Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Link-Up Round-Up Tuesday: 6/30/15

To submit a link from your blog for this weekly feature click here or fill out the form below.

baroque fool Sandy Beach Nail Art Tutorial

Claws Up! My First Contour with Physicians Formula

JulieDoesHerNails Jaws 40th Anniversary Nails

Lustrous Lacquer Vertical Rainbow Gradient

Beltane Secret Nail Art Fleurs at Couleurs

Right on the Nail Polish 'M Swatches and Review Neonista

xoxo, Jen Grace-full Nail Polish The Ice Princess Collection

Nail Envy Tiger Nail Art



Happy Tuesday!

Monday, June 29, 2015

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Orchid Around

I have another one of the new Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polishes to show you. This is probably my favorite line of polishes Sally Hansen offers. The colors are great and the price is right. I haven't been impressed much with Sally Hansen's color offerings lately, but this one definitely caught my eye.

Orchid Around
Orchid Around is a soft orchid with a subtle silvery shimmer.

Collection: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Summer 2015

Color: I love orchid colors like this, but I can't always wear them. Some colors like this can really bring out too much red/pink in my skin tone and make my skin look ruddy. This one doesn't do that. I love this shade of purple-pink very much. The shimmer in this is very subtle and I did not detect it in the bottle much, but it is somewhat visible on the nail.

Formula: The formula on this was alright. I had high hopes after the excellent formula Dabbler, another color from this collection had. This one didn't quite live up to those expectations. It wasn't bad at all, but it did have a bit of leveling issues.

Price: I got this around $3 at Walgreens.

Overall: I really love the color of Orchid Around. The color is soft and light, but wearable and flattering at the same time. The price is really great for color like this too at the drugstore. The formula could be a bit better, but wasn't a deal breaker at all.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Weekend Un-Lacquered Reviews: Battle of the Dry Shampoos Round 2

It's time for Round 2 of my Battle of the Dry Shampoos! If you missed Round 1 please check it out here. In Round 1 I discuss my judging criteria and everything you need to know about this whole Battle of the Dry Shampoos process.

Let's get started with Round 2's contenders!
Battle Round 2: 
Pantene Pro-V Original Fresh Dry Shampoo
Dove Refresh+Care Volume Dry Shampoo
got2b rockin' it encore fresh Dry Shampoo
psssst! Instant Dry Shampoo

Pantene Pro-V Original Fresh Dry Shampoo- Price around $5 (drugstores and big box stores)
Scent: The scent of this smells like Pantene Pro-V shampoo. It's a very clean soapy scent. I really like this scent a lot.

Application: This dry shampoo has ZERO white cast at all. In fact, this dry shampoo is completely invisible. I had no application issues with this one.

Effectiveness: This dry shampoo I found to be effective minimally. This barely absorbed any oil in my hair and my hair still looked greasy after application.

Hair Texture: This did not alter my hair texture or make it feel heavy with product. My hair was still greasy after application though.

Pros: I really loved the scent of this dry shampoo. I wish more dry shampoos would go the route of smelling like shampoo rather than other scents. I also liked that it didn't have a white cast.

Cons: Well, it was ineffective. It did not absorb the oil from my hair really at all. My hair still felt and looked greasy after application.

My Rating: 2 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Dove Refresh+Care Volume Dry Shampoo: Price around $5-$6 (drugstore and big box stores)
Scent: This has a sweet and powdery scent. It's definitely a cleaner type scent, but I find it a bit too sweet smelling for my tastes.

Application: This applied easy, but it did have a gray cast when it is first applied.  I did find this brushed out easily though. I also found it was a bit heavy handed.

Effectiveness: This was a bit more effective than the Pantene one, but not by much. This did absorb some oil, but not enough for my hair to not look greasy.

Hair Texture: I felt this was slightly heavy on my hair. It felt like I had some type of product in my hair, but it was minimal. It was noticeably, but not anything off-putting.

Pros: I liked that the gray cast it left on my hair could easily be brushed out.

Cons: The scent, minimal effectiveness, and the way it left my hair feeling were definite minuses for me.

My Rating: 1.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
got2b rockin' it encore fresh Dry Shampoo: Price around $6-$7 (drugstores and big box stores)
Scent: This dry shampoo has a refreshing clean citrus scent. It's uplifting and not overpowering.

Application: This applied easy without any noticeable trouble. This does leave a white cast on the hair, but I found it was easy to brush it out.

Effectiveness: Out of all the dry shampoos I've tried so far this has been the most effective. This absorbed the oil in my hair really quickly and well. My hair looked clean and looked as close to freshly washed as possible with this dry shampoo.

Hair Texture: This did not weigh heavily on my hair or alter the texture of my hair.

Pros: Great scent and very effective. I like how this didn't just absorb the oil, but made my hair look really fresh and clean too.

Cons: The initial white cast on application isn't ideal and maybe more troublesome for people with darker hair color.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
psssst! Instant Dry Shampoo: Price around $6 (drugstores and big box stores)
Scent: This has a very straight forward powdery scent. The scent is neutral and non-offensive. I don't dislike this scent, nor do I like it. It's fine, and would be a nice option for people who don't like scented dry shampoos.

Application: This has as pretty heavy handed application, and boy did this leave a major white cast! I was able to brush it out though.

Effectiveness: This is the OG of dry shampoos, and it is effective. This absorbed oil well and quickly. My hair was grease free.

Hair Texture: This is where this falls short for me. When I touched my roots it felt like I dumped a whole bottle of powder on top of my head. It just has this weird powdery almost grainy feeling to my hair. You couldn't see it, but I felt it. Honestly, it felt pretty gross.

Pros: This dry shampoo is effective at absorbing oil and doing it's job. It has a neutral scent that maybe preferable to some people.

Cons: I couldn't stand how this made my hair feel. It felt like I had a ton of product on it.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Rank:
1. got2b rockin' it encore fresh Dry Shampoo
2. psssst! Instant Dry Shampoo
3. Dove Refresh+Care Volume Dry Shampoo
4. Pantene Pro-V Original Fresh Dry Shampoo

Sum Up:
This wasn't a good batch of contenders, but there was one winner in the bunch. got2b dry shampoo really impressed me. It's not a brand I'm really familiar with unlike the others which had me worried. This one out ranked them all by a landslide though. psssst! came in second for me, and if it weren't for the way it made my hair feel I would of ranked it higher. I would definitely repurchase got2b's dry shampoo though out of all of them I've tried so far. I'm still holding out hope for one that will out rank that one, so there will be more dry shampoo battles! Stay tuned next month!

Happy Sunday!

Friday, June 26, 2015

Savvy Naturalista Nail Polish Review

* The following products were provided to me in exchange for my honest review. 

I have a new to me, and I think a fairly new indie brand to share with you today. The brand is called Savvy Naturalista. These polishes are made by Shundara who also has an awesome blog that features some yummy recipes and shop that also sells bath and body products. Savvy Naturalista nail polishes are vegan, cruelty, and 5 free.

Let's get on to swatches!

Let the Green Thumbs Roll
Let the Green Thumbs Roll is a lovely green crelly polish with bright pink, blue hex glitters, and green and gold mini glitter.

Bubble Gum Mystery
Bubble Gum Mystery is a pink jelly with violet-blue color shifting sparkle.

Pimp My Fuchsia
Pimp My Fuchsia is a medium mauve pink jelly with dark pink, purple, and blue holo glitters.

Blues Shifting Paw
Blues Shifting Paw is a soft blue jelly with a pink-purple color shifting sparkle.

Colors: These are beautiful colors. I love the variety of colors I received in these polishes. Let the Green Thumbs Roll and Pimp My Fuchsia are both very fun and beautiful coordinated glitter mixes. I love the types of glitters chosen to go with the ases. Bubble Gum Mystery and Blues Shifting Paw are soft colors jellies paired with beautiful eye popping shimmers.

Formula: The formulas on all of these were very easy to use and apply. I used 3 coats for every swatch above. I did not have trouble getting the glitter in the glitter polishes to stick to my nail. I did find these colors to be sheer on application, and all would need at least 3-4 coats to reach opacity. This would dependent one if you use thick or thin coats and what level of pigmentation you like.

Price: The jelly glitters are $7.00 and the jelly with color shifting sparkle are $8. These can be purchased on Savvy Naturalista's website.

