Huge polish sale!

Hello to all my followers!  As you can see I have not posted in my blog in months and to be honest, I don't anticipate doing so anytime soon.  It was fun while it lasted but it's time for me to focus on other things.  Which means tons of polish available for you to buy!  I've switched to Storenvy and am really pleased with it.  It turns a blog sale into a legit business transaction and I really like it.  No personal messages, no price bartering, no holding polishes!

Feel free to check out my store -->  www.oohlalapolish.storenvy.com

And I created a special discount code for my blog followers!  Enter OOHLALAPOLISH at checkout for a 15% savings!

Thanks for following and happy shopping :)

Lex Cosmetics Yes! + Ninja Polish He Went To Jarred

Based on the title of this post, can you figure out what I'm going to share with you today?! 

 

In case you didn't guess,  I'M ENGAGED! 

 

My fiance and I have been together for three years and he popped the question on Sunday, June 15.  We saw a show at a dinner theatre and then went to a botanical garden.  I was so surprised and just about fell over when I saw the ring.  It's been a labor of love for both of us since February and seeing it in person was so overwhelming.  There's a backstory on the ring and how it came to be and that makes it so much more special.  My mom gave me her engagement ring from my dad and allowed us to use any of the diamonds from it to help cut down costs and add a little sentimental value to it.  His mom also did the same thing without knowing my mom's plans and within a few weeks we ended up with two diamonds from our moms.  The stone in his mom's ring used to be in a ring that his dad wore years before proposing.  He passed away last year and it's incredibly emotional knowing I was given that special piece of family history.  Since we couldn't find a setting that fit both of our stones the way we wanted them to, we decided to custom design a ring at Jared.  We took both diamonds in and amazingly enough, they were very close in quality and clarify and also the same cut.  It was meant to be.  We bought a third diamond to finish off the three stone look to symbolize past, present and future.  The process at Jared was comfortable and so easy and I know our designer played a huge role in that.  He kept in touch with us and we had a few appointments to discuss the process.  Shortly after our first visit he sketched a preliminary design and I was amazed that he could interpret our thoughts so perfectly.  Then we had a computerized graphic to look at with the specs of the ring and shortly after that an appointment to see the wax mold of my ring.  The conversations and appointments after that point were between Ryan and the jeweler so I was removed from the equation then.  I loved being a part of the design and then being surprised with the final product!

 

We started the wedding planning almost immediately and have settled on a venue, date & photographer already :)  We've had many conversations about our wedding prior to the engagement so we could start the process quickly.  Which means I'll be crazy busy and may neglect my blog more than I already do right now - oops!  But I'll share what I can and appreciate the support even if I'm not around much.

 

Base:  Lex Cosmetics Yes! + Ninja Polish He Went To Jarred

ncLA Full Bloom nail wraps + Old Navy Purple Flourish

I haven't been to Old Navy in months but I stopped by to get a few cardigans, which are wardrobe staples for me!  I'm on a big mint kick right now and I was able to find a perfect mint green cardigan, among other things.  While waiting at the register I saw this cute bottle of nail polish and thought the color was pretty.  I noticed it had some weird discoloration but I figured I could shake it up and it would be fine.  Little did I know that the color inside was much different than the color that appeared in the bottle!  I was a little disappointed because I was looking for a lighter shade of purple. 

 

That same day my ncLA order arrived and I couldn't wait to pair my new polish & nail strips together.  I chose two designs from ncLA, Full Bloom and So LA, which I'll be using next month for the Kenny Chesney concert :)  Full Bloom is an online exclusive and I fell in love with it immediately.  Half the strips are black and white striped with cute multicolored flowers and the other half are a vivid teal with the same flowers.  The flower sizes and colors vary depending on the size of the strip so it makes for a fun mani if you use more than just an accent nail like I did.  I've showcased ncLA products before and I can truly say I'm a big fan of their products, especially the nail wraps.  They are the absolute easiest thing to apply and my go-to on busy nights when I need to do my nails quickly.  I've been having many more of those nights lately and these are my saving grace. 

