Thursday, March 20, 2014

Target Ambar Pants Review

Target launched Ambar back in February without much fanfare. I ran across an article on their blog and and saw this new line.

From Target's A Bulls Eye View Blog:

Target is offering Ámbar, an apparel and accessories collection featuring vibrant prints and flattering cuts and silhouettes. While we think the new line will appeal to just about anyone with a flair for style, Ámbar was designed specifically with the Latina fashionista in mind.

With 39 bold, yet feminine pieces focusing on fit and flow, the collection is available now on Target.com and at select stores across the U.S., including Florida, California, Texas, Arizona and New York. And even better, prices range from $16.99 to $39.99 — what’s not to love about that? You can check out the collection here.

So basically, this is a line with a Latina influence for all women. I didn't see anything in the line that screamed Latina to me. Maybe because there are a lot of vibrant prints? Either way, I fell in love with the Rose Print Twill Pants and had to try them on. Because the collection isn't being carried at a Target near us, I had to order them. I ordered them in 2 sizes. My normal size and a size up. My normal size worked for me. I really love how they look. My only complaint is that the waist has a little gap. Not as bad as most Target pants I've tried, but it's still. As I wore the pants and they stretched a bit, the gap disappeared, so it ended up being a non issue.



I had no makeup on when I wore them, so excuse the tired look on my face. I was just running to the office for the day and had a lot going on, so I basically threw on a tank and heels and called it good. Thanks to the pattern on the pants, it made me look a little more dressed up than I actually was. WAHOO!




In other news, the sale for the Casual Elegance collection is going strong and I think we just may sell out. We are hovering around 100 sets remaining as of the last time I checked. We planned on launching the collection in Feb and so when a friend said she wanted to come down for her vacation, we planned it for this week, so I wouldn't have a packed work schedule. Thanks to delays, she's here while we are in the middle of pre-sales. So it is extra busy trying to manage hanging out with a friend I don't get to see often and who is staying with us and work. Fortunately my friend is understanding and doesn't mind working with me a few hours a day or hitting the beach alone while on her vacation. She even went to Disney with her daughter alone. I really feel kind of crappy about that one! As an added bonus, the girls start Spring Break on Friday! But hey, that just means more helping hands in getting orders out! LOL! But I may be a bit more vacant from social media while I manage work and fun. Let's see how I do! :) Let the polish burrito rolling begin! Hope you are all having a great week!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Cult Nails Casual Elegance Collection Swatches

I am so excited to FINALLY share this collection with you guys! And when I say FINALLY, I really mean FINALLY and if I could make fireworks shoot out of that word, I totally would! You have no idea! This collection was supposed to launch on Valentine's Day, and here it is March 18th and during the final hour at that, and I am just now showing you the swatches and we are just now putting it on Pre-sale. It has been one thing after the other, and no matter how well prepared we thought we were, things just kept getting delayed. Then the press samples arrived and I sent the blogger packs out and my schedule was jam packed and it seems so silly now, considering it was things like celebrating friend's birthdays, plans made a month ago with out of town guests, (multiple - yes!) and maybe a little spa and beach time thrown in for good measure. OK so those last two could have been prevented and are totally unprofessional of me knowing I had swatches. but… 

Anyway, we FINALLY have the swatches and the collection available for pre-sale! Well pre-sale actually starts at midnight tonight, but you get the idea! WAHOO!

If you follow my , or , you already saw sneak peeks of the colors. But here are the official swatches! (I should probably just stop blabbing now and get right to the pics now.)

Intriguing - Intriguing is a periwinkle with lots of gray tones and some holographic shimmer thrown in for good measure. This one goes from leaning periwinkle to blue to gray depending on the light. The holographic shimmer is subtle and dances around in daylight but is more subdued indoors. You all know how much I love subtle shimmer, so this is taking that in a little different direction, while keeping the subtlety I love so much. 



Winter's Light - This is a top coat that plays with fine grain glitter. You can achieve multiple looks with this polish. Layer a few layers on its own, or over your favorite polish and watch the polish come alive. Leave it without a top coat for a textured look or add Wicked Fast for a sleek shiny and blingy mani! It is a purple jelly densely packed with blue micro glitter and a smattering of purple glitter for good measure.


 Here is two thin coats over Nevermore. 


Here is two thin coats shown over Casual Elegance.

Casual Elegance - A gorgeous lilac creme. It is a soft and stunning color to bring on the Spring! This is a one to two coater. In the photos below I am wearing one coat. But I don't tend to apply in thin coats. I took these pictures in different lighting situations, so you can see just how the color can be manipulated by light. 



And if these colors weren't enough, we are partnering with Nail Vinyls and providing a small sample in each pre-sale box! The sample will be enough for you to do 2 accent nails. I recently discovered Nail Vinyls on Refined and Polished Facebook page and once I tried them out I was in love! I had told John before that we need to make nail stencils, and Linda was smart enough to go out there and do it! We hope to partner in future collections with Indies and bloggers alike to bring you a different nail look each month. I am excited that Nail Vinyls is the first we are partnering with. You can check out the other Nail Vinyl options on her site and do a little shopping while you wait for your pre-sale order to arrive. 


Oh and did I mention about a week or two after all the pre-sale polishes ship out, Refined and Polished will be hosting a Google Hangout, doing a live demonstration/nail look using the colors in this collection and these Nail Vinyls! So order your set, and then join us for our first live mani night and do your nails with us! 

Pre-sale starts tonight at midnight - March 19th 12:00AM EST. This is a very limited edition collection as we gage how these small micro collections will work. There will only be 500 available for pre-sale and some will be available after pre-sales with some of our brand partners. From there we may have a small amount available for sale on our site if they are available. All the colors in this collection are Limited Edition colors and we don't plan on adding them to our stock colors. But on a good note, we will have them available for pre-sale for two weeks instead of the normal one week, to give everyone time to order. The collection will be $25 for all 3 polishes. Individually Casual Elegance and Winter's Light will retail for $12 and Intriguing will retail for $14 due to the extra cost of the ingredients. You are saving $13 by ordering during pre-sale. 

Now that we got all the details out of the way, are you super stoked for this collection or what? They are all a play on purple, without being just "purple". We really tried to think outside the purple box for this one, and I hope you love them as much as we do! 

Intriguing

Winter's Light

Casual Elegance
If you want to see more swatches, Love for Lacquer has already posted some on her blog! Go check her out! See you at midnight! 

Monday, March 17, 2014

Batiste Dry Shampoo Light & Blonde Review

Since lightening my hair a bit with multiple tones of blonde in my naturally dark brown hair, I have had to look for ways to help disguise my growth. I just want to be able to blend it in a bit, so it isn't a drastic difference. While at Walgreen's about a month ago I came across Batiste Dry Shampoo Light and Blonde. I figured for $7.99, I'd give it a try. 


After about 4 or 5 weeks, I am in desperate need to get my hair color touched up. I don't mind a bit of regrowth and since I have kept some dark brown throughout and the entire bottom of my hair is still dark, a little blends in just fine. But when it gets to the point where it's just about time to go back to the salon, it's a little more than I can handle. 


Batiste Dry Shampoo is fairly easy to use. You just shake up the can and spray in short bursts from about 6 inches away. Then you wait about a minute and brush it through you hair. Here it is just after I sprayed it waiting a minute before brushing it in.


 Here it is after brushing it in. It does a pretty decent job at disguising the growth. I am really satisfied with the end result.

Here you can see that I still have regrowth, but it is not a drastic dark brown vs lightish blonde. 



 A side by side comparison before and after.

Out and about, it does a pretty decent job. The only downside with this product is that I have a really bad habit of running my fingers through my hair throughout the day. I know this is a terrible habit for multiple reasons and I try desperately not to do it. Before taking these photos, I looked down at my black jeans and realized I had transferred a lot of the dry shampoo from my hair to my hands and then to my jeans. UGH! Maybe I'm not blending it in enough?




 Do use a product to disguise growth or grays? If so what do you recommend? For now I think I'll stick with Batiste, but since I'm still a bit new to this, I'd love to hear about other options!




Monday, March 10, 2014

The Vanity and Co Nail Polish Rack

The Vanity and Co asked if I would review their nail polish rack: The Bella. At first I wasn't really sure, mainly because they are a new company. Once they explained what is different about their company, I wanted to help spread the word. The Vanity and Co was started by Mercedes and Arooba. Their goal is to create an assortment of organizational products and a focus to improve the lives of women. A percentage of their sales are used to give back to charitable organizations like METRAC, Dipelex Smileagain Foundation, Womankind, and the Huairou Commission.



