Review: Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat 960

I bought this top coat two weeks ago. I've been getting into nail art, and needed a top coat that would dry quickly but not move around colors or look horrible on the nail. The product description for this top coat is that it will dry in 30 seconds. And I had my reservations about the voracity of that claim. Honestly, with my last top coat, over a few layers of polish, took an hour to really dry enough for me to be functional again.

I've used this top coat over one coat of polish and over five coats of polish. Within a minute it's dry to the touch. Which is awesome! It's not so dry that you can't smush or mar your polish if you dig into it. But it's dry enough to be functional. And for that? Revlon, thank you.

Bottom Line: I will definitely buy this stuff again. And I'd recommend it to anyone who loves their nails but has a life. Grade A.

UPDATE: It's been months since I bought this top coat, and frankly I rarely reach for it anymore. If this is the only top coat that I use, even with daily applications, my nails are chipping by day two. I do use it every now and then. I put a fresh coat of top coat on my manicure every day. And there are some days when I'm super busy and have to run around all day. If that's the case, and I don't have time to let my regular top coat dry, I will throw a coat of this on and hit the road. If you use it, make sure to wrap the polish around the tip of your nails to delay any chipping.

What top coat do I use? OPI's top coat, and I put a few drops of the OPI drying drops on for a quick finish. My manicures just last that much longer by using the higher quality product. I've been told to try the Seche Vite quick dry top coat, and will do that in the near future and report back.

I figured an update to this review was important, because time has shown there are better products out there for me to use and I will always pass that info along to you.

Toning Shampoo For Blondes - You Need This!

I just picked up some Schwarzkopf Bonacure Color Save Silver Shampoo 8.5oz from Amazon.com. Last night was the first time I'd used it and wanted to put a post up about the results. Because I'm floored.

First, why use a toning shampoo? Blonde hair, whether dyed or natural, will oxidize and yellow. Even women with blonde, grey or white hair will see a yellow tinge creep up. This can be due to factors like pollution or hair products, or even the water you use. It's the number one reason women hie their butts back to the salon for color-touch-ups. Nothing makes you look older than a yellow tinge to a blonde head of hair. 

So why did I buy a toning shampoo? I'm naturally a dark blonde. Over the summer, because of the sunshine and a botched highlight, my hair started to look like a psychodelic kaleidoscope of blonde. But my roots were growing as the days shortened and it just looked trailer park. About two weeks ago I bought a box of dark blonde and did the whole thing one color. It looked nice. And then a few days ago I went to brush my teeth before bedtime and my hair looked like the dirty side of a copper kettle. I was shocked, it happened so quickly and over my entire head. Brassiness, evils answer to angelic blonde.

Fast forward to last night when I climbed into the shower with Schwarzkopt's Color Save. It came out of the bottle like a deep blue pool of scary. The directions said to put it on and rinse it out immediately (or you can dye your hair purple). So I did, and carried on. Honestly, before I climbed into bed my hair was wet and I didn't think there was a huge amount of difference. This morning I got in front of the mirror and my jaw hit the floor. At least 80% of the brassiness is gone from my hair. It's still blonde, it's still beautiful. But now it looks - natural and healthy. I can't believe how effective this stuff was. So I wanted to know... how often should I use my purple shampoo?

TheBeautyDepartment.com has a great little article about it. The part I found the most helpful being...

"Purple shampoo pointers…

• When you first start using purple shampoo, use it every other time you shampoo and then adjust your useage from there. If you find that it’s still brassy, start using it every time you shampoo. If you see it starting to get just a touch too ashy, slow your usage. I have clients who use it once a week and some who use it every time they shampoo. It really depends on the type of hair you have (and the amount of yellow you’re trying to combat.)
• 
  
• If you’re all over blonde, apply a good amount of purple shampoo to the root and let it run out through the ends as you lather and rinse. Typically the top of your hair is more golden/brassy than the ends (if you’re blonde) so you’d want the most concentrated amount up top. The ends are more porous and will grab the color faster so it doesn’t need to stay on the ends as long. Just let it drizzle through the ends and they will catch the color.
• 
  
• If you’re not a blonde but have blonde or caramel highlights on hair that’s darker, you’ll want to only apply purple shampoo where you have lightened hair. You can always shampoo your hair with something else up top and then apply the purple toning shampoo to the lighter bits that tend to get brassy.
• 
  
• If your hair gets really yellow, let the purple shampoo sit on for 5 min. If you’re just fighting a minimal amount of brass,  a minute or two will be sufficient.
• 
  
• If you have a medicated scalp shampoo or just a shampoo that you can’t live without, you can always shampoo twice– once using your regular shampoo to get your hair clean or your scalp taken care of and then once with the purple to tone. I’ve always shampooed my (and my client’s hair) twice to get a super clean canvas for styling. So when I was blonde, I would shampoo once with a cleansing shampoo and then once with purple to tone. Typically purple shampoos aren’t known for their cleansing properties so if you need to get your scalp really clean, try using the two shampoo method.
• 
  
• Purple conditioners– not a fan. I would rather not tone the hair twice. It becomes too much and can lead to an ashy tone if you over do it with both shampoo and conditioner. Purple shampoo followed by a good condtioner is more than enough.
• 
  
• If, by chance, you ever over-do it and take it one purple shampoo too far, don’t worry. Just hop back in the shower and shampoo with a non-purple shampoo and it will fade off."

If you haven't checked out their site, do yourself the favor and do it. In the meantime I hope this information helps some of you blondes out there, who, like me, have walked through life with brassy yellow-tinged hair and not a clue there was a fix.

Thanks for reading, and stay beautiful! xoxox

Julep Coupon Code & Sale!!!

I just bought 7 Julep nail polishes for $33.00 including tax and shipping. Seriously! Normally a Julep polish cost $14.  I took a look at their Bon Voyage Sales Page where the polish colors they're about to retire are marked down to $7.99. I picked out my favorite colors and during the checkout I used promo code BEAUTYBIO and everything was marked down by half again. Win! Score! So thrilled I'm giggling.

If you've never tried out Julep's polishes, do yourself a favor and do so. These are quality, and their color ranges are breathtaking.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Belletto Airbrush HD Skin Secrets Kit for $99 !!!

Belletto Studio Coupon Code: school65 (code expires November 9, 2013)
***must be all lowercase for it work***
This code will get you $301 off the HD Skin Secrets Kit making it $99 and $301 off the Ultimate Skin Secrets making it $129!!
www.bellettostudio.com 

iheartmakeup92 just posted this coupon code on youtube that is good through November 9th for $301 off.  An incredible savings!

An Hommage to Mary Greenwell, Thanks to High50

High50 is a Youtube channel that describes themselves as: "A global community for people over the age of 50 who believe the journey, in all its wonder, has only just begun." We are fortunate because High50 did a collaboration with Mary Greenwell, a series of videos forming her masterclass. I'd posted them here so I can find them again and watch them over and over and over. All skin does one thing...age. Mary makes beauty at any age a beautiful thing. Enjoy...

Learning from The Master - Mary Greenwell

Lisa Eldridge brought Makeup Master Artist Mary Greenwell into the studio to show us two looks she's done for very fair-skinned women. The amount I learned just by watching her in these videos is impressive. You can tell a master when you see one. Many thanks to both Lisa Eldridge and Mary Greenwell. I sincerely hope you find these as illuminating as I have.

My Old Style

W Magazine posted this picture on Facebook with a link to this article.  I was floored when I saw the photo because that's exactly how I dressed in high school. I owned a shirt almost identical to this one. And my jeans were baggy, almost like skirts with a big chunky belt. I had to post it here, because it definitely made me smile when I saw this. Love it!