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OMGNailStrips.com {Nail Strips Review!}

January 5, 2015

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone is having a good day so far. I am excited to share this post with you as I’ve always been curious about nail strips, and I know some of you might be as well =) OMGNailStrips.com is a website specializing in nail art stickers, with a wide range of nail sticker designs. Cutesy, festive, to grunge- OMG Nail Strips have it all.
For this post, I was able to choose two nail strip designs that I wanted. Originally, I had wanted a polka dot nail strip (no surprise there, hehe) but I was told it was sold out =(. I just tried to link that design, but I think they took it off their site. As a backup, I went with the strawberry design instead, which I was still really happy with and is sold for $8 USD. They arrived in the mail pretty fast, around 2-3 days from when I first placed the order.

The application process consisted of trial and error for me. I have a tendency to skim over instructions instead of carefully reading them, it’s just a bad habit that I have. Because of that, I don’t blame OMG Nail Strips for being unclear. Although I gave my friend a set to try, and she had trouble following the instructions as well.

One thing I found really odd about the nail strips were how HUGE the strips were. I think it’s because you can also use it on your toenails, and our toenails tend to be bigger than fingernails… I used the smallest stickers this time.

Here is the application process:
1) Ensure that your nails are clean and free of polish.
2) Find the size of nail stickers you’d like (I recommend the smallest one on the right, everything else is really big).
3) Before peeling, match it with the size of your nail and cut the sticker with manicure scissors if needed.
4) Unpeel the clear top coat and apply to nail, starting from the bottom. Ensure that there are no air bubbles! This was the part my friend and I had trouble with, we didn’t even notice there was a hard, clear coat until afterwards.
5) After it is on your nail, unpeel the white backing slowly.
6) Apply a top coat of clear nail polish.

This picture was taken two days after I applied the nail sticker, still looking pretty good! But the tip was beginning to chip a bit. If you’re wondering why the strawberry sticker is pink this time, it is because this is my left hand =)
After five days in total, I decided that it was time to part ways with the sticker, as you can see it was peeling off. The packaging said it would last up to ten days, but my nail polish tends to chip after 2-3 days so I knew that it wouldn’t last that long for me.
My friend tried the crow nail design, she wanted to get a Christmas themed sticker but we weren’t sure how long shipping would take. If we knew how fast it would be, she definitely would have ordered them! For my friend, hers lasted seven days before peeling.

Would I use nail strips again? Yes, definitely! I love how they are an easy and fun way to dress up your nails. Plus, there is no drying time and it also does not smudge. I know some people who don’t like nail strips because it’s hard to apply or it doesn’t fit their nail shape or something, but I find them fun to use and would not mind using them again =)

Check out OMGNailStrips.com here!

What is your opinion on nail strips? Thanks for reading and take care!

-Carmen

Press product featured, all opinions are my own.

Montagne Jeunesse Blemish Mud Mask (Part 2/3)

January 1, 2015

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a blast celebrating New Years Eve last night!

A few days ago, I had written about how Obsessed Canada had sent me a few samples of the Montagne Jeunesse facial product that they carry online. If you didn’t read that post, Obsessed Canada and Nail Polish Canada are sister companies that cater to the Canadian beauty addict!

They offer a $3 flat rate shipping, and also free shipping over $25 Canadian. Both are also Canadian owned and operated, which means that shipping times will be a lot faster. My interaction with Obsessed Canada has also been positive- they have been very responsive and informative!

I had reviewed the mud pac (far right), today, I will be talking about the blemish mud pack! The blemish mud pac is composed of a blend of aloe vera, willow, rosemary, and witch hazel. All of these ingredients are amazing at combating and targeting acne. The most toughest acne battling warrior products out there are composed of those ingredients! I was quite surprised that tea tree oil was not listed though.
When I first opened the package, I noticed that there was an unpleasant earthy smell to this. The bad part is that it doesn’t smell great, but the good part is that you know that this product contains natural ingredients. Let’s face it, natural ingredients normally do not smell good compared to fragrances or perfumes made in laboratories =P I have a Lush product that doesn’t smell great either, but it does an amazing job at clearing your skin =).

Compared to the mud pac, I found this mask to dry extremely fast. I was only done covering half my face when I noticed it started drying, to the point where it hardened and I couldn’t move my face. After I was done applying, the mask was starting to really tighten up because it was dry. Compared to other face masks I used, this one felt the toughest on my skin and dried the fastest.

After 15 minutes, I rinsed it off but it took a good, thorough wash. I took this time to carefully wash away the mask and moved my fingers in circles around problem areas. When everything was finally off, my skin felt really refreshed and it was nice to be able to move my face again! My skin also felt softer. I noticed that it seemed a bit dry though.

Comparing this mask to the mud pac, I prefer the mud pac one more because I found that this one dried out my skin and hardened really fast. I also felt that the mud pac was more moisturizing and gentle on my skin. Is it a good thing to have a mask that dries really fast and gets really hard?

Have you tried this mask before? If yes, what did you think of it?

Here is the full catalogue of Montagne Jeunesse products that Obsessed Canada offers! I will be trying the honey mask soon so keep your eyes posted on that one =)

-Carmen

Press product featured, all opinions are my own.

Christmas Holiday Nails!

December 7, 2014

Christmas radio playlist on repeat, planning holiday parties for work, and some Home Alone movie nights later, it is safe to say that I am getting into the holiday spirit. Last night, when I was sick at home and watching Home Alone 2 (it never gets old), I had the sudden urge to repaint my nails. Then, I realized that I should paint them in the holiday spirit!
Here is what I ended up with! Pretty simple and classic, but with a holiday twist. Depending on what angle you look at them, it can look a bit more sparkly or not 🙂 Random fact about me, whenever I watch movies, I can’t just sit still and watch the movie… I always have to be doing something, which is why I painted my nails. I’ll also be working overtime tomorrow at my company’s holiday party for our members, so might as well have pretty nails at the registration table and show some holiday spirit.
I applied two coats of Revlon’s Colourstay in #130-Velvet Rope. It was my first time using it, I thought it was very pigmented and had a really deep, rich, and red colour. One coat would have been sufficient, but I normally do two coats of colour. I found that the drying time of this polish was a bit longer than I was used to, but I was just watching a movie as I was painting so I didn’t really mind.
I could have stopped there, but I love glittery and sparkly things and thought that sparkle polish would really add a Christmas twist and holiday magic to it. I used the Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in #305-Shine On. I’ve always had great experiences with Sally Hansen polishes, it’s my favourite drug store nail polish as it doesn’t chip easily, easy application, has great pigment/colours, and is very affordable.

Originally, I was debating if I should just paint the tips of my nails or just one nail for accent, but I decided to paint all of them because I love the sparkly look. The sparkles reminded me of tiny snowflakes, or little stars in the night sky. I always used to paint my nails a deep, dark blue or black, and use glitter polish on top to look like the sky so this is just a Christmas version of that. Something about the starry night sky is just so pretty to me and if I could capture a bit of that on my nails, I don’t mind at all.

I’m already thinking of the next holiday themed nails! Maybe I’ll share that too. What are your favourite holiday themed designs to do?

-Carmen