NOTD: essie "go ginza"

 

What better way to jump back into blogging than by writing about the familiar? The loved? The obsessed over? My answer will always be nail polish and I'll always have plenty of that lying around (I say it sooo casually but you know they're actually proudly displayed on a wall and immaculately dusted at all times) so I hope you don't mind! Though honestly I never know why I worry about posting about nail polish since anyone who has read my blog even a little would know it's something I do on the (obscenely) regular.

I've been terrible at keeping up with nail polish collections lately ("out of sight, out of mind" translates to "don't know, can't/won't/don't buy" in my book and when I'm beyond broke [which is absolutely a thing and on a completely different level than just broke, mind you] that's something I try to strictly live by) so when I nabbed this out of the new collection display of essie polishes at Target I thought it was a part of a new release… which is/was completely wrong. 

I'm not sure if Target was trying to pull off some sort of a sales ploy by putting a bunch of these yesteryear polishes in the Spring 2014 display or if it was just some punks pulling a prank (though honestly that would be a pretty lame prank even by my standards) but either way that's where the stock of "go ginza"'s were and I just couldn't help but throw one (with the utmost delicacy and motherly love) in my basket.

essie's "go ginza" actually hails from their Spring collection of 2013 (according to the trusty world wide web that we weave) but it's exactly what I needed in my life and what I've been looking for. I've been wanting a milky lilac pink for ages but have never found one that was predominantly lilac rather than pink… there's a stupidly profound difference! I was hunting down a lilac with pink undertones not a pink with lilac undertones and gosh darn it the nail polish world seemed to be full of the latter rather than the former. Regardless I have found winner folks!! And a stunner at that.

Ahhh~ bask in its glory while you can people; unfortunately this polish reminds me that before recently I avoided essie polishes, even though they really do have the most stunning collection of colors, because the formula can be (and often is) downright terrible. After even just one day of wear (there was one time where it was two days but pffffft don't care) this has cracks running through every millimeter of its being. 

Please ignore my little nail nubs of the moment… as fantastic as they looked last week (the first set of photos in this post) they were driving me absolutely batty.

Not cute essie!! "go ginza" is basically the equivalent of meeting someone suuuuper attractive but then, when you finally work up the courage to go talk to them (horror), realizing that they have B.O. beyond belief. What a shame! What a waste! Time to go cry, ask them out anyways, then tell them to shower and apply deodorant before picking you up at 8 o'clock sharp. 

At least that's what I've been doing with this polish… I've repainted my nails at least five times in the past week or two (when did I actually buy this!?!?) because I'm so in love with the color, just not so much with the unavoidable cracks. It's unfortunate but sometimes you just can't help but do ridiculous things when you're in love le sigh~

Have you tried essie's "go ginza"?

Do you have the same problem with the formula cracking after a day or two?

What has been your favorite nail polish color as of late?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie 

Maybelline Volum'Express The Rocket Mascara: First Impression + Review!

Ughhhhhh so do I get the award for worst blogger of the moment? I'm sorry my blog has been utterly lacking in content lately (apart from YouTube updates) but I really have been extremely busy with school and work and they take priority whether I (we) like it or not. I promise though: I have some blog posts in the making so things should be back to normal around here… soon? Soon-ish? Alright I'm going to go crawl back into the dark hole from whence I came now, don't mind me…

xoxo - Cassie

Another Installment Of Weekly Outfits!

In case you're in need of a quick video this weekend (best way to take a break during an essay writing session everrrrrrrr… that is, of course, if you can limit yourself to just one) I figured I'd share my latest OOTW video for you! It's hot off the iMovie press and, as always, I hope you enjoy it~

xoxo - Cassie

smashbox camera ready BB Cream: Swatches + Review!

Considering I just posted a first impression/review video on this BB Cream up on my YouTube channel, I figured I should probably put together this blog post that was kind of sort of supposed to go along with it… I refuse to sing "Nobody's Perfect" for you all at the moment so just take my word on it: I'm flawed. Which is actually the perfect transition into a BB Cream review if I do say so myself!! Funny how stream of consciousness writing works out like that sometimes (I'd like to think I'm innately clever but the other 99% of my life proves otherwise).

Like I mentioned in my "What I Got For Christmas 2013" video this BB cream was actually one of the main reasons why I splurged on the Sephora SUPERSTARS kit in the first place. It was something my mom had purchased back in the day (she had gotten a lovely 'makeover' by a smashbox lady at Sephora one day and this BB cream was one of the things that impressed her) so, as you do, I had tried it out for myself and remembered really liking it as well. Now that I know 'makeup things', however, I wanted to see if my memories were as accurate as I often like to think.

The first thing that I noticed and remembered was the shade; I'm fairly positive when smashbox first released this line of BB creams they only had three shades available (light, medium, and dark) but now that they've gained popularity in the beauty community the line has expanded to eight shades. It's not the perfect shade selection but it sure is better than the original three! Another thing that I remembered was the thickness of the BB cream itself. I'm far more used to using runnier (though far from watery) foundations so the utter body in this cream was quite new to me. It's hard to say why exactly it's such a thick formula but I've got a feeling it has to do with the moisturizing and SPF (this stuff smells like straight up sunscreen so be wary if that's something that bothers you) qualities involved in the BB cream.