The nail polish rack arrived well packed. It is made with Lucite acrylic. This is a major component that makes their product different than many other nail polish racks. Lucite is made by DuPont and is considered to be a high end and high grade level of acrylic. This means you know you are receiving a quality product. 

The Bella retails for $69.95, which is on the high end cost wise for nail polish racks. But, the fact that it is made using Lucite brand acrylic, and the thickness of the acrylic used for the rack affect the price. That and the fact that a percentage of the sales go to various charities that help women and that this is a small independent company, increase the cost of this product. This is definitely a consideration though for those looking at nail polish racks.



The Bella has 6 shelves and measures in at 24 inches length x 4 inches width x 27 inches height. It will hold approximately 120 bottles of nail polish. While it is a big polish rack, it's not overwhelming in appearance. 



Before someone points it out, yes, you can buy a nail polish rack on Amazon for a fraction of the cost, I feel that if the quality/brand name of the acrylic mean something to you, then this is a good alternative that will make you feel good at the same time since it has the give back factor. If these things don't make a difference to you, then Amazon and a more cost effective option may be for you. 



I have not used a nail polish rack in the past because I just have not been a fan of the plastic look of the ones I have seen. I actually at one point did order one for $45 off Amazon and it went back. Maybe it's the one I selected, but it was the cheapest looking thing and the acrylic was so thin. I just felt it looked cheap and didn't want that hanging on my wall. I took some close up shots of this one, because for me the thickness and shine makes a difference. Having created a polish storage drawer and reviewed various acrylic options, I see the difference. Personally, I would spend more for a high quality rack like this one.



For our office, where people come visit, I ended up going with custom wood shelving made for me that were quite expensive, but totally worth it. But I also need a rack for my office side where I can put my lab samples, one that isn't really for all to see, but more for my lab reference polishes. But I still want it to look good, because people will see my office as well. I haven't hung this one in my office yet, as we are looking for different office space at the moment, but this rack will be perfect for my office. If you're looking for a polish rack for your polishes, I think The Vanity and Co Bella is a great option. 

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

MyStudio MS20 / MyStudio PS5 Review : Product Photography for the Novice!

Hi everyone!  This is John, filling in for Maria for this post.  As you are probably aware, Maria and I still do pretty much everything when it comes to Cult Nails.  Part of that "everything" is maintaining the website.  And, part of that responsibility includes product photography.  It is probably one of the most important aspects of the site, simply because the product image is all you, as a customer, have to go by when deciding which Cult Nails colors you'd like to purchase.

Before I get started, let me tell you what I'm working with in terms of my camera:

Body: NIKON D80 (about 6 years old) (10 mp)
Lens:  AF-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 (for the pictures in this post) 

And, what I think is more important, my experience level:

Novice to Intermediate:  I enjoy photography, and feel like I can frame a decent shot... and occasionally, with some guidance and suggestion from my brother-in-law or other friends, I get some pretty good results!  But, for the most part, especially when it comes to lighting, I am a novice.  

On with the post...


     About a month ago, I purchased, yet another, inexpensive setup in my quest to find the ideal configuration for quick, easy, and accurate product photography.  I’ve been taking pictures of our polish for the past three years for use on the site (cultnails.com) and have exhausted, what I felt, was every possible but affordable configuration of lighting and backdrops.  I used everything from white poster board and desktop lamps with daylight bulbs, to small soft sided light boxes with continuous light soft boxes (also with daylight balanced bulbs), to taking the setup outside and using the sunlight directly.  With each of the previous configurations, I’d find something I liked a bit more than the last, yet I found myself sitting down for hours editing the images for color accuracy.  There had to be something better that would save me all this post shoot processing and editing.  Enter the MyStudio® MS20 Professional Tabletop Photo Studio w/ 5000K Continuous Lighting, by Pro Cyc.  (Read more about their company here.)

