p a p e r m o t h

Persephone Minerals - Review and Swatches

2012-01-30T23:12:00.005-07:00

Persephone Minerals has to be one of my most favorite indie makeup companies as of late. Victoria, the owner, really knows how to create some very unique and wearable duochromes! If you’d like to see swatches of some of her most popular duochromes, I’ve got some here. For now, this review covers duochromes and other awesome shades from various Sailor Senshi collections and my overall experience ordering from this company.

I ordered two full-sized pots, Golden Haelo and Bicurious (I love the hell out of these colors), and a 10-sample set of Sailor Senshi colors of my choice. I also received a full-sized pot of Mars Crystal Power free with my purchase, as I made my order December 21, 2011, during a Christmas sale. My order arrived January 23, 2012 in a bubble mailer, and everything was neatly wrapped in black tissue paper. I also got 4 freebie samples with my order, woot! Although my order took a little longer than the anticipated TAT, Victoria kept her customers updated about the status of orders on the Persephone Minerals Facebook page, so I wasn’t concerned, it was a very busy time of the year!

Full-sized pots (3 gram jars) arrived shrink-wrapped and without shifters, meaning they’re packed nice and full to the rim. Sample baggies contain 1/8th teaspoon of eyeshadow; if you prefer to buy samples in jars, they’re available that way as well.

Anywhoo, here’s what you’ve been waiting for, swatches! The shadows were applied dry on my hand on top of Detrivore Eye Shadow Primer.

Mars Crystal Power: The signature duochrome from the Sailor Senshi Mars collection. If' there's one must have shadow to try from Persephone Minerals, I'd say it's this one! Red with a strong gold shift.
Mars Flame Sniper: Super glittery red, my swatch just sucks and doesn't show the awesomeness of this shade. It blends a little sheer without a base but has tons of red, orange and yellow glitter.
Rei: Inspired by Rei's (Sailor Mars) long flowing black hair. A smoky black with a plethora of violet sparkles.
Moon Crystal Power: Pretty duochrome-y pink that shifts gold.

Moon Cosmic Power: This shade is all kinds of awesome. It's pale gold with a pink shift and lots of lovely sparklies.
Venus Crystal Power: A sunshiny-orange duochrome that shifts from orange to gold, and I can see subtle pink sparkle throughout.
Sailor Venus: This bright tangerine orange is a perfect representation of Sailor V! My swatch doesn't wanna show it, but it possesses contrasting aqua blue glitter.

Princess Mercury: Pale baby blue with an icy shimmer. A wearable blue for someone like myself who shies away from blues.
Mercury Crystal Power: Mmm, pretty blue duochrome. A light blue that shifts gold… looks even greenish in the right light.
Jupiter Crystal Power: Another duochrome shifting from bright green to gold. Very lovely.
Sailor Jupiter: This medium green shade has flashes of pink glitter that I’m afraid my camera just wouldn’t capture.

42: Shimmery burgundy. I’ve been really into burgundy/wine shades these days, as they pair very nicely with golds.
Insomnia: This color morphs! It’s like it’s a teal that shifts to an almost gunmetal color if the golden shimmers in it are reflecting softer, cool-toned light.
Buttercream Bliss: Mmm, great lid and highlight shade. I find it super versatile like Golden Haelo!
Sugar Coated: This one’s from the Holiday 2011 collection! An essential white with multicolor sparkle.

Yep, I wanna order more already!

Green with Envy LOTD

2012-01-16T15:00:00.008-07:00

I was very good about making time to do this week's challenge at Never Too Much Sparkle. This week's theme is "Green with Envy", and it's the first theme I've participated in, yay! Here's my look!

EYES

- Concrete Mineral's Electric Eye Primer to prime eyes
- NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk applied lightly as a base
- Fyrinnae OMGWTF as main lid color
- Fyrinnae Velociraptor (my most favorite eyeshadow ever!) applied on center of upper lids and along lower lid
- Kat Von D's Ego Sum (from the Gypsy palette) applied in crease and outer corners
- Kat Von D's Hawkwind (from the Gypsy palette) as a highlight
- Aromaleigh Rocks! Poisonivy to intensify the crease and outer lid
- Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Black Gel liner (from the Green Eyes trio) to line upper lid
- Neo Celeb Blue circle lenses

LIPS

- E.L.F Glitter Gloss in Glam Guava

FACE

- Covergirl's Natureluxe foundation in Sandstone (325)
- MAC Mineralize Blush in Warmth of Coral

HAIR

- Vibrant green 12" extensions from Etsy seller NeontasticSplash

Persephone Minerals Swatches

2012-01-03T19:34:00.002-07:00

Yay for swatch spam! I haven't gotten around to properly reviewing Persephone Minerals, although I've ordered from them quite a while back. So for now, I have some lovely swatches of their eyeshadows to share with you!

Swatches were done dry on top of Detrivore Cosmetics Original Eyeshadow Primer, and photos taken indoors and in sunlight.

Magick Brownies is a deep brown with plenty of sparkle. Smoke is dark purple, and the purple sheen is more apparent depending on the way the light strikes it. V.I.P looks very silvery-taupe on me. Tranquil is a springy, light green with gold and copper shimmers that my photos didn't want to capture. Double Dance is a light, creamsicle orange with a shimmery pink sheen, and Baklavah is a golden toned mid-brown/bronze.

Golden Haelo is such a pretty light gold. I love using it as a main lid color when I'm just doing a quick look, and it's also ideal as a highlight. Twinkle Sprinkles is a pretty opaque white with a plethora of colored sparkle, while Tan Lines has more a subdued, silver sparkle to it. If you're looking for some amazing duochrome shades, Stage Lights, Falling Angel and Bi-curious are some of the most beautiful ones I've ever come across!

Aromaleigh v2.0 Starry Night Swatches!

2011-11-24T16:11:00.005-07:00

So I'm been totally thrilled that Aromaleigh's back, and with two brand spankin' new collections to kick off their re-launch as well! I nabbed a sample set of the Starry Night collection to share with you.

There's a number of great improvements Aromaleigh v2.0 has to offer, and the most noticeable one for me was the vast improvement on the sample sizes! Aromaleigh now offers sample baggies that contain 1/8 tsp of product--that's double the amount they used to offer. And that means I don't have to skimp out on the size of my swatches, haha. I'm thrilled by this change as I just can't afford to buy full-sizes of all my favorite shades. Shipping price has also decreased to a $2.99 flat rate (domestic). I'm not familiar in the changes involved with international shipping rates, but you can find information on that here.

One minor con, however: The sample baggies I got for this collection are smaller than they used to be, which is a shame because Aromaleigh used to have the perfect sample baggie size, imo. Double the product in a smaller bag = spillage while I swatched because I'm a clumsy mofo. :< EDIT: Woohoo! I just learned that the smaller sample baggies that I got here are apparently temporary, and the original-sized ones are still being used.

Let's get this swatch-fest under way! All swatches were done on NYX Eyeshadow Base in the Skin Tone shade, and photos were taken outdoors under somewhat overcast skies.

My favorite colors in this collection are Saiph, Spica, Capella (ohgod love this color I need infinite fullsizes), Antares, Shaula and Pullux. Bellatrix is beautiful and also the only blue in this collection, but not a color I'd wear often. The only color I had a problem swatching was Rigel, due to its somewhat sheer consistency. I think it'd be great to blend out an orange look, though!

FOTD using Neo Celeb Blue Circle Lenses~

2011-11-24T12:59:00.006-07:00

Hey guys! The weather's been stupid around here lately and I've been wanting to swatch spam all the stuff I've gotten. For now though, I'd like to share with you a FOTD I did earlier on Tuesday where I'm wearing my favorite dark blue circle lenses, Neo Celeb Blue. This is my typical pretty and "done up" look that I do on occasion when I have more than 20 minutes to do my makeup.

I really love Neo Celeb Blue lenses because they're the most comfortable ones I've tried so far. The enlargement effect is minimal, but they really help to define my pupils and make my eyes look brighter and a little larger without looking "fake". The blue is really subtle against my dark brown eyes, but in brighter lighting my eyes look dark blue on the outer rim that fades to a dark brown towards the middle, which is a really lovely effect!

EYES

- Concrete Mineral's Electric Eye Primer to prime eyes
- NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk applied lightly as a base
- Silvery-taupe shade from Wet 'n Wild's Night Elf Palette on inner 2/3rd of lids
- NYX Gunmetal on outer 3rd of lid
- A little bit of Aromaleigh Zanna to darken outer edge and crease (fack I love this color! It's a deep plum shade with a tinge of brown to it)
- Aromaleigh Glow lightly brushed as a highlight and over the taupe shade to warm the colors up a little
- Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Black Gel liner (from the Green Eyes trio) to line upper lid
- Urban Decay Zero Eyeshadow applied with a damp liner brush on lower eyelid

LIPS

- Carmex (I always forget to wear a nice lip color D;)

FACE

- Covergirl's Natureluxe foundation in Sandstone (325)
- MAC Mineralize Blush in Warmth of Coral (this was a spontaneous buy and my first MAC blush. I'm in love with it!)

My earrings! Forgot I took a pic of them for funsies, so I thought I'd share. Love the steampunk ones... I actually got them from Claire's.

Wish I had taken better pictures of my eye makeup to show the crease better, but unless I'm looking sideways or down that part of my eye is hidden by eyelids. e_e Do you like it?

Why yes, I did do some Sephora F&F haulin'!

2011-11-02T15:36:00.005-07:00

And because I've enjoyed seeing what other people have hauled, I thought I'd share mine. I haven't had a lot of time to play with my new goodies, but these have all been products I've been wanting to try out for a looong time. I think I'm most excited about finally getting my first real and AUTHENTIC Benefit blush, after two attempts at buying some on Evilbay for cheap and discovering the shit I bought were fake. :/

I got:

Stila Lip Glaze Set
Harajuku Lover's Fragrance Wicked Style Mini Rollerball Coffret
Benefit Project Flawless (comes with Bella Bomba blush, Girl Meets Pearl illuminator, Bad Gal Lash mascara and a Ultra Shines lipgloss)
Ralph Lauren Big Pony Collection 1 eau de toilette (for my boyfriend)

I started using a Stila lip glaze in Apricot from the set and I'm in love with how awesome it smells, but it's also really sticky! It's so windy outside lately that there's just no way I'd be wearing this stuff outdoors unless I want my hair to turn into a nappy sticky mess on my face. However, I found that it's a great lip conditioner when I apply it before I go to bed.

The Harajuku rollerball perfumes are tiiiny! I mean, I knew they'd be small, but I'm still a little bit surprised. They're cute though, and this way I can try out the scents and be sure I won't get horrible headaches from them if I decide I want to commit to a full size.

Anyone else do some F&F hauling? I'd love to see what you got, and if you enjoyed your new products!

The 'I hate my camera' FOTD

2011-10-06T18:23:00.004-07:00

Yeeeh. My FOTD may be a pretty neutral-colored (ie: boring) look, but I actually really liked it. The colors looked a little more defined in person, so I blame my camera for sucking like usual. Is it weird that I like wearing browns a lot lately? D:

EYES

- Concrete Mineral's Electric Eye Primer to prime eyes
- NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk applied lightly as a base
- Lion Papa from Tokidoki's Hercolino Cromatico Palette as main lid shade
- Urban Decay Underground in crease and outer corners
- Revelon Matte in Rich Sable blended into Underground to darken crease and outer corners
- Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Black Gel liner (from the Green Eyes trio) to line upper and lower lids
- Mark No Place To Run Longwear Eye Liner in White On to line the waterline

LIPS

- ELF Glitter Gloss in Glam Guava

FACE

- Covergirl's Natureluxe foundation in Sandstone (325)
- Fyrinnae's Fluff powder to set foundation

I think I need more color in my life, I've been so lazy with my makeup these days that I feel... dull. >_>

I has a Twitter now!

2011-10-04T10:31:00.002-07:00

O hai guys, I've rediscovered Twitter for like the 3rd time and I think I'm going to give it a serious attempt. So if you have an awesome-o Twitter account too, feel free to follow me and I'll return the favor! I'm sort of clueless about what the heck I'll tweet about at first, but I guess this could be fun... right? D:

Altered Ego Cosmetics Quick Review and Swatches!

2011-09-28T21:30:00.006-07:00

Hey guys, it’s been a while! A really, really long while. But never fear, I’m still around, just busy with school and life and all its related and unexpected weirdness!

While I was MIA, I’ve let my curiosity get the best of me and bought a small array of eyeshadows from Altered Ego Cosmetics on Etsy. What I really like about their eyeshadows is that their full sized shadows come in 3 gram jars, making them even more affordable than getting the 5 gram jars that are generally the standard size for many indie companies. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered their 5 for $10 deal and got the colors Beetle, Mylar, Lord Gold, Diesel and Bullet.

Everything arrived well packaged! I also received a little thank you packet that housed my receipt and a few gifts (a sticker and two samples, Dark Eden and Aisling). I really like the star shaped stickers on each jar, they’re simple yet eye-catching to me. However, the jars do not have any sticker on them listing the ingredients. Fortunately, I could easily look up the ingredients of each shadow on their listings at their store, so no biggie there!

Swatches were done without a base and the photo taken in the shade. I think there’s a little bit of a glare washing out the top colors a bit, but it actually helped show the interesting green morph in Diesel. Mylar and Bullet look pretty similar to me, actually. Mylar’s just got more of a lavender/pinkish tint to it than Bullet, which is a more neutral silvery shade. Beetle is just a lovely wearable blue/aqua that’s wearable for me, as I’m generally shy of bolder blues. Lord Gold’s got the most color payoff on the first swipe, but really all the colors are very buildable and I’ve had no problems wearing them. These shades have a TON of different color shimmer to ‘em despite the photo, but that’s the drawback to taking pictures on a cloudy day. :<

Yep yep, pretty neutral shade pickings, but I find these colors essential to my makeup routine these days where I haven’t had a lot of time to experiment with a lot of color.

Concrete Minerals - Swatches and Review

2011-07-21T11:08:00.013-07:00

Heya! So, today I'd like to share with you my experiences with an indie mineral makeup company, Concrete Minerals. Emily, the founder, first started the company over at Etsy (where you can still find her products), but as of recently it's expanded to its own personal website.

They're a pretty well established company now and I've had experiences ordering from both store locations online, and while I don't have specific dates for when I ordered and received my package from their Etsy store back in January, it arrived promptly with no delay. My experience ordering from their newly established website was a little different, however. The confirmation E-mail I automatically received after placing my order on June 24th states that orders take up to 3 days to be processed, and it was marked as shipped on June 30th. Now I'm the last person to be nitpicky over minor delays, but ultimately, my package didn't reach me until July 11th. I sent an inquiry about my package whereabouts on July 8th, and got a response from Emily on the 11th, explaining the delay (it was USPS related, the package may have accidentally been left behind). I had been checking the tracking number of the package, and it was unusual that USPS wasn’t updating when it had passed checkpoints until the day I was supposed to receive it. Although Emily did not immediately respond to me, she was very polite and supportive and apologized for the delay. She replied back the same day after my next e-mail back.

Anywho! I ordered the Blogger Love Special that offers bloggers four 5-gram jars filled with ¼ tsp. of product each to try out and review. It has a retail price of $10, but for reviewers, they can buy this promotional offer for $5. I also bought their Electric Eye Primer for $11, as a backup for a tin I already have that I’m running low on. On to photos!

I really admire how professionally packaged the products are! Everything was neatly wrapped in bright pink tissue paper with my items neatly segregated in plastic baggies. With my order, I also received a free sample jar of eyeshadow, a thank you card and a very informative, professionally designed flyer that offers tips on how to apply mineral makeup. I'm really happy to see they've continued this practice since the last time I ordered a few samples from them back in January.

I'd like to first talk about one of my actual HG products, Concrete Mineral's Electric Eye Primer. This stuff was truly a godsend to me when I first tried it in January. I found that it works just as well as my previously loved Urban Decay's Primer Potion, minus all the inconvenience of crappy packaging and repeated issues with my primer drying out. The Electric Eye Primer contains .35 oz. of product (versus UD's Primer potion which is .34 oz. of product, retailing at $18). The Electric Eye Primer is flesh-colored, but applies transparent with very subtle shimmer and a satin finish. They shimmer isn't noticeable if you want to apply matte eyeshadows, which is great.

Now, about the only thing that initially irked me about the primer was that when I first received it, I was surprised at how little product there appeared to be in the tin. Comparing what was inside my tin with their product photo on the store, I had expected to see it filled to the rim. No worries though, you do get the amount of product you're paying for... and if you think it looks kind of skimped out, or if you're concerned it won't last you very long...

Here's my first tin of the primer compared to the new one I just bought. After 6 months of regular use (you just need the teeniest bit to prime your eyes!), I've just hit pan, and I've still got plenty left to use! I've had this tin opened and closed countless times, and there is not even the faintest sign that the primer has begun to dry up on me. Great, great product.

The eyeshadows are also formulated very nicely. I really like how pigmented and shimmery they are, and they're easy to blend and layer on with the electric eye primer. The photos on their website represent the colors fairly accurately, imo. For the blogger special, I received Vanity, Napalm, Smut and Kinky. The next 4 swatches are of colors I already have including Brat, the free sample color I received. Swatches were applied on top of NYX flesh-colored primer and photos taken in slightly overcast conditions outside.

Vanity: This is one of their new shades! Glitzy, shimmery gold… not too warm-toned due to the silver sparkle. Vegan.
Napalm: Bright orange with orange/gold sparkles. Vegan.
Smut: Appears to have a dark grayish/silver base with pinky-purple undertones. You’ll notice the base color more if you blend/rub it a bit more. Vegan.
Kinky: Another new shade! A dark, black-based teal with a plethora of different colored sparkles. Vegan.

Brat: Bright as hell pink! Also one of their new shades, and vegan.
Zealous: Bright, shimmery blue/turquoise. Vegan.
Juvenile: Bright yellow-leaning-chartreuse with contrasting aqua sparkles. Definitely a unique take of one of my most favorite colors! Vegan.
Mad Hatter: This shade tends to look deep reddish brown to me (its described to be a reddish-purple), with red and green sparkle. Vegan.

Overall, I really like this brand and I enjoy their selection of shadows. Their shades are distinctly different from one another, and they don't have so many colors that you get overwhelmed with choices. They have a fun and trendy brand identity that really appeals to me also. However, I was a little concerned about the time it took to get my order processed and getting a response to my inquiry in a timely manner. Edit: Emily was kind to explain to me that they are not present at their office to respond to e-mails on the weekends, which is why it took a few days to get a response back. Considering this, their replies are prompt if you have inquiries or concerns about your order.

Linnaeus Cosmetics - rocking events, new collections and official website launch!

2011-07-05T19:12:00.012-07:00

Yo guys, have you heard? Linnaeus Cosmetics has brand new changes afoot! To promote the events leading up to their brand spankin' new website's launch on July 9th, Marin of Linnaeus Cosmetics sent me three eyeshadow samples of an unreleased collection to reveal. What a tease, right? :D

Swatches were done on NYX natural-colored primer and the photo was taken in the shade:

Tru blu: Shimmery blue! Pigmented blues like this one really intimidate me as an eyeshadow, but it's very lovely if you're not afraid of rocking blues.
Truculent: Pinky-violet and blue sparks contrast subtly with this shimmery mid-toned purple.
Reef: Coraly-pink with glints of pink and silver.

I've already reviewed Linnaeus Cosmetics before, and my opinions of the brand and the products remain constant. These eyeshadows wear and blend wonderfully.

Events

So what are these festivities you hear of? These events change daily and are going on RIGHT NOW, so be sure to check out LC on their blog and like 'em on Facebook to participate!

Here's what'll be going on (I've paraphrased the events announced on their blog):

Monday July 4th: 4 people will be randomly drawn who 'like' Linnaeus Cosmetics on Facebook to win 5 samples of their choosing!

Tuesday July 5th: Marin will tweet about the site launch on Twitter. She'll randomly select a few people who retweeted the message to receive some samples!

Wednesday July 6th: Want a LC collection inspired by your favorite wild animal? Post a photo of it on their Facebook page, and a selected winner will receive the collection for free!

Thursday July 7th: Want to see an awesome LC collection inspired by your pet? Post a picture of your pet on their Facebook page and write a few sentences about him/her that you'd like to share. One pet will be chosen and the winner will receive the limited-edition collection for free.

Friday July 8th: 3 people will be drawn at random who have "liked" LC on Facebook to receive a collection of their choice!

Saturday July 9th: Website launch! Special sales will be available throughout the month, just check out this post for the specifics!

Disclaimer: The above products were sent to me for promotional purposes only. I am not paid or compensated in any other way for writing this review. However, as always, my reviews are my own honest opinion and are based on my personal experience with the brand.

Hot Topic Baked Eyeshadow Swatches

2011-07-05T18:35:00.007-07:00

I felt like paying special attention today to some of my sadly neglected baked eyeshadows. I really like how baked shadows become almost metallic in appearance when applied wet. However, since I rarely apply my eyeshadows wet, I hardly reach for them these days. Anyway, I think I've only stumbled across one blog that's reviewed these particular baked eyeshadows, so I thought I'd take a crack at it myself.

I've have these Hot Topic baked eyeshadows for some time now. I've seen them sold from around 3 to 6 bucks in stores, and for the price you get a good quality product save for the fragile plastic packaging. Pretty much the only thing that really irks me about them is I have no idea what they're named... I had to go to the Hot Topic website to check, and even then I'm not 100% sure if I identified them correctly.

Swatches were applied DRY on top of NYX natural-colored eye primer and photos taken in the shade:

From left to right: Teal, Electric Green and Copper (well, that's the best I could guess, anyway! D:)

They're a little more pigmented than my Hard Candy baked eyeshadows, but are somewhat more powdery. I bet if they were marketed under the Hard Candy name, they'd be a bit more well-known and popular. Regardless, these eyehsadows are a hit from Hot Topic's cosmetic line and worth trying out!

Linnaeus Cosmetics Review

2011-06-28T13:29:00.010-07:00

Linnaeus Cosmetics is everything I like in an indie makeup company. I adore the wildlife-inspired collections; the brand has a solid identity that's very fascinating and creative to me. Marin, the owner, puts a lot of thought into the way she packages her products as well, and her customer service is the best I've experienced from any other indie makeup company I've purchased from to date. Her special attention to her customers, regardless if they're new or returning, is really a wonderful experience.

One of the first things you'll notice when you get a package from Linnaeus Cosmetics is the creative touches on the packaging. A pretty organza bag with an animal stamped on with ink, personalized notes/invoices... kinda makes me feel like I got a super fun package in the mail from a friend!

I've acquired a modest number of eyeshadows in the two orders I've made... mainly greens and neutrals, colors I love wearing on a daily basis. Full size pigments come in sealed jars with sealed shifters--guaranteeing no spillage during transit. The sample baggies are large, and while I can't fit 'em in my sample binders that hold card-sized baggies without folding them, they're much easier to use due to their bigger size. Both the jars and sample baggies have the ingredients listed on them and are also labeled not lip safe when necessary.

I first ordered the Green Mantella collection, which is perfect for green fiends! The swatches are done on top of NYX natural eye primer and photos were taken in sunlight and in the shade. I'm pleased to say the swatches that were available on their Etsy site were pretty accurate. I only wish the sun weren't so harsh around here lately because these shades have lovely sparkle that I can't seem to capture well in my photos.. anywho, swatches!

I seriously own way too many damn green eyeshadows for my own good, and I don't really have anything quite like Pollywog. Love.

Other colors:

Sprightly,Tough Stuff and Kalahari are real buggers to photograph accurately. Tough Stuff is described to be a grey that tinges blue when the light hits just right... and it reaaally likes looking blue in my photos. Sprightly is a chocolate taupe when I wear it, and looks amazing paired with Kalahari (which unfortunately is so light-reflective it got horribly washed out in the sunlight photo). Seriously, Kalahari + Sprightly = my new fave quick neutral look!

EDIT: I've now included an eye look using Pollywog as the main lid color, Cavort on the lower lid plus a few other colors. Hoooly crap was it windy that day...

I'm really looking forward to Linnaeus Cosmetic's move to their official website which is scheduled to launch on July 9th. Check out their blog for updates and other fun stuff about the brand!

Starboard Gems NOTD

2011-06-21T15:29:00.002-07:00

I've been doing my nails more frequently these days. Kinda on a green kick atm, so today I wore an outfit to compliment my confetti green nails.

China Glaze Starboard and Milani Gems

Haha, had to include this picture cause it came out kinda cool. I put in magenta and red extensions in my hair today and I loved how it contrasted with my green shirt, which is a clusterf*ck of different colors and glitz. Anyway, CG's Starboard is simply an amazing green--it applies wonderfully and has a jelly finish, my absolute favorite!

Hello Kitty Say Hello Palette Review and Swatches

2011-06-16T19:13:00.008-07:00

Yay! So I got an awesome little giftie from the boyfriend which was something I probably wouldn't run and get myself because of the price tag--Hello Kitty's Say Hello Palette. Of course, I've been fawning over this collection like a lot of other women who get hooked in by cute packaging:

Well, one thing this poopy photo won't show is the opalescent sheen the palm-sized Hello Kitty ~~dismembered head~~ compact is. It contains two compartments; the upper compartment houses an eyeshadow quad and the one below it contains four lip glosses. I'm quite happy a mirror is included! No brushes or dinky applicators though, but I typically don't care about that.

