Battle of the Mint nail polishes - Part 1

Hey All -

I know this is long over due, but I'm still trying out some of the polishes I got!! I wanted to test out the formulas and whatnot before I did this. Here are the first 5 I'm going to talk about today! 

From left to right: 

Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Mint Sorbet 

Zoya in Wednesday

Wet & Wild Megalast in I Need a Refresh-Mint

Pop Beauty in Mint Magic 

Rimmel 60 Seconds in Mintilicious

All polishes where applied with 2 coats, base coat same for all (will show at the end) and no top coat. 

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet

This was one of the very first mint color nail polishes I owned. I own many of this formula of polishes and for the most part I like them all. This formula is really nice and is opaque in 2 coats. It lasted about a week on my nails with minimal chipping. This color is one of the lightest shades of mint I have. I would recommend this polish. Retail price is about $2.50 at most drugstores. 

Mint Sorbet + Zoya Electra 

Zoya in Wednesday

I love Zoya nail polishes. Their formula is great and they are a more natural nail polish. These are some of the most long wearing nail polishes I use. This is on the deeper, greener side of the mint color.  It is opaque in 2 coats and lasts a week with very minimal chipping. Zoya polishes run about $8 a bottle and can be found at Ulta and Zoya.com. 

Wet & Wild Megalast in I Need a Refresh-Mint

This is another one of my top favorites of mint nail polishes. I always get compliments on this polish when I wear it. These polishes also last a long time on the nails. Is opaque in 2 coats. I think this mint color is in the middle of the mint family with more of a blue hue to it.  These polishes have a wider brush that is easy to use for application. These polishes can be found wherever Wet & Wild is sold (around here it's Walgreen's or CVS) and retail for $1.99.  

Pop Beauty in Mint Magic 

I am in LOVE with this mint color. I had to get this after seeing people I watch on YT wearing it! I finally caved and got it. It's a neon mint color and awesome. The formula isn't the best. As you can see it's kind of streaky. When I wore it, I used 2 coats and thought it was fine. I think it's all in how you apply it. If you take your time with it, I think you would be fine. I am obsessed with the color and think it's great for summer time! It did last about a week with some chipping, but nothing crazy. This polish retails for $10 and can be found at Ulta. 

Rimmel 60 Seconds in Mintalicious

Yes, I did a sloppy job at painting my nail here! haha 

I've never tired these polishes before I started this venture of finding every mint nail polish out there to try. The formula is fast drying, which is great! The brush on this polish is similar to the Wet & Wild brush that's a little wider. The formula is pretty opaque in one coat, but I did wear it with 2. I think the polish looks mint, but when I wore this on all my fingers (as you will see in the picture below) and wore a turquoise necklace it seemed more of a turquoise color than a mint color. This is a medium mint to a blue/turquoise color. These polishes retail for about $2.00 where you can find Rimmel products. 

So for these 5, I would recommend all of them. It all depends on what kind of mint you are looking for!

Since this post is so long already, I'm going to do a separate post on my top and base coat. 

I would rank these 5 in this order: Pop Beauty Mint Magic, Wet & Wild Megalast in I Need a Refresh-Mint, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet, Rimmel 60 Seconds in Mintalicious and Zoya in Wednesday. 

I would love to hear what your favorites are from this group and which one you might purchase. 

Thank you so much for reading! 

-Jill 

Products I've used up - May 2013

Hey All -

I finished up a bunch of products in May and thought I would share with you. I'll give you my thoughts and then let you know if I would re-purchase or not! Hope you enjoy!

Starting from the left, here we go! 

Soap and Glory Hand Food

Thoughts: At first I was a really big fan of this hand cream, but the more I used it the more I didn't like it. The smell isn't that great and honestly during the winter it wasn't moisturizing enough.

Re-purchase: No, I wouldn't. It's kind of pricey and I found a better hand cream that I like better that's easily more accessible. 

Neutrogena Healthy Skin foundation - #30 Buff 

Thoughts: I've had this for a really long time and I finally used most of it up. I think it started to go bad and was breaking me out. When I first got this foundation, I really liked it. But the more I used it I didn't really like it but that could have been because it was getting old. It made me get pretty oily mid-day and that's just not attractive. It's a good foundation though. 

