LVX Nail Polish Review

I was very happy to receive a new nail polish in my March BoxyCharm to add to my collection. LVX nail polish is a brand entirely new to me, and since this bottle retails for $16.00, I had only the highest of hopes for this polish to live up to the claims they make on it.

Check out the LVX nail lacquers here  where you can find out even more about the brand and array  of colors they offer.  What I do appreciate is that this is a cruelty free nail polish brand and it is free of the five toxic chemicals that are found in most nail lacquers. What is interesting is that they get their color inspiration from the fashion runways and the trends they see there. They also say this formula is long lasting and chip resistant. 

So, I put this to the test to see if this high-end polish is worth the price tag!

I got this in the color, "Lemondrop", which is a pale yellow. It is perfect for the spring time and the sunshine!

What surprised me was that the cap came right off the top of the bottle when I was twisting it off! At first I thought that this was broken, but it looks to me like the huge cap is supposed to come right off.... Is it just me, or is that a waste of packaging? Hmmm....

Anyways, the skinnier cap is the right size to handle when painting nails, no doubt easier than if the massive cap was part of the handle. 

The brush is a basic skinny tip, nothing special nor outstanding. But, it is easy to apply the lacquer with this brush, so I appreciate that.

I was not impressed with the first coat. As with all yellow nail polishes I have tried, this one applied streaky with the first coat. Honestly, I rarely purchase yellow polishes for that fact and this one was no different than the others. 

This is what the polish looks like with two coats and you can see that there is still a little streakiness to the finished look. This is not as opaque as I want my nail polish to be. I only like doing two coats of any nail polish because that is all I have the time and patience for. And truly, two coats should be enough to get an opaque finish from any nail polish.

Yet, to be fair to LVX, yellow is a hard nail polish to work with.

Even though I am not impressed with the performance of this specific color, I am VERY impressed with the longevity of this formlua! I only experienced a small chip on my middle finger four days after I had applied this polish! AWESOME!

Through my everyday life, LVX nail lacquer endured the test of time! It wasn't until I had painted walls and hung up a few home decor items and did some heavy duty home improvement projects that the polish started to chip away. 

I would say that this is a nail polish that is worth the price tag because it lasts for DAYS without chipping.  So, please do check out their website to peruse the countless colors they have available. You will not be disappointed! This was amazing!

Have A Great Day!

Wet N' Wild Contouring Palette In, "Caramel Toffee"

Contouring palettes are all the rage right now and it seems as if every single beauty brand is putting out their own contouring sets. And Wet N Wild has brought out their own contouring palette, two to be exact! I was hoping a drugstore brand would be putting out their own affordable contour, so I ran to Walmart and picked this up!

I have had it for a few days now and am ready to let you know what I think about this product.

I purchased this in the color, "Caramel Toffee" at Walmart for just under $4.00. There where two color options and Caramel Toffee was the only option left for me. The other palette, Dulce De Leche, was sold out, so unfortunately I cannot share my thoughts on both palettes. But, I did hear that "Caramel Toffee" is the cooler toned of the two.

Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, "Caramel Toffee"

I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the compact; as you can see it is bigger than the palm of my hand! I love how much product that you are getting, especially for how affordable this is. What is nice about this compact, is that even though it s huge, it is still skinny enough to travel with. And you know me, I like to take into consideration how travel friendly makeup products can be!

Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, Caramel Toffee

Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, Caramel Toffee

Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, Caramel Toffee

The thing with the high end contouring palettes out there, they give you a lot of different colored contours and highlighters. While that may be nice, for some people, I had to ask myself, will I really be using all of these colors? The answer was always, no. For the amount of money they are selling for, I want to be using every color that I am paying for in the palette. Otherwise, it would be a waste of my money...

With the Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, I love how you have one contour and one highlighter. Wet N Wild simplified it for us and I thank them repeatedly! Now, I am assured I will use all the product in my palette, none will go to waste!

Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, Caramel Toffee

As for the texture of these products, both are soft to the touch without feeling overly powdery. While it can be a tad powdery when swatched, these blend out beautifully onto the face. I did not find there to be a ton of fall out with either the contour or highlighter.

Wet N Wild Contouring Palette, "Caramel Toffee"
Left: Contour
Right: Highlighter

In the pictures above, the contour leans a little on the red side, but in reality it is a milk chocolate color that truly does carry that cool tone that you need to contour the face and mimic shadows.  This gives off just the right amount of color without having to worry that you used too much product.

The highlighter is a matte cream color, but unfortunately as you can see from the swatches, it looks powdery and chalky. Even when applied on my medium skin tone, while it does blend out, it seems to blend out into nothing, because it does not even show up. That was a little disappointing.

One suggestion that I heard from a youtuber's video, (emilynoel83), was to use the highlighter as a setting powder for concealer underneath the eyes. I thought that was a genius idea, because it is supposed to be a highlighter, so it will brighten under your eyes. Because of that suggestion, I don't think this palette would be a complete waste!

Plus, I will admit, I am not always wanting to highlight my oily face, even when contouring. So, for me personally, its not a huge loss. ;)

I love this palette have used it every single day since I purchased this. I am so glad that there is now a drugstore option for contouring, and hopefully more drugstore brands will put out their own versions of contours.

I highly recommend that you try this out for yourself, because for less than $4.00, you just may be pleasantly surprised yourself!



Have A Wonderful Day!

Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tint In, "Charmed"

In my BoxyCharm this month I received another awesome product from Tarte that I had not had the chance to try out before. It's a Tarte LipSurgence in the color, "Charmed". I know I am super late to the game on this one, but you know I always get excited about lip products, so lets see what my thoughts are on this!

Tarte LipSurgence retails for $24.00 and comes in twelve different colors on Tarte's website, which you can check out here . They say that this acts as a lipstick, lip gloss and a lip balm all in one. This claims to deliver rich complexion-enhancing pigment and will keep your lips feeling hydrated all day.

I love the packaging of twist up lip products, because there is never any need to sharpen this! Just twist it up and you get more product.  The convenience of this makes it so easy to travel with! I will definitely be taking this with me when I travel! The less sharpening I have to worry about the more at ease I can be!

The formula is so soft and creamy, it just glides across the lips like silk. There is absolutely no tugging whatsoever! Because it is so soft, it feels just like a balm which gives instant hydration to the lips. This is very comfortable to wear, I could wear this all day every day!

Tarte LipSurgence in, "Charmed"

Tarte LipSurgence in, "Charmed"

This does not give off a lot of pigment, but true to what it claims, you can still see the natural pigmentation of the lips, with just a hint of pink to them. It really is pretty, because it is natural and fresh! I have a feeling that this would look good on any skin tone.

There is just a small hint of a mint scent to lipgloss, but it is not strong at all. Although, when wearing it you can smell a faint, but not strong, scent as it is worn. But it does wear off through out the day.

I would love to try out more colors, especially if they have any that are more pigmented and give off more color payoff. This is such a pleasurable formula to wear that I would purchase many more!

This is definitely a new love!


Have A Wonderful Day!

Whatever Wednesday: Get To Know A Little About Me (Personal)

Yes, I understand I have been slacking on this blog this month, but March is typically a busy month for us because it is my husbands and mine anniversary month. Yup, it has been a wonderful twelve married years for us, yet a total of fourteen and a half years together! EEK!

Isn't it funny how time flies by?

We have been gone the past week or so on vacation with my kiddos, parents and brother to celebrate and hang out. Ahhh, it was relaxing, but the time sure went by fast!

To celebrate the twelve years we have been married, I am going to share with you just a few personal (but not too personal) pictures with you so you can get to know me just a little bit more.

These pictures are not in any order of importance...

1. My Boys

I have two little boys, the oldest is ten and the other is six. Wow, where does time fly? When I was first married I did not want children, but just a few months into our marriage I found out that I was pregnant. And, yes, I cried constantly about that. But, it was the best mistake that ever happened to me. I loved being a mother so much that I wanted another one. I am so thankful that I have two little boys who mean the universe to me. They are my world and my all. I cannot imagine my life without them in it. 

2. My Hubby

Yes, he is a man of mystery (LOL), so his face shall remain disguised! He is the one and only, I can never imagine my life with anyone else. We have been through so many ups and countless downs in our marriage that it has drawn us closer as a couple. We have fought too hard in the beginning of our marriage to throw it all away now. He puts up with me, and I don't even know why. I cannot ask for a better partner to experience this life with.

3. The Happiest Place On Earth

I have been to Disney World three times, my hubby twice, my oldest twice and my youngest once. Where else on earth can you get away from the crazy hectic world and allow your inner child to come out? I love Disney World, because I grew up watching Disney movies and daydreaming about fantasy worlds. Seriously, when I was younger I thought Neverland was real and wished that Peter Pan would come visit my window and fly me away. Ah... Only in Disney World do dream comes true...

4. My Favorite Disney Princess

I grew up LOVING Ariel, the little mermaid. This was my all time, and still is, favorite Disney movie. I loved swimming, and still do, when I was younger. My dad always took us kids to the lake and we would swim all day long and I would pretend I was a mermaid.  Basically, I wanted to be a mermaid and thought that someday I could turn into a mermaid. Every time I was in water I had to pretend I was Ariel. She's the best!

 5. I Am In Love With Big Cities

I come from a  small town where it takes ten, maybe fifteen minutes to get from one end of town to the other. I grew up here and love the quaintness of this town. But, I adore big cities and secretly have always wanted to live in a big city. We took a trip to Seattle a few years ago and I loved it. I love walking wherever I have to be. And yes, it rained that whole trip and I still loved it! My all time favorite city is NYC and if given the opportunity would move there in a heartbeat. I have been there twice and I fall in love every time. We are planning a trip to NYC in the Fall and are taking the kids with us. I CANNOT WAIT!!!

6. Cupcakes Are My Thang

Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes... Everyone who knows me, knows I love cupcakes. They are so stinkin' cute! They are my weakness. If I am alone in a room with a cupcake, that cupcake is not coming out. It shall be devoured by me. This is my dessert of choice. Enough said.

7. I Am A Super Fan Of Michael Buble'

I have been to two of his concerts and LOVED every single one of them. He was actually the very first concert I had been to a few years back. I have always liked the old standards because they are so romantic and heartfelt and Mr. Buble' pulls it off well, because he has that voice that just fits that era of music. I could listen to him all day everyday!

8. It's The Little Things That Mean The Most

I don't need nor desire expensive gifts at all. What means the most to me are the things that family and friends have made special for me. For them to take their time to work on something for me in mind means so much more to me than an expensive handbag. It always melts my heart when my boys surprise me with their creations they crafted for me, or even notes saying I Love You on them. Those will always be treasured and never disregarded.

9. Reading Is An Addictive Pastime

I get lost in books. They transport me into another time, another world and another character. What better way is there to spend a day? Especially when it is rainy, gloomy and cold outside. I want to be curled up on my couch with a cup of hot tea and a big book. That's my idea of a good day!

10. Buying A Fixer Upper

Yeah, so we moved into this bigger house a little over a year ago. It was my husbands favorite house, he could not get it out of his head when we where house hunting. I was not in love with it, and am still not in love with it.But, my hubby loves remodeling and seeing his vision come to life. While I like doing those things, I just don't have the time to do them, and neither does he. So, we are living in our fixer upper and fixing it up one project at a time. We figure in five years everything should be remodeled. Yeah, I don't think I would buy a fixer upper again...

11. I Loved To Run

Yes, I said it in the past tense, but I still wish I could run because there is nothing like the free, almost flying feeling that running can bring. I ran constantly when I was a teenager with my dad. I picked it up again a few years ago and got back into shape to train for a half marathon, which was my goal. (I even started a running blog back than! LOL) Even though I entered a few races, I never made it to my half, because I kept re-injuring my leg to the point where running was not worth it. I still do miss it, though...

12. Scrabble Is My Game Of Choice

Growing up, Scrabble was always boring and took way too long, so I could never last when my mom and I would play. But, a few years back I found that Scrabble is one of those games that you absolutely cannot rush. It is a pastime game inner family; a way to spend a lazy winters day eating and drinking and playing a game that lasts a couple hours. That to me, is homey.

There you go, guys, this is just a little insight into the person that I am. Hope you enjoyed!


Have A Wonderful Day!

