New Product Alert: Super Inexpensive Nail Polishes

I went to the Walmart today and was browsing through the aisles casually and came across a hidden display of nail polishes.  At first I thought these are the nail art type with pointed brushes because of the bottle design and the overall display,  but since there were a lot of glitter options so I checked one out and found them to be regular polishes. The brand is called Fingrs Heart 2 Art, and they carry standard polishes with cream, shimmer and glitter formulas along with  a lot of other nail art accessories and kits. Even though they do not have a lot of unique colors but I found the collection to be pretty decent with a lot of neutrals and mid-toned shades and some bright colors. After pure ice, I feel that this nail polish has the most attractive price point of $1.98 and that is what made me pick up so many shades at once.

New Nail Polish Brand at Walmart: Fingrs Heart 2 Art

I usually do not buy multiples at once, especially from a new brand but this time I did because the formula seemed pretty nice and the shades were also very wearable. 

From Taupe to Bottom - 2 coats 

This polish passed the test when I swatched the lightest shade as lighter shades are usually streaky. However, this one went on very nicely without streaks in just two coats. 

Left: Julep (8ml); Right: Fingrs Heart 2 Art (8.8ml)

The bottle is very similar to the Julep, except the shape of the cap. Julep has a rectangular cap while this one has round cap. However, the main difference is that Julep polishes retail for $14 (8ml) while Fingrs is just $1.98 (8.8ml). I find this brand to be pretty generic, just like any other nail polish brand. The brush is just like Julep or any other typical nail polish brush. The only thing with cheaper polishes is the strong scent. I felt the scent was really strong and chemically when I had a whiff at the store, however, now that I tried smelling the other polishes for comparison, it seems fine to me. 

I can't really comment about the lasting power because I just bought it, but I am planning to do NOTD's with these shades so will let you know about their wear time in those posts. However, it is definitely not one of the quick drying nail polishes and it does take a while to dry off without a top coat. 

The colors that I picked up are as follows (in the order shown in the picture):

From Taupe to Bottom: This is a gorgeous sandy beige shade with a hint of taupe. To me, it looks very similar to Essie Sand Tropez, may be a bit lighter. 

Mauve It or Lose It: This is a mid-toned mauvy neutral shade. It is basically the above mentioned shade with mauve tint to it, but a very beautiful work appropriate neutral color. 

You Pinky Swear?: This is a nicely pigmented standard baby pink, which goes on without any streaks. 

Peri-Wink, Wink: As the same suggests, this is a periwinkle shade with a tinge of purple and goes on very nicely. 

Catch Some Grays: This is a grey shade with a slight taupey tint to it. In the store I thought it is similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe but it is not. It looks taupey grey on its own but more like a standard cement grey in front of the color tattoo which pulls more purple near it. 

V.I.Purple: This is a shimmery duo chrome bluish purple shade. When you look directly at the bottle it looks like a deep blue, but when the light hits at an angle, the beautiful purple shows up. 

Red You Loud And Clear: This is a true velvety red shade which reminds me of holiday season and Christmas. The shimmer in this polish is so finely milled that it just takes this color up a notch. 

Even though I bought these polishes today but I already love them because it doesn't take too long to test the quality of nail polishes. Especially because the wear time is not an issue for me as I change my polish every other day. Also, I give this brand props for giving a thought to the names like the OPI does. So overall, I love the packaging, the shades, the formula, the pigmentation, the names and off course the price. 

Have you seen these polishes at Walmart stores near you? Have you tried them? Or do you plan to try them in future?

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Top 5 Favorite: Highlighters

Highlighting is like an extra luxury step in my makeup routine. I do not feel that it is a necessary step but definitely something that can add an oomph factor to the overall look. I own several different formulas and brands of highlighters but I prefer using powders over creams, liquids and other stick forms. The main reason for this preference is the compatibility and mixing of textures. For example, I own Benefit High Beam, which is a cult favorite of the beauty community, but I do not like it much because usually I forget the highlighter part while working with cream products and if I use it over powder it looks somewhat cakey. 

I have picked up the top five favorite highlighters based on continued preference and the frequency of use. 

Natural Light: ELF Golden Bronzer; Physicians Formula Powder in Translucent; Sephora Illuminating Powder in Rose.Pink; TheBalm Mary-Lou-Manizer; Lorac Perfectly Lit Spotlight

Indoor Lighting: Same order as above

I didn't notice it earlier, but surprisingly all of these highlighters are somewhat different from each other in terms of their undertones. 

