Sinful Colors Nail Polish Review

The Sinful Colors nail polishes are marketed at a very low selling price and have been raved about among users so I have always wanted to try them out. Therefore, since it was on sale this week at Walgreens for $0.99, I decided to try them out. There was a large range of colors and varieties to choose from so I controlled myself to not over spend by purchasing only 6 polishes. (You guys think I purchased too many?) 

Five among the six colors I purchased were very vibrant and opaque as I only needed to paint two coats. The only color that was not very true to the look was Bali Mist as it was very sheer even after three coats. Overall, the colors painted on very smoothly and didn't skreak at all. The only problem I had about these polishes are it's quality control as it is not consistent at all. For some reason, some colors are not shiny/ glossy and makes it not very appealing after application. Without the shine my nails look very dull and unhealthy. The colors that are not shiny and I think you shouldn't buy include savage and rise and shine. Overall, the nail polishes are cheap but I they don't have a large range of colors as OPI or have great quality control so I would probably used the ones I've purchased on my toes. Yeah, I have to admit I buy a lot of nail polishes because I separate the colors I use for my hand and toe nails. I know most people don't care but I think it's kind of nasty painting my finger nails with something I just used on my toes. I mean... its almost like i'm indirectly licking my toes when I pick up food with my fingers or  if I am like biting my nails. That thought is really disgusting me right now... goose bumps* Anyways, do you guys separate your nail polishes or am I the only one?

Beauty on a Budget 2/12/12 -2/25/12

Great Buy #1

Nivea Lip Care $0.25 at CVS (2/12/12 - 2/25/12) (must buy 4)

Buy 4 at 2/$5 then subtract $6 in coupons (use 2 x $3 off of 2 coupon from 2/12/12 newspaper)

Subtotal will be $4/4 and you will get $3 in CVS bucks valid for next purchase

Although Nivea's lip care products are not made from organic products but it works really well in keeping my lips really moisturized during the winter. I usually get very dried and cracked lips during this time of the year possibly because of the dry weather. Therefore, after years of testing different lip balm, I finally found Nivea's lip moisturizer and it works like a charm in keeping my lips very moisturized for almost a whole day. I also prefer Nivea over brands like Softlips or Chapstick because I really hate their small little cap because I always tend to drop or lose them. In addition, I feel that the scent of Nivea's lip items smell very pleasant and not artificial. You guys should try out the shimmer one because it makes your lips glisten and at the same time it looks very natural. 

Great Buy #2

Got2b Hair Styler $0.99 at CVS (2/12/12 - 2/18/12)

Buy at $3.99 then subtract $3 in coupon from 2/12/12 newspaper

I went ahead and picked up got2b Smooth Operator Smoothing Satin Hair Drops after reading many positive reviews online. This product is advertised to be a weightless serum that smoothes the hair cuticle to de-frizz, tame and silken for a soft cashmere touch. So far after testing it once I felt that it made my hair very soft and silky but it does weigh my hair down a little. Another thing I like about this product is that it makes my hair smell very sweet almost like candy and it does add some shine to my hair as my hair is getting dull because my dye is fading out. Overall, for less then $1 it's worth a try! I also picked up the got2b spiking glue as that's one of my brother's favorite styling product.

Great Buy #3

Sinful Colors Nail Polish $0.99 at Walgreens (2/12/12 - 2/18/12)

On sale at $0.99

I heard a lot of great reviews on these nail polish saying they are very long lasting and colors are very vibrant after 1-2 coats. These polishes are usually selling for $1.99 and is considered a bargain and now at $0.99, it's definitely a steal. I will be buying some to test out for nail stamping and if it doesn't work out nicely then I'll just use them on my toes. Although I have a lot of better brands like OPI, China Glaze, Essie, etc but I prefer to use polish for toes and hands separately. I find it kind of gross to paint your toes then hands with the same bottle because your hand nails are bound to touch things like food.

Great Buy #4

Goody Ouchless Elastics 27 pcs for $0.99 at Walgreens (2/19/12 - 2/25/12)

On sale at $2.99 then get $2 in register rewards for next purchase

Just as I need more of these hair band as I tend to lose them very quickly without knowing it. It works very well as it doesn't break easily and hold hair very tight. For time to time, the elastic band might get stretched out but will still hold hair very securely. This set comes in a variety of colors so you can mix and match with your outfit.

Beauty on a Budget 2/6/2012 YMMV

Woot Woot I got some good deals for you guys! Recently I went to Target and noticed that they had a lot of beauty things on clearance. The prices were pretty decent and had a wide selection so you guys should definitely check it out if you get a chance. I think the sale just started as there seems to be a large number of clearance items still remaining. Although some of these prices were very tempting but I didn't pick up any item as I am trying to conserve and save up. Please remember that Target's clearance prices and stock varies by store. Check out my pictures first to see if you guys spot you like and if the price is right before you make a trip to Target. Good luck and tell me what kind of goodies you bought!

Select varieties of Physician Formula for $3.99-$6.74

Select varieties of Maybelline for $2.97-$3.84

Select varieties of Milani for $4.18-$4.54

Select varieties of Nicole OPI for $4.92

Select varieties of Orly for $4.88

La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water Review

There's a small village in France called La Roche Posay that has mineral water spring that contains very unique and powerful water. The spring water is created by over 20,000 years of rainwater flowing over vast expanses of limestone rocks, natural reserves of the element selenium, and deep water flowing through the deep sands of the Cenomanian period. The thermal spring water is almost neutral pH and is protected from all pollution so it can be used to treat numerous skin problems. With anti-inflammatory and anti-free radical properties, thermal spring water helps treat certain serious inflammatory skin conditions when used as a therapeutic complement and also helps to fight skin aging.

Unfortunately, it is really not very cost efficient to visit this place just for using their water so I decided to order the moisturizing mist from La Roche-Posay Skin Laboratory. This product is advertised to contain no addictive and provides antioxidant protection to moisturize and refresh your skin. Therefore, since my  skin gets a little dry around the nose and cheek area during the winter time I decided to try out their infamous Thermal Spring Water Mist. You can purchase La Roche-Posay products on their website or like ebay/ amazon. I purchased the 10.5oz for around $17 which I find is a better value then the 1.8 oz for $9-$10.

After using this mist for a few days I totally fell in love this product as it instantly hydrates my skin and gives my face a glowing dewy effect. In addition, the mist is very fine so it adsorbs into the skin very quickly and has no scent at all. I usually spray some on my face before I apply my moisturizer and after I apply powder or foundation and it instantly hydrates my skin and removes the cakey powdery finish on face. I heard that this product is also very effective in treating acne so I'm actually going to test it out on my back as I get body acne from time to time and it's really hard to apply medication so this spray would be very handy as now I can now easily treat my back. I will update you guys later on on how well this product works for body acne!

Blue Nail Polish Tutorial Using Mash 2012 Stamp Plates

Hello! I finally got a chance to use my Mash 2012 stamping plates for the very first time. The quality of engravings were very deep so they were very easy to stamp. However, please try to use a thick nail polish instead of Essie's nail polishes for stamping as the colors come out faded looking because it's too thin. Another tip would be try scrapping off the excess nail polish on the stamp plate with a useless gift card or credit card as its much easier to control then Mash's scrapping tool. Although not all the details of the engraving successfully transferred over to my nail but you can try covering those imperfections with crystals, beads, or glitter. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my nails after decorating them with pearls and crystals so I'll just show you guys the look with just the nail polishes.

 

Now here's the tutorial!!!

Review After Laser Hair Removal For Underarms

After years of suffering from ingrown hair and irritation, I've finally decided to try out laser hair removal. So basically laser hair removal do not permanently remove your hair it just destroys and weakens your hair follicle so that your hair would grow slower, lighter, and sparser. You guys should really do research on the clinic and procedure before your decide to do a laser treatment because if it's not done right then it can cause scaring or discoloration! Anyways, for me each underarm laser session time took around 40 seconds to one minute so is rather quick and the pain is quite bearable.

This is the Fotona Laser machine the clinic used on me for hair removal. This laser is less skin damaging the light based lasers and offers safe, quick, and effective hair reduction, provide cold air cooling to increase patient comfort levels, and support painless treatment for larger areas.

Experience: underarm laser hair removal laser #1 (11/02/2012)
This is actually the first time I'm doing a laser treatment and I really didn't know how it would feel or if there's any side effect. I thought that I had to grow out my underarm hair so that it would be more accurate and easier for the laser to sense my hair  and plus I thought it would be so cool to see strands of hair being shot off by the beams of the laser. Therefore, I bravely walked into the clinic with a very bushy underarm by not shaving for like 2-3 weeks so that I can see the instant effect of the hair removal. After a quick chat with the aesthetician, our session had to start and I was so so embarrassed to lift up my arms so she could apply aloe gel before performing the procedure on me. The moment I lifted up my arms she saw my jungle and quickly turned around and pulled out a disposable shaver and said to me that I needed to shave. At that very moment I was super embarrassed as I really didn't know why I needed to shave and that it took me so long to grow out my hair. She then explained to me that the strands of hair would confuse the laser censor so I had to shave myself clean. Afterwards, I had to sit up straight and lift up my arms so that she can scan my underarm with her laser's beam. During the first 10 seconds of the session I felt a little pain almost like someone using 10 tweezers to puck your hair out at the same time. After the first 10 seconds, the nightmare began as it started to hurt a lot like someone using a match to burn your skin and while I was trying to bear the pain I could smell something like fried pork rind when its actually your skin burning. Thank god each arm's session only lasted for under a minute or so or else I would have just dashed out the door. Now moving forward, after the session only a slight tingling pain will remain and last for about 30 minutes. For the next few days I had to apply aloe gel for 2-3 times each day and refrain myself from shaving, plucking, or waxing. After a week or so I could see about 80% of the tiny strands of hair falling out when I scrub my underarm. I have to tell you that it was super cool seeing the stands of hair falling off with a just light touch.

Experience: underarm laser hair removal #2 (12/31/2012)
After the first hair removal session, I felt that my underarm hair did grow a lot slower but I really didn't see any difference myself grow less underarm hair. The second session's procedures were exactly the same as the first time except this time I had shave before I visited the clinic. This time around, the hair removal process was less painful and rather quick. (oh no! my skin was so fried up that it had no more feeling!) Well, it was good that I didn't feel much pain but I think my session was shorter then the first so maybe that's the reason to the decrease of pain level. Again I had to moisturize and leave my underarm alone for another week. Then after a week my hair starts falling out again but this time only 70% had fallen off. I do notice that after the second session the amount of hair growth was reduced and that it takes around 2 weeks for a replacement hair to grow out. My next session is in 7 weeks so hopefully I would see better results after each session.

Experience: underarm laser hair removal #3 (02/08/2012)
The long process of waiting 7 weeks between each session is really making me feel very anxious because I want immediate results! I want hair to grow as slow as 1 mm per 3 months and that would be ideal. I guess I just have to spend more time and money to have that kind of desired results. Anyways, I didn't shave today before I went in because the remaining underarm hair was super thin and short so I felt there wasn't a need. Today's session was rather painful because I could feel the strong light burning my skin. This feeling of this pain is kind of like a lot of needles poking my underarm but with no blood. I think this session felt more pain than the second session because the nurse held the laser pointed closer or possibly because I didn't shave and the laser head couldn't sense my hair very well. After the session, my pits felt tingling for around 20 minutes and then back to normal.

