Clinque's Brush On Cream Liner

Today's subject might be a bit controversial... well as controversial as beauty products can get (excluding the "testing on animals" conversation). Today, I will be discussing...... eyeliner. *gasp* Now I know everybody has their favorite method of application and type of product, and let me tell you I have tried them all. In high school I wouldn't have left the house without my eyes rimmed in black pencil. By college I had delved into using shadow for a softer effect. Towards the end of college I experimented with liquid liners and eventually I discovered gel liners. I can't say I have a favorite method, each one gives a different effect so I use switch up my application depending on my mood and the situation. For everyday, quick and easy, yet clean and polished eyeliner I always fall back to my Clinque cream liner.

I bought this product in Sephora about a year ago and fell deeply, madly, and eternally in love. Exaggeration? I don't care... its true! I have tried MAC's fluidline, Bobbi Brown's gel liner, and a slew of drug store products but Clinque's cream liner is my holy grail! It is a deep rich black, has amazing lasting power, and seems to never dry up or run out! I mean for the past year I have used this product almost every day, and I have yet to buy a new one... it just never ends!

As far as how to apply the liner, I have used thin brushes, flat brushes, angled brushes... whichever is easiest for you really. I have even dipped an eyeliner pencil into the pot and used it to line my waterline. Its pretty much fool proof.

As a testament to its staying power, I will admit to a major beauty no-no. There have been many a night when I was too lazy/tired/whatever to remove my makeup and many a morning when I wake up with pretty near perfect eyeliner still on! I wasn't joking when i said holy grail. 

Overall I give this product a whopping 5/5 for pure amazing-ness. Test it out, at around $16 it won't break the bank and if my experience is the norm then it will last you, um... well just about forever!

xoxo

John Frieda Frizz-Ease 3 Day Straight

When this product was first released I heard a lot of mixed reviews about it, so obviously I had to go track it down and test it out! I found mine at a local CVS over the summer and have been using it for about 2 months now (to give it a fair review). 

This product claims to keep your hair straight for up to 3 days, if you don't wash it. You apply it to wet, clean hair and then blowdry and straighten to lock in the product. It is like a mini keratin treatment. I use about 10-12 pumps of the product to coat my medium length, thick hair. Your hair might feel a little sticky after spraying this on, but once you brush it through that feeling should go away. I find using this helps to cut down on blowdry time. You could not use this and only blowdry you hair, you must follow with a hair straightener to activate the chemicals in the product and ensure a lasting result. 

With this product my hair stays poker straight for at least 2 days, although I have been known to get a third day out of it. Your hair will crease a bit while sleeping, but if you run a quickly straightener over it to fix any bumps it should be fine. By the third day my hair usually needs a wash and I tend to just stick it up in a ponytail, but if you have thicker or more coarse hair that isn't prone to oilyness than you might not find this at all! 

Overall I give this product a 3 out of 5. I suppose it does what it says it will, but when I use it I find I am very cautious of tucking my hair behind my ears, tying it up, or even sleeping on it. I used up the whole bottle just to get rid of it but I can't say I will be repurchasing. 

xoxo

Glitter Nail!

I am not even going to try and justify all of these nail polish posts. I might as well devote this blog solely to my nails... but I won't! I promise I am trying out new makeup and hair products and will be changing things up this week!!

But now on to the razzle dazzle. I have to say I have been a big fan of the 'glitter' or 'bling' nail for the past three months or so. What started out with sort of a cult following has now blown up into an outright trend. I recently saw an episode of X-Factor in which Kelly Rowland rocked the bling nail. This trend is about being unique. You don't need to use glitter... but that is my favorite way to spice up a nail look. I use my ring fingers as my stand out nails of choice, but again its all about personal preference. 

The combo featured in the photo is Essie's Topless and Barefoot (great nude polish) with Sally Hansen's Strobe Light glitter polish on the ring fingers. The photo doesn't really do it justice but this glitter is amazing. It has been touted as an exact dupe for the much desired Teenage Dream glitter polish from OPI's Katy Perry collaboration. Topless and Barefoot is a gorgeous creamy nude that leans on the pink side. It is a tricky polish to work with, but I think the outcome is worth the extra patience required for application. Strobe Light is really the showstopper though. It has silver, pink, and holographic glitter in it. Depending on how many coats you use (picture has 2 coats) you can get a shear wash of glitter or a fully opaque coat. I love the way the glitter catches the light, it looks like diamonds on your nail! 

