Cutiegingerbread Beauty Ballot #5

Thank you everyone for voting on the last poll! I always love seeing your results and responses =]

Last week's question was "Are you swayed by packaging to make a purchase?". Here are the results in order:

1. Sometimes- 63.33%
2. Yes- 23.33%
3. No- 13.33%

I wanted to ask this after seeing people being so excited or so turned off by the Wonder Woman packaging. Personally for me, I'd vote no. Even if the packaging might be cute or appealing, I try and stick to what the product inside is like. With Wonder Woman, I saw that a lot of the products had sucky pigmentation and that turned me off. However, if I do see an adorable compact in the future that I can depot my pressed powder into, we'll talk then ;)

Here is this week's question:




I find that with makeup, once you've spent convinced yourself to spend something like $40 on an item, a lot of other things seem more justifiable haha

Thank you so much for voting! Do you have any suggestions for future poll questions?

Dr.'s Remedy Winter Wonder Nails Info

 DR.’S REMEDY WINTER WONDER-NAILS

The Hottest Nail Shades of the Chilly Season

Sleigh bells are no longer ringing, snow is well-past glistening, and the mere thought of walking through a winter wonderland has you worrying – way too early – about next year’s Christmas plans. Enter some seasonal delight to make you sizzle (literally): Dr.’s REMEDY introduces four fabulous shades of Enriched Nail Polish, perfect to ring in 2011 and wear throughout the rest of winter (wonderfully).

The collection includes:

·       Healing Heather Grey: a seductive pewter with deep blue undertones

·       Revive Ruby Red: a shimmer-infused, Wizard of Oz-inspired shade of crimson

·       Desire Dark Brown: a cocoa-meets-hot fudge handsome hue

                ·       Nurture Nude Pink: a delicate, damsel-in-distress barely-there beau

 

Dr.’s REMEDY is a new line of doctor-inspired cosmetics that are dedicated to using clean, hypo-allergenic, anti-fungal ingredients. The birth-child of two New York-based podiatrists, Dr. Adam Cirlincione and Dr. William Spielfogel, Dr.’s REMEDY proves quintessentially-perfect for any person looking to better the condition of her skin and nails. Dr.’s REMEDY is sold online for $16 at www.remedynails.com or by calling 1-877-323-NAIL. 

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I was very intrigued when I got this info about this company. The brand, Dr.'s Remedy, is marketed as a healthier alternative to other brands of polish. Their polishes are "3 free", meaning they don't contain the chemicals DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde. They also have tea tree oil, vitamins, and wheat protein in their polishes to make it more gentle and better on your nails. 

The info in this post is about a new collection they have, a winter-y collection. I think the colors look gorgeous, even if I am over winter in general haha.

I think this is a very interesting idea in terms of nail polish, a polish with more nutrients for your nails and meant to be "safer". A lot of nail polishes now are 3-Free but not many claim to also benefit your nails (unless it's a nail treatment, of course). I'm intrigued yet suspicious as we all can be with a product that claims to be amazing. Also, the price tag of $16 makes me even more suspicious haha. However, one might argue that it's a polish AND treatment in one and if you were to buy those separately, it might be around that price range. 

How do you like the colors of the Dr.'s Remedy Winter Wonder Nails collection? What do you think of this Dr.'s REMEDY brand concept? Have you tried anything from this brand? Will you be checking them out?

Glamour Doll Eyes Shadow Tower in "Yuliya" (Review & Swatches)

Glamour Doll Eyes has a new addition to its selection: shadow towers. This is how the Glamour Doll site describes it: "This Shadow Tower is a set of 5 gorgeous shadows stacked on top of each other for easy storage or ease in traveling. Each jar is still a normal size of GD shadows but they are on top of each other. There aren't individual labels for each color, however on the bottom there is a sticker that says the shades that are in this tower. The top of the tower has a nice vinyl label. Towers are under 4 inches tall." This is a great description of the product and sums it all up for me!

The one I was sent to review is named "Yuliya". It is actually named after me and I helped pick out the colors. =]

Here's my review video for the Glamour Doll Eyes Shadow Tower in "Yuliya" and a giveaway for one of you to win one! If you are entering, please comment in the video and not this post.

Glamour Doll Eyes Shadow Tower in "Yuliya"

with flash

top logo

Cloud Coverage- matte white. This is a great highlight color, it applies nicely and blends out smoothly.

Dazzle Me- This is the color that was inspired by Michele1218. The site describes it as a "light beigish sheen with silver shimmer". It's a great lid color that's subtle yet eye brightening.

Boyfriend Sweater- The site describes this as a "soft grayish brownish color". It's a soft smokey brown. It can be worn as a smokey lid color or as a subtle crease color.

Chocoholic- This is a dark, red toned brown. It's so nice as a crease color with Dazzle Me or Boyfriend Sweater.

Urban Trash- matte black. This is a rich, velvety, and pigmented color. The texture is amazing and it blends nciely.

This is how pigmented that black is! After trying to wipe it off, it still stained my finger.

