Cleansers -Olay - Hydrate and Cleanse Night Nourishing Cream Cleanser
ceeRennycee 4/13/2008 1:57:00 PM
I got a bottle of this in a dual pack with a different Olay cleanser. I bought it mainly for the other cleanser but the price was so good for both I couldn't turn it down. So far I've only used this a few times but I really like it. I don't use any makup so I'm not sure how it is at removing it but for just a facial cleanser it works well. The first time I tried it I used it in the shower before bed. I was too tired to moisturize so I just fell into bed, figuring I'd do it in the morning. But when I woke up my skin was still really soft and not dry at all. Even towards the end of my day I noticed it was still really fresh and glowy looking. I've never had that happen with a cleanser. When I noticed it I actually did a double-take in the mirror like, "Is my skin glowing? Huh." I've continued to use it the same way (no moisturizer) each consecutive time I've used it and have had good results. My skin is a little wonky in that it seems normal in most patches but around my nose and a few other small areas I have really bad drying. I don't seem to have that with this cleanser, even though I don't use a moisturizer. It does seem a little light on deep cleaning power so I use it every other day, alternating with a more hard-core cleanser to make sure I'm really getting in there and cleaning. But I will definitely purchase again, even if I don't get it in a dual pack.
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Polishes -OPI - God Save The Queen's Nails
ceeRennycee 4/12/2008 4:11:00 AM
I'm not sure I like this polish. I really like the color but I don't like the horrible brush marks I had. No matter what technique I tried I ended up with marks. The color alone is a pretty rosy mauve shade that looks good against my pale skin but I won't buy it again. The brush marks are bad enough that I can't see myself using it too often. Update: The more I wear this the more I dislike it. Not just because of the brush marks but because of the color, which is ok and tolerable at times but annoying and gross at other times. Before I put this in my swap bin and remove it I'm taking a lippie off.
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Polishes -Essie - Starry Starry Night
ceeRennycee 4/9/2008 11:31:00 AM
I’ve had this one in my stash for a while and after applying it last night I wondered why I waited so long to try it out. This is a fabulous color! The base is a dark navy blue creme (noticeably blue on the nail) loaded with tiny silver glitter and looks nice and vampy against my lighter skin. The glitter isn’t chunky and it doesn’t make the polish thick or gritty, but it adds fabulous depth as you build up the layers. There also isn’t too much of it. I’ve used other glitter polishes and the glitter is so overwhelming you can’t see any of the base color. This isn’t the case with SSN. The blue is very visible and the glitter is small enough to only be there for effect. Application is sheer but I agree with the previous reviewer who said the formula needs to be sheer in order for this to look right. I think this really needs to be built upon layer by layer for the effect to work. The first layer went on smoothly and the glitter was already noticeable. The second layer added more color/glitter and lightly covered the glitter already on the nail, while adding a second layer of glitter. This really gives it great depth and makes the first layer look like, well…a starry night with tons of stars, some close up, some far away. As you build the layers the glitter in the earlier layers darken while the ones closer to the top really twinkle. This is such an amazing effect. I only did 2 coats and while there seems to be full color coverage indoors, when I look at my nails in sunlight I can see small patches where just the tiniest hint of my natural nail is peeking through. Next time I’ll definitely do 3 coats just to make sure I’m fully covered. And I think that will build the effect up more. I used a basecoat of Nailtek, 2 layers of SSN, 1 of Revlon Colorstay TC and then a layer of SV. This gave it incredible shine and dried super fast. I have only had it on a few hours so I don’t know about long-term wear but I’ve had good luck with the CS/SV combo in the past so hopefully this will hold up throughout my day. I believe this one has been discontinued so if you have the opportunity to get your hands on it, you should! I highly recommend this.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Sally Hansen - Sultry Fuchsia
ceeRennycee 4/7/2008 12:45:00 PM
