Review: Sephora Express Nail Polish Remover

My grandma always tells me how it's so important to take great care of your nails. When you shake someone's hand, when you are talking to someone and non verbally trying to make your point (I do that a lot haha) or simply having a drink with someone...people will always see your nails. So nice looking nails are an indication of how well you take care of yourself. If you don't agree, try telling that to my grandma :)

I paint my nails regularly, but I hate removing my nailpolish. I hate the struggly with cotton buds and nail polish remover. Not to mention trying to get rid of glittery nail polish without looking like a glittery mess all day. So when I went to Sephora and I came across the bad guy you see in the picture above, I just had to try it.

The Sephora Express Nail Polish Remover is basically a little plastic container with a sponge in it. The spong is soaked in nail polish remover and there's a little hole in the sponge in which you put your finger, swirl it around a couple of times and your nail polish should be removed. The inside looks like this:

On the USA Sephora website I couldn't find this particular product (with the sponge and all), but I did find the regular nail polish remover by Sephora and this is what the website claims it to be.

A fast acting nail polish remover that removes ALL nail polishes effortlessly, even the long wearing ones. To product the skin around the nail it contains active ingredients with moisturizing properties. It doesn't contain Parabens, Sulfates, Phthalates, GMOs or Triclosan. It is dermatologically tested and does not contain aceton.

Now let me break that down for you and tell you my opinion on this product.
First of all I was happy to read that the remover does not contain aceton. I find aceton to be very agressive to the nails but also to the skin around the nails. Let's be honest, it stings right? Especially if you have sensitive areas of skin around the nail. I do have that so when I put my finger in the container I was particularly interested in the feeling on my skin. It didn't sting, it didn't feel irritating to my skin, so that's a big plus.
I swirled my finger around for about have a minute max and had a look....no nail polish anywhere on my nails. Not even in the areas that are hard to reacht with a cotton bud; the very sides of the nail where it touches the skin.

But then I was wondering... If I put my nails in this time and time again, will there be left overs and glitter from previously removed polishes on my fingers or nails. I have tried this product for a month now and started with a very glittery nail polish. First of all it removed all glitter. So when I tried it for the second time with a very bright pink nail polish I wondered if there were gonna be glitters on my fingers fromt he last time. Nope...no nail polish and no glitter. I've tried this product out with several colors of all kinds of finishes and even tried it when I had multiple layers of polish on my nails. It removed my nail polish in no time, time and time again without leaving left overs of previous removed nail polishes on my fingers.

I have used this for a month now and the sponge still feels soaked. I have no irritated skin around the nails and even if I have just a couple of minutes before I have to leave the house I can easily remove my nail polish and leave the house with clean nails.

So overall I love this product and would definitely buy it again, and again. It's pretty afordable to, especially for the quality of this product. The website says you can buy the regular nail polish withou the container with a sponge, for $8.
Now it's up to you if you buy the product in the container with a sponge, at least try it out, because it is so easy and quick.
Here's a little photo tutorial on how to use this product.

 


THANKS FOR READING, HOPE IT WAS HELPFULL!

XXX

SUREYA

Face Of The Day using the Sugarpill Burning Heart palette

So this is my first Face Of The Day blogpost YAYYY!!!

I had a day of so I felt like giving my skin a bit of rest and only go for eye shadow. So any blemishes, impurities etc. on my face....pay no attention to them, tomorrow I'll magically erase them with foundation :)

The products I used on my eyes were:
- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- The colors Poison Plum (purple), Love+ (Red) and Buttercupcake (yellow) from the Sugarpill Burning Heart palette.
- White eye shadow from the Sleek Acid palette.
- Bobbi Brown gel eye liner in Ink Black.
- Mally Voluminous Mascara.
- Black kohl eye pencil by Miss Sporty.

How to:
1. Apply the Urban Decay Primer Potion on the entire lid and underneath the eye close to the lash line.
2. Apply the black kohl pencil on the lower waterline.
3. With a flat, somewhat stiffer brush, apply the Buttercupcake to the inner third of the eye lid, the area around the tear duct and the inner third underneath the lower lashline.
4. With a bigger brush apply the Love+ to the rest of the eye lid and blend it softly into the Buttercupcake. And with a detail brush apply the Love+ underneath the eye (the area you didn't cover with Buttercupcake).
5. With a contour brush apply and blend the Poison Plum in the crease and the outer V area.
6. Use any white eye shadow with a fluffy blending brush and apply it on the brow bone and soften the line the Poison Plum creates.
7. Apply eye liner with a little flick.
8. Curl your lashes and apply mascara.

