Sunny's Body Products Winter 2016 Seasonal Box Review

Hey folks! I have a new seasonal box of goodies from Sunny's Body Products to share with you! The 2016 winter box features nine body care items sure to help you indulge your tired winter skin this season!

Press Sample

Sunny's Hand Butter is in the scent Pinecones & Amber, a beautiful mix of orange peel, bergamot tea, lime zest, violet petals, cinnamon leaf, warm clove, golden amber, Texas cedarwood, earthy patchouli and black musk. One of my picks for sure, this is a great soft, cozy scent.

Sunny's Lip Saver is in the scent Sugar Plum, which smells just like sweet plums lightly covered in sugar. Yummy and plummy!

Sunny's Triple Thick Body Cream in the pump dispenser comes in the scent Homespun Treasure, a blend of red currant, sheer musk, pomegranate, pomme fruits, white grapefruit, holiday quince, sweet wild berries, marshmallow and swirls of vanilla. Bright and tart, a great holiday scent!

Sunny's Jelly Soap is in the scent Snowkissed Sugar. This has many notes, including juicy clementine infused with effervescent notes of bergamot and frosted ivy, enhanced with a jumble of wild berries, alluring winter roses and a sticky sweet pop of spun sugar, with creamy vanilla musk, oak moss, and wood accord finish off this distinctive fragrance. This is the only scent in the box that doesn't work for me, but I can see it doing well for others. Scents are subjective after all!

Sunny's Intensive Cuticle Therapy, in the glass bottle with a dropper, is in the scent Celebrate Christmas. It has subtle top notes of fruit are followed by a spicy heart of cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg and a base of luscious caramelized sugar and white musk. I love this, it's like a sophisticated holiday party!

Sunny's Cuticle Oil with the rollerball applicator is in the scent Cashmere Woods, sweet vanilla orchid and citron peel are followed by seductive white patchouli flowers, oudh accord, and heliotrope, finished with a dry down of sun-warmed tonka beans, cashmere woods, and crystal amber. More complex than I expected, very pretty warm scent.

Sunny's Sugar Hand Scrub is in the scent Silver Birch, which is the mix of silver birch leaves, clementine peel and crisp ozonic notes followed by pine cone accords and white geraniums with a dry down of vetiver, sandalwood, and sequoia woods. This is my favorite in the box, I'm a sucker for fresh wood-y scents.

Sunny's Dry Spot Healer is in the scent Black Tie, a sexy blend of Italian bergamot, damask plum, tobacco flower, asiatic lily, warm oakmoss, star jasmine, cashmere woods, patchouli, and vanilla. I am in love with this, dark yet somehow light and fresh.

And last is Sunny's Miracle Balm in the scent White Velvet Bow. This delicately feminine scent flirts with an open of perfumed jasmine air, white poppy, and sheer yuzu zest and then dances with sheer abandon among white poinsettias and snowdrop flowers, resting on the powdery finish of frosted, silver, and white velvet musks. This is very classic and clean, but still sexy and girly!

This is a limited edition box that is available now for $30 on the Sunny's Body Products website. What do you think of these scent descriptions? Any sound good to you? Let me know if you're planning on getting this box and if you do, let me know how you like the scents!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Sunny's Body Products Villains Box Review

Hello beautiful! Today I'd love to share the latest seasonal box of goodies from Sunny's Body Products with you! The products in this box are inspired by Disney Villains, kin to their Princess Box from this spring. There are twelve hand care/bath & body products included, each themed for a different villain, which I love! I also got the opportunity to try two new products they are bringing to their line, so stay tuned for that at the end of the post.

Press Sample

Sunny's All Over Body Balm is in the scent Off With Her Head (Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland) - "a fresh, soft floral, highlighted with fresh greens very similar to happy heart perfume." A classic, feminine scent that is sure to be a hit with the girly girls! This balm is ideal for use on any type of dry skin, I keep one in my purse at all times.

Sunny's Intensive Cuticle Therapy oil is in the scent Magic Mirror On the Wall (Queen Grimhilde from Snow White) - "notes of crisp apple, pear, and melon and leads to a finish of decadent white chocolate and creamy vanilla." A warm, sweet, autumn appropriate scent that is arguably my favorite in the box! Intense is a great moniker for this product, I use this robust oil before bed and when my cuticles are in need of pampering. The dropper applicator gives the perfect amount of product!

Next is Sunny's Lip Saver in Prick Her Finger (Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty) - "yummy dragonfruit". I've never smelled or eaten a dragonfruit in real life, but if it is like this I bet it tastes amazing! Reminds me of a fruity cocktail flavor. The lip savers are fab, keeps my lips moisturized for hours.

The lighter of the two oils comes in a roller ball applicator, Sunny's Cuticle Oil in Poor Unfortunate Souls (Ursula from The Little Mermaid) - "pineapple, coconut, violet and jasmine and in reaching to her depths you will discover driftwood, sprinkled sugar and white musk." Totally sweet, yet floral, but with a touch of ocean, I am in love with this! This oil is seriously essential, excellent for everyday use.

Sunny's Miracle Balm comes in Fine, Fine, I’m Cool, I’m Fine (Hades from Hercules) - "juicy lime is spiked with wild mint and swirled with ocean lilies, musk, palm trees, and sea moss." I truly detest the scent of lilies, but the mint and salty lime in this almost makes up for it haha. I really enjoy the balm, I use it mostly on my cuticles.

Sunny's Lip Scrub is scented/flavored with Friends On The Other Side (Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog) - "a spooky mix of Cajun Spices." This is INSANE! Mostly cinnamon at first sniff, but a soft heat of the other spices come alive upon application. I may be obsessed with the scent, and I honestly use a lip scrub daily so I'm going to have to find a way to get Sunny to make me more of this!

Sunny's Dry Spot Healer comes in the scent If She Doesn’t Scare You (Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations) - "lily, rose, amber, oakmoss and sandalwood." I'm a bit over florals since we're heading into fall, but this is nice and light. The dry spot healer has literally cured my elbows of rough skin, I use it every night before bed!

Sunny's Triple Thick Body Cream is in the scent Wash The Windows, Scrub The Floors (Lady Tremaine from Cinderella) - "blend of narcotic florals, balanced with addictive woods and vanilla absolute create a scent that is timeless yet modern, simultaneously dark and light." That definition is so right on, dark and light at the same time. This lotion formula is heavier, it delivers a nice dose of hydration that lingers for a while.

Sunny's On the Go Hand Lotion comes in the scent Tick Tock (Captain Hook from Peter Pan) - "resinous bay leaves infused in the mellow woody smell of rum that has been aged and matured for months in wooden kegs." If you can imagine what a clean pirate smells like, this has got to be it! On the masculine end, but a definite winner for me. The formula of this lotion sinks in easily and is perfect for use on the go (hence the name haha).

The scent for Sunny's Sugar Hand Scrub is called Mother Knows Best (Mother Gothel from Tangled) - "a blend of buttery vanilla and sweet green grasses." One of my favorites in the box, who knew those scents went together so well?? Rich and slightly foodie but also fresh and light. I love the scrub, full of great oils and just scrubby enough to treat your hands to nice exfoliation without being too rough.

Sunny's Bath Whip comes in I Killed Mufasa! (Scar from The Lion King) -"Top – Ginger and Juniper Berries, Middle – Spruce, Cardamom and Osmanthus, Base – Vetiver, Tonka and Amber." This is a more complex scent that I was prepared not to like but I actually quite enjoy it. It's light and slightly masculine, very clean. The bath whip is lovely to use, gives a nice lather and leaves your skin scented for a long time.

Sunny's Hand Butter is scented with Patience Iago, Patience (Jafar from Aladdin) - "a woody, amber-moss and spice with a hint of sandalwood." Another unisex/masculine scent, this one is just ok for me, not being a big fan of amber or sandalwood. This is the most dense lotion Sunny has, almost firm and paste like, but slippery if that makes sense. I love using the butters on my feet and hands before bed, letting them sink in all night feels so luxe!

Now for the new products, these are not included in the box, but I wanted to share my take on them as they're going to be available in her shop soon. I got to try the new Jelly Soap in the permanent scent Pomelo Sage (Sunny's fav scent!). It's a squishy jello-like soap that works very similarly to regular soap, you can either use it as one chunk and just rub it on your skin or tear bits off and squish them up in your hands with running water. I like that it doesn't leave my skin super dry either, which happens with most soaps for me.

The other new type of product is the Fizzy Shots, which I got to try in the permanent scent Snow Taffy (which smells amazing). It's like a deconstructed half size bath bomb, in it's almost powdered form. This is the perfect size for mani bombs, which are all the rage right now, but I don't soak my hands/fingers in water because it affects my fingernails negatively, but I can see using this for pedicures or baths!

My friends Very Emily and Paulina's Passions have posted their reviews of this box as well and I know we all have very different noses, so you might check them out to get other perspectives. (They also have photos of the jelly soap and fizzy shot, which I realized I didn't take just now as I'm writing/editing this post, ugh!) Edit: Jen the Polishaholic just posted her review too!

This box will be available for purchase on the Sunny's Body Products website on Friday, September 30th for $50 including shipping for the US, and for $60 including shipping for international customers. This is a limited edition set so when it sells out it will not be restocked. Let me know what you think about this box and if you are interested in any of the scents!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Sunny's Body Products Princesses Box Review

I've got some fun goodies to share with you today, the Princesses box from Sunny's Body Products! I've shared one of the seasonal boxes with you before, and I'm happy to be able to share my review of this one in advance! Thanks Sunny! The box features 12 products in scents inspired by Sunny's favorite Disney Princesses, which is right up my alley. I'm a total Disney geek!

Press Sample

My friend Emily from the amazing blog Very Emily is posting her review of this box at the same time today so please go check out her post. She always does some beautiful nail art to go along with the boxes she reviews, which I am not nearly talented enough to do so please go ogle her amazingness. Let's dive right in shall we?

Colors of the Wind dry spot healer, inspired by Pocahontas, "succulent fruits, berries, currants and tree ripened oranges accent this cool, moist mossy undertones of soil, fallen leaves and sagebrush." I live in a rural area so I am very familiar with the scent of soil, leaves and sagebrush and this is it with that great twist of fruit. Gorgeous outdoorsy scent, perfect for Pocahontas. I really love the dry spot healer too, great for elbows!

Be Our Guest miracle balm, inspired by Belle from Beauty and the Beast, "a bed of roses surrounded by gardenias and plumerias." This is my favorite floral scent in the box, rich and warm but still fresh. The miracle balm works wonders anywhere on your body, but I use it primarily on my cuticles.

Blue Dress, Pink Dress lip scrub, inspired by Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, "sweet spun sugar surrounds soft barley." Aurora is my #1 favorite princess, has been since I was super little. Not sure why, her journey isn't incredibly remarkable, but maybe it's because she got to sleep a lot and her animated boyfriend was really hot. ;-) Lip scrub is 100% essential to my daily routine, I can't live without it, and Sunny's version is the formula I love the most! Proper exfoliation with enough oil left behind to enrich but not too much.

You Want Thingamabobs? triple thick body cream, inspired by Ariel from The Little Mermaid, "cool and refreshing aquatic notes deepened with water lilies and ocean breezes." I'm not usually a fan of lilies but they work in this one perfectly, blending with the other aquatic ocean notes, it reminds me of being on a warm beach pier watching the waves come in! This lotion is great, a nice creamy consistency for ample moisturization. I like to use this type of lotion on my arms and legs when I get out of the shower.

A Whole New World cuticle oil, inspired by Jasmine from Aladdin, "rich base of vanilla, musk and sandalwood well balanced by lively top notes of jasmine, lavender and orange." This smells very spa-like and perfumey, totally what I think of when I imagine Princess Jasmine. Love the cuticle oil, it's great for use throughout the day as it sinks in easily and I really enjoy the rollerball applicator.

Be Brave intensive therapy oil, inspired by Merida from Brave, "refreshing combo of woods, pines and cool misty breezes." I've actually never seen Brave, can you believe it?! I need to fix that seriously, I know. I really like this, makes me imagine doing laundry in a mountain stream or something. The intensive oil is amazing and viscous and really hydrates well. The dropper applicator is nice for applying a generous amount for all your nails at once. I use this formula at night or when my cuticles need extra attention.

The Lost Princess sugar hand scrub, inspired by Rapunzel from Tangled, "humid nights in a damp, outdoor garden, fresh, brisk, mossy and grassy, with potted soil and terra-cotta stones and concrete statues." I don't know if I would've necessarily been one to pick out this scent for this collection, but it actually really works! It totally makes me think of a castle like the one Rapunzel is trapped in. I have tried this multiple times and have grown to love it more each time. The scrub is great at exfoliating and leaves behind a good amount of oil to leave your skin well moisturized. I use Sunny's scrubs at least once a week on my hands and feet.

