Ulta Matte Prime Review

Hey guys sorry I've been away for so long! School really gets in the way of things that I love, like blogging and BATS. So today I'm going to switch it up a bit and review Ulta's Professional Matte Face Primer.

 

I decided to try this since it is a mid price range primer that supposedly leaves you with a less shiny face and more refined pores. Lately I've been feeling like a few of the pores on my cheeks and my forehead were showing up more under my mineral foundation. I went to Ulta and picked this up.

I've been using it for a week now and I have to say it's pretty good. I haven't had any breakouts from it and my pores are no longer as visible. It goes on smoothly and I feel the best way to apply this is simply with one's finger.

On the back of the bottle it says, "The professional secret for a picture perfect look everyday. Contains salicylic acid for a smoother, clearer looking complexion, refines pores for an even foundation application. Contains special mattifying powders to reduce shine and prolong foundation wear." I think these claims are pretty accurate from what I've experienced so far. 

My only complaint is that at 30ml (1oz) there might not be as much product in the bottle as it initially appears. I think this is a better value than some other primers, including Benefit's The POREfessional. That compares at 1.5x the price for only 75% of the product. 

UPDATE: I've edited the rating to include packaging and edited the value for the price because I've had TWO bottles of this stuff break on me. I thought the first one was just a fluke, but when I opened the box of the second it had the same problem with it. The inside bottle that holds the product can become unscrewed from the pump, thus you can't get the product out! After two failures of the packaging I've bought a similarly priced primer that I will review at a later date.

Application: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 2 out of 5
Value for the Price: ($22 for 1oz at Ulta Stores): 3 out of 5
Pros: Works as indicated, feels smooth on the skin, non pore clogging, has acne fighting ingredients
Cons: Like most non drugstore primers it is a bit expensive for what you get, the bottles break easily.

Fall's "It" Color: China Glaze Trendsetter

I was really nervous about trying this. A lot of times yellow does not look good on light skin. However, in my humble opinion, this one does. I think this color works more  because it has a green undertone to it that makes it seem more gold. On to the swatches:

China Glaze Trendsetter (Sunlight)

China Glaze Trendsetter (Indoors)

It certainly is something different! I think China Glaze went outside the box with this color. It's not something you see every day. I had a little trouble applying this one. It came out a little thick, but not stringy. I personally like it.

Color: 3.5 out of 5
Application: 4 out of 5
Value for the Price ($2.95 via Victoria's Nail Supply): 5 out of 5
Pros: Gorgeous fall gold/mustard yellow
Cons: Not a color for everyone, may not look good on some skin tones, slightly thick

Zoya Charla + Essie Carnival + Bat= Joy!

Zoya Charla is probably one of my favorite blue-greens and it is for sure my favorite Zoya that I own. I love it on it's own but I decided to try it with something new today: Essie's Carnival Holo Glitter.

Here are the results:

Zoya Charla + Essie Carnival

Zoya Charla + Essie Carnival

 Perfect! Zoya Charla is a blue based polish packed full of green micro-glitter. I believe this may be one of those polishes that looks better on lighter skin tones. This polish applies like a dream and removal doesn't suck as much as other glitters do either. I truly dig this Zoya.

Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8 via zoya.com): 4 out of 5
Pros: Glitter, cool blue-green.
Cons: A tad bit expensive, but pretty worth it.



 And this my friends, is Stella. She is a Big Brown Bat, one of the most common species found in the United States. She is average size and VERY fluffy. These bats in the wild eat 600-1000 insects an hour and feed 4 to 6 hours a night! That's 2400 to 6000 nasty little bugs all gone. And the best part? 20% of those are pesky mosquitoes.

Kleancolor Bridesmaid and Phil

I figured I might as well make one more post today. I don't have anything new or exciting until my haul comes in later this week. So here it is! Another Kleancolor glitter. Did I mention I love these? Sorry about the nubbin' nails, I broke three on that hand by dropping a paper roll on them.

Kleancolor Bridesmaid

Kleancolor Bridesmaid

Phil with Kleancolor Bridesmaid.

 Look at all of that holo-glitter goodness! The bats really seemed to like it today. This polish is an easier to apply glitter than most of the other Kleancolors. There is just more of it in the bottle. The brush comes up with glitter on it every time.

Color: 4.5 out of 5
Application: 4 out of 5
Value for the Price ($1.75 via www.beautyjoint.com): 5 out of 5
Pros: Loads of glittery goodness, Lots of holo glitter!
Cons: No mixers in bottles

Kleancolor Red Hot

Here's another clean color glitter. This one is kinda dupe-ish for DL Ruby Red Slippers but you'll never get THAT level of bling.  Sorry for the not so great pictures, my light kind of died on me.
These are over Wet and Wild Black.

