Purchases & Review & Swatches (NYX, ELF, Hard Candy & Nail Polish Rack)

Here's some of the stuff I have gotten in the last couple of weeks. I took advantage of the NYX $1 sale and got a few things. Also I am going to show you the nail polish rack a got a month ago or so and I finally put it up!

 

The first swatch is really hard to see but its on the far left. Its a nude-pink frost color. Its the NYX Lipstick in Bare ($1). The color swatches online do not really look like what they are. I wanted a plain nude lipstick. This is more of a white-ish pinky nude. And it has shimmer, which i didn't like. 

The next one is NYX gloss called Dolly Pink ($1) and its a really pretty hot pink color. I love the way it shows up because I always get stuck with sheer lip colors that don't show. 

The last two swatches is from Hard Candy ($4). It came with a liquid lipstick (in Queen) and lip liner (in Natural). I love this!! Its a pretty dark pink-brown mauve color with shimmer. The picture is from off line and it looks red but its not. With the lip liner, it made my lips look really full and the color lasted half the day! It was still on but a little worn off so I re-applied around noon. 

The last thing pictured there is a NYX Double Sided Eyeliner & Shadow in Black/White ($1). I don't really see how this is a shadow but I like it for liner. The black is really black and goes on smooth. It lasted on my waterline pretty long. The white didn't really show up that bright on my waterline. The only problem is its so big and I am going to need to get a large sharpener to sharpen it.I couldn't find this anymore on the NYX website. 

 

 

Here's some stuff I got from ELF. 

The first pictured is the Studio Brush Shampoo ($3). I really like this and its cheap! I clean my brushes with it once a week and it gets all the gunk out. It looks large but the bottle is small (4.1 oz.). The next is the Studio Daily Brush Cleanser ($3). This one is a lot taller (8.5 oz.). There were a lot of mixed reviews on this on the ELF site but I like it. People were saying that it smelled terrible and leaked. It doesn't smell bad, but not good. Its not like unbearable and it doesn't make your brushes stink. It had leaked a little bit when i received it, but no big deal. It works well for spot cleaning my brushes. 

Then I got a Studio Face Kabuki Brush ($5). I love this! Its SO soft and blends all my face makeup. 

Last thing I got is the ELF Studio Bronzer in Cool ($3). Its the perfect bronzer for winter. It has no shimmer and combines white, 2 shades of bronze, and pink to make a healthy looking glow. 

Now for the polish rack. Tell me what you think!

Let me know if you have questions! And enter the giveaway!!!!
XOXO,
Gena

Review - Smooth Away Hair Remover

 

Image from https://www.getsmoothaway.com/ver41/index.asp

Hey!

I'm sure you've all seen the dorky infomercials on the Smooth Away Hair Remover. I normally don't buy these little invention things people come out with, but it seemed interesting and shaving is such a pain. So I saw it at Walgreens for $10 one day and decided to try it out.

You can get this at any drugstore, Walmart, Target, and the Smooth Away website.

It comes with a two-pocketed holder, large handle and small handle, and the replacement pads. There is something in a bottle in the picture, but mine didn't come with that.

You stick the gray pads on the handle and put your hand through it, or finger. The pads feel like rubber and are smooth.

On the box it tells you to go in circular motions clockwise, then counterclockwise. But not to rub it too much. It recommends doing this when you get out of the shower when the hair is softer. Also it is recommended for the hair to be a little long, not just stubs. And they must be clean with no lotion.

My hair is pretty course on my legs so I thought it wasn't going to remove it. But surprisingly it did. However, only on certain parts of my legs. It also made my legs really smooth.

It pretty much rubs off the top layer of your skin. Kinda like exfoliating. It does not hurt though because the skin is pretty much dead. However, my legs looked paler afterwards because my tan was also on the top layer. 

The worst part was is it took FOREVER. I didn't even end up doing my whole legs. Shaving is SO much faster. You have to sit there and constantly buff away the hair until it comes off. And I found that by the time a got to the second leg it just wasn't removing the hair any more. I guess the pad got dull, I don't know. 

It also seemed to only remove the hair the best when I was going over the parts where my skin is the thinnest like on my shins. Under my calves just wasn't budging. I guess its because there's not enough pressure to rub it off. But the instructions say to press down lightly not hard. 

Also, the next day I got a rash from it. It just looked like tiny razor burn bumps. Not cute! I hardly ever get razor burn and my skin is not sensitive. I guess maybe if you continue using it, you eventually wouldn't get it anymore. 

Not worth the $10!!!

The only time I would recommend it maybe is if you have really fine hair. Or it would work on your arms, which I don't recommend ever removing the hair on your arms. Who wants prickly arms?

I'm not saying that this product is no good, but it didn't work for my hair. 

Shaving is much faster and gets all the hair!

Let me know if you have tried this product and if it has worked for you! Or if this was helpful.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

XOXO,
Gena

Cotton Candy Makeup Look

Hey everyone!
So the giveaway seems to be going well. Don't forget to enter! And follow!
Here's a quick makeup look:

 

Eyes:

• ELF Mineral Eye Primer
• Coastal Scents palette medium pink (5 from the right side, & 4 down) all over the lid
• Coastal Scents palette light pink (5 from the right, top row) on the inner top and bottom corners
• Coastal Scents palette teal (6 from the right, 5 down) on the outer V and outer half of lower lashline
• Coastal Scents palette dark teal (5 from the left, 7 down) on the crease of the outer V
• Coastal Scents palette highlight shade (first row on the left, 2 down) on browbone
• Blend all colors with a clean Sigma SS224

• Line upper lash line 2/3 of the way in with Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen
• Line lower 2/3 of the way in with ELF black eyeliner
• Line water line with metallic teal eyeliner Milani Color Brilliance 02 Aqua
• Loreal Telescopic Mascara in Black
  

Cheeks:

• Coastal Scents 10 Color Blush Palette hot pink blush (2nd one from the right on bottom row)
• Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder in 010 Brighten on upper cheek bones 

Lips:

• Pink glitter lipgloss Covergirl WetSlicks in Crush

Let me know if you liked it!!

XOXO,
Gena

100 Follower Giveaway!!!!

*Giveaway has ended-12/14/10

I have finally reached 100 followers! Thanks everyone for following and reading my blog!
So now for a little reward...

E.L.F.'s Get the Look Dramatic Eyes Set

This includes: "Black Earth & Water Mascara, Black Eyeliner Pencil, Eyeshadow Brush. Natural False Lashes with glue, Pencil Sharpener, 2 Eyeshadow Applicators, White Eyeshadow Pot, Charcoal Eyeshadow Pot and Black Eyeshadow pot." --ELF

Product Description from ELF: "Be your own makeup artist! With one of the collectors instructional themed Get the Look Kit you will have an on hand resource guide and products to create your professional look in minutes. Collect them all!"

This makeup is great quality! I use a lot of ELF stuff and I love it. A lot of people may think that since it is so cheap that it is bad quality, but its not! They are so cheap because they do not spend as much on packaging and ship from one location where everything is manufactured. To read more about them Click Here.

Who can enter?

I am shipping the product directly to the winner when I order it. Therefore you can only enter if you live in the United States. I'm sorry guys, but ELF doesn't ship internationally.

When does it start and end?
The contest begins now. It will end on February 14, 2010 at 12:00 AM EST.
I will do a post for the winner the next day. I will also be contacting the winner to get your information. If I do not get in touch with you within a week I will choose someone else. 

How do you enter? 
You must be a follower.

Just leave a comment on THIS POST saying "Enter me".
For an extra entry blog about my giveaway and put the link to it in your comment.
All entries need to be submitted before 12:00 am eastern time.

I will use random.org to generate the winner.

Good luck!
Thanks for following again!

XoXo,
Gena

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Review

Hey everyone!
I recently purchased a color from Sally Hansen's newest line-- Complete Salon Manicure. It has a base coat, color, and top coat combined in one. So all you have to do is apply it in one step (well two coats).
The color is Red Zin which is a deep cool toned red. This picture shows it lighter than it actually is.

Pros:
-Very shiny!
-Great rich color
-Went on smoothly
-Good brush
-The top has a nice grip band on it and it is easy to open and close
-One step manicure!

