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Reviews

FEATURED - Tuesday, December 11th 2007

MAC Metal-X: A New Generation of Eye Shadow

A cream to powder metallic shadow that provides liquid metal effects. Goes on smoothly, blends like a charm. An extremely luxurious highlight/finish for eyes, cheeks and skin.

The colors pictured are Virgin Silver: A Metallic silver with white pearl and Plum Electric: a Deep purple with red pearl, which is the hottest color this season.  The Virgin Silver and the Plum Electric are the only two shadows I picked up on this collection.  Plum Electric is by far the best color of the Metal X eye shadows.  One reason I love the Virgin Silver is it's perfect for highlighting and for your lid, so you can avoid those crease lines.

My Review.  This isn't like most MAC eye shadows out there.  Most reviews have mainly been negative due to the consistency.  To get the best results you must put this eye shadow on with your fingers and do not use a makeup brush.  This eye shadow is not crease resistant, So, be sure you apply as a highlighter or on the eye lid.  Overall, this eye shadow is okay as long as you are patient enough to work with it.

FEATURED - Friday, December 14th 2007

The Perfect Slouch Boot: Is there such a thing?

I have literally been on the hunt for a good slouch boot for more than two years now.  Initially, I was going to purchase Frye Dorado Slouch boots retailing at $500.  A little out of my price range, but, I didn't care. I wanted to end this Red October hunt. Unfortunately, Frye told me they were discontinuing this gorgeous boot. Let me ask you this, why on earth would  manufacturers stop making such a popular boot?  That really blows my mind!  Those money grubbers! Needless to say I was pretty pissed off about that because I was ready to buy them. So the search continues...

I happened to stumble on HSN's site while searching for something.  I never thought to look for something like this on HSN.  Not, that I wouldn't buy from them, just that I didn't realize how many great things they have.  When I saw these boots, it was like love at first site. But, the bad reviews kept me from purchasing these beauties. Over the month, I kept them in my shopping cart and never hit the "order" button.  So, one day I went ahead and took the chance, thinking what the heck, worst that can happen is I have to pay postage to send them back. Estatic was the feeling I felt when I saw the package on my front porch.  I ripped into the box like a kid in a candy store.  Beautiful was my first expression when opening my package. But, I wasn't worried about the quality, I knew that they were going to be perfect. It was the high heel I was most concerned about.  The heel is about 4" tall. Thats a pretty tall heel, espically if you are tall like myself.  I was dertermined to make it work. I took my boots to a local shoemaker, and he cut 1" off the heel and put some good insoles in for $20, and TADA! Perfecto!

So, here is my official review on these infamous boots.  The brand name is Hot in Hollywood 3 in 1 convertible suede boot, Plum Color, Retailing at $99.  You ask 3 in 1? Yep that's right, three boots for the price of one basically.  This boot converts from tall to slouch, to fold down bootie with tab snap closure.  Brilliantly thought of! The Plum color is absolutely to die for, not to mention it's the hottest color this season!  They also have Gray, Congac, Brown & Black.  My favorite amongst the colors: Plum, Gray, and Congac.  All three colors are the hottest this season, you can't go wrong!  So, lets get to the con now.  The only con was that the heel was way too high and the fitting was a little loose, but nothing a shoemaker can't fix! I usually wear a 8 1/2M, but with boots I always order a 1/2 size up and a wide width.  Boots tend to run small in most cases.

That's the great thing about Fashion, you can always make something work. There are endless possibilites! It may take a little here and a little there, but it will all come together perfectly in the end!  For me, spending an extra $20 and putting a little work into it, saved me not only $400 but my time also.  Thats not even the BEST part!  These Fabulous boots are on clearance for $49.90.  Most of all, I don't think people are purchasing them due to the negative reviews.  If you are a true Fashionista, you will go through hoops to get the perfect shoe!

{Photo via: HSN}

Monday, January 7th 2008

MAC: Sculpt and Shape Swatches, Reviews

I purchased the color Accentuate/Sculpt (actual picture above).  The shade description: Pale blushed beige/soft taupe brown.  My skin tone is Dark Light to Medium.  I don't usually use MAC's foundation or powder because my skin is very sensitive and tends to break out easily.  But, when the SA told me it was non-acnegenic and dermatologist tested, I thought I would give it a shot.  And, have to say I absolutely LOVE this product!  The best news is it works perfectly with my skin.  I love conturing and highlighting powders, and if you've never tried counturing this is your chance to try it for a fairly reasonable price of $21.00.  Unfortanetly, I'm not the lucky ones to have perfect cheekbones, but this powder certain gives the delusion of it (if applied correctly), and that's what I love about it so much! 

I use the lighter color on the top on my cheekbone, and the darker color in the middle of my cheekbone.  Be careful on the darker color because you dont want to put too much or you will have a noticeable darker streak.  If the darker color is too dark, try mixing both colors together.  I also use the lighter color as a highlighter on my forehead, temples, and nose.  To make this look absolutely gorgeous, use MAC's emote blush.  This blush was released in the Storm Signals Collection (My all time favorite collection in 2007), as a limited edition color, So, I'm not sure if it would be hard to find or not.  Since, I love this powder so much, I will be also purchasing Warm Light/Definitive for Summer.  A Clean peach/mid-tone reddish brown, for much darker skin tones.

 

Above are the Sculpt and Shape product swatches for Accentuate/Sculpt.  No base was used on this product swatch.  I also wanted to show that the two colors mixed, creates a nice color that isn't too bold.

MAC also released three new makeup brushes in this collection.  The only one that really intrigued me was the 138.  It is the perfect brush, espically for MAC's Sculpt and Shape powders but, I just couldn't justify spending $52.00.   Espically, when MAC has so many great collections coming up in spring/summer 2008 that I need to save my money for.  Not to worry though, the 138 is going to be a permanent brush.  I'm almost confident that these powders will work for anyone.  Just make sure you get the correct color for your skin tone and most importantly a good brush.  I cannot stress how important it is to use makeup brushes.  They are the most important tool for a flawless and sanitary makeup application.  If you cannot afford a MAC brush, try Sonia Kashuk brushes available at Target stores.  I have found that some Kashuk brushes are better than MAC and for a great price.

FEATURED - Monday, January 28th 2008

OPI India Collection: Spring Summer 2008

  

OPI Introduces India Collection for Spring Summer 2008.  This India Collection is focused around sunny, high-energy pallette for the nails and lips. This season trends will include: hats, brightly colored bangles, metallic clutch purses, and India inspired beading and embelishments.

I'm really loving OPI India's Collection and China Glaze OMG Collection for Spring and Summer 2008.  Essie and Zoya is taking a different route by introducing sheers and neutral colors for their Spring Collection.  Neutrals are nice, but I need bold colors for Spring and Summer! 

Move over Blue Satin and Russian Navy, OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue is in town and is on Fire!  OPI introduces a new blue nail polish in this collection, which I cannot wait to see!  See the nail polish colors and names below. 