Kleancolor Red Hot

Kleancolor Red Hot

I really do like these glitters, and for $1.75 they are fantastic!

Color: 3.5 out of 5
Application: 3 out of 5
Value for the Price ($1.75 via www.beautyjoint.com): 5 out of 5
Pros: Loads of glittery goodness
Cons: Glitter is hard to apply, no mixers in bottles

Kleancolor Glitters

I got my haul of 6 Kleancolor polishes yesterday. These are my first from the brand. I'm not disappointed in the purchase. Today I have swatches of Blue-eyed girl (over Essie Dive Bar) and  Born to the purple (over some really old Sally Hansen stuff). Blue-eyed girl is a bottle packed with large and small blue glitter in a blue jelly base. Born to the purple is a bottle with lots of large and small purple glitter in a dark sheerish purple base. Here is some eye candy for you guys

Kleancolor Blue-eyed Girl

Kleancolor Blue-eyed Girl

Kleancolor Born to the Purple

The only real problem with these, as with most any glitter polish is the application. All of the glittery goodness seems to get trapped at the bottom and almost impossible to get at. The other problem with these is that there are no steel mixing balls in the bottle to try and stir up the polish. I'm thinking about putting some of my own in.

Color: 3.5 out of 5
Application: 3 out of 5
Value for the Price ($1.75 via www.beautyjoint.com): 5 out of 5
Pros: Loads of glittery goodness
Cons: Glitter is hard to apply, no mixers in bottles

Well this isn't polish but it's certainly adorable! This is Oopsie Daisy, one of OBC's Dog Faced Fruit Bats. She's not a baby, this is as big as she's going to get! She is a real sweetie pie and we are very happy to have her with us.

Oopsie Daisy

A Tribute to a Wonderful Woman: Essie Clambake

I don't usually air my family/personal issues online, but today I just wanted to do a nail tribute to an extremely wonderful woman. My Grandmother was one of the most wonderful women that have ever entered into my life. She is currently suffering the effects of end-stage Alzheimer's disease. At 83 she's lived a long life. Her style, until she fell ill, had always hovered around 1960's chic. She is one of my style icons.

Grandma and Grandpa c.1958

I've hunted for a week trying to track down that polish. Dior Trafalgar looked similar but I'll be darned I couldn't find the stuff anywhere. So I returned to one of my staple brands for a color. I ended up with Essie Clambake which is very close to the color she wore.

Essie Clambake

I really do love this color. It takes 3 coats to be semi-opaque, however this can be expected since this polish is a sheer jelly (or Sorbet if OPI is paying your bills). The only problem I had with it was a few bubbles here and there. That seems to happen every now and then with Essie polishes.

Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8): 4 out of 5
Pros: Sheer chic orange/red
Cons: Higher priced, bubbles slightly

Twinkle Twinkle Little Nail: Essie Dive Bar and Nfu Oh #60

I don't know what possessed me to try these colors together but once I did, I fell in love!

The accent nail of Nfu Oh is just flashy enough to be noticed, but not flashy enough to be too much.

Essie Dive Bar is a deep blue with a shimmer/metallic finish that flashes purple in the right light. Sometimes I feel that Essie is much better at creating more sophisticated colors, but this is one of their better dark colors. It's opaque in two coats and applies well.

Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8): 4 out of 5
Pros: Gorgeous spacey blue color, good application (especially for Essie)
Cons:  I've always felt Essie was a little bit high priced to be a "drugstore" brand, but this is just my opinion.

Kamilah The Diva

So I had four public programs today. Kamilah was her usual diva through all of them, showing off and poking at the other bats. During my last program she tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and she licked me full on the face. She'd just eaten a rather large chunk of watermelon, so it was very slobbery. Of course the crowd laughed. I giggled because I knew exactly what she was thinking: "I'm queen of this cage".

Nfu Oh #59 (and Essie Limited Addiction)

Sorry this is so late guys! Work has been a real bummer.
Firecracker red?
Check.
Gorgeous Flakies?
Check.
Fiery Sparkle?
Check

This polish has it all! It flashes green at some angles and looks like flames on your nails at others. All in all Nfu Oh hit pay dirt with this one!

