Kell's DIY Nails

Have you noticed e.l.f. has been releasing lots of new products lately? One of which caught my attention because I'm always drooling over people with their Maybelline Baby Lips. I wanted something in the cruelty free product world like that! Now, (Thanks to e.l.f.) we have it. In all honesty I really don't know how these stack up to the Maybelline Baby Lips since I won't buy anything from Maybelline but I think these are very similar, if not a little better.

e.l.f , Party Peach & Dollish Polish , Bazinga! I was going somewhere bright and funky and ended up with autumn. Perhaps a little pumpkin spice... 2 coats of e.l.f. , Party Peach , a (not-so-much-peach) orange cream. Very opaque but a little thick and streaky; I added some thinner and it helped. I really love orange. I was on their site and realized they don't have much for individual polishes right now but it looks like they have new trios . A few of them have peaked my interest... Dollish Polish , Bazinga! is a really fun glitter in a clear base; there's a very slight yellow tinge to the base but it didn't affect Party Peach when layered on top. Dollish Polish uses a special suspension base to prevent her glitters from sinking to the bottom and settling. This results in a thicker formula. I layered one coat over my base color; and used a bit of a dabbing method to get an even application of glitter. These glitters are really fun, if I wasn't r...

I was inspired to do this look after watching LipglossLeslie's YouTube video . I had to get creative since I don't own the Too Faced Semisweet Chocolate Bar Palette. Here's how I did it and what I used:  Colour Pop Super Shock Eyeshadow in So Quiche all over lid. Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette : #6 in crease as transition # 18 & #20 on outter corner V #9 on lid #1 inner corner highlight  Coastal Scents Revealed Palette : #1 on brow bone My Pretty Zombie in Scurvy in crease and blended up towards brow bone. E.l.f. Smudge Pot in Crusin' Chic on inner lower lashline E.l.f. Smudge Pot in Brownie Points on outter lower lashline. It's not exact but I like it! My favorite part is My Pretty Zombie's Scurvy; it's such a unique color, like a bold burnt orange. It also applies beautifully and doesn't fade when blended out. If you haven't already seen Leslie's video, go check it out!...

I've heard good things about ACI Gelous Advanced Nail Gel Coat when used as either a base coat or between coats so I thought I would give it a try. I applied my go-to base coat of Barielle, Hydrating Ridge Filler . I then applied a coat of High Tide, a coat of Gelous, a coat of High Tide and lastly a coat of ACI In A Hurry Quick Dry Top Coat . Gelous does take awhile to dry so it did extend application time but let's see if it extends wear time as well as I've heard. After 4 days this is pretty impressive especially since I wasn't very delicate with them. After 6 days my index nail looks pretty rough but this nail is really thin and flexible right now not to mention it is peeling. My other nails look pretty good still. Sorry about the lack of sunlight in this photo; we've got a storm moving into So Cal right now. This is my left hand so let me show you my right hand (dominate  hand) too. Again, my index nail is looking rough but this one is in the same condition as...

When I was on the e.l.f. website I noticed some new(ish) colors so I thought we should take a look at them! I know these are not really Winter or Holiday colors but let's be honest it's gonna be over in a flash and then it will be Spring. These are very versatile colors and a sparkly top coat (Twinkle Twilight) just gives you even more ways to rock them.  Prissy Chrissy   made me laugh; that name! I knew a Chrissy back in my school days who was definitly prissy. This soft peach creme is a nice palette cleanser but not quite a nude so you still get some nice color. I used 2 coats for this swatch stick but I really think this one will need 3 to eliminate any streaks and sheer spots. The creamy fomula was easy to apply. I have nothing quite like Prissy Chrissy; it's definitly a peach tone but with a touch of pink and has a brightness to it like nothing in my stash. Because this is warmer toned than Barielle's Kiss Me Kate I don't think it will give me lobster hands.  ...

I incorporated all of these items into a full face look so I could throughly test them out and show you what they look like when worn. To create this purple smokey eye I used the Mineral Eyeshadow Primer , Essential Smudge Pot in Poppin Party , and Studio Baked Eyeshadow in Burnt Plum . I started with a base of the Mineral Eyeshadow Primer all over my lid, brow bone, and crease. I've been using this stuff for about a year and I think it is comparable to the Urban Decay and Too Faced primers. The texture is really nice; it had a light and creamy texture that is easy to blend on the eye but try to avoid over blending it. It sets pretty quickly to a soft velvety texture. I like to blend it out over the lid, then the brow bone, then the crease. This prevents you from getting too much product in the crease which will then crease later in the day. A little goes a very long way and I always finish application by patting with my fingertip to avoid flaking. When applied correclty this will...

