Review of Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel

I was so excited when I received the email from Influenster that I was selected to try out the new Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel moisturizer. I like Neutrogena products for the most part, although I don't have many of them in my collection.

This product retails from about $15 on Amazon to nearly $19 in some drugstores for 1.7 oz. That's pretty pricey for a drugstore product. In comparison, the Josie Maran Argan oil and the Boscia Tsubaki I typically use every day are $48 for 1.7 oz, so I guess the Neutrogena one is still a good value.

Of course, something is only a good value if you like it and will use it, right?

First impressions were that the packaging was pretty. It came in a box and the jar appeared to be glass, although it is a heavy plastic. Better, probably because it will not break, but I like my skincare in glass jars. Call me a snob. Go ahead. Just kidding.

Here's the product in the box. 

When I opened it up the first thing that I did was read the ingredients. The first few ingredients are dimethicones - or silicones. Not a fan of those in my moisturizer. I like things that are going to sink into my skin - not just lay on top of it. I don't consider silicones to be hydrating. Just think - shampoos and conditioners containing silicones make your hair feel really good the first few times you use them, but after a while, the "cones" just build up in the hair and you end up having to use a clarifying shampoo (or if you're like me, you just don't use a shampoo or conditioner containing silicones). Anyway, I feel like silicones are good for makeup primer because they give that barrier between your skin and the foundation, but in a moisturizer I just don't get it. 

Also, this product has Blue Dye No. 1. What? Why? There is just no need to add an artificial color to this product. Last time I checked, water isn't blue. It's clear. Moving on...

My next beef with this product is the fragrance. I hate anything that lists "fragrance" as an ingredient. "Fragrance" can be a mixture of dozens or hundreds of chemicals. Yuck! I don't want that on my face. The fragrance isn't even a good one. I might be able to get past it if it smelled like laundry or just fresh, but it is very "cloying" and smells seriously like someone you don't want to get stuck in an elevator with! 

Here's the ingredient list:

Ok - so you may be thinking, "Did she even put this product on her face?" 

Yes. 

For about 15 minutes and then I had to wash it off of my face. 

First off, it did what I thought - it did not sink into my skin. It dried, but that was about it. I felt absolutely no hydration from this product. In fact, I still had dry patches on my skin. I applied it directly to my face after cleansing - so my pores were open to absorb it, but there was nothing to be absorbed. Plus, that smell factor kicked in and I couldn't get past it.

So, off it came and on went some Boscia Tsubaki oil in its place. I think I heard my skin say "Thank you." 

That all said, I don't want to discount this product for those of you with oily skin. It may provide enough hydration for you, but with this crazy winter we are having, my skin needs all the hydration it can get and this product did not provide it. Again, you may like this product if you like wearing heavy fragrances on your face. 

This is my honest opinion. I am someone who is very sensitive to artificial fragrance and this is not something I want to keep putting on my face. I feel the dye and fragrance will irritate my skin and it just does not provide enough hydration for me. 

Disclaimer: I received this product free to test from Influenster. All opinions my own.
@neutrogena @influenster #behindtheglow #contest #neutrogena

Review of Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen

Disclaimer:
These products were sent to me for review from Bzzagent.

Today I have a review of something waaay different than nail polish, but still an essential - and yes I am implying that nail polish is an essential.

Sunscreen might be a bigger essential than nail polish because obviously you need it to prevent sunburn which can lead to skin damage which could lead to the big C which is definitely not good.

I was sent a large bottle and several sample bottles of Coppertone Clearly Sheer sunscreen "For sunny days" formula. This has broad spectrum SPF of 30 and is water resistant. I was also sent 2 spray bottles of the Coppertone continuous spray sunscreen which has broad spectrum SPF 50 and is also water resistant.

I like both formulas for different reasons/occasions.

PHOTOS!!

Coppertone Clearly Sheer, Coppertone continuous spray

I like the Clearly Sheer Sunscreen for my face. It goes on smoothly and almost feels like a primer. It does have dimethicone in it, so that's probably why it feels like  a makeup primer. It soaks in fast and is not greasy at all. Plus, it doesn't smell like traditional sunscreen. I don't know about you, but I can't stand the smell of sunscreen. This smells like sunscreen at first, but that quickly dissipates, leaving a soft scent that's actually quite nice.

Ingredients:

Active ingredients (not in photo) are: Avobenzone- 3%; Homosalate- 10%; Octisalate- 4.55%; and Octocrylene- 8%

Here are the inactive ingredients. I love that there are no parabens or petrolatum. Those are yucky.

My arm after applying the clearly sheer cream and blending just a little bit.

My arm after completely blending. See - not greasy!

SPRAY:

Coppertone Clearly Sheer Sunscreen Continuous spray

I like the spray formula for a quick application before going outside. I love that you don't have to rub it in and it absorbs quickly. I use this mainly on my arms and legs when I'm in a hurry and want to get outside quickly. It does have a sunscreen-ey smell and does contain alcohol which you can smell when  you first spray it. The alcohol smell does wear off after a bit. It also does leave a bit of a sheen on your arm:

Ingredients in spray:

In summary, I like both of these for different uses. I would recommend the cream over the spray because of the way it feels on your skin and the fact that you can use it on your face and it doesn't irritate it. 

I have coupons for both products if anyone is interested, leave a comment below with your email address and I will contact you for your mailing address. U.S. only please! 

Had some time

Here's a quick mani of the day. It's Sally Hansen CSM in Dorien Grey with a random Rite Aid pumpkin polish on top. 

Enjoy!!

Lavender is calming

They say lavender is calming. While I'm still trying to figure out who "they" are, I'll distract myself by looking at my pretty nails. 

This is 2 coats of Lucky Lucky Lavender by OPI. I'm sick of this polar vortex crap, so I decided for a springey shade. I have to keep reminding myself that in 2 months I will be working in my garden. That at least gives me a glimmer of hope. 

More pics!

Blue nails and randomness

Today I'm wearing Sally Hansen CSM in Navy Baby. This is 2 coats and no topcoat. 

It's a really pretty deep blue with some shimmer to it. I'm already experiencing some tip wear, and I just put this on a day ago. I still think you need a topcoat with these CSM polishes even though the claim is that you don't. I think the polish would be shinier with a topcoat. I did use my OPI Nail Envy strengthener as a base.

My nails are tore up from this ridiculous winter in PA. I'm so over it. I had a casualty on my non-swatching hand. My middle finger is beyond shorter than a nub. 😢😥

Oh, and the random thing is the second photo. It is of a Cover Girl Wetslicks fruit spritzer that is of questionable age and origin. I think it's probably 4+ years old. I can't believe I actually bought a CG product at one point. Not my fave brand. 

On to the photos!

Navy Baby!! (Said like Austin Powers)

"Vintage" gloss

Red nails

Red is not my favorite color. I think I own just 3 articles of red clothing- a hoodie, a sweater and a tank top (which I shamelessly bought because it was Calvin Klein and on sale at Burlington and has fab gold thingies on the straps, but I digress). 

So, needless to say I'm not one to rock red nails. But, hey, it's nearing valentine's day, so what the heck. 

This is 3 coats of china glaze in the shade red satin. It was super shiny on its own, but with HK Girl topcoat, the shine is off the charts. I tried cleaning up this mani but since it's red, it still stained a bit. Here are a few more pics:

February means pink

Today's mani is Dollish Polish in it's so fluffy, I'm gonna die! If you haven't seen Despicable Me then you probably don't get the name. Anyway, I'm kind of obsessed with the pink, milky glittery-ness of this polish. It has so many shapes and sizes of glitter that they are too hard to count! I think this is PERFECT for February. I am so excited to start rocking more spring-y colors. Oh - and this is 3 coats topped with Glisten and Glow's HK Girl fast-dry topcoat.

My nails match my wallet!

Yes, I know, I've been MIA for a while from this blog. I hope to get back on track at least a little now. I have just been having so much fun over on Instagram! Seriously, if you're not on there, get on there now! This is coming from a chick who isn't on Facebook or any other social media besides this blog - and now Instagram. I have to say I am a bit obsessed with it. 

Today's mani is Sephora by OPI's Dance Till Fawn. It is so fab. It's a greyish brownish bit of loveliness and is the same color as my wallet, which probably amused me more than it should.

I used 2 coats of it and topped it off with Glisten and Glow's HK Girl Topcoat. Seriously - this is the best topcoat ever! My nails were dry in less than 2 minutes - and I mean dry!!! You can get it online at Glisten and Glow's online store and be sure to follow them on Instagram, too @glistenandglow1

And don't forget to follow me on there, too I'm @dcnails_n_at and I post a LOT of stuff - not just nails, but other stuff that I find amusing. There's also a link at the top of my blog's homepage. 

Happy thanksgiving

Here's what I'm wearing today:

China glaze mahogany magic with sinful colors pumpkin spice. Yay!

This is more festive than I thought it would be

Hello! It is currently snowing here and is really cold. I'm staying in today. I'm thankful I have a job that lets me do that!

Last night I did my nails and started with a random Sally Girl Color that I got for like 30-some cents this summer on clearance. It is a really pretty mallard green color with some shimmer in it. But, I couldn't just leave it by itself. I had to add glitter!

