Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Strips Starter Kit--Mini Review

I have been curious about these Gel Strips, but I didn't want to pay full price for them, as usual. So once they were on sale and I had two stackable coupons, I went for it. 
*I purchased this kit with my own money.*

Below is everything that comes with the kit: Nail file and cuticle pusher, gel top coat, two nail prep pads, LED lamp, two packs of color nail strips, power cord for the lamp, and instructions.

Everything was fairly easy to use. You can only do one nail at a time in the LED lamp, but it's not a big deal since it's only 30 seconds. The results were very pretty, as seen below.

This was not long-lasting for me at all, however. Good for a day or two at most.

*I purchased this kit with my own money.*

Don't Pay Retail Prices Part 2--$1.95 CVS Haul

In February, I shared several examples of why and how I almost never pay retail prices for my beauty items, in the post Don't Pay Retail Prices. Today's installment is another small example, focused on combining resources for saving such as sales, coupons, and customer loyalty rewards. 
*I paid for these products with my own money. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

I bought Essie Stroke of Brilliance, Neutrogena Pure & Free Sunscreen, and Sally Hansen Tint + Moisture Balm for a total of $1.95 after tax.

My original subtotal before tax at full retail CVS pricing would have been $27.77. The price for the Sally Hansen is the same in other stores, the price for the Essie is about 29 cents cheaper in most places, and the price for the Neutrogena is about $1.50~2.00 cheaper elsewhere. So even if I had been shopping at a less expensive store, my subtotal would still have been about $26.00.

The sunscreen was on sale for $7.99, down from $14.49. I had a CVS coupon for $4.00 off of a $20.00 purchase. I had received two ExtraBucks rewards, which are basically store credit, from the CVS ExtraCare customer loyalty program which gives you 2% back on purchases and $5.00 ExtraBucks when you accumulate 10 filled prescriptions (if you link everything, easy to do online). One was for $1.50 for my regular purchases and one was for $5.00 for my beauty purchases, (which you get once you have cumulatively spent $50.00 on beauty items if you're signed up for their ExtraCare Beauty Club). As you can see below, that brought my subtotal to only $0.77! So although my final total was $1.95, I was paying less for the actual products than for the sales tax.

That's how you make a beauty product purchase that doesn't worry your husband. He gave me a high-five on this one, as a matter of fact.

*I paid for these products with my own money. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Mint Manis for Talia Joy

Nicole of Nail Polish Wars had a very nice idea for the nail community to join together to honor the life of Talia Joy Castellano, a 13-year old YouTuber and aspiring makeup artist who lost her battle with cancer earlier this week. The idea for the mint mani theme is inspired by Talia's last Instagram posting, which was a mint manicure post featuring the hands of Talia, her mother, and her dear friend Tammy.
*I purchased the nail polish, and I received the nail stickers in a trade. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Artificial white light

My mint mani started with four thin coats of Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Nail Color in Gentle Blossom. For the embellishment, I added the nail stickers L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Lingerie in the design Razzle Be Dazzle. 

Artificial yellow light

This was my first time using this type of sticker. I loved the way that it looked, but they were not at all durable. I experimented on the pinkie to see if top coat would mess up the sticker--it did.

Artificial yellow light

I'd like to express my sympathy to Talia's family and friends for how they will miss her.

*I purchased the nail polish, and I received the nail stickers in a trade. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Shorty Post--Manicures with Friends Part 3: Amber's Tape Mani

Today's hand model is Amber. She is addicted to nail polish like I am. We were going to try to make her nails look like a flower that her boyfriend had seen and thought was cool, which was orange with a burst of purple in the center. My methods for that failed, so we kept the color theme, but went for a diagonal tape manicure. (Using regular office tape to make crisp lines between the two shades of polish.) I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Orange Impulse and Color Club Pucci-licious; top coat is Seche Vite.
*I purchased the nail polishes with my own money and I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Fuzzy Jacqueline Mani Fail

This wasn't one big fail, but a series of small ones. I wasn't going to blog about it even, but I appreciate when bloggers show both their successes and failures. It looks better in the photos than it did in real life, so you may like it. All of the products that I used are good products.
*I received Zoya Jacqueline in a trade on makeuptalk.com, and I purchased the other products. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

Zoya Jacqueline is a lovely creamy shade. I recommend it. Yeah, until it goes on my nails. Then it leans yellow and makes me look ill. Fail #1. I'm sorry, but that's why I didn't even take any photos of Jacqueline on its own. My husband and my brother don't comment much on the manis, but they both commented that Jacqueline was not a color for me.

My original plan was to add a couple of accent nails to Jacqueline, but once I saw how the shade was unflattering to me, I decided to use a Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat on all of the nails.  

I thought that Sally Hansen Fuzz-Sea would be a cute overlay. It is a cute overlay, but in this circumstance it just made everything look more yellow! Yellow is good, but not on me. Fail #2. 

I've worked with bar glitter before. I learned that you can move it around a little around the edges so that you don't end up with pieces sticking out. Well, I thought I had learned. This time, I forgot. Fail #3. 

I then topped everything off with my favorite quick-dry top coat, Poshe. Unlike Seche Vite, which I also love, I've not experienced shrinkage with Poshe. There's a first time for everything. See how the top coat dried and pulled the polish underneath it away from the edge? Yeah, that's what shrinkage looks like in the nail polish world. Fail #4. You don't see it from a distance, but nail polish addicts are always staring at their nail polish, taking photos of it, and having someone hold their hands up for a closer look at unusual effects or combinations. (For what it's worth, I would recommend more than one coat of top coat with Fuzz-Sea if you want a smooth texture.)

With a few changes, I will probably be happier with my next Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat mani. I will trade my Zoya Jacqueline to someone who hopefully has a better skin tone for it, but my Sally Hansen Fuzz-Sea will be used again by me. I love how the bar glitters are short, bright, and matte. I also bought the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in black and white (can't remember the name), for which I have high hopes.

*I received Zoya Jacqueline in a trade on makeuptalk.com, and I purchased the other products. I am not affiliated with nor compensated by any of the brands mentioned in this post.*

What do you think? Would you wear one of the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat polishes?

Manicures with Friends

My good friends know that I have more nail polish than one woman needs. Yesterday I shared with my two friends Kathy and Winter. I painted their nails, because it's fun for me and it usually feels like a treat when someone else does your nails. They brought me lunch, in turn.

It is fun to work with someone else's nail length and shape. The differences change the entire look.

First off was Kathy. She usually wears very conservative nail polish. However, she was very open to branching out. She chose a lovely purple: OPI Dutch Ya Just Love OPI?

I used one coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps Acrylic Gel + Nylon in Sheer Pink Gloss as a base coat. Next was two coats of OPI Dutch Ya Just Love OPI.

I topped the purple with Orly Sec 'n' Dry Multi-Layer Quick-Dry Topcoat to smooth things out and help speed up drying time.

I asked Kathy if she wanted to add something fun, and she agreed to it. We layered one coat of Essie Shine of the Times, a versatile flakie that has looked good over every polish I have paired with it so far.

Ooh la la! I was so happy with this look, I just kept taking photos. I love the length and width of her nail beds--just right. Below you can really see the flakie highlighted. It kind of looks like one of the fancy dark opals to me. (Have you ever seen blue or black opals? Amazing!) In the end, I finished with one coat of Butter London Hardwear P.D. Quick Top Coat and brushed on some Prolana Cuticle Oil.

My next model was Winter, Kathy's niece. I am a little jealous of her elongated 'piano fingers'. She is not even an adult, yet look how elegant her fingers and nail shape are!

Winter considered her color choices very carefully, as she specifically wanted a blue that would compliment her outfits for the next few days. (She is visiting from out-of-state.) We tried stamping first, but it was a disaster. I don't have good stamping supplies yet. So, moving on...

I used the same base coat on Winter, the Sally Hansen acrylic gel with nylon. It says that it's pink, but I find it to be a cool peachy nude. I started Winter's French tips with one line of N.Y.C. Water Street Blue to create some opacity. Then we went back over the tips with the color she really wanted--Wet 'n' Wild Teal or No Teal. After those two coats dried a little, we finished with Butter London Hardwear P.D. Quick Top Coat.

A big thank you to my lovely hand models! I certainly hope to have another 'nail party' soon. :)

What do you think? Are blue and purple nail polish intimidating to you, or do you say 'bring it on'?

You Tell Me--Which Should I Review First?

Bloom.com recently had progressive closeout sales, so naturally I had to pick up a few things. Rumor has it that they were transitioning from having their own stock to only referring you to other retailers. I am not sure if that is true, but that would explain the prices. They had three sales that I know of: 50% off, 60% off, and 70% off. The selection dwindled as the discount increased, of course. These are my picks from the 70% off sale. 

Bloom.com 70% Off Haul

Total retail cost of the above items is $69.71. With the coupon code for the sale, and free shipping as part of the deal, I only paid $20.91.

Thank you to everyone who is following Rouge Required--I really appreciate your support of my new venture. Maybe you can help me decide: Which of the following products from my Bloom.com haul should I blog about first? Let me know in the comments.

Revlon Luxurious Color Perle Eye Shadow in Violet Starlet

L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lip Gloss in Sangria

CoverGirl LashBlast 24 Hour Mascara in Black

Megan Miller Collection Nail Polish in Framboise

CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain in Everbloom Kiss

Pop Beauty In Liner in Green

Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle Nail Colour in Gorgeous Grape

Did you buy anything from the Bloom.com closeout sales? I learned about it from makeuptalk.com; perhaps you did, too. They have a great section where members keep each other up-to-date on coupons, special offers, and sales. To counteract the effects of such enabling, there is also a section where members encourage each other while trying to buy less beauty products. :)