Victoria’s Secret Nail Pop Lacquer in Flash – Swatches & Review

Remember way back when I started this blog and told you I had a third Vicky’s polish to show you? Yeah, I totally forgot about it – sorry! I swatched Flash… and then got really excited about new polish releases, which means that it got a little lost in the shuffle. Woops!

Anyways, better late than never, right? Right. Flash is a soft, shimmering light pink.

I used two coats of Flash, plus base and top coat. My middle nail is finally growing out (darn breaks), but I swatched this almost right after I chipped it.

Natural light

Natural light

Indoor w/o flash

Indoors w/o flash

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/ flash

The pros:

1. As with the other VS Nail Pop lacquers, the formula was smooth and easy to control.
2. This is a very feminine, pretty shade of pink (perfect for an Easter mani!). I was worried that the shimmer would make Flash frosty, but it actually just lends a subtle sparkle to the polish.
3. The shimmer in this shows up nicely considering that the formula is a cream.

The cons:

1. I don’t look at this polish and see “flash,” so I don’t feel it’s very appropriately named. Not that the name is much of a con, I’m just nitpicking.
2. The delicate, light pink shade turns a little nude against my skin tone in low lighting.

I like Flash more than I expected! I don’t usually reach for pale, soft pink polishes but I think that Flash will be a nice color to wear to work or when I’m feeling uber-girly. As with the other VS Nail Pop lacquers that I swatched, Flash was a gift (thanks Mom!) and I’ve been unable to find it online. Consequently, I’m not sure how much a bottle costs; I can’t imagine that it’s outside the typical $7-9 polish range though.

What do you think of Flash or other Victoria’s Secret Nail Pop lacquers? Purchase or pass? Do you have any dupes for Flash?

Cult Discipline – Cult Nails Disciplined Swatches & Review

When Cult Nails had a sale awhile back, I snatched up a couple shades that I had been lusting after/drooling on my keyboard over. From the moment I came across Cult Nails, Disciplined has been one of the shades that called my name from its bottle shot. I’m glad it finally ended up in my cart, I guess it was about time!

Maria from Cult Nails describes Disciplined as “a sheer but buildable soft grey with purple, pink and blue shimmer.” There are pros and cons to sheer, buildable shades. The pro is that they make amazing layering polishes. The con is that if you want the color opaque on its own, you need to use multiple coats (sometimes I cheat and put undies on my nails first); however, multiple coats of a sheer polish often end up looking soft and delicate, which is a pro in my book. I decided that I wanted to wear Disciplined on its own first so that I could really get a feel for the true shade. I used 3 coats, plus base and top coat for the swatches below.

Indoor w/o flash

Natural light

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/ flash

The pros:

1. This is such a soft, lovely shade of gray. I don’t own anything quite like it because of the softness and that unique, color-shifting shimmer.
2. That shimmer is fantastic – in some lights and angles it’s pink, in others it’s purple, and in others it’s blue. Maria really has a knack for making gorgeous shimmers and flakies.
3. I haven’t tried layering this yet, but I imagine it will be equally fantastic over light or dark shades.
4. In the bottle, Disciplined reminds me of my favorite animal (elephants! <3). On the nail, it makes me think of rain clouds or the clouds that are left scattered just after a light rain shower.
5. In true Cult fashion, the formula is a breeze to work with.

The cons:

1. Maria isn’t kidding when she says Disciplined is sheer – it’s very sheer. I plan on using undies with this shade the next time I want to wear it alone and not layered over another color.
2. Dry time was slower than I expected given the thin coats I used (as is evident by my smudged middle finger).

Overall, I’m very happy that I added Disciplined to my growing polish collection  🙂  It’s a beautiful, unique shade and the shimmer really makes it a stunner. You can snag Disciplined for $12/15ml bottle on the Cult Nails website.

What do you think of Disciplined? Have you joined the Cult yet?

Related articles

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Hello, Holo! Color Club Halo Hues 2013 Collection Swatches & Review – 2nd Half

World’s longest title, part two, right? ^ My bad, but it can’t be helped! A few-ish days ago I brought you swatches of the first three polishes I wore from Color Club’s latest Halo Hues collection. They’re my first holographic polishes and I was just so excited to finally add some to my collection. I’ve been wearing different shades all week and was so busy looking at my nails that I forgot to post the 2nd half of the collection the day after the 1st! Woops. So without further ado –

With the last post, I swatched/reviewed Beyond (a charcoal black), Eternal Beauty (a medium purple), and Over the Moon (a bright, light blue); today I have Kismet, Miss Bliss, and Cosmic Fate. As a heads up, my natural lighting shots are lame because the sun was hiding in anticipation of all the snow we’re currently receiving  😦

First up is Kismet. Kismet is a light green that leans a touch in the sage direction. Kismet was so-so for me. When I first put it on, I liked the color but it was lighter than I anticipated and fell a little flat. The holo really came out with flash but was otherwise a bit subtle, although I did catch it when my nails were close to lights. I used two coats, no base or top coat. As usual, lighting is in the captions and click to enlarge:

Indoor w/o flash, near light

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/ flash

Natural light (cloudy)

Miss Bliss is a rosy pink. It looks like a silver-flecked rose in low-lighting but the holo comes out like crazy at the right angles and lighting. Once again, I used two coats, no base or top coat.

Indoors, w/o flash

Natural light, cloudy

Indoors w/ flash

The last shade is Cosmic Fate, a light peachy color that can lean more champagne or more pale orange depending on the lighting. I did use a base coat with Cosmic Fate, but otherwise stuck with the two thin coats and no top coat. These swatches are a little different because they’re not fresh. Yes, it was on purpose. I did my nails and then wore my mani for a full day – this means my nails were subjected to work, basics, and household cleaning. At the end of the day, I snapped my nail photos so that you could see how the polish wears with base but without a top coat. You can see tip wear (maybe not unless you click to enlarge), but it’s as bad as I was anticipating considering that holos are not known for longevity.

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/o flash

As with the first half of this collection, the formula on these was a bit thin but easy to work with. They flowed smoothly onto the nail and were easy to control. The thinner formula works out well anyways because Color Club suggests using thin coats when applying Halo Hues. The dry time was fantastic, which is wonderful for an impatient girl who refuses to use Seche. The minutes-fast dry time also helps me feel better about redoing my mani every few days because of tip wear (although I do plan on doing a mani with a top coat to see how much of a difference it makes). Some of the Halo Hues have a more subtle holo, but I really like the overall variety of shades and holo strength in this 2013 collection – some shades will be fun weekend ones and others will work well as work-appropriate holos!

Color Club sells this beauties for $10/15mL on their site, but I ordered the full set for $40 (plus free shipping over $30!) from Enospring. Enospring also sells the bottles individually for $7. Amazon and other polish/beauty sites like Harlow & Co. also sell Color Club polishes, including this new Halo collection.

What do you think of the collection? Purchase or pass? Better or on par with the 2012 Color Club Halo Hues collection? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Related articles

• Hello, Holo! Color Club Halo Hues 2013 Collection Swatches & Review – 1st Half (wayfaringbeauty.com)

Hello, Holo! Color Club Halo Hues 2013 Collection Swatches & Review – 1st Half

Sorry for the world’s longest title there ^  I couldn’t help it, collection names are such mouthfuls once you include the company name and such! Anyways, I have some gorgeous polishes for you and long titles pale in comparison to them.

When I was growing up, I was a total girly-girl (who am I kidding? I still am). For years my room was lavender and one wall was covered by wallpaper of a giant rainbow arching across my room. It was the happiest, most colorful wallpaper. My freshman year of college I decided I should maybe have a “grown up” room that wasn’t filled with rainbows and little porcelain trinkets, and it was with great sadness that I took the rainbow paper down. I’m still a little bummed that I did (hello, it was amazing), but I can now have rainbows on my nails thanks to Color Club – and that’s almost as good.

Color Club released a Halo Hues holographic collection last year andddd…I missed it. I wasn’t on my polish kick yet and didn’t even know you could have holographic polish on your nails. I have really been wanting holo polish lately though and was tickled when I heard that Color Club was putting out another Halo Hues collection (especially because China Glaze’s holo collection looks meh). I own no holo polishes, so did I get one or two to see if I liked them? Nope. I bought all six of the 2013 collection.

Drool.

