Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips

I have used Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips a couple of times now and I just wanted to talk about how much I love them. They are really easy to apply and they last about a week before getting any significant chipping. For just about 10 bux I think that is pretty good! They also have a nice selection of patterns to choose from. Some I have used:

 I love these and I really recommend them to anyone who likes cool patterns on their nails, but doesn't have the time/budget/inclination to go to the salon or do it themselves. As far as I can tell it's made of like 10 or so thin layers of nail polish pre-rolled out and ready for application. Once they are on there they stick like the devil and you are ready to go. There are more than enough for each hand, in a few different sizes, to make sure they fit well on your fingers.
BONUS: You can keep the leftover fingers to use on accent nails for future manicures.

NOTE ABOUT IMITATIONS: I tried some cheap imitiations I found at Dealextreme and they were not worth the paper they were glued on. They went on terribly and took FOREVER to remove despite partially coming off the minute I washed my hands. If you like the look of these, do yourself a favor and buy the actual Sally Hansen brand, or one of comparable quality.

Lady Gaga Nails

So this Halloween I decided to go as Lady Gaga because
a: She is amazing and
b: I had a bunch of stuff that made this costume pretty simple to do.
I decided to do a manicure inspired by the one Lady Gaga wore in her Pokerface video. I used I only Date Warewolves from O.P.I as the base, and then used a variety of nail rhinestones I had lying arounf. Finally, it was all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite top coat so that nothing would fly off too easily.

And finally, a picture of the complete outfit:

Nail Polish Spreadsheet

I finally swatched all my polish and entered it into excel:
CHECK IT OUT

108 polishes! I am ridiculous.

I am really bad at remembering to post

I have bought a ridiculous amount of cosmetics since my last post but I haven't bothered to do any reviewing or what not. I am going to try and resolve to at least do 1 post per week for a while and go from there. I also want to use my own photos instead of just generic promo shots, so bear with me and my lackluster photography skills.

Ok, here is a quick mashup of some things I have been up to:

NYX Eyeshadow Base

The first eyeshadow I ever bought myself (I was 11) was a little Cover Girl set with 3 browns and an eyeshadow base. I religiously applied the base before I put on any eyeshadow and lo and behold, my eyeshadow always looked great.

Since my tween days however, I haven't been as mindful of my eyeshadow application, and primer was something that fell to the wayside. Recently, I started using my under-eye concealer as an eyeshadow base and it worked pretty great! Finally, I decided that instead of wasting my M.A.C undereye thing, I should probably invest in a primer.

There was a great sale at Haute Look (Here is an invitation for anyone who would like to join. http://www.hautelook.com/invite/kdawson577 use this link to sign up please! I can earn points or something.)on NYX so I bought a Base and Primer Brush Set. It came with 2 white primers; one matte (ESB01) and one with a pearl finish (ESB02) as well as a primer brush (B11)




So far I have only used the matte one but I am VERY pleased with the result. It works significantly better than my under-eye concealer ever did, that's for sure. I used it with some pink Coastal Scents eyeshadow from the Prism Palette (I haven't reviewed this yet but I will) and wow! The shade was already quite pigmented, but this just made it pop so much more, and it help everything in place all day. I also really like the brush The bristles are soft but stiff enough to apply the product perfectly. No hairs fell out and the construction seems pretty solid.


I will update this when I have used the shimmer primer as well, but as of now, I am super pleased with this product.


NYX Cosmetics

A Bunch of Coastal Scents Eyeshadow Palettes

OK, I'm gonna come right out and say it:

I have an eyeshadow problem. I can't help myself, they all just look so good. Especially when there are a bunch of colours all together, mmmm. I have the same issue with markers and beads and... well anything that comes in a lot of colours, basically.

Anyway, you can imagine my joy when I saw the Coastal Scents palettes. I own 3 of them so far (I know, I know, I'm crazy. But they are so pretty and affordable!)and I just wanted to make a post about them because they really are terrific quality and the value is just unbeatable.While a few of the shades are less pigmented than I like (highlight colours, I'm looking at you) for the most part, everything is definitely on par with department store makeup. Really great pigmentation and colours. While I still may pickup an eyeshadow by M.A.C here and there, these palettes have pretty much removed the need to, because they really are that freaking excellent. Big pictures and more review after the jump.

M.A.C Viva Glam Gaga Lipglass

First off, let me say that I am a Lady Gaga fan so I was immediately interested in this product. Added to the fact that it is limited edition and I am a nerd, I sort of had to have this. The bottle has her signature in red on it! Adorable!

Lucky for me, I also love the colour. My hair is currently dark brown, and so have been really into light pink lips lately. This looks pretty much exactly like it does in the bottle on the lips, so it has a lot of colour. You definitely can't wear it alone with no other makeup or it's just too intense, but if you have eyeliner on or whatever, it suddenly becomes a very wearable colour. Very glossy, no sparkle. Sometimes if I want it a bit milder, I mix it with a clear gloss.

Final thought: Great product, both for Lady Gaga fans and people who like pink lip gloss.

M.A.C Viva Glam Gaga Lipglass