to SC or not to SC?

Hello there everyone!

If you've taken the time to read this blog post, you're probably wondering what the letters 'SC' stand for. Let me help you out... Pronounce the letters one by one. What polish brand did you just say?

That's right :) Essie

In this blog post I'll be talking about nail polishes, but first let me show you my collection of Essie polishes.

Here's a listing of the polishes I have left to right:

• Cocktail Bling: blue toned grey
• Eternal Optimist: spiced rose
• Brooch The Subject: light mocha
• Fiji: milky pink
• Tart Deco: coral
• No Chips Ahead: top coat
• Go Ginza: pastel purple
• School of Hard Rocks: greyish dark green
• She's Pampered: dark pink - red
• Buy Me A Cameo: rose gold
• Naughty Nautical: teal

Before I get into reviewing each and every one, let me put out there that I'm no longer an Essie fan, in spite of having 11 polishes.

Cocktail Bling:
This blue toned grey polish is a pretty color, but it just doesn't suit my skintone. I was hoping it would turn out lighter on the nails, but after putting 2 coats of this this turns out darker than it looks like in the bottle. A pretty color, but not my thing.

Eternal Optimist:
A spiced rose that reminds me of a grandma nude. Not flattering enough for me to like it.


Brooch The Subject:
This varnish has a tint of mocha. I'm into nudes, but this gave my mani a dirty look. Kind of the opposite of what I expect from a mani...

Fiji: When I looked up swatches from this milky pink polish, I thought it could be my go to polish for whenever I want my nails to look classy but not overdone. Unfortunately this reminded me of doing my nails with Tipp-Ex. It made my nails look SO white. No thanks Fiji.

Tart Deco: A bright color which is perfect for the summer time. I like coral colors, especially during the warmer months, but too bad it wouldn't look good during the cold months of which we have a lot here in Belgium.

No Chips Ahead: This topcoat is probably the worst topcoat I've ever used. It's ironically that they call this No Chips Ahead, since this made my mani chip like crazy. A big no no.

Go Ginza: This lavender is probably one of my favorite polishes EVER! Not just from my own Essie collection, but from my entire polish collection. This is a gorgeous pastel purple that can be worn all year round.

School of Hard Rocks: A greyish dark green color that was in my Deauty box and a color I wouldn't have picked up it was for me. It's a too dark of a color and in my opinion greens and blues are just not my cup of tea.

She's Pampered: I was hoping this red varnish would be more of a pink red, but instead it's more of a deep pink (as in you can barely see it, ergo it's just a classic red). Every girl needs a good red in their collection, and it's an okay polish, but it just wasn't what I expected it to be.

Buy Me A Cameo: A rose gold polish that reminded me of Orly's Rage without the shimmers. I've been into rose gold the last couple of months and I thought this color would be right up my alley. Unfortunately this was so streaky, my love for rose gold even diminished...

Naughty Nautical: A teal I was gifted when I bought Buy Me A Cameo. I wouldn't reach for this kind of color, but it is a very pretty color.

In spite of the wrong color choice, I have to admit that for most Essie varnishes the formula are quite creamy and sometimes one coat will do the trick. But unfortunately, this just isn't enough for me to keep on trying out Essies.

Overall, I think I've given Essie enough chances to make me fall in love with the brand. There were just too many misses than hits that I won't be purchasing the Essie polishes anymore.

What do you think of Essie? To SC or not to SC?

Favorites of the month: June 2012

Hi there! It's that time of the month again! No, I'm not talking about PMS, it's monthly favorites...YAAAAY!! So, let's jump right into it, shall we? :)

As some of you may know I bought a Clarisonic a while back, and I decided to try it out before I wanted to review it. Well...I tried and fell in love :)

Clarisonic - sensitive brush

I've been using it every other day, other days I may do a light scrub or just go over with it with some toner, about which I'll talk more in just a second. I've been using the Philosophy Purity Cleanser or the Bioré Acne Gentle Care - Oil control facial foam.

Philosophy Purity Cleanser

                                                                   





The Philosophy is a bit more drying to my skin, but since I do want to use up the entire bottle, I'll moisturize my skin immediately after towel drying my face.

Bioré Acne Gentle Care Oil Control Facial Foam

As Bioré's name says so, it's a foam. It's not as drying as the Purity cleanser. I definitely will be repurchasing this one as soon as I'm out of cleansers.









I use the brush for sensitive skin and I have to say, I finally understand what the fuss in the beauty world was about the Clarisonic! My skin has gotten a natural glow to it, without being oily and my impurities have significantly disappeared. I'm really loving it, parapapapa!

I've been using my Biotherm toner for a very long time, and I had to switch up toners because I think my skin got used to it. And since acne was popping up on occasions I couldn't afford to have them, I started using a Clinique' toner.

Clinique anti-blemish solutions toner

Most people use the 3 step skin care line, but since I'm not most people I just wanted to try out this clarifying lotion. If you look at the bottle you see there's a powder at the bottom, which is acne medication. You just shake up the bottle so the powder can disperse in the liquid and I just a put a little bit on a cotton ball and go over my face with it.

I always learned that it's better to use a serum before putting on your moisturizer. Well, since my skin has been so good to me, I wanted to pamper my skin as well. I tried the Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher serum.

Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher serum

After using this, I barely notice dry spots on my face. Take that combination skin!

Summer's up (yes, Belgium has summers as well!) and my skin gets quite dry during warm temperatures. *enters Garnier moisturising gel* :)

Garnier gel-cream

It's a very moisturizing gel-cream for the body for those with dry-sensitive skin. It says it contains L-Bifidus** (which is inspired on pro biotica in most yoghurts to keep your skin moisturized) and peach extract. It has a slights peach scent to it, but it's not an overpowering scent that will bother those who don't like scented goodies. I prefer gels to lotions because those just make my skin glows like I've put shimmer all over body. Gels just work better for me and I'm really loving this product.


I've been a huge fan of the Shu Uemura pro concealer for years, but since they're discontinued, I had to start looking for a replacer (not a dupe, because I'm afraid I'll never find something as good as my SU pro concealer).

Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer: shade 1

I bought Maybelline Pure mineral concealer when I was back in Hong Kong, and I finally gave it a try. Since my skin has been approving, I need less concealer and the Maybelline covers up just fine actually. When I do need a little bit more coverage, I'll go back to my Shu Uemura, but Maybelline's liquid concealer is not doing a bad job at all.
Perhaps that this will be my go to concealer from now on. Maybe it's Maybelline?

A monthly favorite ain't a favorite without mentioning my nail polishes :)
I've really been digging my Essie Tart Deco.

Essie Tart Deco

It's a bright coral, slightly orangy, and I just love this baby! It's bright enough to give my outfits a pop of color, but it's not too bright that screams heeeeeeeeeeey, look at me! :D

Well beauties, this is it for this month. Stay tuned for more make up loving!