Back At It Again With a Haul From The Dollar Store

Little recap on where I've been for the past few years:

• In 2015 I got diagnosed with some mental health issues and blogging and life in general took a pretty hefty backseat. I will have another post on my mental health and go into a little more detail in a future post.
• By the end of 2016 my relationship that brought me to the DMV ended and I moved back home to focus on myself and re-connect with my family after 5 years. 
• In 2017 I focused on myself and my family and my job.  I still design kitchens for the Home Depot, I helped welcome a beautiful nephew into the world, and spent some time living with my wonderful aunt and uncle.
• I re-connected with a former boyfriend and we moved in together with our cat from 6 years ago Murphy and a new fluff ball named Helios.
• 2018 has been a new set of challenges and realizations and I figured it's finally time to stop making excuses and start writing again.
• Here we are! June 2018 and another shot at my blogs.

Lets get started!

The dollar store has always been a favorite store of mine.  Growing up it was one of my moms favorite places to shop and as an adult it has become one of mine.  Recently the selection of makeup and beauty products has been knocking it out of the park and I figured it was about time to show you all the little goodies I found on my last trip there.

Rimmel Color Rush in On Fire

Rimmel Color Rush in I Want Candy

Rimmel Color Rush in Sun Kissed

Rimmel Color Rush in Boom Chic A Boom

L-R: Sun Kissed, I Want Candy, Boom Chic A Boom, On Fire

Rimmel Color Rush Long Lasting Intense Color Balm: Intense is definitely the right word for these puppies right here.  I always have dry lips and lipstick isn't always something I want to fuss with.  These give you a nice pop of color without drying out my already dry lips.  

Rimmel Scandaleyes 24 Hour Waterproof Eye Shadow Stick in Blamed Blue

Swatchy Swatchy

Rimmel Scandaleyes 24 Hour Waterproof Eye Shadow Stick in Blamed Blue:  Ever since I dyed my hair blue I've struggled to find a blue eyeshadow/liner that I liked that would stay on under my lower lashes.  Enter this eye shadow stick and I am in love.  This doesn't budge and is almost the same shade as my hair which is a win for me. It makes me want to try the other colors in the range.

ELF Lip Kiss Balm in Bare Kiss

Swatched

ELF Lip Kiss Balm in Bare Kiss: As I said above my lips are perpetually dry.  This is a much more sheer formula than the Rimmel balms. I can see using this one on a daily basis because its such a nice tint, especially in the summer months.

Fake Nails: My mom loves herself some fake nails (thanks for the obsession mom!) and working in a warehouse means my nails take a heck of a beating sometimes.  Working the register is the worst because the change takes the polish right off the tips of my nails.  Now, I have unusually small nails and hands (so says the ladies at the nail salon as they laugh because they have to use their smallest nails) so I have to modify these before I put them on. They aren't something I can wear more than a week, but seeing as a full set from the salon at around $50 a pop only lasts me a month or so I can't complain. 

The dollar store is like my hidden gem for cute makeup and beauty tools at a price I'm happy to pay.  Sometimes you luck out and get drugstore products for a fraction of the drugstore price like the Rimmel balms and eye shadow stick. Other times you find cute fake nails for a fraction of the price you'd pay anywhere else.  

Do you like to shop the aisles of the dollar store?

What cool finds have you come across there?

Ipsy Glam Bag September 2015

 Ipsy this may just be my favorite bag design yet!

Ipsy is one of my favorite monthly bags.  It always has a grab bag feel and I have never went a month without making one product a permanent in my stash.

NAOBAY Oxegenating Cream: Yet another moisturizer that will soon find itself in the hand cream pile.  The smell is inoffensive and citrusy and I like the idea that it's Eco Certified, but I just have too many face creams in my collection to try out before this.  Anything scented on my face tends to be a no go anyways but as a hand cream I think it will work just fine.

NYX Eyeshadow Trio in IPSYNYX01: Love the name guys.  Very clever. Love the shadows guys. Very nice.  Your trio's tend to be the ones I like more than your pallets when it comes to eyeshadows and this has the PERFECT colors for me.  In fact, it's a culmination of the only 3 colors I wear on a daily basis.  Good job Ipsy!

Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvinator: I already have this and have used this many a time when I want to manually exfoliate my face.  I'm happy to have another so that I can use the other one up and not feel so guilty.

J. Cat Beauty #MOTD Waterproof Slide on Pencil in Bronze: I swatched this on my hand as soon as I saw it and it was still there the next day.  It takes some serious scrubbing to get this baby off your skin.  Which of course means it's perfect for me and my smudgy eye area. Bring on the Bronze!

Formula X Nail Polish in Ignite: I put this on my nails the same night I got it and I am in love.  The perfect red shade that looks like a candy apple without the mess. The size, while very small, is perfect for someone like me who doesn't switch up her polish often and has a whole bunch of polishes cluttering up her space.

Overall: A
I loved the products, found three I will be obsessing over this fall, and two I can make work in my routines.  The only reason it's not a plus you ask? Aw what the heck. Here's your +.

Stiletto or Almond?

Hey there Dolls!

It's a new month and I'm already behind on posts!    To christen my November blog posts I decided to write about my biggest accomplishment of the month, doing my own acrylic nails.

I bought the acrylic starter kit from Sally Beauty (get the low/no odor kind, trust me on this), which is about $20.  I looked around Sally's for a good half hour before settling on this kit. It comes with absolutely everything you need to do a full set of acrylics for a fraction of the price you would pay by piecing the kit together or going to a salon every two weeks.

This is what the box looks like

This is what lives inside of the box

Next step after deciding what kit to choose was to pick the nail shape.  I chose stiletto nails for Halloween, but more angled at the top to look like claws.  It makes me think my inner spirit animal is a wolf or large cat.  Not only do I love how they look, but it's a huge confidence boost to have really cool nails that I did myself.

First Set of Naked Nails

Painted a Deep Burgundy

Set # 2

A Little More Pointed Like Swords

Helloooooo Gorgeous

Overall I love how they look.  They make me happy, proud, and confident.  

Now on to finding my perfect eye makeup!  YouTube tutorials watch out!

Fall Nail Colors

As we transition from the sun filled days of spring and summer into the shorter, colder months, more than just the amount of sunlight changes.  We layer clothes, tend to wear darker richer colors, put on more makeup, obsess about pumpkin spice everything, and put those neon nails on the back burner.

Speaking of nails, fall calls for a whole new set of polishes to come out of hiding and grace our fingertips.  Being that fall is my absolute favorite season of them, all I have more than my fair share of polishes perfectly geared towards these next few months.  Much to the dismay of my boyfriend who thinks you should only ever need one nail polish and anything else is too much that is.  

Today I'm going to do a little crash course into my favorite fall polish colors, and hopefully you find yourself a new shade to love this fall.

Back to Nature

 From Left To Right:  Nicole by OPI in Better After Dark, Nicole by OPI in Promises in the Dark, Ruffian in Hedge Fund 

When the leaves turn from green to brown, and fall all around us, it's time to get back to nature.  Pull out those greens and browns, anything that reminds you of the colors of the leaves.  These neutral earth tones go with almost any outfit and really personify the feeling of fall.

Moody Blues

 From Left to Right: Maybelline Color Show in Saphire Siren, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal, Nail Rock in Velvet Navy

Blue might not feel like the ideal fall shade, but trust me, it's definitely one of my favorite colors for fall.  It is subtle enough to blend in with almost any outfit, and bold enough to make people notice you stepped out of the box.

Berry Me

 From Left to Right: Revlon in Black Cherry, L.A. Colors in BCC 559, Professional Nail Polish no color name.

I know berry lipsticks are all the rage when fall rolls around, but what about berry nails? Yes please.  I even threw in a bright berry to shake things up, but even with it being bright it's still perfect for fall.  Not very color you put on your nails needs to match the weather, the sun does still does come out this time of year!

Mad About Mauve

 From Left to Right: NYC in Sidewalkers, NYS in Park Ave, Zoya in Odette

 

Who doesn't love mauve?  I love how they go with absolutely everything, make my nails look like baby raisins, and always look professional. 

Do you have any go-to fall polish colors?  

I Won A Facebook Sweepstakes!

So a few months ago I entered a facebook contest raffle sweepstakes thing for what I thought was chocolate.  Dove dark chocolate to be exact.  Something I was very much looking forward to, and something that upon arriving at my door was completely different than I had imagined.

See, it looks like I'll be getting chocolate, and maybe some nail polish samples or something.

Ta Da! Not chocolate.  Not edible.  But!  Two full sized polishes?  What?  Yes my friends.  Two full sized, very dark chocolate inspired polishes arrived at my door.  The new Dove Chocolate line by Nicole by O.P.I.

Better after Dark (on the left) can best be described as a caramel red color which is shimmery and a perfect fall shade.   It's still a little sheer after two coats, but it's the nice kind of sheer.  The kind that looks intentional and not spotty.

Promises in the Dark (on the right) is a really nice dark chocolate color.  In some lighting it looks almost black, and in others it looks just like a bar of dark chocolate.  It's opaque after two coats and doesn't give you any streak problems along the way.

Both are beautiful colors for fall and winter, and I'm a little sad I got them towards the beginning of spring, but hey, polish lasts right?  

Oh, and a little update for those of you who don't follow me on social media (you should, I'm pretty cool), I got a new kitten!  Her name is Rosie, shes a six week old blackish brown stray kitten who I absolutely love with all my heart.  She's my little muse, and the thing that I can already tell will be turning my haphazard life around.  Maybe we'll even get more structure over here on Hey There Dollface.  She will be making her way onto this blog soon enough, promise!

New Nail Obsession: Sapphire Siren

I've been having an extremely hard time finding a color to put on my nails that I really love.  No nail art interests me, all colors make me cringe, even falsies aren't something I wanna put on.  I'm in a rut.

So to help me get myself out of this rut, (and add to my ever growing polish collection) I hopped in the car with the boy and went to Target to peruse the aisles.  That's when I stumbled on perhaps the one shade of polish I have been craving since I went to California at Thanksgiving.  

Welcome home Sapphire Siren by Maybelline in the Color Show line.

I'm in love, in lust, obsessed, enamored, besotted, hooked, etc.  I have it on my nails in the bottom picture.  

I've had it on for about three days now and the only chippage is from the fact that the tips of my nails are extremely flimsy and brittle, and I work with money all day.  Otherwise the dry time is good, the color payoff is amazing, and I smile everytime I look at my nails.

I highly recommend this line for polish lovers,  At under $4 it is a steal.

NYC In A New York Color Minute

My favorite colors as of late have been navy, gray, and cream.  In my mind they go amazingly well together, but then again I'm the person who doesn't like green and pink, or green and blue, or brown and black, which are all perfectly acceptable things in the beauty industry.  Anywhoo, to go with my latest obsession with those three colors, I went into Target in search of a navy blue polish, and because I can never seem to find the polish shade I'm looking for when I'm looking for it, I ended up with this pretty gray polish instead.

Let me just say, this $1.99 polish is cheap, but as I have found with this line previously, it really impressed me.

 

 

I purchased the shade Sidewalkers, and it is the color of concrete(like a sidewalk, get it?), or a gray crayola.  It was opaque in two coats, and dried in about five minutes.  It didn't streak for me, like lighter polishes tend to do, and with my nails being so short it has yet to chip after three days.  I really like how it makes my nails look more grown up than a glitter polish would, and even with my ridiculously short nails (thank you acrylics) it still looks nice.  

*Tangent- I'm not sure if anyone else shares the same views as I do about short nails, but sometimes a glittery polish, or even a lighter "regular" polish, can make your nails feel childish.  Typically when I am forced to cut my nails into little stubs I like the look of a darker polish to look more sophisticated.  With my hands already being small and stubby the last thing I want is to be told I have little kids hands because I decided to wear baby blue polish (thanks Dad).*End Tangent

 Being a lover of cheap (price wise) nail products I highly recommend everyone run out to their local Target, or drugstore, and give this brand a try. 

With that, I say happy polish hunting, and have a wonderful day!

Nail Lust

Hey There Dolls,

I am a huge fan of sparkles.  Anything sparkly and it's like Pavlov and his bell, I start to drool.  Not always figuratively.  So when you mix big chunky glitter and nail polish and I want it. All of it. Without shame.

Recently, a new trend in nail polish is this spotted glitter polish that makes your nails look like robins eggs.  I immediately started lusting after this polish and could not for the life of me find it anywhere.  Low and behold it was tucked away in the almost empty shelves of WalMart and I snatched up a bottle and grinned from ear to ear.

 

I chose the shade Drops Of Jade from the Maybelline Color Show Polka Dot collection.  I adore this color and have a similar one in an NYC polish without the glitter.  (I would really like to get my hands on the clear color with the glitter in it, which I will find, I'm determined.)  It only took two coats to get the amount of glitter I was looking for on my nails, and the color is not completely opaque, so your real nails do show through the polish.  I did notice chipping after about two days, but my nails are extremely damaged on the tips so I can't imagine it would be a huge concern for people with harder nails.  The glitter blends right into the polish so you're not left with rough nails like other glitter polishes can leave you with, meaning no snagging in your hair or on your clothes, and no crazy one sheet peel off if you snag a corner on anything.

Overall I really love this polish and just seeing it on my nails makes me one happy camper.  At about $3 a bottle the results just can't be beat in my eyes.  I highly recommend nail polish enthusiasts go out and grab themselves a bottle.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Kerfluffle

Hey There Dolls,

Today is a chilly October day in Virginia, and I needed some cheering up.  So what else is a girl to do but apply a nail polish in a cheerful shade with a very cute name.  Kerfluffle.

I received the shade Kerfluffle from a beauty box subscription, and I was overjoyed to see one of my favorite pinks in a new brand I've never tried before.  Much like the shade The Old Bill, the shade Kerfluffle only needed two coats to become completely opaque.  The less layers the better in my book.  This formula does not streak on my nails (something lighter colors tend to do), and it dries quickly meaning no sheet marks or stray cloth fibers stuck in the "almost" dry polish.

While many people would say "Keep that polish until the Spring, it's Autumn now! Time for the berry's!" I disagree.  I think this is a classic pastel pink color that can be worn any time of the year.   Pair this with a black shirt, some classic jewelry, and some skinny jeans, and you are all set to drink your Starbucks and enjoy this beautiful weather.

Happy Friday Everyone!

butter LONDON

Hello Everyone,

Last night I switched out my dark red polish for a new brand I have never had the pleasure of trying before.  I received the butter LONDON polish in The Old Bill in my October Sample Society Beauty Box, and decided this was the next shade that I would put on my nails.

Forgive the state of my nails.  They are still growing out from the acrylics I had about a month ago.  Oh and flannel is totally making a comeback in my closet, thank you fall!

I absolutely adore this polish.  The color, how easy it is to apply, the packaging, everything.  First off, the packaging is pretty unique to my polish collection.  It's square, and you take the top portion off the bottle, and then unscrew the brush that is underneath to apply the polish.  The application process for this color is pretty flawless.  I only had to apply two coats to get a fully opaque color, and it went on my nails very nicely.  It took a few minutes to dry, which for me is kind of a hassle because I always smack my hands on things and dent my nails, but that can be remedied with a quick drying top coat or some quick dry nail drops.  Unlike most other polishes, when it dried on the top, it was dry all the way through, so no sheet marks from the bed!  The color is a rosey-gold color.  It is probably meant to be gold, but the boy and I agree it definitely has a copper tint to it.  At $15 a bottle it is not something I would buy for myself, as I change up my polish rather frequently, so chipping is not a huge concern of mine, and I can probably find a similar color in a less expensive polish.

Overall I love this product, as it can be worn in warmer and colder months, and is something I didn't have in my collection before.  The only downside is the price, but if you are looking for a really good polish, in an amazing year round metallic color, and price is no issue, I say hop on the bandwagon and snatch up a bottle for yourself.

Enjoy!

More Nails

Hey Everyone,

Over the past few weeks I have been seeing these little beauties pop up on bloggers sites and nails, and I can't help myself, I want them all. 

 

Thank you Tatler for the image I found by Google searching

Deep Red Nails

Hello There,

I decided to jump on the fall nail trend.  I don't have a ton of fall / winter shades in my polish collection.  While I love the look of the rich deep colors that come out in the fall months, It's usually the one time of year I don't typically buy nail shades.  I'm hoping this year will be different, but I can't make any promises to myself.

Shame on me, when I found this color in my moms collection I apparently ripped off the label of the brand, but I did leave the color sticker.  It's called black cherry and it's a really pretty color, but in previous years it never really set right on my nails.  This year however it worked perfectly, and it's the perfect deep berry red color that goes with absolutely everything in my fall closet.

What are some of your favorite fall nail color trends?

Current Nail Art

Hello everyone,

I decided that today was the day that I'd finally use some of my nail art stash and share it with all of you. 

 

 

Ta Da!  Mustachios!

I love mustaches.  I have them on Duck Tape, I have jewelry holders, pencils, a tattoo on my finger, t-shirts.  You name it, if it has mustaches on it I want it.  

I started off with a pink base coat.  It's the NYC polish in the shade Prospect Park Bloom.  Then I added these cute little decals to the tips of my nails that I got from Claire's (there would have been one on each nail but both of the ones on my pointers came off in the shower).  Easy peasy.  

I love simple things like this that just add to what would normally just be a plain nail.

What are some of your favorite nail art looks?  Have you ever tried nail decals?

-Care

I Think I'm In Love

Hello There Everyone,

I recently received Septembers Birchbox and having seen spoilers online I was really excited to see which shade of Ruffian nail polish I was going to get.  I was honestly torn between all the colors, but upon receiving the shade Hedge Fund I was in love immediately.  

Long story short I love army green.  I had cargo pants in army green for all of my teenage years and if you ever had told me I would one day not have a pair (or three) in my closet I would have laughed in your face.  But alas, I have retired the pants, but the love for the color does not waiver.  It was all I could do not to strip down my just painted nails to put on this beautiful color, but I paitently waited for my other polish to chip away (okay so maybe not all on it's own, but I was just to excited) and with the first coat I knew this was a match made in polish heaven.

The description on the Birchbox website reads "Inspired by those dolla, dolla bills, Hedge Fund is a green foil polish with a strong metallic finish and a hint of gold shimmer that really pops when the light hits it just right. It’s safe to say, this lacquer’s right on the money.", and that can not be more accurate.  At ten dollars it is a pretty steep price, but this polish covers in just one coat and is completely opaque.  I have never been more amazed with a nail polish before and I may just have to find some nail art to add to this polish as it will be staying on my nails for the immediate future.

Love and Laughs

-Care

Silver on the Moons

My nails and I have a long history of not getting along.  I'm rough with them, get bored with them, and have always been a huge fan of long long nails which has on occasion called for me to get acrylics.  My nails have not been kind to me either. They're brittle, bend and split and break when they go slightly past my fingertips, and won't hold polish without chipping for more than a day or two (even after they get painted in the salon).

Needless to say I was really excited when nail art came on trend because that my friends is something I, and my nails, can agree upon.  Whether it be glue on nails or painting my natural nails, I can change up my style as often as my nails want to reject the polish and be creative all over again.

Lately I have been wearing a lot of navy and thought, why not put navy on my nails as well?  All ready to grab some accents and polish and get to work I rummaged around my moderately large polish collection to discover there was no navy polish in there.  Target had no navy polish either. I did have a pretty blue polish and some matte top coat and though, eh, close enough.  Add some silver diamond metal studs to the nailbed and voila!  New nails to start off my week.

The Tools

The Accents

The Finished Product