Don't mind my lack of posts this week. I'm somehow going to blame it on the snow. We've got lots of that up here in Boston these days. Apparently it's a record amount of snowfall in a 30-day period, and the city is kind of losing its shit. They don't know where to put all this snow, so streets have become narrower, snowbanks have gotten higher, and malcontent has juuuuust about reached its saturation point. Personally, I take my life into my hands each time I creep my car - inch by inch - out of my building's parking lot, because the snowbanks are so high that there's absolutely no way to know if there's a car coming or not. It's a real gamble every time - one that may soon cause me to experience either a car accident or a heart attack. I'm hoping for neither... wish me luck.
Obligatory weather-talk aside, guess what else I've been doing like a champ this week that's kept me from blogging...
It's been so long since I've been able to have a normal-ish gym routine, thanks to the many aches, pains, ailments, troubles, et ceteras that I've been bitching about since the summer. With physical therapy now in my rear view and the numbness gone from my arm, I'm back to taking advantage of my Gold's Gym membership. It feels amazing, and I can't wait to see myself tone up again! It's been hard to eat whatever the hell I wantand maintain my girlish figure at the same time these last few months. ;)
Anycrap. [Insert normal segue.] I know last week's nail polish blog was rife with grumpiness about Valentine's Day, but something inside me insisted upon an official VDay mani after all. Whatever. Shut up. Here it is:
No hearts though. Eff that.
The red is A List from Essie, silver is Diamond Texture from Revlon, and the middle finger is Snow Me White by Sinful Colors topped with Clearly Spotted from Maybelline.
The red nails all required 3 coats, and they're still not totally opaque. The formula of A List is really beautiful... but it's thin. Much like Giuliana Rancic.
Speaking of her and that (hey look, a relevant segue!), I didn't watch the Grammys last week because I don't have cable, but I have watched some of the highlights online. Two damn words y'all: Annie. Lennox. Two more words: SHE TOOK ME TO CHURCH 'N PUT A SPELL ON ME, FOR REALSIES. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please behold:
Mmmmmmhmm. Spectacular.
This weekend I'm going home to Pittsfield to visit my family - seemed like a nice way to spend Valentine's Day, plus it's my little sister's 23rd birthday. Yeah, my baby sister is turning 23. Time, AMIRIGHT? Shit marches on.
Wish me luck in my travels this weekend because there is another round of snow/blizzard coming our way. I have a feeling the 2.5-hour drive from Pittsfield back to Boston may be closer to a 5-hour drive through the snow on Sunday! Eesh.
The mediocre mani you'll see below was four G.D. attempts in the making.
FOUR OF EM.
Each time was with different polishes, but they all just kept turning out like straight garbage. Whether it was a wretched polish formula or an inadequately opaque glitter, nothing was pleasing me. When I finally landed on this combo of a galaxy-esque polish and accents of silver glitter, I was ready to leave it on whether it was fabulous or not. Spoiler alert (from the first sentence of this blog): It wasn't extremely fabulous, but it's fine. It's FINE. UGH.
The blueish-purpleish-holographickish polish is Mysterious Curse from Orly, and I haven't featured it on my blog since waaaaaaaaaay back in October 2012 when it was on my list of favorite Fall nail polishes.
. WHY do my hands look like they are full of jaundice and sans any circulation?! .
On my ring finger and thumb nail I did two coats of Pure Ice Beware (an old favorite of mine that also hasn't been featured here in awhile), topped with one coat of Platinum Adorn (a glitter with silver hexes and fine silver bars from Maybelline's Color Show Jewels line).
I hadn't used Beware in quite awhile, even though it used to be on pretty heavy rotation on my nails. Here are some other ways I've used it:
Not much else to say about these nails - they're just mreh for me, personally. I wish some of the other polishes I'd tried first had worked out because their color combinations would have been much more interesting than this.
