Nail of the day - Milani Jewel FX in Silver 533

 

If you're looking for a nail polish that's going to make an impact you must check out the Jewel FX line from Milani. I received this silver chunky glitter polish (try to say that ten times fast) as part of the gift bag given out at the Beautylish spring trends preview event. Truth be told, I wouldn't have normally picked out this polish because it's just so flashy. I like glitter polishes but I usually stick to the ones that contain micro glitter. Even though it's not my normal style, it's been fun testing out such a bold, funky polish.

You know how some glittery nail polishes are stingy with the sparkles? This one is not like that. The glitter is very concentrated and with just two coats your nail will be almost completely covered. It's quite beautiful on its own or paired with a color underneath.

Milani Jewel FX Silver over OPI's The Color to Watch

The only bad thing about this polish is trying to get it off! I have worn it twice now and found it pretty difficult to remove with normal nail polish remover both times. It takes a lot of work. Other than that, this polish is fabulous and would be perfect for a party.

What do you think of this unique nail polish? Would you wear it?

My new favorite skin care product

Oh my gosh, you guys! I have discovered an amazing product that I'm so excited to tell you about. As part of the gift bag given out at the Beautylish spring trend preview event, I received a box of "sheet" masks from a new Canadian skin care company called myfaceworks.

myfaceworks offers 13 different types of face masks formulated to address skin issues ranging from wrinkles to acne. I was given The Starter Kit, which costs $45 for six different sheet masks including:

• "i need to wake up" with vitamin-c for moisturizing and brightening 
• "i need to detox" with green tea, an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties
• "i need to replenish" for hydration and wrinkle reduction
• "i need damage control" with Coenzyme Q10, for improving the skin's moisture absorption
• "i need to be firm" with collagen to reduce pore size and puffiness
• "i need to relax" with lavender for relaxation and increasing overall skin resilience. 

So far I've tried the lavender "i need to relax" and collagen "i need to be firm" masks. All I can say is that I'm totally hooked!

These masks are nothing like traditional clay or gel-based facial masks. The myfaceworks product is a moist, film-like sheet that is applied to the face and left on for 15 to 20 minutes.

In my experience, these masks are cooling, refreshing and stay moist throughout the treatment.

The lavender "i need to relax" mask helped me unwind and made my skin feel soft. I cannot say it made a drastic difference in the look of my skin, though.

The results of the collagen "i need to be firm" mask, however, were instant. After one treatment, the look of my fine lines and pores was noticeably reduced. My skin appeared more radiant. This sounds crazy, but it actually seemed like my fine lines had been filled in. I was pleasantly, pleasantly surprised. I've never seen such a drastic difference after using a product just one time.

Needless to say, I purchased a full box of the "i need to be firm" masks for my mom for mother's day. I plan to buy one for myself after I finish my starter kit.

Also, I should mention that while these masks are wonderful, they make you look very odd when you're wearing them. Case in point: when I walked out into the living room wearing one, my boyfriend was actually startled! We got a good laugh at that.

Anyway, I'm so excited to try out the other masks in my starter kit! Have you tried the myfaceworks masks? Do you love them as much as I do?

My one month Latisse check-in

Hey there, lovelies! If you're a regular follower of this blog, you already know that I started using the eyelash growth treatment Latisse one month ago. (If you're new to Prettied Up, welcome!)

For the past four weeks, I have been diligently brushing one drop of Latisse along my upper lash lines every night before bed, as instructed. Check out my results so far:

Overall, I have noticed a slight increase in the length and thickness of my lashes. Though I only apply Latisse to the top row of lashes, I have seen a difference on the bottom row as well.

I am happy with the results so far, but I know the real changes are yet to come. Latisse is supposed to work gradually over a 16-week period, so I still have a while to go before achieving the full effects. Here's hoping by my birthday in July I'll have incredibly long, thick lashes. *fingers crossed*

Also, I should note that I have not experienced any adverse side affects from using Latisse.

Trend to try now: Bright colored eyeliner

Now that the weather is warming up, the makeup I've been wearing all winter long feels gloomy and boring. I've already ditched my dark nail polish hues in favor of fun spring shades, and now I'm ready to do the same with my makeup. One of the trends I'm loving right now is bright colored eyeliner.

Celebrities like Rihanna and Leighton Meester have wowed me in the past with daring jewel-toned eyeliner looks. Lately, though, the trend has also been gaining traction with the masses.

At a recent family barbecue my brother's incredibly stylish girlfriend was wearing the most eye-catching turquoise eyeliner. It looked so fresh and fun!

Shades of turquoise, electric blue, purple, green and bronze are lovely for spring and can really make your eyes pop.

When testing out this trend:

• Don't overdo it with eyeshadow! Bright blue eyeliner paired with bright blue shadow could easily get into 80's territory, and that is not what you want! For a more modern look, pair your bright eyeliner with neutral shadow.
• Experiment! Before investing in an expensive liner, test out different colors using drugstore brands, which sell a range of pretty eyeliner colors at affordable prices. 
• Try rimming your eyes all the way around with colored eyeliner then smudging it out for an updated smoky eye look. 

Last month at the Beautylish spring trend preview event I received an amazing gift bag containing, among many other products, Milani Liquif'eye eyeliner in "08 Blue." 

This smudge-proof eyeliner comes in a retractable applicator, meaning it never needs to be sharpened. It goes on incredibly smooth, without tugging on the eye at all, and is highly pigmented. I wore this eyeliner recently and got tons of compliments! It was a different look than I'm used to but I really liked it. 

If you're in the market for a colored eyeliner, here are some other great options:

1. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil - $18

2. Revlon Grow Luscious Lash Liner - around $9
3. Sephora Collection Flashy Liner Waterproof - $8

What do you think of these shades? Do you ever wear colored eyeliner?

A gift for mom

I put together this cute gift basket for my mom for Mother's Day. She is a total beauty product junkie and deserves the best so I got her some of my favorites. You can't see everything in the basket but it was chalk full hair products, makeup and nail polishes, including:

• Batiste colored dry shampoo
• Shower Queen cupcake patterned shower cap
• Aveda Smooth Infusion shampoo and conditioner
• bareMinerals Flawless Definition mascara
• Burt's Bees beeswax lip balm
• OPI "Guy Meets Gal-Veston" nail polish (from the Texas collection, Spring 2011)
• OPI "Houston We Have a Purple" nail polish (from the Texas collection, Spring 2011)

Plus, two nice bottles of Italian wine and tea bags:

• Alice "Ose" Vino Spumante Rose Brut 
• Cortese “Bianchino,” Valli Unite
• Aveda comforting tea bags

I found the perfect little basket to put everything in at the Salvation Army for just $5 and dolled it up with a few sheets of pink tissue paper. It turned out great! 

I also ordered her a box of Myfaceworks "I need to be firm" collagen boosting sheet masks, which are absolutely amazing. I could not include them in the basket, though, because I ordered them too late. They'll be a special bonus gift when they arrive in a few days. 

Did you get your mom any beauty products for Mother's Day?

Review - Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips

I received this box of Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips as part of the amazing gift bag given to those who attended the NYC Beautylish spring trends preview event several weeks ago.

These nail polish strips can be found wherever Sally Hansen products are sold (typically in drug stores) and cost around $9 for one box. They come in a range of fun colors and patterns, including everything from "electric shock," the bright yellow color I received (above) to "booty camp," a hot pink camouflage pattern. 

Sally Hansen is my favorite drug store nail polish brand, so I was super excited to give this product a try.

The package contains everything you need to apply one full set of nail polish strips, including an instruction sheet, cuticle stick, mini nail file/buffer and 16 nail polish strips.

Without further ado... check out my results: 

Now here are my thoughts about this product:

Pros
On a positive note, these nail polish strips are actually quite easy to apply. The instructions are clear and I quickly got the hang of it after applying one or two strips. There is no drying time whatsoever. They adhered well to the nail and did not peel off easily. Plus, they stayed on for several days without chipping.

Also, the bright yellow color I used is incredibly eye-catching and vibrant. It's not a color I would have normally picked out, but I ended up loving it!

Cons
The only criticism I have of this product is the strip-per-box ratio. Each box contains 16 strips, which is only enough for one full manicure. It would be much better if they included just four more strips per package so it would be possible to get two manicures out of one box! I get that people have different nail sizes, but I really don't understand putting 16 strips in each box -- it seems like such a waste. It's not enough strips for two manicures, but too many for just one. Odd.

One tip
Like the Minx manicure, these nail polish strips work better on nails that are not super short. When applying these strips you'll need to file off the excess, so having a little growth on your nails makes the application much, much easier.

My thoughts overall
This is an ingenious product that I will most likely be trying again. Unless you're a master nail artist, you just can't get these kind of designs without getting a Minx manicure, which is much more costly.

Have you used these nail polish strips? Do you think you'll try them.

I started using Latisse! Here are my results after one week.

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that I started using Latisse one week ago. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, really. My mom told me that a few of her friends use Latisse and have the most amazing eyelashes. Being the beauty-obsessed person I am, I had to try it.

If you're not familiar with Latisse, it's a prescription cosmetic treatment used to grow lashes fuller, longer and darker. Before I get into all the nitty gritty details about the product, let's get right to the good stuff. Here are my results after one week of using Latisse:

As you can see, there hasn't been much of a change at all. It's only been one week though, and my eye doctor said I probably won't start to see results until after two.

Essential info

If you're interested in using Latisse you'll need to obtain a prescription from a doctor. The prescription is quite pricey -- it cost me about $125 to get it filled.

The solution comes in a tiny eyedropper bottle, and is applied with a small brush along the upper lashline. One bottle of Latisse is packaged with 60 brush applicators, and you're supposed to apply the solution before bed, using one applicator per eye.

To give you a little history lesson, Litisse actually started out as a medicine called Lumigan used to treat the eye condition glaucoma. As a glaucoma medicine, Lumigan is applied directly into the eye like an eyedrop. Patients using Lumigan noticed that their eyelashes grew super long. The company that manufactures the drug simply re-packaged the same solution under a new name and billed it as a "treatment" for inadequate lashes.

Possible side effects

It should be noted that Latisse has some possible side effects, including a darkening around the eye area where the solution is applied, irritation, redness and itching. The worst potential side effect, though, is that Latisse may cause increased brown pigmentation in the colored part of the eye and essentially permanently turn blue or light colored eyes brown. According to the company that makes Latisse, this has only happened when the solution was applied directly into the eye.

Since I have brown eyes anyway, that's not much of a concern for me. Also, I have not experienced any itching, darkening of the skin or any other negative side effects from using Latisse.

Of course, those considering Latisse should certainly consider the possible side effects and speak to a doctor about the risks.

Anyway, I'm super excited to be using it and hoping to see some dramatic differences soon. Every morning I run to the mirror hoping for a miracle! Keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted.