torontogirl84
Member Since: July 22, 2010Reviews
Nailene The Original Super Glue
I've worn fake nails for years. And I do vary on the brand or style of nails that I buy but, I don't vary on the nail glue that I buy because from my experience I think I use the best nail glue so far. It's Nailene's The Original... +
I've worn fake nails for years. And I do vary on the brand or style of nails that I buy but, I don't vary on the nail glue that I buy because from my experience I think I use the best nail glue so far. It's Nailene's The Original Super Glue.And yes, most packs of fake nails come with glue but the quality has always seemed so poor - so I just throw out the glue that comes with any pack of fake nails nowadays.
Strong nail glue is important because if you use poor quality glue, your fake nails will fall off after a few hand washes or one shower. That's a waste.
I glued fake nails on Sunday using the Nailene glue. The picture I uploaded shows my nails on Friday (that's six days of wear). None of the nails needed touching up and none of the nails have fallen off yet in those six days- although one nail is feeling a bit loose...
Broadway by the way, makes a very reasonably priced line of nails to chose from and that's usually what I get.
The pictures of my nails are the Broadway Fast French nails in True Peach Medium length.
A note about the glue: it dries within 5 seconds but I hold the nail down for a good 10-15 seconds to make sure it fully adheres.
Caution: Be careful with this nail glue - I got my fingers glued together the first few times that I was new at doing my own nails! And no, you can't always just pull your glued fingers apart - this glue is strong so you probably have to soak your glued fingers in acetone based nail polish remover to get your fingers apart.
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Nailene Brush-On Nail Glue
I ran out of my favourite nail glue while on vacation in Calgary with my boyfriend back in August. When my bf took me out to purchase some nail glue, this Nailene Brush-On Nail glue was the only nail glue in the Shoppers Drug Mart we went into so... +
I ran out of my favourite nail glue while on vacation in Calgary with my boyfriend back in August.
When my bf took me out to purchase some nail glue, this Nailene Brush-On Nail glue was the only nail glue in the Shoppers Drug Mart we went into so he picked one of these up for me.
I do not recommend this nail glue.
The bond is not nearly as strong as my other favourite nail glue and your acrylic nails will start coming off only after 3-4 days whereas with my favourite nail glue, the bond is still strong after 5-6 days ;)
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Burt's Bees Pore-Refining Mask with French Clay
Sooo, I love a good clay mask. I try to use a clay mask twice a week in rotation with a good face exoliator twice a week as well. On top of that I use a face cleanser each day and I use my Clarisonic on my face about twice a week. One clay mask I... +
Sooo, I love a good clay mask.
I try to use a clay mask twice a week in rotation with a good face exoliator twice a week as well.
On top of that I use a face cleanser each day and I use my Clarisonic on my face about twice a week.
One clay mask I have really enjoyed using is this Burt's Pore-Refining Mask with French Clay.
My boyfriend got this for me at one of those "one of" beauty supply stores at the Walden Galleria in Buffalo (but Target seems to sell the cheapest Burt's Bees products).
Now, a huge downfall with this product is that it is not easy to find in stores!
I have been looking everywhere for this when I ran out and even Dale was sweet enough to try looking for it too out in Calgary - but neither of us have found it. It's not even on the Burt's Bees website :S
So I think you may only be able to get this mask in the States....and, because this product is not on their website and I haven't been able to purchase another one since, I even suspect it might be discontinued
The neat thing about this clay mask is that it's in a powder form.
So you make your own mixture of the clay mask by mixing it with liquids. The box suggested a few different liquids you could mix the powder with depending on your skin type.
I actually mix my clay mask with toner since I read a very helpful review on Makeupalley advising that using a toner draws out more impurities from the skin than using water.
It also comes with a neat spatula which really helps scoop out the fine powder prior to mixing
The powdered clay is very fine in consistency as you can see from the picture I uploaded.