On a brighter note, to make up for the ridiculousness of my multiple nail failures, the universe ushered into my life two exciting positives yesterday:
1. I finally ditched the non-smartphone Samsung Brightside I'd been using for the last 2+ years and replaced it with my first-ever iPhone! It's an iPhone 5S, and owning it is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. On the one hand... Data. Internet. Apps. On the other hand... the dreaded screen shatter. Don't think for one second that I haven't noticed all of my friends' iPhones screens break into a million pieces, Apple. I immediately purchased an Otter Box to go with mine. Wish me luck!
2. .... And this one's a biggie...... I bought a plane ticket to Panama for April! YEAH, PANAMA THE COUNTRY. NOT THE CITY IN FLORIDA. A few months ago, my cousin Catherine mentioned to me that she was planning a trip to Panama during her April vacation from school (she is a high school Italian teacher), to which I promptly responded, "I am coming with you." And I meant it.
Besides Canada, I've never traveled to another country before, which is why it's such a huge deal to me. Traveling to exciting places has always seemed way out of my league... but it isn't, in reality. In reality, I have the means to do it and the time to take off from work... and those are two of the most important obstacles to clear if one wants to travel. And I do want to travel. Real bad.
So pats on the back for me. Here, here. Whoop, whoop. :)
And speaking of pats... DOSE PATRIOTS DOE! Big football game on Sunday - pretty much the highlight of my upcoming weekend so far.
What are you up to this weekend?
Any big trips planned for your 2015?
Whatcha rockin' on your nails?
Heyoooo! This week has been chock-full of me doing Christmas prep in the form of buying and wrapping presents, so I didn't have a ton of time to work on nails. The gift-wrapping that I did has me feeling PRETTY self-satisfied, so it will be super exciting me for me to eventually share that here on my blog with lots of pictures... but in the meantime, here is a re-do of the Christmassy nails I did last week but was unable to photograph at the time.
I used my Revlon Parfumerie polish in the color Balsam Fir and a Maybelline Color Show polish in the color Gilded Rose. All of my fingers besides my ring finger got 2 coats of Balsam Fir, while my ring finger got 3 coats of Gilded Rose. I also topped my middle finger with one coat of Gilded Rose for some extra bling.
Aside from gift-wrapping, this has been a busy week! On Monday evening I had physical therapy followed by a dinner date at Sei Bar with my friend Stephanie and her friend Cris. On Wednesday I spent the evening volunteering at a local food pantry, and last night I had physical therapy followed by a holiday event at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Tonight my friend Kara and I are taking a *romantic* stroll through Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood to look at Christmas decorations. Beacon Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Boston, and the old buildings and cobblestone streets make for a really magical Christmas stroll, so it's been on my list of December must-do's. Thank god Kara agreed to do it with me haha - otherwise it might have been the prettiest, loneliest walk of my year! I'll take pictures of the decorations, and if they come out well I'll post them in a blog.
I hope your week has been going well!
What are your plans for the weekend?
What are you rocking on your nails today?
Anyone who knows me will tell you I love the color mint, as you might have noticed at some point by the bounty of minty colored things I purchase or feature on my blog in nail polish looks. It's most generally thought of as a springtime pastel or a summery color, but I'm a fan of trying to bring mint into the colder months as well. Pairing it with taupes, browns and beiges is one of my favorite ways to do that... hence today's nails.
Sidebar... it's been REALLY difficult for me to get colors to photograph correctly in my new apartment. The lighting is so bizarre at all different parts of the day! Sometimes things look much more yellow or blue in my photos than they are in real life.
Anyway, this is two coats of Essie's Case Study on my pointer, middle and pinky fingers, with 2 coats of a Love & Beauty creamy mint polish on my thumb and ring fingers. Over the mint I've also added 3 coats of a new Maybelline Color Show polish - Precious Pearl from the Jewels line of the polishes.
In addition to my fondness for mint, perhaps you've also noticed how much I dig these different Color Show polishes. They offer such cool effects and unique glitters! Precious Pearl has four different sizes of white glitter inside a clear base - the effect is reminiscent of what you'd see in a snowglobe. And since it's white, this glitter will go well over pretty much any color... so I'ma put that on everything.
