Favourite Spring/Summer Polishes

Left to right: China Glaze Lemon Fizz, China Glaze For Audrey, Essie Meet Me At Sunset, Essie Lights, Essie Lapiz of Luxury

The weather here in town has finally warmed up, so I think it’s a good time to do a quick favourite spring/summer polishes.

China Glaze Lemon Fizz is a lovely yellow polish, and the lone yellow polish I own. It doesn’t have the best formula, it’s kind of streaky and it takes 3-4 coats to achieve full opacity. But the gorgeous colour makes the application bearable. I used 4 coats for the picture.

China Glaze For Audrey is a polish that needs no introduction. It’s the “Tiffany blue” colour that is so well-known. The application of this is pretty good, 2 coats was enough for it to be opaque.

Next up is Essie Meet Me At Sunset. It’s a orange red that is just perfect for summer. I forgot I had this polish in my stash until I read ViviannaDoesMakeup’s post about dupes for Chanel’s Holiday polish. The application is great, and one coat was enough for it to be opaque, but I used two in the picture.

Another bright colour that is perfect for summer is Essie’s Lights. It’s a wham-bam in your face kinda neon pink. The polish itself is on the thick side, so it made application slightly tricky. It also dried to a semi-matte finish, so I would recommend putting a top coat over it to make it glossy. 1 coat is enough for it to be opaque, but again I used 2 in the picture.

Last but not least is Essie Lapiz of Luxury. It’s a lovely periwinkle blue. I always get compliments when I wear this polish. The polish itself is slightly on the thin side, but 2 thicker coats are enough for opacity. I used 2 coats for the shot above.

So that rounds up my 5 favourite polishes for spring/summer. What are your favourite polishes for this season?

R+S: Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Enamel – Topaz

Today I have another polish I received from Revlon Selects to share. It’s the Chroma Chameleon Nail Enamel in the shade Topaz.

Topaz is a gorgeous multi-chrome that’s a mix of green, blue, and gold depending on how the light hits it. I think the green is the most dominant shade here, the blue is not nearly as strong as green but it comes through sometimes (eg on my thumb in the above picture). Application is beautiful. I was a little worried because it looked pretty watery, but one coat is almost opaque, and two coats is enough for complete opaqueness. It wasn’t streaky at all. It’s probably one of the most easily applied polish I have in my stash.

I have always been intrigued by multi-chrome (or duochrome) polishes, but never picked one up because I don’t think I will wear it much. But this polish is so pretty it makes me want to pick up a couple more shades in the range (there are 8 in total).  Also, I love the packaging!

These should be available in store now (or in the very near future). I believe I’ve seen it around for $9.99, but one catch is that this polish is only 8.6ml (versus 15ml for most full size polishes).

Have you tried any Chroma Chameleon Nail Enamel by Revlon? What is your favourite multi- or duo-chrome polish?

Disclaimer: I was sent this item by the manufacturer, but all opinions are my own honest opinions. (After all I started this blog to share my experiences with products with fellow beauty-lovers)

 

Revlon Selects: Revlon Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliques Wild Flowers – 06 Bow-quet

Recently I received another package from Revlon Selects, which came as a surprise because there was no email whatsoever warning about it’s arrival – nevertheless I am glad I received the package because it came with some awesome nail-related items that I can’t wait to share with you!

One of the item I got is their new Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliques Wild Flowers in the pattern 06 Bow-quet. I swear someone over at the Revlon side can read minds – I am a huge sucker for bows! On the info sheet that came with the package it stated this will be hitting stores in May, which is approaching quickly. 

Review: NeoStrata Moisture Infusion Cream

I don’t think I have written any skincare product review before this one, except the GlamGlow Super-Mud Mask. I don’t usually write skincare review because I think they are very personal in terms of whether it works or not, and quite frankly I don’t really know how to write reviews about them. But if there’s one product that I will write about, it will have to be the NeoStrata Moisture Infusion Cream.

