May Favorites!

A few of you have already seen my Best & Worst of Beauty video for the month, but for those of you who haven't (I just uploaded it last night, don't fret!) I've got it embedded for you to either watch in this post or to click on over to YouTube for your viewing pleasure (if it piques your interest)!

As always, I hope you enjoy :)

xoxo - Cassie

NOTD: O.P.I. "Lights of Emerald City"

Sorry for yet another nail post everybody but... well... it's Summer. 

Summer = Hot

Hot = Sweaty

Sweaty = Makeup Meltdown

Makeup Meltdown = No thank you

∴ I don't often wear makeup during the Summer

I bebopped my way over to Ulta the other day (aka a week or two ago) to take advantage of a deal they were having on a hair care item and, of course, they had to put the nail polish RIGHT NEXT to the hair section.

They knew I was coming.

I don't know how but THEY KNEW (...d***it).

With hair care in my left hand my right was feeling needy and decided to fill the emptiness with "Lights of Emerald City" (my hands may not have control but they sure do have good taste).

Sorry for the excess of glamour shots, but it had to be done. "Lights of Emerald City" deserves the star treatment (I should have made a mini feather boa for it but I guess I'll save that for next time). 

This polish is just so gorgeously multifaceted; large white squares (not glitter, just... squares) and delicate pearlescent flakes are the only components of this polish but the two look so gosh darn good together that three would have definitely been a crowd.

I absolutely adore the way this looks over pastel polishes and think it would look fantastic over pinks and nudes as well. Heck it probably looks great over dark colors too but I'm just so happy with how light and whimsical it looks over Revlon's "Cloud" (which I did a review on ages ago) that I have a hard time imagining "Lights of Emerald City" over anything even semi-dark and gloomy!

You all deserve fair warning though: this polish bubbles like CRAZY. I had to wipe off my polish and start over multiple times before I finally got it smooth, so it was a bit tedious to work with (to say the least). I think it just has to do with the fact that the clear polish it's suspended in is a bit on the thicker side and also because of the want for tons of squares to be piled on the nails. Hence I was impatient and layered the polish too heavily and too often before letting it dry properly and was left with a bubbly mess.

Aside from my application goof (purely due to lust and excitement... and the fact that I was doing this late one night in bed so I couldn't see much) I am so thrilled with "Lights of Emerald City". I think it's such a unique top coat (I've heard it looks great underneath jelly polishes as well??) and definitely worth snagging if your hands are feeling a little empty while on an Ulta outing sometime soon ;)

Have you tried O.P.I.'s "Lights of Emerald City"?

Love it? Hate it?

Any other new-ish O.P.I. collections that you're excited about?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie

My Current Everyday Makeup Routine

Hello everyone!!

Just a quick little post to tell you all that my newest video finished processing on YouTube so it's available for you watch now over on my channel (or you can just watch the embedded video above)! I hope you're all well and that you're having a fantastic weekend :)

xoxo - Cassie

NOTD²: Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat Textured Nail Colors "Fuzz-Sea" & "Peach Fuzz"

Top: "Fuzz-Sea" / Bottom: "Peach Fuzz"

I saw these on display at Target when I was buying some tampons the other day and figured "you know what, my uterus is in knots and my vagina's bleeding so why not treat myself to something pretty?" ESPECIALLY since I have been wanting one of these types of polishes since they started popping up on UK blogs; I'm not sure if they just launched in the UK first or if they're just really scarce here in the states but either way this is the first time I've seen any sort of finish like this within my reach.

And reach I did folks.

Reach. I. did.

And what better time than now to put this post up? Happy Gilmore is on TV (even though I own the DVD... is anyone else a bit of a self-sadist and make themselves sit through commercials like I do??) so I'm feeling all sorts of fuzzy with nostalgia; it's one of my dad's favorite movies so we watched it all the time as kids and even now I can't help but snort with laughter throughout the stupidity ("YOU'RE GONNA DIE CLOWN!!!!!"). 

Either way, this isn't a movie post!! Take the jump and let's get onto the (picture heavy post of) fantastic 'fuzzy' nail polishes shall we?

A Super-Sized OOTW Post!!

