The Beauty Noobz Guide to Make up (part two- nails)

Beauty and make up in the past few years has completely ventured from just things you'd use like foundation, blush, eye shadow and lipstick to beauty tools, skin care and also nail polish. These things have also gotten more innovative and creative as the years have passed.

Now as a make up artist they have a magnetic bracelet that you can put your pallet on so your hands are free. For the make up enthusiast you have the brush tree, so that your brushes can dry upside down and the water won't ruin them. (let me know if you'd like to know more about how water can ruin your brushes) For the skin care fanatics there are BB and CC creams to help you cover up flaws but still treat your skin. And for the Nail Polish people you have so many nail art options.

There are matte polishes, sparkle polishes, gel polishes, textured polishes, and so much more. Hell, they even make nail polish brushes for nail art now. 

I decided that since this is such a crazy that even my least girly friends are trying these things out that it would be good to review a few things and let you see what they look like for yourself.

The Nail Polish that I'd recommend to a beauty noob who wants to try nail art is something like the Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots.

 #85 Pretty in Polka $3.99 (website price)

One coat of the pink color in my opinion looks kind of cute. It's a really sheer pink with matte chunks of black and white glitter. It becomes a bit more opaque (Still a bit see through if your nails are long) However, I wouldn't exactly recommend more than the two coats because by the third you end up with a really big layer of nail polish on, too much glitter and you're still a bit see through. On the brighter side the glitter in this polish is not hard to get at all. There are some polishes that make you fish around for the glitter, not these. I think these are kind of perfect, they come in a few fun colors, they make you look like you put more effort into it than you did, the dry time is awesome. Be very aware though that the chunks of glitter may break off randomly without a top coat.

The polish usually lasts about 4 days before it starts to chip.

There are also things like nail stickers.

(I should have totally taken a picture of this before I did my nails)

I bought this from the dollar store so it was only $0.99. It came with a nail file and looked easy enough to work with.

This is what they look like on. Now these are honestly easy to apply but if you look closely at the picture you can see that it lifts in certain places. The stickers feel less like stickers and more like really tug-able tape. They stayed on really well and looked nice from far away. It's just the close up that made it look awful. So I wondered if maybe on a flatter nail bed they would go on smoothly.

(luckily I have the best support system ever) 

So I tried it out on a different persons hand and sure enough it worked. It went on easily, fit perfectly and didn't lift from anywhere. So these are totally worth a dollar if you have a flatter nail bed than I do.

Lastly, there are pretty awesome nail art kits that seem complete as they are. The Revlon double sided polishes seem like exactly that, a complete set. They have their Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy (which has one solid color on one side and a chunky glitter polish on the other side, or their Expressionist line which has two solid colors but one has a very fine tip brush, they have a Neon line which is one solid (white I think) and a highlighter color, and recently they released their Chalkboard line.

It is exactly what it sounds like. One side is a matte black color and the other is a very pastel color. 

I found this at CVS and it was $9.18 but on drugstore.com it's $7.19.

Now as you can see the black nail polish is matte. However, if you have a matte top coat (it's clear and makes all of your polishes matte -sans shine) then you might want to add that on top of your black coat. The nail polish instructions say you can use one-two coats but I highly recommend two coats because the matte black goes on streaky with the first coat. 

The white side has a nice texture to the polish, it isn't really glossy like normal polishes but it isn't matte either so it does give off a very chalk board feel to it. I do recommend using nail art brushes for this because the white brush may be thinner than the black but it's not thin enough to draw whatever you want nicely. 

I bought these from Forever 21 for $3.80.

I used the dotting (brush?) to make all of the little hearts and they came out way better than they did when I first tried it with the brush. I used two coats of the white though because I wanted it to be really pronounced. 

They awesomely didn't start chipping until day 3 without any form of a top coat.

Anyway, that's all for tonight. I'm thinking the next one I will try to mythbust on what actually helps your nail polish dry faster.

xoxo

Reds part one (picture heavy)

So instead of just going through the three different shades of MAC reds I decided to branch off and do a few different types of red. I'm going to talk about their pigment, shade range, how long it lasts (since some of them claim to be long lasting) and so on. Since I do have at least 10 different shades of red in different formulas I decided to talk about them all but cut it in half or else it would be a complete drag to read through. So here we go...