Here are some other recent much-loved manis using Color Show polishes:
In other news, it's been a decent week. On Wednesday evening I had dinner in Boston with an old friend, the ever-luminescent Kate. It was one of those amazing times when you haven't seen someone in years, but it's as if you never left each other. There were many congratulations exchanged on neither of us apparently aging a day since our last meeting (which, for the record, was probably early 2009). As an added bonus to our reunion, the restaurant we ate at - Douzo, in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood - served us some exceptional sushi.
Last night on a semi-whim I went and got a little haircut at a James Joseph Salon near my apartment. It was just a 2-inch trim (trim on a whim, anyone?), but a refresh was in order because there were some serious split ends starting to pop up. My cut was preceded by an in-cred-ible shampooing and head massage that instantly and unexpectedly relaxed the bejesus out of me, and my stylist Edda was absolutely lovely. I'll definitely be back to that location in the future!
Tonight I'm doing something completely new and different for me: I'm heading to a 2-hour guided meditation session with Kara! Here's the description of the event:
Treat your soul to two hours of guided meditation focusing on the connection between the heart- or Anahata- chakra, and the third eye- or Ajna- chakra, while in restorative postures to access a deep state of relaxation and healing. The meditation will be set to a special gong meditation that focuses on frequencies of the heart chakra and the third eye chakra which will elevate your vibrational state of being. The intention is to experience expansion between heart, mind and intuition.
I've never done a single thing like that before, so it should be interesting. Maybe enlightening? POSSIBLY EVEN EARTH-MOVING?? I'll be sure to let you know. I could sure use some tools to help me quiet my mind and reach a state of healing, that's fo damn sho!
The rest of the weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy as well, with a trip down to Roslindale tomorrow to help my friend Anna with some apartment decorating, a Patriots game to watch on Sunday afternoon, and an early friends-Thanksgiving at Kate's new condo on Sunday evening that she was kind enough to invite me to!
What do you have going on this weekend?
Do you believe in wearing mint after Labor Day?
Have you ever done a meditation session like what I've just described? What did you think??
Don't spit at me, but today's nails are not even slightly autumnal. They're also a bit more "16-year-old girl" than "adult about to turn 30 in a few weeks," but it's my hot body and I'll do what I want!
Clearly I just can't get enough of this Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots polish. I keep reaching for it!
This is two coats of Fuchsia Fever by Revlon on my pinky, pointer and thumb nails. Two coats of Snow Me White by Sinful Colors on my ring finger and middle fingers. My ring finger is topped with two coats of Clearly Spotted by Maybelline. On my middle finger, I used my dotting tool to add polka dots in Revlon's Stiletto. (On my left hand, I did fuchsia polka dots on my middle finger, but wasn't as pleased with how it looked.)
You can see my other manis using Clearly Spotted hereand here. I'm quite fond of both of them.
Tonight my brother Rob is picking me up and we are heading back to western Massachusetts to visit with my family for the weekend. My sister Mallory is turning 31 on Monday, so we thought it would be nice to go see her and give her a present or a high-five - or maybe even both. Probably both. I'll also get to see my nephew and niece, who are both just as clever and hysterical as can be. Maybe I'll even get to hit up an apple orchard while I'm there! I certainly know a great one in the area...
What are you up to this weekend?
Any family time planned?
Show me what you're rocking on your nails via Twitter or Instagram!
I hope that you've already let the rhythm take you over since reading the title of this blog. I know I have.
... Sorry, I'm sure there's an Enrique reference in every single post I've done that includes this turquoise nail polish haha. Forgive me.
This mani uses Bailamos by ORLY (2 coats for opacity) on all fingers except my ring. For an accent nail I used one coat of Sinful Colors Snow Me White topped with two coats of Maybelline Color Show Clearly Spotted.
I'm a big fan of Clearly Spotted over a white base. It makes me think of cookies 'n cream every time it catches my eye. Nom.
Bailamos was one of the bottles that took a pretty direct hit in the Great Nail Polish Moving Failure of 2014, so it is now sporting a solid amount of "Sweet Pea" by Bath and Body Works...
Last night I went out for sushi in Medford at Sei Bar with my friends Steph and Kara. I had some scrumptious rolls - the Medford Maki with grilled salmon, avocado, and cucumber, topped with tempura crumbs, crab meat and spicy mayo; and a Beef Terikaki Maki. I'm usually drawn to the crunchy rolls with spicy mayo - how about you guys?
