April Favorites

Luckily, I wasn't disappointed in any products last month! So needless to say, April was a good month for me haha. I know I'm a bit late on this, but it's been storming lately, and I don't have any studio lights, so I had to wait for the sun to come out. Buuut enough excuses - let's get on with it!

L'Occitane Brightening Cleansing Foam - $26.00

I cannot express my love for this enough! It's very soothing and a great way to start and end the day. I'm not a fan of cleansing foams, because they tend to just thin out instead of actually lather. But this was surprisingly very good. You can't feel it doing anything to your skin until you wash it off. And you see results the first time you use it - which I love! I usually like something that feels like it's working, but this is such a good product, I don't even care how gentle it is.

Pureology Lustrous Volumizer - $24.00

This says it's a "bodifying glaze" but I've never put it throughout all of my hair, I only put it at my roots. But this is seriously the best. I find that a lot of volumizers give you great volume for the first few hours, and then throughout the day (even with a good amount of hairspray), it falls and goes lifeless - That is not the case with this one! The price seems a little steep until you realize you don't need much to get great volume. The smell is odd - not bad, just odd. It smells like Cherry Vanilla NyQuill mixed with kind of an ocean smell.. It's odd, but surprisingly not bad!

L'Occitane Essential Water - $27.00

There's not much I can say about this besides the fact that it's just a really good toner. It makes my face feel extra clean, and leaves behind a very subtle, soothing tingling to the skin. It smells quite nice - very fresh and clean. It almost has kind of a very subtle cucumber scent, and I'm not a fan of cucumbers at all, but it's so subtle that it's actually very nice.

NARS Blush in Deep Throat - $29.00

I really didn't want to buy this because of the name - I didn't want people searching for naughty things and finding my blog! But after months of searching for dupes, I came up with nothing and I caved. And I'm so happy I did! I love this, it's so subtle. It's just a lovely peach with a bit of gold shimmer to it.

BigSexyHair Powder Play - $15.95

I bought this a while ago at Ulta, because it was a cute little travel size and it was on sale for $3, and I mentioned it in a haul back in February. I haven't used it much until recently because I've been parting my hair in the middle, and need as much volume as i can get. I just sprinkle it on my part and gently rub it in, and I don't have to worry about showing to much scalp for the rest of the day - it's great!

Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Cat Eyes - $6.99

I bought this a couple months ago - used it once, didn't like it, and it ended up staying in the back of my drawer until a few weeks ago. I love it now! I usually go for more of a full, long, voluminous look, but this is a great change. And it amazes me how just a slight change in brush creates a completely different look - always has, always will.

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So what did you guys think of these favorites? Have you tried any? If so, do you agree with my opinions or no?

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Review: Chanel Velvet Top Coat

Chanel velvet top coat - discontinued

This is my absolute favorite nail polish! It was a Christmas present, and I love it so much. It's no longer available because it was limited edition, so I try to be frugal with it..

But let's be honest - it's not happening.

I use it over every. single. color.

I might cry the day I run out. Or the day I've used it so much to where it starts getting thick and sticky - IT HAPPENS!

This isn't even a review. It's more of a "If I could marry this, I would" post.

Okay, but being serious now. It is a clear top coat (I thought it was a black top coat until I opened it), and it just makes your nails feel really smooth and soft - like velvet!

 I don't usually use it over a black, I tend to wear more pastel colors and it looks really good over those. Sometimes I'll put a thin glitter top coat over them and then put the Chanel top coat over that and that gives it a really cools effect, because you can still see the shininess of the glitter, but the nail is still completely matte!

But I am completely dreading the day that it's gone, and hoping more brands will have their own velvet top coat by then.

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Do you know any other brands that make a velvet top coat? Also, what is your favorite top coat/ effect for nails??

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Products I've Used Up: Redken Thickening Lotion 06

Redken Thickening Lotion 06 - $15.50

I've repurchased this product a few times, so this might be more of a favorite product rather than just an empty bottle, because this is the best "body builder" I've tried!

This product promises to "build extra body and texture to hair for full, fabulous style" and it does just that! I have baby fine hair, so I've tried plenty of other products that promised similar things and they either completely weighed my hair down or didn't do much at all, and I was pleasantly surprised when my hair stylist used this in my hair.

You apply about a quarter-size drop into wet or damp hair and then blow-dry. It says to blow-dry for maximum volume, but I let my hair dry naturally (by accident) one day, and it was clumpy and gross. So no matter what, you need to blow-dry with this product.

Overall, I give this product 5 stars!

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Have you ever tried this product? If so, did you like it as much as I did, or have you tried better products? If you haven't tried it, what's your favorite volumizing/thickening product?

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