Ulta Haul, finally picked up Zoya polish!

 I get Allure magazine in the mail, and got a great coupon in my latest issue for $5.00 off a $15.00 or more purchase! So I stopped into the closest Ulta and picked up some new items I've been wanting to try.

 First items I picked up are from Neutrogena and Forlmula 10.0.6.

The Neutrogena bottle is an acme eliminating spot gel. Due to the time of the year I tend to sweat a bit more, and have broken out a bit on my face. I picked this up because I've had good luck with Neutrogena in the past. My current spot treatment is a night time cream and comes up white on the skin, this is a clear gel and claims to clear up problem spots in 8hrs...we'll see by tonight/tomorrow how well it works.

Next item is another Formula 10.0.6. product called Pores Be Pure, a mudmask that has strawberry and yarrow to help clean up the skin and clear out pores. I have been on a major mask kick as of recent. I do want to pick up one more mud mask from them with orange in them, seeing how well their line is and using the power of fruit to fight bad skin is kinda fun.

 

Next I am finally happy to say that I picked up two bottles of Zoya polish! I never spend $8.00 on a bottle, but I was so in love with these fun colors..plus my coupon took a $1.11 off each, so the blow to my wallet wasn't as bad as it could have been. I've been LOVING the textured glitters out there (along the lines of Color Club Covered In Diamonds) and they had two of my favorite colors green and blue. The green is called Opal and the blue is called Maisie. They have great color reflection in any kind of light, and I can't wait to work them into a nail design.

 

 

 And finally I picked up some much needed waterproof eyeliner. I use a waterproof liquid on my upper lid, and I refuse to even go near my waterline with it...so I picked up a crayon liner. I was happy to see that it was $2.99, but after leaving the store I saw that I paid $5.49 for it...yikes. I hope this liner doesn't smudge like it says, or back to the store it shall go!  The maker is Prestige and  the color is 01 black. Also I discovered the clearance section of the store with a ton of polish...but sadly it was mostly OPI. Now I know a lot of people like OPI but I find the way they cover/go on to be thick and sloppy. I have 1 OPI bottle, and will not pick up another polish by them because of my experience with it. I hope you enjoyed my lil haul. I hope to wear those Zoya colors soon!

did a quick polish before work, Sally Hansen insta-dri colors with the Zoya sparkles on top

 

new nail technique, gradient fading colors!

Well I have seen a ton of nail designs with the gradient look. I've looked up on how to accomplish this look, and found two ways. First way was to use acrylic paint, sweep it on the nails, and hit it with a dry coat. Well we all know how my paint as nail polish test went...so I went for the other way. Using a simple makeup sponge and time!

for this technique I used the following:

Sally Hansen continuous vitamin release treatment

sally Hansen hard as nails (my nails have been brittle as of recently)

Wet N Wild Break The Ice

Sally Hansen Xtreme wear Ivy League and Marine Scene

medical tape

double ended Q-Tip

nail polish remover

Sally Hansen Quick Dry Top Coat

I applied the base coat to my nails after shaping and cleaning them. When that dried I put medical tape around the sides of my nails and cuticle. I only did this on two fingers, I had to get this done within an hour and this was a bit time consuming.

Next I cut a makeup sponge into a thin piece that could coat my nail and not be too long, I made it as little longer than my longest nail.My first application I applied the polish on my thumb and noticed it was very light, so I did one coat of Break The Ice to help it stand out a bit better. I brushed the polish onto the sponge so they met in the middle, and just dabbed the sponge across my fingernails.

I had to repeat this about 5-6 times per nail, so I would do one and then move onto the next. This would give the polish time to settle and dry a bit. It was fun watching the colors slowing fade into each other with each coat I put on.

This is the final color results that I was happy with. They blended really well together and I'm glad I chose such bright and metallic colors. I was almost tempted to add a coat of sparkles, but held off to see how well they stood on their own.

Here are my nails after I stopped taping them and just dabbed them without the tape. It wasn't as messy as I thought, but it did take more time to clean up the edges with my pointed Q-Tips. I hit my nails with a quick drying top coat and cleaned them up.

and here is the final result. My suggestions with this technique is to have fun, pick bold and complimentary colors. You could also do more than two colors, three or even four! I would also suggest taping the finger around the nails, or at least the sides to save clean up time. I have heard great feedback from people on facebook and some customers at work today, everyone said they look awesome. So if you want to try a simple technique, different from just one colored polish, here it is! So Eye catching, looks air brushed!

Thanks for reading

Wet N' Wild Megalast review, easy looking not easy nail art

 I picked up some great colors in my last haul (see previous post for the full list and photos) Well, in this haul I picked up almost all of the Megalast collection. So last night I finally got to try this line out and I'd like to give my review on a few colors from the collection.

I didn't want to just stick to one color, so I chose two colors that reminded me of berries and mint. So I used 208B Through The Grapevine and 218A I Need A Refresh-Mint.  Now the colors dry very true to the colors in the bottle. The polish is a bit on the thick side, I do worry that the polish might go back in a few months.

I do like the bottle shape, unique and clean.

The simple back and silver cap keeps the simple shape in check.

both bottles side by side

This line has been equipped with a probrush manicurve tip. Now this brush is much thicker than what i am use to using with Sally Hansen Pure Ice. I was worried it was going to come out sloppy, but shockingly it took only two stroked to do almost all my nails. The brush has a slight curve to get in close near your cuticles, and wide enough to keep the brush strokes low.

After painting my nails I added a coat of gold glitter. I went this my Pure Ice  582CP (no name on the bottle, just the number) The colors look great, and the glitter adds an extra element of happiness and sparkle to make your hands stand out in the sun or under any lighting.

                                         

I almost went with a matte finish, but wanted my nails to stand out a little more with the warmer weather we've been having.

Now onto a side note. I've been posting on Facebook, saying I wanted to try a framed nail for a few weeks. i finally tried it out with the technique of drawing the frame in with acrylic paint instead of polish. I am one that finds painting nails with paint a way of cheating, but I do understand why people do it.

I used my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri  Blue By and Lickety-Split Lime as my base colors. I went to my art kit a received a few years ago and picked out a close green and blue. I used acrylic paint by Art Studio by Battat. I used one of my thin art brushes. Started on the side and filled in near the cuticle, and then finished the top. This took me forever!!!! Having the option to wipe away the paint was awesome, but having to pay attention to how thick or thin I drew the line. I finished this in an hour and a half.

I put a top coat on top to protect the paint from chipping. Well, I went into work the next day, and almost all of the paint on the top of the nail was almost gone. I put all that effort into it, and it chipped within one day of doing it. I might try this technique one more time, maybe use paint first, then go over it with polish. I can tell you, you need steady hands and you need to be very patient if you do attempt this technique. 

I hope you enjoyed the review and my frustration with nail art.

Finally a fantastic nail polish haul!

So my long month of no polish is finally over! I caved a few days early, and because I did this I owe my fiancee three mornings of pancakes...meh I'll live.

 Well I hit up CVS and Walgreens for some clearance and sales! I already posted about the Sally Hansen insta-dri I picked up. I also found a few bottles at a local Walgreens for $2.99, with my discount and a $1.00 off coupon, came out to a reasonable price for a usually expensive line. I'm so glad I was lucky enough to find such a great deal on all of the insta-dri line because it costs so much at full retail. Here are some photos of my newly added polishes to my growing collection.

reds and pinks

left to right

rapid red

racey rouge

magenta moves

pumped up pink

orange, yellow and green

left to right

snappy sorbet

orange impulse

lightning

lickety-split green

teal to blue

left to right

mint spirit

brisk blue

blue by!

co-bolt blue

purples, beige, and silvers

left to right

orchid express

lively lilac

in a flash

beige blast

silver sweep

gone grey

At Walgreens I picked up the normally $1.99 Megalast line for a very reasonable $0.99 a bottles plus my discount. Now I am in love with the colors of this line when they first revealed this line, and I'm so excited to finally have them! 

from left to right

I red a good book

through the grapevine

candy-licious

sugar coat

break the ice

wet cement

I need a refresh-mint

on a trip

disturbia

We recently received a new Sinful Colors display with four colors that I have not seen in their normal line. I scooped them up as soon as they hit the floor! I am totally in love with this whole pastel colors trend right now, and these are four pastels that caught my eye right away!

Sinful Colors pastels

left to right

open seas

unicorn

hazard

star fish

and finally I picked up all but one of the fastdry Wet N' Wild line. The colors in this line are so bright and playful! Great for the spring and summer seasons and mixes well with all the current nail color trends making big news in fashion magazines.

left to right

everybody loves redmond

9.0.2.1.0range

the wonder yellows

how I met your magenta

fuchsiarama

hannah pinktana

left to right

sagreena the teenage witch

sage in the city

teal or no teal

blue whats to me a millionaire

saved by the blue 

left to right

gray's anatomy

buffy the violet slayer

the gold & the beautiful

silvivor

ebony hates chris

I've used a few colors from this line, and I have to say the names of the colors are very lame (yeah) but the colors I have tried came out wonderful and are so eye catching. Can't wait to throw some on again!

and five more clearance items I bought. Three new nail art polish and two crackle colors I didn't have.

left to right

me first

jungle

time off

all shook up

hot couture 

I think I have enough polish for a while, or at least until I see a new color I can't live without. I hope everyone enjoyed my haul. Have you picked up any new polish you are totally in love with? Any current trends you can't get enough of? Thanks for reading!

Gave in, polish haul!

So, I ended up stopping by a CVS this evening and scanned my CVS card and out came a $5.00 coupon for beauty items. Well that set me into a polish hunt around the store, and I found a great deal! Sally Hansen Insta-dri was on sale for $2.99 and  $3.00 extra care reward  when you purchase $10.00 or more. Well, I used my $5.00 coupon, a $3.00 off coupon, and 10 $1.00 off coupons...so for 10 polishes I paid $4.00!! I've heard really great things about this line so I am happy about this haul! Saving my coupons up really saved me a bunch on this purchase! My fiancee was with me, and was impressed with my coupon skills. I hope to find two more colors (black and white) to finish this collection off for the time being. I still have a few coupons left over! I also had a chance to pick up some more clearanced Clean and Clear Morning Burst cleansers on clearance for $3.50 each!  

from left to right

In A Flash

Pumped Up Pink

Racey Rouge 

Lightning

Lickety-Split Lime

Mint Sprint

Brisk Blue

Co-Bolt Blue

Lively Lilac

Gone Grey

I've heard that this line works really well with nail stamping because of it's thickness and pigments. I can't wait to try them out! I hope you enjoyed my quick haul and will pick some up while the deal is still happening this week!

(haul) more beauty purchases

ok, I couldn't help myself. I snapped some quick photos of some of my recent purchases from the world of beauty.

My local CVS marked down a good amount of Clean and Clear products. I got these two bottles for $3.49 each, plus I had some dollar off coupons so I walked away paying $2.49 for each with the normal retail of $7.99, so I got a fantastic deal on them. They have fruit extract in them, something I've been liking a lot as of recent. I talked to my beauty adviser about them, she said it was a great deal on the price, and a lot of products with any fruit or veggies in them are great for your skin.

I've been on the search for a new face cloth. I use to get mine at wal-mart, but since I don't have any around me I've had to look at other stores. I picked up the CVS brand because the price was good. $3.19 for 30 moisturizing cloths. They work well, my only complaint is that they seem very thin, other than that they work very nicely.

One more Clean and Clear product I picked up on clearance for around $2.49, with a coupon I spend a very happy $1.49 on this cleanser. I love oil free cleaners, and wanted to give it a shot.

Now I had a chance to stock up on some shave gel with a sale and some coupons. At Walgreens skintimate shave gel was on sale for a reasonable $1.99. I picked up a limited edition scent and two berry scented bottles for an even better $0.99 each thanks to my coupons. Oh I must give props to my Mom and sister for showing me the ways of the coupons

So at times my arms or my legs with get a little dry. Well, my Mom gave me some body wash a while back and I have loved it since my first time using it. My only problem is that they tend to release great products in huge sizes at not so great prices. Well, while in a local Walgreens the other day I found a rare trial size of the same body wash my Mom gave me at the great price of $2.99. I scooped up two of them, one softening and one toning. I had a few Dove coupons, but misplaced them...oops. Well I still got my discount on them, and I make them last because I only use them when my normal bodywash isn't helping out any dry skin.

so I forgot to take a photo of this, but I picked up Garnier XXL body mousse. My hair likes to do one thing, and that is be flat. So I try to get as much volume as possible into it. I used the Garnier mousse before, and wanted to try the XXL mousse to see if it could volumize my hair a bit more. Now this was on sale at my job buy one get one half off, plus my discount. So I got two bottles a little over the price of one. I hope it works, my first use will be tomorrow morning.

I hope you all enjoyed my haul, I know I've enjoyed trying these new products out! Can't wait to find more soon!

Formula 10.0.6 product reviews

Well working in Walgreens has some perks. The discount is one of them, and another is being around products I would have walked by and never even give a second glance to. Well I've been covering in cosmetics and I had to pick up two out of three products that we carry from a brand named after the formula a chemist made. Yeah, this whole line is apparently made by a chemist back in 1933! 

The first thing I picked up was the "Best Face Forward" cleanser. Now it has grapefruit and green tea in it, and I have a face mask that has grapefruit in it and it helped clear me up when I had a very bad breakout. So you peel a little foil cover off, and squeeze. Now the cleanser is clear and smells just like sweet tarts. I was so shocked to smell this, that I kept massaging it for a little bit longer just to keep the scent around. It's gentle, and didn't dry my skin out. Oh, also both items were $6.99 each, I find that to be a reasonable price.

Now, I have a very bad Tzone shine problem year round, and summer is right around the corner. So I got "Seriously Shine Free" it's a matte finish moisturizer that has aloe and bamboo extract in it. Now I've used the Clean and Clear matte face wash with rice extract in it. With these products, the extracts help absorb excess oil that you may produce during the day. Now the Clean and Clear one really didn't work that well, I still ended up being shiny.

I used the Formula moisturizer last night and this morning, went to work, came home, played mini golf and I have little to no shine on my Tzone...I am beyond amazed. I plan on buying more products from this company, they have a hand full of products out and my store only carries four of them. Has anyone else tried these products? If so, how well did they work for you? I might update this later to add some more products I have picked up...oh and I have four more days to go...then I can buy polish again. Yes, this has been torture.   

New nail treatment and E.L.F. makeup haul!

 I've been away from a few days and I come back with a few goodies! Well picked up a few new nail treatments from Hard Candy and Sally Hansen that I have yet to try, some that I picked up I use every time I paint my nails. I also found a few fantastic deal on one of my favorite body sprays!

I hit up my local Rite Aid where I found a good deal on a new nail treatment, and a clear coat I like using. I also found a total steal with a top/bottom coat with the Sally Hansen HD polish bonus bundle for an amazing $2.07! Now this is my first time picking up a new nail hardening product. It says it releases vitamins for up to ten days, I'll give a review on it next week. It helps cracking/peeling nails (mine tend to do so because I use hand sanitizer at work)
 While shopping yesterday I found Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love at Wal-Mart yesterday. I've seen a lot of other nail polish companies making a matte top coat, but the price was so reasonable I had to pick it up!

 

From left to right:  Double Duty top/bottom coat, Spectrum, Continuous Hardening Treatment, Matte-ly In Love, Dries Instantly, Hard As Nails and Extreme Wear clear coat.

While I was in Rite Aid I checked out their clearance endcap (most of the stores have them hidden on one of their back endcaps) and stumbled upon one of my favorite body sprays on clearance in a gift box on clearance for an awesome $7.99 (original price was $15.00) I picked up the last two boxes of Morning Glory. I found this spray a few years back, one of my friends wore it and fell in love with it. Its a baby powder like soft scent that lasts all day without being over-powering. I'm very picky about my body sprays/perfumes and this one one of my top three that I love wearing.

After Rite Aid I went to Target, where I found them carrying an amazing line of  E.L.F. products. Now I picked up some  E.L.F. products at K-Mart a month ago. I picked up some liquid eyeliner and clear mascara. I've enjoyed those products, so I wanted to try more of the extremely reasonably priced makeup, and this is what I picked up for $15

I was happy and shocked to see makeup setting spray for only $3.00!  The bottle is 2.02 fl oz. and contains aloe, green tea and cucumber. I've never used a makeup setting spray before (mainly because the prices are a bit high for my wallet) so I am very excited to try this one out!

Next I picked up a duo contouring blush and bronzer in one. This was also only $3.00, it does not come with any brushes (none of them do, I think that is how they keep it low cost) but I have brushes of my own. I was so happy to see a duo like this, I never have tried to contour and now I have two pressed powders to try.

My next finding is something I've been meaning to pick up since I ran out of my liquid palette (nobody's perfect from Hard Candy) but this time around I decided to pick up a powder based correct palette. The Now I've only used the green, yellow and pink and have yet to see blue before. I plan on using this this my concealer to help mask any imperfections I might have. 

This was a last minute "oh what the hell" kind of choice for the brown gel and powder. To fill in my brows I use a pencil only. This one does come with a duo-ended wand with a slanted brush and straight edged brush. I've never used an eyebrow gel or powder so this will be a new application I'll have to try out.

Last but not least is the translucent matifying powder. I pick this up to carry with me. After about four hours or so after applying my makeup, my t-zone becomes very shiny (I know this happens with a lot of skin types) so I need something to combat the shine, so I pick this up with a little application sponge.

I hope you enjoyed my haul and I can't wait to try out the E.L.F. products soon! I was so amazed to see all their products under $10! Has anyone tried any of the E.L.F. line yet? What did you think of it? Anything you suggest I try next? 

Easy Playful Purple Dotted Nails

I was on youtube this morning and was looking for something new to do with my nails. Well I've seen a lot of people doing dots/bubbles whatever you want to call them. So I did a search and found a wonderful diagonal purple dot tutorial that was so cute and so simple, I just had to do it!
video link: Diagonal Purple Dots

So after watching the video I went and grabbed three shades of purple and for the base color I used a metallic purple almost pink color, something to work with the colors but not over power them.

From left to right:

NYC Glitzy Grape Glitter

Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac

Sinful Colors Amethyst

NYC Manhattan

So I put a base coat on and then did three coats of Glitzy Grape Glitter to make sure it would cover the full nail and not be transparent.

After I applied the base color I took my dotting tool (bought on ebay) and started making dots on my nails. I started off with the larger dots and then filled in the smaller dots altering colors.

This is my finished product. It took me less than ten minutes to do my nails and they look so playful and so simple to do, I hope some of you will try this look out and tell me how it turned out! Also check out the youtube video from beautybymoi