 

I used two coats of Old Navy Purple Flourish for all but my ring fingers and as you can see, the color is a bright lilac that is borderline neon.  It's a really fun color and dries with a slight matte finish.  This photo is with top coat so unfortunately I can't show you what the finish looked like before.  Then I applied a base coat and chose the nail strip that best fit my ring finger.  ncLA nail wraps aren't made out of nail polish so they don't have the same consistency as the Sally Hansen strips, but they are very thin and can rip if you're too rough with them.  I found out the hard way and messed up one by pulling too hard.  I added two coats of top coat to finish off the accent nails and was in bed in about half an hour.  Unfortuantely the Old Navy nail polish chipped minutes after waking up the next morning and looked like a mess by the time the day ended.  It just so happened that I'd be leaving for a quick overnight trip for a friend's wedding the next day and an even busier rest of the weekend so I removed the polish and finished off my mani using the ncLA Full Bloom strips.  I mixed and matched with the teal design and was really pleased with the end result.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of the combination but you can take a look at the stock image here. 

 

Base:  Duri Rejuvacote + Old Navy Purple Flourish + ncLA nail strips in Full Bloom

Why I left Jamberry nails...

I've always been a fan of nail stickers, wraps, decals, whatever you want to call them.  I like them for vacations or busy weeks when I can't paint my nails and need them to still look nice.  I found out about Jamberry and joined as an independent consultant almost immediately.  I've never done direct sales but I knew I could sell something nail related, since it is such a big part of my life.  I'm not a nail tech or a professional in any way, shape or form but I'm a fan of nail polish and nail art.  It's my "thing." 

I signed up as an independent consultant in late August and my Jamberry kit arrived quickly and I had so much fun playing with the decals and making cool combinations with the wraps.  So many people commented on the designs and I did extremely well my first few months.  I sold to family, friends, coworkers, strangers and did many events.  I was on a roll!  My commission checks for my first few months were used entirely for spending money for a Hawaiian vacation in December.  After the holidays things died down but I bought a ton of inventory that was retired and heavily discounted.  The friends who bought from me tried out their product and had issues.  I instructed them how to apply them, showed them how great they looked and tried to encourage them to try again.  Some did, some didn't.  Some still have theirs in the original packaging.  Personally, I could only wear them for a short amount of time but that didn't bother me since I changed my nails regularly.  I wore them on my toes for 4-5 weeks regularly and that in itself was a huge plus!  I'd continue selling them just for my toes since I hated chipped polish on my toes.  I wear flats daily and they tend to rub polish right off, even gel polish!  So Jams were the answer to my pedi problems and I loved them.  I wore my Jamberry wraps in between polish manis and continued to send samples, work my business and try and gain downline team members.  I got a few and they did well at first but it died down quickly.  I learned new tricks to keep my wraps on my nails longer and I ended up applying gel to them and curing it with a lamp.  That's how I could keep them on for 5 days but at the end of those 5 days they looked pretty worn out.  Some consultants suggested using a flat iron to seal the tips or spray them with hairspray first.  The tips were endless and it was getting exhausting trying to explain them to my customers.  Granted, they were much better than polish and that was great but still, I didn't like how they looked on day 5.  Some ladies could wear them for weeks and I was amazed. 

Fast forward... Jamberry announced new material that was thinner and easier to apply.  The adhesive was stronger and everyone was thrilled that the old problems might be over and there was an excited feeling in the air on the Jamberry Facebook pages.  But the underlying problem was many of us stocked up on old inventory when it was discounted heavily around the holidays.  Here I was with TONS of sheets, no one interested in them and nothing to do about it except discount the prices to unbelievably low and try and sell them.  Then they released new designs and I was so excited that I could push them and who wouldn't want unicorns, mustaches, cherries and palm trees on their nails??  Well, not many people is what I found.  I could give samples away for days and still never sell anything.  But that's okay because I knew I couldn't put in the time I needed to make my business thrive so I just took it day by day. Meanwhile there were issues with clear coating lifting, white backing showing and peeling at the tips.  More problems to troubleshoot!

