MANI MONDAY - Pantone 2016

Today's Mani Monday is inspired by the two Pantone 2016 colors: Rose Quartz & Serenity. I thought it was also the perfect transition mani as we are ending Winter and heading toward Spring. We are definitely feeling the heat already in Los Angeles.

I think the colors are very fitting at the start of a new year. We can all use a little more tranquility in our lives. The Rose Quartz is definitely having a moment with the whole rose gold craze. It was actually my accent color for my wedding last year!

Pantone©

A delicate Spring pink in Essie's Meet Me at the Altar and a dusty blue in Essie's Parka Perfect.

One day I'll try to do an ombre effect manicure with these colors. I have such a huge stash of nail polishes that after I did this mani, I found a periwinkle that was an even closer match to Serenity!

Essie's Meet Me at the Altar is a very delicate blueish blush pink. It was on the verge of giving me lobster hands. It has very subtle silver shimmer that you can see in the bottle, but unfortunately, does not translate onto the nail. It's a great option for a bridal nail color. Essie's Parka Perfect reminds me of a calm rainy day and even a little bit of my hometown of San Francisco. It's a wonderful dusty blue and has enough warmth for me to wear without getting those damn lobster hands.

I've learned over the years what works well for others may not work as well for you. Side note: I tried Essie's Ballet Slippers once upon a time since it is always mentioned in the "must haves" of the nail polish world. It did not look as lovely on me as those photos. I got major lobster hands!

I consider myself to have a neutral skin tone but leaning slightly warm. Finding good nail polish in fun colors can be a challenge, hence my big collection! I hope to one day buy a Helmer drawer from Ikea so I can really feel legit!

Are you guys a big fan of the Pantone 2016 color choices? Have they influenced your style at all for 2016? Let me know in the comments below!

REVIEW - Victoria's Secret xo Victoria Eau de Parfum Rollerball

I went to the mall this week armed with my Victoria's Secret $10 reward. I saw they had a new perfume called xo Victoria and the rollerball was on sale for $10 down from $18 retail price, so I ended up getting it for free--score! This is a good way to try out a perfume without committing to the full size EDP. However, I normally buy the full size bottle during their Semi-Annual Sale if I really like it.

At first glance, I was immediately drawn to the packaging. It was just so SPRING. The watercolor roses on the white background was so perfect. The white bow on the twist-off cap is adorable. The full-size bottle is really gorgeous and I think it would look just lovely on a vanity. It's really different from what Victoria's Secret normally releases. It's a lot more delicate than most of their scents. This would make a great gift for someone. I tried it out in the store and thought it was pleasant enough to take home (for free, anyway :p).

 Very delicate and dainty packaging.

Description on Victoria's Secret.com:
Sheer perfection: this travel-ready fragrance proves happy is the new sexy, with a sunkissed rose scent that’s wild, free and effortless.

• Fragrance type: Floral
• Notes: Victoria rose, lady apple, English ivy
• Limited edition
• 7 ml/.23 fl. oz.

I applied it again at home and so I can really judge its performance. All the Eau de Parfums I've tried from Victoria's Secret seem to only last a couple hours on me. Afterwards, I'm usually left with a faint white musk scent. xo Victoria was no exception in the longevity department and it faded after a couple of hours. I'm not sure if it's just desensitization on my part, though. I really loved the initial application. I'm a sucker for floral/fruity scents especially if the fruity note is apple. I also don't like scents that are overly sickly sweet so this was a good balance. The rose and English ivy notes kind of mixed together so they weren't distinguishable after the first few minutes of application. It smells more "green" when I first put it on. By the end of the day, I was left with a slightly rosey musky note. Very subtle and clean, so I didn't mind at all. The rollerball size is good to take around in your purse if you feel like reapplying midday. Everyone's body chemistry is different so I think it's best to try it out for yourself in store before buying. In my opinion, it should be a relatively safe blind-buy if you're not able to try it out in stores.

This is a "safe" scent to buy for anyone as a gift. It's definitely more delicate and subtle than some of the other EDPs Victoria's Secret offers. I'm partial to fruity/floral perfumes so I am disappointed that this is a limited edition. They always get rid of the good ones, right? Don't even get me started on Bath & Body Works (for those who don't know, they're sister companies). I've lost a few favorites along the way. I'll just have to make sure I buy a few full size ones during the semi-annual sale this summer.

Have you tried xo Victoria? Let me know what you think of it in the comments below!

THROWBACK THURSDAY - Daria

Remember MTV's Daria? That is one of my favorite shows of all time. Daria Morgendorffer is my spirit animal--she gets me <3 I mostly kept to myself and had only a handful of close friends. I found that I could relate to her a lot in this Sick Sad World.

I was in middle school when I first started watching and I had a major crush on Trent, her BFF Jane's big brother. He was as handsome as he was lazy and that was okay with me! He also played electric guitar in Mystik Spiral. Basically, he was the total package.

© MTV

After many years of being "over" dressing up for Halloween, I finally decided to pay tribute to my favorite sarcastic heroine when I was in high school and I had a blast with it. I didn't have cable so I would binge-watch Daria on WinAmp on my laptop. I still watch it on occasion and it never gets old. I love her friendship with Jane and even though they had their rough patches, they still had each other's back. No matter what happens, at the end of it all, they can always find a way to sit across from each other and share a pizza.

© MTV

Did you watch Daria when you were younger? Did you just discover Daria? Let me know in the comments below!

Follow Me on Bloglovin'!

Apparently I've been living under a rock and just found out about Bloglovin'. You can have all the blogs you follow in a neatly organized place. Gonna download the app, too! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Depotting Drugstore Eyeshadows (Clinique, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon)

As an attempt to free up some space in my eyeshadow collection, I tried depotting for the first time. Also, it feels appropriate to write my first blog post about decluttering! Time to start fresh :) For those who don't know, depotting is removing a makeup product pan from its packaging and into a palette. I saw a few other beauty bloggers/vloggers do it and it looked like a fun project. Often times I neglect my eyeshadows after a while if I'm not feeling like using that color pairing. The shadows I have are duos, trios, and quads from Clinique, Maybelline, Revlon and L'Oreal. The ones I was most excited to depot were the L'Oreal HIP eyeshadows. They are incredibly bulky and difficult to store easily. They are really pigmented so I wanted to get more use out of them.

I thought it was a really cool idea to use a sewing supply box to house all the newly depotted eyeshadows. It isn't too bulky and comes with its own magnetic strip so the eyeshadow pans can stick to them. It's not the most secure thing but it gets the job done. I ended up using 3 magnetic boxes so I can organize by color families.

I'd like to share my experience with depotting. This requires an open flame so please make sure you are working in a well-ventilated area. Please also be careful in handling a sharp blade.

List of supplies and more photos after the jump!

All products were purchased by me.