Unboxing Urban Decay's Vice Palette

I am a sucker for all things Urban Decay. It's probably the only brand of makeup my husband can name because I talk his ear off about how I want this or that new palette. So when the Vice Palette launched I just knew I had to get it. Why? Because limited edition palettes from UD are my vice (like many of you I'm sure).

It sealed the deal when I heard the list of colors. Occupy? Anonymous? Be still my little left-wing heart.

Outer Box

I like to see palette unboxing(s) because there are frequently knock-off palettes made but the one thing they never seem to do exactly right is the packaging. They almost always skip some step. If you look on Ebay right now you'll probably find fifty sets of the "Naked" and "Naked2" palette being sold in sketchy beige boxes. Not legit. Sad too because people are paying legit money for them.

Inside there is a foam insert which protects the jeweled UD lettering

Up Close

Special Push Button Thing

Vice Palette open

And here she is in all her glory. The shades are (from top left to bottom right): Desperation, Muse, Jagged, Blitz, Penny Lane, Junkie, Chaos, Occupy, Unhinged, Black Market, Provacoteur, Rapture, Vice, Noise, Armor, Nevermind, Echo Beach, Anonymous, Freebird, and Laced. These all claim to be new shades but some are fairly close to some other UD colors you might have if you have older palettes. For example Noise is pretty similar to Woodstock except Noise has better formula. These all have the new formulation so that's something to consider if you're debating picking this palette up.

I recently noticed that UD released a Book of Shadows III Redux which is apparently like BOS III but with a few shades replaced. I considered getting it since it was $39 and a good value but I couldn't justify it having just purchased the Vice Palette. I'm glad I got the Vice Palette though because they're sold out near me already and I would gladly take the newer formula shadows over the vintage ones. Also the color I reeeeeally wanted from BOS III was Kush and they  took that one out and replaced it with Mildew, ugh....rambling.

So, I've used the Vice palette several times now and it's safe to say I am happy with my purchase. I love the little push-button opening mechanism. It slowly lifts the lid until the mirror is in full view, or at least mine does I've heard complaints. The double sided mini Good Karma brush is nifty and not at all too small to do the job. The shadows are smooth and most have good payoff. The only dud color is Jagged. The packaging is sturdy although it collects fingerprints and smudges quickly. Nowhere near as bad as the velvet casings though IMO. I've been really loving the color Muse in this collection. It's a shimmery brown shadow and is a great neutral for my skin tone and not a repeat from either of the Naked palettes. My favorite, favorite, favorite color in this palette though is of course Chaos the bright blue matte color. I could wear that color everyday although it would probably be inappropriate.I'm already the cray-cray mommy at play dates. It's the perfect color for roller derby though!

I give this palette an A, but I was bound to be biased because I eyed this palette for weeks and am a UD fiend.

Have any of you guys picked up this palette? Whaddya think?

Hitting Pan

Iman: Perfect Response Oil Blotting Pressed Powder

I hit pan again the other day. Surprisingly, kind of, because I swear I didn't hit pan so quickly on this before. Today I have for you my favorite (right now) pressed powder. It's the first non drugstore powder I ever tried  and it matches my skin so well. OK, I have to admit the first two times I bought this I LOVE LOVE LOVED it. This past time since they incorporated the "New Enriched Minerals" I'm not sure I love it as much. I swear I go through it faster and if I'm not mistaken it's slightly less red-toned which is one of the reasons I buy it in the first place. I purchase this powder in the color "Medium Deep" but I noticed last time I was in the store "Deep" appeared lighter than Medium Deep and some of the "Medium" palettes appeared darker than "Medium Deep". I was slightly confused. Honestly I feel like the amount of minerals in makeup varies bottle to bottle and I look at each package before I buy it. 

So here's a shot of the packaging. I find that it's a very sturdy compact. In fact my very first one is probably still floating around the center console of my truck for those "just in case" moments. The mirror is good sized and the plastic doesn't chip or crack. It comes with a little powder buff underneath but I never use it. When you open it, it tends to open to the applicator though so then if you don't use the applicator you have to flip the powder down. Super minor complaint. 

The powder itself is silky and not strongly scented (which is good because I hate overly perfumed cosmetics). It really does seem to control oil better than ordinary powders however I generally use it in conjunction with the Iman Time Control Oil Control Primer so I couldn't tell  you which one is doing the trick. The main reason I love this powder is the color which is why I was kind of disappointed last time. I swear they added "minerals" that gave me a slightly darker cast than usual. Also the first time I bought this product I didn't run out for at least nine months. The second time I hit pan in maybe a third of that time. I'm pretty sure I didn't start wearing 3 times as much makeup per day but who knows maybe it's my brushes. I ordered my re-up online because I couldn't get to the store and nearly ordered a shade lighter... but I didn't so we'll see when it gets here later this week how different the tones are. 

If I had to rate this product I would give it a B+. I'm sure there's probably a better HE product out there but for now I'm willing to give this another shot.

OPI: Your Web Or Mine

OPI :Your Web Or Mine

Quick Nail Of The Day. Today I'm wearing OPI Your Web or Mine from the Spiderman Collection. I just felt like today was a good day for a frosty pink. I usually don't care much for anything remotely frosty.

OPI Your Web Or Mine

Here it is in the bottle. For some reason my pictures are making this lean much more warm toned pink than it is. I thought it might be similar to Orly Sterling Silver Rose, but it's more salmon-y than that. 

OPI Your Web Or Mine (ring finger  - NOPI Step To The Beat of My Heart)

And on the nails. It's a pretty color but not very unique. Somehow I felt as if I allowed my entire manicure to be this color it would be too boring so I painted my ring finger blackened glitter with Orly After Party and then put NOPI Step 2 The Beat of My Heart over that. Yes, A Justin Bieber themed polish...I know don't tell my adult friends. I had to pick and place the hearts but they were still fun. Smoothed everything out with a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dry top coat and this was the final result. So shiny I can practically see my reflection! I wore this mani for 2 days with no tip wear but alas I'm a fickle chick so tomorrow the frosty pink has to go. It may or may not be clashing with my new highlights which are bright red/magenta...story for another day.

Sinful Colors Winter Shimmer Collection 2012

Hey all. I'm certainly not the first to post about these but I noticed that there weren't many swatches available of the new Sinful Colors Holiday Shimmers Collection. This collection is being released in drugstores right now for the Holiday 2012 season. Above is a picture of the display. I spotted these at my local Rite-Aid when I was wandering cosmetic "browsing" (shopping) between Open Skate and a late night movie. It was funny because when I got to the register to pay for them there was no cashier. There was a bell, but it was broken and it took me and another customer several minutes to find anyone to ring up our purchases. I was diligent though in the name of polish!

L-R: Superstar, Winter Wonder, Nova, Faceted

There are eight polishes in the collection but I only got four. I ended up picking out Superstar (1138), Winter Wonder (1142), Nova (1137) and Faceted (1139). There were one or two dupes in the collection, Queen of Beauty and one other that I can't remember the name of but is duped all over the place. 

L-R: China Glaze Smoke & Ashes, Sinful Colors Nova

When I first picked up Nova I thought it might be a dupe for China Glaze Smoke and Ashes from the Hunger Games collection. I bought it anyways because I love S&A and it was on sale (sucker, I know). 

L-R: China Glaze Smoke&Ashes (2 coats), Nova (2 coats), Nova (1 coat)

When I got home and swatched them however it was apparent that Nova is a dark blue jelly base whereas Smoke and Ashes is a black base. After two coats the difference is negligible but at one coat it is very obvious. With a good hand it would be possible to wear Nova at one coat, but I was hastily swatching for the sake of swatching. Two coats makes a beautiful night sky dark blue with glittery "stars" if you will. The glitter flashes green and gold. It's a very pretty polish and my favorite of the bunch maybe. Slightly more glittery than S&A in my opinion.

L-R: Faceted over Orly Liquid Vinyl, Faceted over Snow White, Faceted over Mesmerize

Above we have Faceted. I'm not usually a big fan of bar glitter but for some reason this one seemed really pretty in the bottle. Tiny blue hex glitter with duochrome gold and green bar glitter in a clear base. First I swatched it over a basic black, then a plain white. Over the white polish the bar glitter seems to disappear. Last I swatched this over Sinful Colors Mesmerize (1128) which I think is from the "Enchanted" collection. This was my favorite combination out of all of them and probably my next mani! The light blue glitter over the  dark eggplant polish is really pretty. It's a slightly softer look than layering over black. 

Top: Winter Wonder, Bottom: Super Star

Last we have Winter Wonder and Super Star. Winter wonder is a gorgeous dark silvery shimmer with tiny flecks of gold and blue. This polish had an excellent formula and two coats was enough.Super Star is blue and purple hex glitter with tiny irregularly shaped blue flakies in a blue jelly base (mouthful right?). There's another polish in this collection that looks similar but with pink glitter, but it's been part of the standard display for some time so many of you will already have that one. Super Star builds up to full opacity with 3 coats and dries relatively rough but that problem could be solved with Gelous or another thick top coat. I like to use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat over glitters like these. I left the swatches free of top coat however. 

So that's it. I heard Sinful Colors was shutting down their factory and laying off their workers so you never know this collection might be their last. As far as quality goes I have to say I would miss them if they were gone though especially at the price!

FOTD

So for today's Face Of The Day, I decided to be green. Just kidding....

But how funny would it be if we could just change our entire skin color the way we change our hair color, nails or eye shadow etc. I look at the body as a blank canvas of sorts (which explains my love of tattoos)..it just seems like we're missing out as advanced human beings by not being able to turn our entire body pink.

If we could, skin color would be seen as just another form of self expression instead of a form of subconscious "labeling". Things that make you say hmmm,....

China Glaze: Adventure Red-y

China Glaze: Adventure Red-y

     Well, let's start off with the name. When I first saw this polish on the promotional I was like "no, for real china glaze?" That name is super lame. And when the polish was launched this fall as part of the Fall 2012 I completely overlooked it as "been-done" and selected instead three other polishes. I got Elephant Walk, Exotic Encounters and Jungle Queen. The first two I will swatch for you later, but the last Jungle Queen turned out to be a complete bust in my opinion. I just hated it on my fingers and couldn't wait to take it off. I'll probably never wear it again. But enough about that...Adventure Red-y. I was actually thinking about this polish in hindsight wishing I had a nice creme red and wishing I'd have picked this one up as part of the Fall collection but now that it's Halloween I knew it would be nearly impossible to find without going online. Lucky me I just happened to see it on clearance in Sally's when I was getting something else. Score!

CG: Adventure Red-y outdoors in full sun

Here it is on my nails. This two coats with one coat of Borghese Presto top coat. Formula was super smooth and could've almost been a one coater but I'm picky about bald spots. As it turns out I was glad I picked this up, it might be my new favorite red!

Same as above

I give this polish an : A
I would give it an A+ but I haven't tried to remove it yet and it looks like it might be a real stainer....

Urban Decay Lip Junkie: Crush

OK so here's the thing. I'm still working out this "blogging" thing, and I find that perhaps due to my ADD shorter posts will keep me posting more frequently. I'm one of those people who starts a project...starts another one...forgets first project (remembers, gets annoyed with self, runs back to first project because they don't want to give up)...you get the picture. And I don't want to relinquish this blog because makeup is my BABY (aside from my real babies of course). So here goes:

Urban Decay Lip Junkie

"Crush" in tube

Here it is in the color "Crush". This is the full size tube and the first "high end" lipgloss I've ever dropped 20 bucks on. I don't regret it at all! This is my favorite gloss!

Lip Junkie in "Crush" on my lips

As you can see it's not so pigmented that it screams pink but it definitely is a nice color. Lip Junkie is a plumping gloss, and I never would've seen myself purchasing a plumping gloss as my lips are already plenty "plump" but I received a sample in the color "Naked" with my Naked 2 palette and after using it a couple times I was totally hooked. I don't feel like it plumps as much as it smooths out the fine lines on the surface of my lips which I like. Also the tingly minty sensation is pleasant and smells nice. I don't find this gloss to be "too sticky" but it is the type to get your hair stuck in on a windy day. There's always a tossup between stickiness and staying power and if you ask me this is just the right balance. You won't have to reapply every hour.

I give this gloss an: A

Definite repurchase. I'm already half empty and all of my other glosses are getting neglected but I want another!

OPI: If you Moust you Moust

 

So I hadn't written in awhile. Busy bartending etc, but as it turns out I couldn't stand the politics of the bar I was at and I sorta quit. Whatevs, now we can discuss polish. Here we have today OPI If you Moust you Moust from the Minnie Mouse collection. This is the only polish I picked up from this collection, mostly because the whole collection was pink and Pink polishes totally dominate my collection.

 

 As you can see here IYMYM is a pretty creamy blue toned pink. I've seen it compared to OPI Pink Friday and it's much darker while being more cool pastel than OPI Strawberry Margarita. Formula was good not perfect but definitely professional quality. Two coats was enough to cover the nail line. You may or may not have noticed the dent/ding on my pointer finger. This occured like almost an hour after I painted my nails with two coats OPI and one coat of "fast dry" top coat by "Best Nail Treatments". Fast dry my ass right? I have more complaints about this top coat later.

