Olivia Frescura

los angeles beauty & lifestyle blog

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Nail Polish Review

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Nail Polish Review
OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark has been a nail polish shade that I’ve heard of for YEARS. Everyone raves about it- it seems like a winter cult classic. It’s the darkest shade of purple. Not quite navy, not quite burgundy, and not quite eggplant. They describe it as “where midnight meets purple” which is the perfect descriptor. I’ve been dying to try, but rarely buy nail polish. But, a few months ago I got my nails done with this shade at a nail salon, and as soon as I saw my nails afterwards, I went across the street to a beauty supply store and bought it! It was love at first sight.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Nail Polish Review Swatch
OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

It went great with my long nails. I miss having long nails so badly, but with work & how busy I am lately, I can’t seem to grow them out this long again. But, for now, I’ll just reminisce…

If you haven’t tried out this shade, you better snag it before spring comes! It’s such a gorgeous and rich shade, that’s dark without being as unapproachable as black, and not too bright

International Salon & Spa Expo 2015 Highlights (Glycelene, Cailyn Cosmetics, Caption Nails)

ISSE Long Beach 2015 Caption Polish
ISSE Long Beach 2015- Caption Polish

As a blogger, going to industry trade shows is always a ton of fun for me. I get to see some of my favorite brands in person, and meet with new brands to see the latest beauty releases. ISSE is a salon and spa expo where professionals in the hair, nails, and spa categories go to learn and find new product to purchase. For myself, I was there to check out and see if there are any interesting products that I could possibly review on this blog! I attended ISSE 2013, so you can check out my posts from that. Thankfully this year I did essentially no shopping, which is always a hard thing to resist! I got to hang out with some blogger buds Stephanie, Alyson, Mai, and Romy. Show their blogs some love! Anyways, here’s a peek at a few of the best brands & most exciting products that I scouted.

ISSE Long Beach 2015 Glycelene The Rejuvenation Creme
Glycelene Rejuvenation Creme

Glycelene is a 100% natural, organic, and vegan skin care line created by makeup artist Kim Borio. I hung out at Glycelene’s booth for quite a while and got a demo of quite a few of their products. I was super impressed by their Luxury Face Oil (I need it!), Seatox Mist, and yet-to-be released eye oil.

ISSE Long Beach 2015 Glycelene No. 1 Natural Parfum Oil
Glycelene No. 1 Natural Parfum Oil

I also tried their No. 1 Natural Parfum oil, which is also new. It contains citrus notes such as lemon and neroli, blended with jasmine. It’s inspired by Sorrento, Italy- which was a match made in heaven for me since I stayed there for a weekend when I was studying abroad there. I received a sample size of the Rejuvenation Creme pictured above, and although I’ve only used it once- I’m already a fan! My skin was baby smooth overnight!

ISSE Long Beach 2015 Cailyn Cosmetics Pure Lust Extreme Matte Tint
Cailyn Cosmetics Pure Lust Extreme Matte Tint

An exciting makeup product I tested was Cailyn Cosmetics’ Pure Lust Extreme Matte Tint. These matte liquid lip colors are all the rage right now, and I think one of the biggest trends I’ve seen to start off 2015- and I’m all over it! They were kind enough to give me a shade to try, so you’ll have to wait to see my thoughts, besides the fact that I want them all & they should release a wider range of colors ASAP!

ISSE Long Beach 2015 Cailyn Cosmetics Cocoon Lip Stain Collection
Cailyn Cosmetics Cocoon Lip Stain

Yet ANOTHER Cailyn Cosmetics product that I found was their new Cocoon Lip Stain line. This product is unlike any other lip stain you’ve ever seen or tried! You apply the stain gel like a mask, wait 10 minutes for it to try, and then peel it off to reveal a gorgeous stain! I’m DYING to get my hands on the orange color (okay, all of them) to do a video demo for you guys.

ISSE Long Beach 2015 Caption Polish 3
Caption Polish in Shizaaam!

New brand Caption Polish promises gel-like shine without the UV lamp. I was in love with their display (first picture in this post), and all of their colors are gorgeous. I had this amazing glitter polish Shizaaam! applied over my nude nails- can you say amazing? This was 1 coat, and it dried lightening fast! Definitely hoping to get my hands on some of these polishes for a review- already impressed!

Those are the main brands that I was blown away by at ISSE, but I checked out a lot more brands, but I don’t want to go on forever so I’ll keep it brief! Hover over the images to see my thoughts & click to enlarge photos.

Overall I was pretty thrilled with ISSE this year. I’m highly considering applying for a press pass for their biggest show- Cosmoprof in Las Vegas this summer! I think it would make for great networking- and who can resist Vegas?

Aloxxi’s Pre-#LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaüs

Aloxxi Pre #LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaus (2)
Aloxxi Hair Styling Products

Last night I attended Aloxxi’s event at Stylehaüs at The Grove in LA. I couldn’t miss this event because I love The Grove, first of all, and with my new short hair, I’m always down to try something new! Aloxxi was celebrating the launch of their new styling products that I received to try, so do expect a review in the future!

Aloxxi Pre #LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaus Drew Barrymore Lucky Magazine May 2013 Cover
Drew Barrymore on Lucky Magazine’s May 2013 Cover

This event was a pre-party of sorts to Lucky Magazine‘s LuckyFABB West, which is today and tomorrow! (Technically speaking, I am there already when this goes up!). Drew Barrymore is going to be speaking, which I can’t wait for, because I’ve reviewed a few of her new Flower Beauty products on here already! She’s also Lucky’s May 2013 Cover girl…doesn’t she look fabulous with brown hair?

Aloxxi Pre #LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaus
Chic Stylehaus mannequins

Stylehaüs is an interesting place- it’s a members only boutique! So that means I was extra-special  to get a peek inside. It’s quite small, but lots of fashionable pieces are housed inside, like what the chic mannequins above are wearing! I liked some of the jewels they had.

Aloxxi Pre #LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaus (3)
Aloxxi Dry Styles and Color Consultations!

Aloxxi did some dry-styling and color consulting at the event. I had a style done by Angel, who did a great job on my hair. He was uber-fast, too! His inspiration was Brigitte Bardot meets a convertible with the top down. Aloxxi is also apparently from the founder of OPI, according to the pamphlet I received. How cool is that?

Aloxxi Pre #LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaus Hair Updo
My new do, thanks to Aloxxi’s Angel.

Surprisingly, he only used a few bobbypins and small rubberbands to hold my mane together! He teased the heck out of it to get that little “pouf,” which had me a little scared to brush my hair later, but thankfully, it was a breeze to brush through with some detangler!

Aloxxi Pre #LuckyFABB Event at Stylehaus (4)
Aloxxi products

The products shown above are the same as the ones I have to review. There is a weightless styling gelee, a dry shampoo, a thermal styling spray, a thickening serum, and a restorative hair serum. I’m thrilled to try these- my hair has been having some bad days lately…More on these products to come!

Thanks for having me, Aloxxi, Stylehaus, and Lucky Magazine!xo

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Jessica Nails Amira/Smitten Kitten & OPI I Lilly Love You Swatch

Jessica Nails Amira Smitten Kitten OPI I Lilly Love You Swatch
Amira/Smitten Kitten and I Lilly Love You

Recently I wore this combo of polishes and I really liked it. Jessica’s Amira Smitten Kitten is from the It’s a Girl Thing spring collection, and OPI’s I Lilly Love You was from spring 2011. I don’t wear pink a lot but I thought that this would be a good combo!

Jessica Nails Amira Smitten Kitten OPI I Lilly Love You Swatch (2)
Amira/Smitten Kitten and I Lilly Love You

This polish was an easy 2 coats, and I added 1 coat of I Lilly Love You  on my ring finger for a little extra bling. I’m wearing this combo on my toes too and it’s holding up well! Jessica nail polishes are $7.50 online and OPI’s polishes are about $8.50 at ULTA.

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**This post contains products that I have received for free– for more information, please read my Disclosure Policy**

ISSE 2013: Nails (Azature, China Glaze, OPI, Orly, and More!)

All of the nail inspiration was probably my favorite part about ISSE. I loved checking out all of the spring collections and learning about products I haven’t heard of before! I’m a huge nail  junkie (who isn’t?)…so I was in hog heaven. Have fun browsing my photos, and click on them to make them larger! Click here to see my haul!

I just had to share all of AZATURE‘s diamond nail polishes, including the 6 new colors that have just been released. Their original $250,000 nail polish was there, being protected by a guard! Kelly Osbourne and Jennifer Lopez have worn this nail polish before, and you can get the 1-carat version for only $25.

I’m definitely most excited for ORLY‘s collection for spring, called Hope & Freedom Fest. I can’t wait to share more from this collection, as I got the mini set to test them out! I love the name “Coachella Dweller” and think that these are so fun for spring…and loving the promo image. I want flowers in my hair! FYI the mini sets include Elation Generation, High On Hope, Melodious Utopia, and Coachella Dweller.

Nail art is so fun to me. I loved browsing all of the fun glitters and other things that can be put on the nail such as gold/silver foil, velvet powder, etc.

ISSE 2013 Bulk Nail Art Glitter
Glitter Galore

Who doesn’t love China Glaze? Their nail polishes are affordable but work amazingly. They were on a super sale at the show (6 for $15), so I couldn’t resist picking up a few…including some from the Hunger Games collection!

ISSE 2013 China Glaze Hunger Games Collection
The Hunger Games Collection by China Glaze

I also got Rare & Radiant from the Bohemian collection, because it’s a dupe of Chanel’s Peridot…which I regret never getting because Peridot is my birthstone!

ISSE 2013 Hunger Games and Bohemian Collection
Hunger Games and Bohemian Collection by China Glaze

I’m a big fan of CND’s Shellac after getting it a few times in the past. Their spring 2013 collection is called “Sweet Dreams” and features adorable pastel shades with a twist. I love the cake pop photo! One of the shades is even named Cake Pop! These were a hit and all of the colors except for the green, Limeade, were sold out by Sunday!

ISSE 2013 CND Spring Sweet Dreams Shellac Collection
CND Spring Sweet Dreams Shellac Collection

There were gel polishes galore for the manicurists to purchase. I loved all of the shiny bright shades!

Jessica Nails had a fun booth with a holographic floor. I learned about their new system that is a self-curing gel which will cut time for a lot of professionals. Their nail polishes are gorgeous…hope to try them one day!

Other brands you might recognize: Essie, Seche, and OPI were all there as well! I got a pamphlet for OPI’s spring Euro Centrale collection that I will do a new post on soon. I was bummed they weren’t showing it!

Something I thought was fun were these Q-Tickles cuticle oils that had tons of different scents and had little flowers in them.

ISSE 2013 Q Tickles Cuticle Oil
Q-Tickles Cuticle Oils

That’s all that I could possibly capture at ISSE regarding nails…it was such a huge area I couldn’t possibly cover every booth! Stay tuned for my hair, skincare & makeup posts to follow in the next two days!

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