NOTD: Julep Claire and Revlon Radiant

This manicure is a combination of Julep Claire and Revlon Radiant. I got Claire in my first Julep Maven box and I got Radiant about a year ago.

After my very neutral and subdued last manicure, I wanted to go for something bold and bright, which is what inspired this look. And I felt that this was a perfect spring look. We hit the 90's on Monday, so this manicure felt just perfect to mark the real start of spring time!

Color: Claire is an opaque cream bright sky blue. This polish makes me think of a summer day sky. I did two coats for this manicure. Radiant is a multi-sized and colored glitter suspended in a clear base. There is bright blue micro-glitter and bright blue, silver and green larger hexagon shaped glitters.

Formula/Application: The consistency of Claire (and other non-glitter Julep polishes I have tried is thin. Which means there was streaking on the first coat, but with two coats, it self-leveled and gave a perfectly opaque look. I like the mix of the micro glitter and the larger pieces in Radiant. I find that the coverage is very good on this glitter. I got the look I have here with two thin coats. I have worn this shade solo with three coats, I tend to put a base color down to make sure that if there are any bare spots left you cannot see them. I love the look of this multi-dimensional glitter. As with all glitters, Radiant leaves a gritty texture, but I find that with a good medium-thick layer of seche vite I am not bothered by this at all.

Wear Time: I am on Day 3 of this manicure, and it is still going stronge. This is my first time really wearing Claire, so I don't know what the wear time will be like. I have worn Radiant a lot in the past, and I can usually get 5 days without chipping, unless I use a bad base/top coat, and then on occasion I have had this glitter chip off.

Would I repurchase? No and yes. I do not think I would repurchase Claire. I have a lot of blue-toned nail polishes, and this is a true blue, but I tend to like the more green blues, such as aqua, turquoise, teal. As far as Radiant goes, yes, I really do think that I would repurchase this. It is probably my favorite glitter, and definitely what made me start to try out the Revlon glitter polish formula, which I think is great. The mix of micro and larger glitter pieces with the mix of green and silver in the blue based glitter is what makes this color so multi-dimensional.

NOTD: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Peachy Keen

I got the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Peachy Keen last fall when the old formula was being discontinued and the line was being reformulated.

I picked up several nail polishes at that time - I should probably update my nail polish swatches - and I have been really enjoying the finish and wear time on the line. I am interested to try out the new formulation, but I cannot bring myself to pay full price. I try not to buy drugstore cosmetics at full price.

I am not really a fan of conservative safe nail polish colors. But I like having more conservative options, such as this beautiful nude-peach shade. I think that this a great modern twist on a classic professional nail look. I do not care for french manicures, and I think this a great alternative to that sort of classic look.

Color: A peachy nude color that nearly matches my skin tone, but does not make me hands look dead. I am extremely pale with pink undertones, and this polish is not too warm for me. Which i really like. Its almost a neutral peach color. This is a nice slightly shear and creme finish shade. I did three coats to get the finish on my nails here, which is an opaque look. 

Formula/Application: The formula is a good medium consistency. This line is supposed to be the complete manicure, base + color + top coat, but I always wear a base and top coat with all my nail polish looks. I found that there was slight streaking but the polish leveled itself out, which is great. 

Wear Time: I wore this manicure without chipping for about 5 days, I started to get some tip wear, but I found that the overall look was still good on day 5 when I removed this polish.  I did add an accent nail on my ring finger (that I neglected to take a picture of) around day 3. 

Would I repurchase? Absolutely, I do not think I will need to, as I have so many polishes. But I do really like this color. I do not know if this color is in the newly revamped line.  I have made a decent dent in the bottle, which is because I wore this shade several times when I first purchased, and then again when I had a series of interviews, this was my go to shade.

CVS Beauty Clearance Hauling

I have been hitting up the CVS Beauty clearance pretty hard over the last few days, it started Friday, May 17, 2013 and I think it will continue for quite a while. I have done really well with combining coupons with the sale to get some amazing steals. I have to credit the blog www.nouveaucheap.blogspot.com for alerting me to the start of this amazing sale. I haven't brought myself to pick up anything that isn't 75% off yet, but I was looking at the CoverGirl Olay concealer pots that are 50% off. I did get some duplicates, which I plan on sharing with my family. Who doesn't love a random eyeshadow palette or lipgloss?

Without further ado, here is my recent haulage that I got for a total of $7.53:

Spring 2013 Empty Products

I have gone through quite a few products recently. I wanted to give a short review of the empty products that have been piling up.

Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer SPF 20

I had this as a deluxe sample, 0.5 fl oz, and I loved this moisturizer. I have not purchased a full-size, due to it's high cost, but when I am through my backlog of skincare products, I would seriously consider this moisturizer. It is not perfect, but I really like the effect it has on my skin. I felt like my skin was very moisturized all day, and it didn't feel heavy. I used this as a day cream because of the SPF. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to keep their skin well moisturized and get great skincare benefits. I do not have a plethora of wrinkles, just some light lines under my eyes, but I did feel that my skin look refreshed while using this moisturizer.

Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Lay it on Thick

I had this body moisturizer for awhile without using it. I recently uncovered it and started using it on my legs and feet after the shower. It is a very rich moisturizer that helped to nourish my parched skin. I like that there is little scent to this product, smells simply of shea butter, and that it works so well. I will consider purchasing if I see it on a special, but I have many body lotions I need to get through first.