Giveaway Alert: $1,000 Sephora Shopping Spree

This giveaway was too good to not share. Bloomspot is holding a giveaway and the winner gets $1,000 to spend at Sephora. Talk about a makeup lover's dream. Check it out!

The Peanut Gallery: Sally Hansen Salon Effects

As I mentioned in a previous post I received a complimentary set of Sally Hansen Salon Effects to try. It is now time for the review. *insert drum roll* I didn't wear mine for any special event or anything, I just decided to put them on for fun (and so I could get this review done). I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the first few pictures. It was a cloudy day and no matter where I went to take pictures, I just couldn't seem to get adequate lighting.

A Little Info About Sally Hansen Salon Effects:

• Unlike most "stick on nail designs" the Salon Effects are real nail polish not plastic stickers which makes them last longer.
• No dry time (except for your topcoat should you choose to use one over top)
• They can be removed with nail polish remover (I haven't tried taking mine off yet)
• According to Sally Hansen they can last up to 10 days
• There are 40 different styles

Price: About $9.99 depending on location. 

Location: Can be purchased at drugstores and mass merchandisers 

Design:

The style I received was called Wild Child, it is a shimmery bright pink with a zebra print design in black over the top of it. I really like this design, it's kind of funky and fun and right up my alley. As I said before there are 40 designs available, to see the designs go to Sally Hansen's website.

Packaging: It's a simple plastic box, nothing really particularly good or bad about it.

Contents: 

• Two foil and plastic packaging containing the polish strips
• One cuticle pusher
• One mini file/buffer
• Directions

The Directions (click to see larger picture)

Nail Polish Strips: Each strip has a plastic layer on top that you peel off and a backing that you peel off before applying the strips. I had a bit of a hard time finding strips that properly fit my nails, I had to trim the sides of some of them to get them to fit. They are plenty long so if you have short nails you could cut them and save the other half to use a different time. I started doing this but it made it more time consuming so I gave up.

Application: I followed all the suggestions in the directions above and then followed each step. The application was harder than I expected it to be. The strips didn't seem to stretch very well in order to fit them at the top of my nails. At the bottom of the nails they stretched too much which made them not stick very well, that was probably user error however. I'm pretty sure I was pulling on them too hard while filing the excess off... but I was having trouble getting the file to take the excess off without being too rough with them. I applied a topcoat afterwords because from what I've read they stay on better with a top coat plus as I said the ends weren't sticking well because they got too stretched out.

Immediately after application

Wear: I've heard from other people that these nail polish strips hold up pretty well for them. Mine chipped a bit within a day. As I said I botched the application but it was frustrating none the less. They did, however, stay on much better than nail stickers that I've tried (for example: Rue 21 Beauté! Nail Stickers).

1 day after application

1 day after applications

3 days after application

3 days after application

Removal: Supposedly they can easily be removed with nail polish. I haven't tried to remove mine but when I do I will update this.

Wrap Up:

Likes:

• The range of designs
• All the the necessary tools are included

Dislikes:

• The file tool you are supposed to use to remove the excess. It didn't work very well which led to me pulling on the strips too much and messing up.

In-betweens:

• Price. $10 is definitely less than it costs to go get your nails done at a nail salon... granted a design done at a nail salon may hold up a bit better. If you cut them in half you'd get more bang for your buck. I honestly don't understand why anyone would want to buy the solid colors of these when you can just buy a bottle of polish for the same price or less.
• Application: maybe it's just me but I found it a bit difficult and frustrating. It's probably a practice makes perfect thing.
  

Would I buy again?: Maybe, I'd probably wait until they were on sale but I'll probably give them another shot eventually.

note: Complimentary or not I will always be honest in my product reviews, my loyalty is to my readers not to any company.

Influenster Spring Beauty VoxBox 2012

I just received my second box from Influenster (a site that provides free boxes of items for people to try and review) and I'm in love with this box. The items that I have tried I will briefly review here but those that I haven't been able to try yet I will review in the near future.

The product card. 

