Essie Chubby Cheeks

Yay I'm so excited! I scored a new Essie polish for free yesterday! Around 4 times a year Ulta rewards you for shopping with them. The more money you spend at Ulta, the bigger your reward will be. Well, I actually made Level 2 for the first time ever. I'm usually just a Level 1 shopper...and the reward for Level 1 is like some free cotton balls. Not this time though! I actually got to choose a nail polish up to $8.50. I was going to get an OPI polish from the new Texas collection, but Essie's Chubby Cheeks really caught my eye. I needed to have it! I'm so glad I went with it too because I think it looks great with my skin tone and it will be a nice spring/summer color. The Essie website describes Chubby Cheeks as a creamy bright red-orange color.

Revlon Matte Lipstick

Revlon has had their matte collection out for way over a year now. When it first came out I bought a couple of eye shadows and a lipstick called "Really Red." I normally wouldn't buy a red lipstick but for Halloween I was dressing up as a pin up girl and I thought Really Red had a vintage pin up feel because it was matte. Well, I wasn't really impressed. I thought it was messy and hard to get off. It also felt really dry on my lips. I even tried putting on chapstick first, but it still made my lips look pretty flaky. So, I basically stuffed that away in a makeup bag for about a year and I just pulled it out for this post.
Here is a pic of "Really Red":

Revlon Matte lipstick in "Really Red" (006)

At the beginning of this year our cosmetic department at Walgreens started to receive new Revlon Matte lipstick shades. We also discontinued carrying many of the old Revlon Matte lipsticks to make room for the new shades. As I was going through the new Revlon makeup one lipstick really caught my eye. It was Revlon's Super Lustrous Matte lipstick in "Stormy Pink." I thought it was such a beautiful color. I loved that it was light pink with a blue/purple undertone...I've never seen a lipstick that shade before (at least not at a drugstore). However, I was so iffy about buying it. As mentioned, I was not impressed by the previous Revlon Matte lipstick I tried. In the end I gave in and bought it anyway. I'm so happy I did because it is actually very moisturizing and while it is less pigmented then "Really Red," I actually like that because it's appropriate for daytime and the color ended up looking great with my skin tone. I noticed later on the bottom of the two lipstick tubes that "Stormy Pink" is a super lustrous matte lipstick while "Really Red" is just plain matte. That might explain why "Stormy Pink" was so moisturizing, but who knows.
There are also other Revlon Matte lipsticks I'm dying to try like Smoked Peach, Sky Pink and Pink About It.
Here are Stormy Pink and Really Red side to side:

Revlon Stormy Pink & Revlon Really Red

Revlon Super Lustrous Matte lipstick in 011, "Stormy Pink"

Lovin' my new Revlon lipstick!

Maybelline Full 'N Soft

The best drugstore mascara hands down is Maybelline's Full 'N Soft. I have been using it for years. Sure I try out new mascaras, but Maybelline's Full 'N Soft is like my go-to mascara. It can do no wrong! I always purchase the washable one, but it is also available in waterproof.

The Maybelline website says you will love this mascara for the following reasons:
• Builds full, healthy-looking lashes without the brittle feel
• Prevents loss of lashes with patented Quick Dissolve System that allows easy mascara removal
• Advanced thickening formula with Vitamin E helps to soften and nourish lashes
• No clumps, no globs
• Contact lens safe and hypoallergenic
All of these claims in my opinion are completely true. It definitely makes my lashes appear fuller and natural looking. I find that it's a great mascara for daytime. I also agree that it doesn't make your lashes appear brittle like other mascaras. They are pretty soft to the touch...which means there is no flaking! I love that it has Vitamin E in it because I find that it makes my lashes healthier and I experience less lash loss. I've also never had problems removing this mascara. The most recent tube I purchased actually had more of a wet formula at first, but after a month it was drier and I felt it worked much better that way. The tube is kind of bland looking...it's just black and silver. I know it's trendy for mascaras to come in bright unique packaging now so it's just not as cute. Despite that, I love that it is a natural bristle mascara wand.

I'm not too fond of the rubber bristle wands. I find that the natural bristle wands really grab every little lash. The result is a full lash look. It makes me look like I have more lashes, but in a natural way. Like I said before, it's really great for daytime. If you like a dramatic false lash look then this would not be for you. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part, it's only $6-$7.
Here are my lashes before applying Full 'N Soft mascara:

Here are my lashes after applying Full 'N Soft mascara:

Dress it Up or Dress it Down

Hey everyone! I thought I would do a post on a top that I really love. It's a silk top I purchased from Urban Outfitters a while back with ruffles on the front and a zipper on the back. In this post I will show you how to dress it down or dress it up.
First is the dressed down look:

And if you want to dress up the top...

I looked on the Urban Outfitters website to try and find the top, but it's not there anymore. I found an alternative on Mod Cloth that I think is actually cuter. It's an umbrella pattern instead of a floral print.

Mod Cloth Share My Umbrella Top

Sally Hansen Salon Effects

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Sally Hansen Salon Effects polish strips by now. I decided to do a review/tutorial for you. This is my second time using them and it turned out alright. My friend Heather bought a box in the "Laced Up" design. She works at a hair salon so she has her hands in water a lot and is sort of rough on her nails. I recommended these to her because they claim to last up to 10 days. Last time I checked with her she had surpassed the 10 day mark. They were slightly chipping at the tips though and the strips were moving away from her cuticles. The first time I wore these they only lasted about 6 days for me. I didn't do a top coat though and I think that could be a difference maker. This time around I used my Nail Tek top coat and I plan on applying it every other day. The Sally Hansen Salon Effects includes 16 nail polish strips, a cuticle stick, and a mini file/buffer. All of the strips are in various sizes so you should have no problem finding the right size strip for each of your nails. The downside to this product that will probably prevent me from buying it in the future is definitely the price. At Walgreens we are selling them for $9.99. I think that it's an awesome product for special occasions. In fact, the reason I applied these is because my birthday is on Saturday. Yay! Also, I came across a coupon at Redplum.com for $2 off Sally Hansen Salon Effects.
Now I want to share with you some of the different designs you can purchase:

I also thought I would take you through the process of applying these polish strips. My polish strips are in the design "Kitty, Kitty." I'm also dying to try "Girl Flower."
On to the tutorial:

Each box comes with 16 strips, a cuticle stick, and a file/buffer

Step 1: Start with clean, dry nails.

Step 2: Push back cuticles

Step 3: Shape your nails with pink side of file and use other side of file to buff the surface of the nails

Step 4: Give nails one last swipe with polish remover

Step 5: Select best-fitting strip for each nail

Step 6: Peel away the backing and apply to nail. Make sure it is centered and do not stretch it too much. Use flat side of cuticle stick to press the edges down

Step 7: Smooth the excess over the edge of the nail using the light pink side of the file

Now repeat steps 5 through 7 for the rest of your nails. It's pretty easy and quick to do. Here's some pics of the finished product:

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in "Kitty, Kitty"

OOTD & OOTN

Here's a pic of my OOTN from Friday. It was pretty simple...just a dress I got from Urban Outfitters on clearance, black opaque tights, gray suede Steve Madden boots and a braided belt from Pac Sun. I wore this out to dinner with friends with a jacket because it was really cold for Houston...like 30 degrees!

As for my OOTD, I just wore some Levis, black flats and a top from Urban Outfitters. I tried to find the top on the website to link it for you guys and good news for those of you who liked it---it's now on sale! It's the Ecote Trans Printed Tee and mine is in size small. I wore this outfit to the grocery store...hah. My lazy day outfit!

Essie, Now a Drugstore Find!

Hi everyone! As you know, I work at Walgreens in the cosmetics department so I am responsible for building displays, adding new additions to our cosmetic's wall and keeping up with beauty news. Lately, the Walgreens Catalina coupon machine has been printing out ads letting shoppers know that Essie is coming soon to Walgreens. This made me very excited! I'm a huge Essie fan and I know Essie was acquired by L'Oreal last year so it seems fitting that L'Oreal would bring Essie to drugstores. I also heard Walmart is carrying Essie now as well. This past week at Walgreens I was working with my manager and coworker to reset our cosmetic wall....and we now officially carry Essie, but the display is pretty much empty (at least for now). Sooo, I got impatient and couldn't wait any longer to buy a new Essie polish so I went to Ulta and gave into temptation. I'm probably still going to buy a lot of Essie polishes at Walgreens though because I get a 15% discount. Well, at Ulta I picked up a really beautiful peach polish by Essie called "Van D'Go." I love it! I think it looks nice with my skin tone and it dries so fast. I really prefer the Essie brushes over the OPI brushes. I'm not into fat polish brushes because I have pretty small nails. I also picked up this nail strengthener called Nail Tek II: Intensive Therapy for soft and peeling nails. My nails refuse to grow! Every time I have any length to my nails it is only a matter of time before they start breaking and peeling. They are pretty thin and soft so I'm hoping this will help strengthen them. The directions say to use it as a base coat and apply as a top coat over polish. I was so close to buying OPI's Nail Envy strengthener, but Ulta was out of the Nail Envy for soft and thin nails and I didn't want to get the original formula. Oh well! I'm sure the Nail Tek is just as good. I had read reviews beforehand and they were pretty positive so we'll see! I'll update you all in a couple of weeks. Also, at Ulta I saw a new collection out from OPI called Texas. How exciting! I'm from Houston so this was a really a neat find! My favorite polish in the collection is definitely Austin-tatious Turquoise. It is soooo beautiful and unique. It's kind of glittery which can be a turn off because glitter polishes are impossible to take off, but it's so worth it. The color is too pretty to pass up. I wish I had my digital camera with me because I would have taken pics, but you can click the link in the text to see the collection.
However, I do have pics of Essie's Van D'Go. Enjoy!

Hooray for Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss!

I have been dying to do a blog post on the Revlon Super Lustrous lip glosses! My favorite colors are Coral Reef, Pink Pop, Firecracker, and Lilac Pastelle. The line had been out for many years, but I never noticed it really until last summer when Revlon released brand new colors. I immediately purchased Coral Reef. I'm always drawn to coral colors and I think it's a great color for pale-skinned girls like me.

Left to Right: Coral Reef & Pink Pop (No flash)

Left to Right: Coral Reef & Pink Pop (w/ flash)

As you can see, my Coral Reef lip gloss is pretty beat up. I've had it for at least 8 months now. Just recently I decided that I should kind of step away from corals...hahah. I decided to get Pink Pop as well. I'm actually really pleased with it. I think I might even like it more than Coral Reef! These lip glosses are great because they are not sticky at all and they are pretty pigmented. You can do one coat for a sheer wash of color or dip the sponge about 3 times and get a color that is pretty true to the tube. Then again, the way the colors look will differ on everyone's lips depending on the color of your natural lips to begin with. I will probably by Firecracker and Lilac Pastelle soon too. It just seems like lately I'm moving away from lip gloss and more towards lipsticks. If you are in the market for a lip gloss then check out the Revlon Super Lustrous line...they are hands down the best drugstore lip glosses!

Revlon Super Lustrous "Coral Reef"

Revlon Super Lustrous "Pink Pop"

Hooray for lip gloss!