Shakeup Your Makeup

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 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 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!

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...