Oh China Glaze Below Deck. When you made your appearance at CosmoProf 2010, we were all excited that you were the answer to the discontinued Channelesque. Well, not me, because Channelesque was before my time, so I really didn't know what the hype was. But then I saw you, and you were a dusty purple creme. And you're also impossible to photograph well, which is why it's taken me so long to properly review you.
For those who are interested in a beautiful comparison of Below Deck and Channelesque, please visit this post by The Swatchaholic.
To me, Below Deck is like Chanel Paradoxal without the shimmer/sparkle. I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Below Deck and a top of Seche Vite. Application went on well.
Here it is in the sun - yep, a pretty dusty purple creme.
This shade picture was actually taken quite some time ago but I couldn't get any of the other pictures to color correct properly, so I just scraped them all.
Finally indoors with the flash - very pretty application.
There you go! This is definitely something that I'll wear again and again. I actually really wanted to play with it with Sea Spray but that's a story for another time...
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Again from the China Glaze Anchors Away collection is Sunset Sail, a "delightful peachy pink high shine creme". I hate labeling this "red" in my labels because it's so not red... but what can I do... ^_^ (Edit: Just add a nude tag, hah)
I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Sunset Sail and a top coat of Seche Vite. I had major issues with the formula and application - thick and goopy. I want to add some thinner for next time because this is a nice neutral nude.
See in the sun? While I like the color, I'm not the biggest fan of this application. See that one bubble on the ring finger? Rawr.
I really loved this in the shade - it's just so seashelly pink... very pretty.
Indoors with the flash - you can totally see it's a nude that goes well with my skin. I just wish it was a better formula!
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Going back to the Anchors Away collection, the China Glaze Spring 2011 releases... today I have Knotty, a micro-particle beige shimmer. I wasn't sure how much I'd like this since it seemed kind of frosty to me. I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Knotty and a top coat of Seche Vite. The formula was pretty nice on this one but the coverage? Well...
So here in the sun, I definitely had some VNL, which I'm not a fan of. Plus, I feel like this color makes my nails look yellowed. :[
Here in the shade, it doesn't really look as bad as it did to me in sun, but I'm still not totally sold. It kind of looks like sand though.
And here's an indoors with flash - back to not being a fan again. I'm sure this would look better over something like white or black. Speaking of, I'm trying to find a white that's an opaque one coater - any suggestions?
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
So a little deviant posting today - skincare!
Ever since Groupon and Living Social have come on the scene, one deal I see constantly is the microdermabrasion treatment, normally offered anywhere from $60-$200 (and that's AFTER the deal pricing!). I really don't know much about microdermabrasion other than hearing it on beauty shows (anyone else remember when ABC's Extreme Makeover was for PEOPLE and not homes?) and sometimes seeing a listing in the newspaper. I live in a relatively small town and the nearest place for skincare services like that are at least an hour north or two hours south of where I'm located.
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| Image from SkinCareRx |
When I was given the opportunity to test out the PMD - Personal Microderm System from SkinCareRx, I jumped at the chance. The price for this system is $179 and it ships same business day. The box contains the PMD, 5 discs (2 green for coarse removal and 3 blue for light removal), the power cord, 1 facial cap, 1 body cap and a reusable filter (mine was black not white). Also included was an instructional DVD which was about 8 minutes long and was more helpful to me than reading the included pamphlet. I'm a very visual learner, so it was great to see someone physically sticking this on their face and pulling it across.
Let's be honest, I was super nervous when I got this thing. All I knew is that it was a rotating disc that was going to be grinding at my skin. The actual terms are "smoothing away dead skin cells" (and I had some of them, for real) and this wand also diminishes age spots. I don't have any visible age spots right now (I am only 27), but it's nice to know that I could use this for that purpose later.
I followed the directions (ha, this is rare for me) and washed my face and pulled back my hair. I decided to use the large blue disc as I was just going to try my face. I have fat cheeks so like the DVD showed, I held my skin taunt between my fingers and went from down to up my cheek in vertical lines, never going higher than my cheekbones. On my chin, I went from left to right, and then on my forehead I did vertical lines again. I actually went over my whole face a second time because I wasn't sure I did it right the first time. You have to hold the wand perpendicular to your face so it "suctions" on there. You'll hear it if you don't have enough suction - just like a vacuum cleaner.
After I did this, I washed my face again and smoothed on the M2 Skin Recover Moisturizer ($32.50 for 1.7 fl oz) and M2 Skin Refinish ($44.50 for 1.7 fl oz) samples that were included with my PMD. I only used a pea size amount of both and that well covered over my face. The Moisturizer felt thick without feeling greasy but the Skin Refinish flat out BURNED for a few minutes. It does have both mandelic and malic acid which is why my face was on fire, but it went away pretty fast. I do have sensitive skin and to the best of my knowledge - rosacea. I have seen a dermatologist who was really indecisive and so I never went back. (He's not sure if I had ANYTHING - he just prescribed me $300 shampoo and left the room but that's another story).
I let my face sit for a few hours while I got some work done, and then finally touched to see if I felt a difference. My face did feel softer, so I went to go look. Parts of my cheeks were noticeably white instead of pink (this is awesome) and I have a scar on my left cheek that I felt was fainter (it's from the chicken pox when I was 5).
While this system is a bit expensive for me as a set-up, I already feel that it's definitely worth it. You can buy replacement discs and filters from SkinCareRx or PMD, as well as the moisturizer and skin refinish cream, so this isn't a machine that breaks once and you're out the money completely.
I'm going to keep using my machine until it's time to buy more pads or a new filter and see how much difference it's made. My Mom actually has a Groupon to have a microdermabrasion done this summer, so I'd like to see if her face looks about the same as mine does after hers. Granted, every one is different but half my DNA came from her, so I'm going to do a small (but not scientific!) experiment.
Thanks for letting me share this little skincare posting with you today!
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Alright Mitzi... are you yellow or green? Either way, you're bright, you're matte, and you're the last color in the Zoya modmattes LE collection. This is also a mini bottle but a full size is available. I did not use a base or top color (Zoya actually doesn't recommend it) and this is 3 coats. Formula was nice on this color as well.
This is definitely a green-yellow-lime-lemonish color that I've been told is like OPI's Fiercely Fiona (which I own in a mini bottle). It's quite unique to my collection, especially being a matte.
Here in the shade, I feel like I have lobster red hands.
And finally here inside with a flash, it almost looks tennis ball green - almost neon like. Definitely a neat color!
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