Nfu Oh #59 with Essie Limited Addiction

 Duo-Chrome Effect of the Nfu Oh

Nfu Oh #59


This polish is sophisticated with a little bit of bling. Gorgeous, just like every other Nfu Oh polish I own. I really can't criticize this polish other than to say it's sheer. That is intended though, so I guess that may not count as something negative.

Formula: 5 out of 5
Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($12.50): 5 out of 5
Pros: Gorgeous Flakies, duo-chrome properties, looks like fire on your nails.
Cons: On it's own it is very sheer, takes three coats to become opaque without a color underneath.

Essie Limited Addiction

This is that perfect "I'm worth a million bucks" polish. A very sophisticated red.

Formula: 5 out of 5
Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8.00): 4 out of 5
Pros: Perfect sophisticated red, opaque color.
Cons: It's nothing unique.

Happy 4th!

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't updated lately, between getting ready for the 4th and Bat Festival I've been so busy! But just for your enjoyment and to tide you over until I post my 4th of July mani tomorrow here's a bat for you!

Greenie enjoying some 4th of July Banana!

Nfu Oh haul Plus Swatches of #61 holo

Here is my most recent order from fabuloustreet.com. The people that run the store are amazingly nice and always helpful. They even send you an email to let you know when items come back in stock! Here are my newest addi(c)tions:



#63 Holo, #59 Flakie, #51 Flakie



#63 Holo, #59 Flakie, #51 Flakie With Flash

Now for the fun part. I have a swatch of the #61 holo that I never shared. Well let's change that now!

Nfu Oh Holo #61



Now onto the review:

I love love love Nfu Oh's holos. They are one of my favorite nail polishes of all time. They do take practice to learn how to apply them. They also go on much smoother with Aqua Base. Once you get over the learning curve, and your initial surprise over how fast this polish dries, you'll be in love too!

Forumla: 4 out of 5

Color: 5 out of 5

Application: 3.5 out of 5

Value for the Price ($12.50): 5 out of 5

Pros: It's a Holo, what more can I say?, Dries fast

Cons: Tends to chip without a top coat, better with Aqua Base ($12.50), takes practice to apply correctly.

Essie Topless and Barefoot

Sorry to do another Nude Review so soon but I felt this polish was worth it!

My search for a perfect nude has come to an end. This color is really awesome. In some light it's more of a yellow nude. In other light it's very pink. At first I was a little worried about how light the color was, but after a few minutes I was completely in love.

With Flash

Without Flash

Review:
Formula: 4.5 out of 5
Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4 out of 5
Value for the price($8): 4.5 out of 5
Pros: Gorgeous shifting color, creamy and opaque after 2-3 coats, smooth application.
Cons: Slightly streaky (fixable with a top coat).
Last Take: Gorgeous polish with a gorgeous color and good application. If you don't have this one already, it's definitely one you should go get!

July 2011: OBC's 10th Annual Bat Festival

The Organization for Bat Conservation is hosting the Great Lakes Bat Festival again this year! If you'll be in Michigan it's a great family event, or just something fun to do on your own!

Here's a teaser of one of our bats:

This is Kamilah one of our two Malayan Flying Foxes. Come join the fun!

Event: 10^th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival

Event Date: July 9, 2011

Location: Cranbrook Institute of Science

Presented by: Organization for Bat Conservation

Cost: The event is for all ages and free with museum admission.

The festival celebrates the unique role of bats in our ecosystem as nature's cross pollinators and insect eaters, while dispelling myths and misinformation that generate needless fears and threaten bats and their habitats around the world. The goal of the festival is to encourage the public to understand and protect the environment and educate the public about the devastating consequences for natural ecosystems and human economies should bat populations continue to decline around the world.

First Post: Zoya Skye Review

Hey Guys,

For the first post I decided I'd review one of the Zoya polishes I've purchased this summer. Zoya Skye. It's a light nude/beige color that almost perfectly matches my skin. It's been hard for me to wear the nude polish trend because of just how pale I am, but this one sure works!

After Application

After 2 hours

However this polish has it's drawbacks. I've tried to paint my nails with this polish about five times. It never seems to dry no matter what I do. I've tried curing it under a UV lamp, air dry, and I've also tried putting a coat of Seche Vite on top. Nada. The after picture above is after waiting 2 hours then touching the polish lightly.The polish is also thick to the point of being hard to get an even coat on my nails.

Review:
Color: 5 out of 5
Formula: 1 out of 5
Application: 3 out of 5
Value for the price ($8 normal, I got mine for $4): 4 out of 5 if it works for you.
Pros: Opaque creamy color
Cons: Really thick, very difficult to dry.