I'm Indi-a Mood for Love - Hot Pink	Yoga-ta Get This Blue - Dark Blue
Get Me to the Taj on Time - Pale Opal	Curry Up Don't Be Late - Metallic Gold
Charmed by a Snake - Bronze	Lunch at the Delhi - Coral
Royal Rajah Ruby - Burgandy	ElePhantastic Pink - Light Pink
Black Cherry Chutney - Dark Blackish-Red	Keys to my Karma - Rich Red
MonSooner or Later - Orange	Moon Over Mumbai - A Soft Gray

Check out the Reviews and Swatches for this collection.

{Photo via: Ball Beauty}

Saturday, February 2nd 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Upcoming Collection Dates

An MAC ADDICT Ultimate Resource for 2008 

Slimshine - 2/7/08 (Int'l March 2008) Permanate MAC Line
Don’t speak. Lips are in danger of all manner of delicious indiscretion. Seductive in colour, shine and staying power. Seven new Slimshine Lipstick shades and 13 bring-back shades invite colourful, ultra-glossy conversations. People will talk.  

Check out the review and photo swatches for MAC's Slimshines Collection.

Mineralize Foundation - (LE) The release date keeps changing
Making headlines with our lightest mineral infusion yet! This unique loose powder foundation brushes on to adhere smoothly to the skin. Provides a radiant natural matte finish with medium-buildable coverage, and SPF 15 for everyday sun protection.

Fafi - 2/14/08 (Int'l March 2008) (LE)
A trendy collection inspired by the French Graphic Artist, Fafi. 

Check out MAC's for Fafi product photos, review & swatches part 1 and review & swatches part 2. 

Strobe - 3/6/08 limited edition
This collection includes: Strobe Liquid, Strobe Cream, Strobe Lip Conditioner, and 4 different shades of Tinted Lip Conditioners.

Check out the review and photo swatches for MAC's Strobe collection.  

Viva Glam VI - 3/6/08
Introducing a Special Edition VG VI Lipglass and new spokesperson into our mix - Fergie! A radical spirit, Fergie burst onto pop culture as female lead in the Black Eyed Peas. She joins Eve and Dita von Teese in speaking out on behalf of VIVA GLAM VI.

Check out review and photo swatches for the new Viva Glam VI Lipglass. 

Beauty Powder Blush - 3/13/08 (Int'l April 2008) (LE)
A micronized powder blush with a subtle pearlize pigment, 8 new shades and 2 re-promoted makeup brushes.

Check out review, swatches and product photos for MAC's newest Beauty Powder Blush. 

Heatherette - 3/20/08 (Int'l April 2008) (LE)
24-Hour Party People know what time it is when N.Y.'s counter-culture couturiers create a paint-by-numbers world of drama with two glittering looks. Choose from Good Girl for day, Bad Girl for night...or be the superstar you are and flip it!

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for MAC's Heatherette Collection.

Euristocrats - 4/1/08 European Stores only 

Naked Paris - Sheer pink brown with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (lustre)

Rue D' Bois - Sheer mid tone pink with multi dimensional pearlized pigments (lustre)

Patisserie - Sheer creamy neutral pink (lustre)

Barcelona Red - Frosty deep coral (frost)

Costa Chic - Frosty light coral (frost) ***A LUST have for coral lovers***

Milan mode - Sheer deep pink with multi dimensional pearlized pigments (lustre)

Going Dutch - Frosty mid tone pink (frost)

Saint Germain - Pastel pink (amplified creme)

London Life - Sheer deep berry with multidimensional pearlized pigments (lustre)

Ramblas Red - Blue red (amplified creme)

Cockney - Sheer yellow red with multi dimensional pearlized pigments (lustre)

Neon Orange - Bright clean orange (Amplified Creme) (PRO Store)

Show Orchid - Vivid hot pink (Amplified Creme) (PRO Store)

Full Fuchsia - Bright clean warm pink (Amplified Creme) (PRO Store)

Fast Play - Medium neutral pink with plum-brown undertones (Amplified Creme) (Repromote)

Bombshell - Soft bright rosy-pink with golden shimmer (Frost) (Repromote)

Check out Specktra's fabulous swatches for this colorful lipstick collection.

Dress Camp - 4/17/08 (Int'l April 2008) extremely rare and "very limited"
Super hot Asia exclusive collection.  This collection will not be available at MAC stores only online.

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for Asia's Dress Camp.

Dazzleglass - 5/1/08 (Int'l May 2008) (LE)
Electro-pearl atoms blast their light as Lipglass gets the dazzle treatment. High-shine + large particle quartz and opal crystal captured in a great new formula with light-reflecting, crystalline iridescence. To be this dazzling: that's power!

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for MAC's new glitter lipgloss.

Naughty Nauticals - 5/1/08 (Int'l May 2008) (LE) 3-part release
Sailors, ahoy! In her fleet of pinks, corals, reds, and the deepest navy Nail Lacquer seen this side of Marseilles, she's uniformly chic, and cruising for romance. In style and desire, she's poised for perfection. Go overboard!  

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for this Naughty collection. 

Stowaways Quad - 5/1/08 Part of the Naughty Nauticals Collection and only available at Nordstrom.

Skinsheen - 5/1/08 (LE) (Int'l June 2008)
Legs...Bronzed to distraction. Seductive and cruise-worthy. A sprayable lightweight gel that unlike your fancy, never drifts. Brushes lightly and flawlessly over the skin. For the ultimate secret application and smoothest sheen, try the 179 Body Buffer Brush.     

Neo Sci-Fi - 5/29/08 (Int'l June 2008) (LE) 3-part release
Spinning glamour into another orbit: our magnetic field of hot fluorescents, modern buffs, beiges and flesh tones are destined to test the laws of your style gravity. With these supersonic shades and neon orange compacts, go shock the galaxy! 

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for the Neo Sci Fi Collection. 

Future Earth - 5/29/08 (Int'l June 2008) (LE)
Lava-licious! The power of Volcanic Ash brought into one dynamic all-black element, Volcanic Ash Exfoliator. Mineral-rich. Cleanses, exfoliates, makes skin look radiant. Its glowing compliment: new Prep + Prime Microfine Lip Refinisher.

Check out the reviews, swatches and product photos for the Volcanice Mask and Lippie.  

Solar Field - 5/29/08 (Int'l June 2008) (LE)
Alternate sun power. Glamour beams across the universe via new Solar Bits: free-formed clusters of rich pigment and pearl. Its full-volt complement: skin made provocatively golden through Bronzing Powder in Solar Riche and Refined Golden

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for the Solar Field Collection.  

Tendertones - 5/29/08 (Int'l June 2008) (LE)
Sexier on the lips than balm. Silkier than gloss. More protective than naked. A lipcolour that combines soft shine, easy glide, and double-smooth satin finish with an everyday sun protective formula. To treat your lips...Love 'em tender.

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for this cult lip balm.  Check out Loreal's HiP Jelly Balm - is an excellent alternative that's actually better than MAC.

Summer Trend Bags - 5/29/08 (Int'l June 2008) (LE)
Shine-blasted. Shockingly fluorescent. Our easygoing Softsac goes patently neon in three tote-along sizes: mini, small and medium. Utterly functional and fun. The best complement to the M·A·C Neo Sci-Fi collection. Available in three buzzed-up colours. 

Cool Heat - 6/12/08 (Int'l July 2008) (LE)
Some looks are too hot for summer to handle but not Cool Heat. Sweltering corals, chill-out blues, complemented by Turquatic and its warm new sister shade, Turquatic Heat, create this season's coolest - and steamiest - beauty paradox.

Check out the review, swatches and product photos for this energetic collection. 

New View - 7/08
Natural and Shimmer. The split personality of powder to sheerly and subtly perfect skin with dimensionality and mineralized starshine. These Mineralize Skinfinish duos are state-of-the-art simplicity, high-resolution finish. 

Sonic Chic - 7/08
Mineralize Blush to break the style barrier: Screamingly chic, but soft, sheer, lightweight. Enhance cheekbones, create planes and contours with the 181 Buffer Brush for flawless blending. The fastest route to perfection yet is Ultra-Sonic.

Check out the Review and Photo Swatches. 

Electroflash - 7/08
Mineralize Eye Shadow in nine new duos with unblinking courage, and convincing new combinations. Add Lipglass and Lipsticks with quantum physics energy, in companion colours and electro-lustres. Electricity is our most precious resource...everybody, electrified!

Check out the Review and Photo Swatches. 

Colour Forms - 7/18/08 (Int'l August 2008) (LE) Nordstrom Exclusive

Lustre Twins - 7/31
Nine new shades of Pro Longwear Lustre Lipcolour featuring an exclusive sheer pigment top coat, with three Nail Lacquers. Separate if you must, but these Lustre Twins shouldn't live without each other. Codependent couture colour and shine starts here! 

Starflash - 7/31
Hollywood's new Power Couple. Our 12 new limited-edition Starflash shadows, combined with Kohl Power Eye Pencil. Shades for a smooth, creamy, cushioned life. Provides the double-wattage impact that will take you to the new stylesphere!

Check out the photo swatches and review. 

Cult of Cherry - 8/21 The new forbidden fruit. Deep, dark, dramatic. Lips ripened with juicy cerises and intoxicating kirsches while eyes smoulder in luscious spiced chocolate. With its sense of way-to-go dark, this is how we separate the bitter from the sweet...Fall drama just got more delicious. 

Check out the photo swatches, review, lip looks using cult of cherry lipstick colors, nail polish swatches and my makeup haul.  

Overrich - 8/21 Fall for luscious. Eight pigments that keep you de-lovely and delicious as ever. Oxidized, rich-metal hues are a cakewalk to apply, for eyes, face and all the sweet spots...These Overrich pigments satisfy an appetite for glamour.  

Check out the photo swatches, review and my makeup haul.

Suite Array - 9/25 Check-in to the double-delight luxury of our new Eye Shadow Suite. Eight shadow duos in unexpectedly fresh and frivolous colours paired with one of our new Pearlglide Eye Liners will provide you with all the accoutrements of day and night bedroom eyes.

Check out the review and photo swatches. 

Gold Fever - 9/25

MAC for Ungaro - 9/25 Dreamy, softly impressionistic, reverential...To celebrate his exciting debut, It-Designer, Esteban Cortazar, celebrity makeup artist, Sharon Dowsett, and M·A·C come together backstage to create a colour collection in the spirit of today's Ungaro.

Check out the review and photo swatches. 

Red She Said - 10/16 The retro-starlet allure of Hollywood glamour, with a modern twist. A season where lips connive, then confess in shades of provocative holiday reds. Party season and passions flare! "Red" She Said, and no one could resist her.

Check out the review and photo swatches.

Saturday, February 9th 2008

MAC for Fafi: Fafi T-Shirt and Product Photos

Look what I stumbled upon today at my MAC store!  And, she thought she could get away without a picture, I think not!  What a great way to start the day.  My trip to the mall today was so eventful, and I'm excited to bring some back some news!  Not only did I get to preview Fafi, and Slimshine, drum roll please....Chanel Summer 2008 Makeup Collection!  Yes, that's right another collection and it's not even spring yet!  Bring on the summer!  Let me give you a little hint, Hello PINK!  A limited edition eyeshadow quad, and one of the colors is an awesome bright pink.  Two new nail colors are introduced in this collection.  Flamingo, a bright pink and Antilope a golden brown.  Sometime in March this collection will be releasing.  I'm going to need crazy pills for all these collections!

Initially, when MAC lauched the Fafi website I wasn't really attracted to the t-shirts.  It was just something I bypassed because, for the price, I can get a quad or two lipsticks, etc.  But, they are SO cute!  Seriously, when you see them on, their adorable!  This shirt literally speaks "Bad Ass!"  Espically with some Black Satin nail polish.  If your somewhat interested in these, do not wait, they will go fast being an Online Exclusive only!

After seeing all the Fafi swatches, and reading all the information from the MAC website, I have a pretty long lost of items that I'm interested in, and can't wait to play around with colors on February 14th.  I'm trying to avoid to crowd on release day.

Firstly, being a lipstick gal, I'm mostly excited about them.  The MA said really good things about the texture, so I'm really hoping it's true!  There is 4 out of the 6 colors that I'm looking forward to trying out.  Eyeshadows are also a big thing for me.  I am loving the Fafi Quad 1.  But, I'm just not to sure about the Quad 2.  It's colors that I normally wouldn't pick out, but, I'm not knocking it down.  I'm having my MA do me up, and if it's a go, I'll definitely take pictures to show everyone.  As far as the merchandise, I'm ordering all that online.  I'm not even taking the chance.  Last year, everything sold out at my store in a matter of one hour, with the Barbie loves MAC collection.  And, this isn't the first time this has happened.  I'm hoping MAC releases it online early, like they usually do with other collections.  But, don't hold your breath, because who knows. I'll probably get all 3 dolls ($9.00 each, I thought they be alot more expensive), T-shirt, after seeing it today, and the scarve.  If you love to put scarves in your hair this is a must! 

Only, one more week left.  Stay tuned for more information.  Are you planning to purchase anything?  If so, do you already have a list?

Check out the Fafi collection product photos and Reviews; Part One and Part two.

Love the french artist?  Check out the MOB (most official bitches) Fafi inspired t-shirt.  Love this!

Monday, February 11th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Fafi Collection Launched Online

MAC Cosmetics launched Fafi online early! Click here to order it now!  Don't miss out on all the limited edition merchandise, I have a feeling the merchandise will go extremly fast, espically the exclusive items!

