Update and REVIEW of Sinful Colors Nail Polish in 944 Innocent AND Marc Jacobs Daisy Inspired Nail Art

Before we get started, I just want to let you know what's going on with me. I currently have a bunch of Lush reviews I need to work on. I have a lot of products in my makeup kit that I'm still testing out but reviews are coming. I've been scoping out my local drugstores but I don't have anything really exciting to let you know about other than that the Essie Go Overboard collection and some of the Essie Navigate Her collection has made it to my local Duane Reade's. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about Revlon lip butters. I don't love them as much as everyone else. I think they have a kind of pathetic wear time and I'm pretty sure they dry out my lips. But I have a little collection right now and I'm still testing things out.

I was just not loving the way Essie's Go Overboard was looking really dingy and worn out on my nails, especially because I have a performance coming up so I wanted to do something bright and bold before heading into a neutral nail week (I've got an exam). Anyway, I let my dad choose and so I ended up with Sinful Colors Innocent on my nails. I didn't really love it at first. It seemed a little harsh but I'm glad I tried this color and this brand instead of say, the more expensive options from O.P.I. which look about the same to me. It's a very yellow-toned bright green, not quite an acid green or neon green but still pretty attention-grabbing. Application was a little annoying with this product. It reminded me a lot of the Julep nail polishes I tried a while back. The polish was thick and sticky/tacky. When you pulled the brush out of the nail polish it sometimes created "threads" of polish. I slapped on some pretty thick coats and the paint job is definitely not as nice as my usual work. My right hand (dominant...therefore nails painted with non-dominant hand) looks awful (in my opinion) up close. The good news is this polish is super opaque. It was almost completely opaque on the first coat and definitely opaque in two. And even with the problems, I feel like this is a great trial color if you're not sure if this would work for you.

UPDATE: I got my nails done today. A rare splurge for me but the mani/pedi deal is great and even though I inevitably find I could do a better job with the manicure, it saves me the hassle of removing old polish which is my least favorite part of the entire nail polish experience. Anyway, even though she had a much easier time removing the polish that I did with Sinful Colors Last Chance, it was clear that even this light color had stained my nails and it took a few attempts to fully remove all the color/staining. I'm not sure if this is a signature of the Sinful Colors brand. I used to use a shimmery/frosty white polish from them in the past and I never had problems with it but that was obviously white so it would be hard for it to stain nails. This might just be a quality of the cremes, or the darker/brighter colors, or all Sinful Colors polishes might stain your nails. I'm probably going to take a break from this brand after I use the bottle of Why Not I already purchased...or until I locate Cinderella which is just too gorgeous of a Disney inspired Cinderella blue shade to pass up.

SWATCHES

Failed Products

It's harder to review products you just don't like so here's a roundup of all the duds I've tried, keeping it as short as possible.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup (foundation): I didn't outright hate this product but I got it to use on my dry skin and it ended up looking worse than the L'Oreal foundation I currently use. I didn't like the color selection which doesn't really account for the wide range of skin tones (light to dark) and base colors (yellow, pink, dusky) that I think a good foundation line should. I ended up going with Classic Ivory which is their lightest shade. It didn't look terrible on my skin but it was a touch artificial because the base was more white than yellow. It just looked awful and dry over my skin instead of dewy. I tried it with and without a primer. I tried using my fingers and different brushes (stippling brush, foundation brush) but nothing really improved the situation. Neutrogena foundation is super expensive in NYC, averaging $15 to $17 without tax so I would try and find a better drugstore option.

Wet n' Wild Single Eyeshadow in Platinum: This product was cheap and performed like it. That's basically all there is to say. I wanted a nice light silver without too much shimmer to layer over Maybelline's Tough as Taupe. I got a barely pigmented product. I couldn't even really swatch it for you. It's like you don't even pick up the gray, you just get a light wash of gray and lots of tacky (this time I mean cheap, not sticky) glitter particles.

Strawberry Lip Balm and Mango Lip Butter from The Body Shop: These just had an awful texture, did not do anything for my dry lips, and changed in taste to something horrible and unpleasant after an hour or two of wear.

