Yarn Braids/Genie Locks/Faux Dreds

Yes, this is an awkward photo, (I was caught off guard) but I wanted to showcase my yarn braids! This is my second time doing this protective style and I think that it came out better. I plan to keep this is for like a month, then I'll blow my hair out to see my length.

I love this style because it is so affordable. ( a pack of acrlic yarn is like less than 3 buskc at micheals.)

The Nightmare Before Christmas Nails

I got this idea from Julieg713... one of my FAVORITE youtubers. In honor of halloween (I'm a sucker for holiday nails...) I used 9 polishes and it was fairly easy considering I've never done it before. It was Wet n Wild black creme, Essie To Buy or Not To Buy, Wet n Wild French Creme, Essie Cocktail Bling, Revlon Bare Bones, Essie Sure Shot, Revlon Posh, Spoiled by Wet n Wild designated driver, Revlon Amethyst.

 

 

 

On the index finger, that is supposed to be Jack. The middle finger is Sally. Ringer finger is the suit. Pinky finger is the bougie monster. The thumb is the famous scene on the cliff. Thanks Julieg!

 

Sally Hansen Showgirl Chic

So you may have noticed that these are not my nails. LOL. I was bored and did my best friend's nail in my new glitter-crazed fashion.

I LOOOOVE this color (on me or anybody else) It is so sparkly. It is an icy silver sparkle with blue flecks. It reminds me of winter. The only downside to this was that mine was opaque in one coat. Which is not something you want in a glitter polish because you want to layer it over other colors. It's not even beacuse its a little old. When I first bought I remember it was on th ethicker side.

Organic Root Stimulator Dry Shampoo

The dry shampoo is like a gel consistency. I like the feel of it. It has a cooling feel to it, like mint. and it gets rid of that icky old braid smell you may have. This might be a re-purchase for me. MIGHT.

Sally Hansen Big Money

So I am officially on my glitter kick. I know it is fall and I'm supposed to be following the whole dark color rule but... guess what? RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN! Big money is an ok glitter. As is it is getting a little on the older side, it is getting on the thicker side. That is a little annoying because that means I can't layer it over other polishes. This is after two coats, and I find that the color dries a little more matte than I would like. It's a glitter polish! It is supposed to be beyond sparkly... but it is a little more subdued than you would think. I used some black stripers on my nail for some fun.

It is a gold chunky polish with purple accents.

OUTRE HUMAN HAIR BLEND TIMELESS PONYTAIL BRAID MESSY Update

So this is what the piece looks like after I washed and detangled.

I tried to re-braid it but it doesn't look the same. All in all, I don't think these pre-braided ponytails are worth it because the style doesn't keep. You have to wash them and once you do they change way too much. it doesnt look bad because it is supposed to look like a messy braid but I definetly will NOT be purchasing the fishtail braid (because lord knows I can't re-braid a fishtail) lol.

Kiss 100 Full Cover Nails

So my guilty ratchet pleasure is press-on nails. I don't know why, but it is heard for me to retain length on my nails because they keep breaking. When I do have my press-ons it is easier for my nails to grow because they are not breaking as much. And it is not crazy damaging to my natural nail because unlike acrylic nails, you're not sanding away layers of your nail.

I always get the Short Square ones because I like a shorter look (if they came out with an extra short, I'd be all over it). One of these days, I want to get stiletto nails. (those are oval)

My short, damaged nails.

You get 100 nails but you only use a portion because a lot of those nails... you can't fit! That is really annoying.

The finished products.... white plastic nails. I know they look crazy now but they look good after you paint them :)

Revlon Posh

This color works so well on my press-ons. I remember when I put it on my natural nail, its was chipping like crazy! On my press-ons it look great (but what nail polish chips on press-ons?)
posh is not that best formula.

Palmers Cocoa Butter Gentle Daily Cleanser

SOOOOOOOO not feeling this cleanser. I guess the fact that it is says that it is a "gentle" cleanser would indicate to me that it isn't as sudsy as I am used to. It is almost like washing your face with lotion. I would recommend this for girls with really dry skin. I have normal/combination so I do not mind. There is also a slight smell to this product that I can't put my finger on. This will not be a repurchase for me.

Benefit Watt's Up Highlighter

The swatch on the bottom is one swipe of the highlighter. The swatch on the top is what it looks like blended out. As you can see it is a champagne shimmery highlighter (I think I see a pinky shade in it). I can't lie... it is not the most flattering thing on my skin tone

There is a sponge applicator attached to it but I don't really like using it. (That can't be sanitary right?) I just blend it out with either my fingers or my beautyblender.

