{ " Dishes, Thrifting, and Blessings " }

It seems as if this blog is going to switch over from beauty, to lifestyle for a little while.
Things will probably get a little more personal around here too.

So some exciting things have been happening in Jane's little world as of late. I basically haven't stopped smiling for more than a short period of time in the last three months. I've always had the "life is beautiful" mindset, but it's there even more now. Life really is beautiful. God has blessed me with so much more than I deserve! I can't even describe it!

I'm preparing to start my "grown up" life, which is something I didn't see myself doing for quite a long time. God seems to give us the things we need, or desire, right when we stop thinking we need, or desire them. He has an amazing way of using the pieces of our lives to make one beautiful story. God has put an amazing man into my life (who will remain anonymous for the time being), who loves the Lord, and desires to serve Him with all of his heart. That was something I thought I was going to have to wait a long time for. I'm not sure why, but that was my mindset. Someday I'll tell you all our love story. It's quite a nice one to say the least. Our relationship progressed quickly, and before we knew it we were inseparable, and he was asking my dad's permission to court me. Marriage is our ultimate goal for our relationship, and I'm 100% sure he is the man God had planned me to marry.

Well, now here I am, buying dishes, preparing for our future together!
This blog post is supposed to be all about my latest thrift finds for my future home, and I hadn't planned to tell you all about Mr. Man, but I figured you'd want an explanation as to why I was buying dishes and what not!
I've been visiting a thrift store down the street from us, that is run by a Catholic church. They have amazing prices, and they don't sell anything in bad condition. I seriously can not believe the prices of the items! For instance, coffee mugs are $0.10 a piece, or $0.25 for three! You can't beat that! I didn't happen to buy any coffee mugs, but I bought a whole set of dishes! Service for eight, for $6.00.

The set includes eight plates, eight tea cups, eight saucers, eight little bowls, and eight dessert plates. That's forty pieces for $6.00! That is absolutely unbeatable! Really! The dishes are gorgeous, and as soon as I saw them I knew I had to have them immediately!

Tea cup and saucer.

Bowls

Here is a comparison of the bowl beside my hand.
You can see in the other photo of the bowls that they are quite shallow as well.
I bought separate bowls to go along with them, because I honestly can't see a man ever eating that little amount of food! ;)

Beautiful dinner plate! 

Comparison of dinner plate, and dessert plate.

I also picked up a few other odds and ends at Salvation Army. All of which cost $8.00 all together. 

Gold tea light holder; and gold leaf napkin holder = $0.99 each!

Green milk bottle vase = $0.99

I couldn't resist getting this! It's close to impossible to find my name on anything.
So when I saw this, and that it was only $1.99 I snatched it right up!
I mean, c'mon, what are the chances?!

Two "man" mugs = $0.59 each!

Four Pfaltzgraff bowls = $2.99 all together.

I have a bunch of other things up in my hope chest, some baby clothes, dishes, more mugs, and etc. I'll have to explore in there again, and make another post about what is stored away in my hope chest. For now I'll be sure to post about all of my thrift finds! I'm addicted to thrift shopping, but when you can get everything above for only $14.00 it's insanely exciting! I think Mr. Man is very thankful that his future wife (nope, we're not engaged yet) is a thrift-aholic, and he was very excited to see my great deals! I absolutely can not wait until yard sale season! Especially now that I have a legit reason to start buying homey stuff!

The next chapter in my life is starting, and I have to admit, this is the one I have been anticipating for years, and years! I just never thought I'd get here!

Lots of love,

{ " Happy December! " }

Time has certainly flown by, especially since my last post! I can't believe that it is already December 1st! Only 24 days until Christmas everyone! That's only a little over three weeks. Isn't that insane?! I feel like it was just September, yesterday. 

Life has been a little bit crazy as of late. I've been spending time crocheting gifts, being with amazing friends, gallivanting around with horses (especially my girl, Trixie, who is pictured below), and helping out my family. 

Life is good, everyone. Life is really good. I'm amazed at all of the blessings the Lord is pouring down upon me as of late. It seems that since September I have seen Him work in my heart, and my life, and He has given me so many things I do not deserve. This holiday season I have so many incredible things to be thankful for.

So, I've gotten back into crocheting big time. I managed to make four scarves in a week, and I just started my second baby sweater. Pictures of my crochet items will come soon, along with links to the patterns for your viewing pleasure! 

I will also have some new beauty product reviews up in a little while, or as soon as I can get myself to sit down long enough to write them! 

I am always so excited for this time of the year, the special time of the year to celebrate Christ's birth, and giving to others! 

Well, I'll see y'all around! 

Thanks for reading!

