Holo Taco 2025 Mini Advent Calendar Review- Look At

Hello everyone! Today on the blog we will be taking a look at the recent release from Holo Taco for the Holiday's, their first advent calendar. This calendar has eight mini polishes and four nail accessories. In this post I will be showing what is inside this calendar. As for the eight polishes in this collection, I will just be showing them in the bottles for this post, later I will do a full review and swatches on my nails as always. 

Lastly unfortunately this collection sold out very quickly, the day of launch it was all ready gone, I am unsure if Cristine/ Holo Taco will be re-releasing this collection, I have a feeling that they will not be re- releasing. I still wanted to do a review/ take a look at this collection. 

Here is the outside of the collection box.

The back of the collection box.

The Inside of the collection box

Most of the calendar looks like on the inside

Holo Taco could not fit number six in with the other days, they put number six on the lid of the box. 

Let's take a closer look at what is inside this Advent Calendar. Everything in this Advent Calendar is limited edition and can only be found in this collection. 

For Day 1 we have a black scattered holographic glass nail fie. This is a full size item, that has a grit to it on both sides. Glass files are said to be more gentle on the nails and they last a very long time/ forever. I do have a glass nail file from Sally Hansen that I have had for years and it is still is perfectly fine. Holo Taco does have glass nail files on the website, this file is suppose to limited because of the color. 

 

Day 2 we have a mini nail polish Silent Night this is royal navy crelly polish. 

Day 3 a mini polish called Gold Scattered Holo Taco this is a clear topper with gold scattered holo glitter in it. 

Day 4 a mini polish called Call Me Vixen this is a shimmery cranberry jelly, that also has scattered holo glitter in it. 

Day 5 a mini polish called In A Flurry this is pale blue frosted metal that has scattered holo glitter in it. 

Day 6 we have a nail sticker sheet, there is three sheets in the small envelope. There are both small and large stickers on these sheets. I have not tried the stickers yet so I can't say if they stick well or not. Cristine had said on her Youtube channel the best way to use these is to first let your nail dry completely, with twisters apply the sticker, then top coat the nails. 

Day 7 is a clean up brush, this is another full size item. The brush is light weight and the small bristles are made of nylon. This is another item that is available on the website just in another color a black and multi chrome colored. I also have not used this brush yet, I am unsure how well it works. I love more of an angled brush, so we shall see. 

Day 8 is a mini hand lotion 1 FLOZ/ 30mL. This lotion is peppermint scented with Jojoba oil in it. The scent is very light and it seems like a nice lotion that will keep your hand moisturized. At first I was unsure about the peppermint scent, it seems like it is very light and will not be strong so this is a plus, at lest for me.

That is the last of the accessories, now on to the mini polishes. 

Day 9 is Pirouette Pink this is a light pink crushed holo polish. 

Day 10 Wreath Havoc Taco this is a multi chrome foil flake topper.

Day 11 Ice Angel is an icy ivory linear holo polish. 

Lastly Day 12 Diamond Dash Taco this is a holographic glitter topper that has different shape holo glitter in it such as diamond, and large and small hexagon glitter pieces. 

As stated above this collection unfortunately sold out to fast, it still is on the Holo Taco website though so who knows? The price was $199 USD for the collection. Here is the link to the website just in case and if your would like to take a another look at the collection holo-taco-mini-advent-calendar

In conclusion do I think this collection was worth it and do I like this collection? I do really like the look and idea of this collection, all of the Holo Taco collection boxes are always very nice and well thought out. As of typing this blog I have only wore three of the eight polishes and I do like the ones that I have worn, the other polishes do look very pretty and I am sure I will enjoy them as well. 

As for colors Cristine and said in her video that she was not going for the more traditional Christmas colors like red, green and gold. Which I think was just fine, I do feel that this collection does still have a holiday feel to it. 

Do I feel like this collection was worth $199 plus tax? This collection was kind of pricey for what it is, I do understand that this is a lot that goes into making an Indie brand polish and Holo Taco has always been more of a pricey brand. I always say that if the polish is more unique then I will pay more for it. Plus the collection boxes are always a nice touch to the collection as a whole. 

Well this post is getting kind of long, we will end this off right here and as stated above I will be doing another post showing all of the polishes on my nails and give my thoughts on the polishes.

Hope all of you enjoyed this post! Happy Holo/ Holiday day! 

See you next time for more nail fun! 

Hand and Nail Care 2025

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to do a up to date hand and nail care blog post. It has been years since I did an update and there has been some changes in the hand and nail care that I have been using. I thought it would be a great time to do this seeing how the winter/ cold months are here and that is when we all get dry cracked hands and no one wants that. 

Above is an over view of the products that I use, it really is not that much now day I just like to keep it simple, kind of other then using two different cuticle oils and balms. 

Let's take a closer look at each item and some details. 

First we will start off with an oldie but a goodie, or a classic. The CND Solar Oil I have been using this for many years I think since 2017. When I was in nail tech school my teacher told me about this cuticle oil, that it is very good, it will keep your nails from peeling, and keep your cuticles nice and moisturized. When I first started using this I do agree that my nail did not peel at all, then over the years for some reason they stated to peel, just a little at the tips of the nails again. 

I still use cuticle oil twice a day in the morning and at night on the cuticles and under the nails, and on the weekend sometimes for a little extra moisture I use cuticle oil three time, work tend to dry out my hand, so on the weekend I try to give them a little more TLC. 

One of the main ingredients is Jojoba Oil and Sweet Almond oil (shown in the photo above) which is suppose to be good for keeping your nails/ cuticles moisturized.

CND Solar Oil Ulta for $15.25 USD for 0.5Oz  

Next we have another cuticle oil that I have been trying out this year (I started to try this one back in February.) Using two cuticle is not necessary, I just use two because I wanted to give this one a try. As you can see from the photo above this is a Hawaiian brand that was really the main reason I wanted to give this a try. 

This cuticle oil is has very simple ingredients Jojoba, two Hawaiian oils; Kukui Nut and Mono'i Oil, along with Vitamin E oil. This also in my option is more of a dryer oil then CND's. This oil does moisturize will and also has no scent (my oil had no scent, the website says it is suppose to, maybe they forgot that in the one I got?)

As stared above I have been trying this cuticle oil since February, I do like it but I don't love it as much and CND Solar Oil. I was kind of thinking and hoping that the Kapa Nui oil had a Hawaiian scent to it, but the bottle I have has no smell to it. I am unsure if I would repurchase this cuticle oil or just stick to my beloved CND Solar Oil.

Kapa Nui 100-organic-cuticle-oil Kapa Nui.com for $13.50 or $16.00 USD for 0.5Oz

Just a side note I do really like the flat brush that it comes with it makes it easy to get under the nails. 

Third we have another cuticle item the Unicorn Magic- Lemon Deluxe Cuticle Rescue. If you have been following/ reading this blog for some time you will know this the trials and tribulations 
that I have had with finding a replacement for my beloved Nail Butter (me being overly dramatic) and after that long journey, I can say I think I found a cuticle balm that I love again.

Unicorn Magic- Lemon Deluxe Cuticle Rescue has a very similar texture to Nail Butter a very whipped texture it is lemon scented, on the website their is a lot of scent that you can pick from, I choose to pick that same scent as Nail Butter. 

As for ingredients (shown above) it has a lot of good organic ingredients, the two ingredients that I found were similar where the lanolin (which comes from sheep's wool) and bees wax. If you don't like products with animal by products their is a vegan option as well.

Unicorn Magic is from a small shop on Etsy, which is great to support a small business. The owner Sarah makes a lot of body care that seem to be very good. the two items that I tried I really love and highly recommend this shop! 

Unicorn Magic- Lemon Deluxe Cuticle Rescue They have a few different scents in this formula and sizes. 0.5oz $8.50, 1oz $12.50, and 2oz $20.

I personally this that the 0.5oz is fine, due to the organic ingredients this only has a shelf life of one year and a little goes a long way, you only need a small amount on each nail. At first I did use this two times a day morning and night, then after a month I just use this a night. 

Next we have another alternative the Unicorn Magic- Aloha- Deluxe Vegan Cuticle. This one doesn't have a whipped texture it has more of a balm texture like the Burts Bee's Cuticle Balm, it still has the organic ingredients just not as many as the deluxe one. The Vegan option comes in a lot of different scents and unscented. I just had to pick the Aloha scent, this has a fruity scent to it, actually not what I expected I figured it would have a coconut scent, this still does have a nice scent to it. 

Between the two formulas if your cuticles are very dry I would go with the Deluxe Cuticle Rescue it seems to be the best for that. They are both very good and I would recommend either one. 

I use this one just on the weekends as a second scent option and once again to give it a try, you do not need both.  

Unicorn Magic- deluxe-vegan-cuticle-balm They have a lot of different scents in the formula. Same price and sizes as the deluxe, this one has a 4oz option for $26.

Now on to the lotions for the hands, we have the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing body lotion. This is a very basic body lotion that I love to use on my hands. It has prebiotic oats that are good for moisturizing the skin. I think this lotion is a little thick and sticky, which I don't mind on the hand I just don't care for it on the body. I use this lotion year round on my hand in the morning and I feel like it does a good job with helping your hand not be dry. Also with this being fragrance free and have the oats in it I think this is great for sensitive skin, like mine. 

You can find this at any store that sells Aveeno, I got this at Target. 

Lastly for the hands we have a winter staple the Aveeno Baby Balm. I have been using this for a some years now and I feel like this is a must if your hands are very dry in the winter. This is a very thick nighttime balm that is a little greasy but that is ok because you put this on at night. This is great for people with sensitive skin because it is meant for babies, really anyone can use this balm it doesn't matter. 

You can find this anywhere that sells Aveeno. I got this size at Walmart.  

This last item is just an extra item that I only use the weekends after I take off my nail polish and I would say is not a must the Dove Hot Cocoa Swirl Body Scrub. I have been using different kind of scrubs on my hands for years and due to my skin being very sensitive more so then ever, I came across this scent last year and I wanted to give it a try. This scrub smells so good like chocolate, it is a very gentle scrub, and on the label says that 1/4 moisturizing cream. 

As stated above I don't think this is a must use item just and extra thing to do once a week. I do feel like the Dove Hot Cocoa Swirl Body Scrub has made a difference in the softness of my hands. 

As of doing this post the Hot Cocoa Swirl scent is available at Target, this is a seasonal scent so you can only find this around Christmas time.  

Dove Hot Cocoa Swirl Body Scrub Target for $7.99.

Well this has been a long post, I hope it has been informative and will help you with your dry hands and cuticle this winter and beyond.

See you next time for more nail fun! 

Autumn Colors- Fall Nail Design

Hello everyone! Today on the blog we will be creating a very simple fall nail design, with a fall colored gradient and some black colored leaves and branches, a long with a touch of gold glitter. 

Here are the polishes and nail art tools used to create this fall nail design-

Top and base coat- CND Stickey Base Coat and CND Super Shiney Top Coat.

Polishes- Orly- Melting Point- Erupt To No Good, OPI Lisbon- Now Museum Now You Don't, and Holo Taco- 1st Anniversary- Gold Flakie. 

Acyclic paint- Black 

Other- Water for cleaning nail art brushes, makeup sponge for gradients, and liquid latex for easy clean up around the nails.

Apply a top coat to clean dry nails, let that dry.

Polish all of the nails with a shimmer orange (Orly- Erupt To No Good.)

Let that dry. 

Fall Colored Gradient:

First we will start off with a gradient on all of the nails and we will also be doing nail art on all of the nails as well. 

First we need to apply a liquid around the fingers to help with clean up and to make doing gradients much easier. 

For the gradient part take a makeup sponge and polish a brick red polish on the sponge (OPI- Now Museum Now You Don't) and slightly over lapping the polish with the same color that we used as our base color the shimmer orange (Orly- Erupt To No Good.) The brick red should be near the tips of the nails.

Then dab the sponge on to each nail, you will need to repeat this step at least three times to be opaque.  

Once you have finished your gradient peel off your liquid latex with some tweezers. 

For an added touch polish a gold flakie polish over the nails, apply one coat for a subtle gold sparkle. 

Leaves and Branches Design on all of the Nails: 

On all of the nails we will be creating a simple nail design of leaves and branches. Take a thin striper brush with black paint on it and staring near the cuticle, on a corner of the nail, make a long straight line, on the end of the long line that you just made make a leaf shape, then on each side of the long line make a few shorter line and make a leaf shape at the end of those lines. 

On most of the nails I made four of these, also on some of the nails I just made a leaf shape. On almost all of the nails I created two of these design, the only nail that I did one is the pinky nail. 

Once your design is fall ready apply a top coat to seal in your design and add a nice shine to your nails, along with helping them last. 

Hope all of you enjoyed this simple fall nail design and are having a good fall!

Here is the practice version.

See you next time for more nail fun!