{ " 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?

{ " The Body Shop - Shea Body Butter " }

I apologize for the time span that is occuring between posts... I just can't seem to be able to sit and write any reviews lately... This one has been written over the course of three days, if that says anything.

I have heard so many things about The Body Shop's signature body butters. Most of the things I have heard about them were endless praises. I have been wanting to try one of their body butters for the longest time, but I couldn't get myself to spend $19.00 on a body butter. It just seemed like an insane amount of money to spend on something that was like a lotion. I know it is a good amount of product, but still, that is a lot of money.

Well, I was at Ulta on Tuesday, and I saw one of the little "sample" sized body butters at the checkout. (They really draw you in at the checkout with all those nifty little things to stare at while you're waiting... it really is at trap.) They were $5.00 each, so I grabbed the only scent they had there, which was the Shea body butter.

Let me tell you right now.
I am so tempted to buy a full size, in a different scent, but nonetheless... this product is incredible.

So, let's get a little bit personal here. I have Raynaud's disease in my toes on both feet, and I am developing it in my hands. I have extremely dry feet to begin with, and then I develop ulcers (which are extremely painful, especially when I stub my toes on something), more dry patches, and then when the ulcers break the dry skin around them snags. Sounds gross, but that's just what happens. The ulcers, and soreness in my toes become even more painful when the skin is so dry and cracked.

I'm pretty sure anyone could see the difference, but I can actually feel the difference.

I had not been able to find a moisturizer that takes care of my dry, cracked feet and in turn help with the soreness. 

Well. This moisturizer does exactly what I needed it to do. 

At first when I opened it, I was quite surprised for some reason. It is not whipped, it does not look like a cream, it literally looks like butter. And guess what, it feels like butter too! I dipped my finger in it to use some on my hands, and I was surprised when it wasn't like a cream. You can kind of press down on the top of it, and it just squishes. It's rather amusing. But, anyways you kind of have to dig into it the first time, either that or just rub the top of it quite a bit. I used it on my hands, and at first it felt slightly greasy. I don't normally moisturize my hands, because I have never been able to find a moisturizer that does not make my hands feel uncomfortable, or greasy. The scent was very, very strong though. At first the scent was awful. I put it on before I went somewhere and all I could smell was that. I'm getting used to the scent though, and I'm actually kind of growing to like it, I'm sensing a vanilla undertone.

When I got home I decided to try a little on my feet. So, I smoothed a little bit (literally, all you need is a tiny bit, this stuff is so thick and smooth) onto my toes, heels and the sides of my feet. I then put on some socks and went to bed. In the morning I repeated it. I have been doing this for the last six days, and my feet are no longer dry, and cracked. They are smooth, hydrated, and they don't look half as nasty as they did before, which is a plus. Also, my hands get a little TLC while I'm putting the cream on my feet. 

I don't really think this has any cons, except for the price. I don't think I'll be dishing out $20.00 for one of these body butters anytime soon. I will, however, be keeping my eyes peeled at TJ Maxx, and Marshalls for them, and snatch up whatever ones I find! 

Thanks for reading! 

If anyone wants to buy the Satsuma body butter... Feel free. I'll love you for forever. ;)

{ " Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat " }

Image from Google

So, in my search for a new top coat that was not Seche Vite Dry Fast, which is my absolute favorite, I picked up the Sally Hansen Mega Shine Extended Wear Top Coat at CVS.

I found this top coat at CVS for $7.29. I had read about it a little bit online, and there were mixed reviews. I decided to try it out for myself... and well, I wasn't impressed.

The package tells you to apply a thick layer of this to completely dry nails. WAIT A SECOND. I thought this was a fast drying top coat? Well, evidently it's fast drying once you've applied it to your nails. So, I waited for my nails to dry completely, and then applied a thick coat. This top coat is supposed to be completely dry in only a minute. I did wrap my nails with it as well, to keep shrinking to a minimum. Well... I waited more than a minute, and tapped my nails together to find they were still quite tacky. I didn't really have anymore time to sit around, so I figured I would just be careful. Before I knew it after about 10 minutes of letting them dry, they were still tacky and several nails had dents in them. Not happy with that, seeing as I took about 20 minutes to paint my nails to begin with. I also noticed that the tips started to shrink, and though I wrapped the tips, the polish pulled back and I could see that the very tips of my nails were bare. I went to a party on New Years Even night, after I painted my nails, and by the time I came home my a few of my nails had little chips on them. They were not really shiny anymore either. Which was disappointing seeing as the top coat is called "Mega Shine". I love when my nails are shiny. I have a matte top coat, and I never use it, because it bugs me when my nails aren't shiny. Plus, the bottle is totally impractical. It is silver, so you have absolutely no way of seeing how much product is left in the bottle. Sure, it's pretty, but it's also pretty silly.

I'm honestly going to give this two stars. It was shiny at first, which was nice... and maybe it would work if you had an extra 15 minutes to sit and let your nails dry, but I don't!

Unfortunately I'm going to be returning this... I really don't see any sense in keeping it. I wanted a fast drying top coat, not a topcoat that dried in over 15 minutes, and still dented easily. Seche Vite definitely out stands this, so I'll just stick to using that. It's cheaper anyways!

Question!
Have any of you tried "quick dry drops"? I see them from Sally Hansen, but I'm a little bit wary of them... I'd rather use a quick dry topcoat I think! 

I hope this review was helpful for someone!
Live in the moment,