REVIEW of Essie's Go Overboard with SWATCHES (comparison to O.P.I. Ski Teal We Drop and Revlon Fashionista)

I'm going to keep this review short because this color is just a basic dark teal creme polish and I have a ton of swatches that can explain the look and color a lot better than I can. I think this is a really pretty, sophisticated dark nail color. It sort of vacillates from a darker green to a true teal to a navy depending on the lighting. It applied really nicely though not as perfectly as some of my other Essie polishes. There were no major issues. It just wasn't "as perfect." My one complaint is it seems to pick up smudges very easily but that could be due to the old bottle of Seche Vite I am using.

I also thought I would do a comparison to the other teals in my collection. That will be below after the rest of the swatches.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend Essie's Go Overboard. It is a very pretty true teal. I would recommend it over Revlon's Fashionista which applies terribily and is a bit darker and has more green to it. I don't think you need to choose between Go Overboard and O.P.I.'s Ski Teal We Drop. The O.P.I. is a darker color with more blue. The Essie is a brighter color with more green.

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SWATCHES of Essie's Go Overboard...

NYC Drugstore Sales (Week of 2/26/12-3/4/12)

There are a lot of great deals this week. Let's get started.

Duane Reade (Note: I did not include every makeup/skincare deal in the circular.)

• $3 off All Revlon Face and Lip (This is why I love Duane Reade. These $ off deals are much better than the BOGO 1/2 off or ExtraBucks or Register Rewards at other stores in my opinion because they're not conditional. You can just get the one item you want and not have to worry about going back before a certain date to buy something else.)
• $2 off all L'Oreal mascara
• BOGO 1/2 off All Aveeno Facial Care and Lotion (I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the Aveeno cleanser I picked up a while ago but Aveeno products are frequently lauded for their low cost and effect on sensitive and dry skin.)
• BOGO 1/2 off all N.Y.C. (This is a great deal because N.Y.C. products are already ridiculously cheap and the Duane Reades I know of happen to be better stocked in N.Y.C. products than other stores.)

CVS

• Get $7 Extrabucks when you spend $10 on Physicians Formula (Now, I know what I said about Extrabucks earlier, but this is a great deal if you like Physicians Formula. I do not. Regardless, $7 is actually a useful amount at the drugstore and you could definitely get something on your next visit without having to make up the difference between the cost of the product and the amount covered by your Extrabucks.)
• Get $4 Extrabucks when you spend $10 on Revlon Face, Eye or Lip (Now, this is one of those annoying extrabucks deals. The way I see it, if you get a Revlon Face product, you will probably hit $10 on one product, but if you get an Eye or Lip product you're going to need at least 2 or 3 items depending on what you get. That means going over $10, probably spending more than you intended to, and only getting $4 to spend next time, meaning you will probably go over the $4 again to maybe get something you don't want. I'd only recommend taking advantage of this deal if you've been wanting particular Revlon products and think you'll be back to CVS soon to spend those Extrabucks.)
• BOGO 1/2 off All Neutrogena Cosmetics
• Aveeno Skin Care 2 for $13
• BOGO 1/2 off Turbie Twist, Revlon, or Hollywood Fashion Accessories (I haven't seen any of these at my local CVS but if I did, I might take advantage of this deal. I can do a heck of a lot with safety pins but sometimes it's nice to actually have the right tools for the job.)

