Quickview: Nailene Acrylic Strong Topcoat (and White French Tip Pen)

I received some products to review recently from Nailene (how awesome of them, right?). Well, the first thing I tried is the Acrylic Strong topcoat. Now, I already have an HG topcoat and everything else I’ve tried doesn’t compare so I wasn’t expecting much from this product. However, I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised.

I applied two coats on my bare fingernails and it really didn’t chip unless I really slammed my hand into something (I’m a klutz, so this type of thing happens), and it didn’t peel. It’s a clear polish, and it stayed glossy and actually helped my nails grow. Is there some sort of magic juice in the polish? Don’t know- could be just that having something on them helped, but they definitely grew. I haven’t tried it over a polish yet, but when I do I’ll update.

*Update* I’ve now tried it over their white French tip pen- and it’s chipping- it’s either the pen quality or the topcoat, so I’m going to give it a shot with something else over it and see if it’s the top coat quality that’s lacking. Stay tuned ;)

Wk of 10-25 thru 10-31

Hi everyone! Happy Halloween! Lots of deals this week, so have fun! Send me pics of your Halloween makeup! I want to see what you've done and I'll post them on the blog if you like :) Oh, if you're going to the salon/spa and in the Chicago area, take in a stick of your deodorant and Dove will give you a brand new stick of theirs and 10% off your visit that day! Starts tomorrow.

CVS
-Almay BOGO (this almost never happens, take advantage)
-Maybelline lip or mascara BOGO 1/2 off
-Revlon BOGO 1/2 off
-Covergirl spend $20, get $8 back in ECB
-Ardell or Duo lashes BOGO 1/2 off

Walgreens
-Loreal face BOGO 1/2 off
-Rimmel is 50% off
-Covergirl BOGO 1/2 off
-Revlon BOGO 1/2 off

Rite Aid
-Revlon Colorstay BOGO
-WNW BOGO 1/2 off
-Artificial nails and lashes (ALL!) BOGO 1/2 off
-Almay BOGO (two stores in the same wk? Madness!)
-Loreal eye BOGO
-Covergirl face and eye BOGO 1/2 off
-WNW Fantasy Makers makeup 40% off
-NYC BOGO 1/2 off
-$2 Covergirl Outlast coupon in ad
-$2 Physicians Formula coupon in ad

Wk of 10-18 thru 10-24

Ugh,not many good deals at all next week :( The EOB brush sale is kind of good because I don't think they go on sale very often. By the way, I've tried the Telescopic Explosion and so far it's getting a thumb's down! I'll do a full review soon.

CVS
-Milani BOGO 1/2 off
-Essence of Beauty brushes BOGO 1/2 off

Walgreens
-Loreal Telescopic Explosion $8.99
-Almay face and eye BOGO
-Maybelline face and eye BOGO 1/2 off

Rite Aid
check back soon

Wk of 10-11 thru 10-17

Have you seen this new Loreal Telescopic explosion mascara? I haven't- late to the game per usual, but man- WANT! I think it's a very interesting concept, but of course I'm not willing to fork out the dough for the Givenchy version. I'll be picking this up as soon as I see it and you happy people can expect a full review. Here are the deals for next week- pretty decent week so enjoy!

CVS
-Revlon BOGO
-Almay foundation BOGO
-Almay eye BOGO 1/2 off
-Covergirl eye or lip BOGO 1/2 off
-Sally Hansen nailcolor BOGO 1/2 off
-Neutrogena BOGO 1/2 off

Walgreens
-Loreal BOGO 1/2 off
-Buy Lashblast length, get a coupon for a free one on next visit
-Revlon face and eye BOGO 1/2 off
-Maybelline lip or nail BOGO

Rite Aid
-Maybelline lip and eye BOGO
-Neutrogena BOGO 1/2 off
-Revlon face BOGO
-Loreal eye BOGO 1/2 off
-All nail enamel BOGO 1/2 off
-Covergirl BOGO 1/2 off

We Have a Winner!!!

I had such a good time reading all your responses, I'll definitely have to check out some of the products you guys mentioned!

The winner is ....... Ndoodles :)

Please send me an email with your name and address and I'll get this out to you by the weekend!!

Next week's deals will by up by Thursday. Hope everyone's having a great week!

QuickView- Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant

Quickview's are a new thing I'm going to do when I don't have much time but I want to give a quick little review on a product because I either really like it- or REALLY don't. This time it's going to be on the Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant. Normally I don't really do any type of deodorants or body wash items here- but hey, they're beauty related, right? Right.

Let me tell you about this deodorant. I love it. Dove deodorants in general are really nice and smooth going on, and I like that. I don't want to feel like I'm scraping sandpaper across my armpit, ya know? Not cool. (Suave is another good one for smoothness)

But this one in particular is great because it actually does what it claims! It minimizes the appearance of re-growth and seems to slow it down. It's not going to be amazing, there isn't a product that's amazing when it comes to this or I'd own stock in it- but you will be able to tell the difference. You do have to give it a few weeks like the package says. One thing to note- at first it kind of seemed to make the area itch but it wasn't anything serious and it went away after a week.

All in all, I'm very impressed. I'm on my 3rd stick and I don't see myself switching any time soon.

Finally! The Contest! (Closed!)

Ooh, check out those lovely prizes ;) Just kidding. Sorry the pics are grainy, I uploaded them from my phone. But here are the rules- please comment here with two things- your favorite drugstore item and your favorite drugstore dupe of a high-end item. I'll then use the randomizer site to find the winner. *Update* Please only enter once. Also, I will ship anywhere, but I've never shipped internationally before so I may need some tips on which way to go. Contest ends October 4th so you have plenty of time to enter :) Here are the prizes-

Revlon Runway Collection nails-
Mystic
Starlet
Sequins

Revlon Fantasy Lengths Lashes-
Intesifying
Lush
Flirty
Defining
Precision

Yes to Carrots lip butter in Mint (not pictured)
Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss in Glossy Rose
Ulta Smokey Eyes automatic liner in Espresso
Loreal Telescopic Mascara (part of my fave lash combo!)
StudioTools Highlighting Brush (I prefer this to the Sonia Kashuk)

Anyway, hope everyone is having a great weekend. Im sorry for the delay in the contest, I've just been really busy. Good luck everyone! Hope you like the prizes!!!

ETA- Oh, you do have to be a follower. I'll disregard that for the first 21 comments since they've already posted and may not come back before it's over (hope they'd be back but just in case).