Today, I ordered all 3 fafinette dolls, scarve, t-shirt, and a small cosmetic bag.  I didn't order any makeup, because I want to go to the MAC stores and mess around with the colors.  Colors can be deceiving without actually seeing them in person. 

Stay tuned for reviews and swatches.

Sunday, February 10th 2008

Chanel Summer 2008 Makeup: Product Photos

Another collection?  That's right, it's not even Spring yet!  Doesn't it seem like Chanel is always the first ones to release their collections early?  I love summer and I sure am loving this limited edition eyeshadow quad and their two new nail polishes!  

Stay tuned as I will post the color story.  I'm waiting for Chanel to verify the limited edition items.  Hopefully, I will have that up today.  This collection is set to release sometime in March.  

I do know that this eyeshadow quad is a limited edition item.  This colors in this quad is absolutely stunning.  A bright pink, peach, light green, and bronze.  Two new limited edition nail colors are also introduced in this collection.  Flamingo, a bright pink and Antilope, a golden brown.  Oh boy, I can't wait to see these nail colors.

Read the Color Story for the Chanel's 2008 summer makeup collection and take a sneak peak at the Fall 2008 Golden Child Color Story. 

Check out my reviews and photo swatches for the Chanel 2008 Summer Makeup Collection.

FEATURED - Friday, February 15th 2008

Chanel: 2008 Summer Collection Color Story

The destination of choice this season?  An extoic local, where very little comes between you and a beautiful bronze.  Chanel captures the feel of adventure - and the stunning sun effect - of the summer safari.  An exclusive colour collection, including sun-swept tan, golden bronze, pink bronze, and shades of khaki, delivers the must alluring getaway looks.

Chanel 2008 Summer Collection Color Story

FACE

Soleil Tan De Chanel.  Moisturizing Bronzing Powder.  Colors: Desert Corail, Terre Epice, Terre Ambre, Desert Bronze, Sable Dor*.  Price $48.00.

Bronze Uninersel De Chanel.  Sun Illuminator.  One color.  $45.00 USD.

EYES 

Ombre Essentielle.  Soft Touch Eyeshadow.  Colors: Tigre* (Bronze), Nomade* (Pink Rose), Khaki** (Khaki Green), Safari** (Stone Brown).  Price $27.50

Lumieres Facettes.  Iridescent Eye Effects.  Oasis*.  Colors included in quad: Khaki, Bronze, Coral and Pink Shimmer.  Price $55.00. 

Ombre Deu.  Fluid Irisdescent Eyeshadow.  Color: Atoll* (Gold Sand).  Price $30.00

Stylo Yeux Waterproof.  Long Lasting Eyeliner.  Vert Bronze* (Green Bronze), and Espresso** (Dark Brown).  Price $26.50.

 Inimitable Waterproof.  Mascara Multi-deminsionel.  Color: Emeraude* (Jade Green).  Price $27.50.

LIPS

Rouge Hydrabase.  Creme Lipstick.  Colors; Leopard* (Golden Coral), and Rose Flamingo* (Flamingo Pink).  Price $26.00

Rouge Allure.  Luminous Satin Lip Color.  Naive (Pink Nude), and Curious* (Nude Brown).  Price $30.00.

Aqualumiere.  Sheer Color Lipshine SPF 15.  Colors: Zanzibar* (Soft Peach), and Mauritius* (Bronzed Coral).  Price $26.00.

Levres Scintillantes.  Glossimer.  Colors: Gazelle** (Praline Pink), Pinup** (Frosted Golden Peach), and Seashell** (Soft Shimmering Pink).  Price $30.00.

NAILS

 Le Vernis.  Nail Colour.  Colors: Antilope* (Frosted Golden Brown), Flamingo Pink* (Bright Pink).  Price $19.00.

* Represents Limited Edition Colors

** Represents Repromotes

A new fragrance will be introduced in the Fall of 2008.  It is described as a softer version of Chanel No. 5.  It will only be available in one size, 5oz spray bottle, retailing $125.00.  Stay tuned for more on this.  

There is a couple of items I'm really looking forward to in this collection.  Lumieres Facettes (limited edition), the colours are beautiful bronzed in this eyeshadow quad along with a gorgeous pink color.  Inimitable Emeraude, a jade green mascara and last but not least, the limited edition nail colours.  I can't wait to see Flamingo, a bright pink and the golden bronze.  I expect one of those if not both to be sold out colours.  There is alot of greens in this collection.  Do I see a Jade Green nail polish for the fall of 2008?  Oh, I hope so!  What nail colour would you like to see Chanel come out with for fall?

UPDATE: The new collection should arrive at Chanel counters end of March beginning of April.

Check out the reviews and photo swatches on the Chanel 2008 Makeup Collection.

Wednesday, February 13th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Fafi Merchandise Haul

MAC Cosmetics officially releases the Fafi Collection nationwide to MAC stores, and other fine department stores.  Here is some of the merchandise that I picked up online, because I knew my store wouldn't have stock. 

Small Fafi Cosmetic Bag.  Limited Edition.  $25.00 USD.  This has to be my favorite item of my merchandise haul.  It is the perfect size.  Don't let the "small" mis-lead you in anyway.  This is not small by any means.  In the picture above, I put 5 MAC Lipsticks and 4 Lipglasses, and you can see it's not even half full.  So, it has plenty of room.  I also might pick up the mini one, so I can keep in my purse filled with lipsticks, glosses, etc.  

Fafi Scarve.  $15.00 USD.  Limited Edition.  I really like the scarve, and at $15.00 it's quite a steal.  Put it in your hair, on your purse, or even around your neck!  This is a  "Sold Out Item" on the MAC website.  Hopefully, you can find it at your local store.

Fafi T-Shirt.  $38.00 USD.  Limited Edition.  Not as cute as Barbie loves MAC t-shirts, but, still buy worthy.  These shirts are really cute.  In my opinion, they look cuter if they are form fitted and paired up with the scarve as a bandana and some big hoop earrings.

 

Fafi Dolls.  Limited Edition $9.00 USD.  These are adorable and at $9.00 each, why not pick up one, two or even three!  The Dolls are pretty small, about the size of a MAC Lipglass.

Tomorrow, I am off to the MAC store to check out the makeup.  I didn't want to go today, because I get so claustrophobic when tons of people are in the store, when a collection releases. 

Stay tuned for reviews and swatches on the makeup.

FEATURED - Monday, March 3rd 2008

Essie: Style Berry Nail Polish

Essie and The Style Network have partnered to created a unique limited edition nail color that polishes everyone's style.  Style.Berry is inspired by Style networks classic logo colors.

This is the newest addition released from essie cosmetics.  Now, who doesn't love Pink!  I'm always a sucker for pink, so I'll definitely have to try this one out soon!  This color looks similar to another Essie favorite of mine, Jumpin Junkanoo.  But, it's hard to tell based on the pictures.

Stayed tuned for my swatches and reviews.

FEATURED - Wednesday, March 5th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Strobe Collection

MAC Cosmetics introduces the Strobe collection.  Three enlightened ways to brighten your look: Strobe Cream, our original blend of sheer soft-focus diffusers; Strobe Liquid, instant radiance in fluid, light-diffusion form; and for lips, Tinted Lip Conditioner Stick SPF 15 with strobe pearl.

Stobe Liquid.  Blending soft-focus diffusers with iridescent pigments, this ultra-fluid strobe formula produces a soft, radiant light on the skin, reducing the appearance of skin imperfections by providing a natural-looking glow. Refreshing. Spreads on smoothly and absorbs quickly. Leaves the skin looking healthier and more radiant. A lighter-weight addition to the popular Strobe Cream. 50 ml / 1.7 us oz. US $29.50.

Strobe Cream.  The ultimate quick fix for the skin. Super-powered with potent botanicals; de-snoozes, de-stresses, moistens, freshens and boosts the look of dull, flat or tired-looking skin with a fully loaded vitamin zap and a mega dose of green tea. Brightens and clarifies with iridescent particles and antioxidants. Enhances the effects of light on all skin and in all lighting conditions from sunlight to spotlight. 50 ml / 1.7 us oz. US $29.50.

Tinted Lip Conditioner Stick SPF 15.  Formulated with strobe pearl, this luxurious lip conditioner combines sheer soft-light-quenched colour with broad spectrum UVA/UVB SPF 15 protection and moisture.  US$14.50.  Check out the product color swatches below.

The only thing that looks appealing to me in this collection is the tinted lip conditioners with SPF 15.  But, at $14.50 a pop, that's a pretty hefty price tag for just a lip balm.  Although, this would be a excellent product for the pool or beach this summer. 

Check out my review and swatches on the lip conditioner.

FEATURED - Wednesday, March 5th 2008

China Glaze: Ecollection for Spring

China Glaze is going eco-friendly for spring! China Glaze introduces a second collection for spring 2008.  ecollection, to preserve the beauty of our world's colors, tread lightly and leave only footprints. In Blahniks or Birkenstocks, going green is always fashionable. 

The ecollection colors is based around earth, sand, sun, water, clouds and trees.  This collection is very much different from the previous spring release, OMG collection.  I love how this collection is focused around more "earthy colors".  Check out the color swatches and display photos below.

 

It's really hard to judge the color by these photo swatches.  The colors that I'm interested in seeing are: Recycle, Unplugged, Hybrid and Shower Together.  Tree Hugger and Solar Power will be interesting to see on.  These are colors I normally wouldn't go for, but, we'll see, you never know.  The ecollection is now available at Head to 2 Beauty and other China Glaze retailers.

Check out the reviews and swatches on this Eco-friendly ecollection.

Tuesday, March 18th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Heatherette Launched Online

24-Hour Party People know what time it is when N.Y.'s counter-culture couturiers create a paint-by-numbers world of drama with two glittering looks. Choose from Good Girl for day, Bad Girl for night...or be the superstar you are and flip it!

Can't wait for the Heatherette collection?  Well, the collection launched today on MAC Cosmetics website.  The collection releases early in all MAC stores on March 20th, 2008.

Stay tuned for reviews and photos swatches on the Heatherette Collection.

FEATURED - Friday, March 14th 2008

MAC Strobe Collection: Reviews and Swatches

The Strobe collection offers a new line of sheer tinted moisturizing lip conditioners with added bonus's, SPF 15 and UVA/UVB retailing $14.50/ea.  They are very soft, creamy and feel wonderful on your lips, and just in time for the pool and beach.  I  just want to add that these lip conditioners are extemely sheer, which was a little disappionting.  It was really hard to capture a photo swatch due to the sheerness of this product.  Honestly, they are way to sheer for my liking, espically for $14.50/ea.  I think I'm going to stick to my good ole tinted burts bee lip balm, it's just as good!

Kiss is a coral pink sheer color that is very faint.  This color would go great for those looking to bring out the natural pigmented colors in lips. 

Rays is a bronzy shimmery color that is my favorite out of the bunch.  This is a great color for those bronze beauties out there. 

Blossom is a nice cool very sheer pink tone.  This color would be more apprioate for those who don't have pigmented lips.

Current looks mauve-brownish in the tube and is the darkest color of the bunch.

Beam is hint of shimmer clear color.  I honestly, could hardly see the shimmer in this color.  And, on the photo swatch it is not even noticable.

I didn't pick up anything in this collection, just because I felt nothing appealed to me.  The colors are extremely sheer, and to honest, I rather spend $14.50 on a MAC lipstick or lipglass.  Plus, I have to save my mula for the next exciting upcoming collection heatherette.

Tuesday, March 18th 2008

China Glaze Ecollection: Review and Swatches

Suprisingly, Unplugged was my favorite color of China Glaze Ecollection.  A beautiful brown rust color with red and gold shimmer making this color stunning.

Shower Together a bright turquoise blue color that is my second favorite out of the ecollection.  Many hollywood celebs have been sporting around this color.  This color is comparable to China Glazes popular, Aqua Baby.

Solar Power, a bright taxi cab color that represents the sun but, don't be afraid of this color!  Believe it or not, this color is going to be the "it" color geared towards summer.  Rescue Beauty Lounge also has a beautiful yellow color that I will be swatching soon.  I was really hesitant about this color at first, but, ended up like it.  Solar Power will look great on those pedi's.

 

Tree Hugger, a Granny Smith Apple shimmer color, that is perfect for spring.  I really like this color, it also reminds me of an sour apple blow pop.

Hybrid, a light brown shimmer that is very comparable to OPI Charmed by a snake.  This is a nice neutral color, that most will find appealing.

Recycle, a dark gray creme shade that's my first. Gray nail polishes are on the hot radar right now, so I think alot of us will really like this color. 

Overall, I really liked this collection and the fact that the colors are based around the envirnoment is and A+ in my book.  The fact is, our Environment is in Crisis and we need to be aware of this critical problem.  What have you done to change the envirnoment?

I laughed when my husband handed my 20 cloth re-usable bags at Walmart to replace the plastic ones.  But, the fact is, he is the one laughing at me.  If everyone just makes the littlest change, it could make the biggest difference.

I would love to hear if anyone has done anything different to save the envirnoment.

Wednesday, March 19th 2008

MAC Beauty Powder Blush: Review and Swatches

 

MAC Cosmetics introduces Beauty Blush Collection.  A Silky-fine, shot with pearl, this blush inspires a subtle glow in tandem with a pure colour vibe. Ultra-smooth, delivers a light and alluring shimmer together with a sheer-colour payoff. Builds colour for ultimate effect. In every way luxurious. Limited edition. 6 g / 0.21 us oz.  US $17.50.