{ " Neon and Floral " }

I've been on a kick with these Jamberry nail wraps on my ring fingers.
I have to work the rest of my manicure around them, which isn't hard, because the wraps have quite a few different colors in them. I have been loving the neon trend, but I don't have any neon polishes. I really need to find a couple, because I think neon nails are so eye-catching and gorgeous!
This polish is actually from my Shany nail art polishes. I just cleaned off a brush from another polish, and used it in this neon pink. It doesn't have a name, like all of the other Shany Cosmetics polishes I have. But, it's gorgeous, and it's neon.
Unfortunately the color isn't coming out right on camera, and it looks more coral. It is a bright bright bright neon pink. I'm bummed that it is coming off like this... but, that's okay. It kind of gets the point across.
The little gold studs are from the new Sally Hansen nail art kits that came with white rhinestones, black rhinestones, and the gold studs. I love the gold with the neon pink, it looks absolutely gorgeous. You could obviously use any neon pink to achieve this look, and even a coral or a neon purple would look gorgeous. I just love the little bit of charm, yet edge the studs give to a manicure. They are so versatile too!

This wasn't a very informative post, but I just wanted to share! Summer is so much fun, and I love the bright colors that come out in this season! Though, I will wear bright colors ALL YEAR LONG if I can.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

{ " Bright Polka Dot Nails " }

Hi everyone, I'm still alive!
That's a shocker, isn't it?

Anyways, just here with a little nail design I have been wearing for the past couple of days. This manicure has held up pretty well, seeing as I did it on Monday morning. Generally by the second day all of my polish has peeled off. There are a few chips, but it's somewhat outstanding that the polish is still even on! I just put on another layer of top coat to seal in the chips just for a little bit longer!
The ring fingers have Jamberry nail wraps on them. I got a sample nail wrap from a friend, and they have been on without fail for almost six days, which is excellent! There's a little bit of tip wear on them, but other than that they're in perfect shape. I would even be tempted to order some of these, even just for accent nails! I love them!

Anyways, on to the full manicure.

The yellow polish is Julie G Canary Islands,

the orange is Julie G Old San Juan, and 

the white polish is Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Sure Thing. 

I'm not sure what the Jamberry nail wraps are called, but I love them. If I were to order some in the future, I would order these ones. 

I just made the dots with a Shany Cosmetics dotting tool from Amazon. 

This is by far my favorite manicure as of late. It's just so fun, and springy. Plus I got quite a few compliments on it! I guess that's what happens when you wear a bright mani! 

I enjoy doing my nails, and even though my polish only lasts for about a day or two, I love taking the time to paint my nails! 

Thanks for looking, have a wonderful week!

{ " Drugstore Haul " }

I have only every posted one other haul, because I don't normally do a lot of shopping.
I usually buy things every once in a while, and normally just one thing at a time.

Well, yesterday Abigail and I went out for a little girly day, and we headed over to CVS, before we did some grocery shopping. I had a ton of coupons. Like $20.00 in coupons. I love CVS, because they will put more than one coupon on an item. So, I had one coupon that was $5.00 any two Revlon Cosmetics, and then $1.00 off of any one Revlon lip product, and I was able to use them both! I had several other coupons as well, but I can't remember what they were!

So, I ended up spending about $35.00 on all of the things pictured (Along with one Baby Lips lip balm for Abigail), which was an insane deal.

1) Nivea Lip Balm - Kiss of Olive Oil & Lemon - $3.59
- I haven't tried this lip balm yet, but I opened it to smell it. It smells amazing, like natural lemons, with a hint of that olive oil smell. I don't usually like Nivea lip balms (besides the lip butters), but I have heard a few people rave about this one, so we'll see how it goes!

2) Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm - Demure (105) - $9.49
 - I have been eyeing the new lacquer and matte balms from Revlon for quite some time. I just couldn't put out spending $8.00 to $10.00 on a lip product, so I kept putting it off. Well, I had the two Revlon coupons, and they were having the 'Spend $10 get $3 in Extrabucks' on Revlon stuff. I did see mixed reviews on the lacquer balms, and a lot of people said some of them had glitter in them. I didn't really want one that had excessive glitter, but I ended up with one. The color is gorgeous. It's exactly what I wanted. The glitter is a little annoying, because it remains on your lips after the color wears off, but you can't feel the glitter on your lips. I was a little disappointed with the glitter, but it's not worth returning. I'll definitely get a lot of wear out of it. A more detailed post about this product will come soon!

3) NYX Butter Gloss - Eclair (BLG02) - $5.29
- The NYX Butter Glosses are some of my absolute favorite lip products I have ever tried. I have five other colors, but this is definitely my favorite! The color is a perfect nude pink, and I love it. I don't have anything bad to say about it. I will definitely post a swatch of this as soon as possible!

4) Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer - Pretty in Peach (115) // Emerald City (255) // Frozen Over (315) - $4.49 
- I have had a couple other Maybelline Color Show polishes, and I was only impressed with one of them. But, the color range they have is gorgeous. They have every color imaginable, in every shade, and every finish. They are also quite affordable. In my opinion at least. They are more expensive at CVS, then they are at Walmart. I have used two of the colors Pretty in Peach and Frozen Over so far, and I love them. I will definitely do a swatch post soon!