The six polishes in the Halo Hues collection are Beyond, Eternal Beauty, Over the Moon, Kismet, Miss Bliss, and Cosmic Fate. While I don’t own the previous Halo set, these seem to be more bold colors overall, which is what I think I’d prefer anyways. I heard that you shouldn’t and/or can’t use base or top coats with holo polishes without dulling the effect, but Color Club instructs you to use both with their Halo Hues. I decided to see how these fared without them first, just because I’m contrary I suppose. I swatched all six of the polishes already but this post only contains the first three. Why? Well when you swatch these indoors and don’t have flash, the polishes look like a pretty but almost grainy color – my reaction was simply “oh, pretty.” You start to catch a hint of rainbow under good lighting; then you step outside or use flash and it’s like WHABAM, rainbows. You’ll see what I mean. Anyways, that caused me to take a ton of photos, and I didn’t want a looooong photo-fest post that you’d need a snack to sit down and browse. All photos are two coats, with lighting listed as captions. Click to enlarge –

First up is Beyond, a charcoal-y black. In the bottle it reads as a silvery-shimmered black.

Beyond

Natural light

Indoor w/ flash

Indoors w/o flash

Once I forced myself to take off that beauty, I reached for Eternal Beauty, a medium purple shade.

Eternal Beauty

Indoors w/o flash

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/ flash

Natural light

Lastly for this first half is Over the Moon, a bright, light blue shade. I’m not usually a blue polish fan, but this one is so lovely!

Over the Moon

Indoor w/o flash

Natural light

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/ flash

I wasn’t sure if I’d end up thrilled or dismayed that I ordered the whole collection – turns out I’m thrilled! These are just so gorgeous (unless you dislike rainbows I guess?). The formula was a little thin, which means that I had to watch for polish stealthily dripping down the brush while I was painting. That’s really no biggie for me though – I’d rather a formula be a little thin than too thick. The formula was easy to control and built up nicely. It also dried super fast, which is wonderful for this impatient girl. The only con is that my neighbors probably think I’m crazy. The sun kept trying to hide behind clouds while I was taking my natural sunlight photos, so I was essentially chasing the rays around my parking lot, polish in one hand and camera in the other. So worth it though.

Color Club sells this beauties for $10/15mL on their site, but I ordered the full set for $40 (plus free shipping over $30!) from Enospring. Enospring also sells the bottles individually for $7. Amazon and other polish/beauty sites like Harlow & Co. also sell Color Club polishes, including this new Halo collection.

I will be posting the other half of this collection asap, so keep your eyes peeled! In the meantime, let me know what you think of holo polishes – do you have any holos that you love? Have you tried Color Club’s last Halo Hues collection? Rainbow-flecked nails – hit or miss? Comment below!  🙂

Hot Mani! with Cult Nails Flushed Swatches & Review

Flushed: to become red and hot. Rawwwr. Or ew, depending on what kind of flushed you are, I guess. But Cult Nails Flushed is the good kind, no matter what the definition! A few weeks ago when Cult Nails had a little sale going, I finally decided to pick up Flushed. I do this thing where I agonize myself over purchases. I go to the site over and over, put the item in my cart, take it out, put it back in, drool over pictures of the bottle, check my bank account, put it in my cart, take it out…you get the idea. I drive my hubs crazy. And, let’s be honest, myself. So I had been doing this with Flushed for a while and was finally like “You know what? Obviously this polish needs to join my stash. Just buy it while it’s on sale.”

Phew! Thank goodness I did, because Flushed is a beauty. According to Maria, the genius behind Cult Nails, Flushed is “true “Blurple” (blue/purple) buildable sheer with an intense purple/pink shimmer effect that appears to glow through the polish.”

Now let me be up front with you – I’m not much of a blue polish gal. Or blurple (that doesn’t even sound good. Just say it out loud. Now say it slowly. Ew, right?). But the bottle shot was just calling “give me a chance!” After I unpacked my polish and saw Flushed in person, I could see why. I spent awhile spinning the bottle under a light for longer than I care to admit, just watching the shimmer and glow from different angles. You’ll see what I mean in a sec (although pictures never do polish true justice). I used 3-4 coats, plus base and top coat. I could’ve gotten away with 3, but I have this horrible habit of thinking my nails are dry before they actually are and smudging them. Ok, here we go – click to enlarge:

Up close & personal

Indoors w/ flash

Indoors, w/o flash

Natural light, shade

Natural light

The pros:

1. It’s so glowy ❤
2. The pink shimmer is strong, but not so much so that it takes over the blurple (cringe) shade of the polish. They work together beautifully – a match made in heaven!
3. The formula was a breeze to apply – smooth and easy to control, even if a little thin.
4. It lasted well on the nail.
5. It would probably look really pretty over other polishes, but I haven’t tried this yet.