This moisturizer and I went waaayyyyy back. I remember 3 years ago the skin on my cheeks decided that it will pretend to be a snake and start shedding, it was disgusting (imagine just rubbing your hands on your cheeks and have skin flaking off – actually, it’s probably a better idea not to). I tried a ton of moisturizers and none worked – they just burned my skin and irritated it even more. Finally I had to resort to steroids to fix the problem, and with the help of the NeoStrata Moisture Infusion Cream, that horrible skin flakiness finally subsided.

This moisturizer is quite thick, and extremely moisturizing. In the winter I would use it in the morning and night, but in spring/summer I find it to be too heavy to use during the day. It has quite a heavy, but fresh scent that goes away after a while. Although it’s thick, it gets absorbed pretty fast, which is a huge bonus for me because I hate the feeling of having skincare product lingering on my face. I have tried many moisturizers since my horrid experience with flaky skin, and during spring/summer time most other moisturizers suffice, but when winter came, the skin between my brows, around my nose, above my lips, just start flaking and no other moisturizer can tame it except this one.

Oh, on a side note, I have combination skin, but this moisturizer has never broken me out – score!

I believe I got it for $27 (50ml) at Shoppers Drug Mart, which is not a bad price at all, since you only need a small amount for the whole face. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a rich, effective, but reasonably priced night time moisturizer.

Review: Revlon Colorstay Base Coat

Today I have a quick review on my holy grail base coat – Revlon Colorstay Base Coat. I have tried a number of base coats and non compared. This one is super easy to applied because of it’s wide applicator, and it dries super fast. I would apply it on my left hand, and then right, and the it’s already dry on my left (and no… I’m not THAT slow that applying nail polishes haha). It turns my ridge-y nail into a smooth canvas for nail colours, and I find that my polishes last longer with this base coat. I also love how it’s a drugstore polish so it’s not too pricey the begin with ($8.99 at Walmart), and there are always sales that make it even cheaper! I highly recommend this if you are on the market for a new base coat!

 

R+S: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

 

As promised before, here’s a quick review and swatch of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in the shade Honey. I have been intrigued by the JBKBS ever since it was released, but the range of colour never really impressed me. Don’t get me wrong, there are some gorgeous shades, but there aren’t too many that would suit my skin tone and is okay for day-to-day wear. Honey is the closest thing to that.

Honey is a muted pink with a hint of mauve. It’s a perfect everyday colour. It has pretty good pigmentation, and applied very smoothly. It did not accentuate any dry patches or lines on my lips, but it left my lips super dry. Sad day. It was to the point where the skin on my lips started peeling off chunks by chunks – gross I know. The gloss was gone pretty fast, around 1-2 hours, but my lips were stained for another 2-3 hours, so the wear time is pretty good.

Bottom line: Loved the colour, super sad that it dried my lips like no tomorrow. I think I am a bigger fan of the Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm!

Have you tried both Revlon and Covergirl’s jumbo lip balms? Which one do you prefer?

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study Review & Swatch

Bare Study is the first MAC Paint Pot ($22CAD for 5g) I’ve tried, and I have to say I’m glad I finally got onto the whole Paint Pot bandwagon!

MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation Review

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation ($36.5CAD for 40ml) is actually the first (and only) MAC foundation I’ve ever tried. I was looking for a full coverage cream foundation when I was at MAC, and the SA suggested this and matched me with NC25. (Woohoo! I finally know what MAC shade I am!)

NOTD: Essie Borrowed & Blue

This is probably the one nail polish that I have been looking for for the longest, ever – Essie’s Borrowed & Blue. It’s not a new shade, as it is part of the Wedding collection in 2011. I was so ecstatic when I found it in a little nail polish store in Hong Kong!

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hr Eyeshadow in Audacious Asphalt Review & Swatch

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hr Eyeshadow in Audacious Asphalt is a multi-dimensional deep silver, with silver glitters. Maybelline boasts this line of cream shadow as their longest wearing, super-saturated shadow.