Pink Tinsel Mani

If you read my last post, you will see my review and my nails done in the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat "#700 Cotton Candies". - I just wanted to show you my finished look with that mani. While, I didn't put a top coat on it, I did put a tinsel finish on it!

Using SinfulColors' "#1394 Pink Icicles", I made a cascade effect on my nails from the top. This polish was part of the limited edition holiday polishes released last year (2013). This polish looks just like a reddish-pink tinsel combined with black and white tinsel. 

I quite like how it turned out. Not necessarily a holiday-only look in my opinion. If anything, someone might associate more with Valentine's Day than Christmas. The tinsel polish is pretty easy to apply and dries fairly fast.

Beauty Battle: SinfulColors Crystal Crush vs Sally Hansen Sugar Coat

Today I bring you Beautiful Details' first ever Beauty Battle, where I put 2 similar products up against one another and compare to see who the winner is.

First, I bring you- SinfulColors Crystal Crushes in "#1365 Ruby Mine". This is a ruby red and dries to a textured finish that is pretty fine; feels like a very mild sandpaper finish. The "crystal" part of the title holds quite true. From a distance you cannot even tell it is textured. Many people asked to feel my nail, because it does not appear that textured. It applies very easily and this picture is sporting only 1 coat on each nail! The one thing that the picture does not capture well is that there is sparkle to it. I did a blog post about these limited edition crushes when they first came out and after trying out this gem here, I would highly recommend them if you can still get your hands on them or have not yet used them. This also dried quite fast. I did not use a topcoat here, because I didn't want to ruin the texture finish. I did have decent wear time with this polish. It was about 3 days before serious chipping and I wore it for 4 days before removing.

Next, I bring you the competitor: Sally Hansen's Sugar Coat in "#700 Cotton Candies". This is also a limited edition polish, but I still find these available at quite a few drug stores around here.

As for the performance- This polish was much more difficult to apply then the the SinfulColors one. It's not as smooth going on and I had to kind of blob it on at some parts to get the full nail to have complete coverage. This polish took 2-3 coats on each nail. Once dry, the polish is very textured and you can tell from the picture. It finishes to a strong sandpaper finish or kind of like spackle you would see on a ceiling. I quite like the texture and don't get scared by my descriptions, it is not rough and does not hurt anyone, however, it is much more of a texture than the Crystal Crushes. The dry time on this polish is quite fast so it does make for fast application and the coats aren't too bothersome. I did not wear a top coat with this, so I would not ruin the finish. I also had decent wear time with this polish. About 4 days before serious chipping and I went 5 days before removing.

The winner is......SinfulColors Crystal Crush in "Ruby Mine". While, I don't mind the work it takes to get the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat to be opaque, I have to hand it to SinfulColors. The major factor to me that makes the Crystal Crushes an overall winner is that fact that it took me only 1 coat! When you combine that with the fast dry time, it's a clear winner. I do like that the texture on the Sugar Coat shows up much better than the Crystal Crushes, I feel the overall performance, while similar, is edged out by the Crystal Crush. 

Ready For Winter - Mini CVS/Revlon Haul

I know most people get annoyed when winter/holiday/Christmas things start to roll out earlier than November. Personally, I love seeing this stuff come out in October. I've always been an earlier shopper/planner when it comes to holidays, birthdays, and celebrations. I had a coupon for $5 off of $25 at CVS a week ago and picked up a few things.

Items from left to right:

• Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter - "Provocative" [limited edition]
• Sally Sugar Coat - "#210 Royal Icing" [limited edition]
• Revlon Photoready Primer, Shadow + Sparkle - "#540 Muse" 

Of the entire Opulence collection from Revlon (which is a limited edition collection released for this holiday season), the lip butters were the thing I was looking forward to the most. I thought I had completely missed this whole collection, since it came out around the time I moved and I hadn't seen it anywhere around here. I was so happy to spot it at CVS the other week! Unfortunately, I could only get my hands on 1 of the 2. There was so much talk about the blue shade, but when I finally found this collection, only 1 of each shade was left on the display and the blue shade had been opened and a chunk was taken out it. I asked a sales associate if there was anymore, but with most limited edition displays what was out was all they had.

The purple shade, "Provocative", was the only one I could buy and even if it wasn't blue I was still intrigued by it. 

I did my best to photograph it, but whether I used flash or not it was really hard to capture what it really looks like. It's basically a clear gloss or "butter" with purple sheen and sparkle. I feel for a party or a night out it will really set the look.

Let me just say- I'm not afraid to show my naked nails. I have not been putting polish on all the time, because I have been dealing with a peeling nail and have been more focused on treatments and nourishment. Anyway, as you can see (for the most part) this is an ice blue color with purple sparkle in it. For any of you who don't know- the Sugar Coat polishes are textured and limited edition.

Here are swatches of the eye shadow palette. This palette is not believed to be limited edition. I have read from a few other sites/blogs that this is the only part of the collection that is not limited edition, however I have yet to see it on a regular display. All of the shades have a ton of sparkle in them, even though it's not so easy to see it. I feel the shadows are decently pigmented and I have another one of these palettes from the same line and really enjoy it, so I have a good feeling about this one. The lightest color is the primer and it is my favorite. I look forward to the high intense sparkle it'll add to the look. FYI- I have never really found the primer shade in these palettes to really be a primer or replace a primer you would use before applying your shadow.

So, that's it for this little winter haul. I'm hoping to pick up more goodies from other holiday collections. Let me know what you all have or want!