I absolutely cannot believe that I've done a total of 17 weeks of outfits for you all now!! Honestly I never thought I would get such great feedback on these videos but I'm so happy and grateful that you enjoy them ^__^ 

So, without further ado, here is my most recent OOTW video (get ready for a lot of Galileo thrown in there as well!):

As always, I hope you enjoy(ed)!

xoxo - Cassie

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

19 days into the month and I have only done one NOTD post.
WHO AM I?
WHAT HAVE I BECOME?
WHY IS LIFE SO COMPLICATED?

While I can't necessarily answer any of the above (those are quite the questions people; way too deep for a blog post #let'sgetcoffeesometime), I can tell you that the reason behind my lack of NOTD's is that I haven't been painting my nails. You heard (read) right folks!!
My nails were starting to get a little worse for wear (flaking, yellowing, and most other things associated with nasty nail conundrums) so I decided to take a break from my beloved polishes until they were back in fighting form. How did they get there in a mere couple of weeks though you may ask?

Enter Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream (now stand and applaud).

While the product name states and implies that this is merely aimed at cuticles, this lemon butter cream (also a bit of a misnomer: this is more of a solidified oil) actually works to strengthen the nails as well as nourish your cuticles. Thank goodness I read the fine print on things as all of this is pretty much spelled out on the back of the tin.

Like I said, the texture of this is a little strange as it's essentially a solidified oil; it's slightly gritty when you begin to rub your finger around in the tin but after a few rotations it melts with the warmth of your finger and allows you to massage the oil into your nails and cuticles. Even when I'm not giving my nails a break from polish I absolutely LOVE slathering this on between polish switches because of the extreme feeling of hydration it provides to the nail.

Also, I can't forget to mention: the smell of this stuff is DIVINE. I can't describe it because it's perfect and words will ultimately ruin it however I can tell you that it smells like sweet lemon heaven. If common sense didn't exist I would have taken a spoon to this tin by now.

Check it!! 

Long and strong and ready to take on some heavy glitter polish again... like going to a dessert buffet after a good workout, I can't help but love destroying a good thing.

Have you tried the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream?

Love it? Hate it?

What's your secret weapon to keeping your nails healthy and strong?

Do share!

xoxo - Cassie

What's In My Bag TAG!!

For anyone who hasn't seen and might be interested I've got a new video up on the 'Tube!!

As always I hope you enjoy and if you want to partake in the TAG then consider yourself tagged by me; post a link or something in the comments if you end up doing it :D

xoxo - Cassie

May '13 Birchbox!

I've had my May Birchbox ready to post and review on here since last Friday but... well, I don't want to say I haven't because I wasn't excited but... erm... I kind of sort of think that that was the reason.

Regardless, I'm here today with the contents of my box so take the jump if you want to see what was inside!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Before I do my May Birchbox post (it'll be up tomorrow!) I just wanted to take a little time to congratulate and celebrate all of the wonderful, beautiful mothers out there who have made us who we all are today. 

Since I have already done things for my mom in ways more personal than a blog post, this one is dedicated to my baby boy Galileo... 

because he's not about to bake his mom a cake any time soon.

So here's to my silly...

...fluffy...

...sleep-anywhere-anytime-anyhow...

....toe-loving...

...beautiful Siberian boy; I love you honey!!

You've gotten so big so fast *sniffle sniff*

Here's to many (many many) more happy years together <3

xoxo - Cassie

Revlon ColorStay 16 Hour Eye Shadow Quad "Addictive": Swatches + Review

I mentioned in my previous eye shadow review that I would do a proper post on the new Revlon ColorStay quad that I own in "Addictive" so you all can compare and contrast; new to old; bad to good. I know I only own one of these quads so to say the whole line is crap would seem a little facetious however I have trusted make up friends who say others in this range are utter poo as well.

What first attracted me to this palette was, apart from my previously wonderful experience with the old ColorStay eye shadow formula, was the color assortment in "Addictive". I can't deny how absolutely lovely these shadows look and how perfect they would be for an everyday look. Would be... if the formula wasn't absolute crap. Crud. Feces. The worst. 

Seriously.

THE WORST I have experienced, probably since the Sonia Kashuk "Simmering Sands" palette fiasco.

The two photos above are very, VERY heavily done swatches; the first after one application and the second with two layers. When I say I swatched these you have to know that I rubbed those stupid eye shadow pans ferociously for at least 20 seconds before swiping across the back of my hand. 

Also, it must be noted that not all shadows in this quad were created equal. The top two shimmer shades are extremely dry, chalky, and not even slightly pigmented. The bottom two shadows, a satin and matte shade, are actually really soft and quite nice to work with apart from the fact that their pigmentation is also extremely lacking; they can, however, be built up decently and the taupe-y bronze satin shadow is probably the only reason I don't throw this quad straight into the dumpster.

When all is said and done though I would save your $8 and get a couple tubs of Ben & Jerry's instead. These are just far too hard to work with (especially when waking up in the morning; who wants to wake up to a hassle??) and even if you do get them on your lids the color wipes away so easily that I can't imagine these lasting more than an hour or two.

Have you tried any of the 'new' (they were reformulated and released about a year and a half ago) Revlon ColorStay eye shadow quads?

Love 'em? Hate 'em?

What's your favorite drugstore brand of eye shadows?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie 

Weekly Outfits Are Back!!

Arm on the hip was apparently SUPER in style for this week... #don'tworry #ijudgemyselftoo

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've uploaded an OOTW video for you all but alas!! It was the end of the semester and I had to prioritize. 

So, without further ado, here's the video for those of you who haven't seen it yet and are interested in some fairly lazy (albeit comfortable) fashion haha:

As always, I hope you enjoy!!

xoxo - Cassie

Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow Quad "Blushed Wines": Swatches + Review!!

You all may or may not know this about me but I have a bit of a thing for nostalgia.

I also have adopted the habit of switching up my blushes and eyeshadows each month in order to not get stuck in any ruts as well as to show all of my makeup some love.

So, when May rolled on in last week, I couldn't help but choose this eyeshadow quad from Revlon as my May eyeshadow palette; the colors scream Spring (especially now that it has finally sprung #propsmothernature #tookyoulongenough) but most importantly this was my everyday eyeshadow palette throughout high school. I dabbled in a few other (regrettable) looks but this was always my fallback, my go-to, my beloved (ugh shut up self... just take the jump if you want more makeup mush).

organix nourishing coconut oil

I had no idea how to do a blog review on hair oil.

I HAVE no idea how to do a blog review on hair oil.

How do you show its effects? Its benefits? Its etcetera?

Alas, I've been getting SO many compliments about my hair in the past month or so (which, I assure you, was probably my least complimented feature of all throughout my life; fine/thin hair that's often dry isn't something you tend to see on the cover of InStyle [unless it's for an article on how to fix it]) that I decided it was time to at least give a proper review of organix's nourishing coconut oil a chance. 

How I Style: Bright Lipstick!

Just a quick update before I hop off to work; I uploaded a new video on YouTube on how I style bright lipsticks!! Perfect for this time of year and kind of correlates with the Spring lipsticks post I did not too long ago :) 

As always, I hope you enjoy!!

xoxo - Cassie

NOTD: Revlon "Smoky Canvas" + "Sparkling"

Today's NOTD is a happy one because it involves a nail polish that I hated.

No, seriously: I HATED Revlon's "Smoky Canvas".

It was so perfect and beautiful in the bottle but the minute I put it on my nails it turned into a color all sorts of wrong because of my skin tone; I immediately took it off, tucked it behind my other polishes on their rack, and forgot about it... until now #sodramatic #iloveit

I don't know what it actually was that prompted me to try "Smoky Canvas" again. The urge to paint my nails with "Sparkling" was definitely a factor but I think it had more to do with the fact that the other greys (which was the color I wanted to layer it over) I own are quite heavy and cool-toned in color. 

I was just about to get over the want to layer "Sparkling" over a grey but then I spotted "Smoky Canvas"... and the rest was history. Sweet beautiful history.

The warmth of the pink sparkles in "Sparkling" really pull out the taupe that was residing in "Smoky Canvas" all along but I just couldn't see. What I thought was a horrendous excuse for a grey polish was actually just a heavily taupe toned grey; it's unique, kind of ugly, and absolutely perfect.

Isn't that just delightful? 

I think it's one of my favorite glitter-layering-polish-combining-concoctions I've created thus far! Somehow "Smoky Canvas" turns "Sparkling" into an incredibly wearable everyday glitter that feels oh-so delightfully girly and polished.

What do you think?

Have you tried either of these polishes?

Love 'em? Hate 'em?

Have you ever hated a polish and then fallen in love with it later on?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie