Product Review: Essie's School of Hard Rocks

Product Review: Essie's School of Hard Rocks

Cost: Around $8
Where to Purchase: Target, Ulta, Drugstores

Claims: None

Thoughts: This is one of those polishes which I describe as applying like 'buttah'. It is a perfect 2 coater and in the sea of Teals that hit the stores this Spring/Summer this one was definitely the standout for me. It's lasting, like all Essie's polishes, it's creamy and a dream to apply and it's so pigmented and opaque that it makes it a pleasure to apply.
How I use it: Apply 2 coats on clean nail, top off with favorite top coat. I use Seche Vite.

Rating: A+

Product Review: Skin70 Super Blemish Balm BB Cream

Product Review: Skin70 Super Blemish Balm BB Cream

Cost: $8.98
Where to Purchase: Amazon

Claims: It smoothes away lines, leaving skin elastic. It provides skin with moisture and freshness

Thoughts: You know I had to try this right away because I did become a bit obsessed with it so I decided to wear it yesterday when I went out shopping and dinner with Mom and this is a beautiful thing. I've found my favorite BB cream. This stuff controlled the oil on my cheeks better than ANY other foundation that I have tried. My cheeks felt right down dry after 6 hours with this on. I had it on a total of 8 hours before I headed to bed and I really didn't want to take my makeup off because it was as smooth and as perfect as when I had first applied it. I will test it for more hours but thus far I have to say how impressed I am. This can be built up to Med coverage, which is what I need. I still used concealer with this but I did not have to use primer at all.
How I use it: Did a small pump on the back of my hand and warmed it up with my finger, then I did little dots of it all over my face and began blending with a flat synthetic brush like the Sigma F80. I did dust a little bit of powder on my face, which I always do because this Florida weather is killer.

Rating: A+

Product Review: Simply Sheep Dead Sea Mud Mask

Product Review: Simply Sheep Dead Sea Mud Mask

Cost: $8.99
Where to Purchase: Etsy or Simply Sheep website

Claims: It is highly enriched with 26 different minerals helpful to the skin's health and function and said to aid in keeping the skin hydrated and moisturized. Dead sea mud is known to unclog pores creating younger and healthier looking skin. It has also been shown to provide relief for Psoriasis and Eczema.

Thoughts: I did a bit of a preview of this yesterday but I was so excited with it that I decided to try it out last night. It's got much more of a jelly-like consistency than a paste consistency which makes it lighter to apply. I applied it all over the face and within 3 minutes I felt it 'tightening'. Like, I couldn't smile even if I wanted to. I decided to take a close up photo while it was drying so you all can see how it just went into all my pores, which I have tons and I really felt it cleansing. I read in their website that you should do this twice a month so I'm thinking it's a good one to do everything 2 weeks for deep cleansing, and have it help with oil control that I especially get on my cheeks. Good stuff, I liked it, and you only need a little bit, I hardly dented after this mask so I'm going to go with it's good bank for your $.
How I use it: Spread a thin layer all over face. Let dry for 30 min and rinsed.

Rating: A

New Products Preview 7/20/12

Ordered some things online, some unique things that I wanted to try out and it's what I call 'online-only' products. Products that I cannot find by walking into Ulta or even a boutique. I'm sharing a little preview before I start trying them out!

In Etsy I found this little company called Simply Sheep, and decided to order their Dead Sea Mud Mask. I'd been wanting a Dead Sea mask and you all know how much I love my masks so I thought why not. 

A 5oz jar is $8.99 and the consistency is very very dense so I know this will last for a long time! It claims: It is highly enriched with 26 different minerals helpful to the skin's health and function and said to aid in keeping the skin hydrated and moisturized. Dead sea mud is known to unclog pores creating younger and healthier looking skin. It has also been shown to provide relief for Psoriasis and Eczema.

I've had Psoriasis since I was 3 yrs old and though I keep it controlled I know some products, like coconut oil helps to moisturize the dryness that my medicine causes. So I will try this out and see if it helps with the Psoriasis breakouts I get on my forehead in the summer :)

The next was a product that has been circulating the online scene for a little while. It's the Skin79 Super Blemish Balm 'BB Cream'. It's one of the original Asian BB creams if I'm not mistaken.

