Sally Hasen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips: Stripe-Tease

Hello lovelies! I hope you're having a great day! I did my nails last night with the Sally Hansen Nail Effect Nail Strips (such long names for products these days!) I have 5 different designs and I've tried 3 of them so far. Each time has had a slightly different experience so I thought I'd share the latest one!

1st time: I have a review here

2nd time: I put on a set of sparkly pink with black skulls. I don't know what went wrong but they ended up being nearly as thick and inflexible as acrylics and popped off within a day or so

3rd time...

To start with it was late at night.

Somewhere nearby a man was playing a saxa-uh, no that's the murder scene from Bandwagon. My bad.

It was late though, which was probably a bad idea but I foraged ahead anyway.

I read the instructions (yay me!)

I gathered my tools.

I striped.

Wait, what?

It says STRIPED, people. Geez, like a tiger. Dirty minds ;P 

I followed the instructions, but I still found these to be more difficult to apply than the others. First of all they were a bit thinner and stickier. I had to keep peeling them up to try and reset them. And getting stripes to stay straight is tricky!!

I had some of the strips wrinkle (not cute!) some look like I was drunk applying them (I wasn't) and some thankfully did turn out semi cute.  

Conclusion: They are a pain, but for the 99 cents I spent on them it's still less of a headache then painting the damn stripes on and I like the look.

What do you think of stripes for your nails? Are the strips worth it? Are the stripes worth it? Gah, I'm punny.

Review: Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer

Rimmel Match Perfection 2-in-1 Concealer 

I love this concealer! I like it much better than my Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer or YSL Touche Eclat. I have deep, dark, creviced under-eyes (and I'm pretty young to already have them) and this covers with hardly any product needed. It is a dream to blend, I don't have to struggle or reapply to actually cover the damn things. 

It works great as a illuminating highlighter -ala YSL Touche Eclat- around my eyes, cheekbones, cupids bow, etc. At the price I highly suggest you run out and try it!

The Claims: 2-in-1 Concealer and Highlighter. Skin tone adapting.

Yep. It works very well as both. It's not shimmery like a highlighter, but it's definitely brightens. And I don't notice it not matching my skin-tone. It also doesn't go that weird gray or orange tone I've had other skin-tone "matching" products turn into on my skin.

Coverage - Outstanding. Comparable to YSL. 

Length of Wear - All day. 

Creasing - I have't experienced any. I've been putting it to the test too - 80+ degree days with 90% humidity and not a crease to be seen. Which I typically have horrible creasing with my concealer so yay! *I don't use powder on top and most days I put it on after an eye cream. 

Price - $4-5. Which since I consider it to work the same as the Touche Eclat I'm saving a ton.

Packaging - It comes in a squeeze tube with a brush. If you're careful you shouldn't have a problem. I actually prefer it to the click pens as I feel it gives you more control over how much product you want. The brush is super soft too. If you are worried about hygiene you can always squeeze out a dab onto a clean brush or finger and then apply to your face.

Shaken. AKA Swatched.

Stirred. AKA Blended. 

Weekly Beauty Bests

Weekly Beauty Bests

Summer is here (finally) so I've been working on keeping my makeup routine simple. About every day of June has had me wearing a "blogger bun" -  a massive contraption of hair piled precariously atop my head and some version of light eye, flirty lashes, glowy skin and bright, juicy lips. Not exactly an original look but pretty. 

I've been obsessed with the Stila 'The Natural  palette I got from Ulta recently and I've been using it daily for both day-time and evening looks. I will have a full review of it and the other products I mention up here soon. I'd love to do a quick tutorial on the look I've been wearing too - keep your eyes open! :)

What look/products have you been using and wearing??

The Shadows:

For the day, I've been taking Pure from the Stila Natural Palette and putting it all over my lid, Linen through the crease and Innocent in my outer third. I follow with my Pixi champagne shadow in my inner corner as a highlight. 

Stila The Natural - Eye shadow palette. Exclusively at Ulta

Don't let the melding with my skin tone fool you - they are gorgeous on the eye and pigmented without being overwhelming. 

Pixi Fairy Light Solo in No.2 Champagne Glow 

The Face:
I don't wear foundation so after I moisturize I apply Kat Von D's Tattoo Concealer on my blemishes and take Rimmel's Perfect Match Concealer to the dark circles under my eyes and in any areas I wish to highlight. It's an inexpensive version of YSL Touche Eclat.  

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer and highlighter.  Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer in Light

The Coloring:
I'm pale. And it's not attractive on me. I have warm undertones and when I go pale I look like a Tim Burton movie extra (which I could totally live with honestly) but to keep from being confused with Beetlejuice I use Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer and Blush to prevent ghostly comparisons. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Ave Princess and Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface.

 The Lashes:

My two favorite drugstore mascaras. For a more dramatic look I go with the Falsies, for a flirty day-time look Rimmel Lash Accelerator. 

Maybelline the Flasies Flared and Rimmel Lash Accelerator

The Liners:
My new all-time favorite eye liners - high end or drugstore. I tightline my upper lash line with the black or smudge it into my lashes for soft all-day definition. I use the turquoise on my lower lash line for a fun pop of color. 

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal eyeliners in 001 Black and 007 Turquoise

The Lips:
I have a lot of bright lip products I rotate. This weeks crop: Glisten Up Pink is a beautiful berry-pink with silver shimmer and over a lip balm gives the softest, prettiest shiny look.
Coral Tattoo is a great long-lasting, bright and juicy lip color. Orange Attitude and Pink Possibilities are fantastic when you're running out the door and want some color without having to think about it. I layer them over lip balm and they're soft, shiny, water-color brights.

Left to right: Maybelline lipstick in Glisten Up Pink, L'Oreal Colour Riche Color Caresse Wet Shine Stain in Coral Tattoo and Maybelline Color Whisper in Orange Attitude and Pink Possibilities.

The Tools: