{ " 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!