Revlon Gel Envy Dealer's Choice Swatches, Wear Test & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
There are a lot of gel-like polishes on the store shelves these days that claim to wear longer without needing UV lighting to dry.  When I saw a value pack that included a top coat I decided it was time to give Revlon's Gel Envy polish a try.  The formula was easy to apply and I used two thin coats of Dealer's Choice on bare nails (no base coat) with one coat of the Colorstay Gel Envy top coat.  Check out the photos below to see how this polish system fared over a week of wear.

After one day of wear

After two days of wear

After three days of wear

After four days of wear

After five days of wear

After six days of wear

After seven days of wear

Conclusion

So did it make it through the week without any chips or tip wear? No.  Did is fare better than a traditional polish?  Yes.  The major difference for me was that a small chip would stay small.  With normal polish a small chip on the nail corner tends to turn into a really big chip within a day.  With the Gel Envy polish I found that chips tended not to grow.  While I tend to get bored with a nail colour after three or four days of wear, I can definitely see using this when I'm traveling or on my toes.  Have you tried out these "gel" polishes?  Did they work for you?

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Products I Finished This Month - February 2015

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
With the beginning of March and the glimmer of hope for Spring weather, it's time for more empties.  

Face

I actually finished some make up this month.  First up is a cream blush stick from Yves Rocher.  I've had this thing for years and they discontinued it long ago.  However, this product started my love of cream blushes and I is the shade I always compare back to.  I also finished a clear balm that come with CoverGirl outlast liquid lipsticks.  I've determined that I'm not a fan of that lip colour style so I won't be repurchasing.  The clear balm was quite nice though.  GlamGlow as usual is a win with me.  My skin loves that stuff.  I was disappointed in the Lise Watier serums.  The day one especially left my skin feeling sticky.

Hand & Nails

Ok, so what's a lip balm doing in here?  Well, lip products in pots tend to get kind of gross with lots of products left, so I ended up using about half the pot as cuticle butter.  It worked pretty decently but I wouldn't purchase again since that wasn't it's actual use.  L'occitane has great hand cream formulas but I find their stuff to strongly scented.

Hair

My favorite of the bunch is the Herbal Essences Body Envy conditioner.  The hairspray is a close second, though I try to buy the Herbal Essences Naked version when I can find it.

Bath & Body

As per usual, I love bath products.  The I Love... bubble baths smell delicious.  I still have two more sets as backups.  My citrus epsom salts always get used too.  The Butter Me Up solid lotion stick I got in a Sweet Delights sample box was quite nice.  I did find that the cocoa butter smell was the primary scent even though it was Cherry flavored.  I also really like the St.Ives Oatmeal & Shea Butter body lotion.  It smelled nice, absorbed quickly and didn't leave my skin feeling greasy.  I have a stockpile of lotion to go through but it's on my list of things to buy in the future.  The disappointment of this batch was the Julep Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub.  It was nice and gritty but left a sticky residue on my skin that just wouldn't rinse off.  I ended up having to use it before body wash.  I do have another one of these scrubs and I will use it up so as not to waste it, but I won't be repurchasing it in the future.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Mentality Nail Polish Agere Swatches & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
When I saw the Tetrachromes collection from Mentality I knew a few of them needed to make their way into my collection.  Colour shifting microflakes that reach opacity on their own? Yes please!

Agere features microflakes that shift from teal to blue to purple.  In direct lighting blue is the predominant colours with a purple shift.  In shaded lighting the teal is more apparent along with the blue and purple colour shift.  The formula was very easy to work with and reached opacity after two coats.  It also dried smoothly with a satin finish.  Photos show two coats of Agere with one coat of Nubar Diamont top coat in daylight spectrum lighting.

You can find Mentality on:

Mentality Nail Polish

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Garnier Clean+ Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser Review

Press Sample Sponsored Post

Product has been provided by Garnier Canada, the opinions and language are my own, and in no way do they reflect Garnier Canada.

Hello readers,
Today I have a new product from Garnier to share with you.  I was sent their Clean+ Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser to try out and review.  I tested it out in two ways.  First as a stand alone cleanser and second as a makeup remover.

Test 1: Full Face Cleansing

After cleansing with Garnier+ Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser

The first thing I tried with the cleanser was using it as a full face cleanser.  I was wearing light make up (some blush, highlighter and tinted lip balm) and washed my face with the cleanser.  The above photo shows me right after cleansing without using any other skin products.  First off, do not mix this cleanser with water before applying it to your face (like I did the first time).  It will just end up breaking down in your hands.  Once I figured out how to use it properly, I washed and rinsed my face.  I did find that it did leave a slight residue on my skin, but that quickly absorbed and left my face feeling very moisturized.  I didn't feel like I needed to add extra moisturizer afterward.

Test 2: Matte Lipstick Removal

My next test was using this as a spot make up remover.  Usually people would try this out on waterproof mascara, but I rarely wear mascara so I decided to do the experiment with a product I use more often, matte lipstick.  I tried it out on a ColourPop matte lipstick in Flawless after a full day's worth of wear and reapplying.  I applied the makeup remover cream with my fingers and gently massaged it around a little bit.  After briefly resembling a zombie with burgundy smeared all around my mouth I used a cotton pad to wipe everything off and the result was nice clean lips.  Again, there was no lasting residue and there wasn't a trace of lipstick to be seen.