You can make the paste as thin or thick as you like. Although I found the paste I made was always on the thin side even though I would scoop out generous amounts. For example, the clay mask was nowhere as thick in consistency as the St.Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask (which I reviewed some time ago).
So what do I like most about the Burt's Bees Pore-Refining Mask with French Clay?
I mainly drawn to it because it's 100% Natural. Also I like how I'm able to mix the fine powdered clay with whatever base I chose to, depending on my skin needs.
For more pictures please feel free to visit my direct blog link review here at:
http://karen-is-here.blogspot.com/2011/10/burts-bees-pore-refining-mask-with.html
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Shiseido Pop Up Mask
Remember how those My Beauty Diary Masks were quite popular for awhile? (are they even still talked about?) Well I wasn't a huge fan of them when I gave them a try. Since my boyfriend spoils me with luxury skincare items, I recently got a sample... +
Remember how those My Beauty Diary Masks were quite popular for awhile? (are they even still talked about?)
Well I wasn't a huge fan of them when I gave them a try.
Since my boyfriend spoils me with luxury skincare items, I recently got a sample of this Shiseido Pop-Up Mask along with some of his purchases from The Bay. So I'm not sure if you can purchase these just yet....that's why I wasn't sure about the price.
Anyways, I think these Shiseido Pop-Up Masks are a great alternative to the My Beauty Diary MaskWhat I love about these masks is that you get to apply your own softener, toner, vitamin water etc, to your mask! Yay! So it's like being able to personalize your mask to your skincare needs.
Plus, it's neat that they're compact because that means they take up very little room (great for travel!)
If you'd like to see more pictures please feel free to visit my direct blog link here at : http://karen-is-here.blogspot.com/2011/12/great-alternative-to-my-beauty-diary.html
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Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips
After applying the first two nails, I got the hang of it really quickly. They are very easy to apply. On the packaging it said they last up to 10 days of wear and they really did last that long with barely any chipping at all! My nail polish always... +
After applying the first two nails, I got the hang of it really quickly. They are very easy to apply.
On the packaging it said they last up to 10 days of wear and they really did last that long with barely any chipping at all! My nail polish always chips after 3-4 days no matter what band of nail polish and top coat I've used. But these Sally Hansen Salon Effects really outperform!
The Sally Hansen website says there are 24 nail strip designs on the market. Out of the 24, there's only a few that I really like enough to purchase. I don't have any complaints about them at all and I actually really like the concept of these nail strips. I just wish they had more variety with intricate/unique styles.
But with that being said, I'm really happy with these Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips and will definitely repurchase!
The pictures I uploaded are the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in "Booty Camp #370". If you'd like to see more pictures, please feel free to visit my direct blog link at:
http://karen-is-here.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-sally-hansen-salon-effects-in.html
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Clarie's Bling Nail Stickers
These are Claire's Bling Nail Stickers Since I'm drawn to anything with rhinestones on them I of course grabbed these when I first saw them. These nail stickers look amazing in the packaging, don't they? Yeah, well let me tell you that... +
These are Claire's Bling Nail Stickers
Since I'm drawn to anything with rhinestones on them I of course grabbed these when I first saw them.
These nail stickers look amazing in the packaging, don't they?
Yeah, well let me tell you that they look a heck of a lot better in the packaging than on my nails :(
I attached a picture of the back of the rhinestone stickers which is the part that adheres to your nail.
It really is just a simple sticker adhesive, unlike the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips that I previously reviewed. The Sally Hansen ones are not sticky in the sense of a conventional sticker like these rhinestone nail stickers from Claire's. It's a bit difficult to explain but the Sally Hansen Nail Strips adhere sooo well once they're placed on your nails, whereas the Claire's nail stickers don't adhere nearly as well and they can be easily lifted off (even with a top coat on as was suggested!)
So, what are my complaints with Claire Bling Nail Stickers?
*There are not enough sizes in the package and the sizing is quite narrow. I don't consider myself to have wide fingernails either and I always find perfect sized acrylic nails to fit me when I buy fake nails. So these strips are definitely on the narrow side.