Cons:
The main problem I had with it is it chipped after 2 days. Now I did apply a base coat that is a nail strengther because I am trying to get my nails healthier so I have been reapply that a lot so I didn't want to leave it out. However, the polish already contains a base coat. So I don't know if that had something to do with the chipping. After I noticed the chipping I read the bottle and it said to apply to a clean bare nail. So that might have been the problem. That just shows you to read the directions on everything!
This was the chipping after 2 days:

Again, that is not the true color. The soft yellow lighting makes the color look orange-ish but it is a cooler dark red.

I painted it on my toes as well:

Overall I would repurchase more from this line. I really like all the colors. I have not been able to find it online at the Sally Hansen site. The only place that I saw it online was Ulta (for $8), but they did not have the color I got. I got mine at Walmart for around $7.

Click here for the polish at Ulta

Some of the other colors I want are the light green, Grass Slipper, and the navy, Navy Baby.

Let me know if you like this!

Don't forget to follow so I can start the 100 follower giveaway!

XOXO,

Gena

The Ins and Outs of January

Hey everyone!
I'm going to be doing a In and Out post for every month-- so let me know if you like reading them!

Ins:
-Snow!!! We have been getting so much snow this winter!
-My new hair highlights!
-Sally Hansen Complete  Manicure in Red Zin 610. I love them, I want to get them all!
-Coastal Scents blush palette. I have been using this like everyday since I got it.
-Loreal True Match liquid foundation. I never liked using liquid foundation because it felt heavy and clogged my face. But after a while with using mineral I decided to try it again and I love how it covers SO much better.
-Lindt Lindor Chocolates. I am LOVING these all of a sudden. They are so good. Its like a chocolate ball shell with creamy fudge on the inside. Awesome.


Outs:
-Being sick! Having the flu over break was just not fun. Its like I feel better for a few days and then its back again.
-My hands being SUPER dry.  Like to the point of cracking. Winter coldness sucks. Anyone know a good hand cream?
-Exams are coming...
-How many more months of school?
-My nails constantly breaking. I am trying to grow them out and let them restore themselves after all the acrylics and they just wont budge.
-My ELF Face Primer. It doesn't seem to be doing much but breaking me out.
-Sally Hansen Color Quick Nail Color Pen. These suck! The color was uneven, brush- HORRIBLE, so hard to apply, wouldn't come out of the pen then exploded.
-Christmas break being over.
-Bootleg cut jeans. I've been leaning to the skinnies only.






Tell me what you recent In and Outs are.
And let me know feedback from the previous post :]

XOXO,
Gena

Outfit of the Day, Update, Giveaway, and what's to come for Glam-Me-Up!

Hey!
I'm just going to start out with an Outfit of the Day then I want to talk about some stuff for Glam-Me-Up and the giveaway.

Top: Charlotte Russe Click here $22
It is hard to see in that picture but it is black with purple and beige flowers. It has flowy sleeves, is bunched at the waist and sheer fabric.
Tank: Target $10
Just a simple cami underneath since the top is so short.
Jeans: American Eagle Click here $30
Dark skinny jeans
Shoes: Forever21 I couldn't find the exact ones anymore but these are similar: Click here $35
Jewelry: I just had black earrings and a beige flower ring.

Comment if you have questions about anything.


So the first thing I wanted to ask you about is what you want to see more of. I want to know what everyone likes to read the most. Do you like tutorials, fashion, tips, reviews, or any other kind? I want to hear everyone's feedback so I can write about what everyone wants to hear! I like doing a little bit of everything and switching it up.

Another thing is series type entries. Like having a Fashion Fridays, In and Outs, Product Rave of the month, Face of the Day, etc. I've been doing the Nail of the Week but that is in the sidebar. Should I continue with it? Does everyone like it?

Also I want to do a 100 follower giveaway. But first I want to know how many people are going to enter it. I am at 94 followers right now and once I reach 100 I will start the giveaway. I need at least 10-20 people to enter to do the giveaway. So comment below telling me if you would enter the giveaway. Its free!

I'm thinking of a review on Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure so if you want to hear about that let me know.

Email me, comment, or type in the Mini Updates box in the sidebar and let me know your feedback & about the Giveaway! :]

XOXO,
Gena