A Beauty & Nail Art Blog

Lip Gloss Love: Review of NYC Liquid Lipshine

2012-01-12T16:37:00.000-05:00

I'm a lip balm type of girl. I just want something that feels good, maybe a slight tint of color. I tried out NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine, and here are the details below.

So it's quite glossy, which is very pretty. Comparing to lipsticks or balms it is a bit stickier (one reason I usually don't wear glosses). It wasn't too bad, but my hair stuck to my lips a couple times. The taste, I personally could do without. I really don't like the taste of cocoa butter, or chocolate hints in it. I love(to eat real) chocolate. I'll pass in my make-up smelling/tasting like it though. If you like flavors like that, then this is definitely for you.

The color was pretty awesome, I tried Nude York City. What a great name! It worked wonderfully with my new red hair. Some of the natural pink of my lips showed through but it toned down my lip color enough to do very daring eye shadow! That was nice for a night. I find myself digging for my chapstick still in my purse, and if I can't find it I'm willing to swipe on the easy-to-apply lip shine. Otherwise, I don't use it much. For me, personally, it won't be a staple.

NYC New York Color Retails for $2.50 ish. I sometimes see it on sale much cheaper. The small price is sometimes makes it worth trying if nothing else.

Thanks to Influenster and NYC New York Color for letting me try the lipshine. My opinions are honest & remain mine.

Giftcard Passion

2011-12-21T16:11:00.002-05:00

It's almost Christmas! I LOVE gift cards. In fact, I'm getting one this year, as I do every year. I actually request them when people ask what I want. Why? It makes it so easy for me and them.

Gift cards may seem like a thoughtless gift, but I do believe you have to match the gift card to the person. In example, I certainly wouldn't purchase a Gift Card for a lingerie store for my dad. However, say your mother loves baking, but you're not sure if they'd want a bread machine? Get them a gift card to Williams-Sonoma. Or how about your best friend with super sensitive skin? What if she's allergic to the spa set you were thinking of buying her?(Ask me how I know!) You could get her a gift card for Pangea Organics.

Some ways to make it seem more personal are to give it in a box with a little extra item. Once I received a Victoria Secret gift card with an adorable pink teddy bear holding the card. So even after the card was long gone I had an adorable little bear to put on my shelf. It made the gift feel more personal.I've had friends who did scavenger hunts to find their card. One box opened had a clue, which led to another clue, etc. It's a fun and silly way to get your card.

Some of the most Rocking gift cards I've ever received? Some for my fave clothing brands, others that have been more general - Like Amazon and a branded mall gift card that can be used at any store in the mall owners system - even in other malls owned by the same parent company. Lastly, an iTunes gift card was pretty awesome, it wasn't for a lot, but it went a long way in getting new apps.

As an added bonus, the recipient can wait till the right time to purchase the items they want. Like when they're on sale. They can snag a great deal in the post Holiday sales! Even better if the giver found the gift card for a deal like on GiftCardsRock

GiftCardsRock shows great deals going on with Gift Cards all over. A big sale (IE BestBuy's recent sale on iTunes gift cards : When do they EVER go on sale?) among places of where to win a snazzy new gift certificate or card. It's a great way to integrate deals in your life as it's easily updated on Facebook.

Do you like receiving gift cards? Do you think they're good to give?

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Gift Cards Rock blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Need New Years Nails? Try imPRESS Press-on Manicure

2011-12-29T16:52:00.001-05:00

I've been sick for a month. No kidding! I have no energy to do anything, but I have to be involved with my family for the Holidays. I had to get creative for Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New years for my nails. Something that required NO energy. It's not my usual thing, I like to go all out.
I was given the chance to try imPRESS nails, which are fancy press ons. They are quite nice, for what they are. I do not like the feeling of press ons, but they got the job done. Plus, they come in some toned down colors, or crazy designs. Perfect for New years! Unfortunately, I didn't snap photos of my nails on Christmas, but they looked pretty natural. In a pinch, it's better than bare nails. Just like any press on, you have to be careful, something I am not good at. I couldn't stand it after awhile and ripped them off. If you're used to stick ons, you should try these though.
They come in these cute little packages that look like a nail polish bottle. You can try them out yourself with a $1 off coupon that can be printed from imPRESS Manicure.com in the bottom right hand corner.

