Slick, Shine, and Sparkles

There is lip balm, there is lip stick, but another addition to the lip beauty product family is lip gloss. This is for a bit of color to the lips, but is quite different from lip stick. This allows for a bit of a shine to the lips that lip stick and lip balm do not offer. However, finding a good lip gloss is a little more difficult than finding a good lip stick. A common problem with lip gloss is the wetness and stickiness that is left on the lips. This is especially a problem for those girls with long hair, for obvious reasons. 

Victoria's Secret Passion Lip Gloss

This lip gloss can obviously be found at Victoria's Secret, but it costs a whopping $12, which is a bit too much, even for very good product. This lip gloss is passable, but I would not recommend it to most people. It has a somewhat short applicator stick and the "brush" is very stiff, which makes me think they just stuck some fabric on the stick to make it look like the product had a brush. The gloss does not spread on smoothly and it get stuck in chunks and takes awhile to spread evenly on the lips. It stays wet for a very long time and gets stickier as time goes on. 

Maybelline Shine Sensational Treat Me Sweet Lip Gloss

I found this lip gloss in the make up section of a Walgreens for $6.99. I was very hesitant to get this product because I really cannot stand the applicators that are straight from the bottle. I much prefer to have some sort of brush, as it offers more control and helps in precision when applying the product. However, since Maybelline is a pretty good company, I thought I would give it a try. Well, now I know to go with my gut feeling. The second I removed the cap a sickly scent filled my nostrils. It was the scent of an incredibly sweet bubblegum and it was completely overpowering. I was able to push past the scent and I applied it to my lips, thinking that the smell might be worth it if the product was good. Again, I was wrong. It was incredibly sticky and it took forever to dry. My  hair got stuck in it and the product stayed in it until I was able to wash it out. 

Revlon Colorburst Orchid Lip Gloss

 

The Revlon Colorburst Orchid Lip Gloss is another treasure I found in the make up department in Walgreens for $7.49. I was highly impressed with this product. The color is very subtle and it gives you a slight shine without being too obnoxious about it. The applicator stick is very long and it has a soft brush at the end of it. Yes, an actual brush that moves along with the shape of your lips. The gloss dries without making your lips feel dried out and it gives you lips a natural looking shine. 

Victoria's Secret: 3/5

Maybelline: 1/5

Revlon: 5/5

Warning: Do Not Play at Night

      

Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy   

I have been a fan of the Nancy Drew book series ever since I was a child, but over the past few years, I have discovered the Nancy Drew computer game series. Her Interactive created this series in 1998 with Secrets Can Kill and there are currently 26 games in the series, with more to come. The company is going through the book series and making each story into a computer game. The Haunting of Castle Malloy is number 19 in the series.         

The game starts off at Nancy’s desk, where you find out that Nancy’s friend, Kyler Mallory, has her to be the maid of honor for her wedding. Kyler Mallory is a British girl around Nancy’s age (late teens, early twenties), who stayed with her in a study abroad program. The wedding is to take place in Ireland, as Kyler recently inherited Castle Malloy from her grandfather who had just passed away. Since Nancy has a love of travelling, she happily accepted the invitation.

However, once Nancy gets to the castle, she quickly gets run off the road by a strange white figure that moves across the road in front of her car. Then, to make matters worse, when she finally gets inside to talk to Kyler, she finds that Matt, the groom, has gone missing!

There is an eccentric group of characters that either help or hinder Nancy in her quest to find the missing groom:

Kyler Mallory – A girl around Nancy’s age who stayed with Nancy’s family a few years ago in an exchange student program. She recently became engaged to Matt Simmons and they are planning to have the wedding at the castle that Kyler inherited.

Matt Simmons - A freelance magazine columnist  and he is Kyler Mallory’s fiancé. He is known for his jokes and pranks. At the beginning of the game, Matt has gone missing and everyone has their own suspicion as to why.

Kit Foley - Matt's best friend and accomplice on sailing trips. He is an American, but his family moved to England when he was young, which was how he became friends with Matt. He is a land developer and he is in the castle to help prepare for the wedding.

Donal Delany - Castle Malloy's caretaker, who spends a surprising amount of time in the pub just down the street, The Screaming Banshee Inn. He is an expert in lore and the supernatural, so he is constantly telling Nancy of his suspicions as to what is going on.

Alan Paine - Matt's best man and co-worker. He plays a very small part in the game and Nancy can only talk to him through the phone.

Seamus - The owner of The Screaming Banshee Inn. He is never seen and only heard when Nancy is in the Screaming Banshee Inn.

Bess Marvin and George Fayne – Nancy’s two best friends, who are currently at a pool party back in the States. Nancy calls them for help and hints.

Ned Nickerson -  Nancy’s boyfriend, who is at the same party as Bess and George, but he is hiding away from a girl who has a crush on him. Nancy can also call him for help.

The dialogue in these games could use a little work. For the most part, it is passing, but usually when Nancy is talking to her friends, Bess and George, the dialogue is extremely unbelievable. She has an air about her that she is not talking to her friends, but to a job interviewer. It is difficult to say whether it is the voice actor or the writing, but something needs to change.

In most of these Nancy Drew games, you can only control Nancy by the mouse and since it is in first person, this can be extremely confusing and make it easy to get lost. In The Haunting of Castle Malloy, when you are changing main location, you are able to control Nancy with the arrow keys, which made it so much easier.

The E rating is not suitable for the game. It is extremely suspenseful and there are points when I was honestly terrified: things jump out at you, Nancy has to wander around in the dark, and it is common in the games that Nancy gets attacked from behind. Granted, I was playing the game at midnight, but nevertheless, I was still terrified.

The game is split into Junior Detective and Senior Detective. Junior Detective is the easier of the two levels and Senior Detective is very difficult. However, there should be another, easier level because there were points in the game that I absolutely had to look up a walkthrough because I could not figure the puzzles out.

Overall, this game was very fun and mentally challenging. However, this game is focused to Nancy Drew and/or mystery fans. It is not a simple game and it calls for a lot of brain work!

Where to get it: Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy

Price: $10

Developer: Her interactive

Publisher: Her Interactive

Platform: Microsoft Windows

Genre: Adventure/Mystery game

Mode: Single-player

Rating: E (For Everyone)

Warning: The games are highly addicting and somewhat terrifying. 

The Pinkest of Lips!

Lipstick can be extremely dangerous, as a lot of women do not know how to choose the proper shade, which is why it is best to go with a safe and subtle color when you are testing out lipsticks. There are different things to look for in a lipstick, with some of them being the price, the color and the quality. The question when deciding between them is which is most important to you? 

Wet n Wild Pink Lemonade Lipstick

Wandering around my local Walgreens, where they  have a very large makeup section, I found the Wet n Wild Pink Lemonade lipstick. What drew me to it was the name and the bright pink color. Then, when I saw the price of $1.99, I just had to get it and give it a try. The application was a little rough and it took a little more force and lipstick to easily cover my lips. The actual stick of the lipstick appears to be a bright pink, but when it is applied, it has more of a brown undertone. It looks very natural and doesn't pop very much. When it is applied, it is somewhat patchy, but it is extremely smear resistant. 

Avon Pink Lemonade Lipstick

The Avon Pink Lemonade lipstick can obviously be found in the Avon store or online, if need be, for $3.99. The application is extremely smooth and the color is just as it appears on the actual stick: light pink with subtle sparkles. It goes on very thick, but it still has some patchy parts, just as the Wet n Wild lipstick did, but it was not quite as obvious. While the lipstick is very thick, it also flakes and smears very easily. Compared to some other lipsticks, this one has some extremely useful factors such as SPF 15, a plumping factor and double the retinal of some other brands.