Target Xhilaration Stripe dress

Hey guys just wanted to share a quick find.   I was at Target and haven't looked around their stuff in a while.   I was in a hurry but manage to shag this dress.

It's noting unique but it has everything I like..  

• scoop neck ✔
• buttons ✔
• stripes ✔
• 1/2 sleeves ✔
• belt ✔
• under $20  ✔  

lol.  Think its cute?  Check out your local target !

Make up Forever HD Foundation 128 and Yves St Laurent Faux Effet Mascara

Hey haven't been at home for a while to sit down and do a review on this.   I ran out of my Misha bb cream so before i bought more I wanted to try this foundation that I've heard so much about.   Also Misha tends to make u look white with a camera flash =(  

 Make Up Forever HD foundation in #128 (got it color matched at Sephora)  $40

So lets start with coverage:

My face before any makeup.  I have a few freckles and just general morning redness.

The foundation itself looks dark on my hand but it goes on pretty light.  Also the viscosity is pretty loose and watery.   There's no strong smells (unlike Mac foundation which smells like...paint) .   This is the amount that comes out in one pump.

After ( I apologize for the bad pictures. I'm super lazy to pull out the nice camera).  

As you can see, it nicely evens out my skin and gives it the dewy photobrushed skin.

Overall..the coverage is about MED.   Not translucent but not as  heavy as Mac.     It does the job  at covering my redness and evening out my skin tone.   It feels light and does not feel heavy at all.

Wear -  I tend to touch my face a lot , so it last about 5-6 hrs.  But if you're not doing a lot of sweating and changing out of close I'm sure it can last longer.

Final verdict.   I like it!   I think Imma try it out for a bit longer to see if it does anything negative to my skin but so far, its feels good, wearable for the full day and doesnt' look cakey.

Yves St. Laurent Effet Faux Cils  Mascara 

Also heard a lot bout this product and from Shopaholicness too.  So Since I had my Amazon coupon recently I got this as well for half the price.   

So how did it compare to my 5 dollar mascara?

Lets start with...my natural lashes 

EXHIBIT A

EXHIBT B 

Left = A                                                     Right = B

L= A                                                               R = B

Can you tell which one is the expensive mascara and which is the drug store?

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Well   A= Maybelline Falsies Mascara 

B= Yves St. Laurent 

So my final verdict?  Yes there is as slight difference with the more expensive one.   It is slightly longer and doesn't clump as much with multiple applications.  BUT, from afar there is no dramatic difference.  There is, however, a dramatic PRICE difference Yves is 4x more expensive than Maybelline w/o 4x the performance.   

Pros:  

• shiny packaging ( you laugh, but I'm such a sucker for packaging)
• doesn't clump
• gives you 2 cm longer than your average mascara 

Cons:

• price 
• price
• price
• price  (four times for 4x the price)

Probably will be returning this..I don't think its worth the price for what it does.  Goodbye shiny bottle.

Aite peace out guys.  I'm still loving my nails btw LOL 

SHANY nail art B39 criss cross pattern french

Milani Angel Pink w/ Konad White w/ Shany Plate B39 and Seche Top Coat

riding boots

So I bought a pair of riding boots like four years ago...from ebay for like 20 bucks

Well it's been four years and after 2 years in Chicago snow and salted streets its starting to break down.  The soles ripped =(   So its time for me to hunt for a new pair.

Looking for a pair of vintage riding boots , brown, leather, flat or short stacked heels , round toe , on ebay less than 30 bucks please!

Here are a few I'm following on ebay..what do you think?

1. Banana Republic knee high boots

 I totally forgot to bid on this one today...it ended at $32 bucks.  DOH   

2.  Vintage Italian Campus boots  ( currently 0 bids:  starting bid $16)

3.   Etienne Aigner Boots   Currently 0 bids, Starting bid:  $12  (I'm hoping to get this one!)

4.  Steve Madden Boots  Currently at 11 bids:  $20  , too many ppl own this plus it already has 11 bids blah  not one i'm betting on.

Urban Outfitters Orange 7

Urban Outfitters Orange 7 w/ Konad white 

on Konad Plate M71

Pretty color!  But I think its a bit off for my skintone..if you're light skin w/o yellow undertones I think this color is sooo pretty.

fredflare

Found this site randomly...  sells random stuff u'd find at like Urban.  But its stuff like this that makes me lol and smile.  Wish I could go to the store in NYC and check this stuff out.

Half full cup lol...I'd def drink out of this daily.

Always half full glass $14

Think I would get this for Boob for vday..he loves gummy bears...why not a giant one?

Giant gummy bear $12

I LOVE THIS!  how happy would I bet to make myself a cup of tea with this ducky.

Ducky tea infuser! $12

 How cute !  A bed of flowers next to my computer lol

Tulip USB hub $22 

Um cute animals + cooking utensils = I'm sold, dont' care if its not even nonstick

Mini Panda Skillet $26

This belt is adorable!

skinny patent bow belt $14

I would totally use this!