5) Revlon Nail Enamel - Gray Suede (705) - $5.99 
- I saw this nail polish in the regular bottle, and then saw it in the Limited Edition packaging. I figured it was a better idea to get it in the L.E packaging, plus it is gorgeous. The color is kind of a rosy grey, with a beautiful sheen through it. It will be a nice 'nude' color, without actually being nude. I will also swatch this one as well!

6) Vaseline Lip Therapy - Rosy Lips - $2.37
- I bought this after seeing several people rave about it, and I like it so far. Plus, the tiny little Vaseline container is absolutely adorable! There isn't much tint for my lips, but it makes my lips super shiny! It's basically pure Vaseline with tint, and rose flavoring/scent. So, basically it's glorified Vaseline in a cute little tub.

7) Scunci No Slip Grip Hair Ties, and Scunci Beautiful Blends Clips - $5.99each (From Price Chopper)
- Price Chopper was having a BOGO sale on all Scunci and Conair hair accessories. So, I picked up these no slip rubber hair ties, and clips. So, I paid $3.00 a piece when it comes down to it. It was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up!

So, if we added together all of the prices without tax, it would have been $56.87.
In total without tax I paid $33.39!

That's more than $20.00 difference, plus I earned $6.00 in Extrabucks rewards! I'll probably end up spending the Extrabucks on a deal that earns more Extrabucks. ;) Just keep them rolling in!

I'll pop up some detailed reviews on a few of these products, along with a review on a new facial exfoliating scrub, a body sugar scrub, and a hairspray as soon as possible!

{ " A Small Collection of Nail Art " }

I've been working on my little nail art doodles lately. I find it very relaxing, and a lot of fun.
Generally I paint my nails, and then about an hour later I decide to add some fun to them.

I just have a little collection to share. All of the little designs are made using my Shany nail art/striping polishes. The designs are pretty self explanatory, so I won't go into detail or write up tutorials. These can be copied with any polishes, nail art brushes, and dotting tools.

Base polish: Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Petal Pusher
Topcoat: Seche Vite Dry Fast

Base polish: Wet 'n' Wild Mega Last - 2% Milk
Topcoat: Seche Vite Dry Fast 

Base polish: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - I Lilac You (370)
Topcoat: Poshe Super Fast Drying Topcoat

I need to experiment more with my stamping plates, so that will definitely come next. I'm having so much fun with these simple designs. The polish doesn't stay on very long, because for whatever reason my polish peels off completely in about a day. It's so aggravating, but I love to play with different polishes, so I don't really mind. ;)

Look out for more of these! They'll be coming!

{ " NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss // Nude Pink " }

- Thank YOU Blogger for absolutely killing the quality of this photo, and making it look nasty and green!  Just what I wanted! - 

So, my CVS started carrying NYX products... which is amazing, and dangerous at the same time. (I am in love with their Butter Glosses, and I already have five, this gives me a way to get my hands on more...) I had seen the display a couple months ago, but I kept myself from buying anything. Then I was there again last week, and I couldn't resist. I had heard a ton of good things about these Mega Shine lip glosses, so I decided to try one. 

I was looking for a different color, that I can't recall the name of, but I ended up picking this one up. I have a love-hate relationship with this gloss... It's okay. Definitely not amazing. 

Price: Around $4.99 (CVS, Ulta - etc.)

Scent: Disgusting - I'm sorry, but it is. I have heard people on YouTube talk about how the scent/taste is nice, and kind of cherry like. Then I've heard some talk about how it is horrible. Well, it's nasty. I just hate it. The very first time I put it on I was tempted to wipe it off. It smells exactly like Benadryl. Like, children's, nasty, horrifying, pink Benadryl. Guess what it tastes like! That's right, that fake, cherry, soapy Benadryl. Now, I can't say if all of them taste/smell like this, but this one does, and it's horrible. It kind of made my lips feel funny as well, almost tingle a little. 

Packaging: I love the packaging. The tube is the same exact color as the gloss inside. (I'm unable to tell if the tube is clear, and you see the gloss, or if the tube is opaque and the same color as the gloss.) The tube is also a square, which is totally awesome. I love square lip products, because they don't roll about when I'm trying to photograph them! Also, there is an absolutely adorable little 3D bow on the cap, which c'mon, all girls love bows. 

Formula: The pigmentation is pretty awesome. This is more like a lacquer than a gloss. It is quite pigmented, and very light on the lips. It's not sticky at all, and just glides on smoothly. It does settle into the lines of my lips, which isn't very attractive. I don't know if it's just this color, or if it's the whole line of the glosses. But, I don't really appreciate it. It doesn't stay very long on the lips, but it's a gloss, glosses don't usually last very long. I love the color, I just wish the formula was a little more agreeable. 