I have no plans this weekend other than maybe heading down to Steph's condo to chill out and watch some movies with her. It's still so nice to be able to just get together with my best friends on a weeknight or lounge around together on a weekend. This was sorely missing from my life while I was on the West Coast!
What are you getting into this weekend? Any fun plans with ya buds?
It's been awhile since I did a round up of some of the deece purches (um, that's decent purchases for anyone NITK) (that's "not in the know," for all of those who weren't in the know) that I've been making over the last couple of months, so UM let's do one of those, EH?
(That wasn't a genuine "eh," I confess. I was being facetious.)
Here we go!
Shoppers Drug Mart: Maybelline Color Show Gilded Rose nail polish - $3.99 (for .23 fl oz)
I showed off pictures of this polish in last week's nail polish post, plus a description of its fabulousness. Go there to read more.
LUSH:
Big solid conditioner - $12.34 for 124g (in the US, it's $9.95/3.5oz)
Alright, this stuff is a bit weird to use, but I can't argue with the fact that it leaves my hair feeling nice and soft. The idea of a solid conditioner was completely new to me, so I made sure to get a full run-down of how to use the damn thing from one of the friendly LUSH store employees. There are a couple different ways to use this: 1) Moisten the bar a bit under the warm shower water, then apply the product directly to your hair by running the bar down the length of your strands. Massage the conditioner into your hair well, then rinse. 2) Break off a small bit of the conditioner bar and rub it between your hands, then use your hands to coat your hair. I prefer the second method, because the first method results in the conditioner bar being covered in stray hairs, which is just not attractive.
I've been using this conditioner in conjunction with the Davines Mellow Shampoo I bought back in May as well as my Kevin Murphy hair oil (both products are spotlighted in this blog) and it leaves my hair feeling lovely for days.
Here's what the LUSH site says about the product:
Big conditioner livens up dull, limp and fine hair with a jolt of volume and shine. It carries with it the beautiful fragrance of the vanilla, jasmine and tonka absolute to perfume hair while the sea salt goes to work building body. Extra virgin coconut oil and toothed wracked seaweed infusion soften and condition hair without weighing it down, while a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh lime add even more shine.
Forever21:
Blue flannel snap-button up - $23.80
I'm a sucker for a good flannel button up! Especially with autumn approaching, this one was a must! Makes me wanna throw on some torn jeans and hop on a hayride.
Lacy mint bralette - $6.80 This is the cutest damn thing. It's a super soft and thin bralette with a goose-bump style fabric detail and a lacy trim. Perfect to wear as a pajama top on these hot summer nights. The one pictured is obviously pink, but mine is in a pastel mint.
Hooded jacket: $41.80
This jacket is so me! It reminds me of something I would have owned in elementary school. It's lightweight, and isn't as doubly layered as it appears. The entire jacket isn't lined in the grey sweatshirt material - only what you see. There's a rope around the waist for cinching and snap buttons on the front, pockets and sleeves. So "fall in New England"!
Floral Sunglasses - $6.80
When my colorful turquoise sunglasses fell into the English Bay last month, I needed to run out to Forever21 for a replacement pair (... or two). These floral glasses have been on my face everyday since then!
Mint square sunglasses - $6.80
Big, mint, square and FABULOUUUUUSSSS! No seriously though, these bad bitches are actually maybe a touch too fabulous for me. They're pretty serious, size-wise!
Green and grey baseball style burnout tee - $9.80
Suuupuer comfy, this shirt has been a nice one to throw on for an evening walk or to run out for a quick errand. It'll obviously transition perfectly into fall as well.
The Body Shop:
Moringa Hand Cream - $10.00
I'd never been to The Body Shop before, but I heard from a couple of my local Vancouver blogging buddies that the Shop was having a pretty good sale, which made it seem like a fairly attractive time to check it out. I sniffed several of their hand creams before deciding to buy a small 1.0 oz tube of this handsomely floral smelling lotion. Made with cold-pressed seed oil from hand-picked moringa pods, this cream is lightweight and absorbs quickly. The scent is pretty potent though - and a little goes a long way.
Cocoa Butter Body Butter - $6.00
I've never really been a purchaser of body lotions or cocoa butter products, but the term "body butter" is pretty inviting, right? For $6, this seemed like a low-risk way to try out another product from The Body Shop, so after sifting through their bin of 1.69 oz body butters, the Cocoa Butter scent emerged triumphant. I've been using it sparingly on my shoulders, elbows and some stretch marks on my hips. Of course I'm not exactly expecting any magic to happen on those stretch marks, but the lotion most definitely leaves my skin feeling soft, without an overpowering smell.
Salvation Army:
You guys know I love a good trip to my local 4th Ave Salvation Army here in Vancouver. If you're in Vancouver and don't frequent this thrift shop, you CERTAINLY can't blame me. Ok, now bear with me here because several of these items are now no longer available for me to photograph because I've packed them away into boxes in preparation for an upcoming move. (I'll also explain that last sentence soon.) We'll start with the items I do have pictures of:
Thin brown belt - $3.99
Not too much to say about this should-have-already-owned-one closet basic. I needed one. Now I have one. And it fits perfectly.
Flower painting - $3.75
All photos were 25% off that day at my Salvay, so I took advantage of that sale and browsed through their awesome photos and paintings selection for a good long while. This painting is reminiscent of all the cherry blossoms that are all over Vancouver, which is why I liked it. I'll probably try to paint the frame white, because the salmon color isn't really working for me.
Tiny brown ceramic pot - $1.99
You can never have enough small ceramic pots, I always say.
Thrift shop purchases that I can't photograph because they are packed away:
blue knit poncho/shawl (imagine this, except human-sized and only covering the chest/shoulder region)
fuchsia, retro-looking sundress (which I might need to either alter in some way or re-thrift)
random purple athletic t-shirt with sweat-wicking fabric (should be perfect for hikes)
Well I hope you've enjoyed this virtual trip down Shopping for Shit Lane. Any of these items make you wanna go spend some money on things you may or may not totally need?
Sooo it was about 6pm last night when I realized that I hadn't yet written a nail polish post for this week! WHAT. Apparently my brain has been elsewhere this week. So these nails were sort of thrown together last minute. Hope you don't think they suck!
I used two new-to-me polishes from Maybelline's Color Show line - a neutral called Neutral Statement and a glittery rose gold called Gilded Rose.
This was one coat of Neutral Statement on each nail, topped with 3 coats of Gilded Rose.
Neutral Statement is a super milky nude with the most subtle of iridescent shimmers to it. Its formula is a bit wet, #IFYEWASKME. I probably should have used two coats of it for more opacity.
Gilded Rose is a crazy polish to describe. Allow me to attempt:
This glitter polish has a nearly-clear-but-slightly-rosy base, with (from what I can discern) four different types of glitter inside it: 1) ultra microscopic purple glitter, 2) ever-so-slightly larger gold holographic glitter, 3) small rose gold/copper round glitter, and 4) larger rose gold hex glitter. All together, the effect is... pretty good. And shiny.
While Gilded Rose, too, was a bit wet, it actually had better coverage than I expected it to. Each brush stroke seemed to deliver a nice mix of all the different types of glitter.
Does anyone else own any of these Color Show polishes? I'd be curious to hear which ones you guys have tried and how you liked them! Perhaps you recall that I showed off another polish from this line last week (Clearly Spotted).
Dave and I might go paddleboarding again this afternoon, if the water is calm enough. I'm hoping to be way better at it my second time around, but I probably shouldn't speak too soon. Tomorrow night is the third and final night of Vancouver's Celebration of Light fireworks competition, so that should be awesome. I've been loving watching these displays. The second night was this past Wednesday, with Team France putting in a pretty good show. Not as good as Team USA from last weekend, but I might be biased ;) You can actually check out the Team USA display in this YouTube video (all 25 awesome minutes of it), if you're interested. You can watch Team France's display here, too.
What are you rocking on your nails today?
Any outdoor aquatic activities in your near future?
Two polka dot accent nails, what whaaat! But... one is a fake polka dot nail and one is a real polka dot nail. Can you tell which is which?
Well if you guessed that the green nail was the real one, you were right. The other one is just part of the Polka Dots line of Color Show polishes from Maybelline.
I could make up a story about these nails being inspired by a fashion blogger's outfit or a cool painting I saw... but in truth they were inspired by a pair of underwear that I own.
... And no, there won't be a photo of the underwear here on my blog.
Just know that that's what's up with these nails.
On my left hand, I've got two coats of Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue on my pinky, pointer and thumb nails. On my ring finger are two coats of Sinful Colors' Snow Me White, topped with 3 coats of Maybelline's Clearly Spotted. I used two coats of Essie's Mojito Madness on my middle finger, which I finished off with some white polka dots. On my right hand, I reversed the green and blue nails (so the middle finger on my right hand is blue with white polka dots).
It's still been as gloomy and grey and rainy all week in Vancouver as I was fussing about in my blog on Monday, but today the weather is supposed to turn summery and sunny again for the weekend. I've shaved my legs in preparation. I suggest you do the same.
Seriously though, this weekend should be decent. The first night of Vancouver's 3-day Celebration of Light is on Saturday. This huge fireworks competition is something I missed last year because I was home in Massachusetts for my friend Jenna's wedding, so there's a heightened degree of anticipation for me this year. Each night of the celebration is represented by a different country, and they compete to be named the best fireworks display. Saturday night is actually going to be Team USA, soooo.... GO 'MURICA. Wednesday July 30 will be Team France, and August 2 will be Team Japan. It's supposed to be pretty fantastic - it's the largest offshore fireworks competition in the world!
What are you up to this weekend?
Does your town come up with cool reasons to set off fireworks randomly?
What are you rocking on your nails today? Go link up with Jennie :)
Y'all know me - accumulating a nice stock of new beauty products every couple of months and just DYING to share the fun here on my blog. The rest of this post is going to be hella long, so I'ma keep the intro short and dive right in. Sidebar, you guys have no idea how long it's taken me to write this blog. I swear I started it in March.
LONDON DRUGS Maybelline's The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara (on sale - $5.99)
The end of my current tube of The Rocket is nigh, so I needed to re-up on this trusty mascara. It's one of my very favorite mascaras - particularly for any night-time looks. It was even a part of my 2013 Favoritesround up, if you want to read more about it there.
Maybelline's Great Lash Lots of Lashes (on sale - $4.99)
Even though Maybelline's Great Lash mascara is probably the most ubiquitous mascaras of all time, and a seemingly timeless staple of drugstore makeup departments, I've never tried it before. This new "Lots of Lashes" version of the product piqued my interest just enough for me to scoop it up. I've used it a few times now and am forming my opinion. So far, I'm really impressed with how the uniquely shaped brush head hugs my lashes during application, especially the bottom lashes. The first swipe of the first coat leaves my lashes a little wet, but the second swipe separates and combs through quite well. The actual mascara packaging/wand feels really cheap - almost like it's toy makeup. There also seems to be an Achilles heel in the wand, just beneath the brush head. If you aren't careful with it, you could accidentally bend the wand quite a bit at that point when you're replacing the wand into the tube. But despite those last two things, this mascara is doing its job so far. (Which is to make my face look less corpse-like.)
Update on 5/27/14: My opinion on this mascara is now growing increasingly dismal by the day. You know how some mascaras give you a false negative impression in their first few uses, as they kind of settle into their formula? Well this Maybelline mascara did the opposite of that - it gave me a false positive impression in its first several uses, and then settled into its true formula... CLUMPY. Seriously, this stuff is making it nearly impossible to achieve separated lashes. Spend your money on a better mascara than this.
Revlon Parfumerie Polish in Moonlit Woods (on clearance - $3.99)
There were a few varieties of the Parfumerie polishes on sale that day in the London Drugs clearance bin, so I tested them all out and selected Moonlit Woods. I adore the scent of it. It's quite similar in color to the Nicole by OPI Gumdrops polish that I also picked up recently - Blue-Berry Sweet On You - but without the texture.
SHOPPERS DRUG MART Aveeno Fresh Essentials Hydrating Night Cream ($4.49 because of pricing sticker discrepancy!)
So I was looking through the face creams at Shoppers when I noticed that there was a row of these Aveeno products on sale for $4.49, marked down from $20.99!! Whaaat!? But upon closer inspection, I realized that the $4.49 sale sticker had been placed on the wrong product. I brought it to the attention of a nearby store clerk and asked if he'd honor the $4.49 price for me, since I'd so nicely spotted the problem and quietly pointed it out to him. He did!! Ladies, that's how you spend $4.49 for a $20.99 night cream! I've been using the cream (almost) every night for the last couple of weeks, and I'm obsessed with the way it smells. It also makes my face feel soft and moisturized in the morning, which I appreciate.
Revlon Fuchsia Fever nail polish ($7.99)
You guys have seen this on my blog already - I bought it specifically for my Emma Stone Met Gala nails. I can't say enough about this polish - but I already raved about it here!
SEPHORA.com Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Lovechild - 0.13 oz ($20.40)
This is the product that I was actually shopping for on Sephora.com that day. All the rest were just bonus add-ons. After receiving a sample size of this lip gloss as a 100-point gift from Sephora earlier this year, I fell in love with it and decided to get the full size.
Marc Jacobs Honey perfume - 0.04 oz (free sample with purchase)
I was so happy to have gotten a sample of this perfume because I'd been wanting to check it out for a couple of years. With the overflowing box of sample perfumes that are already in my stash (a confession I made in this blog), there was a chance that this Honey sample would just get lost in the abyss of them all. But I'm happy to report that I've used up almost all of this sample already because it smells SEW DAMN GEWD. If you love sweet scents, you will no doubt love Honey.
GlamGlow BrightMud Eye Treatment (free sample with purchase)
Ok THIS is a weird product that I do not understand. I still don't, even after using it. It's an undereye treatment that comes in little individual pods, one for each eye. It's supposed to somehow brighten the undereye area, but after smearing on the gel-like, slimy, seemingly seaweed-infused substance, leaving it on for 5 minutes, and then wiping it off... I noticed absolutely no difference.
Kat Von D Unlock It Makeup Remover Wipes (free sample with purchase)
There are two wipes in here and I haven't used them yet because I'm so infrequently wearing enough face makeup that would require a remover wipe like this. Normally I'm only wearing mascara for makeup, which I'd remove with my Almay gentle eye makeup remover, rather than a face wipe. But one of these days, when I have something fancy to look nice for, I'll use my special Aveeno + DD Cream combo on my face, plus some bronzer (see Essence purchases below), plus some blush, plus some eye makeup... and ON THAT DAY, I will try out these Kat Von D makeup remover wipes to see how they do.
Buxom Full On Lip Polish in Sophia - 0.07 ozsample (100 VIB points)
Oh heeeey, tingle city! This is a lip-plumping gloss that leans more "cool, tingly" than "burning," if that's your thing. The color, Sophia, is a rosy pink with golden microshimmer. It's a skosh on the sticky side, I'm not gonna lie. But it's not the very stickiest in the world, and the cool plumping sensation lasts for quite awhile. It also tastes/smells like... mocha? Sort of coffee-ish? All in all, I'm very pleased to have spent 100 points on this one.
ACACIA HAIR BOUTIQUE
Kevin Murphy Young Again treatment oil - ($40)
When I (finally) got my hair cut back in March, the treatment oil that the stylist used on me that day made my hair feel SO amazing that I actually purchased a bottle of it right then and have been using it almost daily ever since. Guys... get some. Two pumps of this Young Again oil applied throughout damp, towel-dried hair will make everyday a good hair day. After my hair dries, it feels nourished, healthy, soft, moisturized, AND it's shiny. As a little bonus, rubbing any leftover product into your hands will even leave your hands feeling amazingly soft! And as a further bonus, the oil smells like yummy vanilla perfume.
