Archive for August 2013

Nubar Eden Collection

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Nubar is one of my favorite brands. Though sometimes hard to find (I usually resort to ordering online but I have spotted them at some independent beauty supply stores), they fulfill an interesting niche of the polish market; all sorts of interesting and unique shades that other brands don't seem to carry. Today I'm showing you the new Eden Collection.

There are eight shades in a whole range of finishes. We have cremes, shimmers, and some frost/glitters.

Tulips to Kiss You With. Three coats. A sheer but "fluffy" hot pink with fine shimmer. I know "fluffy" isn't an adjective commonly used with polish but the formula was a bit voluminous. Three coats.

A-Peel-ing. Three coats. A squishy looking orange with shimmer. The shimmer is more subtle on the nail, but it's still rather pretty.

Dahlia Up Later. Three coats. A frosty pink with holo glitter. Frosts + glitter aren't really my thing, but application was good.

Moss Mistress. My favorite out of the collection, actually. Three coats. An odd yellow green creme. I think that this is one of those shades that people tend to call "interesting" rather than pretty or beautiful but I love it!

Wild Blue Yonder. Three coats. A super frosty blue with gold with holo glitter. It's not physically bumpy, the glitter just looks like it has texture. Definitely not my cup of tea.

Rockin' the Garden. Three coats. Another favorite. This has a not quite sheer, not quite jelly yet still a tinge bit of transparency that really makes it look delicate. It's a soft blue shade with really gorgeous shimmer. The shimmer looks full on blue at some angles and more teal at others.

Dare You to Dragonfly. Two coats. A really nice light teal creme.

Calla Lilly Caramel. Three coats. Another oddity; a sheer warm beige-y tan with gorgeous red shimmer. Strange but just really pretty.

All in all, the formulas were good (though Tulips to Kiss You With was a bit weird and fluffy). One thing that I noticed was that a few brushes had one hair that was just haywire, but it didn't bother me much (I just used the other side of the brush).

Shades from The Eden Collection can be purchased for $8 each on the Nubar website. Nubar polishes are high quality, Big-3 Free as well as cruelty free and vegan.

Which of these shades do you like the best?

Products featured were press samples. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

End of Summer Giveaway

Friday, August 30, 2013

Hi folks!

It's that time of year again; where many of us are trying to squeeze the last few days out of summer while looking forward to fall trends. I have a fun prize full of my summer and fall favorites to help you ease your way into autumn! Thanks so much for being a reader of this blog.

This giveaway is open to US and Puerto Rico addresses only, sorry! The uncertainty of international shipping makes me super nervous. If however, you have a US friend who is happy to forward you your prize, you are more than welcome to enter. Please be 18 years old and over.

One winner will receive:
A set of Zoya Fall 2013 Cashmeres
Four shades from the LE Salon Perfect neon glitters
Hard Candy Black Tie Optional
Sephora + Pantone Parachute Purple
Mini NARS Orgasm Blush
Maybelline LE Seashore Frost Color Tattoo

Good luck! Email me at mimi(at)makeupwithdrawal.com if you have any questions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stardust Polish Royalty

Last month I sort of impulsively ordered a couple of polishes from Stardust Polish. I'm still a bit unclear about the details but I saw holo and before I knew it, I had checked out. Story of my life. Anyways today I'd like to show you one of the two I ordered, called Royalty.

Royalty is a squishy purple jelly holo. Dark grape jelly, one of the cooler purple holos that I've seen. The formula was really fluid but the coloring was also very sheer. I found that three coats looked uneven so I opted for a fourth.

Stardust Polish can be purchased here. Prices vary from $8-11. International admirers can snag Stardust shades from Mei Mei's Signatures.

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

EOTD Using Wet'n'Wild Soldiers in Charms

Thursday, August 29, 2013

I used one of the new Wet'n'Wild trios I picked up for my EOTD yesterday. I absolutely love the green khaki matte color, so glad I bought it.

