September Faves

Hey there!

I must say that September was a pretty chill month. I didn't deviate from products most of the month. I was sick a few days and then super duper busy other days so it was just easier to keep to the status quo. So, the favorites are things that helped me stay on task.

The number one task is keeping moisturized. It's important and when you become my age, it's super important. My favorite moisturizers are my Laneige Water Bank Serum for my face and Nivea Moisturizing Creme for everywhere else. Laneige is a new favorite and Nivea is an oldie but goodie. They have both stayed on my body all month.

The key to a well moisturized body is also good bath products. You want to use bubble bath and shower gels that don't dry you out. My new first love are The Body Shop products. Anytime I see them in Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Homegoods wherever, I have permission (from myself) to pick them up. They smell so good and lather so well. I currently have a Vineyard Peach (repeat purchase!) and Honeymania (new purchase). They don't look used do they? That because you only need a little bit!

The other non makeup item that I've been loving are these new earrings that I picked up from the Atlanta Apparel Mart last month. I always run into Golden Stella and grab several pairs of earrings. They are cheap as chips and so comfortable. I think these were about five bucks and I have worn the heck out of them. I love them.

Makeup wise I've been highlighting the "BAM!" outta my cheeks. I've been using my e.l.f. Baked Highlighter in Pink Diamonds. I use this so much and it still looks brand new! That's because you don't need much. Some people say that there is too much fall out and that it's too chunky. That has not been my experience. It's smooth and stays where you put it. I find that I get many complements when I'm wearing this.

My lip color practically all month has been my Revlon Superlustrous lipstick in Blushing Nude. It's a gorgeous warm, pinky nude. It's creamy and I don't need to use a lip balm beforehand. I keep this sucker in my purse and I'm always ready to go!

And my last favorite is currently gracing my toes. I am wearing the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Berry Magical. A-MA-ZING. I wanted to wear a dark color to get my head ready for Fall (it takes a lot of prep work for me to prepare). I knew it was going to be pretty but nothing prepared me for this! I'm ready to paint my nails with this again!

These have been my faves for September. I really have been using the heck out of these products and it's going to take a lot of me to switch it up...but I will.

What have you been loving this month? Are you going to keep it in rotation or add something new?

Nail Polish Change - Wet n Wild in Candid Affair & Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue

Hey there!

I know that it's been a while since I dipped my nails in polish. I decided to tone back the nail polishing because my nails started to look really good. At first I didn't understand. I mean, I didn't polish my nails, let them get all chippy and crap and ignored them.

And they grew!

And they got stronger!

So obviously nail neglect is nail love!

Or something like that. Anywho, I pulled out a Wet n Wild nail color in Candid Affair. It's a beautiful lilac shimmer cream color (yeah, I said all that) and look at my nails. Look at them! Delicious! I love this color. It matches my complexion and it goes along with my summer pastel love that's been happening this year. I always say that Wet n Wild is one of my all time favorite polishes and $1.99 is a better than fantastic price for this.

Wet n Wild polishes last for several days (or a full week 'cause I don't know when I'm polishing my nails again! #lazy). The formula is so easy to work with. I own a lot (A LOT - think more than 50) of Wet n Wild and I think I might have 1 that was a bad formula. The tapered brush is great and makes polishing my nails so easy. If I had to give a con to counter this list of pros I'd say I want MORE!!! It's about time for a new collection.

PLEASE!!

Now these toes? Yaaaaass! Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue. I hesitated but I am enjoying it. My tootsies are getting some wanted attention, as well as the odd toe fetish creeper's unwanted attention (You shouldn't be drooling when you say "nice feet", sir!).

Now SallyH can have some difficult formulations but this one is not. It's a dream to work with. I hate that it's discontinued but I have picked up Julie G's Cabana Boy as a decent dupe. 

I'm loving my fingers and toes folks! What are you wearing this week? Are you loving it? 

Stop looking at my feet!

Nail Polish Change - Orange Nails

Hey there!

I love the fact that summer lets me splash bright colors on my fingers and toes. I am a girl that loves splashes of color and my toes are always a willing canvas for color!

The only thing I have to watch out for is tanning. Towards the middle of summer my hands and feet turn a darker golden shade and that doesn't always work with orange polish. 