MyStudio MS20 packaged at my door!
     The MyStudio® MS20 is a tabletop version of a professional cyclorama which is molded to curve smoothly at the bottom to meet the “floor” of the display at all angles providing a seamless and corner-less joint providing the illusion that the bottom of the display continues to infinity.  (That last bit I paraphrased from a Wikipedia article.)  
MyStudio MS20 cyclorama display (shown with polish for size reference)
     As I mentioned, I’d tried to create this look in the past using other, less expensive options, getting less than stellar results.  In fact, until I used the MS20, I thought my pictures were ok.  I knew they needed work because some of the polish colors looked way off, when compared to real life, but no amount of editing got them exact. 

     I consider myself a photo hobbyist.  I know a little bit of lingo, have some experience with off camera flashes, and have dabbled in long exposure light imagery.  Otherwise, I’d prefer to shoot in quality light (generally outside) at subjects that have character and life.  Product imagery, in this industry, is vital though!  Color accuracy is EVERYTHING when considering what we sell is, essentially, color!  I needed something that made this easy and was really hoping the MyStudio® MS20 would live up to its claims and the reviews I’d read.

     I bought the setup up via amazon.com.  Because we have an Amazon Prime account, I got a great deal on this product.  It generally sells for $249.95, but the Prime price was $179.95.  This was great for me, because, after reading some reviews and watching their tutorials, I wanted to add the AL1 Accent Light.  It’s basically a 5000K “Daylight” fluorescent bulb in a housing that you can use with the MyStudio® MS20 to backlight your object and essentially remove any trace shadows, etc.  So, I added the AL1 (which again I saved on being a Prime member, the cost went from $119.95 to $93.50… so, basically, I spent a little more than the savings from the MyStudio® MS20 and got the accent light).  Total now spent: $273.45.  Well now, this was starting to add up to something substantial…and I was getting nervous.  Very nervous.  It seemed like the answer to my prayers of easy product shots, but was it too good to be true? 

From the moment I got the box in the mail, I was antsy to set this bad boy up and get to shooting!  The cyclorama portion is essentially a large mold so, of course, the box is rather large.  The background, itself, measures 20”x20”x12”.  So, storage wise, it’s not the most convenient item to have sitting around the house.  BUT, for the amount of product imagery we do, I’ll take my chances.  Along with the background is a stand for the light (essentially the AL1) with an overhead reflector for the light to bounce off.  The more I put things together, the more excited I was getting.  Again, the size is a bit intimidating for the average house, but when your business or your blog depend on the accuracy and quality of your pics, the space it takes up is NOTHING in comparison.

MS20 all set up and ready to go!  (Note, the additional AL1 is actually off to the side in this pic, providing additional fill lighting for this image.)
MyStudio MS20 shown here with added AL1 accent light over the back
MyStudio MS20 shown here with added AL1 accent light over the back
     In addition to the background and lighting stand, the MyStudio® MS20 also comes with 2 reflector cards.  These are free standing and can be used however you see fit to reflect light back onto your product.  This is where your skill level, and a lot of trial and error come in to play.  Reflectors can add or, in my past experiences, detract from the quality of an image so you’ll have to play around with these to get your images just right.  

2 reflector cards provided with MS20, and PS5 bundle pack.  (Note: The PS5 without the bundle does NOT include the reflector cards.)

     However, in the most basic configuration, you don’t even need to use them.  For our website images, I placed one card about 3 inches to the left of the product.  This helped to show different aspects of the color as well as dimension to shades containing glitter and shimmer effects.  For the images here, to ensure an unbiased review, I did not use any reflector cards for the images of Seduction in this post.  

     Once I was all set up (figure this took about 40 minutes or so) I simply switched the lights on, grabbed my camera and got to shooting.  I use a Nikon D80, 10 mp, DSLR that has manual options for setting the ISO (sensitivity of your image sensor to light), aperture (how much light you’re letting into the camera by telling the shutter how much to open) and shutter speed (how quickly the shutter closes once you begin the shot).  The suggested starting configuration from Pro Cyc is to shoot in manual using an ISO of 200, an f-stop (aperture) of 5.6, and a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second.  I took a few test shots (using a tripod to ensure no camera shake) and looked at the results on the LCD on the back of the camera.  Well, so far so good, I thought.  But, having been doing this for a few years now, I’d had good results on the LCD before only to be incredibly disappointed when they ended up on the computer in full size.  Not this time!  I took the SD card from my camera and placed it into the computer.                                                                                                                                                      
     My leg was bouncing with excitement…I knew this was it!  Or at least I hoped it was.  When the images started to load on the computer I couldn’t believe my eyes.  The color was incredibly accurate and the detail was impeccable; with NO editing.  None.  This was straight off the disk.

