Manic(ure) Monday

 'Merica Edition

Independce day was last Thursday and you KNOW I was all about that!!!

Here's the break down-

Thumb- One coat as a base of Wet n Wild Wild Shine in French White Creme and then Sinful Colors in Queen of Beauty (glitter).

Pointer- Wet n Wild Megalast in I Red a Good Book

Middle- Wet n Wild Wild Shine in French White Creme

Ring- Sinful Colors in Endless Blue

Pinky-Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear.  No name of the color.  It was just a mini bottle that came in a gift set.

I'm really in love with the Endless Blue.  It's so perfect!  There's nothing fancy about it besides the fact that it is undeniably blue as blue gets.  And the silver on my pinky is probably the most surprising thing.  In the bottle it doesn't look like it will be that good but it goes on great, dries smooth and quick and looks really solid even with just one coat.  

June Ipsy and Birchbox

It's not June anymore but since it was still june when I started this post, I'm going with it.  Enjoy!!!

First off, I know I said I don't do brights before I said that the bright red blush would work good as a lip color.  In my head, I meant two different type brights.  STFU if you think it's the same...
SECOND- I KNOW THE VIDYA CUT OFF.  I ran out of room on my phone but it was almost perfect.

Reviews-
Davines Hair stuff-  Shampoo and Conditioner: I was unimpressed at first.  Looking back, I'm thinking it's alright.  I'm not going to spend my money on it but my hair was just a tid bit more manageable than usual.  I still haven't used the oil.
Suki Exfoliating Cleanser- Yes.  Just yes.  My face says "Yes!!!" when I'm done because it feels SO CLEAN! Like legit, no bullshit feelings on my face.  (pardon my swears)
Laqa Lil Lips- Cute.  Idk what else to say about these.  I haven't used it enough to say if it has lasting power or not but it feels conditioning and that's real nice.
Color Club Polish- You guys.  Stop right now and think of your fave summer color.  Now realize that you're wrong and buy this.
Nyx Cream Blush- Woah, color ovreload!   I still haven't had the courage to put it on my cheeks but I use it on my lips quite often.
Starlooks Lip Pencil- my reviews are in the video. I'm not even an amateur at lip pencils.  I'm less than that... I refuse to use them.
J Cats sparkling palette- I still DO NOT KNOW HOW/WHEN/WHY I will use this!  Stuff is weird, yo.  But! I feel like the time will come when I'm like "Oh, Thank Ipsy Gods, I need this shit!"
Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil- I love this!  I use it mainly around my eyes but I have ventured out a few times and highlighted my cheeks and cupids bow.   This is SUPER blendable and perfect.
Cailyn Cosemtics Gel Eyliner-  Ok, first off- how awesome is it that the brush is bulit in?! Supes Cool.  (supes was on purpose although I realize that "super" has the same number of letters.)   And the color is actually really nice.  Sometimes I feel like black eyeliner on my upper lash line is a bit dramatic.  It's probably because I don't wear it that often and so when I do, it's a big thing.  This color lets me wear a liner on the upper lash line without being dramatic.  AND in the sunlight, it has a green tint to it that matches my eyes SO GOOD!

That's it.  June was good, it got me stoked.

Why not Wednesday.

I'm skipping Wine-Not for this week because I want to have a REALLY good post for you.  I may get it up later this week or I might just wait for next Wednesday.  I do have a little something for you though.

Right after I put up my recent favorites, someone had told me there's a way to fix my broken Cargo blush!  I had actually heard about this before but forgot about it so- Thank you, Rachelle!!  

(This original picture comes from TheBeautyDepartment.com)

So the idea seemed super simple but man, I was so nervous!  I mean, this seems so much more destructive.  What if it didn't work out and I just made it worse?  I mean, before I could at least use it as an eye shadow (which worked out great btw.)  After a little hemming and hawing, I decided to go for it.  

I let it sit overnight and it's still a bit soft but definitely usable!  I made the mistake of putting the lid back on so I don't think it dried as best as it could have.  I'm going to leave the lid off tonight and check again in the morning.  If it dries out more then I can continue to use it the way you'd normally use blush.  If not, then it's still going to work but it'll be a more of a cream blush.  

((Speaking of cream blush, I finally got my Ipsy in the mail!!  I'll film the video for it tomorrow and try to get it uploaded right away.))

Have any of you done this to you're broken makeup?  If so, did it work and do you have any tips or tricks on how I can do this differently?

Recent Favorites

I thought I'd share with you all some of my current favorite products.  This isn't a complete list because it'd never end (I tend to say a lot of things are my favorite) but it's a list of some of the products that I'm using almost everyday and loving.  Here goes.

Let's start with the SPF.  It's summertime now and this is on everyone's mind (or at least it should be.)  I really like the Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch Sunscreen.  It's SPF 30 and doesn't smell too sunscreen-y.  It has a hint of the usual smell but it's got a tropical scent going on too.  I also really, REALLY, like the After Sun Lotion by Hawaiian Tropic.  It smells like coconut and tropical fruit (bottle says papaya but I've never straight up smelled a papaya before so I couldn't say if that's true or not.)  And, here's why I love, it has aloe in it!  So it's perfect for when I forget to apply or re-apply my SPF and get a little burn action.

This Suave Everlasting Sunshine lotion smells fantastic.  It's hard to pin point the smell though.  I just went and had a sniff and can say it's floraly, maybe SLIGHTLY fruity and definitely warm.  The scent lasts a long time and so does the moisture.

 

The St. Ives Apricot Scrub has been a life saver for me.  I use this every other day or so and it's amazing.  It is pretty rough but I don't have sensitive skin at all so I'm ok with it.  I usually go with the Blemish Control formula because it has salacylic acid in it to help with acne.  And, as an added bonus, it smells great!

 

About 3½ months ago I dyed my hair dark blonde and hated it.  I've been using this ever since and my hair is back to light blonde!  I use it every time I was my hair which is almost everyday and you can't even see a grow-out line.  You can definitely tell that the hair around my roots is darker than the ends but it flows together so perfectly.  I actually just bought more of this to keep it up.

I like this Nivea Touch  of Sparkle body wash because of the smell.  I don't really think it's any more moisturizing on my skin than any other body wash really so I can't vouch for that but it does have this awesome lingering smell.  It's another hard one to describe, the bottle says Calla Blossom and I guess I get hints of a floral scent but I get some sort of fruity scent from it too.

EOS Shave Cream is the shit, pardon my swears.  This stuff is a wet or dry shave cream, I'm pretty sure I use it outside the shower more often then while I'm in it.  And, when I'm done shaving, I just rub the excess in like it's a lotion.  So easy!  And quick too!!  I've tried a few different formulas and I don't have a favorite so really, pick whatever looks best for you.

This is a terrible picture but this is the Pacifica Island Vanilla roll-on perfume that I got in May's Ipsy bag.  I use almost every morning on my wrists and behind my ears.  I'll use this even if I'm planning on wearing another perfume too because it layers so nicely with anything!

Here's another Ipsy product but this time from April's bag.  It's the Mica Beauty eyeshadow in the color Earth.  It's SUPER shimmery and I layer it on top of pretty much every color.  It doesn't really have a color  so it just gives my eyes a nice shimmery pop.  A little goes a LONG way though.

INSERT SAD FACE HERE!  This is the Cargo Water Proof Blush in Los Cabos that I got in May's Birchbox.  This color looked SO good on me!  It had a subtle, hardly noticable, shimmer to it and blended so well on top of foundation or on bare skin.  But, my glowing skin didn't last long because I dropped it and this is the result...

 

This is my second favorite blush.  It was on the top of my list until I received the Cargo but that was short lived and now I'm back to this guy.  This is a light pink that looks like it has more shimmer than the Cargo but on the skin it wasn't noticeable.  It also blended awesomely and is buildable.  Normally I keep it light, a swirl and a tap is enough for me but if I'm trying to go for a more made up look I'll just do that swirl, tap move a couple times.  Also, the price point of this is nothing to complain about!

I've been using this L'Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions mascara for a few weeks now and I really like it!  I don't think it gives me longer looking lashes but it doesn't clump, like at all, and it holds a curl really nicely!

I'm still not sure about this.  It made my list because I want to like it.  This is a tinted moisturizer with SPF in it from Victoria's Secret.  On one hand, I like it because it gives me light coverage that is kind of buildable but I'm not liking it because it feels funny.  I don't really know why, I guess it's because when I think tinted moisturizer I think of a thin formula that spreads out really far.  This stuff is actually kind of thick, thicker than alot of foundations, BUT it does spread out to be thinner.  

I've talked about this before but it deserves a spot on my favorites list because I cannot go a day with out it.  I will say that I'm thinking of trying something different when this bottle is empty but, until then, I love this stuff

This should probably be up with the Pacifica stuff but oh well.  This is Victoria's Secret Lemon Escape.  It's basically what summer smells like, in a bottle.  Also, this is perfect to layer with my new Mango Temptations body spray that is also from Victoria's Secret.  When I do that I feel like I'm on a tropical island, soaking up the sun, and drinking a fruity cocktail.  

So, I guess that's the end of my list for now.  I'll do another one as I gather new faves.  Let me know if you have any suggestions for a tinted moisturizer, I'm on the hunt for "the one."

Manic(ure) Monday

I'm just going to dive right in and say that I'm so stoked about this nail polish! AND there's a little twist to this week's manicure.  Who's ready for this?  (Besides me, obvi.)

I have two pictures for you.  One taken the night I did them and one taken today.

Ok first off, I know they look messy.  It's because they are.  I did a TERRIBLE (read: nonexistent) clean up job.  Picture one was taken, like I said, the night I did them but I realized today that the picture does absolutely NO justice to the color!  Picture two was taken in natural light, and can you see how awesome that color is?!  I'm still not sure it captures the color perfectly but you get a better idea.  I've decided it's what glow-in-the-dark would look like during the day if it continued to glow.

I received this in this month's Birchbox (video is coming as soon as Ipsy arrives.)  It's Color Club "London Calling".  Birchbox recently did some re-branding and as part of the festivities EVERY single subscriber got one of four colors that are supposed to reflect one of the four Birchbox offices.  They're calling it the Wanderlust Collection which is very fitting considering the other three colors are called "Reign in Spain", "Pardon My French", and "Mod in Manhattan".

Now, here's the little twist I mentioned earlier-  I ALSO used part of my new Sally Hansen insta-gel manicure thing.  

You see, it's this handy little led lamp that, when paired with the Sally Hansen insta-gel top coat, is supposed to give me a gel manicure that lasts up to two weeks.  On day 5 I started to get chips but, as I've previously mentioned, I'm super hard on my nails and most manicures only last a couple days at most!  I'll admit, I was a bit scared of the gel top coat.  In the directions it says multiple times to KEEP IT OFF YOUR FREAKING SKIN, I might be paraphrasing but that's basically what I got out of it.  I think with a little practice, I can get my gel manicure lasting me at least a solid week but until I can get a couple more manis in, the verdict is still out on whether or not I think these things are worth the money though.  Lucky for me, I had a hook-up...

And on that bombshell, it's time to end.  Goodnight!

Wine Not Wednesday

I just realized that I don't have any pictures so I kind of fail.  Anyways, I'll just tell you what's up.  On Sunday I went to Chateau Nonchalant and Melrose Vineyards to do a little wine tasting with my aunt and a couple of her friends.  A few wines that really stood out were the Vinsanity from Chateau Nonchalant, and the Riesling, Equinox, and 2 Dog Red from Melrose.  Vinsanity is so good chilled with some fresh strawberries and I'm betting the 2 Dog Red would be really good with strawberries as well.  I'm all about light fruity wines for summer, I'm not trying to get into anything that's to complex (which I thought the Equinox was, but it was still good).  Also, while I was out at Melrose, I joined their wine club!  I feel so grown up right now.  Soooo, yeah, I think that's about it.  

Manic(ure) Monday?

I was invited over to my friend's new house yesterday and I couldn't say "Sorry, I have to blog first..." Right?

So this is OPI Casino Royale and the lighting doesn't do it any justice!  This is such a perfect deep plum color and I'm loving it!   And I guess that's all I have to say about that. 

I was thinking of doing a favorites post.  I watch a lot of youtube and my favorite videos are favorites videos so I figured I could  turn that in to a blog post.   Look out for that, maybe I'll get it uploaded this week.  Also, I do have a Wine-Not Wednesday this week but I'm going to to take a little break from the wine for a bit because I do not need all those extra calories! 

Wine-Not Wednesday

I finally cracked open a bottle from the wine tour!!  This week's post features Giradet's Cayuga.  While I was on the tour their winemaker, Marc, told us a story about how he originally wanted to take out the Cayuga vines but Philippe insisted they kept it in.  Marc said something along the lines of (I don't remember EXACTLY) "Ok, we'll make a Cayuga wine and see  how it does.  If it doesn't do well, we're taking them out."  Well, it turns out that the wine is AMAZING and so they're keeping them in.  And that's a good thing, I think it's one of my favorite local wines now.

This is how they're website (giradetwine.com) describes it  "Lightly sweet with honeydew and citrus flavors. Finishes clean, perfect with cheeses and appetizers."  And I must say, I agree 100%.  I was actually trying to describe this recently and what I came up with was "Light, sweet (but not to sweet) and kind of fruity."

Check out to their winery and get some!  If you can't just drive out there head on over to their website and see if you can order it, I highly recommend it!

May Birchbox and Ipsy

Let me start by saying this- Please don't judge me for posting my Birchbox and Ipsy post in the wrong month.  Again.  I know, I really should just make my post the day I film the video.  AND, while we're on the topic of videos, leave me some feedback on the blog here and let me know if any of you want to keep seeing them or if they're just a waste of time.  But anyways, here's the video. 

REVIEW TIME!!!

Pilot Acroball Pen-  What were they thinking?!  Whatever, it writes nicely.

Kerastase Bain Chroma Captive Shampoo-  Haven't even used it.  Sorry, I'm not sorry.  If I ever do I'll come back and update this part.

Folle de Joie eau de parfum- Nope.  Not interested.  It's floraly but not in a good way.

Coola Classic Sunscreen- I didn't get a chance to use it at the dragstrip but I used a tiny bit just to see how it felt.  So far, it seems to work out fine.

Cargo Water Resistant Brush- I LOVED this color!!  It looked so nice!  I didn't get to test out the water resistant part but I don't even care because I just loved this stuff.  Too bad I'm a klutz and dropped it and now it is shattered...

Zoya Nail Polish-  I'm seriously sucking at life because I haven't even used it yet!! But people seem to love it.

Juice Beauty Lip Gloss-  I use this on a daily basis.  It feels so GOOD on my lips and smells nice and citrusy.  I'll be buying more!

Mirabella Lip Stick-  This color is gorgeous.  It's sheer so I get a nice red color but not like a BAM red color.  It feels nice and stays on decently long.

Yaby Concealer-  It works alright.  I don't use concealer, mostly because I don't know how, but I'll use it again.   It did feel a little thick though.

Pacifica Island Vanilla Roll-on- This has also worked it's way in to my daily routine.  It smells so great and I love to layer this with other scents.  It doesn't last super long but it's always with me so I can re-apply whenever. 

Manic(ure) Monday

Welcome back internet friends.  Today's post was originally intended for last week but I fail at life sometimes.  I honestly don't know what happened... whatever, you guys still get to see it so I suppose it isn't all that bad.

On May 26th we went to Import Face Off at the Woodburn Dragstrip and decided my nails needed to match the occasion.

Voila!!  This was done using the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips.  Remember the post I did awhile back about the Incoco Nail Strips?  Well, it's basically the same exact procedure.  I will say that these did NOT last long at all on my nails and for some reason, I found them just a little bit harder to work with than the Incoco ones.  My mother-in-law found some floral print ones in another brand and I'm curious/excited to use those and see how they work out for me. 

As for the rest of the week- I DO have a Wine-Not Wednesday for you!  I've been trying real hard to be good and eat right and go to the gym and wine hasn't really found it's place in my new routine but I had some yesterday and plan on doing a post about that.  ALSO, I have a Birchbox/Ipsy unboxing video for May.  I know, it's June and I suck but you can deal with it.