This look may not be the most "work appropriate" but its great for a night out with friends or a fun weekend. Remember, there are no rules with nail polish. You can spice up one nail on each hand with glitter, nail art, a contrasting polish color... anything goes! 

xoxo

OPI's You Don't Know Jacques

Okay guys here is another nail polish chat. I know, I know... I have an addiction. This one couldn't be farther away from Borrowed & Blue. OPI's You Don't Know Jacques is a dark taupe brown grey color... great description right! Its one of those muddy colors that were really popular a couple of years ago. Its one of OPI's better known colors, and with good reason.

You Don't Know Jacques is one of those colors that I think looks good on every skin tone. It is classy and chic on short nails and daring and bold on longer ones. I prefer short rounded nails for this polish as I think it gives a more put together look. The color is definitely work appropriate, but is unique enough to be eye catching.

It has a creme finish, although OPI has suede and matte versions of the colors as well. I needed to coats to achieve and even color, as it was a little bit patchy with just one coat. The formula is smooth but a little thick so it is easy to apply too much polish if you aren't careful, but besides that the application is effortless. I used the INM Out the Door top coat and had fully dry nails in about 15 minutes, which is quick for such a dark color.

Overall, I give this polish a 5 out of 5. It is a unique color, often compared to the likes of Chanel Particulaire and Essie's Mink Muffs (google for swatch comparisons, Chanel is lighter). The application is easy, the finish is beautiful, and let's just face it.. this is a gorgeous color!!

xoxo

Essie's Borrowed & Blue

Essie's Borrowed & Blue has been on my list of needed nail polishes (yes I have one of those) for quite some time now. I first saw it on a random run through Harmon's, but held off buying it until I saw some swatches online. When I bought it, it cost me about $8... and to be honest it was money well spent!

This polish is a creme baby blue that almost runs on the pastel side. It is easy to see it has quite a lot of white base in it and it shows up very blue on your nails, unlike some baby blues that lean on the green side. It goes on opaque in one coat, but I applied two simply out of habit. I topped it with my INM Out the Door top coat and was good to go. I love the color, but I think I would prefer it on shorter nails and mine are a bit long at the minute so it was just a tad overpowering. I did have a problem with chipping on the second day so I removed it and applied a different shade, but I think the chipping has more to do with the terrible condition my nails are in after the gel manicure than with the polish itself! 

Overall I think this is a great polish. It seems to be unique to me, despite the popularity baby blue polishes had this summer. I know OPI has one or two polishes in the same family as Borrowed & Blue but I have not tried them and probably will not. I am trying to behave and not buy colors that are similar to ones I own already... my collection of five navy blue polishes being the main catalyst for the ban on buying! I give this polish a solid 4 out of 5, only because of the chipping, but when my nails are doing better I will try it again and see how long it really wears for!

xoxo

OPI's OPI Axxium Soak-Off Gel Manicure

I have been wanting to try a gel manicure for quite some time, and 2 weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and committed to OPI Axxium Soak-Off Gel Manicure in the color Bubble Bath. I was a little wary as I was leaving the country the next day and wasn't sure how I would remove the gel polish while abroad, but I also did not wanting to be fussing with untidy nails during my travels either.

The process itself was quite quick, a major plus for me because there is nothing I hate more than waiting for nail polish to dry. The price was also good, I got mine for $25.00. And I was thrilled with the results. I chose Bubble Bath because I wanted something neutral but am not a big fan of french manicure on myself. The color made my nails look so..... polished (pardon the pun). I felt very put together and classic, and my hands looked long and well just pretty. The gel polish itself felt a little tacky for the first few days, but once I got used to the feel of the polish I didn't notice it as much.

As far as longevity goes, I got two weeks out of mine, and would have gotten longer if I hadn't decided I needed a change. For me that is the one downside of this manicure. I enjoy switching up my nail colors, and while you can paint over the OPI Axxium Gel, I was not brave enough to try it. After two weeks I was sick of Bubble Bath and decided to move onto Essie's Borrowed&Blue (more on that later). I soaked the polish off myself following instructions I found via Google but it took over an hour and was quite a hassle!

Overall I give this a 4 out of 5. Docked a point due to the difficulty of removing it on your own. 

xoxo