Ahoy thar, swatches!

Eyeshadow swatches in sunlight on top of NYX eyeshadow primer:

In the shade:

Some of these shadows are clearly more pigmented than others. Sugar Plum is probably going to be stuck as a highlighter shade for me just because its pigmentation isn't too good to be a reliable lid color. The other shades are just alright pigment wise. Goodnight Dreams is really quite nice, however. It's rich and black and has subtle, multi-colored shimmer/glitter. Works really darn well wet, too.

The glosses are cute and available in different colors... so it seems. I'd offer swatches, but they turned out to be almost completely sheer. Zilch-o pigmentation! About the only thing about 'em that I like is that they apply just fine and smell pretty nice.

It was dusty and windy outside as usual, so the only good photos I got of a look I did using this palette was while in the car. I basically created a gradient with the available shades, and it actually turned out pretty decent despite having some blending issues (I blame the new eye primer I was trying).

Overall, I had expectations from this palette that it didn't quite meet. However, I can't say my experience with this palette is discouraging me from lemming over the new Hello Kitty palette available, Memoirs Of A Kitty. A dismembered Hello Kitty head with sakura blossom print? Do want.

China Glaze Crackle NOTD

2011-06-11T21:05:00.004-07:00

I've been meaning to post a China Glaze NOTD I really liked a few days ago, but didn't mainly because I'm a little self-conscious of how my nails looked in the photos I took after I had painted 'em. But meh, I'm no nail blogger, so I think I can give myself a little more room for error and less than stellar application. I really love the egg yolk color that is China Glaze's Solar Power, but it's kind of goopy, streaky and just a pain in the arse to apply. However, it looks amazing with CG's Black Mesh crackle polish.

Sorry, I just didn't like how most of my photos turned out, but I shall leave you with one where I'm holding one of my baby box turts, Blackjack. Isn't he a cutie? ^^

Short post is short, but I've got a review of a Hello Kitty palette coming up next!

A B C's of me!

2011-05-23T20:36:00.003-07:00

Yay, I got tagged by Kayla of Pretty unDead! Took me a few days to think of a movie quote I actually liked... but then I just gave up and went with good ol' Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

A. Age: 25. D:
B. Bed size: Queen. I like hogging a huge bed to myself, bwahah.
C. Chore you hate: Anything that smells. D: I'd seriously gag forever.
D. Day: Sundays, as I'm always running around with the boyfriend on that day ^^
E. Essential start to your day: Yogurt! I know, pretty crappy breakfast, but that's how I roll.
F. Favourite colour: Purple, but my favorite color to wear is green~
G. Gold or Silver: Silver.
H. Height: 5'5''... I'm so very average.
I. Instruments: Piano, used to play viola, and I tinker around with guitar and bass guitar.
J. Job title: Grad student. And if my research is no longer gunna be funded, I'll be a part time TA and paper pusher in the office.
K. Kids: Oh hell no. Well, I don't know. I have never been able to make up my mind wether I like kids or not.
L. Live: Beanerville. Yes, I prolly sound like an arse saying that, but it's pretty true. >_>
M. Mum’s name: Youn.
N. Nicknames: Kim, Kimus, Kupochan~
O. Overnight hospital stays: One.. had a kidney infection and a 104 degree fever.
P. Pet peeve: People who are cronically late, slow drivers, low flying birds.
Q. Quote from a movie: "And the Lord spoke, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shalt be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it." -- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
R. Right or left handed: I'm a lefty!
S. Siblings: None. :D
T. Time you wake up: 6:30-9:30.
U. Underwear: I wear some, sure.
V. Vegetables you dislike: I used to really, really hate vegetables except for like... cucumbers and green beans. BUT. I have completely finished a bowl of salad for the 3rd time in my life so far! I'm so proud! :D
W. What makes you run late: Doing my makeup and taking care of my pet turts in the morning.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth and feet. Cause I had borked teeth as a child and now I have borked feet as an adult. :I
Y. Yummy food you make: I don't like to cook, but I bake from time to time.
Z. Zoo: I wish our zoo had penguins and an insect exhibit. But I really enjoy the aquariums and I'm looking forward to seeing our new giraffes this year. :D

And I tag... well, whoever hasn't done this yet! XD It's fun, I promise!

Brazen Cosmetics - My impressions and swatches!

2011-05-13T18:15:00.009-07:00

I've been kinda floundering around and trying out new indie cosmetic companies again. I still feel a bit off about not having a favorite go-to company to fulfill my sparkly-oriented needs like Aromaleigh used to, but that's because there's so many amazing new companies popping up!

Brazen Cosmetics is a familiar name in the indie blogosphere. Part of their appeal to me is that Sandi, the owner, is so interactive with her customers on their Facebook page. I recently had the opportunity to sample two eyeshadows during a welcoming promotion offered to those that hadn't tried anything from Brazen yet, and I loved what I received! So much so, I went right to their Etsy shop and ordered a nifty package deal consisting of 5 random eyeshadows and 5 random lip gloss pots to start off my collection.

All the goodies! Now, on to the swatches:

I was so happy to receive a full-size of Karma, the lovely purple shade. Buzzed has got to be the most beautiful deep, rich brown that I own now too. Twisted is also another favorite of mine, it's so opaque and complex with its black base and aqua sparkles. The jars come with sealed sifters, which is a total win in my book.

Now, I'm not a lippy-swatchy kind of person. I've never been crazy about lip products either, so one would wonder why I'd want to try out some random glosses. ~~I don't know, I'm going through a weird phase, don't judge me!~~ Anyway, while I find glosses in pots to be messy and cumbersome, these are amazingly well made to last. Burgundy or deeper berry shades like Conflict and Shimmy just don't compliment my super-tiny thin lips, but they are very beautiful. Conflict has this blue iridescence and Shimmy smells of rich chocolate. The ones I do enjoy wearing are Snow Queen (it's also minty, love!) and Muse, a bright opaque pink. These little jars of awesome arrive shrink-wrapped and therefore, totally spill-proof during transit.

Shimmy appears to have been a gift with purchase which was totally sweet. I also received a sample of one of their scents called Island Indulgence on a fabric petal. It's pretty nice, and something I'd consider trying out because it didn't give me a splitting headache (most perfumes or scented things do, unfortunately).

I'm really looking forward to their official shop's grand opening! I also plan on doing a look with their products real soon to enter in their contest on Facebook for fun and whatnot. Y'know, assuming I don't totally botch it..

Let's go Red Wings! A red and white EOTD~

2011-05-02T18:34:00.008-07:00

Tis the season for hockey, and what better way to watch the playoffs than by sporting my favorite team's colors on my eyelids? This look is very simplistic, but the effect is very pretty. (Now, all I gotta do is work on my horrible, horrible blending...)

/EYES/

Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Aromaleigh Sylph on inner 2/3 of lid
Fyrinnae Kamikaze applied wet on outer 1/3 of lid, blended out along crease
Jane Be Pure Mineral Gel Eyeliner in Black (04)

/FACE/

Covergirl Natureluxe Foundation in Sandstone (325)

/LIPS/

NYX Sheer Gloss (No idea wtf It's called, sorry :< )

I really love Aromaleigh's Sylph. You can't see it from my photos, but this white eyehshadow has such lovely multi-colored sparkles! And believe it or not.. this is the first time I've ever tired wearing red eyeshadow. Kamikaze is the perfect red. I was worried that it would stain my skin a little bit, but fortunately I didn't have that issue. ^^

Essie's Wrapped in Rubies + Hidden Treasure, drawings, and an 8-legged freak?

2011-04-25T19:02:00.003-07:00

My poor neglected blog, how I've missed it! Aside from research and classes, nothing too profound has been going on in my life, but I'd like to give you all a little recap as far as what I've been wasting my free time on. I've got a lovely NOTD to share today among other unrelated things at least, so forgive me for my absence!

I finally painted my nails a color that doesn't suck the arse for a change. Behold, Essie's Wrapped in Rubies + Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure. Love the iridescent flakes that shift from gold to green, shades that both compliment and contrast with the ruby red base.

Preeeetty.

And did you know that I enjoy drawing? Granted, I haven't for several months drawn a damn thing, but I've finally started something that I see some potential in. It's supposed to be some..anime-ish thing of my boyfriend and I. :3

And just because I'm in a sharing mood, here's a macro shot of a jumping spider of mine. Oh, uh... I guess I should've warned you, I tend to forget that most people think these guys are kind of gross, but I find this Phiddipus octopunctatus female to be very docile and... well, cute?

Yeah yeah, I know, I'll get back to makeup! ._.

Awesome Etsy Find! Wire-wrapped rings @ Holmescraft!

2011-03-18T18:30:00.003-07:00

I do enjoy unique, modern jewelery, and I found a very wonderful store while browsing Etsy for some new rings. Holmescraft showcases a wide variety of handmade, wire-wrapped rings, earrings and necklaces wonderfully crafted with a complexity and elegance that really attracted me to these unique designs. Throw in a little science-geekery and you can even find wire-wrapped rings fashioned into the likeness of a carbon atom!

(image from Holmescraft)

I hate chemistry but this ring is pure undeniable awesomeness, don't you think?

I absolutely had to have one of these beautiful rings. I finally decided on a lovely amethyst-beaded sterling-silver one with spirals.

(image from Holmescraft)

I ordered a size 6 ring on March 13th and it arrived unexpectedly quickly 4 days later. The ring was carefully packaged in a small jewelry box and came with the shop's business card and a thoughtful, hand-written thank you note. I felt that my purchase was really very special. As for the ring itself, it's the perfect size and just as lovely in person as it is in the shop's photos!

I have almost freakishly long, thin fingers so I'm reluctant to show off my whole hand, haha. But there you have it, I'm totally rockin' this new favorite ring of mine!

Anyone know of other interesting Etsy shops?

Handwriting tag!

2011-03-15T18:09:00.003-07:00

Yup, I'm jumping the bandwagon too. Wanna join in the fun? ^-^

Answer the following 8 questions in your own handwriting:

1. What is your name? And your blog?
2. What's your blog URL?
3. Write: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
4. Favorite quote.
5. Favorite song?
6. Favorite band/singers?
7. Say anything you want.
8. Pass this along to a few bloggers.

And that's my handwriting on narrow ruled paper, I tend to write pretty small. D: As for my anime-self, she's just a grumpy demanding bitch, so just go ahead and do this if you'd like! ;D

Tokidoki Brillante Glitter Eyeliner Set Swatches and Review

2011-02-26T22:08:00.004-07:00

Sweeeet. So I got more Tokidoki goodness to play with, and this particular one was a Valentines gift to me from my boyfriend. Behold the awesomeness of the Tokidoki Brillante Glitter Eyeliner Set!

(Uuugh, horrible photo, I suck the arse at taking indoor pics. :/ )

The set comes in six glittery eyeshadow shades: Melodia (black with gold glitter), Bianca (white with silver glitter), Al Dente (purple with gold glitter), Meteo (blue with silver glitter), SANDy (green with gold glitter) and Unicorno (pale creamy gold with gold glitter). My descriptions are probably not sounding terribly interesting there, so I'll just let the swatches do the talking:

Indoor lighting:

Indoors with flash:

Here's a size comparison of the Tokidoki liners and the well-known Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencils on the far right--a mini-sized one like the type you'd get in a UD Book of Shadows palette (Electric-the bright blue one) and a full-sized one (Yeyo, the white one). They're a bit on the bitty side, haha.

As for the quality of the Tokidoki eyeliners, they certainly feel grittier when applied to the skin compared to the 24/7 liners, but that's due to the glitter. So how well does it wear?

Well, after I swatched 'em, I also swatched two of my UD eye pencils on opposite sides then attempted to wash them off with soap and water. Here's the result of my silly attempt at removing these stubborn liners:

Decently smudge resistant if you ask me; they hold up about as well as the UD 24/7 eye pencils! I do enjoy wearing them on my lower lashline as they're fairly smudge and fade-resistant, but if you have sensitive eyes, the gritty texture is something to be cautionary of.

This set is available at Sephora for $25, a great deal if you're curious about trying out these fun and colorful liners!

How to trick people into thinking you're good looking

2011-02-11T02:03:00.001-07:00

Oh god I could not stop laughing. Just thought I'd share. :D

Flourescent Adolescent

2011-02-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

FOTDs! Because I don't do enough of them, or just never get around to posting 'em. I'm freezing my nalgas off today, I can't handle cold weather. D; We were enjoying 60-70 degree weather the past week, then out of nowhere get owned up with 2-3 inches of snow overnight (which is unheard of around here) and loss of electricity.

