Review: CND Vinylux Weekly Polish & Top Coat

Vinylux is a nail polish line by CND that claims to have a week long wear without the use of any UV lamps. According to the their website, "VINYLUX® Weekly Polish is a breakthrough polish that endures a week of fashion perfection...without a base coat! Exposure to natural light activates the patent-pending ProLight Technology™ to deliver week-long wear. While ordinary polishes break down over time, VINYLUX® Weekly Polish actually becomes more durable!"

 

This line has 99 shades and cost around $10-12 CAD each on different websites. This review is going to be on the weekly top coat and the nail polish in shade Masquerade #130.

 

 

CND Vinylux in Masquerade: It is a duo chrome shimmery burgundy shade with a very fitting name. It goes on sheer so it took me five coats to get a satisfying streak free look. The staying power of the polish is kind of questionable as it started chipping on the very first day of application.

So if you just want it just for this particular shade then I don't feel its worth the trouble because  Wet n Wild megalast nail polish in Under Your Spell and Calvin Klein splendid color in Opus are very close dupes.

 

CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat: This product was a huge let down.  It has regular semi-thick consistency that most top coats have and dries up just fine. However, the issue is that instead of prolonging the wear of the polish, it makes it chip faster. I followed all the instructions and used it with the polish from the same line but it started chipping within hours of application.

 

 

The picture above was taken after about 20 hours of painting my nails. I usually paint my nails at night before going to bed, so this level of chipping within a few hours of being active is out of ordinary. Also, I did not do any scrubbing or dishes or anything rigorous that could have fastened the wear.

 

 

In the above picture, where the white arrow is pointed, you can see that the chipping is not restricted just to the tips but also at the base of the nail.

 

In addition to the chipping, the polish started to look dull and worn off after 3 days.

 

 

Since the top coat did not work with the vinylux polish so I decided to try it with other brands.

 

First polish that I tried was Loreal Paris nail polish in Color of Hope, and sadly there was quite a bit of chipping. All the pictures below were taken within 24 hours of application but at different times of the day.  

 

 

 

 

  Second polish that I tried was Maybelline Express Finish nail color in Berry Fancy, and unfortunately I got the same result.

 

 

 

A few other brands that I tried with this topcoat but did not take pictures of were: China Glaze, OPI, Rimmel and Julep. Unfortunately, none of them worked. So, I guess I will just stick to my tried and true Revlon Colorstay topcoat. So, for me personally, Vinylux line was a fail , and from all the reviews that I have seen, it either works great or just fails miserably, and I guess I fall into the latter category.

 

If you have any tips to make it work, please let me know because it is an expensive polish and I don't want it go waste.

 

Thank you so much for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a great day!

 

 

 

Products I Regret Buying: Eyeshadows

This post is all about the eyeshadows that I regret buying. But before I begin, I would like to clarify that even though these products did not work for me, I am not trashing them in any way. If you have any tips or tricks to make these work, please leave them in the comments below. Also, since its already clear that I don't like these products, so I am gonna keep it short and sweet :)

 

So, lets get started...

 

Yves Rocher Quad Eyeshadow in 06 Brun Incandescent: This sumptuous color quad comes in beautiful rose gold packaging with a nice mirror and an instructions card. However, it lacks pigmentation and especially the two mid-toned shades barely show up on my skin. Retails for $20 CAD but is always on sale for $10.                                     

 

 

 

 

Rimmel London Eyeshadow Quad in 002 Smoky Brun: I bought it because everyone on youtube raved about it. However, the two lighter shades of the quad are almost invisible on my lids so I don't use it.

 

 

Shade placement in the quad is as follows: left, right, bottom, top

 

Yves Rocher Duo Eyeshadow in 23 Mauve et Kaki: The olive green shade is really nice and smooth, however, the cool toned purple that makes 2/3 of the palette is chalky and doesn't apply evenly. Also, the silver glitter kind of dilutes the purple and makes it appear more silvery.

 

 

 

Jesse's Girl Mineralized Baked Powder Eyeshadow in Graphite Frost: Looks beautiful in the pan but doesn't show up on the skin at all.  

 

 

Laura Mercier Eye Color Duo in Violet: This is a discontinued product which can still be found on some online websites. The dark plum shade has no pigmentation whatsoever. The swatch below has been done with several swipes back and forth. So, I would not recommend buying it even if it is insanely discounted.

 

 

 

Pacifica Natural beauty Duo 2: The packaging is kinda flimsy and the clear plastic lid separates from the base sometimes, which resulted in the damage that you can see in the picture below. But the main issue is the quality of the shadows. The purple lacks pigmentation while the gold looks uneven when applied.

 

 

 

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Painted Purple: I have several other colors from this line and they all work well, however, this particular one lacks the color intensity and looks patchy on application.

 

 

 

So, these are the few eyeshadows that did not work for me. I will share the face products I regret buying in an upcoming post. Also, you can click on the "regrets" in the labels below to check out my past makeup, hair and skincare regrets.

 

Have you used any of these products? Did they work for you? Do you have any tips?

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Have a great day!

December 2015: Julep Maven All That Glitters Overview

I have been a Julep maven for about two years. Its a great service with free shipping and new colors every month. This months theme was All That Glitters and I got the IT girl box. It came with three nail colors and a cinnamon flavored candy cane along with a coupon for free nail polish.

 

Chrissy, Beatrice and Omelia

 

Chrissy: Beautiful creamy green shade that leans a little bit towards teal. UPDATE: This polish stains both the skin and the nails really really bad during the removal process. Even repeated washing with soap didn't get the color off my skin. I will never use it again. I will share the pictures in an upcoming post.

 

Beatrice: Shimmery gold with a hint of copper. Its a difficult to define kind of shade so I may be wrong but to me it looks like the liquid form of Becca Jacyln Hill Highlighter.

 

Omelia: This is a special edition 2015 wonder maven polish. It's purple with tiny pink sparkles in it.

 

On the first look I thought I already have these shades in my collection so I have done a brief comparison.

 

Omelia (bottom) and Barbara (top)

 Barbara is a lot more pink while Omelia is purple.

 

Chrissy and Emilie

 

Chrissy and Emilie

 Emilie is true leafy green shade while Chrissy has some bluish undertones to it, which makes it look a little bit teal when placed close to a true green.

 



Sienna and Beatrice

Beatrice has a lot more copper to it while Sienna is more of a cool toned silvery gold. Also, Sienna has a creamy and smooth texture while Beatrice has some finely milled glitter.

 

What did you get in your Julep maven box this month? What do you think about Julep polishes in general?  Also, do you have any thoughts on Julep matte lipsticks because I really want to try them.

 

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Hope you have a wonderful day.

 

 

Smashbox Photo Op Shadow Palette: Soft Box II

Few days ago, I went to Sephora and was amazed at the wide range of sale item as it is quite rare in my area. One thing that instantly caught my eye was Smashbox Soft Box palette. This palette usually retails for $44 but was on sale for only $23. There are three similar palettes in the regular line, however, I believe this was a limited edition one. I always wanted to try Smashbox's infamous photo op formula but never did, so, this time I had to pick it up because both the colors and the price were appropriate. 

Packaging: The box is classic black with raised shiny imprint on it. It is quite compact and sturdy. However, it is one of those kinds that easily get dirty and show every single touch mark on them, so quite a let down. 

Layout: There are six shadows laid out in two rows along with a decent quality brush. However, where one side of the brush is flat shader, I don't know why the other side is such a tiny precision or a smudger instead of the usual blending brush. The only issue I have with the layout is that the names of individual shadows are printed on a loose clear plastic sheet, which is a hassle to keep in place.

Color Selection: There are three matte and three shimmery shades. One half of the colors belong to coppery brown family while the other half belong to purply taupe's. However, all the colors are great to put together a neutral eye look. 

Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstorm, Sumatra

Texture & Pigmentation: All the colors are very soft and creamy on touch. Some of them are more pigmented than others. Truffle, Juniper and Sumatra show up way more subtle than they are in the pan.  

Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstorm, Sumatra

Russet: A beautiful shimmery coppery brown. 

Truffle: A cool toned grayish taupe.

Bare: A very light nude pink.

Juniper: A muted purple with golden shimmer. 

Sandstorm: A true shimmery champagne gold. 

Sumatra: A cool toned medium chocolate brown. 

Overall, I really like this palette, especially at the price I got it for. The shadows are not overly intense but really good for everyday looks. Also, I like the mishmash of cool and warm toned shadows in one palette. As I said earlier, I have picked it up just a few days ago and there were at least thirty more palettes on the shelf that day so most probably you can still find it at Sephora stores near you. 

Do you own this or any other versions of this palette? If yes, which one? And do you like it?

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