China Glaze Sexy Sport...?

I see this promotional image of China Glaze's Sexy Sport collection floating around the internet, and I don't really know what's in this collection, but I can say one thing:

WTF?

I mean, it wouldn't be a bad advertisement for, say, Victoria's Secret, but for nail polish? A sweaty, half-naked, silicone-enhanced, uh, football player(?) isn't really the kind of image that makes me want to buy nail polish.

Has China Glaze started marketing to men now? Nail lacquer colors to match their favorite sports team? All the girl in the image needs is a cold six pack of beer (and possibly a steak) and I could see men lining up to buy nail polish.

Personally, I think someone in China Glaze's marketing department watches entirely too much porn.

What do you think? Am I just looking at this the wrong way, or is it really that ridiculous (and over-the-top cheesy)?

M*A*D Minerals!

I just tried MAD Minerals for the first time and I'm in love.

I got a few samples (in jars!!) and they are more than generous. They say 1/4 teaspoon, but they look a lot fuller than other 1/4 tsp. samples I've gotten in the past. Maybe the jars are smaller, I don't know, but these are really large samples.

The turnaround time was lightning fast- they shipped the next day and it took three days to get to me!

These pigments are dense and smooth and apply well with very little fallout. I used them over my usual Too Faced Shadow Insurance and I had no issues with the pigmentation. They went on vibrant and blended like a dream. This could be the mineral makeup company I've been looking for!

I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I'll be sure to take some.

I can see two of the items I tried being everyday items for me- Candlelight pigment and Black Cherry gel eyeliner.

The Indelible Gel eyeliner is amazing too. It's so smooth, not too dry, not too wet and dries pretty quickly. It doesn't give me that weird fallout like Fyrinnae liquid liner. The color I chose (black cherry) is beautiful- it's like black with burgundy shimmer, it looks like a rich mahogany brown with shimmer when it's mixed together.

Yay!! I'm so excited!

I also ordered a few samples from Pure Luxe, and I'll be sure to review those as soon as they arrive.

I'm working on a massive swatch-fest, so be on the lookout for a flood of Rescue Beauty Lounge, Essie, China Glaze, Lippmann and other miscellaneous nail polish swatches!

Tina Majorino

Tina Majorino was born on February 7, 1985 in Westlake, California, USA. She is an American film and television actress well known for playing Deb in Napoleon Dynamite. She started her film career with When a Man Loves a Woman in 1994. She was also part of the Hollywood movie Waterworld as kid.

Bath and Body Works Semi Annual Sale and Hello Sugar Review.

Recently I tried Bath and Body Works' new Hello Sugar line. It's supposed to be lemon scented, but I think it's similar to the much beloved but sadly discontinued Tutti Dolci Lemon Meringue.

Lemon Meringue had its downfalls, and Hello Sugar corrects every one of them. The scent lasts a long time, it doesn't turn perfumey and it smells realistic.

The scent is just amazing- fresh, sugary, lemony, a little sweet but not sticky or Pledge scented. I'm in love with it. It's incredible.

My favorite product from this line is the Crystalline Body Splash. It's your average body splash, but it comes in a cute bottle with an adorable rock-candy embellishment. The splash itself is not sticky at all, so you can apply a lot of it without feeling gross. The scent is not overpowering, so no one around you will be holding their noses when you walk past.

I wish they had a better body lotion in this line. Neither options are very moisturizing. The Shimmer body lotion is an improvement on Bath and Body Works previous shimmer formulas, with more even shimmer and less of a sticky feeling. Unfortunately, it's not very rich and leaves your skin feeling dry soon afterwards. I like the shimmer and scent, but I'm not always in the mood for shimmer. They need a plain body cream in this scent.

The Moisturizing Body Mousse isn't very moisturizing at all. Think Dessert Beauty's Whipped Cream. It's airy, sticky and not at all moisturizing. In fact, I almost feel like it's drying. I hate the sticky feeling. If I didn't love the scent so much, this would be headed for the trash.


I've heard that Hello Sugar has been spotted on the discount tables at the Bath And Body Works Semi-Annual Sale....

You haven't hit the sale yet? Why the hell not?! If the lure of $3 items or 75% off doesn't reel you in, this will:

50% OFF SELECT LIPPMANN COLLECTION NAIL POLISH!!!!!!

Yep, that's right, discount Lippmanns. I scored How Far Is Heaven, Fever, My Old Flame and Satin Doll. Nefertiti is included in the 50% off sale, and I've heard Lady Marmalade is as well.

Just a side note here, for anyone who wasn't sure. I am not affiliated with any beauty brand. I only give my 100% honest personal opinion on any product, brand, service, et cetera. I do not want to sound like an advertisement. If I start to sound like a commercial, please let me know, because that's the last thing I want. I feel like blatant advertising is boring, impersonal, and ruins the credibility of your reviews.

I am not a commercial! No one pays me to write my blog. I do it because I love it, I love beauty and I'd like to help other people by giving an honest opinion on something. If I don't like something, I'm not afraid to say it. Likewise for when I LOVE something. Generally, being a beauty addict, I love more things than I hate, but it still happens. ;-)

By the way, thank you so much everyone for your lovely birthday wishes! That made my day :) I ended up going with China Glaze Sexagon for my birthday mani.

Happy Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary....

It's my birthday! I'm trying to decide what my birthday manicure should be. OPI Birthday Babe? CND Birthday Party? China Glaze Sprinkles? Essie Cup Cakes?

I think I'm gonna go take a nice, long bubble bath and eat some cake!


Do not sample the frosting... It's made of mercury!

