Did I really buy Bieber polishes?? (Nicole by OPI swatches and comparisons)

When I first heard about the Nicole by OPI Bieber collection, all I could think was MARKETING PLOY! I doubt Justin Bieber really cares about nail polish lol I just saw it as a way to sell through using his name. However, I was suckered in! I saw the pretty colors and couldn't resist.

Left to right: My Lifesaver, Me+Blue

Oh, hi Bieber!

Me+Blue- This is a blue jelly with holo glitter. Unfortunately it looks nicer in the bottle than on the nails. It is a really pretty color but I definitely like My Lifesaver better.

My Lifesaver- This is a gorgeous blue-green color. I am so glad I bought this because it's an amazing color with a great application! This will be great for the spring and summer months but I will wear it all year round.

As I was deciding whether or not to get My Lifesaver, I was trying to think of what it would be similar to within my collection.

left to right: China Glaze Refreshmint, Essie's Mint Candy Apple, Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver, Essie's Turqoise and Caicos, China Glaze For Audrey

I was thinking this would be similar to the minty colors but it's definitely darker and justifiable!

counter clockwise from thumb: China Glaze For Audrey, China Glaze Refreshmint, Essie's Mint Candy Apple, Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver, Essie's Turqoise and Caicos

Also, another thing I like about these polishes is the brush. It has the wider brush that is meant to cover your nail in one stroke. It definitely fits my nail in about one stroke but my nails are small lol. It applies a thick coat at one time which may or not suit other people but I like that.

If you one to get one color from this collection, I highly recommend My Lifesaver! It is definitely the stand out color in the collection and my favorite.

What do you guys think of this collection? Have you picked up any of the colors? How did you like them?

Dr.'s Remedy Winter Wonder Nails Swatches

I was recently sent some Dr.'s Remedy nail polishes. I had blogged about their Winter Wonder collection here. The premise behind these nail polishes are that they are made to be gentle and beneficial for your nails. They claim that Dr.'s Remedy is a "new line of doctor-inspired cosmetics that are dedicated to using clean, hypo-allergenic, anti-fungal ingredients".

left to right: Healing Heather Grey, Revive Ruby Red, Desire Dark Brown
The packaging really reminds me of NARS. It has the feel of the NARS rubberized cap and the glass bottle. The bottle is heavier than a regular one and feels like it's good quality.  

The back of the bottle. It claims that it is "three-free", meaning it doesn't have the three harmful chemicals commonly found in a lot of polishes. It also says, "Take comfort in knowing you no longer have to sacrifice beauty for health and well-being."

Healing- The descriptions on the label are very accurate, it's a heather grey. This polish applied very nicely in two coats.

Revive- As the label says, it's a ruby red. It's one of those great shimmer reds like what would you wear in the holiday season. It's a gorgeous color and my mom's favorite, which I'll get to soon. Also two coats.

Desire- This is a dark chocolate brown. This applied so smoothly, it could pass with one coat. I added another coat just to even it out. This is a great winter color.

Since this polish claims to be so good for the nails, I wanted to test it out. My nail model is my mom =]. She has weak nails that break really easily. Her polish chips pretty quickly, in about 2 days. I tried out the Dr.'s Remedy Revive on her and now she comes to me to borrow it!

Dr's Remedy Revive- This was two coats on her. As soon as I painted the first coat, she loved the color.

Four days later. I was impressed with how long it lasted without chipping. As soon my mom's nail polish chips, her nail start to break. She had minimal chipping and I didn't see any breaks. Now she's obsessed with the color.

I think the premise behind the polish is really interesting. As someone that wears nail polish most of the time, it's good to have one that can also help your nails as you wear them. Also, the colors I received are gorgeous and perfect for the winter season.

Dr.’s REMEDY is sold online for $16 at www.remedynails.com or by calling 1-877-323-NAIL        1-877-323-NAIL     

What do you think of the company's premise? Will you be checking out these polishes?

