Archive for February 2013

BECCA Beach Tint in Fig

Thursday, February 28, 2013

A while ago, a friend was kind enough to split a BECCA Beach Tint set that Sephora had online. Since I already had Watermelon (previously reviewed here) but wanted Fig, Eileen from Of Lacquers and Laces and I went halfsies. This smaller sized tube suit me perfectly (I use my full sized Watermelon all the time but after three years I'm finally coming around to the fact that I will never finish it) at only .14 fl oz compared the normal .24 fl oz. Here it is swatched on my bare skin. On the left a bold heavy swipe, on the right it is blended out. You might be thinking, "Uh, Mimi. I don't really see anything on the right side" and I'd have to agree with you. Unlike the other BECCA Beach Tints I have tried, Fig is not as pigmented. It is a caramel tan in the tube but dries to a color...

Color Club 2013 Halo Hues

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

So you should know by now that holographic is my favorite finish of polish. When the first set of Color Club Halo Hues came out last year, I was impressed by the how holographic they looked in photos but not wowed by the color choice. For some reason, the colors looked really blah to me (probably because I don't dig pinks and magentas and already have plenty of silvers). However when the 2013 set come out (you'll have to excuse my language here), I went apeshit. The colors were stunning and I wanted them all. I've tried to explain to Morgan the appeal of holographic polishes. I've tried to point out the rainbow effect. I've followed him around our place thrusting my iPad at him, trying to get him to look at pictures of different holographic polishes and how they were different. And how...

American Apparel Lip Gloss - Legalize LA

Monday, February 25, 2013

Hi folks! Today I have a lip gloss from American Apparel to show you. I believe that American Apparel only started selling these last year, but I had not heard much about them on the beauty blogosphere so I was quite thrilled to try one out. I picked the shade "Legalize LA" because I am a red lips fiend and will make no apologies for being one. Legalize LA is a cherry red with very fine shimmer. It comes packaged in a very simple (and I mean that in the best way. I really love understated and nondescript packaging) and sturdy hefty plastic tube with a doefooted applicator. This shade may look intimidating in the tube but I swear to you that it is more mild than it seems. It's a gateway red gloss, the kind that makes you wonder why you were ever scared of red lips in the first...

Happy Hands Feliz Navidad + Stamping

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Hi folks! For Valentine's Day my friend Felice (@slacquerr on Instagram) sent me a bottle of Happy Hands Feliz Navidad which I had coveted for very long! Isn't that sweet of her? Though it was part of the holiday collection, this delicate polish strikes me as perfect any time of the year. Feliz Navidad is a peachy pink base with holographic pink hexes, smaller gold hexes and micro gold and pink pieces. It is so dainty, something I'm not usually drawn too but it just looks so pretty! I added some stamping with China Glaze Cowgirl Up and Bundle Monster Plate BM314. I had never used Cowgirl Up before to stamp, it may be a little too thin to really transfer. Thanks so much Felice, for being my Valentine! <3 p=""> Happy Hands Nail Polish are $10 and can be found at the Happy Hands...

Laura Mercier Artiste Palette For Eyes

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The title of this post really should have been One Palette To Rule Them All. It took me a while to review this palette (still a lot of backlog I'm working through!) but I really love it. There's been a lot of awesome neutral eye palettes released in the last year - the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette and palettes that are aren't strictly full of neutral shades but have a lot of work appropriate, user friendly shades such as the LORAC Pro Palette or theBalm Meet Matt(e). I think the Laura Mercier Artiste Palette falls into that second category since only half of the shades are really neutrals, but the other six shadows coordinate in a really beautiful way. First, let's take a look at the colors. The top row contains the sparkle/shimmer shades while...

Winstonia Stamping Plates: Review & Pictures

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Hi folks! Last week, I received a set of the brand spankin' new Winstonia plates. I tested them out thoroughly and couldn't wait to share with you my thoughts on this set. These Winstonia plates come in a set of 20 for $15.99. They come packaged in a small box with plastic blue coverings and plastic backings, I did not find the edges to be sharp. All together there are 139 designs on these plates. Here is a size comparison between the first Bundle Monster set (100s series), the third Bundle Monster set (300s), a Konad plate and a Winstonia plate. I couldn't find a ruler after rummaging around our place, but as you can see the full sized Winstonia image is only about 0.5 or 1 mm shorter than the third Bundle Monster series but just as wide, and much bigger than first BM series...

Essie Butler Please

Monday, February 18, 2013

Hi folks! I'm off to a wedding in Santa Barbara this weekend, so this is a scheduled post. I had my eye on Butler Please from the winter Essie collection for a while. I heard mumblings on Instragram that the formula was awful, but the blue was just so alluring! I had $4 in Extra Bucks and a $2 Essie coupon, so I took the $2.29 risk to find out if it was true. Yes. It is. This is by far the worst polish formula I have ever used. It's opaque in two coats but I can't even describe how awful it to use. The first coat is ridiculously streaky and the second has to compensate by trying to fill in the bald spots. Gah. I haven't removed this manicure yet but I also hear that it stains. For this manicure, I used Essie Butler Please as the base, sponged Sinful Colors Pearl...

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Liners

Saturday, February 16, 2013

So when I saw Emi's review of this product, it immediately made me pretty excited. Prestige Total Intensity liners are my absolute favorite, so when she said that it might even be better... I started looking for them right away. I was really excited to see these show up at Walgreens, Walmart and Ulta near me. At Walmart, they were packaged in a paper backing but at Walgreens they only had just the pencil and cap, not even a plastic shrink wrap seal (gross!). I was pleased to see that they had quite a few colors, especially some shades that are not common for drugstore liners- taupe, beige, light blue! Left to right: Brown, Silver, Taupe Initially I brought home only 004 Taupe and 010 Silver. I liked them so much that I bought 003 Brown later on. Taupe is a light taupe with...

Penguin Manicure

Friday, February 15, 2013

Hi folks, I hope you had a great Valentine's Day. I had a really great night with Morgan, he brought flowers and a card home the night before. He gifted me the new Color Club 2013 Halo Hues as well as drawers for my work station, and a mirror and other storage too! Basically he's the best. I'll show you pics later in the post, first the manicure! Tonight I stamped a manicure, my first stamping job in a while. I recently received plates from Winstonia, a nail art store and had to try out the penguin design immediately. I'll photograph and review the plates all properly soon but... penguins wait for no blogger. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls for my background, Konad Black to stamp with Wistonia plate W115. The set that contains this design is brand new and exclusive to Winstonia!...