Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

After a handful of my favorite long-term bloggers stopped blogging last year I was really bummed out. I also didn't see myself in this position in the foreseable future at that time, but I too now am also at that point. I knew this was coming in recent months as I prefaced in my 7 year anniversary post, but it's been very difficult to accept.

Blogging has not been something I have been passionate about for years. I have been behind the curve for years too with the introduction of indies. What was a small and easy to follow hobby for me became saturated with hundreds of brands that turned into brain overload for me. I could never keep up and the price of trying to keep up was the initial joy I found in this hobby. It became a chore to feel like I needed to be on top of my game which isn't why I got into this initially. The competitiveness and the pettiness of this community also consumed me to the point of extreme self-doubt and insecurity that I had not experienced since I was in middle school. Despite that I prevailed through it, to try to remain true to myself and try to reignite the love I first had for it all.

I feel like the past few years I've been hanging on either trying to find that love again or out of guilt because of the years I've been so committed to this. When I started to develop a career plan to be a feline behaviorist and develop The Fulfilled Feline blog this became less than secondary. It felt great to be passionate about something again and in way that makes a difference which has always been my life's goal.

I initially thought that maybe nail blogging would be better and true outlet for me now that I had something greater in my life. After a few months, I realize it's a hinderance and a lot of it is out of guilt. I don't have the desire to blog anymore at least for right now. The guilt I have with trying to maintain this blog has interfered with my focus on The Fulfilled Feline. I wish I could do both happily, but as long as nail blogging feels like it's something I have to do and is out of guilt then what's the point?

This has been very hard for me to swallow and I've been fighting in my head over it for several weeks. I still do love nail polish. You probably won't ever see me not wearing it! I just don't have the desire to blog about it. I'm still wondering if that will change? That's why I'm not sure if this is a break up or just a break? I don't want to set myself up and call it a hiatus, so I'm not sure if this is my last post or not? Time will tell.

I want to thank all of you who have been supportive of me and this blog. Your encouragement has meant the world to me and I appreciate the friendships that have formed from this. As much as I am facing truths about how I feel about blogging right now, I do hope they change. I want to feel differently and I truly want to enjoy it again. I can't force that though so hopefully it will come back.

In the meantime. If you're a cat lover feel free to follow me on The Fulfilled Feline blog, FB page, and Instagram. I update my social media channels daily and my blog twice a week.

Many thanks,

NYX Pink Metal

Pink Metal is soft metallic pink.

Color: Along with nudes and neutrals I love nude and neutral metallic shades too! This one caught my eye at the NYX store. I love the pinky tone to it so it doesn't look so stark against my skin tone which I find with some silver or silvery white metallic shades. It's shiny, but it's also soft at the same time.

Formula: The formula on this is sheerer than I'd prefer. It took 3 coats to the get the opacity and I still found it to be a bit sparse in spots. It's not a bad formula and was very easy to work with, it just could be more opaque.

Price: This was $5 at the NYX store.

Overall: I do like this shade. I love the soft metallic pink and I find the color flattering. The formula could be bit more opaque for my liking. It's nice, but it's not the greatest.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

ILNP Sandy Baby

Sandy Baby is a subtle and sophisticated peach beige jelly.


Collection: ILNP Spring Jellies 2016

Color: This is a perfect my nails but better with some added glam type of shade. I'm in love with the color and it's made a home for itself on my makeup vanity because I'm using it so much. It's a great shade if you want a clean, fresh, and sleek look on your nails.

Formula: This formula is sheer but it works for a polish like this. I used 3 coats above. What I like about the sheerness of this polish and the color is that it will be very forgiving if I'm wearing it for several days. If I get some tip wear or a tiny chip it won't be as noticeable as if I wore a creme.

Price: This is $10 on the ILNP website.

Overall: I love Sandy Baby. It's the perfect go-to nail polish when you want a clean and natural look on your nails that still offers a touch of bling. I really adore ILNP soft jellies shades and I will be stocking up on more. This polish is perfection!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

China Glaze Wait n' Sea

 Wait n' Sea is a bright teal creme.

Collection: China Glaze Off Shore Summer 2014

Color: This a pretty teal creme. I love the brightness and freshness of this color. It's nice, but it's not the most original color either.

Formula: The formula on this was strange. This had a really loose and runny formula. It pooled up in my cuticles and I found it a bit messy. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't a formula I really liked working with.

Price: I purchased this on Head2ToeBeauty for $3.25.

