Nailed It: A Mini Review of imPRESS Press-On Manicure

Hello, dear readers,

I am taking you back in time once again to my post on the spring Influenster VoxBox from last June. In case you're unfamiliar with Influenster, you can click here to find out more. One of the products sent to me in that VoxBox was the imPRESS Press-On Manicure from Broadway Nails. The pattern I received was called "Over the Moon."

 

You can see in the image above that the kit contains 24 stick-on nails in 12 different sizes, cutely packaged in a fake plastic nail polish bottle. It claims to be "fast and easy" and to last up to a week.

The first thing I noticed about these nails was the cool pattern. If you're anything like me, you love nail art but have very little patience to sit down and create said nail art yourself. I tend to only paint fancy or funky designs for special occasions [See: New Year's Eve 2011, Harry Potter opening night]. As you may imagine, I was pretty excited to have the lazy girl's version of quality nail art. The pattern here is made up of abstract deep red and gold swirls, for lack of a better word.

It's safe to say that I checked "excellent pattern" off the list. After that, I was slightly dismayed to take a closer look at the size of the nails. For reference, I have baby hands. I kid you not; I will never be a hand model with digits this diminutive and childlike. With hands like mine come short, wide nails. Naturally, I found that hardly any of the press-on nails completely covered the width of my own nails. Now this was only visible to me, because they did come close, but it was still a disappointment. The length was, quite frankly, laughable. Here is a view of my hand with the nails at their full length:

Baby hands + Talons = Not on my watch

Some people may like the look of talons, but I like to be able to use my hands. I took a pair of nail scissors to these straightaway after the initial application, hacking them down to a more appropriate size. The application itself was simple: I took the nails I wanted; laid them out in the desired order; and one at a time, I pressed the nails on.

Cutting them, however, was a pain. I had to cut into the adhesive that makes these products stick, and that left me with little balled up gluey bits between the fake nails and my real fingers. I peeled these off, but red glue kept coming through. Not enough to be noticeable to anyone else, but slightly irritating nonetheless. This is what they looked like after I cut them:

Baby hands with baby sized nails.

Much more to my taste. Aside from the sizing issues and the bits of glue reappearing throughout the 6 days I wore them, these nails didn't budge. They would have lasted one more day, but I had no patience for them anymore. The reason? They felt heavy to me, and I was eager for a change. I will say that I got several compliments on them, and my summer internship boss thought I painted them myself. Now that's what I call a success. Another bonus: No nasty chemical smell.

These nails retail from somewhere between $5 and $9 on average. I personally wouldn't purchase them, because I prefer painting my own nails. With this price point, I think it's more economical to buy a bottle of polish that will allow for numerous applications rather than the two applications this provides. I don't have the patience to painstakingly re-size all the nails either, nor do I adore the heavy feeling.

What I can say is that this product lives up to its claims. It is indeed easy to use, and it will last up to a week. There are other patterns available, and the convenience factor of pretty nail art with no effort is appealing. If you want a super simple, quick way to get professional looking nails and can't stand the smell of regular polish, I'd say checking these out would be worth your time.

As for me, I'll stick with the noxious fumes DIY approach.

How do you like to do your nails?

xEsther

Touring My Various States of Makeup

Hello, dear readers,

Since I was absent for such an extended stretch of time, I thought it might be fun to show you a few pictures from recent months. Then I realized something fantastic: In each of the photos I selected, I was wearing a different degree of makeup. Even better, I unknowingly chose them in the following order: No makeup, everyday makeup, and makeup for going out. As a proud makeup aficionado, I will admit that I spring towards the cosmetics aisle of every drugstore and Target I enter. I swear each and every Ulta store exerts its own gravitational pull on me; it's not my fault! 

That being said, I've relearned to love makeup free days and letting my skin breathe. The people who matter most to me have seen me too many times to count without a drop of makeup, so it's nice to go out with my face au naturale. This does not, however, include lip products. I must have at least a tinted lip balm on before I leave the house. That's just how it is. 

And now, on to our tour: 

Me, Makeup Free!

This was taken at a house concert at the beginning of December, and I have to say I love the way my nails look here. I believe I was wearing OPI The Spy Who Loved Me from the Skyfall Collection. I have absolutely no face makeup on here. On my lips? Faded by that point was none other than NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Big Apple Red. The very same product I reviewed a couple of days ago. [And no, I did not crop out the other people in the photos because I'm a raging narcissist. I simply didn't want to post anyone's picture without his or her permission, and not everyone in the photos knows I write this blog.]

Everyday Sort of Look

Obviously I don't wear makeup every single day, but this is the kind of thing I will wear when I feel like looking a little more put together to see friends or to go to class. In this particular instance, I was baking cupcakes with friends before we brought them to a quasi high school reunion in late December. On my face, I mixed my Olay moisturizer with Avon Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage Liquid Foundation in Light Ivory. Believe it or not, the shade is significantly darker than I am; combining it with moisturizer is the only way I can wear it. A shame, really, because I quite enjoy the formula. I applied Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Spot Corrector + Treatment in Fair under my eyes and to cover up any redness or spots I might have had that day. I finished off my face with Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent. On my lips, I had -- wait for it -- NYC Applelicious...You get the drift. Same lip product as before.

