Archive for February 2012

China Glaze Colors From the Capitol Collection: Agro

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

I like the alliteration in the title of this post. Today, I have the polish Agro! It was the polish that I was most interested in from this collection and I especially wanted it because it looks somewhat like Peace On Earth from the 2010 holiday collection that I never picked up.

It's a very fine golden olive shimmer, no- more like a subdued frost. You can kind of see the streaks, but it's not as bad as some frosts. The formula was weird as heck. Scrangie mentioned that the polishes were 'fluffy' and that's a good way of describing it. It's not that the polish is too thick or dense and a few drops of thinner can sort it all out, it's more like the formula feels whipped or like mousse. I only have two coats on but it looked like I had four regular polish coats. Just... odd.

I didn't like the color as much as I thought I would, to be honest. It looked dull, like unpolished brass. So I topped it off with a coat of China Glaze Zombie Zest.

I loved this combination! It's hard to tell in the pictures but the flecks in Zombie Zest shift colors. Take a look at the bottom part of the bottle to see what I mean.

So glowy!

What do you think? Do you like Agro by itself or do you like it better with Zombie Zest on top?

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

*CLOSED** Win Polishes From China Glaze Colors From the Capitol!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I really wanted to have another giveaway and since the last few were unfortunately, limited to US residents I wanted to make sure that this one was open to international readers too!

What one reader will win:

5 shades from the brand spankin' new Colors From the Capitol Collection, inspired from the upcoming movie The Hunger Games (which is in turn, based on a book, the first of a trilogy). Click here to see Scrangie's swatches.

The shades are:

Luxe and Lush- a clear polish with prismatic shards
Mahogany Magic- an interesting brown creme
Hook and Line- a taupe pearl finish
Riveting - a screaming orange with flecks
Fast Track- a soft tan with golden flecks

All you have to win is to fill out the following form. (Not a comment. The form!) It's simple.

+1 Entry for just being a reader. (Let me know what email address to contact you with and how you follow this blog)
+1 Entry if you decide to tell others about this giveaway, linking back to this post. (Link the relevant Twitter status or blog post or what not).

That's it. No extreme hoops to jump through. I just want to give someone some polishes and if you'd tell other people so that they might win for themselves, that'd be awesome too.

****THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED****

Products in this giveaway were purchased by me for the sole purpose of giving them away to strangers I met on the interwebz.

FOTD.

Monday, February 27, 2012

It's weird how washed out this lip color looks. In real life, it's bloody, intense red.

I used:

Brows: NARS Bali shadow, La Femme Eyebrow Sealer

Eyes: Kiss Me Heroine Make Volume + Curl Mascara

Face: MUFE Full Cover Concealer, MUFE Matt Velvet foundation mixed with MUFE HD foundation, Stila Convertible Color in Peony, Rock & Republic Pressed Powder

Lips: Rock & Republic Cougar gloss

I'm pretty sure my camera's flash is cooked. :(

Glitter Gal Sunday: Turbulence

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Today I have a gorgeous linear holo to show you, Glitter Gal Turbulence. It's probably one of the most holo-y polishes I've ever laid my eyes on. I don't think that 'silver' is a good way to describe this holo, it almost has a colorless base. If I had to name the base color, I'd say that it was a soft ash white.

It's quite sheer. I've worn it here with three coats but I can still see a bit of my smile line.

I figured that it would also look great as a topcoat for lighter pastel shades and I wasn't wrong. Here, I've used one coat of Turbulence on top of Spoiled Toad-ally Amazing.

Isn't that lovely?

Have a great night! Anyone else watching the Oscars tonight?

Product featured was given to me as a prize, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Zoya Edyta

Friday, February 24, 2012

This polish was sitting in my untried pile for the longest time. I was sort of in awe, too scared to use it. I finally did last week and it's not quite what I thought it would be. To me, it definitely looked better in the bottle.

Edyta is gunmetal/green/gold with a tinge of blue in the background. I only know that the blue is there because I waited so long to try it that my bottle just sat there and the contents separated.

I also wore it with a matte coat on top (OCC Flatline).

I liked it matte. It sort of has a stone-like appearance. I think I'd like it even more with gold stamping or something like that.

This polish was a bit messy to remove. I suggest using the foil and felt/cotton method as you would with glitter polish and use brisk movements, moving the cotton in one direction (away from your cuticles). Or else you might end up with golden sparkle all over your skin as well as some interesting blue staining.

Do you have Zoya Edyta? Or a similar shade?

Product featured was purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

A Few Sinful Colors Cast Away Swatches

Thursday, February 23, 2012

These days, it really takes a lot to impress me. I don't buy polishes that are similar to ones in my stash so I couldn't believe that I walked away with four polishes from the Sinful Colors Cast Away Collection.