Jamberry also released a Nail Art Studio that allowed customers and consultants to upload personal photos and have them printed.  There were issues almost immediately with copyrights, trademarked images and designs and there was a lot of confusion.  Consultants had a chance to create a design before it launched and I used personal photos from concerts I had attended.  I even included photos of me and celebrities and couldn't wait to wear them.  It took weeks for them to arrive because there were issues with images being printed incorrectly and my sheet barely arrived in time for me to wear them to the ACM Awards.  That particular sheet included pictures of Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean, to name a few, and it didn't get held up in Trademarks at all.  I was told later that the Trademarks team went through more training to better catch sheets that shouldn't make it through. 

This is the sheet that was approved initially before their rules on using celebrity pictures were modified.

 

I never expected to have problems since they were personal photos and I was in some of them with the stars.  Apparently there were problems and more and more people were getting their designs declined by the Jamberry trademarks team.  I had issues with my second set of NAS designs and I went around and around with Jane in Customer Service.  I contacted an attorney friend and asked for advice on how to proceed.  It's a gray area with celebrities and it came down to me only being allowed to create one sheet using photos that I was in.  Luckily I've met more people than I can count and had plenty of designs in my head on what I wanted to create.  But in the meantime, the Jamberry company left a very bad taste in my mouth, especially how the employee at home office treated me and the situation.  She either refused to answer my questions or didn't have the answers to begin with.  When requesting replacements coupon codes for the ones I used, it was like pulling teeth and they acted as if they couldn't figure out how to handle it.  What kind of business was I dealing with here?  I enjoyed their products but refused to give false hopes to people about them.  I was always up front about my personal usage of the product and never lied about the product.  I'd show off my toes and people would ooh and ahh about the prints.  At the end of the day, I was still a consultant trying to sell a product.  I had over a 1000 likes on my business Facebook page, sold tons of items in the beginning, gave out hundreds of samples, had plenty of bloggers linking their readers back to me but I still couldn't make it work.  It didn't help that the growing pains of the company were so obvious and incredibly difficult to work through.  If something wasn't backordered it was misprinted or delayed or lost in transit.  Customer service was working overtime while the directors and big wigs were in Vegas on an incentive trips for high selling consultants.  Customers were frustrated, consultants were doing their best to save face and the ship was sinking.  Samples were arriving defective and potential customers were noticing problems just hours after applying the wrap.  Then replacement samples were sent but never arrived.  I was told a replacement of that would arrive soon but no tracking date was available.  My frustration level was reaching an all-time high with Jamberry.

With any new company I expect growing pains and kept being told that I was getting in on the ground floor of something exciting and to wait it out.  The cattiness of some consultants was mind-blowing and while I had a great team and uplines, it didn't change the fact that the elephant in the room is the company was growing faster than they could handle it and there were more problems happening and not enough time or staff to pick up the slack.  To this day, I don't believe the spectrum or shimmer sheets have even been printed or sold.  People who ordered those items were given refunds and credits and yet they still appear on the "shop" page.  Some decisions that were made by the company left consultants scratching their head asking why?  Tons of money and effort was put in to a marketing campaign and while it got the name out there, it didn't fix the underlying problems.  And it redirected all new customers to the main Jamberry page rather than connecting them with a local consultant.  I've talked to plenty of independent consultants with a variety of direct sales companies and none have as many problems and hiccups with their companies.  They were surprised at how many rules and restrictions Jamberry had on their consultants and I'm even blown away at what they're coming up with now.  Posters and graphics have to be approved by compliance, which removes some of the creativity and freedom.  Certain colors had to be used rather than us using our best judgement in creating a display board.  New logos and branding were introduced and old things were now out of compliance.  They censor the posts on the Jamberry Nails Consultant Facebook page (which is only open to fellow consultants) and send messages if people make too many negative comments or just don't approve the post in the first place.  During all my drama I was removed from said page while I was still an active consultant.  Apparently letting them know that I would be ending my time with Jamberry was the green light they needed to remove me.  I let my intentions be known and that was the reason.  What does it matter since posts are censored anyways?  I had another issue with Nellie in Compliance and she misunderstood a message I sent and terminated me and deactivated my site.  I was able to get the site reactivated but when it did I lost all contact information and past customer orders.  It's been weeks of me contacting Support to try and resolve the isuse.  Without that information I have no way of getting in touch with previous customers to let them know I've left the team.  Jane in Support keeps telling me that it's on the list for IT to fix but I honestly think they're just trying to put it off.  Either it can't be recovered due to their stupid mistake or they just don't want to.  She told me not to take it personal but how am I supposed to react?  The turn-around time for IT to fix something shouldn't be 2+ weeks and if it is, they need to increase the support staff.  It's just one more reason why I question the integrity of the company.  The employees I've dealt with are awful.... rude, condescending women that will lie through their teeth and make you feel like a child.  I'm not a child, I'm an adult who paid money to be a part of a company that I thought would be a great opportunity.  One of the highest level employees, Jennifer, actually told me she was too busy and didn't have time to work with me on a list of items to return.  She said I could still return the inventory for a portion of the paid price and I found out from another employee from Compliance that that was not the case.  I specifically told her they were items I purchased during flash sales and on old material and was told Nellie would let me know how much I could get for them.  Jennifer also told me that those sales were meant for customers and not consultants and I shouldn't have purchased any to begin with.  So, next step is sell the remaining items on eBay without the Jamberry team breathing down my throat.  All in all, it's been a complete shit show for the last few months.

I made the personal decision to end my contract as an independent consultant with the company.  I can no longer put money into inventory and products that don't sell.  I don't have the energy to fight with home office when I have an issue.  I've called on a handful of occasions and had more issues than support.  That's not how it's supposed to work when I'm a consultant for the company!  But it's pretty clear that the minute you open your mouth and say anything contradictory to their beliefs you are on the watch list.  I don't like going around and around in an email chain when customer service can't give me a straight answer over the phone.  This may seem like sour grapes to some and that's fine.  I used to be proud to be a Jamberry nails consultant and was excited to support the company.  I wore the shields, passed out hundreds of samples and really enjoyed it.  I'm still trying to sell off old inventory for $4 and $5 when they sold for $15 retail.  I'm looking to recoup as much money as possible and be done with it.  I'm sorry to see it end this way but I have no other choice.  I will keep some inventory for personal use but I refuse to showcase them on my blog or encourage people to purchase them.  I will go back and edit all posts with Jamberry to remove my "shop" link and tag.  I knew it wouldn't last forever but I rode it out as long as I could.  The things that have happened recently left me discouraged, disappointed and downright mad.  How could I turn around from that and put on a happy face and sell Jamberry any longer?  It just couldn't work out.  So those of you who purchased from me, thank you!  If you have old sheets you want to use, don't hesitate to contact me and I will try and help you!  I found ways to wear mine and get through the hiccups of wearing a thick vinyl decal on my nails.  The new material is much better but I still have some issues with them wrinkling or peeling, no matter how much heat or pressure I use.  If you were interested in Jamberry, try them out.  You may fall in love and see them as a great alternative to nail polish.  But if you open your mouth and say anything that they don't like, you're in for a world of hurt.  I want people to be educated about a company and share my experience.  It started great and went dowhill fast.  I'm entitled to my opinion and I wouldn't be surprised if there were many others like me who may be afraid to speak up.

May Spring Fling Ipsy Bag

I've heard about ipsy a few times now and finally decided to try it out.  I was a Birchbox subscriber for about 6 months and ended up canceling after the product value seemed to drop.  I found a few nice things by trying out Birchbox but wasn't very impressed as time went on.  I was pleased that ipsy sends some full size products and trial sizes, versus one-time use samples.  I knew this month included a full size Zoya nail polish so it was worth it for that alone in my mind since it was only one of many products.  I signed up on the 14th of May and my bag arrived on Friday, May 31.  I didn't get a shipment confirmation and contacted customer service regarding the matter.  They were prompt to respond and let me know it was in transit and low and behold, sitting in my mailbox when I got home.  Overall, I was very pleased with my first ipsy bag.  If they continue to be this good then I will remain a member.  Below is a rundown of the products I received and the price of the item.

