100 Things (11-15)

I missed doing this on Monday... I'm sorry I've been a little bit of a slacker lately when it comes to the blog. I had a rough, rough week and had a lot on my mind. Hopefully next week will be a better week for blogging!

Philosophy Release Me Eye Makeup Remover

This is the first eye makeup remover I ever tried. Now, at this point in my life, I've tried a total of two. I used to just use olive oil and that seemed to work fine but let's explore the world of Philosophy again...

Jack Black Lip Balm

I'm almost done with this tube of Jack Black and I have to say, I've kind of gone up and back with it. Do I like this? Do I love it? Is this the lip balm for me?

Hey, a lip balm can raise a lot of questions!

But then this past weekend I was outside in the wind a lot (I'm talking like eight hours a day each day) and I had my JB with me and I can't complain one bit. It protected my lips and I only had to re-apply about once throughout the day. Right now my lips are soft and carefree and I have to give thanks to Jack.

Link Love: Some Recent Favorites

I'm copping out on a blog post a little today but it is the weekend and I'm going to give myself the pass. Here are some *hand picked* favorite blog posts that I've come across recently. I like to do posts like this every now and then to spotlight things from the beauty blogging world that I love. I read a lot of blogs and am very happy to share these great posts with you...

• Chloe always does immaculate, beautiful manicures and this is one of my favorites that she did sort of recently. Her mix of matte and shine and black and color is gorgeous here!

• Lipgloss Love Affair looks at green tea products--which is interesting in itself--but her post also includes a very refreshing sounding green tea mist recipe that's very easy to make!

• The Nailasaurus shows us a very cute and clean looking twist on a french manicure.

• Enamel Girl shows off one of her Catherine Arley polishes with a very sophisticated looking Konad job. Love the colors, love the design, LOVE Catherine Arley polishes--I must get some!

• This next one is awesome in my opinion... Over at Killer Colours, she re-did a Marilyn Manson look and it really caught my attention because I love Manson, I love his crazy makeup and I love a gorgeous re-creation. 

• Give a look at this gorgeous and interesting universe manicure over at Big Lights, Big Color.

• I'm a big fan of the makeup looks from Glitter is My Crack but this one blew me away--it's a glammy, 50s-ish film kind of look with my favorite color (green!) and a gorgeous red lip. A look definitely worth stealing! This one is going in my looks to try folder.

• Nihrida showcases a beautiful colored nail polish that is pretty enough (in my eyes) to make this list on its own but follows it up with a matching eye that is to die for!

• Over at Makeup By Celly, she shows us how to personalize our brush handles! Her designs are really cute and really well done... Go have a look and see if it's a crafty move you'd like to make!

That's what I have for you today... Enjoy! And let me know if you found any new favorites!

Just a reminder to go check out my giveaway if you haven't already, it ends April 12.

Jesse's Girl "Glee" Nail Color

I tried my first Jesse's Girl polish yesterday and I'm in love. I went with "Glee"--a teal glitter that's gorgeous  with an equally gorgeous formula. It covered well enough with one coat--I went with two though for good measure. I thought it was going to take several coats to cover but two did very nicely and one does a nice sheerer (but not sheer) layer that looks just as nice.

Opi Fall 2011 "Touring America" Collection

Opi tweeted about their upcoming fall collection and it's so pretty I wanted to share it... Loving the darker colors AND the pinks... An interesting mix of color for sure.

The color names are: Uh Oh, Roll Down The Window, Honk If You Love OPI, A Taupe The Space Needle, French Quarter For Your Thoughts, Get In The Expresso Lane, Road House Blues

Suzi Takes The Wheel, I Brake For Manicures, Are We There Yet?, Color To Dine For, I Eat Mainly Lobster, and My Address is Hollywood.

I need to say that I hate the name "Uh Oh, Roll Down the Window" bur love the color... I also really like Get in the Expresso Lane, Suzi Takes the Wheel, Are We There Yet? and I Eat Mainly Lobster. (That last name I like a lot, so I guess it makes up for that other one haha.)

Any of them catching your eye?

(Source 2)

Forever 21 Love & Beauty Nail Polish #9126

I picked up a few nail polishes from Forever 21. The color names are only on the wrapper and once you take that off, who knows. This one is number 9126 and it's a light, light blue with a very subtle dark blue shimmer.

Two New Nars Primers

Nars has just released two new primers... A pore refining primer and a multi-protection prime with spf.

Let's take a quick look...

Nars Pore Refining Primer

This oil-free primer instantly refines the look of pores, regulates shine and mattifies the skin to create an immaculate canvas. Mineral Powders manage oil in the t-zone and other shine-prone areas while blurring the look of pores, fine lines and wrinkles, setting the stage for a velvety-matte, makeup-ready finish.


Pure Lentil Seed Extract diminishes the appearance of dilated pores over time for a more refined appearance to create a soft, smooth, even surface, helping makeup glide on effortlessly and last. Natural Bisabolol and Butterbur Root Extract calm and soothe the skin. A cocktail of vitamins A, C and E help protect the skin from free radical damage. Ultralight and cool to the touch, this gel formula keeps a reservoir of water on tap, helping skin stay fresh and hydrated throughout the day.


Available from Narscosmetics.com for $32

Body Shop Eyeshadows

I picked up four Body Shop eyeshadows the other day and wanted to swatch them for you. I was surprised at the texture--really almost creamy from a powder shadow. They are richly pigmented and I didn't have to work hard to get the swatches to look good...

A Mall Haul

I went on a spontaneous trip to the mall yesterday because my sister needed to get her husband some new shoes and I agreed to tag along. Since I'm temporarily off my no-buy, I got a few things...

Clothes & headband from Forever 21....

Sweater & top were on clearance ($8.99) and

the skirt was a mere 7 bucks and I need more skirts/dresses.

100 Things (6-10)

I decided to play along with the 100 things posts that I've seen several bloggers do. I'm going to do 5 things per week that make me happy and this will become a Five by Five staple until I've reached 100. I think most people do ten per week but I wanted to do five.

Here are my five for this week...

Bare Essentials Pure Transformation Night Treatment

Pure Transformation Night Treatment in "Light"

An overnight mineral treament. Interesting?

Makes me think: Makeup you can wear to bed. Which makes me wonder--looking prettier as I sleep? Totally appealing in a very shallow way! Although, that's not what Sephora seems to focus on about the product anyway so let's see what they do have to actually say...

Sandals!

As the weather gets warmer, I start to think about flip-flops and sandals. I love wearing them in the spring and summer and even into the fall months. I decided to do a little online window shopping and here are some of my favorites...

Victoria Sandal by Cocobelle

$106 at Endless.com

Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Color in "Silver Sweep"

I picked up this polish just the other day. I'm not sure if it's a new one or not but it was on display with the new Sally Hansens (the ones I'm sure are new). This one is a metallic silver. It's not a forgiving polish as far as mistakes go---they are super noticeable but the formula was nice and smooth, not gloopy and went on very nicely. It dried fast and covered completely in ONE COAT. Always a plus.

I did get a chip on my right index finger shortly after they were dry, however.

Ah hell... Anyway, have a look at the swatches...

New Barry M Instant Nail Effects Colors

I know Barry M isn't sold in the U.S. but it's one of my favorite polishes just based on colors and application. They now have three new crackle colors available: Pink Fizz, Blue Print and White Frost (in addition to the black crackle that they already have).

These guys go for £3.99 (which is $6.47) per bottle and you can get them at the Barry M website, they ship to "most countries."


How do you guys feel about the crackle trend? Sick of it? Loving it? I have yet to buy any crackle polish...

Lush Lemony Flutter

Let me start off by saying I really like Lush's Lemony Flutter cuticle butter. I also like how that rhymes. I love the kind of not-too-super sweet lemon scent but I might be alone on that. My sister smelled it and said she "wasn't thrilled with it" but also that she doesn't hate it. My mom said she liked it a lot but she tends to like everything... So take that with a grain of salt.

The tub says "Repair dry cuticles, dry elbows, toes and heels with our lemony butter."

I don't have dry skin because I'm a certified oil factory but I do like it for cuticles. I try to remember/make myself rub a little bit of this onto my cuticles before I go to bed or after I get out of the shower or before a manicure--basically whenever I think of it.

It softens my cuticles without being oily and it absorbs quickly so I'm not left waiting a long time for it to sink to the skin around my nails.

Basically it's a definite win for me... I like when I find Lush products that I really like because Lush is a company that I want to LOVE but don't tend to be blown away by very often.

I'd say get a sniff next time you're at Lush and if you like the scent, it's worth it. You only need a little bit so I know this little tub will last me a while. It might be considered a little pricy though and other, cheaper alternatives might be preferred for that reason.

You can get it at Lush.com for $14.95. (For 1.5oz).

Lush Easter 2011

Lush is coming out with some new bath time treats for Easter... They aren't available on the site yet but should be soon.

Happy Easter Gift

Awake Make-Up Remover for Eyes & Lips (And a Bit About Parabens)

I scooped up this make-up remover simply because it was highly rated at beauty.com. I don't know if that carries any weight what so ever but at the time, it seemed like a good enough reason.

Well.

It wasn't a good enough reason, as it turns out.

b right Benefit Skin Care Products

Benefit has a few new skin care products to offer us that claim to cleanse, moisturize and leave you that lit from within look.

Let's see what they have to offer...

Foamingly Clean Face Wash

Benefit says: There's clean & there's really clean. This 1-step facial wash effectively cleanses the skin & removes makeup & impurities with a soft, gentle lather. Formulated for all skin types.

Price: $21

100 Things

I decided to play along with the 100 things posts that I've seen several bloggers do. I'm going to do 5 things per week that make me happy and this will become a Five by Five staple until I've reached 100. I think most people do ten per week but I wanted to do five.

Here are my five for this week...

Umberto Dry Shampoo

I broke my no-buy when I did a little haul at Target. I found this dry shampoo and since I've been really wanting to try any kind of dry shampoo, I grabbed it up for $8.99.

It was a good day to try this out because I had skipped washing my hair last night and I can't really go two full days without washing my hair--too oily--so I had a bit of an oily mess going on on the top of my head and my bangs.

Revlon "Pink Freeze" Nail Enamel

Today I'm showing you a Revlon polish called "Pink Freeze." Now, in the past, I've had really bad luck with Revlon polishes with chipping and application. When I come across a Revlon polish in my collection I kind of think "ugh" but I want to give it a try anyway because it's there. I guess at one point I went a little nuts buying Revlon polishes before I saw how much they don't like me.

That being said--this one is different! It went on beautifully, it covered in ONE COAT and it dried in a very timely fashion. No chips. After the first day there was a bit of tip wear but nothing major. I'm happily impressed.

Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream

My first thoughts when I sat down to write this was: the world is probably ending and now I'm going to review this skin cream. Hey, we need to be moisturized as we go down, right?

I've been using Yu-Be as a cuticle cream for several weeks now. I'm switching up and back between this and Lush's Lemony Flutter (review to come).

The tube says:

• Concentrated glycerin moisturizer helps hydrate, soothe and smooth rough, dry skin and treat split cuticles, chapped lips, cracked heels, calluses and burns.
• Yu-Be is safe and effective for the whole family on all dry skin areas of the body including the face.
• Non-greasy formula absorbs instantly and stays locked in for hours.

Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover

I picked up Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover because it was cheap. It's under 5 bucks at most drug stores or beauty supply shops. It's cheap but it works great. It says on the bottle that it "dissolves dry cuticles in 15 seconds."

It comes in a small plastic blue bottle and you squeeze out the product (more like squirt out the product but I didn't want to say 'squirt out' and yet now I've said it twice). Anyway, sorry, you squeeze out the product onto your cuticle and I just wait about 15-20 seconds and then push back my cuticles with manicure sticks. The dry cuticle comes free with the solution as gloopy debris which you easily can clean up/wipe away with a towel.

Deborah Lippmann Stripper Nail Polish Remover

I kept putting off writing this review because I wanted to like this product...

... But...

Deborah Lippmann's Stripper nail polish remover goes for about $18 a bottle first of all and that's an insane price to pay for nail polish remover (and yet I still paid it).

Diva Cup!

Diva Cup

If you don't want to read about periods and all that good stuff don't read on. I don't have a problem discussing mine and I will do so in this post.

Thanks to Twitter, I know that it's International Women's Day. It's also that time of the month for me. I considered these two facts good enough reasoning for a blog post to rave about menstrual cups. Ever since I bought my Diva Cup about four years ago now, I feel like I've been a walking, talking advertisement for anyone who shows the slightest bit of interest.

First of all, just in case you don't know what a menstrual cup is, it is an alternative to tampons and pads. The one I have is pictured here but they come in similar styles from other brands and also come in disposable form. Although, the disposable ones defeat any green purpose you might be going for with the cup. Since Diva Cups are reusable, there's no waste and that was one major selling point for me. I'm not incredibly earth friendly at all times but I do like when there's a convenient green alternative to a more wasteful practice.

Is anyone still with me at this point? I hope so.

OPI "Gargantuan Green Grape" Nail Lacquer

I had a hell of a time with this color. Usually I'm very happy with OPI polishes but "Gargantuan Green Grape" was a pain in the ass.

First coat was streaky and horrible looking--okay, fine. Then on some nails this continued through second and third coats and I kinda of had to glob it on in some areas and then attempt to even it out to get full coverage. Not fun.

Korres on Hautelook

Korres is on HauteLook (until 3/9/11)

I like Korres and I've heard tons of good things about the Korres products I've never tried and lots of stuff is on sale on HauteLook right now!

Kits, makeup, masks, creams, body butters and more are available at greatly discounted prices.

If you don't have a HauteLook account, please use my invitation and start saving now!

Tagged: Handwritten

I found this tagged post idea at Makeup Zombie. I like the handwritten aspect so I decided to steal it and do it myself.

What is your name and your blog?

What's your blog URL?

Write: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

Favorite quote?

Favorite song?

Favorite band/singer?

Say anything you want.

Pass this along to...

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick Giveaway!

MAC Sheen Supreme Giveaway!

I'm giving away three of the new MAC Sheen Supreme Lipsticks in "New Temptation," "Look at Her!" and "Ultra Darling."

China Glaze "Peace on Earth" Nail Lacquer

This is my kind of polish. I love love love this shade and I'm so glad I scooped it up. Peace on Earth is part of the China Glaze Holiday 2010 collection.

I unfortunately had to cut all of my nails down after I tore both of my index finger nails. It was pretty disappointing, really. I had these babies growing for at least two months without any major catastrophes. Sigh!

Hourglass Solar Tan Primer

I picked up Hourglass' Solar Tan Primer because I couldn't find any of the regular primer. I'm now on my second bottle of Solar Tan because a) it's got what I need in a primer and b) it doesn't actually seem to fake tan me so that's good. Even though it's supposed to, I'd rather it didn't so I'm happy with the lack of results in that category.

Hourglass says: Innovative, patent pending primer formulated with DHA, Vitamin A and E, and glycerin to moisturize the skin and create a luminous bronze glow. 

Let's talk packaging. It comes in a sturdy glass bottle with pump to disperse the primer. It looks sleek and it's semi-transparent so you can see how much product you have left. It lasts quite a long time and you only need at the most one full pump of product for each use.


It does have that slippery primer feel but once you get it on it doesn't feel like there's anything on your face--no oiliness, no heaviness.


It really does help makeup go on smoother and nicer. I use less foundation and concealer when I use this versus using no primer.

Trendspotting: Brooches & Pins

I've been seeing lots of pins/brooches making their way onto blouses, jackets and coats more and more often... It's a trend I think I could get into. I did a little online window shopping and found some of my favorites.

Flower Brooch by Lanvin ($335)

Available at Kirna Zabete

Orly Summer 2011 Pin-Up Collection

Here is a little preview of Orly's new summer collection that will be hitting stores this year.

"Here Comes Trouble" looks lovely! I'm a sucker for green polishes and this one looks so lush and green and grass-like (if grass was sparkly). I also Like Coquette Cutie. 

Any one of these grabbing your eye?

Source

Juicy Couture Retro Floral Coated Canvas Tote

I like some Juicy Couture things a lot. Some of their stuff is my style spot on and this tote is one of those items... So springy and fun; I love the blue and the design. Love the little detail at the bottom...