reviews


Dolce & Gabbana Shocking nail polish for summer 2013 review

Designing duo Dolce & Gabbana have a new, fabulous nail polish color for summer 2013; “Shocking.” This bright, dark pink hue offers the perfect pink answer to summer’s bright nail polish trend while satisfying the need for pink or red nails.

“Shocking” by Dolce & Gabbana blends well with summer 2013’s bright color palette and adds a little pop of color to neutral ensembles. The dark, bright pink acts as a colorful neutral making it an easy-to-wear hue for the summer 2013 season. Love that!

Dolce & Gabbana “Shocking” lasted for seven days before starting to wear off at the tips. I tested the nail polish with one base coat and two coats of color; no top coat.

Here is a photo of Dolce & Gabbana “Shocking” nail polish in direct sunlight.

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This photo shows Dolce & Gabbana “Shocking” nail polish for summer 2013 in the shade.

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Dolce & Gabbana “Shocking” nail polish is priced at $20 and can be found online here.

Photos: “Shocking” nail polish c/o Dolce & Gabbana for summer 2013. One base coat, two coats of colors.

Photo credit: Bay Area Fashionista 2013©


Pure Natural Diva botanical perfumes review

Pure Natural Diva perfumes are a new line of botanical fragrances which are fresh and long lasting. The collection of natural fragrances offer a fragrance experience which transports you through fields of flowers, citrus groves and exotic faraway lands. These are the types of perfumes I love to wear.

Pure Natural Diva sent me four sample vials of their fragrance collection, which was nothing short of amazing! All four fragrances offered a long fragrance experience with just one dab of perfume in the morning. The botanical perfumes cycled through top, middle and base notes offering a fresh and complex fragrance experience throughout the day. I definitely need to invest in full bottles of these perfumes!

The four botanical perfumes from Pure Natural Diva I tested were “Pure,” “Elixir,” “Natural” and “Diva.”

“Pure” offered notes of cassie, lavender, soothing chamomile, lemon, lime and Egyptian neroli. Normally I shy away from chamomile, but with Pure Natural Diva’s “Pure” fragrance the chamomile was blended with the right amount of citrus and florals which created a soft yet vibrant fragrance experience I found calming; much like drinking herbal tea in the evening. The combination of florals and citrus in “Pure” make this an easy to wear fragrance in cool, warm and hot weather. Love that!

“Natural” offered a slightly spicy floral fragrance experience which reminded me of a floral garden at dawn. This perfume combined notes of clary sage, exalting pink grapefruit, Moroccan rose and soothing ylang ylang. I love the exotic floral combination of “Natural!” I feel “Natural” is ideal for warm and hot weather due to the exotic floral combination.

“Diva” provided a warm, woody fragrance experience which I found to be ideal for a “date night.” I am a huge fan of musk, sandalwood and vanilla; so the combination of these three fragrance notes in “Diva” makes this perfume a huge must-have in my fragrance collection! “Diva” is also ideal for warm, cool and cold weather. Nothing keeps you warmer than a sultry fragrance!

I always save the best for last.  “Elixir” was hands-down my favorite fragrance from Pure Natural Diva botanical fragrances. The combination of aphrodisiacal vanilla, oakmoss, exquisite osmanthus, pink grapefruit and red mandarin is to-die-for! This complex fragrance kept me on my toes all day as it cycled through woody and citrus phases while maintaining a rich, warm vanilla base. The vanilla in “Elixir” is the most pure vanilla I have experienced in any fragrance; and I spend money on my perfume! “Elixir” is warm and perfect for cold, cool and warm weather. It is also an ideal evening fragrance for both casual and formal affairs. Love this!

Pure Natural Diva botanical perfumes can be found online at pndbotanicals.com. There are sample sets for $14 and $16 which are a great way to test out the different scents and see which one you fall in love with. The full bottles are 1.67oz. EDT and are priced from $100 to $150.

www.sarajordanphotography.com


Chanel Azure nail polish from the summer 2013 beauty collection review

Chanel Azure is the sparkling new, blue-green nail polish color from Chanel’s summer 2013 beauty collection. This beautiful nail polish color offers a blue and green color kaleidoscope on your fingertips! Not since Peridot has Chanel designed a nail polish which changes color according to the light and angle of the hand. Love this!

Azure by Chanel is simply stunning. I am not really sure how else to describe it! Chanel Azure looks like a deep water hue when set against a swimming pool; as shown in the photo below.

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Chanel Azure nail polish also sparkles and shines in direct sunlight; as seen in the below picture.

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I also love the green-blue color saturation of Chanel Azure in the shade; as shown in the below photograph

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Chanel Azure nail polish for summer 2013 is a cool, sparkling blue green which works perfectly with the season’s blue palette, shades of green and also adds the perfect color pop to summer’s black and white trend. While the color does not play well with summer 2013’s orange, red or brown hues, it does compliment yellow and pink which are also hot colors for the summer season.

In all of the photos I used one base coat and two coats of Chanel Azure without a top coat. The nail polish lasted for six days before chipping. This is by far my favorite nail polish color from Chanel’s summer 2013 beauty collection. I plan on wearing Azure as much as possible over the summer months! I hope you love it too!

Chanel Azure is priced at $27 and can be found online here. Happy shopping, and stay fabulous 
Photo credit: Cathy/Bay Area Fashionista 2013©