[REVIEW] All About Gel Nails

Happy Friday Beauties! I hope you're having a great Friday and you're ready for the weekend! I'm so excited to be working on this post because I've been trying out a couple of gel nails kits that are available at the drug store right now, and I think I've reviewed 2 of these, but I wanted to compile my experiences with them and better alternatives to them all in one post! I hope you guys enjoy!!

Nutra Nail Gel Perfect Kit:

So, I'm like 90% sure I wrote some type of post, whether it was a first impression or an actual review, about this a while ago. My experience with it wasn't the greatest and made me extremely cautious about drug store gel nail kits, especially when it doesn't need a UV light. If you have short nails be extremely wary about using this product because you definitely need to seal the color on the tips of your nail, and when you do, you run into the problem of placing some of the activator on you actual skin. When that happens, you need to go in with 100% acetone based nail polish remover, and if you don't it'll be somewhat painful to separate your skin from your nail.

When it comes to application, it's a somewhat tedious process. You have to switch back and forth between the actual color and the brush cleaner, and you need to work quickly because the activator (which is the base coat) needs to be wet when you apply the color. This leads to an uneven application and even when you go in for a second coat, it's difficult to actually build an even single layer. Another reason why I don't care for this product is that if you wanted to paint your nails a different color, you'll need to go out and buy yourself a new kit, you can't just pick up a color. Why? It's because you need to use the brush cleaner that comes with it to provide a smooth application. If you don't, the color will gunk up on the brush and make application extremely difficult. If you can make this work, I'm jealous, because as much as I wanted this to work, I couldn't.


Revlon Gel Envy Nails:

This was the first gel nails kit that I tried from the drug store that was a two step process. I was extremely excited because there was such a variety of colors and it looked like an actual kit, like you couldn't use the color without the top coat and you couldn't use the top coat without the color. I picked up the color Pocket Aces, which is a beautiful vibrant coral color and the application process is extremely easy. It's just like painting your nails with any other nail polish.

I noticed with the top coat it would loose it's shine/glossy appearance after 2 days, and you'll also see little imprints from your hair or bedding (even though it's completely dry). If you read my full on review of this product, you'll know that I did a little experiment and I don't want to go too in depth with what I did, here's the gist: You don't have to use these two things together! You can use the colored polish with any other top coat and you can use the top coat with any nail polish. For me that kind of kills the whole point of coming out with this. I was expecting the nail polish to have a somewhat dull appearance and it'll be brought to life with the top coat, and if it was like that, then it would be worth paying the $7-$8 per bottle, but for me it's not really worth it.


Sally Hansen Miracle Gel:

Sally Hansen does have an actual gel nails kit that comes with the UV light, so I was very excited to see a light-less kit available. I love Sally Hansen nail polishes because they're such good quality, and I was expecting the same type of high quality product. When it came to the color application, I wasn't disappointed, I purchased the kit with the color Street Flair (a nice muted/gray-toned lavender). With a single semi-thick layer of polish, I had an opaque application and I didn't need a second layer. My issue with this comes with the top coat. The top coat applies nicely, but my issue is how it dries. With one semi-thick coat you get that glossy appearance at first, but then it kind of fades. Don't get me wrong, you still get a glossy appearance, but when you look closely you can see it's somewhat dull and a little streaky.

Like the Revlon Gel Envy, I wanted to see if the top coat and the color had to be used together or if they could be used separately, and it can. So in reality, you don't need to buy the top coat if you want to use the color and you don't need to buy the color in order to use the top coat.

Overall Impression / A Better Alternative:
So far, I'm not impressed with any of these gel nails kits; however, I really love the colors that both Revlon and Sally Hansen came out with, in my opinion the colors are very unique. From the Sally Hansen kit, I really like the color Street Flair because it's neutral (very office friendly) but it's not one of the boring taupe, brown, gray, etc.

You don't have to buy the top coats that come with the Revlon and Sally Hansen kits, unfortunately with the Nutra Nail kit you have to buy the entire kit. If you want a cheaper, more affordable option as far as top coats are concerned, then check out Sally Hansen Dries Instantly. This is a more budget friendly fast-dry top coat, and with one semi-thick layer, it dries to high gloss finish and will last just as long as the Revlon and Sally Hansen top coats. The great thing about using this top coat is the fact that you can use any nail polish you want and turn it into a gel like nail! Overall, I would've enjoyed these gel kits a lot more if the colors needed the top coats in order to work and become gel-like. I would say if you're not wanting to purchase the top coats that come with them then check out Sally Hansen Dries Instantly (it's in an actual package and not in one of the regular nail polish displays).

Have you tried out these gel kits? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comments down below or on Twitter @ciaociaoreview!

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful! <3

[REVIEW] e.l.f. | Pressed Powder - Light Beige

Hey beauties! It's been a while since I posted anything, and I'm so sorry for that. I hope you all have been having a good week. I know earlier this week we lost a beloved actor and comedian. I loved him in Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Jack, Hook, Aladdin, Flubber, and Night at The Museum (first and second); it's a shame that he left us so soon. I think we can all agree that we'll miss him dearly and we lost someone who could make millions smile and laugh regardless of their age. He was truly a gifted human being and no one will be able to replace him. At least I'll be able to see his eyes twinkle whenever I watch his movies...

*RIP Robin Williams <3*



Now on to the review of the actual product. I decided to try out this particular pressed powder because when I went to Target one day, they had ran out of my Maybelline Dream Matte Powder and this was the only thing that I didn't mind investing in since it's extremely inexpensive. I was definitely pleased with this, so pleased that I've repurchased this about 4-5 times!

Breakdown:
- Affordability: The great thing about this product is that it's so inexpensive. It costs $1 and change, how can you beat that?! You can buy about 7 of these for the amount of one Maybelline Dream Matte Powder - what a deal, right?!

- Finish: It has a semi-matte finish, but when you apply it, it will mattefy your face. Once it has a chance to really sink it and blend into your oils, you can get an extremely light dewy/glowy finish. If you're oily like me, and want to wear this and some concealer, you can definitely work with it and it won't leave you feeling too greasy or shiny. If you're using a foundation that has some shimmer already in the formula, then you'll want to use a lighter setting powder because if you use this you'll find yourself getting too greasy/shiny.

- Longevity: You'll be surprised at how long this lasts! On a full day, and I'm talking about a good 10-12 hours day, this thing will hold up; it may not be extremely perfect, but it holds up and I can see the residue on my makeup wipe. This is extremely impressive and I usually go through the entire day with absolutely no touch-ups.

- Comparability: Honestly, I never really fuss when it comes to face powders and the only reason why I used to use the Maybelline one was because of all the YouTube hype. If you were to blindfold me and put both of the powders on my face, I would not know the difference. The one thing that I didn't really care for with the Maybelline powder was the fact that it left my face way too matte; in other words, I looked flat (even after contouring and highlighting).

- Coverage: This lightweight, but yet provides a decent amount of coverage. I'm comfortable with using just this and concealer and when I look in the mirror, from about 5-6 ft. away it looks like I have a light coverage foundation on. Even when I do use some type of foundation, it doesn't leave my face looking cakey and adds a nice light layer to get rid of any sticky texture left from my foundation.

- Availability: Unfortunately, it may be a little difficult to find your color. I usually buy mine from Target, but the last time I went they didn't have my color so they might have stopped carrying it. There are some other small stores that'll carry this powder in their affordable makeup section, but it's kind of difficult to rummage through everything.

Overall:
This is a great inexpensive alternative when it comes to pressed powder. I don't really see why I would spend $7-$10 on a pressed powder when I can find something like this from e.l.f. that provides me with great coverage and doesn't make me look too matte, for such a reasonable price! My mom used to love the Palladio Wet/Dry Powder because it gave her great coverage and it lasted for a long time, but when she told me she wanted a cheaper alternative I told her to give this one a shot, and she loved it! She's on her third pan right now!

If you're looking for a more affordable pressed powder, this is definitely something to check out and if you're worried about wasting your money, it's only a dollar, no big deal. A part of me doesn't really see the point in spending more than $5 for a pressed powder, I guess it's because I think they all do the same thing, but since I haven't really tried many pressed powders I could be missing out on something amazing.

What is your favorites pressed powder you use to set your foundation?? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @ciaociaoreview :]

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] Wet n Wild | Color Icon Blush (Pearlescent Pink)

Hi Beauties! Welcome back to the blog and I hope you've been enjoying the YouTube videos recently and if you haven't checked them out, you can click here and catch up on the recent videos :] Anyhow, I wanted to post an actual review for a product that I had already posted a first impression on, which you can read here. In this post, I'll be providing a more in depth review of this product and my experience with it! Let's get into the actual review shall we?

Breakdown:
- Pigmentation: I was pleasantly surprised how pigmented this product is, even after using it over and over again, the pigmentation never ceases to amaze me. Be very cautious when applying this because if you're using a dense brush or even certain duo fiber brushes, you can apply too much, but if you do, then just go over with your powder brush or a clean brush to blend it out.

- Longevity: I was kind of surprised at how long this product lasts. Due to my oily skin a lot of cheek products don't last very long because I dab off excess oil throughout the day. However, this does a decent job of staying and I can see hints of it after a long day.

- Finish:  If you look closely at the color, there's a golden shimmer to it and it does show through when it's been applied. The shimmer gives a glowy look to the cheeks and is great for Spring and Summer. If you tend to get really oily and prefer to have a matte look everyday, then you may want to be wary  about this because the shimmer can be a tad overwhelming in photos. In person the blush gives off a slight golden sheen to your cheeks, but it's nothing overwhelming.

- Performance: In my first impression I noted how powdery this product is, and to the day I still get somewhat frustrated with how powdery it is because I feel like I'm wasting a lot of product. In the picture below, I only dabbed my brush in once and all of that product came off. Unfortunately I don't have an excess container where I can catch the excess and use it as a "mineral" type powder, but if you have an excess container, then you should consider saving the excess product.

The reason why there's an orange tint to it is b/c I took this picture in my bathroom, not with natural lighting. 

- Affordability: One thing that always impressed me about Wet n Wild products is how affordable the products were and how they have a good range of products with decent pigmentation. There are some palettes that have amazing pigmentation and there are some which are complete flops, but for the most part I think their product ranges are pretty consistent. If you're looking to get a good bargain, especially in the blush department or you're just starting up your makeup collection, definitely check out this product. I believe there are 2 other blushes in this line and in my opinion, this is the one that will flatter all skin tones and can be wearable throughout the entire year. You'll get a lot of use out of it and the pigmentation is amazing. I believe I only paid about $3 for it at my local Walgreens, but I've been noticing that the Wet n Wild products have been going on sale a lot there.

Overall:
I'm still impressed with this product, even after having it for about 5 months. I love the pigmentation and I think this color is great for everyday use. The main reason why I don't use it everyday is because of the amount of fallout this product produces. I try to lightly tap my brush in there, but even when I do that it just produces a ton of fall out. If you're just starting to build your makeup collection and aren't ready to make the commitment to high-end blushes like ones from Benefit, Too Faced, Stila, etc, then you should definitely consider this product. You'll get a great amount of pigmentation and the other colors are very wearable as well. From what I remember there's a lighter peach one with golden shimmer and a matte port wine color with a beautiful berry undertone. This color in particular, will be great with any skin tone, but if you tend to be extremely oily and you're planning to take pictures, be careful because this can make you look extra oily due to the gold shimmers in this.

You can see it gives a beautiful pink glow to the cheeks and the gold shimmer helps to highlight.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but there's a lot of glowing going on here lol, it's a combo of the blush and my natural oils that have seeped through my foundation. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this review! If you tried out this blush, then let me know what you think about it and what other colors you tried! You can connect with me through Twitter: @ciaociaoreview, down below in the comments, or on Instagram: @ciaociao808 or @ciaociao808review :]

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[LOFTD] Look Of The Day - Hyuna (4Minute) | 'Red' MV Inspired Look

Happy Hump Day Beauties, today I decided to recreate a Hyuna inspired look. If you don't know who Hyuna is, she is a member of the popular KPop group 4Minute. She recently came out with a new song single called 'Red,' in the MV she's her usual sexy/sensual self. The overall look is pretty simple and doesn't require too much effort so I'll walk you step by step how I recreated the look.

BROWS:
- Maybelline | The Nudes Palette - I went ahead and used my usual colors to fill in my brows. I decided to make them a little straighter and thicker than usual. This is definitely a trend going on now-a-days, because it helps to bring a little youthfulness to the face.

EYES:

 - NYX | E/S Base - After my brows were finished, I wanted to ensure that my eyeshadows would last all day and I also wanted to make sure that there would be no creasing.

- NYX | Jumbo E/S Pencil (Iced Mocha) - The eyeshadow that I used doesn't have that dark of a base to it, so I needed something to make the gold/dark gold have a warm brown undertone and this is my usual go-to color. It also has some gold in it that helps bring out the gold in the eyeshadow I used. I placed this on my lid and used my ring finger to distribute the product up to my crease.

- Maybelline | Chai Latte Quad - The only color I used in this quad is the crease color (the one located on the top right). I thought that this would be the perfect dark gold color to use. It has a great brown base and the gold mixed with it provides the perfect color. I placed this on top of the Iced Mocha on my lids and then I added more to the center of my lids. 

- Maybelline | The Nudes Palette - To blend out the lid color I went in with a crease brush and used the gold, third color from the bottom left, and blended out the jumbo e/s pencil and the Chai Latte color. This didn't add too much color but yet blended out wonderfully without any problems. 

- Maybelline | The Nudes Palette - In order to get the smokey look I went ahead and used the dark redish brown w/ gold shimmer color, the one fourth from the top left. This provided a great contrast, but wasn't too dark to the point where it completely smoked out the look to point where it was extremely dramatic. I also brought this color down to my lower lash line. I then took it on a small detail brush and placed it on the inner fourth of my lid to really contrast with the lid color. 

- KleanColor | Waterproof Felt Tip Eyeliner (Black) - I went ahead and lined my eyes. From my reference picture, it didn't seem that she had anything extreme going on with the eyeliner, so I just lined my eyes and put a teeny tiny wing. 

- Wet n Wild | Eyeliner Pencil (Black) - To finish off the eyes (well for the most part) I went ahead and lined my lower and upper water-line. 

- L'Orèal | Voluminous Butterfly Mascara, Waterproof (Black) - To really finish off the look I went ahead and curled my lashes, put on mascara, and added half lashes on the outer corners to add a little more volume. 

FACE:

- L'Orèal | Ture Match Lumi (W4 Natural Beige) - In order to give my face that flawless look I went ahead and put on 2 layers of the lumi foundation. This gave me a slight luminescent, healthy glow to my face. 

- Maybelline | Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser (Medium) - To get rid of my dark circles while also highlighting parts of my face, I used my regular concealer, but applied it a little heavier than usual. 

- e.l.f. Cosmetics | Pressed Powder (Light Beige) - In order to give my face that matte finish, I used my regular pressed powder, but instead of using one layer, I applied 2 in order to get more coverage. 

- Love & Beauty | Bronzer and Blush Duo (Bronzer) - From the pictures I saw, she didn't look like she was wearing any blush, but I wanted to shape my face a little and add a little bit of dimension. 

LIPS:

- NYC | City Proof Lip Balm Stain (Roosevelt Island Red) - Hyuna's red lips is what really brings the look together in my opinion. The lipstick she has seems like it's a glossy orange based red, but I went ahead and used a neutral red that had a semi-glossy finish. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this look of the day! Let me know what type of look you decided to wear today and leave them in the comments below or let me know on Twitter @ciaociaoreview! Don't worry I'll be back with another review or first impression on Friday!

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] L'Oreal | True Match Foundation - W4 (Natural Beige)

Happy Monday Beauties! Believe it or not, I'm working on this post at 4:40 a.m., yes, you read that right 4:40 in the morning! I guess that's what happens when I have three sips of coffee before bed and I decide to play some solitare lol. Anyhow, I've been testing this foundation out for about 3-4 weeks (so basically the entire month of July) and I believe I featured it in my July favorites as well. Let's jump into the actual review!

In the picture you can see the slight golden shimmer. Also, the product looks a lot darker in the picture than it is in person.

Breakdown:
- Packaging: Like most drug store foundations, this doesn't come with a pump, and instead you have to either pour out the product onto the back of your hand, on some type of plate/palette, or use your finger to cover the opening and give the bottle a couple of shakes to dab the product on your face. I usually like having pumps with my foundations, but lately I've been enjoying covering the opening with my ring finger and using my finger to dab the product on to my face. I feel like I always use just the right amount of product and I don't have to worry about pouring out too much.

- Color Match: I decided to stay within the warm undertones for this foundation mainly because I use their Lumi foundation in W4 and it's an amazing match to my skin tone. I was hesitant to pick up W4 because I wasn't sure how similar the coloring was to the Lumi foundation and honestly, the lights in Target made extremely difficult to tell whether or not it would be a good match. I also compared it to the Lumi foundation in store, and this one seemed to be a little lighter, but I decided to risk it. It does a great job of blending into my skin; unfortunately for me I have a bunch of wonky tan lines going on, but majority of the time my face and neck area are a lot lighter from my arms and legs (mainly because of driving). When I blend out this foundation, it blends in great with my neck area and it doesn't oxidize to some weird overly orange color.

- Wear Time: With one layer it looks flawless for about 3-4 hours, and that's when the foundation starts breaking down and begins letting a lot of my oils seep through, but even when my oils start seeping through, I still get have a medium coverage. Even in 100+ degree weather I don't notice any slipping in the foundation and I don't notice the foundation fading off due to moisture.

- Finish: What I didn't notice in store was that this foundation has golden shimmers that are extremely fine, I honestly didn't notice it until a week of use and I actually looked at the bottle in the daylight. When I first apply it, it looks semi- matte, but it does have somewhat of a sticky texture that eventually goes away. However, I do need to always set this particular foundation with a powder to help prolong my oils seeping through. After a couple hours of wear it takes on a semi-dewy look, but because of my oiliness it looks like a bit much.

-Buildability: I can usually get a full coverage with two layers. I really hate the feeling of having too much foundation on, I like to be able to actually feel my skin and not be afraid of touching it and even with two layers my skin can actually breathe and not feel too uncomfortable. For daily use, one layer does a great job of evening everything out for me and covering some trouble spots, without building up in some of the crease on my face, like the sides of my nose, under my eyes, and around my mouth.

Overall:
I really do enjoy using this foundation. If you have extremely oily skin I would say you need to be wary about using this foundation because of the slight shimmer in it. Even with powder, your oils can seep through and instead of giving off a semi-dewy look, you'll just end up looking like a big ol' grease machine. If you want to use this foundation and don't mind having to put up with the oils (like me lol) then you can just use blotting sheets and it'll take care of the job for you :] You get a decent wear time out of this foundation and depending on what you're doing, it could potentially last until the next morning, but you would probably want to add on some powder for a little extra coverage. I love using this foundation because it really doesn't take much skill to use it. It does a great job of blending out with giving the right amount of coverage. I've been using slightly damp sponge wedges to apply my foundation and it makes it look flawless and evens everything out.