I was lemming this color after seeing some very convincing pics on the NB. When I finally got one in my grubby paws I was a little skeptical because it looked way more fuchsia in the bottle than I can normally pull off. Once I put it on however I realized just how wrong I was. This is a perfect dark raspberry pink that looks amazing against my light skin. Two coats were enough to provide full coverage but I went crazy and opted to do a third just to deepen it a little. I think I'm happier with the deepness three coats provides so I'll definitely do that many from now on. It’s just a perfect bright creme in a pretty, happy shade. It has been compared to OPIs My Throne for a Cranberry Scone but I don’t have that one to compare so I'll have to go by what others have said. Application on this was unbelievably easy. I don’t think I’ve ever had polish that went on so smooth and even. Usually I get a little on my skin no matter how careful I am but absolutely no clean up was necessary and my edges were perfect. Amazing! I will definitely get a backup for this one because it’s LE, but also because it’s gorgeous and I think I will be wearing it often this Summer. I think this would be great as a mani or pedi color. Love it. As I said, this one is LE so if you find one I would definitely recommend getting one before it disappears.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Salon Nail Lacquer in Arabian Night
ceeRennycee 4/7/2008 11:55:00 AM
I had looked everywhere for this elusive color and when I had hit every single drugstore within 30m of my house and office with no result I gave up. I was able to swap for it but hadn’t gotten around to trying it when I finally hit the motherload at a new store. I bought both bottles in the display, figuring I’d keep one as a backup and give the other to a NBer in need. I finally got around to trying it this past weekend and I’m so torn. I really want to like this but I can’t decide if I do or not. In the bottle it’s a really pretty grape with gold flecks. Once on my nails the color seemed to be a little muted and went from the bright purple in the bottle to a greyed-purple and the gold flecks kind of muddled up the finish. They almost get in the way. Maybe if there wasn’t quite so much of it the effect wouldn’t be bad but it’s a little…busy, for lack of a better word. Then again I don’t think I’d like the color if the gold wasn’t there so I don’t know. As others have said the application sucked. Terrible. I used Sultry Fuchsia from the same line just the day before and had simply fantastic results. My application had never been more perfect with such little effort. Maybe the consistency problems in this one are from the glitter. Whatever the reason I had such a hard time getting this to sit down and play nice. I wanted to do a third coat just for yuks but I hesitated because I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with it. So I left it at two. I will say coverage was fine with two. No visible gaps. But right out of the bottle you can tell the formula is thick and it dried halfway through each stroke I did, so by the time I went to do the left half of a nail the right was dry and the spot where the layers overlapped became a goopy mess. I added a few drops of thinner but it didn’t really do much. I should have probably added more but I was feeling adventurous. I checked the consistency on the bottle I stashed as a backup and that one seemed fine but I didn’t actually test it on my nail so I don’t know if that observation is wrong. I won’t buy this again even if I do see it in another store but I definitely plan to give it another chance to see if I like it better at a later time.
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Top/Base Coats -OPI - RapiDry Top Coat
ceeRennycee 4/4/2008 10:52:00 AM
I got a bottle of this free from a lovely salon owner who was thrilled I was buying so many polishes. I’m glad for that because it means I didn’t waste any of my own money on it. I use and love Seche Vite because it dries super fast and I never have any issues with it. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to give the OPI a try since I had it. That was the one and only time I ever used it. I had terrible color dragging near my cuticles so I ended up with a red mani with splotches of white where my nail showed through. I never have this problem with Seche. It also didn’t dry nearly as fast as I’m used to so I had smudges and nicks galore. Enough that I wiped the entire thing off and started over (this time with Seche). I also noticed that the color dragged off by the brush ended up in the bottle so now the contents of the bottle are tinted red. This one is going in the trash but at least I’m not out any money.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Onyx Professional Nail Polish remover
ceeRennycee 4/2/2008 4:44:00 PM
After hearing about this from the lovely ladies on the NB I had to give it a try and I must say I love this stuff. I get a giant bottle at Walmart for $1.59 and it lasts me about a month. Not bad when you consider the small bottles of Cutex I was buying were much more expensive and lasted me a week. I use the purple bottle, which is lavender scented and says ‘Moisturizing’. I find that I have no trouble removing darks, glitters or any other types of polish and my nails seem to dry out much less than they did with the brand I used previously. In fact the only reason I’ve kept that old bottle around is to clean out old bottles of polish for frankening. I will never go back to another remover after using this. It’s great and I highly recommend it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Do You Lilac It?
ceeRennycee 4/2/2008 11:41:00 AM
Lately I have been looking for pastel, Spring-y shades and this one is perfect. It’s a perfect lavender/lilac creme that is bright and cheery without being too neon-looking. Application was a little surprising but in a good way, which seems to be rare with the newer OPI formula. I did one thin coat expecting to have to do another but after it settled for a minute I almost didn’t need a second coat. It evened out and had almost full coverage with that one layer. I’ve worn this twice so far. The first time I did a second coat and the coverage was perfect and the color was a little more saturated (naturally). The second time I only did one coat because I knew I was going to be layering it with another color so I wasn’t too worried about the coverage. Once I added my second color the tiny spaces weren’t noticeable at all. I layered it with Sand-erella (which is gorgeous on its own) and the result was perfect holo-y, lilac heaven. I’d highly recommend this one either on its own or layered under Sand-erella, if you have access to it. It’s just a gorgeous, bright, happy shade. I still don’t like the Prowide brush, but I’m learning to work with it so it’s not as hateable as it used to be. I’m probably going to get a backup for this one because I expect it to get lots of use.
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Polishes -OPI - Sand-erella
ceeRennycee 4/1/2008 6:33:00 PM
I love holos in any form and Sand-erella is no exception. In my opinion this is a lilac version of Blue Moon Lagoon…a shade that would be pretty on its own but made extra awesome with holo. I have been wanting Spring-y colors lately and this one is *perfect*. It is pretty sheer when used on its own, but I layered it over 2 coats of OPI’s Do You Lilac It? and had great color saturation. This combination is a perfect Spring shade. Bright and cheery. I just wish this weren’t discontinued because I would gladly pick up extras. If you can get your hands on this one, you should. If you’re looking for something close I’d recommend IDK from China Glaze’s OMG collection. The holo and color saturation are way more apparent, but the basic color is pretty close.
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Polishes -OPI - You Cannoli Imagine
ceeRennycee 3/13/2008 1:40:00 AM
This is such a pretty shade in the bottle...a soft pink with subtle shimmer. I was so excited to try it. The first coat went on pretty streaky and a 2nd coat didn't fix things. It took 3 coats to get a streak-free finish. Once it was done and dry I took a look at it in bright light. And I immediately hated it. The pink I had seen in the bottle was gone and had been replaced with a peach tint that looks terrible against my skin tone. Ick. Very rarely do I remove a color after less than a day but this one didn't even make it to bedtime. I took it off less than an hour after applying it. I think on the right person this can be a great color but unfortunately it doesn't work on me.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Wireless Holographic Topcoat
ceeRennycee 3/11/2008 1:04:00 PM
I really, really wanted to like this topcoat. I am a complete holo freak so when I heard China Glaze (my favorite brand) was coming out with a topcoat that would make any polish holo I about died right on the spot. I may have even wept tears of joy. What? So I waited somewhat patiently and when it arrived I plunked down my money and ran home to try it. Meh. It’s not that it’s bad it’s just that it’s not what I was expecting. The new OMG line China Glaze put out is everything I want in a holo…full color and lots of rainbow. I wanted this topcoat to be the same intense, smooth rainbow over my favorite colors, but instead it’s a clear base with tiny pieces of glitter that are somewhat holo. So technically there is some rainbow to this when I layer it over a polish, but it’s not the same. You have to look really closely to see the color change. I wouldn’t be against repurchasing, but I have so many other glitters that I probably won’t need to. Overall I’m slightly disappointed. Maybe I should have gone into this without expectations but as I mentioned I do like it, it’s just different than I thought it would be. Update: This one is just so darn beautiful in the bottle that I had to try and make it work. I tried using two layers instead of just one and that seems to intensify the holo effect a little. If you use more than two layers however, the base color you're using is either too muddled or too covered up for you to see what it is. So while this still isn't the full-on rainbow I was hoping for, I do like it a little better this way. I've since picked up a bottle of China Glaze Fairy Dust and I like that one much better.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Huckle Buckle
ceeRennycee 3/11/2008 12:43:00 PM
I debated this polish for a long, long time before actually getting it. I would add it to my list then remove it. I would pick it up at the store then put it back. I finally decided I had so many purples and light shades that I would continue to exist if I didn’t get this one. But the other day I found it in the clearance section so I waffled no more…Huckle Buckle came home with me. I’m so glad I changed my mind one last time. The color on this is so neat. It’s a lilac shade with flashes of iridescent purpley-blue. It’s a really neat effect. It applies a bit sheer so I needed 3 coats for full coverage, but those three coats and extra dry time are worth it. This is a perfect Spring shade for when I want soft color without going totally sheer. It reminds me of Easter…a soft purple that is different and out of the box if you don’t want a pink. I added a coat of ChG’s Wireless Holographic Topcoat to give it extra sparkle and I’m really happy with the result. So Huckle Buckle, I apologize and promise never to part with you! I would even buy you again if anything ever happened to you.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Blue Moon Lagoon
ceeRennycee 3/10/2008 11:46:00 AM
I love this color. I am a fan of everything holo and this is right near the top of my favorites. My one tiny complaint is that it is so sheer. I solved that issue by layering it over 2 coats of Color Club’s Blue Light, which is a soft robin’s egg blue shade. The result is a very happy, Spring-y color that has a neat rainbow effect in the sun. I can’t wait to try it over darker polishes to see what I get. This one would definitely be a repurchase if it weren’t discontinued. If you’re looking for more color saturation and more noticeable holo, try 2NITE from China Glaze’s OMG collection.
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Polishes -Color Club - Blue Light
ceeRennycee 3/10/2008 11:37:00 AM
I have one other Color Club polish but Blue Light is the first one I’ve worn and I have to say I’m pretty happy with it. It’s a pretty light blue creme and it reminds me a little of OPI’s Just Groovy, but a shade or two lighter. This is what I was hoping For Audrey would be…not too dark or too tirquoise, just a soft, pretty shade that's a true blue. When I swatched this it took 3 coats for coverage but the layers went on really smooth and looked great. When I got ready to do my full manicure I did my basecoat on all 10 fingers then immediately went for the color without any wait time (which I always do). I had terrible streaking but the second coat filled in the gaps and smoothed everything out. I probably should have done a 3rd coat but I knew I was going to be layering another color (OPI’s Blue Moon Lagoon) over it so I wasn’t too concerned about small bald patches. If I wear this alone next time I will definitely use a 3rd coat just to make sure everything is covered. This one is going to stay in my stash and I’d definitely buy again if I ran out. It’s a great spring color that’s a nice break from the usual sheers and pinks I do for the season.
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Polishes -China Glaze - Up All Night
ceeRennycee 3/6/2008 6:08:00 PM
I am so happy with this color. Most of the blues I’ve been wearing lately have just looked black indoors and are navy but still dark outdoors. But this one is noticeably blue in normal lighting and in the sun it has the most amazing bright blue shimmer. I haven’t compared them side by side, but off the top of my head I’m thinking this is a cross between Navy Venom and Yoga-Ta Get This Blue. It has the darkness of NV but the shimmer of YTGTB. I think the shimmer is more sparkly and noticeable in YTGTB, but this one is pretty close. It just pops. Application was really easy and I had complete coverage in two coats. However I noticed that when I added SV over my tips I had a bit of dragging that left white spots and made my fresh manicure look like it had tip-wear. So next time I’ll probably do a third coat just to make sure I have all spots covered. I’ll also probably allow a little more drying time before going to sleep. I did my usual routine of polish, SV, TV, bed. This morning I woke up with weird smudges that made the polish completely matte on one hand. There aren’t dents or dings in it, the polish is just completely matte like I sanded the top of it or something. Very weird. But all in all a great choice for when I want something dark but with noticeable color. I would definitely repurchase.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No