But, I have still managed to pull together some of my favorite oranges that help me cool off in the summer!

Mardi Gras by SinfulColors is a melon creme. It's smooth and I can take it from spring into fall. It's almost a one coater. 

Orange Crush by SinfulColors is one of two colors that I use the word "juicy" to describe. I am not a big fan of textured polishes but I keep reaching for this one. I pop on a top coat and all is right with the world. 

Charismatic by Revlon is a shimmering creme polish that is perfect with a "just tanned foot". It doesn't work after the third or fourth tan so I wear it early in the summer. 

Poppy by SallyHansen is an orange almost a pink. It's one of those colors that could go either way. I've had this one for years and it makes an appearance two or more times each year. It's so versatile that you just want to play with it. 

Luck à l'orange by Wet n Wild is my other "juicy" color. It's a shimmer that looks nothing like orange the fruit, but man it's what a summer orange is all about to me. I wear the heck outta this one. It's beautiful no matter how tan your skin gets. It's just a great color on any skin tone. 

Love Me Some Muscles! by Wet n Wild is one I hesitated with. It's a midtone melon but it's kinda blah to me. There isn't any BAM! about this color by amazingly, I reach for this when I need a conservative orange. I can wear one coat and it's a bit sheerer and modest or I can go with two coats and still be pretty modest. 

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if the weather is hot where you are or just slightly warm. These oranges will change your life!

Or at least your nails!

New Products That I Have To Have!

Hey There!

I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading blogs and watching YouTube videos dedicated to beauty and nails and such. What I've been reading recently is about all of the new stuff that is coming out in 2015. And, I have been salivating. A. Lot.

There is a lot of great stuff planned for 2015 and some of it I want to see from afar, some of it I want right now!

(Photo credit Stylebistro.com)

Deborah Lippman All About That Base base coat ($20) - I am kinda excited about this. I like base coats. I like the ones that nourish while they protect your nail from staining. I only have 1 Deborah Lippmann nail polish but I am looking to get more. I certainly got excited about this base coat. I'm almost out of my current base coats so maybe I'll put a few dollars away and get this when it's time.

Caudalíe Premier Cru The Elixir Dry Oil ($99) - I've mentioned my love of Caudalíe. I currently have my Caudalíe Beauty Elixir spray that I am in love with. I just requested a sample of the dry oil online. If it's a great as I think it will be, I'm just out $99.

(Photo credit Stylebistro.com)

Dial Miracle Oil Marula Oil Body Wash ($5). You know I love body wash. I have been trying not to buy a lot of it so I am picking and choosing my new bath products carefully. I do believe that this one will the fight. I am so excited to try it.

Bite Beauty Butter Cream Lipsticks ($28) - Just one! Or maybe two. I love Bite Beauty lippies so much. I wore Pepper on my lips today and raved about how creamy it is. No, they aren't cheap but this is something I'm going to have to save up my pennies and try. Just one! Or two.

Sally Hansen Polish ($2.99 and up) - I want every new color that they have. No, not really (YES, REALLY!). I don't have to have any of the Patent Glosses (yet) or any of the new Insta-Dri's but The Complete Salon Manicure has some great colors out. Ginger Zinger, Scarlet Lacquer and Snow Globe need to come home with me.

(Photo credit Sallyhansen.com)

The Luxe Lace and Velvet Texture lines don't interest me but Hard As Nails Xtreme will be coming home with me. Mauve Over is already at my house. It's touted as the color of the year. Lightshow, Disco Ball and Bare It All will probably be at my house as well. I know that I don't need another polish but damn it! I like polish. Don't bother me.

Sephora Favorites - The Great Cleanse ($48). I really like the Sephora Favorite because (in this case) you get 12 mini cleansers that you get to try out before purchasing large ones. I'm already using 1 of these but the Caudalíe Cleansing Water, Origins Face Wash and the Boscia Cleansing Sponge look like winners. The things that I've already tried or have a full size of can go home with friends.