Overall: This is nice color, but it's really not something special or unique especially when it has a runny formula to boot. It's just not entirely worth it to me. The name is cute, but everything else falls a bit flat.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

NYX Sweet Sin

Today, I have an NYX polish to share with you. NYX polishes are sold on their website or their retail stores only which is unfortunate because they really make some great polishes. I wish they were more readily available!

Sweet Sin

Sweet Sin is a purple-gray mauve with a bronze shimmer.

Collection: NYX Core

Color: Yes! I love this color. This is an awesome neutral purple paired with a gorgeous fiery bronze shimmer. I love this color combination. I don't see colors like this often I appreciate NYX having it in their line up.

Formula: This had a nice a smooth formula. I used 2 coats above.

Price: This is $5 on the NYX website or in a NYX store.

Overall: Excellent polish. I adore this color and that bronze shimmer. The formula was great and the price was awesome too. I just wish they sold NYX polishes in other stores.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

ILNP Sandy Baby

Today, I have one of ILNP's "jellie" polishes to share with you.

Sandy Baby

Sandy Baby is a subtle and sophisticated peach beige jelly that is extremely versatile, super holographic.

Collection: ILNP Spring Jellies Spring 2016

Color: This is a great my nails but better shade. It gives you a crisp clean look, but it has that added sparkle which I like! You know I've been into neutrals and nudes for awhile so I love this color.

Formula: The formula on this was good but sheer. I used 3 coats above and you can still see my nail peeking through in some spots. It doesn't bother me tremendously because it is such a nude color, but it's something to keep in mind.

Price: This is $10 on the ILNP website.

Overall: I really like this polish and it's one I have reached for more than once. It's a great clean or palette cleansing shade when you just want something to look fresh and nice on your nails. I really like this one!

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

KBShimmer All The Bright Moves (3 of 6)

* I received the following in exchange for my honest review. 

I have 3 of the 6 polishes from KBShimmer's All The Bright Moves collection to share with you today. I lit up like a little kid when I received these polishes in the mail. This collection is inspired by the late 80's and early 90's. This was my childhood and these colors are so very reminiscent of that time and filled me with nostalgia! This collection will be released tomorrow!

Color Me Rad

Color Me Rad is a shockingly bright watermelon color, a neon red with warm pink undertones. 

Double Pog Dare You

Double Pog Dare You is a vibrant sky blue creme. 

Let's Be Frank

Let's Be Frank a red toned, electric violet purple is a blast from my Lisa Frank sticker filled past.

Collection: All The Bright Moves 2017

Colors: These colors are perfect representations of the theme. They're in your face, bold, and vibrant. I also love the names. You can't go wrong with these bright colors.

Formula: Color Me Rad and Double Pog Dare You had excellent formulas. They were so opaque easy to apply. I'm used to colors this bright having issues of streaking or being uneven. These were perfection. I used 2 coats for both. Let's Be Frank was a little trickier. It had a sheerer and looser formula that didn't apply as smoothly but covered in 3 coats. 

Price: These will be $9.25 each and on sale tomorrow on the KBShimmer website. There are 3 other shades in this collection and you can buy the entire set for $50.00. 

Overall: This is an excellent and fun collection. The theme is great and the colors are awesome. I am really impressed by the formulas of Color Me Rad and Double Pog Dare You. Let's Be Frank's formula is the only reason I'm knocking half a paint splatter off these. It's still great, but not the same superb formula as the other two. If you love brights like this you will want these colors!

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday! 

Nails Inc. Sparkle Like A Unicorn Duo

* I received the following in exchange for my honest review. 

Nails Inc. recently kindly sent me their new Sparkle Like a Unicorn Duo to review. The whole "unicorn" theme has been very on trend lately. I'm surprised it wasn't a trend before because the nail polish community has been unicorn-ing it up for the past few years! This duo features two sparkly, .magical, and unicorn-riffic shades.

Rainbow Wishes

Rainbow Wishes is a soft lavender base with a strong blue shimmer flash.

Dream Dust

Dream Dust is a soft pink with a fiery golden foil finish.

Collection: Sparkle Like a Unicorn

Colors: These colors are great and fit the unicorn theme. I love the lit-from-within glow in Rainbow Wishes. The shimmer in there is strong and lights up on your nails. Dream Wishes is an amazing foil. You know I love foil polishes and I don't see them done in nail polish in recent years. It looks like liquid metal on your nails. Both of these shades are stunning!

Formula: These both had excellent formulas. I used 2 coats for each. They were opaque and applied smoothly and easily.

Price: This duo is $15.00 and can be purchased at Nails Inc. or Sephora. That's typically the price for one Nails Inc. polish. You get them both for $15.00. That's a steal!

Overall: You need this duo. They're gorgeous shades and beautifully made. The formulas were great and you can't beat that $15.00 price!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

Sinful Colors So Daupe + Chit Chat

I find myself more and more drawn to the drugstore and mainstream polishes these days. That's the opposite of what everyone else I know into nail polish is drawn to. I'm in the process of putting all of my energy into a new career path which has a blogging aspect (are you following The Fulfilled Feline?). I don't really have the time or energy anymore to be on top of the indie world, it was hard enough in the first place! I have the desire to simplify my nail polish hobby.

I find myself lately going back to my original nail polish roots and enjoying shopping the drugstore for nail polish. That's how I fell in love with polish was through leisurely shopping trips to the drugstore or Ulta. It was stress-free and easy going. I need more of that now especially as I put a majority of my energy into something else. Nail polish needs to be a 100% leisurely outlet for me at this time in my life. That doesn't mean I'll never post an indie again. If I see some that strike my fancy, of course, I'm game and I know I'll never go off KBShimmer. Right now, I really just want to enjoy nail polish at my pace and work it around my life which means I'll probably be posting more mainstreams and drugstore polishes.

Thankfully, I'm really into what mainstreams and drugstores are producing these days. It's very limited in the drugstore, but Sinful Colors has been great at putting out new colors on a seasonal basis. I came across this early 2017 release the other day and I needed it. It's a neutral, of course, I needed it. I love neutrals!

So Daupe

So Daupe is a soft grayish-brownish-purplish creme.

Collection: Sinful Colors Core 2017

Color: You know I love colors like this and I think it's the first time in my nail polish history that I really stuck to a color family for so long. I'm probably wearing a color like this a few times a month and have been for several months. A color like this is so clean and chic and I love how it goes with everything.

Formula: This had a nice and easy to use formula. I used 2 coats above.

Price: This was $1.99 at Walgreens.

Overall: This is a great everyday elegant taupe-y shade. It's so wearable and I think it would be flattering on a variety of skin tones. The formula is great and you can't beat that $1.99 price!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

ILNP Empire

I have an ILNP Ulta Metallic polish to share with you today. I love ILNP's take on metallic colors and how many of them have a holo twist that is executed beautifully. This one I have today does just that!

Empire

Empire is a true gold with made up of thin metallic flakes and holo micro flakes.

Collection: ILNP Ultra Metallics

Color: Gold isn't always my best color, but I still love it. The blingier the better. This is a great blingy gold. I love the use of metallic flakes and that little added holo flare!

Formula: This applied smoothly and nicely. I used 3 coats here. This has a similar formula to Juliette which I wasn't entirely impressed with, but I prefer this one. The flakes in Juliette were chunkier where I felt like there needed to be some sort of tinted base in the background. Empire the flakes seem a teeny bit finer so it gives a more opaque look on the nail.

Price: This is $10 on the ILNP website.

Overall: This is a gorgeous and beautifully made blingy gold polish. I love the use of flakes and the opacity of the formula for a flakie polish. The holo sparkle is a nice and perfect touch. No complaints!

My Rating 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

Sally Hansen Therapewter

One of the first things that caught my eye in the new year was Sally Hansen's new Color Therapy line of polishes. I can't say Sally Hansen has done much to impress me in recent years, but this Color Therapy line has impressed me. I reviewed Steely Serene back in January. The colors in this line are not the most unique compared to indie standards, but they are some high-quality polish with excellent wear time from my experience. I have one of the more glitzy colors to share with you today.

Therapewter

Therapetwer is a slightly green-tinged silver foil with sparse gold and bronze flakes.

Collection: Sally Hansen Color Therapy Core 2017

Color: This is actually a really unique color to me. I love the foil-like metallic finish and in this great silvery with just a hint of green neutral shade. It's not a flat color either there are sparse little gold and bronze flakes throughout that give this color some dimension. It's gorgeous and definitely a great go-to color when you're not sure of something to wear.

Formula: This had a smooth and easy to use formula. It is sheer on the first coat but builds up opaquely and easily in 3 coats. I've worn both Steely Serene and Therapewter more than once for full manis and did get a solid 6 days of wear out of both without any chips. This line wears so well on me!

Price: You can find this in the $6.70-$8.00 range at Target, Walmart, Ulta, and drugstores. Look for drugstore deals on these though!

Overall: This is a beautiful and complex color. I absolutely adore it and the other colors in this line. These are really well made and have excellent long-wearing formulas. I'm really impressed and plan to add more of these to my collection.

