Nails of the week: Sonia Kashuk & GAP

I finally decided to switch it up. Up until yesterday I was still wearing Tauped by Sonia Kashuk. Well today's a new day! I'm still into the more 'normal' colors right now and I really liked the wearing power of Tauped so I went with the only other Sonia Kashuk polish that I have. This one is called Blank Slate. It's a deep grayish-blue. As an accent color I chose Gold Rush from GAP. I've used this color before and it is gorgeous. It has a great wide brush on it but it looks a lot better in the bottle than it does on the nail. Only because in the bottle you can see a lot of the blue's and purple's in the color, but instead on the nail its more of yellow and light green.  Nonetheless it's still a great color. Again I used Sally Hansen's Double duty as a top coat. It worked out great for me last time. 

The one complaint against Blank slate is that it's a lot more streaky than Tauped. It's almost as if going over the nail polish again with the brush less coated makes it streak and take away polish that was already there--does that make sense?. So the brush had to almost be completely soaked in polish for it to get a good coverage. But it's easy to work through and other than that no issues. I'll edit the post later to tell you how long they lasted on the nails. 

Nails of the week: Sonia Kashuk's Tauped

 

Cue awkward hand holding of the nail polish. I haven't actually painted my nails in months, and I mean months. I kept getting the worst nail polish that would chip almost instantly and that turned me off nail polish. I've had this one for a while--it got packed in Hawaii, and I love the color. When I went to paint my nails I wanted a pure nude color and this is the only neutral shade that I had so I settled. Well, settling was the best decision I've made this week because I love the color. The staying color is great as well. I used Sally Hansen's double duty for a top coat. I have been wearing it for 4 days now and I only have minimal chipping. A lot of it happens in the shower or while I am washing dishes--we have no dishwasher, yuck I know-- but if I compare it to a lot of my other nail polishes this one takes the cake. 

I have used instadri but that one creates a lot of bubbles on the nails and that just irritates me so I stopped using it near the end of the bottle, just threw it away. I won't be buying another one either. I'd say the picture is pretty close to the real thing. I love the color. It's suitable for everyday wear, pretty professional, and not off putting or too in your face. 

The one complaint I do have is the bottle is a defective one. The brush is crooked, it comes out of the lid at about a 45 degree angle. I have to force it into the bottle. I easily could of returned it to the Target I bought it from and got another, but it's not that big of a deal. It makes applying it a little awkward at times but I can still apply it pretty well.

EDIT: 1/27/2014 

I applied the polish on the 17th, and I took it off on the 26th. There were two chipped nails, and most had the top rubbed away with little teeny chip marks. So overall I'd say it did amazing. Almost 10 days without any huge chips.

What color is on your nails right now?

NOTD: Sonia Kashuk, Color Club, L'oreal

Hey guys! Today's NOTD is using L'oreal's Haute couture red(470), Sonia Kashuk's Taunting Teal (14) and Color club's Hot couture(875). How funny is that? Two polishes with almost the exact same name. I didn't even realize that!

The past two months of the Ipsy bag.

Hey Adventurers! I've been so out of the 'beauty community' lately and so truthfully I didn't even open the bags until last night. I got the October one about a little over a week ago and September about a month before that. Yeah, I've had a lot going on. Anyways! Here's what I received in the September bag.

So here it is! The September Ipsy bag. The bag itself is a black bag with a handle that's not really a handle, I can't think of the word right now. It's so that you can just take the bag and wrap it on your wrist. It's a material where if you spill something on it, it's just going to run right off, so it's kid proof! hah. It has a gold zipper which accents the black really well.

The contents include:
Circus by Andrea's choice Nail polish in Tightrope- I like the color, but if the formula is anything like the yellow one I received the month before then this line is not for me. The formula flakes right off and yeah, I didn't like the yellow one. Hopefully this one is better.
Mirabella Eyeshadow in 36 Semiformal- It's a nice neutral brown shade with shimmer to it. It's not incredibly pigmented but it has potential. I don't like that it has no case to it, I'm going to have to buy something to put it in so that it doesn't get damaged.
Jane. Sparkle Gloss in Sparkle Pink- It's just like it sounds, sparkly pink lip gloss. It's pigmented when swatched but really sticky, I'll try it out on the lips and we'll see how that goes.
Carol's Daughter Monoi Split end sealer- I was happy that it was something for the hair as I am a giant hair product junkie. It has a pump in the sample that was given and I'm really excited about it. I've never tried any Carol's Daughter products, so that's a plus as well.
London Soho New York Smudge Brush- So happy that they sent us a brush that wasn't their own. I always need new brushes so I'm so happy. The bristles are dense and really soft in the package. I'm going to see how this one holds up.

This is the latest Ipsy bag, the October bag. When I opened this I was really excited about this. It had things from brands I had heard of so I was stoked. The October bag is red white and black-obviously. All of the Ipsy bags though feel cheap, like I wouldn't reuse them for anything other than storing things in. This one included. I don't really like the bag itself.

The October bag included:
Mirenesse Lip Bomb in #9- It's a pale pink lip gloss, and it has that cheap lipstick smell to it. The packaging is super cute in my opinion and I love the packaging and the fact that it's lip bomb and not lip balm. When swatched it's super pigmented but I haven't worn this on the lips.
theBalm What's your type black mascara sample- I've never tried any of theBalm's mascara so this was exciting for me. theBalm products are not that easy to get your hands on. It's a bristle brush and it's a smaller brush than a lot of the brushes on the market right now in my opinion and I'm excited about it.
Couture Colour Pequi Oil treatment- More Hair stuff! It restores softness and shine. I've never heard of Pequi Oil but I guess I'll try it out. I'm not sure though... I'll get to it eventually aha!
Be a bombshell eyeliner in Onyx- It's a pen type eyeliner and it is the biggest pen type eyeliner I have literally ever seen! When swatched it's a nice black line, but it rubbed right off. So I am hoping that It has more potential, cause I like eyeliner, I just can't seem to get it right.
Coastal Scents eyeshadows set 6- It comes with four colors, peach puff, cherry chocolate, nude and white silver. I was very happy to see that these were the four colors that I got, because a lot of the other sets roaming around were not neutrals and very out there shades that I wouldn't get any use out of. But I will get use out of this! They're very nice neutral shades and I'm excited for the looks I can make with this!

NOTD: Sally Hansen's Black out & Color Club's Hot couture

Hey adventurers! Today's post is another nail of the day. I just took smoldering off today and it was kind of overdue but I wanted my black nail back. I don't know about you, but there is something so sleek about black nails. I have only been painting my nails continuously since about March when I took  my fake nails off and so I'm no pro at painting my nails as you can probably tell.

Black out by Sally hansen's Xtreme wear line has always been a favorite of mine because it's so black and smooth and dries fast. I just purchased Color Club's Hot couture from Bed Bath and beyond and this one surprised me actually; in the bottle it's pink, but on the nails I really see blue sparkles. It may be because of the dark color it's on top of but I still think it's a gorgeous top coat. I personally I love black with sparkles on the nails so I'm in love. :)

This is the order of which I did them, Nutra Nail strengthener, black out, hot couture, and my top coat that I chose is Insta dri!

NOTD: Revlon's Smoldering

Hey Adventurers! Today's NOTD is Revlon's Smoldering(hence the title, hahha) It's a silver with a pinkish purple sheen to it. In the bottle it looks a lot nicer than on the nails and it took 3 coats to get the above results which isn't very dark at all. The top coat is Sally Hansen's Insta-dri. The consistency is thin and really sheer. I think one coat of this over a black nail polish would look really good. I'll try that next time. Haha.

I'd also like to point out the shape of my nails since I took my nails off in March I think. They're almost completely grown out and almost completely better.

In this picture you see the sheen it gives off. But I think that it shows a lot better in the bottle versus actual application.

August MyGlam Bag!

Hey Adventurers! Today's post is pretty short and to the point. Its that time again where I get all my monthly subscription boxes in the mail and today's post is MyGlam! With the bag I feel like they cheaped out and used a bag pretty much the same as last months bag and they threw in another Circus by Andrea's choice nail polish--I got the yellow one last month, absolutely hate it, chipped in a few hours-- so two of the items are pretty much the same from last month. BUT onto the contents!

1. MyGlam Glam Gloss in 02(original hahaha) and it's a hot pink with shimmer, almost exactly like the box. The packaging is really nice actually pretty sturdy contents. I'll try it out and let you know how I feel about it.
2. Circus by Andrea's Choice nail polish in Ringmaster, hot pink shade.
3. Dragon fruit roll on Perfume oil- Smells really sweet and fruity and it's an oil. I'm not sure if I'll use this but it is different and I like different---ha.
4. S.a.l.t.y Cosmetics Loose Luxury Mineral Eye Shadow in Glama-ZOID! It's a white with glitter and it's a rather small amount in the container and the container is small as well, I'd say it's about halfway filled length wise.
5. Eclos Plant Stem Cells Anti-Aging Regenerative Cream- The smell of this is really organic and kind of alcohol-y. I'm not really sure how I feel about the whole 'Stem cell' aspect of this cream. Kind of freaks me out to be honest only because of what I've heard about 'stem cell research' and stuff. So I'm not exactly sure about this.
6. Eclos Plant Stem Cells Anti-Aging Cellular Activator Face Serum- I don't know about these subscription services sending me a bunch of Anti-aging things. I guess you can never start to early... But same with #5 about the stem cells and I didn't bother smelling this one.


That's everything that was in this months MyGlam bag.

Overall I think I'm a little underwhelmed with this bag(no surprise there) but I feel like MyGlam is there to make a name for itself instead of doing what it promises to do (i.e deluxe size samples from your 'favorite' brands) making MyGlam brushes and MyGlam lip gloss. I just feel like their out to gain more here and it's going to change into more and more MyGlam official stuff every month and less chances of getting a product from an actual brand.

Another thing is, I don't know anything about the MyGlam company and how they made this lipgloss or those brushes, I could be getting something that has tons of chemicals in it. There's a lot that I just don't know. I wish they would just do what they said they were going to do when they started and just stick to the script.


Rant over, sorry about that guys.

xoxoAlaina

Bed Bath & Beyond Haul!

Hello Adventurers! I did a little shopping today at Bed Bath and Beyond because I had a 20% off coupon and I thought I'd share what I purchased! I also went to the NEX afterward because I was looking for those nail circles(i didn't find them.) From Bed Bath and Beyond I purchased:

Tree Hut's Shea Sugar Body Scrub in Coconut Lime
Nature's Bounty Hair Skin & Nails vitamins
Loreal's Color Riche balm in 418 Caring Coral
Loreal's Color Riche Lipstick in 176 Sunset Angora
Jean Pierre Original Daily cleansing Towlettes
Jean Pierre Exfoliating Cleansing pads with Microbeads
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen in 002 Black
Maybelline Luminous Lights in Lavender lights
Sample size Nivea 'Soft' hand and body lotion
and two packs of bobby pins

From the NEX I purchased:
Cetaphil's Gentle Cleansing bar
Formula 10.0.6 So Totally Clean deep pore cleansing original formula

I also purchased 6 nail polishes.

Three are Color Club nail polishes, from left to right they are Modern Pink, Age of Aquarius, Hot couture--which is a glitter polish. One Sinful Colors polish in Nail Junkie. Two Revlon polishes in Radiant--glitter polish, and Smoldering.

Birchbox, Glamour style!

Hey adventurers! It seems that all of my monthly subscription services arrived at around the same time, I hope you don't mind all of the alike posts! This time it's Birchbox! If you don't know it's 10 dollars a month to get surprise samples to your door every month! This month they had a collaboration with Glamour Magazine.

In this month's box I received: 

Color Club's nailpolish in the color Blue-Ming(get it? blue-ming/blooming HA!) Full size $8

Gloss Moderne- High-Gloss Masque Full size $39

Harvey Prince- Eau Flirt (who woulda thunk it? Another perfume sample....) Full size- $55-$98

Manna Kadar Sheer Glo Shimmer Lotion Full size- $29

Suki Balancing Kit( the five packets that you see in the picture above) Full size- $40

The two extra's which were included in this kit is the Larabar Roasted Nut Roll and a pair of headphones.

Overview: I am not exactly sure how I feel about this box to be honest. I'm excited about the hair mask cause I have a lot of those to try, I'm just too lazy to wash my hair out 20 minutes later(to be honest again) and the nail polish is a really pretty color. But I'm just not that excited about this box.

Bottom Line: I don't feel like I got my 10 dollars this month. I mean if you look at the box, you'd see 10 dollars worth, but I feel like I could of spent my 10 dollars some other way, better.

and now pictures of how it comes wrapped!

xoxoAlaina

Nail of the day!

Wet 'n Wild's tickled pink & Sally Hanson Xtreme wear in Coral Reef. 

I used the Sally Hanson Vitasurge strengthener(I would NOT recommend this if you are going to paint your nails while using, it makes the nail polish slide right off the nails), Sally Hanson Salon effects gel base coat, and Sally Hanson Insta-dry topcoat(Love this stuff).

I find that these colors worked really well together and that they are bright and eye catching. I really enjoy these colors. They both are perfect for Summer. Coral Reef I used one heavy coat, and Tickled Pink I used two coats. They're a perfect combo! :D

xoxoAlaina