Spongy Nail Fail

I wanted to try some sponging on my nails and figured I'd start with something simple.
I used Essie's Smokin' Hot all over the nails and let it dry a little and then used a sponge to dap on some Black Cherries by Rimmel.
                                     

I just used a small piece of a regular kitchen sponge since I liked the pore size and pattern. So yeah.
For base and top coats I used Sally Hansen's Double Duty.

It did work fine, I guess. I just didn't really like the outcome. I think the colors were a poor match, but I do like the splotchy pattern, so I'll give it a try with some other polishes. Maybe some colors with a greater contrast.

Overall, not really a hit, but I thought I'd share it anyway.



- Nicci

Origins Wish List / Appreciation

I freakin' love lists. It's that obsessive side of me that gets to come out and party like it's 1999.
I make lists of the lists I need to make. Creating a list gives me the same calm feeling I would get as a child when I lined up my crayons in a specific color order. Oh what a feeling; the order; the control...

I've seen a lot of beauty wish lists around the web lately, and of course I wanna join the party. I think I'll do it brand by brand, starting with Origins.

Origins is probably my favorite skin care brand, and really I'd like to get my hands on every single Origins product ever made, but especially these ones.
According to Origins, a key ingredient in the A Perfect World™ range is the white tea and its high antioxidant content. Another is resveratrol, which happens to be what I wrote my senior thesis on. This is what I love about Origins: the use of plants in all their formulas. Not just a little cucumber water here and there, but many different and carefully chosen plant extracts. Now, this is slowly turning into an Origins appreciation post, so I'll just get on with it and list the products.

A Perfect World Age-defense Treatment Lotion with White Tea

Starting Over Age-erasing oil free moisturizer with Mimosa

High-potency Night-A-Mins Mineral-enriched oil-free renewal cream

Zero Oil Deep pore cleanser with Saw Palmetto & Mint

Zero Oil Pore purifying toner with Saw Palmetto & Mint


But as I said, I basically want to try all their products. This was just the top 5. The Brighter By Nature range, for example, and the makeup items too. It all looks so good.



- Nicci

Homemade Moisturizer

New video is up. This time we're making our own moisturizer.

10 little Secrets

We sat down and did the tasty 10 Little Secrets tag...

Vichy Normaderm

I figure a good way to properly introduce ourselves to this blog is by continuing to share some of the things we love (like we did with beauty gurus last week).
So... I want to talk a bit about a brand I really like...
Vichy is a pharmacy brand which, in Denmark at least, is pretty affordable. Not cheap, but affordable. I believe it's available in many parts of the world but most popular in Europe. Vichy is one of those "thermal water" brands like Avene and La Roche-Posay, and I do find those three comparable and I enjoy them all.

From Vichy I mostly use the Normaderm product line which also contains these products:

This first one is one of those so-called "micellar" liquids. Even though it seems to me that many cleansers are "micellar" (at least many water-based ones) and so I don't quite understand what's special about this, I still really like this cleanser. Now, it's not the kind of cleanser that will remove everything from your face in one wipe. So if you're wearing a full party face of theater makeup, you might want to use something else. However, this cleanser is very mild and I find it feels great on my skin, which is why I like it. It doesn't dry out the skin or sting if it gets to close to the eyes. So for lighter cleansing, I definitely recommend the 'Micellar Solution'.

The next product is a toner. It contains 0,5% salicylic acid plus other ingredients that are supposed to help against acne and redness. If your skin is very sensitive I do not recommend this. The main ingredient is alcohol which makes it a pretty harsh toner, and it can dry out your skin. So remember to moisturize properly. I really like it on my skin though and I will indeed be repurchasing this '3-in-1 Unclogging Purifying Toner'.

Speaking of moisturizing...
This next one is my favorite. The 'Triple Action Anti-Acne Hydrating Lotion' is wonderful!
It contains both alpha hydroxy (glycolic) and beta hydroxy (salicylic and also a lipo-hydroxy) acids, all with the purpose of treating blackheads and blemishes. The formula is light and oil-free and it feels absolutely great. It claims to mattify too, though I don't find it very effective in that aspect. So if that is your main concern, you might be better off with something else.
But I really love this moisturizer, and it is definitely one of the best oil-free formulas I've tried!
This is also allergy tested on sensitive skin, and free of parabens, in case those are concerns of yours.