I'm in the middle with this product. I think I'd give it 3.5 stars, because the pigmentation, and the color are gorgeous. It's not sticky, and it goes on very smoothly. This gloss is pretty shiny, but nothing amazing. It's just disappointing that it settles in the lip lines, and that the smell/scent is absolutely disgusting. I'd like to try some other colors, but we'll see if I'm brave enough! 

There are definitely better glosses out there...

{ " Herbal Essences // Set Me Up Hairspray " }

Here I am with another review, finally! This will just be a quick one, because there's not too much to say about a hairspray...

I picked this hairspray up, when I had a coupon in my Sunday paper, which pretty much made it free. The only reason I thought to try it was, because of a hair tutorial I watched by Mallory Cornelison (mallory1712) on YouTube. She used this hairspray, and basically said it was like cement. I have been looking for a hairspray that would keep my unruly bangs, and layers back while I had my hair up. I have tried several, and they were either sticky, crunchy, or they just didn't work. So, I basically didn't find any that I was pleased with.

This hairspray pictured is only number 2
in hold strength, but the one I have
and that I am reviewing is number 4 hold.

Let me tell you all. This hairspray is absolutely incredible. It says MAX hold, and it is. I did my hair at about 9:00 this morning, in a french braid, with my bangs kind of just swept back with no part... Hard to explain. I can't normally get my hair to stay in a french braid for longer than an hour or two. Layers always fall out, and I end up having to completely redo it. Well let me tell you this...

This hairspray, rocks. It is now 3:00 in the afternoon, and my hair looks exactly like it did when I did it this morning. I even had to take out a couple of bobby pins that were hurting my head, and my hair is still perfect. I am so pleased!
I don't feel like it looks crunchy, or stiff. There are little baby hairs that loosened around my face, but I like that look anyways. I was able to adjust the hair slightly right after spraying the hairspray, but then it hardened to a cement like finish. I used Mallory's little trick and kind of pinched the hair up on my bangs to keep the volume, and not cause it to be completely flat. My bangs have stayed in place, and haven't budged at all. Normally my bangs completely fall in my face, no matter how much hairspray I use. This spray really is incredible. My hair still looks shiny, probably even more shiny than before, and like I said, it doesn't look like I sprayed cement all over it.

The price is amazing at only around $3.00 at Walmart.
It is quite a nice scent, that lingers in the hair. The scent is described as a "Lilly Bliss fragrance", and it is kind of a sweet floral scent.

I'm just so happy with this, and I know that I will definitely repurchase it in the future. Hands down the best maximum hold hairspray I have ever tried! I recommend it to anyone who wants a nice firm hold hairspray at a good price.

{ " Sally Hansen Insta-Dri // Petal Pusher " }

As of late I have been absolutely loving "nude" nails. I have had to hold back from buying Essie's Fiji for quite some time. Every time I see it in the store my hand reaches for it, and I have to whack myself in the head and remind myself that I'm not going to spend $8.75 on a nail polish.

So, in search of a perfect "nude" polish, I picked up a few. This one, by Sally Hansen is my favorite so far. It is a gorgeous pink based nude, a very light, soft pink. I feel like pink based nudes look best on my skin tone. Brown based nudes aren't quite as attractive on me.

I had never tried a polish from the Insta-Dri line, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I definitely wasn't expecting a long lasting finish, or even shine for that matter. I applied it last night for the first time, and put on one thin coat, which was surprisingly opaque, but somewhat streaky. It dried pretty quickly, but wasn't shiny at all (which was too bad, because the formula is pretty thick and you are supposed to only use one coat). I then applied a second coat, and it was completely opaque. Only one nail had a little streaky appearance, but that's because I messed up that one nail a little bit. It dried to a beautiful shiny finish, and dried at a good rate, not super fast, then again you're only supposed to use one coat.
It definitely was not long lasting, seeing as right after I took a shower this morning several of my nails were chipped. The color is so gorgeous, that I won't let the chipping bother me. I don't mind reapplying my nail polish every night, especially when the color is this gorgeous.
Also, the brush is the super wide, amazing brush that I love, so that makes it even more better!

The color isn't quite showing up true to color on camera, it is a little bit more pink than it looks in the photos. 

The first photo is one coat, pretty streaky, definitely not wearable like that. The second photo is self-explanatory. ;) The third photo is two coats, completely opaque and absolutely gorgeous! The forth photo just shows the shine quite well, with no topcoat. 

This is definitely my go-to color for when I don't know what color to paint my nails. I end up painting my nails this color several times a week, so I'll probably be repurchasing this one sometime soon. ;) 

So yes, just a little jump back into blogging. I'll hopefully have some new reviews up pretty soon... We'll see what happens! 

