Nail Polish Review: MSRUIOO Nail Gel

 Nail polish: MSRUIOO Nail Gel

What the brush looks like:

My nails with 3 coats of polish and 1 coat of VENDEENI Gel Polish in Stardust and Diamonds 01 as an accent over my ring finger, all nails have Beetles Gel Polish Top Coat Top Gel on:

Availability: It appears as though this has been discontinued.
Would I buy this?: Yes! (well, at least this color)
Notes: I'd describe the color as being a cool-toned teal-leaning emerald green with a metallic finish. I was able to reach decent opacity within three thin coats as you see above. This cures a bit tacky until cured with the topcoat on.  On the nails, this wore for slightly over a week prior to noticeable peeling occurring. Honestly, this is likely to be my very last gel nail polish review. Unfortunately, regardless of how careful I am, removing gel polish from my natural nails often causes the nail to lift up off the nail bed which leaves my nails tender and in pain. Even if they don't lift, it leaves my nails all patchy and dry. I feel like unfortunately my natural nails are either unhealthy or naturally porous and gel tends to adhere to them in a way that makes removal difficult and painful. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. 

Disclaimer: I received this polish as a birthday gift. All opinions are my own. 

Nail Polish Review: VENDEENI Stardust and Diamonds 01 Gel Polish

 Nail polish: VENDEENI Gel Polish in Stardust and Diamonds 01

What the brush looks like:

My nails with 1 coat of polish as an accent on my ring finger over MSRUIOO Nail Gel, all nails have Beetles Gel Polish Top Coat Top Gel on:

Availability: It appears as though this has been discontinued.
Would I buy this?: Yes!
Notes: I'd describe the color as being an indigo blue base with tiny silver micro-glitter and royal blue glitter chunks. I feared this would be sheer on its own, hence me doing just an accent nail with it. But that said, I feel like it might reach an opaque, jelly-like finish within perhaps two or three coats. This cures a bit tacky until cured with the topcoat on.  On the nails, this wore for slightly over a week prior to noticeable peeling occurring. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. 

Disclaimer: I received this polish as a birthday gift. All opinions are my own. 

Love It Or Leave It; Review 2.0: Moira Beauty Never Ending Lights Palette

Hello folksickles. As a makeup junkie and blogger you may have realized that I review a LOAD of eyeshadow palettes and I like to think of myself as being largely an eyeshadow junkie. In order to declutter a bit  I've decided to pick out a palette or series of eyeshadows for the month and have that be my monthly selection for those instances where I'm not doing a tutorial for the blog. Every month I'll do a recap on the eyeshadows - how I feel about them and whether I'll be keeping them or giving them away (and why :P) as well as if I think it's worth its price tag. 

Moira Beauty Never Ending Lights Palette

You can find a look I did with the palette here. These are the looks I created this month:

So as you can see I created all sorts of colorful and sometimes smoky looks with these shadows. Generally speaking, the quality of this palette is fantastic - the shades have great color payoff and blend together easily. I feel like it's been ages since I've had a palette that was a keeper but this is definitely staying as a part of my collection. Which I think wouldn't come as a surprise given that I love the color story - these are some of my very favorite eyeshadow colors to wear and I'm a little sad to be moving on!

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased this palette myself. 

November 2025 Departures

Ok folksickles. Departure blogs will contain items that aren't empties but that are going to be given away for one reason or another. I'm working hard to curate my makeup collection and want it to include only the products that I think truly work well, that I reach for often and do what they're supposed to do.

1. Moira Beauty Soul of Fire Palette: If I'm being honest, I absolutely loved the quality of this palette and the looks I ended up doing with it. However, I just know I won't reach for it over other palettes I have with similar colors in then. For that reason, I'll be passing it along.

Disclaimer: I purchased the palette myself. All opinions are my own. 

November 2025 Empties

All my monthly trash on display for you to see. :P

1. REN Glow Daily Vitamin C Gel Cream: This is a deeply hydrating moisturizer that gave my skin a nice glow. I'm unsure whether that's due to the vitamin C in here or just because if hydrated really well, either way though, I enjoyed using this. It has a nice citrusy scent to it and I like that it comes in a vacuum pump because that ensures good hygiene and that you get all the product out of the pump bottle.

2. equate Almond & Shea Shea Sugar Scrub: I love how gritty this scrub is and how delicious it smells; it has a sweet, almond cookie scent. This leaves my skin feeling very soft and smooth and is great for shave prep. 

3. Kracie naive Peach Leaf Makeup Removal Face Wash: This is a nice cream cleanser that has a yummy sweet peachy scent. I found that it does remove my face makeup, but I was concerned about it irritating my eyes so I didn't use it to remove my eye makeup. Personally, as I said, this is nice, but I prefer a slightly creamier, more hydrating feel to my cleansers.

4. Dove deep moisture 24hr lotion-soft skin body wash: I love to use these body washes to shave with because they last much longer than shaving gels or foams and give a nice glide to my razors. I like this particular one during this part of the year because due to the cold, dry air my skin tends to get irritated and dry so I could use any extra boost of hydration I can get.

5. The Creme Shop Flexible Fit 3D Faux Mink Lashes in Bossy: These are a beautiful thick, voluminous lash and they go on fairly easily. Occasionally they do want to pop off at the inner corners of the eyes but generally I find they stay put well.

6. Rebels Refinery Strawberry Mango The Pineapple Lip Balm: I've been trying to use up the last remnants of this left at the bottom of the packaging but honestly it's gotten dusty, genuinely gross, and there isn't much product left so I'm electing to part ways with it. 

7. Powder Puff (I believe this one is from the Coty Airspun powder): Honestly this powder puff has been funky to use because it has these wild "hairs" rather than being flat, it was kind of fun to wash. But that being said, it worked alright. I personally think it would have been better if it applied powder on more precisely but it got the job done. 

8.  Shiseido Prepare Dermaplaning Razor: I like to use these once weekly to really get any strays on my face due to my PCOS.  It's about time to replace this razor as it's getting a bit dull. 

9. IVON Cuticle Trimmer: I feel like these do a good job of removing excess dead tissue along the sides of my nails and around the cuticle area. That said I try to be careful not to nip at the eponychium because that can be quite painful and cause nail damage. 

Disclaimer: I purchased all of the products mentioned above with the exception of the Rebel's Refinery lip balm which I received as a gift. 

Eye Cream Review: Green Pharmacy Cactus Squalane Ultra Moisturizing Eye Cream

Hello folksickles. Today's review will be for the Green Pharmacy Cactus Squalane Ultra Moisturizing Eye Cream.

Availability:  I can't seem to find a retailer online for this, but I bought it at my local Russian-speaking pharmacy for $5.69 for 15 ml (0.51 fl oz).

Would I buy this again?: No.

What is this product designed to address?

According to the packaging this is what the product is and what it does:

Green Pharmacy takes inspiration from both herbal traditions and more modern, innovative ingredients, including those used in pharmaceuticals. Using the products of this series will help to effectively address the issue of facial skin dryness, providing regeneration, moisturizing, and soothing.

Thanks to its delicate formula, the cream moisturizes, soothes, gives the skin around eyes a feeling of comfort and eliminates the problem of dryness. 

Properties:

• moisturizing
• soothing and smoothing
• increasing the elasticity of the skin
• elimination of the feeling of discomfort
• elimination of the problem of dryness
• reducing the appearance of wrinkles

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

These are the highlighted ingredients according to the packaging:

Cactus extract (Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract): is an ideal ingredient, used for both dry and oily skin. It provides very good hydration and skin toning. Thanks to a large amount of vitamins and minerals, it gives the skin moisturizing, firmness, and radiant appearance.

Squalane: is a vegetable ingredient extracted from olive oil,  shows a wide spectrum of action on the skin, moisturizes and prevents excessive water loss. It gives softness and elasticity. 

What is the texture like?

I'd describe the texture as a lightweight yet hydrating cream. 

Is it scented?

It has a watery "green" scent to it that I really enjoy: it smells fresh, not herbaceous.

My overall experience/comments on the product:
I've been using this eye cream for a few weeks now and I feel like it's hydrating and doesn't interfere with my makeup. That said, while I think this is fantastic and it's more easily accessible, my favorite remains the MIZON Multi Function Formula Snail Repair Eye Cream - because it feels both more  hydrating and I feel like it has depuffing qualities as well. I haven't found this to have particularly noticeable depuffing or brightening properties - so if you're looking for that, you might want to look for something else. I have yet to find the holy grail eye cream that will hydrated, depuff, AND brighten but I'm on the lookout for it. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself. 

Toner Review: PRETTYSKIN Snail Collagen Toner

Hello folksickles. Today's review will be for the PRETTYSKIN Snail Collagen Toner.

Availability: This retails anywhere from $8 - $20 for 250mL and is available at stylevana.com and yesstyle.com.

Would I buy this again?: Maybe.

What is this product designed to address?

According to yesstyle.com:

Blended with mild formulations to ensure a comfortable application without any sticky residue, making it perfect for daily use.

Designed for sensitive skin, helping to refresh and balance skin without causing irritation.

Snail Collagen: Infused with Snail Mucin Filtrate and Collagen Extract to provide skin elasticity care, while brightening up skin tone with Niacinamide.

Does it contain any special/beneficial ingredients?

Glycerin: Attracts moisture to the skin. 

Niacinamide: Has anti-inflammatory and brightening properties.

Snail Secretion Filtrate: Has hydrating and skin healing properties.

Collagen Extract: Has hydrating and tightening properties, assists with skin elasticity. 

Arginine: Helps support collagen production and hydration in the skin.

Adenosine: Has anti-inflammatory properties and helps firm skin. 

Sodium Hyaluronate: Has hydrating properties.

What is the texture like?

I'd describe the texture as being watery, refreshing, and hydrating when applied. 

Is it scented?

This has a faint, floral scent. .

My overall experience/comments on the product:
This toner leaves my skin feeling very soft and deeply hydrated. I really appreciate the boost of hydration this gives me, especially as we head into colder weather because with my dry skin, any extra lightweight boost helps. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Disclaimer: I purchased this myself.