Walgreens

• $3 off Revlon Foundation, Concealer, Powder, Blush, Lip, and Premium Blush, Powder, and Foundation Brushes
• 50% off Rimmel Cosmetics (excluding clearance) (Rimmel is already one of the cheaper drugstore brands so 50% is an amazing deal.)
• BOGO 1/2 off L'Oreal Cosmetics, Skin Care, Sublime Skin or Bronze (And yes, this does include nail polish.)
• BOGO FREE Pond's Cold Cream, Dry Skin Cream, and 15 or 30 Pack Towelettes (I used to use their cold cream once upon a time when I had to remove heavy theater makeup. I can't remember if I liked it but it definitely worked. The towelettes have a nice gentle texture and a pleasant scent but it's a little annoying that they dry out so quickly. I'm not sure if keeping them in a Ziploc bag would improve the situation.)
• BOGO 1/2 off Covergirl Foundation, Concealer, Powder, Blush, or Eye
• 25% off Neutrogena Moisturizers or Acne Care
• BOGO 1/2 off Aveeno Bath, Hair, Lotion, and Shave Gel
• $1.99 for a pack of Q-tips (I threw this in because coincidentally, I've just run out after doing all these nail polish swatches!)

See any deals you want to take advantage of? I might get some Revlon lip butters if anything interesting like Creme Brulee or Creamsicle is in stock. I also might get a new L'Oreal mascara and maybe browse N.Y.C. and Rimmel because those are just such great deals.

Forever 21 Jewelry Look For Less

I haven't done one of these in a while and to be honest, it's mainly because I haven't been scanning the Forever21 site a lot lately. I'd like to say my tastes have graduated, but I think it's more that I've been tremendously busy, have a decent supply of jewelry, and most of my budget goes to makeup these days. Nevertheless, I was on the site and spotted some things that might be of interest to those of you interested in trends but unwilling to pay more for trinkets that might not last past the season.

Etched bangle bracelets: More than one brand has done these, but when I think of this kind of filigree work the brand that comes to mind is Wendy Mink.

Here's the Forever21 version...

Dimpled Flower Cuff $5.80
http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?br=f21&category=acc_jewelry&ProductID=1015036714

And here is the Wendy Mink version.

Filigree Leaf Cuff $222

http://www.wendyminkjewelry.com/detail.htm?collection=Bracelets&skip=19

Pointed Punk Rings


Triple Spike Ring $2.80
http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?br=f21&category=acc_jewelry&ProductID=1000038594

Not as cool, but probably safer than the noir jewelry version.

Flat Pyramid Stackable $105 for a set of four http://noirjewelry.com/Rings/FlatPyramidStackable/665#

Jewelry inspired by ancient cultures/Historical jewelry: Even outside of the items you find for sale at the Met shop or any other museum store, it seems like the Victorian historical jewelry trend hasn't died. If you want to rock a faux-vintage or Victorian revival piece, why not try this Forever21 version? If you like it, you could always start hunting at flea markets and vintage shops for something a little more "authentic". And by authentic, I meant a designer's take on actual historical jewelry.



Ancient Goddess Necklace $4.80
http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?br=f21&category=acc_jewelry&ProductID=1000041780

Oh, and I don't get this "Ancient Goddess" nonsense. It is clearly Isis. Just call it an Isis necklace. If you don't believe me, google Isis necklace.

Outfit of the Day and Makeup Look...Sophisticated Grays

I almost forgot I had this. I took some pictures earlier in the week, intending to do an outfit of the day post but I've just been so busy. As time is a mutable, unwieldy quantity on the internet anyway, I'm sure you'll forgive me. We've been discussing Jane Eyre in one of my classes and since the frustrated costume designer in me likes coordinating my outfits to the topics under discussion...I ended up wearing this ensemble. It was the closest thing I had in my closest to Jane's gray dress. I paired it with a fake pearl brooch that isn't in these pictures.

Sorry for the photo quality. I actually take this pictures by facing the camera at the mirror and taking a photo of the reflected image.

Black ruffled top - purchased at TJMaxx, brand: Chenault, $15-$20

Gray pleated skirt with sheer gray overlay and wide black waistband - purchased at Anemone, brand: Peppermint, $14.50

Patterned silk scarf: purchased at TangDance, unsure of brand, $39

on cheeks: Tarte Amazonian clay blush in Dollface

Used: Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe

Revlon Colorstay 16Hr Eyeshadow Quad in Addictive

Maybelline Gel Eyeliner in Sapphire (still upset that Sapphire and Forest aren't part of the permanent collection)

Note: I think the slight shimmer is due to a failed look I had tried just before this.