My FOTD for... ~~today~~ yesterday! I rarely ever wear blue eyeshadow. I just can't rock it like other ladies can. :< So here's an indoors, pseudo-artsy kinda shot. Tried taking pics with my eyes closed to show the colors better but they all turned out blurry~

/Eyes/

- Concrete Minerals Electric Eye primer (It totally replaced my UDPP~)
- Aromaleigh Odette on inner corners
- Meow Mantis as main lid color
- NYX Gunmetal on outer-V and crease
- Hard Candy Baked Eyeshadow Duo in Love Bug (blue shade) along lower eyelids
- Stila black eyeshadow wetlined as eyeliner

/Face/

- Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in Buff Beige (130)
- Hard Candy You're a Doll blush
- Fyrinnae Fluff setting powder

And another FOTD. I miss wearing short-sleeved shirts outdoors in the middle of winter already. D;

/Eyes/

- Concrete Minerals Electric Eye primer
- Taupe shade from Wet 'n Wild Night Elf palette
- NYX Gunmetal in outer-v and crease
- Stila black eyeshadow wetlined as eyeliner
- Geo Nudy circle lenses in Grey

/Face/

- Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in Buff Beige (130)
- Hard Candy You're a Doll blush
- Fyrinnae Fluff setting powder

/Lips/

- NYX gloss in La~La

Ho-hum, I'm not sure what to do when I'm snowed in alone and when my electricity will go out again soon (we're having rollover blackouts to conserve energy, wtf? D:) Stupid city...

Drugstore hauledge! Hard Candy Goodies and Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation

2011-01-12T17:22:00.006-07:00

Drugstore haulage! Woo, haven't done one of these in aaages. There's a lot of new Hard Candy products I've been wanting to try, and I've been on the search for a liquid foundation (particularly Cover Girl's Natureluxe Foundation in Sandstone or Dune, as those are yellow-based). Well, found some Hard Candy goodies, but I was out of luck finding my shade of Naturaluxe, so I opted to try out Mabelline's new foundation, Fit Me.

The goodies:

Hard Candy Hide & Glow Duo Cheek Tint in Pillow Talk
Hard Candy 1000 Lashes Fiberized Lask Weave Mascara in Lush Green
Hard Candy Glamoflage Heavy Duty Concealer in Medium
Hard Candy Just Nails nail color in Mr. Wrong and Beetle
Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation in Buff Beige (130)

I've just tried a few of these products, so here are my initial thoughts:

Hard Candy Hide & Glow Duo Cheek Tint in Pillow Talk ($6)

Pros: Two cream blush shades for 6 bucks is a great deal and I'm a sucker for Pillow Talk, which has two girly pink shades.

Cons: Feels... greasy/waxy. I do NOT like how my skin feels with this stuff on. The color is also very sheer, and I can't imagine even attempting to layer this on my face. Ewies.

Am I liking it?: Hell no, this has to be the worst blush I've ever tried. :/

Hard Candy Glamoflage Heavy Duty Concealer in Medium ($6)

Pros: Wow, great coverage. This definately does the job! I had a bruise on my leg and this totally concealed it, haha.

Cons: Not the right shade for my face... in fact, it just doesn't have a hint of warmth to it. What's really disappointing is the color selection... three shades? Is this a sick joke?

Am I liking it?: I'd love it if only there was one in my shade. I may keep it and see if I can use it better in conjunction with a different concealer I have.

Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation in Buff Beige 130 ($8)

Pros: Nice, smooth application, and I love that the formulation is pretty light. I don't need a lot of coverage so this foundation suits me just fine. Doesn't have a bothersome scent to me. Offers SPF 18 (which I guess is better than nothing..)

Cons: Can't find a perfect match; I'm just too yellow-toned for most drugstore foundations. This shade is pretty close though.

Am I liking it?: Love it so far! I'm just a little worried that it may be a little too dewy for my oily skin, however.

Hard Candy 1000 Lashes Fiberized Lask Weave Mascara in Lush Green

Pros: Yay, the color shows up! It's a nice mid-tone green. I applied this mascara after putting on a coat of black mascara, however. I've read other reviews stating that the fibers flake off with this mascara, but with the way I applied it, I didn't have that issue.

Cons: Kinda makes my lashes chunky when I layer it over my other mascara, but my lashes are stupid and difficult to work with by default. It will take a few more tried to improve my application of this product for sure.

Am I liking it? Tried it once, haven't had any major issues as of yet. Certainly not my favorite mascara as far as ease of use goes, however.

Anyone else try these products? What are your opinions of them?

Tokidoki Robbery Palette - Review and Swatches

2011-01-10T18:56:00.002-07:00

Tokidoki has offered an adorable array of cosmetics last year, and to me the Robbery Palette is THE must-have set! It includes 3 separate palettes combining 4 eyeshadows and a blush/bronzer in each, a keepsake tin and a magnet. If you're a sucker for cute and colorful packaging, Tokidoki never disappoints--and neither does the makeup!

The tin (and the magnet which I forgot to take off, whoops~)

The inside of the tin - and the three palettes

Here you can see the interior of the palettes, featuring Tokidoki characters caught behind bars!

Swatches
(all are swatched on bare skin without primer)

Royal Pride
All very lovely, pigmented shades, and I have no problem utilizing all four colors in a look with little difficulty. My favorite palette of the three! Lion Papa is a copper, Savana a golden yellow, Ercolino a tangerine orange and Bulletto a dark chocolate brown. They kind of have a metallic quality in their finish. The cheek color, Royal Pride, is subtle on my fair skin, but I generally shy away from shades that aren't pink or coral.

Arlecchino
This palette boasts the brightest shadows. Saya is a bright lime green. Candy Cane is a shimmery white. Ninja Dog looks blue that's startin to shift violet, and is noticeably more sheer than the other eyeshadows. Meteo is a deeper blue. I don't really care for two blue-ish shades in one palette, and it puzzles me that Ninja Dog's pigmentation is lacking. The blush, Momobella, is my favorite of the three in this set. Soft pink with shimmer!

Rapina
This palette features dark shades. Liberty is a blackened teal green, Bullets a cool metallic silver, LA Gun a midnight teal, and Adios is a matte black with bits of silver glitter. I'm sure these shades would really pop with a proper primer, but dark shades just haven't been my thing lately, so I've yet to try them in a look. The blush, Polpettina, is a medium pink with silver glitter.

This set is currently still available at Sephora for $39 (it was previously $49!). Seriously, if you've been waiting on getting this palette, now is a great time to do so.

My typical quick green FOTD~

2010-12-24T19:46:00.005-07:00

One reason you don't find too many FOTDs from me lately--I do way too many green looks, just like this one. Here, I used a green shade from Sleek's Original palette as the main lid color, with Fyrinnae's We're All Mad Here and Velociraptor as crease and highlight shades.

I used Santee's Solo Bronzer in Pink Suede as a blush, I got it at a Jewelery Box, a little knick-knack store that sells a bunch of stuff including makeup for just a buck each. I actually really like it and it's pretty pigmented! On my lips I used NYX Sheer Gloss in... well crap, the name got rubbed off. :|

Quick post today, but most importantly, I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays! ^-^/

Buxum Stay-There Eyeshadow - Swatches and Review

2010-12-16T15:12:00.003-07:00

I've been dyyyying to finally try these eyeshadows I got for my birthday over two weeks ago, but with classes, research projects, finals and the occasional meltdown plaguing me, I've had so little time to play. So despite being horribly stuffed up with the flu (what ISN'T wrong with me these days?),I went swatch happy as it was pretty and sun-shiney today.

The Buxum Stay-There Eyeshadows boasts vibrant, lively, water-proof colors that don't smudge or crease (so they claim). These are just too cute to pass up with their adorable doggie theme--each color is represented by a different breed. I picked up Schnauzer, Shih Tzu (I must have mis-typed that about 5 times in a row) and Mutt.

These cream eyeshadows are housed in a sturdy glass container with a secure screw-on top. They contain 3.5g of product.

Yes, they are cream eyeshadows. But what's AMAZING about them is their very unique texture--they feel like you're touching soft, spongy marshmellows. I've never experienced a texture quite like this from any eyeshadow I've tried before. They are extremely smooth and easy to apply.

Swatches! The shadows are shimmery and blend out smoothly, but take a little longer than I'd like to set before they become smudge resistant. I wore Mutt on top of a primer and it held well, but did eventually crease a little on me after 6+ hours of wear (which is typical with anything I wear really).

They're pricey for my budget, $17 each, but as they were a birthday present, my wallet has no complaints. ^^

Aromaleigh Spells, Wonderstruck and Mythos Review and Color Comparisons [Greens and Purples]

2010-10-20T18:40:00.005-07:00

Yikes, long title is long. Anyway, after being delayed from reviewing Aromaleigh's Spells! limited edition collection that I so graciously received over a week ago in my mailbox for review, I decided I'd take another approach and compare the greens and purples of all three of the collections! Why greens and purples? Because they're my absolute favorite colors, of course! I also added swatches of 4 other greens and purples from previous collections for comparison if anyone is familiar with those colors...

I had to rush for time, the sun was already low on the horizon and it was getting cloudy as well, so forgive the sloppy swatches. Photos were taken in partial shade.

From left to right:

Row 1: Protego (Spells), Serpensortia (Spells), Curious Dream (Wonderstruck), We're All Mad Here (Wonderstruck)
Row 2: Impossible Things (Wonderstruck), Tethys (Mythos), Hyperion (Mythos), Demeter (Mythos)
Row 3: Greenbrier (Spring Solstice), Rooftop Garden (Hot in the City), Menta (Ciao Italia), Private Lunacy (Victoria's Revenge)

And now, the purples!

From left to right:

Row 1: Riddikulus (Spells), Obliviate (Spells), Curiouser and Curiouser (Wonderstruck), Rule Forty Two (Wonderstruck)
Row 2: Opiate Advice (Wonderstruck), Hera (Mythos), Erebos (Mythos), Asteria (Mythos)
Row 3: Ananke (Mythos), Selene (Mythos), Nyx (Mythos), Bellflower (Spring Solstice)
Row 4: Ephemeral Violet (Les Papillons), Emerentia (Lost in Faerie), Clara (En Pointe)

There are so many beautiful colors in these collections and it's always difficult for me to choose what colors I might like to buy full-size, so I like to sit down and swatch similar colors together to see which I already have a similar color of. If you're debating on making your final order with Aromaleigh, just remember to do so before they close shop for good on November the 15th!

Disclaimer: The above products were sent to me for promotional purposes only. I am not paid or compensated in any other way for writing this review. However, as always, my reviews are my own honest opinion and are based on my personal experience with the brand.

Urban Decay Book of Shadows 3 Review and Swatches

2010-10-02T19:05:00.004-07:00

Heeey, remember me? ;D First semester of grad school has been consuming all my time, but I haven't (completely) forgotten about blogging. I got a really awesome 5th year anniversary gift from my dear boyfriend that was totally unexpected, and being a big Urban Decay fan, I just HAD to post about this.

I'm ecstatic! I think I actually squealed a little bit when he gave it to me. I swear though, Urban Decay should have named this the BOX of Shadows, as it's significantly thicker than its predecessors (4cm as a matter of fact).

....Aaaand that's probably because the pop-up display contained on the top of the palette lights up when you open it! Fancy. Can't really see it though in this photo, but the skyscrapers in the back where the mirror is what lights up.

The exclusive shades in this palette are Loaded, Kush, Rockstar, Money, Bordello, Radium and Suspect.

And finally, swatches!

In shade:

In sunlight:

I think this is may be my favorite BOS palette up to date!

Tokidoki Cromatico Eyeshadow Palette - Diamante

2010-08-22T08:37:00.003-07:00

So, a while before getting my very first traffic ticket (*bows* thank you, thank you.. -_-; ) and subsequently putting myself on a makeup no-buy for nearly a month now, I did a little hauling at Sephora online and grabbed up a Tokidoki palette. Being a Tokidoki fan, it was about damn time!

I'm particularly fond of the artwork on the Diamante packaging. Beneath the bulky little box is a compartment where a tokidoki character resides. The character is.. unsurprisingly, Diamante!

I think the quality of the eyeshadows themselves is a little too glorified in some of Sephora's customer product reviews. They're not BAM WOW pigmented, but decent and wearable. Primer is a must, basically.

The colors are:

Diamante (looks white in the swatch, but has a soft pink iridescence with big chunky silver glitter)
Rubino (silvery, muted lilac)
Romeo (a rich maroon.. this one is the most pigmented out of the four)
Nancy Rocks (cool-toned lavender)

You're not really getting a lot of product for the price ($25), but most people buying this palette do so for its uber cuteness factor. I mean seriously, how cute is that disgruntled diamond? >:|

Aromaleigh Ciao Italia! Swatches

2010-08-09T15:57:00.005-07:00

Finally! After enduring crappy weather, a cumbersome transition to a new PC and failed swatch attempts, I've got some lovely swatches of Aromaleigh's Ciao Italia collection up today. I was just overjoyed to receive this collection in the mail to review! Also, I feel I've improved a fair bit on my swatching technique while experimenting with these lovely shadows. However, since I also recently got a new monitor, I'm still getting used to the difference in color representation, so I sure hope nothing looks funny...

