All About Cie Marquise

I love the uniformity of acrylic nails and lately I've been missing my acrylic nails (I've worn them off and on for seven years) but I decided to try the new imPRESS Press On Manicure instead of heading to the nail salon. These glueless nails are produced by Broadway Nails (my favorite artificial nail brand) and are marketed to last up to a week. I was really impressed (no pun intended) by the designs this new manicure line offered. I picked up TGIF, a black nail with an assortment of silver dot design.



After getting home and prepping my nails for application, I realized the press on nails didn't fit! The packaging says that if the nails are too small you can press them onto the nails and stretch them out. I personally don't like the feeling of forcing false nails over my own nails. I was shocked since I've never ran into an issue with other Broadway Nail products. I was really bummed these didn't work for me. I returned the nails and am still missing the uniformity and length of false nails.

Try them out for yourself if you wish for around $8 at your local drugstore. Let me know how they work out for you. 

I've been really good about budgeting and avoiding the sale papers, but I had a hard week and retail therapy is my favorite stress reliever (besides sleep). On my way home from school, I stopped by Marshall's just to see whats new. Low and behold, they've started carrying "the Balm" cosmetics. If you remember, I reviewed their nail polish here and I loved it, so I was anxious to try out some other products. I found the Black Tie Kit for $12.99, if bought individually the products would cost $115. I'd say that's a steal! In the kit, I got two Shady Lady eyeshadows (Caught in the Act Courtney and Shameless Shana), Overshadow mineral eyeshadow (No Money, No Honey), Bahama Mama bronzer, Cheater mascara, Balm Shelter tinted lip gloss (Pin Up Girl), and lastly Hot Ticket nail polish (Better Off Red). I am really impressed with my initial swatches of each product which I will detail in a later post. I recommend you getting off your tee-hiny and going to get this kit, its sooooo worth it.

The hunt is over! I have officially found the perfect blue for me. Milani's Sail Away is an amazing denim blue from their new 2012 collection. Its a dark blue with silver shimmers. It is very opaque and applies beautifully. I wore this color and literally couldn't stop staring at my hands (few polishes have such a hold on me). Enjoy!!!

This is only one coat =0 AH-Maz-IN'

under fluorescent light

The picture on my jeans show the deep blue

Milani Sail Away is available at most drugstores for $4.49

I realized I haven't done a hair product review in a while, so here's the latest. A couple of weeks ago bought the Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Extra Strength Penetrating Oil. Although there are two types (original and extra strength), I bought the oil specifically formulated for dry and coarse hair. The packaging claims the oil will "deeply heal, smooth and restore luster to damaged,  dry and coarse hair".


Organix Moroccan Argan Oil smells great; its a typical argan oil scent. Its sort of masculine but definitely enjoyable. This product is very thick for a hair oil. It reminds me of gylcerol or vegetable oil. Therefore I only use a very small amount (half a dime size) for my ENTIRE head. Yes, it really is that thick. When I added too much, my straight hair looked greasy and my ends stuck together. I have decided that I will only use this product when my hair is only days away from washing and I have a super frizzy pony tail. To give this product a well-rounded review, I also tried it out on my curly hair as well. I applied Kinky Curly Curling Custard to my hair but I put too much in the front and it dried crunchy. I added the Moraccan Argan oil to my hair to soften the hold. Well this product "softened" a little too much and the front of my hair was FRIZZY. All the definition from Kinky Curly was gone, vanished, disappeared. To say I was disappointed is a definite understatement. I wonder if the original (non-extra strength) version of this product is any better. However, I probably wont run out an by the other one.

For those of you who are looking for a liquid shine for your straight hair, I recommend Garnier Fructis Anti Frizz Serum.  The packaging claims to "smooth and add shine to frizzy, dry, unmanageable hair". Its a lot lighter than the argan oil. It comes in a pump form, so I recommend only using half a pump for your hair. This will give your hair shine without the greasy residue. It also a great fruit scent that leaves your hair smelling great all day. I've been using this product since high school and I still love it.


Organix Moroccan Argan Oil is available for about $7. Garnier Fructis Anti Frizz Serum is around $5. Both are available at most drugstores.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I got my Wen by Chaz Dean package. Inside I received the Cleansing Conditioner, Styling Creme, Texture Balm, ReMoist Intensive Hair Treatment and a Detangling Comb. I've had a chance to use a few products so I figured it was time for my review.




I've already reviewed the Cleansing Conditioner here.

I haven't used the Styling Creme as an all over hair styler. Instead I used it to tame fly aways and frizz over the top of my other styling products. I haven't mastered its usage yet so I wont comment on its styling potential. However, I hate the smell of this stuff. It reminds me of the air freshener used in public restrooms. YAK! On the bright side after I used this on my hair I didn't notice the scent. It has a grease-like texture but it doesn't leave a oily residue.

The Texture Balm reminds me of a wax stick, just not as sticky. It works best when you rub the balm in your hand and then use both hands to melt the formula. It is good to fight frizz but takes a lot of work to get through thick hair like mine. I will use this mostly on my edges and the smooth part of my pony tails. I'm not sure if I will get much use out of this but I will keep practicing with it.

The ReMoist Intensive Hair Treatment was really a gem in this package. It was very thick and had a greasy feel after rubbing it in my hand, but it did wonders for my curls. My hair was really dry and this product rejuvenated my curls. The package says for best results use overnight. I left the mask-like treatment on my hair for about an hour and I was really impressed with the results. It smells mint like the Cleansing Conditioner a vast contrast to the Style Creme.

These products can be purchased individually from Chaz Dean's website or as a package from the WEN website. 

Every once in a while, I HAVE to return to the dark manicures. So a few weeks ago I picked up Sinful Colors Secret Admirer (933). It is a concrete gray with silver shimmers. This is an amazing color to wear on a night out, it shimmers just enough to glow under the dark club lights. So for this manicure I used Secret Admirer and decided to mix it with Sinful Colors Black on Black polish. I used tape to create the straight edge. The gel like shine was created with the help of Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat.  **Please excuse the sloppy painting. I'm still practicing on the straight line at the cuticles.

In regular  (fluorescent) light

Black on Black

Secret Admirer

Natural Light

In my February glam bag from MyGlam, I received the Freeman's Facial Hydration Mask in Goji Berry. Instead of just taking pictures of what I received in that months bag, I've decided to review the products that were interesting to me. To be honest, the February bag came wayyyy to late for my liking and I really was not impressed by its contents. So just for curiosity sake, I decided to try the Hydration Mask.



The mask claims to hydrate and smooth skin, as well as improve skin tone. It is a very thick jelly that dried semi stiff within 7 minutes. I washed my face with a warm towel first and  then left the mask on for exactly 10 minutes before I washed it off. It did take a little work to get the mask off but I wasn't left with any residue on my face. The smell was nice but very forgettable; it wasn't over powering especially since its so close to your nose for 10 minutes. I did notice a little tingling near the creases of my nose. After rinsing, my skin felt no different, it wasn't smoother and if anything it was drier. I applied my usual amount of Clinique Dramatically Different Gel and in about 10 minutes I needed another application.

In my opinion, this mask was drying and did nothing to benefit the condition of my skin. I would not recommend this for people with oily/combination skin. As you know, if you dry your skin out then your oil glands will over produce and leave you oilier than you started. I am unaware of how this product works on other skin types, but I wont be repurchasing it.

This small package contains enough for about two mask and can be found in some drugstores, the larger 6oz bottle can also be found in drug stores for $3.99.

This week was filled with stress-- 2 quizzes, 2 lab reports, and 2 finals. YIKES! To calm my 'what if' nerves I decided to treat myself to a nice session of retail therapy. I went back to the Sear's Essentials store that's closing to recheck the sales. Now all make up was 50% off retail and hair accessaries were 30% off. Needless to say, the shelves were getting low but I still found some great finds. 

Here's what I picked up from Sear's Essential:

A Revlon hair crimper/ waver. It has 3 settings and I tested it out on a back section of hair and realized it worked quite nicely. It was priced at $18.99 with 30% off so I spent around $14.

Curl Hydration Leave In

Extra Hold Mousse

I must admit that I did this manicure earlier than I expected. The french gel manicure went to hell in a hand basket so fast, it was scary. The entire white tip on my left index finger peeled off and other tips began to turn yellow. ABSOLUTELY NOT HAVING IT! So decided to remove the gel and restore my "well" manicured look. I know it seems odd, but when my nails are out of wack I feel a bit uneasy. Its one of the few things in my life that I can control, so why not look put together at all times.

