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?

First Impressions: Yuko Anti-Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner

I received this sample in one of my many beauty boxes that I was subscribed to at one point. I really never tried any of the products so they have been just sitting since I received them. I spent all the money, so I have to try them out right? The Yuko Anti-Frizz shampoo and conditioner was the lucky first product that I have to try out. I used them this morning right after I finished my workout. I have extremely curly hair that tends to be very dry and frizzy so naturally this would be a great product for me to try.

Tips for running during cold weather;

So I went out and I got some cold weather gear today and I thought that maybe some people would be just as unmotivated to get out in the weather as I was. So I put together a list of things that I find important when you go out this season. They are not in a particular order.

First Impression: Rocket Volum' Express Mascara

Source

I picked this mascara up months ago, and never even opened the package until about a week ago. Then this morning I decided to actually use it--ha, anyone else have this problem? buying things then not using them forever??-- and do a first impression on it. I haven't used many different kinds of mascara, I usually just stick to my favorites and not branch out in anyway--I used Benefit's They're real for 6 months straight for example-- but I really liked the packaging. I hadn't heard anything about it and was in a buying mood so I just bought it. I believe it was around 8 dollars.  Anyways, 

My Running Shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision 13.

All images used in this blog post are from Google, they're not mine.

 Source

After my horrible experience with the Nike Free's, I decided I was not going to choose Nike again. Read about my experience here. The shoes I decided on were the Mizuno Wave Precision 13. 

First time use: Soap & Glory's Sit Tight

Posting on my phone again because my hubs has the computer!  I just finished my workout and I was looking at my legs when I got out of the shower and I thought they could use a little help. I remembered I bought this awhile ago and thought what a good time to use it.

If you don't know what this product is; its a firming lotion that is targeted at people who sit down for most of the day. Its supposed to work with the heat of your legs on the chair, couch etc to firm up your legs.

The application is smooth and easy; twist the top from off to on, squeeze and roll on the area you would like to firm. I used it on my thighs and glutes. About a minute later I had a cooling feeling on the area. Not so much on my glutes, mostly on my thighs. I waited about 10 minutes to put my pants on and now that they're on and I'm sitting,  that cooling sensation has changed to a cooling heat. Its odd, its not so hot that its uncomfortable but its noticeable. 

Sephora says it takes about 4 weeks to see results. I'll keep you guys updated on how it goes.

Benefit Facial Moisturizers!

Have you been looking for a good moisturizer? or night cream? or eye cream? These three products have worked for me. I've been using them consistently for the passed year. I purchased the whole line of benefit b.right line including the face wash, scrub, remover. These three are my favorites. They are the Facial emulsion, the eye cream, and the total moisture facial cream.

Airplane Headaches;

Some back story first; my husband is in the military and with that means moving a lot. The past few weeks have been very stressful because of moving: making sure that the dogs are well enough to fly, making sure someone is there to pick them up, shipping both cars, getting all of our stuff packed. After everything was packed then I had to clean the house and make sure it passed inspection. SO we finally get to the airport and get on the plane. I had my CSI: NY on watched about 6 episodes--side note, the battery life on this MacBook is just amazing. It had 42% left after watching 6 episodes!-- I started getting this dull headache, thought nothing of it--headaches happen I actually thought that it was my headphones because I had never worn them that long before. Well when we started to descend it felt like my head was about to explode, so much pressure had built up all I could do was just cry. Couldn't stop myself, the tears were just rolling down my face, my head was piercing pain with random shots of more pain. The pain was almost unbearable and it's not like you can just ask the pilot to slow down with the descent--ha...

May Favorites

 It's that time again! End of the month and that means it's favorites time! As you may or may not know May--ha, get it?-- was a very exciting month for me. My husband came home from Deployment and we had our second anniversary. I was very busy had in-laws that came in and had to get back into the swing of things. I have 6 things this month as my favorites, not too many because I wasn't really dipping into the collection much. The first two are:

First Impression: Soap & Glory 'Clean On Me' body wash.

I stopped into Sephora recently and walked passed the Soap & Glory section to pick up another lotion and saw this; remembered that someone had mentioned that it was a really good moisturizing body wash and so I picked it up. It was only $5 so it wasn't that big of a gamble. This is the 3.4oz size so it's not the full size one, the full size is 16.2oz for $16. 

Fitness Friday: Why Nike Free's weren't for me.

As you may or may not know, I've become an avid runner. I love to run, running is my safe place. I bought myself these shoes about 3 months ago and in the beginning I loved them. They are extremely light, and when I say extremely, I mean extremely. They are very breathable which I loved too. I'd have an actual pictures of my shoes, but they are muddy and not very cute as they are 3 months old and I've already had to buy new shoes, these are the exact same shoes that I have though, same color and everything.  

I've seen pictures of these shoes everywhere, I bought them because they were on sale so there was my first major no-no. I run about 6-8 miles a week, and they were awesome with that. Then I started trail running 4.5 miles a stretch and I did that twice a week. 

First reason why they didn't get on with me, they gave me shin splints really bad. If you don't know what that is here's a quick description straight from google: Acute pain in the shin and lower leg caused by prolonged running, usually on hard surfaces-- Basically a deep sometimes throbbing pain in the shins while and after running. I always stretch so it wasn't that. The shin splints started before I started trail running. Basically the little support the shoe was giving me, was gone. 

I have a generally normal stride, don't step on the outer sides more or anything; generally pretty straight. I'd know because when I got my new shoes I went to somewhere that knew what they were doing. 

Second reason they didn't get on with me, they only lasted 50 miles or so. I started off easy into my running maybe a mile at a time. Then upped it to 2-3 and so on. So 3 months later and I hit 50 miles including my rest weeks because of the shin splints. A good pair of running shoes should typically last you about 250-350 miles. These shoes only lasted me about 50. 



What I believe Nike Free's would be good for:

• Aerobics
• Weight lifting
• Basic gym activities 
• Other things besides straight running

They would be a good pair of gym shoes if you go to the gym and do other things besides treadmill. I'll still use them, just not for running. 

Where else to find me:

Twitter: @AlainaKayy

Instagram: @AlainaKayy

Love of the moment: B&BW Aromatherapy SLEEP Body wash

Hey guys! I picked this up awhile ago when B&BW was doing their spring reset so they marked down a lot of their product. This bad boy was only 5 dollars so I was all over it. It's from their Aromatherapy line and it's called: Sleep Black Chamomile. The bottles description is: This renewing body was contains bamboo charcoal extract to help detoxify before sleep while an aromatherapy blend of essential oils helps you sleep well. I love the packaging on all the aromatherapy products in B&BW because the bottles are clear and whatever color you see is the actual product. Sleep is actually a shimmery black body wash that smells absolutely amazing. The smell is very calming and it's not too in your face. It definitely smells of chamomile. The scent doesn't linger too long on your skin, it's not harsh at all, and makes my skin soft. 

I hope that they bring these products back this year as I will definitely be getting more if they do! Even for the 13 dollar price tag on the bottom of this bottle. I love this stuff!

Thank you for reading!


Where else to find me?
Twitter @AlainaKayy
Instagram @AlainaKayy

A Lush bath: A French Kiss.

Hey guys!

 A little while ago I showed you what I purchased from LUSH and I used one of the bubble bars recently. 

This little guys name is 'A French Kiss'. Quoted directly from their website: There are a few ways one can French kiss. At LUSH we like to keep it clean by French Kiss-ing in a luxurious bubble bath. (If you like it Dirty we suggest you have a shower.) The fresh herbal fragrances of lavender, rosemary and thyme with essential oils from the hills of sun-soaked Provence go into our swirly love letter inspired by the warmth and beauty of the French countryside. It's even topped with a sprig of lavender. Lay back and relax into serene purple waters and soak up all of its relaxing benefits. On the website it looks more purple but the one that I bought in the store was more of a pink. 

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!

First time use review: Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel

Hey guys! So I picked this up a few weeks ago because I had a coupon for some disposable razors and decided that I might as well pick up a new shave gel while I was at it. I used it for the first time yesterday and I thought I would tell you how I like it.

Fitness Friday: Favorite Apps

Hey adventurers! Today's post is something different than usual and completely not what this blog has been about. But I'm thinking of starting a Fitness Friday, every Friday I'll make a post that is fitness related. Today is about apps. Smartphone apps. I have the Samsung Galaxy S3, don't know why that's important but I figure to just throw that out there. My two favorite fitness apps are RunKeeper, and NTC(Nike Training Club).

It's bath time! (Lush!)

Hey Adventurers! I went shopping at lush here and picked up some stuff! Just wanted to show ya'll what I got! 

Why I "cancelled" my monthly subscription boxes;

You may be wondering why cancelled is "". So I'll just come right out and say it, what actually happened was there was a fraud attempt on my credit card and so my bank sent me a new card and therefore the automatic payments stopped coming out of my account and therefore the boxes stopped coming. What this post should be called is "Why I couldn't be bothered to update my credit card information on my monthly subscription boxes" but that wouldn't exactly be the most uhm.. catching title, now would it?

But why didn't I update the information, you ask? Because what was coming to my door wasn't worth the money I was paying out. I was subscribed to Ipsy(myglam), birchbox, beauty army, test tube, and little black bag. If you add that up, that is $32 automatically a month, $30 a quarter, and $54.90 when I saw something that caught my eye on LBB. I know that it is my fault for signing up to all of the boxes, but they were so enticing at first; Who didn't want a box full of goodies showing up every month for only $10?

Target haul!

Hey adventurers! Gotta really quick haul for you and two announcements! One: Next week will be Concealer week! I review all of my concealers for you all. Two: This blog is not going to be only makeup, I'm expanding my horizons to household goods. I've really been wanting to review a few household items but I don't want to start a whole new blog. So I'm just going to add them into this one. On to the goodies!