OPI has released an entire line of polish to go along with the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. The polishes in the line are all named after a James Bond movie and you can check out the entire lineup here. I already own similar colors for a majority of the collection, but The Living Daylights caught my eye. It's a glittery topcoat with turquoise, tan, and brown hexagonal glitter in it, and is really unique. In the photo above I used it as a top coat on various shades of polish, and just the top coat on my pinkie. It applies pretty easily and I had no trouble getting enough of the glitter on my nails. I will mention that I damn near had to chisel it off because polish remover didn't seem strong enough. It's a fun sparkle an looks fantastic layered over all the grieges I bought this season.
In my neutral polish craze I ended up buying a lot of browns and grieges. While on a random roadtrip with my little sister, we ended up at the Target in Lancaster, Ohio, where I came across this polish. It caught my eye immediately with its shimmer in shades of gold and slate blue. It's definitely unqiue. However, since my horrible experience with L'Oreal's revamped polish line I've avoided buying the line. Since this color really stood out to me and was something new, I decided to bite the bullet and try it out.
I have been on the hunt for a dark green for some time. I was wanting butter LONDON's British Racing Green which I eventually did buy and promptly lost. I've seen all sorts of deep green, but there was always something off about them. Too sparkly. Too much blue in the base. Wrong hue. While stocking up on moisturizer at Sephora, I glanced at the Illamasqua display and saw Rampage. I grabbed it, paid, and left. This color is fantastic, and would be a good choice for Marshall fans.
When I discuss neutrals in polish, I usually include most reds and pinks in because they're classic polish colors. I like Head Mistress because while it's a classic red, it's not the usual tomato red. There's a deeper satursation that really makes this color stand out. It's a runny polish and applies sheer but I got opacity in about two coats. Compared to butter LONDON's Knees Up which I reivewed yesterday, Head Mistress is a deeper red. I would be careful when working with this polish because it stains everything. My cuticles and the skin around my fingers is still stained from swatching this polish yesterday.
Skirting the Issue looked super dark in the bottle and I'm not crazy about super dark polishes. When I did a quick swatch it came out a weird shade of fushia and I wasn't sure of what to think. However, with three thin coats this turned out to be a lovely wine color. I avoid wine as a color because it tends to prematurely age people but this has enough red in to keep it looking young. Like Head Mistress this is a thin, runny polish that stains everything that it comse into contact with.
Stylenomics is the sole reason I bought this Essie minis kit. When I first looked at it in the bottle, it looked like a sooty black. It's actually a very dark green which sadly didn't show up in the pictures. I think if you look closely at the picture on the left you can see a hint of the green. I've never seen anything like Stylenomics and that's pretty impressive. It goes on easily and got full opacity in two coats. I also think think polish will stain your nails so make sure to wear a basecoat. This is my favorite out of the entire collection.
Dont' Sweater It was included in the kit. I wouldn't have bought it on its own because I already own several grieges, but if you don't have one already this is a solid choice. This had the best application out of the bunch, and had I applied it in a slightly thicker coat, I probably could have full opacity in one coat. But both you and I have seen this before:
Sally Hansen's Commander in Chic is one of the most popular grieges and has been a TMF favorite for several years. The Sally Hansen is a bit lighter, which you can see better in the picture on the left, with a touch more purple in the base. Other than that, they're identical to my eye. The Sally Hansen is cheaper by about a dollar and I like the brush better than Essie's. Either way you can't go wrong with either of these polishes.
I've been wanting a good shimmery red for some time. I was going to buy one from Chanel, but while in Ulta this weekend I saw this one, Knees Up. It's very close to the Chanel one I like and half the price. It does apply a bit streaky but as it dries the streaks go away. I'm in love with this polish. It's beautiful with lots of depth and it'll probably replace Essie's Geranium as the weather gets colder as my go-to red.
I've been eyeing this bright coral for several months. While it does have a lot of orange in the formula, it comes off as mostly pink. I think this will be a nice color for the long winter days. It also applies streaky and thick. I have on three coats in this picture and I'd say they dry pretty quickly.
Dove | Dove Body Wash
Philosophy | Mor | Ahava
You may have noticed a certain well-known brand missing from this post and the post on body lotion. While I do like the scents, Bath and Body Works products, if you'll pardon the pun, stink. The body wash is too drying and the lotion feels horrible on my skin. As far as I'm concerned,
B & BW is just about the scent and not the skin care.
I have tried nearly every type of face wash known to womankind: bars, gels, cremes, and even oils. My favorite, however, happens to be foaming face washes. Out of the set I pictured above, I have used the Clinque acne cleanser, and I'm currently using the Sephora Supreme Cleansing Foam. I originally bought a travel size a year ago to keep in my travel kit and liked it well enough. The reason I bought the big bottle was because it reminds me of the Ole Henriksen facial cleanser I loved so much from African Red Tea kit I tried. It moisturizes, cuts through my makeup, and leaves my skin feeling soft.
Foaming cleansers are great for all skin types, the Cetaphil above is made for oily skin, the Clinque for Acne, Murad for moisturizing, and the Sephora is great for all skin types. If you're looking for something new, make sure to give these foamers a good look.
Sephora | Benefit | Say Yes to Blueberries | Almay
I use all of these products on a daily basis. Which one I use depends on how lazy I'm feeling and how much makeup I wore that day. For days I didn't wear a lot of makeup, Say Yes to Blueberries facial wipes. They smell divine and take light amounts of makeup off. I use the Almay eye wipes when I'm wearing waterproof mascara. I used to use the Benefit remover and while it works, it dried my skin out too much. My latest purchase is Sephora's Triple Action Cleansing Water. It's sort of a makeup remover mixed in with a cleanser mixed in with toner. Whatever it is, it gets ALL makeup off, especially those times you teeter in the door at 4 AM with enough glitter on your face to cover a disco ball. It does make my skin feel greasy and gross but if I wash it afterwards, my skin feels amazing.
I've heard a lot of people use baby wipes to remove makeup but I've never tried that method. If you have, let me know in the comments how it went.
Ahava | Kiehl's | Jergens
Nivea | The Body Shop
I have personally used all of these lotions, so I can attest that they all do work. I love Ahava and Kiehl's, but can't afford $20-$55 for body lotion. Currently, I'm using Nivea's Happy Sensation body lotion daily, and the Body Shop's Aloe body butter as needed, which has been large amounts for this past week.
The Nivea has a light citrus scent and sinks in very quickly. I can't tell you exactly what the 'happy sensation" and I'm giggling over all the dirty jokes that are currently running through my head. While it's great for every day, the Nivea sometimes needs a back up. Bring on the The Body Shop. I bought the Aloe Body Butter because it was recommended by my favorite salesperson at Sephora when I told her I needed something that was extra-stregnth. It works wonders, and I love the way my skin feels and looks when I use it. However, I do find it to be on the greasy side, and it takes a good 10-15 minutes to fully sink in. Typically, feeling greasy is the kiss of death for any body lotion that I use, but since it works so well I'm willing to deal with the greaseball feeling.
Welcome to Skincare week at Mountaineer Fashionologist! Since I'm still in Charlotte for yet another week of corporate training, there's only going to be one post per day, showing up at 11:00 AM.
I'm going to kick off Skincare Week with body lotion, so come back at 11:00!
Sorry for the silence this week. I'm currently in Charlotte, NC, for some corportate training and I really thought I'd have time to write posts. Well I do, but once I get out of training at 5, eat dinner between 6-8 or so, and then have to study for the next day writing posts fell by the wayside. I'm going to try to get at least one post a day up for next week when I have more time and don't have to study near as much.