Loreal Paris Infallible Le Rouge in #343 Red Fatale $9.99 (as listed on website)

Claims- Lasts 10 hours with high color pay off and shine. Also moisturizes lips with Vitamin E to keep lips feeling hydrated and comfortable.

As you can see it does add a pack of color and shine. It does feel really nice on the lips and is a true glossy (semi orange in these pictures) red, I haven't noticed any bleeding into fine lines but with red it is always safest to line the lips so that you have a very clean application. It is not smudge proof and it will transfer/stain things so be careful with this one as it doesn't dry into a smudge proof application. Since it does transfer it should be implied that with eating, drinking and even talking for an extended period of time it will not last all 10 hours, but I have had about a good 3 hours without need for reapplication.

NYC Ultra Moist Lip Wear #308 Retro Red $0.99 (as stated on website)

Claims- Have a built in moisturizer for a dreamy consistency that will take your look to the next level at rock bottom prices.

As you can see with this one you do get a very true red and pigmented. The lipstick doesn't claim to be long lasting or matte, so it will transfer, more so considering it isn't matte. The lip color will last me about an hour, more so if I'm not eating or drinking. It didn't settle into fine lines on my lips and did wear comfortably. So all in all this one is something to buy if you want to try a red lip but you're kind of scared. You cannot go wrong with a dollar price tag.

Maybelline Color Whisper by Color Sensational in #45 Who Wore It Red-er $7.49 (as stated on website)

Claims- "Pure color pigments suspended in a weightless gel. No heavy waxes or oils. Soft, sexy gel-color"

Now yet again, doesn't claim to be matte or long wearing so this will transfer and won't last too long on your lips. It usually lasts longer than a gloss on my lips but I usually re-apply this constantly. If you can tell it implies on the packaging that it is a red but when applied in a swatch or to the lips it looks more pink than anything. The product is light weight on the lips and doesn't feel uncomfortable. The color is also build-able to a certain extent. Just don't expect the color to not have a semi-sheer quality to it. Over-all I really do love these lipsticks.

Maybelline Superstay 14HR Lipstick in #065 Ravishing Rogue

Claims- 14 hour lipstick, doesn't "drag" (I'm guessing means bleeding) doesn't dry your lips, and won't let you down. 

This lipstick I think has been my biggest let down out of every lipstick I've talked about so far. (Including the last one which wasn't even correct color wise) The lipstick has a scent to it, a sweet smell that almost covers up all chemical smell. The color is beautiful, it was one of the first red lipsticks I ever bought and with a claim like that I just didn't think I could go wrong. First of all the lipstick I have has tiny specks of glitter in it so when it begins to wear off at around two hours your left with this really unflattering layer of glitter that pools up in fine lines. Also when you first put it on it feels smooth and creamy, really nice, but as it starts to cling to your lips it becomes sticky, which I suppose helps it stay longer, but considering the fact that it only stays two hours I wouldn't purchase another one. It does have great pigmentation though. Will transfer, not matte.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in #520 Wine With Everything $6.39 (drugstore.com price)

Claims- Creamy texture, wears evenly.

This particular shade has a pearl finish to it, which makes it reflect light all funny. It's a wine color that I've had forever and really flattering if you don't want to go for the pin up red color. It is soft and creamy and will wear pretty evenly unless you are eating or drinking in which case the lip color will fade inside the lip but keep it's definition around your lips. It's not matte (the line does carry matte shades though) and not long wearing, it will wear like any other lipstick. It feels comfortable and light weight on the lips and has a variety of shades and finishes. 

All of these can be found at a drugstore near you and are less than $13. I used the Jordana lip liner on all of these looks and like I've said before I need a better camera, but I did the best I could for the time being. Tomorrow I'll post up the other five so come back for more ^_^ Also leave me any comments if you have questions but please be kind.