Howdy!

Well, June kind of slip past me.  Sorry I've been quiet the past couple of weeks - work has kept me busy, oh and...

I got engaged on 19 June!  Of COURSE when I actually got proposed to, I had naked nails, haha.  My above polish is CND Shellac "Hollywood" with "Mother of Pearl" but more on that later.

Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas is just 3 weeks away so that's my next big thing to prepare for!  I just spent a week in Maine with my fiancé's family (haha, that word is kind of awesome), and I've been up for 17 straight hours and have many more to go before I can go to sleep (work first thing in the morning!) but I have many things to show you too!  Thanks for sticking around!

Beauty Blog Coalition: 4th of July Competition

The Beauty Blog Coalition members may not all be American, but we do love to celebrate all holidays with our friends, so we bring you the 4th of July Competition, with not one but two $300 USD Visa gift cards!  All terms and conditions may be found at the bottom of the Rafflecopter widget.  Please allow the widget to load in full.  Competition ends 5 July 2012.  You may enter on any of the blogs below - Rafflecopter won't allow you enter twice.  You may tweet about the giveaway (the last option in the Rafflecopter) every day for extra entries!  


Thank you to the following - the members of the Beauty Blog Coalition, Rafflecopter, HTML Tables, and Flag Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net


(All comments have been closed on this post - for any questions, please email me at krystal[at]polishgalore[dot]com!)

Please visit the lovely sponsors of this competition!

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic	Beauty and Fashion Tech
Beauty by Miss L	Beauty Info Zone
BeautyTidbits	Blushing Basics
BlushingNoir	Bottles and Bottles of Polish
Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom	Cosmetically Challenged
Emily Hudspeth, hair design and makeup artist	Endless Summer
Future Derm	Geniabeme Beauty Blog
Making Up the Midwest	Midnight Manicures
Moxie Reviews	My Beauty Bunny
My Highest Self	My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog
Nails and Noms	NaturallyNancy1
Oh So Lacquered	Peek.Ponder.Publish
Perilously Pale	Phyrra
Polarbelle	polish insomniac
PolishGalore	Prime Beauty
retrodivas beauty	Stephanie Louise- All Things Beautiful
The Pink Sith Blog	thefabzilla.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FingerPaints Summer in the City

YAY summer!  Still super happy that it's the time of sunshine.  Well, mostly.  Please enjoy the following from FingerPaints - I'm sure you'll find these already in your local Sally's Beauty Supply!  (All images courtesy of Lippe Taylor)

The NEW FingerPaints Summer in the City Collection 

Just in time for your Memorial Day pedicure, Sally Beauty introduces the new FingerPaints Summer in the City collection for summer 2012. 


The collection features 6 hot new shades that will be sure to wow this season! Show off your bare feet with: 

Beach Bound (Purple) 

Flip Flop (Fuchsia)

Late Night Rendezvous (Blue Shimmer)

Movie in the Park (Purple Shimmer)

Sexy Sundress (Yellow)

To-teally Hot (Teal) 

FingerPaints are sold separately for $4.99 and are available exclusively at SallyBeauty.com.

Algenist Firming & Lifting Intensive Mask

Now, I talked about the Algenist line all the way back in February (holy cow), and finally, I'm letting you know Does It Work?  I got to try the Firming & Lifting Intensive Mask, a 2.7 fl. oz tube of gel that retails for $52.  The ingredients include alguronic acid, propeptide3, jojoba, green tea & vitamin E and is supposed to restore your skin's elasticity, structure and suppleness.  Now I'm not even 30 yet, but I do have some sagging skin around my eyes and as I've gained weight, my cheeks tend to be a little more puffy but otherwise I have some pretty decent skin.


For this mask, you are to apply an even layer to clean, dry skin avoiding the eyes.  Leave on for 10 minutes and then remove using warm water.  Apply once or twice a week.


Now, considering that the system's claim is better skin in 10 days, I did not see results in 10 days of my mask, considering that's only 2 applications.  Instead, I applied once weekly for 2 months (March and April) and then let my skin breathe for a month (May).  This is a downside of testing out skin care products that I've found as a blogger... how do you accurately tell what's going on with your skin?  I'm not a dermatologist, so please note all the opinions in this review, are my own.

So as you can see above, the tube is a pretty good size for the price, and you don't need a lot to cover your face (always a good thing)!  The gel looks like coffee creamer in color and appears to be a thick gel.  I'm pleased to say it was not greasy or oily feeling.

How flattering is this yo?  So here I am with the mask applied.  Once on the skin, the gel is absolutely colorless.  You can see on my right side that I have a few blemishes and overall my skin is a bit red.  My skin has always been "a bit red" but my dermatologist couldn't determine if it was rosacea or not.  (To be honest, I'm looking for a new dermatologist as well).  Now the good about this mask is that it doesn't dry on your face like other face masks I've used, where it's dry and crusty and the mask cracks on your face.  Instead, it just dries clear and it did take a bit of rubbing to get it all off (just splashing with warm water did nothing for me).  I didn't notice any side effects or issues with my skin while using this product.  The blemishes on my face have cleared up, and have stayed cleared up even with discontinuing the product.  Now if that's a cause of the product or anything else, I don't know.  I can't tell any difference in the firmness of my skin and since it wasn't to be used on the eyes, my baggy eye lids and bags under my eyes are still there (darn).


Would I buy this again?  Because $50 is way out of my current price range, the answer is no.  I would love Algenist to come out with a smaller trial kit of all 3 items, maybe a week's worth?  This way people can test the whole system and see if it really works for them.  Only having one product gives me a bit of a disadvantage when it's the whole system that really treats your skin.  Edit:  Hah, so now they DO offer a "trial" set for $65.  Now THIS I think is worth it.


As far as masks, I love that it's a clear, odorless gel but on the other hand, it's hard to tell if you missed a spot on your skin.


Algenist Firming & Lifting Intensive Mask ($52) can be purchased at Sephora.

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

China Glaze Summer Neons

We're already hitting triple digits here in the south, so naturally it's a perfect time to pull out your flip flops and some nice bright summer neons!  Please enjoy the following press from China Glaze.  (All images courtesy of AII)

Heat Up Your Summer with China Glaze®’s Newest Sizzling Collection

The sun has nothing on you this summer!  Rival its brightness and heat with China Glaze® Summer 2012 collection, Summer Neons.  Featuring 12 new sizzling shades perfect for surf, sand and nightlife, the all new hot hues in China Glaze® Summer Neons include:

Pink Plumeria

Light pink with gold shimmer 

Under the Boardwalk

Fluorescent raspberry 

Splish Splash

Bright sky blue shimmer

Love’s A Beach

Sizzling hot pink

Hang-Ten Toes

Bubblegum neon with iridescent purple shimmer

Beach Cruise-r

Glimmering fuchsia grape

Orange You Hot?

Bright orange with attention-grabbing gold glimmer

Surfin’ For Boys

Glistening bright coral

Flirty Tankini

Shimmery strawberry smoothie pink

Ride the Waves

Dark ocean blue

I’m With the Lifeguard

Glimmering lime green

Sun-Kissed

Hot highlighter yellow

Also available 8-piece box collection featuring Under The Boardwalk, Ride The Waves, I’m With The Lifeguard, Sun-Kissed, Orange You Hot?, Surfin’ For Boys, Flirty Tankini and Pink Plumeria.

China Glaze® Summer Neons will be available as open stock colors and 12-piece counter display.  Individual polishes retail for $7 MSRP and the 8-piece box set retails for $56.  China Glaze® Summer Neons will be available at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide in June 2012.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.