Swatches were done on top of BB cream (foundation) and photos were taken in shade and in sunlight.

Row 1 (from left to right): Zabaglione, Ciocolatto, Rosmarino, Liquiriza, Mela
Row 2 (from left to right): Pera, Menta, Albicocca, Mora, Biscotti

In shade:

In sunlight:

Row 1 (from left to right): Nocciola, Melone, Fragola, Fico, Puffo
Row 2 (from left to right): Tiramisu, Pistacchio, Bacio, Amarena, Fior Di Latte
Row 3 (from left to right): Mirtillo, Melograni, Malaga, Lampone, Frutti Di Bosco

In shade:

In sunlight:

My favorites from this collection are Melone, Fragola, Menta and Mela. Naturally, I love all the purples, and I have to say that Pistacchio suits its name very well!

Anyways, from the date of this post, you still have about 6 days to order shiny sparkly glimmery goodness from Aromaleigh before their official closure. I'm really going to miss this brilliant company, because Aromaleigh was what sparked my interest in makeup ever since I first ordered from them about two years ago.

Disclaimer: The above products were sent to me for promotional purposes only. I am not paid or compensated in any other way for writing this review. However, as always, my reviews are my own honest opinion and are based on my personal experience with the brand.

Pure Ice and my last Aromaleigh haul?

2010-07-20T19:50:00.006-07:00

I totally forgot to post this NOTD from at least a week ago. I don't know why I never got my hands on a gray colored nail polish sooner, particularly this one as it's very readily available at my local Wal*Mart. This is Pure Ice "Kiss Me Here". Odd name, beautiful polish. Of course, I chipped my nails by the end of the day..

As for any other makeup related updates, I received what could be my very last Aromaligh haul as well. It just didn't feel the same getting my pretty eyeshadows this time. I'm so sad! I got a couple of things from several collections...

Anyway, sorry if my posts have been disinteresting lately. I'm in a bit of a makeup slump, honestly. I got a Sephora haul recently though, so reviewing that soon should help perk me up some, so I hope. ^^

Dramaleigh [A Rant]

2010-06-30T07:54:00.005-07:00

Too many people have passed into the "too fucking creepy" zone concerning Aromaleigh. One thing I have to admit--I am disgusted at what great lengths certain women have gone to spread lies and devalue a hard working, passionate woman to the point where it's come to this.

I'm generally informed about everything that's happened up to this point, and until now I've tried my best to keep my opinions to myself. However, I'm not happy to see others shift and pick through the trash to confirm what appears to be the truth and what wasn't to the extent that they did. I don't understand how anyone can just snoop through another person's very personal endeavors in order to document every little "he said, she said", factoid and miniscule detail to display for the public to scrutinize at their leisure.

I love everything about Aromaleigh and I care greatly about Miss K, her health, and her happiness. I wish all the best for her and her son. I don't care about all this nitpicking and finger-pointing and who's winning the Biggest Bitch Award for all of this mess. When it all boils down, none of this is helping anyone and only spreads more negative feelings and heartache. I think Kristen's had enough of that, and I think she's made the wisest choice out of all of us at this point.

Gotta move on.

Aromaleigh's Lost in Faerie Collection Review and Swatches~

2010-06-25T18:54:00.006-07:00

Hey guys! I'm super happy to have the opportunity of trying out Aromaleigh's Lost in Faerie Collection today. This collection is simply gorgeous... the colors are light and playful and full of multi-colored sparkle. There are a few very interesting bright mattes as well, accentuated with rainbow or contrasting sparks.

Aaah, the sun around here is just so harsh for taking good swatch pics, but here we are! I think I may attempt it again tomorrow as we'll get some cloud cover for a change. Just keep in mind these shadows have lovely multi-dimensional shimmer.

From left to right:

Celinette, Erlina, Elodie, Naida,
Liriope, Caelia, Olinda, Loxy

Celinette and Erlina have plenty of multi-dimensional sparkle, I promise! My camera's just not picking it up...

From left to right:

Calista, Trixy, Sorette, Zanna,
Meliora (?), Meliora (?), Annysia, Ellette

Two of the samples I got were labeled with the same name, whoops!

From left to right:

Emerenta, Luella, Rosina, Elysia
Donella, Alina, Xylia, Pherenice,
Eglantine (middle)

And also, here's an EOTD using Elodie (main lid color), Emerenta (outer lid), and Rosina (highlight). I think it shows the complexity of the shadows somewhat better..

My favorites from this collection are Elodie, Meliora (the yellow-orange one) and Emerenta. I am really loving the rainbow of sparkles and shimmer these eyeshadows possess. Who else is looking forward to this limited edition collection from Aromaleigh? ^^

FOTD's galore!

2010-06-16T21:50:00.004-07:00

I wasn't too keen on initially posting these because I've fallen so behind, but maybe seeing the various looks together over the past few days would be somewhat interesting. So here we go, three FOTD's!

June 8th

Took this one after work.. it's been terribly hot with temperatures over the 100's during the week. I look a bit sweaty and my sunglasses left an imprint next to my nose that wouldn't go away, haha.

/EYES/
- UDPP
- Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
- Fyrinnae Velociraptor all over lid (I love this color!)
- Lined with Jane Be Pure Mineral Eyeliner in Black

/FACE/
- Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Normal/Dry Skin in Sand Beige

/LIPS/
-Dry and chapped so badly it started bleeding right after I took the picture.

June 14th

My impression of a husky day! The mismatched blue eyes are the result of my new blue circle lenses I got... that ended up being two very different colors. I was a little nervous to wear 'em out like this.. I personally didn't mind, but I was a little worried about what people would say at work, haha. Fortunately, my coworkers thought it looked pretty cool, so yay. <3 I also trimmed my fringe straight, it hasn't quite settled properly...

/EYES/
- UDPP
- Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy (very very tiny amount)
- And although you can't see it, I used Aromaleigh's Ethereal Angel, Skeleton Key and Elegie
- Lined with Jane Be Pure Mineral Eyeliner in Black

/FACE/
- Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer (Apricot)
- Charmzone Natural Skinmade B.B. Cream
- Light dusting of Fyrinnae Mineral Finishing Powder

/LIPS/
- Hmm, all natural yet again.

June 15th

Aaah, I wish I took a better picture of this. -_- Very simple look eyeshadow-wise; I felt like contrasting it with heavy eyeliner instead.

/EYES/
- UDPP
- Aromaleigh Indelible Creme Eyeshadow in Nude Frost on lids
- Aromaleigh Ethereal Angel in crease and for highlighting
- Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeliner in Charcoal on upper lid
- Jane Be Pure Mineral Eyeliner in Black on lower lashline

/FACE/
- Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer (Apricot)
- Charmzone Natural Skinmade B.B. Cream
- Light dusting of Fyrinnae Mineral Finishing Powder

/LIPS/
- A touch of NYX Round Lipstick in Iris
- Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush gloss (pale shimmery pink)

So that's all for now! I have a Batiste dry shampoo review coming up (one of my staple hair products that I love to use). And to my new followers, thank you very much for visiting! ^-^

Hi-Fi Cosmetics High Impact Shadow Fix Review and Comparison

2010-05-26T18:53:00.004-07:00

So I've had a little more time to experiment with Hi-Fi's eyeshadow base/sealant, which is in many way similar to Fyrinnae's ever popular Pixie Epoxy. Both of these products are excellent at what they're meant to do--they keep those loose, sparkly eyeshadows locked onto your eyelids and looking extra vibrant.

Packaging

Hi-Fi's High Impact Shadow Fix comes in a 5.9 ml tube with a doe foot applicator. This is PLENTY of product considering the minuscule amounts you need to apply on your eyelids, so it'll definitely last a while. With Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, you get 10 ml of product.

Texture

In comparison to Pixie Epoxy, Hi-Fi's Shadow Fix is just a little bit tackier and stickier, but still easy to apply.

Eyeshadow Application

Here I applied MAC's Soft Ochre Paintpot as a base, followed by Hi-Fi's High Impact Shadow Fix on the left and Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy on the right. The first swatch for each product was done by patting the eyeshadow on, and the second was done by swiping it. The last is a swatch of purple glitter, as I was testing out how well fine glitter stuck to both bases.

This is where Hi-Fi's Shadow Fix varies a bit with Pixie Epoxy. When applying eyeshadow on my lid (on in this example, my arm), I found that it's much more effective to pat the eyeshadow on versus swiping it across. I have a harder time swiping my eyeshadows on top of the Shadow Fix than I do with Pixie Epoxy, but that's because the eyeshadows stick so darn well to it. The only way they'll budge is if you smudge the Shadow Fix. If you'll notice, the shimmer dulls a bit if I swipe the eyeshadow over Hi-Fi's Shadow Fix.

Durability After Washing

So I thought I was done comparing, really. I started to wash my arm and... yeah, this.

Eyeshadows really do stick to Hi-Fi's Shadow Fix! Generally, I have to take a little more time in applying my eyeshadows as they'll be a little tougher to blend out, but the general overall lasting effect is just as good as Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

New blog layout + NOTD

2010-05-20T16:05:00.001-07:00

Look, look! I made myself a banner, just like the cool blogger girls! I'm still messing with this new layout a bit but I'm pretty much settled in and really liking the new look. ^-^ I like how the entries are a bit easier to read.

I just wanted to show you a NOTD using my very first flakey nail polish, Nyx Purple Ave. I layered it over two coats of China Glaze Unplugged and a top coat by CG that smells like sweet concentrated death in a bottle.

Kinda reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice-cream. Like, you know, if it were reversed. I actually hate mint chocolate chip ice-cream... >_>;

Hi-Fi Cosmetics Haul and Swatches

2010-05-14T18:53:00.001-07:00

I think I picked a great time to finally try out this indie cosmetics brand. Hi-Fi Cosmetics is currently having a sale up until May 23rd to promote their newest product line, the Rockstar Loose Eyeshadows. I went ahead and bought two of the Rockstar shadows and chose a tube of their High Impact Shadow Fix to get for free. How awesome is that? Anyway, here's the goods!

Hell yeah, you see those sample bags on the left? Four free samples wth my order.. how extremely generous! I love MMU companies that spoil customers with samples.

You know you wanna see swatches!

Really lovely colors... my god, that GOLD. The texture is a little different than what I usually expect--these shadows pack some serious glitter! Notorious has aqua and violet glitz that's absolutely beautiful in the sunlight.

I'm curious to continue testing out the High Imact Shadow Fix and see how it compares to Fyrinnae's famed Pixie Epoxy. I did dabble with it a bit, and so far I can tell the texture is a bit different... other than that, I need more time to experiment.

Anyone else planning a Hi-Fi haul? ^^

Urban Decay Summer of Love Shadow Palette Swatches

2010-05-13T18:35:00.001-07:00

I haven't given much love to my most recent Urban Decay purchase, so here's some swatches of UD's Summer of Love Shadow Palette.

I'm so pleased to have gotten this palette, as it contains three eyeshadow colors that I didn't possess among the other Urban Decay palettes that I own (Flash, Maui Wowie and Chopper). It also came with a mini version of UD's Sin primer, something I've been eager to try out for a while. And yeah, can't go wrong in owning yet another Bourbon 24/7 eyeliner. ^-^

Ahoy, swatches! (From left to right: Flash, Maui Wowie, Chopper and Smog)

In sunlight:

In shade:

I'll probably try doing a look with it tomorrow and updating this entry, haha. Brown and purple make a wonderful combination on the eyes, although it doesn't necessarily remind me of summer..

Back from hiatus + Pink Bow Bath Botique Review~

2010-04-24T21:03:00.002-07:00

I’m back! Forgive me for the unannounced hiatus (again), but all the preparations involved with graduation and applying to graduate school has taken a good chunk of my free time these days. This semester has been pretty challenging, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m really psyched to graduate with my Bachleor’s in Agricultural Biology and accepting an amazing award from my college the day before I graduate. ^-^

I discovered a really cute shop a while back on Etsy, called Pink Bow Bath Botique. Amy, the lovely owner, sells a variety of handmade bath and body products that all sport a signature pink, white and black label and a satin pink bow—very girly and cute! I was particularly interested in trying her scented body butter and whipped body frosting, and with scents like “Pink Passionfruit Lemonaide” and “Strawberry Velvet Cake”, I couldn’t resist making an order.

I placed my order in March, and got a full-sized (4 ounce) jar of body butter in “Nectarine Blossoms and Honey” and a whipped body frosting in “Pink Passionfruit Lemonaide”. I also got a one ounce sized jar of “Pink Beach Bunny” whipped body frosting as a freebie for spending over $12 (she offers freebie promotions of her products monthly). Included with my order was two smaller sample jars, about a half-ounce sized sample of “Hawaiian Wedding” and “Pink Watermelon Sugar” whipped body frosting. Overall, I paid $18.95 including shipping. She ships super fast—I got my products in just 4-5 days.

This is the first time I’ve tried a body butter or whipped frosting product, and I’m amazed by their thick and curiously fluffy texture and how rich and moisturizing the formula is. The finish is also completely non-greasy—my skin just absorbs this stuff! Now let me warn ya, I am NOT experienced with describing fragrances, and damn near all scented body products give me mild to severe headaches regardless if I love the scent or not. The scents I chose all suit my personal preferences—I like citrus and delicate fruity/flowery scents that are not overwhelmingly strong. Scents like lavender, cinnamon, and vanilla are ones I try to avoid because they just seem to linger for hours… anyway. Fragrance descriptions are easily found in the product descriptions; for the sake of not making this a tl;dr post, I won’t be posting them here.

With the full size products, a card listing all the ingredients is included, which is extremely convenient and thoughtful (you can kinda see it still attached to one of the jars in the first photo). Honestly, I had a hard time distinguishing the texture of a “body butter” from a “whipped body frosting” until I looked at the cards. The difference, I guessed, is in the formulation. The body butters contain shea and cocoa butter while the whipped body frosting is enhanced with sweet almond oil and apricot kernel oil. The ingredient lists are also easily found under her product descriptions as well. The whipped body frostings do contain parabens in case you have any personal concerns about that ingredient.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience ordering from this shop! Has anyone else had an outstanding Etsy shopping experience lately?

Savage Garden and Chlorophyll

2010-03-18T16:56:00.005-07:00

Hoooly crap guys, what kind of cold bug were you all passing around?! I got sick as a dog last Sunday, haha. I'm still not over this cold, but I've finally gotten some of my energy back AND some quality free time to catch up with some things.

So first up, a FOTD from... two weeks ago, lol. It was friggin' windy outside. >_> I was kinda rushing my makeup like I always do before school, but here's a quickie of me wearing Savage Garden from Archetype. It's pretty amazing over Pixie Epoxy. It shifts between metallic-y blue, purple and green on me. Reaaally pretty.

Next up, a FOTD for today! I wore a much more tame version of this for school (actually, I just did a shitty rushed version and ran out the door), but just did a quick touch-up and lined my eyes more strongly after I got home. I love wearing yellow and orange eyeshadow!

Eyes:

- UDPP (I finally bought a new one!)
- Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
- Fyrinnae Clorophyll all over lid
- Aromaleigh Bumblebee to highlight
- Aromaleigh Agentorange blended very lightly in outer crease
- Black eyeshadow wetlined for eyeliner
- Touchups with Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in Zero
- Prestige White eyeliner to tightline
- L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

No foundation today. Haven't worn any in two weeks because something caused a bad reaction to my skin. :< I may have been over-buffing minerals into my cheek area I think, and my skin's super sensitive and prone to dryness there.

And last but not least, I got me some NYX. The haul was from some crazy sale they were having on their site for a bunch of stuff for a buck each.. I totally caved and grabbed a few things. :X

I like some things, others I don't. The lipglosses were the winners here, but I'll save my babbling about 'em for another day as a review or something. ^-^

Friday FOTD and what are YOUR tips for capturing good photos?

2010-03-02T06:08:00.003-07:00

You know, I look different in the photos I take of me, it's so weird. This one was shot indoors in my bathroom. I did a very strong smoky eye, but ran across my usual problems when trying to capture a look--most of the lid colors love to hide because of my folded eyelids, haha. I actually have to squint or look down to show an open-eye look, but that tends to make me look tired or irritated.

So, I have a few questions for you guys! What problems do you run across when you take photos of your looks? Do you have any good tips for achieving consistency? What kind of lighting suits you best? Are camera settings very important, and if so, what do you use?

The missing haul - Archetype Cosmetics

2010-02-27T12:54:00.006-07:00

Words cannot express the mixture of emotions I felt when I received my Archetype order in the mail yesterday afternoon. Over five fucking months after I ordered, it finally arrived. I had to restrain myself from pitching the package across the street.

Be forewarned, I am a woman scorned by this terrible, terrible company. This "review" is not going to be pretty, my dears (I will be dropping a few more F-bombs). No paying customer should EVER be treated this way.

Despite having heard of the 1-2 month processing time of Archetype Cosmetics, I placed an order for a large variety of samples from their site on September 4th, 2009. I reasoned with myself that the wait would be worth getting so many complex and beautiful shades at such a cheap price: .25 cents each!

That, right there, is the most ignorant decision I've made as a consumer. As time passed beyond my chance to file a Paypal dispute, I grew concerned and started doing a little research. Why I didn't do this BEFORE I ordered is a mistake I've never repeated since. This company has HORRIBLE reviews. Many unfortunate women never even got their orders, and those who did had to go through the trouble of contacting the owner, Holly, directly by phone and voicing complaints to get their order going. E-mailing the woman is utterly pointless--she will not respond.

Anyway, on to some photos I took. Let's have a gander on what I got, shall we?

My order arrived in a bubble-mailer. Hm, I was charged $2.75 for shipping and according to that stamp on the right-handed corner, it cost $1.22.

What the samples I got are packaged in. My invoice was also included (not pictured), and it has a printing date of October 20, 2009. Which I guess means they at least got to my order then, but decided to piss around and take their time packing it for the next four months.

What the samples look like. I will admit, they are very lovely. I ordered around 70 of the little suckers. After checking them through with my invoice, it turns out I'm missing a color and got two of another one. Y'know, if they were gunna take this long to prepare my order, they could at least get it right. Hell, they could have at least also included extras as a courtesy (I've read of some customers who were able to get in contact with Holly, and after a direct complaint, got some full-sizes as extras) but nope, I got nada. Fuck 'em.

To conclude this horror story, I'm amazed I got my order at all. According to their site as of right now, they finally shipped all orders up to mid-February out. They also updated their FAQ page with new information on their shipping methods. They're supposedly getting their shit in order by having changed to a new shipping system this month. And joy of joys! Despite being HORRENDOUSLY behind on shipping orders, they somehow managed to find the time and energy to create an "Anti-Valentine" collection up for February! ~~For fuck's sake...~~

------------------------------

Tl;dr version: Archetype Cosmetics and their customer service is shit-tier. Do not order from them unless you are a consumer-masochist and enjoy being treated like the dirt you tread on.

DENIED.

2010-02-25T14:43:00.002-07:00

So I guess it's safe to say that I have another budding addiction-- nail polish. Here's my nail polish collection as it stands right now: I have a little over 50 for sure, but I'm not going to count. :X

There's just something about glittery polishes that compels me to buy them. Some are awesome, some are downright tacky, but I don't discriminate. They satisfy my "ooh, shiny~" impulses and give me something to look at when I'm in class, staring at my finger tips instead of paying attention to statistic lectures.

Browsing Ebay today, I stumbled across this polish: Revlon's Street Wear Confetti. It's one of those elusive polishes, as many from that line are discontinued and really tough to find.

I shamelessly ganked this image from the seller; I did NOT photograph this. You can check out the listing for this polish here.

BUT ANYWAY. Ohgod, I'm not sure if it'd look gaudy but I just love those confetti shapes! Too bad its bid is already over flippin' $13 with shipping. Looking at how much one of these sold for on Ebay very recently, it damn near reached $50 bucks!

Ever discover an amazing beauty product, only to find that owning it would be damn near impossible?

Aromaleigh Rocks! Swatches

2010-02-20T12:48:00.003-07:00

So here we are, swatches of some of my most favorite colors from Aromaleigh's Rocks! line. Aromaleigh Rocks! eyeshadows are some of the brightest you'll find in indie makeup. However, it's important to note that these shadows aren't made purely with natural minerals; in order to produce these vivid shades, organic dyes are incorporated into the formula.

Anyway, on to the swatches! And silly me, forgot to mention that these swatches are done dry and without a base.

Group shot of all the colors I swatched. As you can see, it was a bit cloudy outside so these swatches aren't in full sunlight, but not in full shade either.

Planetearth: subtly shimmering intense primary blue with pink sparkles
Moonagedaydream: exquisite deep teal blue with gold shimmer
Brownsugar: sugary sweet rosy brown with green and blue shimmers
Dirtydeeds: deep burgundy red with opposing blue and green sparkle shimmer

Dominion: a spectacular indigo blue accented by dark gold glimmer
Stillinhollywood: rich, dark amethyst purple with sparks of gold and copper throughout
Flowersofromance: delicious rosy hue with a punch. Blue-green glitters
Velvetgoldmine: terracotta redux with glam golden sparkles

Doubledare: deep greyed purple with intense green sparkles
Shadowplay: teal green iridescent glitz fades to the blackest black
Rockbottom: deepest darkest sinful brown with dark indigo blue sparks
Slowburn: velvety rich chocolate with deep copper tones and purple sparks

Downwardspiral: deep dark burgundy with hot golden sparks
Blackangel: midnight black... with innocent pink highlight sparkles

While the line carries plenty of vivid mattes with sparkle, I tend to gravitate to their more shimmery colors that possessed the unexpected contrasting sparkle. These are definitely worth checking out.

Aromaleigh Rocks! Haul

2010-02-19T18:10:00.002-07:00

Sooooo, since Aromaleigh has their entire Sonic Rocks! line on a 35% off clearance sale (they're gunna reformulate the whole collection, woot!), I decided to do the one thing that eyeshadow junkies do best--I hauled.

And today, my order was waiting patiently in my mailbox. I ordered on the 15th, so it took only 4 days to arrive. Yup, they never cease to amaze me with their insanely fast shipping.

Standard Aromaleigh packaging. Every order I've ever recieved from them has been thoughtfully packaged this way, regardless of how big or small it was. You can always expect to find a lovely handwritten thank you in your invoice as well!

I got a total of 9 Rocks! eyeshadows (one was free with a coupon code). I also got a sample of Aromaleigh's illuminating perle powder called In Bloom. For my choice of 3 free eyeshadow samples, I got Solange and Sabine from the Bete Noire collection, and Circe, an eye lustre. The lippie sample you receive with every order is random. Pinafore is a nourishing color creme. It looks damn scary in the bag (to me at least), but the color actually applies sheer.

I don't always do a haul post, but think of it as a taste for things to come... ;D

Sunday's best...(FOTD)

2010-02-08T21:15:00.004-07:00

Quick FOTD! Well, for yesterday anyway. :X I wanted to do a look using Aromaleigh Angel pigments...

EYES

- UDPP
- MAC Paintpot in Soft Ochre as a base
- Aromaleigh Angel's Ethereal Angel on inner 2/3s of lids
- Aromaleigh Angel's Loretha blended on outer third of lids

- Urban Decay shadow in Zero wetlined on upper lids
- L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

FACE

- Earthen Glow Youthful Glow Foundation in Emily
- Jane Be Pure Mineral Blush in Soft Mink (shimmery peach)

LIPS

- NYX Megashine Lipgloss in La~La

Siiigh...I'm so sad the Aromaleigh Angel donor's program had to end prematurely. I had a full size of DeEtta ordered with Ethereal Angel, but I guess they sold out and I didn't get it. :/ Had I known that would happen, I would have ordered Blue Skies instead... ah well! Ethereal Angel is my new HG all-over lid color, I've been pairing it with EVERYTHING lately.

Happy 101 tag!

2010-01-16T23:34:00.004-07:00

I was tagged by the lovely Heather! So here we go, the 10 things that make me happy.. (besides makeup, of course).

1. Smoothies. My lifeblood. I live off these things. I'm the only idiot drinking smoothies when its 40 degrees out.

2. Chips. I am a chip FIEND. I always have at least 3-4 different kinds in the house somewhere.

3. My turtles. I love my babies. I play with them every day when they're not being sleepybutts during the winter. :3

4. Tokidoki. Some people like Sanrio, I like Tokidoki. Same diff', they're all super cute!

5. Drawing. I used to do it a lot, but I hardly have the inspiration anymore. My style has strong anime influences.

6. Insects. I've got hissers for pets. (But I'm going to NOT show picures of myself playing with roaches for the sake of my readership)

7. Music. Electronic, rock, ska, DnB, triphop and indie are my favorite genres. Here's a song I've been frequently listening to, just for kicks:

8. Stand up comedy. Because laughter's good for the soul.

9. MEXICAN FOOD OMNOMNOMNOM. Authentic mexican, pseudo-mexican, white people's mexican... I eat all kinds of mexican food. The hotter the better.

10. Teh ghaems! Right now, I'm playing a lot of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.

I've seen this tag floating around a lot, so I tag YOU if you haven't done it!

