Zoya Naturel Deux

I just got an email from Zoya that they are expanding their popular Spring/Summer naturel line with 6 new, darker neutral shades, perfect for fall!!

From the pictures the look absolutely gorgeous, and I need to get my hands on these!  Presale starts July 21st and the polishes are the standard $9.

I do know that three colors are brown shades and three are plum shades, and I have the names and what colors they are, but I don't have a picture with names next to the color. Starting with the browns we have:
Spencer: A caramel creme
Chanelle: A toasted almond creme
Emilia: A dark chocolate creme

And for the plum shades we have:
Marnie: Deep warm plum
Aubrey: Medium mauve
and Madeline: muted rose.

If any more information comes out I'll be sure to let you all know!

Kat

Septoplasty Recovery: Day Of/Day One

It's done!!  I wasn't as nervous going into the OR as I though I would be! I did have some trouble sleeping last night, mostly because I was afraid of missing my alarm. 

We got there at 645 and by 7 I was in the pre op room getting changed and vitals and everything. By 730, the nurse was walking me into the OR. There they put these amazing leg massagers on me, to help prevent blood clots. They also did the anesthesia in the OR which I have never had done before; usually it's done beforehand. The last thing I remember is a nurse asking if I was excited to get started. 

And then they were waking me up in the recovery room. That was terribly uncomfortable. My throat was so numb from the intubation tube it was hard to swallow. And I could feel blood dripping out of my nose (sorry if that's tmi).  But they quickly padded it for me to catch it all. 

Pain meds came next, quite a cocktail of IV drugs. The pain wasn't so much pain as it was burning in my nostrils. That time in the recovery room went quickly; why doesn't the work day go that quickly?!  After some quick vitals and discharge instructions, I was on my way home. 

I doubled up my pain pills and was in and out of sleep all afternoon with no pain. I did have to change the drip pad under my nose several times. It's about 12 hours later and im not bleeding much at all.  

So far day one has been better than expected!

Kat

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'm Nervous for Tomorrow

This is a 100000% non nail related post.  And for that I apologize, but it's a look into what's about to go down here tomorrow, June 2nd.

I've recently started noticing (like within the last year and a half) problems breathing.  Usually trouble catching my breath most of the time.  After visiting the doctor and being tested for asthma (negative, by the way), I started noticing that I was almost constantly congested.  Mostly in my right nostril, but it would go to my left occasionally, usually when I slept on that side.

So my GP recommended me to an ENT for further testing.  He noticed that I have a deviated septum; slightly, nothing serious.  And on top of that, my nasal turbinates are too big and my nasal valves collapse when I breathe.  Awesome.  So those things all combined create a perfect storm of not being able to breathe correctly through my nose.

He prescribed that I start using Breathe Right strips at night, and use nasal gel and spray to help open things up through out the day.  And the only thing that worked were the strips, and even that didn't last.  And it was only at night that I would wear them.

Next step: SURGERY.  Yikes.  Tomorrow.  At 7:45 am.  No food or drink after midnight tonight, and be at the surgical center an hour early.  I'm freaking out.  I took "before" pictures of my nose last night, because there is a chance the surgery could alter the shape and appearance of it.  Is that weird?

So, as often as I can, I will come here and try to document how things go.  What pain am I in.  Hows the swelling?  I'm reading there is a lot of gross drainage, and I will keep that to myself.  You're welcome.

And soon, we will be back to nails and reviews and  pretty things.

Wish me luck!

Kat

Graze Subscription Box

A few weeks ago I found a new subscription box!  You know I love my subscription boxes!

This one can be found at graze.com, and it's a weekly (or bi-weekly, or how ever often you would like it) box and each one is only $6.  Their motto is "Snacking Reinvented", and each box comes with 4 different snacks per box.

To start, head to their website, and fill out your info.  Then they take you to the page with all their available snacks. These people have everything!  Nuts, dips and dippers, seeds, some chocolate.  I looked through each page, and as soon as I thought I found the best sounding snack, I found another that sounded even better; Toffee apple dippers (apple chips with toffee dip), salted fudge and peanut cookie (?!), honeycomb and chocolate flapjacks, those sort of resemble a granola bar.

The lists go on and on. If you're gluten free, they have snacks for you.  If you are vegan, there are selections you can choose from. And enough that you can get a different box plenty of times, so you won't get the same items over and over again unless you want to.

After selecting all of the ones I would like to try, or thought I would already LOVE, and the ones to trash (meaning never send to me, like pistachios), I could NOT WAIT to get this box.  It said it would be here around the 26th, which of course was Memorial Day (in the States) so no mail. Bummer. BUT! When I got home today it was waiting for me, and I couldn't wait to dig in and see what I got!

Starting with my least favorite (they are going in Hubs lunch tomorrow) salty BBQ corn.  Smoked cashews and jumbo corn with a BBQ flavor.  I'm not a huge cashew fan, but I know my amazing husband, Josh, likes them so I'll share the ones I don't like with him ;)

Next, Fruit and Seed Flapjacks, "rustic rolled oat flapjack with mixed seeds and dried fruit".  These are the granola bar looking ones I mentioned above.

Third, Shangri-La which is a mix on lingonberries, dried pineapple, almond slices, and pumpkin seeds. Love love love pumpkin seeds, can't wait to try this one!

