Dinosaur Egg Nails with Zoya & Essie

Hi friends :)

I started a new job today, and my nails were looking pretty shabby - so I figured it was time to upgrade. I got both of these polishes in Birchboxes (February & March).

I love how this glitter has two different sizes to it. It reminds me of dinosaur eggs :)

The bottom color is by Zoya and it's called Megan. Zoya polishes run $8 each & I am a really big fan of this color of spring. It's listed on the website as being in the gray family - but I honestly think it looks lilac to me. There is a definite purple tone going on.

The glitter is by Essie and it's called Set in Stones. This polish also runs $8 and even though it's a just topcoat - I absolutely love it. Unlike a lot of glitter top coats that don't distribute evenly and end up looking weird and clumpy on your nails - Set in Stones applied perfectly on my first try. I am really skeptical with these "various glitter sizes" type polishes, but this did not disappoint in the least. If you're tired of dabbing the brush angrily on your nails trying to get the bigger glitter specks in the right place, quit driving yourself nuts and invest in this polish. Plus - silver looks great over just about any color.

If you'd like to purchase either polish - just click the name links above :) Those will take you directly to the corresponding websites.

All of the Problems I Had with Befine Today

Aside from the fact that I got freaking laundry detergent in my Birchbox this month - I was pretty happy with what came this time around. I got a nice little tinted lipbalm, a sample of Taylor Swift's perfume which I already know smells like a heavenly angel, some makeup removing wipes, & a box of "Befine" skincare samplers.

I chose to talk about Befine, though, because

a) it was the most interesting thing in the box this month and,
b) it kind of annoyed me

I've never even heard of this brand before, so there was no prior knowledge or opinion of them before today. Their whole gimmick is that they offer "FOOD SKINCARE", which is slightly gross to me - but I don't like to form opinions before I give something the benefit of the doubt. Actually, to be precise, the box says "Fine Food Skin Care". So it's not just any food... it's FINE food.

In the box, they gave me an exfoliant and a daily moisturizer. Both came in those thick, foil packets & they look this this:

So I used the exfoliant first, and since I hate washing anything off of my face in front of the sink because the water drips down my arms and all over the floor, I decided to take it into the shower with me. I feel this is fairly normal, especially for an exfoliant.

Well the packages SUCK to open. They have a little "notch" where you're supposed to rip them, but after countless attempts (with wet hands, mind you... & this would happen whether you were using this shit in the shower or not), I had to resort to using my teeth. This is how I discovered that the exfoliant actually kind of tastes good. Once I got somewhat of an opening going, I started trying to squeeze some of the product towards the top & let me just add that packaging like this for a single use size of exfoliant is a terrible, terrible idea. Not only do alot of the "grains" get stuck to the side, it's a freaking texturized ball of goop and it isn't easy to just shimmy it up the sides with your fingers from the outside. I had to resort to ripping an even bigger hole into the package with my teeth & shoving my hand inside to get a decent amount of product. I get that it's a sample, but when a sample annoys me enough to write a blog post about it - chances are I'm not opting for full size.

Once I did get the chance to smear the stuff on my face, it was nothing special. The grains were pretty big & it's definitely not a "mild" exfoliant - it was pretty serious business.. However, in terms of feeling extra moisture from it or anything like that - I didn't get that. Honestly, my face didn't feel any different than it does whenever I just rinse it off in the shower with nothing. For an exfoliant that costs $25 for full size, I was was expecting SOMETHING extra.

Then I had a super great experience with the moisturizer. 

I read the freaking package on the exfoliant and it CLEARLY STATES to "follow with the daily moisturizer to seal and protect skin". Keep in mind that this is 9:30pm. I usually moisturize before bed, so I was replacing this with what I normally do when I get out of the shower. I noticed that this did have sunscreen in it, but the moisturizer I normally use does, as well, and it doesn't make a difference to me. I still use it at night with no issues.

Once I got past the deathgrip of the packaging, I squeezed some of the moisturizer into my hand and I was surprised at how light it felt initially. Then I put it on my face.

Thick.

Greasy.

Smells like I should be laying in the sand in Punta Cana.

NOT COOL.

Anything that says DAILY MOISTURIZER - I am going to assume it is light and practical enough to use every single day, regardless of when you choose to moisturize your face. If you are a skincare brand and you are going to make a daily moisturizer that is thick and smells like sunscreen, you need to put a disclaimer that it isn't for nighttime use.

And even if I was using this DAILY MOISTURIZER before work or the gym in the morning - I don't want my freaking face to feel greasy and I sure as hell don't want to STINK like sunscreen. I mean - I have a stuffy nose and I can STILL smell the stuff. It's something I would maybe opt for if I were spending the day at Cedar Point. Or the wave pool. Or perhaps a family picnic where I would be playing volleyball in the sun for 3 hours.

Not. Every. Day.

I'm going to go wash my face again now.

Five Favorites Video... Featuring Luna.

Out of all of the emails I get from readers, I have found that you guys are really interested in the crap that I use on my face everyday. I opted for the video format just because any lengthy posts can get a little bit annoying to read - so I figured this would be more entertaining for you all. Let's be honest, when you see a blog post that rivals one of the Harry Potter books in terms of length, you click right back to Facebook or Twitter or whatever you were doing and continue like you never even saw the damn thing.

