The Loch Ness Monster Likes Makeup Too

So, for today's First Impression Friday, I'm going to do something a little different. I want to talk about a hair care brand called Unwash . Now, I want to be totally upfront here, I don't know much about hair care. I don't know how to style my hair, I don't know how to make my hair behave, everything I do with my hair is trial and error. However, I do know that I have somewhat challenging hair. My hair is very dry, brittle, frizzy/curly, and somewhat damaged. I only wash my hair once in a blue moon because it's so dry, but, when I do wash my hair, I often feel that traditional shampoos are a little harsh on my hair. I've been wanting to delve into the world of clarifying shampoos and co-washing for a while. One day, Ulta was having a 50% sale on Unwash products, so I thought I might as well try them out. I've actually had these products for approximately two weeks now, but I've only used them once because, as I said, I rarely wash my hair......

Kiko is one of those brands that I've been dying to try for forever, but Kiko is kind of tough to get in the US, so I haven't been able to try it...until now. The other day, I was at the Oculus Mall in the World Trade Center, and they had a Kiko store there. I almost died of excitement (I mean, not really, but you know what I mean). Anyway, if you don't know, Kiko is an Italian cosmetic brand with fairly reasonable prices. Their products range in price from Wet n' Wild level to NYX prices. I picked up a few of their products while I was at the Kiko store, and today, I want to give you my *first impressions* (although, let's be real, I've been using this stuff for more than a week). Smart Nail Lacquer in #27 (Pearly Light Blue) - I'm back on the nail polish wagon after I fell off for a while, and I'm enjoying my return to makeup mountain. Kiko had their Smart nail polishes on sale for like $2, so, of course, I had to pick up some of their polishes....

Okay, so this First Impressions blog is going to be the least first impression-y first impression ever. I bought these products during the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale (the whole brand was 50% off!), so this is really like my 30th impression of these products. Unfortunately, 30th Impression Friday doesn't sound very good, so is my not-first impression first impression of Fiona Stiles' new-ish line of products. In case you don't know, Fiona Stiles is a celebrity makeup artist who launched a new line of makeup about a year ago.  Her brand is available exclusively at Ulta, and, I gotta say, it's a pretty complete line. She's got foundation, powder, eye shadow, blush, eyeliner, the works! As a whole, my first impressions of the brand are positive. They're reasonably priced and the packaging is gorgeous. I love how everything is so pretty and purple and matching. The brand just looks so sleek and elegant. I ended up picking up four products: two blushes, an eye...

My town recently acquired an H&M (so, basically, we have just entered the 21st century). Anyway, this was intensely exciting to me because, apparently, H&M now has a line of cosmetics. Also, you know, I like their clothes and stuff. Long story short, I swatched a ton of their new makeup and decided to pick up a few things. Full disclosure, I intended to pick up some of their face products (foundation, powder, concealer, etc.), but, after swatching them, I decided they weren't worth the money . In my opinion, all of their face products are extremely light coverage. I knew without trying them out that that wasn't going to work for me. Because I was able to swatch all the products before purchasing them, I bought the products I was most impressed with. However, over all, I would say that this cosmetic line is a mixed bag. There are some great products in this line; however, there are also a lot of products that are extremely disappointing. If you're interested in...

Okay, so there's a bit of a story behind this First Impressions Friday. A few months ago, one of my friends went to England, and as soon as she told me she was going, I was like "get me British makeup!" Sleek is a British cosmetic brand, and I've been dying to try it forever. So, I gave my friend a HUGE list of Sleek products I wanted. Unfortunately, she couldn't find most of the products I wanted in stores.  But, by then, I had gotten my expectations up, and I had decided that I just had to own everything from Sleek. So, I decided I was going to order everything online no matter how much the shipping cost. Well, I got my Sleek package, I've tried out all the products, and now I have impressions. i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Garden of Eden (€8.74) - I picked up this palette because I don't really have a lot of green eyeshadow. Obviously, green eyeshadow is not an everyday look, but I have green-ish eyes, so I think it suits me. First of all, the formul...

Whew! It's Friday again. I don't know about the rest of you, but it's been a long week for me. Anyway, it's finally the weekend, which means that it's time for another First Impressions Friday! This week, it's the Pacifica edition. Pacifica is a brand that I've meaning to try out for a long time. I once got a random Pacifica lipstick from ipsy, and I've been wanting to experiment with the brand ever since. I n case you're unfamiliar with the brand, Pacifica is a 100% vegan and cruelty free brand that produces makeup, nail polish, skin care products, and hair products . In terms of price, Pacifica is fairly middle of the road . They're not super expensive, but their not a budget brand either. However, Ulta seems to have sales on Pacifica products fairly regularly. I bought most of my Pacifica products for buy one get one 50% off; so, if you're interested in trying out this brand, you should watch for Ulta sales . Anyway, I really appreci...

This week, I want to give you my first impressions of the cosmetic brand e.l.f. Obviously, most people who are familiar with makeup have heard of e.l.f., and the brand has definitely been on my radar for a while. But, for some reason or another, I've never really bought any e.l.f. products. I think I bought some of their $1 brushes and powder while I was in high school, but I didn't like them very much, and I didn't know enough about makeup at the time to be aware of the brand and how it compares to other brands. Anyway, I bought some e.l.f. products from Ulta recently (because Ulta now sells e.l.f., which is one small step for man and one giant step for makeup kind), and I want to give you my impressions of them. Mineral Infused Face Primer in Brightening Lavender ($6) - I needed a new primer, so I decided to pick up this product. e.l.f. says that this primer was "developed to combat against excess oil, flaky dryness, enlarged pores and fine lines, this clear multi...

Whenever I get to Friday, I feel like I just barely managed to crawl over the finish line of some epic, cosmic marathon. I would continue with that metaphor, but I don't really know enough about running to make it sound convincing. Long story short: It's Friday, and I'm happy. Anyway, this Friday, I want to give you some of my first impressions about a new brand I'm trying out (just to clarify, I mean "new" to me, not "new" to the earth). The brand is called Yes To and they make mostly skin care and cleansing products. My roommate uses some of their products, and she suggested them to me, so I ordered a few of their products from Ulta.com . I was really excited to try  them because, according to their website, all of their products are 100% free of toxic ingredients and 95% natural , which I always appreciate. I don't always buy all natural products (which is obvious if you read my blog), but I think it's nice to get them if you have the ...

Ulta Sends Me the Best Things  STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING: VICE LIPSTICK IS HERE! If you aren't already aware, Urban Decay just released their new line of Vice Lipsticks, which includes  100 shades (*swoon*). What a time to be alive!!! Now, when I say "just released," I actually mean that they've been out on Urban Decay's website for almost a month. However, they're now starting to appear on websites like Ulta and Sephora. Because I'm a platinum member, Ulta recently sent me a pack of mini samples of some of these lipsticks, and today I want to give you my first impressions and some swatches . This is a first impressions blog, so I haven't used any of these lipsticks long enough to form a firm opinion about them, and I'm planning on writing a full review later . However, I wanted to take this opportunity to give you some basic information about this new line of lipsticks, in case you're interested. First of all, you should know th...