Unedited (only cropped) first pic using MS20 photographing Let Me Fly
     I photographed “Let Me Fly” for two reasons.  1) Blues are tough to capture accurately and 2) there is a shimmer in “Let Me Fly” that I wanted to see how it would be captured.  Well, if you follow me on Instagram, you already know how excited I was.  I immediately posted the unedited (just cropped) pic to my Instagram account.  The response was amazing.  Considering a tremendous amount of my followers on Instagram are beauty blogger, I was asked several times “What are you using to get those pics!”  Yup, they were just as excited as I was.  This product was amazing!  Simple setup, simple camera configs, simple product shots!  For the purposes of this blog post, I photographed Seduction (shown below).
Seduction on MS20 (without added AL1 or reflector cards)
Seduction on MS20 w/ AL1 on for backlight (no reflector cards)
     Since then, I’ve retaken all the images on our site and uploaded new photos.  The result was astounding.  The site looks much more professional, and the images are high quality and provide the customers with an accurate image of what they’ll receive.  Within a few hours, I took a few more pictures of things around the house (including a small Buddha statue, and even our Chihuahua!) and had a review posted on amazon.  The only thing that would make this better would be to have a black background I could also use.  I’d love to be able to provide an image for customers with the product against a white background, and a black background.  With that in mind, I contacted Pro Cyc inquiring about purchasing an additional background cyclorama that I could paint black and use it for just this purpose.  What happened next goes beyond exceptional customer service.
I received an email back from Sean von Tagen, President at Pro Cyc, Inc.  Sean was kind enough to provide me with some options pertaining to my question.  He first suggested that, if using the MyStudio® MS20 background, I could paint one using a matte finish black acrylic paint.  He also offered a second suggestion of using another product they offer through the MyStudio® line, called the MyStudio® PS5 PortaStudio Bundle.  
MyStudio PS5 (I included the polish just for a size reference)     
     The bundle part is what is important here because it comes with 5 background colors to choose from (in addition to the standard white.  The MyStudio® PS5 Bundle pack retails for $189.95 (Prime price of $141.95).  Now, I admit, I did consider the MyStudio® PS5 (not bundled, just the white background) but it seemed to me, well, a little cheap.  Being that I’d already tried several less expensive options, I figured this would be another “you get what you pay for” scenario.  Again, I was wrong.  But I’ll get to that in a minute.  So, back to the email… Sean then offered, after a few exchanges of thoughts, opinions, and messages, to send me the MyStudio® PS5 in exchange for a review on this blog.  How the heck could I turn that down?  So, about a week goes by and I find myself with another box from Pro Cyc.  Again, this went from box to ready in about 40 minutes as well.  First impressions, after using the MyStudio® MS20, was that I was right, this is cheap.  The stand for the light is made from acrylic, versus the powder coated aluminum stand with the MyStudio® MS20.  But, I didn’t let that slow me down from finishing the set up and getting started.  Basically, you set up the stand, then, using the provided clips, attached the straight white background to the overhead reflector and simply bend the background and tuck it under the legs of the lighting stand.  Super easy set up.  Once ready, I set the camera to the suggested configuration (same as previously mentioned) and shot a few test shots.  And the verdict is???  I got nearly the same results.  
Seduction on PS5 (no AL1 or reflector cards) (Note the product looks great, but for my needs, a pure white background was desired.  For most needs, this lighting configuration should do the trick!  Again, this was using the suggested camera settings with no editing.)

