Update: Impress Manicure

On Thursday night of last week I decided to try out the Impress Manicure and sadly by Sunday night, I was annoyed with them (I'll explain) and took them off. I didn't think I could last a week, even though the packaging advertises that they can. Am I skeptical that they can last that long? Not really, I just didn't like how they fit.

Let me explain. After I made the original post, the next night the index finger on my right hand popped off. I didn't really make a big deal of it; they give you plenty of extras so I just put on a new one. The next day, the index finger on my left hand popped off and again I replaced it. But thinking about it, if I was dishes everyday where I'm exposed to hot water, then sure we could see a problem. But there was more. If I kept up like this, then I'd run out of extras especially if I need to replace a nail a day. I kept them on anyway but that created a dent in my experience with them and it only got a bit more negative from there.

By day two the edges were worn down and the paint was receding. The gap between the nail and my cuticle seemed to widen (though it probably wasn't) however it was only noticeable by me because after trying to wash my hair, it just kept getting caught under the nail with the glue. Plus having to replace two nails meant that I couldn't quite get the same size so they weren't covering my nail properly. Add to that they just felt really obvious.

Now I've worn fake nails before and while I know it's been a while, although I was impressed by them for a short period of time, for the long haul I didn't think they'd be that good. I think they are great if you need to get your nails done quickly (or on the go) but on a day-to-day basis I don't know if they could hold up well.

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Product: Impress Manicure by Broadway in Holla!
Price: $7.99
Would Recommend? With caution.
Takeaway: Easy to apply and great if you're on the go; the only catch I can see to this is that you should have short nails as they are pretty short themselves. They do not seem as though they can last throughout a week, especially if you do household cleaning.

Review: Renpure Organics Shampoo & Conditioner

It's been just about a month now that I've been using this shampoo and conditioner duo and it is just about time that it adjusts to it or... well, there is no other option. Sadly, coming off from vacation, my hair has not revisited that bouncy look from before (while on vacation, my hair curled up and remained bouncy, something it has been unable to achieve without the high levels of humidity). So regardless of just how paraben and sulfate free a shampoo and/or conditioner is, my hair remains slightly lifeless. But this is not a comparison of the days of yore in regard to my hair. Let's be on with it.

I grabbed the "My Hair is Pretty Parched!" and the "I Love My Hair!" duo since they were on sale. I've been using the "My Hair is Pretty Parched!" for the last four weeks (vacation excluded, so I was using this prior to vacation).

The bright side for anyone who is conscious about what's in the bottle: NO parabens, sulfates, gluten, phthalates, or propylene glycol. Grant it the last three have never really struck me as label worthy, the exclusion of the first two (parabens and sulfates) made me happy. Either way, I do enjoy indulging in the idea that "less is more." So the verdict?

Well, my hair has had no real changes. It remains shiny, a bit on the bouncy side but the waves are still demure. Overall, that means that the product works well for me! I know it doesn't sound like much, but I've been trying to stick with sulfate and paraben free shampoos and conditioners and I know what to expect. I anticipated that if it worked well then there would be no real changes to my hair. And I was right. 

The scent is light and flowery and the consistency of both of them are what you'd expect. (If you read my review of the original sulfate and paraben free Organix Moroccan Argan Oil shampoo and conditioner, you will note that the consistency of both of them were kind of weird). The consistencies of Renpure are normal so you get to work up a nice lather to the shampoo and the conditioner stayed on my hair without falling off in odd clumps. 

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Product: Renpure Organics My Pretty Hair is Parched! Moisturizing Shampoo
Price: $6.99
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: Light scent that smells good, works well. Normal consistency so... yeah, no complaints here.

Product: Renpure Organics My Pretty Hair is Parched! Moisturizing Conditioner
Price: $6.99
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: Same as above. :)

Blog Listing Update

Dearest Fellow Bloggers (from Reddit),

I know that some of you are following me from Reddit and the beauty blog threads so I just wanted to give you all the heads up that we're switching one of the blog rolls.

http://makeupaddiction.redlaboratory.com/
(The /r/makeupaddiction Blog Listings)

Is shifting gears and becoming the Eyeliners & Lipsticks Blog Listing in order to be less Reddit oriented and a bit more comprehensive. So if you happen to have the old site linked, please update it to:

http://eyelinersandlipsticks.blogspot.com/

For the official Reddit MUA Beauty Blogs Listing, please refer to this post. If you'd like to hop on the Eyeliners & Lipsticks board and help us out, head on over there and drop us a line. 

Thanks!

New Box: Kara's Way

There's an awful lot of boxes out there and it seems as though there's a new one every month. That's just the makeup boxes alone and if you don't believe me, check out the list compiled by Mandy Wiltse, which is ever growing. Anyhow, I'm pretty picky which is why although I've been thinking about it for a while, I haven't actually subscribed to any. Which is why I guess in some way, I'm kind of lucky as one of my friends is hoping to release her own box soon.

Kara's Way is an eco-friendly box, that is aiming to be just beauty samples. While I don't know what would be in the first box, I do know that that each box is supposed to have at minimum 5 all natural (or vegan) products. The waiting list has just opened up and you can go to their site to find out more information. 

Here's wishing my friend a whole lot of luck with her new venture. And since she has no idea that my blog exists or that I'm writing about it, the full disclaimer is that this is not an endorsed post.

Influenster Love Box

Yesterday I got my first VoxBox from Influenster and I couldn't be more excited. I haven't had the chance to try out everything just yet but here are the pictures of the box for those of you that are interested. (Reminder: You can click on the images to enlarge them!)

Everything in the box.

A closer look at the contents.

The postcard that lists out everything inside.

Truvia Natural Sweetener Sample

Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Creamy Devotion Bar

Kiss Nail Dress -- Fashion That Sticks

Stash Tea Herbal Tea Sampler

Gillette Venus & Olay Razor

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary through the VoxBox product testing program.

Review: Impress Manicure

Last week in midst of a cleaning frenzy, I broke out the bleach but forgot to do two key things. One was that I neglected to use my rubber gloves and second was that I didn't dilute the bleach. Now if you've ever worked with bleach, generally speaking you work as quickly as possible. Which I did, but my nails suffered for it. Generally I grow out my nails but thanks to my error, I set them back by a week or two. Basically I weakened my nails and figured that since they were short, it's about time I tried press on nails. Especially since I assume they wouldn't be as damaging as standard manicures.

Anyhow, I tried out the Impress Manicure by Broadway because I've heard great things. Plus, they have really cute designs. When I ran over to my local drugstore knowing that I was going to pick up a pack of them, I also sprang for a cuticle pusher since I didn't have one in my collection (and I also knew that the package probably wouldn't have one). I bought a simple plastic one (pictured on the left above) for 99¢ rather than the pack of bamboo cuticle pusher or one made of metal.

As for the Impress Manicure, I bought myself the (D030) Holla! which is a glittery peach (though a demure peach) with black lace. Upon closer inspection, one can make out flowers and butterflies in the lace pattern. I'm a sucker for lace (as evidenced by when I got the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Laced Up [but that is for another time]) but what I love about this one is that you can actually make out the lace and still see the underlying colours. It's a gorgeous take on the lace look -- even my boyfriend remarked that it had a steampunk look because it looked so defined.

My general feel about the nails? Well, I've been wearing them for a day so I haven't had the full experience just yet (the packaging boasts that it can last up to a week) but here's some preliminary observations.

This is best on short nails as they are pretty short themselves. Application is incredibly easy: clean your nails (no nail polish), then use the prep pad to clean off your nails, and then apply the nails.

Yep, that simple. Just peel off the backing and apply. Hold them down for a few seconds and that's it. No hassle. They were on and good to go within 15 minutes. They aren't cumbersome and for the most part the cover the nails well. On my left hand there's only one nail that wasn't fully covered (but it's not very noticeable) and on my right hand there's about four nails that don't quite fit (but also not noticeable).

The thing that does strike me as odd is that they are a bit raised so even though on my ring finger it fits perfectly it does look a bit off since it's raised. In a way, it kind of reminds me of a gel manicure and the need to get them filled in where they meet the cuticle.

Given the nature of the sticky glue, I don't imagine it being as strong as normal nail glue. And of course, I was right; when I press on something with the nail, I can feel it pushing back toward my cuticle. So I do have a sneaky suspicion that they might snap off, I still do have a few remainders so I can easily replacement. It hasn't gotten to that, but I am prepared just in case.

I should have an update about them and how long they last in about a week!
UPDATE POST: Impress Manicure

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Product: Impress Manicure by Broadway in Holla!
Price: $7.99
Would Recommend? With caution.
Takeaway: Easy to apply and great if you're on the go; the only catch I can see to this is that you should have short nails as they are pretty short themselves. They do not seem as though they can last throughout a week, especially if you do household cleaning.

The End With Le Octopus

The conclusion of "A Crabbeh Kind of Day."

Updated my makeup blog.

Ate my fruits. :)

Tried to read this magazine but it doesn't have
a lot content....

So after talking to my mom, I read a real book.

Enjoyed some delicious Philz coffee (again(.

But this time with Venkat!

Grabbed takeout from this delicious vegetarian
restaurant for dinner.