Review: Sally Hansen's Salon Manicure Cuticle Eraser + Balm

This is a product I wasn't aware that I needed. I was at CVS/pharmacy with two of my friends and we ended up in the nail care section. I stumbled upon this, read the back, but didn't think very much of it. Off topic but still related, I'm not the type of person that gets a basket when entering a store. No, I'm the one somehow balancing a dozen different items in my arms. At checkout, I found this in the crook of my elbow even though I could have sworn I'd put it back. Instead of just discarding it to the side, I decided to take it and give it a try. After all, apparently I wanted it subconsciously.

Its purpose is to soften the cuticles in order to more easily clean them up. I use this right after removing my nail polish since I use 100% acetone, which is terribly drying. It moisturizes my skin right away and makes those unsightly little skins sticking up almost painless to remove. It's very discreet: it goes on completely transparent and has a light fragrance that kind of reminds me of soap. The packaging makes it perfect to bring on the go, however it is rather oily until it has fully soaked in; something to keep in mind if you are in the middle of anything.

All in all, I do enjoy using this product and for $7, I would recommend picking this up to add to your manicure kit. Have you ever tried this product or something like it? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter. I would love to hear your feedback!

Review: Maybelline's Express Manicure Quick Dry Protecting Top Coat

Since my previous post was a loose tutorial on nails, I thought I would stick in the same theme for today's review. My grandmother and I Facetime each other every few days or so. (I would call her every day but work gets in the way of doing that. She's basically my Mum minus the fact that she didn't give birth to me, to give you an idea of how close we are.) A few months ago we were chatting and she raved about this new top coat she had just gotten. She picked one up for me and mailed it out the next day from France.

She was not exaggerating one bit in her praises! A fast-drying protecting lacquer, it also adds a lot of shine and makes a manicure last significantly longer without chipping. I'm talking my manicure has gone eleven days strong and all the nails looked like new minus the visible growth. How impressive is that!? I've looked at Maybelline's varnish line here in the States and regrettably have to say that they don't have something like this available. They do have the Express Finish line with a variety of colours but no top coat - quite silly in my opinion. Please don't think of me as a tease, I'm just smitten with this product and wanted to share. If you or someone you know is going to either France or the UK, definitely add this to your list of things to bring back! 

What is your all time favourite top coat? Leave me some recommendations in the comments or on Twitter. I would love to try out some more options and eventually post a compare and contrast perhaps? Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you soon! 

Review: Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant in Ooh-la-la Lavender

SUCH a random product to review, I know, but I figured I would share my opinion of it with you because of everything it promises. Allow me to give you an idea of why this subject is a big deal for me. In mid-January, I got promoted from hostess to backwaiter at the restaurant I work in. Boy, I did not know the beating I was getting myself into. Up and down the stairs fifty times a shift. Carrying 30-50 pounds at a time. Burns, cuts, bruises, broken nails. Getting barked at all of the time. It is tough. So tough that I started freezing up and having panic attacks for little to no reason. And just to add insult to injury, as a result of all of these things put together, I started getting these unsightly sweat stains at the pits of my black shirts. Great. So I picked up one of Secret's Clinical Strength deodorants hoping it would help.

The product's main focus is repressing "stress sweat" which apparently smells four times worse than normal sweat. I didn't have an odor problem but I definitely did have a wetness issue - hence the staining. I've been using it for about a month now and am thrilled to say that I'm looking good! I have noticed that I very rarely feel like I'm sweating there at all anymore (normal or healthy? probably not, but remember the priorities). My arm pits (and all the muscles in my arms too!) look good; the rest of me doesn't because the job just can't be helped, it seems.

My previous deodorant of the same scent was around the $5 mark, while the Clinical Strength version cost about $8 (on promo, otherwise it's normally closer to $10). My major complaint about this deodorant: there is so much packaging for so little product. Look at the stick, it's brand new and only half of it is filled.

Why is the tube only half full? Why is the box so much bigger? Why does it even need to come in a box? For whatever reason, this gets me really worked up and I'm not even that environmentally conscious. Wastefulness aside, this is a product worth investing in if you need to keep sweat, stressed or not, under control.

Thank you for taking the time to read about deodorant! A pretty awkward thing to write about, but it's certainly something all of us use (I hope so, at least). Hope to see you soon!