FTC: These polishes were sent to me by the PR but that doesn't affect my opinion at all =]

My Hair Products & History

To start off, let's talk about my hair history. I have naturally dark brown curly/wavy hair which is color treated and gets oily quickly. It's long, I'd say bra length, and layered with side swept bangs. When I say color treated, yes I dye my hair, but I am not the type of person to keep up with coloring on a regular basis. That sounds a bit weird but my dyed color isn't too far from my natural color so I go months between appointments. I've basically had my hair colored a total of 3 or 4 times in two years, so I'd say the damage from it is pretty minimal. Also, I try not to but I usually wash my hair everyday or every other day because my hair can't even go a second day because it's oily unless I use dry shampoo/baby powder. So I think that's a good summary now let's get to what I use on it.

My favorite shampoo is LUSH's Snow Fairy Shower Gel. What? A shower gel used as shampoo?? I know it's weird, but hey it works. It smells amazing, like candy, and lathers really well. 

I forgot to add a picture but my favorite clarifying shampoo is the Neutrogena Anti Residue. It does a great job at deeply cleaning my hair. I don't use this more than once a week because it is so clarifying that if you use it too much it can have a negative effect and cause your hair to make up for the oils it's lacking.

I'm sure you curly haired girls know what a pain it is to brush through your hair! I love the Johnson & Johnson detangler. It does a great job at easing the brushing process.

My hairstylist introduced me to the DermOrganics Volume Foam and I love it! It has great things for your hair, including argan oil, and is great at holding the curl's shape without crunchy. It's more lightweight than a mousse and a little goes a very long way.

For my heat tamer, I use the Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray. Honestly, I use this just because I know I need to. I doubt a heat protectant has instant effects but better with than without!

One of my favorite hairsprays is the L'oreal Elnett. It's a good setting hairspray my only complaint is the scent. Sheesh, L'oreal! Couldn't put any other scent in there?

Mama and baby =]

My other favorite is the Not Your Mother's hairspray. This can get too crunchy is you use a lot so be careful with this one. But a light spray does the job! (Am I saying job way too much in this post? lol)

After I tried the Batiste dry shampoo I was wondering how I ever got along with baby shampoo. Batiste is much better at refreshing your hair without leaving a white cast. This dry shampoo helps me get away with not washing my hair everyday which saves lots of time in the morning. The "blush" scent is a lot nicer than the lemon-y original.

 

I had previously used the Tresemme curl booster, but now I can't find it anywhere =[. The Tigi Catwalk Curls Rock Curl Booster does the same thing. A few sprays and your curls are more defined and have more life. 

So those are all my hair products! I am pretty happy with them and don't feel then need to experiment with others. These work really well for me (and do a good job! haha).

What are your favorite hair products? Are you happy with them or are you still on the hunt?

China Glaze Crackle Glaze Polishes (swatches & demonstration)

There has been a lot of talk recently about Crackle polishes. OPI has come out with a black and now China Glaze has jumped on the bandwagon with many colors. When the OPI came out, I knew that the China Glaze were coming out shortly after so I don't have that one. Crackle polishes aren't a new development, they were popular in the 90s and are now making a comeback! In terms of applying the polish and getting the ideal crackle pattern, practice makes perfect. It takes repition to get it down to how you like the gaps and crackles.

First I would like to show you a demonstration of the China Glaze Black Mesh so you can see it in action:

Here is the end result of the video:

Black Mesh over Nicole By OPI My Lifesaver

I wanted to show the Black Mesh crackle polish over a variety of finishes of nail polish:

(left to right): Color Club Pucciliscious (cream), Zoya Trixie (shimmer), Zoya Charla (glittery)

with Black Mesh over top: (left to right) Color Club Pucciliscious, Zoya Trixie, Zoya Charla

Here is a full manicure of Black Mesh over Zoya Trixie

I wanted to thank Nouveau Cheap for the format on this post. She had done a review on the Barry M crackle polish and used the format of video demonstration and showing the crackle over a variety of nail polish finishes. Just want to give credit where it is due; thank you G!

