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.