Beauty Try-It: imPRESS Press-on Manicure

I have been taking my time writing this particular review of my newest beauty try-it (which by now is the oldest) because I had so much fun with it. In fact, I haven’t had this much fun trying out a product in a long time!

Okay, so when Influenster’s VoxBox program sent me this imPRESS press-on manicure by Broadway, I laughed a little. Press-on nails? The last time I tried press-on nails, I was 8 years old. They were hard shiny gold pieces of plastic from the Juvenile toy store, with adhesive tabs you had to apply yourself. I was 8 and less coordinated than I am now … take a moment to think about how this went.

This imPress nails pattern, called TGIF, was decidedly wilder than any nail polish color I typcally wear. I mean, if we rewound to my early 20s I’m sure I would be game. But I wasn’t a professional working woman back then. On the other hand, these aren’t THAT crazy – black nail polish is now almost as acceptable as red in the office – and the longer I stared at the design, the more I liked it. Look at it! It’s … strangely hypnotic.

Check out my flashy nails

Dancer/singer Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls fame promotes the nails as a viable alternative to nail polish. Nicole Scherzinger doesn’t have to live a decidedly business professional lifestyle 5 days a week. Would these look good on ME? Would they stay on?

I had to wait for the right time to try these, when there were no board meetings scheduled, just in case I looked crazier than I imagined. In the meantime, I showed the package to the one other person that works in my section of the office, and he guffawed loudly.

The nails come in a plastic container shaped like a nail polish bottle. You pull the cap off, open the plastic, and then get all the nails out and line them up by size. Or that’s what you’re supposed to do. I just kind of fiddled around with mine and found the ones that seemed to be the closest fit to my natural nails, then put those in a pile. I am a rebel.

If you look behind the back insert in the box, you will find an alcohol prep pad. You’re supposed to use this pad to clean your nails before applying the imPress nails. I knew there was a prep pad included ahead of time, but because it wasn’t visible until I pulled out the insert, I forgot all about it and just washed and dried my hands instead. More rebellion.

Next, you peel the backing off of each nail, then carefully smooth it down onto the corresponding real nail, applying a decent amount of force for at least 15 seconds. Once you do this, the nail will be pretty firmly stuck, so don’t screw it up, fool!

This part was kinda fun.

I found that some of the nails were not a close fit to my real nails. In some cases, I went with ones that were slightly larger which was kind of dumb because every now and then I would feel a tiny prick of pain in the skin surrounding my nail beds from where the excess “nail” was poking it. The nail will also come off quicker that way, and it looks far more natural to wear the slightly smaller nail vs. the slightly bigger one.

Once I picked out the nails I wanted to apply, it took no time at all for me to put them on.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about them at first. They took some getting used to. I could tell that they were much larger than my natural nails and feared everyone would notice and point and laugh at me.

The very first day, my right imPRESS thumbnail popped off, probably because I removed it the first time (because I put it on upside down – be quiet), then pressed it back on. After it popped off, I replaced it with a smaller nail which looks much better.

On the third day, I was taking a shower when the imPRESS nail on my right middle finger came off. (The next day, my fiance goes, “By the way, one of your nail things is in the shower drain.”) I was halfway expecting this because that nail is kind of crooked thanks to my writer’s callus on that finger. I replaced it with a slightly smaller nail which, again, was obviously the smarter choice.

By the second day with these nails, I was feeling much better about them. People were complimenting me on them. I went out to dinner in Shirlington with a friend who said, “Ooooh, I love your nails!” She had no idea they were “fakes” until I told her. And my coworker who laughed at them? I showed them to him again, this time on my hands. “Hey, those look nice,” he said.

So I was feeling all fancy with my clever nails. But how would they hold up to 7 days of everyday life?

Patting a cat ...

Patting another cat (more like ominously reaching for a cat)

Practicing my Claw dance moves

Opening a package ...

Using my laptop ...

Eating my lunch ...

Playing with my hair ... la dee da

Rummaging through my bag...

