First Impressions: Ipsy October 2013

For some reason it took me awhile to try any of the stuff in my subscription bags from October. I have finally got around using them so there is my First Impressions review of Ipsy.

First up is the bag. Not a huge fan of the bag. I looks just like the bag we got a few months ago but now with a quote.

The first item in my bag is Zoya nail polish in Neve. Out of the three Zoya polishes in the bags this is the one that I wanted. Yay! Zoya is my favorite brand so I’m always happy to get one in my bag.
Neve is a gorgeous navy blue with purple undertones. In some lights it looks blue and in some purple.

The next item is Bella Terra Mineral Cosmetics mineral shimmer in Emotion. This was nice, nothing special mineral eyeshadow. It is a medium purple that works as a lid color or as a crease color.

The next item is Style Sexy Hair Spray Clay. This a hair spray and I don’t have a need for hair spray. If you have curly hair and use hair spray let me know. Maybe I’m missing something but I just don’t see a need for hair spray with curly hair.

The next item is Coastal Scents medium shadow brush BR-C-N02. This was a good brush with a good balance between firmness and softness. It picked up the eyeshadow really well. The only bad thing I would say is that this brush is a little too big for my eyelid so I think I would only use this for my brow highlight.

The last item is the Nourish Organic Deeply Nourishing Coconut & Argan body lotion. This is sold exclusively at Target so if you are interested in this you can find it there. I didn’t find anything special about this lotion. It is a light lotion and absorbs quickly. My hands are always dry, one of the downsides to working in a library, and I like heavy duty lotions. This one doesn’t seem to make much difference after using it. This smell is a little weird, not quite coconut and also a weird floral scent.

So that was my October Ipsy bag.

Nail of the Day: Seafoam Green Shimmer

I had two polishes on my hand that I thought were okay but nothing spectacular. Zoya Wednesday is nice but kinda dull, well dull for me as I like bright nails. I had seen pictures of Orly Sparkling Garbage and loved the color. I couldn’t find it in stores so I ordered it online. When I got I was disappointed that it wasn’t an opaque halo polish. I then noticed Zoya Wednesday and had an Ah Ha moment. I love the result and I think it brings out the best in both polishes.

So now what you were waiting for, some pictures.

The polishes used:

The nail look:

Sparkling Garbage by itself:

The pictures don’t do the halo aspect justice so you’ll just have to trust me how pretty this is. 😉

Book and Beauty: “The Mystery of Mercy Close” and Zoya Tinsley

So when I first started writing this blog I also planned to keep a blog on the books I read. Unfortunately I was in a horrendous reading funk where none of the books I tried to read kept my interest. Needless to say nothing has happened on the other blog. As a librarian reader’s advisory, finding the right book for the right person, is very important to me. So I’ve been trying to think of a way to combine my two loves and I think I got it. I can show the polish I have on my nails and talk about a book that I’m currently reading or have liked. So welcome to Book and Beauty!

The book is The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes. This is the fifth book in the Walsh Sister series but don’t let that put you off because you do not need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this book. Click here for more information about the book.

Plot: Helen Walsh is an out of work private detective, who has to move back in with her parents after losing her home to foreclosure. On the worst day of her life an ex comes to her with a job offer, find the missing member of the reunited boy band Laddz (think New Kids on the Block), Wayne. Helen is on a deadline to find what happened Wayne before the reunion concerts.

Why I’m liking it: What seems like a light fluffy read is really a much deeper look into the life of a person suffering from clinical depression. Helen is driven to find Wayne as it keeps her mind busy so she can’t think about the consuming darkness trying to overtake her.

Helen is also a great main character. Funny and sarcastic, she has a shovel list of things that she would like to hit with shovels. I can definitely relate.

Read if you like: The tone of the book reminded me of the Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz and Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. So if you like those books I highly recommend this one.

Now on to the beauty. I am wearing Tinsley from Zoya. See I do own other polishes beside Julep. 😉 This polish is a base of pink coral with gold and pink micro glitter. So not a holo polish but it looks like it. I’m obsessed with the polish! I love the peaches, coral, and oranges in this polish. And since it is not a holographic foil polish it doesn’t show how horribly uneven my nails are, which is part of the reason I haven’t done a nail of the day look in a while.

On my nails is two coats of polish.

So that is my first Book and Beauty. Let me know if you liked it and would like to see more.