Essie Sleek Sticks Review

Well, I'll start off by saying, I LOVE THESE! Way to go Essie! These are the one nail applique that has lasted longer than any others. And they have rhinestones. I didn't have very high expectations for these, but every step of the way, I've been pleasantly surprised.

Pros:
Easy to apply - The directions on the box are very basic.... 3 steps: cleanse, apply, perfect (shape). It took me about 10-15 minutes.
Long lasting-  Nail appliques that I've used (Sally Hansen and Kiss Nail Dress) all last a couple of days and either stray the peel at the cuticle or chip at the tip within a day or two. These are started to do that after a week.

Cons:
The biggest con with these Sleek Sticks and any other nail applique is the price. Most run anywhere form $6 to $15 dollars for roughly 1 (maybe more) applications. A bottle of nail polish would go a lot further. I would definitely recommend these for special occasions if price is a major factor. They're fun, but would get expensive if you used them a lot!

Price: $9.99 at Target 

From Blonde to Brunette: Using Semi-Permanent Hair Color (In Less Than an Hour!)

Hey ya'll!

I've got brown hair now and this video is going to show you how you can do it too.

It was easy peasy.

I only used Clairol Natural Instincts in Light Auburn (#16 Spiced Tea) and Medium Brown (#20 Hazelnut) to achieve the color.

I knew that because of all the bleach that I would need to replace some of the pigment and that's what I did with red. Then I placed the brown on top of it and it turned out GREAT! I was really worried that my hair was going to turn green and I'm so glad that it didn't!

Being blonde was fun, but so much work. It got old really fast. 

Blog Organization and Scheduling

Hi Everyone! I've created some outlines for making video tutorials and reviews, but they could easily be used for blog tutorials and reviews. I thought that I would share them with you!

I like to write with pen and paper. I know some people prefer to organize their thoughts on the computer, but I like having a piece of paper and pen. I guess I'm just old school! I created these templates to make sure that my thoughts were organized and I could easily update them as needed.

I customized them to meet my needs and I'm sure you'll be able to do that too. If you don't want to change them and if you'd like the template, but would like to change it let me know, I'd be happy to share the original with you. I created it in Powerpoint because I don't have Illustrator or Photoshop on my Macbook.

You could probably find a way to make the PDF electronic friendly too. If you have any questions or suggestions I'd love to hear!

Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Nail Strips Starter Kit Review

Ah, Sally, you've done it again. Not only are their Real Polish Strips amazing, but now they've taken them up a notch.

The Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit (Shell We Dance) was a bit of an impulse buy for me. I already own everything that I need to do a gel manicure. I hadn't done gels in a while and was intrigued to try the strip concept. I also bought a refill kit in Amazing Lace.

Basically, you put on the strips and put the gel polish on as a top coat.

Pros:

• Easy: The application is easy, a bit time consuming, but not any more time consuming than other manicures. Especially if you include drying time. Plus, you only have one coat of polish to dry, not 4 (base, 2 coats of color and top coat) like you would in a regular gel manicure.
• Cost: $30 for a light and everything you need to get started is a great deal
• No mess: The only mess with this is the backings of the strips. They can end up in really weird places if you're not careful...
• Little room for error: You won't run into the bubbling, too thick, too thin crap that you can run into with gels.
• No dry time

Cons:

• Cost: I know, $30 bucks gets you one application. If you're creative you can probably get two, maybe 3 out of it. 
• Refills: Refills are expensive ($15). They include everything in the kit, except the lamp. They include a gel top coat in every refill, which isn't necessary. 
• Wear time: Mine lasted about two days and started to chip. I filed down all of my nails, so they were really short. After I filed them down, I didn't seem to have nearly as many problems. My nails are fairly weak, so I'm not the best judge of nail wear.

All in all, I think this kit is awesome and prefer it over my OPI Axxium Soak-Off Gels. It's just easier and takes way less time. Plus having patterns is super SWEET!

I'm going to try buying some of the regular strips and sealing them with the top coat. I'll keep you posted! ;)

Influenster VoxBox: Beauty Blogger 2012

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I love being apart of the Influenster VoxBox program. I tired making a video talking about all these products, but I had some major technical difficulties. I recorded it once and the audio didn’t match up. Then I tried recording it with my webcam, but it kept stopping a few seconds into it. Ugh. So, a blog post will have to do!

NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact: $4.99

For 5 bucks, you can beat the price. This quad has 4 very pigmented colors. I believe that the color that I got was in Dark Shadows, but I can’t seem to find that name on NYC’s website. It has beautiful greys, perfect for creating a traditional smokey eye. The compact also has a primer and highlighter. The primer is okay, but the highlight is WAY to light for me. I have very fair skin, so if it’s too light for me, it’s probably too light for most people. All in all a great edition to anyone’s collection. Grade: A+

Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit: $5.99

Kiss makes some great cheap lashes, but this product was a bit disappointing for me. The lashes were really thick and I had trouble getting them to curve around my lashes. The applicator was nice and a lot better than some. I can’t vouch for the glue, because I was never able to get the lashes on.  Grade: D

Bath and Body Works Mini Candles: $3.50

This is a no brainer. Of course these rock. I got Mahogany Teackwood and I love it. I had to buy this in the full size, 3 wick candle. I also got a couple of other flavors too. Grade: A+

EBoost Effervescent Powders: $expensive

I’m so jacked up on vitamins that I didn’t even try this.

Good Simple Styles Spin Pins: $7.29

I don’t wear my hair up very often, but this would be perfect for anyone who loves wearing her hair up. They’re easy to use, hold well and you can get it in different colors to match your hair. I tried these out and really like them.  I only needed one pin because my hair is fine. I would definitely use these a lot of I wore my hair up. The only downside is the price. Seven bucks seems a little steep for two hair pins.

Not Your Mother’s Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream: $6

Yep, these definitely aren’t my mother’s kinky moves. What a weird name. That being said, I don’t have curly hair so I thought this would be rather pointless for me. I do want to try some of their other products though.

Vitabath Fragrance Mist: $10

I really liked this. I got Nouveau Rose. The smell is really nice and a nice pick me up. I’m not sure if this product is available at the drug store or not. Kinda sucks if it’s not, but it’s definitely worth the $10.