I guess you can fall this a monthly favorites, but that's not exactly what it is. They're all a collection of products that I've been using for a while. Some of them you've seen on the blog before, but most are new.

First off is the foundation, Neutrogena Skin Clearing. I mentioned in my last favorites post. It doesn't help clear my skin, but as far as a foundation goes I really do like it. The smell is nice, it stays on my skin throughout most of the day, and it does a good job of evening out my skin.

Then is the Pixi Lash Line Ink*, that I've mentioned many times, and the Pixi Large Lash Mascara*. I don't know if there's much more I can say about these products that I haven't already. The eyeliner is just as good as it was when I reviewed it, and the only complaint that I have about the mascara is that it doesn't last quite as long as I would hope.

The Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer is one that I've wanted to try for a while, and I like it. It doesn't have a dark yellow tone to it like the Fit Me concealer does, something that I was worried about. I have pretty bad dark circles, so it doesn't cover them completely, but it's still nice.

Avon cream eyeshadow in Pebble Stone is such a beautiful color. It's subtle, and I like that. Not too opaque, but just enough to show color. Perfect for my work. Super easy to apply, and I use my ring finger.

OPI Nail Envy is one expensive little booger. $14 at Target. I can't say for sure if it's working, but I think my nails are getting there. They're become brittle. So, Nail Envy with cuticle oil is my plan for rescuing my nails. I will update you on the progress if it gets better.

The Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Anti Chip Top Coat. Better than the previous Insta Dry that I tried, but no Seche Vite. I am still on my mission for a replacement, but as far as a top coat goes, I like this one.

Lastly are my Kate Spade earings. I bought them at an outlet store when everything was 1/2 off, so they came out to be roughly $14. Not bad. I have sensitive ears, and while these aren't stirling silver, they didn't irritate my skin. That's a huge plus.

That was a lengthy post! I liked a lot more products than I thought. What were your favorites? What product(s) are you currently loving?

* = PR Samples

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Basin Haul | Last one for a while

I went to Basin at Downtown Disney over the weekend. My husband and I had gift cards, and we decided to spend them =). Below is everything we got with our two $25 gift cards.

Fresh Soaps

Mickey (Pink)- Scent is Pink Sugar, my favorite Basin scent

Mediterranean Mint

Bag- Assorted soaps for 3.74. It's a really great deal. I was lazy, and didn't identify the soaps. I know one is oat meal though. The other soaps are by weight, the two above are 6.59 and 5.39. I received the same amount of soap for a cheaper price. The trick is getting a bag with good scents, one that's easier at Basin White located at the Grand Floridian.

Basin Hydrator- Love

Basically it's a lotion. The blend of scents is so strange; Peach, Cherry Blossom, and White Jasmine. It's a very nice blend. None of the scents are too over powering, ands quite sweet. 

Egg Noggin' conditioner and shampoo bar

Perfect for my oily hair. I've used the shampoo bars before, but never a conditioner bar. 

Bath Bombs

Two Lemongrass and one Sandlewood & Patchouli. My husband picked these out.

For once I didn't want to buy too many bath bombs. I still have some left over from the last time I went. I also have some soap left over from almost a year ago, so that logic can be thrown out the window. If you want any reviews of the products, let me know, and I will do my best. Basin is a little hard to get to, but you can order online. As far as I know the scents are true to their descriptions. I suggest Pink Sugar though, I don't think you can go wrong with that one, in my opinion.

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Bag Love ❥

With February right around the corner, it's time for me to start thinking about my *big* purse purchase of the year. I decided to limit myself after I bought my Kate Spade bag last year. Currently I'm undecided about waiting for the big Saks sale that happens around the 4th of July. The above are all from Saks.com. My other option is saving my money for a bit longer (in some cases definitely paying more) for one that wouldn't be for sale. I'll save those for a separate post.

Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac - Ever since I received my first Mini Mac I wanted another one. This particular color, Charcol, caught my eye. It's different from anything that I have currently, and I think it's such a neutral, and versatile color specially considering what I use my current Mini Mac for.

Kate Spade Andee - I am in love with her structured bags, and I like the simplicity of this one. One of those like at first sight type of things, which is how I choose all of my purchases. Bags don't grow on me, it has to be instant, and this one was one of those bags.

Rebecca Minkoff Luscious Studded Hobo - I was torn between the Nikki (not on Saks.com) and Luscious, but for some reason I was drawn more towards the Luscious. I've been wanting a slouchy bag for a while now, but I'm not 100% sure if I want it leather.

Kate Spade Leslie - I first saw this style at the Dooney Website. I really like the fold over flap, and the slouchiness of this bag. I'm not sold on the strap, so I may have to see this one in person first.

Rebecca Minkoff Mab Mini - I've been wanting a bucket style satchel for a while now, but I wasn't sold on the LV Speedy, or any of the inspired by bags. I like the Mab way more, and the Mini is the perfect size for me. Plus I love the color.

Have you seen/own any of these bags? What bag are you lusting over currently?

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Zoya Angel | Swatch

I love this color! I got this with the Zoya promotion a week or so ago, and this and Amber were the two that I was uber excited for. It has a metallic finish, and is such a pretty color when applied to the nails. I actually give it a 4.5 on the scale of opaqueness. It doesn't need that second coat, but it does enhance the color when applied. If you need a recommendation for a Zoya color, I definitely suggest this one. Pictures don't do it justice.

Zoya Angel | The online color isn't accurate to it's shade in real life. Either that or I'm colorblind, or my shade is slightly different. Not entirely impossible.

What's your favorite Zoya shade?

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Weekly Roundup =)

Another weekly round up! I should be back to normal posting next week. This past one was a really busy one for me, and I haven't had time to catch up with everything I need to do. Hope you understand =) In the mean time, check out these beauty related posts. There's a post about a YSL Glossy Stain dupe, a review of the Julep Mascara, as wells even more reviews, and a couple of giveaways.

• Chickettes.com: Add some glitz and glam your nails for a night out on the town with the Gelish Sizzling Summer Nights collection!
• Beauty Fiends: Curious about mineral foundation? Julia at Beauty Fiends has been testing Ferro Cosmetic's Ultimate Mineral Foundation. Find out what she thinks!
• Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist: My YouTube channel got a facelift! Now you can find your favorite tutorials and product reviews organized into playlists. Enjoy!
• Adore A Polish: Kristina shares her favorite nail polish picks from 2012.
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: Looking for a whole new customizable Beauty Box experience? Then take a look at Wantable!
• Polarbelle: Want to know how to really plump your lips? I'd like to suggest EnvyDerm lip plumping gloss.
• TheFabZilla: TheFabZilla starts a new series- Lips Showcase. What is it? Hop over to her bloggity blog.
• Vicerimus: Like the Suede finish, but not feeling like wearing it as a full mani? Do Suede accent nails!
• Ishah x Beauty: Looking for a YSL Glossy Stain dupe? Check out L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain!
• Samarium's Swatches: Sarah shows off her LE collaboration piCture pOlish shade Atomic!
• The Beauty Think Tank: Revlon has debuted the new Photoready BB Cream - but the question on everyone's mind... is it obnoxiously shimmery?
• Lacquer Buzz: This week Lacquer Buzz ventures into makeup territory to show you this awesome movie inspired palette by NYX.
• Makeup Demon: Fresh blue and green makeup + photoshoot. Waiting for the Spring...
• Pinked Polish: Holy Holo Stamping Batman!!!!! Stamping with the beautiful Halo-graphic. :)
• Très Beau Glamour: Nay Denise has gotten her hands on the BH Cosmetics Day & Night Palette and used it to create an amazing Turquoise & Purple look. Check out the tutorial she created!
• Beauty by Arielle: Dior 5 Couleurs in Smoky Design Swatchfest & Review.
• Beauty Professor: Completely obsessed with all things Tom Ford, the Beauty Professor swatches the entire shade spectrum of his Traceless Foundation Stick!
• The Passenger Element: new year's giveaway.
• Never Gonna Give You Up: Kara swatches and reviews Daily Lacquer's I'll Fly Away.
• Midnight Manicures: Check out Jeanie's review of the Parnevu Tea Tree Shampoo & Conditioner and Hair Mayonaise. Enter the giveaway for the same 3 products.
• Love At First Site!: Beauty Elixir by Caudalie. A review. I decided that is was high time that I shared with you my views on the Beauty Elixir of Caudalie, which is said to have been inspired by the elixir of youth that Queen Isabelle of Hungary used!
• Mama Fashionista: Julep is already a star when it comes to polish, but can they "nail" mascara as well? Find out the verdict in Mama Fashionista's latest review!
• datyorkLOVES: HTF Ellen Tracy Gun Metal Gray Nail Polish *Photo Heavy Post.
• Spontaneous Chick: If you like hair products made with argan oil then check out 8 DermOrganic reviews by Spontaneous Chick.
• Lisa's Nail Obsession: What inspires your creativity?
• Beyond Beauty Lounge: Bulletproof Cream Eyeshadows from Mally Beauty.
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel finally invests in some Bite lip products, what's the verdict?
• The Beauty Delicacy: Quick Pink + Gold Tribal Nails.
• The Convenient Beauty: Dress up your lips with this opulent Tom Ford Black Orchid lipstick.
• Amber Did It!: Amber takes you over the rainbow with a colorful saran wrap mani.

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7 Sins of Nail Polish | Tag

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the 7 Sins of Beauty tag that was floating around last year. Being more obsessed with nail polish than other forms of makeup, I decided to adapt the tag to nail polish! Feel free to participate, and do this tag. It was actually a lot of fun.