My biggest tip? Size it on your fingers first, have a file ready to adjust the sides to the perfect size. Oversized press on nails will look REALLY FAKE if not perfect.
Thank you to Influenster for sending me these to try out! This doesn't change my opinion.

$5 Free from Clover - The easiest way to send money

2011-12-08T12:23:00.001-05:00

I'm in love with my iphone. No really. And I'm not a fangirl, I like androids too, and dont get into the whole iphone vs android battle. Each has their pro's and con's.
Well theres a great new way to send money through your iphone OR android called Clover. You just pick a contact and send! It's super easy to receive money also.This is great just in time for X-mas because I can easily send (or receive funds) for gifts to family and friends. Especially ones that I'm at a loss as to what to send them. This leaves more time for beautification -WEE.

Check out Clover and get $5

Proactiv Test

2011-11-22T10:51:00.001-05:00

I recently tried out Proactiv again thanks to being a part of Influenster VoxBox. My acne isnt bad anymore but I thought I'd give it a whirl.
This stuff works seriously well for some of my friends and family. They truly rely on the ease of use, ease of purchasing, and overall results. If you have never heard about it, well... What rock are you living under? Proactiv is sold as a 30-day, 3-step system for $19.95 There are also other goodies than can be purchased to add to the system. I personally have found it lasts longer than advertised.

However, I have incredibly sensitive skin. The product line-up together is way too much. Separately I love it. The toner is my favorite. It's quite gentle and smells ok. It dries well to a nice finish leaving my skin neither too moisturized nor to dry. Perfect for right out of the shower.
The wash would be great for those who need to exfoliate quite a bit, but its too harsh for me. I can never use anything with any texture on my face so it was not surprising. Over exfoliating for me means hurting puffy red skin & more acne.
One thing I've learned through years of trying is what works best for me is benzoyl peroxide for mild-moderate acne. It's gentle, exfoliating, and kills bacteria. Anyone who uses Proactive (or any acne product) with benzoyl peroxide should realize it can & will bleach towels, hair, pillowcases etc. So be careful. I ruined some nice towels.
I have decided to pass the kit onto my fiance, who at nearly 30 still has mild blackheads. Proactiv helps his skin A LOT. I mean, the difference can be pretty amazing after a while. It is something he will continue to purchase.

Thank you to Influenster VoxBox & Proactiv

Free moisturizer from L'Occitane

2011-10-14T11:27:00.001-04:00

L'Occitane is offering a free 10ml hand moisturizer through facebook. If you've never tried this brand NOW is the time. I was first introduced to L'Occitane (lox-ee-tahn I believe is the proper way to say it) by my dad. He purchased it from a boutique for my christmas gift. All their products contain lots of shea butter. They are very moisturizing and GREAT for very dry, weathered skin. I love their products so much, but sometimes can't afford the full line up.Jump now, as this free offer will not last long. Product has to be picked up at a boutique/seller.

FREE Mascara from Cosmo

2011-10-12T10:20:00.000-04:00

In the november issue of Cosmopolitan Text LASHLOVE to 467467 for a full sized Lash Love mascara from Mary Kay. First 5,000. (standard text rates may apply, I have unlimited)I tried it out just now and it's still working! Sometimes it returns errors, just resubmit your previous response. When you finish it will confirm you will receive the mascara in 6-8 weeks.Enjoy!

MASH set replacement

2011-10-06T13:44:00.004-04:00

I havent seen the MASH set at all recently. I've been checking, but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.Supposedly, there is a new kit, being offered by another company thats been said to replace MASH. (read the reviews, people are insanely happy)This kit is $11.99 for 25 platesI'd suggest checking into it if you love nail stamping. The plates are numbered like the Konad plates.

Girl in Heel-ys

2011-09-07T15:13:00.000-04:00

So much has been going on. I also got this snazzy new laptop so I could work on the blog again (my old linux was crashing anytime chrome or firefox sneezed). Then, when I received the new lappy, chrome wouldn't load blogger. To boot, the fiance and I were house hunting for our first place. I mean, if you've done it before, you know it's stressful up to your ears.

So at one point, I was asked to try out Heelys and blog about it. I was super excited, because one, I never knew Heely made a shoe for adults. Two, I needed some goofy fun to decompress. Here is my in depth.