First of all... when I think of Cast Away, this is what I think of.

image credit

I'm pretty sure he doesn't do his nails.

Back to the pretty polishes!

Olympia is a light pea soup green. I like that it's a crisper green than minty shades or OPI Mermaid's Tears. However, application was only so-so, it required three coats and they weren't exactly perfect, a little streaky.

Grecian Sun is simply amazing! This is two coats. It's the perfect sky blue. In fact, it looks exactly like the Crayola color pencil, Sky Blue. The formula was phenomenal, it leveled perfectly. Doesn't it just look so vibrant?

Neptune is a royal blue jelly with silver fleck shimmer. It's like Zoya Skylar's older, deeper, sister. Also has a fantastic formula, this is two coats.

Finally my favorite. Zeus. King of Mount Olympus and a stunner in polish form. It's a dusky purple with very fine pink shimmer. So stunning in an understated sort of way. Here I used three coats.

I'm thinking of going back for a few more shades, but I'm trying to be good. I mean, at $1.99 each, they are quite a steal... but... not if you buy the whole set like I want to!

What do you think of these four colors? Will you be buying anything from this collection?

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

EOTD + Lovely Blog Award (And Fun Facts)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I was recently tagged for a few blog awards, and I like answering the questions so I figured I'd do one today along with a EOTD.

I was tagged by Kirsten from Geeky Owl for the Lovely Blog Award. So here's the seven facts about me:

1. I eat one Greek yogurt a day during the weekdays so I that's how I keep track of the days of the week.
For example:
5 yogurts left: Argh. It's Monday.
4 yogurts left: It's Tuesday.
3 yogurts left: It's Wednesday.
2 yogurts left: It's Thursday.
1 yogurt left: Finally! It's Friday!
0 yogurt left: It's Saturday.What the heck am I doing awake? Back to bed I go.

2. I like children. In theory.

3. One time, when I young and my little brother was even younger, I convinced him that this sparkly lotion I had turned the wearer invisible. So he rubbed it all over his bare skin and I pretended that he had disappeared. "Andrew! Where did you go?"
Then I told him that I could obviously still see his clothes, they were floating in the air.
My mother found him dancing on the dining table naked. He still gets pretty mad any time I bring this incident up. I laugh myself silly anytime I think about it.

4. I have an (incomplete) tattoo of a postage stamp on my right side. It's incomplete because at the time, I couldn't figure out what to put in it. So I guess it is more accurate say that I have a tattoo of a perforated rectangle.

5. I like foods that combine salty/sweet tastes. Like bacon ice cream, salads with bleu cheese and craisins, etc.

6. My dog and I like to play a game. We only do this when he has just had a bath and is clean'n'fluffy. Basically he gets in my bed and I use my comforter to roll him into a burrito. I pretend to eat him. He mostly just lays there. So.... I guess I like to play this game. He could couldn't care less.

7. I don't follow rules for tagging others for blog awards. Spoil sport? Yes.

Back to my EOTD:

I tried Illamsqua's skin sketching technique. I thought it wouldn't work with my eye shape but to my surprise I loved how it turned out. This leads me to the conclusion that I need more eye pencils, like the MAC Chromagraphics or the Illamasqua Medium Pencils.

I used:
Brows: NARS Bali
Eyes: MAC Chromagraphic NC/NW25 pencil, Prestige Total Intensity liner in Deepest Black, MAC Copperplate, Milani Almondine, Stars Makeup Haven Carnal Knowledge, Rock & Republic Fatalistic, La Femme Eyeliner Sealer, Kiss Me Heroine Make Volume + Curl mascara, Milani HD Advanced concealer

Thank you Kirsten for the blog award tag!

Zoya Valentine Mani

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Last week, Zoya had a code for a free red polish and free shipping, so I ordered Sooki and Lolly. Sooki is a vibrant blood red with a bit of a jelly finish while Lolly is a bright matte hot pink. I used the two of them plus a white polish in a water marble.

I love the result! I only wish I could have worn this on Valentine's Day. Next year, perhaps?

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Glitter Gal Sunday - Type O (I Named This Polish!)

Sunday, February 19, 2012

A few months ago, Glitter Gal had a competition to rename most of their polishes, both from the 3D Sparkle line and the 3D Holographic line. To my complete amazement, Anna and Kerry chose my name for the polish formally known as Red Sparkle.

I give you, Type O!

This is three coats, without topcoat. I found that topcoat definitely dulled the holographic sparkle. The polish looks like there are little chips of blood red rubies, it's spectacular. Great formula though and the finish is quite shiny on its own.

For submitting the winning name, Glitter Gal very generously sent me 16 bottles (in the new, larger 15ml size) of most of their polishes. 16 polishes! I would have been just happy with the bragging rights to Type O, but now I can't wait to show you all the pretty Glitter Gal shades. So I thought I'd have a series for the next 16 weeks, every Sunday I'll show you a different shade. Sound good?

Kuma loves to lay at the front door and watch me take pictures of polishes in the sunlight. What he doesn't love is having his picture taken. He's wary of me possibly using flash.

Do you own any of the Glitter Gal polishes?

Products featured were sent to me as a prize as the result of winning a contest. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Boots 17 Magnetized in Green

Friday, February 17, 2012

My friend Jian is quite sneaky. She snuck this in next to my Max Factor Fantasy Fire that I begged her to help me find. Well, two can play that game (just you watch, Jian!).
I really loved how it was as easy to use as the Nails Inc polishes, a built in cuticle rest on the top of the cap.The formula was just as good as Nail Inc, perhaps even a tad bit 'creamier' and the magnet is quite strong, making the time it takes to form a design quite short.
The color is actually more green-blue, despite the name.

See how the design stops rather suddenly?

The one and only downside is that I can't seem to get the design all the way across my nail bed on my larger nails. I originally though that this was due to the curvature of my nails but I'm pretty sure now that it's because the magnet is not quite big enough. The good news is that if you already own one Nails Inc polish, you could easily use that magnet with the Boots polishes (which are quite a bit cheaper, am I right in thinking that?).

Thank you so much, Jian!

Product featured was given to me as a gift. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Freeman Beauty Review and Giveaway! CLOSED

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Good evening!

I was given the opportunity a while back to review some Freeman skincare items. I liked that the company stressed that I was to be completely honest with them, to let them know what I liked/didn't like, what I would tweak to make the products even better. I tried out all three products and they worked out quite well.

I liked the Cucumber Peeling Mask the most. I've actually used this in the past, even before I was sent this packet for review. I love peeling things off my skin. I think this weird love goes back to when I was in elementary school and I used to smear glue all over my hands, let it dry so that I would try to pick off the largest continuous piece. Don't ask. It's a satisfying feeling, ok? This mask leaves my face quite silky and surprisingly moisturized. I used it last night and my face felt baby-butt soft this morning when I woke up.

The Chocolate & Strawberry Mask is a nice pick-me-up treat. I like that it's not as drying as my usual clay mask (I make one out of pure benzonite clay and apple cider vinegar) but I'm not entirely sure I see any direct skin benefits, other than mild tightening as the mask dries. Mostly, it's just nice to sit back and relax and inhale the delicious chocolate aroma since I'm no longer eating sweets.

The Avocado & Oatmeal Mask also contains clay and to me, feels pretty much identical to the Chocolate & Strawberry Mask, minus the delicious aroma. This one has a bit more of a... lightly perfumed scent and is colored mint green. You really don't need all that much to cover your face and if you chose, down your jaw and neck. I guess the only big difference between this one and the chocolate one is that this one has avocado oil while the other one has strawberry extract and cocoa seed butter. A matter of personal preference, really.

Value-wise, these masks really can't be beat. Full sized bottles retail for $3.99 while the packet sized (generously portioned for one time use) are $1.99. I know that I can definitely get at least 8-10 uses out of a bottle, if not more. Take one bottle, add in a few friends and you've got an instant little facial party going.

It's nice that Freeman products can be found pretty much anywhere, I've seen them at many drugstores and beauty stores. You can also order online at FreemanBeauty.com (use the code BLOGGER25 for 25% off, how neat is that?).

Freeman Beauty has generously given me the opportunity to give away the same package of products to one reader to try.

I'll make it simple:

Rules: just be a follower and leave a comment below (with your email in the slot says 'email') that you want to win so that I know you're not a bot (or maybe you're just a bot who wants to pamper your skin. Fair enough). Really. That's it. I'll use Random.org to generate one winner and then the winner must get back to me within 48 hrs.

Again, the products are:
-one full sized tube of Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Facial Clay Mask
-one packet of Freeman Avocado & Oatmeal Facial Clay Mask
-one packet of Freeman Cucumber Facial Peel-Off Mask
-one hanging travel case in pink
-one shower cap & Freeman hand-towel

Contest closes on Feb. 22nd. at 10:00pm. Open to U.S. residents only.

Good luck!

Products featured were sent to me for review. I am not in anyway compensated for my review. Products featured in the giveaway will be provided by Freeman Beauty. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Happy Valentine's Day! Nails

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Oh, Valentine's Day.

When I was younger, I viewed Valentine's Day with a certain amount of disdain. I liked to maintain that it was no different than any other day of the year, that a holiday didn't make you love someone more or less. You know, I was the type that grumbled something awful about how it was a holiday set up by the greeting card industry and florists. To me, the best part of Valentine's Day was the clearanced candy at Target the day after. Cheap chocolate, for the win.

