Beauty...Natural Hair...Vibes

Category: Reviews (page 10 of 25)

Want to sprinkle ah li'l PixieDust on your nails? Check out Zoya’s new collection.

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Hey!

A few years ago, matte nails were all the rage in the nail art industry.   I loved having the option to have a non-shiny finish.  But sometimes, depending on the colour, matte nails could look a little…you know…flat.

Now companies have come out with textured nail polish – which is a matte base nail polish but it also includes glitter/shimmer that when it dries, it leaves a sandpaper-like texture to the nails.  Have you ever seen freshly laid asphalt in the summer?  The matte black surface appears to be littered with tiny pieces of shimmer.  Well that’s just what it looks like.  So the matte polish has a sparkly effect when the light catches it.  It actually looks different to a regular shimmer polish or the original Zoya matte polishes.  You could actually see the sand-like texture on the nail.  Very interesting!

For spring, Zoya has brought out a collection called PixieDust and it contains 6 new colours (which I received from Zoya).

From PR:

Infused with Magic and Wonder!
Featuring the latest “must-have” nail polish finish – Textured, Matte & Sparkling.

This newly developed formula is sure to captivate with a magical sparkle and sugary finish like no other. The color experts at Zoya have created six, long-wearing stunners for the introduction of this look…

As with all matte polishes, make sure that your nails are free of dust and oil (swipe some nail polish remover on them beforehand) and don’t use any base coat or top coat for best results.

Zoya recommends using 1-3 thin coats and for these,  and I used 2 coats for all the swatches.

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Bargain gel liner….that works! Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner review

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I live for black liner – pencil, liquid, gel –  whatever.  And the darker the better.

I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the Wet n’ Wild Mega Eye Crème Eyeliner.  So I picked it up at CVS and paid $3.99.  Great price!

Wet ‘n’ Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner with brush

So some of the things that I look for in a good gel liner:

  1. Colour –  I like a richly pigmented gel liner and if it is black, it needs to be super jet, sooty black.  No off-black, grey-black for me.
  2. Consistency – it should be creamy, glides easily regardless of the brush that I use.  And it should dry or set fairly quickly.
  3. Durability –  My gel liner has to be long lasting, make it true a workout without running too much.  Especially on my waterline.  And it can’t flake as it dries or makes it through its 6th hour of wear.
  4. Price –  Eventually all gel liners will dry out and crack.  Constantly opening that jar and exposing it to air, they become thickened.  So I won’t want to spend an exorbitant amount on a liner.

I picked up the liner in Black and it comes with a mini synthetic angled brush, which is actually not bad at all.  It’s easy to apply this liner with this brush. It’s firm and wide enough for a newbie eyeliner user to use.

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New beauty find – a peştamal…

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So I wrote about my visit to a Turkish hamam (bath) and I was introduced to the peştamal (peshtamal).

Turkish peshtamal

Close-up

This is a traditional Turkish towel made of cotton.  They are quite lightweight and not looped like Western towels.  They also come in a wide variety of patterns and colours.  As a matter of fact, the patterns often represent the region in Turkey from which they were made.  Peştamals are used in all baths and widely available throughout Turkey.

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My beauty experience at an authentic Turkish Hamami – Çemberlitaş Hamami

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So my visit to Istanbul would not be complete without a visit to a Turkish bath and after a day of sightseeing and shopping, 3 friends and I decided to visit the historical Çemberlitaş Hamami which is located just off of Divan Yolu (Divanyolu) Caddesi in Old Historic Istanbul.  It is nestled right in the middle of some the most historical sites in Istanbul.  The Vezirhan Monument (build by Constantinople I) is right across the street and the tombs of Sultan Mahmut II and Ali Baba are right nearby.

So the entrance is kinda non descript, look out for the steady treaffic going in and out.  By the way, this is a unisex bath, but I think that there are separate areas for men and women.  Once inside, we were presented with a list of services and I got the traditional style bath, which cost 69TL (Turkish Lira) (about US$35).  The traditional style bath consists of steam and a bubble bath.  So we paid and received our keys for the lockers and our peştamals.  What’s a peştamal? It’s a traditional cotton Turkish towel!  There is no pressure to go completely naked, you could wear a bathing suit during your service, or just panties or nothing at all.  Your choice!

We were led into the sıcaklık, which is the large main bathing area.  What a beautiful place! High vaulted ceilings made of what looks like terracotta with venting holes arranged in a pattern.

Image courtesy of Cemberlitas Hamami

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Add some sparkle to your tips this holiday season with Zoya’s Ornate Collection!

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Holiday parties are in full swing!  Last minute gifts are being bought, Christmas dinners are being planned and sweet, sweet parang music is on the radio!

The Ornate collection by Zoya is glittery, and holographic.

Zoya Ornate Collection (l to r)- Electra, Ziv, Logan

Zoya Ornate Collection (l to r) – Storm, Blaze, Aurora

It’ll definitely add some festive shine to your nails!

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