For the most part, they held up very well! At times I forgot I was wearing them, then suddenly thought, “Oh no, I bet my nail fell off” (definitely a thought I’m not used to having ) only to find it was still right there. The nails that I had applied too close to the cuticle or that were slightly oversized were a little bit uncomfortable at random moments, and they also started to loosen (not noticeably, just during one of my random inspections) after about 3.5 days – underscoring the need to apply these correctly. The material is very firm, but still malleable, so you can use a nail clipper to trim a nail if you don’t like the length once it’s on.

To remove the nails, pull from the sides, not the top or bottom. If you’ve had them on your hands for only a day or two, it’s going to be much harder to remove them, so use a little nail polish remover to help.

The verdict? I dig ‘em … a lot. I am imPRESSED by imPress nails. (I had to say it)

The details: imPress Manicure retails at $5.99 for colors and $7.99 for patterns. They come in 36 varieties which includes solid colors as well as prints and crazy patterns like zebra stripes (for real), and really pretty stuff like pale pink with delicate floral patterns. You can find them at CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, K-mart, Walgreens, and Walmart to name a few. The official website is here – there’s a $1 off coupon, videos, and a cool app to “try” all the varieties!

Disclosure of Material Connections: This product was provided to me at no cost by Influenster in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts expressed here are my own and I have not been paid for providing this review.

Beauty Try-It: NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine

Anyone that knows me is, most likely, well aware of my lip gloss fetish. With ownership of at least a few hundred lip products, and around 12 in my purse at any given time, it’s a little out of control. What can I say? I like to pamper my lips, and I like wearing different colors on them! Well, needless to say, I was very pleased to receive this NYC New York Color Liquid Lip Shine product from Influenster. This is the New York Nude shade.

In the past I have not been a huge fan of lip glosses that are applied with a wand applicator. They tend to be either gloppy, sticky and goopy, and/or they provide very little shine and color coverage, and it doesn’t last. But this stuff is A-1. I have been a fan of NYC New York Color products in the past, so I wasn’t too shocked by the superior quality, really. It feels good on my lips – smooth, not sticky, even kind of moisturizing. It goes on easily and the applicator is nice and flexible as opposed to stiff and unyielding, which of course makes for very sloppy, clowny lips. Best of all, IT LASTS. When it finally fades away, your lips will still feel nice and soft. Sweet!

The color looked a little frosty to me in the bottle, but after application, I saw that it’s a nice natural color with a LOT of gleam to it – enough to look good, not so much that I feel like I just slobbered all over myself. I think this particular shade (again, New York Nude) would look good with a lot of skin tones, from very pale (like me) to very dark. I’ve also found it looks good both on its own and layered over a darker lipcolor. It’s perfect for everyday wear. I wear mine with an SPF lip balm under it during the day; at night I put it over a richer pink shade and blend. I like that it helps your lips look naturally full. AND, just so you know, this shade smells of vanilla buttercream frosting. Mmmmm …

My "daytime" look with NYC Liquid Lipshine!

The particulars: NYC New York Color products retail for $.99 from $4.99. Liquid Lipshine retails for $2.49 and comes in 10 different shades, including much brighter and richer colors like berry tones and fuschias. I have also tried other NYC New York Color products in the past and they have all been very high quality, so I can vouch for the whole line! You can find NYC New York Color at Walmart, Target, Rite Aid, CVS, Family Dollar, Duane Reade, Kmart, and HEB stores to name a few.

Disclosure of Material Connections: This product was provided to me at no cost by Influenster’s VoxBox program, in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts expressed here are my own and I have not been paid or otherwise financially compensated in order to provide this review.

Beauty Try-It: Montagne Jeunesse Fruit Smoothie Mask

The Montagne Jeunesse (official website here) Fruit Smoothie mask is one of those products that’s always in the drugstore or grocery store, hanging on a rack, with eye-catching packaging, begging me to buy it. Yet for some reason, I never have. So when Influenster recently sent me a sample to review through their VoxBox program, I was excited in a “I’m finally going to find out what this is all about!” kind of way.

Definitely eye-popping ...

