shadows with a gold shimmer and it is gorgeous. SD caught my eye because I am always looking for the perfect highlight shade and I loved the look of this one, especially with the slight pink undertone.

I also loved that this palette came with purples/pinks and also brown/taupe shades. It makes the palette very versatile and easy to create multiple different looks.

First, I played with the pinks and purples. I used Plum Smoke on my brow bone, Kir Royal in my crease, Guava on my lid and, of course, Sparkling Dew for my highlight under my brows and around my tear duct. I also used Violet Ink as a liner.

Second, I played with the browns and taupes. I used Fresco on my brow bone, Truffle in my crease, Bamboo on my lid, Espresso Bean on the outer corners of my eye and Sparkling Dew as my highlighter. Also, yes my hair is different in these two photos! I got my hair done in between them. ;)

Things I Liked:

As I said above, I love the versatility of this palette. I created two natural looks, but I could easily create a heavy smoky eye or something even softer.

I love that they mixed matte shades with shimmer because I like to use matte shadows on my brow bone and in my crease.

There are a lot of unique colors in this palette that I haven't seen much in other palettes. Specifically African Violet and Bamboo. 

I love the shade Vanilla Nuts a lot because it works perfectly as an all-over base color and also can be used as a matte highlight shade.

There was very little fallout which allowed me to apply my foundation first before applying my shadow which is something I prefer. The only time I had fallout was when I was using the darker shades as a liner but I pack quite a bit on the brush when I do that.

There isn't a single shade in the palette that I wouldn't use. A lot of times with other palettes I have, there is a color that I never or rarely use and I have already tried every color in this palette and loved them all.

Things I Didn't Like:

I did not like the price of the palette for what I got. I splurged on this one because I was in love with a couple of the shades, but it was definitely more money than I would normally spend on a palette that I couldn't customize.

I don't love how sheer the shadows go on. I found that I had to layer each shade quite a bit to get the pigment that I wanted.

I had a little bit of a hard time blending with the darker colors, especially with the purple shades. I like a smooth transition between each shade without harsh lines and it took a little extra work with this palette to achieve that.

Overall:
Overall I like this palette. I'm glad I bought it, but for the money I'm not sure it's any better quality than some of my favorite palettes which cost less. If you like cool toned shadows, this is the palette for you. I tend to buy warmer toned palettes so I'm glad I have this one for something a little different. This would be a GREAT palette to use for your wedding day with a lot of shimmering pinks and natural browns. The browns look great with a deep red lipstick and the purples look great with a lighter pink or mauve lipstick. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this palette over some other ones that I have, but I am happy with it and don't plan on returning it!