Re-purchase: Maybe. I didn't hate the foundation and I would consider trying it again. But there are so many other drugstore foundations that I want to try and have heard are better that it wouldn't be in the near future. 

Up & Up brand Isopropyl Alcohol 91%

Thoughts:  I use this stuff to spot clean my makeup brushes. I use this every week to clean the brushes I've used that week, since I only deep clean my brushes like every couple of months. I put some of this into a smaller spray bottle and just re-fill as necessary. This really does great job at cleaning them and they dry pretty fast too. (I'm planning on doing a whole blog post on how I clean my brushes) I learned this trick from multiple people on Youtube! 

Re-purchase: Already have! 

The item in the way back is this: 

Up & Up baby wipes

Thoughts: Ok, your probably wondering why I have baby wipes... welll great question! I use them everyday when I'm doing my makeup. These work great with wiping your hands on if you get eyeshadow/eyeliner or mascara on your hands or even on your face. Also, after putting on foundation or concealer so if your not in  your bathroom you have something with moisture to wipe your hands on! 

Re-purchase: Baby wipes, already have. This brand/kind - NO!!! These sucked. They were not wet enough for what I need them for. I'm sure they are great for the actual use of them but for what I use them for no. 

Lush Tea Tree Water

Thoughts:  LOVE this stuff! You can read more about it in my morning skin care routine or my nightime skin care routine. 

Re-purchase:  Already have! 

Wet & Wild Mega Volume mascara 

Thoughts:  I bought this for a really good price (around $2) after hearing someone talk about how good it was. I think I liked it the first 2 times I used it and that's about it. I think it dried out on my pretty quickly. It also started to flake on me. It gave some volume, but mega no way! 

Re-purchase:  No, I would not. 

Jordana Best Lash Extreme volume

Thoughts: I like it. It gave me a lot of length and some volume. At first it was a pretty wet formula for a mascara which I like. After it started drying out, it started to flake on me. But it's a good mascara and one you should try for about $2.99 a tube. 

Re-purchase:  Yes, I probably would give it a whirl again. The price point is nice. 

First Aid Beauty 5 in 1 Eye Cream

Thoughts:  It was a hydrating eye cream but as for the benefits it was suppose to have, I didn't see any. I don't think it reduced the appearance of my wrinkles or correct the uneven skin tone. Honestly, I don't think it was doing anything. It took me quite a long time to use up this bottle. 

Re-purchase:  No, I wouldn't re-purchase this. I purchased a new eye cream. 

Last item: 

Gold Bond Intensive healing hand cream

Thoughts: Love this stuff. I kept this at my desk at work and was great during the winter months. I found out about this from Kristin Gehm on Youtube. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm addicted to watching videos on YT. She's a fellow WI, girl and really love watching her videos! You can check them out here. But this lotion is nice. It's not greasy and soaks in very fast. It also smells so good. The scent doesn't really linger and isn't too potent because I don't want either of those things in a hand cream.

Re-purchase:  Yes, this was probably my 2nd bottle of it. I just finished up another bottle of hand cream so I am going to be re-purchasing this weekend. 

Hope you enjoyed reading this post on the products that I've used up! I kind of feel more accomplished knowing I'm actually using products up! This is a great way to keep track of all the things you have used and what you did and didn't like. 

Thank you so much for reading!! 

-Jill

GlossyBox - May 2013

Hey All  -

I got my May Glossybox on Friday - yes Friday, holy moly!!  I think the shipping on these boxes keeps getting later and later. But I got it and that's all that matters! GlossyBox is a monthly subscription service that is $21.00 a month. You can see what I got in my April box here. This month's theme was a Year in Beauty. Since it's been 1 year since Glossybox first launched. I think I've been getting these boxes a year!! Here's what I got in my May box: 

1.)  etree belle Collagen and Aloe Very Hydro Mask

The restructuring and moisturizing Collagen & Aloe Vera mast provides skin with an extreme moisture boost that improves elasticity and promotes hydration. Full Size is $39.50 for 10 Masks.  I haven't used this yet, but I'm very interested to see how it works.

Value: $3.95

2.) Xtreme Lashes GlideLine Long Lasting Eye Pencil & sharpener in xtreme black

Need the perfect line but don't have the time? Emphasize your eyes with this smudge-proof, color-rich gel liner that sets quickly and lasts all day. The Xtreme Lashes GlideLiner has a Vitamin E-enriched formula that glides on smooth like liquid, in an easy to apply pencil. Full Size $29/ 0.04 oz.

Very pigmented and smooth black eyeliner. You do have some time to work with it before it dries. After letting it set on my hand for about 30-45 seconds it still let me blend it. I'm going to have to wear it to test it out. I guess that's what I'll be using tomorrow! It was really nice that they included a sharpener with it. 

Value: $29 - Total Value: $32.95

3.) European Wax Center, The Exfoliate & Slow It Body Lotion

The Exfoliate - This refines and polishes your skin without any harsh abrasives. Full Size: $38/2 oz. 

Slow It Body Lotion - Nourishes and softens skin while decreasing hair density to allow for softer, thinner hair growth. Full Size: 20/ 8 oz. 

Also got a card that says it's for a free wax for 1st time guests. Well, I looked up the website to check the locations and the closest there is one to me is Chicago. REALLY??? That's annoying. Ohhh and after looking at the card a  little further it says you must be state resident, another really??? Also I HATE foil packets of things. I'm not really excited to use these things and feel like they are a waste.

Value: $2.57 & $0.34 (yes, that's correct - are you kidding me again??) - Total Value: $35.86

4.) Epionce Intense Defense Anti-Aging + Repair Serum

Intense Defense Anti-Aging + Repair Serum is the first complete multivitamin for your skin. It helps stimulate skin rejuvenation to reverse and prevent the visible signs of aging using powerful botanical sources of Vitamins A, B, C, D and E. The result is more beautiful, radiant skin that functions at its best! Full Size: $136/ 30 ml. Pricing is ridiculous!!! Sample is 4 ml. Like I said in last month's post I would never pay this much for a face cream. (Side note: I did use the stuff from last month's box and it was fine, would not spend that $ to buy it though) They make this sound like a miracle worker and I'll believe it when I see it. At least this comes in a tube and not a foil packet. No real scent to it and went on my hand smoothly but feels a bit sticky, but that went away after a minute or 2 of letting it sink in. 

Value: $18.12 - Total Value: $53.98

5.) Nicka K New York Absolute! Perfume Stick in Very Chelsey 350

Absolute! Solid Perfumes embody the spirit and passion of New York, the city that never sleeps. Escape the everyday with evocative scents, both refined and seductive, and each with a different secret to discover. Parceled in beautiful, boutique-inspired packaging, these addictive perfumes are perfectly sized to slip into your purse and transform your world. Full Size: $14.99 / 0.29 oz. It's not the best scent I ever smelled or the worst. It smells ok. The packaging is very cute, but that's about it. I'd have to see how it meshes with my body chemistry. 

Value: $14.99 - Total Value: $68.97

6.) Sebastian Professional Volupt Spray

The Volupt Spray is a volume-building spray gel with the cushion particle technology that best combines full volume and sensual softness. Shake well to activate its two-phase formula and spray on damp hair. Blowdry for extra body or air- dry to enhance waves and curls. Full Size: $19.95 / 5.07 fl oz. 

I also got this card below: 

First of all this is like the 4 Sebastian product I've gotten in a box and I have pretty much disliked every product I've gotten. Most of them have been crap. I probably will not use this and gift it to someone that will. I don't like to put a lot of products in my hair to begin with and most products don't seem to work. I'm sure this will be the same. And seriously the coupon expires tomorrow, I got my box on Friday. What a joke?? Not that I would go purchase $15 of these crap products anyways, but come on!! 

Value: $6.69 - Total Value: $75.66

Overall, I'm very disappointed in this box. Since it's their 1 year anniversary I thought the products would be better. the value is still there since it's worth $75.66 and I paid $21. But honestly I'm really going to get use out of 2 of the products which are the face mask and the eyeliner/sharpener. The 2 "coupons" I got in the box are ridiculous!! I would be happy if I never got a fragrance or foil packet ever again. 