Glass Slippers hand butter, inspired by Cinderella, "a clean, refreshing fragrance -- floral jasmine, lily of the valley, carnation." I like jasmine and carnation but the lily in this throws it a bit off for me. If you like floral scents, you're sure to like this though. I adore the hand butter formula for areas that need heavy hydration, especially my feet. Thick and very moisturizing, I usually use this before I fall into bed at night.

Wishing Well bath whip, inspired by Snow White, "dreamy, angelic composition opens with bright bergamot citrus then quickly trails to a mix of white florals, jasmine, iris and orris that sets on a delicate vanilla, sandalwood musk silver lining." This scent sadly doesn't work for me, it's one of those musks that will give me a headache if I use, but just sniffing it in the pot I know it's lovely. Sunny's bath whip is great for use in the tub, lathers up nicely and leaves a lot of scent behind on the skin.

Let it Go on-the-go hand lotion, inspired by Elsa from Frozen, "cool mints, camphor and bitter woods highlight a winter trek through the driven snow." This scent totally embodies the "frozen" idea, lovely and crisp. The on-the-go is my favorite formula of lotion that Sunny makes, sinks in super fast and the packaging is perfect for sticking in my purse.

Bring Honor to Us all over body balm, inspired by Mulan, "white baby tea leaves harmonized for balanced reflective moods." Mulan is one of my all time favorite princesses and movie for that matter, but I'm not a tea scent type of girl. This is pretty fresh and light though so I don't mind it. The body balm in a tube is fabulous, easy to take anywhere!

Almost There lip saver, inspired by Tiana from The Princess & The Frog, "delicious warm beignets fresh out of the oven and sprinkled with powdered sugar." Um...can we say YUM?? I'm obsessed with this, bakery scents are my favorites. I haven't been the biggest fan of Sunny's lip balms in the past, but this one seems different? Maybe it's just me, but it's got a lovely staying power and I have been wearing it daily to keep my lips supple and hydrated. And the scent is incredible, can't get enough of it.

This box will go on sale Wednesday, May 18th on Sunny's website. The box sells for $50 with free domestic shipping, international customers add $5 for shipping. Please let me know if any of these scents sound good to you! And please check out Emily's review, which I can already tell you is going to be incredible and 1000x better than mine! Who's your favorite Disney princess? What other box themes do you think Sunny should do? I personally would love a Disney villians box! Have a great day and talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

GlitterDaze 4th Birthday Gift Set Swatches & Review

Good day to you fair dear! Let's hope this week is better than the last one. At least in my case, haha! Today I have the gift set from GlitterDaze for the 4th Birthday of their brand to show you! This set includes two holographic nail polishes, a cuticle balm, and a hand fizzy.

Press Sample

Image via GlitterDaze

GlitterDaze Birthday Kisses is inspired by the Pantone 2016 Color of the Year, Rose Quartz. It's a warm light pink linear holographic shade with shifting iridescent blue glass fleck shimmers. Thin consistency but easy to apply. Two coats for opacity.

GlitterDaze Make A Wish is inspired by the other Pantone 2016 Color of the Year, Serenity. It's a medium periwinkle linear holographic with color shifting iridescent pink shimmer. Same formula as Birthday Kisses, this is two coats.

The cuticle balm included is unscented, which is a bummer for me. I would've love a cake batter scented balm! But it works well and you get a nice amount for a "sample" size. It's stiff but melts into the skin quickly and give nice moisture without being greasy.

The hand fizzy is scented, yay, with a lovely birthday cake scent! I love the little sprinkles and the heart shape! It is a bit on the crumbly side, but not extremely so. If you don't know, this is a type of "manicure bomb" used for adding to warm water and soaking your hands in as a moisture treatment. This worked well in terms of fizzing and moisturization, a nice treat for your hands or feet!

