Lipstick -Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Honey
Julia941 1/5/2013 9:25:00 PM
I love these and have them in several colors. I bought two of this color - one for home and one for my purse. It's a great pinky-brown mauve color that goes with any look including no makeup and it's easy to apply even without a mirror. I love the slight mintyness and appreciate that it isn't drying like most lip stain products. All "stains" fade but most of them leave a ring of color around the outer edge of the lips as they go and this one doesn't. The price is great and there is almost always a coupon or BOGO for them somewhere.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Urban Decay - Naked Basics
Julia941 12/19/2012 5:56:00 PM
I think I'm older than UD's target audience and tend to shy away from eye shadows with a lot of glitter, heavy shimmer, and foil effects. I purchased Naked 1 and only used the matte shades a couple of times then gave it to my daughter who loves it. I like UD shadows because of the smooth, almost creamy texture and saturated colors so I jumped at the chance to have this collection of neutral shades. Being a six pan, it is smaller than the other Naked palettes but the pans are the same size and it has a mirror. The first color from the left is Venus which is off-white but has a little glimmer so it doesn't look chalky. It's great for highlighting the brow bone and the inner part of the eye to brighten it up a bit. The next color is Foxy which is a creamy matte pale yellow. It cancels out redness beautifully and I've even used it under my eyes to set my concealer. W.O.S. is similar but has more of a pinkish tone. Naked 2 is a soft taupe and Faint is a neutral light brown, both of which are great to fill in brows depending on your coloring. They are nice in the crease of the eye or as a lid color. Crave is matte black and perfect wet or dry to line the eye, tight line, or use with Faint for a neutral smoky eye. So far, my favorite way to use it is to fill in my brows with Faint, sweep Foxy or W.O.S. across my eye lids, then tight line with Crave. A little mascara, blush and red lipstick and I'm done. I haven't tried Faint as an eyeliner yet, but I think it would be nice for a more natural look. For a little more drama I add shimmering Venus and line above my lashes and flick the corners up a little for a cat's eye. It's easily portable and I really like that I can use one palette for brows, lids, and liner. I would definitely buy this product again and have already ordered another one for my daughter. Highly recommended.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Sew Psyched
Julia941 12/14/2012 6:00:00 PM
I love this color. It's a muted, silvery sage green and the application is beautiful. I like Essie nail polishes. I find the creamy formula easy to apply, opaque in 1-2 coats, and I like the smaller brush and cap because my nailbeds are small. I also like the square bottles as they are easy to store and I can fit many more Essie np in a box than round bottles that flare at the top or base like OPI, China Glaze, etc. This color is a nice neutral and great on its own, but it's also a great base color for layering. I've used it under clear/holo glitters such as ButterLondon Tart w/a Heart (the green in the base makes the blue reflect beautifully), special effect nail polish such as Essie Pure Pearlfection and CND Raspberry Sparkle (a great dupe of RBL Halcyon). I also like it with nail tattoos in muted colors from BigRuby and it looks great with a matte top coat. I've heard it's a dupe of one of the Chanel LE polishes Khaki collex (Khaki Vert?) but I don't have any to compare it with. I would definitely buy this polish again and highly recommend it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Butter London - Horse Power Nail Fertlizer
Julia941 12/1/2012 10:53:00 PM
This is my favorite treatment and it is also an excellent base coat. It is more expensive than other brands, but it is available in value sets and as a duo with ButterLondon P.D. Quick fast dry top coat which takes the price down a little. It has been very beneficial to my nails, helping them grow stronger but still retain some flexibility so they're not brittle and easily broken. As a base coat it not only helps extend wear time and resist chipping but also prevents staining.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Butler Please
Julia941 11/27/2012 3:04:00 PM
I generally like Essie np but this was a disappointment. It's thick and streaky and dries to a semi-matte finish. A thick coat of SV helped even it out (it isn't self-leveling) and give it some shine but I experienced some bubbling and it started chipping within a few hours. The finished result was pretty enough, but it isn't the most original color and as many reviewers & commenters have mentioned there are better alternatives out there for less money. I find the formula similar to a white based pastel like OPI Mod About You and read that part of the issue with the texture is due to neon pigments which cause it to feel and look heavy. I didn't know it was considered a neon color, but SHXW Pacific Blue looks brighter to me, it's easier to use and a great deal at less than $3/bottle.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Thanks A Windmillion
Julia941 10/3/2012 11:23:00 AM
This is a gorgeous dusty jade/sage green creme that is understated, calm, and very flattering on many skin tones. It is easy to apply and opaque in two coats. It wears well and highly recommended. Zoya Bevin is a close dupe, a little darker, and it doesn't have the same almost translucent quality of Thanks a Windmillion.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - I Have a Herring Problem
Julia941 10/3/2012 11:17:00 AM
This was my first blue nail polish and still one of my very favorite polishes ever. It is a kind of medium denim blue with a little grey and some silver sparkle that is opaque with two coats. I don't love the OPI pro-wide brush because my nail beds are very small, but it gets easier with practice. The color is fairly subtle and very flattering. I always use base coat and top coat and I change my nail color pretty often so I haven't had any trouble with chipping or staining. Zoya makes a dupe called Skyler but I Have a Herring Problem is vastly superior and a real stand-out from the OPI Holland collection. Very highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Makeup Remover -Neutrogena - Oil Free eye makeup remover
Julia941 9/21/2012 12:18:00 PM
This is my favorite eye makeup remover and it performs much better than many of the other drug and department store brands I've tried (Clarins, Lancôme, L'Oreal, Sonia Kashuk) and the price is good. It dissolves all eye makeup, including waterproof mascara, gel eyeliner, and cream eye shadows without irritating my eyes or leaving an oily film behind. I would prefer a squeeze top to a splash bottle for a little more control over how much product I apply to the cotton pad and to prevent spills, but that's a minor issue. I have purchased this product many, many times and I've never found another eye makeup remover that performs better for the price.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Go Overboard
Julia941 9/2/2012 1:43:00 PM
I'm very happy with this color. It is a deep, vampy, teal creme that's more blue than green. It is perfect for summer pedis and a nice alternative to deep reds and burgundies in fall and winter. Essie formula can be iffy, but this one is smooth, easy to apply, and opaque in a single coat. Blue seems to stain my nails more than other colors so I use two coats BC with this. I'm quite pale with warm (yellow) undertone and I find this polish quite flattering.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Revlon - Popular
Julia941 7/23/2012 2:10:00 PM
This was also called Starry Pink. It is a flattering pale pink with silver sparkles. It is more dusty/grey/lilac than other opaque pale pinks like OPI Mod About You or the chalky ChG GoGo Pink and I find it more flattering, easier to apply, and understated despite the fact it has silvery, iridescent glitter. It is opaque on its own in two coats and the multi-sized glitter glitter is sprinkled throughout, not a solid coat coat, so the creamy pink is quite evident and does evoke the image of a starry pink sky. It's great for layering, too. One coat over white gives it a light Glitter in the Wind (Whimsical) look, and it also looks great under different coloured glitter polishes like Some Enchanted Evening (Slipper, Sparkling). Revlon polishes seem to take a long time to dry, but they are generally high quality for a good price, especially if you find sales, coupons, or use drugstore rewards cards.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Top/Base Coats -Lippmann Collection - Addicted to Speed
Julia941 6/1/2012 2:40:00 PM
It does what it says on the bottle - dries nail polish very quickly. The first time I used it the fam was waiting on me for dinner so I applied as quickly as possible and then out the door. It dried my mani (BC, 2 coats colour, 1 thickish coat of glitter) completely without any dents or smudges. It has good staying power and my nails looked great until I was ready to take it off. No chips, lifting or peeling, though I did have a little shrinkage.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Lippmann Collection - Nail Essentials Cuticle Oil
Julia941 6/1/2012 2:26:00 PM
I love this cuticle oil. I own or have used many other cuticle oils and I like this one best. As others have mentioned it smells divine, as does Mango Magic and many others I'm sure. What sets this one apart is the fact that it is readily absorbed, leaving my cuticles looking healthy and hydrated without leaving a sticky, oily residue. I have a mini bottle (8ml) that came as part of the Fast Track set but I will definitely repurchase a full size bottle when I use this one up. The only downfall is the price.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Butter London - All Hail the Queen
Julia941 5/1/2012 8:58:00 PM
I love this polish. It is the perfect neutral with the perfect edge (holo). I love the ButterLondon formula, good coverage with one coat, perfect with two. Easy to apply. Smooth and self-leveling. I think this is office appropriate with a little twist for you to enjoy. Very highly recommended, if you only but a few BL np, I suggest this be one. A shining star of the line.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Ulta - LAV-ISH
Julia941 3/30/2012 11:03:00 AM
This is a beautiful greyish lavender/lilac with just a touch of gold shimmer. It is super smooth and easy to apply with full coverage in two coats. It's a pretty neutral colour and I think it would flatter most skintones. The price is great but I would take off half a star for the packaging if I could. The big round cap is a little difficult to maneuver, especially when painting toenails, but it's not that big of a deal. Very highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Butter London - Chimney Sweep
Julia941 3/27/2012 11:23:00 PM
This is a lovely shimmery almost black charcoal grey. I used BL TC and BC and it's wearing fine, though I do change my manis every couple of days so I'm not sure how long it can last. The first coat went on kind of streaky and in the end I used three thin coats instead of two (which looked fine) because I wanted a deep, rich, colour saturated look. It cleans up easily, too, something I've found difficult with other black/very dark colours. I really like this one. Highly recommended. Edit: I'm bumping this up to five stars because it wears so nicely. I usually change NP every couple of days but I had this on for most of a week and it looked great. It looks like rich black pearls on my fingertips. When it started to show a little wear (4-5 days) I added a coat of glitter polish over it and it was stunning for a couple more days.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No