Now, for the first time ever, I'm equally excited/sad for Valentine's Day. I'm just genuinely happy to celebrate holidays for the sake of celebrating. My boyfriend, Morgan is trying his hardest to be romantic from 2,000 miles away. Self described as 'terrible at romance', his efforts are quite cute in a honest, blundering sort of way. For instance, he told me he was going to get me roses because he didn't know any other flowers. He was quite excited when he found out about lilies from the florist.

I was thrilled when I came home to a beautiful arrangement today!

I'm a tiny bit sad, not feeling particularly lonesome or anything. It's just that I wish we could do things as a couple that aren't possible at the moment due to the distance. It doesn't even have to be romantic or sexy, I'd be plenty happy ordering Thai food and watching re-runs of NCIS (do I know how to have a good time, or what?).

I made Morgan a card with Microsoft Paint that promised bacon roses. (Yes. Bacon. Roses.) He said I was the greatest ever. He bought me a ticket for CA last week, I can't compete with that.

Oh right- the nail polish. I used a white franken as the base and free handed the heart rings with Zoya Mia and Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Golden Tourmaline.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A-England Saint George

Monday, February 13, 2012

Good afternoon! Today I want to show you the other a-england polish that I ordered from Llarowe last month. I've learned that there are holos and then there are a-england holos. This particular one is called Saint George.

It's an intense teal scattered holo that I can't tear my eyes from when I'm wearing it. There also seems to be a touch of slight green mixed in, but I could be imagining things. Saint George reminds me somewhat of OPI DS Extravagance, in the sense that holo adds to the vibrancy of the color but the holo effect is not all that strong. More like prismatic shimmer particles.

Fantastic formula. This s two coats, but I know I could have gotten away with just one.

The one slight drawback.... well, I don't want to say drawback. That makes it sound like a flaw, when really I mean there could be a slight improvement if the polish included mixing balls. I noticed that there was some thick veins of silver holographic pigment and I feel like this would help disperse it evenly.

The price ($12 on Llarowe) seems fair for this size bottle (13ml). That's normally more than what I feel comfortable paying for polish, but this was well worth it. It's just a superb color.

Product featured was purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

BabylissPro Nano Titanium Jumbo Roller Hairsetter

Sunday, February 12, 2012

I've wanted hot rollers for a while. I used to do roller sets all time when I was still at cosmetology school- the old fashioned way. You know, hair rolled up in jumbo rollers and sitting under a loud hooded dryer while reading a magazine. Does that remind you of old grandma hair? Honestly, I loved how they made my hair super shiny with lots of volume and movement. Sexy, not old-ladyish.

Since I have neither the space for a giant hooded dryer in my home nor the time it takes to set my hair, it made much more sense to get a roller set.
Last month, Morgan, being the epitome of Perfect Boyfriend Material, ordered me the BabylissPro Nano Titanium Jumbo Roller Hairsetter as a Chinese New Year present (hey, I don't do very many traditional Chinese things... but New Year is mandatory) since he couldn't find red envelopes.
I couldn't wait to try them out.

This set comes with 12 jumbo rollers that are 1'1/2" in diameter. The rollers are flocked with soft velvet to hold onto your hair. The hairsetter also comes with 12 roller pins and 12 roller clips. The BabylissPro Nano Titanium Jumbo rollers cost about $45-60 for a set, depending on where you buy it. Morgan ordered mine off of Amazon.

First, I need to mention that I was NOT looking to create well defined curls, which is why I wanted jumbo sized rollers. I already knew that I can't get great curls from rollers (my hair does not hold curls well, I need a very hot marcelle style curling iron, a tremendous amount of hair product and lots of prayers in order to get a head full of curls), what I wanted was body and big loose waves.

After a few practice runs, I could easily do my hair in the morning in about 20 minutes (not including heating up time). I would get up and the first thing I would do was to turn on the setter so that it could heat up. There is a dot on one of the rollers that indicates when the rollers are hot, but I find that the dot would turn white before they were well and truly hot. During the seven minutes that it takes to heat up, I brush my teeth, wash my face, etc.
I use a heat protectant specifically designed for hot rollers that also provides a bit of hold (Kenra Platinum Hot Spray) and spritz it throughout my hair. Then it takes about 5-10 minutes to section out and roll up my hair. I like to use the clips instead of the pins, they're just easier to use (especially in the back of the head, where it is both hard to see and reach).
Then I apply my makeup while the rollers are in my hair (10min). I then go over my head with a blow dryer on cool. This step is super important because though the heat creates the curl shape, the cooling of the hair is what sets it.
All in all, I love my new rollers. If I had to name a flaw, it would be that the rollers do lose heat very quickly, so sometimes I put a hot air bonnet on top or wrap a towel around my head while the rollers are in. Oh, and that the heat indicating dot is a liar.

I'll try to have a tutorial up soon, because it is much easier to explain hot rollers with pictures!
Here's a sneak peak (using my sister's head):