In general I really like the Normaderm line from Vichy and I definitely recommend trying it.

- Nicci

My favorites.

Well well is'n it about time Lolishia (yes, I give myself nicknames-what) made an appearance here on this mighty fine blog. Why yes it iiis. (Holds for applause)
I'm basically just going to continue were Nicci left of,with some of my fave gurus.

The first (and honestly the only one you need) is Wane Goss!! This man is amaaahzing (channeling her inner Penny Hartz) If you're not familier with male gurus you have been missing out BIG time! I don't even know what video to promote him with but just click Here and enjoy. One of the videos I keep coming back to is all his Kim Kardashian makeup tricks. Amaaahzing!



Next is yet another man whos channel's name is  is A boy weariing makeup. He is craaaazy I think he might even be more mental than me, now that says alot!

I adore him and want him as my BFF. And FYI he was the one that started "Hey girl heeey". Not Mr. Buckley, Not that I mind I mean I don't own the saying, just saying HA! Get it...


Last but not least Tasty Elixiiiiiiirrrr! No? Really? A lady can't promote?? Okay okay.

Then I will choose a girl this time. Matter fact I'll choose two, they are sisters (and we all know the best guru channels are the ones with sisters) It's the pixeeWoo's. They too are brilliant at what they do and relly needs no further introduction

Btw Sam, who is not in this video (That's Nic) Is soo pretty when she's all done she looks like SUCH a vamp. I Love it! Stunning. They both are, I just perfer a little harder slutty look if you will. Haha

Nicci's fave gurus!

When I first watched beauty gurus on youtube, I'll be honest, I did not get it. I thought it was strange e.g. that people just listed everything they bought on their shopping trip...
But I probably just watched the wrong people and the wrong videos. Now that I've actually found some gurus I enjoy watching, I want to share my favorites!

The first of my absolute faves is EssieButton!
Estée is the kind of woman you just want to have as your BFF. I love watching her videos. Honestly, she could talk about anything... I'd still enjoy watching it. Yep.

Another favorite is CamiLovesKiwi.

Like Estée, this woman is honest, down to earth, and basically just awesome. Also I love her sense of humor!  

My third favorite is the lovely MeganIsobel (who also happens to have my favorite name... Isobel!). Megan's personality is as beautiful as her eyes are. She just seems like the sweetest woman in the world, really.

So there they are, my top picks when it comes to YouTube beauty gurus. Obviously there are many other great ones. These are just three I really really enjoy.

A little extra info: all three of them have really soothing voices (I know... strange fact. But it's true!!) and they also have great blogs.

Estée

Cami

Megan

- Nicci

Lash Accelerator Mascara

I recently bought the Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Mascara in 002 Brown/Black, and thought I would share my thoughts on it. 




I usually prefer a large wand with many and really long bristles to better separate the lashes. The Lash Accelerator has a thin wand with short bristles but I wanted to try it because it only picks up a little product, which is something I like.

It claims to stimulate lash growth (to be honest I have no idea how that is supposed to work, and since it didn't come with a list of ingredients, I can't look into it) and to strengthen the lashes. However, I am perfectly satisfied with the strength and length of my lashes, so I don't really care...

Before and after one and two coats 

Simply put:
I like the formula because it's easy to control but I'm not crazy about the wand, just because I prefer a different kind.
As always, I wish I could get a brown instead of brown/black, but I have yet to find a mascara that actually looks brown when you put it on. (So if you know of one, please do let me know!)

-Nicci ¤

New vid: My Makeup Story ;-)

Pinky and The Brain

New video is up!
This one is basically a Q&A video - Pinky asks and The Brain answers.
Today's topic: skin care.

We talk about moisturizers, skin tonics, sunscreen, exfoliation, and more...

Welcome, welcome.

The purpose of this blog post is solely to have something  on this blog.

Actual content to come soon ;-)

Just getting started; we're gonna have a lot of fun here!

Welcome to Tasty Elixir!