The cons:

1. It’s pretty sheer. Like I said, this would probably look really pretty layered over another polish. However, if you’re building it up to opacity on its own, it will take you several coats.
2. It’s currently sold out on the Cult Nails site. Sorry, bad timing  😦   But keep your eyes peeled!

My verdict? I’m happy that I finally broke down and bought Flushed  🙂  It’s a beautiful, glowing shade that doesn’t look like anything in my collection. You can snag this once it’s back in stock for $12/15ml bottle on the Cult Nails website.

What do you think of Flushed? Purchase or pass?

 

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Pumped for PixieDust Polish? Zoya Vespa Swatches & Review

Hey strangers! It actually hasn’t been that long I guess, but it feels like it. I was so stinkin’ busy this week, most of the posts that went up were my “in-case of emergency” posts that I was trying to save for a rainy day. If you missed my last post, I’m in charge of a hoard of 6th graders. They’re exhausting, funny, unique little people. I guess I shouldn’t say “little” when some of them are taller than me (what are people feeding kids these days? One day I can pat them on the top of their short little heads…then they go home for a short holiday break and when some come back, they’ve sprouted up and can pat me on my head). I’m also still working my part-time job at a beauty store – pfff, like I could give that up. No way, Jose. Anyways, 7 day/60 hour weeks leave little time for swatching and/or typing. But I’m gonna work my rumpus off to be on my A-game for you guys (plus I love blogging!). My week /weekend was hectic, but good – I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Anyways, rambling aside…today I bring you a polish that I wore last week and looooved – Zoya’s Vespa, one of the six new shades in the PixieDust Nail Polish Collection. PixieDust polishes are textured, matte, and sparkling. Be still, my heart! I thought that about OPI Liquid Sand too though, when I first heard about the ones in the Mariah collection…and then I swatched them and was like “…ew.” So it was with great hesitation and much hope that I carefully selected only one Zoya PixieDust to order. Vespa is described by Zoya as “a Mint Kiss with a sugared sparkle.” I like mint! Into my shopping cart it went (along with several other non-Pixie shades. How’d that happen? Oops…).

Zoya’s instructions for PixieDusts are not to use a base or top coat and to give layers up to 10 minutes of dry time before the next coat. I kind of listened to their instructions. My nails have been peeling lately and I wasn’t sure how a gritty polish would affect that, so I put a base coat on first. Then I applied my first coat of Vespa and waited about 15 minutes for good measure. I refuse to use Seche so I’m used to waiting for layers to dry. Then I applied a second coat and let that also sit for about 15 minutes. No top coat!

Natural light

Natural light

Indoors, no flash

Indoors w/ flash – blurry but it shows a touch of the sparkle!

Hello, beautiful! Here are the pros and cons, for me at least –

The pros:

1. The sparkle was surprisingly strong and so beautiful! I kept turning my nails to catch the light – any neighbors who caught me taking photos outdoors probably think I’m nuts now. Whatevs.
2. The matte texture isn’t hideous looking – very much the opposite! It’s like a fine, sparkling sugar is coating my nails. It feels really cool.
3. The wear time was great (and I know this because I wore it until it chipped and I had to remove it).
4. I got a lot of compliments on it – always a pro in my books!
5. The polish is matte, so Zoya made the bottle handle matte – and I like it a lot better than the usual shiny, slick bottle handles. Maybe this is a strange pro, maybe some of you will be like “me too!”
6. This is probably a stunner top-coated (although also probably a top-coat eater). That’s on my to-do list.

The cons:

1. I don’t think this is mint. It’s darker, more like a sage. Not a huge deal to me, but if you’re basing your purchase off of the expectation that you’re receiving a true-mint color, well…you’re not.
2. I waited over the ten minutes suggested dry time between layers. My nails felt dry. Then I scratched my head and the polish on my middle finger pushed back – I was like “noooooo!” and kind of pushed the polish back into place. If Vespa was a cream polish, you would’ve spotted my patch job in a heartbeat – it’s a little trickier since it’s textured (phew!). My point is, be careful with your dry time – even when you think your polish is totally dried and set, it may not be. Sneaky pixies.
3. Cameras can’t do this polish justice. My nails were sparkling and twinkling outside and my camera was just like “nope, I don’t see it.” Which means that you, my readers, don’t see the sparkle. Sigh. I caught a touch of it in the blurry photo, but you have to see this for yourself to see it fully.

