A beauty blog with a humorous flair. Featuring product reviews, purchases, relevant stories, personal opinions, and judgment placing. I cater to the saavy and the serious.
I'm a little late on the nail crackle wagon because I go through major separation anxiety when I depart from my nude nail look. However, while watching Friday Night Beauty on QVC, I became inspired to try the look when I saw Sephora by OPI crackle polishes. Being that I wanted instant gratification, I picked up the Sally Hansen brand in the black crackle. I immediately tried it when I got home. What a change from the nude nail, let me tell ya. Black crackle polish is to nude polish, what a graffiti covered wall is to a plain white wall. I do like the look but I'd like to try the OPI brand because the SH is kind of hard to apply. It works best if you apply a thick layer but it is difficult to get it right the first time and not miss a spot,because if you have to go back over the nail, its a mess. And I don't even know if you are supposed to use a top coat or if that deviates from the coolness factor, but it pretty much chipped immediately. Nail art and texture is super hot right now in the beauty world but I just can't get down with the texture thing. I am partial to neutral, shiny, smooth, neat and short nails. I'm not cool enough for full-on crackle. I fancy myself on mixing genres in my fashion lifestyle and I do believe doing a crackle accent nail among the majority being a solid color is more in my comfort zone. I am certainly willing to try the silver and the white crackle polish and plan to do so soon.
These aren't my nails, but this picture gives me great ideas, like I should have purchased the PINK Crackle! Look how cool it looks over the blue and yellow!~ Photo Credit http://heartnat.blogspot.com/2011/05/sally-hansen-crackle-overcoat-in.html
These are not my nails, I couldn't find the actual owner of these nails to give photo credit!! Umm, how amazing do these perfect nails look in this perfect polish?! Catrice is sold overseas somewhere I do know that, please come to the US, Catrice!
Punk Cheetah Nail Tutorial by Sophy Robson:
A similar style to the tutorial, photo credit: http://stylebust.com/
I thought I'd include a super cute nail tutorial taken from the Sephora YouTube channel and performed by Sophy Robson, a famous UK nail artist. You will need a black nail polish or nail pen, a bright pink polish, a light pink polish, or feel free to use whatever you'd like to achieve the same look.
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I've been a fan of over the counter teeth whitening devices for a couple of years now. Why? Because they work! I've used the "dentist strength" whitening strips that you can only purchase from a doctor for around $10 more than what the most costly of the Crest strips sell for. I couldn't tell a major difference between the professional strength product and the the Crest Pro Effects 3D White Strips. I can, however, tell a difference between the one I'm reviewing and ones I used to use which are the Crest Advanced Vivid White Strips.The Advanced Vivid are a notch below the Pro-Effects as far as the order of strongest Crest whitening strips. Both products work exceptionally well in a short period of time but with the Pro Effects, the results are kicked up a couple of notches. And kicked up about $10 more in price of course. You didn't think you'd get a better product for the same price right?
The Crest Pro-Effects strips are the most effective over the counter whitening strips sold by Crest. They are similar to the Advanced Vivid in most every single way but three. 1. The PE have an improved lower strip for more coverage and 2. provide the highest level of whitening from Crest at retail and 3. the price differs by about $10. I do believe both products contain 10% Hydrogen Peroxide which is very high for over the counter whitening.
The Pro's for the Pro Effects:
Big time concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide, at 10%. The dentist strength product I have tried was only higher by 2%.
The advanced seal technology make the strips very easy to wear because they really grip on to your teeth. The bottom row does slip a little bit but that could be a user error.
Noticeable results FAST! I can notice how much whiter and brighter my teeth look after only one use. My teeth really take well to whitening strips so I am not sure if this is just me or what.
You can still drink while wearing the strips. I don't know about you but I can go hours without drinking anything but the minute you tell me I cant drink for 30 minutes, I'm suddenly thirsty and can't bear the thought.
The Cons of the Pro-Effects:
Price is a major con! I can always find coupons that help a little bit though, that usually take $7 off. I have seen them in my drugstores for $50+ but they are much cheaper to buy online. And even from Ebay. I mean, they are sealed in packets so its easier to trust a seller to buy from.
Not ideal for those with sensitive teeth and those whose enamel wears away easily. Although they say "enamel safe" I do believe this is a highly subjective subject and varies by the individual. I have sensitive teeth right underneath my gums where my front teeth are and therefor I place the whitening strips below this area.
Toward the end of the 30 minutes, you can kind of see the peroxide getting gummy and smearing everywhere under the strip. This is normal but not sure how good it is for your gums to be bathed in HP. But that doesn't seem to factor into my decision to keep using them. No pain, no gain! And white teeth are a must at all times.
A Natural Way to a Whiter and Brighter Smile? LEMONS! I met a girl at Sephora once, and her teeth were amazing and perfectly white. She said she didn't use any special products but she attributed her white smile to the fact that she puts lemons in everything. This can be a double-edged sword however because applying a lemon directly to your teeth can wear away your enamel. Putting lemons in your drinks, however, is the smart way to go!
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It is apparent that lip stains are all the rage with brands like Revlon and Covergirl as well as higher-end brands like Tarte. But a nail stain? Have to admit, that is a brand new concept for this nail polish junkie. Along with their lip stains, Revlon created a line of "Just Tinted" nail polishes that are supposed to provide a sheer wash of color for girls that want something on their nails but don't want to fully commit. While in Walgreen's, I contemplated trying this product and trying to decide which shade to get. The shades are all very pretty, I might add. I ended up with Victorian, a bright, watermelon, pink.
The Finish of the Revlon Just Tinted polish: Remember when OPI came out with their Matte Suede polishes and they dried to a really flat color with no sheen? It was almost like the texture of a marker that seemed to just melt into your nail and become a part of it rather than something that was put over top of it. The Revlon nail stain mimics the texture and appearance of something like that. Its almost like what happens when you dry your polish in a bowl of ice old water (if you don't do this already, it works to set the polish) and briefly the shine disappears and you are left with with a foggier version of the sheen. Am I confusing you yet? Well one thing I am not confused about is whether I like the look of it. I had ZERO hope for this product, but I gotta say, I like it. And I almost never like gimicky drugstore products, but this one is pretty cool. The Victorian shade does provide a vibrant color after two coats while maintaining the sheerness quality. I wouldn't over-do it with the coats though because I think that detracts from the overall purpose of a "nail tint". If you wanted something opaque, you wouldn't buy a nail tint right?
How Does it Wear? I am updating this part now that I've had the polish on for a few days. You can't get away with wearing this without a top coat because it will fade right off. It doesn't chip, it fades, which is the oddest thing. But it looks better than chipping! I have zero chipping but the polish starting to wear at the tips which is something that almost immediately happened the day I first put it on. Overall, with a good top coat, its still worth buying. For a nail tint, it wears better than the regular Revlon polish formula, I have to say. But what doesn't?
Shade Selection: Very pretty! A great selection of beautiful summery pinks, plums, and I do believe an orange-toned shade as well. I would love to try more, I've got my eye on "Dawn" which is the orange-tone I mentioned. There is a photo of both Victorian and Dawn on someone's nails that are way prettier than mine!
Above are my nails after 2 coats without a top coat to show you what the natural finish is, below you can see what a top coat looks like over the nail tint.
Photo Credit: http://www.kewtified.com/2011/06/revlon-just-tinted.html (above and below) Shades Victorian (above) and Dawn (below)
Photo Credit http://www.kewtified.com/2011/06/revlon-just-tinted.html, Just Tinted by Revlon in Dawn + top coat
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