Sunday, March 7, 2010

NOTD: Orly Cotton Candy!

I saw this nail polish in LisaLisaD1's youtube video (link) on Friday and ended up purchasing it. Orly Nail Polishes are now on sale at ULTA for $4.99 (regular $7) and I believe a coupon starts today for $3.50 off your $10 purchase up that is valid till the 13th. This is a beautiful summer/spring color. It's a creamy, opaque, bright pink with a hint of coral. It's a color that would look gorgeous both on hands and toes. I think this is currently my favorite pink polish. This shade of pink is actually my favorite color (peachy pink) It's so hard to find this exact shade.. I've purchased many polishes hoping it would look like this and was left disappointed. I've been eyeballing Essie Van D'go from Essie's Spring Collection.. It looks somewhat similar to this polish but more on the peach side. Hopefully I'll be picking it up this week.

Orly Cotton Candy Nail Polish Review

Orly Cotton Candy

Orly Cotton Candy

This is two coats with no base or top coat. The finish is very shiny! But I think I will go back and add a top coat.

By the way, Does anyone know a good top coat? I don't think the ones I use work the best. My nails usually get dull in a couple of days. I was going to purchase an OPI top coat, but I wanted to do a little research first. Any suggestions would be great!

I'm in need of a cuticle cream. My cuticles are so hard and cracked. I'm planning on picking up Burt's Bee's Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream and giving it a try.

My Lovely Haul! MAC, Inglot, YSL, OPI!!! With many thanks to Sarah (iheartcosmetics)!!

Hi Guys! I have lots of posts to share with you. :) So If I do a million posts today, I apologize but I try to take advantage of my free time by blogging!

I wanted my 1st post to be about the giveaway I won!! I have never won a giveaway, so I was so overjoyed about winning Sarah's 500 Follower giveaway. I couldn't believe all of the nice things I was going to receive!! It arrived a few days ago and it came on such a perfect day because I was in such a sad/upset mood and it really turned my day into an awesome one.

Sarah is such a sweet girl.. It was incredibly generous of her to purchase these things (which are so expensive!) for her bloggers. If you aren't a follower of her blog, you should definitely check it out. She has really good, useful posts about makeup, self-tanning, etc. We have very similar (if not the same!) tastes in makeup, so I love reading her new posts. Thank you again, Sarah!! I ♥ YOU!

Follow her Twitter! http://twitter.com/sarahloolaa

Here are some pictures and swatches of my prize!

I opened everything while I was at work. She included a very cute, witty card that's displayed on my desk now. Lol, I love cards.

READ MORE!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner in Graphite Shimmer + Photos & Swatches!

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner

Product Description - This award-winning liner offers the precision of a liquid liner and the ease of a gel-based formula. Awarded: "Elle" Magazines's ‘Top 5’ (Nov. 2009), "In Style" 'Best Beauty Buy' (2008), and "Allure" ‘Reader's Choice Award’ (2008).

To apply: Dip tip of Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush into gel formula (coat both sides of brush head). Wipe off excess on tissue before applying to eye. Work quickly as product becomes transfer-resistant once dry.



This is a product I've been wanting to try for EVER! I picked Graphite Shimmer Ink. On the website, it says that it is a dark gray. I would maybe call it a deep charcoal gray with silver flecks. Once applied, it looks much darker. It basically looks black. Its very creamy and spreads very well. For me, it doesn't fade throughout the day. And, at the end of the night, I don't have trouble removing it. I usually will powder my lids so my liner won't smudge or budge, then apply it to my lash line with an angled liner brush. I've been using Sigma's angled brush. I prefer BB now, over MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, Stila Smudgepot & Wet n Wild Creme Liner.

Here are a few descriptions of what I like and don't like about the following liners..
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline - I love this, but the texture always gets dry for me halfway throughout the pot. I LOVE when I first purchase it, but it doesn't ever stay creamy. I can tell its a bit thicker than the other creme liners mentioned. Also, this sometimes crumbles on me. What I do like about it is, it is extremely black and the lasting power is pretty good. I have repurchased this several times.
Stila Black Smudgepot - I love the consistency of this product. The consistency is somewhat similar to BB. It is very creamy and light. It applies very nicely & black. For me though, it fades throughout the day and I'll have to reapply. I'm not sure If I would repurchase this.
Wet n Wild Creme Liner - Again, good creamy consistency. It doesn't crumble for me, but just like the Stila Smudgepot, this fades throughout the day. Great deal though and will probably repurchase b/c of the price and it works well.

Here are some swatches, courtesy of kmbirkel. Indigo Ink & Ivy Ink look gorgeous! They look like they would go well with any of the NARS eye shadows I posted in my previous post! I think Black Ink will be my next purchase.



Do you have a favorite gel/cream liner? What is your preference or HG liner?

Monday, March 1, 2010

NARS Night Clubbing Eye Shadow + Photos & Swatches!


I'm on a complete NARS craze. I got my first single eye shadow and I think it may be my favorite eyeshadow I own, or at least in the top 3.

NARS (powder) eye shadows are broken down into 3 categories-
The Matte Collection: Ultra velvet, non shimmering shades with high pay off. Great for lining & creating depth.

The Shimmer Collection: Rich, soft, lustrous shades with a subtle sheen.

The Nightlife Collection: Ultra velvet shades with tone on tone sparkling effects & high pay off.

Night Clubbing falls into the Nightlife shades. It is a rich black with golden shimmer. With the mixture of gold and black, it sort of plays tricks on your eyes and makes it appear olive colored. Olive is the color you would get from mixing black and yellow/gold together. The payoff is absolutely amazing. To get the swatch I only had to touch the eye shadow I didn't even have to swipe my finger across it. It is very intense. You could also intensify the color by applying it wet. I bet this would make a pretty amazing liner applied wet.

I'm wearing it today smudged into my black liner and I'm in love :)



How beautiful is this!? The pigmentation is crazy!


The color somewhat reminds me of MAC Gilt By Association or MAC Carbon with Antiqued Gold Pigment over it.

I'm so excited to get my hands on more NARS. Some eye shadows I've got my eyes on next are:

Ashes to Ashes, Baby Girl, Cairo, Fathom, Fez, Galapagos, Mekong, Night Porter & Voyage.

Here are some pretty awesome swatches of the Night Collection I found..

Do you have any favorites????