And last, the one I'm most looking forward to, Toffee Apple. This is granny smith apple chips with a toffee dipping sauce.  And the little container it comes in says it's only 70 calories!  How can you beat that!?

Just by first glance (I haven't tasted any yet, because I'm waiting to bring it to work tomorrow), I give my first box an A-.  Only because of the cashews, and like I said, I'll give them to Josh anyways.  I just switched my subscription from every other week to every week; at $6 I feel it's totally worth it! I'll update on taste and freshness once I try everything!

If this box interests you, GOOD!  I have a code for you!  Just go right here and it will have my friendcode already input into the system, and you will get not only your FIRST box absolutely FREE, but you'll get your FIFTH box free as well!

Happy snacking!

Kat

Destash Sale!

Just a quick drop by to let you all know that I have a destash site up now!!  If you're interested go to www.katsdestash.storenvy.com. I'll activate the link tomorrow morning. Or you can go to my Instagram bio and it's there!!  Happy browsing/shopping!

Kat

IFabbo: Perlier Royal Elixir Facial Serum

A while back, I joined a website for fashion and beauty bloggers called ifabbo (ifabbo.com). They will send out samples of products for bloggers to try and review, much like any other review site. I had so much going on in the last few months, that I forgot I actually applied for the site. I received an email last week saying I was eligible to review Perlier Royal Elixir facial serum. I love trying new things so I jumped at the chance. And I know you all love when I bring you new products!!

So my package from Ifabbo arrived today

I was surprised to see a full sized product in the box!  And I love surprises like that!  I couldn't wait to jump in and play with it. 

While Honey was getting her pajamas on and I was overseeing her brush her teeth, I opened the box to see the packaging and what the product looked and smelled like. The first thing I do with almost everything I get (beauty wise) is smell it. I'm a smeller. 

This smells so so good!  Clean, with a hint of fragrance that isn't so harsh it will irritate your skin...just enough of a natural honey smell. And it has light reflection particles that make your skin absolutely glow!! 

As Honey finished getting ready for bed, I read the information card that came in the box from Ifabbo. It says the Royal elixir is an breakthrough anti aging serum that incorporates fresh royal jelly from African bees. The jelly stimulates collagen, while the water has been replaced with rose distillate, so the serum also has moisturizing and toning properties.

Based in what the card says, this is really the only other product you would need to use after washing your face. Like one stop shopping!

So I washed my face and put a thin layer across my entire face. I'm often weary of facial serums, usually because they have a strong scent that deters from any of the good properties it may have. And also because they seem to feel heavy and like they would cause me to break out. 

As soon as I put the Royal Elixir on my fave, I noticed a difference in my skin tone and how smooth and soft my skin felt. It feels really hydrated after washing it too. None of that tightness or dried out irritation. And no stickiness or heavy feeling. 

Now obviously I will need to continue using this for more than one night to truley see how well it works in the long run; but I will definitely keep you updated!

If you're interested in trying ifabbo for yourself, head to www.ifabbo.com and fill out the blogger application. And if you want to buy the Perlier Royal Elixir, it's on HSN right now and can be found at http://bit.ly/1m2kLEZ.   That is the specific Perlier page, just copy and paste it right into your browser. 

Let me know in the comments if you give it a shot!!

Indie Review:Big Spoon Laquers

Hey lovelies! Sorry I've been slightly absent; I've been planning, prepping and going on vacation. We took Honey to Disney for the first time this last week. We spent 3 days at the beach, and two days in Orlando. It was so relaxing and so so nice to be in warmth and sun!!

Before I left the wonderful Pauline from Big Spoon Lacquers sent me a wonderful swatch package!  She sent me three colors from her newest line Childhood Wonderment, all colors based on not only children's favorite movies but the messages they impart on us. 

And not only did she send me some beautiful polish but she sent a small sized Zoya polish remover and a roller of Sweet Baby by Donna cuticle oil in the Pink Sugar scent.  How sweet is that!?

One of the things I love most about indie polishes is how they arrive. Take a look at Big Spoon Lacquers packaging. 

How cute is the little spoon!?

So on to the polishes. My first is Friendship Beyond Infinity. I'm sure you can tell just by the name that it's based on Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear. It's a white crelly, jam packed with green, purple and black glitters. It's so packed that the downside is, it gets slightly thick or goopy. But still applies well and covers well in two coats. 

Next is my husbands favorite. He said never take it off, haha. It's called Dynamite Girl and it's based on Wreck it Ralph. I love Wreck it Ralph. I wish Audrey liked it more so I could watch it more. Dynamite Girl is a gorgeous jelly (super squishy jelly at that) red with different sized iridescent glitter that shine so beautifully off the red. Again two coats is perfect for coverage. And this goes on so smoothly and perfectly. All my pictures are with the colors on their own, and no undies. But I think a red under this would make it pop so nicely!!

Lastly, I received Eye on You. A grass green with tiny silver, holographic glitters. Named for Mike Wisowski from Monsters Inc and Monsters University. I love the color, but on my skin it just doesn't match well. I need a tan (which I didn't get in Florida, boo) and it will look better! But it definitely doesn't mean the color isn't beautiful!!

The Childhood Wonderment collection launches in April. For her shop visit bigspoonlacquers.bigcartel.com. And search Big Spoon Lacquers on Instagram for pictures of all her beautiful polishes!!

~Kat