MAC "Gilded Green" Pigment

I have found “Gilded Green” to be a hit or miss shade. It is a frosty mint tone with golden shimmers or to say it in MAC terms “a frosty mid-tone green with gold pearlized pigments”.

The pigment is finely milled and rich in pigmentation. It applies smoothly and blends well. In terms of quality there is really nothing I can complain about. However I personally find it hard to wear because I am never sure what to pair it with. Any suggestions are warmly welcomed.

I got the pigment back in 2010 as a part of the “Warm Thrillseekers” limited edition set. While the shade is not in MAC permanent range it has been repromoted a couple of times, so be sure to keep your eyes open if you are interested in purchasing it.

What do you think about "Gilded Green"

xoxo,
Christina

Monthly Empties: February 2016

As February is almost gone I wanted to share with you my monthly empties...

Odol med 3 "extreme" mouth wash // will repurchased

This is my second bottle and I am already using my new one. While I still love the strong flavor of Listerine mouthwash I really enjoyed this as well. The flavor is not too strong, but strong enough to get that “fresh” feeling after using it. The price is cheaper and the formula has zero alcohol. 

Fa “Pink Grapefruit” shower gel // might repurchase
Loved the grapefruit smell, especially when I showered in the morning. It made me feel instantly awake. The foam was good, the price was right and it didn’t dry out my skin. I definitely could see myself repurchasing this product in the future. Maybe in spring or summer. 

Elvital "Total Repair 5" conditioner // won´t repurchase 
This felt like putting water on my hair, zero conditioning effect. I am not even joking, this didn´t do anything for me. I needed a lot of product is order to make it work and even then I felt like it was just a waste money. 

Elvital "Total Repair 5" hair mask // might repurchase 

I like this waaay better than the conditioner.At least this felt somewhat moisturizing.The smell was really nice too. I think though that I will try out other hair masks for now.

 

Fa “Natural & Pure" deodorant // will repurchase I always find myself repurchasing this deodorant from time to time. Mainly because it doesn’t leave any white cast at all, no matter how much I put on. 

Bebe soft body milk // might repurchase 
I love the smell of Bebe bodylotions. It reminds me of childhood and as the bottle had 400ml it gave me a lot of time to reminiscence. For spring and summer it’s great for winter I felt it could have been a bit more nourishing for my dry skin. Nonetheless a great product which I am sure I will repurchase at some point again. 

Isana"Summer" shaving creme // won´t repurchase 
This was a complete and total nightmare to use. I didn’t think there was a big difference among shaving crèmes but let me you I was wrong. There is still about ¼ of the product in the bottle that just won’t come out, no matter how much I shake the bottle. Somewhere half way through the product came out very liquid and therefore kept running of my legs instead staying in place. If it wasn’t bad enough I also had the impression that it was drying out my skin. I have never have had these problems before which is why I am switching back to Gillette or Wilkinson, even if they are a bit more expensive. 

Isana LE "Summer" shower gel // discontinued 
Amazing passion fruit scent, really similar to the actual fruit and not chemical at all. I could seriously smell it for hours. Yes that good! I have to admit though that it was a bit drying for my taste. For someone with drier skin like myself, this is not ideal. I definitely needed to apply a more nourishing body lotion to compensate for it. Typically I am not a fan of soaps that feel drying but honestly the makes it up. I have 2 more backups of this product. 

What products have you finished up lately?

xoxo, 

Christina

NotW: Max Factor "Fantasy Fire"

I totally get the hype around this nail polish. I mean look at it.. isn´t it the most amazing multi-faceted purple/reddish nail polish you have seen?

It is definitely a very unique shade and being the nail polish addict that I am, there was no way I was going to walk around it. I had to try it out and I must say I absolutely love it.

The formula is quite sheer so you will need at least 4 layers to make it opaque (when used on its own). Due to the many layers the drying time will take you longer however you could layer it over a darker base to shorten drying time and the many layers. I personally like to apply a purple nail polish underneath and the add a layer of Max Factor “Fantasy Fire” on top as it brings out the reddish, purple and even green holographic undertones in it.

With 5ml per bottle you don´t get to much product in one bottle (considering you need a lot if used on its own) but then again it´s only about 4 pounds per bottle, which isn´t bad a bad deal if you ask me.

How to recreate this design:

1. Apply 4 layers of Max Factor „Fantasy Fire“. I would recommend to wait about 2 minutes before applying each layer as I felt that the overall drying time was shorten when doing so.

2. Apply one coat of your favorite top coat, to speed up the drying process.

3. Stamp on your favorite flowery design, add a rhinestone for a special effect and you are done!

Do you like the design?

xoxo,

Christina

Products I regret buying: Catrice "Quick Dry & High Shine" Top Coat

I think all of us have been in a situation where we needed our nail polishes to dry fast. Whether it was because we had to leave the house or open some sort of box or just weren´t in the mood to wait longer than 5 min for our nail polish to dry. All of that has happend to me before which is why I am always on the hunt for a good fast drying top coat.

On one of my last trips to the drugstore I decided to give Catrice "Quick Dry & High Shine Top Coat" a chance. While I wish I could say that I found an amazing top coat, sadly the search continues...

Here is why:

The consistency of the polish is very runny and liquid, almost like water, so you have to very careful when applying it, making sure that the brush doesn’t pick up to much product as otherwise you will end up having nail polish everywhere.

I also found that the bristles of the polish would easily stain and actually remove some of the polish I had previously applied, this happend especially when using darker shades. I would have to wipe of the brush on a paper towel between uses, to avoid that the color would transfer. 

The biggest disappointed though is that it that the polish does not seem to be drying at all. Well at least not compared to other quick-dry topcoats I have tried such as the Seche Vite.

Overall I am not happy as I feel that instead of finidng a product that would allow me to leave the house faster after painitng my nails, I have more work trying to make this work.  

TRY Instead:

I am know using the topcoat as a nail polish thinner as it seems to work well for that.   

If you are looking for a drying top coat try the SECHE VITE, that works like a charm. Always.

What is your favorite fast drying top coat?

xoxo,

Christina