Fancy nails

I'm not normally big on doing anything but one colour on my nails and I prefer solid shades, but this might also partly be due to my total lack of skills when it comes to doing any type of "nail art" :) But after getting the Sally Hansen Gem crush in the shade 04 Blingtastic in one of MyBeautyBox I kept wanting to live a little and try it with my Blue Rebel by Chanel, so recently I (finally) took the time to give it a go! 

I did one coat of Blue Rebel followed by one coat of Blingtastic and I think it turned out pretty good :) It is very shiny, but somehow still "subtle" because of the dark blue. I know that this by no means qualifies as "nail art", but it is about as fancy as I can get :D 

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Sally Hansen Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pen

In my latest MyBeautyBox one of the items was a nail colour pen from Sally Hansen. I immediately loved the concept and had to try it out - what an amazing idea to put nail varnish in a pen! It works by pressing down on the top part and an amount of varnish is dispensed through the brush at the other end, just like lip gloss, a high lighter or the like. It was incredibly easy to use and the application was much quicker than with a "regular" nail varnish brush and it lives up to its tag line as it was super quick to dry. 
It did require two coat to get a proper coverage and I did experience some streaking with the finishing result. The staying power was acceptable, there was no "chipping", it more just wore off. But the pen is prefect to carry in your handbag for touch ups and with the easy application and fast drying ability it makes it so convenient to make them look perfect again. Initially I wasn't too happy with the colour which is fuchsia chrome, not a big fuchsia fan really but over the days I wore it the shade grew on me a little :) I can't say for sure if some of the issues I had with the streaking and wearing off is specific to this particular colour but I will definitely try out other colours as I love how easy it was to apply, how great it was for touch ups and I just think it's brilliant idea :)

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Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips

I recently decided to give the Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips a try. I'd had my eye on the "Love Letter" ones for a while and finally caved when the local drugstore had them on sale. I've never tried using strips on my nails before and I have to say that applying them was a lot harder than I thought. As a result I was not really all that pleased with the way they came out and took them off almost immediately - not sure if the pictures really show how bad they looked, but it was not pretty. I am honestly not sure if it was the strips, if my nails are "weird" or if I'm just really bad at applying them, but they are pretty expensive here, so I didn't really feel like getting another set to find out. Essie just came out with their own strips and they have a very similar set with the writing on them and I have purchased those to try out at some point...hopefully with a prettier outcome :)

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MyBeautyBox #2 Picture Perfect Skin

MyBeautyBox #2 has arrived and the theme for this box is Picture Perfect Skin. The 4 items in the box are a lip tint from Rimmel, nail varnish from Sally Hansen, eye shadow from Jemma Kidd and a cleanser from Clean & Clear. Included in the box was also a "gift card" with discount codes for shopping on the MyBeautyBox website.

 

 

But let's look at the goodies :) First up is the Rimmel London 1000 Kisses transferproof lip tint + balm in the shade 200 Grippy Grape. Having just fallen in love with Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation, I was pleased to see something else from this brand in the box. The tinted end is like a felt-tip pen and it does kind of feel like you're colouring in your lip with a big marker :) Luckily the result is good and it is easy to work with, plus it smells a lot better too. I have always been a bit apprehensive when it comes to a red lip. I think it looks a bit vampy, a bit much..on myself that is..I know plenty of people who can rock a mean red lip. But I tried this on and I actually really like it. The red is subtle enough that I think I might actually wear it out in public :) The balm seems nice as well. It has no tint or colour at all, it has a very thick texture which seems perfect for the colder months.

Next is the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No chip Nail colour in 92 Deeply Violet. I am not really a big fan of purple/violet, but I have to say that I really like this one. It is dark and pigmented enough that the purple isn't too dominating. It reminds me of the Stylenomics from Essie in that sense; they are both really dark, so much so that the green or purple is only visible in a certain light. This was actually my first Sally Hansen varnish. I am not too impressed with the formula to be honest, it was too runny and I found it hard to get the right amount of product on the brush, plus the first coat took forever to dry. In the end I resorted to Seche Vite top coat as I didn't have to patience for the second coat to dry either. I do really like the colour, more than I thought I would, but the jury is still out on the formula.

 

Then there is the Jemma Kidd Tone on Tone Duo Shadow in 01 silk. When I opened this one it was love at first sight! The colours are amazing! Silky champagne shades, one matt and one metallic. I am wearing them today as a base and I absolutely love them. The matt shade is a bit heavier and thicker in texture and is excellent as a primer. The shimmer shade is a little sheerer, but looks great dabbed over the matt one. I am so happy with this duo, my favorite item in this month's box by far :) The swatches by no means do them justice.

 

Last item in the box was the Advantage Spot control cleanser from Clean & Clear. Like I have mentioned a few times I have super sensitive skin and am very reluctant to try new skincare products. I was not familiar with this brand beforehand, but it is a Johnson & Johnson brand, so nothing dodgy or anything :) But what I am really missing with this is a list of ingredients. It wasn't listed on the card that came with the box, or on the tube itself. This cleanser is meant for acne and blemish prone skin, so I just wanted to check that it had salicylic acid, glycolic acid or even benzoyl peroxide in it, as these more or less have to be in a product for it to actually help this skin type. I tried turning to my trusted friend Google and even if I couldn't find this specific product I did find that Clean & Clear products do on a whole contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide. So far so good..I will try this out and see how it works on my skin.

Overall I am very pleased with this month's box. I could perhaps have done without the skincare product, as I much prefer the more make-up related products, but 1 out of 4 I can live with :) I am already excited about next month's box! Pin It