Glitter the Great and Powerful

L-R Which is Which?|Lights of Emerald City|When Monkeys Fly?

 

I will not lie, the moment I hear OPI's 2013 Soft Shades collection was a collaboration with Disney's new movie OZ the Great and Powerful ,well,  you could smell the skepticism eminating from my pores. I sit here at my computer anxious to eat my words. I saw photos of the glitter shades first and while the whole collection is pretty stellar, these shades really do steal the show.

 

"When Monkeys Fly!" -The only real dissapointment of the three is this chunky gold and halographic combo. Taco city baby. They look beautiful in the bottle but the application is a total bitch. The large gold hex glitters are so curly it takes eons of top coat to make your nails smooth. While the formula may leave a lot to be desired the mix is so pretty on that I am more than prepared to fight the battle.

 

"Lights of Emerald City"- This square, matte white, and iridescent mix is glitter topcoat success. With nail polish knock off's being big drugstore business lately I love that this OPI shade is something new and easily accesible. You can clearly see the indie polish influence here, but it is still a 100% unique shade. (to my knowledge.) While application does require a little finesse, this one is nowhere near as bad as When Monkeys Fly! I find a small dot placed in the middle of the nail and slowly spread works best and gives nice even glitter coverage.

 

"Which is Which?"- This is the least unique and best performing of the three shades. It is a halographic glitterbomb, with hex and bar glitter speckled with fine halographic glitter dust. Over a silver base this is discoball inspired perfection. I even layerd this over a nice pale nude a loved the combo. If you were determined you could probably later this to full opacity but it would take a good 4+ coats.  

 

I am so in love. If you want to see these shades in action you can follow me on Instagram @blkmagicwoman21 or stay tuned for my weekly nail posts. Like these...

 

Instagram Nails #33

Instagram Nails #32

 

xoxo

Molly

Instagram Nails #33

Instagram Nails #32

Skin MayDay

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion.

After hearing many rave reviews about this little drugstore lotion I decided I was going to see what all the fuss was about. Now, I don't have any severe dryness on my body or hands or even on my face for that matter, but after a quick glance at the ingredients I was wondering if this baby might work for another purpose entirely. A light-weight makeup primer?

Now most conventional foundation primers are heavily based in silicones. As you can see from the ingredient list this baby features Dimethicone in a pretty high concentration. (Anything that ends in "one" qualifies.) It also has a beautiful list of other more basic skincare ingredients. (Aloe, Vitamin E, Camomile and Yarrow)

After trying other primers that were basically all silicone and very little else and feeling like I wanted to claw my face off I thought a lighter (watered down in this case) version might suit me better. I had also had some issues with primers breaking me out in the past, even though my skin isn't especially prone to reaction. Sad to say this particular product didn't work out the way I had hoped.

After two weeks of trial and error (mostly error in hindsight) I determined that not only was this not making my makeup last any longer, it was also creating some major congestion in my skin. I think it boils down to too many ingredients competing with the effectiveness of the silicones, and then too much silicone for my skin to handle.

All is not lost though. My skincare illiterate and excema prone brother now has a handy, pocket size lotion for his winter-weary hands.

xoxo

Molly

The Realest Technique

If I could marry a makeup brush, it would be this one. This, however, was definitely not a love at first sight situation.

Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Blush Brush

While Real Techniques was on sale at Ulta last month I decided I was going to grab the Expert Face Brush. Which I did. And it's great. The real star of the purchse, however, was the brush I picked up for half off. Introducing the Real Techniques Blush Brush.

This is by no means brand spankin new, but I also feel like no one has given this particular brush the fanfare it deserves. The tapered end collects the perfect amount of product and it spreads and blends so effortlessly across the face. The layerd quality this brush has blends out the edges of your blush until it melts perfectly into your comlexion.

While it is synthetic I do think the shape of this brush is better suited to powder products. (Try the Stippling Brush for your creams :). )

xoxo

Molly

Buttered Up

Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia Kiss and Raspberry Rose Kiss

 

I resisted this purchase so, so hard. Twice, I went into different drugstores, picked these up and then decided against it. I said to myself "Molly you have two drawers full of lip balm at home. You DO NOT need these."

 

Yeah, it didn't work. They were on sale at Walgreens so they came home with me. I have to say I am reluctantly enjoying them.

 

They have a very thin, light, emolient texture from the petroleum content (mineral oil) but, like any other Nivea lip balm they impart a good dose of hydration. The two scents I picked are delicious but the Raspberry Rose is by far my favorite,

 

The one caveat is that these can leave a white cast over the lips. Not super handy for day to day wear. It doesn't take too much love away from the product for me but if you are in the market for something to wear out of the house check out some of the Nivea balms in stick form. Although if you dig that milky pink look Raspberry Rose Kiss if 100% for you.

 

xoxo

Molly

A Very Clear Improvement





Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask



Ah who doesn't love a good birthday treat. I spoke about my other beauty indulgences here (link!) but on the actual day of my birthday (Jan. 21st) I popped to my local Macy's to grab a pick me up. (I was actually recovering from a bout of strep at the time.) After so much hype and bit of googling I headed to the Origins counter and treated myself to the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask. (whew...)

After a few weeks of use (twice a week) I thought it would be nice to report in.

When they call this product "active" they mean it. Using a wet towel to steam your skin open quickly you apply this, allow it to dry, and then wash it off with a rag. On initial application this mask has a very strong cooling or tingling sensation. It certainly feels like it's working. (If you have sensitive skin I recomend sampling this out first.)

Once you wash it off it's like you see an instant effect on the size of your pores. While this effect is temporary, the gunk it removes is not. It is possibly one of the most deeply cleansing masks I have ever tried on my skin. I think this makes for a lovely addition to my skincare wardrobe. If you are prone to any kind of skin congestion (from small bumps to full blown zits) go see if you can score a sample of this one because it's worth a try.

xoxo

Molly