Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation: Review & Swatches

My skin has good and bad days, but when I need to look my best no matter what my skin has in mind, I put on my Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation and tell acne to suck it! If you have oily and/or acne-prone skin and you need a foundation that means business, I think you'll love this full coverage foundation!

The foundation comes in a 1.0 oz cylinder with a pump at the top. I like that the packaging is not only pretty, but functional as well. The pump keeps the contents fresh and the clear tube lets you see how much more is left inside. My skin is NW20 and the Light 44 shade is a perfect match for me.

I was able to take this little dot...

...and blend it all across my forearm. You really do not need much of this foundation to get the job done!

So now let me tell you a bit about why I love this stuff. (WARNING: Big ol' block of text comin' atcha! Brevity is not one of my strong suits.) I've been using it on and off for several months now, giving me plenty of time to form a solid impression. It promises full coverage and 24-hour wear. On the full coverage front: man, they weren't kidding. This will cover just about anything--blemishes, scarring, hyperpigmentation, broken capillaries, redness, you name it. I don't need any concealer when I use this!

A little bit of this foundation goes a looonnggg way, but it never looks or feels like you're wearing a mask. If you have dry skin and you're giving this foundation a try though, I'd recommend making sure you have a good exfoliant and moisturizer, because it can accentuate any areas of dry or flaky skin due to its true matte finish. But oily skin will love its smooth, porcelain look.

My favorite ways to apply this foundation are with either a damp cosmetic sponge or a dense synthetic bristle brush. The right tools really help with the texture of this foundation and give you beautifully natural yet full coverage. Don't be afraid to really press down and buff it in. I use Urban Decay's Optical Blurring Brush and it makes a fantastic partner for this foundation! Once you find an application method you like, you are golden, because this stuff really covers and gets the job done!

In terms of weartime, I think the 24-hour claim is a bit much. In reality, it's closer to 12 hours or so, which is still great. I usually have to blot my chin (the oiliest area on my face) once, but otherwise, it lasts me all day, no problem. I also love that I don't ever have to worry about any blemishes or red patches peaking through as the day goes on.

When I'm having a bad skin day or I'm going out at night and want to look extra dolled up, this is the foundation I reach for. I always get self-conscious when my skin is going haywire, so this is like my little confidence booster in a bottle. I don't worry about any acne or redness, because I know Kat has me covered. ;)

Have you tried this foundation? Love it? Hate it? I'd really like to hear what you think!

NCLA Waxprint Nail Wraps: Review & Swatches

Our friendly neighbors to the north over at Nail Polish Canada recently offered me the opportunity to try out some NCLA nail wraps. They have some absolutely gorgeous and very unique designs (scope them out at Nail Polish Canada HERE) so I was thrilled to have a chance to take these wraps for a test run! I'll be sharing Waxprint, the first of two designs I picked, with you today.

Each set of NCLA wraps retails for $16 and includes two sheets of 22 wraps each, plus a full size, nice quality nail file. In all, you could do 3-4 manis with this whole set. Both sheets look like this:

There's a little nub on the end of each wrap to help you peel it off the sheet. The directions that come with the wraps specifically say to peel off the wrap at the nub and I found that if I tried to peel off the wraps at another point (I know--rebel, rebel), sometimes I'd pull up some of the paper from the sheet itself. When this happens, you can easily peel off the paper using some tweezers and then the wrap is still useable, but I just wanted to note that you will have to peel at the nub. :)

Picking a wrap that looks slightly bigger than your nail usually turned out to be the right choice. You can always trim the wraps to fit or peel them off an use them on a different nail instead if you need to. Once it's peeled off, you just place the wrap, pull it taught across your nail, press down to smooth off any creases or bubbles, then file off the excess wrap using a downward motion. Seal the wraps in with topcoat (no downtime required between application and topcoat) and then bask in the glory of your awesome manicure!

And my rarely seen right hand! (It felt sooo weird trying to take swatches this way!)

Super cool, right? I absolutely love these wraps and I think the Waxprint design is amazing! Since each sticker has a completely unique design on it, you can create a new custom mani each time you use this set. I love it! The wraps are great quality too and last days without any chips, tears or peeling. I can't wait to try my other set!


Disclosure: This product was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Twinsie Tuesday: Lush Lacquer Green Genie

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme, TT Revisted, allows us to take another shot at a challenge or theme we particularly enjoyed. Other than our copycat and marching order challenges, we hardly ever get a chance to duplicate a theme in TT, so there were a lot of options to choose from! I decided to go with indie polish, because you know I can never get enough of all my indie sparklies. ;)
What this polish lacks in sparkle, it more than makes up for in fun: Lush Lacquer Green Genie, from the brand's Neon Collection, is a lime green base filled with a rainbow of matte neon hex glitters. A co-worker of mine told me this polish looks like ice cream and I really like that description!

I love how colorful this is! The base color is kinda different too. It's not something you see very often, especially mixed with glitter. The shade of green is just bright enough for a fun pop of color but not so bright that it overshadows all the neon pieces. I used three coats here and the formula is great.