Before

After

Conclusion

Overall I really like this as make up remover.  I especially love its creamy formula that doesn't leave any lasting residue on my skin.  I don't think this can replace your regular facial cleanser in your skin care regiment but it makes a great addition to your evening routine as a make up remover.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Octopus Nail Stamping

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today I have a new adventure in polish stamping... stamping over a textured polish.  My first attempt was semi succesful.  I started out with a fully dried mani of Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer Work Of Tart.  The I stamped it with Julep Michelle and Bundle Monster plate BM-401.  I finished everything off with two coats of Nubar Diamont top coat.  Unfortunately, the navy stamped polish kind of sunk into the crevices of the texture polish making the stamped image less crisp.  If I were going to repeat the process I would do one coat of top coat before stamping, then stamp my image and seal everything up with a second coat of top coat.  Still a cute mani though. Photos shown were taken under daylight spectrum lighting.

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Second Blogaversary Giveaway!

Sponsored Giveaway

Hello readers,

Today marks the blog's 2nd blogaversary!!! I can't believe it's been two years and I wanted to thank you all for joining me on this blogging adventure.  To celebrate I've organized a giveaway featuring prizes from a variety of wonderful  and very generous indie makers and myself.  Check out the list of amazing prizes below and enter using the form at the bottom of the post.

The Lazy Laquerista (Me!) - $25 gift certificate to the stockist/indie shop of your choice
(International)

Llarowe, Color4Nails, Harlow&Co, Etsy, Nail Polish Canada, Femme Fatale, any indie
 polish shop that can issue gift certificates... or an option I haven't even thought of.  As long as they sell polish and offer gift certificates the choice is yours!

Model City Polish - $15 gift certificate
(International)

Indigo Bananas - Winner's choice of three full size polishes from indigobananas.com
(International)

Girly Bits Cosmetics - $25 Gift Certificate
(International)

Emerald & Ash - Winner's choice of one polish and one cuticle oil
(US & Canada)

 Gothic Gala Lacquers - $25 gift certificate
(International)

LynBDesigns - $25 Coupon Code
(International)

Eat.Sleep.Polish - $25 Gift Certificate (excludes shipping costs)

(International)

Lucky 13 Lacquer - One full size bottle of Softening The Bad Things, one 2oz bottle of cucumber melon hydrating polish remove and one blue glass nail file.
(US Only)

Alchemy Lacquers - one polish of winner's choice
(US & Canada)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy polishing,

Michelle

Beauty Box 5 February 2015 Unboxing & Review

Purchased Myself

Hello readers,
Today my February BB5 box finally arrived in the mail.  Let's see what was inside.

This month's theme was 'hooray!' since it marks BB5's third birthday.  An extra bonus this month is a $20 gift card to yourminerals.com.  They look to have some nice (but pricey) mineral makeup.  Shipping to Canada is a bit too much for me but you could get a good deal with this coupon code if you're in the US.

Absolute New York Absolute Love Lip Balm | Retail $5.00 0.42fl oz

"There's so many reasons to cheer for this party-ready balm! Major moisture? Check! Sweet scent? Check! A tiny amount of tint? Check! Cute in your clutch? Check!

I'm feeling neutral about this balm.  It's a nice full size product but the scent is quite artificial smelling and I'm not a fan of lip products in pots.  It will get used up eventually though.

Marsk Mineral Eye Shadow in Vanilla Frosting | Retail $22.50 0.04oz

"We couldn't ship actual birthday cake, but how about some frosting? Treat yourself to this iridescent mineral shadow! BBh Tip: With subtle sparkle, it can also double as a soft highlighter."

I love mineral shadows so this sample is right up my alley.  It's a really pretty colour - a shimmery white with pink and blue sparks.  Unfortunately mine had fingerprints (or something that looked a lot like fingerprints) on the inside of the sifter.  BB5 is sending me a replacement though so that isn't an issue in the long run.  I think this will make a great inner corner eye highlighter.

GlamGlow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment | Retail $69.00 1.7oz

"After a long celebration, your skin needs some TLC! Apply this anti-aging mask for 10 minutes (it tingles while it's working!) then rinse off in circular motions - it doubles as an exfoliant!"

I absolutely love the GlamGlow products I've tried before so I was thrilled to see this in my box.  It will definitely get tried ASAP.

Avon Big Color Eye Pencil | Retail $3.49 0.056oz

"Spend less time getting ready and more time getting down with these pretties - just glide and go! BB5 Tip: For color that lasts all night, layer over a powder or primer."

I got this pencil in a soft shimmer nude colour which I can definitely use.  It will be a great addition to my makeup collection.  Another win in this month's box.

Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel | Retail: $3.99 0.4fl oz

"Stand out at any soiree and balance the confetti with a bold nail! These supersaturated hues have our hearts when it comes to one-coat coverage and longlasting wear."

This is another item I was looking forward to getting after seeing it in other unboxings.  Unfortunately, I got the one colour I didn't want - red.  At least it's a known brand so I can probably trade it for another colour that's more my style.

Conclusion

I think BB5 really made a comeback this month after a streak of lackluster low-value boxes.  This marks the end of my yearly subscription and it's ending on a high note.  I won't be resubbing right away since they now charge extra for Canadian shipping (and the Canadian dollar is so low right now) but I will be keeping an eye on this sub to see if it's worth rejoining in the future.  If you want to find out more about BB5 you can check them out at https://beautybox5.com/.

Happy polishing,

Michelle