new arm candy!

I got this bracelet for my mother. She purchased a number of them from Avon to give to her closest loved ones. I was one of the lucky loved ones to receive one (I'd hope I'd be in this category lol). My mother referred to the bracelets as her "Love Club Bracelets". Cute, huh? The bracelet style is exactly what I love in bracelets. It has an adjustable string to accommodate any wrist size. At the very center is a silver based, studded heart with a little pearl off to the side. It's such a cute, delicate piece and I love that it would play nicely with any outfit -- whether it be to the dressy casual to the laid back casual.

Style United Review

I joined Style United as part of a SheSpeaks bloggers experience to aid in reviewing the website.  I must say, I am glad I signed up and gave the website a shot.

If you are unfamiliar, Style United, is a website that offers beauty and fashion tips but those tips are geared specifically toward you, your style and your personal preference.  You build a personalized beauty profile based around skin, hair, makeup and fashion.  How is this achieved?  Well, say you want tips on skincare, you answer a few short easy questions and it will provide you with products that will gear toward achieving your desired result.  Since Style United is run by P&G many of the products featured can be purchased at your local drugstore or department store (i.e. Target, Walmart, etc.).  This goes all around the board with fashion, etc., the website particularly catering to the information you put into it.  So it's not telling you to use Product X, when you should be using Product Y.  It's giving you fair examples, based on the information provided as to what your path (if chosen to follow) should be.  Same with Fashion, except it will show you outfits or pieces that they feel would be flattering to you.

I realize that many of us (particularly myself included) know what we are supposed to do to preserve our skin, etc., but we don't always use the tools and tips that we've been told.  I find the information presented on Style United gives you a gentle nudge in the right direction.  Reading things and wanting to make a change for the better is the way to go in my opinion.  Sometimes I have a thick skull and it takes me a few times to get it right.  But once you've got it, you're good as gold.

One thing I really like about the website is while building your style profile the website gives you little blurbs of information on the sidebar based on what you are selecting.  Example if you say your main concern is acne, it reassures you that you are not the only one and acne is pretty common amongst a percentage of women.

One of the coolest things, and one of the things I wish I had a webcam for, was you are able to have a live 1:1 webcam chat with a beauty consultant through the website.  I mean how amazing is that!?  They are available to suit almost everyone's schedule, the consultants being available: Mon – Sun: 1:00 – 9:30 pm EST (minus major holidays of course).

If you haven't heard of or joined Style United, I would suggest you definitely check into it, it's a pretty cool website.  If you are interested in joining, check here for a chance to win a $500 gift certificate.

Disclosure: I am receiving a complimentary gift from P&G/SheSpeaks, but my opinions are my own

Image is not mine, it belongs to Style United

NOTM: Beach Front - Milani

 

 

I FINALLY got around to painting my nails! It's only been over a month, but they're nicely painted and have been for 2 days with no chipping or anything. The color is absolutely stunning and I really love how it turned out. I had picked up Milani's Nail Lacquer in Beach Front a while ago and have been wanting to use it in a manicure - so I did just that! I also used my Milani Base and Top coat which I bought back on Cyber Monday and had yet to use (yeah, hoarder what can I say...). The three products work marvelously together and I can say I REALLY love their base and top coat.

Beach Front is a bright baby/sky blue shade with metallic silvery/white shimmers in it. It's definitely hard to photograph (keeping in mind I painted my nails after midnight so some of the photos were taken with artificial light & one outside in the direct sunlight) the shimmers but they are noticeable in the bottle and both on the nail after application. It's definitely an eye catching shade, but not too over the top. I love it and find myself looking at my nails during the day.

PRODUCTS USED:
1 coat of Milani Smoothe Base Coat
2 coats of Milani Nail Lacquer - Beach Front
1 coat of Milani Glosse Top Coat

40% off Revlon HAUL!

