Haulin': Sally Beauty Supply and Sephora

Seeing as how yesterday was payday, I spent my Saturday like any other normal college kid would.

I went shopping! And I picked up some super-cool things to share with you all =)

My first stop was Sally Beauty Supply. This awesome chain offers beauty and cosmetic products that are somewhat equal to their salon counterparts at a fraction of the price because there are no super-fancy names stamped on them. Recently, I spent the $5 it costs to join their Beauty Club which is a special rewards program that actually saves you about 10-15% on each item you buy at the store. I originally only went into Sally today to find a good damage repair shampoo as my hairstylist told me that with my constant bleaching and coloring, my hair was becoming dry and brittle. I was totally fine with that, until she tried to sell me a $24, 7 oz. bottle of name-brand shampoo. Umm... I don't think so!

So I went to Sally's and found this awesome product:
In all honesty, this product wasn't THAT new (I already had bought and fell in love with the brand's 2 Minute Repairing Mask). Since I loved it so much, I figure the shampoo must be awesome too. Aphogee's Shampoo for Damaged Hair cost $7.39. I'll try it out tonight and let you know how it goes.

I then walked down the nail polish aisle and these two products caught my eye:
Beauty Secrets' Base Coat (left) and Top Coat (right) came highly recommended from numerous Youtube makeup gurus and nail salons, so I knew they were the real deal. Each bottle cost $2.79. I just tried them out this evening (as I painted my nails with OPI's Teal We Meet Again) and they worked like magic! I especially impressed with the top coat, which helped my nails dry in thirty seconds.

Recently, I really needed a new pencil sharpener for my eye pencils. So, I picked this one up at the check-out counter:
I really like that it has an attached piece for all of your pencil shavings. At $2.99, it was slightly pricey, but it looks like it will work much better than my current sharpener.

I also got a strange impulse to buy this:
It's a 'Lip Crayon', which basically means it doubles as a pencil and lipstick. I bought one in the shade Coral Shimmer for $1.89 and so far, I really like it! It's a peachy-nude, slightly on the orange side, but still very wearable. I'll probably layer lipstick on top of it to ensure that it stays on for longer and doesn't make my lips look dry.

After Sally's, I drove over to Sephora. I originally intended to only buy this:
When I got my Urban Decay Naked Palette, it came with a mini Primer Potion and I fell in love with it. So, I went back to Sephora today and shelled out the $18 to buy a full-sized one. I think it's a smart buy, though, because it works so incredibly well and really holds my eyeshadow in place all day.

I also grabbed this in Sephora:
Though I have been cleaning my brushes weekly, I've been scared to clean them daily because the formula could dry them out and destroy the quality of the brush hairs. This brush cleanser ($6), however, is mild enough to use every day, so I will test it tomorrow and let you know how it goes!

And then my FABULOUS boyfriend bought me the COOLEST Valentine's Day gift ever:
Uh-huh. That would be the Nars Orgasm blush/Laguna Bronzer ($40). I AM SO EXCITED! For those who don't know, this duo is famous for being suitable for practically ANY skin tone (okay, maybe not Laguna. It can be a bit too dark for some skin tones. But Orgasm is definitely appropriate for everyone). I've been lusting after it forever and my darling boyfriend knew it would be the perfect Valentine's Day gift for me. How cute is that?!

So that's my haul! I did do some other shopping, but it was for clothes, so that doesn't really fit on this blog. Have you bought anything super cool lately? Share it in the comments!

Return of Beauty on the Brain!

Hello my lovely BB's! I'm back and certainly did not forget about you. I'm so sorry I haven't posted in ages. Unfortunately, with school and my job, blogging fell to the wayside and I often did not have time to create the meaningful, informative blogs and reviews you all come here for.

That being said, I certainly did not run out of time for cosmetics and beauty products! Here's just a glance at what I've been up to:

That's a heck of a lot, no? The beauty brain never sleeps, no matter how many exams or work-related meetings come up!

Over the past couple of months, I've accumulated a TON of products to review and incorporate into tutorials for you BBs. Some have been awesome; others were less than stellar. Nevertheless, I'm still look forward to telling you all about my beauty exploits.

There were some incredible stand-out products that I came across. First up are the deep conditioning treatments I've been using in my hair:

Both were purchased at Sally's Beauty Supply and while they both are nice, one definitely works better than the other. So, look for an upcoming Battle of the Brands between these two!

Next, I tested the urban legend of using artist brushes (sold at Michael's Craft Store for painting) to apply my makeup.

Please pardon my dirty brushes! I was just getting ready to do a brush cleaning tutorial!

