Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Polish

When it comes to gel effect polishes I have a very high standard for what it takes for me to really love the product.

1)      If you’re going to sell me a gel polish it has to be as good as a Shellac or Vinylux.

2)      Has to last at least 5-7 days without chipping

3)      Stay glossy for the time being on my nails

4)      Can’t take long to dry – that goes for all polishes with me though

I bought a load of Vinylux polishes when I was at the Irish Beauty show a few months ago and they have set a really high bar for what I think of other polishes. I have however found it hard to source some, I know you can buy them online but I’m trying to cut back on my online spending.

This is a good thing though as I found a new love in the polish world that I think could possible trump my Vinylux ones.

The Colour Stay Gel Envy polishes from Revlon are possibly the best drugstore polishes I have ever tried. They tick all the boxes for me in what I look for in a gel polish.

They last all week, the shine never dulls, they are highly pigmented and when it does chip it’s usually by the end of the week and they are so tiny that unless my hands are right in your face you won’t notice them.

The price point is very similar to the Vinylux polishes. They retail for €9.29 in Boots and have an amazing colour range with 30 colours to choose from plus a top coat.

You will need to buy the top coat when getting the polish, its key that you do as this is what keeps your nails in tip top chip free condition and makes your nails super shiny.

The colours are highly pigmented, at least the ones I’ve tried so far have been. You could get away with one coat but I still pop two on. With two layers of colour and one top coat you would think it would take forever to dry but it is quite quick a drying formula so you can be back to business in no time at all.

If you love long wear nail polishes as much as I do then give the Revlon Colour Stay Gel Envy polishes a go. Anyone of my friends and family that I have recommended the polish to have loved it, so get out there and get some. Oh and Boots have a 3for2 offer on at the moment so no excuses.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo 

American Drugstore Haul

Some of my favourite YouTube videos to watch are Drugstore Hauls so I had a good idea of what was popular over in the States before I left for Florida. My main aim while I was there was to buy makeup that you can’t get in Ireland or makeup that was much cheaper than at home and I think I achieved that goal!

I made a drugstore wish list before I left and stayed pretty close to it, I don’t think I deviated too much. I bought my makeup in Target, Wallmart and CVS. I went into Wallgreens but it their prices were too high compared to the others. If you’re ever in the States then it’s really good to shop around as prices unlike Ireland can differ pretty dramatically from store to store.

I won’t be going into detail with everything as I will be doing individual posts in the coming weeks.

 

To start I bought some EOS lip balms and a hand cream. You can get these in Ireland in Harvey Nichols for around €6.00 but I got mine for $2.99 which is €2.40 so I bought 3 and a hand cream. They have a new flavour out in Coconut Milk which I bought as well as Summer Fruit and Pomegranate Raspberry. I love these, they’re just so moisturising and yummy.

 

I then went slightly bat shit crazy when I found the Milani stands in Walmart and CVS. We don’t get Milani here in Ireland but they are a very affordable makeup brand with some amazing quality shadows and blushes. The shadows I bought are from their new Bella range, which are a gel powder formula and are highly pigmented. I’ve only tested them out on the back of my hand so I’ll be excited to sit down and try different looks on myself. I’ve tried one blush and it’s pretty amazing, one little swipe of your brush and you have hell of a lot of product on it, I’m so impressed. I wish I could have gotten more but the shelves weren’t stocked very well in either stores but I think my boyfriend would have killed me if I got anymore.

 

I picked up some Maybelline pieces too. I love their 24 hour tattoo range so I got some pigments and a cream shadow, I also got their The Nudes palette which you can’t get here at all and the Eye Studio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow quad in Copper Chic. I haven’t used any of these yet so I can’t tell you what I think but keep an eye out in the future for some reviews on them.

 

NYX recently came to Ireland within the last year but I haven’t been able to get near a store that sells it. I could have bought the whole stand when I was in Target but I managed to rein myself in and only get a few pieces. I had watched Sinead from The Beautiful Truth and her American haul before I left and fell in love when I saw her NYX blue liner so I had to pop one in the basket. Again I haven’t opened any of the products and the stores in America usually don’t have testers so you just have to hope you’ve picked a good colour.

 

You can get Wet N Wild everywhere in Ireland now so I was only on the lookout if they had anything that I couldn’t get here, they didn’t have anything that caught my eye but they did have the single eyeshadows for only .94 cent which is so cheap when they’re basically €2 each here. They only had 3 colours left unfortunately but I will get use out of them.

 

This is another recommendation from The Beautiful Truth who raves about it. It’s an eye liner that also helps boost your lashes which is always a bonus. I’m not the best when it comes to putting on my liner so hopefully I’ll have good luck with this one.

 

Noting really caught my eye in L’Oreal but I did pick up a lip crayon that I don’t think is available in Ireland and one of their Infallible shadows. I’ve never used the shadows but I’ve heard amazing things about them that I’m sure I’ll love it.

 

 I also picked up some of the Revlon Colourstay foundations that I wear all the time. I love this makeup but its €17.79 in Boots so when I saw that it was $9.98 in Walmart I was all over it. I bought the shade Buff and Sand Beige. I was Buff before I left so I bought Sand Beige the next colour up so I’d have a darker colour for when I came back but that’s a little too pale for me know as well but I’m sure by Christmas I’ll be back to my pale self.

 

Finally I got this Burt’s Bees’ Lip Crayon, I just like the colour so it got thrown in the basket.

That’s all the drugstore makeup I bought, if I didn’t have my boyfriend giving me the stink eye I probably and most likely have bought an awful lot more.

Do you think I missed out on anything? Leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Revlon Colorstay Foundation Review

As a girl with oily/combination skin it can be very hard to find the perfect foundation that will stay on for hours and not leave me looking like one an oil slick.

For years I swore by MAC Pro Longwear, I still do use it but I’ve been finding my hand has been reaching for my Revlon Colourstay foundation more and more since I bought it. They sell it for both oily/combination skin and normal skin.

It is a heavier coverage than my MAC Pro Longwear but it still looks natural and keeps my skin matte for longer which is what I’m looking for.

When I first bought it I got it in Sand Beige which is now slightly too dark for me, if you buy MAC foundation it is equal to NW20. I seem to be getting paler each month and the next time I bought it I had to buy it in Buff which is the equivalent to MAC NW15, it matches my skin perfectly.

Full coverage yet still gives a natural look

The primer I wear does make a difference, I have a few that I go between some make me less matte then the others, the one that works best is the Bourjois Happy Light Matte Serum Primer. In the pictures I used Fuchsia Face Primer which I was testing out and I don’t think I had to powder my face once which for a  girl with oily skin is unheard of.

Applying the foundation is a bit difficult because you have to try get it out of the bottle and it can be a bit like banging the end of a ketchup bottle, sometimes it just won’t come out, which is the most annoying thing about the foundation. I heard you can buy a pump from Nars that fits it perfectly, I just haven’t managed to get my hands on one yet. Once I get it on to the back of my hand, I use my Sigma F80 flat top kabuki brush and just keep buffing it into my skin, for a few minutes. The result of all that buffing is a super smooth application, which gives you amazingly flawless skin.

The foundation says it lasts 24hrs on the bottle, seriously who wears their foundation for 24 hours their skin must be in bits, but it does last all day and on a good day I’ll only have to powder my face once or twice, which is a big thumbs up from me!

I have a few foundations in my makeup collection but this one seems to be the most reliable for it – it matches my skin colour, gives me a natural look even though it’s a heavier coverage, its long wearing and finally keeps me looking matte all day.

The foundation is available in Boots for €17.80, and you can purchase it in all good pharmacies.

If you know of any other matte looking foundations that work great for oily skin let me know, just leave a comment below.

Before - Right, Aftet -Left

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah