Nails fit for a Friday night: Essie's Silken Cord

Well, it's officially autumn here! Yesterday I started feeling those chilly breezes and needed to cover up with a jacket! Right now it's 60 degrees, but I'm so used to the lovely summer that it feels so much colder than that! Brrr. Hopefully where you live the weather is very comforting!

To start off, I apologize for the endless sea of Essie polishes that I've been reviewing. A couple months ago I found a bunch of Essie polishes at Ross, and have been trying them out ever since.

Today is Friday, and I'm the mood for a night with friends and some yummy egg nog. I thought it would be fun to use a bold red for my nails this time around. 

Silken Cord is a beautiful bright red. If I had to say anything to help describe it, I would say think of Marilyn Monroe's lips. My nails have 2 coats of this polish, but I definitely could have gotten away with just 1. The application is so effortless and the coverage is opaque. It's mainly a blue-based red, but outside (where these pictures were taken), it brings on a slightly less red appearance.

Essie's website says this polish is unavailable, and describes it as so: you've got the world on a string with this stunning risqué red wrapped around your fingers.

Above: a full hand view. You can truly see how red this polish is. It looks pretty shiny, but I do have OPI's top coat on over, so take that with a grain of salt.

Overall I am really loving this polish! Definitely one of my favorites - especially for autumn.

Thanks for reading,
Whitney

Glade Expressions Collection Oil Diffuser + Room Spray

(These products were sent to me by BzzAgent.com. I am not being paid and am not affiliated with these companies. This is simply a review and do not benefit from this review).




 Hey, everyone. I know I rarely talk about anything besides beauty on my blog, but I am being introduced a new product that I'd like to talk about. I am a big fan of room sprays, candles, incense, plug-in scents, etc.

 Right now I am using the Glade Expressions Oil Diffuser in the scent Lavender and the room spray in the scent Pineapple & Mangosteen.

 The Oil Diffuser hasn't been a total hit in my book, but so far it's been okay. It's not over-powering, but perhaps it's underwhelming. Honestly, I haven't noticed a big difference at all after using it for about a week or so. I really like the room spray. I use it in the kitchen where most of the stinkiness can occur, and whenever I use it, it seems to make a big difference. It's both refreshing and not over-powering. Another important note is that it's not too sweet, neither does it smell like a soapy/generic spray. The spray is a little harsh when it comes out, and it's more of a "hose" type of spray instead of a fine mist. I would say that's the downside.

 Thanks for reading!
Whitney

e.l.f. Limited Edition Disney palette: Sinister Smoky Eyes Maleficent

Are you excited for Halloween? I myself am getting very pumped up for it, and am already deciding who I should dress up as. e.l.f. recently teamed up with Disney to release three palettes based on Disney villains in select Walgreens stores (that already carry e.l.f.) in  honor of the upcoming holiday.

After much consideration, I decided to pick the Sinister Smoky Eye palette with Maleficient, the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty.

The palette is designed around the concept of day to night-time looks, with eight shadows and two lipliner/cheek colors in all that are supposed to reflect this idea. Each palette retails for $9.99.

The left cover of the booklet is a two page spread with one day time and one night time look, with Maleficient's look on a plastic see-through sheet.

In all, this palette comes with a set of eyelashes that are supposed to represent the villain (each palette has different eyelash styles), eyelash glue, four day-time shadows and four night-time shadows, two lip/cheek liners, an eyelid primer, and a glitter clear-based eyeliner.

First up is "Day Evil". Spindle is a satin champagne pink - think Urban Decay's Sin, except a bit warmer. Sceptre is a peachy bronze satin that is on the metallic side. Fog of Doom is a satin purple/blue or a colbalt. Fauna is a satin mid-toned blue-teal. The texture of these are great - very smooth and buttery; think Wet n Wild and you get the idea. Only downside that is visible at this point is that none of these are matte. These also do not have considerable fall-out, so yay!

The lip & cheek color is a mid-toned berry with a matte finish. It is quite a dry formula and would probably work best if the lips were already hydrated.

Below: all four day-time shadows swatched, no base or primer. Below that: day-time lip/cheek color, swatched and blended below.

Next we have the "Night Villain" portion of the palette.

Again, four shadows that are night-time appropriate. Misfortune is a metallic silver - a very dupable shade. Forest of Thorns is a dark black with lots of silver shimmer. Deep Sleep is a satin finish dark purple - definitely a shade that I'm really excited to play around with! Diablo is a very dark purple, almost black shade with purple glitter. Again, I love the texture of these shades! Nice pigmentation, too. Very comparable to high-end eye shadows.

The liquid eyeliner is a clear-based glitter liner. It smells like cheap makeup, but let's be honest - we all expected a dinky product in this product, right?

The lip & cheek color is a dark berry plum that is also very dry and a bit difficult to work with.

Below: all four shadows swatched, the liquid eyeliner right below that, and the lip & cheek color swatched and the blended out below.

Overall, I'm definitely considering buying one of the other two palettes, and would give this palette a 4/5 stars.

An extra bit: Today I'm wearing Sinful Colors Mercury Rising, which I thought was very fitting to go along with this palette!

Thanks for reading everyone! <3

Whitney

First Attempt: Fishtail Braid Nails!

For the first time, I attempted the fishtail braid design on my nails! I decided to twist it up a little bit by doing a different design on each nail! On my middle & pinkie finger on my right hand, I just used Sinful Colors All About You (gold glitter) over Essie Braziliant (neon orange). I really liked how most of the nails turned out!

 The gray base featured on all of the nails (on the hand shown above) is Essie Power Clutch. The beige strips is Essie Saint Tropez, the turquoise is Sinful Colors Gorgeous, and the green is Essie Navigate Her.

Again, the pinkie & middle finger is SF All About You on top of Essie Braziliant. The turquoise is SF Gorgeous, the pink is OPI Strawberry Margerita, the beige is Essie Saint Tropez.

Thanks for reading!

Holiday in Florida ♥ Highlights

And.... bonus poison ivy outbreak!

Essie Au Natural + Revlon Smoked Peach matte lipstick

Long time, no see! I just got back from a relaxing vacation in Florida. It was sooo lovely, I had a great time trying out some super delicious fish, relaxing on the beach and generally loving the hot weather! July is one of the hottest months in Fl, so there were a couple days of sitting in your own sweat, but I enjoyed it all the same. :)

I have a little post about a couple things that I've been trying out. Firstly is Essie's Au Natural. I found this gem when I was looking around in Ross for $4.00 - half off the original price! I also found a bunch of other Essie there (also half off), so I'm very excited to post some photos of the different polishes I got. I also recommend going to TJMaxx/Marshalls as well, you never know what's going to be hidden around the corner in discount stores.

At first glance, Au Natural in the bottle almost looks just like St. Tropez (also by Essie). However, now that I own both, I can tell you that the two shades are dramatically different. Au Natural isn't nearly as creamy - or opaque - but instead has a slightly translucent base with tiny, tiny micro shimmer. Also, if it's under a light, you'll see this strange blue tinge which adds a luminosity that I've never seen in a polish before.

But, hold on. It may sound like kind of a cool description, but I'm actually really underwhelmed by this polish. Compared to St. Tropez, another nude tan polish, I'd take that over Au Natural any day. There's just nothing remarkable about this polish. I can imagine that if you were going to use this polish for anything, it would be if you wanted your nails to look bare and glossy (for light skin tones) or for a bridal/wedding nude nail.

To get the opacity shown in the bottle, I had to apply roughly 3-4 coats of this bad boy. I don't know about you, but it is the worst to have to sit there for so long to wait for each coat to dry and keep on reapplying... To me, it's really not worth it. However, this really is a gorgeous color for people who really want to keep it simple and sweet - and of course, you have to have a real love for nude nails!

On another note, I picked up Revlon's matte lipstick in Smoked Peach. Essiebutton talked about this lipstick a while ago, and after searching a bit, I found it at Rite Aid! It looked so gorgeous when I saw it on her, so I wanted to try it out as well. I'm a huge fan of mattes as well as peaches, so it seems like the perfect lipstick for me. :)

This lipstick is perfect for my skin tone, and wears as a great summer shade that looks effortless and carefree. That's what I'm all about - lipsticks that look like you didn't try too hard, just that you woke up looking fabulous.

It will, however, define in the cracks of your lips if they're chapped. Granted, mine have been on the chappy side for the last couple of weeks, so I'm not going to blame the settling on the lipstick. For best results, definitely apply a lip balm first, wait a few minutes, work in the lip balm, and then apply the lipstick. The wear time, because it's a matte, is pretty fantastic for a drugstore lipstick.

Swatch of Revlon "Smoked Peach"

Thanks for reading everyone!

New obsession: Lush "Breath of Fresh Air" Soothing Seawater Spray

Okay, let's be honest. At the moment, I am a total Lushie. I cannot get enough of taking a trip to Lush to comfort myself in the wonderful smells and textures that this awesome store offers. (I know I sound a bit cheesy, but trust me when I say that I am definitely not sponsored by Lush or anything resembling it. So, yes, I did buy this product with my hard-earned money!). I think the main reason I visit Lush is because I'm so entranced by the variety that they offer, and because I think they are very innovative in all that they do.

My new obsession is a product that I bought a couple of weeks ago, which is the Breath of Fresh Air Soothing Seawater Spray. In short, this is basically a toner that you can either spray directly on the face or use on a cotton pad to get ride of excess oil/dirt. 


Price point: $19.95 for an 8.4 fl oz bottle (the size I purchased), or $8.95 for a 3.3 fl oz bottle. 
So basically, if you doubled the smaller size bottle to make it 6.6 fl oz, the price point would come to $17.90. Overall, I think purchasing either bottle is a fair price, so buying the smaller bottle wouldn't necessarily be of a lower value in comparison to getting the full size.


I use this twice a day, sometimes more. I will apply in the morning after washing and at night after washing. Of course, you want to use a toner before you moisturize, as it preps the skin for moisturizer.
Typically, I don't use it if I'm wearing makeup, except if I'm feeling especially oily. However, I'm definitely open to using this as a setting spray, as it's a very fine mist that I don't think would ruin or disrupt the state of your makeup.

The fine print (shown above):
The perfect recipe for supple skin. Reduces dryness, softens your skin with aloe; feeds it with vitamins and minerals. Use on cotton wool to remove excess cleanser and to refresh the skin.

I've got to agree - this definitely leaves my skin feeling super refreshed. I find that no matter what, I grab this to refresh my skin and prep it for moisturizer and makeup. Depending on what I feel that I need during that time, I will spray it directly on the face or use it on a cotton pad. Using it on a cotton pad and rubbing it on the face removes excess makeup and oil which I adore, because even though it's incredibly gentle on the skin, it still manages to remove extra mascara that wouldn't come off during cleansing.

The smell is also nice. Don't ask me to describe it, I'm terrible at describing Lush scents! It smells quite earthy and natural, as many Lush products do, but the smell doesn't linger. Not that it's a bad smell, but it's nice to use a product that doesn't stink up your face!

Another quick thing I want to mention - the nozzle! I appreciate this nozzle quite a bit, although it appears to be just a normal, cheap nozzle. I've got to appreciate this nozzle a lot, because it releases a fine mist that doesn't over-wet your face. That may be due to the actual product itself as well - it's not thick or gunky. It literally feels like water being sprayed on your face (except better!). Also, it dries quickly, which is useful when you're in a rush!

Anyway, that's my review of Breath of Fresh Air! Thanks for reading, as always!

Please follow & support!
Whitney