Back in mid-summer I experienced one of my worst acne breakouts. It happens to be when I did this full face look. The downfall is you are about to see my face looking absolutley terrible. The good side is you can get a very good idea what the coverage of the CC Cream is like. This prep face is when I had just switched to using Murad's Acne System and now my skin is looking great. In a month I saw great results and now some past acne scars are fading so I plan on sharing my results with the Murad Acne System shortly. Here's a breakdown of the products used and individual photos: Prepped Face:   - Washed face with Murad Clarifying Cleanser. - Applied Murad Acne Clearing Solution to entire face and jaw line. - Applied Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15. I don't normally use this but I thought it might work well to control my oil under the CC Cream. - Applied e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer to my eyelids. - Applied e.l.f. Hydrating Under Eye Primer under my eyes and to my dark ...

Happy 1st Day of Summer, Friends! I have a pretty cool giveaway for you... and guess what?!? It's open internationally!  Sadly, there's no nail polish in this prize pack (nail polish cannot be shipped internationally) but I think you will still like it! I thought about products that would be useful for everyone and I didn't purchase any color cosmetics since everyone has different tastes. I also added in some nail art goodies. So, let's take a look at what you can win! e.l.f. Cosmetics Hydrating Under Eye Primer : This is one of e.l.f.'s newest products; it contains Vitamins C & E, Shea, Green Tea, Aloe, and Ginko Biloba to nourish and condition the skin. It primes the under eye area to help prevent concealer from settling into fine lines and wearing off. The sheer, silky smooth texture reduces the appearances of fine lines, puffiness, and wrinkles. I have issues with dark circles and concealer never applying quite right under my eyes. When I saw this new produc...

I like snow. I've never lived anywhere that got lots of snow so I've never had to battle it. I know it gets old after awhile but there's something relaxing to the stillness of snow. When my husband and I lived in the high desert we experienced a 3-day Snowstorm and I will always remember how magical it was. We got 11 inches (over a foot in some areas) and everything came to a halt. The high desert isn't equipped to handle snow; we ended up not being able to leave the house for 3 days. We had plenty of water, heat, and electricity so it was tons of fun for us. We played in the snow, our dogs played in the snow, and then we would come in and warm up by the fireplace. It was great. No wonder I'm drawn to snow globe glitters. I layered one coat of  Enchanted  over  Essence Colour & Go, Walk on the Wild Side.  It's two different sizes (Micro & Medium Hexes) of white glitter in a clear base. I used a dabbing method to get the glitter where I wanted i...

Mike-Mike-Mike-Mike-Mike-Mike! Guess What Day It Is… It's Day 1 of My 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!!! For those of you who were not around last December and are not familiar with how this giveaway works… Each day for the next 12 days I will reveal a new prize or prizes that will all be combined and will all go to one lucky winner. I'm sure you are wondering why I didn't decide to have one winner per day... It's because shipping charges would be insane. This way I can ship it all in one flat rate box via USPS Priority Mail. Also, if you don't celebrate Christmas please feel free to replace 'Christmas' with 'December' or any other word of your choice. I promise not to be offended.  Prize reveals will occur once a day Dec. 1st - 12th. I will select the winner on Dec. 13th. I want the lucky winner to get all their loot by Christmas, maybe even before so they can wear their favorite one for Christmas. That is if they celebrate Christ...

On the 1st day of Christmas, Kell gave to you...  7 Newly Released e.l.f. Nail Colors: Misty Haze, Green Machine, Liquid Metal, Glamour Girl, Sea Escape, Garnet, and Gold Star. Do you guys ever watch The Ellen Show? Do you like Ellen? I prefer her over Oprah, but everyone has their own preference. Oprah has her 'Favorite Things' and Ellen has '12 Days of Giveaways'. I was actually very fortunate to have gone to one of Ellen's 12 Days' Shows a few years ago. Check it out: In addition to everything shown in the video, we also got a Herman Miller Chair because one of the guests said the "Mystery" word. As you can see I came home with tons of loot and I had it all listed on eBay days later... LOL Well, not all of it. I kept the Samsung Galaxy Vibrant Smart phone, the $250 Cost Plus World Market Gift Card, the Looxcie Blue Tooth Camcorder, and the Herman Miller chair (it's what I'm sitting on as I type this; it's my desk chair and ...

When I was browsing www.eyeslipsface.com to pick out some goodies for my giveaway I noticed they had new colors listed. I tried to pull up swatches online to check them out but I couldn't find any. So, guess what?!? I bought them! I did 2 coats for each swatch just to make sure they photographed well. Check them out: