Hoots of a Night Al

Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Pencil

May 5, 2016 8 Comments

Today, I’m reviewing the Maybelline Precise Skinny Gel Pencil. As anyone who’s read my blog before knows, I’m a huge fan of Maybelline’s eye products.

This new addition to their collection is a fabulous one! It is a twist up pencil, which is my favorite kind. I love the convenience of not having to worry about sharpening it. Also, does anyone else always stab themselves in the eye with wooden shards with the pencils you have to sharpen? Just me? Great.

Another notable feature of the Master Precise Skinny Gel Pencil is how skinny it is. Surprise, surprise, I know. It measures only 1.8 millimeters, which allows you to get a SUPER thin line.

The thin line is convenient for lining your lid, tight-lining your inner lid, and lining under your eye. It’s also easy to build up for a more dramatic look.

The one downside to the pencil’s thinness is that it easily breaks if you wind it out too far. I made this mistake the first time I used it. However, if you keep it pretty short, you won’t have any issues!

This pencil glides on really easily during application, and it doesn’t smudge throughout the day.

The gel liner claims to be waterproof, but I haven’t put that to the test. Thankfully, it comes off relatively easily when I use my Garnier Micellar Water to remove it.

I’m wearing the Master Precise Skinny Gel Pencil in Defining Black, which is my go to eyeliner color. It also comes in Brown and Gray.

I paired this eyeliner with my current favorite Maybelline Mascara, Lash Sensational, and they work together great!

As you can see below, the Maybelline Unstoppable Liner is at least twice as thick as the new Master Precise Skinny liner, which could be good or bad based on how much drama you want. The good thing is both of them can be built up.

I’m still a huge fan of Maybelline’s eye makeup products, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon! I definitely recommend the Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Pencil if you’re in the market for a new, affordable, great eyeliner!

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase using these links, I may receive a small percentage of the profit at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Hoots of a Night Al!

Beauty

Nail Polish Removal Hack!

April 24, 2016 2 Comments

Does anyone else out there paint their own nails still? I love having fresh polish on my nails, but one of my least favorite things to do is remove it! I feel like some polishes (like glitter!) can be so stubborn and hard to get off. However, a couple of years ago, I stumbled upon this “hack.” With nail polish remover and ONE cotton ball, I can remove ALL of my polish quickly and easily! Read on to see how!

You can use acetone (which is harsher on your nails) or nail polish remover. Simply pour a small amount into the cap. Next get one cotton ball and roll it out into a strip like the picture below.

Gently, tear your cotton ball into ten small pieces.

Dip each piece into the nail polish remover, and press it onto your nail making sure any part with polish is being touched by the polish remover. I typically do one hand at time.

Wait for around 15 seconds, grab the cotton ball piece, and slide it off your nail with some slight pressure. Voilà! Just like that, all of your polish is gone!

Like I said, I do one hand at a time, and it just takes a couple of minutes! No more scrubbing and using 15 cotton balls per hand. I hope this little tip saves you some time and cotton balls next time you’re switching polishes!

Beauty

Blo Blow Dry Bar

April 8, 2016 8 Comments

Goofy snaps aside (I’m mrsalilang on Snapchat, by the way), this review is about my experience at the new Blo Blow Dry Bar in San Antonio. Blo’s whole mentality is “no cuts, no color,” meaning they strictly deal with washing and styling your hair.

I immediately loved Blo’s crisp decor, which was chic gray and white with fun pops of pink! Fresh flowers, instagram-worthy wall phrases, and bright, clean styling stations greet you when you walk in.

Once I checked in, I was greeted by my stylist who offered me a drink and asked what style I was looking to achieve. Blo offers 7 signature styles to choose from, but you can alter them to your liking or ask for something else completely. We talked about my hair type (mega straight and smooth) and what I wanted before she took me back to wash my hair.

After washing my hair, we returned to the styling station to get started. My sweet stylist (or “Bloer” as Blo refers to them), chatted with me as she combed my hair and began blowdrying.

During my style, she used a wide range of products, all from the Unite haircare line. She started with the 7SECONDS Detangler, aptly named because, you guessed it, it starts detangling your hair in only 7 seconds.

She used a round brush to completely blow dry and smooth my hair before curling it with a straightening iron after spraying each section with TEXTURIZA Spray. After all of my hair was curled, she went in with the EXPANDA Dust on my roots to tease and give me some volume. Finally, with some GO365 Hairspray, I was finished!

What do you think? Considering how naturally straight my hair is, I was amazed at what they achieved with the right products and tools! My hair had so much volume and curl, and it’s currently several hours later and still holding strong! My stylist told me some people come in once a week to have their hair washed and styled and don’t wash their hair until they return the next week! I think that’s a great testament to how well their styling techniques work, but I also think that’s sort of gross? My hair gets oily about 10 seconds after I wash it though, so I don’t think I’ll ever understand the magical mystery of people with dry hair!

The style closest to what I chose is “Pillow Talk,” and my stylist said this is one of their most popular styles. I can see why! I felt so glamorous all day, and I think a visit to Blo would be a relaxing treat for anyone.

If you’re looking for somewhere to get a fun updo, some beautiful curls for date night, or a pretty braid for Girl’s Night Out, I definitely recommend Blo! Here is the location I visited (which is having their grand opening this weekend!), but there are several across the United States.

Happy Saturday!

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase using these links, I may receive a small percentage of the profit at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Hoots of a Night Al!

Beauty

Covergirl Clump Crusher Extensions LashBlast Mascara

April 4, 2016 4 Comments

Covergirl Clump Crusher Extensions LashBlast Mascara…is that a mouthful or what? This mascara is my first foray into the world of LashBlast mascaras…shocking, I know!

This mascara claims to provide “buildable volume and length instantly.” First of all, how can the volume be both buildable and instant? Doesn’t the buildable qualifier automatically make it not instant? Regardless, it definitely needed to be built up. I applied three coats of this mascara before seeing any results, which, ironically resulted in some clumping. Shouldn’t I have been “crushing” the clumps instead of creating them?

The Very Black color I chose was nice and dark, but I was disappointed so many coats still resulted in such a little impact. Maybe that’s my fault because I want a false lashes look from my mascara. However, I was definitely left wanting more from this mascara.

If you’re someone who loves a more natural makeup look, this mascara may be great for you. A few coats is basically a “my lashes, but better” look if that makes sense. The bristles on the wand are fanned and well-spaced, but VERY stiff, which made me nervous about stabbing myself in the eye (especially since I had to utilize the wand so much to try and “crush” the multiple clumps…).

I loved that this mascara didn’t flake throughout the day and washed off relatively easily, but those were basically the only pros for me. I know some people are diehard LashBlast fans though…do I just need to try a different version?

Have you tried the Covergirl Clump Crusher Extensions LashBlast Mascara? What did you think?

Talk to y’all soon!

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase using these links, I may receive a small percentage of the profit at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Hoots of a Night Al!

Beauty

Maybelline Lash Sensational Luscious Mascara

March 31, 2016 2 Comments

What’s that? Another Maybelline mascara review? Well, if you insist! The Maybelline Lash Sensational Luscious mascara is a variation of the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara that I reviewed recently. However, they don’t have many similarities apart from their names.

As usual, I chose the darkest option, Blackest Black. It is definitely a deep, rich black, which I love.

I also love the matte black packaging. I know it will get dirty so quickly in my makeup bag, but I love how chic matte products look!

This mascara claims to provide a “full fan effect,” by coating your lashes with its “precious oil-infused formula.” Well, I’ll give them one thing. It does COAT your lashes. Warning: if you’re a 2 or 3 coat mascara kind of girl like me, DON’T try that with this mascara!

As you can see, this wand comes out with a LOT of product on it, and, regardless of how I apply it, a second coat always results in clumpy, wet lashes that I can’t separate. In these pictures I did 2 “coats,” but I never inserted the wand back into the tube between coats to grab more product. There is plenty (probably too much) from the first time you pull out the wand. It’s also super wet and takes forever to dry. I have be careful not to get any of this on my eyelids after I apply it, which is something I never usually have to worry about.

Thankfully, it never flakes throughout the day, which is great.

In the picture below, I switched the side of my face I’m holing the mascara on to REALLY liven it up for y’all. Yikes…think I need some new selfie makeup poses?

Do I love this mascara? No. Do I like it? Meh. I’ll probably keep using it, since I already have it, but it’s definitely not my first choice. If you’re wanting to try a new mascara, there are much better options out there like the original Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara or Maybelline Falsies mascara. They’re both more buildable without the issue of clumps.

Maybelline rarely lets me down, so I’m hoping if I keep working with this mascara, I’ll get better at applying it. Have you tried it? Any tips for helping it not clump?

I hope this review was helpful for you, and that you’re having a great week!