I want to love you, but I can't...

Hello,

Today I wanted to share some products that I really wanted to like, but the relationship just didn't happen. 

The first is Boscia's Detoxifying Black Cleanser ($28 for 5oz).  It is described as "This Black Cleanser heats up on contact with skin to effectively open and de-clog pores. Its gel texture transforms into a gentle and effective lather to dissolve oil and makeup, rinsing away pore-clogging surface debris, impurities, and excess oil. It refines skin texture, brightens skin clarity, and minimizes the look of pores over time"  I feel like my pores have gotten larger as I age and like my skin to look bright and refreshed, plus Boscia has a pretty good rep so when it was a 100 point reward from Sephora I got a deluxe sample.

Oh I wanted to love you, but you didn't clean off all my make up and you DRIED the heck out of my face.  I might keep this around for post workout face washes in the summer - but I'm still worried it's too drying.  I have normal skin, and if you truly have oily skin it might be ok for you. I did like the smell and the black gel is kind of cool, but we will not be staying together.

Next up - Sally Hansen's No Chip top coat ($5.29) 

 On the Sally Hansen website it is described as "A fast-drying top coat that seals nail color to a smooth, hard finish. Acrylic formula dries to a high-gloss shield and provides ultra-hard protection." Nope.  No No No.  This stuff is terrible.  I have tried it over Essie, over China Glaze and over Revlon polishes and they all chip within a day - example this week's manicure below:

Chipped to bits after 2 days, it looks like I took a chesse grater to my nails - which I assure I did not.  I always use a top coat, because I like my manicure to last and I like shiny nails.  This doesn't even really keep the shine.  So disappointing.  

So these 2 beauty relationships didn't work out... but hopefully I'll find some winners to share soon!

Have you has a beauty breakup recently?

Jasmine

Sally Hansen - I (Heart) Nail Art - studs kit

Hello,

This week I found a fun little kit at Walgreens - the Sally Hansen I <3 Nail Art Studs kit ($6.99)

I was rather intrigued as until now finding lots of nail gems (in actual stores) was rather hard or they were more like crafting gems and too big for what I wanted.  I know you can order things like this online - but sometimes I like the convenience of seeing things with my own two eyes.

It comes with 3 vials that are about 4" tall - my kit has black "rhinestones", clear "rhinestones" and gold circle studs and are silver on the other side but I think they would not stay on long if they were placed upside down.

It also comes with what I think as a cuticle stick - but it's a gem picker-upper, and indeed it does pick up the little gems - but for placing them I think a tweezers would be much better.

I did a quick little bedazzle on my "Endless Blue" by Sinful Colors manicure -

I took a tweezers (I like to keep old pairs that don't pluck well around for things like this) - and I just dipped the back side in clear top coat - set it on nail and then did a thick coat of top coat all around.  I don't like to put the topcoat over the gem as I think it makes them "hazy".  It stayed put until I took it off with nail polish remover 3 days later.  They are also relatively flat so I didn't have problems with it getting caught on things.  Overall I am suitably impressed!

What are you favorite kinds of nail adornments?

Jasmine









 

This week's Manicure - Snappy Sorbet with dots!

Hello,

Today I wanted to share my manicure, I got one of the Maybelline Polka Dots polishes in my Cara Box.  So I wanted to check it out.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Snappy Sorbet
 

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Manicure Base Coat.  Then I put on Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Snappy Sorbet.  You can see my bottle has a strip of color on the top from my organizing system I talked about HERE. 

 

 

This polish with the base coat wears really well,  I didn't put a top coat on and I have only minor tip wear after 3 days.  It has a wide brush that I find kind of hard to work with, but the formula spreads well and they always have lots of trendy colors.

 

 



Then I grabbed my Maybelline Color Show in Dotty and did an accent nail.

 

 

 The translucent orange base of Dotty made the Snappy Sorbet look "oranger" for sure - and it was hard to place the dots, I couldn't get a lot of the big ones.  I'm not sure how I feel about the polka dot top coat trend.  Maybe it's just because it's orange - but it feels a bit "Halloween-y" to me.

 

What do you think?

 

Jasmine

MOTW- Indie Spring

Hello!

Today I wanted to share my manicure of the week!  This week I wanted to integrate the new indie polish I got from Nikki @ Heaven has Cupcakes in our monthly nail mail swap. 

 

I used one of my favorite formulas - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barely Bluebell and Nail Sauce polish in Rainbow Bridge. 

I love the little yellow flowers and the teal, red and purple sparkles.  It went on pretty smoothly and I didn't have to fish much to get the flowers - it may be because it's a mini bottle and I always find glitter placement easier with minis. 