My Rating 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

KBShimmer Polish Con NYC Exclusives

* I received the following products in exchange for my honest review.

Today, I have the two KBShimmer Polish Exclusives to share with you. Polish Con NYC is next Saturday, April 29th. The only way you can get your hands on these polishes is if you attend Polish Con! If you're not going and want these see if you can find someone who is going who will purchase these for you!

Grand Prospect Holo

Grand Prospect Holo is a truly unique multichrome that we blended with several different pigments to shift from a teal green, to aqua blue, to purple and sometimes even navy.  This spectrum of color is accented by a scattering of holo glitters, similar to our mega flame finish. (3 coats)

We Make Your Dreams Come Blue

We Make Your Dreams Come Blue is an icy blue jelly polish.  We loaded the jelly base with holographic micro flakes and shimmer.  These flakes glow in the light, while turquoise shimmer pops through the flakes for a glowy aqua polish, in other lights, you can almost catch a periwinkle or sky blue color.

Collection: KBShimmer Polish Con NYC 2017 Exclusives

Colors: As you can see from the color descriptions these are very complex colors. There isn't anything plain jane about these two. I love the mulitchrome shift in Grand Prospect Holo and all of those holo sparkly bits really give it a great multi-faceted look. We Make Your Dreams Come blue is a gorgeous lit from within in blue and it glows on the nail.

Formula: These all had a nice formula. I think the glitter bits in both of these keep it from being a perfect formula as they're not the most smooth polishes to apply. That being said, I didn't find them unmanageable. I used 2 coats for We Make Your Dreams Come Blue and 3 coats for Grand Prospect Holo.

Overall: I think these are some unique and multi-layered polishes. I love the colors for each one and the shimmer and multi-chrome effects. They're definitely some of the most embellished polishes I own. The formulas are good, but they're not the best formulas. I think considering what type of colors you're getting it's not really a drawback. I hope if you're going to Polish Con NYC you can get your hands on these!

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

Introducing The Fulfilled Feline!

Remember that surprise I mentioned in Monday's blog I couldn't reveal to you yet? I can reveal it to you now!

Introducing...The Fulfilled Feline!

While I'm in the process of completing my certification to be a Feline Behavior Specialist I decided to start building my brand now with a blog. My first post over there explains what The Fulfilled Feline is all about and what goals I have for it in the future. Basically, I'll be writing cat-related content in regards to feline care, behavior, enrichment, adoption, rescues/shelters, and etc.

 I'll also be updating my social media with other kitty cat related information and fun. I'd love if you were to join me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter too! I know many of you are cat lovers too 😽!

I will be continuing on here with Imperfectly Painted too, but I'd expect The Fulfilled Feline to be getting a majority of my attention from here on out!

Happy Friday!

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Chlorine Light

* I received the following product in exchange for my honest review.

I have another blue Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer polish to share with you today. Julie and I collaborated together in the latest Color Box and created Niagara Sunrise. She makes gorgeous polishes and certainly has a knack for blues. She kindly sent me some of her blue polish to review. This next one is great bright blue holo.

Chlorine Light

Chlorine Light is a bright blue linear holographic with rainbow micro-flakies with a slight metallic finish..

Collection: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Far From The Sun 2014

Color: I love the name of this polish because it truly is a swimming pool-like blue.  It's a crisp, clean, and bright blue and those flakies and holo make it come alive. This is a winning a blue!

Formula: This had an excellent and easy to use formula. I used 2 coats above.

Price: You can purchase a 10ml mini for $6.00 or a 14ml full size for $12.00 on Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer's website.

Overall: This is a gorgeous blue holo. I love this bright blue shade that is very reminiscent of spring and summer and days at the pool. The holo and flakes are great added touch that gives this polish more depth and complexity. The formula was awesome too. No complaints.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

Imperfectly Painted Turns 7 (It's time we talk)

Today is Imperfectly Painted's 7th birthday. Every year that goes by I can't believe I've been doing this as long as I have. I still can't. When I started this blog 7 years ago I couldn't believe I blogged for a year, 2 years, or even 3 years. When I hit my 4+ milestones I figured that this was just a part of my life and I didn't really see that foreseeably changing until this year.

This year has brought about a lot of exciting developments and changes in my life and for the first time ever what's in store for Imperfectly Painted is not very clear. I don't plan on stopping this blog. I plan on maintaining it at the pace I've comfortably set over the past year and a half until that no longer becomes feasible which it might. Then, I'll play it by ear. I enjoy this blog and until I can't do it anymore or more infrequently I plan on running it the same.

What are these developments and changes? I can share some of them with you, but one is a surprise that I hope to reveal to you very soon that I think many of you will enjoy along with me!  As many of you may know from following me on Instagram I have been a cat volunteer at my local animal shelter (Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando) for 4 years now. I spend time socializing cats, providing enrichment, and helping adopters find the purrfect kitties for their family. I am also a lead volunteer and I train new volunteers every month.

My years at this shelter have provided me with so much passion in purpose in life. When thinking about a career path it dawned on me that I have been looking in all of the wrong places and the path was underneath my nose the past 4 years all along. I'm meant to serve animals. Every cat I come into contact with I want to make their life better, feel comfortable, and be happy. When I encounter a scared cat at a shelter and I sit with them, talk to them, see them relax, and have them head butt me or start purr I feel I've made a difference to them in their life. In that moment I made them feel respected and loved and that means the world to me. There are countless cats out there who need help and who need comfort, guidance, and someone who respects them to help them live happy and fulfilled lives. I want to be one of those people for them.

Starting in June I will be starting my certification to become a Feline Behavior Specialist (think Jackson Galaxy but not 😜famous). I will be taking courses through the Animal Behavior Institute in Feline Training and Behavior and doing field work at the shelter where I currently volunteer. The certification should take 6 months so I should be certified in December. I have goals of hopefully assisting in shelters/rescues as well as offering behavior consultations to individuals locally and nationally via Skype and email. Remember, I also have something else in store that I hope many of you will want to be a part of too! I should be able to reveal it in the next week or two. Stay tuned!

All of this is my priority right now and with certification courses as well as doing more shelter work that is going to take up a majority of my time. There maybe a few hiatuses here and there, but I do really hope I can maintain this blog. I love nail polish, while it's not my passion, it is something I enjoy and see it as a relaxing outlet for me.  This blog has served me so well and prepared me for this new venture I have in life I'm very excited about.

I want to thank you all for supporting me and staying with me all of these years. I do hope that I do have some more left in this blog long term, but time will tell. As for now, I'm thinking things will stay the same, but I wanted to forewarn you that they may change!

Many thanks!

Weekly Wax Wrap Up: 4/2/17-4/9/17

Here is what I melted this past week!

Ten Digit Creations Cancer (Zodiac Collection)
Scent Description: lavender + lemongrass + sea salt & ocean breezes
My Thoughts: The strongest note I get off of this scent is lemongrass followed by lavender and then the sea salt & ocean breezes. It's a very fresh and crisp lemongrass based scent with a soft beachy background. I really like this scent and it's really nice when you want something really clean smelling. I melted this after doing some spring cleaning and it was perfect. It's bright and refreshing.
Scent Throw: 3.5/5
Where To Buy: Ten Digit Creations

Ten Digit Creations While You Were Sleeping (Sandra Bullock Collection)
Scent Description: lavender + lavender chamomile + stress relief (eucalyptus spearmint)
My Thoughts: This has all the makings of my favorite kind of scent. I love all of these scent notes individually. The lavender chamomile comes off very strong in this blend when melted and I wish the stress relief had a bit more of an oomph. I love the spearmint and eucalyptus notes I smell on cold, but I wish they came out more strongly when melted. It's still a great scent and perfect for bedtime!
Scent Throw: 4/5
Where To Buy: Ten Digit Creations

Happy Sunday!

China Glaze I Sea The Point

Over the past few months, I've been revisiting old nail polish collections. I notice a common theme with me is that when some colors are released I don't have any interest in them but a few years later they're right up my alley. I had to make a purchase over at Head2ToeBeauty and decided to look through their old China Glaze collections to see if anything peaked my interest now. I ended up picking up a handful of colors including this one from 2014!

I Sea The Point

I Sea The Point is a bright blue creme.

Collection: China Glaze Off Shore 2014

Color: I know why I didn't get this back in 2014. Bright blues like this were all the rage then and I'm sure I felt comfortable I had enough bright blues. What's funny is that hasn't changed. I still have enough bright blues, but since bright blues haven't been as on trend they haven't been in the forefront of my mind as much, so I needed this one too now. This is vibrant and bright. I love blues like this and I'm sure this is number 25+ bright blue in my collection 😂.

Formula: This had a nice and easy to use formula. I used 2 coats above.

Price: I paid $3.25 for this on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: This is a great bright blue polish. Blues like this are always winning colors in my opinion and I still can't get enough of them. You won't be disappointed in this one!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!