Review and Swatches: Essie's Cute as a Button

I picked this colour up on a whim, as I really really don't need more nail polish (thank you Julep Maven) but when these went on sale for $7.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart I couldn't resist. Normally these retail for around $12 depending on where you buy it from and this is the cheapest I've see it (other than buy one get one deals around boxing day).

This is a really cute summery pink/coral colour. Perfect for summer days by the beach or pool. This is definitely going into my regular rotation of nail polish colours. I think I'll turn to this when I want a less intense pink than OPI's Strawberry Margarita.

The one thing that bugs me about buying these at Shoppers is that the packaging is slightly different than if I get this a beauty supply store. There's a sticker on the top with the name (most times it comes on the bottom) and a white Essie sticker on the side that I always peel off because it looks tacky.

Rating:

Packing: 4/5 There is nothing wrong with the packaging per se, it's just nothing to write home about.
Pigmentation: 5/5 I got the bottle colour with two coats
Texture: 5/5 This is a nice creamy polish
Longevity: n/a*
Application: 4/5 I prefer OPI's larger brush, but nothing particularly bad about the smaller brush.

Overall I would recommend this colour, it's a perfect summer polish. This would look great on toes as well. Overall Rating: 4.5/5

* I can't wear nail polish to work so I only wear polish on the weekends. Sorry I can't test this for wear time. 

Review and Swatches: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

I have been loving Revlon Lip Butters for months now. They are amazingly hydrating, give great colour pay off and are easy on the wallet to boot! I think I picked up this one on sale for $5.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart before summer started. I think regularly these retail around the $10 mark, but I've always been able to find them on sale.

The packaging is really nice, the cover has a quilted pattern on it and comes in the colour of the lipstick. This make it super easy to know what colour you're grabbing when in a rush, unlike MAC lipsticks which are a bit of a pain to sort through.

I do find that the lip butters melt very easily and tend to smudge on the packaging if you're not careful. Peach Parfait is a gorgeous neutral pink. It's very much a your lips but better kind of product. I find I reach for this colour all the time, whether for day to day looks or to balance out a smokey eye. The only thing I don't love about this is that there is sparkles in it, which I would prefer that it didn't have.

I love layering Peach Parfait with MAC's Pink Lemonade Tinted Lip Glass over top. This gives my lips a really great fresh summery look.

Rating:

Packing: 5/5 I like that it's easy to find in my makeup drawer and it doesn't look cheap.
Pigmentation: 5/5 You won't get huge pigmentation if you apply it lightly but I find that these are VERY build-able if you want more colour.
Texture: 4/5 The only reason this looses marks is because of the glitter, it makes it just a tiny bit rougher than my other lip butters.
Longevity: 4/5 These aren't going to last you all day, I would say 3-4 hours as long as you don't drink anything.
Application: 5/5 I can apply this without a mirror and not worry that I've made myself look like a clown.


Overall I would 100% recommend this product, I give it an total rating of 4.5/5 and it only really looses marks because of the glitter. This is a great lip product for day to day.

Review: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Nail Polish

Sally Hansen Insta-Dry nail polish seemed like a great buy. It was on sale for $4.99 and it claimed to do a full polish with just one coat. I picked it up in Presto Pink and Lively Lilac and couldn't wait to test it out! I found that the colour pay off was true to the bottle, however Lively Lilac was streaky while Presto Pink went on smooth. The polish dries very quickly, though not in the 60 seconds it claims to, more like 2-4 minutes which is still amazing. The Perfectionist Brush that Sally Hansen says is so great was the real downfall for me here. I found the brush large and unwieldly, making it hard to be precise with the application. I like bigger brushes on my polishes (when OPI switched to the new brushes I was in heaven!) but this one is clunky and keeps too much product on it. The polish also transfers. I was doing some course work after painting my nails and noticed that if I ran my finger on the page it left a streak of colour. The polish comes off easy enough, though I did notice it tinted my nails underneath slightly. I'm going to give this another shot, mostly because it does dry so amazingly fast and that's great for a chronic smudger like me! I think I will reapply maybe with a base coat to protect my nails and I will do a follow up review with some pictures.

MAC and Drugstore mini haul

Here's a mini haul of what I purchased today. Went to shoppers this morning because they have the Revlon Lip Butters on sale for $4.99 this weekend. Miss Glamorazzi aka Ingrid recommended the lollipop shade so I picked that up. I already have the peach parfait and sweet tart shades that I purchased earlier.

I also picked up the Sally Hansen insta-dri nail polish in presto pink and lively lilac on sale for $4.99. I'll post pictures and a review soon.

From MAC I picked up their brush cleaner which I had never used before. Confession: I'm terrible at cleaning my brushes regularly. Simply shameful the state I let them get into. I'm going to try to get better though at regular cleanings.

Miss Glamorazzi in her makeup starter kit video raved about MACs lipglass in pink lemonade, so I splurged and picked that up as well. I don't know if I love this yet from the quick test I did but I did it over bare lips and I have very naturally pigmented lips. I'll try it over my peach parfait tomorrow and report back!

Hope you enjoyed my mini haul and see you all again soon!
Alysia