Gradient Nails ~ Color Club Nail Polish

Hello, loves!

I've been wanting to start doing blog posts centering around nails for a while now, so why not start now?

Last week, I wore the nails pictured below. I originally got the idea to put each color placed as so from MakeupByTiffanyD. I know it's not totally gradient as the three fingers in a row have a much more chartreuse color and the other two fingers are more blue based. But the idea is there - and I wanted to use all Color Club brand polishes. So this is what the end result was.

Photo Courtesy: LaurNmakeup on Instagram

Nail Polishes Used:

• "Tweet Me" by Color Club (chartreuse) - pinky, ring, middle fingers
• "Age of Aquarius" by Color Club (sea foam green) - index finger
• "Blue-Ming" by Color Club (aqua blue) - thumb

So there's my first attempt at this trend of gradient nails - I don't think they look too bad and the bright colors make summer that much more fun!

Remember to have a positive day! :)

Hugs,
Lauren

Review: Talika Lash Conditioning Cleanser

Hello fellow makeup addicted anonymous members!

Okay... so maybe I'm not that "anonymous" about it... hey, I can be loud and proud if I want to be!!

Yeah... okay...

ANYWAYS! This blog post is going to be about my thoughts on the Talika Lash Conditioning Cleanser.

This product retails for $25 and you can find it at Nordstrom, birchbox.com, Talika.com, and other places Talika products are sold.

My review of this product is going to [hopefully] be short, sweet, and to the point because I don't think I have too much to say, but enough to get the word out there on my opinion!

Here, let's split it into pros and cons...

PROS:

• Not sticky
• Slippery (in a good way)
• Removes ALL eye makeup - eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner (and I wore my Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner - that's tough stuff!)

CONS:

• BURNS EYES!

So clearly, I have more pros than cons. That's definitely a good sign! However, I won't be purchasing this product because although it easily removed some of the toughest makeup to get off, it burned my eyes pretty badly. Have you ever had a bad experience with your favorite makeup remover wipes turning on you and burning your eyes like crazy? Well, that's what happened here, only in a gel form. My eyes literally burned for a good 10 minutes after I was finished removing my eye makeup. I even showered afterwards to see if the burning would subside quicker but alas, there was no solution.


Below are a couple pictures of the product sample I received in a monthly subscription service called Birchbox. Basically, for $10 a month you get to try out 4-5 different beauty related samples, with the occasional high-end, full size product thrown in! I'll post a link to the website at the end of this post.

The front features the name of the product along with the information indicating that this product is oil free. Oil free is always something I look for in skincare since I have combination/oily skin, but in a makeup remover/lash conditioning treatment? Honestly, I don't think I care, since it seems even oil free burns my eyes like a volcano!

I wasn't able to get a good shot of the back of the packet, but the expiration date is April 2014 and it is described as, "Made from silk proteins and cornflower water, this gel removes mascara effectively and restructures weakened eyelashes." Sounds like good ingredients to me, however it was still to harsh for the eye area, clearly. At least for me...

 At the end of the day, I do think my eyelashes felt a little softer and stronger after using this product and like I said, it took the makeup off quickly and effectively, but the burning just totally turned me off from using this product ever again. I have one more packet from Birchbox which I will probably give away to someone who wants to give it a go (good luck!! - hey, we're all different) but other than that, I will definitely NOT be buying this product full size. $25 is too much in my opinion for something like this anyways.

Remember to have a positive day! :)

Hugs,
Lauren

P.S. Sign up for your very own Birchboxes for only $10 a month by clicking HERE! :)

Influenster Review

Hey guys! So I wanted to try writing a different kind of blog post today - this one is going to be a review on the website Influenster.

Influenster's slogon on their homepage is, "Turn your social influence into rewards". This saying captures the truth behind the website creation.

*I've been a member of this website since May 31, 2012, which isn't a long time compared to some, but it gained me an extra badge. (explanation below)

Influenster just underwent a major renovation and completely re-established their website for the better. Now we are able to have Expert Badges, Lifestage Badges, VoxBox Badges, and Brand Badges. I'll break these down below.

Expert Badges: At this time, you can only unlock 5 out of 16 of these, so choose carefully. You want to be honest with these because you'll need your knowledge of your interest to gain influenster points.

Lifestage Badges: There's only 8 of these bad boys, but you can gain them all. The problem I find is, Influenster is all about being honest, so just call me Honest Abe! But that means I was only able to collect 4 out of 8, as I don't have a dog or cat, am not a bride-to-be (yet!), and I wasn't born between 1945 and 1964. So I just don't see how it's fair to affect our overall score if we are not applicable to all of the badges. That part doesn't seem very fair.

VoxBox Badges: These badges indicate what and how many VoxBoxes you have been eligible for and received. VoxBoxes are the rewards for being active on Influenster and getting your overall badge score as high as possible. I just got an email this past week saying I may be eligible for my very first one, so fingers crossed!

Brand Badges: I personally don't have any of these yet, so I'm not exactly sure what they represent. I'm going to guess if you're especially active reviewing and sharing one specific brand that you will earn a badge representing your love for that brand. But don't take my word for it, that's just my guess.
**Note after this blog post was finished: I earned a badge in this section for doing all the tasks for the relaunch. So maybe they're limited edition badges?

*Influenster Veteran Badge: This is under the Lifestage Badges category, but basically if you have been an active member on Influenster since before this renovation, congratulations! You earned this simple yet distinguished badge of honor. Share it proudly!

Now you're probably wondering if this is all there is to Influenster. Well, it's not. You have a general badge score that is cumulative of four areas. These areas are:

*Picture courtesy of official Influenster Facebook page*

My current Influenster score is 63. That doesn't sound so great, but like I said earlier, I was just notified that I may have earned my first VoxBox. So don't fret if your score isn't super high - you too, have a fair chance to score a VoxBox sometime soon. Just keep reviewing and sharing your favorite pages and products through Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and Pinterest and be patient. There are only a few specific VoxBoxes sent out each year, to a select amount of people. So do your best and wait to get that amazing notification!

Some tips:

• Be active - don't just be all in for one day then vanish for a year.
• Invite influential friends - who knows, they may benefit and gain a VoxBox while you gain Influenster points.
• Use as many social platforms as possible - if you're addicted to Facebook, "Tweet" a mile per minute, and "Pin" everything in sight, you're in luck. Keep doing what you're doing - just include Influenster.
• Review all your favorite products - every thought counts.
• Watch your score go up - if you follow my simple tips, your score will soon be through the roof and you'll be well on your way to gaining FREE VoxBoxes!

Just remember to be a trendsetter and an active member in all areas and you should have no problem! Good luck and HAVE FUN! <3

Remember to have a positive day! :)

Hugs,
Lauren