The first time (okay it was the first multiple times but who's counting?) I applied the smashbox camera ready BB Cream it was a bit of a mess… or, if I'm being honest, a lot of a mess. This stuff definitely has a learning curve involved if you're used to using foundations rather than tinted moisturizers (which is all American BB Creams are if you haven't figured that one out already); it settles into nose pores extremely easily and can also look streaky if you're not meticulous with blending. At first I thought it was because I had used a primer underneath but later found out through experimentation that this stuff looks much worse on my skin without any primer at all. So, overall, it just takes some work on the user's part. Using a very dense, flat angled foundation brush has made blending a bit easier and provides more 'flawless' results while the bit with the nose pores… well, I'm still working on that (I basically just try to avoid that area of my face while I figure it out).

Overall though I think the results look quite nice for days when you're not really trying to impress anyone but still want to look semi-put-together. The smashbox camera ready BB Cream evens out skin while providing a nice dose of moisture and sun protection. It's not the best at controlling oil (my nose and forehead definitely feel greasy a few hours in) and, if you have dark spots or redness, you're going to want to use a separate concealer on those areas because this BB Cream will fade a bit throughout the day and allow those areas to peek through.
I'm not sure that I'd repurchase this BB Cream but it's definitely not something I'll be suffering through while using it up. I think it's worth a try if you're looking for a decent tinted moisturizer though! And remember: samples from Sephora are always your best friend *wink wink*.

Have you tried the smashbox camera ready BB Cream?
Love it? Hate it?
What's your favorite face product for lazy errand-running/class lecture-filled days?
Do share!

xoxo - Cassie

February '14 Birchbox!

I don't even know why I bother putting an exclamation point at the end of my Birchbox post titles anymore since I'm far from excited about them. The past few (more?) months have been less than thrilling and the boxes just don't seem to be getting any better. As far as I can tell Birchbox gets this same type of feedback from many of their customers (reading through the comments on their latest sneak peek video has been a treat) so I know it's not just me… which means that this is a company that only cares about the money they're making rather than the happiness of their customers; pretty disgusting if you ask me.

That opening paragraph was thoroughly enticing I'm sure (please note the heavy sarcasm coating that sentence), so let's jump right into this month's box shall we?

Another Week Of Outfits!

I literally just uploaded my 34th installment of weekly outfits over on my YouTube channel so if you're interested in those it's there for you to check out! I should have my Birchbox post up at some point tomorrow so you can look forward to that if that's more your 'style' (#foreverpunny hahahah ohhh man I need to go to bed).

xoxo - Cassie

NOTD: Illamasqua "Raindrops"

I've had this polish lying around since Christmas but have been saving it for a rainy day… literally.

Because my life is terribly sad and I plan certain (many) things around YouTube/blogging, I knew I wanted (NEEDED) to photograph Illamasqua's "Raindrops" with the aforementioned in the background. So I waited many, many, many days to slap this on my nails until the glorious time came when rain accumulated on my windows. Save your pity tears friends, there are plenty of water droplets on the windows already.

I have to admit that the name and gimmick of this polish is what made me have all of the wants. There were (and still are) copious amounts of swatches of "Raindrops" on the internet so I knew that this didn't exactly look like water droplets on the nails… okay, it didn't look anything like raindrops on nails (at least not to me). But the name! But the look of the polish in the bottle! But but but!!! I convinced myself that in person things would be different. 

Nope, "Raindrops" still doesn't look like raindrops. I think it slightly has to do with the base color being a bit too blue compared to grey and slightly has to do with the glitter/shimmer laced throughout. The micro shimmer just seems a bit too abundant in comparison to the large flecks and the large flecks just aren't large enough. I know I'm nitpicking but even with my 'artist' mind I have a hard time conceptualizing this being something that truly mimics water droplets.

Regardless of whether Illamasqua's "Raindrops" actually looks like raindrops, I do have to give credit where credit's deserved: this really is a beautiful nail polish. While blue-greys are a dime a dozen in the nail polish world the flecks of shimmer give it a lovely and unique finish. Granted, you do have to be in some serious sunlight for the flecks to be any sort of prominent (you have to be straight up inspecting your nails in normal lighting to see any sort of special effects) but I'm trying not to completely write off this polish haha! 

I also need to give Illamasqua credit for creating yet another polish that is extremely chip-resistant. I've worn this through two work shifts (and let me tell you: retail is far from kind on your nails) and have yet to see any signs of wear.

Have you tried Illamasqua's "Raindrops" nail polish?

Do you think it looks like water droplets or do you think it's a bit of a stretch?

What do you currently have on your nails?

Do share!!

Galileo was thoroughly freaked out (albeit interested) by the freak snow storm we had here in Boston the other day… I figured I would share since you all seem to love seeing my fluff booger!

YouTube Made Me Buy It!: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer

I'm so sorry that posts have been so sparse as of late but school and work have really been running my life! Thankfully I've been able to keep up with making YouTube videos so if you're craving some Cassie-time then look no further!! I just posted a new review on the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer (thanks for that mouthful Maybelline) so if you're interested I've got that embedded here as per usual.

I hope you're all well and I hope to bring you a new blog post very soon!

xoxo - Cassie

January Favorites!

'Tis the time of the month for these posts to be popping up around the beauty blogosphere so here's mine to add to the mix! I hope you're all having a great weekend :)

xoxo - Cassie