New Ulta Finds

I've been in a funk lately and I was hoping some new products would give some "oomph" to my routine.

 Essie Luxe Effects in Shine of the Times is a really neat polish.  I should preface this by saying I dislike glitter polish.  I usually buy opaque creamy shades.  This gem layered over any nail polish will give it a totally different look without the chunky glitter feel.  The tiny thin flecks of foil give the polish a wet look - I'm wearing it now actually over Essie Big Spender on the ring fingers only to try it out.  I can't wait to layer this over Essie Mint Candy Apple on our upcoming beach weekend.

 Butter London Wallis.  This is not a pretty shade in the bottle.  In fact, when I picked it up at Ulta - R made a very unsure face. I dislike glitter (see above) and I also dislike iridescent shades of polish normally.  This polish is a little of both...a very olive polish with fine gold sparkle.  It is probably the most unusual polish in my collection and I love it!

 Xen Tan Mousse Intense Weekly Self Tan.  Sally Beauty Supply no longer sells my beloved Tanwise Mousse so I had to find a substitute.  This product retails for $29...quite a bit more than my previous self tanner.  I've used this a couple of times and it is fairly foolproof, I use a pair of reuseable latex gloves from Sally to apply it and the product has a green tint so you can see where you apply it.  The scent is faintly vanilla and it dries quickly.  I didn't notice any bronzer deposit on my sheets or pajamas and the resulting color is a nice medium tan that lasts about 4 days.

I've picked up this Goody Modern Updo hair pin several times in Target, Ulta, Walmart, etc but couldn't convince myself to buy it.  I just didn't see how it could possibly work.  Last Friday I finally bought it and I can't believe how secure my hair twist is without hundreds of bobbi pins.  There are instructions on the box but I highly suggest searching youtube for a good tutorial (there are several).  I can use this from the side and from underneath my hair twist to create 2 different looks.  I have medium-thick hair and the longest layer falls at the top of my bra strap...this works for me.  One word of caution, don't pull the hair too tight at the base of the head when you insert the pin and twist it - this prevents the hairstyle from hurting your scalp.  I had to play with it several times to figure out the best way to use it and now it will probably by my "go-to" for bad hair days - I can make this look cute and professional in less than 10 minutes.