Nail look:Ulta brand in Set the Nude

I've been attracted to the nude color lately and decided to paint my nails nude. You can see in the above picture that there's been some growth in my nails because I wasn't able to take a picture of my nails when it was done. I believe I've had it on for almost a week in this picture. I wanted to review this nail polish by Ulta in Set the Nude.

This polish was given to me as a gift from my friend because she knew I was looking for good nude polishes, so I received quite a few nudes from her haha. I do have to say when I first applied the polish, it was quite streaky. I think it took about 2-3 coats to get it as opaque as it is in the first picture. Aside from the streakiness, this polish is pretty long lasting. Like I said, when I took that picture, it had been a week since I applied it onto my nails and there were minimal chipping.

As much as I've been searching for the perfect nude, creme polish, I wasn't too fond of the shade; I felt like it was too pale for my skin tone. I think this color would be great on very light skin tones. But other than that, it is still a good polish. Many people are hyped up about trying the high end polishes, but I just want to let you know to not be afraid or held back to try this brand also! It works just as well and performs the same function. They may even have dupes of the higher end polishes and definitely at a cheaper price!

Enjoy!

Review: benefit's birthday set from sephora

Sorry! It's been quite some time since my last blog post. I have to admit though, I'm not much of a blogger, only because I feel like I don't have that much products to review, but in reality, I think there's plenty enough :P

So I wanted to do a review on a birthday treat that I got from Sephora last month from Benefit. The gift includes a mascara and a highlighter and my impression of them both is....AMAZING :)

I'll start off with the They're Real! mascara.

You can see that the bristles on the wand are varied in length and are moderately spaced with a dome tip. I always have a problem with my lashes sticking together with some mascaras but this one helps separate my lashes. The description from the box says it helps "achieve maximum volume, length and lift" and I believe it holds true to that. I love the dome tip because I can reach the lashes of the outer part of my eye, which I also have trouble getting to with my other mascaras.

This is the highlighter, Watt's Up!

At first, I didn't know what to do with this product, I actually thought it was a lipstick haha. I'm not very familiar with highlighters (I've only started getting into make up recently) so I wasn't sure how to work with it. After giving it a couple of tries, I have to say, I really like this highlighter. The box describes it as a "champagne sheer...soft focus highlighter." I mostly apply it to my cheeks and sometimes on my brow bones if I didn't apply any eye shadows. It is pretty light at first when you apply it (as you can see the swatch on my hand) but it is quite blendable and it really gives a nice natural glow to your face once blended.

So yeah, I really enjoyed these products and I might even buy the mascara after I've used my other mascaras because it really works well with my lashes.

Again, sorry I've been so MIA. I would do nail looks, but I cut my nails short a few weeks ago and tried to shape them differently, but it didn't look right so I'm trying to let them grow and get them back to the shape I'm used to. I've also been experiencing peeling nails so that's why it's been taking a while for my nails to grow. I've been searching for a good base coat to strengthen my nails, so if any of you readers know of some good ones, let me know! because I'm in need of a really good base coat. I've also bought a new nail treatment, so I'm seeing how that works and I'll probably do a review on it. But maybe this week or next week, I'll get back to my nail look posts. 

I've also recently bought some skin treatments and updated my skin care routine and will probably blog about that later on, including my skin history. I know many people suffer from acne, including me and I really want to share my experiences with you. So we can look forward to that :)

 

Nail look: butter LONDON in Kerfuffle

Hello! Since spring is here, I wanted to paint my nails a nice springy color so I chose butter LONDON in Kerfuffle. This is my first time trying a butter LONDON nail lacquer. I kept hearing a lot about butter LONDON and its "3-free" formula (free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP or Parabens). There was a sale for butter LONDON nail lacquers at Ulta and since it was $6 off the original price of $15, I couldn't pass on the opportunity to get it. My friend who works at Ulta was able to get some for me because I was out of town, so she was able to get me Keruffle, HRH and Tart with a Heart.

I was instantly attracted to this color when I saw it and the name itself sounds really cute. When I first came across these polishes, I thought the packaging was odd for it to have a rectangular cap, but there's two caps to it. You take off the rectangular cap then there is a cylindrical cap which the brush is attached to. Tricky move, butter LONDON, but I like it. The color, as described by the website, is an opaque pink coral crème. It may have a bit of a neon look under incandescent lighting, but in natural light, it leans towards a pastel tone.

The application, for me, seemed to be a little difficult. I'm not sure if I just don't know how to properly apply polishes or if I got a defect bottle but the formula was thick and streaky. It was pretty opaque upon application but, because of its streakiness, I had to apply about 3 coats in total of the polish to even it out. Even with that many coats, I still could see unevenness, which was a bit frustrating for me. But thankfully, after applying a top coat (I use Out the Door, fast drying top coat), it evened out the polish and gave a beautiful shine to it. I've had this polish for a few days now with barely any chipping (I don't do a lot of work with my hands, so that may be a reason for the minimal chipping).

Overall, I love the polish for the color and I love how long lasting it is for me. I'll try my other butter LONDON polishes to see if the application is as difficult as this one. Other than that, this color puts me in a happier mood regardless of the rainy weather I've been having in my area. Hopefully this review was helpful! :)

Review: Napoleon Perdis Metallics Soft Metal Set

Hello! I wanted to do a review on this Napoleon Perdis Metallics Soft Metal set (pictured above). I received this set amongst a plethora of other make up goodies from my best friend as a birthday gift. The set  included an eyeshadow palette, eyeliner, mascara and a lip lacquer. This is my first time trying Napoleon Perdis cosmetics and I'm excited to share my thoughts on these :)

I'll begin first with the Deluxe Long Black Mascara in Double Black.

I'm not too fond of this mascara because the formula seems a bit dry to me. It took a few coats for it to show up on my lashes. My main problem is when I put the brush back into its tube. The product tends to collect at the opening so I always have to wipe that area to avoid any mess. I personally prefer other mascaras over this one.

Now unto the Lip Lacquer in Love Shine

It has a nice neutral pink hue to it with some shimmer. It also has a thick and sticky application but it does maintain its shine. I haven't tried this as much because I have sensitive lips so I've always been applying lip ointments and never have the chance to try it fully but I'll test it out more this week and update this post with  a more in-depth review on it and my opinion as to whether I like it or not. Overall I think it is a nice color and does its part as a gloss.

This is one of my favorites from the set, the Eye Pencil in White On

I've been looking for a nice white eyeliner for my waterline and I came across e.l.f.'s white eyeliner pencil. I like that pencil (more to highlight the inner tear ducts), but after trying this one, I'm definitely loving this one better for my water line. It has a smooth application and after maybe 2 strokes across my waterline, it's pretty opaque. Because of its smoothness, I don't doubt you can also use this as a base for your eye shadows. I'm sure it will make your shadows stand out! :)

Last but certainly not the least--the Prismatic Eye Shadow Quad #5.

I absolutely love this palette. I've been using it as an everyday eye look lately. I'm the type of person who isn't into a heavy eye shadow look and would prefer something more natural looking and this definitely serves that purpose. It is on the shimmery side but I like it because I feel it gives more dimension to my eyes as opposed to matte eye shadows.As you can see from the picture, it's quite pigmented and the shadows have a velvety feel to them. The lightest shade is a good subtle highlighter, it doesn't stand out too much. The second lightest shade is like a light taupe color which I use for all over my eye lids. Then the third lightest shade is like a taupe color which I use as an "outer V" color to blend into my eye lid color. Then the darkest shade, which is a dark purple color with purple glitter, I use on my bottom lash line (and if I don't feel like wearing a heavy eye liner look, I use it on my top lash line as well) to smoke out the look. For a more night time look, you can use the third lightest color as an all-over-the-lid color and the darkest color for the "outer V" to create a nice smokey eye and then pat some of the second lightest (light taupe) color on to the center of the eye lid to make the eye look pop out. These shadows doesn't seem to have any fall out and doesn't crease over time.

Overall, I enjoy this set and would probably re-purchase the eye pencil and maybe another eye shadow quad to try more colors. I hope this helps :)

FIRST POST :) Nail look: Layla Hologram Effect in 03 Retro Pink

I've really been inspired by many beauty gurus out there and they've helped me so much in improving and influencing my make up routine and nail care. As talented as they are, I'm afraid I don't share some of the physical features that they have. Inspired by them, I decided that I wanted to share my own impressions and reviews in my point of view, hoping to help others out there who share some of the physical qualities as me :)

I wanted to start off this blog with a post of my current nail look: Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish in 03 Retro Pink.

I was first introduced to this brand from my best friend who instagramed a picture of her holographic nails from the same brand in 05 Jade Groove. One day, I went to Ulta and saw that these polishes were on sale for more than half off! So I bought four polishes (they were the only colors I could find): 02 Coral Glam, 05 Jade Groove, 06 Mermaid Spell and this pink one. (After looking at some other colors, I wish I was able to get 01 Mercury Twilight and more colors!)

 In my opinion, the application of the polish was difficult for me. It was quite streaky and when I would apply another coat (even after the prior coat had dried a bit), it would drag the previous coat leaving a bare spot. My solution was to not wipe off the brush before application so that I had plenty of product to brush onto my nail. I also applied quickly so as not to drag the previous coats. I did about 3 coats, ensuring that I covered some of the barer spots. For having that many coats, it doesn't seem thick on my nails. I didn't apply a top coat because I prefer the matte finish.

The pictures were taken with the day light, but I think the polish looks better in indoor light because you can really see the holographic effect. Overall, I do like this product for its finished look. For the price I was able to get it for, despite of the difficult application, I think it was worth it.

Hopefully, as readers and fellow nail polish aficionados, you were able to find this post helpful. Any tips or tricks you'd like to share with me, you're welcome to comment :)

Update: I took a picture of my nails with flash and you can definitely see the holographic effect :) :) Very pretty