You can purchase the China Glaze Crackle Glaze at Sally's Beauty Supply and etailers (even though it is sold out on a lot of them =[ )

What do you think of this new crackle polish trend? Did you get any of the crackle polishes that came out? How do you like them?



Lipstick Collection Overview (Swatches)- PIC HEAVY!

After my collection video, I decided to give you guys a better view at what products I have. First up is lipsticks. I stick to the pink neutral/nude family when I buy lipsticks and don't branch out too much. I'm pretty happy with the lispticks I have now and don't want my collection to grow too much. I separate them by brand so it's easier to know which is which.

MAC:

(left to right): Pretty Please, Close to Real, Hue, 3N, Viva Glam Gaga, Lollipop Loving, Nude Rose, Angel,

swatches: (left to right) Pretty Please, Close to Real, Hue, 3N

swatches: (left to right) Viva Glam Gaga, Lollipop Loving, Nude Rose, Angel

Maybelline:

(left to right): Born With It, Make Me Pink

swatches: (left to right): Born With It, Make Me Pink

UK Colors: (left to right) Ambre Rose, Sweet Pink

swatches: (left to right) (left to right) Ambre Rose, Sweet Pink

GOSH, Revlon, Rimmel, L'oreal HIP:

(left to right): GOSH Darling, Revlon Soft Nude, Rimmel Airy Fairy, L'Oreal HIP Moxie

swatches: (left to right): GOSH Darling, Revlon Soft Nude, Rimmel Airy Fairy, L'Oreal HIP Moxie

L'Oreal:

(left to right): Fairest Nude, Tawny, Dune

swatches: (left to right) Fairest Nude, Tawny, Dune

Barry M, Collection 2000:

(left to right): Barry M 101, Barry M 129, Collection 2000 Sugar Pink

swatches: (left to right) Barry M 101, Barry M 129, Collection 2000 Sugar Pink

Natural Collection: (UK Brand)

(left to right): Apple Blossom, Rose Petal, Honeysuckle

swatches: (left to right) Apple Blossom, Rose Petal, Honeysuckle

NYX:

(left to right): Power, Spoiled, Frosted Flakes, Creamy Beige

swatches: (left to right): Power, Spoiled, Frosted Flakes, Creamy Beige

Dior, MAC:

(left to right): Dior Ultra Shine Shiniest Biege, MAC Slimshine Bare

swatches: (left to right) Dior Ultra Shine Shiniest Biege, MAC Slimshine Bare

Lipliners:

                                       

(top to bottom): Annabelle Demure, Prestige Silk

swatches: (left to right) Annabelle Demure, Prestige Silk

What are your favorite lipsticks? Do you like the status of your lipstick collection? Are you a lipstick lover or do you prefer other makeup products?

Makeup Wishlist

I'm sure we all have a list of makeup items we want to get and if we had a few extra zeros in our bank account would run out and get all of them! I got this blogpost idea from Sandra, who's blog I LOVE! So here are the items I have been oogling at:

 

Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette- this looks like an amazing spring time palette. I'm sure you all have caught on that I'm in love with my Neutral palette and this would be a nice addition. 

Too Faced Naked Eye Palette- as I was deciding if I should get the Romantic palette, I started wanting this one! I know it's all neutrals and I probably have dupes in my collection but a neutral palette is just not something I can pass up (or not drool over!).

Estee Lauder's Double Wear Foundation- This was on Sandra's list too. I have hear so many amazing things about this foundation! Namely, I have heard that people mix this with their foundation to make it last all day. As much as I love NARS Sheer Glow, I do have the problem of it not lasting through my 13 hour days.

Orly Confetti Nail Polish- Oh, come on! Did you really think I wouldn't add in a polish? This polish is no where to be found! It's a sheer light pink. I'm sure I don't NEED it but the fact that it's so elusive makes me want it even more. I know it was mentioned in the Kardashian book so that's why it's probably all sold out. I think they have it on the ORLY site but I don't want to pay shipping for one polish lol

What's on your makeup wishlist? Do you have any of these products and think they are must haves? Let me know!