I surely must have forgotten my childhood. I'm 27 now, and while I still feel like a fun teen most of the time... Something always comes a long that makes me realize I am far from being 15. That was knocked back into me within 5min after receiving the delivery. I tied them up and began trying to skate around the house. As I fell, I had a flashback of my first (and last) skateboard accident where I split the back of my skull open. I was a bit scared at that point to continue. I'm certainly no ballerina, and I could only dream of having the balance of a gymnast. I really should've started with the Hx2 version, which has training wheels that can be removed. I also should have worn a helmet and pads!

There are other accessories you can add, like the Nano. It's like a mini one footed skateboard that attaches to your front sneaker. Given my skateboard fears, I think I'll avoid that.

I watched the videos available showing me How to Skate. I appreciated that, because otherwise I really would've given up before I started.

I did however pick the Slide, in the above picture. Which has a bottom grind plate - in case I ever get super adventurous and decide to slide down a railing. I probably won't, but I thought this pair looked the most like a sneaker I'd actually wear. The inside is VERY comfortable. It feels like walking on clouds. The actual shoe, without wheels, is no heavier than I remember my Van's being when I was a teen. In fact, I'm sure they're lighter even with the wheel. I do wear a woman's 10 AAA narrow, so they were a bit wide, but I'm quite used to that. The construction overall is of quality, this shoe won't fall apart on you. Considering the price point, it's within line of most teen fashion sneakers at $30 US on sale, up to about $65 US.

If you're like me and determined you'll soon see, Heelys are quite easy to master, you have a lot more control then you would with roller blades or skateboards. It's a LOT of fun to roll then walk then roll. All I carry in my pocket is the key and bottoms if I want to remove the wheels. It's a little bit of fun exercise while you walk. It also gave me more of an incentive to walk places, which is a bonus. I found out I have a few friends who bought Heelys just so they could "Heely" (yes this is the correct term) with their children. Which I think is a great way to bond. Unfortunately, my daughter is still too young. I do plan on buying her a pair when she's a bit older. Right now she is already begging me for a pair of her own.

Fashion wise, I'll be honest(since this IS a fashion blog). Most of their styles aren't the best looking. Bordering on the weird, or more subtle, but still "Yes, I'm wearing teenage boys shoes" is about as stylish as it gets. For a casual jeans and T day with the family they are fine. I wouldn't expect to win any awards wearing them though. The fun to be had while wearing them cannot be beat regardless of the fashion statement. So slip on a pair and come roll with me!

Check out Heelys on Facebook Or Twitter @HeelysWorldwide

I want to thank B2B and Heelys for the opportunity to try out their amazing product. All opinions are my own and are an honest review.

Shopping you way

2011-08-09T08:50:00.000-04:00

Fall is quickly coming, which means starting to think about new wardrobes and changes within the house. I don't know about anyone else, but I love summer. Once my birthday hits (mid July) I'm already dreading fall, which means winter is coming. The good news about it is, I put away my summer items and somewhere around late August begin shopping for new fall items for myself and the household.

I recently came upon a site called Become.com I wanted to share with everyone. It is not just a shopping site but a shopping portal that searches some of my favorite sites including Neiman Marcus, Sak's, Nordstrom along with many other online stores. It's not just for clothing either, in example I could search for Asian Bedding and see all the designs from all the top department stores in one place. I can even see how much they're discounted if they're on sale.

Over the summer I wore through a bunch of jeans wearing them fishing (alas, even my good jeans). So I sauntered on over to become and began looking up Elizabeth James jeans. The search function works well with very specific terms.

I also purchased a lot of dresses, all of them too bright and summery for the fall/winter events we have coming up (trust me, there will be many) . Even trying a broad term such as Zebra Print Dress brings up a lot of dresses, from many shops.

Try the site out for yourself, and see if you like it.

brought to you by your friends at www.become.com

Technical

2011-07-09T08:01:00.002-04:00

I assure you, We're still here. I've been having some computer issues which have made it harder for me to crop/edit images. I'll be up and posting often again very soon.

MASH Set back in stock

2011-06-03T13:39:00.001-04:00

For those of you who've been asking, I checked today and the MASH set is back in stock. No idea on how many they have, but these seem to sellout pretty quick.

Congrats!

2011-05-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

Congrats to our winner, #5 to commenter. I'll be contacting the lucky person, he/she has 24 hours to reply - in the event of no reply I shall draw another number.

The winner shall receive a cute and very sturdy round cheese cutting board, and a coupon for free pizza. YUM.

Pictures and stories from the girls night in will be posted soon :)

Giveaway Reminder

2011-05-05T12:12:00.002-04:00

Our Giveaway for a great bamboo cheese cutting board ends tomorrow. The amount of entries are super low.
Entry is easy, just comment on the giveaway post with your email address. No follow required.

Giveaway RSVP To a Girls Night In

2011-04-30T10:01:00.001-04:00

This post brought to you by FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.

The days are getting nicer and nicer. I really miss my girls, so I decided (with the help of

FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™) to host a girls night in. Food, Movies, skincare, and of course MANICURES! We plan on serving cheese, crackers, and pizza. So kick the man out, get a babysitter and join us. I'll be posting pictures of the party.

To help you host your own party I'll be giving away a mini bamboo Simply Inspired FRESCHETTA® round cheese board. It's very beautiful (I did not want to remove it from it's protective box for a photo: Photo credit thanks to cookingwithkick.blogspot.com/).

The board slides open to reveal mini cheese cutters and fork.It will also come with a coupon for a free! In the meantime "Like" Freschetta on facebook. You can also follow them on twitter.com @FreschettaSI Giveaway is open to those with USA addresses only and shipping USPS (at my cost). This is a very good quality item, perfect for entertaining your own beauty girls night in! Enter below! Giveaway ends Friday May 6th: Winner announced by the following Tueday

The new pizzas by Freschetta are gourmet alternatives to a delivery service. My personal favorite is Hawaiian. Mmmmm. I really enjoyed this flavor. As quoted "Larger slices of vegetables, signature sauces, a variety of real cheeses and a crispy crust will inspire your taste buds and so much more." Delish! They come in eight distinctive varieties, are high quality, and have a FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ Packing locks in the vibrant flavors, while using 30% less packaging material.

There is no requirement to enter, however you can earn 1 bonus entry if you blog about this. Just leave a comment with your email address and where you blogged, if you did.

Winner will be contacted by email. I will cover shipping costs to you. Winner must live in the U.S.A. Thank you to Freschetta Simply Inspired for providing the items needed for the giveaway. Check out their pizzas at http://www.freschettasimplyinspired.com/

$45 at The Body Shop for $20

2011-04-25T13:48:00.000-04:00

Do you LOVE The Body Shop?

I do! So today I'm jumping on today's Groupon! $45 Gift certificate to The Body Shop for $20 (or $40 if you redeem after May 30th). Now imagine using the gift certifcate on sale items... I'll totally be stocking up on items for the year.

If you haven't heard of Groupon, well its this cool concept where there is one deal per day (sometimes local, but sometimes nationwide, like todays) Where you usually save around %40-%60. Ive used it before and have been VERY happy every time.

Check out Groupon Here

Free Samples of Ganier for Earth day!

2011-04-21T11:19:00.001-04:00

Do you love Ganier? How about if it was "green"
Well both Ganier and Walmart are offering free samples today of the new Pure Clean line.

Tomorrow is Earth day! What will you be doing? I will be planting a seedling tree with my daughter.

Freebie notice

2011-04-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

Drugstore.com and beauty.com are giving away a NARS Orgasm Illuminator($10 value) with any $10 purchase. Any purchase over $25 qualified for free shipping.

Summer fashion is upon us

2011-04-07T09:48:00.000-04:00

I have yet to pull together my spring/summer wardrobe. A lot has been packed away, illusively hiding somewhere in my other closet. Some of it is old, outdated, and needs updating. This summer, I'm hoping to ramp things up with some little extras.

Usually I wear plain flip flops most of the summer (with my toes nicely manicured, of course). No one really notices my super casual look, or at least, they don't comment. This summer I want to get some embellished flip flops/sandals. I think the ones offered by Michael Kors are perfect!

Since beginning to wear contacts again I've also been sunglasses crazy. I bought a few really nice pairs last year, but have since lost them. I don't know how it is possible to lose so many pairs, but I suppose it happens. Cole Haan makes a pair of really cute sunglasses that I'm gaga over.

There will be fancier events this summer. Probably quite a few considering how large my family is. I will wear heels if absolutely necessary. However, I would rather put on a pair of comfy yet pretty flats. Especially for something like a wedding, where I will be dancing the night away! Stuart Weitzman offers very cute pink flats that would work well with most of my fave dresses.

What are some of the items you'll be splurging on for the summer?

O.P.I. Swiss Collection Ski Teal We Drop

2010-11-11T10:40:00.001-05:00

Probably the only color I've really really wanted from the Swiss Collection by OPI Ski Teal We Drop
. I've been so in love with the swatches I've seen but my CBSullivan seems to always be sold out. I finally broke down and ordered it through Amazon(for double the price, ouch). Amazon told me I'd have to wait a month for shipping, but I got it within 2 weeks.

O.P.I. Swiss Collection 2010 Ski Teal We Drop

The color is lovely cream navy blue in most light. Which I love. I could see using it for all sorts of fun designs. In fact, I did a colored french design I'll post next week. Overall it's a great fall/winter nail polish.

In warmer light

The downside is, in warmer lights or at night time it actually appears completely Forest green. Gag. Green is one of my favorite colors, but for some reason forest green nails just look funky to me. To me, thats the biggest downside to Ski Teal We Drop. It bugged me so much I removed my polish a day before I had originally planned.

Because I had trouble finding it at my beauty supply store (they had the rest of the swiss collection) I can only assume its popular. Many sellers on Amazon do in fact carry it, including Amazon itself with free prime shipping. Don't be turned off by the shipping time, it really did not take over a month for them to plop it in the mail - more like 5 days.

Do you like Navy polishes?

OPI Review You Don't Know Jacques!

2010-10-22T11:41:00.001-04:00

So far, I've been using O.P.I. a lot lately for my nails. Honestly, I haven't used O.P.I. much since I was pregnant, which, at the time most O.P.I. polishes contained formaldehyde.Thing's have changed.

To sum it up formaldehyde essentially causes polish to last longer. I've noticed that my new O.P.I. polishes actually last longer than previous versions (but dry slower).

So I wanted to sum up my O.P.I. Review with some swatches of You Don't Know Jacques!

O.P.I. You Don't Know Jacques!

Review: O.P.I. Polishes now have a wider brush on most of their bottles. I personally, love this. I'm good at application with any size brush but the Pro Wide brush makes my life much easier. Some may not like this, as you can easily pick up too much nail polish. (note, I still sometimes find bottles with the skinny brush, but usually it's part of the other lines like O.P.I. Feet)

OPI Nail Polish You Don't Know Jacques!
in creme colors is also slightly thicker than most of my other brands. However, sometimes it still takes 3 coats for good coverage depending on the color (tip: lighter colors usually mean more polish coats).

O.P.I. polishes take FOREVER to dry. At least it seems that way to me. I use a hair dryer set on "cold" to speed up the process. You really have to make sure the first coat is dry before applying the second coat, otherwise it will NEVER dry.

However, once fully dry, they don't chip as bad as other polishes. With a good top-coat I can keep my polish on for 3 or more days. Without a top coat its 1-2 days.

The price is the one thing I'm not fond of in most retail settings. I can get O.P.I. for $2.75-$4.25 a bottle at a local beauty supply store. However, I've seen the price go easily to $9 or more in consumer settings (Salons and even grocery stores).

O.P.I. You Don't Know Jacques! Is a beautiful deep rich grey-taupe tone. I don't really know how to describe it. Sometimes it seems it has hints of purple(it doesn't, I think cooler lights have this effect), other times it just seems deep taupe or a warm grey. I guess it depends on how you describe colors. Regardless, it's a beautiful color that's totally in this season.

You Don't Know Jacques! in cooler light

It's also super shiny, even without a top coat. I couldn't stop staring at my nails. The shine was so much that my camera had a rough time focusing (check photo above). This color in particular is also more durable than my other O.P.I. lacquers, I have been wearing it since Tuesday with nail art on top and have not had a single chip. I'm very rough with my nails.

You Don't Know Jacques Under warmer light

The potential for this particular color is amazing. Even plain it's gorgeous and sophisticated. However, with nail art on top it's perfect too. The only thing I might not suggest is using it for a french tip as it'll probably just look like dirty nails. I did a Halloween theme for the past week on my nails that I'll post up Monday.

So what do you think of the current O.P.I. polish vs their old polish from a few years back? Do you like it more or less? Do you think it's important nail polish is more "green" and safer?

Toe Nail Designs

2010-12-08T15:05:00.001-05:00

So I realized I left my whole mani kit at my dads last week. Luckily, I had some back photos that helped me get by. I'm going to be picking up the kit on Friday, yay. Basically, it has everything I need (cuticle creams, clippers, polishes, nail art stuff).

One of my back designs I was saving for later was again another toe french. This time, with white tips (oh white polish why do you curse me!) I used OPI Nail Polish Alpine Snow
.

For the artsy stuff I used nail art items from Viva La Nails which were given to me for review.

The cool star sparkles are actually "Dazzlers", and the pictures do it no justice. When they capture the right lighting they shine back beautifully. The only downside is they are thicker than most glitter.
It requires a few good top coats to seal them in so they don't snag off.

The bottom flower design is from their white nail stickers collection. They're also thick, and kind of like a foam. A real pain to put topcoat over. I suppose the only good thing is they give a 3D effect, AND theres some silvery sparkly spots on it, so it's not just white. Still, if ordering I'd probably pass.

I promise, new nail stuff up here monday and no toes!

OPI Fireflies

2010-12-01T12:21:00.001-05:00

Want one word to sum up Fireflies by O.P.I.
from the Holiday 2007 collection? NO.
What was OPI thinking? So the allure of the color is better than the actual polish on. Fireflies are so beautiful, mystical, fun. On nails it just doesn't work.

I suppose if you want a sheer no matter how many coats(I did 3) that also looks like you stained your nails then go for it. Hehe. But otherwise, I could only see this color being useful for layering nail polishes.

I'm normally all for weird nail polish colors and I don't like to be negative about many things but like my OPI feet in peach, this is going in the "do not use again" box.

What have been your nail polish no no's?

Holiday Pedicure

2010-12-20T16:44:00.002-05:00

In my in laws houses there is a *VERY* strict no shoes rule. So the holidays require me to have my toes nicely done.

I just rubbed heavy lotion on before the pictures, so it shows up in a few of the images.

I started with silver nail polish. I used Wet N Wild precious metals(Lilac Available on Amazon
). Then I used water decals on the big toes for the flowers. I could've painted flowers on, but I was in a rush. I really don't like water decals too much, working with them is a pain. I think I work with them improperly.

After I finished the rest of the toes with little red foil strips in a pattern so it almost looked weaved in. I wish I hadn't run out of time to apply top coat as some weren't sealed down. However, it still looks really good.

Probably one of the only videos I'll include for a bit. My Holiday wishes from my family to yours.

North Point iBand - Feliz Navidad (instruments are iPhones, iTouch, and iPad)

OPI Swatch At Your Quebec & Call

2011-04-05T12:02:00.000-04:00

Spring is so close, even though we had that snowstorm on April 1st. Of course, those of us in New England can almost always count on THAT April Fools joke! To boot I'm getting over the worst cold I've ever had. I almost think I had pneumonia. Through all of that I stayed with my mom for a week and helped her pack.

My in laws have been talking about a trip to Canada, so of course, I had to swatch up OPI Nail Lacquer At Your Quebec & Call. It's a bit of a mess because I split/shredded a lot of my nails while helping mom move.

This color, from the O.P.I. Canadian collection, is a beautiful dark green gold. It could work well with a black cocktail dress for a night out, or even with a nice tan in summer. The golden shimmer is so perfect.

Before even starting the application I used Mavala® Scientifique Nail Hardener
which is by far the best I've ever tried. I hadn't used it in the last month, hence all the breakage. If you're against formaldehyde I would not suggest using this, it contains quite a bit. However, it soaks right into the nail and hardens them so amazingly well without any layers of junk.

Anyways, back to the swatch. Like most O.P.I. Polishes, At Your Quebec and Call applied fairly easily. One thing I have noticed, is their shimmer polishes dry MUCH faster than the non shimmers. I was ready to go in 2 minutes. It took 2 coats for full coverage. I think the photos made it look slightly sheer, but that is not the case in real life.

All in all, it is such a lovely color. I would highly suggest it to anyone. Even with my super pink-pale skin it still looks good.