Maid of Honor Makeup

Finally we come to my version of full makeup. This was one of the professional photographs from my sister's wedding in October. I was the maid of honor, and I did my own makeup. I cannot take credit for the hair, though. I can never do my own hair for special occasions. I used the same concealer and powder as usual, but this time I wore them over my Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in 1.0, the palest of the yellow-toned foundations from that line. I went to Sephora with my mom to get my color match with the Color IQ system, and this was the product I decided on. It was my mom's treat for me, since she knew I'd be doing my makeup and would want to get it right. It's maybe a shade darker than I am, but it goes on beautifully anyway.

I wore Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara in Black, a rarity for me. Unlike most beauty junkies, I don't find mascara to be that life-changing a product. I don't have the world's darkest, longest, or fullest lashes by any means, but they show up just find on their own. I like this mascara because it's the only one I've found that doesn't get under my eyes and make me look like a raccoon by the end of the day. My lips were a bit tricky for me. I started with YBF Cosmetics lipstick in Fabuloso, a cooler toned cherry red, but I wasn't satisfied. It didn't pop, so I tissued off as much as I could. I then applied YBF Cosmetics lipstick in Love Affair, a vibrant, orange-y red that was exactly the shade I needed. If you've never heard of the brand, I wrote about YBF Cosmetics in this post here. My makeup lasted from pictures in the early afternoon until after the dancing ended around 9 p.m. It showed up nicely in the photos, if I do say so myself. You can't really see here, but China Glaze Ruby Pumps was adorning my nails.

Each photograph was taken during a joyful occasion, and each joyful occasion called for a different look. I hope you enjoyed the little snapshots of my past few months in life and in makeup.

xEsther

Now on my Nails: Estee Lauder's Purple Passion

Hello, dear readers,

On Wednesday this week, I decided to change my nail color from Avon's Ballerina to Estee Lauder's Purple Passion. This came as part of a set of four miniatures that I received as a gift from my mom for Valentine's Day. I've noticed that even though I don't particularly enjoy wearing purple clothing, I like purple accents such as nail polish or shoes. 

I love that this color isn't a traditional, true purple, but rather a vibrant shade with some pink tones to it. That's the best way I can [poorly] describe it. It's been on for four days so far, and I have yet to see any chipping. It doesn't go on 100 percent evenly, but any unevenness is unnoticeable. It's fairly bright and opaque in one coat, but I believe this was two coats. I hardly ever leave nail polish with one layer of color; it seems wrong.

I used to wear nail polish for two weeks straight before changing colors, but I find myself with so many nail polishes that I want to switch up the color often. How else will I get to use all these beautiful hues? The photograph is true to color but somewhat duller and less shiny than the actual shade. I'd say it's a fairly accurate representation, though.

I hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Now on my Nails: Avon's On the Go Pink

Hello, dear readers,

I'm doing a very quick post today. I have my mom to thank for this, because she asked me to email her a picture of my nails after I painted them. I thought, Hey, now I have a decent shot of nail polish on my computer; why not show it on my blog? Because I don't paint my nails daily, I can't call this my "Nails of the Day," so "Now on my Nails" it is.

UPDATE: This is actually called On the Go Pink. I don't know where I got Ballerina from!

Here is Avon Speed Dry Nail Enamel in Ballerina:

Please excuse my gross veins. I can't really get rid of them. And I
promise my pinky nail isn't chipped; I accidentally got polish on the cuticle.

This is the pastel perfect polish for an understated but chic look. I once tried a Sinful Colors polish in a similar shade, but found it showed up chalky and almost white on me for some reason. I gave it to one of my friends, and I don't believe she had that problem. This polish, however, stands out enough from my super pale skin to give some contrast. My fingers are for some reason the darkest part of my hands [yes, I know. You're thinking, That's dark?], and this polish makes my hands look slightly tanned. That is a feat all on its own. This is one of those colors you can wear year round: sophisticated, pale pink that can masquerade as a neutral. I think I'm definitely going to love wearing it as the weather gets warmer.

What's on your nails now?

xEsther 

'Tis the Season

Hello, dear readers, 

Today I thought I'd search for a winter-related tag to do so that I would have something to give you in between now and my winter break (I started writing this last month! It's now the end of my break. Oops!). I struggled to find one that wasn't strictly about Christmas, as I realize not everyone, myself included, celebrates it. Luckily, this 'Tis the Season Tag is more neutral! Warning: This will be wordy! Let's get into it:

❄ Top 2 Winter Beauty Essentials 
Moisturizers for face and body, as my skin gets very dry and flaky. My face is dry/combination, but it gets drier in the winter, and my hands get chapped and red. Specific products: Any of the Avon Moisture Therapy hand creams are great and have either little or no fragrance. For my face, I use Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture Sensitive Skin. It's not rich, but it does the job. 