{ " been away for a while... " }

Wow! It's hard to believe that I haven't posted in so long. Has it really been over a month?
The charger for my laptop died, and we just kept forgetting to purchase a new one. I can't upload photos with my NOOK Tablet, so I was kind of in a bind. Even writing up blog posts with it is a pain. So, I haven't been able to post anything new.
I do have a bunch of new products that I have been trying, and I will have a bunch of new posts up in a short amount of time as far as it all goes as planned.

Just wanted to pop in and explain my disappearance!
Look out for new posts!

{ " Aussie - 3 Minute Miracle Moist Deeeeep Conditioner " }

I picked up the Aussie Three Minute Miracle after looking for it for forever and a day. I finally found it about three weeks ago, and picked it up. I had heard so many good things about this product, and it's under $4.00, so I figured it was worth a try.

The description, ingredients, and directions on www.drugstore.com read as follows:

Deeeeep Conditioning for Damaged 'Do's

Super deep conditioning for a seriously simple fix to dry, damaged hair.  It's your own little wonder for any wrongdoing done to your 'do.

Say Goodbye to Dry

The Moist collection gives dry hair much-needed moisture so you'll say hello to a silky soft, manageable mane.

What We do for Your 'Do

Make naturally beautiful hair simply happen.  We believe in the quality of our ingredients - they treat your tresses right and make it easy for you to get what you've always wanted:  clean, simple, beautiful hair.

Please recycle where facilities exist.  Biodegradable formula.  Contains Natural Australian Ingredients.

Ingredients:

Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Dimethicone, Ecklonia Radiata Extract (Australian Sea Kelp), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Glutamic Acid, Fragrance, Benzyl Alcohol, EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

I did not buy this, because of the ingredients or even with the ingredients in mind. I don't care for the fact that it contains dimethicone, or alcohols. But, it does not contain wheat, which is a plus for me.

Directions:

Work into clean, wet hair.  Use the next 2 minutes and 45 seconds to think deep thoughts about your day.  Rinse with warm water, then cool water, then go!

This product has almost a five star review on every site I have looked at it on. 

My personal opinions: 

Scent: A lot of people love the scent. I did too at first. It was like a sweet coconut, somewhat floral scent. I really loved it the first couple of times I used it. Then I used it when I last showered, and I couldn't handle the scent. It smelled like sour popcorn, like mixed with sweaty feet and flowers. How did that even happen? It was disgusting. It smells fine in the bottle, so I'm not sure if it may have had a reaction with my conditioner, or something else. It was most unpleasant though.

Consistency: The consistency is much like a regular conditioner. It's possibly a little bit thicker, but it melts right into the hair, and spreads evenly.

Results/Review: I found that this makes my hair extremely soft, and manageable. I was going to use it once a week, but I have only used it two times so far (and might not use it again). My hair isn't very dry, but it is damaged from using heat on it almost every day (and not having been trimmed in over two months). I mainly purchased this, because I read that a lot of people used this to help their damaged hair. It doesn't leave any residue in my hair, leaves my hair feeling light, soft, hydrated, and silky. I usually blow dry my hair after washing it, and my hair feels very light and healthy after using this product. There was no stickiness, no greasy residue, and it didn't seem to weigh my hair down.

This product does contain silicones (Dimethicone), which means it's not actually making my hair healthier. It's probably just making my hair feel soft, and look smooth. Certain silicones actually keep your hair from being able to absorb moisture, which is definitely not something good. (You can read more about silicones in haircare here: http://www.pinksith.com/2013/05/silicones-in-hair-care-what-you-need-to.html) So that's a bummer. But, this deep conditioner does make my hair very soft. I can imagine someone with dry unmanageable hair would greatly benefit from this, but probably not in the long run. I probably will not end up using this again, because dimethicone needs to be washed out with sulfates, which I tend to stay clear of if possible.

So overall, this is a nice product. It makes the hair feel very luxurious, look healthy, and what not.
I wish I had paid more attention to the ingredients, since now I have a new ingredient to avoid! Before I know it I'll go back to washing my hair with baking soda. My mother would absolutely roll her eyes!

Hope this review was helpful! There will be more to come!

{ " Julep - Ta Da! Quick Dry Drops " }

My friend Coralie lent me a bunch of her Julep nail stuff to try out, and review, which is super exciting!

I couldn't wait to try out the quick drying drops.
She hadn't even opened the bottle yet, so I got to do the honors of pulling the seal off. The first thing I noticed about the bottle is that it is huge, which is awesome. All of the quick dry drops I have seen at the store have been small bottles. This bottle is 1 fluid ounce (30ml), which is actually a lot of product.

The bottle is glass, with a very long, skinny dropper. The cap is black plastic, and the little squeezy part is a black soft rubber. I love the look of the bottle, and it's something I wouldn't mind displaying with my nail polishes.

I decided it would be best to try the quick dry drops with one of the Julep polishes, because I wanted to see the performance with the Julep polish.