My Review: Ji Baek's Rescue Your Nails - A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Perfect Fingers and Toes

I finally got a chance to go through this book twice, and I can honestly say that this is THE nail book. While I don't agree 100% with every piece of advice (I'll get to that), this is an excellent tool for people who want to take control of their own nail care and look as good as if they had a salon manicure or pedicure.

Ji Baek, licensed nail technician and founder of Rescue Beauty Lounge, starts the book by providing a little nail trivia and some background story, which I found quite interesting. I'm not so sure I like how she claims that Rescue Beauty invented this-or-that (nail art? You expect me to believe that you were the first one to make nail art popular?!)

The rest of the book is all useful how-to instructions and diagrams. That's right, actual information! I am really happy that this wasn't just one big advertisement for Rescue Beauty Lounge. I can't say so much for that awful Sephora book.

Ji lists everything you need to know about sanitation and sterilization (that got me really excited!), the basic manicure and pedicure, nail and cuticle care, polish techniques and how to make your polish last and also offers an entire program for nail biters who want to start over.

The diagrams in the book are extremely helpful. If you aren't sure what a "squoval" is, or what that white part on your nails is called, she explains it all. I couldn't stop drooling over the Color Theory chapter where she describes the purpose of certain colors (all Rescue Beauty brand, of course...)

One of the main points of this book is that you can take care of your nails at home. You don't need to be a slave to standing salon appointments, or feel like only a professional can make your nails look beautiful. This book contains not only step by step instructions on home manicures and pedicures, but recipes and suggestions for do-it-yourself hand, nail and foot treatments. You don't have to buy special products- you most likely have everything you need right in your medicine cabinet. I actually can't wait to try the Recovery manicure aimed toward nail biters.

If you decide you still want to visit the salon for a manicure or pedicure, there's a chapter for that, too. It's mostly about salon etiquette, such as tipping and bringing your own tools, but also shows you how to avoid an unsanitary salon, and what to do if you're not happy with any aspect of your service.


Among all the excellent advice and detailed descriptions, there are a few things I thought were lacking.

The section on polishing your nails, which is emphasized as the least important part of the manicure, was surprisingly short and not exactly helpful. It describes the steps of polishing the nail, but doesn't really offer much information on proper technique. You can prep and prime and polish all you want, but if the lacquer isn't applied well it's going to look bad.

Her method of polishing nails involves waiting for each coat to dry before applying the next one, and then applying a regular topcoat. If I had to do that, I'd probably never paint my nails. That just takes way too long for me. I can't live without my Seche Vite quick dry topcoat. I can paint my nails in 10 minutes or less and be ready to use my hands again in the same amount of time. I can't wait an hour for my polish to dry.

The last tip that I thought was strange was to buff your nails before applying polish. Buffing is important, especially if you have ridges, uneven nails or stains, but it can really hurt the wear of the polish. If your nails are too shiny and smooth from buffing, the polish doesn't adhere very well and you end up with chipping and peeling way sooner than usual. Maybe this means you get a manicure more often, but if I had to use her time consuming polishing method I'd be pretty annoyed if my nail polish chipped and peeled the next day. Over-buffing can also weaken and thin your nails, so be careful not to buff too often or with too much force.

Overall, this book offers excellent advice for anyone wanting to take care of their own nails. It can be a learning tool for people who haven't done it before, or a refresher course for nail veterans. It's not very long and is interesting enough to keep you reading.

And, of course, I'm now dying to get a mani/pedi at Rescue Beauty Lounge. Just the thought of a clean, sanitary salon dedicated to true nail care, with private, peaceful rooms and employees trained by the owner herself, is enough to make me change my mind about doing all my manicures and pedicures myself.

Rescue Your Nails: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Perfect Fingers and Toes by Ji Baek is available from Rescue Beauty Lounge.

Review: The She Space

A while back I ordered some pigment samples from The She Space.

I haven't really gotten a chance to use them much, but I have used them enough to form an initial opinion.

While the color selection is great and the price can't be beat, there are a few things I really don't like about these samples.

I really don't like that they come in plastic bags. I know that this is an easy and economical way to try lots of colors, but I just can't get used to it. It's difficult to get the pigment onto your brush when you have to stick it in a bag. It gets all over the side of the brush and basically just makes a big mess. It's so much easier to use samples that are in jars- like Fyrinnae and Everyday Minerals. I'd be willing to pay a little more to get them in jars.

The other thing I wasn't thrilled with was the pigmentation. They look very vibrant in the bags, but when you apply them they become washed out (as you will see in the picture below). The colors I chose were all very shimmery, which I love, but only the shimmer seemed to stick to my skin as the colors disappeared.

Also, the colors appear very different in real life than they do on the website. This is generally the case with all cosmetic companies, but I was still surprised.

A quick example of the pigmentation problem:


The samples in bags, Make Believe, Elves Rule, Lack Of Sanity and Glossy Moon.


The samples on my skin, same order as above, applied heavily over a layer of Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

You can see how they are washed out and the shimmer is really the most noticeable aspect of the pigment. This becomes a big problem when it comes to blending- they blend into nothing. I'm sure that if I really sat down and worked with these that I could make them work, but I haven't had a chance to do that yet.

I haven't tried all the colors, either, so this may just be a problem with the particular colors I used. Despite my seemingly negative review of these, I would be willing to try them again. I don't think they are a bad product at all, in fact I think they would work well for most people. It's very inexpensive to try a ton of colors to see what works for you. I really like all the colors I ordered, so maybe I'm just doing something wrong.

I'll use the rest of the samples that I ordered and give another review. In the meantime, samples from The She Space are only fifty cents and come in tons of colors. They can be purchased from The She Space's Website.