DONE!

If you wanna SEE how I did this....go to my youtube channel PristinePlasticine

Thanks for your time, hope you enjoyed this look :)

XXX Sureya



Flawless Foundation Routine

Hello everyone,

This blogpost is an addition to the video I just uploaded on my youtube channel PristinePlasticine 

I can't upload longer video's yet, so I find I don't have enough time to explain everything I'd like to explain. So thank god for blogspot :)

It's probably wise to first watch the video, so it's easier to understand the stuff I'm talking about and explaining here.

Techniques 

Before applying make up

Before applying your make up, always make sure you have a clean face. I use the Vitamine E Facial Wash from the Body Shop. On your clean face you want to apply a moisturizer. After that the choice is up to you to use a primer or not. For the look I did in this video I didn't use a primer, because I wanted a matte finish and I always find that primers make my skin more shiney. When I use a tinted moisturizer I sometimes do use a primer, because I like a dewy finish when I use tinted moisturizers. On to the concealer....

Why use a salmon colored concealer underneath the eye? Color theory!

Well this is where a little color theory comes in. The dark circles underneath your eyes have blue undertones. Red colors cancel out blue-ish colors. So put a concealer with a red undertone underneauth you eyes and your dark circles will vanish.

I only concealed underneath my eyes because the foundation I used in this video does a great job covering discolorations. If you use a light coverage foundation you might want to use concealer or correctors on your skin.

Red blemishes....use a green concealer/corrector!

How to get your under eye concealer to last.

Concealer underneath the eye always seems to crease at least a bit. There are these fine lines underneath the eye that cause this to happen. To make sure the concealer lasts a bit longer do the following:

1. Rather than brushing the concealer on, really work it into the skin with a sponge. I use the Beauty Blender for this. Press it in the skin lightly, dont drag it back and forth!

2. Set it with a powder before applying your foundation.

3. Use a powderpuff to set the concealer (same goes for the foundation).

Why use a powderpuff to set your creamy products?

Because a powderpuff actually works the powder into the creamy products, absorbing all the excess oil and giving it a matte finish. Powder brushes knock of the powder of your skin instead of really working it into the creamy product. When using the powderpuff press it onto the skin and make little rolling motions so you are not moving the foundation.

Using the Beauty Blender.

I love using the Beauty Blender with creamy products. It really gives a flawless and almost air brushed finish. I use it with fluid products as well, but it does soak up these products more than it does with creamy products. I use the Beauty Blender in a bounce and roll motion.

Why use a mattifying powder before applying blush, contour and highlight?

Because it soaks up the excess oils on the skin so your blush, bronzer or whatever powder you're applying afterwards doesn't do that instead. That way the pattifying powder prevents streakiness and makes it much easier to blend your blush, bronzer, highlight etc. :)

Products

You can see the products I used on the picture above this post. Here's a list and my reason to use it for a flawless finish:

1. Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer (Great coverage of dark circled underneath the eye and no problem finding your shade; it's either light, medium or dark :)

2. Beauty Blender (Amazing air brushed finish)

3. Graftobian HD cream foundation (Covers up any small blemishes, you need only a small amount of product and it really is HD. I used it on models for a photoshoot and the results are amazing. Big range of colors, even for darker skins. Easy to smooth on the skin and did I mention it really is HD?!)

4. Make Up Forever HD microfinish powder (A really fine mattifying powder that is absolutely transparent after application. It does a great job soaking up excess oil on the face)

5. Powderpuff (Works the powder into the skin instead of knocking it of like the powder brushes do)

6. Benefit Hoola Bronzer (A great matte bronzer that doesn't look dirty and can be used as a contouring powder as well)

7. Sleek Blush in Flushed (Wow, amazingly pigmented and a lot of colors to choose from. Oh and did I mention it's cheap? :)

8. Sephora Highlight compact powder in Golden (Ahww you gotta love the shimmer. There are a lot of great highlighters, this is just my favorite at the moment.)

And this is a picture of the finished look, taken with a not so HD camera, sorry guys.

Thanks for reading and watching...I hope it was helpfull :)

XXX Sureya

Sugarpill Cosmetics

I just love theme parties, especially when someone has the guts to do a theme wedding. One of my friends got married this weekend and made it a Moulin Rouge themed wedding. I couldn't be happier, because that meant I could go all out with make up.

Here's a picture of my boyfriend and I, I'll talk about the make up afterwards :)

I recently celebrated my birthday and was spoiled rotten with all kinds of new make up. But the products that came in so handy for this wedding, were the very bold eyeshadow colors by Sugarpill. I absolutely love their pigment called Asylum, the red shimmery color on my eyes.

<---- That's Asylum






I also have two of their pallettes and I used the purple color called Poison Plum to give a little more depth to my eyes, so I applied a little of that color on the outer V arrea and in the crease.

<----- Poison Plum








I used some of the white eyeshadow named Tako as a highlight underneath my eyebrows and a golden creamy eyeshadow from the Dutch department store Hema in the inner corners of my eyes, topped it of with a black cateye eyeliner (Bobbi Brown's gel liner in Ink Black) and voila the eyes were done.

For me this look was all about experimenting with the Sugarpill eyeshadows for the first time. These colors are crazy pigmented, the pressed eyeshadows as well as the pigment I used. They actually look the same on your eyes as they do in the pan. I used the Urban Decay Primer Potion underneath and they didn't crease at all.

I've tried all the colors from the Sugarpill pallette called Sweetheart, containing the colors Afterparty (the babyblue color), the pink color Dollipop, the light green color named Midori and the white color Tako.

<----- The Sugarpill Sweetheart Pallette







These colors I tried on top of a base of NYX jumbo pencil in Milk. They looked great at first, but started to crease within 3 hours. So I suggest using these lovely eyeshadow with a good primer that actually enhances the colors and doesn't crease. For me that's the Urban Decay Primer Potion.

So after trying all these Sugarpill eyeshadows and the pigment, I have to say this brand is a true blessing for all the ladies who love to wear intense colors. These eyeshadows are not for the faint of heart.
A big plus is the great packaging they come in. The logo is pressed on each product and looks like a tattoo artist produced it...what can I say I am a sucker for good looking packaging :P

The individual pressed eyeshadows cost $12 each, the pallettes cost $34 and the pigments cost $12 each as well. I think they are well worth the money. Especially considering the little amount of product necessary to really make these colors pop.

So check out http://www.sugarpillshop.com/ They ship internationally, but if you are from The Netherlands, like I am, and do not want to wait and pay extra shipping costs, you can buy Sugarpill Cosmetics at http://enchantra.eu/

Thanks for reading!!!!

XXX Sureya

Beauty products I can't live without!

It's been a while since I've been on here. Believe me I want to post  here as often as I can, but I have been extremely busy with work and family and what not. But I'm back and ready for a new blog post.

Today I really want to take you through some of the beauty products I can't live without. I'll give you a little review on them as well.

LUSH Rub Rub Rub exfoliator

The best thing about Lush is that all their products are animal cruelty free and that they contain all kinds of natural products like fruits and vegetables. The Rub Rub Rub exfoliator is a vegan product that contains sea salt. Sea salt is a great exfoliator and will leave your skin feeling perfectly soft. I use this twice a week, since I have a very sensitive, dry skin. To top it of it smells delicious, like the ocean, and you will feel like a mermaid using it :) It's blue, just to add to that feeling of bathing in a perfect blue lagoon. It also makes your skin smell fresh the whole day.
The only thing you have to keep in mind is not to use this after shaving your legs or armpits, it'll burn a little. If you want an exfoliator you can use after shaving, I would say; go with a sugar exfoliator.

The Body Shop Vitamine E facial wash

I have done a full review on this product before, so you can read that for more information. What it comes down to is that this facial wash actually removes all the make up and dirt from your face. I use it everyday and I'm completely hooked on it. Especially for dry skin, using a Vitamine E product definately helps your skin become moist again and feeling soft as a baby's bottom :)





Eve Pearl Salmon concealer

I bought this concealer a month ago and have been using it eversince. As you might know, dark under eye circles have a blue tone in it and any salmon or pink kind of color will even out blue. That's exactly what this concealer does best. Great coverage, blends very nicely. I have the wheel with the three different colors, because I want to be able to use it on other people as well (mind the hygiene), but you can buy each color separately as well.
As far as what I don't like about it, is that the product creases. But to be quite honest...all concealers do. Make sure you prep and prime your skin beforehand and set it with a powder or blotting tissue so it'll stay on just a bit longer.

Benefit You Rebel tinted Moisturizer

There is nothing not to love about this product. Perfect sheer coverage, easy to blend, very moisturizing to the skin and a delicious dewy glow on your face. It is pricy though, but definately worth the money, and it will last you a long time. Apply it with your hands, brush or sponge and you're basically ready to go. If you do have problematic skin with blemishes etc. you might want more coverage and in that case this product probably won't do the trick.
It comes in two tones; dark and light. Which comes in very handy, because if you buy the two colors and mix them up a little, you can use it the whole year through; come summer, come winter...you'll find the perfect shade to match your skintone.

Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in Ink Black

After having used this gel liner for the first time, I just needed to have it. I have used many gel liners and most of them dry out in a heart beat. Not the case with this creamy and easy to apply gel liner. It's a perfect black, slides on the eye lid with great ease and is definately waterproof. The color pay off of this product is so great, you wont have to be building layer on top of layer to make it look black.
Using it with the Bobbi Brown fine liner brush makes the job even easier. Again; a pricy product, but worth the money.



Mally Voluminous Mascara

Living in the Netherlands is great. Though not so great make up wise, because we sometimes miss out on great products like the Mally Voluminous Mascara. It was actually given to me by family in the USA. And what a gift it was. I'm not one to buy high end mascara's because I believe the only difference between mascara's are the wands they come with. I still believe this is true for most mascara's, but this one got me doubting. After applying mascara I always notice my lashes become hard as a nail. Not with this Mally Mascara. Apply it and touch your lashes afterwards. They feel soft and like actual hairs. On top of that I hardly need to curl my lashes when I use this mascara. And again, a great black color pay off. Take into account though that if you don't remove your mascara at the end of the day and you apply this mascara the next day, than yes your lashes will feel hard. So use this mascara on clean lashes, it's amazing.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Bronzers...AAAAAAAAAAAAA what a nightmare. I have never been able to find the right one. They are either too orange, too shimmery, they can make you look dirty. So after reading and watching the great reviews on the Benefit Hoola Bronzer, I wanted to give it a try and see what the fuzz was all about. Ok I got it, I understand now :) This bronzer looks good on, dare I say, any skin. It's matte, it doesn't look dirty, blends so very well and is great for contouring as well. I don't know what else to say....see for yourself. Again pricy; but a good amount of product for the price you pay and great quality.



Kat Von D. True Romance eye shadow pallette

I actually bought this pallette while on a roadtrip. I first spotted it in Vegas, than couldn't make up my mind as to which pallette to get and than bought this one in L.A. the next day. Why you ask me? Because the colors are so freakin' gorgeous. Nicely pigmented, wearable in summer as well as winter, because of the variety of colors you get, and suitable for different occassions, since you get matte colors, shimmery ones and even a creamy green one. The white color in this pallette is undescribably beautiful, because once on your eye lid some gorgeous glittery gold shines through it. I want all the pallettes, but once again, I'll have to wait until I'm back in the USA to get it. But it's worth the wait :)
The Beauty Blender

You see, I don't believe in expensive sponges. A sponge is a sponge. But I am a curious person by nature and when millions of people are raving over a pink, egg shaped sponge I can't help myself. So I bought the Beauty Blender and was beating myself up over it, because I had spent so much money on a sponge. But I am a believer now and I want to marry my Beauty Blender and never use a foundation brush or sponge again in my life.
The shape of this sponge is pure brilliance. A pointed side for the hard to reach area's and a thick surface for the rest of the face. It blends your foundation in which such ease and makes it look airbrushed and I swear I am not lying. I know, I couldn't believe it myself either. The sponge itself feels so soft once you have soaked it with water and it grows to a perfect size to fit in your hand and applies your foundation in no time. The best thing might well be the cleanser that comes with it. It smells like lavender and you only have to use a small amount to make your Beauty Blender perfectly clean, no left over make up in your Beauty Blender, guaranteed.
Pricy yes, but I dare you to tell me it's not worth the money.

Ok guys, this is it for today. I realize there are not many drugstore products listed above. But there are definately some drugstore products worth mentioning. These are just my absolute "can't-do-without"- beauty products must haves. If you read this and think there are some products I should try out and maybe are a little less pricy, don't hesitate to mention them in a comment.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderfull day :)

How to create a smokey eye!

There are lots of ways to create a smokey eye. You have the very dark Pamela Anderson smokey eye to the subtle and sultry Kim Kardashian smokey eye. I would call my interpretation of a smokey eye "a happy medium" between Pam and Kim.

To create a smokey eye you can use any colors that you like, as long as you have a light color, a medium dark color and a dark color, you're good to go. The easiest colors to start practicing with are a white, skin toned and black eye shadow. They are so different from eachother, which makes it easy to see if you are blending well and if you have applied them to the correct areas of the lid.
You can use an eye shadow primer first if you want the colors to stay in place. I always use the Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion. You can also use any creamy light color as a base primer as well.
I don't use a primer when I do a smokey eye, because I like it when the colors start creasing a bit. It gives a worn off rock star look that I really like.

To sum it up...the products that you need are:
- an eye shadow primer or creamy light color as a base (if you don't want the colors to crease or wear off)
- a black kohl pencil
- white eye shadow
- skin toned eye shadow
- black eye shadow
- 2 eye shadow brushes (a bigger fluffy one for the white and skin toned color, a domed shaped lending brush for the black color).
- Eyeliner
- Mascara

Step 1:
Apply your eye shadow primer to the lid and rub it in all over the lid, because your whole lid will be covered with eye shadow.
Step 2:
Apply the black kohl pencil to your lower waterline. Make it as dark as you like. If you don't want the color to fade you can use a small angled brush and apply some of the black eye shadow on top of the pencil. This will soak into the creamy structure of the kohl pencil line.
Step 3:
Use a slightly bigger and fluffier brush to apply the skin toned eye shadow all over your lid (so on the brow bone and in the crease as well). This is your base color.
Step 4:
Use the same brush to apply the white eye shadow underneath your brow on the brow bone as a highlight. You can use it in the area around the tearduct as well to make your eyes pop more. You'll look more awake as well :)
Step 5:
Take the domed shape blending brush to apply the black eye shadow on the outer V area first. This is the outer area of the lid above the lashline. Apply only a small amount of black at first, so tap of your brush. Apply the color blending it upwards into the outer part of the crease and a bit up unto the brow bone. Build that color up until you think it's dark enough.
Than blend that black eye shadow into the entire crease.
Take your time to blend the black into the white and skin toned colors and to build the black up.
Step 6:
Now you can apply eyeliner and mascara. I suggest you wing out the eyeliner if you like a dramatic effect. And curl your lashes to make the eye pop.

Smokey eye done!!! It's that easy!

Now you can experiment with any colors that you like. All you need to know is that a smokey eye needs three colors; light, medium and dark!

You can watch the video below for a demonstration.

XXX
Sureya

Products used:
- Maybelline Satin Liquid foundation in the color ivory (applied with a Sigma duo fibre stippling brush)
- Black Kohl Pencil by Miss Sporty
- White eye shadow by Essence
- Skin toned eye shadow by Essence
- Black eye shadow by Miss Hellen (Dutchies can buy this at Hema)
- Black waterproof eyeliner by Miss Hellen (from Hema as well)
- Mascara by Maybelline; the Falsies Volume Express
- Bronzer by Essence (applied with a Sigma powder brush)

I love make up, but...

...I love my natural face more.

It's no secret that I love make up and that I wear it whenever I can. Today I had to go to work, but lucky me, my alarm clock won't let me push the snooze button more than three times, so I was late.
I didn't have any time to put make up on my face, so I grabbed some moisturizer, put that on my face and went of to work.
One of my colleagues was surprised to hear me say I had no make up on, she even looked up close and still thought I didn't look like I wasn't wearing anything. And that made me think...

The last weeks I've been feeling great. I've lost some weight, sleep better and in general take more time for myself and my hobbies. So I feel healthy, loved beautiful and apparently that shines through.
When I am wearing make up, people comment me on how nice it looks and when I am not wearing any, they still think I look good.

So take good care of every aspect of your being and than make up is just a way to enhance your natural beauty and express how you're feeling on the inside.
Don't depend on make up to make you feel beautiful, because if you feel bad, there's not a single coat of mascare that can hide that or make you feel better.

Be healthy, be happy, feel beautiful and love a lot :)

Happy Sunday everyone!