Jaimie Lauren Cupcakery & Confections in Wax - Cheer Bear Dough

Cold Sniff: 3/3 A nice, sweet berry scent with just a hint of bread.
Warm Sniff: 3/3 The same. This isn't one of those hidden surprise scents.
Throw: 3/3 This had barely started melting and I could already smell it in the entire apartment.
Melting Power: 3/3 I melted this for about 16 hours total before I decided to go ahead and dump the wax. I'm getting better about not hoarding my wax... maybe. I'm a complete liar - I still have entirely too much.
Scent Strength: 2/3 I don't know... I don't think I've ever really encountered an overpowering scent. Either that or I just don't melt them. Maybe because I just don't like powerful scents. I don't want my nose burned off from the scent... I just want to set the mood!
Repurchase: Yes, if I could. Unfortunately JLCCW has closed their doors due to family issues. I wish them the best and understand their decision, but it still sucks to find an awesome wax maker and then fall in love with their products right before they close. Luckily I have another little tart like this since I wanted two of each scent.
So... epic fail time for me. I had like 20 different posts scheduled, and I've been going through and adding more to the mix... and I never actually scheduled any of my posts. So they're sitting in my drafts folder... finished... waiting to be published. Uuuugh. 

Front Porch - Strawberry Marshmallow Bread

Ah, how time flies. A lot has happened in the past 5 months, and maybe I'll finally finish the post that sort of sums it up. In any case, I'm taking this opportunity to schedule a metric crapload of posts to hopefully cover me until I can next sit down with and type out my thoughts and such. FUN, right?

Cold Sniff: 2.5/3 I quite enjoyed this. The bread wasn't overpowering at all!
Warm Sniff: 3/3 Just smoosh together strawberries and cupcakes and you pretty much have what this was to my nose.
Throw: 1.5/3 Y u no throw further?! It filled the kitchen of the new apartment. Which is smaller than the old kitchen.
Melting Power: 3/3 I had to throw this out before it was done because I just couldn't keep saving it. I wanted something else. Overall one grubby had about 36 hours of melting time.
Scent Strength: 1.5/3 It's on the lighter end of scents, but M quite enjoyed it.
Repurchase: Yes! If I didn't already tell myself no more  wax until I've completely demolished my collection.

Color Club Halo Hues Collection Part 2 - Swatches & Review

Hello guys! Last week I shared with you part one of the Color Club Halo Hues collection. This week I'm here to share the rest of the collection, yaaaay! This past week has been crazy between power outages at work and a stray dog showing up at our doorstep, so bear with me if I'm all over the place LOL.

Beyond is your typical black holographic nail polish. This is a more true black than Color Club's Revvvolution and has a more linear holographic effect. This is 2 coats.

Cosmic Fate is a peachy orange holographic color. I don't actually have any other orange holos in my collection, so I'm excited to add this! This is two coats.

Kismet is a very subtle, light green. I'm liking a lot of these pastel colors in this collection. This is 3 coats, though it was just fine with 2. I was just uncertain of whether it needed another coat to reach full opacity as it was so light.

Over the Moon... what is it about blue holos that just grabs my attention? This is a very deep (not dark) blue with a super intense holographic effect. This is 2 coats.

Miss Bliss is a dark pink holo. It's closer to the color depicted in the bottom picture. I just liked how the top one looked. This is two coats.

D'awwwwmigod. I love purples, and this is one of the most holographic purples I've come across. Scratch that, it is the most holographic purple I possess in my collection. Off the top of my head I believe Glitter Gal might have a purple that has a stronger holo effect, but I'm not willing to shell out the money for one of those polishes LOL. This is two coats.

One thing that's immediately noticeable is the Color Club holos are a lot more in-your-face than the China Glaze Hologlam ones, even in shade. I like having both the intense and subtle options to choose from, though. :) Formula was the same as with part one, and  this one had no problem brushes.

Color Club Halo Hues Collection Part 1 - Swatches & Review

So Color Club has finally jumped on the bandwagon of holographic collection that has swept the nail community... gradually... over the past many years. As far as I know the crazy really started with China Glaze's OMG collection from 2009, aka 1 year before my sudden nail polish passion exploded into existence.
I'm sorry that these pictures aren't particularly clear. I don't know what's wrong with my settings. They're the same as from when I took my pictures of the China Glaze Hologlam collection. I think there was something on the lens of the camera. In any case M had to use it to photograph his leg for documentation and legal purposes (and ew factor 2 years down the road purposes).
Anyway, on to this collection!! As Color Club split this into two parts, so shall I!

All of these are pictured without top coat. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!

 This is Angel Kiss, a teal-blue with decent holographic-ness. I selected two pictures for this color originally, but when adding watermarks I ended up accidentally saving over one of them with this. So here we are! One picture! This is two coats.

This is Cherubic, which almost gives me mannequin hands! You know, minus the holographic rainbow. This is two coats, which has full coverage even though on me it doesn't look like it.. I'm going to have to do a comparison between this and Love 'Em/Leave 'Em, a tan holographic from a previous collection that I can't remember off the top of my head. I just remember that I bought it almost two years ago. This is two coats.

Next up is Blue Heaven, a very light baby blue with some awesome linear holographic-ness. I have in my notes that the brush on this one was wonky. The curve was uneven (imagine a J shape in the curve of the brush) and as a result a nice application near the cuticle area was hard on this one. This is two coats.

So here I have a predicament. I cannot see any difference on camera between these two colors. I was on the verge of assuming that I was sent mislabeled duplicates of one of these colors when I stuck the brushes next to each other under sunlight and was able to see that Cloud Nine is in fact more purple than Halo-Graphic. So... have fun trying to tell these apart LOL. Each of these were 2 coats.

Harp On It is just a typical grey holographic polish. I really like the holographic on this one. I think it's the strongest of all the silver holos I own. This was two coats.

The formula was nice and even, albeit a bit quick-drying as all holographics are. I'm a sucker for all things shiny and sparkly so I'm glad to've added these to my collection of fantasmical holographic sparkles. Stay tuned for part 2 of the Halo Hues collection!

Rosegirls - Zucchini Bread Noel

OH MY GOD!! AFJSKFLASFJASIALS I had a nosegasm while melting this. YAAAY!!! *cough*... anyways...
Cold Sniff: 2/3 I liked this and I couldn't pick up on that tortilla chip note I've always picked up on with Zucchini Bread blends. However, I was still wary that the tortilla chip was just waiting until I melted it to explode all over my nose and incapacitate me.
Warm Sniff: 3/3 Oh my gaawd! NO TORTILLA CHIP SMELL!! A ZUCCHINI BREAD BLEND THAT I LIKE!! I can actually smell what is supposed to be the zucchini bread in here! And it smells amazing! Plus this blend itself is very pleasant on the nose. I'm a vanilla lover, and it just so happens that this ZB is very pleasant, so I'm a happy camper! I wonder if I don't smell the tortilla chip note because this is a creamy ZB blend. I'm not entirely sure which version of ZB I've been melting this entire time.
Throw: 3/3 This filled the entire house and most of the yard with it's creamy goodness. Yummm...
Melting Power: 3/3 This is still melting strong and as I type this it's been about 20 hours since I threw it in the warmer. 
Scent Strength: 1.5/3 Very background-y and sets a nice pleasant baking mood in the house.
Repurchase: YES! Good thing Rosegirls is opening up on the 27th... or maybe not so good... Buahahaha!

Candles From The Keeping Room - Pink Sugared Cranberry

Cold Sniff: 2/3 I really don't smell the cranberry too much here. It's pretty much just a Pink Sugar blend.
Warm Sniff: 2/3 I pick up more on the cranberry, but this is still predominantly a pink sugar tart. I like pink sugar by itself, so this was pleasant anyway.
Throw: 3/3 M says he smelled this from down the street when he was coming home from work. So... safe to say this threw well.
Scent Strength: 2/3
Melting Power: 3/3 This lasted around 30 hours before the scent died off. I'm impressed by the power of Carol's tarts. This is a good first choice for me!
Repurchase: Probably not, since this wasn't really a pink sugar and cranberry blend. I'll still melt the rest of this, though :) I look forward to hopefully making my first order with Carol when she reopens in May.

Birthday Splurging: Rosegirls Sampler!

Bah, this post was supposed to've been finished on Sunday, but M got attacked by a dog on his way to work and we ended up in the ER until 2 am Monday morning. This furthers my theory that bad things happen to him whenever I'm not around LOL. Anyways, I managed to snag one of the sampler flash sales that came up in early March and this box got to me in time for me to figure out what I wanted to buy 8 ounce bags of come the March opening.

Strawberry Cotton Candy: A super sweet blend that's heavy on the strawberry but different than what I thought it smelled like when we opened the box. When we got the box we could smell a very strong strawberry cupcake scent, and when initially going through the scents we thought this one was it. Now that I'm smelling it I don't pick up on the cupcake scent anymore... :( so we have to figure out which one it was now!
Serendipity Smoothie: I can smell the serendipity here, and it's toned down by the smoothie. Super creamy and pleasant.
Strawberry Serendipity: Man, people weren't kidding when they said Rosegirls has some of the best strawberry blends around! This is a perfect mix of the two scents, and I can still pick up on the berry part of the serendipity.
French Toast Pudding: I pick up on some cinnamon and butter here, but not much else. We will have to see how this smells once we melt it.

Sunny Days: A lemony-fruity blend. I'm still on the fence about this one; it's a bit too heavy on the lemon for me on cold sniff.
Tropical Passion: Another fruity-berry lemony blend. I'm going to, again, see this later. I guess I'm not much of a tropical fan LOL
Pumpkin Chai Bread: This has a very strong cinnamon and bread note. I hope this smells like that tea I drink (vanilla chai... yumm!!) when I melt this. Of course, with my ever-growing list of must-melts, it could be a while before I get around to this.
Sweet Lemon Confection and Vanilla Bean Noel: This smells like lemon drops! I don't really pick up on anything else on cold sniff.

Berry Lovely Birthday Cake: When I handle the bag I pick up on that cupcake scent I kept smelling while everything was in the box, but when I smell it I just pick up on a sweet bread and berry scent. It's pleasant, it just got my hopes up that I found that strawberry cupcake scent we kept smelling. Y U TEASE ME?!
Zucchini Bread Noel: Oh my goodness. I don't pick up on that tortilla chip note!!! I DON'T PICK UP ON THE TORTILLA CHIP NOTE. Could I have found a zucchini mix that I like?! Into the melter you will go as soon as I finish up with this post!
Siren's Song: A berry mix... I can't really come up with words to describe this so I'm asking M. His words: Water. Like, literally. When I smell it I taste water. But it smells like... *sniffs* a spring breeze, which is like water. I can smell the dew off of the grass... *sniff* Me: I say this is fresh! LOL.
Florida Key Lime Pie and Serendipity: Mmmm... serendipity and lime. This is a bit heavy on the serendipity on cold sniff.

Romantic Island: Soapy sweet goodness. Am I supposed to think of a shower after my first rump in the sheets with my new hubby at our exotic honeymoon location? Cuz that's what this makes me think of due to the name LOL.
Chunk My Donut Cuppa Cake: This smells exactly the same as Pumpkin Chai Tea... now that I think about it I don't smell any pumpkin in the other one! I wonder if that one was mislabeled...
Creamy Baked Zucchini Bread and Royal Sweet Potato Pie were reviewed in my Destash From Lauren post.

Caramel Dipped Pears: I guess I'm not much for scents that are close to things that are healthy for you. I like the caramel but the pear scent here is not for me. M loves this, of course!
Sweet Lemon Confection and Marshmallow Smoothie: Very similar to Sweet Lemon Confection and Vanilla Bean Noel. I'm okay with this one. M says he doesn't like it because "There's no marshmallow in here... *sadface* they got my hopes up."
Apple Eclipse: I smelled this one thinking I was going to be hit with apple. I really don't smell apples in here. I may actually like this one!
Faith, Hope, Love: I just realized what this was when sniffing it just now. It's a dupe of Candy Mountain by Lush, which I happen to LOVE! Good thing I got a bag of this to support the cause Jenny was donating to. I don't remember what it is now... but it made me feel good about buying wax so I got it :D


So I have a small order I'm waiting on from their March opening - a sampler pack and 2 bags. I'm probably going to be on a Rosegirls melting spree so I have a better idea of what I may or may not want on April 27th when they're opening with a large pie sale for Jenny's birthday!

