First Impressions - The Body Shop Sweet Almond Oil Nail Varnish Remover

Hey, guys!  Sorry about my little hiatus there.  The nausea and fatigue does seem to be improving little by little, so I am hoping to get back into the swing of things very soon!  Today I picked up The Body Shop's Sweet Almond Oil Nail Varnish Remover, which I've heard some pretty good stuff about!  I emptied it into my flip-top pump before taking a photo, but at least you can see how it's packaged.

I will say right off the bat that it's pretty pricey for the size ($10 for 3.3 ounces).  It does not have a strong or unpleasant odor, which is a fantastic change of pace after finishing off the Nailtiques remover I wrote about in my remover comparison post last month.  It actually has a sweet fragrance that strikes me as vanilla-ish.  You can definitely still smell the alcohol in it, but overall it's a nice scent.  I'm using it on my nails as I type, so you're pretty much getting a play-by-play here.  Isn't that exciting?  I'm noticing now that the smell is actually pretty nice once you've got it on a cotton ball and the alcohol vapors dissipate.  The three nails I've done so far have come off nice and easy.  There is a bit of oily residue left behind, but it really feels like it's hydrating my nails and cuticles.  Working on my accent nail is proving a bit difficult, but that's to be expected since I used a glitter topper.  I'm not totally sold on the ten dollar price tag for such a small amount of product, but my first impression is that the product itself is really nice.  I might really love it after a few uses!

Let's Talk Nail Polish Removers!

Hey, guys!  Today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on the remover I am currently using, which is the Nailtiques Non-Acetone remover.  I picked this up at Ulta while looking for something gentle since we're coming out of winter here, and it's cold and dry and an all-around terrible time of year for my hands.  It includes aloe and conditioners!  I also picked up a Flowery pump, so I ditched the bottle, but it also said something about the remover having a pleasant scent!  I was sure that this remover would be the be-all-end-all of removers, but I was sadly mistaken.  To me, I feel it's quite drying (moreso than other acetone-based removers Ive tried), and it has a strong scent that is nowhere near as pleasant as OPI Expert Touch, Essie Naturally Clean, or Zoya Remove +.  I know that others seem to love this remover (the Ulta rating is currently the same as OPI Expert Touch), but it was a total dud for me.  I've recently had a hard time with some glitters I've tried, but to be fair, they may have just been stubborn glitters and it's possible that wasn't the fault of the remover.  So overall, I wouldn't recommend it.  There are other removers in around the same price range that leave my cuticles much happier and smell better, to boot!

Here's a breakdown of the price per volume of all the removers I've mentioned:
• Zoya Remove + // $9.99 for 8 ounce, or $1.25 per ounce
• Essie Naturally Clean // $6.00 for 4 ounces, or $1.50 per ounce

• OPI Expert Touch // 5.95 for 4 ounces, or $1.49 per ounce

• Nailtiques // $8.00 for 6 ounces, or $1.33 per ounce

So clearly Nailtiques is a little cheaper by volume than OPI Expert Touch or Essie Naturally Clean, but I would still put it at the bottom of the list were I to rank these four.  I found Essie Naturally Clean to be drying, too, but the scent is much nicer.  OPI Expert Touch has a citrusy scent, which I love, and leaves my cuticles looking and feeling nice.  Zoya Remove + is my favorite of the bunch, and I was surprised to see that it's actually the least expensive per volume!  It's definitely worth mentioning that Nailtiques is the only non-acetone remover on this list; however, OPI Expert Touch and Zoya Remove + both contain additives to counteract the drying properties of acetone and condition nails and cuticles.

First Impressions - FingerPaints Gel-Like Base and Top Coats + Hard As Steel Strengthener

*Press Sample*

Today is going to be a rare day in that I will not have any nail photos in my post!  I want to talk to you guys about some products that FingerPaints graciously sent for my review.  Last week I told you about their new Grab It! Base Coat and Smooth Over Ridge Filler, which I really liked.  This week, I have a product that I was pretty neutral about and two that just didn't work for me.  Click through to read more.

First Impressions - FingerPaints Smooth Over Ridge Filler + Grab It! Base Coat

*Press Sample*

Hey, guys!  Today I've got a couple of new products to show you from FingerPaints.  These items were kindly sent for me to review.  When I was initially contacted about these products, I was particularly interested in one item: Smooth Over Ridge Filler.  I haven't invested in a ridge-filling base coat because not all of my nails have ridges, but I do have one very prominent ridge that was caused by a nailbed trauma I suffered at the proverbial hands of a swingset chain while babysitting in my late teens.  Warning: the remainder of this introductory blurb is somewhat graphic and may cause unpleasant mental imagery, so please skip the italicized portion if you are sensitive to that sort of thing.  One of the kids ran out in front of me while I was swinging with the other kid, and in I dug my toes into the sand in order to avoid hitting him.  I had simultaneously tightened my grip on the chain - which resulted in my finger getting caught in one of the links - and it got a pretty good yank as I slid off of the swing and to the ground.  A bit of my cuticle ripped, and a small portion of my nail grew out black.  Ever since that incident, my nail has had the gnarly ridge you see below.

Click through to read about my first impression about this product!

Rainbow Honey February 2015 Mini Mystery Bag Swatches

Hey, guys!  I've got another big post for you today.  Last month, I subscribed to the Rainbow Honey Mini Mystery Bag, which was to be the sole exception to my 100 day no-buy.  Looking forward to these amazing colors really helps curb the desire to buy everything I see!  The February Mystery Bag is, unfortunately, already sold out.  It included three nail polishes, a scented cuticle balm, perfume oil, and foot massage lotion.  This month's fragrance was carnival candy, and it's a light, sugary-sweet smell that is reminiscent of cotton candy.  I found that the perfume oil had a much lighter fragrance than the lotion and the cuticle balm and faded pretty quickly for me, but I'm not much for perfumes in the first place so that didn't really bother me.  The foot lotion was fantastic.  I stand pretty much my entire shift at work, so my feet are usually pretty weary by the time I get home.  This is especially true if I run errands before or after work and/or work through my break.  I used a small amount of the massage lotion on each foot, and it really felt great on my poor, neglected feet.  The cuticle balm seems to moisturize really intensely, which is great because we've been having cold, dry weather here and it's been really difficult to keep my cuticles in check.  Click through to see what else I got!