ProductWhores

Hard Candy Revolutionizes Nails... Again

Okay, I admit it, it's been a long time since I was like, "Ooh, Hard Candy!  I must go buy something from them!"  But back in the day, their nail polishes were fabulous.  I seriously think I owned them all at one point.  Also, there isn't a Walmart anywhere convenient to me, and since that's where Hard Candy is sold now... well, it kind of just fell through the cracks.  But then I saw online that they had just released a collection of new nail polishes - and not just any ol' collection, but one with a whopping 45 shades and I knew I had to seek them out.  So yesterday, I went on a special Walmart run (hilarious!) and it wasn't until I got all the way there that it occurred to me that since they're new, they might not even be there yet.  And then I got very grumpy.  But I turned the corner and - miracle of miracles - there they were!  I think I heard angels singing (or maybe that was just the bad Muzak the store was playing).  

The 45 new shades are divided into 5 different groups - Candy Sprinkles, Crushed Chromes, Crystal Confetti, Glitteratzi and Itzy Glitz.  There are SO many different colors and finishes and kudos to Hard Candy because I can honestly say I wanted about 90% of them.  I even liked all the greens and greens are usually the color I covet the least.  I think I loved all the chromes the most, which is also weird because I almost never wear chromes, but they were all just so, so pretty.  I might've bought, uh, 5 of them.  Because here's the even better part - each shade is only $4.00.  Thank you, Walmart!  (And I can say that as a girl who loves her Target runs!)  I also bought a few of the Candy Sprinkles because honestly, as much as I love the thought of those, I don't know if I'll love them on me, so if I can only pay $4.00 to find out that I only want to wear them a few times, all the better.  My love for glitter polishes also means that I bought some of the Glitteratzi shades because who can resist a good glitter?  Not me!  I love using glitter for a pedicure.  There's just nothing more fun than a pair of sparkly toes peeking out of a pair of my favorite high heels.  Love!

I just bought them this weekend, so I haven't tried them yet, but from what I'm reading online, people love them, so I'm super excited for my next mani-pedi. I can't wait to try a few of them out.  And, uh, now that I'm home and looking at them online again, I might just have to make another Walmart trek to pick up some more.  At only $4.00, it's like I would be stupid not to, right?  RIGHT?!   

Hard Candy - Awesomely Affordable

I actually made the trek to Wal-Mart recently just so I could pick up some Hard Candy shadows and it was totally worth the elbowing through crowds, weird happy face signs and stupid long lines.  For only $6.00, you can get the best eye shadow duos or single, glittery shadows, and you'll want to buy them all.  My absolute faves from the Kaleyedescope Collection (eye shadow duos) are Rush Hour (an awesome pink and brown glitter duo) and Love Bug (light blue and silver glitter shadow duo).  I also freaked out about their Meteor Shadows (my fave is Outer Space).  These shadows each contain silver bands of glitter throughout so they make fantastic shadows for smoky eyes or for wet/dry eyeliner (yes, when you use as a liner, you have the specks of glitter, which looks amazing!)  I also picked up Mouthing Off Sheer Lipgloss (love the name) in Caffeine Fix which is a glittery brown lipgloss that is seriously the best one I've used in a long time.  It is moisturizing, a great color and it smells like vanilla.  I can't even tell you how picked over the selection was at my local Wal-Mart, so if the stock is full where you are make sure you buy everything you want so you're not like me - freaking out that I need to find some more colors!  I know where I'll be going when I head back to NH to visit my parents for Thanksgiving...

Photo courtesy of Hard Candy

Curl Up And Dye

Back in the day, I was obsessed with Hard Candy.  I loved all their funky nail polish colors and glitter eyeliners, which totally makes me sound like I was some sort of club kid (uhm, no).  But after it stopped being sold at Sephora, I moved on to other brands and sort of forgot about it.  (I know, I'm a bad Product Whore.  I'm easily distracted.  All you have to do is wave a shiny new lipstick in front of my face and I'll follow you anywhere...)  I knew it had gotten a makeover and was now being sold at Walmart, but since there are no Walmart's around me, I figured I'd never get the chance to try the new products.  And then this weekend, I oddly found myself at a Walmart in NJ (a story for another day) so you can bet that the first thing I did was run to the beauty section to check if they had it.  Which they totally did.  (I might've done a little happy dance in the aisle, but I'm not admitting to anything).  I bought 4 different things, but the only one I've  tested out so far is the Curl Up and Dye Curling Mascara in Nite.  (Adorable name, right?)  I bought it for two reasons - I was curious about the formula, but also, I just really, really loved the shade.  I mostly wear plain old black mascara, but this one was so pretty and different - it's a super dark greenish-teal shade, so it's a little bit funkier than what I normally have on my lashes, but not so much that anyone will look at me and think, "Why is that crazy girl wearing brightly colored mascara?  Does she not know what decade it is?"  I really love the color, but as for the formula, it's nothing amazing.  Don't get me wrong, I like it, and at only $6, it totally lives up to its value, but it's not a mascara that will change your life.  (Not that I really expected it to for that price).  What I like about it is that it goes on smoothly, without any clumps, but the one drawback is that, for a curling mascara, it doesn't really give my lashes any extra curl that I can see.  Still, for the color alone, it's totally worth the price.  (I'm going to try layering it over some of my other favorite mascaras to see what that looks like).  And it definitely made me want to try the rest of the Hard Candy products I bought.  Besides, anytime I can get a product that I like for basically the same price as a caramel latte, I'm very happy.             

Get That SoCal Glow

eleYes, this is another post about a bronzer.  What can I say?  I love them, and also I can totally explain the expense to my accountant because I'm saving my skin from sun damage and therefore doing a smart thing.  (You can ignore the fact that I already have twelve of them and a smarter thing would probably be to put the cash in my savings account).  I saw this SoCal Glow Big Bronzing Powder at the Sephora in Times Square this week and I instantly needed to own it because its got the cutest packaging ever.  The bronzer comes in a compact made to look like a map of Southern California, although they conveniently leave out any mention of the fact that if you live there, you will spend most of your life sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on the Los Angeles roads in question.  It even has the Beverly Hills sign on it, which clearly shows that the Hard Candy people know where the good shopping can be found (always a plus in a company!)  And I love the fact that just like Sugar's Tropic Tan, the compact is huge, so for only $22 you get enough to make yourself glow all over, thus avoiding the need to self-tan for a last minute night out.  And since I don't have any real maps in my car, I figure if I ever get lost I can just pull this out of my bag and use it to guide me home.  See what I did there?  It's further proof that you can justify any purchase at Sephora if you just try hard enough. 

Mix It Up

Remember when life was simple? When the only thing on your schedule was soccer practice, you spent hours walking around the mall with your friends, and all you wanted was a date for the homecoming dance? Ah, the good old days, before mortgages and jobs and taxes. Well, Hard Candy is bringing those times back with three new palettes that are designed to look just like the mix tapes we all couldn't get enough of back in the day. I'm willing to admit that my favorite had songs from The Eagles, Billy Joel, Kansas, Eddie Money (yes, that Eddie Money), SWV (shut up) and, uh, Naughty By Nature. I think I listened to it so much it eventually just disintegrated, which is sad because that was some great driving music. The palette packages are so cute - you can buy either the Workout Mix, the Party Mix or the Break Up Mix - all with different color combinations inside. Each palette comes with three eyeshadows and three lip glosses, which is perfect for me because that's what I use the most of, so I don't need some weird shade of bronzer taking space away from my true loves. I like the colors in the Workout Mix the best (odd, since I'd almost rather break up with someone than drag my lazy ass to the gym), but all three combos are definitely useable. And they get bonus points for being only $15 each, so I still have enough money left to go download some songs on iTunes. I'm having the urge to listen to O.P.P all of a sudden...