REVIEW and swatchs: China Glaze Exceptionally Gifted

China Glaze's Exceptionally Gifted (bottle view, less purple in rl life)

China Glaze Exceptionally Gifted Nail Polish ($8.00 CND for 0.5 fl oz (much less $ if at a wholesale place) is a barbie pink that first came out with the collection Exceptionally Gifted, which was meant for brides. Later it came out in the breat cancer collection, and the bottle has a red ribbon on it. Not sure if this is limited edition or not, if someone know please tell me so I can make aware of that. I personally can find this at the store where I go easily so that why I dont think it is hard to find. This color is very streaky, and you need about two coats to get it opaque. Dry time was fast.

I really love the color of this nail polish but the streakiness made me cring. You cant see it in ever light, but in some its horrible. You just want to take it off and put on something else. The first coat is very sheer, and a second coat I used to make it more opaque.

In terms of wear, this lasted about the same as all the other china glazes (about a week, with fake nails), including base coat and top coat. The consitancy of this polish is pretty thin, and I didnt experiance any bubbling. I love the small brushes on China Glaze nail polishes, and I gave this product the full points for packaging. I really like this color on my pale skin, not sure how well this would look on warm skin tones.

• Product: 8/10
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 3/5
• Packaging: 5/5

Overall: B+

All photos taking in daylight.

Stay Beautiful,
Aryn

Contact: TotallyPolishedBeauty@yahoo.com

REVIEW: Almay Smart Shade Foundation

Almay Smart shade Makeup in light

Almay Smart Shade Makeup ($20 CND for 1 fl oz.) is a breakthrough shade-sensing technology starts out white and adjusts to right. Finally a makeup that takes the guesswork out of finding your perfect shade - instantly adjusting to the color of your skin. Antioxidant blend of grape seed, ginseng, and Ginkgo biloba nurtures your skin. For a beautiful, natural finish every time. They also have a age one for older women.

It is a very light foundation that stays light and weightless on your face. It doesnt have very much coverage and I say your lucky to hide some of those post acne scars with it. Inless you have almost perfect skin, I would suggest that you find something else to use.

The wear isnt very much, I put it on about 8 in the morning and when I get home from school (about 4), its already sliding off my face (summer), or has faded (winter). I also use primer and powder to set it, just for the record. I found when I put it on, it clung to every dry spot it could find, even after lotion. So I would think exessive dryness on the face would be horrible to think about the results. Best leave this foundation to some of the oilyer skin types.

The consistency is a watery liquid foundation, not thick at all. I use my ecotools kabuki to apply this to try and get some coverage. It takes a few minutes for it to be fully dry on the skin, so you have some time to blend it. I find it takes time to blend it quite right, and its one of those foundations if its the slightest off color, and you dont blend it, you will see it in natural light. I found warm lights do like this, florencent and natual light make it look horrible.

It dries to a matte finish and looks very natural if done right. Its hard to get this though, they dont have much of a color range (light, light/medium, and medium), so darker skin tones might have some troubles with this. Almay didnt think very hard when creating this foundation as far as color range goes thats for sure. Even the light for me is to dark, I find in the winter I will look quite orange with this on and my neck doesnt ever match my face if I use this by itself. It also seemed to break me out even though it said it wouldnt clog pores and I dont have that sensitive skin that foundations normally do that.

The packaging is a ok design, where you squeese and some comes out. Now in theory this is good because your not sticking your fingers in right? Wrong, now all the foundation comes spilling out and you have absoultly no control. You end up using to much or wasting some every application.

Pretty pricey for a drugstore foundation, although pretty easy to find. You can buy at almost every drugstore. Sometimes there is deals on this, if you wish to try it I sugest buying it when there is a discount.

Overall I didnt really like this foundation, and barly reached for it. It does not photograph well as it has SPF 15 in it, making me look even more paler then I am. Who wants that? If you put to much on, it becomes cakey and orange which is not flattering for anybody. It clings to dry patches, and breaks me out. It doesnt give me good coverage and is gone before the end of the day. Wish it came with a pump for more control. As a higher end priced drugstore foundation I would expect a little more. Its more on the expensive side of the drugstore foundations and alot of people had high hopes.

• Product: 5/10
• Value: 1/5
• Ease of Use: 3/5
• Packaging: 3/5

Grade: C



The packaging



Not blended light color



Blended light color (looks a little orange in real life)

 I have alabaster or very very pale skin. The light shade was still to dark for me. :( I wanted to love this foundation but just couldnt, off to search for a different one.

Stay Beautiful,
Aryn

Contact info: TotallyPolishedBeauty@yahoo.com

Makeup Alley.com ??

Have you all tried this wonderful website? www. makeupalley.com ? If not you should go check it out. I have been a member for a while now but lately have been getting into it more and more. They have boards where you can talk about everything under the sun, they have a review page where you can write reviews and read others so that you can make sure the product you want is good. They even have a swap section, you put in what you want and what you have and you and others contact each other and set up a swap. Of course you have to be careful because of some people in this world. There is swaplifters but if you follow all the rules I will give you in the next bit you should be fine. Its a great way to get rid of products that you didnt like, or that just didnt work for you. Maybe there is something you cant get anywhere in your country and you really want to try it. It can track your recent purchases and be a wonderful site. And if your like me you WILL get addicted.

Some guidelines and rules that you should follow on makeup alley:

According to makeup alley:

Q: What are the guidelines for what can and can't be posted in the swap section?

A: Prescription items are not allowed on MakeupAlley swap board Listing prices (selling, retail, reference, etc.) is not allowed ANYWHERE on the swap board including the Item Title Line, Item Description and Notepad. Links to selling on Ebay or any affiliate programs are not allowed. Swapping burned CDs/DVDs is not allowed. The Swap Board is ONLY for posting Swap items (not Custom Purchases, Other Arrangements or any other notices). Violators may be removed/suspended without notice.

Q: Can I post a gift card in the swap section or ask for a gift card in my wish list?

A: No. The swap section is not intended for selling. Posting a gift card is equivalent to offering cash and asking for a gift card in your wish list or in a swap item is equivalent to asking for cash. The swap section is intended for swapping items, not buying them. We understand that in certain situations individuals might come to work out a different agreement privately, and we leave that between the two parties, however we ask that the posted swap items, notepads, and wish lists respect the guidelines and the intention of the MUA swap section.

Q: I know that listing prices anywhere in a swap item listing is not allowed, not even just for reference. My question is, if I'm listing a coupon that is $10 off a $35 purchase, am I allowed to list that?

A: No, please do not list coupons as swap items.

NOTEPAD RULES:

• Personal information (real name, addresses, ect) of other MakeupAlley members MAY NOT be put in the Notepad.
• Any account containing this may be removed without notice.
• Advertising is also strictly prohibited.

1. Register or Login. Register for a free MakeupAlley account to participate in the Swap, Beauty Board, Chat 'n Chill Board, Productville and other activities. If you are already registered, just login.
2. Read Disclaimer. By participating in the MakeupAlley swap, you agree to the Disclaimer and Terms of Use stated below..
3. Browse swap sections. If you find to swap, send an email to the person displaying the item informing them you would like to swap. You can place your items up for swap on the swap board by using the Swap Items link in your swap info section.
4. Ask questions. When inquiring about a swap item, ask about the condition, color and ingredients of the item. Remember, it is up to you to determine the quality of the swap item. Ask what the person would like to swap for it. Enclose your swap list or link to your swap list on MakeupAlley.
5. Check references. Before swapping, look at the other persons Swap Tokens and read comments written by other swappers. If the person has many Negative Tokens, that may indicate problems with previous swap transactions. Decide if you want to swap with this person. Swapping is done at your own risk and MakeupAlley is not responsible for swap misunderstandings or failed agreements.
6. Reach an agreement. Both parties must agree on the terms of the swap and what will be traded within one week of the original communication. Until this is done, either party has the right to cancel the swap.
7. Exchange addresses. Each party should send out their end of the swap within 3-5 days of the agreement unless otherwise discussed. If there is a delay, inform the other party immediately.
8. Clean/pack items carefully. Clean your swap items with alcohol before sending them out--sharpen pencils, wipe down packaging and clean off lipstick tips. Use bubble wrap to pack items to prevent shipping damage. Most swappers send via US Mail, unless otherwise discussed. Each party is responsible for paying the shipping cost for their end of the swap. Many swappers use insured mail to prevent against loss. If swapping internationally, be aware of shipping requirements (check with your local post office).
9. Update your Swap Items List. Send an email to the other person indicating that their package arrived. The swap is complete when both parties receive their end of the swap.
10. After receiving a swap package. Send an email to the other person indicating that the package arrived. The swap is complete when both parties receive their end of the swap.
11. Award token. After a swap is complete, issue a Positive, Neutral, or Negative Token to the other party. A Positive Token indicates a successful transaction, a Neutral Token indicates a satisfactory transaction and a Negative Token indicates there were problems with the swap. There is a waiting period of two weeks before new members may award tokens.

Those are all the main rules and then below and some of the links will have other rules that people have kinda made to suit that way this website goes.
Some good things to read to get you all prepared:

http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/haloinrverse/FAQ.html
http://www.thebroadroom.net/tech/html/notepad.html
http://makeupalley.com/user/notepad/mspicky2


Its really quite fun once you get into it. You can ask me questions at any time about it, Im not that established on their but thats only cause I started swapping lately on there. But I have swapped elsewhere.

Me on makeup alley: http://www.makeupalley.com/p_dolphin101

 Please check me and my notepad out, and swap with me please. I dont have everything listed on both my wishlist and swap list so def let me know.

I think thats it for this post, I just wanted to let everyone know my experiance and what I have learned being on there. If you have any more tips, or feel I left something out. Please let me know. Also if you have questions ask away.

Aryn =)

Contact: TotallyPolishedBeauty@yahoo.com

Nail Haul =)

So other then sephora, I got some nail stuff. Mom bought me a couple of things, not sure what the occasion was but she did. I bought most of the stuff myself though.

This is the entire haul.



Nubar 2010, the flakie polish that seems to be on everyones wishlist right now. I have that on my nails over top China Glaze Little drummer boy in case anyone is wondering.

OPI Show it and Glow it (From the burlesque collection)

Nubar Purple Rain Glitter, looks better on then in the bottle.

Sally Hansen Recover nail rehab system. Aparently very good for extremly brittle nails, and when you get fake nails off to put on. A three step program, havent tried this yet.

Sally Hansen 14 day nail shield. Used for cracks in nails to patch, like silk wraps. At least this is what the lady mentioned to my mom.

Broadway Nails in 54136. They are black, silver and yellow strips of color and then small black dots on the tips. Comes with glue.

A little hard to see but they are revlon nails in 91097 stella, and they are a small silver tip with a bit of silver glitter and some black line detail.

These are broadway nails in 01791, and what they are is a off white/silver tip with white line detailing and some cute white stars.

Som swatchs all are the same combination, just in different lights. The first two are nubar 2010 over (from left to right) CG Ruby deer, Jolly Holly, and little drummer boy. The next one is OPI Show it and Glow it and then the one you can barley see is Nubar purple rain glitter.

Looks like real life in this picture^


Thats all for now, please contact me at TotallyPolishedBeauty@yahoo.com if you want more detailed review or swatchs. Or even to request things, companys can contact me there as well.

Aryn =)