Archive for July 2014

Fast Forward to Fall with Glambot

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Good afternoon!

Last weekend we went to Lake Tahoe to escape the heat and consequently, I took a break from bright summer colors to wear darker, moodier shades. It was the perfect opportunity to use the makeup I had ordered from Glambot.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan 3.0 Submissions

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Exciting news!

Submissions are now open for the Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan 3.0 Collection. Every two years, RBL’s Fan Collection comes out and is a great chance for ReBeLs to work with Ji and make their dream colors come true!

To qualify, fans should create a Pinterest board, curated with images inspired by the color they wish Ji to mix. Another option is to create a collage, or even a slideshow with photos and descriptions. The link for the Pinterest board/or collage along with a description should be sent to thefancollection3@rescuebeauty.com. For more details, see Ji’s blog post here.

Some of my favorite colors ever were from Fan Collections. Remember Fire Queen? Hands down one of my favorite colors in existence. I really hope that you guys will enter!

The 48-hour submission starts on Friday, July 25th at 12pm EST and ends 12pm EST on Sunday, July 27th.

Pretty Serious Stop! Collaborate and Listen Collection

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Good evening!

I've my first polishes from Pretty Serious to show you guys today. Pretty Serious has long been on my radar; not only was it one of the first indie companies to have a wide distribution but I thought it was pretty cool that Kaz was a blogger turned polish line owner. That's the dream, right?

The Pretty Serious Stop! Collaborate and Listen Collection was made with nail bloggers, which is always fantastic because nobody knows how to come up with a unique polish like someone who has seen a ton of it!

Left to right: Stuck in the Middle, Undercover Mermaid, Swatch and Learn

Stuck in the Middle. Two coats. A magenta base with beautiful blue/fuchsia glass fleck. This one is really glossy and remarkably opaque. This shade was made with Kristy (@thepolishhaven)

Undercover Mermaid. Three coats. The first picture is more color accurate, but the second reveals all the beautiful flakes. A stunning slightly lavender dusty taupe. Super work appropriate but has all this green/blue flake action going on. Made in collaboration with Lab Muffin.

Swatch and Learn. Two coats. A green polish just loaded with glass fleck of all colors. Depending on how you're viewing them, they look fuchsia/pink/green/blue. This is the eponymous creation of Swatch and Learn.

I really loved all the shades but I find Undercover Mermaid to be the particularly beautiful. It combines two of my favorite things; dusty cremes with blue/green flakies. Win-win. Each shade is 11ml and is priced at $9.95 per bottle.

The Stop! Collaborate and Listen Collection is available now from Pretty Serious. PS is based in Australia so us international folks can purchase Pretty Serious shades from the stockists (here).

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

Review: YSL Couture Palette in No. 04 Saharienne

Monday, July 21, 2014

Thanks to a kind friend, I ordered one of the new YSL Couture Palettes last week from Bergdorf's. There's so many beautiful color combinations but what did I get? A fairly cool neutral palette. No. 4 Saharienne. I think it looks vastly different from the stock pictures on the Sephora website - take a look:

image from Sephora

The stock image looks much warmer and the colors look quite a bit richer. The case is identical to the older quads, that same sleek gold case that attracts finger smears with a vengeance. These ready-to-wear palettes are what I like to call "portion controlled"; the main color has a larger pan than darker colors of which you'll likely use less.

Mundane Monday, Vol. XXI: Things to Come

Good morning!

I miss blogging quite a bit. It's getting hectic around here, we're only one week or so from closing escrow on our first home and moving in. I'm in the process of not only packing, but pruning our possessions and that includes my beauty products. In other words: my blogging corner is a shambles. So today I have for you sneak peak photos of products I'll be talking about in the near future.

Review: theBalm Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Ah, this palette. I've had my eye on theBalm's Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette for ages. It was one of those items that I would see on sale and promise myself to get next time, over and over again. I finally ordered a few weeks back and I'm pretty thrilled with it.

Review: KBShimmer Nail Vinyl Decals

Monday, July 14, 2014

Hi folks!

A few weeks ago KBShimmer launched their line of Nail Vinyls, decals made from adhesive backed vinyl that can be used for quick and easy nail art. I received a sample variety pack for review and was able to try them out. This is actually my first time using any sort of nail vinyl sticker product. I guess I just never really jumped on the chevron/zig zag trend!

A Copper/Burgundy EOTD

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Good afternoon!

I hope you all are having as great of a day (or night) that I am. We had a great time watching the World Cup Final (Congratulations, Germany!). This is an EOTD where I attempted xoxoalexisleigh's gorgeous Copper Smokey Eye. Inner highlights don't look that great on my wrinkly inner corners, so I skipped it.

Usually I try to get a few shots of eye makeup but in this case, the lashes I used made my eye so uncomfortable, they were quickly irritated. This happens occasionally when I use falsies, it's like my eye just isn't feeling heavy makeup sometimes. So I only snapped two pictures, and on picture #2, I was already tearing up and quite red.

Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Granite Powder Duo
Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, Inglot 430, Laura Mercier Fire Glow, Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, Mehron iNtense Red Earth and Carbon, theBalm Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette, Ardell Edgy 402, eBay false lashes.

Hope you all have an awesome start to the week!

Some KBShimmer Bath & Body Products

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Now I know I've posted about KBShimmer polishes before, but I haven't really said much about their bath and body products. A few weeks ago, they had a 20% sale and I used that opportunity to try out a lotion, a cuticle oil pen and a sugar scrub.

Origins Clear Improvements Active Charcoal Mask - Where Have You Been All My Life?

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

I had been a bit wary of trying new masks since the GlamGlow incident but when I saw that Sephora offered the Origins Active Charcoal Mask in cute little travel pods... I was sold. I really like it when companies offer a mini size so that I can try products out without committing to a full size. I know the places that I frequent have great return policies and all, but I feel rather wasteful when a full sized bottle is tossed upon its return.

Anyways. Back to the mask.

A Few Laura Mercier Eye Colours

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Good evening!

I've professed my love of Laura Mercier Eye Colour shadows many times now so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I recently bought a few more shades. As it so happened, I picked one Matte, and two Luster finishes. I had been eyeing Topaz for a while as well as Black Plum and Sherazade just happened to jump in my cart.

Perfume Diary: TokyoMilk Dead Sexy No. 06 Eau de Parfum

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Good evening!

I fondly think of TokyoMilk as the Skittles of the fragrance world. Much like a sugary impulse buy at the check out line, TokyoMilk manages to satisfy occasional cravings but will by no means break the bank. Since I first blogged about the TokyoMilk Dark scent Tainted Love, I've tried out six more TM scents. My feelings were mixed; some were odd and quirky, some mild and not unpleasant while some were just downright disagreeable. Dead Sexy No. 06 is the latest that I've tried and its certainly very interesting.

Sephora Formula X Liberty

Friday, July 4, 2014

I have a confession. I really love patriotic manicures. A lot. A ton. I started thinking about 4th of July polishes like two months ago, back when I bought one of Sephora's new Formula X polishes called Liberty. It's a topper that consists of red, white and blue matte glitters. In other words, it screams "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA."

Giorgio Armani Blender Brush

Thursday, July 3, 2014

I'm always attracted to brushes that are unlike the existing ones in my collection (then again, I'm also attracted to brushes that are similar to ones I love in my collection) so I've had an interest in the Giorgio Armani Blender Brush for a while now.

Vintage Bunting - 4th of July Nails

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Hi folks!

Just popping in to show you my nails of the day. I may do a flashier, glittier version for the actual 4th of July.

NATALIE CAUDILL / MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS / CREDIT

These nails were inspired by no other than the beautiful vintage patriotic buntings that I see from time to time. I won't lie, sometimes I wish we had an old house just so it could go with the feel of lovely antique things such as this.

I used sorta faded hues (that red looks less vibrant in real life and more antiquated). American Apparel Cotton as the base. For the red, I mixed AA Pinto and Downtown LA. The blues consist of Cameo Blue and Mount Royal.

In case I don't get a chance to say it later... Happy 4th of July, fellow American friends!