I've always been reluctant to try nail polishes with large sparkles or full of bits and pieces. I usually find them fun, but not really pretty. When I saw Hard Candy Crystal Confetti nail polish in Black Tie Optional, however, I didn't hesitate for a second!
The dense mix of black and white hexagonal bits of different sizes, bars and tiny pieces (you'd think I'd call them sparkles, but they're not sparkly, they're mostly matte) looked very appealing to me. It reminded me of paint splatter on a mineral surface, like a monochrome Jackson Pollock on a granite canvas. I fell in love with what I saw in the bottle, but I was really concerned it wouldn't look so good on the nails.
A few weeks ago, I went to Walmart for the very first time in my life. Yeah well, I'm not particularly excited about over-sized supermarkets and underpaid staff. Anyways, after a year in the US, I finally ventured to a Walmart, and while my husband was in the auto part section, I spent my time in the comforting cosmetics aisle, discovering their exclusive brands.
I've always wanted to try Hard Candy, and it was then or never!! I bought a few goodies from the brand, among them the recently launched Shadow Dancers double cream shadow in Movers & Shakers (579). I have to say that I chose this shade mainly because I was not too inspired by the other ones. That was when I didn't know what their finish was like, and now that I do, I would definitely get it in more colors.
A while ago I bought the Rejuvenal-C Orange Eye Pads from Earth Therapeutics, hoping that they would help reduce my pretty severe dark circles.
They contain a bunch of natural ingredients, orange, vitamin C, gingko biloba, green tea and chamomile, supposed to refresh, rejuvenate, reduce the appearance of fine lines, relieve puffiness and diminish dark circles. Since these pads are affordable and easy to find (got my from drugstore.com), I thought it was worth a try!
When I hear about a new drugstore lipstick that delivers full coverage in a wide range of shades and finishes for a handful of dollars, I'm all in! So as soon as I spotted the recently launched Milani Color Statement Lipstick display at my local Target, I bought a few shades for a test drive. My first choice was Orange-Gina, a metallic burnt orange.
The name makes me giggle because of the French drink named Orangina, a natural orange soda that you need to shake before opening (otherwise the pulp stays at the bottom). When I was a teenager, the brand had a few hilarious commercials that this lipstick reminds me of...
When I bought Keep Calm, Paint On from China Glaze Avant Garden spring 2013 collection, I didn't realize that this pretty minty green polish with a subtle silver shimmer actually requires the user to repeat the mantra during application. Based on my experience, failure to do so will most likely cause the frustrated nailista to throw the bottle out the window, have a fit of manicure rage, or say the f word more than 10 times per half hour.
Sephora recently launched their own custom eyeshadow palettes, revamping their Colorful Eyeshadows in the process. New shades were born, among them Snakeskin Dress. I bought it after seeing beautiful swatches online, and boy, I wasn't disappointed!
I used to be reluctant to pay $13 for a Sephora shadow, when high end brands are just a few more bucks and drugstore lines are a lot less pricey. But Snakeskin Dress, believe me, is worth every penny.
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