Overall: I'm really like these polishes by Savvy Naturalista. I found the colors fun and innovative. I thought they all applied like a breeze. They are a bit on the sheerer side and do require more coats of polish,  but the finished look of all these is beautiful.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Throwback Thursday: China Glaze Running in Circles

I have a super sparkly China Glaze oldie to share with you today. This one is definitely eye catching, and I think one that most of us nail polish addicts will absolutely love.

Running in Circles
Running in Cirlces is a true green base with matching fine green glitter.

Collection: China Glaze Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away Collection Late Fall 2012

Color: This is a beautiful true green glitter. I don't own any other green glitters like this in my collection. This is a richly pigmented color and oh so sparkly!

Formula: Running in Circles has a nice, smooth, and easy to apply formula. I used 3 coats above.

Price: You can find this on various e-tailers in the $4-$7 range.

Overall: Stunning green glitter that is definitely worth a spot in every nail addicts collection.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Link-Up Round-Up Tuesday: 6/23/15

To take part in next week's Link-Up Round-Up Tuesday please click here and fill out the form. 

I'm going to remove the FB, IG, Twitter links and just leave your blog links from now on. I'm hoping most of you have those social media accounts listed in your blog. It's just very time consuming to link so many different things with the amount of submissions I'm receiving. I hope you understand! I'm sorry! 

The Call of Beauty June Beach Nails

Polish Obsession Neon Orange and Stamping

Be Happy and Buy Polish Sally Hansen Pearl Crush Collection (Partial)

Ashley is PolishAddicted Digit-al Dozen Does: Frandom- Harry Potter

Manna's Manis Seventy Seven Nail Lacquer Bohemian Rainbow Collection Swatches & Review

Secretary's Nail Art Discrete Flowers

Lacquer Or Leave Her! Review and How-To: MoYou London Comics 03 and Frenchy 05

Thedotcouture Nail Art: Game of Thrones Finale Mani

Betty's Beauty Bombs The Pink One

nail crazy The Manicure

Light Your Nails! Kiko Pro n. 36 Aquamarina e n. 37 Oceano

xoxo, Jen Cupcake Polish: Berry Patch Collection

Polish Those Nails Sparkle Roses

Seize the Sparkle SinfulColors Fuji Fiji Seriotype

My Lacquer Cabinet Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Summer Collection

Polish Galore Gelish MINI: "Watch Your Step, Sister!"

Chameleon Stampede Pink and Orange Water Color Nails

Polished at Heart Sinful Colors Star Blast Off

Painted Fingertips Review: Stamping Plate BP-L-003

B'Nails Pink, Aqua, and Dots

The Polish Playground Blue and Silver Holo Gradient with Feather Stamping

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, June 22, 2015

The Lady Varnishes Lilac

I have to admit, I am probably the biggest fail of nail blogger when it comes to indies. I have tried so very few, and find it really difficult to keep up with all that's out there. When holidays come around with sales I usually take that opportunity to try a new indie. This past Memorial Dale during sale I came across The Lady Varnishes, and decided to gives these polishes try. This one I picked out is a real stunner.

Lilac
Lilac is a bright lavender foil varnish with holo pigment and gold to green color-shifting shimmer.

Collection: Foil-iage

Color: This combines my one of my favorite color combos which of course makes it amazing. I absolutely love cool-toned colors with gold. The golden shimmery glow this lavender holo has is beautiful! I love the softness of this color, but I love even more how the shimmer and holo effect enhance it. Sometimes I notice with lighter colors, holo and shimmer can drown out the base color. This color is pigmented and saturated.

Formula: Outstanding formula. I was so so so impressed. I only needed 2 coats, and this applied so smoothly and opaquely.

Price: This is $12.00 on The Lady Varnishes etsy site.

Overall: I'm in love with Lilac. This is a beautiful holographic polish with that really stands out as extra special. The formula on this is superb and applied beautifully. I'm very happy with this indie and this purchase!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!




Friday, June 19, 2015

Third Week Throwbacks: Zoya Kym

I have another Zoya throwback to show you this week. It's hard for me in summer and spring time not to get a little bright and pastel overload. I love bright colors for summer, but sometimes you just need to wear something a little different. This fall color helped me clean my bright/pastel palette for a little bit.

Kym
Kym is a sparkling red with an antique copper base and gold, copper and pink reflective metallic sparkles.

Collection: Zoya Wicked Collection Fall 2010

Color: I like red polishes probably more than most. I love this red because it does have a little variation to it than your traditional red shimmer. This has a nice rusty warm tone to it that I really like. I love how glowy this polish is too.

Formula: Nice easy to use formula. I used 2 coats above.

Price: This is $9 on the Zoya website.

Overall: Beautiful sparkling red for fall. I love richness and glowing quality of Kym. The color is great and it applies nicely. No, it may not be the most exciting color, but it's a great all-around color.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Third Week Throwbacks: Ninja Polish Pinkerbell

If you've been around nail polish for awhile you'll remember Floam. Floam  is what in my opinion jump started the indie craze. This was a polish that was composed of neon matte glitters. I know neon matte glitters doesn't sound really innovative now, but 3 years ago this was unheard of in nail polish. The advent of Floam spurred on the arrival of more Floam like glitters in various different colors. One of those was Pinkerbell made my Ninja Polish.

Pinkerbell over Sally Hansen Babe Blue
Pinkerbell is a mix of bight blue, yellow, and pink matte glitters in a clear base.

Collection: Ninja Polish Floam Collection 2012

Color: I love this color combination in this glitter. It's very sweet and girly, but fun at the same time. It's a great mix of colors where all colors equally shine.

Formula: The formula on this is OK. 2015 indie formulations are a lot better than 2012 formulations. I used 2 coats above, and I had to layer it. The formula is a on the thick side, and I found I really had to dab this glitter on rather than paint it on.

Price: This is $10 on the Ninja Polish website.

Overall: I really like Pinkerbell it's an old school indie favorite. I love the colors and type of glitter. The formula at the time was good, but compared to indie formulas now, it does have some pitfalls. I don't think that's a deal breaker at all though. Pinkerbell still gets love from me!

My Rating: 4 out of  5 Paint Splatters
 Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Link-Up Round-Up Tuesday: 6/16/15

It's time for my first real edition of Link-Up Round-Up Tuesday! Every Tuesday I'll be sharing a round-up of posts from your blog! If you'd like to submit a blog post from your blog for this feature please either click here or fill out the form below.

I want to thank everyone for the amazing amount of submissions I received last week! I hope we keep up this momentum. So, please submit again if you have a new blog post you'd like to share for next week!
Betty's Beauty Bombs- Pink and Blue Skittle (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Alpsnailart- No Mess Water Marble Nail Art Applique and Creativer Water Marble Nails (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Light Your Nails!- Faby Keep on the Sunny Side and Gradient (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Nail Evny- All About Dotticures! (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Polish and Paws- Autumn Hues With Furless Cosmetics (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

The Lazy Lacquerista- Peacock Feather Nail Art (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

nail crazy- Matching Manicure Sunday Flowers (Follow on FB and Twitter)

Manicured and Marvelous- Puppy Prints Week 1 (Follow on FB and IG)

Piggyluv- A Guide to the Ultimate Smooth Gradient (video voice over) (Follow on FB and IG)

B'Nails- Getting Elegant With Floss Gloss (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Polish Those Nails- NAIL Linkup- Most Expensive (Follow on FB, IG and Twitter)

Tales of Coffee, Lacquer, and Beauty- FLAMINGO NAIL ART WITH MENTALITY NEON OPAQUES AND MATTES (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Painted Fingertips- Water Marble Wednesday: Mixed Patterns (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Seize the Sparkle- Pure Ice Get in Line over Speechless (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

PhD in Nail Polish- Glitter Daze "Goal Digger" (Follow on FB and Twitter)

The Fancy Side- CIRQUE COLORS POOLSIDE COLLECTION - NORDSTROM EXCLUSIVE (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

The Mercurial Magpie- Best Work Appropriate Nail Polishes (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Beauty Shoes Nails & Fun- China Glaze Electric Nights Neon Collection (Follow on FBIG, and Twitter)

The Call of Beauty- Words and Flowers (Follow on FB and IG)

The Polish Playground- Twinsie Tuesday: Inspired by a Song (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Claws Up!The Diamond Ring (Follow on FB, IG, and Twitter)

Submit your a post for next week!



Happy Tuesday!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Third Week Throwbacks: Zoya Meadow

Welcome to my first week of Third Week Throwbacks! I mentioned a bit ago I was going to start this new feature on my blog. The third week of every month I'll be doing a week (3 posts) of throwback nail polishes! These polishes will be 2 or more years old. Hopefully these posts will get you to shop your stazh more and reignite some love for older polishes. 

The Zoya polish I have to share with you today I'm really not sure about. I had this polish a few years ago, and I swapped it away. I don't remember why I swapped it, but I ended up missing it. During a  recent  Zoya sale, I repurchased it, but it's not how I remembered it at all. I honestly think they changed this polish!

Meadow
Meadow is a frosty, golden peach with a copper flash.

This is my swatch of my older bottle from 2010. Please excuse the horrible swatch, this was when I just started blogging.
Collection: Unknown Pre-2008

Color: This is not the same Meadow from a few years ago. Zoya must of altered the color. What I liked and missed about the old meadow was that is was definitely a neutral toned medium pink with a soft golden-peach shimmer. The new Meadow is straight up peach with an intense frosty peach/gold shimmer. This went from being a very wearable neutral color to straight up grandma color.

Formula: The formula application wise was fine, but the shimmer in it now is very frosty, so it's brushstrokes galore.

Price: This is $9 on the Zoya website.

Overall: This is a massive WTF? polish moment for me. I don't have confirmation from Zoya this was reformulated or changed, but it must have been. If you Google this color and look at images pre-2012 you'll see I'm right. The swatches look like my older swatch color. If you have the old Meadow keep it and cherish it. Don't bother with this new fugly Meadow.

My Rating: 1 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Monday!

Friday, June 12, 2015

Black Cat Lacquer Nocturne

I've been trying to brand out into more indies this year, and I've been so impressed with my finds. I don't know how all of you indie fans keep track of so many out there. There are just so many and so many are excellent. I wish I had endless money, that would make the whole indie things a lot easier. This next polish from Black Cat Lacquer is one I'm really liking!

Nocture
 Nocturne is a black jelly filled with gold holo glitters with gold shimmer.

Collection: Black Cat Lacquer Fall 2014

Color: I love black and gold together. In fact, as you may know, I love gold with pretty much any color. I think gold is so underdone when it comes to glitters and shimmers. It's typically always colors paired with silver glitters or shimmer. I love the combination of color here especially with the gold holographic glitter.

Formula: I have to be honest I wasn't expecting to be impressed here, but I was. Black jellies with glitters tend to have funky/messy formulas or the base drowns out the glitter. None of that here at all. This formula was perfect. The ratio of base to glitter was balanced perfectly, and I was able to apply this effortlessly. No digging for glitters or dabbing polish at all.

Price: This is $9 on the Black Cat Lacquer website.

Overall: I'm very impressed with Nocturne. It's an fabulous jelly glitter. I love the color combination and the formula blew me away. Awesome polish!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Friday!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Way-Cool Mani Wednesday: All the Flakies!

Metallic color shifting flakies are my current jam. I swear once I'd seen it all in nail polish, these flakies came around. My favorite so far are hands down, KBShimmer's. I think those have the best formula and cover completely in 3 coats. You can see my review of those here

Anyways, I've been having fun playing with flakies on different manis. I haven't forgot about those translucent flakies either like Essie Shine of the Times. This mani I did recently I used both types of flakies. 

Polishes Used: Orly La Playa, topped with Essie Shine of the Times, with a KBShimmer Take the Punny and Run accent. 

I love my flakies!

Happpy Wednesday! 

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Link-Up Round-Up Tuesday: The Beginning

Since I'm posting less lately, I'd like to let you all have a space on my blog. I would like to feature blog posts from other bloggers out there on Tuesdays! I feel lately with the popularity of Instagram, blogs have taken a bit of a backseat. I'd like to put some of the spotlight back on the great bloggers out there.

How It Works:

  • You will fill out the form below. I have also added it in the tab "Link Up Roundup" under my blog header.
  • You can only submit a blog post, not your blog itself. The blog post can be recent or older. 
  • I will collect links on Sunday for the Tuesday post. If you submit late Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday your blog post won't be featured until the following week.
  • You can only submit one blog post per week. You're free to submit a post a week though!
  • Blog posts can be about nails, anything beauty, or blogging related. 
  • I will post a round up of a links to bloggers blog posts as well as their social media links on Tuesdays. 
  • I will start this next Tuesday, so share your links with me! 
  • This is going to be a test run. If I get very few submissions over the next month, I will discontinue this feature. 

Monday, June 8, 2015

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Dabbler

I was harping on Sally Hansen last week for not really wowing me lately. I can't say I've been wowed yet, I wish I could take that back. I have, however, been impressed with a recent polish they released. This next one is part of the Xtreme Wear line and part of a summer display I spotted at Walgreens recently.

Dabbler
Dabbler is a slightly dusty cornflower blue creme.

Collection: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Color Expression Summer 2015 (not sure if these are LE)

Color: I'm very impressed with this shade of blue. It is unlike any other blue cremes I own. This has a hint of dustiness and a muted quality to it that really makes it different. This is the type of blue that can transcend any season. I could see myself wearing this come time for fall and winter.

Formula: Excellent formula. I was really impressed with this aspect. Xtreme Wears are either have decent formulas for me or are complete misses. This is probably my first true win with a formula in this line. It applied flawlessly in 2 coats.

Price: I paid around $3 for this at Walgreens.

Overall: I'm a fan of Dabbler, and it will definitely be added as a contender for my Top 25 of 2015. That says a lot, coming from a drugstore polish, and even more so a creme. It takes a lot to impress me with a creme!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Weekend Un-Lacquered Reviews: The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter

One of the wonderful things I've been introduced to over the past year are cleansing butters and oils. I had never considered using these types of products to cleanse my face because I have oily to combo skin. My first inclination was why would I want to add oil to my already oily skin? I have learned the products I used in the past to strip oil were only making it worse.

Let me tell you, ever since I've been cleansing my skin with oils or butters, my skin has been less oily. I'd say my skin has shifted from oily-combo to combo-normal! This cleansing butter from The Body Shop has been a great find for me.

Camomile Sumputous Cleansing Butter
Product Description: This cleanser is an indulgent make-up remover for the whole face. It gently and efficiently melts away make-up and impurities, leaving skin feeling clean, refreshed and pampered.

  • Gently melts away make-up
  •  Leaves skin feeling clean and petal-soft
  • Removes all types of make-up
  • Suitable for sensitive skin and contact lens wearers
This is what the product looks like inside the tin. I've had this for around two and half months. It's clear from this image this will last me a few more months!

Scent: This a very faint and pleasant camomile floral scent. The scent is not overpowering, strong, or perfumey at all. 

Application: You absolutely have to apply this to your skin with clean and DRY hands. I always clean and dry my hands first before using this. Your face must be absolutely dry too! The amount you use I think is dependent on how much makeup you have on your face. I think it's always better to overestimate than under. If you do not use enough product it will not remove all of your make up properly. I use about a quarter size maybe teensy bit over a quarter size amount.
I then rub this between my hands, and it instantly melts into an oil. I rub this onto my entire face, while paying extra attention to my eye area for a good minute. This melts your makeup away and it's a process you can watch. This does not sting or burn your eyes at all. I love that about this because I can really see it removing my eye makeup. I don't have to guess. I know when it's gone! 

Removal: I personally remove this just with water. I get my hands wet and start working the water into my face. This causes the product to turn into a slight frothy and milky consistency on the skin. Once you reach that consistency I put my face over the sink and wash the rest off using more water from the faucet. Viola! You could also remove this with a washcloth if you wish. 

Skin Feel: This leaves me skin feeling very soft and hydrated. I do not detect any greasy or oiliness after using this cleansing butter. 

Results: This removes all of my makeup very well. It's gentle and easy to use.  I will say that in the beginning I did not use enough product, and I was left with some mascara residue. As I mentioned before it's best to overestimate how much you need than underestimate. That being said, you can see from my tin now, I still have months of product left, so I don't feel I'm using up the product quickly. 

Price: This is $16 at The Body Shop, however, The Body Shop is always running some sort of B3G3, B2G1, X% off sale, so you really don't have to pay full price!

Overall: I really like this cleansing butter. I think it does its job. It's gentle, removes all of my makeup, and I like how my skin feels afterwards. 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters
Happy Sunday!