Here are the results:

This photo was taken on my porch. See the snow in the background? The glitter topper I used was from 2B bebe - a store in my local mall that sells really nice clothes and accessories. It's like bebe but cheaper. I got a 5-pack of glitter toppers there a few weeks ago for $2.50 because they were running a 50% off clearance sale! Whoot! This is one of the toppers. It is mallard-y green hexes with aqua blue and pink hexes. Very cute. This mani ended up being more Christmasey than I thought it would. I'm probably gonna change this for Thanksgiving. I want to wear my Sinful Colors Pumpkin Spice!

I can't stop looking at my fingers!

Ok. I'm kind of obsessed with this glitter bomb of a polish I'm wearing. I started with 2 coats of Sally Hansen CSM in Plum Luck and then did 1 coat of Dollish Polish's Sugar Rush. No topcoat. 

Here are the results:

Can you see why I'm distracted by my own nails?! This polish is the definition of a glitter bomb. The glitter is mostly matte, which makes me like it even more!

Even though some of the glitters in this are giant, I had no trouble getting them to lay on the brush. The bristles seemed to grab onto the glitters on its own. I can't wait to try this polish over a lighter color. I bet it would show up even more. I'm seriously in love with this glitter. 

It's true.

I'm on Instagram now!

Follow me on Instagram by going to @dcnails_n_at (click on it for a link)

There's also a link on the top left hand corner of this page.

I just signed up for it this weekend and am loving it. I post a lot more on there than I do on this blog, so if you're on Instagram, I'd love it if you'd join me. Yay!

Koopa Troopa

So, I may have gone on a bit of a nail polish binge this month. I made my first foray into indie polish with purchases from KBShimmer and Dollish Polish. I haven't used the KBShimmer ones yet (although I'm super excited to do so). I did however use Dollish Polish and am SOOOO impressed with the amount of glitter packed into this.

I found "The Koopa King" on clearance at Dollish Polish and could not resist. It's part of her gamer series and came out about a year ago. It was featured in a collection based on Nintendo characters. I wanted them all but decided finally on the Koopa King. It features different size golden yellow matte glitters, red and green hexes and black bar glitter. It also has teeny tiny white glitters (I think they are round?) and holographic diamond glitters. Yeah, that's about as much glitter as I've ever seen in a polish. The glitters are all in a clear base. I chose to put it over Zoya's Channing and I loooove it!

Here it is in all its glory!

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I'm really trying hard not to say this, but...

"Every rose has its thorn..." There, I did it. I have no shame.

But, check this out!

So, It's the middle of November and I have a rose blooming in my flower bed! How pretty is this? I know - nothing to do with nail polish, but I wanted to share it. I am seriously thinking of signing up for Instagram so I can just do photos. Any thoughts?

Also, I for real met Bret Michaels this week (gotta attribute that quote to him, after all). I got to interview him for an article. Yeah, I've hit the big time now! I think I've developed a bit of a post-meeting crush on him. He was so hot (and super nice)! I may have to add him to my list along with Clooney and Liam Neeson!

Chop chop!

Today I have Sally Hansen Insta-dri in Chop Chop Copper. I think this is 3 coats. I used NYC Grand Central Station as a topcoat. This is such a pretty coppery gold color with twinkles of pink and blue/green. I took the blurry shots on purpose to show the twinkle. Yay!

Shimmery!

Today I'm wearing 3 coats of Essie Wicked with one coat of Color Club Snowflakes. 

I think I did something similar to this last year. 

Happy Halloween!

Here's my Halloween manicure

Index finger: color club (the orange from the take wing collection) with a skull stamped with black creme. The rest is black creme with Orly's Monster Mash layered over it. 

Ring is from Target. 

My mom is an enabler

Today I have Lilac Quartz from Avon's Brushed Metals collection. 

I visited my mom this weekend and this little gem was waiting for me! 

It is so pretty. It's a lilac-y silver color with a decent amount of texture. In the sun, this really shines. The formula on this was really easy to work with and it dried super quickly. I did not use a topcoat as I wanted the texture to be seen in all its glory!

Photos!

Clever name

Today I'm wearing Maybelline Color Show nail stickers in Metal Prisms. I think they could have come up with a more clever name, but that's just my opinion. 

I got these at Big Lots for $1. I think these stickers retail for about $7 or so. I have never tried "stickers" before. I've only tried the real nail polish strips. 

The first thing I noticed was the smell was very plasticky, unlike polish strips, which smell like, well, polish. In fact, the ingredients are adhesive type ingredients. 

I'm interested to see how these wear.