ELF Golden Bronzer: I am a huge fan of ELF studio line in general. They have amazing quality products with durable and functional packaging at very reasonable prices. This particular product is marketed as a bronzer but it is so light and shimmery that  it qualifies as a highlighter for my skin tone (NC25). The swatch is of the lighter shade in the lower left corner (since the post is about my faves) but I have also used the other three shades mixed up together. Out of all the other highlighters, this one appears to be a true beige-y champagne shade. Also, I feel that this is a versatile product because it has four shades which could either be mixed up or applied individually so people of different complexions can use it. 

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Powder in Translucent: First of all, the packaging and all the hearts make this powder special for people like me who pay extra attention to such details. Secondly, just like the ELF bronzer, this powder has multiple shades that could be mixed together or used individually. I personally like to use the big whitish heart towards the upper left side (thus the swatch is of that particular shade). I usually go for this highlighter when I want a very subtle glow, and it is definitely not as stark white as it looks in the swatches. Even though it has some shimmer but it is so finely milled that the highlight comes across as a sheen on the cheeks. 

Sephora Highlighting Compact Powder in Rose.Pink: This is a true rosy pink highlight which definitely has some shimmer in it. However, the shimmer just adds up to the beauty of this highlight and does not look tacky at all. I literally used it religiously for at least six months when I bought it, and it took some conscious effort to put it down. I don't know why Sephora brand products are not talked about when they have such amazing quality products at reasonable prices. 

TheBalm Mary-Lou-Manizer: This is a very intense golden-y champagne color, which can be used as a highlighter, shimmer or an eye shadow according to the TheBalm's description. I totally love this brand and all their products just like the rest of the beauty community so there isn't much to say about it. It is super pigmented so you need the tiniest amount to highlight therefore, it is a great investment of $24 because this product is going to last a lifetime. Also, many people say that the Hard Candy Baked Bronzer in Tiki is a dupe of this product. I do not own Tiki but I have swatched it a couple of times and I feel that it is not as smooth and creamy as TheBalm, but would still make a great dupe in terms of color. 

Lorac Perfectly Lit Spotlight: This is a peachy highlight with no shimmer whatsoever, which makes it look very subtle. It gives a very pretty natural sheen making it a perfect highlight for no makeup kind of nuanced look. Many youtube gurus, compare this with WnW Reserve Your Cabana, but I find the WnW version to  be very chalky and powdery. Also, the WnW powder doesn't seem to have the peachy tint like Lorac, and I feel that peachiness is something that makes Spotlight different from other highlighters. 

What are your favorite highlighters? What formulas do you prefer?

Thankyou for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!

Stila: Countless Color Pigment: Encore

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about the new Stila Countless Color Pigments in the beauty community, so I decided to pick up one. There are some very bright and bold colors in this line, I may be wrong but I believe there are a total of 10 different color combinations available in the market at this point ranging from bright blues, oranges, greens to more subtle pinks and browns. I went for the mediocre shade, Encore. It retails for $29 CAD and each one has a mis-mesh of three shades.

 

 

The packaging is really nice. The outer rim is similar to the brightest shade in the compact, which makes it very easy to identify in a large collection or to separate them from one another.

 

The products looks quite big in the picture  but is actually pretty small. It is hardly the size of Sephora outrageous prisma chrome eye shadows or Hard Candy baked eye shadows. The small size of the compact makes it quite difficult to reach for individual shades unless you are using a small eye shadow brush.  For the pictures, I swatched the shadows using my fingers so you can see the champagne color has some brown shadow to it.  I know they are meant to be mixed for different combinations but it is kind of inconvenient for someone who doesn't want to mix them.

 

Indoor Lighting

Natural Lighting

The eye shadows are very smooth and blend out very nicely. However, since they are so soft and are marketed as pigments, they do have some fallout. The shades are really soft and pigmented. The first one is a beautiful champagne shade, second one is a mid toned pink which for some reason is showing up as coral in the picture, the third one is a gorgeous browny burgundy shade with very fine golden shimmer. 

 

Overall, I do like the shadows and the packaging. But I do not understand the hype behind them because ultimately you are getting so little product for $29 + taxes. So in a nut shell, I found them okay but there is nothing special that you have to run out to get these. Everyone has a different opinion, but at least for me they do not qualify to be a must have product.

 

Have you tried these? What is your opinion?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day!