On my ring finger I used Essie Navigate Her, but then I smudged the tip so I made like a funky French tip with the IYMYM and a white nail art pen. Funny side note: I read in some article I stumbled upon that putting a different color on the ring finger signals to lesbians that you're A. also lesbian, and B. into "femme" lesbians. This made me laugh, because I've been doing this for years and I think I'm straight...but if I were gonna be a lesbian I'd admittedly want to date "femme types". Yeah, this post got way off track.

OPI If You Moust You Moust, Essie Navigate Her, Best Nail Treatments Top Coat

So here is that topcoat I was complaining about. I picked this up on clearance at Ocean State Job lot. Now before you think "she got what she paid for" as a disclaimer I always purchase my FAVORITE top coat here which is the discontinued Borghese Presto top coat. Sometimes I can get two for three dollars and it makes my penny-pinching day. This top coat I used today...not even worth a dollar. I'll probably throw it away. In addition to not being fast drying it totally causes shrinkage which I've never even experienced before and horrendous bubbling. Maybe this was a bad batch and that's why it was on clearance but I would avoid it in the future. Apparently this is the same company that makes "Posh" nail treatments so I won't buy that one either most likely.

In conclusion: OPI IYMYM = Good

Best Nail Treatment Topcoat = Bad

Orly: Preamp

Orly: Preamp

 

A Review of Preamp from Orly's Fall 2012 collection

Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish: Flash Black

Layla: Flash Black

As you may have heard your local Ulta has been stocking a pretty awesome little gem called Layla Hologram Effect nail polish. I originally noticed these online just in time to find a nearly full display at the Ulta nearest me. Ringing up at $15.50 a pop these beauties were a bit pricey so I snagged two (Ultraviolet and Ocean Rush) and used my coupon for $3.50 off $10 so the price wasn't too bad...

When I got home and swatched these I was sooooo happy. Strong linear holo with an almost static-like effect. How friggin cool!? I was so impressed by the hologram effect on these I started googling comparisons and found many connoiseurs comparing them to the Gosh line of holographics. Well, unfortunately I wasn't "in" to polish when Gosh put out those infamous silver linear holos. I'm also not crazy enough to pay an arm and a leg on eBay so upon hearing that I decided meh...I need the silver and black holo as well. Anyways, enough of hearing about my inability to not spend money....the shiny stuff! Here it is:

I ordered my bottle of Flash Black from Zappos since the shipping was free and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to find the colors I wanted unmolested on the Ulta display a week later. I got my packages two days later true to Zappos shipping. I have two teensy complaints and this experience but I blame Zappos not Layla. When they arrived each tiny 10 mL bottle came in an individual standard shoe sized box. I practically laughed out loud. I know they ship mostly shoes but considering how extensive their cosmetic and accessories collections are you would think they would have more accommodating (read: smaller more environmentally friendly) packaging options. Also each polish was covered top to bottom with a huge bar-code sticker that I had to remove in order to open the bottle. This would be no big deal if the sticker wasn't made of chewed gum or some ridiculous adhesive that left a nasty residue on both bottles. Call me a perfectionist but the last thing I want is glue all over my polish I just paid 15 bucks for...just sayin'.On to the pictures:

 

And here is a blurry shot so you can see the full hologram effect. It's beautiful! Like having nails on fire. Super distracting too so don't use this and try to do any serious jobs in the sun, like say supervising several small children at the beach. Things could get tricky.

  

In all, I really, really enjoy this polish. It chips a bit more easily than my "ordinary" polishes which is why I generally reserve these for special occasions but come to think of it I might use it tomorrow, why not! Two coats should do it. I don't use a special base coat but I wear artificial nails which are obviously nonporous thus eliminating the need for aqua base. I also did not use a top coat for these pictures, or at all in general when I wear holographic polishes as the top coat seems to diminish the effect. One thing to note when storing these bottles the paint on the silver caps chips easily so if you were to allow them to roll around in say a tupperware container with other polishes you would eventually (quickly) have scuffed up looking bottles. So yeah, gentle with the caps no teeth!

OPI: No Room For The Blues

 OPI: No Room For The Blues

This is going to be a quick post. Todays manicure is OPI No Room For the Blues from their brights collection. It's a beautiful bright blue creme that is unlike anything else I have in my collection (and I love blue polish). Formula is standard for OPI; not too thin, not too thick a perfect two coater. Not much else to say here, they're known for their quality and this color is no exception.