This box is available now on the GlitterDaze website for $24 or you can purchase the individual polishes for $12 each. Let me know what you think about this box! Are you interested in picking it up? Can you believe this is their 4th year of making polish? My how time flies!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Baroness X Cuticle Care Review

Hi folks! I apologize for the slim posts the last little while, my poor mountain town has been experiencing a lack of sun lately which makes it hard for me to take swatch photos. I don't know if I'll ever figure out how to get good indoor photos of my nails that I don't hate or have to edit the colors for an hour to get them to show up correctly. *le sigh* Anyway, I thought I'd do a review of some skin care items from indie brand Baroness X for you today!

Press Sample | Purchased by Me

I heard about a new product from Baroness X from my blogging friends Jenny from Lavish Layerings and Nichole from Bedlam Beauty a while ago and had to purchase it immediately when it became available. It's their Matte Cuticle Balm aka "swatcher's balm". It's designed to give you hydrated skin but leave a low sheen finish on your skin. Most oils, balms and lotions leave your skin looking greasy and too shiny, a problem mostly for people taking photos of their hands and nails (like me!). I have had trouble with this for a long time, because I take my photos in the sunlight, my camera picks up every bit of moisture on my skin and makes it gleam like crazy, which can be distracting and unattractive. This balm has great ingredients for moisturizing your thirsty cuticles, like jojoba oil, mango butter, and aloe, but also powders that leave your skin satiny instead of shiny.

Before they were offered for sale, I offhandedly mentioned that I wished it to be made with the scent Pink Sugar on their Facebook page, because it's my favorite, and the maker totally delivered! How cool is that? Demi from Baroness X generously threw in another scent of the balm in addition to the one I purchased and a Pink Sugar cuticle oil for review.

I've been using this balm every time I swatch now. It's a better alternative than the oil I was using before, then using lint-free wipes and water to help it soak in. It does need to be rubbed in well or it can kind of stay on the top of your skin. I would say this gives you a perfect matte finish if you take indoor photos. But since I take outdoor pics in the sun, my camera can still pick up a bit of shine after I use it. To fix this, I run a dab of nail prep (basically watered down rubbing alcohol) around the edges of my nail after applying the balm, and it works like a charm. Matte but moisturized skin! And the scents are terrific! Their Pink Sugar scent smelled a bit different than the one I am used to, but it still is lovely. The Peppermint scent is my favorite that I've tried so far.

The Royal Oil hydrating and healing cuticle oil she sent is in a pen sized container with a brush on one end and a pump on the other to push the oil up. The blend of quality oils she uses for this formula is vegan and contains such oils as jojoba, apricot kernel, avocado, kukui nut, and argan. (Full list of ingredients on the website.) I've been using this for more than a month and really like it. It sinks in easily and moisturizes my cuticles really well, which is what we all want right? I love the pen style of applicator too, it's very convenient! And I love that is refillable

You can buy these on the Baroness X website. The Matte Cuticle Balm is available in 10g for $5.50 (on sale now for $5), and 20g for $9.50 (on sale now for $9). The Royal Oil comes in a either a refillable 4ml pump brush pen for $8 (on sale now for $6), a 15ml bottle w/ brush for $11 (on sale now for $9), or a 15ml plastic dropper for $11 (on sale now for $9). They are available in a ton of different scents and also unscented. Their sale ends on 12/26. And a little bird told me they have a new polish collection up for pre-order!

What do you use to keep your cuticles moisturized and healthy? Cuticle care is essential to my routine and I am happy to have found these items!

❤ Kellie

Some of the products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Sunny's Body Products Spring 2015 Box Review

Hi folks! Today I have a bath and body product review for you, specifically of the Sunny's Body Products Spring seasonal box. There are 10 products in the box, most of them are full size. The products have exclusive scents created for this season that are not sold regularly in her store. I heard about Sunny's brand back when she was a polish maker (365 Days of Color), but she has since decided to focus completely on her body products. My friend Jen the PolishAholic loves this brand and her reviews of the last few seasonal boxes pushed me over the edge to get this one.

A photo posted by @kelliegonzo on Apr 10, 2015 at 8:21pm PDT

First up is the Intensive Cuticle Therapy Oil in the scent Spring Rain, a "musky accord enhanced with a fresh floral bouquet of carnations, tiger lillies, alyssum, orchids, and roses, with hints of fresh greenery". I get a lot of the carnation from this and the greenery. I really like it. This is one of my favorite products she makes, it's so lush and feels like such a treat for my cuticles. It has an eye-dropper type applicator.

