11.28.2022

NOTD: ZOYA Cafe Creams Fall 2022 Nail Lacquer Collection in Kahula

Two coats of ZOYA Nail Polish in Kahula. Gingerbread Brown Creme.

Another week, another brown beauty to share with all of you lovelies. But seriously...what better way to both welcome December and say au revoir to November than with a yummy gingerbread shade?!

Kahula is a spicy shade that is ever so slightly deeper than her mocha brown baby sis, Biscuit; but identical when it comes to fabulous formula. This one applies beautifully; drying in what feels like mere moments, and staying in place without chips or tipwear for days. This may be one of my new faves for holiday baking events {cookie swap party anyone?}!

xx

Disclaimer: Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans occasionally receives vendor/ brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.
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11.24.2022

ZOYA Cafe Creams Fall 2022 Collection Nail Lacquer Swatches + Review

Did you know that when I first started blogging, I did so under the blog title Cafe Fashionista? With a former moniker like that, it was inevitable that I would feel weak in the knees over ZOYA's Cafe Creams Fall 2022 Collection Nail Lacquer Collection. Ladies, this is a collection that all coffee-loving hearts will swoon over, offering everything from dark roast-inspired shades to caramel iced coffee colors. Bonus: they all work brilliantly for the fall into winter months. Let's dive in to the yummy!

Ophelia is a Blackened Brown Creme. Y'all this color is sending me for spooky season. No joke. Ophelia is a moody blackened brown creme that gives me rich espresso and horror movie vibes. This bad boy is such a dream to work with - we're talking flawless application, and one of the best no chips, no tipwear shades in the history of nail polish. Seriously. If you dig dark, this babe needs to be added to your collection immediately! This is 2 coats.

Bonnie is a Sheer Rose Gold Topper. Can we just take a moment to swoon over how majestic this beauty is?! Bonnie is a luminous sheer rose gold topper that will make you sparkle with each flick of your fingertips. This beauty can be worn alone {a la moi}, or as a topper {how stunning would she look over a mauve or nude for fall?!}. Regardless of how you wear her, she is a standout that will gain you compliments galore with her sparkling persona and long-lasting wear time {5 days for me with 0 chips or tipwear}. If you find sparkle simply irresistible, you need this babe in your life! This is 3 coats.

Remington is a Rosewood Brown Creme. When I say that this shade on the nail, compared to this shade in the bottle, was a surprise, we are talking straight facts. Remington is a cozy sweater type of color that brings Thanksgiving vibes to the table. NGL, I def thought this one was going to be more mauve-y than it actually was; instead, I found that the undertones leaned more reddish plum, which darkened the overall look. Still a pretty shade for the season; but not my fave in the collection. This is 2 coats.

Biscuit is a Milky Brown Mocha Creme. Le sigh...I fell for brown cremes last fall, and this shade is bringing all of those feels back again. Biscuit is a fall on your fingertips type of shade that brings all of the apple cider drinking, pumpkin patch visiting, oversized sweater vibes to your tips. Formula is easy, breezy, beautiful - applying effortlessly, and lasting for days upon days. If you're looking for a shade to get your autumn started, this babe is it! This is 2 coats.

Kahula is a Gingerbread Brown Creme. Another week, another brown beauty to share with all of you lovelies. But seriously...what better way to both welcome December and say au revoir to November than with a yummy gingerbread shade?! Kahula is a spicy shade that is ever so slightly deeper than her mocha brown baby sis, Biscuit; but identical when it comes to fabulous formula. This one applies beautifully; drying in what feels like mere moments, and staying in place without chips or tipwear for days. This may be one of my new faves for holiday baking events {cookie swap party anyone?}! This is 2 coats.

Constance is a Plum Creme. Spotted...at the steps of the Met... With a name like Constance, I couldn't resist the opportunity to give a shoutout to Gossip Girl. #iykyk Constance is a posh plum creme that is absolutely giving me life! This one is positively perfect for fall to winter wear {and everything in between TBH}. Formula for this beauty is every bit as decadent as the color. Bonus: this bad boy earned me loads of compliments from my kinders! Obsessed! This is 2 coats.


AVAILABILITY: ZOYA.

PRICE: $12.00 for each full-size bottle



xx

Disclaimer: Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans occasionally receives vendor/ brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.
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11.21.2022

NOTD: ZOYA Classic Leathers Fall 2022 Nail Lacquer Collection in Ono

Two coats of ZOYA Nail Polish in Ono. Rich Berry Creme.

It's shades like these that are so frequently overlooked in fall nail polish collections in favor of reds, but they are so good.


Ono is a rich berry creme that gives off Old Hollywood vibes mixed with winespiration {pretty sure I made that term up myself tbh}. This one displayed tipwear a little sooner than expected; but overall held up pretty well considering how many kindergarten art projects it survived. Bonus: the littles complimented it over and over again. Perfect for Thanksgiving week. Highly recommend!

xx

Disclaimer: Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans occasionally receives vendor/ brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.
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11.17.2022

BOOK REVIEW: Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain


"It hits me hard how every single one of us—everyone in the whole wide world—is walking around with missing pieces."

Between the cozy yet eerie setting of the bayou of La Cachette, Louisiana, and the promise of both a slow burn and a town dubbed the Psychic Capital of the World, it was 100% impossible for me not to download Ginny Myers Sain's Dark and Shallow Lies when I spotted it on sale - and I don't regret it. At all. Y'all, this book was unputdownable. Like, I literally spent my entire weekend reading it. NGL, there was something about the overall story that left me feeling unfulfilled by the time I turned the last page; but the lyrical writing itself {reminiscent of Tucholke's Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and Garcia and Stohl's Beautiful Creatures} is simply stunning, and a reason to read from beginning to end.

Despite only residing in La Cachette during the summer, sixteen-year-old Grey {Greycie} has always been considered a full-fledged member of the Summer Children - a group of twin flames born within days or months of one another, many of whom harbor paranormal abilities running the gamut from empathic talents to psychic foresight. Though Grey has never come into abilities of her own, she has always had a twin flame in the form of Elora Pellerin.

Inseparable since birth, Grey and Elora shared the type of bond that made it nearly impossible to be far from one another for too long. Six months ago, however, that changed. Elora went missing without a trace. No suspects, no arrests, no sightings...no body. Somehow, in a sea of psychics, no one in La Cachette has a clue as to where Elora has gone - or why she disappeared to begin with. The one thing Grey is sure of, is that Elora, with no rhyme or reason, started pulling away from her the summer before she vanished. The other? Life hasn't been the same since she disappeared.

With her seventeenth birthday on the horizon, Grey, lost since Elora's disappearance, makes the decision to return to La Cachette for the summer. Surrounded by the rest of the Summer Children, including longtime crush {and Elora's stepbrother}, Hart, as well as her grandmother, Honey, Grey is hoping to find the strength to pick up the pieces of her once intact world; but things are different. While Grey finds the charmed community grieving for Elora, it's evident that something is being hidden. Grey is convinced that there is more to Elora's story, and resolves to uncover the truth - only to learn that it's not that simple. Though her abilities have always remained dormant, upon returning to La Cachette, Grey is convinced that she hears Elora whispering to her through the wind and trees - brief murmurings that connect her disappearance to the decade-old horrific murder of two Summer Children; as well as the untimely death of her own mother. Then there's the mysterious stranger with icy blue eyes who claims to have known Elora, and may possibly be Grey's key to unlocking her abilities once and for all.

When I say that this book surprised me, I am not lying. I absolutely could not tear my eyes away from the pages. The slow burn created by the descriptors was just incredible, and still come to mind at the most impromptu moments. That said, I can't say that I loved the characters - any of them {including Grey}; I was more mesmerized by the setting, and the overwhelming sadness found within the lyrical writing that was both haunting yet masterful. This is a story that is wrapped in such incredible atmosphere, that you feel transported directly into the pages. Truth be told, there was a bit more romance than I prefer; but it didn't make me love the story as a whole any less. Though not a sequel to this standalone, I am eager to experience Ginny Myers Sain's writing again, and am excited to get my hands on her latest, Secrets So Deep.


Star Rating: ***


xx
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11.14.2022

NOTD: ZOYA Classic Leathers Fall 2022 Nail Lacquer Collection in Althea

Two coats of ZOYA Nail Polish in Althea. Moss Green Creme.

We need more greens like this bad boy in the polish world. I said what I said.

Althea is a moss green creme that speaks to me on so many levels because I always gravitate towards shades like this in November {no idea why; but I'm here for it}. This stunner gives amazing coverage; but the formula is a little thinner than I'm used to with ZOYA, so make sure you wipe that brush on the lip of the bottle a few times before application. Wear-time is phenomenal, and that inner shine is gorgeous. Loves it!

xx

Disclaimer: Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans occasionally receives vendor/ brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.
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11.10.2022

all night

Free People All Night Faur Fur Jacket in MESA ROSE.

This jacket is a whole mood. Period.

xx
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11.07.2022

NOTD: ZOYA Cafe Creams Fall 2022 Nail Lacquer Collection in Biscuit

Two coats of ZOYA Nail Polish in Biscuit. Milky Brown Mocha Creme.

Le sigh...I fell for brown cremes last fall, and this shade is bringing all of those feels back again.

Biscuit is a fall on your fingertips type of shade that brings all of the apple cider drinking, pumpkin patch visiting, oversized sweater vibes to your tips. Formula is easy, breezy, beautiful - applying effortlessly, and lasting for days upon days. If you're looking for a shade to get your autumn started, this babe is it!

xx

Disclaimer: Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans occasionally receives vendor/ brand sponsorships for mentioning their products and services.
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11.03.2022

BOOK REVIEW: Shady Hollow: A Murder Mystery {A Shady Hollow Mystery} by Juneau Black



I'm not sure if it was the cozy cover, or the promise of an entire mystery starring only a cast of characters consisting of woodland creatures {frogs and foxes and bears, oh my!}; but the lure of Juneau Black's Shady Hollow: A Murder Mystery was simply too strong for me to resist, so of course I downloaded a copy. If Agatha Christie rewrote The Wind in the Willows in her own words, the end result would be Shady Hollow. This is a tale that is sleepy in its pacing, and oftentimes a bit slow to keep one's interest entirely; however, certain characters {ahem, Vera} make up for those faults, weaving a story that is intriguing enough to contemplate reaching for the sequel.

Vera Vixen may be fairly new to quaint Shady Hollow, but she is determined to make a name for herself as an ace reporter for the Shady Hollow Herald. Unfortunately, her beat is mundane as nothing truly juicy really happens within the quiet community...until now. When the body of Otto Sumpf, a taciturn toad, is discovered by one Gladys Honeysuckle, Shady Hollow's resident busybody and gossip columnist, Vera knows that now is her moment - the time to sink her teeth into a mystery of big city proportion. While many believe Otto's death was the result of natural causes, Vera has a hunch that something more sinister is at play. Assigning herself to the case, Vera soon learns that her suspicions are correct: murder has arrived in Shady Hollow.

With the blessing of her editor, BW Stone, a cigar-chomping skunk always on the lookout for a huge headline, Vera begins using the common traits of her species {cunning and slyness} to dig deeper into Otto's mysterious demise, only to ruffle a few feathers of her neighbors, as she uncovers more than one mystery, and comes to the conclusion that Otto's murder was not, in fact, an anomaly - but the start of a possible killing spree wherein many of her neighbors may be marked for death next. Now she's up against time as she puts her head together with Deputy Orville Braun to unearth the killer before he, or she, puts a stop to Vera's investigating for good.

I'm not sure what I expected from this story, nor am I sure of what I left this story having gained; however, I am positive that, barring some slow moments, I truly enjoyed my time spent within the world of Shady Hollow. Though some of the characters lacked dimension, leaving me uninterested in their roles within the tale; others left a large mark on my heart that will not soon be forgotten.

Vera, for one, is lovable from the jump. Her caffeine addiction, and investigative desires are quite relatable for any mystery lover who considers themselves an amateur sleuth. I enjoyed her dialogue alongside Deputy Orville Braun, as I felt that their personalities played off one another quite well. Lefty was another one I loved - despite his penchant for small-time crime; and Sun-Li, the panda with the mysterious past, is someone I hope to learn more about in future installments. Ultimately, it was the presence of Joe's Mug, a nod to Luke's Diner for all you Gilmore Girls fans, that clinched my love for this story. Run by the genial moose, Joe, it became a gathering spot that I myself would love to pop into daily for my caffeine fix!

Though Shady Hollow had its faults; I can honestly say that I am already missing many of the characters, and cannot wait to return to the charming {if slightly murderous} locale of Shady Hollow in book two, Cold Clay {A Shady Hollow Mystery}.


Star Rating: ***1/2


xx
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