May 29, 2012
4 days ago | 8 notesREVIEW: Sally Hansen’s Smooth & Perfect and Gem Crush Nail Lacquers
Today I am reviewing six polishes from Sally Hansen’s Smooth & Perfect and Gem Crush collections.
Smooth & Perfect Color + Care:
“This breakthrough nail color hides ridges and imperfections with a breathable porcelain-smooth finish. Enhanced with ginseng, camelia oil and lotus to promote stronger, healthier nails.”
Gem Crush Nail Color:
“Instant glam with finger-to-toe bling. This innovative full coverage glitter formula turns nails into jewelry that stays on wherever you go.”
First up, I have four coats of Fog from the Smooth & Perfect collection. This is an extremely sheer off-white, transparent gray polish. Application was surprisingly very easy and non-streaky for such a sheer polish. I love that the polishes in the Smooth & Perfect collection really do have a beautiful porcelain-like finish, as described.
Here is four coats of Linen, a slightly peachy-pink sheer polish. Yes, I know four coats sounds like quite a bit, but the color definitely builds up with every extra coat. Drying time is also reasonable (about 15 minutes after four coats).
Next up is Whisper, a subtle and sheer lilac polish. In the picture above, I used four coats of Whisper to reach bottle color. You can see that there is still a visible nail line (VNL) on each finger. I do not like having VNL’s, so after swatching up these super sheer polishes, I decided to make some jelly sandwiches. Not the bread and jelly kind, but the sheer jelly polish and glitter kind. Confused? Don’t be. Just continue reading.
A “jelly sandwich” in the “nail world” is a very simple manicure using sheer/jelly and glitter polishes. A sheer/jelly polish is first applied, then glitter is layered over. Finally, another coat of the sheer/jelly polish is layered over the glitter, thus “sandwiching” it between. I really like the jelly sandwich manicure because it mutes the sparkles from the glitter, making it more appropriate to wear to a work environment where sparkling nails may be “too much.” I’m using too many quotation marks now, aren’t I?
Here is jelly sandwich #1. Here I sandwiched Bling-tastic from the Sally Hansen Gem Crush collection between Fog. Bling-tastic is a clear polish packed with blue and silver hex glitter. This polish is extremely dense in glitter, so you can easily wear it on its own - you will need about three coats for full coverage.
Jelly sandwich #2: This is one coat of Razzle Dazzler sandwiched between Linen. Are you starting to see why I like jelly sandwiches now? Razzle Dazzler is a clear polish with pink and silver hex glitter. This polish is even more dense than Bling-tastic, so as with the last one, you can definitely wear it on its own.
And finally, #3 is a Whisper and Glitz Gal sandwich. Glitz Gal is a granite glitter polish, but notice how it turns a deep purple after being sandwiched between Whisper.
I enjoyed trying out these Sally Hansen polishes very much. The Smooth & Perfect polishes are very sheer, but they are, in my opinion, the perfect polishes to use for a jelly sandwich manicure. They retail for $5.99 at Walgreens, Target, and CVS. You can also find them on Amazon. The Gem Crush polishes retail for $7.99/bottle and can be found in the drugstores mentioned above.
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All products mentioned in this post were sent to me for consideration from Sally Hansen. As always, the opinions stated are honest and my own. For more information, please see my full disclosure.
May 28, 2012
what is this nonsense?
It has been over two weeks since graduation and it still doesn’t feel like I am done with my undergraduate studies. Though it’s really nice to finally be home, I most certainly do miss Cal. I miss the environment, the people I’ve grown close to, and I surely miss work. Oh, work, how I never thought I’d enjoy being there. And Evans. Can’t forget about that damn prison lovely building.
I have about four more months before I start attacking the next beast in my education - my Master’s, oh boy. But I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? Let’s enjoy summer, shall we? Excited to work with the kiddos again this summer. Excited to paint my nails and update m’s m like a madman (btw, it’s almost the one-year anniversary of m’s m - time flies). Excited to eat a hole in the earth and have adventures with Mr. m’s m. Excited to .. oh, who am I kidding? I’m excited to get back to my studies. :x I want to get hooded in two years. HOOD ME.
I really need to reorganize that drawer ..
Need to find an apartment.
Need more sponsors.
Need more nail wheels.
La la la, is it bed time yet?
Is it going to be super hot this summer?
Do I really want to buy more?
WHY ME? Go summon someone else.
Tart is such an ugly color, ugh.
Zzz.
5 days ago | 1 note
May 24, 2012
1 week ago | 210 notesGRAPE SODA FIZZY
Milani Violet Dash
Milani LavenderLook at this combination! Does the close-up on the corner remind you of champagne bubbles?
Here I have on two coats of Milani’s Violet Dash with one coat of Lavender layered on top. Violet Dash is a beautiful violet creme, and just as the name suggests, it dries in a dash! Lavender is a fun glitter polish in a clear base. It is filled with two sizes of purple hex glitter. If you have been reading my blog, you know I LOVE glitter polishes, so this is just perfect for me. I had no trouble with the application of these polishes - both are very smooth and non-streaky.
You can purchase these Milani polishes at your local CVS, Target, or Walgreens for $4.49/bottle. They are also available on Amazon and the Milani website.
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The products mentioned in this post were sent to me for consideration from Milani. As always, the opinions stated are honest and my own. For more information, please see my full disclosure.