Did they work? Find out soon in an Ultimate Brush Smack Down!

What else? Oh, yes! I tested a new brush cleanser, so look for a review on it soon.

Also got a new boar bristle brush, which is supposed to smooth frizzy hair and keep the natural oils from building up.


So far, I'm loving it! My hair has never, ever, EVER felt so soft and manageable. If you have coarse, frizzy hair, I would definitely recommend investing in one. I got mine at Sally's Beauty Supply for under $6.00.

Another awesome cosmetic acquisition was this package of facial/makeup remover wipes that I bought at XXI Forever of all places.


They smell sooo nice and I love using them to clean up makeup through out the day or to totally get rid of makeup at night. They are soothing, refreshing, and leave my skin smelling sweet. Great price, too (only $2.80)!

Oh, yes. The holiday season AND my birthday also came and went. Thanks to my amazing family and fantastic friends, I got some super sweet goodies to share with you! First up is this nail polish set from my dad:

Isn't it CUTE?! I love the teal one and the silver glittery one the most, but it's such a great mini set of OPI's most popular colors.

My fantabulous boyfriend somehow managed to get a hold of an Urban Decay Naked palette for me for my birthday. It's my latest makeup addiction:


It's incredible. He's incredible. Be jealous =) HAHA! But in all seriousness, this is an amazing palette, so expect a review and tutorials based around it.

Then, since my mom is pretty much the coolest person ever, she totally out-did herself and managed to snag a bottle of MAC's Mean and Green nail polish from the sold-out Venomous Villains collection for my birthday. The duo-chrome shade didn't photograph perfectly, but here's a quick peek:


I've been wearing it for almost a week straight and have gotten dozens of compliments on it. I will do a post soon with better photography and easier-t0-see color swatches.

And lastly, my good friend Morgan (who's blog you should check out over here if you are interested in writing techniques) got me the makeup Bible for my birthday:


It's so... pretty! All of the looks are beautiful and Jemma is a brilliant makeup artist. So, in honor of this fabulous book, I will be starting a new series called Masterclass Mondays, where I will do one look from the book each week. Look for it soon!

OH! And I just realized I forgot to photograph this with the rest of the group of items, but I got this super-awesome nail polish at Disney World in December:


It's from OPI's Alice in Wonderland collection and is called "Off With Her Red" (Get it? Get it?!). It's a lovely color, so look for a review on it soon.

Honestly, I'm so glad to be back to blogging again. I have so many fantastic blogs planned and I'm really excited to post them for you. Thanks for sticking around with me!

Review: Sally Hanson French Manicure Kit

I realize I do a TON of nail polish reviews on this blog, but since I'm trying to grow out my nails and keep getting bored with whatever color I have on, I'm always changing polishes, and therefore need a growing collection (at least that's how I justify it. Hehe...).

Recently, I thought I'd take a break from the dark fall colors I had picked up and try a classic French manicure for a sophisticated, pretty look. But I can't afford to go to a salon every week right now, so I decided to do it myself. Normally, I'm terrible at doing my own French manicures because my hands are just not steady enough to control an awkwardly sized brush and draw a thin straight line at the end of each nail. I was prepared for the worst, ugliest French manicure ever.

However, Sally Hansen's French Manicure Kit is a fantastic product that makes French manicures WAY simpler than they ever were before. Each kit comes with two pens: a white 'tip' pen and a sheer color brush pen. There are a few different colors or shades available for he sheer pen, but I like pink, girly French manicures, so I chose to buy the set in Le Bon Bon (3471).

On sale for $6.29 at Walgreens

The kit is pretty self explanatory. First, you draw the white edges onto your nail with the white marker...
It dries pretty quickly, but I've found that I get better results if I let it sit for 5 minutes or so before applying the sheer coat. Once I'm sure it's fully dry, I apply the sheer pink polish to the whole nail. I'd recommend two coats, but let the first one dry before going back over each nail...
To be honest, the polish does come out a bit streaky -- probably because the brush isn't exactly high quality -- and it can chip really easily. I don't think this is an ideal replacement for an actual manicure at a salon that looks clean and neat for days on end. But because this process is so easy and takes very little time (and money), I really would recommend it for quick fixes in between salon sessions or as a classy manicure for a semi-important function. Here's what my final manicure looked like...
On camera and from about a foot away, it actually looks pretty good. I think for its functionality, this kit is really worth owning because it's perfect for a quick fix or temporary elegant look.

Review: Pure Ice Nail Polish

For the past few months, I've really been trying to break my habit of biting my nails because it's not sanitary, not pretty, and not healthy (duh!). I've found that the best way for me to break this habit is by constantly painting my nails and making sure they always look pretty and polished. So, to make a long story short, I've been stocking up on tons of nail polishes so I can switch up my nails as much as I want.

Last week, I found Pure Ice Nail Polishes at my local Walmart. These little babies are only $2.00 a bottle and are so far pretty impressive. They come in a wide variety of colors (my store carried about 40 different shades, finishes, and colors of Pure Ice), but I chose to get some more Halloween/Fall inspired shades that could potentially work for other times in the year.

From L to R: Electric!, Wild Thing, and Naughty Girl

The first polish I tried from the line was Wild Thing, a fabulous lime green polish. It has a regular finish, which means it's just glossy. I think it's fun and different and would work excellently for anyone going as a zombie for Halloween. However, I also think it would look sweet and tropical in the summer time.

Then, I moved onto Naughty Girl, which is a metallic tangerine color. I really loved this one because it looks somewhat neutral on the nail but definitely makes people do a double take. Because it's orange, it's definitely appropriate for fall, but I think it could really be worn at any time since it's so neutral.

Currently, I have Electric! on my nails. This solid black polish has tiny flecks of silver glitter in it which add some dimension to the nail and keep it from looking flat like many black polishes do. I definitely find it appropriate for Halloween (which is on Sunday. Get excited!), but I think you could also wear it for New Years Eve because of the crazy silver glitter in it.

A quick shot of all three polishes so you can see what they look like on the nail!

I've found that this polish lasts a pretty long time without chipping (about 4-5 days) and only requires two coats. However, drying time is a bit long for me: about 4-5 minutes. Still, for the color payoff and low price, I think Pure Ice Nail Polish is worth it. Check it out the next time you're in Walmart!

Review: Sinful Colors Nail Polish in See You Soon

Recently, MAC introduced their new Venomous Villains collection which, despite being exceptionally overpriced like most things MAC creates, instantly sold out all over the world. And while I normally avoid all things MAC because they're unaffordable, I couldn't help but fall in love with the nail polishes: Bad Fairy, Mean and Green, and Formidable!. These colors are duochrome, which means they look black in some lighting and then change from one color to a whole other when in more direct light. Formidable!, my particular favorite in the collection, switched from olive to berry depending on the lighting. But at $13 each, I originally overlooked these polishes.

Until I started to see them everywhere. And then I thought "Hm. Maybe I should splurge just this once because it's so unique. No other nail polish has looked quite this cool."

Needless to say, by the time I'd fallen in love with Formidable!, all three shades were already sold out EVERYWHERE! People were actually selling their backup bottles on Ebay for $30 a pop! Obviously, I was not going to pay that much for a nail polish (I wince at OPI's prices normally and MAC's were even more expensive. This was just out of control), so I settled with the knowledge that I just wasn't going to get this polish.

However, the other day, I discovered Sinful Colors while browsing the cosmetics section in my local Walgreens. Immediately, I noticed that these colors were also duochrome (yay!) and the price was definitely right: only $1.99! There were only about 5 different colors on the display, but I was instantly drawn to one called See You Soon, which looked black at first, but then moved between blue and aqua. So I bought it :-)

Sinful Colors Professional Polish in See You Soon

When I brought it home, I showed it to my friend Vannesa who took one look at it and said "Wow! That reminds me of OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark." For those of you who don't know, Lincoln Park After Dark (LPAD) was a black-berry polish that looked black in indirect light, but changed into a beautiful wine color. The color has been discontinued, but can still be found online for between $5 and $10.

Size comparison of OPI (shown here in Access 24/7) and Sinful Colors (See You Soon)

A shot of the brush tip for all of you Beauty Brains (can I just call you guys BBs from now on? Let me know :-) )

So far, I absolutely adore my new Sinful Colors polish. It applied very easily, only required two coats, and dried completely within 2 minutes. It's extremely lustrous and has a smooth surface (most sparkly polished feel very rough or textured, which I hate). My only complaint is that the brush isn't full like OPI's, but other than that, the bottle looks exactly the same!

Here it is looking a bit black...

..and then it turns blue!

Overall Verdict:
Get it. Get it now. Before it's gone like the MAC collection polishes. This is such a cool, unique polish that is perfectly on trend for this fall and winter. And if blue or teal aren't your colors, check it out in the reds and purples Sinful Colors had as well.

What do you think of Sinful Colors? Are you a MAC or OPI fan? If you have one of the Venomous Villains polishes, do a comparison for me!