Coming Soon: Cover Girl Smoky Shadow Blast Review

I know you've seen these at the stores or ads for them lately...

Since I first noticed them I've been curious and I'm really glad to get the opportunity to give you my take on them. I think makeup can be intimidating and the easier it is to use, the better. Since I am just getting into the fabulous (yet slightly addictive) world of makeup, I'm excited to try a product that makes the smokey eye achievable for even beginners! Stay tuned to see my review. Until then, check out Cover Girl's website to see more color combos or create your own look using Cover Girl Blast collection products!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Uptemo Plum

 Indoors + Flash (above)

 Outdoors + no flash 

I know SH Insta-Dri polishes are not new, but I had read so many negative reviews on the brush that I just kind of shifted them down on my want list. I mean I saw them when I went into the stores, but if another polish or collection caught my eye, then they would get priority. However that changed when I saw Uptempo Plum on clearance for 2.24 and I figured why not?

Why did I wait so long to try these?! I LOVE THIS BRUSH!! I may be the odd one out, but this brush is perfect to me. I guess it has to do with my nail bed/shape, but it covers the nail almost completely with the first stroke. Love! Plus, the polish dries fast! What more could I want? I am so excited about SH Insta-Dri polish now. I want to go to the store and buy them all! Dont change a thing about these Sally Hansen, okay?

PBB Link Love: 7 Pedicure Polish and Sandal Style Combos to Consider This Spring

Glamour magazine happens to me one of my favorite magazines and I got this blog post in my e-mail. Spring is here and summer is just around the corner and you know what that means...pedicure season is in full effect! Check this link to see more cute pedi-sandal combos like this:

(Image taken from Glamour.com)

7 Pedicure Polish and Sandal Style Combos to Consider this Spring

Spotted: Maybelline Salsa Sun Limited Edition Nail Polish Summer 2010

Woah, that title is a mouthful.

Okay, so I headed to Walgreens today, for a non nail/beauty related purchase and I spotted this display. I am interested in these colors. I hope Walgreens has a sale soon so I can get them for a deal! Maybelline means business when they say limited edition, so keep your eyes peeled for these if you want them. Sorry for the crappy Blackberry pictures, but you know the deal! I was being a blogger-ninja quickly taking pictures hopping the cosmetic associate didnt give me the crazy eye! :-)

What do you think about the Salsa Sun collection?

PS: There's also a correlating makeup collection, with a "unique" (not sure if I like it or not) looking green that I am kicking myself for forgetting to take pictures of! 

EDIT: There is a picture of the makeup display over at Steph's Closet! Check out that funky looking green...

Borghese Hydrati-Nail Moisture Treatment

Lately my nails have been really dry so when I spotted this in Ross, I decided to give it a try. I think this product is discontinued, so in my search for more information on the web, I found it for sale on Beauty Ticket so here's a little info from them:

Mineral rich moisturizer with multi-vitamins restores essential hydration to nails. Helps increase strength and flexibility, so nails bounce back with healthy resilience. Delivers a smoother, more flawless nail surface for beautiful manicures and pedicures.

Olive Leaf Extract, Safflower Oil, Acqua Di Vita® complex and Vitamin E deeply nourish and condition growing nails. Formulated with Micronized Gemstones of Amethyst, Citrine, Tourmaline, Rubiosa and Aquamarine to add brilliance. (.04 oz)

 

Okay, so its a base coat. Believe it or not, this info was not on the packaging. I didn't know how I should use it, but I figured it out reading that. So I will use it  as my base coat for a while and let you know if I see a difference in a later post.

NYC Greenwich Village

Heres one of the polishes I picked up at CVS last week, for a grand total of a dollar. Greenwich Village is a simple pink creme.

I have a little tipwear, I think this picture is after two or three days. But look, it matches the wallet clutch my lovely grandmother got me this past Christmas. I love her! :-)

Annoucement!

Okay, guys I have a non-nail polish related announcement that I'm really excited to share! I got accepted into grad school! I'm so happy. My dreams are becoming closer in reach! The news came at a really good time too. I've got two weeks until I finish my requirements to graduate and I was feeling down to the wire. I mean stress level off the meters! Now that I know I can get accepted into grad school, perhaps I can do whatever else I set out to achieve!  Anything is possible?!

Look what a dollar can get you at CVS!

L to R: NYC Greenwich Village, Times Square

This week at CVS all NYC & Rimmel cosmetics are BOGO free which is great news for polish enthusiasts and makeup lovers alike! To save even more head over to www.redplum.com to print two great coupons. There's one for $1 off any NYC cosmetic product and one for $1 off any Rimmel product. So let me give you an example of potential savings on nail polish!

NYC Cosmetics

Two NYC in a New York Color Minute polishes @ $1.99 apiece

BOGO Free sale at CVS brings your total to $1.99 for both

Use $1 off Red Plum coupon and your grand total is .99 cents + tax!

Rimmel Cosmetics

Two Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Nail Enamel polishes @ 3.99 apiece

BOGO Free sale at CVS brings your total to $3.99 for both

Use $1 off Red Plum coupon and your grand total  is $2.99 + tax!

I just picked up those two NYC polishes and they're not terribly unique but they will make great pedicure colors. Not that I needed them, but I love a great sale! 

So, now that I've told you about these great deals, go out and shop! Let me know what you picked up!

I Tried It: Zebra Striped Nails!

Lately I've been seeing zebra striped nails a lot, so I took to YouTube to find out how to get the look. Using this video tutorial I did my own Zebra nails. I was pleased with my results and it was fairly easy to do!

Here are my supplies:

L to R: Sally Hansen Celeb City, LA Colors Art Deco nail art polish in Black, Orly Sec N Dry, Zoya Armor. 

Note about Orly Sec n Dry: I only used this topcoat on 2 nails because I noticed it was making the black polish I used to make my stripes smear, even though I waited 15 minutes for it to dry! Not sure why, but I switched to Zoya Armor as my topcoat.

The final look:

 Super shiny silver! I really like SH Celeb City.

 Right Hand

For my first try, these are not bad! The thing I like about zebra striped nails is that each nail is not exactly the same. You don't have to be perfect with placing the stripes and ultimately they look better when both hands are done. This look is not that time consuming either. I just did two coats of Celeb City, let that dry and then went to work on the stripes. It only added about an additional 10 mins to my regular routine. 

Do you like animal print nails? Want to try it? Been there, done that? Let me know!

Spotted: Tone Hand & Nail Soap

So I'm wandering around Target today (looking at a ton of stuff I didn't really need!) when I spotted this hand soap. A lot of hand soaps dry out your hands and can be rough on your nails and cuticles. This by soap by Tone actually claims to nourish hands and cuticles! That would be a feat if this soap actually did what it says. Sure, I've used a lot of "moisturizing"  hand soaps, but after the 2nd or 3rd time my hands are dried out as usual. I'm interested to see if this soap delivers! I might pick it up on another trip to Target or if you've tried it definitely let me know about it!

NK Nail Enamel: Sugar Candy

I tweeted about being in the mood for long nails on Friday, so this weekend I'm wearing fake nails. I love options! The next decision to make was what color to polish them. I originally decided on a teal color and then did one coat. By the second coat I had decided it was too much for my longer nails. Have I already became accustomed to boring work place colors already? Nooooo!! Well, here's the polish I settled on:

 4 coats + Orly Sec n Dry topcoat

The shade is so 90s! It reminds me of when I was younger and a polish named Cotton Candy was all the rage. I wore only that nail polish for one summer straight. Ah, memories.

NK polish is not a well known brand, but I have spotted it in several (non-chain) beauty stores. Usually these cost $1. I found their website and a it shows they have a good color range, with some pretty interesting shades. If you can find these, I would grab one (or two). If you're interested in this color but cant find it, you're in luck because this might also be a dupe for China Glaze Rainbow spotted on Bella in the City. I don't have Rainbow to compare, but looking at the pictures they look very similar.

One Bath and Body Lip Balm Review

I received the my One Lip Balm in the mail the other day! I was so excited to get it because I wasn't even expecting it! Take a look:

 The nice note and packaging!

Ingredients

I got this lip balm in the mail as a result of completing a survey they had on their website. I first learned about One Bath and Body products in this post from Nouveau Cheap. Its a natural line of products hitting the shelves at Target soon. Looks interesting. I really like this lip balm. Its very moisturizing. I checked my mail late in the afternoon after I got off of work. I applied this lip balm shortly after and then before bedtime I washed my face. My lips didn't even feel dried out! They still felt and looked moisturized. Another thing I liked about this product is that a little goes a long way. You don't need to apply a lot of lip balm to achieve results so even though this is 0.36 oz, I feel like it could last a while. Finally, the smell is great. I picked coco-coconut and think it smells fabulous. Not overwhelmingly strong either and that's a good thing in my book. I wear enough scented products and my lip balm doesn't need to compete.

Another bonus: They are in Carrollton, TX! Yay for Texas!

Check out www.onebathandbody.com for more information about their natural products and eco-friendly packaging.

Spotted: Nina Ultra Pro Hard Candies Collection

I was in Sally's Beauty Supply and I spotted this on the shelves:

I apologize for the crappy Blackberry picture, but I just wanted to show you the collection. I know you cant see in the picture, but I think all of these had shimmer in them, they aren't just cremes. This collection isn't anything we've never seen before, but they are fun spring/summer colors. Right now ALL nail polish is buy 2 get 1 free at Sally's. Usually their promotions are month long so maybe you can get a deal and snatch a couple of these up if you're interested!