Quickie Review - Nail Envy Nail Strengthener by OPI

Hey There!

I'm ready to toss my Nail Envy Nail Strengthener by OPI in the recycling bin. It's almost 2/3rds empty but it's gone all gloopy. When I first purchased it I told you that I'd report back. Well, I'm ready to report back.

I purchased this last fall (info here). At this point I had used it a bit and knew how I felt about it. The original price was $17.99 but I couponed and discounted and ended up paying $6 for it.

It's not the magical base coat that I wanted it to be. It was nice but it doesn't do anything special. If you are like me then you think that it's not worth the price. I mean I'd like a great nail base but at $18, I'm not willing to pay that amount if it doesn't do magical things.

My favorite top coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, is at most $7.49. I can normally get it for about $3 or $4 with coupons and discounts. It IS magical. I live for that stuff. I will not paint my nails without it. I take my nail color AND that top coat to the nail salon for pedicures. And, at highest price it's $7.49. That being the case, I don't think my base coat should be much higher than that.

I'm still playing with new base coats. It does take a long time to find one that you love. This bottle of OPI has lasted almost a full year. So, one would say that it was worth the price then.

Let's look at it this way. 

My most recent base coat purchase was Revlon Treat and Boost $3.49. Full price it's $6.28. Using it almost every week, that's twelve cents per use! If a twelve cent nail base is as good as a (do the math) thirty five cents nail base, which one do you choose? I go with the cheaper one if all things are equal.

I have nothing against OPI treatments. I'm sure they are lovely. And, if I were to find this discounted for five bucks, I'd pick it up. But if my Revlon Treat and Boost or some other nail base was on sale next to it...

...it would be a hard choice to make. And, I'm not sure the OPI Nail Envy Nail Strengthener would win.

Quickie Review - Yes To Carrots Nourishing Gentle Cleansing Wipes

Hey There!

I picked up these Yes To Carrots Nourishing Gentle Cleansing Wipes and had semi high hopes for them. I always have to be careful with the Yes To line. I have some food allergies and while I don't think these are dipped in carrots, I still have to be careful.

But, I'm not allergic to carrots so one would think this should be ok.

I tried them a few times last week and everything was fine. I wasn't in love with the wipes because I just didn't feel that they took off my makeup well. I also felt that there was a residue of some sort on my face. I picked up a 10 count pack so I was just going to go through it and move on.

This past weekend I wore quite a bit of makeup and needed more that just 1 wipe. It took 2 wipes to get all of the makeup off. I was ready to use my toner and then I felt the tingle.

It didn't burn. My face didn't turn red but it tingled and felt uncomfortable. I've learned over the years that the tingle is my sensor. When I feel the tingle it's time to get that shiz-nit off your face. The next step is burn and red.

I did a quick wipe off with a gentle cleanser and my face felt better after a few minutes. I didn't use toner just some of my most gentle moisturizer and went to bed. The next morning my face was fine but I still babied it. Luckily I didn't have to work because if I did, I wouldn't have worn any makeup. I would have just let my face rest.

So no. I won't try any more Yes To products. I've tried others and obviously fruit essence is not a fan of my face (or my face is not a fan of it). I wish I could use them because I hear great things about them. My face says no.

And I have to listen to my face.

Face Of The Day

Hey there!

I don't really have a setup where I can blog a "get ready with me" so instead I thought I'd show you the products that I used to get ready for an event that I went to (Doctor Who series premiere! Fan girl ahhhhh!). I went just a tad bit harder than I normally do for work makeup. I wanted to pull out all the stops 'cause let's face it, I don't get to do that very often.

So I moisturized and all that goodness, because your face needs it. I didn't use a primer because I forgot. I don't normally wear primer unless I'm going out for the evening and even though that was the case this time, I forgot. I'm sorry. But, if I had remembered, I would have used my Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer.

So I concealed with my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Biscuit. This is my favorite concealer. I've pulled the stopper out and I'm enjoying several more months of use. I also moisturized my lips with my REVO lip balm in grape. I've been liking it. I've also been sniffing my lips more and trying very hard not to lick them (cause the smell so good!).

I took care of my eyebrows really quickly. I had let them become very sasquatch-ish. I raised and plucked a bit and then used my Anastasia Brow Wiz in soft brown. I love it. Then I had to highlight my brows. I can't wear eyeshadow without eye issues but I can wear eyebrow makeup (I have blepharitis). So for my eyebrow makeup I used the browlighter in my Mally Citychick Smokey Eye Kit. Even though I got rid of most of my eyeshadow pallets, I kept this one for the browlighter and I am able to use the crease color as a top lid eyeliner (I didn't do that this time. I went naked eye).

Once my concealer set, I put on my MAC Studio Fix in NC42. It's my love and we go together. I have others that I use but when I need to look and feel my best, I use this one.

Then I decided to use a bronzer with LIFE. I pulled out my Tarte Park Avenue Princess Amazonian Clay Bronzer. I know that you can get the one that's real sparkly and the one that's matte and just gives a glow. I got the matte one but the glow is AMAZEBALLS! It is gorgeous and make my cheeks sing! I love wearing it for special occasions.

 

This picture doesn't do the glow justice!

If you are using a bronzer with such a gorgeous glow, you have to use a blush/highligher with the same glow. When I purchased the NYX Illuminator in Chaotic, I was disappointed with the result. I initially thought it would look good as a regular highlighter. Then I discovered that I needed to use it as a total cheek highlighter and then add a slight blush on top of it. It's an awesome bit of cheek glow and the packaging is darling!

And the blush that I used, very lightly, was my Sonia Kashuk Beautifying Blush in Spice. It's a warm peachy pink shade that I use as an everyday blush.

For my lips I went backwards. I started with my NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Spice Cake. It's beautiful color but because I don't wear eye color, it looks a bit weird when I pull out the totally dramatic lip color. So, I blotted it a tiny bit and then added a swipe of Wet n Wild lipstick in Wine Room. The resulting look was fierce! I really liked it! I will wear it a lot.

And then my little cute self went out and had a great time at the Doctor Who premiere. I met some new friends and took a picture with the Tardis!

OH! You might be wondering why I added specific colors to the products I wore. And, you might not even care. A few days ago I was attempting to purchase new makeup product and I couldn't remember the shade that I use to wear. I ran to my blog posts, because I thought surely I'd find the shade mentioned there! Nope! I hadn't been consciously adding shades to my posts! So, I decided I needed to begin doing that