Nail Swatches: OPI Mariah Carey Liquid Sand Review

I received these lovely new Mariah Carey by OPI Liquid Sandnail polishes from a giveaway hosted by the lovely Jamie at The Beauty of Life. Check out her blog; it's awesome! Then check out my review and swatches of the Liquid Sand colors below!

 

OPI by Mariah Carey's Liquid Sand in Stay the Night is a beautiful dark maroon with flecks of red glitter. The liquid sand creates a rough texture that is difficult to see in the swatches. I couldn't wait to try both colors, so I put Stay the Night on my toes!

It's much easier to see the texture on swatches of the next color, The Impossible. I love the little star glitter, though I only managed to get one on my nails (it's on my index finger)! The liquid sand texture gives the nail color a rough, almost matte look. Though you could shine it up with a topcoat, I left the color without a topcoat. I also only used one coat, man, is it bright!

 

Thanks for looking at my new OPI nail swatches and reading my review. Let me know in the comments: have you or are you going to try Liquid Sand by Mariah Carey?

Best Razor for Women: Schick Hydro Silk® Razor Review

There's a new best razor for women in town, and just in time for spring and summer. It's 80 degrees in SoCal today, and boy was I glad I didn't have to dig and find some disposable razors somewhere!

Instead I used the Schick Hydro Silk^® razor that BzzAgent sent me to try out. Does it deserve the title of best razor for women? Let's see:

My Schick Hydro Silk^® razor, the best razor for women!

The Pros:

• Water-Activated Moisturizing Serum to hydrate your skin.
• 5 Curve-Sensing blades really get all the hair in one swipe. I love how the razor really got all the hair, even on my knees!
• If I was really in a hurry, I probably wouldn't have to use shaving gel, this razor is that hydrating.
• Less environmental waste. Longer lasting cartridges means less plastic waste than completely disposable razors.  
• The wall holder saves space in my bathroom and keeps the blades clean and my fingers safe.

The Cons:

• Price. Starter kits are about $10 (with 1 extra refill), and refills are about $15 for four cartridges. So worth it if you have thick hair and go through other razors quickly, though.

Overall, I would rate this the best razor for women out there right now. I like it better than the Venus refillable. Tell me what you think, would you try Schick? Or do you have another contender for the title of best razor for women?

I'm a BzzAgent, I received a sample starter kit to try the product and state my honest opinions.

Tarte Femme Naturale Eye Shadow Palette Review

I've had this beautiful Femme Naturale Eye Shadow palette from Tarte for a year now and I still use many of the colors regularly. Overall, I'd recommend this palette for someone who wants to be able to do a couple of basic day and night looks and wants to start an environmentally and health conscious makeup collection.

The Eye Shadows: The colors are varied, which is great for someone starting out or looking for a go-to palette. There is a nice mix of matte and shimmery shades. The real reason I think it's great for a beginner is the helpful guide on how to use the colors to create different looks. The shadows are also the longest-lasting I've ever tried. They go on buttery-smooth.

The Brush: The brush really makes this palette worth the price, I use this brush everyday! I use the diamond side to tap on eyeshadow across my lid and I use the round side to add (usually a darker color) to the creases.

The Eyeliners: I'm not too impressed with these eyeliners. The colors (a purple and an olive) are okay and certainly different from the brown and black most makeup users will already have, but I didn't care for the formula. It was too difficult to get the color onto my eyes.

The Case: The case is very cute and mobile. The magnet is very strong (sometimes too strong when you try to set up the palette to look in the mirror the first few times!). The eye shadows are adhered into the palette not with the usual glue (which makes all depotters go crazy), but nice magnets! You can truly remove shadows from one palette and place them in other palettes to create a go-to daily palette. You can also buy replacements for certain shadows online (however, these are $17 a pop, the selection is sub-par -only femme natural eye shadows at the moment- and it seems a better deal to buy another palette).

The Brand: I can't say enough good things about Tarte. They are a higher-end brand, so they are more expensive, but if you are looking to invest in makeup, they are the brand I would recommend. They have a great mission: their products are formulated without parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances and they use packaging materials from recyclable or post-consumer recycled material.

The Price: $44 at Tarte.com, you get a lot for this price. You can also get a 20% coupon when you sign up for Tarte emails, making this palette only $35. Some of the other palettes similar to this one are on sale for $30 as well.

Overall: I love it!

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish Review

I love my Fresh Sugar Lip Balm so I was excited to try their lip scrub. It feels just like brown sugar and tastes like it too!

Tip: I gently rub the scrub on my lips in small circles with my fingertips for 15 seconds.
Tip #2: I leave the scrub on for a few minutes to continue softening then rub off with a damp cloth.

The results are beautiful soft lips even after I forget to put this on every evening in this winter weather. I highly recommend this scrub.

Ingredients: sugar, meadow foam seed, Shea butter, vitamin E are the main ingredients.

Price: $22.50 for 0.6 oz. You only need a very little for each application so it'll last awhile. Get it in a set with their lip balm for a cheaper overall price.

Maybelline Review and Giveaway

I was fortunate enough to be sent a few samples of the new Maybelline New York cosmetic products to try through BzzAgent! I was sent the Great Lashes: Lots of Lashes Mascara and the Baby Lips moisturizing lip balm!

Lots of Lashes: The brush is really nice. It really grabs and separates all those tiny lashes and works well on the small ends and lower lashes. The mascara goes on great. I accidentally left this on overnight, and while there was some flakiness I wouldn't see this being a problem if I had been a good beauty-girl and taken off my makeup like I'm supposed to before going to sleep.

Baby Lips: This lip balm goes on so smooth. I've been using it for a couple of days and already I feel like I don't need to be putting on the lip balm every few hours like I usually do. Some lip balms make me feel like I have to keep applying it all the time! But not Baby Lips. I can't wait to see how much better my lips feel after using this for a longer period of time! I tried the Peach Kiss flavor and it smells really nice.

Buy It: Buy it from the Maybelline New York's official site or at your local drugstore!

Win It: I will be giving away two (2!) sets of Lots of Lashes mascara and Baby Lips moisturizing lip balm. The lip balm choices are Peppermint and Cherry Me. Please enter via the Rafflecopter form below. The giveaway will be open until November 26th. On November 27th I will email the two winners and they will have 48 hours to reply with their mailing address. Good luck!





Free Lotto Games and Sweepstakes

Shabby Apple

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to win a Shabby Apple giveaway for one of their necklaces. From the selection I chose the Key to Wonderland. It came in the mail recently, and boy was I excited!

The packaging was adorable. I love the mint green Shabby Apple stamp on the simple box. The necklace has a tag just like their clothing! I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take it off, but it looks too cute to destroy!

The necklace itself is fashionable. It's made of antiquated brass in a cute key shape that is definitely in style right now. Perfect for the shabby chic girl. In fact, everything on their site is just so adorable!

Buy it: Use my link via push44 to get 15% off your purchase plus free shipping! The jewelry runs from about $25 to $75 and their clothing from about $50 to $100. A bit of a splurge, but a quality item perfect for a holiday gift for someone else or yourself!

I've spent a lot of time just browsing through their dresses. They're vintage-inspired, modest but shapely, and there's such a variety! I can't wait to get my Moon River Dress in the mail and write another review!