Mariah Carey OPI liquid sand nailpolish review

Ola beauty lovers! I know the holidays are around the corner so I have been trying to give you all some gift ideas with palettes and makeup products. Today I am going to talk about the latest nail polish gift set from Mariah Carey OPI liquid sand line of nail polish.

This will be a quick review. First off if you know me, I am a nail polish fanatic. I have pretty much every color under the sun. I always do my own nails so I use all my polishes. I change my polish about once every 3 to 4 days. Yes I know excessive but that's what beauty lovers do :)

So this little gift set comes with three mini OPI glitter nail polish shades. There is a champagne nude, a Rosy gold and a taupe purple.

I have only tried out two out of the three colors, but I love these little guys. No one needs a full bottle of polish. I do not see any beauty guru on YouTube showing empty bottles of nail polish in any of their beauty empty videos. You can probably get away with wearing one mini bottle 3 or 4 times, possible 5 times depending how thick you make your coats and really thats all you need to use one nail polish because we always get caught up with new colors all the time.

These shades are gorgeous for this holiday time of year. With a good base coat they do last a good few days on the nails. Now you may ask, well it's glitter so it must be hard to remove afterward....and the response to that is nope, it is not hard to remove at all. Compared to other glitters this line is very easy to remove.

To remove this polish this is what you do:
1. soak your cotton pad in acetone nail polish remover
2. wrap it around your nail and press on the top of the nail with the cotton pad so the remover soaks into the polish.
3. count to 15 seconds and rub the pad around to remove the loosened glitter.
4. wipe your nail clean and move on to the next nail.

This gift set of 3 costs $9.99 at the local beauty supply store. It's a great gift for women and girls who love to paint their nails or who enjoy beauty products period. The colors are very pigmented and you only need a max of 2 coats of polish on your nails with this line. You can get away with one coat but I am a two coat kinda girl :) The finish of the polish is a sand texture hence the name "liquid sand" but it is not a rough texture, it does not scratch the skin if you were to rub the top of your nails on your skin.

Below I have a couple of swatches and images of the product itself.

Until next time beauty lovers!
MacGirl25

This color is the gorgeous purple taupe

This color is the beautiful nude champagne 

MAC Beauty Haul (MAC Sale)

Ola Beauty Lovers! Last weekend I went to my local MAC beauty sale they have every quarter to half a year. What it is, is basically a giant warehouse sale of beauty products. Not just MAC there is Estee Laudier, Clinique etc. So my girlfriend happened to get a couple tickets (because it is by invite only) and she brought me along, knowing I have a Beauty Blog and YouTube Channel. Yes for those of you who do not know I do have a YouTube Channel. You can find me by my user name: MacGirl25Antonietta on YouTube.

So I did a little bit of shopping to try out some new items and to pick up a couple of my MAC products.
Hope you enjoy the Haul below, Note I also made a haul of the same items on my YouTube channel in case you are interested. 



1. Estee Laudier Sparking Clean Oil Control Foaming Gel Cleanser ($20) (Retail: $30-$40)

• I have never tried an Estee Laudier cleanser before so I thought this would be the perfect time to grab one of these babies to try out and share my thoughts with all of you. I have not used it yet, but on the package it does claim that it controls oils. Here is a snip it of what the bottle says, " Fresh, citrus gel surges into an exhilarating lather that controls oil without stripping". I took a whiff of it and it is very refreshing scent. So lets hope this stuff works. I will keep y'all posted. 

2. MAC Pro Eye Makeup Remover ($12) (Retail: $21)

• I have not yet tested this eye make up remover out. But I have heard good things about it. So I am going to take a risk and test it out. It is a pricey make up remover retail price. Since I caught it on sale for $12 I figured why not. That sale price is equivalent to my other eye make up remover prices. Will keep y'all posted on this one too.

3. Grassroots Research Labs: Vitamin C Skin refreshing Cleanser with Vitamins E and B5 ($10) (Retail: Unknown)

• I had never heard of this company before. But after doing a bit of light research, I learned that this company is affiliated with Estee Laudier. I have not been able to pin point any retail prices on this company so I will need to dig a little deeper. Looking forward to trying out this refreshing cleanser. For $10 you can't go wrong. Stay tuned as I use these products I will definitely be sharing my opinions with all my readers. 

 4. MAC Eye Shadow Quad in Angel Flame ($25) (Retail: $50)

• I love MAC eye shadow quads. I have a couple and I try to only purchase them when I go to sales like these because they are half the retail price! This one was my favorite out of the couple they had to choose from. Starting from the top left corner, there is a light shimmer highlight shade. Then beside that is a gorgeous coppery rose gold shade. This rose gold shade is what sold me on this palette. Then the bottom left shadow is a baby pink. I don't find the baby pink as pigmented as the rest. Then the bottom right is a charcoal grey which is perfect to smoke out the look if you wanted a more dramatic look at night. This palette is very versatile for both day and night. Love it. I would swatch them but my lighting is just not up to par today. Sorry ladies and gents. 

5. 3 MAC Nail polishes ($9 each) (Retail: $18 each)

• I love nail polish. For those of you who have read my previous articles, you know I love doing my own nails. It's a therapy for me. I found these at the sale and just had to pick them up. Normally I don't buy MAC Nail polish because they are pricey, but when I get the opportunity to go to a sale like this I make it worth it. From left to right here are the shades. "Life and Beth" is a creamy peachy nude. "Myth" is a cream yellow tone nude. "Triumphant" is a chocolate dark brown which is great for fall. To see swatches of these three beauties please go follow me on instagram @AntoniettaNacc

 6. MAC Velux Pearl Eye Shadow in Twinks ($12) (Retail: $18)

• I have this shade already but I had to get another one because it is the perfect bronze fall shade for all over the lid or adding dept to the crease, I got greedy and picked this one up too. What can I say? I am a true Beauty Lover. Just look at that gorgeous bronze shade. If you want to see how these shadows look on me, please again follow my instagram @AntoniettaNacc I always post make up of the day looks and nail swatches all the time. 

7. MAC Blush in Pink Swoon ($12) (Retail: $25)

• Now I know every body and their mom owns this blush. But when I saw it on sale I had to pick it up because I did not own it. Yes that is the MAC Blush in Pink Swoon. This blush is one of the most popular blushes by MAC known to man. It does look a bit scary and bright in the packaging but when you apply it on the skin, its a beautiful light pink that is build able depending how flushed you want your cheeks to look. Love it, and I love that I scored it on sale LOL.

8. Grassroots Research Labs Flowing Cactus Extreme Moisture Cream ($25) (Retail: Unknown)

•  So I picked up another Grassroots research lab product. From that I can see is that this company has distribution warehouse in Canada and they try to use as much natural ingredients as possible. Although not all of their products are all with only natural ingredients. Love the smell of this cream though, so I will be excited to use this in the winter when my skin needs the most moisture ever. 

Ok so that is what I got at the MAC Sale. However I was not impressed with their selection this year on a larger base aspect. I was looking for 2 Clinique products that they did not offer. So I decided to go to my local Shoppers Drug Mart and redeem some of my Optimum points. Below is what I got for free with my points:

1. Clinique All about lips (Free) (Retail: $28)

• I heard so many great things on YouTube from my friend  Lizzy, her channel is WhatWouldLizzyDo. I have read some great reviews on this product too. You put this on your lips before you apply any lip products. This is suppose to help de-line and de-flake your lips through out the day when wearing your lipsticks, lip glosses etc. So I am so excited to try this out.

2. Clinique All about eyes (Free) (Retail: $36)

• I am about to run out of eye cream so I thought this is a good time to use up my points to get a good eye cream. This one felt really moisturizing and rich so I will test this baby out and let you all know my thoughts. The girl try to sell me on a $110 eye serum and I told her that I am only 25 years old I am not that desperate yet! LOL Sticking to the basics for now. 

Anyways, that was my haul. I hope you enjoyed it. I will be keeping you all posted on my thoughts on these products as I use them. Please stay tuned. If you are further interested go check me out on my YouTube Channel MacGirl25Antonietta or Instagram @ AntoniettaNacc .

Until next time beauty lovers ❤
MacGirl25

China Glaze Feather Effects Line

Ola Beauty Lovers! Yes I am back again to talk a little bit about the new China Glaze Feather Effects Collection of nail polish. 

I found my two colors at Sally's Beauty Supply. When I first purchased them I was so excited to try them out. In the bottle they look awesome. This line is a bunch of thinly sliced glitter or colored paper of different colors. The collections has about 8 colors or so. The two I purchased were Flying South and You're a Hoot. 

Application:

When applying this polish I notice that the formula is a bit thicker then a normal polish. The clear polish mixed in these feather effects polishes are very thick. I also notice that I need to apply 3 plus coats in order to get an opaque look. You need to be quick when applying this polish because it does dry quicker then most average polishes. 

Texture: 

The finish texture is a but rough. Not really feather like. When I think of feather I think about soft velvety feeling. This is nothing like it. Once it dries it reminds me of the texture of bricks. Yes....bricks. 

Wearing power:

The wearing power is pretty good. 6 to 7 days of wearing this polish without chipping providing you are using a base and top coat. Without a base and top coat I am assuming you can get away with 4 to 5 days of wear. 

Removal: 

Keep in mind that when you use any type of glitter polishes usually the base in that formula is some type of glue to keep the glitter on your nails. So the fact is that these kind of polishes do not come of in one swipe like other average polishes. 

That means you will need 100% acetone to remove this polish off your nails. You can get 100% acetone at any beauty supply or drug store, and be patient because it will take some effort to remove this polish off. 

Price:

These are the same price as any other China Glaze polishes so between $5 to $8 depending where you buy them. 

Final thoughts:

It was worth the shot to test these puppies out but I don't think I'll be repurchasing this collection again. The look of then on the nails looks cool but for me it's not worth it when I have to remove them. I prefer polishes that is easy to remove. 

Until next time beauty lovers❤

MacGirl25

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish: Nail polish review

Hey Beauty Lovers! Sorry I know I have been missing in action. My day job is a bit hectic at the moment. Today I am going to be talking to you about the CND Vinylux Weekly Polishes. I am a polish fanatic. There is not one color I don't have. But when I saw this new nail polish line in Trade Secrets, and they claim that the polish lasts up to 7 days on your nails I just had to test that theory out myself.

Now the catch for this 7 days long wear nail polish to work is only if you use their specific top coat. Each bottle of top coat or color is about $12 a piece. Which was around the same price as OPI once upon a time. I purchased a few colors, a nude, two summer colors, and two fall colors, plus the top coat. Now I haven't tried out the fall colors yet because I am still in summer mode so I only tested out the nude and summer shades from my nail polish spree. The line carries over 30 shades of different colors so there are lots to choose from.

Applying the polish is enjoyable. The formula is very thin, thinner then most polishes out there today. They dry pretty quickly which was a nice surprise. The top coat acts as a Gel Shellac type of finish. The formula of the top coat is a tinny bit thicker since it is a gel, but it applies very nicely onto the nail without it caking up looking like crap. It dries very quickly so you need to be quick when applying the top coat.

So I did a little experiment. I put this nail polish on myself, who does minimal house work since I still live at home. Then I put it on my mother who uses her bare hands with house cleaners for around the house. Dish soap, bathroom tile scrubs, pots and pans scrubs etc.

My nail polish lasted about five days on my hands with very minimal chipping. Which is great because if you know me, I change my nail polish every 2nd to 3rd day. Only because I enjoy the change in colors. My mom however, with all the heavy duty cleaning she does daily, the nail polish started chipping by the second day. So you may ask me , is it worth the money to go and spend on this line? Well it depends who I am talking to really. If you are the type of woman who does the heavy duty cleaning daily, then maybe don't use this line as a daily polish. Save this line for special occasions or if you go away on a trip. Not worth the money if all you will keep getting is chips by the second day because your a clean freak, stick to you normal nail polishes of OPI, china glaze etc. If you are the type of woman who saves her cleaning for one day a week, then by all means knock your socks off with this line, you will definitely enjoy it. And if you are the type of woman who doesn't clean at all because you have a cleaning lady, then hell you are probably capable enough to buy this entire line!

The Shades are very pigmented out of the ones I purchased, and are very enjoyable. As for the claim to last 7 days, well I think that all depends on your lifestyle and not the polish.

The color I am wearing in the photo below is Tropix.

The colors I purchased are listed below:
Lobster Roll (coral)
Tropix (bright pink)
Faux Fur (dark chocolate brown)
Rock Royalty (royal purple)

Impossibly Plush (nude)

Until next time beauty lovers
MacGirl25 ❤🍹💋