These blushes are absolutely stunning, espically if you are a blush lover!  I really love all the mixture of colors, definitely there's a color suitable for most everyone in this collection.  As much as I wanted every color, I had to be realistic and only picked up one, True Romantic.  Sweetness blush is comparable to MAC Fafi Fashion Frenzy, and Joyous is comparable to MAC Fafi's Hipness.  So, if you picked up those two from the previous Fafi collection, I would rest assure and save your money.

Check out the beauty powder blush swatches below.

 

 

FEATURED - Wednesday, March 19th 2008

Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes: Review and Swatches

Thanks to a unique formula that adheres to the eyelids, these eye liners resist water even under the most extreme conditions, without running or fading.

What is it?  A two in one eyeshadow  and eyeliner pencil.

What it does?  These waterproof eyeshadow and eye liner pencils contain a unique formula that adheres to the eyelids and resists water even under the most extreme conditions, without running or fading.

My oh my, Aqua Eyes, where have you been my whole life!  Oh my godness, these are the best eye liner pencils I've ever tried hands down.  They have magnificent color payoff, stay on for hours and apply very smooth, like a dream!  That's right they stay, no coming off in the hot and humid weather conditions.  Color Art is the trend for Spring and Summer, so don't miss out on these dreamy eye liners. 

Aqua eyes are availabe at all Sephora stores, and retail for $16.00 USD.  Check out the beautiful array of colors available below.

 

If you've never tried Aqua Eyes, then you must if you love colorful eye liners!  They are absolutely brilliant, and well, the pictures don't  justify the beautiful colors available.

FEATURED - Wednesday, March 19th 2008

Sally Hansen Color Pen: Review and Swatch

Sally Hansen introduces a new nail polish technology.  Color quick fast dry nail color pen.  New fast dry nail color formula packaged in an easy-to-use, take anywhere spill-proof pen.  Just click to dispense color, brush on and go!  Handy application makes it easy to use anytime, anywhere!  Retail Price is $7.99 USD.  No DBP, Toluene or Free Formaldehyde.  Check out the 8 color shades available below.

I really hate to give bad reviews on products, but, this certainly gets a big two thumbs down for me. I felt like I had no control of the amount of color applied to my nails.  It either came out in a big goopy mess, or not enough color for the application, and dried too fast for me to correct it.  However, the hot pink color is very pretty.  This is certainly something I will not be purchasing again, espically for $7.99.  Great idea Sally, just get the technique perfected, then this would be an great product.

Thursday, March 20th 2008

MAC Cosmetics Heatherette: It's Here

It's Heatherette time!  Today is the day this highly anticipated collection releases at all MAC stores nationwide and approved MAC retailers!  Don't be the last one standing, because I have a feeling this collection will sell out super fast!  MAC's website already has most items back ordered already!

The lipsticks and lipglasses are what I'm looking forward to most. The MAC SA told me the patent leather eyelashes are a must, so I can't wait to see them.  I will be a my MAC store today at 10 EST sharp!  I'm not missing out on this one! 

Check out my reviews and photo swatches on The Heatherette Colllection.

FEATURED - Thursday, March 20th 2008

MAC Heatherette: Review and Swatches

 

Forget the reviews, the photo swatches justify everything!  I tried to get high quality pictures for you guys on the MAC Heatherette Collection.  But, as always its hard to capture beautiful color.

Overall, I really liked the Heathertte collection with the exception of a few items. MAC's previous collection, Fafi, which many of us were disappiointed (excluding myself), was my favorite.  I have to be honest, I really loved the Fafi collection.  I think many of us really didn't give Fafi a chance due to the bold daring colors and was hyptonized by Heatherette's pink packaging (ha ha I was).

On to the Heatherette collection.  WOW!  Fafi who?  This collection is going to be the Barbie loves MAC collection of 2008, and is going to be sold out extremely fast!  I always advise people not to wait when it comes to MAC's limited edition collections.  Because, you don't wanna pay those outrageous ebay prices.  If you love pink foremost, then this is a must have collection in your beauty wardrobe. 

Heatherette Lipstick and Lipglasses.  I purchased every color except Fleshpot Lipstick and Bonus Beat Lipglass.  They just seemed really dull and boring to me, compared to all the others from this colorful collection.  Fleshpot and Bonus Beat are somewhat similar to the Lollipop Loving and Sock Hop, as you can see by these swatches.  The only true difference is Lollipop Loving and Sock Hop are more orangish rather than beigish. 

The Heatherette Collection Eye Shadow Trio's. It was really hard to pick one eye shadow Trio, so I choose both.  My philosphy, whenever in doubt, get both.  No, really I don't condone that, because it will get you and your checkbook in trouble.  But, I did end up purchasing both, because they are equally beautiful.  Heatherette Trio 1 is my favorite out of the two, only because it has a gorgeous shimmery blue color.

The Heathertte Collection Glitter and Pigments.  The most definite stand out colors amoung the glitters and pigments are, Pink Pearl and 3D Silver.  Pink Pearl, described as a mid-tone pink color with blue undertones, that makes this color really pretty.  Another bonus to Pink Pearl is it can be used on your eyes, cheeks, lips, etc.  Pink Pearl paired up with Fafi's, Fun n Sexy lipstick (which also has blue undertones) would look great together.  3D Silver, describled as a multi-reflective silver metallic glitter, is right up my alley.  Although, 3D Silver is not eye safe, you can use it for other purposes.  The MA had $$$$$ Yes, mixed up with the 3D silver glitter and looked hot paired together.

MAC Heatherette Dual Edge Eye Pencils.  I love these bold pretty colors!  My must haves are the Pop Blue/Black Funk and Fab Orchid/Dash Lily.  I also liked Nighhawk/Front Row but, haven't decided if I'm purchasing it yet.

 

The Heatherette Beauty Powders.  I had to pass on both beauty powders, just because I recently purchased two gorgeous beauty powders from the previous, Fafi collection.  Beleive it or not there is actually a swatch for Alpha Girl (very faint cool pink color).  Alpha Girl, described as a light pink with gold nuances.  The color is unbeleivealble light, I put numerous coats on my NC25/30 skin, and the pink is still very faint.  I think this color will be more appealing for cooler skin tones.  Smooth Harmony, described as a medium gold bronze color that is more on the organish side but, had great color payoff, espically for those with darker skin tones.  Smooth Harmony, is a color that would be more appealing to me rather than Alpha Girl. 

 

The Heatherette Nail Polishes.  The stand out color out of the two is, $$$$$ Yes.  I happened to pick up both colors, because Lola Devine is a nice coral shade I've been looking for.  Lola Devine, described as a soft mid-tone coral (cream) nail polish color.  This is a true coral color nail polish that is very pretty.  If you've been looking for that perfect coral color, well, Lola Devine is what your looking for.  $$$$$ Yes, described as a metallic silver foil (frost) nail polish color.  The MA had $$$$$ Yes combined with 3D silver glitter, and just looked devine. I really liked this color also. 

Check out an great alternative to MAC's, $$$$$ Yes nail polish. 