Seduction on PS5 (added the AL1 to the side, note the difference in the background color... but also not the shadow if that is a concern to you.  The product image is great here!)
     While this made me excited, I then wanted to continue with some test shots using the black background.  As I mentioned, I wanted a solid black background.  No reflections, no gradient effect, just solid black.  So, using some additional clips (also provided) I affixed the back background card to the existing white.  
MyStudio PS5 with added black background
     A few shots with the suggested camera settings, and I was a little disappointed.  I stress, a little disappointed.  The product wasn't as vivid as I'd expected.  Still a quality image, it just didn't provide the same pop as it did against a white background.  No big deal, really, but this is where the "intermediate" skill level part comes in.  
Seduction on PS5 (close up using suggested camera settings)
     Time to make some adjustments.  In order for me to get color accurate pictures, that showed the intricacies of the polish against the black background, I needed to adjust some of the camera settings.  After some trial and error, I finally set on ISO 200, f/5.3 and 1/6 sec for the shutter speed.  This did yield quite accurate color, but the bend in the background (though great for providing the infinity look against white) did end up with a gradient effect due to the light reflecting off the background.  Not exactly what I had imagined, but did the PS5 provide me with even lighting and a seamless background? Sure did.  Looking now, I needed to dust this baby off a bit. My bad... 
Seduction on PS5 (close up with adjusted camera settings ISO 200, f5/6, 1/6 sec)
     I also tried adding the AL1 and lighting the product from the side, and I got a more improved product shot, but the background lightened from black to a more intense gradient of gray to black.  Now, this is not to say the image quality was poor, or the lighting was poor, or even that the background was poor.  It simply was not the aesthetic that I was going for.  
Seduction on PS5 (close up with adjusted camera settings and added AL1 to right side)  Eek, look at the dust.  Lesson learned there....
     Since I didn’t intent on using the additional colors in the bundle (grey to tan) I didn’t attempt any shots using them.  This all being said, if you don’t intend to use any colored backgrounds and want white only, you can also consider the MyStudio® PS5 Portstudio (not with the bundle).  This includes just the light, stand, and white background (no reflector cards, but they’re not essential to get good pictures.  The MyStudio® PS5 on its own sells for $149.95 (Prime price is $99.95).  Now we’re talking!  So, you can essentially get the same quality pics with the MyStudio® PS5 that I got using the MyStudio® MS20 and save yourself about $175.  The one major difference in the results of the pics is that using the PS5, there is a slight graying of the background (but the product itself still shows very well).  This is also seen when using just the one light provided with the MS20.  Of course, making adjustments to your camera setting, you could probably reduce that to get exactly what you want, but I’d prefer to not spend hours of trial and error when I already know what works.  Add to that, using the AL1 as a backlight made all the difference in the world for taking pics I didn’t need to edit.  However, if you’re a hobbyist and want great product shots but don’t necessarily require a pristine white background, then the MyStudio® PS5 is absolutely for you.  Also, if you’re taking shots of your hands to show nail polish or make up swatches, the PS5 may be a better fit for you since there are no sides to contend with as there are on the MS20.  A final note on the PS5 (similar to the MS20) is storage.  It takes up about the same amount of space once set up, but since the background can be removed and rolled, you’re left with the storage of the light fixture/stand.  But, again, to get the quality images you want and need, you may have to sacrifice some space.  Believe me, the results are worth it.  
I hope you found this review helpful, and would love to hear your feedback.  I can also try to answer any questions you have about either product; but remember, I am a novice so no crazy technical questions. J

**NOTE:  the MyStudio® MS20 was purchased by me; the MyStudio® PS5 Bundle was sent for an honest review by Pro Cyc, Inc.
**NOTE:  I did not try the product using a standard point and shoot camera, and cannot attest to any results using anything other than my Nikon D80 DSLR.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Peter Pilotto for Target Mani Tutorial by Grace Wright

Many of you know my love of a good Target collaboration, but the when it comes to recreating a look on my nails, I struggle. on Instagram is one of those women, who can look at a dress, or a pattern and mimic it on the nail. I gave her this picture and asked her if she could 1. create a look for the blog and 2. provide a tutorial so we can all try the look! She was so gracious, and took a stab at it. (No pun intended there! I just realized I did that when I re-read it. A subconscious pun perhaps?)















So of course after seeing how easy Grace made it look, I had to try it out! The only issue I had was the horrible pooling I had of the black polish when cleaning up. I am testing out a different remover and while it works great at removing glitter, not so much in the clean up, without spreading the polish all around. I have some more practice to go, but my stab at it is in the picture below.


Thank you Grace for taking the time out of your day to provide us with a tutorial! If you have a tutorial using all Cult Nails polishes that you would like us to share, shoot us an email. 





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