I went ahead and did a quick swatch. Now, this only comes in one color and I was only able to find it in Amazon, it got here in 1 week which I thought was pretty good delivery. It's a pump and you can control how much comes out. Right off the bat I felt the difference from American BB creams. This is a thick, creamy product. This is not a tinted moisturizer AT ALL. It felt like cream foundation, almost whipped foundation. As you can see from the swatch above, that little bit was more than enough for my hand. It covers nearly at Med-coverage which is EXACTLY what I was looking for in a BB cream. I'm really excited to try this product out this week, once finished I will put complete review about it. This has SPF25. Yes!!

Many people have stated that it turns into a gray shade on their skin. Which is true. It does have a concrete-coloring to it HOWEVER, you leave this on your skin for about 5 minutes and it completely adjusted to my skin color without making me look dead. My suggestion is to let it set before crying wolf.

Fun stuff online only, I love these kind of items!

Product Review: The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector

Product Review: The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector

Cost: $20
Where to Purchase: Ulta or The Body Shop

Claims: Soften and protect hands, even after washing. Recommended for extra dry to dry skin.

Thoughts: This is not the best smelling product in the world but this seriously quenches my dry hands. I have very dry hands, dry cuticles, dry palms and each time I'm in the Body Shop I try to pick up a tube of this because this is honestly the best hand protector I've come across. It's extremely thick, you only need a dollop but you will instantly feel the difference. It's amazing. I wish it wasn't so expensive and that the scent would be different. I wouldn't even mind it if it came unscented.
How I use it: Apply dime-size amount on hands and work into skin.

Rating: A

Product Review: Butter London's Trout Pout or how a nail polish turned into my boyfriend

Product Review: Butter London's Trout Pout

Cost: $14
Where to Purchase: Ulta or Sephora

Claims: A heavily pigmented, high-fashion nail lacquer.

Thoughts: If there was one color to represent all of Summer 2012, it's this color. It's the absolutely perfect peachy creamsicle color with the right amount of pink to make it grown up yet whimsical. I have to say that when I first saw this color it was love at first sight. I felt like our eyes were meeting across a field and we skipped towards each other, with open arms while music played in the background. I HAD to have it, it was obsessive. I couldn't even function at work. When I finally got my hands on it I quickly did a manicure and like all relationships, we encountered our first roadblock. I quickly discovered that behind the perfect bottle, the perfect color was not living up to its promises. It was a 3 coater. A three coater is when I need to apply 3 coats in order to achieve perfect opacity. It was streaky. But, like all relationships, the color was so pretty, I was willing to overlook it. The first day on it was beautiful. I took it to an art fair and showed my nails off to friends and they were wowed by the unique color and many decided to get it for themselves. That's when trouble started. I wake up with my color the second day and turned to admire it once more and gasp in horror as I spotted a slight chip. My relationship with my polish was quickly crumbling before my eyes but I decided maybe it was me. I had done something wrong. Like washed my favorite water cup. Or perhaps opened an envelope too violently. No way was my perfect polish responsible for the chip. By 6pm that second day my relationship was in shambles. I had 3 chips and it was quickly becoming evident that I was way more invested in this relationship that the polish was. By day 4 I had to remove it from my nails. It was chipping like crazy so the polish went back on my polish rack for me to admire. Because it looks AMAZING on the bottle but like that relationship it can also be very deceiving. 
How I use it: 3 coats and Seche Vite top coat.

Rating: D (C'mon, Butter! Fix this formula!)

I should state that I still wear it, when I know I'm only going to have it on for a few days, if I paid $14 for it you best believe I will wear it and pretend everything is fine!

Product Review: NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker

Product Review: NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker

Cost: About $8
Where to Purchase: Ulta

Claims:  The micro-fine felt tip on this eye liner means you can use it for everything from filling in your eyelash line to a subtle cat-eye look.The eye marker application is smooth and the striking results are long-lasting and smudge-proof.

Thoughts: Originally I was going to do a comparison between this and the Jordana Fabuliner but once I got to using this one I realized that for my meticulous likes this one draws a much different line than Jordana. The NYX marker is SUPER skinny. I took pictures so you can see. This draws a very pigmented thin line which can be used as they claim to fill in the lash or a very delicate cat-eye. I actually like using this one for my daily for work more than the Jordana because the line is so discreet. I love it, definitely will be repurchasing it.
How I use it: I use it daily for my natural eye look.

Rating: A