Bye bye About Face

2010-01-15T19:51:00.005-07:00

So I found out yesterday that The She Space is renovating shop. Like, big time. About Face Cosmetics has officially been discontinued. As a result, full size eyeshadows are now $2.50 each, making it the best and last chance to stock up on or try new colors from this lovely company at a super discounted price.

I made a small order of a few colors I've enjoyed full-sized (Kitty Kat, Hot Cha-Cha and Wasted Space) as well as a few samples from their Astrology collection. I'm a little surprised still to see About Face phasing itself out like this, but it's for the best in regards to Heather (the owner) and the message she truly wants her company to reflect.

Anyone complementing their potentially last order from this company? I know it took me a while, haha.

Not cooky about Kookie

2010-01-06T18:52:00.004-07:00

I like mattes. I like--no, LOVE Aromaleigh.

But I don't know what the hell happened when I was getting ready for work today. Whipping through my set of Aromaleigh Retro Hi-Fi Mattes samples, I pulled out Kookie and concluded that I'd try a pink look today, paired with maybe Aromaleigh's Eggplant or Shadow Witch or some kind of deep purple...

I primed my lids with MAC Soft Ochre, patted on Kookie, described as "The girliest cool pink ever. Poodle skirts all the way." Girly cool pink? Gotcha!

I pat on the shadow across my lid with my brush, and as I begin to lightly blend I watched in silent horror as it transformed into a smooth cast of white.

What the flip? What is this? Damn you Kookie, you promised me girly pink!

I had no idea what to do. I was gunna be late for work, so I threw on Fyrinnae's Kitten in Heels along my crease and blended into the white so I had a pink gradient going. So yeah, the pink you're seeing there is NOT Kookie.

I don't know what happened; does anyone else have this problem with the lighter colors in this collection? Or is my application method all wrong?

The forgotten haul - Sassy Minerals

2009-12-29T19:15:00.004-07:00

So way, way back in time... let's say early October, I received a small sample order from Sassy Minerals. I think it's about time I showed some of these wonderfully unique colors to you. Although, I'm somewhat relieved that I put it off for this long cause I'm kind of too broke these days to indulge in more eyeshadows (except from Aromaleigh.. I ALWAYS make exceptions when Aromaleigh has amazing sales!) My wallet is sad. :/

They're not swatch pics, but if you need a pretty accurate representation of the colors as seen in the pot, these are pretty good. I just kind of hate it when I take photos of things on the carpet. However, the colors manage to look accurate here.

I gotta say my favorites out of this batch are Lyrical, Pyche, Fierce, After Party and Ice on Fire. So pigmented! So multi-faceted! Especially Ice on Fire... on their website, the photo doesn't show the sparks of golden shimmer that this shadow possesses.

Favor, Logical Choice and Quirky are their silk luster shadows; they're not sparkly but possess a pretty low-shimmer sheen.

Edit: Ahoy, some watches! Colors are swatched on NYX Eyeliner Base.

Merry Christmas + Kleancolor and Princessa nail polish haul

2009-12-26T14:13:00.004-07:00

This Christmas was pretty awesome! ^^ I hope everyone else had a great time with friends and family~!

Not only did I go really overboard buying tons of nice things for my family, friends and boyfriend, I think I'm ridiculously spoiled this year as well.

Here's just a few things I got.. a godly awesome Tokidoki bag (this brings my total number of Tokidoki bags to 3 now), an insect book (I'm an aspiring entomologist after all~) and a MAC paintpot in Soft Ochre. Just felt like taking a picture of them because they're small enough to fit in a photo. :D

Anyway, so this post isn't just about Christmas gifting, I thought I'd share photos of a nail polish haul from my mall's Jewelry Box store. Jewelry Box is kind of like a dollar store where you can find jewelry and beauty/cosmetic items for a dollar each. Princess and Kleancolor are two brands that are pretty commonly found there, and I enjoy grabbing up their glitter polishes whenever I have a few bucks to spare.

I think Kleancolor glitters are great for what they're intended, but their other polishes take a while to dry and require about 3 coats for opaqueness. But for under a buck each, I really don't mind experimenting with 'em. ^^

Birthday woes, Geo Nudy Gray and Milani's Totally Cool

2009-12-21T20:08:00.007-07:00

...Sort of a screwed up title, isn't it? I don't really know what to say. My birthday was a while back (December 1st) and I am now officially 24. ~~Ugh.~~

Before you roll your eyes (as it will be inevitable by the time you've read this mini-rant), lemmie tell ya something. I've hated birthdays since I hit 20. I've got a bit of a "Peter Pan" syndrome and can't stand getting older. I've been in a midlife crisis since I grew out of being a teen, haha. I've always thought that by the time I hit 30 I should have all my shit in order or something. This past year, I've been mildly ~~disturbed~~ ~~distressed~~ surprised to see some of my friends already married and some already on their way to having their first kid. Holy hell. Is that where I should be at this age? What an intimidating feeling... I guess some people just grow up early..

Anyway, I may hate birthdays but even someone with a skewered outlook at life like myself loves to get presents, like this one:

Welcome home, Urban Decay Book of Shadows numero dos! It is in every respect as gorgeous as I expected it to be, but alas, we have not had much time to get very acquainted. I blame finals. :<

I've also neglected to mention that I like circle lenses but have never really blogged about 'em. I only own one pair right now, and that's the Geo Nudy lenses in Gray.

This is my impression of a bug! :D

I'm kiddiiiiing. They're very flattering lenses! The first time I wore them I experienced some discomfort, but after that I had little problems adjusting to them. I don't wear them daily... maybe once a week, if that. They help distract from the dark circles I have under my eyes, which are somewhat distinct here because I'm not wearing any foundation.

I love the way they reflect light--very doll like. Also, I've been trying out a new foundation from Earthen Glow Minerals and I think Emily's a good match. I like the Youthful Glow formulation because I prefer a lighter coverage that's enough to just even out my skintone. It doesn't make the dry parts of my skin flaky either, but I seem to get kind of oily around my T-zone more than I do wearing other foundations, baw. I'll see what I can find that'll help remedy that, because this is really close to being a HG cold season foundation for me. ^-^

Last but not least, is this not the most awesome looking purple nail polish ever?

Milani's Totally Cool. Forgive it for its stupid name. It has an interesting blue-toned jelly base despite being predominantly dark purple and you need 3 coats before it's opaque and not streaky-looking in direct sunlight (realized this the hard way, hence why I lack nail pics). I love this color to death. Love love the color-shifting shimmers. Love. When you find it, get it. Cherish it. Never let it go. Your life is incomplete until you have this damn polish. Am I getting redundant yet? Why are you still reading this.. T__T

Catching up!

2009-11-25T18:18:00.005-07:00

Hello dear readers! I've been a ghost again; college has been really demanding the past few weeks. So what the heck have I been up to besides cramming for exams and writing up term papers?

First and foremost, I won my first giveaway, courtesy of Nea from Fashioned in Finland:

Yay for foreign free things! Nea sent me an assortment of asian products and samples such as face masks, a mascara shield, eyeshadow and perfume. ^_^ Thanks again Nea!

Also, just the other day it was time for me to get my license renewed. Finally, the opportunity came for me to finally be rid of that photo of my awkward, 16-year-old self with short crimped hair and that "I'm high as a kite" smile. Trust me, it's godawful.

So what are some helpful tips in taking a good drivers license photo?

1. Wear something that doesn't make you blend into that blinding blue backdrop they use for your photo. Also, make sure you're not wearing a tube top unless you're chill with looking nude.

2. Don't get too nuts with the makeup. Everything in moderation! However, since the place I go to takes photos that makes people look 4 shades darker than they really are, I wore a lighter foundation. Watch, this will probably bite me in the ass when I get my new license and I'll end up looking like something that crawled out of Twilight..

3. Perfect your smile and posture. You know how it goes, people tend to look 10 pounds heavier than they really are in their photo. To slim your frame, stand straight and pull your shoulders back. Lift your head slightly, this will lengthen your neck. The Myspace pose won't cut it here.

4. Don't blink. A good way to prevent this is to close your eyes a few seconds right before the shot is taken.

5. Of course, if you don't get a chance to pose properly and smile before the photo is shot... pray to whatever god/deity/saint you believe in that you'll get lucky this time. But if that wasn't the case... congratulations! You are now the proud owner of an embarrassing drivers license photo like everyone else. :D

Despite my skin being dry and irritable, I went all out with my little makeover in preparation for my shiny new photo. I wore Charmzone's Natural Skinmade B.B Cream, and while it evened out my skintone and neutralized the redness on my cheeks.. my skin just did not like it that day. Phooey. Ah well, I'm sure the camera won't pick up the fact that my skin's as dry as the Sahara...

Aaaand my nails! They're a nice dark green at the moment with multicolor glitter. I used Wet'n Wild's Craze nail polish in Morbid as a base (terrible color.. I was hoping it would be a dark smoky teal but after applying it, it looked dull and gray) followed by Sinful Color's San Francisco and lastly, a glitter by Wet 'n Wild called Starry Night.

Hard Candy mini haul

2009-10-08T16:17:00.006-07:00

So today I swung by the local Wally Mart in search of glitter nail polishes and to see if I still had a chance of stocking up on Max Factor's 2000 Calorie Mascara. I was TOO LATE. Max Factor is officially no more, sadness~

In Max Factor's place, however, was the Hard Candy line.. the likes of which I've heard of every so often but never opted to give a damn about because they just happen to use the same name as the title of a story I've been working on since a few years before I even heard of this brand, ~~the jerks~~. Speaking of Hard Candy, there's a movie that goes by that same name that's pretty interesting if you like psychological thrillers. Don't I love to go off-topic~?

Ah well screw it all, I picked up some stuff anyway.

I really like the packaging of their baked eyeshadow duos.. but not so much their eyeshadow palettes that come with a little tube of eyeshadow primer. I didn't have too many choices going for me as the stand was half empty, so three baked shadows was what I could salvage from the mess of unorganized, misplaced and previously opened products. These duos are $6 a pop, a little pricey but I just can't help but gravitate to new (and shiny!) things. Except their nail polish.. $5 each, are you effing kidding me? Christ are the bottles butt-ugly to boot, I actually cringed looking at them. D:

I feel sad that none of my swatch pics turned out good, so sorry, no swatches today! But I can assure you that the pigmentation on these shadows are pretty good. ^^ I'll probably try grabbing up some others once they have their more popular colors back in stock.

Everyday Minerals: Everynight Collection

2009-09-26T14:17:00.005-07:00

Long time no post, right? It's been over two weeks since I got my little Everyday Minerals haul at my doorstep and I've been wanting to share some swatches with you all!

So this is the first time I've bought eyeshadows from them, haha. I love thier foundations, I've dabbled with their blushes.. but eyeshadows? Totally overlooked 'em! So along with some blush samples (which I can do a review for you guys soon) and their renowned flat top brush, I went ahead and got their Everynight Kit.

Delicious swatches, ahoy!:

In sunlight:

In shade:

Hmm, they're pretty nice eyeshadows... very smooth to apply. The texture is very silky. Angel's Trumpet is pretty much my fave here, it's just about the perfect silver I've been looking for without being intensely metallic (like that one crazy silver from L'oreal HIP Platinum duo..)

I also got my very first MAC sample pigments a while back too. AND my first Fyrinnae haul... sigh. I've got a lot coming up, that's for sure. Sometime soon, I'll set time aside to attempt a few looks as well, so look forward to those! ^-^

Bella Pierre Mineral Eyeshadows

2009-09-05T14:01:00.003-07:00

So here's my growing collection of mineral eyeshadows by Bella Pierre Cosmetics. This is an internationally known natural makeup company, and a fairly reasonably priced one at that if you take advantage of sales. The smaller shadow pots contain 1.76 grams of product, and I believe I bought those for around $9 each at our local outlet mall. Recently, I also got ahold of three of their eyeshadows that were housed in bigger pots, containing 2.35 grams of product. They were $15 each originally, but they had a buy two get one free sale that made these a good bargain, imo. ^_^ Swatches, anyone?

But of course. ♥ Granted, not the best I could do because it's been pretty cloudy these past few days and so the colors aren't as vivid as they ought to be in this photo. Every one of these shadows are highly pigmented and blend awesomely. Coral Reef is a great warm-toned, shimmery lid color for some of my most favorite looks. I pair it frequently with Whesek (a blue-toned steely silver) and Refined (blackened, shimmery navy blue). Reluctance looks like a taupe in some lighting but is definitely more on the green side. Fancy is a pretty neutral brown with glimmers of silver throughout. They're really great shades and I can pull off a lot of looks with just the five that I own.

I haven't tried their other face products yet, but their mineral blushes look very lovely. Has anyone else tried this brand? What are your thoughts? ^^

Happy fun glitter palooza~!

2009-08-24T18:52:00.002-07:00

So I finally repainted my nails again, right on time for the beginning of fall semester. I couldn't wait to try this dark blue Kleancolor nail polish that I got from a JewelryBox store at our mall this past weekend. I love paying less than a buck for nail polish and other miscellaneous crap, ahah~<3

But first, I gotta warn you. I chip polish like nobody's business. That, and my nails are usually painted different colors by default. And so, on the left hand we have China Glaze's Black Diamond layered over with one coat of Kleancolor Pinky Way and Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter (Grey and pink ftw!).

Aaaaand on the right, Kleancolor Nail Laquer in Neon Sapphire (wtf? no sir, that's no neon) and Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor on top.

The dark blue polish needs just two coats to be pretty opaque for me, but it takes AAAAGES to dry, as evidenced by the fact that I nudged the tips of almost every one of my painted fingertips, whoops. SC's Pearl Harbor makes it look amazing.. the photo just doesn't show the interference of blue and green glimmers that shift color depending on the light. Awesome, awesome color.

NYX and purple lipstick swatches

2009-07-29T17:51:00.001-07:00

Hokie dokie, now this is something you won't see me do often, if ever again. Swatching lipsticks, haha. It's not that I don't like to, it's just that I never use any. But for the sake of having some (for god knows what event), I had bought some NYX Round Lipsticks a few months ago. They're super creamy, pigmented, CHEAP, and NYX has so many colors it's kind of mindboggling..

So here's my very (and I mean very) humble collection of lippies, swatched in shade AND in sunlight, ohsnap! From left to right: Iris, Honey, Margarita and Doll.

In shade:

In sunlight:

And purple lippies? They're a little harder to find, but they do indeed exist! Granted I'd never wear this color on my lips, but my mom's a total BA and somehow makes the color work on her (and she's over 60). That just goes to show you that purple lipstick can be pretty awesome if you know how to rock it! Below are swatches of two NYX Round Lipsticks in Eggplant and Medussa (I spelt it wrong in the first photo, go me!), and Stargazer Lipstick #133.

In shade:

In sunlight:

The Stargazer purple lippie makes me a little sad. First of all, it smells like old crayons. Secondly, it's formula is just not as creamy compared to the NYX brand and it just kinda smudged around on my arm when I was trying to swatch it. It's a pretty cool-toned purple color and it can be utilized effectively with some effort.. but ew. No likey.

Also, if anyone knows of a dupe lipstick shade of Lancome's Rouge Sensation lipstick in Damsel, do tell me! One of the main reasons I even give lippies a second glance-over is because I love hunting for new products to replace my dear mum's discontinued beauty products. It's a dark rosey-plum shade.. pretty hard to describe and I can't really supply a swatch. :<

16 Random Facts About Me + China Glaze Tree Hugger

2009-07-24T15:46:00.003-07:00

16 Random Facts About Me

Directions: once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with sixteen random things, facts, habits or goals about you. at the end choose ten people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. don’t forget to leave them a comment (“you’re it”) and to read your blog. you can’t tag the person who tagged you. since you can’t tag me, let me know when you’ve posted your blog, so i can see your weirdness.

TAGGED BY: No one, I stole this, bwahahahah~

one: I'm like, 1% albino. I have a stark white birthmark on my upper left arm. :D

two: I haaate driving. I've got the worst road rage on top of that. I've got that whole "If you drive slower than me, you're an idiot; if you drive faster than me, you're an effing lunatic" metality, sadly.

three: I don't think I own a single pair of shorts anymore, haha. I wear jeans, and on rare occasions skirts with leggings.

four: I cry super easily. I'm pretty emotionally-sensitive and it's a trait of mine I really dislike in general.. sigh. Oh well~

five: I have Madagascar hissing cockroaches for pets. Like.. a whole colony of them. I feed them tropical fish flakes and lettuce and keep them segragated by gender.

six: I give most of my friends and coworkers I'm comfortable with nicknames. They're not always especially nice ones either, particularly if the person in question is a guy. But it's my little way of showing that I accept someone.

seven: My favorite drinks are smoothies. As for the alcoholic variety, I don't care for beer and I drink hard liquor straight because I'm classy like that. :|

eight: I don't smoke and I hate the smell of cigarettes.

nine: I do love the smell of fresh new textbooks and those little rubber superballs that you get for 50 cents.

ten: I curse. A LOT. I don't do so in this blog but I actually have a very crude, sarcastic, smart-assed style of writing/blogging/speaking by default.

eleven: I enjoy feeding birds fried chicken.

twelve: I can't tell when I'm thirsty. About a year ago I had to go to the hospital because I hadn't been drinking enough fluids for some time and developed a kidney infection. Had to get an IV put in to rehydrate myself and all that super fun stuff...

thirteen: I have no sense of direction. You say turn left, I'll turn right. D:

fourteen: I want to be an entomologist in the near future. It makes me sad when people immediately choose to crush and destroy harmless insects because they don't know any better and have irrational fears over something that is ridiculously smaller than they are. They are extremely intriguing animals.. I wish people were more curious about what lives among them, I guess.

fifteen: When I was a little girl, I almost died by nearly falling out of a roller coaster becuase I was too small to be riding it.

sixteen: You couldn't bribe me to skydive for 10 million dollars. My fear of heights is something I doubt I could ever conquer.

Yay, so I hope you all got to learn a little more about me. And if you've never done this meme before.. TAG, YOU'RE IT! ^-^

And just to make this blog at least somewhat beauty related, I changed my nail color to my favorite one ever, China Glaze's Tree Hugger. I don't have particularly nice nails.. they're brittle and peel easily because of those blasted powdered gloves I always wear in the laboratory. But I really feel like this color was made for me.. springy leaf-green polish is love.

Bonus picture: I has a baby turtle! This one is one of my ornate box turtle twins.. either Eggi (means "baby" in Korean) or Sukoshi (means "little" in Japanese), I'm not so sure which. D: He's very curious and kept poking his nose against the polish bottle, hehe.

Kat Von D Gypsy Palette

2009-07-06T15:39:00.007-07:00

Yay, so a while ago my Kat Von D Gypsy palette arrived! Been super excited to get this one, as I love a palette with a lot of green! Pretty pretty pretty~ And just look at the case design~

Pure win, yes? You're darn right it is.

I snagged the palette for about $26 on Ebay, and it came with a nice little extra, a body shimmer by Caboodles. The applicator has a brush to dust the shimmers on, and it actually works pretty nicely. Someting nice to have around for sure. ^^

Anyway, the names of the colors are pretty nifty in their own right too. From left to right the colors are Lucifer, Stryker, Frankie, Hawkwind, Brass Knuckles (which is a shimmery yellow cream eyeshadow) Birdcage, Ego Sum, and Gunner.

No swatches unfortunately, as I figured a photo of how they applied on my eyelids would suffice. Well.. honestly? Shortly afterwards I accidently dropped the darn thing and cracked Gunner, so I was bawwing over that and didn't want to push my luck anymore. >_>; And what's even more sad was a week before THAT, I dropped my quad I got from PaintFX and it shattered ALL OVER my bathroom floor. Fuuuuu--anyway, back on topic.

I'm really impressed with what I was able to do with this palette. The greens are INTENSE. I achieved this look using Brass Knuckles as a base and using the other greens to blend a gradient across my eye. I also used a little of Lucifer to smoke out the outer edges a little. Hawkwind makes an excellent iridescent yellow-green highlighter to blend everything together and highlight the browbone.

Superb palette... probably my most favorite one that I own now, haha. It pops up on Ebay on occasion for cheaper than you'll find it on Sephora (where it sells for $36), so look out for a good deal there if at all possible. ^^

Starshine, Never Gunna Find Me - FOTD

2009-06-30T14:42:00.010-07:00

My face of the day while braving the crazy stormy weather this morning. It stinks driving through a rain cloud in the mountains, haha. I don't usually do bright makeup unless I kinda have a feeling that my day isn't going to be so great.. and I was right.

EYES:

- UDPP all over lid
- Aromaleigh Alexandrite on lid
- Light dusting of TSS No Scruples over Alexandrite (wanted a stronger purple, haha)
- TSS Indulgent Appetite above the lid, crease area
- Outer crease countouring using Aromaleigh Rocks! Obsession
- Urban Decay Fishnet on corners and along lower eyelid
- Aromaleigh Angel Wing (iridescent pink) to blend, up to brow bone
- Urban Decay Zero lined on upper lid
- L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

FACE:

- Aromaleigh Glissade Foundation (3WL)
- MAC Fix + Spray to set
- Palladio Rice Powder in Translucent (SMELLS LIKE GRANDMA'S PERFUME! T__T *chokes, dies*)

LIPS:

- Aah, frick. I'm not wearing anything on them atm. Dry and chappy lips ftw! :D

Also, I hate my hair. Got it cut the other day.. and at this rate, if I lose any more of the long lengths, I'm going to have a full-on mullet. *sigh* Looks alright still side-profile wise, I suppose. But now my head seems unnaturally long. D: Fuuuugh.

Paint Fx Cosmetics

2009-06-11T18:32:00.008-07:00

Amazing, I have over 10 followers! ^_^ Thanks guys, I really appreciate that you all visit to read my blogs and leave me comments. Starting this blog has turned out to be a really enjoyable pasttime for me, and I look forward to entertaining you all with more of my little makeup discoveries.

So it's been a few ~~days~~ weeks... and my order from PaintFX Cosmetics arrived! I thought since I've been seeing some blogs doing reviews on iridescent eyeshadows, I'd jump the bandwagon I missed weeks ago and talk about a quad of really pretty iridescent eyeshadows that I came across.

What a cute little mirrored compact! Mine arrived with four pressed iridescent eyeshadow hues in blue, red, purple and green. On the website however, the photo of the compact shows a yellow iridescent shadow instead of a purple one that comes with the quad. I think I would have preferred getting the yellow shadow instead of the purple or green (so I'd have three primary colors), but it's still a very useful quad. For only $12.50, it's a great bargain.

The shadows have a shimmery/frosty finish and apply very smoothly. This photo isn't the best representation of the shades because it was cloudy out and I didn't have enough light to really show off their brilliance.

Aaaaand the rest of the haul, which consists of three other mica pigments that came in cute little paint jars. Clever! The primer and pigment sample were free extras. I need to get around to testing out the primer...

Of course, I made swatches. Again, please forgive the lighting! Left to right are the colors Savage, Mortalous, Graze and Prosperous. I really love Graze, it's a stormy blue colored matte base with subtle pink, purple and blue shimmers. Prosperous looks poopy in the photo, but it's really a very pretty shimmery golden-mustard pigment. Yeah, I'm completely unorthodox with my color descriptions sometimes.. ;X

Till next time ladies, have a good weekend~!

Benefit Cosmetics Creaseless Eyeshadow - Skinny Jeans

2009-05-18T18:38:00.015-07:00

Yay, so I finally got around to getting a cream eyeshadow I've been coveting: Benefit Cosmetic's Skinny Jeans. It's a pretty taupey/pewter shade with subtle shimmer, and a potentially good base for a smokey eye. It's not entirely creaseless for me, however--darn you, oily lids! D;

Picture of the eyeshadow pot from the back.

The cream eyeshadow is very smooth and easy to apply. It feels sort of... well, greasy for a sec until it's dried.

And here's the swatch on my arm. It's a totally awesome color, but that just very well be due to my inherent love of dark, smokey taupes (or pewter--whatever the heck it is. Really, it's got a lot going on to it that photos simply can't capture!) This was a great find for me at $15.99 on Ebay, as it sells for $19 at Sephora.com. Gotta love how it came packaged with a little booklet of instructions on how to apply it as a shadow or liner too. ^^

So did this eyeshadow meet my expectations? Eh, not so much. After all, I expected it to be creaseless on my lids like it ought to, but that didn't turn out so hot. But after paying $16 bucks for it, I'm definitely going to make an effort to utilize it the best I can.

An introduction~

2009-05-18T15:49:00.004-07:00

Hello and welcome to my brand spankin' new blog! My name is Kim, I'm presently 23 years old and a university student with unsurprisingly too much free time on my hands. Oh, and I have this little obsession with makeup--but let's just call it a hobby, shall we? I'm primarily a bit of an eyeshadow junkie, though nail polish and other lovelies occasionally perk my interests. Outside of my blossoming makeup obsession, I'm an insect and turtle/tortoise enthusiast as well as a huge nerd when it comes to music, movies, art and video games.

I made this blog so that I could better keep track of the dozens of makeup blogs I'm a regular reader of. This way, I won't feel like such a lurker/stranger to you all. ^^ I'll also make an effort to contribute my own findings and swatches when I can, so feel free to follow me if you like. Thanks for dropping by! ^-^/