• Mirabella Colour Sheers lipstick in Daydream - no price
• Full size Zoya nail polish in Gei Gei from Lovely Collection - retail $8
• Full size Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia perfume rollerball - retail $12
• Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel - Full size is $22 and mini size is $10 (with tweezers) on Sephora.com
• Orange, teal & blue chevron ipsy makeup bag - no price
• Yaby travel concealer in buff - no price

Left: swatch of yaby concealer and right: swatch of Mirabella lipstick

The montly subscription costs $10 and the value of the products exceeds well over $20.  I am excited about Zoya Gei Gei because I'm such a fan of pink nail polish and I don't own that one yet.  I love rollerball perfumes to toss in my purse, desk at work, glove compartment in my car and in my travel bag so I can't get enough of them.  Luckily this is a nice scent that I will definitely use in the future.  It has a strong gardenia scent but with a hint of citrus and I like it after wearing it for a bit.  The Mirabella lip stick is a perfect size lipstick and I'm very pleased with the color.  It is a sheer pinky nude color that I am always drawn to so I envision myself wearing it often.  Update on the Mirabella lipstick:  I wore it for the last two days and keep wiping it off after 20 minutes of wear.  I checked the packaging and nowhere does it say it has SPF in it but I'm certain it does.  I am extremely sensitive to the smell and taste of SPF in lip products and have wasted so much money on them over the years.  So, needless to say this lipstick went directly into the trash.  Bummer :(  I haven't used a brow gel in awhile so I look forward to trying this brand.  I know Anastasia is the eye brown queen but I've never tried her products before.  I'm such a sucker for mini size beauty items so this will be a travel bag staple for sure.  The beauty product that I am "eh" about is the Yaby concealer.  It is such a small size and in a cheap plastic holder rather than self-contained on its own so it could be slightly messy.  The color is very light for my skintone so it may only be beneficial for highlighting the corners of my eyes or on dark spots but it may not be used often.  Lastly, the ipsy makeup bag!  I love the color combination and the chevron print.  It seems a bit cheaply made but that's okay with me.  I have tons of these size makeup bags and continue to buy them.  I use them ALL THE TIME for everything from beauty products, jewelry, electronic cables, etc.  At any given time my purse is full of small makeup bags like this so everything is organized.

I am looking forward to future ipsy bags and encourage everyone to check them out if you have been looking for a new monthly beauty subscription that doesn't break the bank!  If you're interested in signing up, please click here.

I'm still here!

Life is crazy and although my nails are done most of the time, they're not blog worthy.  I usually do them quickly in the evening and wake up with sheet marks and go about my business for the next few weeks.  I'm hoping to get a little swatching done tonight but laundry & packing for a friend's bachelorette party may get in the way of that.  Plus I'm in a little bit of a polish funk right now so we'll see.  I do have a draft post in the works regarding Jamberry nails and why I will be leaving the team but I have to tie up a few loose ends before posting it.  Thanks for sticking around during my little hiatus!

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Kiss

This is the last of my draft posts so I guess it's time to swatch!  I was so excited about the new Mermaid themed Deborah Lippmann polishes that recently came out.  The original, Mermaid's Dream, is one of my all-time favorite polishes and I've worn it numerous times since last year.  It's unusual for me to wear a color more than once, unless it's a base color like black or white.  The new Mermaid themed polishes are similar to the original but in different color combinations.  Today I have Mermaid's Kiss, whcih is a light rosy pink with a strong gold shimmer and bright magenta and light pink glitters.  My photos show two coats of color with two coats of top coat.  It does have a textured look to it, even with top coat.  I guess it's just the combination of glitter and shimmer that gives it that look.  I've used two of the new polishes so far and I loved them both!  They're shimmery, glittery, bright and just so dreamy.  Mermaid's Kiss has a really dainty and girly look that is very work appropriate.  But then again, I wear just about anything to work so everything is appropriate for me!  I ordered mine directly from Deborah Lippmann but I heard they're available at high end department stores too.  Although I love all the new Mermaid polishes, the original Mermaid's Dream is still my favorite! 

 

Base:  Essie Feed Me

Color:  Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Kiss