{Summer Must Haves} Bright Polish!

(L to R) Essie Funky Limelight and Sinful Colors Pink.

Sorry for the long absence. I've spent the last almost three weeks in NYC!!! I had so much fun, but now I'm back and I'll be blogging regularly again, starting with another Summer Must Haves post!

Obnoxiously bright polish is a must have for the summer, especially for feet. I've got nearly all the fluorescent shades available, from green to blue to purple and etc, but my favorites are the two above. On the left is Essie's Funky Limelight which came out in the summer of '09. On the right is Sinful Colors Pink. Sinful Colors' neon's are available now in a ton of shades if you want them. I've really been loving these on my toes, especially Pink. It is so eye catching I always get compliments with it on1 The only downside to these polishes is that they tend to be a bit sheer, so you will need around three to four coats for full opacity. I know, that sounds daunting, but their formula dries within a minute, I'm not kidding, so three to four coats won't take an hour. Another thing is that they dry to almost a matte finish, so you will need a top coat. Other than that, these are great and I highly recommend!

{Favorites} June 2011

Hi! I hope all of you had an awesome 4th of July! I went to a poolside BBQ and saw some fireworks later! I had a great Fourth and hope all of you were happy and safe as well! And here are June favorites, as promised!

1. Skin Care


The Body Shop Peppermint Intensive Foot Rescue
I've really been liking this foot moisturizer for the past month. With all of the pretty flip flops and open toed shoes I love to wear in the summer, it is really important to keep feet looking nice, and this does the job. And it smells absolutely divine!

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid SPF 70 Sunblock
Another summer staple is sunblock. I've been wearing this for a couple of months now and it really is almost undetectable under makeup, which for someone with oily skin is very very important! At a price of $12 I again highly recommend this sunblock! I wore it yesterday by the pool for hours on end and my skin did not tan in the slightest. And don't forget to reapply!

Clarins Eye Revive Beauty Flash
This has been my go to eye cream since January of this year. My mom actually picked it up for me because I mentioned I was close to running out of my No 7 Protect and Perfect eye cream, and she's a big fan of Clarins so she got me something of theirs to try out. It's a light eye cream that really moisturizes my eyes so well. I know, I'm a bit young to be using eye creams, but ever since I started wearing contacts my eyes and the skin around them are really really dry, irritated and red. This keeps my eyes happy! And although it is expensive, you get a 0.7 oz, a bit more than the 0.5 oz that are standard for eye creams.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Spot Treatment
This stuff isn't a miracle product, but for those looking to get away from very harsh products containing salicylic acid or benzol peroxide then this may just be for you! I like how it is liquid because I don't have to use a lot as it spreads easily. It takes about as long as any other treatment I've tried, but I find that it doesn't dry out my skin as much as the other treatments I've tried do.

2. Nails


Sinful Colors Hot Pink
I've been loving this obnoxious over the top color for my toes!!! Especially in the sun, it is blinding! I've never been crazy about such bright colors but lately that's all I've been wearing. For some reason these neon polishes tend to dry to an almost matte finish, with almost no shine what so ever, so you definitely need a top coat with this one.

OPI A Good Man-Darin Is Hard To Find
This bright orange cream came out with the Hong Kong collection. I bought it a while later half off but wasn't really into the color that much. I took it out about a month ago and really like it for toes. It's not as attention catching as Hot Pink, but it makes my feet look really nice!

Sinful Colors Base Coat
I bought this one with the accompanying top coat, but I don't really like the top coat. This base coat, however, is great! Somehow it just grabs onto the color! My lighter cream formula polishes go on less streaky and all of them last much longer. Plus, my nails don't get stained any more! I've got a full review of both the base and top coat coming soon!

3. Makeup


Jemma Kidd Eyeshadow in In Season
It's a lot like Vintage from Jemma Kidd, but it has a more olive tone to it. I don't really have any olive shades because honestly they tend to make my skin look really yellow, but this shade has enough brown in it that that hasn't been a problem. I've been reaching for it almost every day.

Stila Convertible Color in Petunia
I love love love this! I've only had it for about two weeks, so it's not exactly a month, but it's the only blush I own that I've worn on a daily basis since I got it! I like Camellia as well, but I feel like this uber bright color is better suited for summer.

Rubens Remedies Rose Water Lip Balm
Ok, so this is one of the best rose salves I've ever used, but is is impossible to find anywhere. I'm not kidding. I got this at TJMaxx for less than a buck and I'm about half way though, but I can't find any place that sells it, in store or online. It's similar to other rose salves (like the C.O Bigelow or Smith ones), but it's nicer. It's a bit harder, but still melts down into a thin salve. while the other two I've tried tend to be soft to begin with. I also like the scent of this one a bit better than the other two. It's less fake. If you can find it anywhere, snatch it up!

Thanks for reading!!! Empties will be up tomorrow!

{Haul} Collective: Target, MAC, Sephora, etc.

Hi! Another collective post, this time most of the things I bought during the month of May. And before I begin, I apologize for the poor quality of some of the pictures. I took these pics over the course of a month and sometimes I was in a big hurry:( I will be sure to post clearer pics of the products I review.

1.MAC

MAC Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe and Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara

A couple of things caught my eye at MAC this past month. I've been eyeing Satin Taupe for a while now but never could justify buying it, especially as I've got about a million shades that are exactly like it, but I finally caved and bought it. And I was a bit intrigued by the two in one mascara. I know that Rimmel has one too, but I wanted to try the mac one and see how it compares. I'll be doing a full review soon!

2. Sephora

(L to R) Nars Laguna Body Illuminator (sample), Sephora Professional Mineral Makeup #45 Brush, Sephora by OPI nail polish in Traffic Stopper Copper.

So I finally caved and bought a couple of things I was eyeing at Sephora for a while now. A few months ago I got a large bamboo brush from Eco Tools, but it was a bit big for me and I finally found a smaller brush with the same type and density of bristles from Sephora. I've been loving it for buffing in foundation or cream bronzer. And the bronzer I got because I've been looking for something more natural looking than a powder bronzer. I got a sample of the body version to use on my face because I think the version made for face use is a little too sheer for my liking. I will have a full review soon!

3. The Body Shop

(L to R) TBS Cucumber Cleansing Milk and Cucumber Freshening Water.

The Body Shop had these on sale, two for $10 on all of the originals so I thought I'd try these. They both smell amazing, like the freshest cucumber smell I've ever smelled lol! I'll be doing a full review on these later on as well!

4. Target, Walgreens and the Dollar Tree

(L to R) ELF Complexion Perfection Powder, Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Orchid Frost, CoverGirl Nature Luxe Foundation in Flax, Revlon Nail Polish in Copper Penny, and Sinful Colors Nail Polish in Pink.

Of these I was most excited to try the ELF Powder. I actually wanted to try their HD powder because I've heard bloggers comparing it to MUFE's HD powder that costs $40, but I guess Target doesn't carry it. The Nature Luxe foundation from CoverGirl I'm kinda kicking myself about. It cost me $14. FOURTEEN DOLLARS!!! For a CoverGirl Product that is really expensive. When I saw that number ring up I was shocked. I was expecting somewhere in the range of $8-$10, but not $14. I was soooo temped to leave it you have no idea. Oh, and the thing I liked the most from this bunch was the Sinful Colors Polish. I've had it on my toes for the last week and every time I go out in the sun my feet look soooo nice!

(L to R) Almay Moisturzing Eye Makuep Remover, L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black and waterproof, CoverGirl Nature Luxe Foundation in Flax (don't know why I photographed it twice haha!).

If you read my last post you know I finished my Mary Kay Oil Free Eye Makup Remover, and I decided to go back to my trusty Almay remover. I like it. It does the job. It's cheap. Not much more I can say about it. Full review here! And I accidentally bought the waterproof version of Voluminous. I gave it to my mom and bought a regular one.