 

 

I was far too excited to not share this haul so I wanted to post this quickly, especially since the sale is going on this week. I've been wanting to try the new Revlon Kissable Just Bitten Balm Stains and I knew Rite Aid is having a 40% off sale off Revlon this week! So what'd that mean? I drove to Rite Aid yesterday to pick some up BUT my Rite Aid didn't have any. I asked the girl to call the other local store and she went into the office and was gone for literally 15 minutes. She apparently called a few different stores and found one that "had" them. Yeah, I went to that store and they had lip butters NOT balm stains -- so that made me totally annoyed LOL. So I went home and started calling around different stores. Today, I got home from a very long day and spoke to an associate at a store about 15 minutes away and she said they had 2 displays which were relatively full. AHH!! So I jumped in my car and flew to Rite Aid. The 40% off applies to makeup items -- not polish (those are $2.99 this week). I had a $2 off coupon at Target BUT they didn't have any when I went yesterday and the deal at Rite Aid made them like 30 cents cheaper. With the sale this week the balm stains will ring up $5.39 each without any applicable sales tax.

So here's what I picked up:

- Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter - Lollipop
- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - 025 Sweetheart Valentine
- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - 005 Crush Beguin
- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain- 001 Honey Douce

I have not tried them as of yet, but if I do find I enjoy them, I am DEFINITELY hitting up Rite Aid again before the sale ends Saturday night to pick up a few more shades!

$4 & $2 Essie? Sure, why not!?

I popped into Walgreen’s about two weeks ago to get an energy drink for my boyfriend and I. I was really killing time because he was at a conference and was getting out within the next half hour – so Walgreen’s it was! I was hoping to find the Sinful Colors nail display because I have been going back and fourth about getting a particular shade, but needless to say they did not have the display so I did no get the polish. Off to the back of the store I went after browsing the cosmetic section. At the back of the store they typically have an area which is all clearanced items. I was going through some of the items, felt some items were too highly priced since they were discontinued. I then pulled out this bin and went into super-charge mode. I spotted Essie nail polishes. The sticker on the larger bottles was $4, the sticker on the smaller mini bottle was $2. I grabbed the 2 large bottles and the one mini bottle they had – and I did leave behind one large bottle because it was another School of Hard Knocks. I realize these are fall/winter appropriate shades – but regardless, Essie is Essie and I’ve recently started expanding my Essie collection.

Here’s what I was able to pick up for a fabulous deal:

School of Hard Knocks. This is a teal cream shade.
Very Structured This is a reddish brown shade, with I’d say a touch of orange. Very fall appropriate.
Jazz A very light nude shade with a tinge of grey.

I haven’t worn any of the shades yet. I actually need to get around to painting my nails but I’m still stoked to get them for the price I did!

Freebie: Pantene Pro-V Ice Shine Shampoo

I got this big bottle of Pantene Pro-V Ice Shine shampoo at Target today for free! How'd I get it free? Well, about 2 months ago Pantene was having a special on their Facebook that if you were one of the first 10,000 people to vote in their poll and put in your information, they would send you a free bottle of their product. The folks at Pantene probably realized it would be a lot cheaper for them to send coupons to the winners in the mail than the actual product -- so that's what they did. I received a coupon for a free Pantene Pro-V Ice Shine line product (which happens to be silicone free). When I went to Target the selection was pretty sparce, so I decided to just go with the shampoo since it smelled really good and I tend to go thru shampoo a lot faster than I do conditioner. Why is that BTW? It's the same amount of product in each bottle but I always have about half a bottle of conditioner left and no shampoo left. Pfft. Anyway! I don't have the greatest opinion of Pantene -- I find some of their products just straight up don't work for me, but I'm interested in seeing if this one actually will promote the natural shine in my hair. Only time will tell.

FREEBIE: Mini OPI Nail Polish @ JC Penney!

I received this mini (3.75mL) OPI Nail Lacquer from JC Penney's salon for FREE! How did I get this for free? Well, I received a text message earlier in the month that read: Visit the nearest JCP salon and May and receive a complimentary quick hair touch up and an OPI nail polish.

Since I was running errands at the mall with my boyfriend this past weekend, I decided to pop on into JC Penney to see what they were giving out. The associate behind the counter didn't even speak of the complimentary hair touch up, she simply asked me what nail polish I wanted. I asked her what colors they had and she gave me the choice of Strawberry Margarita (which is what is pictured and what I chose - a gorgeous vibrant pink shade) or I'm Really Not a Waitress (which if you are familiar with OPI shades, it's a bright red shade which you would assume a waitress would wear).

It's definitely not a bad freebie if you have to go to the mall for other items. But I would not suggest making a special trip just for a mini nail polish.

REVIEW: Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover

This is a product I have grown to love and cherish. And to think I wouldn't even have known about this product if it weren't for some of you ladies on LUUUX.

My cuticles aren't terrible, they're rather short, but they are rather noticeable whenever I am giving myself a manicure. This Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover makes the world of a difference and it's so quick and easy to use. All you do is unscrew the top of the bottle and squeeze some of the gel onto your cuticles along the base of your nail and under your nail tips. You wait roughly 15 seconds and gently push your cuticles back. I use the tip of my nail to do this and then wipe the cuticle that comes off on a napkin. I do my entire hand then wash my hands with soap and water. The bottle states to wash your hands immediately to get the excess gel off your fingers. There is no need for cuticle scissors, etc. I'm unsure as to what it would do if you didn't wash it off your fingers -- but, better to be safe than sorry, right?

In a matter of seconds your hands are transformed from "dreadful" to gorgeous. It makes the world of a difference to have a clean looking nail bed free of cuticles. It also makes the world of a difference in a manicure. This can be used on your feet as well to give yourself a pedicure. Just follow the same simple instructions and wash the excess off with soap and water. You can follow up with putting some cuticle oil on your cuticles once your hands are dry -- but that's optional and really a matter of personal preference.

The back of the bottle also states this can be used on calluses. The directions state to apply to calluses for 1 minute and wash away excess gel immediately with warm soapy water. I don't have any calluses so I have not tried this out but if you do have calluses or know someone who does have them give that method a shot -- it might work wonders for them.

There are some safety instructions with this, as there are with just about every product out there. You are not to touch your eyes during use and you are not to use this product more than twice weekly (does anyone's cuticles grow that fast??) or on any broken or sensitive skin since that would generally cause a lot more irritation than one would be looking for.
This product can be purchased at any major drug store (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid) while it can also be purchased at stores like Walmart, Target and I have even seen them at Big Lots for $1.



Photo 1 - Product. Photo 2 - Nails with product on them. Photo 3 - cuticle free nails

SPOTTED: Pure Ice Crackle Effects Nail Polish

 

I had popped into Walgreen's last week and while browsing around the beauty section I spotted a new display of Pure Ice nail polishes. If you are not familiar with the Pure Ice brand it's a nail polish line that is primarily sold at Walmart and at Walmart the regular line shades run for $1.99 each (similar to the NYC and other lower end drug store lines). Now, I didn't even know Walgreen's sold Pure Ice brand polishes, I know Walmart does and I thought that was the only retailer - but I guess I was wrong! This particular Walgreen's had the new crackle effect (aka shatter) polishes on sale for $3.99 each, or you could get 2 for $5. The color selection was what caught my eye initially because they have this gorgeous, vibrant, taxi-cab yellow. They also had little combo packs of polishes which came with a regular shade of polish and the crackle polish which would compliment that shade. The combo pack also came with a mini decorative nail file. The two were wrapped together and sold for the each price. Not bad at all -- but I don't believe those were available for the 2 for $5.

QUESTIONS:
Do you like crackle/shatter polishes?
Have you tried any of the Pure Ice nail polishes?

SPOTTED @ Big Lots: Salon Express Nail Art Stamping Kit

I went to Big Lots yesterday really only to pick up some headphones that my boyfriend wanted, but of course, I started looking around. I'll get around to posting my haul at some point. Anyway! While in the beauty section I noticed this display, up on the top shelf of the Salon Express Nail Art Stamping Kits! The greatest part? They are ONLY $6.50!
I currently own a Nail Express stamping kit and picked it up for $10 at CVS (which was technically free after ECB's) but it's a great savings for anyone who wanted a stamping kit and hasn't picked one up yet. My local store had a pretty large display which wasn't really touched.

The Salon Express stamping kit aids in creating designs on your fingernails, which can transform your manicure into something you would get at a nail salon. It's all DIY, so you can get as creative with your designs as you want. I will say this though, if you want to get your hands on one of these for this price, I'd suggest popping into your local Big Lots and seeing if they have one and picking it up if you want one. I can't say I've seen this kit this low anywhere (and trust me, I get around in the shopping world LOL).

QUESTIONS:

-Do you own a nail stamping kit? If not, will you be heading out to try to pick one up?
-Do you shop at Big Lots periodically?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.