You can sign up or check out glossybox.com for more info.

I feel like the boxes have been going down hill from a year ago. I'm thinking about canceling my service and re-joining Ipsy or maybe even finding a new subscription service. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on it! So, feel free to leave them below! What would you like to see on this blog, I'd love to know!?!?

Thank you so much for reading!!! :) 

- Jill 

May 2013 Favorites!!!

Hey All -

I'm talking about my May favorites today!! Crazy to think it's already June - when is summer going to come and stay??? I'm going to have some beauty faves and some random faves! Hope you enjoy reading!! 

My first favorite is the Jergens Natural Glow daily moisturizer.

 I started using this at the beginning of the month to just use it up but I really like it. I did get some color on my legs, which is the only place I use it. I've been recently mixing in another moisturizer and really liking it. My legs for some reason are the hardest part of my body to tan so this stuff has been great. It does have a shimmer and funky smell to it. The smell goes away and if you mix in another moisturizer with it, it helps. The shimmer is fine, you can't really tell in the light or from afar, it's only noticeable up close. I'm in the market for a new self tanner like product, so if you have any suggestion leave them below!! 

My next favorite is the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil matte bronzer. 

I just have a small sample size of this and just recently started using it. I love it!! I think it goes great with my skin tone and really gives my skin some color. It also smells like chocolate so why wouldn't I love it! I love that it is matte as well since I don't think you should put a shimmery bronzer all of your face. 

Another favorite last month was the Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Corrector (230). 

This concealer is a very yellow based concealer but it's been great for hiding my ridiculous under eye circles. I put a thin layer of this down first and then apply a thin layer of concealer over the top and it been working out great for me. It conceals and brightens my under eyes great. I like that is has the swirl of Olay moisturizer in there as well and would be great if you have dry under eyes. I also have this in light and I've been using that on blemishes on my face as well. I'll use either under my eyes. 

My next favorite is the Wet & Wild Take on the day eyeshadow primer from the Fergie line. 

I've been using this stuff pretty much every day in May. This stuff is about $4.99 and can be found at Walgreens. I just thought I would mention it since it's a great drugstore eye shadow primer. It works just as well as Urban Decay or Two Faced eye shadow primers. So if your in the market for a eye primer, check this one out! 

Another favorite last month was the Tarte Multipleye lash enhancing liquid eyeliner in black. 

This is a re-discovered favorite. I've had this before but then was using the Jordana Fabuliner but I really love this stuff. It goes on smooth and I think it does make your eyelashes look better when I wear it! It wears all day without any smudging. It is pretty pricey but it's great when you can get it at a discounted price! 

My last favorite has been bright lips!!  So I showed you a couple that I've been loving! 

Hard Candy All Glossed Up hydrating Lip Stain - Pout

Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm - Watermelon Twist (215)

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick - Vivid Rose (875)

Milani Color Statment Lipstick - Flamingo Rose (12)

(Forgot to take pics earlier so had to take this with my phone, sorry!!)

I like all of these. Some of them stay on longer than the other, but I really love all the colors! I would suggest any of them to try. And they are all from the drugstore at a great price. 

Random favorites 

Wasa muli grain crackers. These things are soo good! I love eating them with onion & give cream cheese and cheese. Sometimes I put veggies with the cheese such as peppers and avocado. If you put some meat on them as well, they can be rather filling. So good - I've been obsessed with these for the last like 2 months, I've been through numerous packages of them! 

Starbucks Refereshers. I'm showing the Strawberry Lemonade one but I love all of the flavors. I'm been drinking them almost week day this last month. They just give me that boost in the morning, kind of like coffee. They come in 3 flavors but this one is my favorite. They are pretty pricey but you can get a case of them at costco for a good deal. I'm almost out and need to re-stock!! Oh and no way are these healthy - they do have quite a bit of sugar in them, but I love the boost it gives me! 

The song I've been loving this month is the Florida Georgia Line remix of Cruise with Nelly!! I don't know why, but I can't get enough of it! hahah 

I like this video better than the actual music video they made!! 

Thank you so much for reading!! 

If you have any questions - let me know! :) 

I'd love to know what you have been loving for the last month!! Feel free to share below! 

-Jill