This is how much product you get for $30. (I bought mine from sephora)

I usually apply it to the tops of my cheek bones (this is it un-blended of course), my inner tearduct, and as a brow bone highlight.

This is it blended out. I'm not crazy about it. I won't be buying it again but I WILL be using it up because I spent a pretty penny on it.

Revlon Sparkling

This color is such a yes for me. the color alone is such a pretty rosey gold glitter. And yes I was bold enough to wear it with no base color. To get this opacity, I had to do 3 or 4 coats.

Revlon Extravagant

Again, please excuse my rachet cuticles. So I am NOT a fan of this color. I'm wearing press ons (my nails were just not the length I wanted them to be and I just was sick of waiting for them to grow out) and it STILL is chipping. I am not loving this forumla of the old revlon polishes. My accent nail is just a bunch of strippers I got from amazon. (not really a fan of them). It is pretty in the bottle, its a light purple toned pink but all-in-all, i'd pass on this color.

Illamasqua Liquid Metal Eyeshadow in Phenomenon

I love the consistency of this eyeshadow. It is super creamy and pigmented.This swatch is from literlally one finger swipe.

So I decided to tone the look down, I didn't want it to be too silvery and in your face. After applying my Urban Decay Primer Poition in sin (which gives your eyeshadow a champagne cast), I patted this color onto the inner part of my lid, and put a dark brown in the crease to tone it down. I definitely love the pigmentation of this shadow but it creases like crazy in my opinion. I found it  a little hard to work with. Maybe I should layer it with a powder shadow but i dn't want to take away from the pretty shade.

Revlon Red Carpet

Don't ask me what kind of design i was goig for with this... I guess it was just freestyle. It came out cute though! So Revlon's Red carpet was one of the first colors I got from the colorstay line. It is a creamy ruby red color. It is a blue based red. Nothing special though.

Smooth Shine Polishing Keratin Power

It is a two step system that comes with gloves and an added deep conditioning treatment. (they don't really tell you when to use it in the process so I didn't)

My wild bush of a head. lol. So I have been natural for four years now and you can see the front of my head (my leave out) is a little looser than the rest of my head because of the not-so-slight head damage. My roots, however are a 4c. We are working with the coarsest of the coarse here!

After the whole treatment, my ends dont look GREAT but it will do.

Blending it with my u-part (Freetress Cella)

 

So as it promised, when my hair reverted (it stayed relatively straight for a whole week) my curl pattern was looser. This is my hair with no product in it. I think it went from a 4c to a solid 4b. And the best part, it is only temporary. After 6 weeks, I'll be completely natural again.

Revlon Rich Raspberry

Yum! I call these my lava nails. I just used my dotting tool and went to town with Revlon amethyst. I love Revlon’s rich raspberry though. It is such a gorgeous jewel toned berry color. It can transcend any season.

K. Michelle's glitter manicure dupe

So I went to go see K. Michelle the other night in concert. She is an R&B singer and star of the reality show Love and Hip Hop ATL on vh1 (one of my guilty pleasures). I do not usually blog about this but I guess this is semi-beauty related. She was absolutely fab on stage but what really caught my eye was the beyond glamour manicure she was sporting! Now I am on the hunt for something that looks similar to the glitter fest that was on her nails. Stay tuned!

CoverGirl Lashblastvolume mascara

So as you can see I have really thin, short lashes. There are not many mascaras that can really alleviate this problem for me. I was running out to get this mascara because eleventhgorgeous always raved about it. I have had CoverGirl lash blast volume for about two days. It is GREAT layered with other mascaras but by itself, it falls short for me. The formula is wet (which I love) and it is on the buildable side seeing as I don’t get crazy clumps when I use it (Revlon colorstay overtime). This won’t be a repurchase for me anytime soon though because I know I can find something that would work better for me.

Not much of a difference (one coat)

Thin rubber bristols on the tip and the end but the middle extends further.

Revlon Bare Bones

First and foremost, let me apologize for my sloppy manicure. SO I bought this color because I was on the hunt for some more neutral colors. "Bare bones" is a muted grey-toned beige. I’m not particularly in love with it but I am definitely going to reserve this for my 'work week' look.

 

BTW peep the fact that I have no accent nail... I know, shocking.