I hope you guys enjoyed my review! Have you tried out this foundation?! What do you think of it? I would love to know; you can tell me your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter @ciaociaoreview. I'm also planning to do a review on all my favorite summer foundations that I've been using on me and my friend's YouTube channel, which is youtube.com/fourustocelebrate I'm hoping to get that video out by Tuesday or Thursday. If you're curious about the YouTube channel, I mainly post new videos on Tuesday and Thursday and from this week on I'll be posting reviews for previous products that I featured on this blog and some new ones as well! So definitely subscribe to our channel to stay up to date!

I just wanted to thank each and every one of you who come by to take a look at my reviews. I can't tell you how much it means to me and I love reviewing and checking out new products, so if you ever want me to review a product, don't hesitate to let me know!

Until my next post,

Stay Beautiful <3

[REVIEW] Revlon | Gel Envy - Pocket Aces & Diamond Top Coat

IT'S FRIDAY!! Hope you Beauties are ready for the weekend! Today's review is on a product that is fairly new on the market. Drug store gel nails are a heaven sent thing, in my opinion, because I always wanted the look and longevity but I never wanted to pay the high price from a nail salon. I was extremely excited about this because it was one of the more affordable gel nails product that didn't require a UV lamp. Anyhow, let's get into the review :]

Breakdown - Pocket Aces:

- Brush: My nails are what I consider average length (when cut) and even the width is what I consider average, and the brush does a great job of applying a decent amount of product and makes it easier to spread the color out. When it comes to the amount of product the brush disperses, it really depends on how much product you opt to keep on the brush, but let me just tell you, it can hold enough product to apply a thick and opaque coat on my thumbs.

- Pigmentation: This is one of the few nail polishes that I can get away with only using one opaque coat. You just need to be careful because if you don't work with it quickly, you can end up with some streaks, especially near the base of the nail.

- Finish: This color has a great glossy finish to it on it's own, but with the top coat that is provided it does enhance it. Even though it has a glossy finish, the color looks pretty flat, it just doesn't have that extra umph to it.

- Longevity: To be honest, I haven't attempted to wear this color on it's own. However, with a top coat it lasts for more than a week with some minor chips near the top of the nail. This is definitely a good amount of wear time and when I was testing this out I really put it to the test. I did a bunch of dishwashing, typing, scraping, etc. and it did a great job of lasting for over a week. I also have it on my toes, and let's just say that my feet take more abuse than my hands; it hasn't budged and looks like I just painted them.

Breakdown - Diamond Top Coat:
- Brush: I love the brush that comes with this coat. It's like two flat brushes in one. This does a great job of picking up a good amount of product to put a thick coat on to really give the nail polish a high gloss finish.

- Finish: When it dries, it gives a nice glossy finish, but after about 2-3 days the finish changes. It becomes a little dull and for some reason, things can still imprint on it. So it almost looks like you didn't completely wait for the polish to dry before you touched it.

Overall:

Okay, so I was extremely curious to see how these two would work on their own, and I'm planning to do a video where I go over a bunch of the gel nail products that don't need a UV lamp. Anyhow, what I did was I used Pocket Aces and instead of using the Diamond Top Coat, I used my Sally Hansen Insta-Dry top coat; with the Diamond Top Coat, I used one of my regular nail polishes (on my ring finger) and put the top coat on top of it. I don't think the picture does a great job at showing how my nails compare, but the Sally Hansen gave a better glossier finish than the Diamond Top Coat, without the embedding. It still looks like I just painted my nails. The regular polish with the Diamond Top Coat, looks glossy, but not as glossy as the Sally Hansen Top Coat.

This picture is after a couple days of wear.

After testing it, it seems the Top Coat is something that you could skip on. I feel like there's a good variety of colors in the range, a lot of unique colors (from what I could tell from the bottle), but you'd be better off using a top coat the dries fast, I highly recommend Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry Top Coat because it gives any of your nail polishes that glossy look.

Have you tried out his line of nail polishes? What do you think of them and what colors have you tried? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@ciaocaioreview).

Until my next post,

Stay beautiful <3