I'm recovering from some allergy/sinus issues - so I'm sorry if I sound nasally lol.. I also want to give a disclaimer that there is an attention seeking italian greyhound in this video that wants nothing more than for me to throw her tennis ball. Enjoy.

Tarte Lip Tint ($24.00) <- apparently the color I showcased isn't available through the site, but there is a very similar shade called "joy"
Senna Matte Eyecolor in Blend ($16.50)
e.l.f. Mineral Foundation + SPF15 in Light ($5.00)
Kat Von D Sin-Full Lash Mascara ($19.00) <- not as bad as I thought price-wise

Never hesitate to email me suggestions, comments, or questions! I love hearing from each and every one of you! You can direct everything to unnecessarydrama@gmail.com!

Senna Gets Springy With It

I'll tell you what - Senna treats me like a freaking princess. I am extremely grateful to have a relationship with them & I will forever sing their praises. Not only do they make extremely high-quality makeup that I am always impressed with, they are an all-around good company.

About a week ago, they sent me over a few of their new shades for Spring. I usually change up my makeup routine fairly dramatically when the weather gets warmer & these seem to fit in pretty well with what I do with my face in the Spring. I tend to stay away from super dark colors and I definitely play around with brighter colors a little bit more. I don't know - something just feels wrong about celebrating Easter with black smokey eyes and an obscene amount of bronzer.

So here's what I will be gushing about in this post:

Pressed Powder Blush in Tres Jolie - $18.50

Velvet Eyeliner in Black Violet - $18.00

First of all, Senna's packaging is really awesome, as always. Second - I want to add in that the eyeliner has a smudge tip on the opposite end which I forgot to take a picture of.

Anyhow, the blush is nice on my skin tone. I am pretty pale, but I have a little hint of olive in my skin. The website describes the color as a "clear glowing pink" which is pretty accurate. It has just a tiny little hint of shimmer to it, but I definitely wouldn't classify it as sparkly. This is a huge plus in my book because I don't enjoy looking like I dunked my head in a vat of pearlescent glitter.

Looks pretty natural, just a little color which is all you really need.

Oh yeah - I cut all my hair off, too..

Next, this freaking eyeliner applies like butter, I'm not even kidding. I get really annoyed whenever I get a new eyeliner and I have to shove it into my eyelid with the strength of Jesus in order for it to spit any type of color out onto my skin. Fresh out of the package - this eyeliner goes on smooth and really pigmented. 

I have issues with purple liner and shadows because if they're not dark enough, they can make me look like I'm sick. This shade is called "black violet" and even though I was skeptical, I found that it's just dark enough and doesn't have that "pinkish" color to it whenever its smudged out. I like to take colored eyeliners and apply them thick, then smudge them out around my eyes. I usually don't pair it with shadow, just a little bit of black liner and some black mascara. It's kind of a happy medium between smokey eyes and light makeup. With a pop of color - it's a really cute and easy look:

Senna also makes this really easy since they include the smudge tip right on the other side of the liner tube. Really quick and easy, and it's a nice medium between too heavy and too light. Perfect if you feel like a full-on smokey eye looks too harsh on you.

And if you have blue eyes like me - purple makes your eyes pop.. a lot :)

So if you'd like to try either of these products, you can find them both on Senna's website at www.sennacosmetics.com. I want to take the time to send a big THANK YOU their way for making me one of their trusted blogging partners, as well. They're a great company, and I hope you will all give them a try if you haven't already! Hope you all had a great Easter, as well!

Born Pretty Review - Nail Art Brushes

As you may have picked up from the last post, I have been somewhat into nail art lately. I do my nails at least once a week & at some point in time - this happened:

.. don't judge me.

But I have been really into the "skinny brushes" lately & aside from a few I picked up at 5 below - I didn't have many color options. Then, I got a really sweet offer from a website called "Born Pretty" that sells a lot of different beauty supplies, but focuses mainly on nail art. They're a china wholesale site, but you don't have to order 16 of anything to get a good deal. The prices are really affordable and I was impressed at the quality of the polishes I received from them. So just because it's China wholesale - don't assume you're getting crappy products :)

Also, everything ships for free and within 24 hours. Which is really rare for a site like this.

So anyways, I chose to review the 9 piece acrylic UV gel nail art kit. That's a really long name. In short - they're skinny brush polishes that are glittery and actually have some color to them. The whole 'having a background color" and not just being clear polish with glitter in it was a big plus for me. You don't need to coat them 30 times & they're not clumpy like a lot of other glitter polishes either.

If you order 1 set (you get all 9 colors) - it runs $8.07.. But it's wholesale, so if you get more than one, the price goes down. This site would be great for Christmas presents, so keep that in mind.

Anyways - I pulled this off with them:

It reminds me of Fruit Stripes gum :) But that was one coat.. didn't have to go over any of the stripes a second time. Very clutch.

If you're into doing your nails pretty, it's definitely a site to check out. Aside from polishes - there are a ton of nail art decorations (stickers, slices, nail dangles, etc...) so you can really put together some cute designs with the stuff they have available. If you were thinking about ordering, they were nice enough to send me a 5% code from unnecessary drama readers :) So enjoy! Take advantage.

The website is:

http://www.bornprettystore.com