OPI's Matte Top Coat

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. I know i'm probably late in the game with the whole "matte polish phase" but I haven't been able to find a matte topcoat.  Until today.  When I wasn't even looking.  I went to Ulta to pick up the liquid sand bond girl in Jinx (which they didn't have...boooooo) and I saw one lone matte top coat sitting in with the other polishes.  So I grabbed it and ran to the register.   Anywho, in my previous post I discussed the Loreal polishes I picked up from Target today.  I then realized that I had the matte top coat and decided to try it out.  Below is a picture of the results (as per my prior post--don't judge my nail polish job).  I LOVE this top coat.  I can just imagine all the fun things and designs you could do with it!! Can't wait to try them all out.  I mean, once I find my polish remover.  Sigh.

First is a picture pre-matte top coat. Second are pictures with the matte top coat, flash and no flash.

I have a total case of the sads today...

...because my daughter didn't want to go to "school" (daycare) today.  Last night before bed she told me she didn't want to go to school tomorrow and asked if she could stay home with me like she did today.  And I felt totally bad because (especially after this weekend) all I wanted to do was be with her 24/7.  Unfortunately I am not in a position to not work...I'm a single mom and at the end of the day, bills have to be paid and food has to be put on the table.  But after seeing her face this morning when I left her at daycare to go to work, I totally want to hit the mega millions or powerball tonight.  She was sooooo sad and she knew I was sad so she left her new baby doll with me, so she could cheer me up. Major tears.  I'm overly emotional but I do wish I could afford to be or were married to be a stay at home mom.  I never, growing up, wanted to have children or be a stay at home mom, but once I had her I realized how hard it is to let go, to have others involved in raising your child.  To have other people influence your child's thoughts, actions, and behavior.  I try not to work any more than I have to so that its not like we never have time together.  And I sacrifice my life, sleep, etc. so that we can share every moment of the day that we can together.  But on days like today, it doesn't seem like enough.  And it makes me sad. So now I'm at work, sad and listening to my earphones so these folks don't bother me too badly.

Loreal Nail Polish (Summer colors)

So in my Target clearance purchase today I picked up three shades of Loreal nail polish.  They retail for $4.99 and were on sale for $2.48, so I decided to pick up a couple of the clearance shades that looked "summery".  I've never tried Loreal's nail polish before either, so this was exciting! Lol.  The three shades I  picked up were: Royally Reinvented, Orange You Jealous! and Not A Cloud In Sight.  They're all gorgeous and bright in the bottle, so I knew these would work with my summer colors.  The packaging is also very pretty, love the matte gold finish. The formula was just okay for me.  The purple nail polish worked beautifully, not too thin, not too thick, and not streaky at all.  It coated very easily.  The blue shade was a bit more difficult, sort of streaky and a little thick.  The coral shade, which is probably my favorite and absolutely gorgeous gave me the hardest time.  It was very streaky and applied unevenly.  Total bummer.  But remember, I bought these polishes for half off so I don't think its a bad deal, and perhaps its just an old bottle.  The colors are gorgeous, the pics don't do it any justice.  Although admittedly the blue was just "ehh" to me, seems like a blue shade I've seen over and over and probably have a couple of similar bottles. I've attached some pics below, but don't judge me or my nail application!!! I couldn't find my polish remover so I had to apply all the polishes on one hand, so that I could try out all three colors at once.

Target and Ulta Haul

Took the day off to spend time with my daughter.  We had a great time and we mostly ran errands, bought some toys, and came home for play time.  Days like today make me miss staying at home with her, wishing I had more time to spend together.  :(.  Sidenote, we made a trip to Target for a couple things and I browsed the makeup section. They had some nice things marked down so I picked up a couple of items I've never tried (shown below). I'm excited to swatch and try these out later on!

Also I stopped in Ulta to pick up the mirror that was in this week's sale ad. Only $14.99, and it was eligible for the 3.50 off of 10.00 purchase coupon! I also got my hands on the OPI matte topcoat which I can't wait to try out!! EOS lip balms were also 2/6$ so I picked a couple extra up. They make great stocking and gift stuffers too. 

Parenting is the hardest job in the world

As a parent, you are responsible for the well-being and care of another human being.  An innocent human being who only knows you.  Your job is to protect your child(ren) from a world that only seeks to destroy them at times.  Sometimes its so disheartening living in the world we live in.  There are predators, truly evil people, whose only goal in life is to destroy the innocence of a child.  Children have to be protected at all times but its nearly impossible to prevent the evils of the world from getting to them.  I know I'm rambling, but this weekend was very hard for me as a mother.  Very hard and I can't quit asking myself what did i do wrong.  What could I have changed.  But sometimes the answer is nothing.  You just have to protect your child the best you can and pray.  Pray hard.  Pray that someone else above is looking over them, to protect them from the evils in the world.  I wish we lived in a world where there wasn't so much violence, so much death, so much abuse, and so much disregard for human life.  It sickens me and makes it hard to enjoy the pleasureable moments in life when you're so worried or scared about the what ifs and unknowns.  I swore up and down I didn't want children because I didn't want to raise a child in today's world.  But it happened, and I would never take it back.  But how do you live everyday when you're in fear of the what ifs.  When everytime you open the newspaper or watch the news there's only death and sadness? My heart is heavy, and I'm probably not making sense.  But I feel like I needed to get that off my chest.  Because I don't know what will happen tomorrow, or the next day, but I also don't know how to let it go, get the fear out of my head and out of my heart.  I'll try my hardest to move forward and raise my daughter the best I can, and hope that the pain and heartache of the world avoid her.  

Drug Store Lipsticks...Hit and Miss

HIT: Maybelline Vivids

I wasn't looking for these lippies.  I was at my Rite Aid picking up a prescription and walked past them.  They were buy one get one 50% off, so I decided it was worth the try.  I only picked up two colors (which I now regret!) 875 Vivid Rose (bright coraly pink) and 900 Hot Plum (bright purple).   The color payoff on these lippies is amazing!! Nice and bright, definitely vivid color.  And it didn't take more than one application to get the color. I'm totally picking up more of these colors to try.  These lippies also have some staying power, which is hard to find in drugstore cosmetic brands.  I would give these a 4.75/5. 

The only downfall (which will take some getting used to) is the smell.  These have a perfume-y flowery smell that I can't describe.  It's not particularly pleasing, and I'm not sure if it is a complete turnoff for me or not.  I'll update if I find it unbearable.

MISS: Revlon Lip Butters

I saw these on an endcap at Target and since so many people in the makeup world were raving about them, I decided to try a couple out.  The packaging is very pretty and there are a wide range of colors in this brand. I picked up three shades: 095 Creme Brulee (pretty nude/brownish color), 005 Sugar Frosting (sparkly nude), and 025 Peach Parfait (peachy pinky shimmery color).  I'm not sure if it's because I picked light colors or not, but these lippies had very very little color payoff.  They're mostly sheer and on my lips, barely detectable.  That's not a problem if you like a sheer lipstick, and I don't mind them either.  I knew they were sheer and "buttery" as advertised, but I'm still left wanting more after trying these out.  I think I'm going to pick up a couple more (darker, brighter) colors and see what the color payoff is like.  As far as "buttery", I didn't find these lippies to be particularly moisturizing.  In fact, they are slightly sticky and streaky in application, even for sheer color.  The scent, however, is pleasant.  They also didn't wear very long on me. I feel like lip gloss is a better option than the lip butters. But this is all just my opinion.  I would give these lippies a 3/5. 

See pictures below (for the lip butters I only swatched on my hand as there was little color payoff, lip swatches weren't necessary and the swatches on my hand had at least five to seven coats of lipstick).  

Review: Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

There's nothing more important than a lip scrub, especially if you're wearing matte lipstick. Otherwise, every dry lip flake will shine through and ruin the appearance of your lipstick. I've seen and used different homemade lip scrubs which are super easy to make-I just worry about storing them for a long time (perishable, maybe?). So essentially every time I want a lip scrub I have to make up a new batch. There's minimal price and work involved, especially with ingredients like sugar, honey, and oil. I just wished there was a way to make a batch and store it for months. Fast forward to April and I decided to try out the Fresh Sugar lip polish. It had pretty decent reviews. So after using it I found it to be just as effective as the DIY lip scrubs. Texture wise it was a bit more grainy than my homemade scrubs (which is good considering you want to scrub). After using you have to follow up with moisturizer, as it can be drying. Instructions are straightforward, wipe on lips, rub in and wipe off with a warm, damp towel.

Not sure if this is a holy grail must have product, especially with the $22.50 price tag, but it's super convenient and gets the job done.