Friday, July 26, 2013

Deborah Lippmann's "Mermaid's Dream" Nail Laquer Review

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Ok, first off, I have to be honest. I've wanted this nail polish for about two...maybe three years now. It was the first thing I really really wanted when I started heavily getting into beauty products-- but at $19 USD I just couldn't justify it. So I spent FOREVER looking for a dupe. Supposedly there's a dupe they sell at Urban Outfitters but the closest UO to me is all the way in Dallas. So spend $5 on a nail polish and $10 on gas seemed stupid or just say yes when your mom offers to buy it for you since she has a $10 off coupon at Beauty Brands. The answer is the latter.

I'd sworn off glitter polish because I HATE removing it but when mom said she would buy it for me, I buckled. When we got home I immediately applied it to every toenail and fingernail on my body (there's 24-- juuusss kiddin) and there it has sat for the last 5 days. I haven't had any chips and when applying you have a solid application after only two coats. The only thing I haven't been crazy about is the texture. It took two coats of topcoat for my nails to stop feeling rough.

Mermaid's Dream is a sea foam-turqouise based shimmer polish with micro gold, silver, and turquoise glitter with bigger bits of dark blue glitter. It gives off the appearance of scales or ocean waves. I bet you could do really neat beach/Animal Crossing themed nail art with this nail polish. Imagine adding a little coral seashell & a nude for the sand! Aw, I know what I'm gonna spend my empty weekend doing!

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Otherwise it's so beautiful and makes me feel like I'm a mermaid or really put together or something else silly to think when you've only just changed your nail color. I love love it, BUT I haven't tried taking it off of my nails yet, so this may be a short-lived love affair.

Apparently Deborah Lippmann has released a whole line of mermaid themed polishes in different colors! I still chose this one but for those who feel like they look sallow when wearing greenish blue polishes, now you have options!

Removing glitter nail polish really is one of my least favorite things to do. Ranked alongside going to the doctor, picking up dog poo, & chocolate cake. All things I really don't like.

Does anyone have some sort of technique when removing it? If you do, I would LOVE to hear it. I have so many beautiful glitter polishes that I only OCCASIONALLY use when I'm feeling really patient or there's some sort of party or fancy event.

Are there any beauty products that have haunted you for over a year? Share in the comments!

-Becca

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Top 5 Favorite Lip Products

I was getting ready to review a lip product that's been a favorite of mine for about a year & I realized it would be so much easier to just do a top five!

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left to right: 'peach parfait' revlon lip butter // 'pure zen' mac cremesheen // 'stormy pink' revlon // 'rose' fresh sugar lip treatment // 'dolce vita' nars

I prefer my lip products to have a light - medium wash of color rather than bold bold bold and thick. I think part of this is because I'm a redhead with a very pink skin-tone & it's very easy for my lipstick to look gaudy or wash out the rest of my features. My eyebrows & eyelashes are basically invisible without makeup so I try to naturally enhance them but even after makeup they don't exactly stand out. I don't even wear black eyeliner because it just washes me out so bad.

So if you're looking for bold opaque lip colors to try out, I am not going to be ANY help at all. I would suggest these resources:
a thunder heart // essiebutton // temptalia

All ladies who love some bold lips & have the features to carry them off without a hitch!

Anyways, back to my favorites! These are in no particular order. I wear all of them equally as often.

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revlon lip butter - 'peach parfait'

I have SO MANY lip butters. I actually have a post that I'm currently working on about the stupid amount of lip butters I own. Only half of them even look sort of okay on me. But that's what happens when there's a sale and you have a coupon and you don't do any research before wandering into the CVS at midnight. Sigh. Anyways, 'peach parfait' was the third or fourth lip butter I tried & has been my favorite and most used by far. Normally I really hate lipsticks and glosses with any sort of shimmer or glitter in them but this just looks so pretty and flattering on the lips. It's fairly moisturizing and feels more like a chapstick than a lipstick. There are so many reviews for lip butters out there you probably don't need one more from me.

