If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I rarely do beauty posts. It’s not that I’m not into makeup, hair, and nails; I’m just not that into them. Besides, it’s so rare for me to purchase anything related to the above three categories, that I wouldn’t really have much to say to you guys.

So, when I do make some beauty purchases, I’m definitely excited to share my thoughts with you.

MAC Cosmetics Haul

First up: I made a trip to the MAC store last week. I first fell in love with MAC Cosmetics last year, when I tried their primer, powder, and setting spray for the first time. For years I’ve heard RAVE reviews about their lipsticks (MAC Ruby Woo, anyone??). However, my trusty tube of NARS matte lipstick has stood by me for literally 2.5 years at this point, so there was no need to go lipstick shopping.

(Side note: Is it gross/weird that I use the same tube of lipstick literally for years until it wears down to an unusable nubbin? Also, I do realize that I’m a bit odd in the sense that I feel frivolous owning more of one thing, like lipstick, at once. Sure, I could have multiple colors to wear, but that just feels too extravagant. Hashtag frugal saver.)

I digress. So, I went into the MAC store looking to try something new as a replacement to my NARS lipstick. I’ve loved my NARS for as long as I’ve had it, but I did find that it dried my lips out pretty severely.

The sales assistant helping me gave me three different fuchsias to try on. I just loved the shimmer in the middle one, so that’s the one I went with!

I had also recently had the chance to sample the MAC strobe cream, and I really loved it, so I purchased a tube of that as well. I apply it all over my face after I moisturize post-shower. I find that it gives my skin a nice healthy glow, although it does leave me looking a bit shiny.

Finally, I bought my very first lip pencil. You guys, I feel like such a weird woman that I’ve never used a lip pencil before. I will be the first to admit: I’m still skeptical of its use, and even more skeptical that I’ll ever get the hang of it.

So, without further ado, here is the result of my MAC haul. In the photos below, which are totally unfiltered, I am wearing the strobe cream dusted with a layer of MAC powder, basic drugstore mascara, and the new lip pencil and lipstick.

Verdict: I love the strobe cream, but I am so, so, so disappointed in both lip products. The lipstick is so slick that it’s more of a gloss consistency, which means it rubs off on EVERYTHING. I’ve worn it for a week straight now, and all the vibrant fuchsia color is virtually gone within a few hours of application. Sorry MAC, but I did not just spend $35 bucks for something that will wear off before lunch!

Sally Hansen Gel Manicure Started Kit

This technically wasn’t a recent purchase I made; it was actually a Christmas present from my sweet mother in law that I just got around to trying out for the first time. In my old city, before I moved to Nashville, I lived literally down the block from an absolutely perfect nail salon. If you’ve read my blog a while, you’ll recall all of my mani-pedi posts I made raving about this place.

Since moving here, I just haven’t found “my place.” And honestly gel manicures are so expensive and so bad for the nail bed that that’s probably a good thing. So for Christmas, I asked for a home gel manicure kit. I also found these little stick-on nail shields in the drugstore that you are meant to apply underneath your gel polish. They claim to protect the nail bed from all the gel damage and also make for easy peel-off removal.

Worth a shot, I thought.

There is really not much to the unboxing. The Sally Hansen kit comes with three bottles of gel polish (base, color, and top coat), an LED lamp, a small bottle of polish remover, a nail file, and a cuticle stick.

I had high hopes, you guys. And you wanna know what happened? Complete and hilarious failure happened. Both products were so atrociously horrendous that I cannot believe anyone pays a dime for them.

I’ll start with the nail shields: The SensatioNail gel manicure nail shields were a complete joke. The pack comes with twenty shields in varying sizes. Basically, they are stickers. I literally think you could slap a Dora the Explorer sticker on your thumbnail and get identically abysmal results.

Being that they are stickers, and being that nails are curved, this means that inevitably there are little creases and air bubbles in your nails. Not exactly this season’s hottest look.

But OK, whatever, I told myself. Maybe once the nail polish goes on, the creases won’t be so visible.

Wrong again. Here’s where Sally Hansen’s Complete Joke Manicure Kit comes in. The rinky dink little LED lamp in the kit (which, ostensibly, is the most crucial element to any gel manicure kit) was so weak that it literally would not cure even a thin base coat.

And yes, I tried curing more than once. In fact, I believe I endured 10 minutes worth of 30-second cures, and still my nails were sticky and tacky to the touch after removing my hand from the lamp. TEN MINUTES under the lamp, you guys. As Dear Husband would say, that is ri-damn-diculous.

(Except in this case he actually wouldn’t say that, because he has no clue that gel polish should cure and set completely in 45 seconds).

So, with less than an hour to go before a party, I had one completely naked hand, and one hand with sticky, creased, hideous nails. Thank God the nail shields did work as promised as far as easy and clean removal!

Just take a look at the real life footage of this nonsense:

Verdict: Do I even need to say it?

Tell me, have you tried any of the beauty products I reviewed here today? Were your outcomes any better?

Until next time,

xoxo Charlotte