(Photo credit acnefree.com)

AcneFree Drying Lotion ($5) - I am excited about this product for the kiddo. She has a really bad acne problem (cause she's a teenager) and we've tried everything. I didn't try other drying lotions because I was so unsure about them and it was quite a bit to drop. But, this produce is more reasonable. I'll let you folks know how it works.

So that's what I'm currently drooling over. Don't worry. I'll probably purchase everything I mentioned and you'll get reviews. The only thing I might not buy is the Caudalíe Premier Cru The Elixir Dry Oil. However, my birthday is in April so....

Just stay tuned. Your life will be rewarded quicker that way!

It's A Haul Y'all! - Nail Polish

Hey there!

I'm not ready to talk about it yet! The weekend isn't over and I have a feeling I will end up BACK at a Sephora this weekend. Stop sucking in your teeth!

What I did do is use some of my CVS cash to pick up some nail polish over the past few weeks. I don't like to leave CVS bucks on the table so what better way to use them than with more beauty products. I decided to splurge on my Sally Hansen products and get 2 from the Salon Manicure line. Those are the ones that are always about $7.79. CVS had a buy $10 worth and get $2 off and I had to use my $6 CVS bucks that day or lose them. So, that made them $3.79 each. I picked up Ruby Do and So Much Fawn. So pretty, don't you think?

I took a trip to a different Wal-Mart and found some really cute NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel colors. NYC has really good polish and I try make sure to look and verify that I have all the ones I like. They are always $.93 or less at Wal-Mart so you really can't go wrong trying a new color. I picked up Lexington Lilac and Wine Bar. I thought that Wine Bar would be my favorite of the two colors but just look at that lilac color! That's a warm color that I can wear this fall for sure! I'm so glad I bought that one.

I always keep my eyes peeled when walking through the Dollar Tree. You just don't know what you'll find in there. This time I found an old Wet n Wild, Wild Shine in Hallucinate. There are a lot of sparkles in it and it almost does as good a job as my China Glaze in Travel in Color, but not quite.

I don't think that I mentioned my Nicole by OPI find. What's the Mitch-uation was a color from their Modern Family Line. I found mine at Marshalls for $2.99. It's pretty but I can't say it's as pretty as I thought it would be. We'll see what I think when it's on my fingers.

And a super quick Sephora mention. Yesterday when I went in the store (don't you dare judge me! It's 20% off people!), I swung past the clearance section. I wanted to make sure that I had all of the $.99 cent nail polish that they had. I apparently had missed one so I spent $.79 on this bottle of polish in Mystic Gothic. Pretty huh? Worth $.79, so going into the store was a good idea, huh?! (Well, no, I spent waaaay more than $.79 but we aren't here to talk about that).

And that's what I've added to the polish collection over the last month (not including the colors from my Ipsy bag). Only 7 polishes in a month. That's pretty good for me! I'm proud of myself!

What have you been buying to wrap your fingernails and toe nails in? Have they been splurges or cheap goodies?

Sunday Funday - Fall Nail Colors (Chocolate)

Hey There!

A few weeks ago I showed you all my pumpkin/orange nail polishes. It really was a way to gently push me into Fall. Well, I've been watching videos and reading other folks blogs and they have thrown me into Fall (without a parachute). I won't belabor the point that I'm not a fan of cold weather (I've beat that imaginary horse to death) so I'll just show you my chocolate nail collection.

I love anything chocolate. Chocolate bars, ice cream, eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick, nail polish...if it's chocolate, I like it! So, I was surprised when I had more pumpkin/orange nail polish that I did chocolate nail polish. Now, I do have plenty of brown polishes that don't exactly fit into the chocolate realm (too peachy or blackish or leaning toward other colors) but I did have 7 that came near chocolate bar standards.

L'Oreal isn't my favorite nail polish in the world. The brush is too narrow, the color selection isn't as vast as I'd like and the formula chips quicker than most. For the price tag ($4.27 - $5.99) I'd like the formula to be better. Let me get a good 5 days out of you before you chip. Now, these particular colors (doutzen's nude & julianne's nude) are so pretty but if they chip in 2 days, it's not worth it for me. I originally bought them because of International Envy and now I've learned my lesson.

Sinful Colors nail polish makes me all tingly inside. I can wear their polishes for 5 days before the tips begin to chip. The brush isn't tapered but it's wide enough that I'm able to paint my nail without dipping into the bottle twelve times. And this color (Vacation Time) is to die for. It's pretty much the same as the L'Oreal julianne's nude but because the formula is better, so I reach for Sinful Colors more often.

I have this Avon color (Golden Sand) as a hold out from when I had only a few colors (many years ago). I wore this one all the time and didn't care about chips or not. I'd go 2 weeks before I changed polish! I wouldn't dare do that now! But, this is a good polish. The color isn't as rich and chocolaty as some of my other colors but it's a good formula. I have tried some of the newer Avon polishes and didn't like their formula (even though it was from the same line). Companies have to remember that if you change one tiny thing, it could make your product not so great.

I resisted purchasing Essie polishes for a looooong time. I was gifted one many years ago and I didn't see the big deal. It lasted just as long as anything else and the color range, while good, wasn't anything amazing. Even now, I purchase certain colors at full price (normally about $8.50, $8.99) because I REALLY like them. Otherwise, I get them with some sort of discount at Ulta, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or Target. I try my hardest not to pay full price for an Essie polish. I bought this one (Mink Muffs) because I thought it was a nice, deep chocolate polish but I have only worn it once.

China Glaze (Chocodisiac) and Sally Hansen (Branch Out) have each been worn once on my toes. They are nice colors against pale skin so they are going to be great on my fingers once my tan wears off. Until then, toes here they come. Both polish formulas are good and they last quite a while before chipping. China Glaze has a smaller brush so it's harder to do the toesies but Sally Hansen has that tapered brush that I love, so it's easier.

Again, these are just some of the Chocolatey goodness that goes on my nails during the Fall and Winter. I am now lighting pumpkin candles and drinking my winter teas and coffees so I'm reluctantly committed to Fall.

I'm still praying for a warm winter without any snow.

Nude Lip Crayons

Hey there!!

Keeping with the nude theme...

I gave away a ton of makeup items a few weeks ago. One product that I didn't sort through were my lip color pencils/crayons/balms/whatevers in nude. I had, yep, 6 of seemingly, the same color (Surprise, surprise!). However, you can't go by the color of the tube! It will get you every time.

The first 2 colors are Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balms in Ingénue and Coy. I love the smell of these. They have a sweet, pepperminty vanilla smell. They last quite a while and they are super comfortable to wear. Ingénue is a bit lighter than I like but Coy is perfect to wear alone. I often pop this bad boy out, no liner, no lipstick, no nuthin! Both of these get to stay in my collection.

I stay in my local Sally Beauty supply so when I saw that Femme Couture (Barely Blushing) had a lip crayon, I was ready to try it. I quickly discovered that the color was completely wrong. It is too pink for me. The formula is good (it lasts for several hours) but the smell is horrible. It smells like makeup. You know what I mean. This color cannot stay in my collection. I can't do a thing with it.

J Cat is a beauty supply store company that gets overlooked so many times. You can't sleep on them though. You'll miss out on something good. I always make sure I checkout what they have. In this case, some folks are going to miss out on the Twist and Kiss Hydrating Lip Balm in Jawline Kiss. This really is a great lip crayon. The color is almost too pink but I just use a deeper lip liner underneath and change it slightly. The formula is good. It stains just a bit (I don't like stains) but it certainly gets to stay in my collection.

Jordana Twist and Shines were all over YouTube when I purchased half the collection. They are good lip crayons and Terra Crave is a great color. They don't last worth squat though. You have to reapply often but they are so inexpensive that you don't really worry about that. I like them but there are so many really great lip crayons that I probably won't repurchase these.

And last but not least is the Sally Hansen Colorfast Tint + Moisture Balm in Nude N' Natural. I like the product but this is certainly the wrong shade. They are super sheer so you almost have to use a lip liner or lipstick underneath. And, they don't last as long as others. If I had picked another color, I'd probably keep it but I can't do anything with this color. And, I certainly wouldn't repurchase it.

So, I didn't get rid of these initially because I wanted to test them out. And, because I wanted to write this post, I did test them. And now I can toss the Femme Couture and Sally Hansen. I'll use the Jordana Twist and Shine until it's done but I won't repurchase it and anytime JCat Twist and Kiss or Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm come out with anything new, I'll be in line to purchase it.

Weekend Haul

Hey there!

I didn't do as much damage as I thought I would folks. I had some retail therapy planned this weekend. I had a rough week and only saving money helps with that kind of week! I'll make sure to tell you what I think about everything that I purchased.

My first stop...Walgreens. Several folks had posted on Instagram, their super finds. Sighhhh. My 2 local Walgreens didn't have those same super finds. I picked up the two Baby Lips Balms that you see (Just Peachy & Coral Crave) and Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant nail polish (Diva After Dark). I didn't see much else. I'm not sure if the good folks hadn't had time to put stickers on stuff but Walgreens doesn't have a price checker like CVS so it's hard to know.

Anywho, my next stop was Ulta. I've mentioned a few times that I don't make it to Ulta often because I don't live near one. So, when I get there, I linger. Oddly enough, I linger near the cash register only. Yesterday the deals at the register were mainly nail polish. I had just gotten a ton of polish during the CVS Super Spectacular Mega Haul so it wasn't as if I needed much more. But, I caught some Zoya polish (Dhara - PixieDust, Piaf - Metalic & Carter - PixieDust) on sale for $4.99 and I had my $3.50 off of $10 coupon so I decided to add to the collection. This is almost the only time that I purchase high end polishes. I can't drop $8.50 for a nail polish. This is the perfect time.

I was looking for a black sweater to make one of my dresses office worthy and wandered into Dillard's. These pretty blue boxes (with pink discount stickers) caught my eye. DuWop cosmetics appears to be leaving Dillard's (I didn't investigate that or anything, I'm just speculating). They had quite a few things but the Double Glow 7 luminous face balm (champagne) and Keep Blushing water resistant blush (rose) caught my eye. The face balm is normally $25 but I got it for $6.50 and the blush is normally $22 and I got it for $5.50. Sounds great...unless I like them and want more!

Right next to Dillard's was Bath & Body Works. They were having their semi-annual sale. Unfortunately they didn't have the Signature Lemon scent that I loooooove. So I settled for Coconut Lime Breeze, and Malibu Heat shower gels. I also got Peach Bellini and Watermelon Lemonade candles in a jar. I've been picking up quite a few candles lately so I didn't want to add too many. As I type this I have 3 candles burning in different rooms. Someone call the fire department! Oh, I also picked up 3 hand soaps - Berry Sangria, Orange Creamsicle Swirl and Sugar Berry Shortcake. I think I was the last person on earth to get on the B&BW hand soap craze. I had been using whatever else I found but on Black Friday this past year I purchased 2 and the kiddo made me promise we wouldn't use anything else from then on. I agree.

I also picked up a small early-harvest raspberry bubble bath from The Body Shop for $4. I think the early-harvest raspberry line must be a scent that they are discontinuing because the early-harvest raspberry soap, lotion, room spray and body butter was on sale too. I looked on their website and perhaps they are just making way for...raspberry scent. Seriously, go look.

Target didn't have as much as I thought it would but I picked up a Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer in Berried Under. My mom picked up Cinny Sweet. Mom loves deep berry or wine colors. It's almost the only thing in her collection.

The other polishes I picked up were from Victoria's Secret. They are discontinuing their makeup line so everything was half price. I've never tried their nail polish but I've been on a pink kick so I thought I'd try String Bikini (bubble gum pink) and Peep Show (pearlescent pink). I also picked up a metalized eye shadow in Gold Card, a lip gloss in Devotion and a lipstick in True. I do plan to visit another Victoria's Secret and see if I can find anything else...

...because obviously this haul wasn't big enough! I need more!

No worries. I'll most definitely find more.

Spring Favorites

Hey there!

I thought I'd change it up and drop a fun faves post. I originally thought I'd do the sundress weather tag but I didn't really feel like it said anything about me in relation to makeup. I decided to just pull random spring questions from the web. While I like Spring, my favorite time of the year is Summer because it's hot. I live in Atlanta and normally Spring time means that the hot weather is coming soon. Of course this year it's been cooler than normal. Just 3 days ago I had on a coat. A coat people, on April 14 -- in Atlanta.

BTW, I keep saying hot weather because I'm not talking about comfortably warm weather that requires a light sweater in the morning. I'm talking hot weather. You wake up a tad bit sweaty cause the 2 fans on you didn't do the trick overnight and your ac bill triples but you don't care. And, you keep 2 full ice tray's in the freezer at all times because you are going to need an iced drink the second you get out of bed. I like that kind of hot. I really do.

Any who, Spring has sprung -- even if the weather doesn't say so. That means that Summer is around the corner.  So, let's talk about the things I like about spring.

Favorite Spring Candle Scent?

I have been loving my Target Sweet Spun Sugar scented soy candle. It fills the rooms with sweet, cotton candy scented goodness. I know that everyone rants and raves about the Bath & Body Works candles but really, this one is nothing to sneeze at. In my opinion, it's just as good but half the price.

Runner up? Yes, it's a Bath & Body Works scented candle. It's the one in Pink Bubblegum. I buy 3 for $10 mini's and it makes me feel better. But this one, I'd pay full price for a large one. So yummy smelling!

Favorite Spring Bubble Bath?

There are three that I've been loving. I picked up this Philosophy Strawberry Italian Soda bubble bath from Marshalls for $10. It smells like strawberry soda. I mean you can smell the bubbles. Yes, that sounds like crazy talk but you can, you really can.

Bath & Body Works Signature line has some of my favorites. I always have to wait for the special sales when these come out. My favorite of all time is the Signature Vanillas Shower Gel in Lemon. OMG. It is amazing. I'm using this one sparingly because I'm down to my last bottle. Next time it goes on sale you must grab one. You'll love it.

Another Bath & Body Works fave is Orange Ginger in the Aromatherapy line. It's a nice smelling body wash that I only use during the day. I just feel like this one wakes me up and leaves me feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

Top Row: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Poppy, Rimmel 60 Seconds in Golden Hour & Pulsating, Rimmel Sweetie Crush in Candyfloss Cutie & Violet Swizzle
Bottom Row: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Pumped Up Pink, Wet n Wild Megalast in Bite The Bullet & Revlon polishes in Strawberry Electric Spidey Sense & Charismatic

Favorite Spring Nail Polish Colors?

Yes, I know that pulling out 10 is probably over kill but I keep my finger nails and toe nails painted and that takes a lot of polish. Many of these are new (Rimmel 60 seconds in Golden Hour and Pulsating, Rimmel Sweetie Crush in Candyfloss Cutie and Violet Swizzle, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Pumped Up Pink, Wet n Wild Megalast in Bite The Bullet and Revlon polishes in Spidey Sense and Charismatic) but I have my old standbys (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Poppy and Revlon in Strawberry Electric). If I have to pick a favorite, favorite, it would be the Revlon nails in Strawberry Electric. I probably need to get a backup cause I would be so sad is this one ran out.

Favorite Spring Lip gloss?

You know how I love lip gloss. I have a lot. No, I don't know how many. I can't count that high. But, my favorite 3 are the Lancôme Gloss in Love in Cinema Cinnamon, Revlon Colorburst in Peony and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Pinkissimo. These colors are light and beautiful on their own and when you add a liner with them or apply them over a light lipstick you get a BAM! for your lips. They are in my Spring rotation and I'm sure that I'll keep them in the Summer.

Spring Trend I'm Loving

Party accent nails are awesome! They let me get away with fun colors while wearing neutral colors on the other 8. I was like the whole nude lip thing but I think that was winter, not spring. I'm not 100% sure what else is happening but I'm on board with the party nail.

 

These are silver earrings. The lighting isn't the best!

Favorite Spring scarf or accessory?

Earrings. LOL. I know that sounds weird but I love earrings and my favorite type of earrings are hoops. How much do I love hoops? I own about 22 pairs of hoops right now. My favorites are these three. The large ones are fun and funky, the smallest pair are classic and the smooth pair are just awesome. I wear each of these at least once a week.

And there you have it! Those are my Spring Favorites. What are you liking this spring? What things are you avoiding like the plague? What Spring Faves are you willing to spend a lot on and what trend wouldn't  you purchase with a money making coupon?