The contents

• Dr. Scholls for Her - Ball of Foot insert
• Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash
• SOYJOY bar in blueberry
• Sally Hanson Salon Effects (I've been dying to try these!)
• Sheer Cover Duo Concealer
• Chapstick Lip Shield 365
• Bath & Body Works Fine Fragrance Mist - Sweet Pea

SOYJOY bar

I confess that this is the first thing in the box that I tried (hey, I was hungry). After my experience with the LARABAR that I got in my Holiday VoxBox (blech) I was a little skeptical but I found this bar to be surprisingly tasty. The texture of the non-fruit part I found to be reminiscent of that of the non-fruit part of a Fig Newton. In a few reviews I read other Influenster's found  their bar to be too dry, perhaps they had a different flavor because mine wasn't particularly dry. My only complaint is that, for a product that claims to be a healthy snack, 15% of your daily allowance of saturated fat seems to be a bit much.

Dr. Scholl's for Her - Ball of Foot Cushions

I threw these puppies into my favorite pair of stiletto heels. Thus far I am impressed they were easy to put in and once in they stayed put. I was worried they may slip or slide out of place but the adhesive is sticky enough to hold them in place. I'm not sure if they will come out easily or not and I'm a bit afraid to try to take them out because then they may not be sticky anymore (not to mention I don't want to damage my shoes!). They did feel a bit weird when I first put my shoes on, it was just odd having padding filling in all the gaps between my toes, etc. They did however make my feet very comfortable.

Sheer Cover Duo Concealer

I received a sample of this from a different (paid) sample bag a month or two ago. It is smooth and creamy and easy to blend and covers pretty well. The problem: even the lightest shade is too dark for me. I'm just plain too pale. I can't tell you how this holds up through out the course of the day because I simply can't wear it. :/

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash

First of all may I say that I love the smell of Aveeno products, that oatmeal & something else smell, mmm. So in the smell department it is a win. This lathers up nicely and doesn't leave skin feeling tight nor like there is stuff sitting on the surface still. I've used it twice so far and it does seem to have reduced my dry skin quite a bit already! I may have to buy a full size bottle of this when I run out of the sample. 

Bath & Body Works Fine Fragrance Mist - Sweet Pea

First off, I love the sweet pea scented products, I had a bunch a few years ago but I ran out. *clutches bottle* I'm so glad to have some again, it smells so good! The Bath and Body Works Fragrances are not the strongest scents on the planet, which is actually good for summer because increased temperatures can intensify the scent you are wearing and overpowering scents are not fun. The scent lasts a decent amount of time for an inexpensive body spray. If you do want the scent to be stronger (and last longer) simply combine with lotion of the same scent. I love the new designs for the bottles, they are so simple and pretty!

ChapStick Lip Shield 365

I confess that I haven't gotten around to trying this product yet. ChapStick brand lip balms tend to dry lips out more than they actually moisturize (as do many other lip balm brands including Blistex). They make them drying so you will apply more often essentially. I will say that it is nice that it has a high SPF, it is easy to forget that our lips need protection from UV rays too. I'll review this soon in a separate post.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects: Nail Polish Strips

I have not tried these yet only because in the past week I managed to break 3 of my fingernails. I really love this design and I want to wait until my nails grow back out and are even before I use them. I've heard good things about these nail polish strips and I'm SO excited to try them! I will review them in a separate post.

Epic Giveaway Alert: From MAC Hey, Sailor Collection

I know I haven't posted much lately and I apologize for the un-announced hiatus, this semester of school has been kicking my butt and I haven't had the funds to buy much in the way of makeup. I did however want to pop in to alert you all of an awesome giveaway on one of my favorite blogs.

The oh so fabulous Christina Confessions of a Glitterholic in addition to doing a preview post about the MAC Hey, Sailor collection is giving away  *drum roll* a MAC Sail La Vie lippie!

You would be crazy to miss this in my opinion. Go here to enter!