Next is the Cuticle Oil in the scent Sun Moon Stars described as "fresh green notes of clover and ivy followed by notes of jasmine, and vetiver. Bottom notes of green stem notes." I think the jasmine and ivy come out the most in this, it's nice but I don't love it. I like the feel of her cuticle oils, they have a roller ball applicator and sink in quickly.

Her All Over Body Balm is in the scent Rainbow, a "unique fragrance beginning with top notes of pear, green grapes, kiwi, raspberry and peach; followed by middle notes of jasmine and lily of the valley with a base note of white musk". It's super fruity with a touch of floral. This is a newer product from her store, you can use it on your elbows, heels, knees, or as a cuticle balm, or even a solid perfume. I quite enjoy it and will probably get this product in more scents.

The Lip Balm is scented like Honeysuckle Mandarin, "a fresh blend of sweet blooming honeysuckle and juicy ripe sour mandarins". I freaking love this scent, both honeysuckle and mandarin are some of my favorites, but unfortunately I don't care for the formula. It's very creamy but too waxy for me and tastes perfumey. I've tried one other lip balm from her in a different scent and it was the same so it wasn't a fluke. I'll stick with my Burt's Bees for my lip needs.

The Hand Butter is scented as Butterfly Flower, described as having fresh ozone notes, lily and sage, tones of cassis, sweet amber and crisp orange flower with a base of musk. That sounds pretty complex, but I mostly smell the ozone and sage. Very fresh and very "spring"! The consistency is super thick and imo best to use before bed as it takes a while to sink in.

Her Miracle Balm is called Chance, a "blend of citron, water hyacinth, jasmine, iris, teakwood, vetiver, patchouli, amber, and white musk". This is probably the lightest scent in the box, very crisp and airy. My second favorite, it's so pleasing! This is also a fabulous product, I think it's her most popular. It's a smooth and very moisturizing cuticle balm that really works.

The Sugar Scrub is in the scent April Showers, "fresh powder, light musk, and just a hint of fresh spring flowers of lavender, jasmine, and tulips". This smells like straight up laundry detergent to me. Not my favorite for sure. It's a new-to-me product from Sunny, I love scrubs and this one has a great formula.

Her Bath Whip has a Clean Crisp Air scent, described as "top notes of fresh clover and ivy. Middle notes of baby's breath, periwinkle, and lily of the valley. Base notes of ozony fresh notes". Unfortunately this is the scent I liked the least, the clover and lily is overpowering to me. I was looking forward to trying this product but I don't think I will be able to get past the scent on this, I'll probably pass it along.

The On the Go Hand Lotion has the scent Breezes and Sunshine, "top notes of blood orange blossoms and sea waves; followed by rose, and sitting on base notes of sea lily flowers and woody notes". From the worst to the best, this is absolutely my favorite of the box. I really love the combo of the florals with the soft citrus, it's so delicate and soft. This is another of my favorite products, an easily absorbed light lotion that moisturizes well. I have another one of these in my purse right now haha.

And last is the Triple Thick Body Cream with the scent Innocence, "top notes of powdery peony petals, romantic alyssum, jasmine, and fresh strawberries. Bottom notes of lily of the valley, Egyptian musk, and vanilla beans". This reminds me of a Lush product scent but I can't quite place which one. I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but after it sinks in the skin and dries down a bit I really liked it. I mostly smell the peony, musk, and vanilla. This is another new product to me, its consistency is in between the on the go lotion and the hand butter. I like it for my legs and feet. I will definitely be getting it in more scents.

I mentioned I have tried some of her products before, but it was cool to get to try so many at once and to be surprised by the scents so I'll probably continue to get the seasonal boxes. I purchased this from her website http://www.365daysofcolorpolishes.com/ for $34. I liked the majority of the scents and I like most of the products, so I would call it a win! Let me know what you think of these and if you have tried any of her products before.

Thanks for coming by today!

❤ Kellie

Glisten & Glow Review

I'm always on the look out for the next great item to add to my nail care arsenal. Recently I had noticed a lot of people on Instagram taking nail pictures using a new top coat, Glisten & Glow HK Girl. I heard from a lot of people that it was amazing in terms of drying time without tip pull or shrinkage, and Leslie from work/play/polish was recently interviewed in Nail It! magazine saying that it was her "can't live without" top coat. I just had to try some for myself. The owner of Glisten & Glow, Jill, sent me a package of her goodies to try and I was not disappointed.

