Cherry on Top

Inspiration:  Feburary 2014 INN Box

Products:  OPI Black Cherry Chutney, Essie Jamaica Me Crazy, China Glaze Your Present Required

Thoughts:I always do the Surprise Me option for the INN Box (Inzuri Nail Nation), and this month I got the Love Hurts set. No bonus beauty items this month - BOO! - but that's probably because the INN Box is going through some changes.  They are going to a three-tier subscription model where you can choose to receive two or three polishes.  I highly suggest you check it out as this is my favorite nail subscription box as the curated sets of different brands always work so well together.  I always reflect on the three I get until inspiration strikes in a way to use all three together.  This month, the name of the OPI one made me think of ice cream sundaes, so I did an accent nail that is reflective of that.

In the Box: February 2014 Birchbox Replacement

If you saw my original February 2014 Birchbox post, you will remember that one of my samples shattered spilling oil all over everything.  I contacted CS, hoping they could send me a new sample.  Well, they sent me a whole new box - and this one had nail polish, too!  I got this adorable mini bottle of OPI's new Sheer Tints in Don't Violet Me Down.  Their amazing CS is one of the reasons I love Birchbox (clicking will take you through my referral link).

What other goodies did I get?  Beauty Protector Protect & Oil, Dr. Brandt Pores No More Pore Refiner, Joan Vaas L'eau da Cristal, and Harney & Sons Fine Teas in Paris and White Vanilla Grapefruit.

Dreaming of Spring Toes

Inspiration:  February 2014 Ipsy (clicking will take you through my referral link)

Products:  Zoya Dot, Serum No. 5 May Flowers

Thoughts: When I saw I received Dot, I knew I was going to have to dress it up some - petal pink is just too plain for me.  I thought this Spring-y glitter was perfect as this very cold weather has me wanting Spring to hurry up!

Field of Alliums

Inspiration:  Straight from the Catwalks! - Emerson: Field of Alliums Floral of It on page 42 of the January/February 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products:  Zoya Blu, Spellbound Nails Lilac You, Color Club London Calling and Wild Cactus, China Glaze Bizarre Blurple, It's So Easy Double Up (not pictured), Q-Tips (not pictured)

Thoughts:  I am very proud of this mani - the above pic was done with my non-dominant hand!  The flowers were supposed to be made with a make-up brush, but I didn't have any old ones, so I tried a Q-Tip.  I didn't dab it off enough before applying, so the flowers appear more solid than airy, but it worked very nicely for spotting my other nails.

In the Box: Birchbox Limited Edition Birchbox Finds

I love when Birchbox (clicking will take you through my referral link) does LE boxes.  This time, they did a Birchbox Finds box.  For those unfamiliar with Birchbox, a Birchbox Find is a drug store item, as opposed to a specialty store item.  I find that the Birchbox Finds tend to be some of the items I use the most.  Now, I probably won't use this Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Rosy Outlook the most because I am not a fan of the brushes Sally Hansen uses in this product, plus I have received a lot of pinks this month.  However, the formula is great.

What other goodies did I get?  Biore Self Heating One Minute Mask, Covergirl Bombshell Shadow by LastBlast in Ice Queen, Covergirl Bombshell Volume by LashBlast in Very Black, John Frieda Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir, Nivea Kiss of Color & Care in Sheer Caramel, and

Rimmel London Stay Glossy 3D Lipgloss in Popcorn for 2.

In the Box: Julep Cupid Mystery Box with Mystery Pack Add-On

Every so often, Julep (clicking will take you through my referral link) will offer a mystery box.  Usually they will release one item that will be in it; leaving the rest a total surprise.  For Valentine's Day, they had three available Cupid Mystery Boxes - a pedi lovers, a make-up lovers, and a mani lovers.  While I do love make-up, I liked the gaurenteed color in the pedi lovers box best.  Aphrodite (middle) is a gorgeous orchid shimmer.  The other two colors I received were Claudette (left), a smoky brick red creme, and Karen, a peach bellini frost.

Julep always offers add-ons when you check out, and this time they had a mystery pack, so I couldn't resist.  It ended up being three colors: Stefani, a gold-flecked grey metallic, Kennedy, a khaki creme, and Angela, a deep sea blue molten.  Angela was definitely my fave!

What other goodies did I get? Mint Condition Pedi Cream, Double Step Foot Treatment & Friction Stick, and a foot file.

For the Foil of It

Inspiration:  Straight from the Catwalks! - Libertine: For the Foil of It on page 42 of the January/February 2014 issue of Nail It!

Products:  Ruffian Ruffian Cre Noir, It's So Easy Foil 'Em Kit

Thoughts:  Love this look of blue foil on black polish, and it was SO easy to do!  The magazine instructions have a third step of adding crystals, but I like this as is (plus none of my crystals looked right with it).

In the Box: February 2014 Ipsy

This month, every subscriber got one of two Zoya polishes in their Ipsy bag (clicking will take you through my referral link). I got Dot, which is a pale pink.  The other color, Odette, was more my style, but I know I will find a use for Dot.

What other goodies did I get? POPBeauty Plump Pop Mini in Peony Petal, City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon, Tini Beauty Eyetini Eye Cordial Shadow Tint in Ambrosia, and IPKN NY Moist & Firm BB in Light.

In the Box: February 2014 Birchbox

Birchbox (clicking will take you through my referral link) has had Ruby Wing quite often in their boxes, but this month was the first time I got one.  The color I got is Kitten Heels and is a fun hot pink inside and is supposed to turn a darker magenta outside.  This is a perfect color for summer toes, so February seems kind of an odd month to get it, but it's nail polish, so who cares?

What other goodies did I get?  Beauty Protector Protect & Oil (which shattered en route - but Birchbox's awesome CS is totally on it!), COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face, smashbox Full Exposure Mascara, and smashbox Full Expose Palette sample.

Heart Attack

Inspiration: Color

Products: Julep Lena and Spellbound Nails Off With Their Heads

Thoughts: It's Valentine's Week, so I had to use this awesome red and black heart glitter.  Finding a color to layer it on top of was a little tricky, though, as I wanted both heart colors to pop as well as the white glitter.  I think this teal shimmer does the job perfectly! 

Scarf Plaid

Inspiration: Color

Products: Ruffian Ruffian Red, Ruffian Naked, and Ruffian Cre Noir

Thoughts: A few months ago, every Birchbox subscriber received one of the three colors in the Ruffian Crowdsourced collection.  I loved the formula so much, I ordered all of the Ruffian colors.  This mani feautres the Classics collection.  When I saw these three, they kinda reminded me of Burberry, so I decided to try a plaid.  I used an index card for the lines and it didn't turn out too bad for a first try.

Golden Love

Inspiration:  February 2014 Julep Maven (clicking will take you through my referral link)

Products:  Julep Faye, Love and Ta Da! Quick Dry Drops (not pictured)

Thoughts:  Love was the color that every Maven (including Modern Beauties!) got in their February box.  It said it was full coverage, but I did not expect it to be that with one coat!  I had first put on a coat of Faye (below) thinking the golden shimmer in the tan color would look nice under the gold and fuscia glitter, but Love was too thick for Faye to show through.

In the Box: February 2014 Julep

Normally I would not feature my monthly Julep box here (clicking will take you through my referral link) because I always do Modern Beauty with features beauty and nail care products instead of polish, but this month, every Maven received this fun and classy glitter called Love.

What other goodies did I get?  Eye Sheen Liquid Eyeshadow in Warm Fig Shimmer (we were able to pick 1 of 4 colors), Ink Gel Eyeliner in Jet Black, and Angled Liner brush.  As an add-on, I ordered some Swatch Me stickers for my older bottles that did not come with them (although, these may be obsolete come May).