You can find this product here: Ta Da! Quick Dry Drops
And the polish I am wearing here: Tatiana

Claims/Benefits/Features: 
- Reduces polish dry time
- Nourishes nails with botanical oils and vitamin e
- Scented with lavender and ylang ylang
(above taken from Julep website)

Price: $14.00 ($11.20/Maven)

The back of the box says:

With so many places to be and things to see, who has time to sit around watching polish dry? 
These game-changing drops will leave your manicure touchably smudge-free in just a few minutes. Vitamin E and essential oils keep nails nourished and conditioned.

To use: wait one minute after your final coat of polish, then apply 1-2 drops to the base of each nail.

The ingredients are listed on the bottom of the box.

Ingredients: Disiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Prunus Amygadalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Canaga Odorata Flower (Ylang Ylang) Oil, BHT. 

So, as you can see the ingredients consist of a lot of oils, which is pretty awesome.

It smells delicious. I mean, I wouldn't literally want to eat it, but I was expecting it to have a strong chemical scent. The scent is hard to explain. I can definitely smell the lavender, but there is a citrus note in there too, and oddly enough I can detect some pine. Not that how it smells really matters, but using nail products that smell horrible isn't exactly fun. The scent lingers on the nails/fingers for a little while, but I didn't mind because I actually like the scent.

I applied two coats of the polish, with no base coat, then waited about 2 minutes for each hand. Then I filled the dropper up with the liquid and dripped one drop on each nail. It was amazing to watch how it just seemed to spread over, and cover the nail completely. There is oil left around the nail, but I didn't wipe it off or anything. I have seen with a lot for quick dry drops that you don't wipe off the residue. So I left the oil on, figuring it was beneficial for my cuticles. After probably about two minutes I touched my pinky on my left hand, and it was dry to the touch. Smooth and dry. I then tapped my two pinky nails together and there was no stickiness. They just clicked together, and that was that. My nails were completely dry! I can't really say if they were super shiny or not, because I used a glittery, already shiny polish (which I'm just not going to give back, and hope she doesn't notice, because it's insanely gorgeous and I can't stop looking at my nails. ;)). My nails are still very smooth though, and there have been no dents no matter how many times I've accidentally smacked my nails against something. Actually about ten minutes after applying the drying drops I nicked my nail against the side of my bed, and expected to have a huge chip, dent, or smudge, and nothing! The nail was still completely smooth!

It is only the day after I painted my nails, so I can't tell you if it prolongs the wear of the polish. The only chip I have is where my nail was broken, so that chips off almost immediately because of the break in the nail. Otherwise there are no chips. There is a little bit of shrinkage on the edge of a couple of nails, but nothing major or too noticeable. That is bound to happen with quick dry topcoats and polishes anyways. I think it might be more noticeable if it was used with a darker polish, which I will try next time.

I'm quite pleased with this product, and if the polish stays on for more than two days without major chipping, I'll be very impressed! I would probably be tempted to buy this product if I get a coupon or a good sale!

I will be doing a review on the Julep polishes (I have quite a few, but I never wear them because I don't care for the colors) soon, with swatches and what not!
She also gave me the Freedom Top Coat from Julep, which I am planning on using on three nails, and then using Seche Vite on two nails, to see which wears faster, then I will review the Freedom Top Coat as well.

I will pop in a little UPDATE once I see how the polish wears with the quick dry drops.
Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful!
A big thanks to Coralie for letting me try all of these wonderful goodies out! ^^

{ " NYX Butter Gloss " }

Left to right: Creme Brulee // Merengue // Vanilla Cream Pie // Maple Blondie // Peaches and Cream

My attempt at an artsy photo.

Left to right: Creme Brulee // Merengue // Vanilla Cream Pie // Maple Blondie // Peaches and Cream

I first purchased three of these glosses back in the summer, the first time I went to Ulta. The first colors I bought were Creme Brulee, Vanilla Cream Pie and Peaches and Cream. I fell in love with these the first time I put one on my lips. They are so pillowy (not a real word...), smooth, and soft on the lips. Not to mention they are extremely opaque. In the swatches above, it is only one "swipe" on my arm of each color.

Creme Brulee is a warm toned nude. It has a slight brown tint, but it doesn't stand out. I quite like it, and I can't often pull off nudes. Merengue (I'm being told this is spelled incorrectly... but this is how it's spelled on the bottom of the tube. Curiouser, and curiouser...) is a bright, "Barbie", blue toned pink. It is definitely my favorite, and is my everyday gloss color. It is the perfect pink-nude lip, and I end up wearing this every day, at some point in the day. I absolutely love the color, it's opaque, and so gorgeous! Vanilla Cream Pie is a beautiful deeper pink. It is not quite bright, but isn't a nude. It is an easy pink to wear, and believe it would work with any skin tone. Maple Blondie is a peachy pink. It will be an absolutely gorgeous summer/spring color. It may even be bordering on coral. Peaches and Cream is a bright pinky coral. I don't quite see any peach in this one, but it really is beautiful. This is definitely more of a summer/spring color, so I haven't worn it at all during the winter and fall months. 