 

Indoor lighting on the left and Daylight on the right
 

I think it turned out really cute! And now I just want All the Nail Sauce glitter top coats :) !

Hope you all are having a great week!

Jasmine

MOTW - Lilac Luxe

Hello!

Tonight I wanted to share my manicure of the week!  I had previously has the Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Stips on - See Here!  I took them off after ten days (a combination of chipping and a beauty bloggers need to change!)  So I decided something spring & blingy would be in order.

So I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Lacey Lilac as my base ->

Then I put on some of those French manicure stickers and painted the tips with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City and a top coat of Diamond Flash ->

For some reason (probably because of the flash) it looks uneven, but I swear it looks fab in real life! 

I love non-traditional French manicures - how about you?

Jasmine

MOTW - Sally Hansen Ista-Gel Strips

Hello!

This week I used the Sally Hansen Ista-Gel Strip kit to do my manicure - the kit runs anywhere between $27.97 -$29 depending on where you get it (Get it Here!).  It includes the strips (16 of them in various sizes), a orange stick and mini nail file, the Gel top coat and the UV light. 

 

 

I haven't had the best luck with the regular nail stickers so I was worried this wouldn't work so well.  But the strips are much more flexible and easily repositionable.

 

So you just shape your nails, use the included nail pad to clean them, put on the sticker, pull it taught and it basically snaps off at the edge of your nail.  The smooth it all in place, file off the excess and coat it with the Gel top coat.  Put it under the included LED lamp, hit the button and the light goes on for 30 seconds.  Then you wipe it again with the nail pad and it's dry!  How does it work?  Magic. It's seriously easy.  And I think it turned out really nice.

The manicure is advertised to last "up to 2 weeks" - we shall see...  More strips are kinda spendy at $13 ( I could buy like 4 bottles of polish for that!) - but if you are going vacation this would be perfect.  Or if you just don't like doing your nails but like them to look nice. 

Could you maintain the same color for 2 weeks or would you get bored?

Jasmine

** This product was provided to me for trial purposes, this does not affect my review and I always tell you what I honestly think.**



Weekly Manicure - Sally Hansen

Hello -

I realized I shouldn't call it a NOTD (Nail of the Day) post because I usually only do my nails once a week - or if they chip.  I CANNOT stand chipped nail polish.  Anywhoo...  this week I used Sally Hansen's new polish line Lustre Shine in Lava.

 

 



They come in 8 different colors and are described as "An intense and radiant nail lacquer infused with real silver. Inspired by the lustrous color flip of molten, liquid metal and the iridescence of a peacock feather. Creates an iridescent effect on the nail." -from the Sally Hansen website.  I thought they would be a little more douchromatic than it applied.

 

 

It took 3 coats to get it almost opaque, I can still see a bit of visible nail line. 

 

The color reads a little bit more redish pink in real life.  I think this will be a very fun summer color for the toes.  

 

Have you tried the Lustre Shine polishes? 

 

Jasmine



Spread the Polish Swap - Reveal...

Hello!

A few weeks ago I signed up for the spread the polish swap hosted by Lala Lists & Lipgloss and Crayons.  Today is the package link up and reveal day!

Also I must note I love me some blogger swaps! I have 2 more in the works... Yeah!

My partner was Ashley from Bramblewood Fashion.  I really like her site, she puts together realy lovely outfits - I wish I coud look so cute!

And here is what I received!

 I was extra spolied as she sent me some fun "Press on" nails as well - which I will be using soon, I am sure, as my nails tend to break when I finally get them at a nice length...le sigh. :)

But on to the LOVELY polishes -> I love, love, love the Sally Hansen glitter "Strobe Light"  it is a pink/silver sparkly bottle of fun!

And NYC in "Manhattan" is a deep plum that will be a favorite this fall/winter!  Thank you so much Ashley for the lovely package!

Do you do swaps??

Jasmine

NOTD...Part Deux

Hello:
Well if you read my first post about doing my nails, I mentioned I only like to do it once a week and I hate chipped nail polish.  Well...needless to say my manicure the Revlon's Top Speed polish in Guava only lasted 2 1/2 days.  I don't know if it was because a fast dry polish doesn't do well with a basecoat or what.  But I need to fix up my digits ASAP.

So I got out the new Sallt Hansen Salon Manicure in Barely Blue Bell and then attempted a sparkly french tip with China Glaze in Full Spectrum ( which has light teal sparkles within the silver). 

I am not 100% proud of my work but I really like the Sally Hansen color.  Which is a bit surprising as I don't usually look good in blues, so it was a pleasant surprise :) 

Jasmine