Hi !

Fireworks, barbeques and red, white and blue – these are all ingredients for the perfect 4^th of July holiday this weekend.  Now, you can also show your American pride with style with Violent Lips and Streekers. Check out the hottest new way to celebrate Independence Day with these patriotic must-haves:

American Flag Violent Lips ($14.95 for a set of three); www.ViolentLips.com

These FDA approved, vegan temporary lip tattoos offer the ultimate form of self-expression. Because let’s face it, nothing says “I’m here and I’m proud” better than American Flag – patterned lips!

To Use: Shape It, Peel It, Set It, Wet It

Streekers in Blue and Red ($10.95); Select salons and cosmetic specialty stores, ULTA and www.Streekers.com

True temporary hair color allows you to streak your strands in any pattern you choose without the commitment of permanent color. Unlike other temporary hair colors like gels and sprays, Streekers hair color bonds to the hair, so you can brush your hair without dulling the color or flaking it off.  Use it like cosmetics for instant impact.

To Use:  Apply Streekers on small sections of dry hair, from root to tip.  Allow to dry.  For 2-3 color effects, wait a minute between colors. To remove color, simply shampoo as usual.  

Keep an eye out for another post about these items, once I can get it together. I just lost an hour on the Violent Lips side alone! Til next time!

Images were provided by PR.

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Heaven Nail Lacquer is waiting for you...

I got so many questions about where, exactly, I bought my Heaven polish. I felt a little guilty, because I was waiting til I could get there and snap a few pictures to tell. What can I say, I wanted to share all the colors, not just one! So... the big secret is out. If you're looking for lots of fun colors at completely affordable prices, go to . . .

You read that right. Go to the cosmetics department at your local Albertsons grocery store and pharmacy. I bet you didn't know they had an extensive cosmetics department! The only way I knew is because I have a family member who used to manage the cosmetics department in her local Albertsons. She would bring me the most wonderful things all the time.

The interesting thing is that the Albertsons cosmetics department isn't managed by any old grocery store manager. No, they realize that cosmetics are important to women, so their departments actually are staffed by cosmeticians! So you really should stop by and look to see what's there... you might be pleasantly surprised.

Oh wait, I did that for you! Now, let me preface this by saying that just because these were found at my local store doesn't mean they'll be at all stores, but I know that this is a concept Albertsons is proud of across the board, so I bet you might have more luck than you might expect. So, your mileage may vary, keep your seatbelts on, and let's see what I found!

CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara Made My Tiny Lashes Visible!

Ok, we're getting away from nail stuff today, I hope you guys don't mind. But I simply had to share this. If you hated it, tell me, and I'll try not to do it again. :D

So, some women are born with amazing lashes. You know the ones- long, curled, sexy lashes that frame their eyes beautifully. I always wanted lashes like that. Instead, I have tiny, fine lashes that are hard to see, and I also have a fat face with deep set eyes. This means that my lashes are all but invisible, unfortunately. I dream of the day I could get lash extensions... or just visible lashes!

So I was provided with a sample of CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara from BzzAgent. My first action was to run to the web to check it out. There I found that it's $10 at WalMart! $10, for drugstore mascara... for COVERGIRL drugstore mascara? This better be something special...

Well, I got it. I tried it. It's not perfect... the brush for it is weird. It's thick and stubby, and seems hard to control to get your corner lashes covered. And yet, this stuff really IS special. It's buildable, so you can put on as much or as little as you need. It's amazing, in that it both thickened my lashes and lengthened them, visibly. It even curled them a bit! I mean... look at this comparison!

Pardon my big scary head there, but really... do you see the difference? No smudges to clean away, no clumpy ickiness, and holy crap, you can see my eyelashes!!!

It also isn't waterproof, which makes me want to cry. Because even though it makes my eyes look this awesome, my eyes are deep-set, and this will wear off between my laughter and sweat in no time. I cannot wear non-waterproof mascara. But still, if you can? This stuff is a dream.

So there. If you're looking for high-end performance from a drugstore mascara, add this one to your list of ones to try. It won me over. It won me over so much that I'm abusing exclamation points. :D