*NEW* CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Polish

Recently I've been hearing all about CoverGirl's new nail polish line, Outlast Stay Brilliant, and I've been so excited to try them out. According to various reviews it has excellent colour payoff, it's easy to apply and, best of all, is supposed to "outlast" the dreaded chipping for days and days. So naturally, when I saw those pretty little bottles smiling at me at my local Shoppers Drugmart, I couldn't resist.

The colour that I was immediately drawn to is called Wine Stain. It's a very deep red shade, which actually reminds me a lot of the infamous Lincoln Park After Dark by OPI. 

So... what do I think?

I am very impressed with the application. It was very smooth to apply and not streaky at all (which I hate in a nail polish). I am also very pleased with the colour payoff. The images below are after two thin coats. Although, I noticed it also produced a very pretty sheer deep red with one coat, if that is the look you wish to achieve.

In terms of its staying power... this is yet to be determined. I have not applied any top coat in order to test its true durability and I will update after a few days.

Have you tried CoverGirl's new nail polish line? If so, let me know what YOU think in the comments below.

Lots of love,

Jess

*Tweet Tweet* Follow me on Twitter... the little birdie told you to

 
Hello ladies!

I have recently resurrected my Twitter account after having deactivated it a few months ago. I'd love it if you gave me a follow! My username is @RufflesTruffles. Leave a comment below letting me know you followed and I'd love to follow you back.

Lots of love,

Jess

100 days of Pinterest day #2: Removing wax from old candle holders

Hi ladies,

Today's 100 Days of Pinterest post is crazy simple but will be a tip you will use time and time again, I promise. If you're anything like me you have candles around your house that have been burned as far as they can and are sitting in the bottom of their perfectly useable glass container. With this tip you can easily remove the remaining wax from the bottom of the glass and recycle it to hold anything from cotton balls, q-tips, jewelry...anything!

 My finished product:

 

 My original Pinspiration:


 Original source HERE

How it's done

In order to remove the wax, simply stick the candle in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours. When the wax freezes it hardens and shrinks a little bit, causing a gap between the wax and the glass. When it's frozen simply press a kitchen knife into the wax and it will magically crack and break away from the glass. Any remaining residue can be wiped away with damp paper towel, or some olive oil. Also, if you have any difficult removing those annoying sticky labels, try a little nail polish remover.

Leave a comment below and let me know if you'll be using this tip for your used up candles! Also let me know if you have any "Pinspiration" you would like me to recreate.

Lots of love,
xoxox Jess

100 days of Pinterest day #1: Hand-painted wine glasses

Hello lovies,

Today is officially the kick-off of 100 Days of Pinterest and to be honest, I'm already questioning whether I've already bit off more than I can chew! Crafting is a LOT of work, fun albeit, but time consuming (although I'm sure we couldn't even count the hours we've spend mindlessly "pinning" away). 

Moving on, I'm excited to share my Pin of the day: Pained glass wear. Below is a picture of my "Pinspiration". I believe it's a pretty popular pin, so I'm sure many of you are familiar with it. I thought these were so cute, so I thought I'd give it a go, adding a little bit of a twist and a little Valentine's flare.

 

Original source HERE

My version:

How I did it:

1) Start off by choosing your paint and colours. I went with different shades of red/pink for Valentine's day by simply starting with red and adding increasing amounts of white, or black to go deeper. I used acrylic paint (I got mine from the dollar store for only $1!).

 2) Practice makes perfect! Before you start going balls to the wall with your glasses, take a few minutes to practice your pattern or drawing. I wanted to go with simple dots made with a small wooden dowel, so I practiced a few times on a clean paper plate.

 3) Start painting away! Let your creativity flow and have some fun with it. If you make a mistake, it's helpful to have a damp paper towel to quickly wipe off anything. The one suggestion I would make is that if your design has multiple layers, I would suggest letting your first coat dry before painting over it.

 4) Heat it up, baby! After your happy with your design and the paint is 100 per cent dry, place your glasses on a foil-lined sheet. Place the glasses into a COLD oven and while they are inside turn the oven onto 350 Degrees. Set your timer for 20 minutes then shut off the oven, keeping the glasses inside for another 10-15 minutes while the oven cools down. After your glasses have cooled completely, give them a gentle hand wash.

5) Pour yourself a glass of vino (or two) and admire what an artist you are! These glasses are dead simple to make and would also make a lovely and personal gift.

Let me know what you think of my creation in the comments. What kind of design would you like to create?

Also, if you have any requests for my 100 days of Pinterest series, I'd love to hear it!

XOXO,
Jess

100 days of Pinterest: An experiment

 


If you are anything like me you're obsessed with Pinterest. I could literally spend two hours straight pinning pictures of adorable cupcakes I'll never make, hair styles I'll never try and crafts I'll never create.