Iphone Plunger holder $8

I know most of this is a complete waste of money but I think its little things like this that helps you get through the day to day of things yah?   

konad plate m71

Essie Eternal Optimist w/ Konad Black

This pattern reminds me of wallpaper 

I think I want to try this again next time with a darker pink and a silver stamp yah?  You might see Konad Plate M71 a lot from me...cause its the only one I have lol!   The Shany ones are cute but i've been too lazy to look through the 589475743 patterns.

I'm getting much better at this!  I think i've found the 2 main secrets to success

1.  Patience 

•  Paint your nails as you normally would and dont' attempt to stamp it for at least an hour or even do it the next day! 
• Also be patience to paint on your top coat after stamping...as it can smear the stamp 

2.  Professional polish remover 

• Use professional Nail polish remover,  the normal acetone will not cut it when it comes to the thick konad polish..esp for cleaning the plate and scrapper

Konad Lace w/ Plate M71 and Jcrew store vs online prices

Also found this dress at Jcrew on sale + additional 40% off but online it's still full price?

also got a pair of leather flats for $20 bucks ....online it's still like 100 bucks!

moral of the story...Jcrew online rips you off!

More Shany nail art stamp (Konad dupe) try

Sinful Colors - Soul mate
Konad white

Essie - Eternal Optimist (thanks Mathelly!)  w/ Konad White

Not as clean as the last one...this def takes a lot of practice.   As you can see the progression of nails get better going from thumb to pinky lol.   

Also the Konad polishes are extremely thick, messy, sticky and hard to work with!  Also it smells suspiciously like white out.... 

SHANY nail art: Konad Dupe Review

Most of you already know from my txt messages that I bought a bundle of Konad dupe plates.  So here is a formal review.

What:

SHANY Nail Art Nailart Polish Stamp Stamping Manicure Image Plates Accessories Set Kit "25pcs"

Where:   Amazon
Price:  $14.95 + free two day shipping if you have a Amazon prime account ( you can get a free 30 day trial or free 1 year student subscription)  the price IS changing so I don't know how much longer this deal is staying at this price.  I bought it last week for 13.95, today its 14.95.  So no idea what it may be tomorrow.

Comparison to Konad
-  The images are all different, none of them will overlap if you already have Konad plates.   I've looked at them and compared all 25 plates to the ones on the Konad site.
- quality of the patterns and image are very comparable !  I don't think you'll notice a difference
- The plate itself is VERY sharp!   I would probably sand down the sides when I have time.    But I mean unless you are totally throwing them around, using them on a stable table will cause you no harm.  The Konad one is thicker and the company took more time to make sure their edges are round and nice.
- These plates do scratch easily so when I put them away I just wrap them in some napkins.  No biggie.
-  The full nail patterns do not cover all of your thumb...but with a little practice and skill you can patch up the side no problem.

That being said for 14 bucks for 25 plates ...comes about to be about $1.66 a plate!  Vs.  Konad is $6.99+shipping!

I've loved the Konad product since I first saw them from http://www.frmheadtotoe.com/    but I've have been reluctant to buy them because of the price and hassle with shipping from international sellers.  This dupe is so close in quality and end result that it is a STEAL!

Grab them before everyone else figures it out!   I know shopaholicness did lol!


Onto my first attempt

Some things I learned....

- not all polishes will work well for this, but you don't have to use the Konad polish for it to work.

I wanted to do gold and black but my gold ( Sally Hansen's Guilty Pleasure) did not stamp well enough (2nd sample top row)

The sliver ( Sephora OPI Queen of Everything)  worked really well (1st and 3rd on top row)

another gold ( Orly in Glitz and Glamour )  did not work well at all (last on top row)

The black I used was Sally Hansens Hard as Nails in Black out.  Although it was super black as a base, it did not show up well as a stamp as you can see on the 2nd row. 

So moral of the story, you should do test runs on paper first to see what works and what doesn't before you try it on your nails, cause it can get messy -___-

Also PATIENCE.  Paint your base color and don't attempt to do the stamp before it's completely dry ( I learned this the hard way)

End result:  Very cool looking nails.   The black and sliver combo is a bit too goth for me lol.  But it took  so much effort to do it that I'm not gonna take it off till it wears off.   The right hand is def a challenge.  But not as hard as I thought!   Looking forward to more color and image combo fun!

AE Jewelry

So  I saw Shopaholicness wear this necklace

and I totally thought it was from J.Crew but to my surprise she said it was from American Eagle and it was only $6 bucks!

So I had to check out the sale.  Unfortunately its too cold to go out and the mall closes at 6pm today.  So online browsing it was.    The sale is pretty awesome 30% off  additional  + 20% off with coupon code...   AND FREE shipping =O  

$2.79

AE sparkle Supernova necklace $2.78

AE Mixed chain Necklace $5.57

AE Suede Bracelet $7.98

AE Crystal Double Strand Necklace $9.56

AE Braided Statement Necklace $5.56

AE Rhinestone Charm $9.96

how awesome are those prices!   one necklace from Jcrew will cost more then all of these combined!


On a side note... one look I want to try and replicate is dressing up the watch with bracelets.  I've seen it done tons of times before, but never took the time to try it.....what do you guys think of the whole  watch and bracelet combo?