Happy Sunday! Welcome to a brand new feature here at Adventures in Polishland called Upcoming Adventures! I usually don’t post on Sundays, but lately I’ve wanted to connect with all of you more. Thus, Upcoming Adventures is here to keep us in touch with one another. At the end of every month, I will write letting you know what you can expect for the month ahead. Today I’ll be chatting about what February will bring, and how I came to begin this new series.
I first got the idea for a monthly blog chat in the middle of January. I was reading a lot, and writing a lot of book reviews because of that. While Adventures in Polishland is still primarily a beauty blog, I’ve been sharing more of my other hobbies with you as well on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays. I like to try out different hobbies all the time, so my blog reflects what’s going on in my own personal life at that moment in time. That’s why you got so many book reviews in January – I’ve been such a bookworm lately! Because of my constantly evolving tastes, my blog is going to look a bit different each month. I hope you’ll always stick around no matter what I’m discussing!
Nonetheless, Upcoming Adventures gives you a preview to the month ahead. In February you can expect more book reviews for the books I read in January. My book reviews are always non-spoiler, so don’t hesitate to read them! You can find all of my past book reviews HERE if you’re looking for your next read.
I also received a shipment of nail art supplies from Born Pretty Store, and have begun testing them out this week. You can expect to see some new nail polish reviews and nail art coming your way, too. I promised I would post about nail polish more often this year and get back to this blog’s roots, so I’m excited to jump right in with Born Pretty Store!
That wraps up my first Upcoming Adventures post! I hope you enjoyed getting a sneak peek at what’s to come at Adventures in Polishland in February. As always, thank you so much for your support. It means so much to me that I can share my life with all of you! Just as a reminder, you can submit requests using THIS form, so if there is a product you want me to review or a post you want to see, that’s where you can let me know. Here’s to a Happy February!
Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You by Kunal Nayyar
Easy (Contours of the Heart #1) by Tammara Webber
Covergirl mascara is always hit or miss for me, so I was a little nervous to try this one. I received the shade Very Black, which is what I wear regularly. The Plumpify blast PRO is designed to give extreme plump and life with a 50x volume claim. I like that there is an actual before and after photograph right on the box!
The formula for me is a bit on the heavy side. This is definitely a wet mascara, and I much prefer dry formulas. Nonetheless, I do get great volume with the Plumpify. My lashes did clump a bit because of the heavy formula, but I am liking the look. I also love that this mascara is hypoallergenic and removes with soap and water. Any time a mascara comes off with a makeup remover wipe I know it’s a good one!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
The Full Exposure Travel Palette is a very compact palette. It comes in sleek black packaging that is about the size of a credit card, just a bit thicker. There are eight shadows inside this palette, and a good size mirror. Four of the shadows are shimmers, and four are mattes. I love that you can do so many different eyeshadow looks with just this one palette!
Here are swatches of the four shimmer shades, from left to right: Chocolate Brown, Soft Gold, Light Tan, and Mid-Tone Slate. I’m not loving the formulas on these shimmer shadows, except for Light Tan which is beautiful. I find the others to be a bit on the chalky side, but I’m hoping once I get below the surface of the shadow they will be more blendable. I’m not too mad about this, though, because I am a huge fan of matte shadows!
Here are the matte shades, from left to right: Matte Warm Chocolate Brown, Soft Matte Mid-Tone Tan, Creamy Matte Beige, and Ashy Dark Brown. I am loving each of these shades! They are so pigmented and blend out really nicely. I recently did an eyeshadow look for the daytime using Creamy Matte Beige and Matte Warm Chocolate Brown and it came out really nice. I can’t wait to use these more!
Here is a look at my color coding for the star jar. I’ll put in a pink star every day that I work out, a purple star for every day that I take my doctor-recommended vitamins, and a yellow star for every pound I lose. I’m hoping to put in at least 100 pink stars and 200 purple stars by the time the year comes to a close. I’m not putting a goal on weight, just so I don’t dwell on it.
I purchased the BROWdrama in the shade 250 Blonde because I have dark blonde hair, and I find anything for brunettes is way too dark for me. The kit comes with a brow wax, brow powder, highlight powder, a double-sided angled brush, and a spoolie brush. I love that you get everything you need for a complete brow look. I would have liked a mini pair of tweezers in the kit, too. That is one benefit that the Milani kit has over this one. That being said, I am very impressed with the quality of this palette. 
Here are swatches of the wax, powder, and highlight. As you can see, the wax is only slightly pigmented. I’ve never used a brow wax before, and I have to say I’m surprised at how much I like it! I apply the wax first, and it does a great job at keeping my brows shaped. I no longer have to use a brow gel! Then I apply the powder, which is the perfect shade for my brows. I’m so glad I finally found a true match! Plus, the powder is great quality. I do not experience any fallout, but it also blends really well. Last but not least is the highlight. This is the one product in the palette I’m not thrilled about because it is a bit on the glittery side. However, it is decent quality and most days I do wear it. I also wanted to mention that I have been using the brushes included in the palette, and they do a great job.
Here is a quick look at what the SinfulShine bottles look like. They are the same as the regular SinfulColors nail polish, but the bottle caps are a chrome finish. Step 1 is on the left, and is the regular nail polish color called Shining Couture. Step 2, on the right, is the SinfulShine Top Coat. Both bottles had the same directions, which were to add two coats.
Shining Couture is a blue nail polish with green, bronze, and gold shimmer. The formula is good, but because it is a jelly formula, it is not opaque with two coats. Nonetheless, I then applied the Top Coat in two layers as well. My first impression of this nail polish was that it had a very strong odor. While I’m no stranger to the nail polish smell, this scent was way over the top. In addition, my manicure took a full hour before it was completely dry. That is much longer than I usually have to wait, so I wasn’t happy about that. The main problem, however, was that the polish began peeling off my nails the day after I applied it. That’s right, my manicure didn’t even last 24 hours!