ELF Shine Eraser Oil Blotting Sheets

A couple of months ago I finished my favorite blotting sheets from Boscia (lavender scented too!) and just never restocked. I saw these at target and decided to try them. I'll do a review, but for the most part they're kinda average. Not great but not the worst I've tried. They're kinda tiny though.

Plus White 5 Minute Speed Whitening System

I've heard a lot about this whitening system on YouTube from many other gurus and I decided to give it a try. It's only $10 though, so while I was happy it's cheap, I felt a bit hesitant using something so much cheaper than other whiteners that run about $40 and up. I'll do a full review in a bit, but for the most part I have to say I do like it!

(L to R) Cotton Rounds, Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask, Elf Eye Primer, NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Powder in Translucent.

I didn't finish my old Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask, but I'm pretty sure my sister stole it when I was home for the weekend. And I ran out of my Sephora Professionals Eye Primer so I decided to try the Elf Primer before possibly buying UDPP again.

So that's it for now! More to come later!

Collective Haul!

I haven't really been shopping all that much in the past 4 to 5 months, mainly because I wanted to finish many of the products that I've already got. But this past month or so, I've been buying a lot, so I thought I'd share with you!

First things first: Skincare!

L to R: Cosmedicine Medi-Morphosis Self Adjusting Exfoliator, Cosmedicine Medi-Matte Oil Control Spray, Non-Coated Aspirin (not really skincare, I know, but I figured since I'm going to try making an aspirin mask it counted), Clarins Eye Revive Beauty Flash, and DDF Ultra-Lite Peel.

Face makeup:

L to R: Almay Nearly Naked Loose Powder in Light/Med 200 and Shiseido Accentuating Color Stick in S6, Champagne Flush.

Eyeshadow!!!

Clockwise starting with: Maybelline Eye Studio Eyeshadow in Lawless Lavender, L.A. Colors 12 Eeshadow Palette in Chic, L. A. Colors 12 Eyeshadow Palette in Traditional, Korres Single Eyeshadow in Silver, and Sophia Milano Eyeshadow Compact (no shade/palette name listed).

Mascara:

Top to bottom: Maybelline Define-A-Lash Volume in Soft Black and Cover Girl Professional Super Thick Lash in Black. I got the Define-A-Lash mascara at the Christmas Tree Shops store at the mall. They had a whole bunch of Maybelline stuff clearenced. It was only $1.99! I'm not really a big fan of the spiky plastic brushes that have become so popular lately, but I figured that at this price I couldn't help but give this one a try.

Lips:

L to R: Clavin Klein Plumping Lipgloss in Georgia, CK Lipgloss in Parfait, CK Lipgloss in Radar (all three came in a set for $10 at Marshalls!!!), Philosophy Lip Shine in Blackberry Bubbly, Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Nude Blush, and Nivea Kiss of Shimmer Lip Balm.

Nails:

L to R: Wet n'Wild nail polish in Black Creme, Sinful Colors nail polish in Mint Apple, and Wet n'Wild nail polish in Caribbean Frost.


L to R: Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in Alabaster, Peachful Breeze, Made You Blush, Pink Twist, Arabian Night, and Addicted to Red. I've already showed you Pink Twist and Arabian Night, but the pics last time were horrible cell phone pics so I figured I'd include theme here. They had them 2 for $1 at the Dollar Tree!!!


OPI Nail Polish in Royal Rajah Ruby, Black Cherry Chutney, A Good Man-Darin is Hard to Find, Midnight in Moscow (the one with the sticker), Do You Lilac It, and Baguette Me Not. Sorry for the weird pic. I could barely get them still long enough to take the picture. They kept rolling :( The order is L to R in kinda two rows, the second beginning with the polish with the sticker on it.

NOT PICTURED CAUSE I JUST PICKED THEM UP AN HOUR AGO:
Pangea Organics Ecocentric Lipcare Pyyrenees Lavender Lip Balm with Cardamon
L. A. Colors Moisturizing Glossy Lips Sheer Lip Color in Sweet Melon
Cover Girl LiquilineBlast Eyeliner in Violet Voltage

So that's it. I'll start posting reviews on these items soon!

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.