Sinful Colors has a new collection out called the Heartbreaker Collection. I saw TuTu, their pale pink, and immediately knew I had to have it. I thought it was a cream pink but after using it I realized its more of a jelly and has light (very light) white shimmer. The shimmer is definitely not to be confused as silver and is sooo subtle that I only see it in very bright light. Its like a little twinkle during the say to give you a little smile. My one gripe about this color is the formula. It is very thin and took 3 coats to achieve this opaque look. Also because it is a jelly, I realized that I had to apply one thin coat and let it dry before applying another. The first time I used this color I used thicker coats and the polish puddled (yes literally puddled with ripples) along my cuticles. It is an amazing color but requires a lot of work to get things right. As an accent color, I used Sinful Color Pink Forever. It is a bright, Barbie pink that is a stark contrast to the softness of Tutu. I believe Pink Forever is apart of their permanent collection. And just because I love glitter, I added a pink glitter by Wet n Wild Wild Shine called Sparkled. It has super tiny fucshia glitters and small (larger than the fuschia but small in comparison to other glitters) silver glitters.

Hi My Loves,

I am sorry I've been missing but I am ending my quarter so final projects, lab reports, quizzes and test have taken over my life. I took graduation pictures last week =), I'm one step closer to the finish line. I haven't even purchased anything in the past few weeks =0 I know shocker right.

Well I received my WEN package in the mail a few days ago and I'm excited to use the texture and styling cream that came with the package. Also I love the comb! To be honest, I it was one of the main reasons I bought the set. I like that its heavy and not flimsy and I'm dying to use it on my curly hair. I am eyeing the Tresemme Flawless Curls collection, so I might pick it up while there's a sale at CVS (2/$7) or at Walgreens (4/$15 with $5 rewards back).

My nails are back to french tipped gel manicure due to the graduation pictures. However less than a week, I already had chipping on two nails. I'm going to try to leave them alone but I have this urge to grab the foil and the acetone.

I'm composing a list of products that I wish I'd never bought, so look for that post soon. Have a great week loves and wish me luck in my crazy life. I'm on instagram now too @ciemarquise

This weeks nail color was inspired by Beyonce. Since the birth of her daughter, Blue Ivy, she's been spotted wearing this beautiful blue color on her nails. I've always thought blue nails were trashy and ghetto looking, especially on my skin tone. Ha! Leave it to Beyonce to turn my fashion thoughts upside down. I've been on the hunt for a perfect blue so here's my first attempt at finding one that works for me.

Neon Aqua is by Klean Colors (that beauty supply brand I told you about) and is a bright blue cream polish. It applies a little thick but I didn't need to reach for a polish thinner. It is a very opaque non-streaking color. And just because I am who I am, I added a little sparkle to this manicure. Also by Klean Colors, Sparkle Emerald has very small gold and green glitters/sparkles in an ocean blue jelly. After playing around, I realized I like the glitter without a base. I used three coats of Sparkle Emerald and two coats of Sally Hansen Mega Shine topcoat to finish off with smooth nails.

I took these picture from my iPhone, I think they are a little clearer, yes?

I'm really excited to show this manicure off to see people's reactions. It is totally different from my usual pink/red/nudes but its definitely growing on me. I'm tempted to put a white crackle over it. What do you think, is this color too much?

Let me be the first to admit that I was soooooo intimidated by this color. I had first seen it in a youtube video and immediately thought "purple lipstick? no way". And I kept that opinion for months until one Monday when I saw Chrissy Lampkin's (from Love and HipHop) makeup from her engagement episode.

photo courtesy of socialiteworld.com

With a changed heart, I set out to find the perfect purple lip. After some investigation, I realized that the lip liner is what actually "made" this look. By a fluke, I was driving by my local Sears Essential (like K-Mart) and noticed they were going out of business and rushed in to see the sale. I picked up Cover Girl Lip Perfection in Divine (#330) and a darker purple/raisin liner by Jordana called Easyliner for Lips in the color Cabernet.

Both the liner and the lipstick apply in a smooth non-tugging manner. Divine does come off more pink on the lips but the liner gives the purple tint. Also this lipstick has MAJOR staining powers, so much so that when the lipstick wears off a simple lip balm can be added to provide a pink lip stain look. This can be a pro or a con depending on your personal style. I actually couldn't even remove the left over color with a vaseline and towel rub. However with all that, I think this lipstick is going into my favorites  category.

Dried Kinky Curly on my Hair

 Jordana's EasyLiners for Lips can be found at Kmart and Sears Essentials for $1.99 and CoverGirl Lip Perfection retails for $6.99 at most major drugstores.

Here's a small bundle of things I bought this last week. Most of the stuff was found on-sale (like always).

The Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Conditioner and Instant Recovery Mask were bought from RiteAid at a buy 1 get 1 half off sale.


