10 Spring Awakening

While I was at CVS the other day, I found this brand called "10" which is pretty inexpensive (under $5) and had a lot of cremes that I figured could be dupes for several colors that I'm lemming (wishing for).  I accidentally photographed the top and not the name, but this one is called Spring Awakening.  10 is big 3 free and states that it has "micro matrix technology pairs breathability with durable, chip resistant protection, no streak, no smudge formula with a high shine UVA protection to resist fading."  Breathability?  Really?  That's not even a word!  Anyway.


This bottle is tall and tall bottles mean tall brushes.  I was kinda of scared that I was going to tip this bottle over the entire time.  I used Dermelect Launchpad, two coats of Spring Awakening and a top coat of Seche Vite.  The formula was horrid.  It pooled into my cuticles and was rather runny.

I tried to clean up my cuticles as much as possible but you can see it in my pointer finger and the pinkie was pretty bad too.

Slightly darker looking in the shade.  Overall it's a pretty color but just a bad formula.  I don't think I'll be purchasing many more of these unless I'm hit by sheer curiosity.


10 can be purchased at CVS/pharmacy.

A Beautiful Life Soy Nail Polish Remover

I was also sent A Beautiful Life's own soy nail polish remover.  It's big 3 free, soy based and non-toxic, safe for kids, recyclable packaging, gentle and effective and has a mild scent of grapefruit.  The smell was very faint for me but it was different from the smell of acetone for sure.


The top of this bottle is a small screw top which I wasn't sure if it was just a gaping hole or what, but nope, it's a little squeeze bottle that you can either let drip onto your cotton ball/pad, or squeeze the plastic bottle to get it on the cotton ball/pad.

I prefer cotton rounds, so I squeezed a little bit out onto my cotton round.

It looks a little oily from here and being soy based, there is a bit of an oil like residue that is left on your hands.  Not sure if you can tell that my nail and cuticle looks shiny here.

Now, the bottle states to wash your hands thoroughly after using, which I did and really felt like I had to because I'm not into having oily hands - I'm used to Zoya Remove+.  It did take a little rubbing for me to get my polish off my nails - it wasn't like a glitter scrubbing procedure but it wasn't a quick swipe either.  It was nice to have an alternative to acetone, especially when I'm trying to swatch several polishes in a day.  Like I need dry(er) cuticles at this point!  ^_^  Overall, I'm pleased with A Beautiful Life.  While the polish and remover is more than I pay for typically, this also has the all natural products in it, which is important.

A Beautiful Life soy polish remover is available on their website [official store] for $20 a bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post. 

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Fall PreOrder

From Ji over at Rescue Beauty Lounge:

Pre-Order - 48 hours only!
Begins Monday August 2nd at 1pm EST.
Ends Wednesday August 4th at 1pm EST.

One married her dead husband's kid brother, another was a real witch, one left her child motherless and still another turned one too many heads.

Meet four of Henry the VIII's most intriguing wives—and my inspiration for my very regal polish collection for A/W 2010.

Okay, so I was already engrossed in the Tudor novel Wolf Hall when the Fall collections hit the runway. Givenchy's intricate brocades, Lanvin's feather-festooned metallics, and the strong, powerful neutrals at Celine hit the runway, all seemed reminiscent of the queens' elaborate wardrobes. I had my inspiration for Rescue Beauty Lounge's Autumn/Winter color collection.

Now for the who's who of Hampton Court:
Catherine—Henry the VIII's first wife and Europe's first female ambassador inspired this royal purple with a fine pewter sheen and hints of blue and fuschia shimmer.
Anne—Rumored to be a sorceress, Henry's second wife lends her short-lived name to this bewitching olive green with a subtle pink-gold metallic iridescence.
Jane—my (current) favorite polish, named for Henry's favorite wife, is a pale grey pearl with sheer washes of pink and gold.
Catherine H.—Like Henry's trophy wife, you'll lose your head for this shimmering Wedgewood blue hue with a hint of a gold- and pink-flecked darkening sky.

Needless to say, my loyal VIP subjects, these colors are going to fly off the shelves like, well, Tudor heads off shoulders. But as this Queen's favorite, you're first in line. So I order thee to...pre-order now for shipping the 2nd week of September!

As ever,

Ji


The link to preorder these shades is right here


For nail swatches, please check out Scrangie or All Lacquered Up 

A Beautiful Life Juiced

The other color I received from A Beautiful Life is their new colored Juiced which they call an intense orange creme.  However, I have to call it a neon because it was screaming orange that dried matte.  


I used a base coat of Dermelect Launchpad, 3 coats of Juiced, and left it without a top coat because of the matte finish.  The formula was also nice but I did still have a bit of VNL after 3 coats.  The first time I did my manicure, I got a phone call immediately after and while holding my phone to my ear, my hair smeared the polish everywhere.  I had to take it off and try again.  Up first is my sun picture.

See what I mean about a neon instead of a creme?  It looks a little red in this picture but to me it seems a bit more orange.

In the shade you can see that it's definitely a glowing color.  I like it a lot!  You can also see that I smudged my ring finger a bit and you can see the VNL as well.  I still really enjoyed this color as it's definitely a hot summer color.

A Beautiful Life is available on their website [official store] for $12 a bottle.

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

A Beautiful Life Hot Rod

Today I have a new line of polish for you called A Beautiful Life [official website].  Not only do they sell nail polish, but also makeup, perfume, skincare and more.  The nail polish is big 3 free, long wearing and chip resistant, non-toxic and soy based, recyclable packaging, and safe for kids.  They have a nice range of colors from cremes to shimmers, frost and what I'm calling a neon.  A Beautiful Life was founded by husband and wife team Tony and Jennifer Artur in New Jersey.  Hot Rod is a candy apple red that has a surprise red shimmer in it.  It doesn't translate as well on camera, but it was really pretty on the nail.


I used a base coat of Dermelect Launchpad, 2 coats of Hot Rod and I didn't use a top coat this time.  A Beautiful Life makes a 2 in 1 Top/Base Coat but I don't have it but I wanted to check the dry time.  The formula was great!  Not too thin, not thick, and no pooling into my cuticles.  The brush was a little awkward for me because the top is shorter than I'm used to, but it wasn't unmanageable.


Check out how pretty this color is in the sun!

BAM.  It's definitely a very pretty bold red and like I said, while you can't see it - the shimmer is in there and is so pretty!

In the shade, it's still such a stunning color.  Now dry time wasn't horrible but it did dent after I came inside after taking pictures.  A top coat would have stopped that, I know.  I have another color and their soy nail polish remover to review coming up later this week, so see you tomorrow readers!


A Beautiful Life is available on their website [official store] for $12 a bottle.


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.