A Pixi and a Dark Horse

Painting my nails relaxes me - don't ask me why. If I had stronger nails, I'd paint them a different color every single day.  I'm obsessed with all the colors of nail polish out there, but I don't like to get all fancy with it - it just isn't me. I see the trend these days to paint one fingernail a completely different color and I don't really like that for me, either.  But tonight as I was digging through my trough(s) of polish, these two kind of landed right next to each other and they looked so good in an "opposites attract/hard meets soft" way that I decided to use both of them. 

On the left we have Pixi Paradise Pink, sold at Targets stores everywhere.  It's a very bubble-gum girly pink, bright and fun.  On the right we have a polish from a wonderful indie brand, Cirque Colors, in Dark Horse.  (From the website:  "Cirque is an artisanal line of hand-blended nail polish made in New York.")  This color is GORGEOUS.  A black base with beautiful multi-colored shimmer.  My pictures could not possibly ever do it justice - I'm a writer and consumer, not a photographer, sorry.  Here's a close-up of the bottle: 

So gorgeous, right?  To get a better idea of the loveliness, try a Google image search of Cirque Colors Dark Horse where people with better cameras can do it more justice. Now, I did nothing fancy or artistic, I just loved seeing the two  colors together so I did the teenager-y thing and painted one fingernail different from the rest.  (My cuticles are a MESS right now, and this isn't my neatest paint job ever, so just squint your eyes and enjoy the overall effect.) I also covered the Paradise Pink with a layer of China Glaze Fairy Dust so it sparkles just as much as the Dark Horse. 

The formula on the Pixi is a little thick and hard to work with, and it seemed to take longer to dry, but you also don't need too much for good coverage. The Dark Horse is very thin on the first coat, but after that each coat overs very good coverage.  I recommend using a very shiny topcoat - perhaps even more than one application as the glitter kind of soaks it up.

There will be much more coming in the future as we get back into the groove and find more things to share.  My writing is a little rough right now because I haven't written anything in a few years, so please forgive my awkwardness.  :)  We're glad you're here!

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Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark-Circle Roller

I want to talk about one of my very favorite products to come around in a very long time, possibly ever.  I've been using it faithfully ever since it first appeared in stores, which has been at least a couple of years.  You don't find it with the usual makeup brands, but in the skincare aisle with Garnier's other products (cleansers, lotions, etc.)

With a lot of concealers, even the really good ones, they are often thick and a little cake-y and can take forever to blend.  This particular one is very thin and blends quickly and effortlessly.  I love it because it seems to just melt straight into my skin, taking my dark circles with it.  I will even use this on no-makeup days to help me look a little more awake.  If I've had a particularly rough night and need a little extra coverage, I can even layer on a second concealer and it's like putting it on my bare skin.  This is a wonderful product, and at a great price point of $10.  I haven't even had to replace it (which, yeah, I know I'm supposed to replace things every few months or whatever, but that's not the point) because it lasts forever.  This is definitely in my top three products of all time.

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Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

When Life hands you lemons and you make shitty lemonade, you pop open a Coke and a bottle of polish and paint your nails a fabulous color and watch Fashion Police.  (I wanted to paint my fingernails, but they are currently under treatment.)

Orly Halley's Comet.  Gorgeous.  Pardon my terrible iPhone shot.  Missy's amazing skills and her nice camera unfortunately do not live with me.

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Starting Over

Hello, everyone, old readers and new.  I am resurrecting Primp and Tell from the dead, although in a slightly different incarnation from before.  Missy and I had big hopes for this website, but life kind of got in the way.  Since our last post, between us three children have been added to our respective families, there have been family illnesses, children starting school, surgeries, and in my case, a marital snafu (if I'm being honest).  But I've missed writing, and my interest in beauty products, fashion, and celebrity gossip hasn't waned. 

Therefore, this is just going to be a fun, casual place to talk about what products I'm in love with, which ones I hate, a place to muse about celebrity gossip, discuss the fashion magazines and what I like and don't like about certain things.  Also - this will be a place to document my obsession with nail polish.  Over the last two years, I've become quite the connoisseur, and while it's shameful at the amount of polishes I've acquired, I have a lot of fun finding new colors. 

Of course Missy will still be chiming in when she finds the time and the inclination.  Hopefully we can gain our readers back, and add a few more to the pile.

So I sign off for now with a picture of my current polish, the deadly gorgeous matte version of OPI's La Paz-itively Hot.  My picture doesn't do it justice, but just trust that the beauty is immeasurable.  For better pictures by real nail bloggers more dedicated than I, do a Google search on the brand and name, and you'll see what I mean.

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Test Post

Because Primp and Tell has been quiet over the past couple of years, we let our domain name expire. While we are working out the details on getting our original domain up and running, we are using a standard blogger address http://primpandtell.blogspot.com. If you see this post please update your RSS feeds accordingly and we will redirect our new url to this one! We hope to have new posts up soon and that you all enjoy!

– Kelli

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L'oreal HiP High Drama Volume Mascara

My love of all things L'Oreal HiP has been widely documented on this website, but finally there is a slight change in that attitude. At least for their mascara. All I have to say is "meh." There's nothing exceptional about it. I didn't start singing show tunes in its praise after applying, I didn't run out and buy five more just to stock up. In fact, I think I've used it twice. Maybe a couple of more times when I thought I'd try again. But, alas, no. You could just as good results with an even cheaper Rimmel or Cover Girl.

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MagiX Tinted Face Perfector

I actually won this product in a drawing held by Allure magazine. I was very excited to try it, especially since I have such lovely large pores, and according to Avon's website, this face perfector "...visibly minimizes pores witih patent-pending Optix Light-Diffusing Technology. Holds back shine for up to 10 hours. Reduces the look of fine lines...skin feels softer than ever. Shades adapt to your skin tone...like magic!"

Yeah, not so much. I find the consistency very weird and kind of sticky, and I don't notice it doing any better of a job than the foundation I already wear. I believe it's supposed to be sheer enough to wear under foundation, but that's just too much product for me. It seemed like I had to smear an awful lot of this on to get any results. I'm just glad it was free!

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