Come join me on Facebook at the new Tunay Na Mahal fan page. I'll be posting blog updates over there, shout outs, contests, etc.

✯ PR Samples Mentioned ✯

I received some press samples from Wet n' Wild last Wednesday! :-) I took a swatching break this past weekend because my swatching hand was in need of some TLC, but stay tuned because these pretties will be on the blog next week!


I also hit Autty's blog sale a bit hard, lol. She's one of my dear blogging friends and it's not often you have a chance to shop your friends nail polish collection! I picked up 8 colors. I look forward to sharing these colors in the coming months here on the blog with everyone.


 

✯ PR Samples Mentioned ✯ 

Ruby White Tips recently gave me the opportunity to swatch some new polishes. I was also given a blogger discount to purchase a nail polish, I chose Voodoo. A gorgeous purple jelly with blue shimmer. I did 3 coats plus topcoat for the photos below. (The formula was a bit thick, and rubbery). You need thin coats for best application.

 

I am sharing I Love Nail Polish: Mega with you today! I think I love it even more than my Layla Mercury Twilight. The polish is a bit sheer. I used 4 coats plus Seche Vite topcoat for the photos below. But, it dries really fast and goes on perfectly smooth. Love love love this color! I can't stop looking at my nails when I have it on. The holo is also visible in low light too.

Kings & Queens was another of the I Love Nail Polish, polishes that I purchased during the Spring pre-order. It's a beautiful deep purple with red tones. I did two coats for the photos below and Seche Vite top coat, (which did not dull the holo effect). I found that the ILNP Holo's dry a lot faster than the Ultra Chromes. (I'll have Mega up on the blog soon!)

✯ PR Sample ✯ 

Ruby White Tips recently gave me the opportunity to swatch some brand new colors for her. These new polishes are color shifters. They looked very similar in the bottle, but once on the nail had different shimmers throughout.

Please Note: The polishes below are in the testing phase at the moment and both will be renamed when added to the Ruby White Tips shop, end of March. AB will be part of 'The Hobbit' collection but will be renamed. ES will be part of 'The Walking Dead' collection.

First up is: Dwarves in a Barrel. (test name Aurora Borealis).  It has a reddish pink base and you get a nice blue shimmer. It's also my favorite of the two.


Swagger like Micchonne, (test name, Earth Stone) also has a reddish base, but it has a more prominent blue/green shimmer. This polish will be renamed when it is added to the shop.


The formula on these is nice and thick. I prefer thicker formulas because you won't flood your cuticles that way, and they are much easier to work with. You want to do thin coats to avoid any bubbling. Let it dry between coats. For the photos above I did three thin coats, plus Seche Vite topcoat. Application was a breeze.

Ruby White Tips was also nice enough to share a discount code with my readers. For 10% off your Ruby White Tips order, you can use the code: TUNAY until the end of May on all your purchases!

Thought I would share a few of my newest purchases... non polish related, lol. :-p

First up... my gorgeous Guess Trixia Uptown satchel. I saw this People Style Watch magazine and I started stalking the Guess website until they listed it. Luckily I got an email the day they added new spring items. And... the color I wanted was on sale. (Normally it's $128). Plus I got a 15% off + free shipping coupon, since I was a new customer. I saved $47 total off my pretty new bag. I don't normally like spending so much on a purse, but I really love this one. It's nice and roomy too (16 x 11).



The last time I bought Bose headphones was back in 2009. I got a pair of the original Bose ear buds on eBay. I started using them a lot after my job relocated in 2011 and I started taking the train to work. (45min -1 hour commute both ways). I usually ride in the quiet car in the mornings and I can listen to music on my Bose ear buds without disturbing anyone else, like normal ear buds do. But sadly... 5 years later the sound decided to go in the right side... so it was time for a new pair.


I got the Bose IE2 earbuds. They've definitely improved the design since the original ones came out. Now the silicone buds actually STAY ON the headphones itself... the originals it would sometimes slip off and you'd lose one. Now there's a little tab on each one to prevent that from happening. Also I really like the new StayHear tips even though they look like weird little elf ears, lol. They are really comfortable. The original Bose ear buds would slip out of your ears if you exercised, got sweaty or even just tipped your head funny. The StayHear tips actually don't budge. :-) I just hope they last me 5 years like the last pair did because they are not cheap... though you can find them on sale for $60-70.

Last but not least, I got a new pair of Easy Spirit e360 Reinvent sneakers. I have another gray/lavender pair, but I wanted black so I could wear it more without them looking dirty. I got these on sale for $50. I don't know if I can properly explain how comfortable these sneakers are... if you're ever in a shoe store and see them. Try them on, trust me! They are made out of that extremely lightweight rubber/foam that Croc's are made of. You literally feel like there's nothing on your feet when you put them on. The upper is a sock/spandex lining, so it's snug to the foot, like a custom fit. I can't rave about these enough, they are unlike any other sneaker I've ever worn. I just love them.


 

I've decided to start featuring nail polish Instagram accounts every Sunday. There's so many neat accounts on IG that really deserve to be featured. And while some of these ladies do have blogs too, it's their Instagram I want to give a shoutout! :-)

Today's IG feature is Kirby, from @themercurialmagpie. Nail polish & beauty reviews, cat's and her fuzzy chow chow Mugen! Check out her Instagram & give her a follow!


 

I Love Nail Polish: Sirene, was one of three spring colors I recently picked up. (I'll have Mega and Kings & Queens in separate posts soon). As soon as I saw Sirene I thought of my dear departed Dance Legend, Sully. The colors are very similar. Though Sirene, color shifts even more than Sully. There's blues, purples, pinks, green, aqua... so pretty. (You also don't need a black undercoat with Sirene, like you do with the Dance Legend polish). I really hope they make a holographic version of this sometime, like they did with some of the other ultra chromes.

My CVS finally had some of the Revlon Parfumerie nail polishes. There are 24 colors in the collection and they are all scented. I decided to get Surf Spray a pretty shimmery blue color with purple in it. When it's dry it smells like a fresh beachy floral scent, which you can smell even through my Seche Vite topcoat. I like strong floral scents, but if you don't this may bother you.

Surf Spray is also incredibly sheer. I find I like it best when I layer two coats over black polish. The color is more vibrant that way. On it's own, you're looking at 3-4 coats to get it somewhat opaque. Even at 4 coats my nail line was visible.


I don't own many Revlon polishes, but I really like the Parfumerie collection and there's definitely a few other colors on my wish list: Wintermint, African Tea Rose, Wild Violets & Autumn Spice.

Do you own any of the Revlon Parfumerie polishes?

P.S. This is the best black polish ever! It doesn't stain, opaque in two thin coats. It's a mini I got in one of the L.A. Girl Ombre Kits: (Midnite) a few months ago. I need to see if they sell a full size because I love layering polishes over it.