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mac - pure zen

I reviewed this lipstick in a favorites post & something else but it's such a great peachy-nude lipstick. Honestly, do yourself a favor & go try it on at a MAC store. Make sure you're wearing a neutral dusrty blush or something semi peachy or it will clash & you won't like it. I made that mistake the first few times I tried to wear it. Also I know this has the limited edition Marilyn Monroe packaging but they sell this lipstick year round normally.

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revlon - stormy pink

I had this lipstick almost 6 months before I figured out how to use it. It definitely requires a lip primer or a balm before putting it on because it's a matte formula & can look bad if your lips are dry or patchy. But I LOVE IT. The color is so flattering & isn't too milky so it's easy to wear & this is an excellent dupe for NARS 'Roman Holiday' -- BUT they have completely different finishes. 'Roman Holiday' has a glossy finish & 'Stormy Pink' has a matte finish but you could definitely run a gloss over 'stormy pink' and it would look identical to 'roman holiday' since they're nearly the exact same color.

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fresh sugar lip treatment - rose

This is probably the lipstick I wear the most. Granted this is more of a tinted chapstick than a lipstick, but whatever. I use it too frequently not to mention it. I've already blown through two mini sample versions of this lip treatment & I've just started on the full size that my dad bought me earlier this year. This is a super moisturizing balm with the prettiest rose tint I've ever seen. It basically just makes me look like I'm not wearing anything on my lips, my lips just naturally look that pretty and hydrated which is something I feel like most everyone wants when they're going for a subtle look. I wear this even when I'm not wearing makeup because it's so subtle but so so pretty. HOWEVER at $22.50 a pop, I could see why this isn't something you would run out and buy --but if you've got a birthday coming up & you have a Sephora VIB card, you should be able to get mini versions of this and the clear one for free as a birthday gift from Sephora. DO IT. And if you don't like it, SEND YOUR MINI TO ME.

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nars - dolce vita

This is the ultimate 'my lips but better' lipstick. This is a bump up from the Fresh Sugar Rose lip treatment in that it's an actual sheer lipstick with the ability to build up more color. I definitely would recommend this as a gift for someone just getting into makeup or for someone who likes subtle neutral colors on their face as it is a universally flattering & easy to wear lip color. I love this lipstick so so much & the formula is amazing. It's another sheer lipstick similar to NARS 'Roman Holiday' & both spread so easily onto the lips with a really intense wash of color. I love these lipsticks! I want more but $26 is a lot for a lipstick (which is why I only have two).


Welp, that's it!

Hopefully you enjoyed this & won't mind another feature similar to this, I really like these mini reviews!


-Becca

Saturday, July 20, 2013

California Part 1 : The House

I just returned from a week spent in beautiful Santa Rosa, California. Ryan's family invited me along for a family vacation at a house they rented in the mountains. It was so beautiful and scenic and I imagine anyone who lives there is so bored of the views but in flat and dry Texas, it was a welcome change of scenery.

I'm breaking my California posts into 3 parts because I took A LOT of photos. And while I love overwhelming myself with too many photos, I don't imagine the average person wants to be bombarded with a gazillion random photos of stuff. Here we go!


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We landed in San Francisco and drove for an hour and a half to Santa Rosa in a rental car. I snapped a few shots but mostly I was tasked with being the navigator. It was SO FOGGY! Poor Ryan was driving a car he's never driven & we were on foggy windy roads for the beginning of the drive until we hit the main highway we rode along.

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This was a shot I took hanging out of the window a bit on our way up the hills to the house we were staying at. It was so beautiful! There were deer & wild turkeys all over most of the time.

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This is the front & side of the driveway of the house we stayed in for the week. It was so beautiful & big. We had 9 people staying there part of the week & Ryan and I got to have our own room & bathroom which was so nice! The kitchen (which I managed to get absolutely no good photos of) had a huge AGA stove in it which was really neat to use but made the house so HOT during the day since it's on 24/7. Seems more advantageous for a colder climate. The house was really really nice.

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This is part of the backyard area. There was a huge multi-level garden leading up to the pool & pool house and off the right of the stairs there was an outside kitchen & a botchi-ball court & more land with a small hiking trail. The second photo is the view from the botchi-ball court. This photo honestly doesn't do the view justice at all but I tried my best. Down below there was this tree with purple flowers covering it that was always swarming with hummingbirds during the day. It was awesome but impossible to photograph.

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The trail led to this little area where the owners had kept chickens & goats when they lived in the house but apparently a mountain lion kept getting in and eating everything :o I avoided this area after the word 'mountain lion' came up. Close up of the wheat (I thought it was so pretty!) that my mom was really baffled by -- "What is this?? Why did you take a photo of it??". I really like taking detail shots of things because it helps me remember things better. Maybe it's weird but I don't care!



Hope you enjoyed this! I'll have more photos in a few more days after I finish editing and organizing all of my photos. I feel like I took a million photos over the course of that week!

-Becca

Friday, July 19, 2013

Revlon Lip Butter in 'Gumdrop'


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So after a very successful coupon outing ($43 worth of beauty products for $12), I came home with a (another) shade of the Revlon Lip Butters. I have somehow collected 8 of these-- I don't know how this happened.

Well, I do but it's embarrassing.

I kept buying colors that just looked terrible on me. My more recent purchases have been more fruitful thankfully. This is my newest addition & I love it. I've been going crazy over the idea of a pastel lilac lip color & this is the subtle and super pretty solution to that.

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All of the Lip Butters have a really nice fairly moisturizing formula & while the wear time isn't super long unless you prime your lips. Most of the shades are a tad shimmery or sparkly so if that's not your thang, make sure you look close. I'm fairly sure the newer shades aren't shimmery though.

I don't have much else to say other than I love this color & I want to smear it all over my lips all day every day. So if you're wanting to try a lilac lip, I highly suggest giving 'Gumdrop' a whirl. & if you're feeling adventurous, add Revlon's lip gloss in "Lilac Pastille' over 'Gumdrop' for a more intense wash of lilac.

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-Becca

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Back, Finally



I'm currently taking a collective and huge sigh of relief that last week is officially over. My last bit of traveling for a while is over. I haven't been home in a solid three weeks, and while it was fun being away, I'm officially broke from not working & I am so tired & my apartment is a mess. Granted, I have a few more days before I work so I'm going to spend them working on my blog, cleaning & sleeping. If you don't see any new posts, it's because I decided to just sleep.

Anyways, expect a few beauty posts & some posts about California (where I was two weeks ago!) along with a few new post ideas I'm going to be trying.

Stay tuned!

-Becca

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Loved Links


This is a new bit I'm trying on ribbonsincurls. I look at SO much stuff on the internet, as do most people (duh), and sometimes I get so pumped about the stuff I'm reading I just wanna share it with everyone. So instead of posting those types of things to my tumblr, I'd rather just share them here.

Here we go:



Science Builds A Better Pie - A New York Times article instructional on how to make the best pie. Science & pie, what's not to love?




The Mindy Project Style Blog - This is a blog where they post links to pieces (and less expensive dupes!!) from Mindy Kaling's wardrobe. This includes images from her Instagram, her wardrobe from the show, events, etc. Basically this is the best thing ever.




Wreck-It Ralph themed nail art! - Ahh so cute. If only I had a steady enough hand & the patience to sit still that long. This girl is amazing.




Homemade Nutter Butters - Can you even imagine how amazing these must taste!?




Easy Knit Produce Bag Tutorial - I have SO many old t shirts in drawers that I've been meaning to throw out but this seems like such a great idea! And it's good for the environment & cuts down on so much waste. Plus how cute are they!?



Let me know if you enjoyed this in the comments below!! I'm planning on doing this feature once a month as of right now.

-Becca



photos all belong to their respective owners (can be found in links provided) -- the only photo that belongs to me is the photo of the pie at the top of the page