CND Nail Rescue Kit

Recently I was in Colorado on holidays and the dry weather there really wrecked havoc on my nails. I found that with every ding to my nail, a corner would snap right off. By the end of the trip I was left with some abstract shaped nails. Luckily for me this package from RevlonPro came just in time, inside this package was CND's nail rescue kit. #CNDRescueKit contained all the nail care products to restore my nails.

Included in the kit:

• RescueRXx
• Cuticle Eraser
• Solar Oil
• Scrub Fresh
• 4 Vinylux Polishes in the shades:
  
  • Be Demure
  • Desert Poppy
  • Date Night
  • Lavender Lace

• Vinylux Weekly Topcoat
• Nail file
 

CND Vinylux 2016 Summer Flirtation Collection

Last month I was invited to preview CND 2016 Summer Flirtation Collection and their new Spa line. At the event I was introduced to 8 new shades from the CND Vinylux line and 6 (out of the 8) shades from the CND Shellac line. Mostly made up of gorgeous pastel shades, this summer collection will be a nice change from all the bright colours we usually see with summer releases.

"There’s an electricity of unspoken attraction in the air. Evoke a subtle, sensual femininity with the new Flirtation Collection from CND. A palette of soft yet bright shades teases at the imagination and makes this collection equal parts coy, confident, and playful."

There was also a preview of CND Spa products which I will be sharing with you in another post.

 
“This season, sweet, creamy pastels are inspired by modern lace and embroidery for a delicate and refined glamour,” says CND Co-founder and Style Director Jan Arnold. “Nails will be slim oval glazed with tender shades of coral and lilac, blushed with the spark of deepening allure. Flirtation’s code allows you to be irresistible.”

Inspiration behind the collection

wet n wild 1 Step Wonder Gel Polish Swatches - Part 2

If you missed my first post where I swatched 7 out of the 18 shades from this collection, you can read my post here. The 1 step wonder gel collection is the newest line from wet n wild, here is a little info from the company:

THE FORMULA

• New 1 Step WonderGel™ was developed using the same technology that’s used in dental veneers for durability and shine.
• This formula delivers the color and shine of a true UV cured gel polish, without the need for a special UV light.
• It cures with the regular ambient light from overhead lighting or sunlight.
• Because it is a true gel formula, the formula is light sensitive and requires an opaque bottle.

THE RESULTS

• Color and shine last for up to 2 weeks! 
• Results are achieved in just one easy step. 
• No top coat or base coat required! No harsh removal! Removes with regular nail polish.

Click to see individual swatches.

wet n wild 1 Step Wonder Gel Polish Swatches - Part 1

Last week Mir and I had the amazing opportunity to attend wet n wild 2016 preview event. We got to test some new products coming out this spring and learn more about this cruelty free company. We had a load of fun and left with a bunch of products we are looking forward to reviewing.

I must admit I don't have too much experience with wet n wild beauty products, however I do own quite a few of their nail polishes. They're very modestly priced with a vast colour selection, my favourite line is their Mega Last polishes which offers creme polishes and more muted neutral tones. wet n wild's latest release is their 1 Step Wonder Gel Polish with 18 colourful shades to choose from. Here is some info on their site about this new line:

THE FORMULA

• New 1 Step WonderGel™ was developed using the same technology that’s used in dental veneers for durability and shine.
• This formula delivers the color and shine of a true UV cured gel polish, without the need for a special UV light.
• It cures with the regular ambient light from overhead lighting or sunlight.
• Because it is a true gel formula, the formula is light sensitive and requires an opaque bottle.

THE RESULTS

• Color and shine last for up to 2 weeks! 
• Results are achieved in just one easy step. 
• No top coat or base coat required! No harsh removal! Removes with regular nail polish.

I have 7 shades out of the 18 to share with you all today. No top coat was used in any of the swatches

More detailed descriptions and pictures ahead




Condensed Milk
An off white creamy beige polish, it was slightly streaky so I had to use 3 coats for full opacity. I tend to gravitate towards these milky whites in the summer when I have a slight tan.

Pale in Comparison
The pink sister of condensed milk, off white with a hint of pink. This was streaky as well so I needed 3 careful coats for opacity. Again, I feel that this shade would look lovely against a summertime tan.

Stay Classy
A soft mauve creme. This shade had an awesome formula, only 1 thick coat was needed. One of my favs from the collection. Reminded me of Essie Ladylike or Demure Vixen

All That Jazzy
A silvery gold metallic polish, a little more care is needed with the application of this polish as the brush stroke can be seen when dried. 2 coats were needed for full opacity but you can get away with 1 coat for a softer gold. I liked this colour more than I thought I would!

Pretty Peas
A mint green that I feel leans more to a light turquoise depending on the lighting. Like most pastels, I needed 2-3 coats to fully cover the patchiness. The extra work is worth it because this colour is beautiful and perfect for spring/summer.

Peri-Wink-Le of An Eye
Another one coater! 1 thick coat of this periwinkle beauty was all I needed, very impressed with this one as well. A good dupe for this shade is China Glaze Secret Periwinkle.

Cyantific Method
2 coats were needed for this vibrant blue. A good dupe is OPI No Room For The Blues.

The standouts of mine from these 7 shades were Condensed Milk and All That Jazzy for their colour and Peri-Wink-Le of An Eye for the formula. None of the shades were totally unique from any other collections I've seen but there are good basics shades in this collection plus I found that the polishes dried very shiny and no top coat was needed.

I can't speak for the 2 week wearability claim these polishes have because I change my polish every couple of days, but I can however note that I was about to easily remove the polish with both acetone and acetone free and I am happy to add that none of the polishes stained my nails.

wet n wild’s 1-Step Wonder Gel is chip resistant and 3-
Free with no Formaldehyde, Toluene and Phthalates, they are available at major food, drug and mass retailers beginning January 2016.

I usually don't like to post any pictures of myself but this selfie Mir and I snapped at the event was too cute not to share plus in case any of you were curious about what we look like, now you know ;)

Stay tuned for next time when I have 7 more swatches from Wonder Gel collection to share.


Annie





*Press Sample*

Crabtree & Evelyn for the Holidays

Hey friends,

It's been a while..but if you've been following my instagram (@_mirch) or Annie's (@anniepolishes).. we're still showing our loves for nails and cosmetics :)
Been feeling under the weather right now but I hope these products make you smile. It definitely did when the mail man dropped this off at my doorstep =)

Do you need last minute gift ideas for the holiday (like really last minute)? Well if so, I have a great choice for you!
Crabtree & Evelyn placed their hand creams in an adorable Christmas themed holiday tin. These 3 scents aren't limited and include one of my favourite scents from them - Avocado, olive and basil!
The set includes: 

Pomegranate, Argan & Grapeseed Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)

Avocado, Olive & Basil Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)

Citron, Honey & Coriander Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)

These tins also come in many different trios. Check out their website (linked below) for more details.

These creams aren't greasy and absorb very well into the skin. Out of the 3, the avocado one was the thickest and pomegranate was thinnest in texture. The citron one was strongest in scent.

This set retails at $29 CAD and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.

Next we have two fall/winter hues of nail polish. Both are in the red category. One is Wine and the other is Cranberry. Cranberry is a brighter, solid red fitting of it's name. A staple in many people's manicure collections. Like my mom's, she quickly asked if it was for her when I opened the package. 

Wine is a darker burgundy red.

left: Wine right: Cranberry

 Formula wise, they are on the thin side but it allows for smooth application and a fairly quick dry time. I like that these polishes had a thinner consistency yet both only required two coats for full opacity. However, I did prefer a 3rd coat for Cranberry since there was a very faint visible nail line after two coats, not noticeable other than to me because as you may know..I am super picky when it comes to VNL!
This is my first time trying Crabtree and Evelyn polishes and I have to say I am quite impressed with their quality of lacquer. They have a huge range of colours to choose from and I cannot wait to purchase more and see how they are. Especially their Black Tulip looks like it would be an amazing duochrome!These polishes retail at $10 CAD but often has deals such as right now (12/23/15) Buy two get one free and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.


Feel free to ask any questions below..

 Happy Holidays !

Miranda

Quick Links:
http://www.crabtree-evelyn.ca/



these items were given in exchange for review. all opinions are my own. 

Kinetics Penguin Galaxy Autumn/Winter 2014/2015 Collection Part 2

Hello again! Today I have the second part of the Kinetics Penguin Galaxy collection to share with you all. As mentioned in the previous post it is a 12 piece collection consisting of mostly creme polishes, some glitter and a frost.

"The new leading hues comprise – mustard yellow “Arctic Prince” and the red hot “Hug Me” that’s a must-have shade for every ladies beauty collection. Another great addition is the three colorful and sparkling  glitters “Rich & Chick”, “Stardust” and “Glitter Storm”, which will be an excellent complement to perk up any party gown or after-dark ensemble."

Colours are correct but some colours are mislabeled here

 Onto the swatches...

Kinetics Penguin Galaxy Autumn/Winter 2014/2015 Collection Part 1

Hello again! Today I have another great Autumn/Winter collection from Kinetics Nail System. This time it is the 12 piece Penguin Galaxy collection.

Source: Kinetics Nail System

"The new leading hues comprise – mustard yellow “Arctic Prince” and the red hot “Hug Me” that’s a must-have shade for every ladies beauty collection. Another great addition is the three colorful and sparkling  glitters “Rich&Chick”, “Stardust” and “Glitter Storm”, which will be an excellent complement to perk up any party gown or after-dark ensemble."

Colours are correct but are mislabeled here.

Brandbacker: Make Up by One Direction - Take Me Home Collection

Hello my lovely readers!

Thank you to Brandbacker for this opportunity to review One Direction's new makeup kit.
The one I received was called Take Me Home.

There are 3 main collections in this first set, each one coming in a tin with 1D featured on the front sleeve. Inside the tin there are details on what's inside and how to create looks.

Click below to check out the one we got!



We got the Take Me Home collection (pictured on the left).

Each collection is named after an album & their products named after a song title (cute right?)

I know fangirls would totally dig these! I think these are perfect for a 1D fan for the upcoming holidays.

Lucky me, I got a more natural selection of products!

Inside the kit, I received:

- Liquilights UV Glow Gloss in Kiss You. It's a sheer but buildable orange glitter gloss which glows neon yellow under UV (cool!)
- Sheer Lipstick in Last First Kiss. A sheer soft pink lipstick
- Mascara in Little Black Dress. An average black mascara
- Nail polish in Live While We're Young. A cute holographic shine gold glitter!
- Stencils in various shapes
- Eye and body crayon in I Wish. A thick medium brown crayon.
- Eyeshadow Palette w/

• Back For You (Cream Beige pressed shadow)*
• Change My Mind (Orange Peach shimmer pressed shadow)*
• C'Mon C'Mon (Mushroom taupe pressed shadow)*
• Little Things (Chocolate brown pressed shadow)*
• Take Me Home (Gold w/ gold glitter creme)*

*my descriptions, the package slightly differs, will address below

Overall:  Cute collection especially for the One Direction fans. The sleeve with the members' picture definitely a plus for fans. The icing for this collection is the names! This is coming from a fangirl who used to buy chupachup lollys just because Spice Girls were on it! I was also surprised by the quality of the makeup. It's not high quality but it's decent especially when the target group is for young girls. It's not like the crappy drugstore holiday packages *cough* when you open it, the mascara is dry and all the "cream" eyeshadows are rock hard. That said, the collection is good for a young 1D fan who is just starting to use make up.
It's not great for people who already have their routine pretty much set and have a handful of Holy Grail products because nothing from this set particularly stands out other than the eyeshadow palette colour selection. I also like the packaging,  it has a brick wall theme, and the packaging of each product also follows the theme. Simple and colourful, great for the target group.

Review of each item:

Sheer Lipstick in Last First Kiss:

Packaging is simple, follows the brick wall pattern and shows the colour at the bottom of the tube. There's a smell to it, I can't describe it but it's not floral or fruity. It's not unpleasant but it's also not great (best description ever right?).  It goes on like a tinted balm, quite smooth, not chalky and no build up around the edges. Mine must have gotten warm because the second time I went to swatch again, it came out of place. 

left side: 2 swipes, 1 swipe of sheer lipstick.
right side: 2 swipes + Kiss You UV Gloss on top, 1 swipe of sheer lipstick

Liquilights UV Glow Gloss in Kiss You:
At first, I was turned off by such a vibrant orange glitter gloss. I swatched it on my hand and it was super orange. It's not really my style and I don't like glitter in my gloss. I had bad reactions to glitter glosses from Bonne Bell before! Turns out, one coat, it's quite sheer. Two and it's more orange, but nothing unwearable.  It has a really faint fruity smell and goes on smooth. It is not sticky but it has a slight grit due to the glitter. I personally still prefer no glitter in my glosses!

 Mascara in Little Black Dress:
What to say about the mascara? It's average, had no clumping but it also felt like I didn't put it on. I have short Asian lashes so I like a mascara that really thickens and lengthens. I didn't expect much from this mascara and didn't make any sort of impression on me.

 Nail polish in Live While We're Young:
Ok, onto the reason why we even blog, nail polish! I can see why any girl would love this. Glittery, sparkly goodness. This polish had even coverage without it being too thick. It has a medium to sparse distribution of glitter. Average drying time, but does not dry smooth. It contains reflective gold (and maybe silver?) large hexes and a sprinkle of rose gold, green, blue and iridescent small glitters. My camera picked it up as a scattered rainbow of colours.




Stencils in various shapes:
Yeah, I don't know what to do with these. You're supposed to colour it in with the eye/body pencil but no thank you..maybe I'll pass it onto my friend and see if he wants to use it as a spray paint stencil. They are basic plastic cut outs.

- Eye and body crayon in I Wish.
Average. I find the brown too "bright". When swatched it's like a bright chocolate but on the eye it's like a mahogany. Very unflattering on me. It looks almost like an orange tinted brown on me. I tried to wear it on my waterline but no way! It looked too much like I had a case of my allergies. I cringed. I tried it as a eyeliner but it's way too thick so I tried it as a shadow. It went on smooth, slightly patchy but another layer is great. I just don't like the colour.. alot.





 Eyeshadow Palette w/

• Back For You (Cream Beige pressed shadow)
• Change My Mind (Orange Peach shimmer pressed shadow)
• C'Mon C'Mon (Mushroom taupe pressed shadow)
• Little Things (Chocolate brown pressed shadow)
• Take Me Home (Gold w/ gold glitter creme)

First thing first, brush sucks if I can even call it a brush. On the left is a bristle brush and the right is a foam tip applicator. Look at my swatch pic, the one using the brush is non-existent!! It can't pick up any colour lol. The foam one fared a bit better but still not good! Using my finger was much better!

I really like the colours of this palette, I love neutrals! For starter eyeshadows the pressed powder ones are great. They go on a bit sheer but it's a look I like. 

My favourite would be Back For You, the light soft cream colour is delicate and brightens my eyes. On the package it says it's a creme eyeshadow but I beg to differ, it seems like a pressed powder to me? I even dug my nail in each colour to see.. but I don't know. The gold one Take Me Home is a golden creme eyeshadow with a layer of gold glitter on top. Due to this, the application of it is patchy and gritty. You can see it below on its own close up. I don't prefer cremes anyway since I have oily lids, they crease fairly quickly. The other three colours are great and average, nothing I have to point out. 

I think the palette is my favourite item from this collection. Soft light neutrals, I can wear many different combinations! Sadly, I tried to do a 'look' with them and due to it's soft pigmentation and bad camera quality it looks like nothing hahaaha! oh gosh I will need to practice on that.
My close second favourite is the sheer lipstick + UV gloss combo. Each by itself, is ok but not great. Together they make the best 'everyday' colour (unless you shine a UV light at yourself haha!). 

I did Back For You all over as base, with Little Things in the corner. I lined the bottom with Take Me Home and I used my own Stila Liquid Eyeliner for Eyeliner. I used Little Black Dress as my mascara. On my lips I put on Last First Kiss sheer lipstick and layered Kiss You liquilights UV gloss on top.
At first I used Change My Mind for the corner but it turned out too light in pictures so I switched to Little Things. 

Check out the collections on https://www.facebook.com/MakeupbyOneDirection

Look for Makeup by 1D at Macy's, Dillard's, Stage, Boscov's, and Lord & Taylor!

This collection was sponsored by the BrandBacker program for review. All opinions are my own.