Mally's Brow Beauty Ultimate Brow Kit Review

I am all about the brows, baby! I cannot step out my front door without filling in my thin eyebrows, either with a pencil or quickly with powder. I have tried so many brow products from different drugstore and high end companies that I figured I might as well give Mally's Brow Beauty Ultimate Brow Kit a try. I adore Mally's beauty products, because they are amazing quality and last a very long time when wearing them! 

Mally's Ultimate Brow Kit retails for $30.00 and comes in Taupe, Medium Brown, and Sable. This kit includes a double ended brow pencil, a tube of clear brow gel, a sharpener, and a double ended brow tool that has a spoolie at one end and a lash comb at the other. I thought this was a phenomenal deal for all the products that you receive!

Mally Beauty claims that this will last all day on your brows and the gel will give you staying power and lock the brows into place.

I have been able to test this out for the past month or more, so read on to find out what my thoughts are on this product!

This comes packaged so neatly and compact, not to mention the color of the box is amazing! I just so happen to be a fan of the pale green, and you can even see a faint shadowing of snake skin on the packaging. Ah, yes, this packaging is an eye grabber, that's for sure!

Above is a picture of all the goodies when they where brand new just out of the box! Check out how beautiful that pale green is, it looks so sleek and sophisticated. I LOVE this color! 

The double ended brow pencil includes a defining pencil on one end and a soft color pencil on the other. It's very convenient and works well to have these two different pencils all in one. It makes for a quick application and great for traveling, because you will not have to take two different pencils with you or risk forgetting one and leaving it behind. 

Yet, on the other hand, some of us can just get by using one brow pencil, so, maybe using two different kinds is just an extra step that you can skip. And if you are someone who feels that way, I am with you on that, my dears!

The defining pencil is firm and has a dry formula to it, and is meant to be used to define the outline of your brows. This is dry enough to define the outline of your brows without it looking harsh, while the color is light enough to define without it looking fake and obvious. 

The softcolor end is what you use to fill in the brows and it still has a dry formula, but is slightly softer than the definer. This performs very similarly to the defining end of this pencil, because the color comes off subtly, which prevents the brows from looking harsh. 

Mally's Brown Beauty Ultimate Brow Kit In Medium Brown
Left: Definer
Right: Softcolor

The way that the pencil performed was a touch disappointing. I was used to creamier brow products, or ones with a softer formula. But, I have come to see that the dryness of the pencil helps to distribute just the right amount of color, without overdoing it. Plus, a dry formula really does help the brows to stay all day! Yet, the formula is still not my favorite to work with, because I almost feel like I have to drag the pencil harshly across my brows for the color payoff to show up, it is that dry of a pencil. 

Now, I love this brow gel! This is a clear brow gel that holds your brow hairs in place all day long! I am picky about brow gel, because there are some that will flake on me, making me look like I put hairspray on my brows and it gets flakey as the day goes on. That is not my thang at all! But, this gel I really do like and it performs beautifully!

This brow tool is perfect and I use this daily. The spoolie is soft, plush and thick while the lash comb on the other end feels like it is made of steel! This tool is going to last quite a long time. The only thing is, it is so long, I almost wish they had made it just a little smaller so it would be easier to stuff in a makeup bag and travel with.

Oh, and the sharpener is your run of the mill sharpener, and has worked wonderfully. It has not eaten up the pencil yet! That's a huge plus, isn't it?

Honestly, I will not repurchase this brow kit once I have used it up. I am not in love with the formula of the brow pencil and I truly don't feel the need to use two different types (ends) to complete my brows. It is just an extra step that I feel okay with leaving out. 

The gel I adore, but than again, if I can find a drugstore alternative that will do the same thing this gel does, I will be happy. Even if Mally sold this gel on its own, I would hesitate to buy it, because I have a feeling there is a cheaper brow gel out there that can do the job right!

Does anyone out there have any affordable brow gel suggestions out there for me? I would love to try them out!

Have A Wonderful Day!

 

Whatever Wednesday: HauteLook Took Me By Surprise!

So... now that winter is winding down, stores everywhere have been having clearance on a lot of winter time goodies, and that also has included boots! I love boots and wear them dressed up and down, so I have been in dire need of some new black boots and brown boots.

Well, for me brown boots have been hard to find this year, ones that are the right shade of brown and have the right detail that I have been looking forward to. A chocolate brown is what I wanted, and nothing with a lot of bling or overdone details.

For fun, I happened to be perusing hautelook.com just this past Sunday night around 9:00ish and happened to find that their boots where 80% off! They had such a wide variety of different colors, shapes and styles... Well, I found a beautiful pair of brown boots with simple detail that I believe are by the brand Bucco and are called the Bince Boot. According to Hautelook, this retails for around $110.00 and they had this on sale for $26.97. So, with shipping, this gorgeous boot only cost me $34.92!!!!

SCORE!!!


Usually, when I have ordered from Hautelook, it took about two weeks at least for my order to arrive, and the anticipation kills me. Well, I came home today around 5:30 and low and behold, my hubby presented me with my shipment! I was NOT expecting this for awhile, I had't even bothered to check on its shipping status. I was pleasantly surprised!

I absolutely ADORE the gold zipper that runs up the outside of the boot. I really like how this is noticeable from the outside of the boot, not hidden on the inside. If a boot has this kind of cool detail, I want it to be noticed! Plus, gold on brown looks so pretty!

The buckles on this boot are not overwhelming nor is it cheesy looking. These are jut the right size where it is not distracting from the simplicity of this boot. They add just the right amount of pizzazz.

Here is the inside of the boot, simple and classy. I have a feeling that this will not go out of style!

I Love my new boots! Not to mention the super fast shipping that hautelook surprised me with! I hope this is their new norm, because I will order from them more often if this is the case!


Have you ordered anything exciting from them lately? Let me know!



Have A Wonderful Day!

NCLA Nail Laquer In, "Heart Attack" Review

I love a nail polish, but glitter nails and nail decals and confetti are not my thang, only because I find glitter polish a pain in the booty to remove and nail decals and confetti, in my opinion, while they are very pretty, can be a little too overwhelming on my fingernails. So, when I received a nail polish from NCLA in the color, "Heart Attack" that had cute pink and red heart decals in clear nail polish, I have to admit that I wondered exactly when I would wear something like this...

But, let's check this out and see what my experience with this polish was!

Check out their website here , where you can find full details of this product, but this retails for $16.00, so I expect awesomeness from such an expensive high end nail polish with this price tag. Let's see if this delivered...

Lets just talk about how adorable this box is! You know how I feel about packaging and unboxing a product. If the package is cute, it makes opening it even more exciting because I anticipate great things from the product itself. NCLA nail lacquer comes in a plastic box with such a cute expression on the top, "Enjoy a little California love on your fingertips." How cute, is that?

This is a clear nail polish saturated with pink and red confetti hearts that are very cute. But, as I asked before, where am I going to wear this? 

This has your typical nail polish brush that works just fine, but what I did notice right away from just opening up the bottle and checking out the brush, is that this doesn't pick up much confetti hearts... Do you notice that from the picture above? I was immediately worried ow this would apply...

As far as application goes, the NCLA nail lacquer was a huge dud! It was frustrating to work with, because the brush would pick up maybe one or two of the hearts, which was not cool with me, because it is full of so much of the confetti. I expected more than just two hearts... I struggled with just applying the three hearts that I got on my one accent nail. It took several dips into the bottle to get the few that I got out. Not to mention, if I tried applying more than one coat of this nail lacquer the clear coat tended to get a touch goopy.

My recommendation would be to use a good pair of tweezers to take the heart confetti from the brush and to place it on the nail where you want it.

I figured that a good way to use this polish would be as an accent nail. Subtle and cute, right? I than topped this with my Sally Hansen clear polish and called it good.

Unfortunately, the hearts did not last very long on my nails. By the second day, one had fallen off and by the third day, they all where completely gone... So much for that, right?

Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this NCLA nail lacquer, I expected way more for this hefty price tag. When I have an unfortunate experience with a product, especially one that is priced so high, I tend to shy away from trying out anymore of their products. Remember, first impressions are hard to forget. I just wish Boxycharm would have included a different nail lacquer from this brand, maybe one without the confetti. Possibly than, my thoughts would be different...

Oh well... Better stuff next time ;)



Have A Wonderful Day!