I actually bought this Organix nourishing Coconut Conditioner before I realized there was a sale and actually bought this at WalMart. (Still cheaper than my nearby Target and CVS)

These were found at a Sears Essentials store closing sale. The following were purchased at 30% off retail price:

My new obsession. Sally Hansen Mirror Shine Quick Dry Top Coat. 60 seconds to perfectly shiny and dry nails. No more waiting for my polishes to air dry. WORTH IT!



*** All of these products can be found at your local drugstore 

I went to a salon and got a much needed professional manicure. You know with the added massage and super smell goods. Well I actually think my mind needed the relaxation of a manicure/pedicure than my nails needed the treatment. Sometimes all you need is a mani/pedi and those 30 minutes to put your phone on silent and just focus on yourself not your stress. 

This is a bit more orange than the actual bottle color . My nails have slightly more pink

Notice the gold shimmer

 I'm back lovelies. Two weeks of test and exams down and now I can have a sigh of freedom. I have so much to talk about, I don't even know where to start. Well lets start with WEN by Chaz Dean. As you remember, I received this product from my January GlamBag. Let me just stay that I LOVE this product. I am actually going to buy a full size bottle of this cleansing conditioner.


Let's start with what is WEN exactly. It is a conditioner that doubles as a shampoo; however, it does not have the lather and repeat cycle that we are all used to. Instead, you apply a generous amount of the cleansing conditioner to the hair and scalp and massage gently for a few seconds. Then let it sit on hair for approximately five minutes. (During this time, I actually tied my hair up and finished my shower). Finally rinse the product off your hair and your good to go. I received the Sweet Almond Mint version and I must admit I was a little worried about having a strong tingling sensation that most mint products produce but this one had none. Rather, the mint only added to the light and refeshing fragrance. I liked the fact that I didn't spend a ton of time washing my hair and then waiting for the conditioner, in fact I think I cut my total time down by at least 15 minutes. You know what that means MORE SLEEP!! =) When I got out of the shower, I literally ran the comb through my hair, with absolutely NO tangles. I kid you not. I have never ever washed my hair and had no tangles without a leave in to help. I also didnt have any waxy buildup and no adverse affects with the styling products. Another big plus, the Cleansing Conditioner is sulfate free.

As with all products this one does have its downfalls. First up is the cost, from Chaz Dean's website the Cleansing Conditioners retail for $32 for 16 oz. but it does come with a 60 day money back guarantee (I'm sure there are many stipulations on the return so be careful when ordering). Also, I'm not sure if this product is good for those who wash there hair less than once a week. When I used this product I started with straight hair. I first washed with my Johnson's Natural Baby Shampoo and styled as usual. However, in the next couple of days I used WEN to remove all the old product for fresh curls. (It was perfect for this job alone)

There is a dupe for this product at Sally's Beauty called One. I have not used this product and many people either love it or hate it when comparing it to WEN. I have no immediate plans to buy the Sally's version.

Online now at wenhaircare.com is a special that includes a 30 day supply of Cleansing Conditioner, Styling Creme, ReMoist Hair treatment, and two "bonus" items which are the Texture Balm and a Wide Tooth Comb. This seems like a pretty sweet deal for only $29.95 with free shipping. However, PLEASED BE WARNED that WEN will continue to charge your credit card every 90-days at $29.95 + 8. 99 shipping for a 90-Day supply. There is no minimum purchase and you can cancel at anytime, which seems perfect to me.

Have you tried WEN by Chaz Dean before?

As previously mentioned I have a lot going on this week- two midterms and a quiz. Just thinking about me makes me shiver with fear. So therefore this weekend has been filled with more studying than posting. I'm sorry! But I promise I have some new things in the works. Have a great week, and if you dont have a Valentine's just "be mine" =) 

So I figured since its Valentine's day, I might as well get inspired by the upcoming "holiday". Although I have a test and quiz that day (aka no social plans, since I'll most likely be sleep), I think a bright red manicure with hearts will definitely keep my spirits high.

I used Sinful Colors GoGo Girl (#852) which is a fire engine red [o yeah, i went there =)] and foil glitter hearts by Klean Colors in Twinkly Love (#38). Now the Klean Colors brand can be hard to find as its not in drugstores. I actually found this color in downtown LA but I have also seen this brand in small beauty supply houses. Therefore, you can use any heart nail design, I actually just used a toothpick to move and position the little love symbols. In my first design I only used three hearts, then I said why not go all out and covered the entire nail. Enjoy!

Just for kicks!

Sinful Colors are available at most drugstores for $1.99 and Walgreens has them on sale for $0.99 this week.