CANVAS HAIR SALON
Davines Melu Anti-Breakage Shampoo ($26)
Again, going back to the hair appointment I had in March, my stylist also recommended that I switch to using the shampoo brand/line that complemented the conditioner that I was already using - a Davines Melu Anti-Breakage Conditioner. Shampoo and conditioners apparently really do work best when the same kind is used in tandem, rather than using one brand for shampoo and another brand for conditioner. So to give my "anti-breakage" regimen a boost I went into a neighborhood hair salon, Canvas, and picked up the Davines Melu Shampoo. I have to be honest... I do NOT like using this shampoo, but hear me out.
The #1 reason that I'm frustrated with this shampoo is because it does not lather. And yes, I know, I KNOW, that's actually a good thing. Shampoos that lather up nice and frothy with big bubbles actually contain ingredients that aren't great for your hair. This is a well-known fact among people who pay attention to hair stuff, so when this Davines shampoo didn't lather up during use, I knew that it wasn't a mistake or a product defect. I knew it was a sign of the quality ingredients in the shampoo... but that doesn't make it any easier to spread the product throughout my long hair! Bubbly shampoos are easy to disseminate throughout a full head of hair, because you can just work the frothy bubbles all the way down the length of your strands, and all the way down to the nape of your neck to scrub them in and get everything clean. But when there is no lather to disperse, what the hell do you do??? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?? It's so hard to feel like the shampoo is reaching every part of my hair and head when there are no bubbles.
Anyway... despite that frustration, I don't think my hair is feeling any negative effects of the non-lather yet. It certainly still feels clean and smooth when I'm done using this shampoo. So basically I've got lots of conflicting feelings about this product, so I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I FEEL. #HidesInACorner.
IN MY EASTER BASKET (AKA... gifts to myself)
I like to make Easter baskets for David and myself every year (when I remember), because why the heck not? It's fun to go shopping for tons of small items and candies to put together for a Sunday morning surprise. This year I made our "baskets" by trimming down a couple of paper bags, folding over their tops, and stuffing them with shredded magazine pages for "grass." Atop the bed of mag-grass went all of the other goodies. Some of you may remember the picture I shared of it on Instagram:
Among all the other candy treats, these were the beauty products that the Easter bunny left in my basket this year: Essence Sun Club All-in-One Bronzing Highlighter (in shade for blondes/lighter skin) ($3.49?)
YouTuber Tati recently reviewed a whole line of summery Essence products, one of which was this Sun Club bronzing highlighter, which looked really pretty to me. Knowing how insanely affordable Essence products are, this product went onto my list of things to try. I love this stuff! It's my very first bronzer, EVER, if you can believe it. I know it's not a full-on bronzer, but still - more bronze than anything else I own. I got the shimmery "blonde" shade, but this also comes in a darker, brunette version. Of note: this product smells like summer - a piña colada, specifically.
By the way, if you're interested, Tati is one of my new favorite YouTubers to watch. She's gorgeous and has tons of knowledge about makeup and beauty and life, but one of my favorite things about her is her voice! It's so soothing to listen to, and I literally don't even care how creepy that sounds. Check out her channel here.
Essence Lipstick in #53 All About Cupcake ($1.99)
It was the cute packaging that made me buy this raspberry-coral lipstick. I didn't notice until writing this blog that it's got an adorable name too (All About Cupcake). This is totally not a lipstick you need to buy, because it's nothing extra special. It's a relatively sheer lipstick that takes a lot of work to build up, but it does apply really smoothly and smells like candy necklaces... so. You decide if you want to spend your hard-earned $2 on this 'stick.
Eos Lip Balm in Passion Fruit ($3.99)
Just another eos to add to my stash! This is the passion fruit flavor - lovely.
Lush Fluffy Egg bath bomb (I can't remember how much this cost!)
I've not used this yet, so there's not much I can tell you besides the fact that it smells super sugary sweet and it will allegedly fizz up when it hits the water.
Oh my god, are you still reading? If you are - thank you for sticking it out. We've reached the end of this beauty round up!
Now tell me - have you tried any of these products? If so, let me know your thoughts! Shop them below using the Shop The Post widget ~