 

The MA's went on and on about these pantent leather-look lashes way before this line was even released.  So, this was a must have for me.  I haven't personally worn them yet, but, saw them on and they look pretty hot.  If you love MAC's number 7 eyelashes, you will love these.  I love that they are very natural looking.  I'm saving these beauties for a special night out.

Check out the photos at the MAC's Heatherette Launch party in Los Angeles, CA.

FEATURED - Friday, March 21st 2008

Chanel Summer Collection: Reviews and Swatches

Overall, I was really impressed with their Summer Collection.  Chanel's last couple of collections really hasn't impressed me, so, I was pretty excited.  This collection can be for anyone.  They have all the season's "it" colors.  Peach, pink, bronze, and corals are this seasons it's colors and it think they hit the nail on the head. 

The thing I love about this collection, it's very suitable for "Green Eyes!"  I have light green eyes and olive complexion, and sometimes it hard to satisfy us, let's just say that.  These colors look amazing with green and hazel eyes.  Emeraude, gives a hint of color that's not too bold nor daring, and the Vert Bronze eyeliner, is very unique, like an olive green bronze liner.  Items I picked up: Oasis Quad, Nail Polishes, Gazelle Glossimer, Emeraude Mascara, Atoll eyeshadow fluid and Vert Bronze eye liner.  Gazelle, is by far a must have, it's simply gorgeous, and the color pay-off is great you don't even need a lipstick!

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Polish.  $19.00 USD.  Flamingo and Antilope are both limited edition colors for the Summer 2008 Makeup Collection.  Flamingo, described as a pink flamingo with gold shimmers, that makes this beautiful.  Antilope is a metallic light bronze sand color that is also gorgeous.  I think the most appealing color will be Antilope because it is a very neutral color.  Although, they are both gorgeous colors, and will sell out quicky, as most Chanel limited edition colors do.

The Flamingo and Antilope has been applied with two coats.  One thing I love about these polishes is you can contol the color completely.  They apply somewhat sheer, but, can be darkened nicely with an additonal coat.

I've been hearing alot about these two colors lately.  So, I wanted to show you guys the comparisons.  Delice and Antilope may seem similar, but, are completely different in their own way.  Delice, is a very clear-to-light beige sheer polish with lots of gold shimmer.  Antilope, is a semi-sheer, sand frosty color, that does not have any shimmer.  Although, it may be semi-sheer it applies much thicker than Delice.  It actually has good color, and can be thickened easily by additional coats.  I definitely prefer Antilope over Delice. 

Here are some additional swatches.  Stay tuned for more to come.

 

Chanel Levres Scinttillantes Glossimer.  $26.00 USD.  Gazelle, a new color this year, described as a prailine pink color with orangish undertone.  I know it's described as a prailine pink, but, I'm seeing more peach in this color, which makes this a very hot and unique color!  Repromotes: Pinup, described as a frosted golden peach color and Seashell, described as a soft shimmering bubblegum pink color.  To be honest with you, I loved every single color, even though two are repromotes.  I can't say enough good things about Chanel's Glossimer's.  They really are FAB!

 

Chanel Aqualumiere Lipshine.  $26.00 USD.  Mauritius, described as a bronzed coral color and Zanzibar, a soft peach color.

Chanel Rouge Allure Satin Lip Color.  $30.00 USD.  Naive, described as a sheer light pink color.  Curious, described as a sheer nude brown color 

Chanel Rouge Hydrabase Creme Lipstick.  $26.00 USD.  Rose Flamingo, described as a pretty pink flamingo color.  Leopard, described as a gold coral color.  Flamingo and Leopard both has awesome color payoff.  Both these colors are so calling my name, but, I just hate spending that much for lipstick!  Urggh! Check out some color combinations of the Lipstick and Glossimer's.

Here are some Lipstick and Glossimer combinations.  Again, the Rose Flamingo and Leopard are the definte stand out colors to me.  One thing I love about Rose Flamingo and Leopard, it just takes the right lip gloss and you can accomplish every color shown here.  Rose Flamingo with Seashell or any light pink gloss will create the Navie/Seashell look.  And, Leopard paired up with Pinup or any light peach lipgloss will create the Zanzibar/Gazelle look.

When creating lip combinations, I always think in terms of "good color pay-off", when choosing a lipstick color.  Because, after all, that is your prime base, so make it a good one.  And, if you have good color pay-off, all it takes is gloss to create any of look or color.  Mix your glosses with lipstick colors you normally wouldn't, I bet you'll be surpised in the color outcome!

 

Chanel Inimitable Waterproof Mascara. $27.50 USD.  Emeraude, described as a beautiful jade green color.  I messed around with the color today, and I do like it.  It's a Jade Green, but, isn't very noticable which is why I liked it.  Just a hint of color, that everyone can wear.  I espically loved it because it brought out my light green eyes.  This color would also look great with hazel eyes. 

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner.  $26.50 USD.  Espresso, described as a dark brown choclate color.  Vert Bronze, described as a green-bronze eyeliner.  The stand out of the two eyeliners is  definitely Vert Bronze.  It's a very unique color eyeliner that I really liked.

 

Chanel Ombre Deu Fluid Irisdescent Eyeshadow.  $30.00 USD.  Atoll, described as a gold sand color.  This color is absolutely stunning.  It's a very pretty gold sand color that looks great alone or as an eyeshadow base!  Also, looks great paired with Vert Bronze eyeliner.  I really love Vert Bronze it's a very unique eye liner color!

Friday, March 21st 2008

MAC Mineralize Foundation: Available at Nordstrom

A lightweight loose powder foundation that utilizes the power of minerals to provide the skin with a smooth, radiant, natural finish.  Brushes on the skin for sophisticated, medium-buildable coverage. Special mineral complex helps keep skin healthy and nourished while the blend of moisturizers and conditioners in the formula help create a smooth, flawless application.  Provides essential everyday SPF 15 sun protection.  $29.00 USD.

I was beginning to think the mineralized foundation was never going to be released.  It is anow vailable at Nordstrom.com.  I put a directly link to the foundation because it is really tricky to find.  It is not under any of the MAC Collections on the site.  I'm really looking forward to trying this foundation.  I'm a die hard Bare Minerals fan, (yawn), and I'm ready for a new foundation!  Check out the product color swatches below.

Stay tuned for reviews and swatches for MAC's Mineralized Powder Foundation.

FEATURED - Saturday, March 22nd 2008

MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam: Reviews and Swatches

MAC Cosmetics, Introduced a Special Edition VG VI Lipglass and new spokesperson into our mix - Fergie! A radical spirit, Fergie burst onto pop culture as female lead in the Black Eyed Peas. She joins Eve and Dita von Teese in speaking out on behalf of VIVA GLAM VI.