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Moisturizing lip color. I just received the Clinique Taste of Honey holiday gift set for my birthday [Thanks, Mom, if you're reading!], which contains four Almost Lipsticks: Luscious Honey [a sheer deep red], Shy Honey [a sheer baby pink], Flirty Honey [a sheer bright pink], and Black Honey [sheer deep wine/burgundy]. These are moisturizing enough that I don't need to wear a lip balm underneath, and the sheer color is definitely buildable.  Other good moisturizing lip colors are the Clinique Chubby Sticks and Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters.

❄ Top 2 Winter Fashion Essentials

Cardigans/sweaters. Throw on a cute top from the warmer months, top with a cardigan, and you have the recipe to my cold weather wardrobe. I do have to say, though, that I've been loving throwing on pullover sweaters, because they're so comfy and easy to wear.

A cute winter coat. I've struggled with bulky, puffy, coats before, and I've also found myself matching both toddlers and moms in my Columbia jackets. I now have a belted, longer winter coat from Victoria's Secret that is both functional and [I'd like to think] fashionable.

❄ What shoes do you tend to wear the most in the winter?
This year, I've been wearing my riding boots from Alloy. There hasn't been a lot of snow yet, so I've been able to get away with that.

❄ Favorite Winter Accessory
To be quite honest, I don't really have winter-specific accessories. I don't wear scarves or hats or anything like that.

❄ Favorite Winter Nail Polish
In the winter, I always love a good red nail polish. Hands down, my favorite red this season is OPI The Spy Who Loved Me. It's a gorgeous bright red with red and gold shimmer.  The other two polishes from my OPI Skyfall trio are great cold-weather colors as well. Goldeneye is the perfect glimmering, warm gold. Skyfall is a strange brownish burgundy, which isn't usually my cup of tea, but I love it for the winter. 

❄ Hot Cocoa or Apple Cider?
Hot cocoa. No question.

❄ Favorite Winter Candle?
I don't ever buy scented candles, but I did receive a Slatkin & Co. mini candle in an Influenster Beauty VoxBox a couple of months ago. The scent is pumpkin cupcake, and it smells delicious enough to eat. 

❄ Snowboarding or Skiing?
Neither. I'm terrified of both.

❄ Have you ever gone Ice Skating? Are you any good or do you FAIL miserably?
I've only gone a few times in my life, and none recently, but it takes me a while to get my footing. I was never very good.

❄ Does it snow where you live?
Yes.

❄ Have you ever made a snowman?
Yes.

❄ What holiday do you celebrate?
Hanukkah.

❄ Favorite Christmas/Holiday song?
My favorite is actually technically not a holiday song at all. It's "Winter Wonderland," particularly Jason Mraz's version. 

❄ Favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?
I never saw all of A Nightmare Before Christmas, but I feel like I really enjoyed what I did see. As a child, I love A Christmas Story. Now, the only holiday movie I watch with any sort of consistency is Elf.

❄ What is your favorite winter treat? (candy cane, gingerbread, etc...)
Hot cocoa is my favorite. I can't think of a dessert that I particularly favor over any other in the winter.

❄ If you were to ask Santa for one thing and you were guaranteed to get it, what would it be? (even if you don't celebrate christmas)
A guarantee that my next semester of college goes well. Is that cheating? I don't think so.

❄ Do you have anything fun planned for this winter?
Since I'm filling this out after the holidays, I've already fulfilled plans to see movies with friends and family and have a holiday party. As for the rest, I'm not sure.


That's all, folks. I hope you enjoyed this tag!

xEsther

Happy New Year 2013!

Happy New Year!! Welcome, 2013!

L-R: Beth and I on New Year's Eve

Hello, dear readers,

Happy New Year to you all! It has been exactly two years and one day since I started this blog, and I don't intend to stop it now. Being the intelligent person that I am, I forgot to bring my camera home and didn't think to use my brother's camera. I'll have to do that, but in the meantime I thought I'd give you at least one photo to look at. 

After having my New Year's Eve nearly ruined by a poorly-timed delivery of bad news, I went to a party with my friend, Beth, and another friend whose name I'm not sure she wants posted all over the internet. It was pretty much the first time we'd actually gone anywhere besides someone's house for New Year's Eve, and it served to take my mind off anything negative. 

The actual transition from 11:59 p.m. in 2012 to 12 a.m. of January 1, 2013, was rather anticlimactic; it's still hard for me to process that the year went by so incredibly fast. Overall, 2012 was a good year for me, world's apart from 2011. Without going into detail, I can safely say that 2011 has been my worst year so far, and 2012 saw me enter a much better place in my life.

I don't set resolutions for the new year, but I did find a quote earlier in this year, when I sincerely needed inspiration and motivation to keep going, that I'd like to keep in mind: "Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." - Bill Cosby

I'll end this post with a little bit of beauty-related information: On my nails, I wore OPI Skyfall Collection nail polish in Goldeneye on my ring finger and The Spy Who Loved Me on the rest. On my lips, I wore Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in In Vogue, a bright, matte, pink.

I hope you all had a fun, exciting, and/or relaxing New Year's Eve, and I look forward to starting off 2013 with you.

xEsther

Lately I've Been Loving

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• OPI Mermaid's Tears. As I mentioned in this post, this particular nail polish was rather difficult to procure, and it's all I've lately been wanting to wear. I wore it for about two weeks and planned to reapply, but, alas, my nails are still bare. It's in the same family as China Glaze For Audrey, but it reads slightly more teal with a hint of gray. The best part: It's from the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Collection. [Side note: I don't understand why so many people hated the movie. I just took it for what it was: A silly pirate movie, starring the fabulous Johnny Depp, that had nothing to do with the first three in the series. If you don't like Jack Sparrow, don't watch it!]

• Beauty blogs. You can check out my blog roll on my Complete Profile page. Those are just some of the blogs I read. I enjoy looking at the blog rolls of other people whose pages I regularly read, but I don't want eight million blogs on my subscription list, so I just tend to browse tons of blogs outside my own regular reading list.

• Glamour magazine. My friend subscribes to this magazine and, since we basically share each other's collections, I've been really loving it. It's a super quick read, but it doesn't feel ridiculous like magazines geared toward teens. There are plenty of pictures with articles interspersed throughout the pages, but there's nothing too dense. It's ideal light reading material for when my brain doesn't want to work too hard.

• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart. I got this on a major sale, with a gift card and a coupon, so it was a little under $2 when I purchased it. I find it to be super easy to apply quickly before class, especially since I constantly think I'm running late. [This doesn't explain why I always get to class 15 to 20 minutes early.] The shine isn't too drastic, and the color shows up a vibrant pink on my lips. I love how it looks against my complexion and hair. I can't leave my dorm room without some sort of lip color on, or I feel way too washed out. With one or two reapplications, it wears down to a bit of a stain, so there's always a hint of color on my lips.

• Parks and Recreation. I literally just started watching this show yesterday, but my friends showed me some clips of the character Tom Haverford over the past weekend and now I can't get enough of it! I watched this clip on repeat before actually starting from the first season.

• New Girl. I'm so happy this show is back! The cast of characters is as ridiculous and lovable as ever, and I can't wait to see where this year's plot goes.

• Living close to home. Even though sometimes I consider whether I would have preferred living at home, I don't think I'd like commuting to school at all. That's why I love the fact that my college is close to home. I'm about an hour away from my house, which is just far enough for me to feel like I can have my own life but still have a safety net and a place to visit more often than I could at my previous university.

• "Uncharted" by Sara Bareilles, "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain, and "Us" by Regina Spektor. The first is one of my favorites by Bareilles, though I do love all of her songs. She's a pretty brilliant lyricist and has a fantastic, sassy voice. "I'll Be" got stuck in my head after watching the finale of The Glee Project: Season 2. Despite the fact that I don't watch Glee, I really enjoy that show. The winner, Blake, sang the song as his final performance, and I've been listening to it pretty often ever since. I also enjoy harmonizing to that song. [I enjoy harmonizing to any song, actually] "Us" is a song that I wouldn't normally like at all, because I don't particularly adore Regina Spektor's music or voice. However, because it's the opening song of 500 Days of Summer, one of my many favorite movies, I've recently been hooked on it. I still have no idea what it means. I do realize that not one of these songs is new.

• Family and friends. This one's a given, but particularly since I've started school, I'm very aware of how lucky I am to always have someone to call when I'm feeling unsure of myself or just need to talk. It's a great feeling.

[Aside: I currently have midterm exams and papers to write, and my reading assignments never end, but I'm certainly not going to stop posting.]

I hope your September has been great!

What have you been loving lately?

xEsther

Lazy Day Face and OPI Mermaid's Tears

Hello, dear readers,

Today has been a rather lazy day in the sense that I haven't been able to go out and about. I've mostly been inside doing homework or on the phone. Yesterday was much more fun, as I had two of my friends come to visit me at college. I plan to hula hoop this evening, so that should make me feel better about being so static today. Fingers crossed.

For no particular reason, and despite barely leaving the room, I felt the need to slap on some makeup and attempt to look more awake. After that was done, I thought, Why not take some photos of questionable quality on my MacBook and post them on my blog? So that's what I'm doing. I shall also share a couple of photos of my current nail polish, OPI Mermaid Tears.

An aside: I didn't buy Mermaid Tears when it came out as part of the Pirates of the Caribbean collection, because I was being noble and refraining from purchasing nail polish. However, that meant that by the time I got around to looking for it, it was discontinued. A journey to a nail polish/beauty supply store was to no avail, and all the bottles I found online were ridiculously expensive. Somehow, my mom managed to find one for a reasonable price and sent it to me at college. [Thanks, Mom!] I'm a little bit in love with it, and now I know not to pass up a limited edition nail polish if I'm obsessing over it. 

I tried to adjust the lighting and contrast of some of the photos, but they're honestly still pretty washed out and poor quality.  No color changes or any other sort of editing has been done besides that. Without further ado, here is my face of the day:

Products used:

1. Cover Girl Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in 805 Fair/Light
2. Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Ivory                                                                              (under my eyes and down the bridge of my nose)
3. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent
4. Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 300 Rose Blush

As you can see, this isn't a flawless face. This is what I use when I want to get my makeup done quickly and efficiently, making myself look much more awake while letting some imperfections peek through. I always alternate the lipsticks, often layering more than one to create the perfect color, but Rimmel's Rose Blush is one of my go-tos for a natural, fresh-faced look. I'm almost out of the tinted moisturizer, so I'll need to bring my back-up to college next time I go home. Apparently, this is now being marketed as a BB Cream. Total sales gimmick, in my opinion.

On to the nail polish:

Despite the grainy quality of the photographs, these are pretty accurate depictions of the color. In the second, the nail polish in the bottle itself appears more blue than in real life.

What nail polish shades have you been loving lately? Are you transitioning to darker fall shades, or do you still play around with all sorts of colors?

I hope you've had a lovely weekend and have more great things in store for you during the coming week!

xEsther

Top Five Faves: Spring/Summer Trends 2012

Hello, dear readers,

Since beginning my internship with CHAOS Magazine, I've been getting more into keeping up with seasonal trends. [Note: I no longer write beauty posts for CHAOS, since they got rid of that section. I write about female models and nightlife in big cities] I've never been one to intentionally follow trends, and that hasn't changed. I just don't have the energy for it, nor do I enjoy clothes shopping.

I love to know what's going on in the beauty and fashion world, so this year I'm much more likely to come up with an adequate answer if someone asks, "What's trendy this year?" In the past, despite being an avid magazine reader, I would have answered with a blank stare.

In honor of this new knowledge, I'm sharing with you my five favorite spring/summer trends, whether I'll be rocking them or not.

1. Bright lipstick. 

         This one's a given. A clean face with brighter lips is one of my most flattering looks, in my opinion. I don't feel the need to bother with eye makeup, blush or bronzer, especially because I'm so fair and already have redness in my cheeks, so bright lipstick gives just the right dose of color to my face. 

     2.  Bright nails

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        These are just so fun, and they always look great this time of year.

     3.  Pastel nails

        I never used to like pastel nails on me, because the very light ones tend to wash me out. However, pastels with more color to them suit my skin tone better. Besides, there's no denying that they are very pretty and feminine. They're so perfect for spring.

    4.  Mint Green

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       I'm having a bit of a mint green moment. I'm getting my room painted a truly pale mint green this week, actually. To be honest, my mint green moment started last summer, so I guess I'm a bit ahead of the trend for once! Ever since I bought China Glaze "For Audrey," I have been craving light blue-greens and minty colors. I have three or four nail polishes in that shade range, and I keep wanting more! It's gorgeous, and there's a shade of mint to flatter everyone. It's so summery,  fresh, and breezy. I would love to get a mint top or dress.

    5.  Lace

      

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        What could possibly be more delicate and sweet than lace? It can make an outfit look totally innocent or a bit more demure and mysterious. I absolutely adore lace dresses and tops with lace overlay, and I hope to incorporate some lace into my wardrobe this season. 

Those are my top picks. Tell me: What spring/summer trends are your favorites? What about your least favorites?

I hope you're weekend is going well.

xEsther

A Tag Consisting of 11 Questions

Hello, dear readers,

I have to admit that I'm cheating a bit on this tag. You're supposed to be tagged by another blogger; answer the questions; and create 11 of your own. Then you're meant to tag 11 other bloggers. I don't plan on coming up with 11 questions, nor tagging 11 bloggers. If you want me to create my own, let me know. Otherwise, on to the questions [randomly found on Sunnie's Obsessions]:

1. What nail polish are you wearing now? 

NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Fuschia Shock

2. What’s your favorite blush?

 I don't wear blush, so I can't answer.

3. What’s the most expensive beauty product you have?

 I believe Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup is the priciest. 

4. What’s your favorite mask? 

I don't purchase masks, but I do make my own honey mask once in a great while. It consists of, [would you believe it?] honey.

5. A random fact about yourself. 

I am often the only one laughing out loud at the movie theater. Yes, I am that person. Remember me? The one you always want to smack?

6. Sephora or MAC? 

I've mentioned in a previous tag that I don't shop at either of these stores. I prefer Ulta. Between these two, I would choose Sephora for the wider range of brands and products.

7. What magazine(s) do you read? 

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I have too many magazines. Here's the roundup: 

• Magazines I subscribe to and/or were gifts: Marie Claire, Allure, Seventeen [though I'm starting to feel too old for it], Elle
• Magazines I get for free due to some sort of promotion/giveaway:  Shape, More [I realize this one is meant for middle-aged women.]
• My mom's magazines: Family Circle, Woman's Day
• My friend's magazines: Teen Vogue and whatever random magazines she buys for fun

8. What’s your favorite perfume?

Probably Strawberries and Champagne from Victoria's Secret. I also really like the VS Romantic Wish.

9. What’s the best base coat you have ever used?

I don't know that I have a best base coat, but I quite enjoy the Wet n Wild Shine Clear Nail Protector as a base and top coat.

10. What’s your favorite foundation?

Since I own just one, I have to say Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup.

11. Where do you want to travel the most?

I can't pick just one for this. I'm going to generalize and say Europe.

Feel free to do this tag, whether it's the proper format or not. 

Have a great weekend!

xEsther

7 Deadly Sins of Beauty Tag

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Hello, dear readers,

Remember when I constantly posted tags? Well, I can't remember the last time I did one, so I thought it was about time I filled another one out! The name of this tag, if you perhaps missed the title of this post, is the "7 Deadly Sins of Beauty Tag."

Here we are:


1. Greed: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?
My least expensive beauty item, aside from free gifts with purchases, would probably be my Avon Flavor Savers Lip Gloss, which I believe was about $0.69 on sale. I believe the most expensive item I own is the Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15. I pretty much go for drugstore makeup all the time, with the exception of the odd Clinique item.

2. Wrath: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?
Both of these answers involve nail polish. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with China Glaze nail polishes, and Revlon nail polish in Minted. I love the colors, but the polish goes on unevenly and streaky in both cases, and it often takes 3-4 coats for me to get them looking even and pretty. I don't know if it's just me, but I have a hard time with those specific polishes. As for the product that has been the hardest to get, I would say Sally Hansen Insta Dri nail polish in Blue Away. The funny thing is that my mom was actually the one looking to buy it for me, ever since we saw it at the beginning of last summer. She and my dad looked for it at every drugstore they went to, even on their vacation. We finally found it in November at one of our local Ulta stores.

3. Gluttony: What are your most delicious beauty products?
You should ask my friends. They have a penchant for sniffing my lip products, despite my warnings that the majority of them have no scent or may carry an unpleasant chemically cosmetic scent. However, I think my Liplicious lip glosses from Bath and Body Works are the best smelling. I have them in Mango Mousse, Black Cherry, Raspberry Jam, and Fruit Punch. They smell exactly as the names would imply. Yum.


4. Sloth: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?
I don't use many cosmetic items regularly as it is, so I have to answer with a skincare product. That would be lotion. I know; it's a horrible thing to neglect. I regularly moisturize my face and neck, but my hands [and the rest of me] are quite often ignored. I suppose it's ironic, considering I spend so much time and effort painting my nails. You'd think I'd want to keep my hands looking nice and smooth.

5. Pride: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?
Lipstick, without a doubt. Despite my skin deciding that now is a good time to get the kind of acne I should have already gone through during puberty, I have actually gone out the past several days with very little to no face makeup. A swipe of lipstick brings color to my very pale complexion and balances out the contrast between my fair skin and dark hair. And lipstick is just fun!


6. Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
I really don't see how this is relevant to a beauty tag, but alrighty then. There's really no specific trend or pattern for me as far as physical attributes. Nice eyes and short hair are always initial attractions, but that's very vague. Honestly, it's got way more to do with personality, and that's completely individual.

7. Envy: What makeup item would you most like to receive as a gift?
I would say a foundation, but since that's really a personal product to choose, and I've never tried any before, I'm going with a Lancome Rouge in Love lipstick. The Emma Watson ads are certainly doing their job, because I'm quite enticed by that product, despite the fact that lipsticks really shouldn't be so expensive, but that's irrelevant to the question. 


Those are my answers to the tag. I limited the requisite extra ramblings as much as possible, though I realize some of my answers aren't super specific.

I'd love to see your tag if you've done this one, or feel free to do it if you haven't. I think it's fun!

Happy Tuesday! [Random, I know. I couldn't think of anything.]

xEsther

Lately I've Been Loving...

Source

• Fusion of Color lipsticks. I had a few samples sent to me for review, which will be coming up soon. I'm thinking of purchasing one or two of them, as they're great quality and reasonably priced. 

• Mixing cosmetics. I've been experimenting with mixing my Cover Girl and Clinique tinted moisturizers. Cover Girl gives more moisture and feels like a lotion while depositing the sheerest amount of color, and Clinique is more liquidy and gives wonderful coverage and color for a tinted moisturizer. Mixing them is the best of both worlds.

• Taking seven lipsticks out of my collection to wear every week. I especially like coming up with ways to layer them in order to get a muted or natural pink for school and college visits. On other days, I like to wear my lipsticks on their own in order to get the full color payoff. 

