Nail Polish Review: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

If there is one piece of advice that I could give that I would wish you all to remember it is simply this, "think first, buy later."

I admit, it is fairly hypocritical of me to say. After all, I am crazy impulse shopper who believes Walgreens, Target, and Ulta are her candy store. It is as if all I can see are targets and I just start shooting them down as my basket gets heavier. However, I say this little piece of information because I don't believe it hinders my credibility or authority at all. I have used these products, I know the results I have seen, and more often than not, they are NOT great.

So, what exactly are we talking about here? Promises! Companies make them every day when they make ads, air commercials, advertise on product bottles, etc. You've seen it:

Our shampoo gives your hair volume!
This conditioner will fix your split ends!

This is where thinking comes in handy. A split end is what happens when your hair breaks. Most of you know what this look likes. Your nice thick and shiny strand now has a split at the bottom so rather than have one strand of hair, you are starting to get two weaker and thinner strands. It is a product of heat styling, hair products, etc.

Take this a step further though, do you think a conditioner can fix this? If you do, you shouldn't. How can it? Perhaps a conditioner can prohibit further damage, but it isn't going to glue your strand together so it hides the damage already done. It just isn't possible. So, this is why I say, "think first, buy later." If we rationalized half of the promises made about our products using common sense or the power of the internet to seek out expert advice, we probably wouldn't buy nearly half of the products we do.

I apologize because I am somewhat off topic, but I say all of this to get to a larger point and that is the topic of this post.

Sally Hansen has introduced a new line of nail polish (they call it new anyway, it has been out for a while now). It is called Complete Salon Manicure. The product promises that it includes all five steps of a salon manicure in one bottle. Now I am not completely sure what all five of

those steps are, but I am assuming a base coat and top coat is included in this mix. So, I ask you this, when have you ever put something on your nails without a top coat and it didn't chip? I hope your answer is never. If it isn't, please comment and give us all that product so we can buy it! Isn't it true though? If you add something to your nails and use your hands as much as people do, nail polish will chip. This is just a side effect of wearing nail polish, it happens. I think most of us would prefer it didn't, but it does, so we fix it or re-do our nails and the problem is gone. So, right there we have learned lie number 1, this product doesn't include a top coat because the nail polish will chip. I have it and I can say firsthand it chips.

Okay, now lie number 2 may depend on the color you use, but still, it is a problem and puts some proof to the fact that the advertisement is incorrect. I purchased the "Thinking of Blue" color. It is a gorgeous deep blue. I put the color on and was so happy with the results. My nails looked gorgeous. However, after the color ran its course and I was removing it, I noticed a very unwelcomed result. The darker shades of this line of nail polish dye your nails horribly. I'm not talking about a small trace, I mean my damn nail was blue underneath. It was horrendous. I couldn't get it out with anything and essentially had to add extra coats of any light nail polish colors I wore after that day until my nails grew out. So, there we go, lie number 2, if there were a base coast built in, then your nails would not be dyed.

So, is the product really worth it? Well, let me tell you this. I think that sans the advertisement's broken promises, yes it is worth it. Had I not seen it, I would probably have added my own base coat and added a top coat and the world would have been perfect. The colors of the polish line are beautiful. Since I knew I needed a top and base coat after the first day I actually bought three more. I have the "Thinking of Blue," "Fairy Teal," "Commander in Chic" and "Plum Luck." They are all really gorgeous deep colors. The formula is really thick and reduces the number of coats you may have to put on, and the brush is wonderful. So, actually, as a nail polish, I really love it.

So the Skinny on this post is this: If you want a really nice nail polish for a relatively good price, go buy the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes. BUT remember, ignore the advertisement. They aren't magicians and they certainly cannot bottle little nail technicians to come out and actually provide you with all five steps at your dining room table. So, from this product we learn, there is no such thing as easier when it comes to beauty products.

Meet Mark, He Can Be Your Friend

When we picture some of the mail-order cosmetics, what are some of the brands or thoughts that come to mind? I tend to think of my mother having Mary Kay parties, Edward Scissorhands (one of the actresses was an Avon lady), pink Cadillacs and of course, "Avon calling!" For those of you too young to know, those words are what the Avon ladies would say as they traveled door-to-door back in the day when more women were housewives than working ladies. In any case, we tend to get a little skeptic, right? Those brands seem a bit old fashioned. However, ten years ago or so, Avon decided to open a second more youthful line of products called Mark. Mark markets to a younger crowd by introducing products that are useful to younger women, perhaps acne products rather than wrinkle reducers...you get the idea. To ensure their prices stay affordable they did one of the greatest things a company can do. They stayed modest by cinching on the packaging to bring you a product rather than a show. Today that is one of my featured brands.

When Mark first came on the scene I was very excited. I purchased a mattifier for my skin and a couple eye shadows. While I don't believe the eye shadows were truly anything remarkable, the mattifier was great. They have since discontinued my product, but there are a handful of other products I think are worth a try. Go check them out and read the reviews. You will see that women are loving these products and they cater to some of our not-so-friendly issues, such as an eye depuffer, lip smoother, and acne treatment spray. While I don't usually recommend products I have not tried or have not been recommended to me, I will go out on a limb for these. Happy window shopping!

Cosmetics Tuesday - Fake Lashes

Do you ever notice how beautiful some celebrity's eyelashes are? It doesn't matter whether they are on the red carpet or in movies or videos, you can always see their long, thick lashes. Well, just a little secret, most of them, if not all, are wearing fake lashes. I started to notice this when I was watching the Kardashian girls. See, I have fairly long and thick lashes, people have been telling me that for years. I would have to say it is a part of me I really love. However, I also noticed that my lashes don't look like Kim's when I put on my mascara no matter which formula I choose. So, today I am going to host a Tiffany video where she gives you all of the great tips for how to apply fake lashes and have them look more realistic. I love this video, I have used it as my guide and I have to say, with a little practice, you too can learn how to do this. Now, Tiffany uses MAC lashes. I on the other hand have said that I don't really buy MAC make-up, so you can try this with the NYX lashes too. I have never tried any other brands, so I don't want to advocate any others, but I am sure you can try it out with others. I like the NYX lashes a lot because they come in a variety of styles for a reasonable cost. They will run you maybe $4.50 on their website and at Ulta. The pair I purchased are pictured below.

I'm not positive Tiffany mentions this trick in her video, but one trick to making fake lashes look real is ensuring they mimic what real lashes look like. The trick to making this happen is recognizing that your real lashes are thicker and longer on the outer parts of your eye through the middle and begin to shorten as they get closer to your eyes. To ensure this look is copied on your lashes, what I usually do is take a pair of cuticle scissors and trim the inner corner of the fake lashes in small snips. After each snip, I rest where I would apply the lashes to check to see what it looks like. With only a snip or three you should notice that they begin to look better. Enjoy the video!

Click Here For Tiffany's Video.

Oh and don't forget, become a subscriber to Tiffany's videos, you will not regret it!

Audry Hepburn Pants

Like many women, one of my favorite style icons and actresses is Audrey Hepburn. She had a modest and classy look and who could resist her adorable updos with her little bangs. Well, for years I tried to find pants that would look like her iconic black capri cigarette pants. I love that style because it elongates your legs and makes you look taller. The Gap came to my rescue a couple of years ago when the released a similar pair. I didn't buy them as I opted for cigarette jeans and wasn't in the market to buy new career-pants. However, very recently I found a similar pair on Urban Original for $34.10. They come in a green or black and have a very complimentary length.

Gap Version

Urban Original Version

Chunky Boot + Skinny Pant = I Love It!

One look I have been loving is the pairing of chunky workman boots and skinny-legged pants. It is super 80's punk and and can make such a cute and edgy outfit. Thus far I have been fairly reserved on purchasing a pair of these boots; however. With shorter legs that are more muscular, I feel it may render bad consequences in my quest to appear taller and leaner than I am, so I have avoided it. However, I am generally willing to make purchases for items like these boots when I know that they are cheap and I wouldn't feel half bad either giving them away, returning them, etc. So, again, while I was looking on old navy's website, I saw the boots pictured below. It is hard to gauge whether the ankle is wide enough to get the full effect and they may seem a bit less than great quality; however, if you are someone with a couple of ounces more risk in her blood and are looking for a wallet-friendly find, these are available at Old Navy for $39.94. They would look super cute with leggings or skinny jeans and possibly even a skirt. Pair those items with a loose off-the-shoulder shirt I featured in my Go Jane window shopping blog and you really will have a super cute look.

Affordable Skinny Jeans - New Color Option at Old Navy

In my quest to find skinny jeans over the past 6 months or so, I have purchased maybe four pairs. They are all completely different and I love some and determined hatred for others. However, one pair that I actually really liked are from Old Navy. They are called the Rockstar Jeggings. They started out in maybe three color options, black, dark denim and a lighter denim. I have the darker denim color. I love them because even with my height they aren't too long. Plus, they have a zipper fly and pockets, so they are less leggings and definitely more on the jeans side of things. In my recent perusal of their website, I found a great thing. They are now carrying those jeans in red. They look pretty cute and I can't wait o see if they continue to make more colors for the growing trend in autumn-colored pants for Fall. Here is a pic, go get 'em, they are currently running between 15.97 and 25 depending on whether you are plus size or not.

Cool Find

Although completely unrelated to all things thrifty, I was doing some internet searching and found this really neat armoire by Tord Boontje. Visit this link to take a look. It definitely isn't for sale, but I appreciate art when I see it. There are a couple of other neat things on the website as well.