Well my friends, this is the day I declare the days of pinning and hoping are gone and the days of pinning and DOING have arrived. That's right, instead of collecting a bunch of pictures that are pretty to look at, I'm actually going to give some of Pinterest's most popular pins a go. From recipes, to crafty creations, DIYs and tips, the possibilities are endless. Now, whether or not my attempts will be a success... well  that's another story.

Tomorrow will be the first day of my series "100 days of Pinterest". I hope you'll swing by and see what my very first attempt will be. Martha Stewart, step aside...

XOXO
Jess

Holiday Nails with Essie's Russian Roulette

With the holidays in full swing and everyone getting into the Christmas spirit, one of my favourite things to do is paint my nails a bright and festive colour. Today I decided to go with Russian Roulette from Essie. Essie's website describes it as "a classic bright red cream with subtle orange
undertones." To me it is the perfect match to Santa's hat and Rudolf's nose. :)

What are some of your go-to shade for the holidays?

Oil Cleansing: Ancient beauty secret or modern day fad?

Using oil to cleanse your skin is not a new concept, although the concept is regaining a lot of new attention, especially with the overwhelming desire of many to use more gentle and natural products on our skin. I have been using the oil cleansing method (or OCM as many online devotees so lovingly refer to it) for about three weeks. It's hard to tell yet if I love it, but I have promised to give it time to see its full potential.

Our skin, whether we like it or not, is an oil factory. It naturally produces oil (good oil!) that helps to protect and naturally moisturize our face. Unfortunately for some of us, our skin can produce too much oil, mix with bacteria, get clogged in the pore and produce black heads, white heads and acne.

So your skin is oily- strip away all of the oil and you can clear your acne, right? WRONG! So many of us, especially with problematic skin, immediately turn to cleansers that contain super-drying ingredients such as alcohol, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and so on. Then, after washing and stripping our skin of all of the dirt and oil, our skin is left feeling dry and irritated, so what do we do? We attempt to re-add the moisture back to our skin with a myriad of moisturizers and lotions. Our skin is thinking, "What the heck?. I'm so confused!" And to make up for lost moisture, your skin produces MORE oil, which is exactly what you were trying to combat from the start. So you wash your face more and it gets drier and... I think you get the picture. It's a vicious skin cycle. One of which many of us, myself included, has found ourselves in at one point or another.

Insert the Oil cleansing method.

For many, especially with trouble skin, the thought of putting oil on the skin sounds like a nightmare- the worst possible idea. But in fact, the science behind it makes sense. Its the idea that like attracts like; as you cleanse your skin with the oil, it attracts the oil and impurities in your skin and as you rinse the oil away, with it goes excess oil without stripping your skin. Over time, using the OCM, so the theory goes, your skin will eliminate clogs and impurities and find its natural balance

Will any oil do?

There are many choices of oils when it comes to the OCM and your choice will often have to do with the type of skin you have. Crunchy Betty has an amazing blog post all about the oil cleansing method and breaks down the different types of oils that are great for various skin types. Almost all uses use a base of castor oil mixed with another (carrier) oil. Do NOT attempt to use castor oil by itself. It's very thick and gloopey and if you use too much of it you can dry out your skin.

What I do:

Every morning and evening I wash my face with a blend of castor oil and jojoba oil. Jojoba oil is a great choice for people with oily/acne prone skin. It is also said that jojoba oil is the oil that is most similar to our own natural oil.

In my hand I mix about 50% castor oil with 50% jojoba (my favourite is from Desert Essence) and apply it to a dampened face. I massage it in my skin, focusing on areas I'm wearing more makeup, for anywhere from one to three minutes. I then take a washcloth damped with very warm washer and gently rub the oil (along with all of my makeup) off my skin. I then rinse with more hot water and rub again with the wash cloth until all of the oil and makeup are off my skin. It is very important that all of the oil is off of your skin, as any residue may cause breakouts. Sometimes if I have a little bit of extra time I will steam my bare face with boiling water before I cleanse to help open up the pores even more. And viola- that's it. A clean, fresh face with no chemicles!

If you feel like your skin is either overly oily, or overly dry, after using the OCM, try playing with the percentage of castor oil to carrier oil. If you find your skin to dry, up the amount of carrier oil, and vice-versa for oily.

After I'm finished cleaning at night, sometimes I like to apply a simple mask of just honey. Honey has natural anti-bacterial properties and is also a natural moisturizer.

The verdict... still yet to be determined. So far I have definately seen improvements in my skin,less clogged pores and more balance. Although only time will tell if I am a life-long oil cleansing convert.

Have you tried the OCM? What were your results?

XOXO
Jess