OPI No Room For The Blues

Batch Shot

OPI No Room For The Blues + CG For Audrey + Microglitter = Fabulously Nautical

On my ring finger I did an accent nail using China Glaze For Audrey and some craft glitter. I happened to have some leftover microglitter from a project I did re-epoxying my roller derby helmet and I realized it looked exactly like the microglitter they sell at Sally's Beauty Supply. I got mine at Michaels, like a huge 6 pack of vibrant colors for 6 dollars using my 40% off coupon...it works great! I used two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dry topcoat to make everything smooth afterwards. It's not my favorite top coat but it is good for smoothing rough surfaces due to its gel-like consistency. 

 

So yeah, I got lots of compliments on this color from guys, it was funny! I feel like men notice bold blue and green colors more and women notice (or point out) the more feminine colors I wear. One guy even remarked that he was going to run out and buy a shirt in this color. No scientific research for this conclusion, just based on my observations at work (I'm currently waitressing so people see my hands very frequently). 

Love this color and will most definitely be reaching for it again! (As soon as I finish up my huge box of untrieds LOL)

Jade Holographics: Sedução Rosa

Jade: Sedução Rosa

So...if you hadn't heard, I like nail polish. But in particular my latest fiending has been for holographic polishes. As a latecomer to the polish party I missed out on the infamous China Glaze OMG collection and had to resort to stalking e(vil)Bay in order to attain a bottle from that collection. Well after spending hours poring over the internet attempting to find amazing linear holographics from collections past it occured to me that somewhere...somehow....someone might be currently producing holographic polishes that I could simply buy without them being "VHTF". Duh! Why didn't I think of that earlier...

My searches led me to Llarowe where I found gems from Glitter Gal, Ludurana, Jade and more. Also if you're looking for currently in production holo's Layla has a line out that's pretty bad-ass that you can get at Ulta or Zappos, but I digress. This post is about Jade. Every review I came across seemed to be translated from portuguese but that's because these polishes are from Brazil. The first time I wore this I was so pumped to be able to tell people that it was from Brazil and they'd have to order it online (hehe not sure why that made me feel so special but it did). You will feel special too, watch!

 Sedução Rosa

My first impressions were that it was a small bottle. 8mls so it's a bit smaller than the 15 ml OPI or China Glaze bottle I'm used to wielding. It also has a slim handle which you might find more or less convenient. For me, less...but only because the handle is tapered and I felt it a little awkward. The brush itself is relatively standard. Not soft or stiff...or particularly wide or narrow. Ordinary brush. 

On to the good stuff. The holo rainbows on this polish are just gorgeous. Right from the first coat I was getting excited but two coats seemed to be enough for full opacity. The holographic effect can be seen in low lighting but is particularly intense outside in the sun. These pictures don't do the holo effect justice, which is my fault because I was so stoked to swatch this one I couldn't wait for sun (it rained for 4 days straight maybe) and I took these pictures indoors with flash.

As a comparison I own OPI DS Signature, and China Glaze BFF which are also pink holos (gotta stop buying those).  Without swatching them I can say CG BFF is more salmon colored than Jade Seducao Rosa and doesn't show up as strongly in low light. DS Signature is more plum by comparison and not as linear in it's hologram effect but still very strong. Swatches to come!

L-R China Glaze BFF, OPI DS Signature, Jade Sedução Rosa
(On nails CG Ride the Waves, of course the sun comes out when you take your holo polish OFF)

I didn't have a problem with patchiness or balding as some people complain of with holographic polishes however I wear acrylics so my nails are not as porous. Natural nails might need an aqua base of some sort..not sure. My manicure started to chip after 3 days but not badly or in huge chips, just tip wear had gotten troublesome at this point. I did not use a top coat because the one I tried (Sally Hansen Insta Dry) dulled the holo effect to the point that I took off that polish and repainted that nail.

So yeah, good experience with Llarowe and will definitely be purchasing with them again. Also I was happy with my Jade polish and will be trying not to use up the whole bottle before the summer is over. I love pink, and I love holos so naturally this was a match made in heaven (or Brazil)!

Rimmel: Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss

Rimmel London: Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss

I am a Kate Moss fan. Damn she makes waifishly thin look chic. I'm one of those tiny girls anyways (no bulimia or cocaine kthanks) and I've just always loved the way she wore her clothes. That said I was drawn to this lipstick display in Walgreens where I ordinarily wouldn't be. That's right Kate Moss totally sold me on lipstick. I hardly ever wear it. Ok, more like never with my heap of glosses cluttering my purses and bathroom sink...until now! 

 

Bam! It's so red and sexy :) 

Kate Moss for Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick #11

Something about lipstick has always felt far more sophisticated and ladylike than me, but in my old age of 25 I find I'm starting to like that. The tube is plastic but doesn't feel cheap. I love that it has her signature on the shell, cute! I hate that the barcode is a huge white sticker though so I peel that off. 

The display had several shades of red a few pinks, and then a purple that was interesting but red #11 stuck out to me. It's like fire-engine bombshell red. That's how I feel when I put it on, like I'm back in some old-school pinup movie glamour shoot or something. The color is rich and intensifies which each layer that you apply. Even after blotting it lasts for hours. It's such an awesome classic red lipstick and it made my lips feel soft and not waxy. I hate that cheap crayon-lipstick taste. I ended up going back and purchasing a backup just in case. At first I didn't think I had many places to wear red lipstick but then I decided "Hell, why not wear it everywhere!". So I do. 

I'm not overdressed, I'm extra-classy!

The Essie "Clambake" Mystery

The Essie "Clambake" Mystery

Today I have for you an unusual post. Polishes I have yet to even swatch. I came across these polishes at Job Lot and immediately noticed the trademark Essie bottles amongst the other polishes in the discount bin. Two dollar Essie? I sure will! It wasn't until I started looking at the colors at the bottom that I realized many of them were labeled the same. "Clambake". Well obviously someone F-d up. I pulled out my phone and googled what Clambake was supposed to look like and still I'm not sure any of these are Clambake.

(L-R) Clambake, Clambake, Clambake, Clambake and Clambake....just kidding

Pretty, if not Perfect

 Every single one of these is labeled the same Clambake #476. Each one has a white Essie cap with an E and no label. Except the furthest one to the right which is labeled on the top "Damsel in a Dress". This seems to be the accurate color labeling. None of these bottles have the clear/white Essie label on the side of the bottle leading me to believe they are all slip-ups that were never fully rendered. It appears though that the only problem was that they had Clambake printed on the bottom. If Damsel is one of the slipups however, I'm not sure what the others are because they don't match up with any of the other Winter 2008 Collection.

(L-R) Aruba Blue, Downtown Brown, Bordeaux

Here we have a few more that I found in the discount bin. Aruba Blue which is missing its clear/white side stickers but seems to be color-accurate. Downtown Brown, and Bordeaux which are similar but definitely not the same. I also found Angora Cardi but I already had that one at home (damn, kicking myself for paying full price). 

Anyways, it was very curious but I'm glad someones screw up led to more polish landing cheaply in my collection. For this my badly-labeling-factory-worker-friend you WIN!

So any guess on what these mystery colors really are? I saw a bottle of Geranium correctly labeled in the bin right next to the reddest of the "Clambake" colors and it seemed in bottle to be a perfect dupe....

L'Oreal Amazon's Flare

 L'Oreal Amazon's Flare feat Essie A Cut Above

 

Today's nail of the day is L'Oreal Amazon's Flare in a jelly "sammich" with Essie A Cut above. I used 1 coat of Amazon's Flare followed by one coat of A Cut Above followed by an additional coat of AF, all topped with Borghese Presto Top Coat for shine. 

L'Oreal Amazon Flare

I picked up Amazon's Flare in the discount bin at Ocean State Job Lot (which is for those of you who don't know a discount store in New England that carries lots of random stuff that changes on a weekly basis). Only 2 dollars, so I didn't feel bad adding to my ever growing collection of polish and it was such a pretty pink how could I resist?

L-R: L'Oreal Amazon's Flare, Essie A Cut Above, Borghese Presto

 The formula was fine for a jelly. I knew what I was getting myself into. Very buildable coverage that makes me want to use this polish again for a "syrup nails" type manicure. This was my first jelly sandwich mani but it came out so cute I want to try it again with different colors. Because I used pink glitter and a pink jelly polish it is kind of reminiscent of a flaky top coat manicure but with only pink tones. Really pretty, like a pink Koi fish or something.

Indoors with natural lighting

This was my first time using Essie A Cut Above. I feel that there is a liberal amount of glitter allowing you to only use one coat and still get glamorous coverage. In fact, I'll probably pick up Set In Stones (the silver equivalent) when I get a chance. I used Borghese Presto Top coat to help dry the layers faster and add some luster. This is my all time favorite top coat. No shrinkage, no bald spots just quick deep drying clear top coat. I also found this in the bin at Ocean State Job Lot. I heard Borghese is actually discontinued so I made sure to grab like 5 of those top coats (which actually come free with the purchase of a Borghese Rapido color)... don't wanna run out you know ;) 

Amazon's Flare was part of L'Oreals Fall 2011 collection that all seems to be named after birds. Of the collection I found Amazon's Flare and Cockatoo Mystery and was happy with just those two as the rest of the collection seemed to be mostly golds and reds which are not my favorite. Cockatoo's Mystery is a cool toned grey which in bottle appears to maybe be a dupe of Orly Faint of Heart, but we'll see when I get around to swatching it!

Happy Painting Friends :)

Derek Cardigan 7004 Wayfarers

Derek Cardigan 7004 Wayfarers via Coastal.com

God I'm so pissed. I wrote this whole post and scheduled it, then noticed on my phone it was still a "draft", discarded it and lost my scheduled post. Damn you Blogger. Anyways, now that I can't remember WTF I said in the first place the point was that I got these awesome glasses FREE from Coastal.com! And by free I mean the coupon code I used completely took off the actual cost of the glasses which were originally $98. I only had to pay Shipping & Handling.

I had been wanting to try the "nerd glasses" look for some time but hadn't wanted to invest a lot of money in a look I might not like. Funny too because as a child of the 80s I remember laughing and making fun of my moms silly huge-ass glasses. I guess I was behind the times and she was probably super-trendy LOL. I chose these glasses by Derek Cardigan the 7004 Wayfarer style in color Blackout after checking out some of the reviews on the site. These were listed as unisex and I definitely feel like girls or guys could get away with wearing them. I've gotten lots of compliments on them on my FB so far so I'm feeling confident they're as cute as I think they are!

 

The glasses came within 3 days! Seriously, the standard shipping was 3 day courier shipping but I wasn't expecting them to be at my door within three days of ordering. I was expecting them to have to manufacture the glasses taking a few days and THEN ship them. Fabulous. And I have astigmatism so I doubt they just have my prescription just lying around. I ordered on Tuesday and was wearing my glasses by Friday afternoon!

They come in a box with a carrying case, lens cleaning cloth, lens cleaning solution and a eyeglasses repair tool. Anyone who wears glasses knows these items are in high demand and always super convenient to have an extra set around. It's a nice touch especially since many people ordering these are probably skeptical of the quality since they're getting them free. Not to worry though because these are totally legit! They might be the best glasses I own and I have some from the eye-doctor I waited weeks and paid way more for. 

Long story short, I totally recommend these glasses and this company! They have a great return policy which luckily I did not have to take advantage of but it's nice to know just in case. Also it seems like they're always running their "First Pair Free" promotion so check them out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Coastal

Revlon: Colorstay Foundation

Revlon Colorstay Foundation: Cappucino

So people ask me frequently what kind of makeup I use. I think they're expecting me to say something expensive or magical, but I actually only use drugstore foundation. Why? Because they happen to work perfectly for me so why spend more. As a disclaimer in this photograph I'm wearing Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Cocoa 3 as a base and just used the Revlon under my eyes...but I'll get to that.

No I didn't go back to short hair, it's just up in a bun ;)

When I first started wearing makeup I found the same dilemma as many women of color (and 

probably white girls too). I couldn't find a selection in the drugstore that matched my complexion perfectly. Everything I tried was too chalky, too yellowy, too pancakey or powdery. I thought I was spending too little for a good product and tried Clinique. Fail. Bare Minerals...ashy. The problem was I was looking for a single product to essentially "paint" my face and expect perfection. The average person has more than one tone to their skin so how could I expect to use only one product and get the results I wanted. That's when I started experimenting.

Maybelline dream matte mousse has always been my old standby. It's almost the perfect color for me, widely available, only 9 dollars and has a cyclopentasiloxane base! For those of you who don't pore over your ingredient lists this is essentially the same ingredient in most smoothing primers. The little silicone molecules land in your fine lines and smooth everything out visually from the surface. This makes Dream Matte Mousse the perfect tinted primer for me. My only complaint about it as a foundation is that the perfection doesn't last long.... Enter Colorstay!

 

I apply Revlon over the Maybelline using a standard foundation brush. I don't have fancy brushes because I haven't invested in that yet...but one day, probably. Maybe not because I don't seem to have a problem with the cheap ones I use. I start under my eyes and then just touch up any areas I feel need a little more coverage. Any acne scars, and my T-zone. Then I top the whole thing with a dusting of Iman pressed powder. What really makes it last is the Colorstay. It alleges to last 16 hours, and I believe it does even when I'm using it over a silicone based foundation. I've done everything from picking apples with my kids, to roller derby to working a double and had my makeup remain perfect even at the end of the day. The photo above was taken late at night after a long shift waitressing so I feel it holds up really well. 

I walked into Macy's the other day looking for a new concealer. I still can't seem to find a good drugstore concealer in my color. I stopped at the MAC counter and the salesgirl couldn't even sell me foundation she was like "Wow... what do you use for foundation it looks great! I can't even recommend anything.". I wanted to be like "Hell yeah! 9.99 drugstore foundation girlfriend!" but I didn't LOL.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation comes in Normal/Dry and Combination/Oily options as well as a relatively wide range of colors. I didn't realize there was a Combination/Oily option until I had been using it for almost a year but now I always look for that bottle specifically. I do feel like that one leaves my skin less shiny although both of them are useable if you have combination skin especially if you're going to use powder anyways.  Best of all it doesn't break me out, and my face is sensitive! So pick this up if you're on the fence about drugstore foundation. It's as good as anything you'll get at Sephora.

Essie: Cascade Cool

Essie Cascade Cool

Alright so first up from my collection of unposted manicures: (as I've decided I mostly like reviewing polish) Essie Cascade Cool.

Cascade Cool is a bright pale pink that leans blue. It is a cream from Essie's Summer 2012 Bikini So Teeny line. I know it was meant for summer but once all the hot summer neon colors came out these pretty cremes just seemed to fall by the wayside in my collection. I haven't even gotten around to wearing Bikini So Teeny and the summer is half over :gasp:

 

Formula was the usual for Essie. Visible nail line with two coats and slightly streaky which evens out by the third coat. I really enjoyed this color as I was finished but was skeptical during coat 1 & 2. By the third coat I was feeling the Barbie Pink and decided to throw on a few gemstones for good measure!

 

I will definitely reach for this color again. I am a fiend for a good pink (as you will soon find out) and this one is super cute and goes with my skin (cool undertones). 

What do you think?

MIA

Missing In Action.... yes that's me. I know I don't have many readers but even I think it's lame when I start to click around a blog only to notice it's been abandoned. 

This one hasn't been abandoned! I've just been extremely busy moving my family into a great new house (no more apartment living) and it's been sucking up all my time. Now that we're settled in I'm back at it and will be updating this blog soon. 

Here it comes, ready?

Orly Flash Glam: Be Brave

Orly Flash Glam: Be Brave

On Wednesdays we wear pink. Pink holographic bar glitter that is....

So I managed to score a couple of sweet little gems a little early from Sally's Beauty. I noticed Orly's Flash Glam line first a couple weeks ago when I was in a store near my job. I hadn't heard anything about it yet but the gold bar glitter/chunky hex glitter mix in Sashay My Way caught my eye so I bought it. Orly often attaches swatches of their colors to their display (which is great because even if the bottle is missing you get to see the colors). Of the 6 or so available there were only a couple bottles left and of course Be Brave (the fuschia bar glitter) was gone. 

Well, when I got home I googled it only to find out that they weren't technically coming out until June 1st and that store must've just been an early release. Determined to find another one, I asked one of the storekeepers at the Sallys in my town and she hooked me up early! 

Be Brave, Sashay My Way

Eeeek! Glitter overload! I love all things shiny and especially holographic so I was even happier to find that the bar glitter in Be Brave is a beautiful multi-toned green/pink/purple/blue/red holo. The pics don't do it justice but every way you turn your hand the light hits the glitter and it's like a disco on your nails. Amazeballs. 

Be Brave over After Party

Orly Be Brave layered over After Party

Here I have Be Brave layered over two coats of Orly After Party which is a black with some pink and purple glimmer to it. Apparently Orly is releasing a black polish Liquid Vinyl to be used with these Flash Glam polishes as a base. I was interested but I didn't want her to have to take another trip to the back room and I wasn't exactly wanting to buy too many more black nail polishes this summer when I just got After Party a few weeks ago. I used two coats of Be Brave, and I did have to poke around a few of the glitters but not excessively. Two coats feels relatively smooth but I ended up applying top coat after I took these pics because I love that glassy shine and also wanted my mani to last until work on Friday. (If I don't get all ADD and switch it because I'm dying to try out these Ma.Nish.Ma matte neons..... I swear this isn't a nail blog. (or at least it wasn't meant to be...I love nail blogs) Anyways ;)

For your comparison:

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Here is a shot of Be Brave and Sashay My Way next to a Milani Jewel FX for a glitter size comparison. These are not fine glitters. These are chunky LOOK AT ME glitter! Sashay My Way I'm planning to put over a nice dark teal creme...or maybe eggplant. Big plans for this one, swatches to come!