(left to right): Cloud Coverage, Dazzle Me, Boyfriend Sweater, Chocoholic, Urban Trash

with flash, the flash really picks up the undertones in the colors



I did some looks throughout the week to show how versatile these colors are:

Daytime Neutral:

Products used:

UDPP

Dazzle Me (lid)

Boyfriend Sweater (crease)

NYX Milk (inner corner base)

Cloud Coverage (inner corner)

Jordana Fabuliner (top lid)

Milani Liquif'eye (waterline)

 Urban Trash (to set eyeliner)

Smokey neutral:

Products used:

UDPP

Boyfriend Sweater (lid)

Chocoholic (crease)

Urban Trash (outer corner and to set eyeliner)

NYX Milk (inner corner base)

Dazzle Me (inner corner)

Jordana Fabuliner (top lid)

Milani Liquif'eye (waterline)

You can purchase this shadow tower at Glamour Doll Eyes. If you're a lover of neutrals I highly recommend this tower, it's has a great variety of neutrals for many differently looks. If you're more into colored shadows, there's different types of shadow towers with other colors too =].

Will you be checking out the Glamour Doll Eyes Shadow Tower in "Yuliya"? Have you tried Glamour Doll Eyes shadows?  How do you like them? What are your favorites?

FTC: This shadow tower and the one for the giveaway were sent to me for free. My opinions are honest and my own.

Living In The Moment

This post is a little different from my regular beauty posts; it's a personal post. I have been thinking about something that I really wanted to share so I'm hoping you guys like this. The topic of this post is living in the present. I know it's so cliché to say you should appreciate the things that are happening now but this is easier said than done. Just yesterday, I had an experience that really touched me. It wasn't so much an experience but a realization. I have always believed in destiny and fate but the past 2 years have really shown me that it does exist. My experiences over this time have shown me that things do happen for a reason. Whatever the reason may be is different every time but overall, I do believe this is the case; that it is a force (whatever force you may believe in: God, fate, destiny, etc.) guiding you somewhere. (side note: If you don't believe in that, that's perfectly fine. I am by NO MEANS trying to force any view upon you guys, just sharing my thoughts )

For the past few months I have been in a stage where I am either worried about the future or reminiscing in the past. I currently have 3 semesters of college left before I graduate and do not have a clue about what I want to do career wise. It's slowly making me more and more nervous due to worries about what path I want to go down, the economy, etc. I know that I’m only 20 years old and have plenty of time to think about and decide this stuff but it’s something that has been on my mind. I have also have some personal stuff going on that has had me reminiscing in the past and wondering what will happen in the future. Not knowing what will happen in the future has been nerve wrecking and this realization could not have come at a better time.

I have recently been reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert because it is a school assignment. I'm sure many of you have heard of this book because it is now a famous movie with Julia Roberts. I am about half way through it and have been enjoying it for the most part. Being the procrastinator that I am, I have to finish this book by Tuesday and have about 180 pages to go (eek!). I was reading it on the train yesterday and was absolutely struck by a part in it. The part I was reading was basically Elizabeth Gilbert talking about how she never lives in the present; she is either worrying about the future or reliving the past (sound familiar?). She told a story about a man that would ask what date it was every day and then sadly say that it would not be that date for another year. The example date she chose to use is February 4th. As soon as I read that small part, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY as soon as I realized that this was the exact day yesterday...FEBRUARY 4th! I know some of you may think that this is pure coincidence and be like "why is this girl blown away by a random date in a book?" I don't know why Elizabeth Gilbert chose to use February 4th as the date. Was it random? Does it have special meaning? Did she write that part on February 4th? All I know is that that passage truly touched me. I saw this passage as some force speaking to me. I mean, just the fact that it was the exact date I was reading it and not any other day (like if I had started my assignment on time) shocked me. It was some kind of force reminding me to appreciate and enjoy what is going on in the present, rather than living in some other time.

I wanted to make this post to remind you all to do the same. When I find some wonderful beauty product, I can’t wait to share it with all of you, so why not do the same when I find a little piece of wisdom . It’s easy to try and escape to another time or worry about things in the future when the present is filled with tough times. However, this is a temporary fix. The Eat Pray Love passage reminded me that whatever is going on in the present, we should still appreciate the good things we have and the things we’re thankful for. I hope each and every one of you takes the time today to think about at least ONE positive thing you have in your life and focus on that as opposed to the negative. My positive thing is that I’m so thankful for all the supportive people in my life, which very much includes you guys that take the time to come to my YouTube and blog. Thank you so much for always lifting my mood with your kind words and encouragement!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and I hope it helps you in some way. Remember that there is no time like the present and we should all make the most out of it.

Urban Decay Ruthless Eyeshadow (Review & Swatch)

The Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow in Ruthless has become one of my favorite go to eyeshadows. While these sell for $18 at Sephora, I purchased it for HALF the price on Allcosmeticswholesale. I heard a lot about this eyeshadow and figured I'd give it a try. If you are into neutrals, you will LOVE this!

The packaging is kind of wierd, like "hi, dinosaur and robot...what do you have to do with makeup?" But I look more at the product inside than the packaging (my answer for this week's beauty ballot spoiler!) I do have a complaint with that clear lid on top. In that, it BROKE OFF as soon as I touched it. This was nothing that some industrial glue couldn't fix but really? $18 for an item that breaks upon touch?? I had tweeted about this and this happened to some others so be careful!

 

Now, let's focus on the inside. It does come with a mirror (there's a nice view of my ceiling in the picture) which can come in handy on the go. Sephora describes this color as a "pale sandy taupe shimmer" and that's a really good description. 

As you can see, it is a touch darker than my skin color. This is what I love about it. On the lid, it's so subtle yet looks gorgeous and goes with anything! The texture is very nice also and applied very smoothly.

 

(with flash) The flash picks up the tones to the color and the shimmer. (and proves that there is indeed a shadow on my hand lol)  

I have been really loving this eyeshadow and it will definitely make it in my next favorites video. Neutral lovers, you NEED. =]

Will you be picking up the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow in Ruthless? Do you already have it? What do you think?

Sinful Colors Pretty In Pink Collection Swatches

I had previously posted about the Sinful Colors Pretty In Pink Collection, their Valentine's Day Collection.  Valentine's day is so close and I know I'm not the only one that dresses for the holiday all the way down to the nails! I love Valentine's Day because it symbolizes the celebration of love and happiness (even if you're single, celebrate it with ANYONE you love (mom, dad, friends, etc.). It's a very cheesy holiday, but I love me some cheesy =] I always try to wear pink or red on Valentine's and my nails are no exception. Even if you don't wear pink eyeshadow or clothing, nail polish is a great way to be festive without being dressed in a heart mascot costume.

I was recently sent three of the nail polishes from the Sinful Colors Pretty In Pink Collection. Just to mention, I believe that the colors in the collection are permanent and already exist in their line. While it sucks that these aren't new colors, it's refreshing to not have such a limited quantity of items in a collection and it all sells out because people are going nuts to swipe up things before it's too late (YEA, MAC...looking at you!).

(left to right): Glass Pink, Beautiful Girl, Boom Boom

Beautiful Girl- This is a gorgeous corally- pink color. The application was very nice and only needed 2 coats. I would say this is my second favorite of the bunch. It's a great color for spring/summer and I seem myself wearing it a lot in the warmer months.

Boom Boom- This color is more of a raspberry pink. I see this as being a great toe color for summer. This was also 2 coats. I would say this was probably my least favorite. Probably because I rarely wear colors like this but that's personal preference of course. Also, the color seemed to be more of a jelly and was a little thin in formula. 

 

Glass Pink- I saw this color as a layering color so I put it on its own and over the others I have.

(left to right): Glass Pink alone, Glass Pink over Beautiful Girl, Glass Pink over Boom Boom

I have to say that this is my favorites of the three. I was really impressed that it has more pigmentation that I thought. Of course it is sheer but it when I put it on it's own, it covered the nail very nicely in two coats and had a gorgeous sheen. When I put it over the other colors, I only had to use one coat and it went on nicely and gave a gorgeous effect.

I highly recommend these shades for not only Valentine's Day, but spring and summer as well. These polishes held up to the rest of the Sinful Colors polishes in my collection and I was very happy with the quality. I have loved Sinful Colors as a brand for a while now. Their application and quality is great for the $2 price tag. They also have a wide range of colors available which makes them even more impressive. 

You can buy Sinful Colors at Walgreens, Cherry Culture, or the Sinful Colors Website.

Will you be picking up any of the polishes from the Sinful Colors Pretty In Pink Collection? Do you have any of them and already love them? If you have any colors from the brand, what do you think of Sinful Colors, overall?

FTC: I was sent these polishes by the PR but all opinions are my own and honest.

Cutiegingerbread Beauty Ballot #4

Time for another poll! Thank you everyone for voting last time, it means so much to me that you guys take the time to do so =]

Here are the top three results from last week's question "Where do you most often shop for makeup?"

1. Drugstore- 40%
2. Sephora- 32.5%
3. MAC- 17.5%

Personally, I love shopping at all three! I rarely shop at department store purely because of price. As a full time student, I honestly think it'd be dangerous for me to go there lol. The drugstore is where I'd say I most often enter to check out the new selections. Second would be MAC, then Sephora. A lot of the times I research what I want beforehand so that I make a good purchase.

In the comments, Ashleigh said "with the trend of drugstore stuff costing only $2 or $3 less than "high end" stuff, I'd rather spend the extra couple dollars for something a little higher quality." I definitely agree for the most part that drugstore prices are pretty high for some brands. Look at L'Oreal HIP! However, I am a big fan of brands such as Wet n Wild and Sally Hansen that have AMAZING products at a low price.

Here is this week's question:




I was inspired by the recent MAC Wonder Woman collection to ask this! Some people either love or hate it based solely on the cartoon packaging.

Thank you so much for voting! Do you have any suggestions for future poll questions?