Closet Full Of Wax - Cranberry Pomegrante Cotton Candy

Cold Sniff: 3/3
Warm Sniff: 3/3
Throw: 3/3
Melting Power: 3/3 almost 48 hours of a very solid scent. I'm so glad I loved this scent!!
Scent Strength: 1/3 This was still a very background-y type scent.
Repurchase: YES!! This smelled EXACTLY like a perfume I've had forever! It's called Cotton Candy by Juice Bar. I remember putting this perfume on in elementary and then wanting to eat my arms off. This is a super super sweet scent, so if you don't like sweet scents this may not be for you

Victoria's Designer Creations - Black Cherry Paradise

Cold Sniff: 2/3
Warm Sniff: 2/3
Throw: 3/3
Melting Power: 3/3 18 hours
Scent Strength: 1/3
Repurchase: Yes, if I ever make my first order from VDC. The only tarts I have from Victoria are ones I've gotten from a destash, and I've heard a lot of mixed review on her TAT, customer service, and overall experience. I guess I'll just have to order some day and see if I am one of those lucky ones who get to order without a hitch.

Closet Full Of Wax - Vanilla Buttercream

Cold Sniff: 2/3
Warm Sniff: 2/3 I could swear something in here smelled like serendipity.
Throw: 2/3
Melting Power: 3/3 20 solid hours
Scent Strength: 1.5/3
I liked this one. For some reason when I think of this I think of a super waxy smell, but according to my notes there wasn't an issue with a waxy smell. I know one of the tarts I bought from CFOW had a waxy smell... I guess this just wasn't the one I was thinking of.
Repurchase: Yes! I enjoyed this, even if I was confused by that almost serendipity-like smell I picked up about halfway through melting this.

Birthday Splurging: Nail Polish Edition!

I've spent all of the bright sunlight hours of today taking pictures and preparing for some wonderful new posts that are upcoming, as teased by this picture above. Now that the sun is going down and it's no longer bright and sunny I want to take a moment to share another part of my birthday splurge before beginning a massive Spring Cleaning project. Now that we've officially gotten everything we need for the house (minus a kitchen table, but we have little TV trays that we can eat off of, and they save space because they can fold up) we've needed to clean and organize and since I know M isn't going to do it, I'm taking this evening to do it while he's at work. Here is essentially all the nail polish I've gotten over the past month in celebration of my BIRTHDAY!!!
These are just listed in chronological order of when I got them.

China Glaze White Cap, Blue Sparrow, Tree Hugger, and Designer Satin.

A 4-pack from China Glaze in purple shades intended to assist in creating an "ombre" manicure. I really just liked the colors. The colors included are Sweet Hook, Spontaneous, Grape Pop, and Crimson.

The China Glaze Holographic Collection in Astro-Hot, Infra Red, Not In This Galaxy, OMG A UFO...

...Sci Fly-By, Don't Be a Luna-Tic, Take A Trek, Strap On Your Moonboots...

...Get Outta My Space, When Stars Collide, Cosmic Dust, and Galactic Gray.

China Glaze Rose Among Thorns, Shocking Pink, Purple Panic, and Flying Dragon.

China Glaze In The Lime Light, Turned Up Turquoise, and Get Carried Away

China Glaze Scattered & Tattered, Razzle Me Dazzle Me, Grafitti Glitter...

...Mosaic Madness, Bling It On, and Glitz 'N Pieces.

China Glaze Tranzitions collection in Split Perso-nail-ity, Duplicity, Altered Reality...

...Modify Me, Shape Shifter, and Metallic Metamorphosis. 

Finger Paints Owlin' At The Moon, Fishin' For Fun, and Are You Hoppy?

Color Club Halo Hues 2012&2013 Collection in Cherubic, Halo-Graphic, Cloud Nine...

 ...Harp On It, Angel Kiss, Blue Heaven...

...Kismet, Cosmic Fate, Miss Bliss...

...Beyond, Eternal Beauty, and Over The Moon.

Phew! Everything except the Halo Hues from Color Club were on sale in one way or another, so overall (Color Club nail polishes included) I paid less than $3 per bottle, which is a steal in the nail world.

Alrighty, break time over! Time for me to begin the dreaded process of cleaning and organizing the entire house!