I got to test out their topcoat, HK Girl, and base coat, Stuck on Blu! I have been absolutely loving the topcoat, it dries super fast on me. It self-levels like a great top coat should, is very shiny and I haven't had one instance of shrinkage. It also wears very well on me, lasting a week or longer with no chips, which is amazing. I don't change my nail color as often as I used to so that's been nice. I would say it's my new favorite top coat!

The base coat might be also to credit for the excellent wear time I've been experiencing as I've been using Stuck on Blu! for all my recent manis as well. I've never really had a problem with my nails being stained with regular polish wear but if you're concerned about that you should try this as it claims to help prevent it. It's also sticky to help the polish adhere better, how I prefer my bases to be.

Press Sample

Jill also slipped in some cuticle balm and a roller ball stick of cuticle oil, both in the scent Summer Sorbet. They are awesome, if you know me you know that I need all the help with my problem cuticles as I can get. The roller ball is super convenient and I love the smell. I feel like the balm absorbs in my skin quickly so I don't have to deal with any type of greasiness.

The top coat and base coat is $6.95 per bottle or you can buy them as a duo for $13.50. The cuticle oil roller ball is $10.50 and the balm is $8.50 each. You should definitely check out these products and all the other awesome stuff in the Glisten & Glow store. They also do customizable bath products, everything from soap to scrub to shampoo. Are you interested in trying a new top coat? Try HK Girl! I bet you'll be impressed.

Facebook ▴ Twitter ▴ BlogLovin' ▴ Instagram

Product samples were provided for consideration.

My Cuticle Story

I have gorilla cuticles. At least, that's what a sassy manicurist told me one day as she cut them, a few years ago when I was getting a mani, before I had gotten into doing my nails myself. The rest of the manicure was less than relaxing. Needless to say, I have a bit of a complex about my cuticles as a result, even now. I have always had dryish skin around my nails and my cuticles grow like weeds. Apparently, more so than anyone that manicurist had ever seen.

When I really got into photographing and blogging about my nails, I was always searching and experimenting with new products to try and combat this problem. Ragged and cracked cuticles in up close and personal photos = no fun for anyone. It got to the point where I would cut my cuticles almost daily to keep them tamed. If you didn't know, cutting your cuticles is pretty much the worst thing I could do for my problem. It was a vicious cycle, I cut them so they would look better, they would grow back harder, uglier and more ragged, so I had to keep cutting them just to have them appear presentable. More than once I've sliced too deep and created a wound, ouch.

No amount of cuticle remover would work to totally eradicate them like cutting did. Oils, creams, and balms didn't help me. I have some OCD tendencies, and whenever I saw the slightest bit of extra cuticle or skin, I'd cut. I thought I would be doomed to be a slave to my nippers forever. Then about a month ago, I decided I was strong enough to quit my habit. Having normal, healthy cuticles was my right and I was going to have them dammit!

On the advice of some of my fellow bloggers and nailphiles, I quit cold turkey and started using a gentle cuticle remover about every other day, pushed them back often, and started using rich cuticle balm morning and night. I had just gotten a sample of Famous Names new Dadi'Oil, a cuticle oil with avocado, jojoba, vitamin E, and olive oil that is non-greasy and absorbs quickly. All the oils I'd tried in the past kept my hands yucky and greasy for hours and never came close to softening my skin. Dadi'Oil is truly a miracle worker for me and I believe is a big part of my success of not cutting for the past month. I applied it basically whenever I thought about my cuticles. Unfortunately, it is a pro-only product, so you need a license to be able to buy it. I used Blue Cross Cuticle Remover from Sally's, orangewood sticks from Walmart, Qtica cuticle balm from Qtica, and Dadi'Oil from Famous Names.

Press Sample

It has taken this long, about a month, for them to finally be in semi-fighting shape. The first week was brutal, but it got easier. Not that they are technically perfect or even close to, but they do look more natural and normal. And I no longer have such an intense urge to cut them, though I don't know if that will ever go away completely. I don't know if it's terribly apparent in my photos to you as a reader, but it was a huge sense of anxiety for me and now I am happier with them than I thought I could be. And it's only going to get better :D

Some of the products mentioned were provided for consideration.