Wet n Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner & H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner Review

I was never into Wet N Wild in the past, I felt like their products left much to be desired.

However, ever since they redid their image, I cannot get enough of them. I've yet to try a single WNW product that I don't absolutely love.

I've recently become obsessed with eyeliners, so I've been on a hunt for the perfect liquid liner for weeks. I might have found it.

First up is Wet n Wild Mega Liner. This is absolutely amazing. I only bought the Turquoise color to test out and see if I liked it, and now that I have, I'm definitely buying the rest.

My favorite thing about this liner is that it's a brush. Felt tip liners always kind of annoy me, although I'm starting to try to give them a chance.

Although I love the color, I have to admit that it's not very turquoise, at least not my idea of what turquoise looks like. It's more green than blue, and has bits of gold in it.

The liner goes on smoothly and it dries almost instantly. I've found that two coats is all I need for it to show up completely. 

Next is H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner. I know a lot of people cringe when they hear waterproof, but I'm definitely not one of them. If I could, I'd wear everything waterproof.

This liner is felt tip [ugh] but surprisingly easy to manage. The one thing that I found super odd was this little curve at the tip of the applicator. I cannot figure out if it's intentional or not, but I think it actually kind of helps me apply the liner better. 

This one I bought in Smoky, a dark charcoal [what charcoal isn't dark? lol.] The formula is a little watery, and I had to wait for it to dry before applying two more coats in order to get a somewhat darker line.

As you can see, the Smoky is still not dark and looks a little runny, but I think with a few more coats it would have been darker.

The Turquoise, on the other hand is super pigmented and beautiful

After rubbing the liners off for 15 seconds, this is what they looked like

The Turquoise faded a bit and even smudged over onto Smoky, but I don't think it was substantial.

Smoky did not fade at all. Not even a tiny bit.

After running my hand under water for a few seconds

Turquoise is almost all gone. Obviously not a waterproof liner.

But look at Smoky. I think it may have gotten darker! This is definitely waterproof and smudge proof.

Final Verdict: I LOVE these liners. Mega Liner is super pigmented and smooth, and H2O Proof is definitely what it says it is. I think I can live with having to apply the extra coats if it means that I can finally wear eyeliner to the beach. [yes, I want to wear eyeliner to the beach, that's totally normal]

Anyone tried the other colors for these?

Makeup Alley Reviews totally agree about the tattoo quality of H2O

OPI Black Shatter

At last. After two months of stalking Ulta and Trade Secret, I finally found OPI Black Shatter. Well actually, I didn't find it, a friend found it and gave it to me, which makes it even more magical.

From what I understand, these shatter polishes were popular years ago thanks to Cover Girl, and now they seem to be back in style. OPI only has it in black right now, and will be releasing it in silver as part of their Pirates of the Caribbean collection.

I LOVE this shatter craze. I can finally have some kind of nail art without slaving over my nails with tiny brushes and beads only to make a huge mess.

 

How fantastic is this?! [my cuticles look kind of greasy because I put Vaseline on them to make the polish easier to remove.]

However, and I hate to put a damper on my fabulous nails, Black Shatter isn't all great. It chips faster than a dollar store polish. Seriously, even with a top coat, I had tip wear on all my nails within a few hours. Most of the time, the chips aren't noticeable because it mingles with the shatter effect, but I know they're there and it drives me insane.

Apart from that, it's super fun to wear and it's great to watch strangers try to figure out what's going on with my nails when they first look at them.

OPI Black Shatter retails for about $8 at ULTA, Trade Secret, JC Penney and other salons, but depending on your area, it's nearly impossible to find.Amazon and eBay have it in stock anywhere from $12 to $29!

For more info, AllYouDesire has a great post on the different ways to apply Black Shatter. And Luxurious nails posted this video showing the awesome shatter effect as the polish dries.

Suave Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse Review

I love mousse; Ever since I discovered there was a way to keep my hair from frizzing and my curls to come alive, I've been a die hard fan. I've tried literally every brand of mousse at the drugstore, and by this point, it's hard to impress me.

I'm impressed.

I've used Suave's mousse before and it's been fine, nothing special. But this new Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse is something else. Captivating Curls is Suave's answer to Redken's Fresh Curls. It's part of their Suave Professionals line designed to imitate expensive salon products.

oh, how I LOVE when companies do this. There's nothing better than getting salon products for $3.
Anyway, on to the review...

Texture-wise, Captivating Curls feels like a regular mousse, not as creamy as some, but not liquid at all. And it smells fantastic, it's fruity/citrus-y without being overpowering.

The directions say to squeeze the mousse into wet hair. I wasn't entirely sure what they meant by "squeeze", so I just did what I usually do with mouse and scrunched my hair [I think they might have meant scrunch.] They also say to use a thin towel to blot out excess water [which I did with a regular towel] and to blow dry hair using a diffuser.

After doing all that, I was left with the curliest hair I've ever had. Seriously, ever. I had what can only be described as a full head of ringlets. And the best part is that they weren't crunchy at all. These were soft curls that felt like actual hair. The picture really doesn't do it justice but wavy hair is so hard to capture and dark wavy hair is even trickier. But believe me when I say that there are definite curls there and it wasn't as dull as it looks.

Everyone knows that the true test of a hair product is what happens the morning after. You either have to refresh the hair, or wash the product out altogether. Not this time. My hair this morning looks as springy and nice as it did yesterday, and the smell is still there.

I think this is a great product, not just because it's $3, but because it works amazingly well.

Suave Captivating Curls is available at drugstores.

There's an equally glowing review of this on Nouveau Cheap.


**** EDIT ****
After using this mousse for a few more weeks, I discovered something important.
If I don't dry my hair with a diffuser, I don't really get the beautiful ringlets, instead I get regular waves. My hair still looks nice and smooth and there is absolutely no frizzing, but it's no as curly and bouncy as it is without the diffuser. At first I thought it was common sense that with a diffuser hair will dry differently, but when I've tried it in the past with other mousses, nothing has happened. This is the first time a mousse actually seems to work with the heat from my dryer. Extra points for Suave!

Mini Hard Candy Haul

I finally decided to give the new Hard Candy line a try [I know I'm really late here.]

I bought four polishes and two eyeliners.

The polishes look awesome

From left to right: Envy, Mr. Wrong, Mr. Right, Rumor Mill.

- Envy is a dark green that looks beautiful in the bottle, I can't wait to try it.
- Mr. Right  looks like a basic navy blue, a color I have been dying to get.
- Rumor Mill looks black in the bottle but it's actually dark purple.
 I'll eventually wear all these and post up pictures.



 Mr. Wrong is so hard to describe I decided to just swatch it

It's like gunmetal with flecks of gold and a bit of purple. That's the best I can do. The pictures really don't do it justice, it's absolutely beautiful.
And they all come with the usual Hard Candy rings.

Next is Take Me Out Eyeliner in Chop Suey.

It's a pencil liner in a really bright turquoise. I'm excited to try this out since I've recently become obsessed with eyeliners.

They're called "Take Me Out" because they're shaped like chopsticks so you can use them to put up your hair. That's actually pretty awesome and useful for me because I'm always trying to hold up my hair with pens or random sticks.

Lastly is Walk The Line liquid eyeliner in Praline.

I love this color as I generally love all bronze makeup.

I really like that it's a brush applicator because I despise the felt tip ones; I always make a bigger mess with those than with the brush ones.

The liner goes on smooth and it dries very fast.








Overall, the products seem great for the price. I've read a few reviews on their other products and they seem to be very hit and miss, but these were all hits for me.

CND Stickey Base Coat Review

I love nail polish. I hate nail polish that chips. All nail polish chips. You can see where I have a problem.

Creative Nail Design's Stickey is a base coat that pretty much glues the nail polish to the nails and solves all chipping problems. Not only does it work, but it works so amazingly well that it takes me twice as long to remove my nail polish now [this may sound like an inconvenience, but when you realize you haven't done your nails in 4 days and they still look brand new, nothing else matters.]

A base coat is an important part of any manicure, but it's especially helpful with dark colors, which tend to stain your nails and show chips more easily.

When combined with a quality top coat, Stickey makes a manicure last days longer than usual, and it makes cheaper nail polishes work like expensive ones.

Polish: Recycle by China Glaze

This is five days after I did my nails. Apart from the ridiculous amount of growth [my nails grow like monsters,] the polish has stayed totally on. That bigger chip near the base of my middle finger was caused by a rogue price gun at work, but that's not Stickey's fault. 

I had a hard time finding Stickey at my ULTA, they always seemed to be sold out [to its credit.] I finally found it at Trade Secret for $7.99 [not bad considering I've had it for months and it's not even halfway empty.]

I've noticed that Walgreens and CVS are selling other CND products but I've yet to see Stickey, maybe they'll have it in the future. For now, if you don't have an ULTA or a Trade Secret near you, Amazon is your best bet.

Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara Review

I'm the definition of a sucker when it comes to mascaras. I will believe everything and anything the commercials say and I'll be the first one in line to buy whatever new eyelash concoction is available. 

I am also the definition of disappointed 90% of the time. This time is no different.

Rimmel London Day 2 Night Mascara sounded amazing on paper: a copy of MAC's Haute & Naughty mascara, it's two mascaras in one. You can choose between length, volume or both, simply by picking which cap to twist.

 

  Both the length and the volume are the same brush, but when you choose the length, the brush is squeezed through the tube and most of the mascara is scraped off so it'll deposit only a bit of product.

The lengthening part wasn't so bad, but it wasn't anything amazing.

When I got to the volume part, everything pretty much fell apart. 

Unlike the length, the volume brush isn't squeezed through anything, it just plops out of the bottle. The brush was clumpy and way too packed with product. Even after I brushed some of it off, it was still unbearable. It deposited too much mascara at once and was basically impossible to build upon.

After two coats I was done. And by "done" I don't mean set to go, I mean "mascara mess all over my face"

Not only did it not give me much volume at all, but it clumped up and made it look like I have 9 eyelashes total.

I was disappointed on various levels because I love love love the packaging, I love the concept and I love that their spokesmodel is the amazing Zooey Deschanel, but this simply did not work for me. 

ps. Look at the mess left on the edge of the tube after one use. One, I swear.

I'm giving it one star because as a lengthening mascara, it does a decent job and I appreciate the effort.

Are Natural/Organic Products Better?

I'll be honest, I've never believed in the whole "organic everything is better" claim. I simply don't buy into the whole idea that the entire food and drug industry is slowly killing the human population with their chemicals.

As far as the beauty industry is concerned, a lot has been made about silicones, parabens, sulfates and a dozen other chemicals that are said to be harmful. It's been a trend for the past few years for new products to come out claiming that parabens will probably give us all cancer and sulfates will make our hair fall out.

The amazing scientists at The Beauty Brains have written dozens of articles about the falsity of these claims, and they've recently condensed them into one huge Cosmetic Report.
The report talks about various topics, organic products being one of them. Here is an excerpt:

The most compelling claim to buy natural products is that they are
somehow safer for you than regular or “synthetic” products. They
are marketed with an implied superiority that just isnʼt deserved.
While most companies donʼt come right out and say it, they do
insinuate that regular products are dangerous and harmful. They
use claims like “Paraben-free” or “Sulfate-free” which only makes
people wonder why those chemicals arenʼt used. A natural
conclusion is that they are somehow bad for you when this isnʼt
proven by any science. These kinds of junk claims are misleading.

Parabens and Sulfates have actually never been proven to be poisonous or harmful in any scientific study.

Not only that, but "natural" doesn't even mean natural anymore,

There is no standard definition of terms like “natural” and “organic” (at least
when it comes to cosmetics).

At the moment, from a legal standpoint, nearly any cosmetic or
personal care product can be called natural. As long as a
company has some reason to support their claim of natural (e.g. it
contains natural water) they can tell you the product is natural.

These companies engage in a practice called “Greenwashing” in
which they convince consumers that the products are natural,
even though they are not much different than standard products.

The report goes on to reiterate that natural is not automatically better and synthetic is not automatically worse.

They also give good reasons to buy natural products, such as helping the environment or supporting a cause, but not because natural products work any better or are safer.

In my opinion, and The Beauty Brains seem to agree, companies who create organic products make just as many false claims as all the others. Until I see some real scientific proof that my products are going to kill me, I'm going to stick with my synthetic products.

Only sulfates will cut through all the hair products I use anyway.

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara Review

This is officially my new favorite product in the world.

I've tried a zillion mascaras and 90% of them have been a huge letdown. I put off buying Pulse Perfection because the $14 price tag was unappealing given my past experiences. However, this week CVS has them on sale for half off and I figured it was now or never.

I cannot find the words to say how much I love this. The vibrating is weird, yes but the results make up for it completely.

The good: The brush is thin, which is a nice break from those ridiculous fat brushes that have been so
popular lately.

The bad: Because the bristles are very spaced out, the brush tends to deposit a bit too much product and it's hard to apply multiple coats like I would with a regular mascara. I think anything more than three is too much.

I've read from other people that the vibrating makes their eyes water and this only happened to me for one of my eyes, but it wasn't a flood of tears and it was totally manageable.

The reason I'm willing to overlook the few bad qualities of this mascara is this:

                                                                                  
  

My natural eyelashes are not even long enough to be considered lashes. They're just tiny bits of hair that have somehow found themselves attached to my lids. Enter Pulse Perfection. They look fake, they look like spiders, I can't even wear my glasses because my lashes hit the lenses, words fail me.

I recommend this for everyone, not just tiny lashed people like me. If that's what happens when I wear it, imagine what would happen if a regular lashed person wears it.

POND'S Cold Cream Review

Makeup is all fun and games until it's 2 a.m. and you can't go to sleep because your mascara just won't wash off.

I've been reading raves about POND'S Cold Cream forever but I was reluctant to try a cold cream simply because it seems so old lady-ish and dated. So, I stuck with lousy makeup removers that did everything but actually remove my makeup, until a few months ago when I finally caved.

I should have done this way sooner.

This stuff is unbelievable. It gets rid of absolutely everything: black eyeshadow, eyeliner, waterproof mascara, you name it. The best part is that it's super gentle and it doesn't irritate my face. And because it removes everything so easily, I don't have to rub my eyes over and over like I do with regular makeup removers.

All you have to do is slather it on like a regular lotion, then just rub it off with a tissue or warm washcloth. I use tissues because it's easier than constantly rinsing out a washcloth, but either one is fine.  When it's all off, my face is clean and super soft, I don't even have to moisturize afterward.

The only downfall I've found is that since it comes in a jar, you always have to dip in it to get the product out and it's a little inconvenient, especially when the lotion gets under your nails (ew.) But I really think it's worth it if it means I don't rip out a million eyelashes every night trying to get my 90 coats of mascara off.

POND'S Cold Cream is available in all drugstores. I've seen it in the regular scent and a cool cucumber one, I use the regular one but I think they both smell nice.