*I really liked how I could file off the excess part of the nail strips when I was using the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. It was very easy to use the nail file they provided for both my left hand and right hand. Well, it's a different story with Claire's Nail Bling Stickers. You have to trim off the excess part of the nail strips instead of easily filling them off. Since I'm right handed, it was actually a bit of a task to trim the excess nail strips properly off of the fingers on my right hand. Especially since I wanted to trim them in such a way that it wouldn't disrupt the rhinestone pattern.
*These nail stickers do not adhere well. It is totally the opposite of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips which adhered extremely well to my nails. So because Claire's Nail Stickers do not adhere all that well, the corners easily lift off your nail. Even after two layers of top coat, some of the sticker's edges are slightly lifted. On top of that, when I used the top coat it muted out some of the shine from the rhinestones. Very disappointing.
*This is probably due to the choice of colour, but the nail appliqués do not stand out very well on my nails. I thought they would sparkle and shine from across the room. Nope. And that nail polish top coat certainly didn't help either!
*****
I really do not recommend Claire's Bling Nail Stickers and I certainly will not be repurchasing.
It's too bad because I love rhinestones.
If you'd like to see more pictures of this Claire's Nail Bling Stickers, please feel free to go to my direct blog link at: http://karen-is-here.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-claires-bling-nail-stickers.html
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MAC Eyebrow Pencil
For the longest time I didn't think twice about the importance of my eyebrow pencil....I seriously used whatever I had around - a brown eyeshadow, a brown eyeliner...etc. That is, until I bought myself the MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in... +
For the longest time I didn't think twice about the importance of my eyebrow pencil....I seriously used whatever I had around - a brown eyeshadow, a brown eyeliner...etc. That is, until I bought myself the MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in Taupe
This pencil has been in a my makeup bag for about a year now. Sure it got banged up and the plastic cover is cracked big time....but I LOVE this eyebrow pencil. I use it everyday and I will absolutely repurchase it when I'm done. The shade "taupe" matches me really well. I also love how the colour applies (not too light and not too dark either) and it's long lasting (it stays on throughout the day). Also, 70%-80% of the pencil is still left after I've used it for one full year pretty much everyday. So it's totally worth the $18.00 CDN price tag if you ask me.
I loaded a picture of a swatch of the "Taupe" shade, which is the shade I'm reviewing. I have NC30-NC35 skin tone with dark brown hair - it really looks natural on me and I highly recommend it.
Feel free to read my reviews and others on my personal blog at http://karen-is-here.blogspot.com/
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Paul Mitchell ColorCare Color Protect Shampoo
I used the Paul Mitchell Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner for the first time during my trip to Maui this summer, and I had coloured my hair just before my trip. Ocean water is really damaging to skin and hair. I honestly should have taken a... +
I used the Paul Mitchell Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner for the first time during my trip to Maui this summer, and I had coloured my hair just before my trip. Ocean water is really damaging to skin and hair. I honestly should have taken a picture of my acrylic nails after spending a few days in Maui. The metallic finish on my acrylic nails were literally stripping off its colour! I've worn a lot of acrylic nails and the finish on my nails never fade - not to mention the colour being stripped off. I was really surprised by how much damage the salt water had done to my fake acrylic nails. Seeing what happened to my nails made me wonder how much colour would have been stripped off of my newly coloured hair if it weren't for this Paul Mitchell Color Protect Shampoo and Conditioner. The colour of my hair did not fade from all of my snorkelling, scuba diving and jet skiing activities - all of which exposed me to a lot of salt water. I kept up with the shampoo and conditioner after my trip until they were finished and my hair colour held up extremely well. I really recommend the shampoo as well as the conditioner if maintaining your hair colour is important to you. -
Duo Eyelash Adhesive
For some products I really just don't understand the hype - like DUO lash glue which I purchased at MAC I bought it based on the recommendations of many makeup artists and youtube gurus. I'm down to the last 1/3 of the tube and I'll be... +
For some products I really just don't understand the hype - like DUO lash glue which I purchased at MAC
I bought it based on the recommendations of many makeup artists and youtube gurus.
I'm down to the last 1/3 of the tube and I'll be on the hunt for another brand of lash glue.
I find the consistency of the glue to sometimes be a bit too watery for my liking. I've resorted to gently shaking the tube when closed before using, but the glue is not always the same consistency.
Not to mention that even with a steady hand I have often squeezed out waaaaay too much glue. The worst part is that I have squeezed the excess glue onto the false lashes a number of times, which tends to ruin the lashes even after wiping off the glue from it. I think DUO needs to improve on the packaging by making the nozzle opening a bit narrower.
Also, the smell of the glue is just.....offensive. The only other words I can use to describe the smell is just vulgar and inappropriate so I think the word "offensive" is best. And I can smell this glue for a good 10-15 minutes after it has dried and it's gross.
The one good thing I can say about this product is that it is gentle - it has not irritated my eyes. Also, I believe because it is so gentle, the glue has not ripped out my real eye lashes in the process of removing false lashes (which has become nearly a daily routine for me now).
I will probably buy a new lash glue from another brand shortly.
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Aveeno® Eczema Care Daily Moisturizing Cream
I finished my first tube of Aveeno Eczema Care Cream about two weeks ago and I bought it from Pharma Plus for $12.49 CDN This is special cream to treat a skin problem called eczema. I have a bit of eczema on three of my fingers on my right hand. The... +
I finished my first tube of Aveeno Eczema Care Cream about two weeks ago and I bought it from Pharma Plus for $12.49 CDN
This is special cream to treat a skin problem called eczema.
I have a bit of eczema on three of my fingers on my right hand. The symptoms of eczema that I have is very dry skin that is easily irritated from soaps, cleaning products, even some moisturizers.....the skin becomes really itchy at times and when I scratch it, the condition worsens and often the skin gets raw, might bleed or some clear fluid comes out. When it got pretty bad at times, I didn't even want to go out because it looked terrible.
I have posted up pictures of the back of the tube for more information
I highly highly recommend the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream.
This cream has prevented my eczema from flaring up. I know this for a fact because my eczema flared up very easily and rather often no matter what creams I had used before. For the whole duration of the time I used this cream, I am happy to say that I did not experience any severe itching that would lead to my eczema flaring up again. There were a couple of times my eczema prone fingers got a bit itchy, but even when I scratched them to my heart's content (I can't resist an itch!), the eczema did not flare up like it always did before.
I used this cream only on my hands: everytime after washing my hands and before bedtime.
A few days I did not have this cream with me (when I was on my short vacation) and I had to resort to my regular Aveeno moisturizer as a handcream. Sad to say, my eczema prone fingers started to get severely itchy again and it started to flare right back up. So this is when I knew that the Aveeno Eczema Care Cream really worked.
I also know it really works because the skin on my right hand has consistently been very well for the past month and a half I was using this cream...so much so that I don't think anybody can tell I had eczema before.
There is still a bit of dryness particularly when I hop out of the shower before I moisturize. But once I moisturize everything looks fine. I can still feel that the skin is not 100% healed like perfectly normal skin but it's about 85%-90% healed and I will keep this up in hopes of getting rid of my eczema completely.
I also want to point out that about two months ago (before I started this cream), I started to be more mindful of what soaps I was using to wash my hands (I use Dove handsoap) and making sure that I wear cleaning gloves at all times when I clean dishes, countertops or when using any household cleaning products. This is very important.
I wanted to note that if you do not have eczema, do not buy this cream. It seriously will not help your skin be any "better"/softer than before. I say this because I had to use the cream on both my hands even though I do not have any eczema at all on my left hand. The skin on my left hand has not changed at all compared to using the other regular Aveeno moisturizers (which I do highly recommend for regular/dry skin).
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