Giveaway Update!

I had the wrong code in the first giveaway post. So if you went to the blog already to enter, and it wasn't there I'm very sorry. It's up and running now. Go enter! Kat

**GIVEAWAY!** Montage Jeunesse Skin Care Masks

Remember a few weeks ago, I reviewed those **awesome** Montage Jeunesse skincare masks?  I had originally received them from Influenster in my Violet VoxBox, and was accepted into their VIP Blogger Program.
These masks are SO NICE. My skin felt great and looked great, after using them.  After reading my review, the company has offered to host a giveaway for my readers!!  They will give one lucky reader a full set of the three masks I reviewed:
Manuka Honey Peel Off Mask
Super Fruit Mud Mask  and
Creamy Coconut Mask

All you have to do is enter with RaffleCopter!  A few of the entry requirements are mandatory, including following my blog, Facebook page, and Montagne Jeunesse's US Facebook page.

The giveaway runs from today, January 22nd, until February 14th at midnight.  The winner will be contacted via email and posted on my Facebook page.  Enjoy!

Kat


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Some Updates and Some Manis

Hello lovely ladies (and daper dudes?); I hope the new year has treated you well so far!  Mine has been busy and full of polish!  The best type of year; so far. And full of fun manicures of course. I wanted to share some of the goodies and manis I've done so far this year. One was even featured as one of Bundle Monster's manis of the week!  I'll save that one for last. 

First, for the Chinese New Year, liquid Sky Lacquer (@whimsicalcolor on Instagram and liquidskylacquer.bigcartel.com) created a gorgeous shimmery thermal. 

When cold, this indie polish is a beautiful golden red that shimmers in the sun. 

And when warm, a beautiful shimmery golden nude. You can see the stunning transition in the above picture. This is probably my favorite thermal that I own. 

My family does a Secret Santa (extended family that is) at Christmas. And my cousin Nicole had me this year. And does she know me or what!? 

Mariah Pure from Mariah Carey's second OPI collection. It's a top coat packed with 18 karat gold and silver flakes. The mani shown is the Pure over a steel colored Clinique polish I also got at Christmas. It's a little difficult to work with, since the flakes seem to be heavy so they sink a bit. But it's worth it when you finish the mani!

Along with the top coat, I was also given an Amazon giftcard. So of course I bought more nail polish goodies. I bought Bundle Monsters newest stamp set and a new stamper. I love the newest stamps, they are so creative. And were all submitted by fans!  

I did this lightbulb mani using Orly Liquid Vinyl and stamped with Pure Ice in Silver Mercedes. SM is the best silver for stamping. It's so thick and color dense. You get great coverage. 

Another mani I did using the new set was using two different stamps. 

I used Orly Coachelladweller Dweller and stamped with Essie Good as Gold. I love the octopus!  And his little tentacles!

And last!  Another stamped mani. My favorite mani, probably of all time. It was not anywhere near what I imagined when I started, but it turned out even more amazing than I could ever imagine! 

I stamped Zoya Mason and Orly liquid Vinyl over Color Club Harp On It. Of only it had been more than -50 outside, I would have been able to take a real picture in the sun! This was the one that Bundle Monster picked as one of their manis of the week. I've never been chosen for anything like that before and to me it feels like I really know what I'm doing and belong in the nail community!!

I also wanted to say thanks to all of you who follow, both my blog and on Instagram, and comment. I love every comment I get!  Thanks!!  And I am finally getting my Facebook page up and running!!  So search Diary Of a Polishaholic on Facebook and follow there too!

And finally, check back soon!  Those Montagne Jeunesse masks I love so much will soon be up for a giveaway, right here!  By the end of the weekend; promise!

~Kat 

Followers?

I know there was talk about Google Reader shutting down last year, and to be honest, I have no idea what that means.  But today, as I was updating my Influenster widget, I noticed all my Google Friend Connect followers were gone. It says "No followers yet.  Be the first!"  Huh!?
I know I don't have very many followers, theres about 30 of you from GFC, but I still want it to show that people do read my blog!!  And I know there are followers on Bloglovin, but those don't show on my page!!  Wah.  I'm really saddened by this and I hope it's just a quick glitch that is being fixed!!

Indie Review:Sweet Tea Polish

A few months ago, I purchased polish from a new to me indie maker Sweet Tea Polish. I found her on Facebook; someone I follow shared her page, so I checked it out. And she makes some seriously pretty polish!!

I contacted her, and she provided me with her blogger discount, and shopping I went. With it being so close to Christmas, I limited my purchase to my top three fave colors, in minis. And very shortly after I ordered, there was a package in my mailbox!  Who doesn't love fast shipping!?

The three colors I chose were Pickin Plums, a pale icy metallic lilac color, Mint Julep a pale mint green, and Kiss my Bass, a deep beautiful teal with green and gold hex glitters. 

   Mint Julep, Pickin Plums, Kiss my Bass

And how cute are the earrings she included!?  Made with Kiss my Bass. I love them!

First up, Pickin Plums. Out of the three, this was my least favorite. I love the color and her formulas are so nice and easy to apply, I just wish the color was a little brighter. Even after four coats it's still a little sheer and it just didn't match my skin tone very well. Nothing against the polish itself, it just doesn't look great on me. 

Next up, Mint Julep. I have an obsession with mint. Mint color all the things!  If I see a mint polish in a store I will buy it. I want mint jeans. I just bought three or four mint tops and sweaters with Christmas money.  Is there Mint-aholics Annonymous?  Anyways, back to this polish. Gorg. 