The cool thing about these masks is that you can buy them one at a time if you want, or just grab a bunch of different varieties and try each one out to find the one that’s best for you. You don’t have to wind up with a big bottle of mask solution that just sits around in your house and eventually gets thrown out because all of the mask solution has started to harden, because you didn’t use it up fast enough! (Or is that just me that does stuff like that?) With these masks you get a fresh mask every time. There are way too many varieties to talk about here: everything from self-heating masks that smell like chocolate (I’d love to try THAT one!) to scrubs to mud masks to peel-off masks, and in a wide-variety of delicious-sounding scents.

I was very excited to try my Raspberry & Mango trial-size mask, probably too excited. Blame it on the girl on the attractive eye-grabbing wrapper as she grins at me, eyes full of mangos and raspberries. Actually the longer I look at it, the creepier it becomes!

As soon as I ripped off the top of the mask wrapper, I was very happy to find that the liquid version of the mask did indeed smell delicious. I would not want to have something on my face for a full minutes that smelled like caulking solution (like some other masks I have tried).

The product hardened on my face very quickly as I applied it. It went on smoothly and soon I was walking around the house looking quite ghostly. My fiance, who by now is about 75 percent used to me, barely batted an eyelash.

As time went on my skin felt tighter and tighter, but not uncomfortably so. At the end of the allotted time I ambled back into the bathroom and splashed warm water over my face until the solution started to come off. (I recommend letting it dissolve quite a bit first before you start rubbing at it.)

I was very happy to find that my skin not only looked better after – pores less visible, shine less evident, but skin still glowing and rosy – but it also felt very smooth. Aaaah! I kept feeling it with the backs of my hands in fact.

The AFTER pic: Skin feels much happier

I was happy enough with this that I plan to get back into the enjoyment of regular facial masks. I do love to pamper myself beauty-wise, but sadly, I don’t do it often enough. This is a really quick and fun thing you can do for yourself while you prepare for bed, make some dinner, or do just about anything else that doesn’t require you to go out in public. It feels great to take that time out for yourself. There are many varieties of this mask to try and I’m most interested in finding out more about this “self-heating” janx next. Especially the one that smells like chocolate! (What happens if I lose control and eat the mask solution?)

Just FYI, these masks are animal-friendly – never tested on animals and “vegetarian approved”. You can find them at ULTA, Walgreens, Claire’s, Walmart, Kroger, CVS, and many other retailers all around the U.S.

Disclosure of Material Connections: This product was provided to me at no cost by Influenster in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts expressed here are my own and I have not been paid or otherwise financially compensated for this review.

How Engaging … har har

Eric and I are engaged! What a lovely New Year’s present to receive. We’ve been betrothed (I love that word) for two weeks now and already we have the officiant, church, reception hall, caterer, DJ, and photographer all taken care of. While there are still plenty of details to work out with all of those, the next things to take care of are hair, makeup, gown, finalizing the guest list, save-the-date cards, the CAKE, and stuff like that. I got a little stressed out for a day or so, then I decided to calm down and just enjoy the engagement period. My friend Robyn told me she actually had a good time with all the planning after a while, so I decided to try and adopt that attitude myself. I have been doing tons and tons of research on different things and knowing all the options usually helps more than it hurts. People tell me to beware getting too much wedding advice, but I welcome it!

Eric and I have kinda hectic schedules so I’m glad we still have 11 months left to plan (well, less than that realistically, but let’s not get too technical). I love reading about weddings and doing wedding stuff, and I’m afraid of driving him nuts or making him feel like that’s all I care about, so I’m sure to do fun non-wedding stuff with him too, like playing video games, lying around talking with the cell phones and computers off, taking walks, and watching movies. We will have to figure out a time for us to have our pre-martial counseling sessions. I’m secretly hoping we get to take fun couples’ quizzes, simulate arguments, and fill out workbooks while sneaking peeks at each others’ answers when the reverend isn’t looking.

Despite my careful committment to a balanced wedding approach, I still admit to having purchased MANY wedding books and magazines! I’d like to review some of them to help other brides over time. Since this is supposed to be a mostly travel-and-exploration-related blog – not that it always stays that way, nor gets updated very often – I was thinking I may start a separate wedding blog. Or I may not. I don’t really want to go overboard here. What do you think?