I saw it and being a big Essie nail polish fangirl I decided to give it a go because I'd never seen it before (I'm so late to the party).
I applied it with a base coat and the Essie colour "Lapiz of Luxury" which is a build-able sort of lilac-y, periwinkle colour. The colour goes on smoothly and has a sort of sheerness about it; however you can build it to the level of opacity you desire (as expected of Essie).
As usual, I apply the coloured nail lacquer to one hand at a time and in the time used to do the second hand, the first would've set enough for top coat application.
This top coat goes on like a dream-- smooth and velvety. It doesn't streak at all and leaves you with a shiny finish comparable to any gel manicure. It dries wickedly fast too (um.. guess that's the point of it). Within five minutes I was able to handle laundry and dishes without any fear of smudge or blemish to my new manicure.
I'm going to leave it for a few days to a week and see if it lengthens the life of my nail colour and if the shine lasts. But, as far as first impressions go, this top coat is both close and all the cigars.
It's that time of the month again. The one we actually look forward to-- the end.
This month, I returned to school (thus the inconsistency of posts, sorry), started a new internship, and have been really busy. It feels like it was just yesterday I was poolside in Antigua with a glass of merlot. I hope you love what I've loved in the month of September.
Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette 2: Anyone who knows me, knows I'm attracted to nude eyeshadows. I didn't like the first basics palette when I took swatches at Sephora after it came out. The colours were too light to be a "nude" on my skin tone so it looked quite powdery. This palette suits me much better. I mainly use the darkest colour on the left in my crease and any of the following three on my lid. They also perform oil control on my lid really well.
Benefit They're RealMascara: I have thick lashes, but they're short (as I've discussed when I spoke of the Nº7 Exquisite Curl Mascara). This is a pretty good mascara for a more glamorous look. Great for a night out with big lashes. It uses a rubber/plastic wand instead of a bristly one. That helps to separate the lashes and add definition.
Essie Nail Polish in Shade "After School Boy Blazer": With September comes autumn. With autumn comes darker colours. This is a beautiful, neutral navy blue which complements my nails well without clashing with too many colours.
Essie Nail Polish Shade: "Carry On" : Keeping with the nail theme, this is a smooth, dark burgundy which is a very autumnal colour. I've been wearing it about 60% of the month.
DevaCurl- Frizz Free Volumizing Foam: I got a hair cut and took out my braids this month because I was just tired of dealing with longer hair in the mornings. Because of this, my curls have become tighter and more rebellious because of it. This mouse helps to elongate, moisturise and define my curls so they look less like a hot mess and more like Shirley Temple.
Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioner: Also with autumn, comes the cold and dry air which is murder on the hair. As a result, I need to moisturise my hair more often than I would in the summer. This is a creamy leave in conditioner than I can apply at night or whilst styling in the morning and my hair drinks it up throughout the day. I've seen a marked difference since I started using it. It has been shinier and has a bounce. It's also pretty reasonably priced ($7.49 at Kmart for a 16oz jar that lasts a month and a bit).
Jane Carter Solution Revitalising Leave-in Conditioner: This spray is a good protectant for when I am blow-drying for flat ironing my hair. Not only that, but it is also good for detangling rebellious strands. After washing, I generously spray it throughout my hair before styling. It works just as well on dry hair (when the wind blows your hair in all sorts of directions and you look like you've got a head of headphones).
Other than beauty favourites I've got a music favourite too! I've been listening to Paolo Nutini's new album Caustic Love a lot and I love it. I especially love the single "Scream (Funk My Life Up)". He's been gone for too long and I'm chuffed to bits that he is back!
I've been also watching the DVD of Seasons 1 and 2 of A Young Doctor's Notebook. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as a young doctor from medical school in Moscow and top of his graduating class. He is stationed in a rural and isolated town where he realises that he is brilliant, but inexperienced. Luckily, he has his future self to talk to and worry about, but that future self has his own set of problems.
It's a very dark comedy, and that happens to be the kind of comedy I like the most!
Here are my favourites in the world of beauty, music and whatever else I've especially liked this month! 1.Body Shop Body Butters: These body moisturisers are creamy body moisturisers and a great alternative to lotions. I've been using the Shea Butter and Olive Body Butter this month and have been loving the moisturising power it gives to my skin. The containers also double has handy little organisers. I've began to use them as littler jewellery pots for when I'm travelling and don't want to take a jewellery box but want to keep everything protected and in one place.
2.Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in Conditioner: I've recently died the tips of my hair purple, which involved bleach. That being said, my ends get dry and tangled easily now, so what do I do? Use his leave in. Especially after washing my hair whilst it is still damp, this spray has magical detangling powers and makes my hair smell lovely! I can't say how many people have been sniffing my head since I began using this regularly.
3. Origins A Perfect World Moisturiser with SPF 25 and White Tea Extract: I have dry skin that tends to get oily at times and contrary to popular belief, if you are black YOU STILL NEED SPF. Skin cancer and melanoma do not discriminate. This has been my favourite moisturiser for a few months now and now that I've nearly finished the lot and am looking to repurchase it has to go into this post. A little goes a long way with this. A dime-sized dollop is enough to cover my entire face and it doesn't have a strong fragrance or leaves a white ghostly residue like other SPF moisturisers seem to at times. It also stays well under make up.
4. Simple Moisturising Facial Wash: Apply to a damp face, lather it in and rinse. I use this twice a day to cleanse and it does a really good job. When I have make-up on I just rinse and all of it is gone. I do rinse twice sometimes if I just want a really deep clean. It gets rid of dirt and gunk in your pores without drying your face out and leaving you looking like a raisin.
5. Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: Lately I've had a few breakouts, but this little saviour in a bottle just kicks ass. After cleansing my face, I pour four or five drops on my palms, rub them together and just pat it on my face, especially my cheek and chin (where I tend to get the most pimples). This not only dries up and gets the pimples to go away, but actually prevents them from coming up to fast and I also found it to even out my skin tone a bit where I had acne scars. Really a little miracle in a bottle. Thank you to my friend Abby who recommended it!!!
6. Nacidit Aloe Vera Treatment for Normal and Mixed Hair: Now, I ran out of my normal Organix Keratin Conditioner AND my It's a Ten Deep Conditioner (the latter being not the cheapest of hair products). I was in the Caribbean where getting those conditioners back would have meant spending an arm and a leg, and I quite like my arms and legs. My mom took my to a West Indian beauty parlour and where the Dominican stylist recommended this BIG pot of heaven ( which only costed about ECX$30.00 which is only about USD$11.00). It's cheap, so I thought I'd try it out, and if not, just give it to my mum. Now I want it, and I found it on eBay and Amazon so I know or a fact I'll use it again. It is a product from Santa Domingo and it smells heavenly. It uses Aloe Vera extract and is very nourishing to the hair. My hair feels moisturised after using it and breakage drastically decreased. Highly recommend.
7. G.H. Bass & Co.: The original maker of the penny loafer. I was looking for a pair of fun and funky flats to wear on vacation so I ventured to the DSW website and found these oxfords. They had in navy blue with peach soles which I really liked and a grey with yellow soles. However, they did't have it in my size in either of those. Instead, I got these taupe and turquoise ones instead, which are a brave look. Wearing them isn't as hard as I thought, good pair of khakis or black slacks and they look incredibly chic and fun.
8. Twin Folks- Cross my Mind: I heard this song whilst watching a Drama called It's Okay, That's Love which in itself is a wonderful drama series with deep characters which make me laugh and cry many times per episode. The OST (Original Soundtrack) for this drama is on point! A mixture of English and Korean songs and all of them I love. My favourite was this one which plays whenever a happy moment like a drive montage or date happens. It's a really happy go lucky upbeat song that I just listen to on loop and dance in my bedroom.
And those are all my favourites this Month! See you soon!