It's not a flat one note color. (Sorry my hands look so red in the photo..). But it's silvery and metallic-y. And such a great mint color. Again the formula is perfect. So easy to apply, no balding or streaking. A must have!!

And finally, my favorite from the order, Kiss my Bass! 

Amazing. It even looks like fish scales with the hex glitters that almost but not entirely match the color of the base. Yet reflect the light with the perfect amount of sparkle and shine. Who knew fish were so pretty!?  Two coats is perfect, and so is the formula. Not a problem getting this polish to go on evenly. More please!!

This definitely won't be my last purchase from Sweet Tea Polish, and I can't wait to see more collections! They are so nice, but don't just take my word for it. Check it out for yourself at squareup.com/market/sweet-tea-polish. She's got quite a few colors to choose from. Go now!!

~Kat 

Montagne Jeunesse Skin Care Masks

Today is the first official day of winter, and I'm already ready for it to be spring!  Winter never waits for December 21st here in Wisconsin; it usually starts around Halloween. And we've already had a few decent snow storms this year. 

Let's not even mention what it does to my skin!  Im so dry and itchy from the hot showers and dry air. And my face is flaky from a lack of moisture. Lucky for me, my Influenster Violet Vox box arrived with an answer to my problems!  

Along with the other goodies, I received a Montagne Jeunesse Red Earth Clay Spa mud infused cloth mask. 

It's no mess!  It's a piece of cloth that fits to your face with the clay and pomegranate built in!  All you have to do is take the mask out of the package, place it on your face and relax for 10 minutes. Take it off, and massage the left over product into your face. 

Unfortunately I used my mask in the bath, so I don't have any pictures of it. But my skin felt amazing afterwards!

On the booklet that my mask came in was an email address to contact the company regarding their VIP blogger club. Of course I emailed them that night, and within the week I had three more samples in my mailbox. Talk about quick!

My samples included a Creamy Coconut mud mask (actual mud, not the fancy cloth), a Manuka Honey Peel Off (and I reminisced about middle school sleepovers!), and Super Fruit mud mask (again, actual mud). I have two more reviews for you!

The first I used was the honey peel off mask. 

And husbands really just don't understand. The look I got from mine when I emerged from the bathroom was priceless. 

This one is easy, but not AS easy as the cloth. Just apply to a clean face (avoid your eyebrow area and hair line!) and wait for it to dry, like 10 minutes. And then the fun begins...peel it off!

My friends and I used to do these at sleepovers ALL. THE. TIME. and man did they hurt to peel off!  The first thing I noticed as I did this was how much it didn't hurt (until I got a little too close to my hair line). And the way my skin felt afterwards was amazing. So soft and clean!  I don't have after pictures because I hate my uneven skin tone. Sorry!!

Last night before bed I used the super fruit mud mask. Did I mention they use mostly natural ingredients and don't test on animals?  Or how amazing these products smell?  They smell fabulous!

This one works the same as the honey mask, only you wash it off in the end. Again, leave it on for about 15 minutes, let it dry a little.

I left mine on for about 10, as it started to feel a little warm on my face. The after effects were the same though. Holy soft and supple skin!  My flakey nose is a thing of the past right now!

 Next week I will be using the coconut, so look for that review coming soon!  I also have a new (to me) line of indie polishes I will be reviewing by the end of the weekend!!  

If you're curious about Montagne Jeunesse, look for them on Facebook!!

~Kat 

Thanksgiving Mani. Featuring Liquid Sky Lacquer

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving!! When I was planning a manicure for the holiday, I went back and forth with whether or not I would do nail art. With visions of cute turkey accent nails dancing in my head, I decided to skip the frustration and just stay simple. 

But when I say simple, I don't mean your run of the mill, everyday color. I'm talking about some of the best holos I've seen in indie polish lines. Please let me introduce you to Liquid Sky Lacquer (www.liquidskylacquer.bigcartel.com)!! This is a polish line you will definitely want to check out, soon!!

I received my first Liquid Sky Lacquer from my Halloween polish swap, thanks to Instagram. I got four minis, three glitter toppers and one of her gorgeous holos in Pumpkin Pie.

So when I was thinking about my mani yesterday I thought, Pumpkin Pie is obviously the color I should use for Thanksgiving! 

       Quick shot of my mani essentials

   Shoot, my cleanup brush got cropped!

I start every mani with a base coat or treatment of some sort. Lately I've been using Nail Defense strengthing treatment by Orly (love!). Then I used 3 thin coats of Pumpkin Pie and quickly topped it with Seche Vite. I use an E.L.F concealer brush to clean up around my nails and cuticles. How awesome does that Pumpkin Spice scented acetone remover look!?  More on that later!

 How amazing is this holo effect!?  This is in regular everyday, in my house, lighting! I don't think I've ever seen such a pronounced holo without flash or the sun!   And when you're done drooling over this one, take a look at this shot I grabbed in the sun this morning!

I'm in love. As if I wasn't completely obsessed with holos already, I'm now obsessed with all things Liquid Sky Lacquer!

I'll leave you with this parting shot, an extreme close up of te beauty!! 

If you're interested in more Liquid Sky Lacquer, follow it's creator Carolyn, @whimsicalcolor on Instagram!

Enjoy your holiday tomorrow!!  

~Kat