I noticed my armpit hair starts falling out after 6 days of the laser session which is 1 day less then my first and second hair removal. After the fallout my underarm hair regrows very slow almost like 1/2 inch per month. The hair that regrows are also very thin and fine which makes it less obvious if I didn't shave. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the results and I can't wait for my next session!

Beauty on a Budget 1/1/12 -1/7/12

There’s always a saying that there’s no ugly women in this world but just lazy women but who ever that made that up forgot to say that there’s also a hefty consequence for looking more beautiful.  So what is the consequence? I know that a lot of guys would agree to this and it’s spending A LOT of MONEY on a wide range of products from clothing to makeup to skin care and now a new favorite, nail art. Anyways, that list of beauty products can go on and on, but how many of you guys can afford to purchase new products every week that’s released into the market.  Even shopping at local drug store like CVS, Walgreen, or Rite Aid We’re and not specialty stores like Sephora can cost you at least $5-$10 for an item. 

Although we can always try and return an item if we do not like it but there’s just way too many beauty items that we need on a daily base. I mean how many women now a day can live without false eyelashes? foundation? nail polish? or even hair products? Therefore, my conclusion is spending less and buying more. Alright that those sounded kind of contradictive, but what I’ve meant is finding great deals on products that will make you look more beautiful. Although, these products may not be exactly on your I want to try list but I’m sure it worth it to give it a shot! Hopefully I have shared this entry early enough for you guys to pick up some of these items that I thought were a steal! 

Great Buy #1

eos Lip Balm for $0.99 at Walgreens (1/1/12 - 1/7/12)

Pay $2.99 first then get $2 register reward back

Trust me this price is as low as this lip balm can ever get and especially since there's no limit on how many you are allowed to purchase it makes the deal even sweeter. These eos lip balms are one of my favorite because I really love the fact that most of these are made from organic products and that it moisturizes my lips very well. My personal favorite scents are sweet mint, strawberry sorbet, and summer fruits.

Since they were so cheap, I picked up quite a few for myself to use. Here's how it looks with the packaging!

Great Buy #2

John Frieda Flyaway Tamer for FREE at Walgreens (ymmv)

On clearance at $2.59 then there's a $3.00 off coupon on the box

This is basically used for taming your hair and making it more sleek and clean if you have flyaway hair on the top and side of your head. The consistency of the product is kind of gel like and reminds me of a eyebrow gel. The great part about this product is that it really does hold your hair down for a whole day and does not feel sticky at all like some hair styling products. 

Remember to look for the clearance sign and these little peelies on the box at your local Walgreens store!

Anyways, here's how I look with the product on. It's kind of hard to see my flyaway as my camera's micro settings are not the best but if you really try to focus you can kind of see it on the top of my head. Overall its a good product just not something I really use on a regular base, but hey since it's FREE I'm not going to complain. I think I'll use more of it next time when I tie my hair into a pony tail!

Great Buy #3

Sally Hansen Salon Effect Nail Polish Strip for $0.59 at Walgreens (selected colors & ymmv)

On clearance at $2.59 then there's a $2.00 off coupon on www.coupons.com 

I have wanted to try these nail polish strip for longest time ever but never wanted to fork out $10 for a nail decoration that will only last up to 10 days. I guess since they were less then a dollar a pop I just might as well pick a few up for myself too. I haven't tried it yet so cannot tell you guys any reviews or suggests so I'll update you guys!

Great Buy #4

Milani Nail Art for $1.09 at Walgreens (all colors & ymmv)

I picked up a few for myself to try as these were really cheap, almost like getting five for the price of one! So far I've only tried using these polish on a piece of paper and the lines seem to come out pretty thin but colors do not come out as vibrant as I would have wished. Hopefully it'll look better when I try it out on my nails. 

These products are still selling for full price on www.milanicosmetics.com website! Tell me what you guys think about this product and show me your creations!