• Taking walks. This mostly stemmed from my adamant anti-public transportation stance. I just happen to strongly dislike the public bus system where I am, so I decided to walk the half hour to school, and then to the library afterwards. It's reminding me of how nice it is to organically get my exercise in, outdoors.

• Pilates. I just revisited it last week after having taken a break from it, and I'm wondering why I stopped. It feels so good. Sometimes I'll just put on some music and come up with approximately half an hour of a Pilates routine. I love it.

• Sally Hansen Inta-Dri Fast Dry nail polish in Blue-Away. Long story short: My mom really liked it, but she doesn't wear nail polish, so she and my dad searched all summer to find it, to no avail. When I came home in November, my mom and I spotted it at Ulta, and she gave it to me when I started school again. I love the beautiful sky-blue color, the wide brush, and the formula.

• Reading for pleasure. I hadn't had the time to read during school, nor did I have any energy to by the end of 2011, but so far I've read three books in January [The Beach House, Jemima J, both by Jane Green; The Best Day of Someone Else's Life, by Kerry Reichs]. I'm currently working on Harry Potter y el misterio del príncipe, The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory, and Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman. [And then there are at least seven unfinished books, some of which I started as long as three or four years ago. But let's not talk about those.]

• Magazines. I don't feel the need to explain.

• Meditation. I've only just started trying it, but, no matter how much I can concentrate during meditation, it always helps me feel relaxed afterwards. I need to start doing it more often.

So that's it for the moment. I know I haven't been posting often, and it's due to going on college visits, filling out applications and paperwork, writing for CHAOS, and doing my current schoolwork. That's besides personal issues that I'm dealing with. For me, it's all a bit overwhelming.

I hope your February is off to a fantastic start. You'll be hearing from me soon with a review.

xEsther

Lay Off The Paint

Source

Hello, dear readers,

In case you haven't read this post, you may not know that I recently downsized my nail polish collection from 84 to somewhere around 50 polishes. Granted, this came from about eleven years of collecting, but a great deal of these polishes were recent acquisitions. With my somewhere-around-50 nail polishes in mind, I bounced on over to a beauty supply store with a friend for, big surprise, discounted high-end nail polish! Once inside, my friend, whose collection is slightly less than half of mine, justifiably scoured the shelves for colors she didn't have. What did I do? I looked for new shades of polish, and suddenly had a revelation: There was not a single shade I liked that I didn't already have!

Sure, my polishes may not have been the same brand, maybe not exactly a perfect match, but when it came down to making a decision, I just couldn't validate a purchase. I also learned that I tend to go through phases with nail polish, sometimes liking only blues; sometimes pinks and reds; and currently aqua, turquoise, and Tiffany blue colors. I realized that I have some manifestation of every one of these colors.

Based on this experience, I made a decision: I'm not buying any more nail polish for a good, long while. And so, dear readers, begins my self-imposed nail polish-buying ban.

Think about it:  Have you ever used up a single polish? Is it really necessary to own 80 nail polishes? Fifty?

Is it really important to have every shade of ballet pink or metallic gold?

The answer, I think we can agree, is no.

But it sure is nice.

xEsther

New Year's Nails

Hello, dear readers,

I think this is post number 3 for the day! Perhaps on catching up on the lack of posts during several months this year. I just thought I would share with you my attempt at fun, plaid nails for the New Year! Not that these are particularly New Year's Eve-related, but they took me long enough. I think they came out pretty well for a first try, without any special nail art polishes. Instead, I used a nail art brush that has seen better days and regular polish. More specifically, I used NYC Uptown, Milani Bijou Bronze, China Glaze For Audrey, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. Some nails came out better than others, as was to be expected. 

That's it for this post.

Are you doing any fun nail or makeup looks for New Year's Eve?

xEsther

Best 11 of 2011

Hello, dear readers,

As I was browsing the blogs I follow, I came across the "Top 11 for 2011" tag on Liparazzi and thought it looked quite fun. Don't worry, it's different from my Pop Culture Favorites. I'm actually morphing this one with the Top 11 of 2011 beauty tag from YouTube. The YouTube tag asks for your top 2 lip, eye, nail, hair, and face products, as well as one palette. I have to cut the eye and palette categories, because I don't use them, so I'll take that opportunity to add more to areas in which I own more beloved products. I also got rid of two categories from the blog tag, because I didn't want to go through and decide on my favorite blogs or YouTube videos. I'm also aware that the products are all different sizes in the pictures; I'm no photography expert.

Here are my answers to the best of each category in 2011 [in no particular order whatsoever]:

Top 11 Products:

Face

This is tricky, because I have more than two favorites, but I'm limiting it to essentials only!

• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder I have this powder in the shade 001 Transparent [which still gives me a tiny bit of color, noticeable to no one but me because I'm so pale!], and I have to say that it keeps my makeup lasting for hours. I already have a review of it here, and I continue to be impressed by the staying power and mattifying effect of this product. Granted, I've only ever tried two other powders, but this surpasses them both in quality. 

• Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer I have a review on this, but I love this concealer because it's extremely full-coverage, which I primarily need for dark under-eye circles, and it works well to cover any discoloration and blemishes.

Lips

If you read my blog regularly, or you look at the title, you may have guessed that the category I'm expanding is that of the lip products! In order to prevent listing half of my collection, I'm limiting this mostly to new lip products from 2011.

• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Demure Besides scoring this lipstick at a deep discount during the CVS beauty clearance sales, this happens to be the closest color I've ever found to my natural lips. I don't think I would have ever looked twice at it if not for this sale, but it happens to perfectly warm up and brighten my lips. I'm a bit concerned that it's being discontinued, simply because it is part of the sale, but I can't be sure.

• Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Carnation At the same sale, I scored this lipstick, which is a lovely soft, cool-toned pink that's perfect for day or night.

• Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Pink and Proper See a pattern here? Think I like pink lipsticks? You're absolutely right. This one is a nice bright, cool-toned pink, but still completely wearable for daytime. I'm always the one in my group of friends with a bright lip, anyway. I love the name of this lipstick, too.

These came out a bit browner than they are.

• Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Pink Peony I have to include this lipstick, because I wore it nearly every day during the time I was at college this year. It's the greatest pink for daily wear, because it's not too cool-toned or conspicuous. It's a nice, more subtle, way to wear pink lipstick to class.

• Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rose Blush This is the only lipstick that I bought last year, but it needs to be included because I wore this quite a lot towards the end of the year. It's a nice, neutral, almost brownish, pink, and could pass as a natural lip color. The funny thing is, it's not actually that similar to my lip color, but for some reason looks like it could be my lips. Maybe it's just much more pigmented than my own lips, so it replaces their color? Who knows?

Nails

With a collection of over 50, down from over 80, I'm keeping this strictly down to two new [to me] nail polishes from 2011. [Note: I'm actually wearing both of these colors again right now, in an attempt at fun plaid nails for New Year's Eve!]

• China Glaze For Audrey Ever since hearing about this on YouTube, I felt I needed this color. I love the elegance associated with Audrey Hepburn, and what girl doesn't love Tiffany's? I gave it a mention here and a more thorough review in this post. Though the formula isn't my favorite, I love this color, and I've worn it at least three times this year. With a collection as large as mine, and growing, three wears means it must be a pretty fantastic color.

• Milani Bijou Bronze This is probably the most unique polish I own, and it's all thanks to Harry Potter. You see, I needed bronze to complete my Harry Potter nail look for the midnight show of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 because it's one half of the Ravenclaw house colors. I ended up enjoying this color more than I expected, and wore it twice more this year.

Hair

• Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum/GVP version I've mentioned the Paul Mitchell product a few times, and have done a more thorough review of it here, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover a generic version of the exact same product, reviewed here. Overall, this is a great serum for smoothing down flyaways and getting rid of frizz. It's neither too lightweight nor too heavy, so it does it's job effectively withought weighing down hair.

• Paul Mitchell Flexible Style Reworks Texture Cream This is my current favorite product to use when I want to keep my curls intact throughout the day. I have looser curls that tend to fall into waves, especially as my hair gets longer. I use this when my hair is on the slightly wetter side of damp, combining it with my serum and scrunching my hair. It really is flexible, and my hair doesn't look crunchy or wet, two looks I loathe. If I play with my hair too much, the curls will fall into neat waves, but that's why this is called "flexible," right? 

Top 11 Things That Happened in 2011

• My friends threw me a surprise 20th birthday party
• I got my first "real" job over the summer, boring as it was
• I won Funky Makeup Junkie's first [I think!] giveaway 
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 came out in theaters
• My friends and I sang late at night onstage at a closed beach, and the security guard thought we were actually rehearsing for a performance
• My sister came home for Thanksgiving week with her fiancé, and she brought her dog!
• New Girl and Hart of Dixie came into being
• I finished the 5th Harry Potter book in Spanish
• My cousin [second? I think?] got engaged
• I finally tried Pilates, and I love it!
• I got this blog up and running!

Top 11 Songs in 2011

• "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
• "Someone Like You" by Adele
• "Summer is Over" by Jon Mclaughlin
• "Without You Now" by Jon Mclaughlin
• "A Little Too Hard (& A Little Too Fast)" by Jon Mclaughlin [and at the risk of including his entire album, I'll cut off the Jon Mclaughlin songs here]
• "Best Thing I Never Had" by Beyoncé
• "Tonight, Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae
• "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato
• "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine
• "Gonna Get Over You" by Sara Bareilles
• "In Your Arms" by Kina Grannis

 [I promptly listened to most of these songs after making this particular list]

This is officially the last tag of 2011, so I do hope you all enjoyed. It was fun recalling all the best moments of this year.

Here's to making more in 2012!

Again: Happy New Year!

xEsther