My big bow shoes

So, I want to sort of layer these with makeup/non makeup purchases. Today we'll talk about a gift my dearest friend, Teddy Bear got me 

I just could not get over how cute these Primadonna flats were. This is a store that opened up in a mall near us that says they import their shoes from Italy, and the sales people were so kind.

I am so weird about bows. I love structured leather or vinyl bows, and this hit my list hard :)

Muppets and Manis

 

Hi ho, dandies, Dandi the dear here!   And why I’m imitating The Muppet’s beloved Kermit the frog is because I’m super excited about this OPI mini nail polish bundle that I bought.  It’s inspired by Disney’s The Muppets Most Wanted movie.  This movie was positively adorable and reminded me of all my favorite Muppet movies I’d watch when I was younger.  Featuring many talented actors and more musical numbers than their last blow out, many people rate this sequel better than the first! Featured below is one of their adorable numbers from the villains!

 

Now, I have nothing against mini polishes, especially when it’s a higher quality nail polish like OPI, and to be honest I’ve never run out of a mini nail polish.  I’ve really only ran out of one nail polish in my life.  So these sample packs are really fun ways of getting a lot for not a huge price tag.

Painting my nails has always been sort of a treat for me.  I bite on my nails a lot and it takes forever for them to grow out.  For special occasions I’ll get my nails done, but for the most part I slap on a clear coat to make my nails look shiny and I’m out the door.  So below is my set up for when I really wanna get down and pamper my nails with a little treat. 

 

First I take acetone, which I know isn’t the most healthy option, but it hasn’t had a negative effect on me yet, so I still feel comfortable using it, and I’ll scrub all the polish I have on my nails off.  I have really oily skin, and my cuticles are normally in check, but I’ll do some tending if need be.  I have a paintbrush I use to tidy up any corners and I’ll just kick back and catch up on TV or talk to a friend on the phone, but it’s all about having a moment where you just get to be.  Now with products I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a wrapping weirdo.  As long as the packaging is wrapped up really cute, I’ll probably buy your product even if everyone tells me it sucks. (Hello, almost every mascara I own!)  But again this was packaged really cutely with all the Muppets huddled off to the side as if excited to see me try all of these pretty polishes.  I’ll go one by one through the four polishes included and let you know what I think.

But first, let’s look on the back and see what OPI experts think:

 

First off I’ll review Miss Piggy’s Big Number which I honestly didn’t think of my darling Miss Piggy.  I would think an obvious pink color, like the other featured in this quad set, or maybe a shimmering pearl to compliment her necklace, or even a daring red…but blue?  Not even blue, but a rich midnight blue with hints of purple that make me want to classify this as a duochrome…not a chance.  It’s been awhile since I watched the movie, but I can’t even think of what it could relate to in it.  So, shame shame OPI naming team yet again.

Now, I don’t get very adventurous with my nail colors, and this dark blue on my fair skin just seemed shocking and not for me, but I will say that it went on very well and left minimal brush strokes.  You will need more than one coat.

 

Next is another one I would consider a duochrome, Kermit Me to Speak.  Now they called this a rosey mauve and I have to say I disagree.  While I saw it in the bottle and got excited at the idea of a gold duo chrome, the mauve looks more purpley to me.  Still, it's a beautiful color that held my attention as I tilted my nails to catch the light and entrance me with what color they would show next.  Again, I needed three coats to make it look as complete as I wanted.

 

I Love Applause...I couldn't agree more.  OPI describes this as a sweet pink deserving of an ovation, and I would if it wouldn't smudge my nails.  It's lovely with only a thick coat, and just a fun youthful color.

 

Last is Chillin' Like a Villain.  It's a pretty basic nude, that's a little creamsickle colored.  Honestly, it falls into a shade I'd absolutely wear, but nothing I'm super excited about.  Still, I think it'll be an amazing color for spring. 

 

So, that being said, I love that these colors are inspired by my beloved Muppets, I just wish they had been a little more kitschy with it.  Thanks for reading, folks, and remember:

Who said that every wish would be heard
and answered when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it.
Look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing
and what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.



 









Scenting Your Cage

Hey there dandies!  I’m your dear here, and it’s like 10PM where I am.  I know it’s not the best time to make my first post, but I thought how much fun would it be if right off the bat I showed you something little that makes me happy, that isn’t a lot of money, and isn’t makeup or some hair product you have to take my word for that it works.

I was never really a candle or a scent person before very recently.  I’m not sure why, but my nose isn’t very sensitive to smells, and I would always joke that I had anosmia because people would say something smells sooo good, and unless it was a really overpowering smell, I just didn’t respond to it.  Then I found a Scentational candle at my local Marshalls.  Now I’ll be honest, it was mostly it’s really cute packaging that got me to buy it.  I figured even if I couldn’t smell the candle well I could burn it down, then scoop out the guts and turn it into a pretty jar for my Q Tips  and face pads and stuff. 

The first one I bought was just entitled “Affection” and I’ll admit this one was a little strong to the other people in my house, but I was really excited about it, because it could fill my room and into the hall and a little bit of the room across from it after only like one or two hours of burning.  Now, because it was a soy candle it lasted a really long time, but because I was a candle newbie I didn’t treat this candle very well.  The wick was pretty long, and I only lit it for maybe half an hour the first time I burnt it which is really bad for your candles.  I’ll get into proper candle maintenance in a little bit.  Now I’ll be honest, this candle was packaged in this really pretty white almost milk glass container with stark black lettering that made me think of like old timey apothecary jars. 

 

                                                       (These are the two that I bought)        

Sadly, by the time I wrote this my candle had been all burnt up and already replaced by the next line this company has put out called “Fearless.”  I was actually out at Marshalls again with my grammy trying to find another “Affection” candle because I loved that sort of soft spicy smell that reminded me of being locked in a boy’s arms at the drive in theater and just sort of soft romantic spring nights.

The way that “Fearless” smells invokes those same sort of male musky romantic emotions in me, but this time it’s more upscale.  It’s hard to explain, and I’m so bad at picking smells because I don’t have the most awesome nose, but I definitely smell sandalwood, and dark tones.  It’s sort of funny that I associated these scents with manly romantic feelings, because when I went to their site so I could get the link for you guys the product page described “Fearless” as being part of a scent line that, “All six fragrances are unique, with masculine overtones.  For your favorite man in your life.  A fragrance to remember him by.”  So maybe I bought boy candles?  Do candles come in unisex, or are there really smells that appeal to only men, and others to only women like perfume? 

 

I feel like it makes a room so much more comfortable when you have like little candle flickers in the room and these really nice inviting smells, and it’s just a very comfort or pleasure seeking thing to have.  Plus, when you're done you get this really fun jar that you can use for storage and making your counter, or vanity look fancy!

 

The only downside to these candles are the jar does get very hot when you light them and you can’t move it around, but I don’t really need to do that anyways, and at least with the white one, the jar was super easy to smudge or get dirty.  But the pros out way the cons here pretty easily.

Anyways, I did want to wrap this up with some candle maintenance, because I had no clue going into this that there were wrong and right ways, so maybe some of you guys don’t either.  So apparently wicks aren’t the right size when you get them and should be shortened to 1/4 of an inch.  If it lets off smoke when you light it, the wick is too long, and as it burns continue to trim the wick to a reasonable size.  The second thing is proper burning time.

Candles have like a little memory and if you burn a candle right the first time, you won’t have to be as worried the second or sixth time you burn it.  Scentsational recommends you burn the first time for as long as 2 to 3 hours, or however long it takes for the entire top surface of the candle to melt.  This will prevent canoeing, or that problem you get where candles will burn down the middle, but there’s tons of candle still left unmelted on the sides of the jar.

Welcome to The Gilded Cage

Hey there, dandies!  I’m your dear here starting my very first beauty and make up blog.  I’m a huge believer in organizing your life into compartments, and my blogs are no different.  My first blog for just my thoughts on things called DandiDeer’s Thoughts (http://dandideer.blogspot.com/)  will start over brand new in conjunction with starting this new blog as well.  I think this will have a bit more activities because I’ll be doing all my haul videos and stuff right here as well.  This is basically for my likes and dislikes on products, any tips and tricks I’ve gotten along the way and how I deal with any skin or hair or body issues. Now I'm going to start off by saying this is NOT just a makeup blog but more of a girly good-for-your-soul type of blog where I discuss myself, products I've bought, tried, disliked or loved focusing only on the mental and material and what you can do to make your own little nest a little more gilded.

 

Hope that you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing, and I look forward to hearing from all of you!