The winner will be chosen on 5/24/2012

Look #19: Tropical Getaway

Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original)

Base: Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Cream Shadow in Bold Gold

Liners: Sephora Collection Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Black, Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Dime, MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in High Def Cyan (which I won from a giveaway by Maneater Makeup a while ago)

Shadows: (inner corner to outer corner): Chick (NYX) with Speed Up by Virus Insanity Eyeshadow over top, Becca-ecca (VIE), Rave (VIE), and a shade from my BH Cosmetics 120 palette 1st edition. Virgin by Urban Decay was used as a highlight.

Storage Solution

Hey everyone, sorry for disappearing on you. This semester has been really busy >.< Anyways, I just wanted to pop in to share a little makeup storage idea that I came up with. I'm a bit of a gum fiend and I discovered that the big-e-paks work really well for makeup storage if you pop the tops off of them. They are the perfect size for mini-eyeliners as well as shorter brushes (I have face brushes in one of mine).

Really all you have to do is pop off the lid, peel off the wrapper, and wash it out. Viola, storage on a budget. They would also be really easy to decorate with paint or cover them in fabric. I haven't gotten a chance to decorate mine yet but when I do I will share pictures.

Until next time, what are some things you use to store your makeup in?

Giveaway Alert: Confessions of a Glitterholic

Confessions of a Glitterholic is having another fantastic giveaway. This time there are 5 prize packages up for grabs so check it out and enter!! (Click here!)

Deal Alert: e.l.f. $1.50 Shipping On $15 (or more) Purchase.

Valid until 1/15

e.l.f. has some great inexpensive products though admittedly some of their stuff is kind of junky, especially to the trained eye of the experience makeup junkie. To help you figure out what is worth getting here is a list of great e.l.f. products.

• e.l.f. Essential Eyelid Primer
• For $1 this primer rocks. If Urban Decay's primer potion works for you this will probably work as well. It is almost as good. UD's primer potion stands up to extreme wear and tear better but the e.l.f primer works just as well for everyday wear. So say you are going to a rock concert where you will be sweating, going nuts, possibly getting water sprayed in your face (if you have nice security willing to spray water into people's mouths) or beer dumped on you; in this case you would definitely want to go with the UD primer potion. Say you are going to a normal day of school of work e.l.f. eyelid primer will do the job.
• False Eyelashes
• e.l.f.'s false eyelashes range from $1 for basic ones to $3 for more dramatic ones (feathers and such). They probably aren't the best false eyelashes ever but they would be great for someone who is new to using false eyelashes. I don't know if their lash adhesive is any good so you may have to buy a different lash adhesive. I hear Duo lash adhesive is good . I currently use Revlon Precision Lash Adhesive which works pretty well but the packaging is kind of stupid.

• e.l.f. Studio Lip Lock Pencil
• I don't know anyone who has this yet but it is a clear lip liner meant to prevent your lippies from feathering. I only have one lip liner that only works with one or two of my lippies and this one will work with any of them so this is definitely going in my cart. It's only $3 so might as well try it.
• e.l.f. Essentials Shimmer Facial Whip
• This product received Allure's Best of Beauty Editors Choice in 2008. Some of my friends have raved about them. I have two, persimmon and toasted. One is pretty good though I'm not a fan of using on my eyelids, the texture is weird. There is something apparently wrong with my Toasted. It is all separated and no matter how much I knead or mix it, it stays separated but I know other people who have toasted and theirs is not this way... apparently I got a dud.
• e.l.f. Studio Brushes
• I've had some trouble with the e.l.f. essential brushes falling apart on me but the e.l.f. Studio Brushes (the ones with the black handles) are rather nice for the price.

Look #18: Tequila Sunrise

I've been working on improving the shape of my eye shadow application. Pardon my eyebrow I forgot to fix it before taking a picture.

Products:
- Urban Decay Primer Potion - Original
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
- Madd Style Cosmetics Awesome Sauce (Foiling Serum)
-Almay Liquid Liner
- Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Liner in Perversion (lower lash line)
- Maybelline XXL Mascara

Shadows (outer corner to inner corner):
- Magentric by Sugarpill
- Milani Marbelized Eye Shadow in Drenched Gold
- Strange Potion by Madd Style Cosmetics