Nail Friday!

Back to the trusty OPI brand. I went for a neutral color this time. Coney Island Cotton Candy. This is a very soft peach/pink base neutral. I did use 3 coats because it is very sheer. Since it is so sheer , it dries pretty quick.

Beauty Box 5

My first impression was that the packaging was not near as nice as the other 2, but the products made-up for that. The samples were AMAZING!!! Most of the products were from natural or eco-friendly lines. I received a full size brown pencil eye liner, soy nail polish remover pads, self tanner, a soy based cleanser and Weleda Iris day and night cream. The Weleda day cream has been in all 3 boxes and I was very excited about getting another, it is becoming my go to lotion. This one works by filling out a profile, and then they will select your samples at random. I however missed the deadline and did not submit my profile, and got a bunch of different items and they all look great. I tried the eyeliner, which is like most pencils, but stayed throughout the day and was great for under the eye. I will update later on the others.

Aveda Blue Oil

Stressful day, so I am going to unwind and rub the blue oil on my temples and back of the next. I highly recommend.

Birchbox

Here is my second subscription, Birchbox. This one works with them randomly sending you products based on your profile. Their profile questions are more thorough than the others. I have been a member longer to this one. I will have to admit, my 1st box was great. The next two were blah, and the last box was good.

I liked the variety of this box. It has great supergoop sunscreen that will be great for outings with the kids, a cute nail polish color, teas (which I have not tried), a stretch mark cream, and hair powder which works like dry shampoo. I have yet to try most of these.

Beauty Box Subscriptions

I have recently joined 3 beauty box subscriptions; Beauty Army, Birchbox and Beauty Box 5. Each one is between 10-12 dollars. Each month they will either send you a pick of random oversized samples or let you pick your own samples. They determine your samples based off of a beauty profile you submit. The only thing I exclude is anything for oily skin because I am dry. I will review each brand this week. I like these because it give you the ability to try products without paying the big price and they also make great travel sizes.

The first is Beauty Army

As you can see the box is very cute, and packaged nicely. This is my 2nd box. How it works : you are given 9 sample picks every month and you choose 6.

It takes about 10 days to get your box once you have made your selections. You are sent an email as a reminder to make sure you don’t miss your selection time.

Nail Friday!

Busy week, I tested another brand I do not normally use. I tried Revlon, they are known for their dupes on higher end nail polishes. Lilac is the rage this season. This is a cute color, but I did not like it against my skin coloring. The consistency was great. Two coats gave a great opaque color. It wore well too, hardly any chips after 4 days.

Do you have dark circles??

I have found THE miracle product. Laura Mercier under eye perfecter. The color I use is Mauve/Rose. I will admit I was terrified when the make-up artist used this on me. It definitely is a rose color. She used a concealer brush and only applied to the dark areas around my eye. She patted it in and then layered with a concealer. Wow, dark circles gone!! You can layer any concealer over it. I have actually tried a few different concealers with it. You do have to make sure not to use the same concealer brush but as long as the perfecter is patted in first it works. The cost is $22.00. It does come in a pot, so it will last a while. I would also recommend the Secret Brightening Powder to use after you applied the concealer. This will set both products. The powder is also $22.00. I highly recommend getting 1 or both of these products if you suffer from dark circles. The transformation is amazing. I do highly recommend using a good eye cream.

Ridge Filler

My nails are very smooth, but I use a ridge filler as my base coat.  I recommend Essie's ridge filler. This is a great base coat. Use it alone and it gives a great buff look. Layer it underneath any polish and the polish goes on extremely smooth. If you have any imperfections this will fill in so your nail bed looks smooth. I have tried a few other ridge fillers and this is one product I believe that you should invest in if you paint your own nails. I usually will put on a ridge filler and let it dry completely then layer the color.

Nail Friday!

I decided to get festive with this Seafoam/Minty green. This color shade is hot for spring. Pastels in general are big, pinks, greens and purples. I tried this because I have really been loving this shade and wondering how it would look on me. I have seen it quite a bit lately. I chose Sally Hansen X-treme wear in Mint Sorbet. I am usually partial to OPI and Essie brands. I definitely see why. While this shade is pretty and is a dupe for Essie's Mint Candy Apple, it was really hard to manage. The consistency was not the same. Some of the time is would be really thin and others really thick. The brush was not as easy as other brands. The drying time was pretty quick. I had to go with 3 coats to good smooth look, and this was with ridge filler underneath. It was only $2.25, so that is ok, and it is not a color I would wear all the time.

Have $5.00? Get a great lip gloss.

Rimmel London Stay Glossy Lip Gloss. It claims to have 6 hours of wear. So while it does not have 6 hours of wear, it does have a good 3 hours. The glossiness last about half of that time. Even not being able to live up to the hours claim, this gloss is great. It has very little fragrance. It is not sticky at all. The applicator is awesome. The best applicator on a gloss I have come across. The applicator is longer than most and fits to the natural curve of your lip. I absolutely adore this gloss. It has great color ranges, with 24 different colors. You can also test out what the shades will look like on their website, http://www.rimmellondon.com/us/en/products/stay-glossy/

I really think you will love this lip gloss and the price is around $5.00. For that little cost you can buy a few.

Dry Shampoo

It seems like everyone has a dry shampoo now. It took me a while to like using them. I know it is not a great thing to wash your hair every day, but that is me I have to do it. As my hair is growing out, I have decided I hate drying my hair every day. I tried a few of these out. First you really need to get the correct process on how to use these because if not used right, it will not perform well. You want to start off with dry hair. Shake the can very well. Next spray along the root line of your hair. You will want to shake the can occasionally while spraying. Next use your finger as the root just like if you were shampooing your scalp. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then brush out. Here are a few that I have tried.

This is my favorite of the bunch. There is not a heavy smell and works well all day. It is hard to find. I have only seen this at CVS. It does come in a small travel size which is great. Retail for $5.00

This is brand new on the market. I would say this is my 2 favorite. The smell is light but it also adds a bit of shine so the hair does not look dull. Retail $3.25

This is the worst of the group. The smell is horrible, and it lingers all day. I could not get over how bad the smell was. Retail $3.00

This was OK, if you have fine hair this would be great for you. Its main goal is to add volume and give the sexy just out of bed look. Since I have thick hair it is just OK. It has a pleasant scent, but I prefer the top 2 better. Retail is $17.00

This smells like cake batter. Again this is OK, would work better for fine hair. This left very little residue. I think it is over priced it is around $22.00

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

This mask has been on the market a little over a year. This is a peel off mask. You need a good amount of this to insure the mask peels off properly. You can wash away any residue with warm water. It contains Vitamin C this helps brighten skin tone and reduce the look of fine lines. Montmorillonite Clay absorbs excess oil, dirt and toxins from the skin the deep pore cleansing action. Pine Bark Extract, is an antioxidant which conditions the skin and defends from free radical damage. Jojoba Leaf, another antioxidant, combats free radical damage while it nourishes and protects skin to prevent premature aging, and Willowherb, is a anti-irritant this helps to calm skin inflammation and reduce visible redness and irritation. It did sting a little as I out it on my face, but that went away rather quickly. My guess would be the clay caused the tingling sensation. Overall, I would say this mask is great. Every time I use it, my face is brighter the minute I pull it off. This is usually the case with any clay mask, as it exfoliates the dead skin cells. The other is that my pores are cleaner, the blackheads are gone. The cost is $34.00. There are other deep pore cleansing masks, but in my opinion this is by far the best.

This is the mask right after 5 minutes.

Nail Friday-- Toes

It has been so beautiful here in Texas with 75 degree days. Until today it rained and is 48. So to brighten my next few days, I decided to paint my nails a bright pink. OPI's  You're a Pisa of Work. It is such a great pink to go with any skin coloring. Not to mention it is so cheerful to look at on my piggies. Have a great weekend.

Nail Friday!

This shade is from the China Glaze Hunger games collection. Foie Gras. This color is a deep mauve. I think it is more deep taupe. The polish is very thick, so 2 coats is plently. I really liked this color however, it did chip very easily.

Lancôme Génifique Eye

This is a gel-cream for the eyes. It claims to see visibly younger, brighter eyes in just 7 days. Dark circles and signs of fatigue seem to diminish, and the eye area looks fresh and luminous.

This is amazing stuff. I love this eye cream. I could see a difference in that time. This is my absolute go to eye cream. After testing out a few others. I used this for a week and my eyes looked and felt great again. My make-up goes on smooth and the dark circles are faded. Nothing is going to completely get them to go away, but to wake up in the morning and actually looked like I slept is a great feeling.

The price is the only con, it is $60.00, a little high. The cream does last a long time, because you only use a small pea size. I would highly recommend getting this. Your eyes will thank you for it.

Benefit; It's Potent Eye Cream

What cute packaging. The cork top makes me want to pull out a nice pinot nior. The claims on this eye cream are: fades dark circles & helps smooth fine lines for brighter, younger-looking eyes. The cost is $32.00. This is not a good eye cream. The love stops at the packaging and that is it. I used this product for 2 weeks after that I could not handle it anymore. It did not brighten at first use as it claims, and my eyes were very dry after the use. The dryness was the main reason I stopped using it. I would not recommend this product at all. There are many less expensive creams out there that do much more.

AVEENO POSITIVELY AGELESS Lifting and Firming Eye Cream

The claims

• Clinically shown to lift, firm and strengthen skin around the eyes
• Works with your unique skin to lift and firm
• With natural shitake complex ( based off the mushrooms, have a calming effect)
• Helps fight the aging signs of sun damage around the eye area

I love that it comes in a pump. This cream is more of a light weight gel. I liked the way it felt and my make-up laid smoothly over it. I did not notice any firming and it personally was not enough moisture for me. It also did nothing for my dark circles. I used it faithfully for 4 weeks. My make up did go on smoothly and worked more as a primer than eye cream. It was not irritating at all and had no smell. If you have normal skin around your eyes with no concerns for lines or firming, or if you need a sensitive eye cream formula this would not be a bad pick.

Nail Friday!

So I think I will make Friday nail day. Here is a new nail polish from the China Glaze Hunger Game Collection. The collection is called Colours from the Capital. This color is Dress Me Up. There are 12 shades in all. This polish has a great opaque consistency. It does go on a little thick, so the dry time is a tad bit longer. China Glaze polishes usually get great wear. Here is the shade palette below, there are a few I am excited about. Stone Cold is matte, and Luxe and Lush has the glitter effect, much like the Muppets Collection OPI released late last year. Those were much more impressive then the Luxe and Lush. Overall the collection is nice. Over the next week, I will post a couple more from this collection.

Pink Lips

Pink lips are becoming the new Red, especially heading into spring. Yes the red lip will always be timeless, but with winter coming to an end, pink lips are everywhere. I have sampled a few to show anyone can pull off different shades from pale to bright. You will want to pair a pale lip with more color on eyes and a rosy cheek, but the brighter you go ,the less make-up you should wear. Just like with a red lip all that is needed is simple bronzer and mascara.

Below are 3 different shades and types of pink lips.

On the face I have:
Clarins Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer
Jouer Tinted Moisturizer in Golden
Physicians Formula Bronzer
Nars Deep Throat Blush
Hard Candy Lashaholic Mascara

Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Shine in Fushia Fever

MAC Amplified Creme Lipstick in Craving

Stila Lipgloss in Grapefuit