These glosses are extremely creamy. When they say they are like butter, they literally are. I love the feeling of them on the lips. Like I said before, they are almost cushiony (I'm making up words left and right.). They are very comfortable on the lips, and are quite hydrating. There is not any stickiness whatsoever, which is also pretty rare. They are not exactly long lasting, but there aren't many glosses that are. They have a nice little doe-foot applicator, which is very soft and helps apply the color nicely. They don't really have a flavor... the scent is light and buttery, kind of like cupcakes. The color of the gloss is pretty much the exact color of the tube, which is great. They are extremely opaque, and you really just need one layer to get the full color on your lips. The lightest color Creme Brulee is not easy to get on evenly, but it's possible. I normally apply them by applying the gloss to my lower lip, and then rubbing my lips together. It seems to work well for me, and come out evenly every time! They run for $4.99 each at Ulta, but I purchased mine on sales. They are totally worth the price, definitely worth every penny!

There is only one more color from this line that I am looking out for, which is Cherry Pie. It is a beautiful red, and I'm hoping to get my hands on it the next time I go to Ulta. They haven't had it any of the times I have been there, they have only had the tester.  

I'm sure this review was probably all over the place, but I hope you get the point. 

These glosses are stinking awesome! I don't have many lip products that I own five of the same kind, actually... I don't have any besides these! They're my absolute favorites, and I don't think I'll find anything to replace them anytime soon! 

Enjoy the little things... like lip gloss! 

{ " Herbal Essences -Naked- Dry Shampoo " }

So, I picked up this dry shampoo in a hair product "haul" the other day. I have been searching for a good dry shampoo, that also has a decent price tag. Let me tell you, that is a difficult task! I have tried dry shampoo from Dove, Suave Professionals, Tresemme (which smells disgusting), and Not Your Mother's. I wasn't really pleased with any of them. Two of them had a very strong perfume, plus all of them were quite hard to blend into your hair. The only dry shampoo I like is Batiste which holds a price tag of $7.99 depending on where you buy it. The only time I have bought Batiste was at Price Chopper, when it had a rebate coupon attached to it. So, I sent in the coupon, and ended up getting the dry shampoo for free. I have to say it really stood up to all of the drugstore brands I had tried. I bought the scent Flirty and Floral Blush. I'm not a huge fan of floral scented products, but it smells better than the original. I am almost out of my can of Batiste, which lasts me for forever, because I probably use it once a week... But, nonetheless, I didn't feel like buying anymore. I would rather buy other things with that much money, and just use cornstarch in my hair.

Well, on to the actual subject of this post...

I picked up Herbal Essences -Naked- Dry Shampoo. The Naked line is a new line, and I am quite excited about it. So far they have taken all colorants, and parabens from the products, so I am just waiting for them to strip it all of sulfates! Anyways! This dry shampoo was $4.97, which isn't a bad price. I mean, nothing can beat Suave's price that is under $4.00, but if it doesn't work... then it's not worth any of the money spent.

So, Herbal Essences had two new dry shampoos. One was a volumizing citrus scent from the "body envy" line, and the other was the Naked one. I smelled them both, because I didn't want to get home with a dry shampoo that smelled awful, and not be able to return it! The citrus one was crazy. It smelled like fresh orange juice, but a little bit more sweet. I decided that one was probably too scented for my taste. (The Suave one was very citrusy also, and it lingered all day long.)

I then smelled the Naked one, and it hit the nail right on the head. It described as having a crisp essence of citrus and mint. That is exactly it. It starts out with a strong note of citrus, then fades into a cool mint. It is even slightly cooling on the scalp, which I love.

I didn't think I would get to use this right away, and I'll tell you now, honestly, that my hair does not get oily. I wait probably a good week before washing my hair, especially in the winter. Even though it's fine, it just doesn't get oily quickly. I basically use dry shampoo to give my hair a little bit more texture on the second, or third day after washing it, so it is not just flat on top of my head.

But, yesterday I used a heat protectant in my hair, that made my hair quite oily, and nasty looking (review for that product will come next week). I did not want to wash my hair again, especially after just having washed it the night before. The problem was that I was going out yesterday afternoon, so I couldn't go out with gross looking, oily hair. Then I had a brilliant idea! I decided to see what the Herbal Essences dry shampoo could really do. I lifted up the top layer of my hair, sprayed some underneath, then put the layer back down, and sprayed some right on top of my hair. I waited probably five minutes, and then brushed it out.

Well guess what. My hair looked freshly washed. It was also still slightly shiny. It hadn't made my hair dull, left a white cast, or left a weird feeling in my hair. I was actually amazed. The scent was a little strong at first, but it faded and was completely gone after about a half hour. I did go outside in the rain, and I could smell it quite a bit when my hair got wet! Overall I was so pleased by this. I didn't even use very much in my hair either. Probably two sweeps on either sides of my head, and one in the back. It blended so well, and just disappeared into my hair.

I used it today to freshen up my hair, (because for the first time in forever I woke up and my hair was still perfectly straight, and not crazy looking...) and it added life back, and helped my hair not to look so flat.

I absolutely love this dry shampoo, and I will definitely purchase it again, or another from the Herbal Essences line, if they come out with anymore. I would recommend this to anyone, probably even people with dark colored hair, seeing as I didn't see any white in my hair after using it. Even Batiste leaves a white powder before it's all blended well, and can still cause your hair to look dull.

Over all, I really like this one so far. 

I'm excited to keep using it!

{ " Get excited! " }

Well, I'm at least going to get excited, because the stores are starting to stock up with brand new products for 2014!
I went to Walmart yesterday, to pick up a prescription for my dad, and I just happened to wander into the hair care aisle. I'll be honest... I could have bought so many different new products, but I held back, and only grabbed a few that intrigued me. I think people might have found me to be a little strange, because I was in that aisle for over 20 minutes, and I was moving down the aisle at a slow rate, reading the ingredients of many different products. Oh well, it was fun, and I only got one "annoyed" look, because I was standing in front of something another woman wanted to look at... The horror!

So, I picked up these four products, one of which is not new to stores, but is new to me:

Let's all take a moment to look at this photo, and notice there is no snow, and that it was fifty degrees yesterday, which allowed me to lay out on the deck with my products to take photos of. I think my neighbor may have the idea  that I am kind of crazy... 

So, here are the products, and some "first impressions" - full reviews will come when I have had more time to try these products out:

1) it hair care - Illuminating Instant Shine & Finishing Spray

   - This "shine spray" is from a brand I have never even seen before, so of course I was intrigued. I love finishing sprays, and I don't actually own a firm hold hairspray at the time... because I just keep forgetting to buy one I suppose. First of all, the can is absolutely gorgeous. It's gold, and shiny, with big sparkle star things... and I love it. The back says it has flexible hold, and it provides some percentage of amazing shine. I love the nozzle, it sprays out incredibly fine. It doesn't have much of a specific scent, I really can't explain what it smells like. I did try it out, and it made my floor extremely slippery. It somehow also made the hallway outside of my room slippery as well, and my brother ended up slipping and falling... That's slightly dangerous.

2) L'Oreal Paris - Sleek It Iron Straight Heat Spray

   - I used this this morning when I straightened my hair (as I do almost every morning *le sigh*), and I can't tell if I like it. The spray is very fine, and I like the nozzle. It is kind of like the Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray nozzle. It's like a spray bottle, rather than a little push down sprayer. Which is nice, especially when you're working with a product that is potentially slippery. The mist is very fine, but it sprays out quite a "wide" spray... If that makes any sense. I can't tell if I like it yet... My hair is quite shiny, but I think it may be borderline greasy, which could possibly be from using the Aussie mousse in my hair last night... I'm not sure. So, I will have to wait until the next time(s) I use it, to give a clear review! The scent is almost exactly like the got2b Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm, which I don't really care for. It does have a little bit of a coconut "after smell" (is that even a real thing...?). I prefer fruity scents, so I'm not too keen on the scent, but it doesn't linger in the hair. Evidently it is supposed to keep hair sleek and straight for 3 days... but, does that mean curly hair, straight hair? I'm not quite sure! 

3) Aussie - Sprunch Mousse and Leave in Conditioner

   - This is not a new product for 2014, but it is a new product for me. I was looking for a light hold mousse, specifically to use when styling my bangs, and I just happened to pick this one up, because I have tried a few other products from Aussie, that I love. I took a shower tonight, and put this mousse all throughout my hair, it didn't scrunch, or make my hair look wavy, but it gave it a nice texture,  it looks quite bouncy, and full. It also did an amazing job at helping my bangs to stay put, and not split in the middle. Quite pleased with this so far! 

4) Herbal Essences Naked - Dry Shampoo (0% Parabens/Colorant)

   - I picked this up, because I love dry shampoo, and I have only found one that I like so far. The only dry shampoo that I actually have found decent is Batiste. Which is 7.99 a can, and I have only found it at Price Chopper, and Ulta. Seeing as I don't use it too often, it wasn't a crazy amount to pay... but, I have been using it more often, and I don't want to buy it again, to be honest. So, I grabbed this one from Herbal Essenses which was only 4.97, and there is more product in the can. It smells amazing. Like citrus and mint, and it comes out in a nice fine, even spray. I haven't tried it in my hair yet, but as soon as I do, hopefully I'll be able to write an in-depth review.

Will be putting up full reviews as soon as I have decided I have used the products enough to review them accurately!

Thanks for reading!

Are you excited about any products that have come out for 2014?