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The questions: 

1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive nail polish? What is your most expensive?2. WRATH: What nail polish brand do you have a love/hate relationship with?
3. GLUTTONY: What is your most used nail polish/hand care item?
4. SLOTH: What nail polish/nail prep step do you skip due to laziness?
5. Pride: What nail shade gives you the most self confidence?
6. LUST: What brand do you always lust after; the one that you anticipate every collection they release?
7. ENVY: If you could choose to have any brand of nail polish in the world (ignoring the price), what would it be?

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Kiss Nail Dress | Review

Another product I received from Influenster. If you haven't signed up yet, I highly recommend the program. It's at no cost to you, and all you have to do is try the products out, and give feed back at the end. The blog posts are optional.

These are the Kiss Nail Dress strips. These are different than the Sally Hansen strips you're probably used to. The way they're packaged is in a plastic wrapper, on a plastic sheet. There also isn't any plastic on top of the strips unless you get one with rhinestones. I'm not even 100% sure if they're made with real polish, so you may not have to worry about them drying out. You can't save them like the SH ones, the strips are much shorter. Finding the correct size is actually quite easy. I used only one of the plastic sheets for both hands, and I ended up cutting the ring and pinky finger of one hand down to size. At first glance, removing the strips from the plastic sheet looks hard, but it's actually quite easy. The issues I had was filling the strips down. They kept catching on everything, and I had issues evening them down. It also wasn't as easy to smooth down the top, and the tips began to wrinkle. With the SH ones, you can just rub them out, but these I couldn't get them to cooperate. They are easy to use on the toes, and are very versatile. Just flip sides, and you're good to go.

Shade shown here is KDS10

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After 3 days

I did put a top coat on top, to see how it would hold up and if it would help. I actually got bored at work, and began scraping the top coat off my left pointer finger. When I removed the strips I also saw that the top coat didn't stick to the strips completely.

I know these don't require nail polish remover, and just peel right off, but I decided to try the remover out anyways. The picture directly above is the result. The color came off, but the adhesive did not. They were easy to remove, but the strips did leave my nails slightly sticky.

Overall, I was pleased. In the beginning I was extremely frustrated with them when I couldn't smooth out the edges, but after the first day, they seemed to flatten themselves out. There were a few instances when I had to break out the file to smooth them out again, but it wasn't too bad. The big thing to remember is that these aren't like the Sally Hansen strips, and to not expect the same results. Like I said, I don't think they're made of nail polish, or at least not completely.

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Goody Quikstyle | Review

I have pretty long hair (it's down to my bum), and anything that can make drying time quicker gets a +1 in my book. I'm not a huge fan of blow drying, nor am I fan of towel drying. I'm strange, I know. One thing I always do though, is use a paddle brush to brush through my wet hair.

I first heard about this hair brush on another blog, I thought it was an ingenious concept. In theory, it seems like it should work. I think it does, but just a little bit. In my experience, it's not one that will make a huge difference, but the fibers do soak up some of the water, as one would expect them to. I did notice that it was basically useless trying to brush straight out of the shower, with hair that's only been rung out. The fibers get soaked, and I was just brushing my wet hair with a wet brush. Did no good, what-so-ever. Remember, I have pretty long hair and it can hold a lot of water (it's not thick, though). For shorter lengths, I think it would make a bigger difference.

I'm not so much worried about mold growing on it, because it has to stay wet for that to happen. It does dry pretty quickly. I also noticed the fibers flattening when I run it on soaked hair. Damp hair, and for the most part they stand back up when they're dry. I think the 'vents' on the sides help with the drying process of the microfibers.

Ignoring the fibers, as far as the brush aspect of it goes; I really like it! At first I thought it wasn't brushing very well, but I quickly realized that it just brushes through my hair that easily. The bristles aren't that stiff, and I was expecting them to not work. It's also really light. It works really well on dry hair too. It doesn't add any static or frizz to it, or at least none that I noticed.

Overall, I'm happy. I wasn't expecting some life changing experience, but I must say I was pleased with it. I will definitely continue to use it, but I don't think I would start recommending it as a water soaking brush. I would, however, recommend it as a brush by itself.

This little bad boy will cost you about $11.99.

*Sent by Influenster

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Looking for a great read? Check out the weekly roundup!

• Pinked Polish: What I have learned this year in the wonderful world of Nail Blogging.
• Love At First Site!: Face Of The Day, New Year's Eve! Happy New Year!
• Lola's Secret Beauty Blog: Lola's Secret Beauty Blog's Beauty Resolutions to Consider for 2013.
• Adore A Polish: Check out an in depth review on the Sally Hanson Insta Gel Strips.
• Polarbelle: Polarbelle wants you to consider the Anastasia Beverly Hills Kisses On My List lipgloss set while you still can!
• datyorkLOVES: Find out what the Top 10 Post of 2012 are for datyorkLOVES!
• Beauty by Arielle: ARIELLE'S TOP PRODUCTS OF 2012.
• TheFabZilla: Happy New Year! New Hair, New Resolutions? Check out TheFabZilla blog for deets.
• Cosmetics Aficionado: A new drugstore gel liner from L.A. Girl is on the beauty scene, but is it worth it?
• Never Gonna Give You Up: Kara showcases a nail polish favorite.
• Beauty by Miss L: Check out Miss L´s New Year´s Eve nails.
• Lacquer Buzz: Mihaela chose her favorite nail polishes of last year. Wanna see what made it on the list?
• Makeup Demon: Makeup Demons Top 5 posts of Year 2012!
• Ishah x Beauty: Gold Eyes, Oxblood Lips. My New Year's Day Look.
• Liesl Loves Pretty Things: Here's Liesl's personal Best Of 2012 list, Agree? Disagree? Check it out here.
• The Fabulous Mind of a Wacky Mama Bear: Ever wish your beauty subscription box gave full sizes? Then check out Starlooks, this is what I thought of my December 2012 Starbox.
• Mama Fashionista: Though she's no expert, Mama Fashionista loves the results of her first leopard mani! How do you think she did?
• Baking Beauty: Baking Beauty reviews the new Laura Mercier Free Spirit Palette.
• Rachel's Makeup and Skincare: Rachel reviews products from the new NARSskin line and finds she's impressed.
• Beauty Professor: The Beauty Professor reviews her top beauty products of 2012!
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog: Laura from My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog invites you to get ready with her!
• Lisa's Nail Obsession: Come on...you can think of something better for the alphabet challenge than "Q" for Queen. No? Then, All Hail The Queen!

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A plethora of bunnies

I want to share a video I created with you guys. From time to time I make videos featuring my rabbits. As some of the older readers know, I have loads of bunnies. The following video showcases a few of the more charismatic ones. If you want to know more, there is a link above in the main navigation bar.

I had a bit of fun with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. The songs are (in order) Concerning Hobbits (Fellowship), The Dark Rider (Fellowship), and The Adventure Begins (The Hobbit).

The rabbits (in order of appearance): Dale and Chip (about a week old), Gemma, Emma, Chip and Dale (Chip is the brown one, they are 2.5 weeks old), Chip and Dale again at a month old, Gemma, a bunny does not have a name yet because he just showed up in our yard on Christmas Eve (I'm not joking), Zeke, and Iris.

Also, the chihuahua in the video is my mom's dog, Kloe. The two cats in the background is Magic and Olivia. Kali is the booger who swats at Chip. She's harmless. None of the rabbits are afraid of the animals, they're all pretty used to them. No rabbits, cats, or dogs were harmed or scared during the making of this film. Lots of curiosity though.

Hope I added some cute to your Saturday =)

P.S. Zoya is having a promotion where you can get 3 nail polishes for free. All you have to pay is $10 shipping and processing fee. Code: Zoya2013. It officially starts on Monday, and runs until the 13th, but the code works now. Get on it! I already have my three picked out =)

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Favorite Nail Polish of 2012

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wine Not

A recent favorite. I've mentioned over and over how much I love this color ever since I tried the shade out for the SH Gel Strip review I did. I wore it for pretty much the whole month of December. I also realized that the SH CSM brush is my favorite.

China Glaze in Mistletoe Me

Bought this back in '11. It was my favorite toe color for '12, and I can't believe it took my that long to wear it. It's a beautiful mix of fuschia (it is fuschia, right?) and silver shimmer. A pain to remove, but so worth it.

Models Own in Beach Party

One of my first Models Own nail polishes =) I fell in love with this neon color instantly. I wish the brand was available here, but I think I would go broke. I wore this primarily in the summer time, and I intend on whipping it out again this year.

Julep Caroline

The perfect fall shade! I was so excited when I got this in my Julep Maven box.

Essie Bikini So Teeny

The perfect powder blue. Only downside is that the glitter doesn't show up =( Yet another one that I'll be revisiting next year.

Butter London Rosie Lee

I mainly wore it as a glitter gradient on top of Julep Pippa. It was my favorite manicure of '12, but it's beautiful on it's own.

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I love looking back at my nail polish and thinking about which ones I loved. I was surprised that when I looked at my OPI bottles, there wasn't one that I would consider a favorite. Maybe this year, I have been taking a break from buying nail polish. After I bought my new storage system I decided it was time to take a breather. Nail polish doesn't go bad, so my bottles are pretty much forever. At the rate I was going I was going to have to buy another drawer set this year. Plus I think I have a really good variety.

What were your nail polish favorites of 2012? Any you plan on bringing back in the new year?

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