I wanted to point out too that all of the Neon Collection polishes I ordered (check out Neon Lights HERE if you missed it) are minis. Normally, I despise minis, but Lush Lacquer's minis come with full-sized handles, which make them really easy to work with. Their shop always has deals going where you can pick your own minis, so I love that you can try out a bunch of polishes from the brand at an affordable price without having to deal with the annoyances of small mini handles. The bottles are still a bit too small to hold comfortably for swatches though, hence the bottle of basecoat I'm clutching in these shots. :)

You can purchase Lush Lacquer on Etsy.

Ruby Wing Crowd Surf

Hope you all had a fun weekend! My boyfriend and I went to see the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes" yesterday. I didn't really know what to expect going in, but it was a super fun, high-energy show! We have tickets to see "Billy Elliot" in June and I'm very excited for that.

Anyways, ready to look at some polish? I thought so! ;) Let's check out some new Ruby Wing, shall we? Today I'll be showing off Crowd Surf, a color-changing purple that would look right at home soaking up some rays on the beach or rocking out at a summer music festival.

Indoors and in the shade, Crowd Surf is a very red-based (almost fuchsia-looking) neon purple. It was really tough to capture how this polish looks indoors, which is frustrating because it's my favorite of the two shades Crowd Surf shifts between. In real life, it's much more neon and not quite as pink-leaning as what you see in this picture.

In direct sunlight, it morphs into a deeper shade of purple. Unlike the indoors shade, this shot is color-accurate.

The formula on Crowd Surf is a touch streaky, but solid overall. I used two coats here. Unlike Ruby Wing's spring polishes, Crowd Surf is not scented. But, like many neons, it dries to a semi-matte finish, so you'll need topcoat to give it that glossy, vibrant look.

Overall, this is a really fun summer purple. I love how it looks indoors especially. In fact, I liked it so much I used it for my current pedi too! You can purchase Ruby Wing from the brand's website.

Disclosure: This polish was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

China Glaze Autumn Nights Preview

China Glaze's fall collection, Autumn Nights, features a dozen new shades that scream "autumn." Click to enlarge and get a good look at these puppies!

 

 

I have to confess: there are some nice-looking shades here, but nothing that gets me super excited. I'll have to wait for swatches before making any final decisions, of course, but right now this seems like a collection that really nails the autumn aesthetic, although it might not be the most unique bunch of colors. We'll see though when the collection is released August 1!

What do you think of Autumn Nights? Anything strike your fancy here?

Born Pretty Nail Art Foils: Review & Swatches

I've got another ingenious nail art product to show you from Born Pretty Store today: nail foils! These foils come in a ton of fun colors (see them all HERE) and you can use them to create colorful metallic designs on your nail. I chose version #21, which has light blue, dark blue and green. The foil comes all rolled up in a little jar for easy storage.

The foil comes in one long, multi-colored strip...

 ...that's stored in this cute little plastic tube.

A lot of foils out there require an adhesive, but Born Pretty's work by simply applying them when your polish is still slightly tacky. There is a bright side to the foil that has all the colors on it and then a dull side. You just press the foil, colorful side facing up, against your nail and rub it with your finger. Pull it off in a swift motion and it will leave a patch of foil behind. It's incredibly easy and the nice thing is that since the technique is intended to create an abstract design, you don't have to worry about where you place the foil. It'll look cool no matter what you do and the end result is really eye-catching! I got a ton of compliments and questions about this mani, which is always fun. :)

I recommend using a dark color as your base, because it will help mask any smudges. Here is a foil mani I did with Rimmel Black Satin, a glossy black creme, for my base.

 

The foils themselves go on really smoothly and don't leave any rough or jagged edges sticking off your nail. Once I put my topcoat on, I didn't feel any type of unusual or unpleasant texture on top of my nails; the foils blended in seamlessly. I only had to use one small rectangle of foil for each hand, so I had a ton left over. It's safe to say a single roll will last through dozens of manis. Each roll costs only $2.99 and many of them feature multiple colors all in one, so you get a lot of bang for your buck here.

Overall, I absolutely love how quick and easy these foils are to use. They take all the guesswork out of a foil transfer mani and I can't stop staring at how brilliantly bright and shiny they look on my nails!

If you'd like to purchase anything from Born Pretty Store, Nailed readers get 10% off using the code below:

Disclosure: This product was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Essie Summer 2013 Preview

In addition to a set of new neons, Essie is rolling out its annual summer collection--and man, is it gorgeous! The colors! The shimmer! I love it all! These are slated to hit shelves in early June, so hopefully we won't have to wait too long for these beauties!

L to R: Full Steam Ahead, Naughty Nautical, Rock The Boat

L to R: Sunday Funday, The Girls Are Out, The More The Merrier

Yep, some of these will definitely be making their way home with me! I am excited for Naughty Nautical and The More The Merrier especially, but they all look great! I always love seeing some bright colors from Essie and when you couple that with some vibrant-looking shimmer? Sold!!

What about you? Will you be picking any of these up?