I decided to go with all budget friendly products for this look (aside from my brow color) The primer isn't my favorite though, I think it makes some of the blending look a little patchy.

Brows: NARS Bali, NYX Brow Shaper
Eyes: NYX HD Eye Primer, NYX Natural Palette*, Wet'n'Wild Soldiers in Charms, NYX Chocolate Collection Liquid Brown Liner*, false lashes.

Everything mentioned (again, aside from NARS Bali) is under $10. Not too shabby, right?

*Indicates a press sample. All other products were purchased by me, for my own use.

Shimmer Katie

Monday, August 26, 2013

Hi!

So far I've been posting pictures from my huge backlog but today I thought I'd show you growing little nubs. I'm pretty lucky in that my nails have always grown really fast (but not always strong growth, unfortunately!), maybe 0.75 to 1.50 mm a week depending on my diet, stress, etc.

Kate is a surprise favorite of mine. The tiniest coppery brown, green and teal glitter mix, super dense. I'm wearing just two coats by itself (and a dab extra on my pinky). I tried to take pictures outdoors under the sun so you could see the way the light plays off of these dazzling little particles but alas, it was just TOO sparkly.

Also, working on a new temporary hand pose (trying to channel one of my idols, Sam of Fashion Polish! Don't know how she does it, this still isn't like hers and it is hard.) because my shorter nails looked odd with my regular hand pose.

Katie applied easily like the other Shimmer Polishes that I've reviewed so far; smooth and drying relatively flat. Only one coat of topcoat on top.

Shimmer Polish is available to purchase here. For all the latest shades, be sure to follow the Shimmer blog as well as the Shimmer Polish Facebook page.

Products featured were sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

New Wet'n'Wild Tough Girl LE Coloricon Trios

Hi folks!

You know me, I hate doing impression posts before I get a chance to really test out a product but since Wet'n'Wild's distribution is a bit unpredictable and these trios are limited edition, I figured it would help to show you swatches and comparisons sooner rather than later. In general, I find the Coloricon products to be quite laudable, so I don't feel all that bad for doing a write up so soon. All my swatches are done over bare skin.

Enlisting for Beauty. Three neutral shades. The first two are completely matte, the right hand tan shade has a tiny bit of shimmer that is barely discernible, but pretty much looks satin. The tan shade also looks less yellow, more taupe-y in real life. Good pigmentation on all three shades.

Zero Dark Flirty. A satin lilac, a near matte aubergine and a matte medium purple. The pigmentation on the first two shades are great, the last shade is quite lacking.

Soldiers in Charms. All around good pigmentation on this trio. A light green yellow shimmer, a blackened olive sparkle and BEHOLD- a drug store rarity- a khaki matte! I think this trio is worth getting just for that khaki alone.

So you might be wondering how these shades compare to existing palettes or previous palettes. I've got you covered! Here's what they look like compared to their closest shades. Note: The Drinking A Glass of Shine Palette was also called I♥Matte.

Other than the crease colors in comfort zone being almost full on dupes (since one is only a tinge warmer than the other, I feel comfortable attributing this to batch differences and just calling it a dupe), none of the other colors are dupes. They are similar in a lot of ways but some are definitely cooler or warmer than the previous shades.

Formula wise, it varied a bit. The shades with the great pigmentation were buttery, soft, silky. The ones with less than ideal pigmentation tended to also be powdery and dry. At $2.99 I find these trios to be worth picking up because I think some of the shades are really different from your typical drugstore fare. I'm not sure why I picked up Enlisting for Beauty because I need more neutrals like a dog needs fleas. All in the name of swatching, right?

Are you planning to get any of these trios or the other ones that I didn't happen to get?

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

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Gleaming Bronze

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Hi folks!

Sorry for my infrequent posting lately. I've been really enjoying the last few days of summer before class starts and also it was Morgan's birthday so we spent a fair amount of time... eating. Today I want to show you a L'Oreal Infallible shade that was part of the LE Collection from last year. Why the heck would I show you something that isn't readily available? Keep reading. I have a good reason, I swear.

Gleaming Bronze is just a really lovely color. A cool antique bronze, the color of a fine patina. It swatches very sparkly and metallic on my arm but I think it looks more muddy and yellow on my eye lid.

It's a really gorgeous color but I think it would look really stunning with green or hazel eyes, really take them pop you know? On me, it's a little too murky for my liking. I still really like the color though, it makes for a really easy smudgy eye if I'm in the mood for it.

I'm also wearing:

Brows: NARS Bali, NYX Brow Shaper

Eyes: LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, Rimmel Scandaleyes Black liner, false lashes, Laura Mercier Vanilla Nuts, Laura Mericer Cafe au Lait, Laura Mercier Rich Coffee, false lashes

So why did I show you this pretty eye shadow that was from last year? Good news, it's still pretty readily available on eBay. I bought mine for $5ish and change, shipping included. It's also been rumored that this and the other Summer 2012 LE shades have been turning up at Big Lots. Might be worth a look-see, no?

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

Ninja Polish Color Changing Garnet

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Hi folks!

So even though I'm slowly growing out my nails, I'm lucky that I have a backlog of pictures to chose from. I guess being an obsessive swatcher sometimes pays off, right? Originally I was going to do a post filled with Ninja Polish spam but upon editing my pictures I decided that each polish deserves its own post. They're simply too stunning to be grouped together, they all deserve the spot light.

One coat over black, very fluid formula. This is just a beauty. It has color shifting glitter (like in Ozotic 530) and color shifting particles (like Max Factor Fantasy Fire) in a clear base. Do you see why I couldn't just limit myself to one picture? It's stunning. It deserves more.

Ninja Polish Color Changing Garnet can be purchased at NinjaPolish for $11.

EOTD

Monday, August 19, 2013

I returned from a weekend camping trip and wanted to do something green with my eye makeup today.

Brows: Ardell Brow Defining Kit

Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, Urban Decay Smog, LORAC Love & Money It Kit, NYX Chocolate Collection Brown Liquid Liner, false lashes, Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara, Femme Fatale Cosmetics Swamplord

Not one of my favorite looks, it's a little... Robin Hood?

Alter Ego Nail Enamel C.P.A.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Hello! Due to a nail injury (burnt myself cooking polenta, woe) I have pictures tonight that I swatched earlier last week. Today's polish is called C.P.A. by Alter Ego Nail Enamel. It's a milky tan color in the bottle but I saw some sparkles in there just begging to be layered so I decided to wear it over black.

It's absolutely STUNNING over black. The first picture in this post is how it looks by itself, it has a waxy satin finish. I then applied topcoat... isn't it dazzling over the sun (above)? The sparkles change color depending on the angle of observation and how far you are from light.

This is with topcoat on, indoors under my light set up. That green pops like crazy.

This is still the same polish! Here at the extreme angles you see a multitude of colors- pink, teal, blue. It's really crazy how much shift this shade has.

To see how it looks on its own, without a black base, check out Pointless Cafe's post here. C.P.A. is an incredible shade- definitely deceiving in the bottle but splendid on the nail.

Alter Ego Nail Enamels can be purchased here. They are made to order shades crafted by Cynthia Decker- who I met at CosmoProf North America earlier this year.

Did you ever try on a polish that really surprised you?

Products featured were press samples. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Manicure Pedicure Giveaway Winner

Friday, August 16, 2013

Congratulations to Denise for winning this giveaway! She's already responded back to my email and also mentioned she's getting married tomorrow- so huge congratulations to her on her upcoming nuptials!

Thanks to all who participated. I have a few more giveaways coming up, actually. Tons of loot here at MakeupWithdrawal headquarters just begging for new homes. I believe my next giveaway will be held on Instagram, so be sure to be following @makeupwithdrawal for your chance to win.