China Glaze

Christmas Haul Part 3: Stocking Stuffers - China Glaze Awakening, Long Kiss and Sinful Paris

9:10 AM



I have really kept my nail polish addiction to a minimum on this blog, but the more and more I acquire, the more I will be posting.  For Christmas, Santa stuffed a few China Glaze and Sinful polishes in my stocking:  Awakening (a bright raspberry pink with melon shimmer), Long Kiss (a cherry red frost) and Sinful "Paris" (gold microglitter).

I don't have any pictures uploaded yet, although I have tried the Long Kiss, and it is an absolutely gorgeous cherry red frost.  I love it, and can already tell this will be a staple red for me!

More pictures to follow...

Milani

Christmas Haul Part 2: Limited Edition Milani Crystal Eyez Sparkling Eye Shadow

11:29 AM



Milani Crystal Eyez Sparkling Eyeshadow are part 2 of my Christmas stash.  I received three colors: Gorgeous and Glowing (green), Beautifully Brilliant (plum) and Glamorously Glittering (golden).   I had seen this while hunting for some little gifts in the drug store makeup aisle earlier this month, not to mention I read about them on Nouveau Cheap.  I was very excited to try these out!

First, I applied a thin strip of each color to the back of my hand to see what the consistency was.  They are all pretty thick gel-based, although the green doesn't have much pigmentation compared to the plum and gold shades.  I will have to say that this surprised me a bit.  Considering what the three products looked like in the tube, I assumed the green would have a green base, as the plum and gold each have a thickly pigmented gel with their respective shades. 



I used my finger tip to apply a pretty liberal coat of each to the back of my hand as well.  Again, the green was a bit more sparse than the plum and gold.  I actually really like the look of the plum and gold as eyeshadows, especially if they don't flake off!  At the very least, these would make a really pretty neutral eyeliner shade, or be just as gorgeous on top of black eyeliner.  It's hard to photograph the sparkles, but these are jam-packed, that's for sure.  The plum and gold base is very frosted, so as you can see it covers very well.  the glitter in each consists of some irridescent, but mostly glitter that is the color of the eyeshadow: green, plum, or gold.



I am anxious to try these out as an eyeshadow, or as the display says, on top of an eyeshadow to add some glimmer and glitz.  If they do as they say, these should make an amazing addition to anyone's New Year's Eve outfit.  I will be testing these out in the next day or two, so I will definitely do a look with them and let you know how they fare. 

Has any one else tried these out?  What color?  What did you think?

Cargo

My Christmas Haul! (Part 1): Cargo Hands of Hope Palette and Kat Von D Rock n Roll Palette **Pic Heavy**

11:05 AM

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend!  It's hard to believe that 2010 is just around the corner!  I know one thing, this year has blown by so quickly, but it was a fantastic year, so no complaints here!


I was very lucky this year when it comes to the gifts I received.  My mom bought me the Cargo Hands of Hope Palette, as well as I received the Kat Von D Palette below.  Both are full of beautiful colors, so I did my best to take tons of pictures so the colors come through.  I have never tried either brand before, although I've read rave reviews for both.  Needless to say, I am so excited to try these out!



The Kat Von D Rock 'n Roll palette has two light shimmery shades, as well as two darker, but still shimmery shades.

"Believer" - Bright white with silver shimmer/sparkles
"Confessional" - Frosty champagne with golden shimmer
"Groupie" - Deep eggplant purple with blue-ish shimmer/pearl
"Motorhead" - dark charcoal/black with hint of sparkle



I used my finger to apply these.  The first shade, Believer, is a bit chunky, so I think using Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy underneath would really help pull the color, and sparkles out.  Confessional is a beautiful champagne shade, which I can already tell will be used often by me.  Groupie is a very different purple than I usually use.  I'm anxious to try this out in a look.  The eyeshadow itself is a little "chalkier" than the other shades, but think it does have potential.  I love the Motorhead - I have been needing a good, dark, charcoal to use in smokey looks, but haven't found one yet.  Hopefully this will be it!



The Cargo Hands of Hope Palette is filled with huge, shimmery, colorful eyeshadows.  From my initial swatches, these feel very similar to the texture of Stila Kitten, so that to me is a HUGE plus!  I love the versatility of the shades.  There are neutrals as well as brights, all are shimmery, and some even have hints of glitter.  Although these are not named, I have attached close ups of all of the eyeshadows below, including the swatches.













As I said earlier, I have never tried Cargo's eyeshadows.  When I have read about the brand, everything has been positive, especially when speaking about their colors and pigmentation.  Each of these shadows were are smooth, creamy, and very well-pigmented.  I love how shimmery these are.  The golden shades look like crushed metal, but go on effortlessly when applied.  I think my favorite color is the teal - I do not have much in the blue category of shades, but this color is absolutely beautiful and reminds me of a crystal clear ocean. 



I will be posting pictures of makeup-looks using these eyeshadows, as well as some more goodies in my upcoming posts! 

How were your Christmas/Holiday festivities?  Did you get anything new and exciting?  I'd love to hear about it!

Getting ready for the new year...

6:48 AM



Now that Christmas has come and gone and I am back in front of the computer, I am working on some new and updated posts.  I should have them starting to post tomorrow.  I've got some new Bare Escentuals, Laura Geller, Cargo, and various other things to show you.

I hope you all had a marvelous holiday!  New Years is just around the corner...

Laura Geller

Laura Geller Eye Dream of Italy Part 3!

8:55 AM

Let me just say the Holidays have crept up quickly!  I cannot beleive it's Christmas Eve, which means...MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Christmas came a little early for me this year.  I went out to check my door step for some online purchases I had made and forgot that my third, and final, installment of the Laura Geller Eye Dream of Italy collection was due to be delivered!  I can say, that upon first glances, this is my favorite of the three.

Per usual, this comes with foundation, blush, an eyeshadow duo, lipstick, mascara and a double ended brush. 



The Baked Blush 'n Brighten, Golden Apricolt/Belini, is absolutely gorgeous.  The blush portion has swirles of coral, peach and golden shimmer.  The highlight portion, Bellini, is swirls of light gold and champagne frost.  This blush is absolutely G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!



The baked eyeshadow duo in this kit is hand down my favorite as well.  The color is called Macchiato/Fruit Tart, and is a combination of a deep golden champagne on one side, and swirles of green, gold and plum frost on the other.  When you swirl all of the "Fruit Tart" section together, you get an olive green.  Otherwise, it is easy to use a smaller brush head and get the individual colors as well. 



Vista, the marble swirled lipstick in this collection, is a combination of tan and light brown.  When applied to the lips, it is a warm but sheer golden brown.  Sometimes brown can come off a little overbearing, but not with this lipstick.  The combination of sheerness and shine really helps make this a universal color.




I apologize for the dark swatches - we haven't had great lighting here recently (lots of snow/rain), so it came out a little darker than I would have liked.  I will post a few FOTD's or EOTD's in the near future so you can see how these look on. 



Again, I find this collection to be absolutely gorgeous.  Using it with the other installements, the eyeshadows all work so well together, which makes these so much fun to wear! 

More pictures coming soon...

Mac

MAC's "Love Lace"

10:35 AM



Beautiful, and reminds me of winter!  The MAC's Love Lace Collection is now available online.  I haven't seen this in person yet, but I am going to be taking a last minute Christmas present trip towards the mall, so I might just swing into Nordstroms to see what it looks like.

Are any of you buying anything from this collection? 

Review: e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

8:00 AM



In my recent e.l.f. order, I purchased their Mineral Eyeshadow Primer.  As their version of the cuveted Urban Decay Primer Potion, I was anxious to see if I could find something that would work as well.  The product comes in a tube, reminding me of lipgloss.  It even has the doe-foot applicator, but being that the tube is a uniform shape, it shouldn't be any problem to get all of the product out. 



The product comes in a very smooth formula that easily blends into the skin.  Honestly, it practically vanishes!  It isn't dry at all, and actually contains Vitamins A, C and E to help keep your skin from drying out, while still helping maintain the vivid color and lasting wear in your eyeshadows. 




I haven't taken any before and after pictures yet, but that is definitely on my "To Do" list - I keep forgetting when I get home!  This product is absolutely fantastic.  Not only does it blend so easily into the skin, but it makes my eyeshadow last all day, just as well as the UDPP does.  I do like this better than my Lumene, and at the price of $3, it's really hard to beat!  Of the 90+ reviews on http://eyeslipsface.com/, this product is reviewed at 4.5+ stars!  It really is worth a try!

Retail Price: $3.00 regular price
Where to purchase: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/
Product: 5 out of 5
Price: 5 out of 5
Packaging: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
Would I purchase again? I absolutely would.  I love the applicator, the packaging, the price, and not to mention the product itself.  It works exceptionally well, and at $3, it's really hard to pass this up.  I wish I could find it somewhere at retail, though, so I could just grab it when I needed it (which doesn't seem like it will be any time soon with all the product you receive!).

e.l.f. Cosmetics

FOTD: e.l.f. Royal, Trendy and Confident

8:00 AM

I really am liking these e.l.f. Mineral eyeshadows.  A while back I purchased a handful of them, and several of the colors, including Elegant and Golden have become staples in my daily routine.  With the sale after Thanksgiving, I was able to add to my collection of their eyeshadows as well as pick up some lipsticks from their mineral line as well.  Below I put together a quick, but elegant, FOTD using the Mineral Booster and Shimmer Glow, Trendy, Royal and Confident eyeshadows, Bliss blush and Barely Bitten lipstick.

Face:
Bare Escentuals Fair Foundation
Everyday Minerals Multi Tasking Bisque (Intense)
e.l.f. Mineral Booster "Sheer"
e.l.f. Mineral Glow "Shimmer"
e.l.f. Mineral Blush "Bliss"
Laura Geller Blush 'n Brighten "Honey Dipped" - contour

Eyes:
e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy
e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow "Trendy" - inner corner
e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow "Royal" - blended into Trendy and outer corner
e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow "Confident" - crease
Bare Escentuals Eyeshadow "Opal" - highlight/brow bone
Mary Kate & Ashley liquid eyeliner "Black"
Rimmel Volume Flash to the Maxx Mascara "Extreme Black"

Lips:
e.l.f. Mineral Lipstick "Barely Bitten"






e.l.f. Cosmetics

e.l.f. Cosmetics Mineral Haul fromt the 70% off sale!

8:00 AM

The present truck brought my e.l.f. Mineral order I placed a few weeks ago when everything was 70% off...I think it was their day after Thanksgiving sale?  Anyway, I almost forgot about it until I received the confirmation in my email that the package had been delivered, so I was very excited to get home and dig through my order!



I ordered a lot of different things:  e.l.f. Mineral Booster "Sheer", the Mineral Glow "Shimmer", two blushes in Rose & Bliss, the Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, eight eyeshadows and four lipsticks.





The four e.l.f. Mineral Lipsticks I ordered were Barely Bitten (a bright, but sheer, coral pink with a hint of shimmer), Rosey Raisin (a sheer brown with hints of pink), Rosy Tan (a warm fleshtone) and Prime Plum (a pinky fleshtone).  I will have more swatches in an upcoming post!





Mysterious is a matte lavendar with silver and lavendar shimmer. 



Trendy:  A deep shimmering beige.



Glamorous:  Wine with hints of mauve and silver shimmer.  A beautiful shade for both depth and lining!



Sassy:  A deep golden beige with pearl shimmer.


Sweet:  A warm cotton candy pink.  Although this is a gorgeous eyeshadow, it would also work well as an all-over shimmer.



Confident:  Reminds me of Bare Escentuals Drama.  This is a lighter chocolate plum.  Another color that will work well in the crease or wet as a liner.


Royal:  A true deep plum with warm golden and blue shimmer.  Gorgeous to create a smokey eye.  Beautiful wet as an eyeliner.


Wild:  A matte chocolate brown with silver/golden sparkle.  This is beautiful with the Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy underneath.


Rose:  This blush is a true, matte, coral.  A great color for the "just pinched" cheek color!


Mineral Glow "Shimmer" is a pretty good dupe of Bare Escentuals Feather Light Mineral Veil, but not quite as light.  The shimmer isn't over-the-top, so if you are just looking for a true "glow", this is it.


Mineral Booster:  When I read about this, I figured it was just another knock off of a mineral veil, but one of the reviews on the e.l.f. website mentioned that it helps erase the fine lines, so i figured...what the heck?  I'll try it!  And, it works!  Not bad for the price at all!


Swatches are below - click if you want to see them larger.  I'll be posting some FOTD's with these shades over the next few days so you can see them in action!

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