January Favorite Products, Future Happenings.

Today marks the end of January. So what better way to end this cold miserable month than with a blog about my favorite products for January. Or it could be the fact that I haven't developed feelings towards a new product to write about. 

I'll never tell...

Some of these products you've already seen in reviews whether you've loved me enough to cruise to my Influenster Profile and see my semi-daily reviews. Or you've loved me enough to check out reviews here; the home of Simply Dark Pleasures, for my lengthy dribble of words.

Some I haven't mentioned yet and might do a review later on. You never know with me. Even if I haven't talked about them yet, doesn't mean I enjoy them any less for it.

SACK OF FAVES!

Here we have a sack...well more like a makeup bag that never has anything in it, filled with everything that will be mentioned in this post. Every "New Year" I do make a resolution. It's been the same for the last five years or so and that has been, Not To Injure Myself! I never make it a full year without severely hurting myself, and since five days before Christmas I "severely" injured my right arm (we're not going all the way there), I decided to change it. This year I went with something simple. It's vain, it's beauty related and its SKIN CARE. Better skin was this years resolution. So there is quite a few skin care things in this months faves. 

We'll get the big guys out of the way first. This is Equates Three Set Acne Treatment System. My husband purchased this for me, as a start up for my new years resolution. It comes with your Cleanser, Toner and Repairing Lotion all in one kit for around 20.00USD. It's compared to Proactiv, but I've never used it so I can't draw any similarities between the two. What I can say is if it didn't work for me, it wouldn't be in my faves obviously. Another review? Possibly? Maybe?

Moving on...

When I ordered from Ulta.com last, they had this promotion going on if you spent 40.00USD you got this makeup bag stuffed full of samples for free. So, because, I was going to spend 50.00USD to get free shipping, I nabbed it and this was one of the samples. I'm in the "age range" where I do need to start thinking about aging skin (though I hate to admit it) and on top of having dry skin; especially during the winter, I need to exfoliate. I'm nearing the end of this tube already and I'm almost afraid to see how much a full size tube is. This stuff feels so nice on skin (though it is a bit rough, but exfoliates can be) my face feels so smooth after using this. It recommends only using it every other day, but I go about every two days since my skin can be quite sensitive. I'll be sad when this guy is all gone.

Another sampler from the makeup bag I got from Ulta Beauty, is dermalogica active moist face moisturizer. A facial moisturizer is an essential in my skincare routine, again for dry skin and it's winter in New York. And not the city either. Though my skin is normally lizard like dry, it likes to go fast food greasy on me if I'm not careful with what I put on my face. A lot of facial moisturizers do this to me, but this one does not. Another sample that I'm going to have to get a full size of, since it doesn't clog my pores, doesn't make me greasy and it does what it says it does. I've actually been using another one from Pond's to extend the life of this one. The Ponds one is good, but this one is amazing.

Breaking away from skincare now! But still on the track with a face product.

purminerals Correcting Primer
Prep & Perfect

purminerals Correcting Primer
Dark Spot Correcter

Never in my life have I ever owned a face primer, but I knew I wanted some, but my skin can be on the sensitive side, so I have to be careful. These came in a set of three, all were travel sizes, but for 20.00USD I couldn't go wrong with giving these a go. Let's just say, I'm sticking with these for now on, unless they're discontinued. The Prep and Perfect is great for all over the face and the Dark Spot Correcter has saved me from the dark circles under my eyes. No longer need to use concealer for my under eye area because of that. Needless to say that is awesome. Best part is, is they're nothing in these guys that will irritate my skin in any way, shape or form. It feels like silk being put on the face without feeling greasy. Win! My foundation has never laid better on my face and major bonus, these have anti-aging ingredients in them.

Lorac TANtalizer Highlighter and Matte Bronzer Duo. I reviewed this on Influenster and it most definitely belongs here on the list of my January faves. I'm not much for the "bronzed" look especially during the winter, but I do like the way contouring looks on me.

 And perhaps it's just me, but every bronzing powder I pick up has sparkle, shimmer, glitter or something shiny in it. Or it's WAY to orange on my skin tone. This one appeared more cool toned, there was no shiny bits in it and it came with a highlighter to match. Who could resist that? 

I use this every time I do my makeup these days. The only thing I can negatively say about this is the packaging is that mirror stuff that collects fingerprints like a forensic analysts dream! So it always look's a bit dirty when it really isn't. That's the only iffy thing about it, but the product itself is amazing.

Moving forward to the eyes. We have bareMinerals Mineral Eyeshadow in Sultry. Oh my Cheezit! This stuff is gorgeous! Beautiful, neutral, champagne, sparkly color. And pigmented. A little of this goes a loooooooong way, but it's just so darn pretty. Great for an all over lid color for a netural eye look and if you perhaps want a shiny highlight on the brow. Can't express in words how much I love this.

bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara

An area in which I'm extremely picky.
Mascara.
I've tried my fair share of mascaras and all of them have irritated my eyes or were just crappy all around (clumping, runny, applicator wasn't good). I don't have the fullest lashes on the planet, nor do I have extremely fine lashes. But my eyes, like my skin, are extremely sensitive to products. It doesn't take much to irritate them if something is even near them. I finally found a mascara that doesn't leave me wanting to dig my eyes out with a spoon. I don't know what the heck is the difference, all I know is that there is one when it comes to bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara.

Onto lippy products.

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Satin

You know this was going to make this list, if you read my latest review. Besides me grabbing one shade that I didn't care for, this particular shade lives on my person, since I bought it. 

Rimmel London Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Contouring Pencil In Natural
&
NYX Round Case Lipstick: In The Nude

I've been on a nude lip kick lately, probably because I've found some amazing products that fit my tastes. The Rimmel London Lasting Finish lip liner has been my go to natural lip liner for the month of January. If I'm not rocking my L'Oreal Lip Balm, this is what I'm wearing on a daily basis, under my lipstick or just on its own. 

Natural (nude) lip, lipstick is one from NYX. Nothing fancy, just their round case line, but this color is fantastic. The formula is creamy and leans towards the peachy side in color. It is a pearly like lipstick so the lips look glossy without the lip gloss. And for NYX prices, this is a steal and something I will be repurchasing again once it's empty.

NYX Lip Pencil in Plush Red
&
NYX Matte Lipstick in Pure Red

I normally reserve a bold lip for special occasions or if I'm going out with my husband and I want to look extra snazzy. I find that regular red lip products bleed on me no matter what I do, I do know a few tricks to prevent and even stop this, but sometimes I just want to slap my face on and get out the door. 

A lip liner for a red lip is a necessity, so I grabbed Red Plush from NYX in there standard lip liner pencil. It's a good liner and it's kind on the wallet too. It's a blue toned red, so it'll give the illusion of whiter teeth and is nice for fairer skin. 

NYX Matte Lipstick in Pure Red...Love! I thought maybe a matte red lip would help with the bleeding issue I have and it made a huge difference. To be honest, I don't have any other Matte lip product to compare this one to, but this one works for me. And I have used this on date nights with the husband and on the few rare days where I wanted to rock the bold lip just for the fun of it. Any other future Matte lip color I try is thanks to this one. I haven't worn this alone without a liner underneath, so as to whether it's drying to the lips, I don't know. It works, I love it and so it is a favorite. 

That wraps up my January favorites. I hope you enjoyed this post. I'm trying my best to get better quality photos for you guys, but until I save up enough for a new camera, what I've got is going to have to work.

Coming up, I'll be doing a small giveaway via Rafflecopter. I want to know what YOU would like to win and I'll go from there!
Also working on Simply Dark Pleasures first inspired makeup look, so keep checking for updates on that. Still working out the kinks on going about doing that via a blog post, but it's going to happen.

Remember to check out my Influenster profile where I try to update brief reviews daily click the widget on the blog to go directly there. Feel free to like me on Facebook at Simply Dark Pleasures, follow me on google plus, Twitter @Blog_SDP,  or send an email at simplydarkpleasures@gmail.com . All links to those are displayed as tabs or there's buttons floating around the site.

Simply Dark Pleasures does have a PO Box if there is something specific you want reviewed. Details are at the "About" section of the blog, you are never obligated to send anything.

Until Next Time,
Stay Creative.

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Tinted Lip Balm Review

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Tinted Lip Balm

And more LIP STUFF! Yes, it seems I have been obsessed with lip products lately, probably because it's winter, the airs dry, it's cold and my lips need some love. I mentioned in the haul post that I've noticed that this winter season a lot of, if not all cosmetic brands are throwing up tinted lip balms. So you don't have to sacrifice moisture if you want some color, with the tinted balms you get both. 

Yay?  

I've always been a little skeptical when it comes to tinted balms and I don't really know why. With that skepticism added on to the fact that I've never been a huge fan of L'Oreal Paris. *shock, gasp!* I know a lot of people adore this brand, but personally we've never seen eye to eye. I've always felt that the quality of their products verses the price is a bit fishy. Remember those eyeshadows I was going to review? Yeah, they were from L'Oreal and weren't that great, but hey, I can forgive. So I ended up playing it safe with some lip balms to give these guys another go and see if my opinion of the brand could possibly change. 

First Impressions

The packaging from L'Oreal Paris generally does impress me and these weren't any different. It looks swanky and a little luxurious, with its reflective tubes that were a pain to photograph, but when you're pulling these puppies out to use, it gives a better feeling than whipping out that tube of chap stick. The caps are plastic and also tinted with the same color of the sticker at the bottom of each tube. So if you're sticker falls off, which does happen, you can have the tinted cap to remind you of the color without having to pop tops off. And you got to love the safety seal, which these do have and aren't a pain to remove.

 For the product itself, L'Oreal Paris you have stunned me. These are super creamy, that I was shocked by it when I first used one. The lip balms also have the slightest hint of a vanilla sweet smell to them. Just a little bonus I suppose, since I love anything vanilla scented.

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Tinted Lip Balm Swatches

Do to my skepticism I only grabbed two, just in case I hated them. 

Tender Mauve, again I seem to be on a mauve kick as well. Lip liner, lipstick and now a lip balm. Where will it end?!?! The shame! I digress...

Tender Mauve is more pigmented than I would have imagined for just a tinted balm. It's not as pigmented as the lipstick I recently reviewed, but still for what it is, I was again shocked by the color payoff. The color is washed out purplely pink with silver glitter that amps up the shine of this balm. When I purchased this I thought it'd be something I would use often, but frankly I have only used this particular one for review purposes and haven't grabbed it since. Maybe the washed out color isn't doing it for me...But, I can pass it off to my mother in law who'd get good use out of it, after I sanitize it. 

Pink Satin on the other hand is a completely different story. In two weeks it's more than half gone. It's a glass pink color with darker pink glitter and I LOVE IT. This one goes with me everywhere, whether it's in my purse or pocket. If I'm not wearing lipstick, this has been my go to product. There's just enough color to where it does add something to a complete look, it goes with everything and it's a lip balm of course. When it's gone I'm going to have to repurchase it, even if I find something that wows me in this same area of product.

L'Oreal Paris claims that the product supplies 8 hours of moisture, even after it wears off. Unfortunately, no, it doesn't, but it doesn't mean its not a great lip balm. After it wears off, you're lips do still feel nice, but you will have to reapply throughout the day just like your standard balms or chap sticks. It is very moisturizing, it's pleasant to wear, it smells nice and it does come in a good variety of colors. Oops on my part for buying a color I wasn't fond of, that's not the companies fault, it's mine. Bonus is that it does have an SPF 15, which of course is good, because sun exposure is bad. No one wants leather lips. 

As for price, I paid 5.97USD at Walmart for each and you get 0.10oz/2.9g of product. For a tinted lip balm the amount of product you get plus the quality and packaging, it's good in comparison for higher end brands. 

Totally recommend this, if you hate lip gloss like I do (even though I own a ton of it), if you're looking for something that you don't have to compromise color for comfort or heck if you're not comfortable wearing lipsticks/can't wear them for reasons unknown to me. 

Remember to check out my Influenster profile where I try to update brief reviews daily click the widget on the blog to go directly there. Feel free to like me on Facebook at Simply Dark Pleasures, follow me on google plus, Twitter @Blog_SDP,  or send an email at simplydarkpleasures@gmail.com . All links to those are displayed as tabs or there's buttons floating around the site.

Simply Dark Pleasures does have a PO Box if there is something specific you want reviewed. Details are at the "About" section of the blog, you are never obligated to send anything.

Until Next Time,
Stay Creative.

Wild N' Wild Lip Stick Review.

Wet N' Wild Lipsticks

Wet N Wild is a brand that I'm extremely familiar with. I believe it was the first cosmetics brand I ever purchased back in my early teens in the form of nail polish. But we're not here today to discuss nail polish. Today we're looking at another lip product. Lipstick! These were a part of my haul from Dollar General, along with the Kiss Stick On Strips. I've purchased a lipstick from Wet N Wild in a "holy hell" pink shade (not the actual name, again I'm lazy and don't want to go find it right now) in the past, but it seems I've been on a lip product spree as of late and I bought some lip liners (Rimmel Londons Lasting Finish), so I needed some lipstick to go with them. 

First impressions, the packaging is pretty basic, black tubes with a clear plastic top with the brand logo stamped across it and stickers on the bottoms. Stickers eventually fall off, but I'm not all the worried about that, I rarely choose my lipstick based on the name anyways, as long as I can see the color. Which is where I like the clear plastic caps. Though it does seem a little cheap, at least you can get a good look at the "actual" lipstick inside. These do have a safety seal on when they're on the shelves in stores, so no need to worry about tampering, but you're still able to see the product. This is something I enjoy, so I don't have to play the "does this indicator match the actual lipstick" game. I can't count the number of times I've bought a lipstick with a safety seal (no testers available), have it be WRONG and be bummed out about it. My only complaint about the packaging is that the product doesn't retreat all the way into the black tube at first, so if you're not careful when placing the caps back on these, you can catch the sides and smear lipstick on the insides of the lids. Though once you've used the product enough, that issue will go away.

As for the product itself, these are great lipsticks, the pigment is amazing for a drugstore brand and for 2.00USD you can't go wrong and you get 0.11oz/3.3g of product for that price. Whether you're a beginner or a professional these are worth it. These are a cream lipstick, with no shimmer to them at all and no pearly sheen. 

Wet N Wild Lipstick Swatches

We're going to work from the bottom, up, starting with the swatch of Just Peachy (903C). I've touched very briefly about my natural lip color being more on the pink side and nudes tend to be very brown on me, even the fleshy colored ones. Just Peachy is a nice flesh like color with a hint of pink in it, where I'm able to wear it as a nude lip paired with a liner or on it's own.  The formula is very creamy and doesn't seem to dry my lips out, as long as I moisturize with my daily lip balm before applying. 

Mauve Outta Here, is a muted purple that leans slightly towards pink side. There's no glitter, shimmer or pearl like sheen, but it does pair nicely with Rimmel Londons Lasting Finish Contouring Pencil in Mauve Shimmer. I haven't worn this one much since it was purchased, not because I don't like it, I don't think I've done a look that would do this color justice. 

Cherry Picking was my impulse buy. The photo above shows it being a medium pink when in real life it really isn't. I wouldn't go to say it's the color of a real cherry, since it does appear darker pink on the lips and cherries are red. It reminds me more of a highly pigmented red raspberry juice stain...which is a gorgeous color, but not a cherry. It's a bolder berry color, that I wouldn't necessarily wear all the time, but would pull out if I was feeling sassy or wanting more focus on my lips. I don't regret purchasing this color, I didn't have any "berry" shades in my collection and tastes change, so perhaps I'll feel bolder in the future. 

~Lipstick Tips~

And because I like to toss in tips and tricks about products or certain types of products, I have some tips about lipsticks for you today. I don't know how advanced my readers are with makeup, some of you guys may already know this, some might not, but we'll touch on it anyways.

1. You can use any lipstick as a BLUSH! Cream blushes are out there, but if you're working on a budget makeup can get costly. Use you're lipsticks as blushes, whether it's shimmery, pearl, matte, or cream. Blend out with your fingers or makeup brush. This also applies to contouring colors or bronzers if you prefer creams to powders. Just because it says "Lipstick" doesn't mean you can't use it for other things. 

2. Sanitize! Keep your lipsticks clean and bacteria free. Not only will it prolong your lipsticks, but it'll keep everything germ free. Cora at Vintage or Tacky as a great video on sanitizing lipsticks Click Here For Lipstick Sanitizing Video and say Simply Dark Pleasures sent you if you enjoy the video. 

And I do believe that wraps things up for this post. 

Remember to check out my Influenster profile where I try to update brief reviews daily. Feel free to like me on Facebook at Simply Dark Pleasures, follow me on google plus, Twitter @Blog_SDP,  or send an email at simplydarkpleasures@gmail.com . All links to those are displayed as tabs or there's buttons floating around the site.

Simply Dark Pleasures does have a PO Box if there is something specific you want reviewed. Details are at the "About" section of the blog, you are never obligated to send anything.

Until Next Time,

Stay Creative.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Stay On Lip Contouring Pencils Review

Rimmel London Lasting Finish
1000 Kisses Stay On
Lip Contouring Pencils

 This time we have some lip liners or "Lip Contouring" pencils by Rimmel London. I'm familiar with the brand, I've tried a few things, but I've never been very impressed. If anything, I've been more weary of the brand especially after trying one of their foundations that was horrible. When I was at Walmart, these caught my attention, as I was browsing Rimmel Londons section pondering whether or not to even give these guys another chance. In the end, I picked out three lip liners that I could possibly wear on a daily basis in the colors Natural, Rose Quartz and Mauve Shimmer. 

These are your standard pencil liners that you will have to sharpen with a makeup sharpening tool, but I found that pencils run cheaper on the wallet and work just as well as their self sharpening counterparts.

Lasting Finish Lip Pencil Swatches

I was actually quite shocked when I swatched these. The color payoff is really good and the formula is soft so you don't have to dig into your skin to get them to deposit color. Even the plastic color indicator on the bottom of the pencils are probably the closest I've seen in comparison to "true to color" of the actual product. Rimmel London you've pleasantly surprised me.

Natural

The lip pencil in Natural is a really nice nude shade. Generally, nudes are too brown for me to be able to wear them, since my natural lip color is quite pink, but this one has enough of a peach undertone that I'm able to wear it and not have it look like I've been rolling around in mud.

Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is a light natural pink shade, which is only a few shades darker than my natural lip color. This one I find myself just filling my entire lip in with, then slapping on a little bit of clear lip gloss (though I'm not a huge lip gloss fan) and I'm my lips are ready. Again the formula is very soft and this pencil glides on with little effort.

Mauve Shimmer

Mauve Shimmer, makes me think of a muted wine color. There is a bit of shimmer, but it's not overpowering and it does add a little something extra. I like mauve's on me, for something a little more bold, but not as bold as say a bright red lip or even a berry color. So when I do my makeup and I want the focus to be on my eyes without sacrificing lip color, I reach for something like this. Or I don't care and grab whatever I want, but you get what I mean.

As for the 1000 kisses?

These won't last 1000 Kisses.  The husband was kind enough to help with this experiment and yes I did actually count to 1000.
.

 Even still, these do last throughout the day. Once the product has set they are smudge resistant. I haven't noticed any bleeding or feathering while I've been wearing them, though eventually it does fade. They do dry out the lips a little bit, but with any lip liners that is normal. Just make sure to moisturize with your favorite lip balm before applying and after removal. If you're lips are chapped, these will settle into those dry areas, so I wouldn't recommend filling the entire lip if you do have some dry patches.

I'd recommend these and will probably be going back to grab a few more colors. These were 4.95USD a piece I believe at Walmart. From what I've seen it's an average price for a drugstore brand. I may be brave and try the Lasting Finish lipsticks from Rimmel London, since this brand has slowly redeemed itself and I'm glad I gave these guys another go.

Remember to check out my Influenster profile where I try to update brief reviews daily. Feel free to like me on Facebook at Simply Dark Pleasures, follow me on google plus, Twitter @Blog_SDP,  or send an email at simplydarkpleasures@gmail.com .

Simply Dark Pleasures does have a PO Box if there is something specific you want reviewed. Details are at the "About" section of the blog, you are never obligated to send anything.

Until Next Time,
Stay Creative.

Kiss Stick on Strips Review.

Kiss Stick On Nail Strips
Satin (Left) Beach Bum (Right)

Featured in my Haul Post, I picked up some of these nifty little do-dads, after having my hopes crushed in finding the Sally Hansen Nail Effects Nail Strips. I grabbed these from my local Dollar General for 3.00USD a piece, so for that price I really didn't have much to lose, especially when the Nail Effects are closer to 8.00USD for one box.

So I'll be drawing a lot of comparisons between the two brands, bringing up some pros and cons for each and trying to weigh those to see if these would be a suitable replacement if I'm unable to find a retailer that sells Nail Effects.

Beach Bum

Nail Strips in Satin- Sheets.

When I first grabbed these I assumed that they were strips of nail polish like the Nail Effects by Sally Hansen, but once I gave them a more thoughtful look I realized that, no they were not. Instead, they are just stickers, similar to the regular nail art stickers you can purchase from Kiss. You get 18 stickers, in multiple sizes separated into two clear backed sheets. The two I purchased are 3D designs, so they are slightly raised and not super smooth.

Satin- is a mixed animal print design in black and silver with filigree. The prints are broken a part by lines of gold with clear rhinestones or by the silver and black filigree pattern. There are different styles so that each nail on one hand is different, but flows together with the same theme. 

Beach Bum- is a silver background with multicolored rhinestones, all the same for a unified manicure. 

Nail Stick On Instructions

And Some Tips

Clean nails with alcohol (Be careful, can make your nails dry and brittle if done too often)

File and Smooth Nails ( A light grained buffer like on a buffing block works best, you only need to buff until the shine of your natural nail is gone. Be kind to your nails )

Select size that best fits your nail

Apply near, not on cuticle and smooth away from center

Fold down over edge and file excess.

I ended up deciding to try out Satin and when I opened the package, I was seriously surprised with how bad these things smelled. The Nail Effects smelled like wet nail polish when you opened the little foil sealed packages, but that was expected with strips that were ultimately just bits of nail polish already cut out to the shape of nail. But, these Nail Strips smelt horrible, like bad rubber/plastic. 

With that aside, I went ahead prepping my nails and finding the right sizes.

Kiss Stick On Strips In Satin Applied

To be honest, I struggled with these little devils and I've done a lot of these full nail strip kind of things in the past. Luckily, since these are stickers and not nail polish, if I didn't get them placed evenly I was able to peel them off slowly and re-situate them so they were as even as I was going to get. Unlike Nail Effects, once you set them on your nail it was pretty much where it was going to be. Now, the Stick On Strips have no give to them at all, they don't stretch, so if you're nail-beds are wider than mine, you may want to avoid these. I can deal with little bits of bare on the sides of my nails, but I mean just a tiny bit. With the Nail Effects, the warmth from your fingers made the strips more pliable and you could very carefully stretch them to fit the entire nail even it the size was a little smaller than your actual nail. They do offer a decent size selection, but I don't believe there would be enough of the larger sizes for those who have wider nail beds, than I do and mine are pretty average despite my freakishly small hands. 

As for the stickiness of these stickers, it's decent, but if you happen to be like me and have to fight with the first few to set right, they do lose they're tackiness and start not wanting to stay put. I remedied the mild lifting by apply a little of my top coat underneath the lifted areas, waiting for it to become mostly dry and pressing the sticker gently down, then they'd stay.

Getting these suckers to lay smooth was another issue...you can see from the photo above that my nails do have a little length to them. One of the reasons I struggled with these was I couldn't get them to lay smoothly on the nail. They would crinkle in one or two spots at the sides and they don't have much give, so I had to peel them back up to uncrinkle them. The only finger I was able to get to lay flat with one attempt was my middle finger and I coin that to it being shorter than the rest, since I broke that one earlier in the day. I never had issues with getting the Nail Effects to lay smooth against the nail...

The packaging says these are suppose to last up to a week, not recommended to be worn more than 10 days. On the instructions it says nothing about sealing them with a top coat for better wearing time, so on one hand I applied a top coat and on the other I left as is. I've currently been wearing the Satin set for four days. The hand with the top coat, I've noticed the stickers at the tips of my nails are beginning to deteriorate, while the hand WITHOUT a top coat I've already lost one sticker on my pinky finger and my thumb and pointer finger they're crinkled up at the tips.

This wear and tear is from normal hand washing and day to day activities, which is pretty much nothing, since the arm injury (again we're not going there) restricts me from doing too much with my right hand. So if you want these to last the seven days, I would definitely apply a top coat, especially along free edges. In comparison to Nail Effects, which I've worn for nearly a full two weeks, with periodic top coat touch ups. And I'm going to add that the smell of the stickers doesn't go away after a day of wearing them, again I'm on day four and the smell isn't as pungent, but it is still there.  

Are these a suitable replacement if I'm unable to find Nail Effects? Yes and No. For a less pricey version of nearly instant nail art, they're not bad. Would I buy then again? Sure, when I wanted something quick for only a couple of days. Would I recommend them? If you're a beginner and you're not experienced with nail art or if you just don't have the time, yeah. For three bucks, it's not a lot of money. They have a really good selection of designs, colors, 3D, smooth to suit everybody. Are there better brands out there? Yes, but for now they will do.

Until next time,

Stay Creative. 

Shopping Haul, This weeks coming reviews.

Today's post is a little different than previous posts so far, that's because I had a review on some eyeshadows I got recently and I really couldn't come up with the right words that would accurately describe my feelings towards them.
So instead of pulling my hair out trying to forcefully write about something that just wasn't working, I went shopping. Now, unless I travel literally forty-five minutes my options are pretty scarce. And by scarce I mean that I live in the middle of nowhere and the closest places to shop are Walmart, Family Dollar or Dollar General. Even then, to get to Walmart is a half hour drive from where I live.

Walmart Haul

Our local Walmart unfortunately isn't stocked as nicely as I've seen others, but it is a small area so I can't blame them. I went in for my normal stock the house up on things shopping, plus all of this. Not everything will be reviewed this coming week, but this is the collective of things that gathered up just for me.

 First was this box of WARHEADS Sour Dippers Pucker Packs. These were in the Valentines Day section with all the different bags of edible Valentine exchange things for kids. I'm a WARHEAD junkie, I LOVE everything WARHEAD, minus the gummy cubes. Yuck... (*shudder*). I'm the kind of person that drinks lemon juice straight with no type of reaction and receives all the odd sideways glances when I don't make the normal lip puckered expression, when you've obviously have gotten a taste of something tart/sour. So I live for this kind of stuff and this I've never seen. For flavors you get Sour Blue Raspberry Sticks with Sour Cherry Powder and Sour Watermelon with Sour Green Apple Powder. And for 2.96USD for twenty-six pouches of delicious sour sugar, I wasn't walking away without a box. You will also notice the Cadbury Creme Eggs in the group photo...They don't get their own picture, since I've probably already eaten them. If not I'm going to very very soon.

 Off to the craft section of Walmart, I stopped and grabbed some thick yarn in black and pink mixed with smalls bits of blue, yellow and green. I'm currently working on crocheting a blanket for myself and I needed some more yarn. I actually got two of each color, but only thought the need to take a photo of each color I grabbed. These were 2.97USD a piece, I believe and since I don't have them right next to me at the moment, I can't remember the brand it is and I'm too lazy to go look at the moment.

Next are some lip liners by Rimmel London...because my local Walmart seems to no longer carry the Sally Hanson Salon Effects Strips. Quite frankly it made me angry and had been the only reason I wandered my happy ass into the cosmetics section. So to ease my irritation, I picked up these, which are the Rimmel London Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Stay On Lip Contouring Pencils. (Ha! I'll be the judge of that!) I grabbed 007 Rose Quartz, 049 Natural and 009 Mauve Shimmer.

 And lastly, L'Oreals Color Riche Tinted Lip Balms. Winter is evil and I've noticed that a lot of, if not all cosmetic brands are putting up these tinted lip balms. I have one from Revlon that I do enjoy, but again I'm always out looking for those "Holy Grail" makeup item must haves. And I was still fuming over the nail strip ordeal, so I grabbed two of these in 118 Pink Satin and 518 Tender Mauve.

Found my nail strips. Though I ended up stopping at the Dollar General that is about five minutes away from home to see if maybe, just maybe my Sally Hanson ones were there. So of course, because I went in there looking for one thing I came out with five things instead.

Kiss Stick On Strips were what I found, instead of what I was exactly looking for. I hadn't seen these either, so at this point I was just happy to find something that resembled what I had intended to buy at Walmart in the first place. These I will be reviewing Monday so come back and see.

Finally, some Wet N' Wild Lipsticks in Just Peachy, Cherry Picking and Mauve Outta Here. These were bought to pair with the Rimmel London Lip Liners and Cherry Picking was an impulse buy since the color caught my eye when I was browsing the rack.

Since most of these I'm going to do an more in depth review I didn't really want to give too much away or do swatches until I have a good idea how I feel about them. So haul post finished. Hope you're having a good day or evening, wherever you are.

Until next time. Stay creative. 

Manic Panic Semi Permanent Hair Color Review, Tips and Tricks

Purple Haze by MP

Fuschia Shock by MP

Manic Panic Semi-Permanent Hair Color...one of my favorite things to talk about. You'll see four pictures floating around this post of me, *gasp* with some different variations of Manic Panic colors I've used. I've used quite a few more, but sadly don't have photos of them all, I'm camera shy unless I'm the one taking the photos. I'll leave a list of colors I've used and loved at the end of the post. This isn't going to touch on anything else that MP does, it's just about hair color. 

What is Manic Panic Semi Permanent Hair Color? MP is a vegetable based, conditioning hair color that is Vegan friendly and PPD Free. The companies tag line is actually, "Tested on Celebrities, Not Animals", as an animal lover I can get behind that. If you're looking for vibrant, every color of the rainbow kind of hair color, MP has you covered. 

I'm going to touch on the negatives of this product first to get them out of the way. But some of these can be avoided, are tolerable and I do have some tips for. I'm going to toss a ton of information at you. Please keep in mind this is just my opinion and things I've found through research and trial and error.  

Firstly, it is "Semi-Permanent" which means the color is going to fade as you get your hair wet or wash it. Certain colors do bleed onto your face, towels and your pillow cases, some are worse than others. If you want vibrant color, you HAVE to and I stress HAVE to bleach your hair. You're not going to achieve color payoff by applying this hair color onto brown or any type dark hair. The hair color can give hues of color on dark hair in bright lighting, but that's about it. If you're naturally blond, you may be able to get away with not pre-treating your hair, but it's a big maybe. And the last thing I can think of is the price. The original formula of MP ranges from 9.99USD to 13.99USD in store and on MP's official site. The Amplified version ranges from 12.99USD to 17.99USD in store or on MP's official site. You do get quite a bit of product, but if you have long thick hair, you're going to need more than one tub or bottle, depending on the formula you buy. 

Seems like quite a lot of cons, but I've used MP hair color for nearly 13 years, no joke and I've found some ways to combat some of these issues. 

Addressing the fact that the color IS going to fade in time, there's no getting away from that, but you can prolong the vibrancy of the color by doing these few things. I've had color last 8 weeks or more with only touching up my roots by doing these things.

1- Since I've already mentioned that if you want vibrant color you're going to need to lighten your hair for best results, either at home or have it done by a professional. Don't wash your hair everyday. It's not good for it anyway. Opt for dry shampoos to free your hair of oils and standard yuck. When you do wash your hair, use the coolest water you can tolerate. Heat opens up the hair shaft, which releases hair color.

2- Avoid alcohol and sulfate products. Alcohol and sulfates strip color from your hair when you wash or style. It's especially important with vegetable based hair color.

  

3- Do you're best to avoid "Heat" styling your hair. That includes blow dryers. I know this one is hard, but if you can get away with not using heat to style your hair, then do it. Of course if you do use heat tools, make sure you use a heat protecting product. Again heat will bring slow death to vibrant color. 

4- Add a little bit of the hair color to your bottle of conditioner. That way when you do end up washing your hair, when you condition it you're depositing some of the color back into the hair. It's one of the reasons why I love MP or any conditioning hair color, you can mix it with your regular conditioner and do many things. 

5- During the color process, once you have your hair all coated with goop, use a shower cap and apply heat continuously or periodically throughout development. MP is a conditioning hair color and its safe to apply heat to it while it sits on your hair. Sometimes just a shower cap to lock in the heat that escapes your head is enough to help, but add a little extra with a few minutes here and there with a blow dryer really helps deposit the color. Also you can leave the product in longer than the advised time, I normally leave mine in for an hour or more.

6- Last one for vibrancy...STAY OUT OF CHLORINATED POOLS. I don't mean don't go swimming at all, but DO NOT get your hair wet or say good bye to your vibrant hair. Highly chlorinated water will strip all the color out of your hair. I made this mistake 4 times, only once was on purpose. Buy a swim cap to protect your hair or just don't get your hair wet if you're going to be in chemically treated pools. 

Quick Tip- Pay attention to your hair. I've literally colored my hair every color of the rainbow and did the rainbow in my hair. Certain colors stick to my hair like glue and are murder trying to get out, while other colors fade like lightning no matter what I do. Everyone's chemistry is different and that has a factor when it comes to using any type of hair color.

Hair color bleeding? Not much you can do about it, accept avoid the colors that bleed the most, which unfortunately are anything red based, so all reds, pinks and some purples. If you're like me and love having your hair these colors, invest in dark color pillow cases and be prepared for there to be transfer on your face. If you have white bath towels, bleaching them in the wash will 9 times about of 10 get rid of any stains. If you're really worried about it, use only dark colored towels or ones you really don't care if there's some stains on them. As for face transfer? You're daily facial cleanser should remove it without a problem.

Price..oh boy the price. There is a little bit of difference in cost between to two formulas, for the same amount of product. In comparison to other brands the cost is pretty much even. I've used other vegetable based demi/semi permanent colors and they all do pretty much the same thing, I've just had the most success with MP which is why I recommend it.
MP's original formula has more color options and I've had the color last with no issues. The amplified formula does fade less quickly than the original, but not by much, since I pretty much follow all the tips I've shared here. Though the Atomic Turquoise amplified version is superior to its classic formula, which is the only particular color that I've noticed a huge difference in color pay off, but blue tends to not like to attach itself to my hair. So that's also something to consider, again pay attention to your hair.

And just another little tip, because MP hair color is a conditioning hair color, you can mix them to create custom colors, or even dilute them down with your regular conditioner to make a toned down or even pastel colors. It's another good way to make your own hair toner if you want to be super blond but your hair brasses out. Basic color wheel knowledge and 1 part color to 3 parts conditioner and you have you're toner.

List of My Favorite MP Colors

Fuschia Shock
Raven
Atomic Turquoise (Amplified Formula)
Electric Banana
Electric Lizard
Vampire Red
Ultra Violet (Amplified Formula)
Purple Haze
Cotton Candy Pink (Amplified Formula)

Until Next Time.
Stay Creative.