My verdict? I love Vespa! I probably won’t get the darker shades (I’m just like “eh” towards the colors), but may end up with Godiva. And I already have some colors I want from the summer PixieDust release whenever it hits stores  🙂   You can purchase Vespa and/or the rest of the spring PixieDust Nail Polish for $9 each on the Zoya website or at a major beauty retailer that carries salon brands (like Ulta).

What do you guys think of textured polish – hit or miss?

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Busy Bee!

I stink, I know. I haven’t really been able to post this week and I only had a few posts saved as drafts to publish. Sigh. Blogging fail. A few days off isn’t horrendous, but I caught myself off-guard with it and I felt guilty not saying sorry/giving a heads up to you guys.

I’m in the same classroom for the remainder of the school year and let me tell you what – I loved working with 6th graders all last year (which is the grade I’m with now), but I forgot how much they wear me out. The unique mix of energy, enthusiasm, tattling, and drama that is a 6th grader…oh man. There is nothing like it. The fire alarm went off the other day and one particularly squirrely kid shrieked and ran out of the room, then ran back in once he remembered the school’s procedures. The girls are starting to become catty with one another (“You don’t even live in a real house. You live in a town house.” “Oh yeah? Well blah blah blah blah”) but still want to be buddies with the young teacher with the cool shoes (“I like your heels. What size are they? I like your earrings. Can I touch them? Your hair is long. What’s your first name?”). The boys all still struggle to stay in their seats and/or are going through that awkward growth spurt that leaves their shirts a little too big and their pant legs a little too short. And after class is over comes the grading and planning. Then I drive an hour home, take off my pants, and watch Bravo with what little night I have left because I’m pooped. I actually fell asleep in my chair with my laptop in my lap the other night, mid-typing. Who does that? It’s like I’m 80.

Sorry, ramble over. Anyways, I work my other job this weekend (groan. Why do I do this to myself? Oh yeah, student loans. grumble), but I’m going to try to get back on my blogging A-game so I don’t fall off the horse and leave you post-less. Pinky promise!

<3, Jay

Urban Decay Ammo Palette (Original) – Review & Swatches

If you can’t tell from past posts, I’m a big lover of Urban Decay. My favorite products by the brand are eye products, like shadows; for the most part, they are pigmented, smooth, and blendable. I’m still fairly new to the brand though, which means I’m missing a lot of older releases. It’s no surprise then that I occasionally raid Urban Decay’s site sale section to snag some new (but technically old) goodies.One such recent purchase is the Ammo palette. This palette was originally released a few years ago (I think), although it was rereleased in January with Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow formula. New formula = old ones get sent to sale. I don’t mind the old formula so that works for me!

The Ammo palette contains 10 of Urban Decay’s best-selling shadow shades, each in 0.03 oz. The case is sturdy cardboard with a magnetic click-shut design; inside are a mirror and dual-end, sponge-tip applicator. This palette is small but packs a lot of punch in such a small design. The new version of the Ammo palette features a different exterior/interior design, as well as a small brush instead of a sponge-tip.

Palette in hand

The ten shadows are as follows:

1. Smog – a medium, bronzed brown with a frosted finish; excellent color payoff
2. Mildew – a mossy, warm green with olive tones and a frosted finish; excellent color payoff
3. Oil Slick – black with microglitter; ok color payoff – this one was needed to be built up as it was a touch sheer for my taste and blends out to a gray-black
4. Last Call – a red-plum with a frosted finish; excellent color payoff
5. Chopper – an orange-based copper with a frosted finish and microglitter; great color payoff
6. Maui Wowie – a dirty, bronzy light gold with a frosted finish and gold microglitter; great color payoff
7. Shattered – a sky blue dirtied up with a hint of teal and a frosted finish; good color payoff
8. Polyester Bride – a creamy, frosted white with a touch of microglitter; ok color payoff
9. Grifter – a sheer pink-lavendar with a frosted finish and silvery microglitter; needs to be built up but intended to be a sheer color wash
10. Sin – a warm, rosy champagne with a frosted metallic finish; great color payoff

Click to enlarge for a better view of finish and text:

Natural light

Natural light

Indoor w/ flash

Indoor w/o flash

The pros:

1. Most of these shades had great pigmentation and were UD’s usual smooth, blendable formula (although the older version).
2. There are some really unique shades here but they’re mixed in with enough “everyday” shades that you can come up with a lot of versatile, wearable eye looks.
3. The palette is small and sturdy, so you can toss it in your purse or take it on vacation without worrying about it.
4. The pans are small, but this lets you try shades that you may not have bought a full-size of for fear of not getting your moneys worth. It will still take you a long time to hit the pan though because a little goes a long way with UD shadows!

The cons:

1. Glitter fallout on half of these shades! I just put some tissue under my eye while I apply to catch as much as possible, but this is a usual problem with UD. That pretty microglitter? Yeah, most of it just ends up on your cheeks. Try a sticky base and patting on your shadow if you’re deadset on the glitter staying where it belongs.
2. That sponge-tip applicator is useless! I’m not surprised that the revamped version of this palette features a tiny brush instead.
3. Some of the shades are a tad sheer for my taste (Polyester Bride and Oil Slick, I’m lookin’ at you!).

My verdict? I don’t think I’d pay $34 for the new version of this, but I’m really glad I picked up this original version on sale for $19 (plus I got it during the family & friends sale so it was even a little less, woohoo!). There are some really fun colors in here that I can see working beautifully with shades in other Urban Decay palettes I already own. Although the shadows are the older formula, I still think they’re great – they blend, are smooth and buttery to the touch, have great color payoff, and last well throughout the day. Look at it this way – if you snag this original palette, you’re only paying $1.90 a shadow. Pretty fabulous if you ask me. Do only some of these colors call your name? Good news – each of these colors is a part of the permanent collection and can be found individually and in some other palettes. You can purchase the old or new Ammo palette on Urban Decay’s website; new palettes can be purchased at a UD store or a beauty retailer like Sephora or Ulta.

Related articles

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• Swatches and my review of Urban Decay’s new Oz Palettes are here! (wayfaringbeauty.wordpress.com)
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The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream Review

Not a very catchy title, I know, but I didn’t know how to make a night cream sound exciting. But if you’re looking for a new night cream or have been checking out The Body Shop products, read on!

I snagged The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Oil skin care kit not too long ago (the review is here if you missed it). I just so happened to buy the kit during a Body Shop buy one get one half off sale – pssh, no way can this girl let a good deal go by. Some of The Body Shop’s products are a little pricey! My skin is oily but sometimes gets really dry. How does that even happen? I certainly have no idea, but it makes a nourishing night cream sound good. Which is why when I spotted The Body Shop Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream a few shelves away from the Tea Tree Oil kit, I decided to check it out.

The Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream is a formula designed to revitalize and repair your skin by replenishing and balancing antioxidant and moisture levels – while you sleep! Your skin does all the repairs and resting it needs while you sleep, and this night cream is meant to capitalize on and help that process. This cream is usually $20/1.67 oz (what an odd number of ounces, right?), but with the sale? 10 bucks! Alright Body Shop, I’ll try it for $10.

Yay for no animal testing!

I bought this pretty little pink container and took it home, excited to try a new night cream. I was a little disappointed when I opened it because the tub was sealed, but it looked like someone had taken a big scoop out of the inside. This is usually $20 bucks and isn’t even completely filled? Body Shop – tsk, tsk!

What the devil is this?

At the bottom of the scoop slope, you can see the bottom of the jar. I hit the bottom of the jar without even using it; that’s impressive. Sigh. Anyways, I scooped some out and dabbed it on my arm, then smoothed some out next to it so that you could get an idea of the texture:

The pros:

1. This cream has a light, delicate scent to it that dissipates once it’s on your face.
2. It feels lightweight and rich at the same time and glides smoothly onto skin.
3. Although it is a rich cream, it absorbs fairly quickly into your skin.
4. A little goes a long way with this product.
5. It feels great on dry, winter skin…it’s like I can hear my thirsty skin saying “thank you!” as I’m massaging it in.

The cons:

1. If you have oily skin, you may want to use this sparingly, only on dry spots, or every other day. I used it every night when I first got it and I woke up every morning with my face looking/feeling significantly oilier than usual. I don’t like looking like an oil slick (does anybody?), so I had to really cut back.
2. The Body Shop is kind of a con artist with this product. The Shop website lists the container as having 1.7 ounces, but it only has 1.67 ounces (plus a big empty spot in the tub itself. Can you tell I’m a little salty over that? Cuz I am). Sneakiness is not appreciated Body Shop, just so you know.
3. My really dry spots that I focus it on are still dry by morning, although not as much as they were prior to applying the cream. However, the rest of my face is moisturized and soft.

My verdict? I don’t know, the verdict is still out on this one. I don’t think I’d buy it again for $20 since it doesn’t seem to mix well with my oily combination skin. However, it does feel really nice on my face after the winter weather has dried it out. Luckily, this container will last me awhile so I have plenty of time to decide whether or not it’s worth repurchasing.

You can snag this for $20 from The Body Shop or beauty specialty stores like Ulta. It’s listed as no longer available through Sephora’s website, but they may have it in store. The Body Shop is currently having a sale – buy 1 get 1 50% off, buy 2 get 1 free, or buy 3 get 2 free – so if you’re interested in trying this product, now might be a good time.

Glow with theBalm’s Mary-Lou Manizer – Review & Swatches

I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t have a natural glow to me. Tanning, not tanning, exfoliating, guzzling water – nothing gives my skin that healthy, lit-from-within glow that some people seem to have been blessed with. Sigh. I resigned myself to my regular, Joe-schmo skin. Then I discovered theBalm’s Mary-Lou Manizer!

If you couldn’t tell by the catchy name, Mary-Lou Manizer is a luminizing powder. Say what? That means it’s meant to give your skin a soft, luminous glow. It’s a shimmery, honey-colored powder compact that can be used in several ways. It’s like theBalm knew the product I’d been in dire need of and made it just for me!

Mary-Lou Manizer is double-duty beauty at its finest. This soft, shimmering powder is a fantastic highlighter or eyeshadow! On the packaging it also describes it as a shimmer; that’s obvious once you swatch it, so I’m assuming they mean as an all-over face shimmer. Which I would not use it for. Anyways, I love it when my beauty products can do more than one thing; it just makes me happy. So does the packaging for Mary-Lou Manizer. Mary-Lou herself is on the compact, against a police line-up. Her charges? Being too pretty and too popular, of course! The back of the packaging box feature Mary-Lou’s police fingerprints – no part of this packaging was overlooked!

Ok, enough of the packaging – now for the inside. I really like this compact. It’s sturdy and the mirror inside is handy. I feel comfortable just tossing it into my bag without worrying that the product will be destroyed.

This is after multiple uses – you can barely tell!

Swatches on my arm. In each photo, my arm has two swipes of product; one straight from my finger (bottom) and one blended out by finger (top).

Natural light

Indoor light

I used an angled blush brush to apply to the apples/upper cheekbones of my face, as well as down the bridge of my nose. You could also use your fingers to apply. Below are just a before and after of one section of my face. I forgot my mascara – don’t judge me please.

Before

After

The pros:

1. The powder is soft and buttery smooth!
2. A little goes a long way – this could also be a con, but in this case I like it.
3. It’s easy to blend, which is great in case you forget pro #2 and put too much on.
4. It gives you an ethereal glow that will work equally well on my tan summer or my pale winter skin.
5. Sturdy casing, making this a very handy compact.
6. It’s made in the USA, which this American girl appreciates.

The cons:

1. A little pricey, but worth it in my book – it’s a handy product that will last a long time.
2. For some reason the case is hard for me to open? This could just be me.
3. Reflective, shimmering powders can make your pores look big. And mine are big enough without any help.
4. “Luminous” skin took a little getting used to for me – at first I just felt shiny and a tad on the reflective side.

My verdict? I’m really happy with this purchase  🙂  Between great Balm Girl lipcolor and now this luminizer, theBalm has really sold me on their products! Their makeup is a bit high in price, but sometimes quality is truly worth it. Plus, sales help! I snagged this on a Hautelook sale, but I forget how much I paid for it. You can keep an eye on Hautelook or head on over to theBalm’s website for Mary-Lou Manizer, where you can snag this 8.5g compact for $24.

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• Beautybox #2 (jasminelkent.wordpress.com)