As you’ve probably noticed, crackle nail polish is everywhere this fall. It provides texture, peek-a-book color, and easy application. Plus you can mix and match color to your heart’s desire. The latest addition to my crackle “collection” is from Jessica Cosmetics… it’s their new Party Chic collection.

The Party Chic nail polish collection features five creamy, neon colors: On the Rocks (white), Pretty in Purple, Mint Mojito Green, Orange You Glad to See Me and Pass the Pink-tini. Wear them alone or apply a coat of the black crackle “Top It Off” top coat for a slightly punky, shattered look like in my swatches below.

I recommend applying a thick, clear top coat (such as Seche Vite) to seal things up and even out your crackle-finish. Or… since all the new crackle top coats dry to a matte finish, leave it as-is and enjoy the duality of gloss versus matte!

Want to know what’s even better?  This entire collection is absolutely perfect for Halloween!

As you may recall I was impressed with the Arbonne lash enhancer I tested last month, so I was down right giddy to start using Arbonne’s RE9 Advanced Firming Body Cream.

To be honest, I’ve always been skeptical about firming lotions, so I have never shelled out the cash.
My first impression? The scent is off. It’s like an old lady with too much perfume. But I pushed on with testing, scooped out a bit from the tub and it applied great! It wasn’t greasy and sunk into my skin quickly.

Second impression? Still not fond of the scent. However, I focused my testing on the firming benefits of the cream, so I applied it again… and again and again. With any body or face firming cream, you’ll need to test the product for at least six weeks before you know if it’s working or not.

After using the product a few days, I realized I needed to reapply often to keep my skin from feeling dry. It actually seemed as though every time the reeking scent finally went away, it was time to use some more. Awesome.

At the eight week mark, I did not see any noticeable benefits to my body – I parted ways with the cream and found love again in my old favorites.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, or maybe I’m not. A review is simply an opinion, right? I mean, there is one quite pungent scent I’m quite fond of- “it’s called Sex Panther by Odeon. It’s illegal in nine countries. Yep, it’s made with bits of real panther, so you know its good.” *wink* Let’s be real though, I need my delicious scents back.

Arbonne’s RE9 Advanced Firming Body Cream is $48.90 on Amazon or $68 on Arbonne.com for a 6.7 ounce jar (196ml).

Stay Bionic,

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

I try tons of mascaras every year and the majority don’t pass muster. Hard Candy’s Ginormous Lash volumizing mascaras are ultra-affordable, don’t flake, smudge or wander; and they really do make your lashes look thicker. All for under ten bucks! The Ginormous lash mascaras come in black, bronze, silver, purple and blue. Since I adore unusual mascara colors – I picked up Dime and Purple Haze.

Hard Candy's Ginormous Lash mascaras are a true bargain and colorful to boot!

The application wand is an exact duplicate to Dior Show’s Iconic mascara wand (Dior Show for some reason has tons of fans – it’s way too pricey for me and the formula isn’t really that great in my testing). The wand is a rubberized comb style (very similar to my beloved Physician’s Formula Mineral Wear mascara), with rubber bristles all-the-way-around. It makes the mascara easy to apply on upper and lower lashes; plus it reaches close to your lash line and into the corners.

Purple Haze looks like a bright pastel purple in the tube, but darkens on your lashes to a deeper purple after about five minutes.

Purple Haze on my lashses - subtle but fun!

Dime is simply a bright silver mascara. Love it!

Sporting Dime with black eyeliner and Three Custom's Wallflower on my lid.

Both colors look great alone (with simple eye makeup), or apply black mascara first then use the colorful Hard Candy Ginormous mascaras just on your lash tips as a highlight. Highlighting the lash tips will really pop open up your eyes… hint, hint for those days when you’re lacking sleep.

Another bonus? Hard Candy does not test their makeup, cosmetics or beauty products on fuzzy animals!

Hard Candy Ginormous Mascaras are available online at Amazon or at your local Walmart stores for $5 to $10.

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

Color Club’s Fall 2010 nail polish collection is divided into two groups of seven polishes each. One group is “Every Shade of Indulgence” and the other group is “Colors so Luxe, They’re Covered in Diamonds” – both are under the main collection “Untamed Luxury”. I’m starting my swatches and reviews with the Indulgence collection first… Diamonds will be up as soon as I have time to paint my nails another seven times.

Now, let’s get down to the new nail polish colors…

Pretty in Platinum

Color Club's Pretty in Platinum nail polish

Pretty in Platinum was a bit too pale for my very light skin tone. I think it would look stunning on someone with a tan or a deeper skin color. The polish’s pigmentation is incredible – especially for such a light color! I applied only two coats and it went on as smooth as can be. The shimmery, metallic effect would be especially perfect for evening holiday parties.

Wild Orchid

Color Club's Wild Orchid nail color

Wild orchid is a gorgeous color. To me, it’s an elephant gray; or perhaps reminiscent of wet cement. The color is complimented with very teeny same-colored shimmer. The only drawbacks are: 1. It was a bit slower to dry than other Color Club polishes (compared to this collection and the brand as a whole) ~and~ 2. I did have to apply my typical three coats (that’s my usual when swatching nail colors) since Orchid wasn’t as pigmented as the others.

Positively Posh

Color Club's Positively Posh nail polish

Yummy. That about sums up my thoughts on Positively Posh. This color is one of my absolute favorites now. I applied two coats to get even color and had zero application issues. Posh is a cool-toned, true cream (meaning there is absolutely no shimmer, glitter, sparkle or other glitzy stuff added). The color is like a dark Portabella mushroom with a slight purple undertone – that’s what makes Posh so unique. Most brownish shades don’t work as well on cooler skintones. I always pick up brownish ‘shroom shades since I love them in the bottle, such as OPI’s famed I Don’t Know Jacques. Many love it, but Jacques simply doesn’t work for me. Color Club must have ESP since they’ve finally managed to solve my dilemma… and thus the reason for my deep love of Positively Posh!

Soft as Cashmere

Color Club's Soft as Cashmere nail lacquer

Soft as Cashmere is another true creme and the color is a cross between a medium khaki and olive drab. That color combo makes it sound utterly boring, but it’s a real eye-catcher on your hands! Cashmere was a breeze to apply, but I did need three coats for full coverage.

Nothing but Truffle

Color Club's Nothing but Truffle nail polish

Nothing but Truffle was one of the two most pigmented shades in this collection – I only applied one coat! Truffle is a red-brown, warm toned polish with slight shimmer. It wasn’t a real standout for me, but it’s pretty enough.

Jewel of a Girl

Color Club's Jewel of a Girl nail color

Jewel of a Girl was the other exceptionally pigmented color in the Untamed Luxury collection, and another of my top favorites. I only needed one coat to get full coverage and true bottle color. Jewel is a really pretty cool-toned deep, dark maroon with a bit of shimmer.

Ready to Royal

Color Club's vampy Ready to Royal polish

I’m always drawn to dark, vampy polishes and Ready to Royal was no exception. This almost-black berry purple is a true creme and needed two coats for full coverage. Even though it’s exceptionally dark, you can still easily see the purple undertones in normal light. This polish will be “favorites” in my rotation for years to come!

Color Club’s Untamed Luxury nail polish collection is available for only $28.19 on Amazon (includes all seven colors).

Which of the new Color Club nail colors is your favorite? Or do you love the entire collection?

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

There were two key reasons I was excited to try Fight Back “2,” another product within the Mission Essentials line.  The first- the company is based out of Charleston, South Carolina, so their front door is just a hop, skip and jump away from my own.  And two- Charleston has bugs like no other city.  Bring on the insect repellent!

Joycey Couture puts Mission Essentials' all natural bug repellent to the Bionic test!

A little background on the company itself- Mission Essentials offers products that are paraben free, contain no sodium lauryl-sulfate (SLS) and are vegan-friendly.  They also only use earth-friendly packaging.  What’s not to love?

So there I was, an evening not unlike others, rocking on my porch chair and talking with a few of my friends.  If you’ve ever had a chance to visit the “Lowcountry,” as we call it, you’ll quickly learn that as soon as the sun sets, the bugs begin to bite.  Forks has vampires and werewolves, we have no-see-ums and mosquitoes.

I decided it was the perfect setting to test out Fight Back “2,” a 100% natural insect repellent.

I sprayed my entire body down and soon felt hungry for cereal.  It smells so much like Fruit Loops, I was certain a toucan was going to swoop down, land on my shoulder, then tell me how I needed to follow my nose.

No toucans came around, but no bugs did either. I was sold!
After using Fight Back “2” for a number of bug intense weeks now there is one thing that needs to be known- like any other bug repellent, the Mission Essentials spray does need to be reapplied every hour and a half (or so) for continuous protection.  Bring on the outdoor activities!

Ingredients: Water base, lemongrass essential oils (recommended by the FDA and CDC as the most effective natural ingredient against West Nile Virus), lemon eucalyptus (recognized by Consumer Reports as effectively comparable to low levels of DEET), geranium essentials oils and litsea cubeba, other essential and natural oils.

Grab your own 4 ounce spray bottle for $12 or a 1 ounce trial bottle for $5 at Mission-Essentials.com. You’ll be ready for the buggy outdoors no matter what!

Stay Bionic,

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

I’ve never met a woman who didn’t love the idea of long, luxurious lashes. But like many women, I was not blessed with them naturally. If you were, consider yourself exceptionally lucky!

As a person with short, straight, very blonde lashes- I always jump at the opportunity to try an eyelash enhancer. So, I was tossed a tube of Arbonne’s newest Lash Enhancer to review. Goody! Per Arbonne’s website, their Lash Enhancer is a “strengthening and conditioning formula (that) revitalizes from root to tip, helping to prevent breakage and promote thicker, longer-looking lashes”.

In case you’re new to the Arbonne brand, here’s a little background:

Arbonne International was founded in 1975 by one man, Petter Mørck, and his team of leading bio-chemists, biologists and herbalists.

Needless to say, I was excited to test out a product that derived from such smarty pants people!

Immediately, I liked the product- the application was simple, and the brush was incredibly easy to use along my lash lines. But, after the first week- I didn’t really notice any changes and honestly almost stopped using the product as I thought it was irritating my eyes.

However, when I got to the second week of testing, I realized it was just my contacts that needed changing. Oops. And so I continued using the product.

Then in week three, I started feeling my lashes brushing the surface of my glasses’ lenses. Hmm… I guess my lashes are even more see-through than I had even thought!

After using Arbonne’s Lash Enhancer for four weeks, I highly recommend this product. And it’s likely to be in your budget at $38 for a 7.4ml tube (much, much cheaper than Latisse, Marini Lash, or similar products)! The tube will also last you quite a few months as opposed to Latisse only lasting you one month. No need to shell out more cash than necessary!

Arbonne Lash Enhancer can be purchased online at Arbonne.com.

Ingredients include: Lash Nutrition Complex, soy lecithin, nettle, horsetail extract, St. John’s wort, hamamelis virginiana, berberis arisata, Indian gooseberry, eclipta alba and apple extracts.

Time to bat those lashes, ladies!

Stay Bionic,

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

Jessica Cosmetics has released their new Fall 2010 nail polish collection, “Muse”, and it’s loaded with on trend colors. In order to give all Bionic Beauties an introduction to the collection, I’ve swatched and reviewed two of the most popular colors. Like it’s namesake, it’s truly inspiring!

First up, Crimson Reflection ~ a gorgeous cranberry creme. Highly pigmented with full coverage in one coat, super easy to apply (with no cuticle drag, or tip pooling), and extraordinarily long wear. I can’t really ask for more. This is certainly my new favorite polish in the berry family.

Looking for a new berry polish? Crimson Reflection is a winner!

Victorian Crush ~ a truly unique and daring olive drab creme. This color is causing buzz across beauty blogs and twitter. I’m naming it the IT color of Fall 2010! You might not think of olive as being as typical polish color, but trust me… it’s a must-have and absolutely gorgeous on your nails. Like Crimson Reflection, I got full coverage in one coat, extremely long wear, and easy application. I’m in love!

Feeling a bit more daring? Victorian Crush is causing quite a stir on the internet.

My swatches above are shown with Dermelect Launchpad base coat, one coat of color, and no top coat (they’re super glossy alone!); except on my ring fingers- to which I applied China Glaze Matte Magic top coat.

The Muse collection is rounded out with Majesty Blue (medium metallic blue), Scarlet (bright tomato red), Intrigue (creamy mauve), Bittersweet (warm toned caramel creme). Each bottle sells for $7.50 at JessicaCosmetics.com.

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

Mission Essentials is an all-natural, organic skin care line that I am thoroughly testing for all the Bionic Beauties out there.

The first product I tested? Their 100% natural Eucalyptus Soap.  The smell is unbelievable and completely refreshing, perfect for a quick morning shower, and the bar never leaves a residue.

Currently testing: All-natural Eucalyptus Soap by Mission Essentials

I fell immediately for this soap, but I wondered if the smaller size would last, as so many organic soaps don’t withstand shower steam.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that more than 3 weeks passed and my bar was still quite usable!

Yet another plus- every mission essentials soap contains 50% olive oil and are wrapped in environmentally conscious biodegradable wrappers.  I must say, mission essentials really is taking skin care to a higher level.

There are two options for bar sizes: a 7 oz. bar for $10, or a 3.5 ounce bar for $5. If Eucalyptus isn’t your thing, check out the other soap varieties- Lavendar/Shea, Lowcountry (this bar is not only packed with yummy scents, but is also looks like a work of art!), Aspen, Balsam and Cedar, and Patchouli. See? There is a variety for everyone! All the soaps are available for browsing and buying on Mission-Essentials.com.

Ingredients include: Olive oil, lavendar/shea butter, eucalyptus, rosemary, lavender & cinnamon essential oils combined with wildcrafted botanicals of sage, cedar, pinon and juniper.

Stay Bionic,

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

I recently had the chance to review and swatch a newly released line of nail polish – The Perfect Formula.

At first glance, my attention was caught by the unique bottle shape and gorgeous smokey purple color enhanced with cool lavender tones called Futurist. I’ve got many a purple polish in my nail collection, but none similar to this. Futurist is a pure creme color with absolutely no shimmer; and it works great with gloss or matte top coats. It’s perfect for your Fall 2010 manicures and pedicures!

Futurist nail polish by The Perfect Formula with gloss top coat

I tested The Perfect Formula’s Futurist nail polish with CND’s Stickey base coat and Seche Vite gloss top coat (photograph above) and Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Matte top coat (below).

I reached opaque, bottle color in only two coats and experienced no cuticle drag or tip buildup. I had fantastic wear with low occurrence of peeling or chipping and got two to three full days of wear with hard use! The formula dries quickly and smoothly. Application is a breeze also with the included brush and easy-to-hold handle.

Futurist nail polish with a matte top coat

The Perfect Formula’s Fall 2010 collection is made up of six colors which sell for $15 each on www.PerfectFormulas.com. The colors include Futurist, Avant Gray (a medium gray creme), Deco (a cool magenta), Pop (forest green), Post Moderne (a brighter purple), and Cubist (which looks like a darker gray creme). I’d love to try out the rest of this collection. It’s absolutely gorgeous!

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

Don’t you just love finding a gem in the rough? I do! My “gem” finding is usually a great indie beauty find, or something for my skin that works SO well that I shout it from the rooftops.

Two months ago, I spotted a bright yellow jar in the herbals section during my weekly Walgreens haunting. There were actually a few jars there that looked intriguing, but the one I snagged is “De La Cruz’s Sulfur Ointment“.

It's awesome for acne, trust me!!

It was less than five bucks for a tub that will last me at least a few years. I’ve been dabbing it on potential breakouts and current pimples now for over six weeks and the stuff is a miracle. It feels a bit goopy at first, apply it sparingly – trust me… a little goes a LONG way. I notice a very, very slight sulfur smell at first, but I’ve had other friends and family do a sniff check and they can’t detect it after even a minute. It works great under makeup, or before bed. Plus if you’re like me and have super-sensitive skin (Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid often make me break out even worse), this frugal find could be just the ticket to clear up your skin.

I’ve bought a few bottles for friends and family – everyone is having great results! Since I am majorly pinching pennies lately, but don’t want my face and skin reverting into a acne-laden nightmare, I’ll definitely keep my Sulfur Ointment on my bedside table. My breakouts have decreased significantly, and if I do get a pimple, it heals in a few days rather than over a week or more.

I’m giving this my full Bionic Buy status! De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment is only $4.99 for a 3 ounce tub online at Walgreens.com (or if you’re a Floridian, check your actual store aisles).

Ingredients: Sulfur USP 10%, plus a “mixture of polyethylene glycols”