A soft neutral pink, in Lipglass's hi-shine gloss finish. The first VG shade to be translated into a Lipglass! VIVA GLAM VI, the second Lipglass in the VIVA GLAM family, is a subtle warm terracotta-peach with white pearl and ultra high-shine finish. Wear it alone or over its namesake Lipstick. As in all Viva Glam lipsticks, every cent raised goes to the M·A·C AIDS Fund to support the fight against AIDS. 4.8g / 0.17 oz. US $14.00.

Check out the photo swatch below.

I know this review and swatch is a little late, but, better late than never.  Viva Glam VI SE is described as a pretty bubblegum pink lipglass shade, which is much of an improvement from the previous VI version.  This special edition lipglass is available for a limited time only at MAC Cosmetics and other MAC retailers and it's for a great cause!

FEATURED - Saturday, March 22nd 2008

Jennifer Lopez Deseo Fragrance: Review

Deseo means desire..wish...dreams..things you want.  It just seemed perfect for this time in my life.  I want to inspire people to dream and want more, and never stop reaching for the things they want to accomplish in their lives.  That's really the scentiment behind deseo. -Jennifer Lopez.

A floral woody fragrance.  Deseo is a sensual scent desired inspired by a midnight walk through a rain-kissed tropical garden.  A sparkling burst of fresh orange blossom and pink geranium luxurite with a hint of mineral notes and sensual amber.

I personally love Jennifer Lopez's fragrances.  The original Glow and Miami Heat is my all time favorite fragrances, and the one I get compliments on the most.  So, I was really interested in testing her new fragrance out.  As it happened, I received a sample in my Macy's catalog, and loved it at first scent, as you might say!  This fragrance reminds me of a sweet tropical island scent, that is perfect just in time for the hot months ahead.  There is something about similar about this fragrance that reminds me of Miami Heat.  It's a very sweet, summery scent.  I don't think this is a fragrance I will be wearing all year long, just during the hot summer months.  All ages approved, I think anyone, any age, can wear this tropical scent, I love it! 

The packaging re-invents bling, and what girl doesn't like bling, bling, baby!  A dazzling diamond cut gemstone like flacon which emerges from a simple natural pack.

FEATURED - Sunday, March 23rd 2008

Make Up For Ever: Flash Color Review

What is it?  A Complete coverage, special effect cream color for your face, eyes, lips, and cheeks.

What does it do?  A must-have for any professional makeup artist, these thick creamy colors flawlessly cover the skin and can be easily shaded together to obtain a wide variety of effects, depending on the quantity applied. Use to create special effects with color like decorative designs on the face or body. They can also be used for face painting on children. Retail cost $17.00 USD.

I was first introduced to the Make Up For Ever brand last year, when I purchased a very sticky lip gloss, that I absolutely hated.  What do they always say about first impressions?  They mean everything!  Well, my first impression on this professional makeup brand, was not so good, and I never looked back until now!

I was at my local Sephora, and the beautiful stunning colors caught my eye immediately.  So, I decided to give them another chance!  And, boy was missing out.  Not, only did I discover how beautiful the Aqua Eyes eyeliner was, but, the Flash Color hit the jackpot.

Flash Color is a new product from the Make Up For Ever line, and is available at Sephora.  It can basically be used as anything!  Face, lips, eyes and cheeks!  It's so versatile, and you know me, I'm all about versatile beauty products.  The color pay-off is absolutely fabulous, and the fact they stay on forever, blows my mind away.  I'll give you an example of how powerful the staying power is.  I had to scrub and scrub to get the swatches off my arm.

Here are the colors that are available now at Sephora.

 

Just look at the color selection, it is amazing!  I'm all about color, so if you love color, this product is definitely for you.  As far as a eyeshadow creme base, this blows Urban Decay Primer Potion and MAC Paint Pots out of the water completely, as far as color creme bases.  Unfortunately, my Sephora didn't have all the colors that I could swatch, but, was able to come out with a few.  Check out the photo swatches below.

 

The colors I picked up are Coral 2, Gold 4 and Copper 19.  Sephora didn't have any other colors I wanted, thank goodness!  Because, I would of came outta there bankrupt, literally.  Coral 2 is a very beautiful color that most of us will find appealing.  Gold and Copper are the perfect colors for summer, espically if you love the gold and bronzed look.  I really wanted to get a green color but, these were flying off the shelves.

All in all, there is two lessons I've learned from my experience.  Lessons that you should follow throughout purchasing beauty products and in life generally speaking.  Firstly, don't judge "products or people" by their first impression, because you could be missing out big time.  I've sure you've heard the ole saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover", well listen to it!  It's not an old folks tale for nothing!   Secondly (not a lesson really), these are an amazing product and I can't wait to stock up on more colors!

Thursday, March 27th 2008

Sally Hansen Sterling: Limited Edition Color

At my local drugstore, I was lucky enough to stumble upon this limited edition nail polish color from Sally Hansen, Sterling.  It's very rare that a nail polish color in a drugstore catches my eye.  But, this color definitely caught my eye quickly.  And, I was very fortunate because they were just putting out the display, which only held about 8 bottles.  So, I guess it was my lucky day!

Sally Hansen, Sterling, described as a metallic silver nail polish color that isn't too heavy nor sheer.  I really like Sally Hansen's Salon formula's, and was excited to get a hold of this limited edition color.

Think metallic colors are out?  Think again!  They are on a ongoing rising trend for Spring and Summer.  MAC Cosmetics just released a new metallic silver nail polish color from the Heatherette Collection, $$$$$ Yes.  Check out the photo comparisons between Sally Hansen's and MAC"s color. 

.

Can you see the difference?  If not, well that's because their about 98% identical.  There is only one true difference, MAC's $$$$$ Yes, is more sheer compared to Sally Hansen's, Sterling.  I actually prefer Sally Hansen's formula because it's a tad bit thicker, and has a true metallic silver color payoff.

If you can find this limited color, it's defintely worth picking up.  Sterling is a better and cheaper version of MAC's, $$$$$ Yes nail polish.

FEATURED - Saturday, March 29th 2008

Chanel: Aqualumiere Lip Collection

We all know, when it comes to lip gloss, CHANEL ranks among the best out there.  Glossimer is hand downs the best lipgloss and my personal #1 favorite.  Leaving your lips feeling completely hydrated and full of color and shine.  If you love lip gloss but, hate the sticky mess it leaves behind, then you must venture over to the Chanel counter.

I'm really excited about this news, as a chanel glossimer lover.  Chanel introduces a new partner in crime to their Aqualumiere collection.  And, I do say "parnter in crime" because if it's anything like the glossimers....Oh boy, look out! 

Aqualumiere Gloss, a high-shine, sheer concentrate.  A daringly transparent, deeply shiny, gel-based formula that brushes on like a sheer punch of brilliant colour.  The brush applicator guarantee's precise coverage, ultra-lightweight, and comfortable on lips.  9 new colors will be introduced, retailing $26.00 USD.  Also, introduced are some new limited edition Aqualumiere lipshine colors which should be available the first week of May.

Doesn't she look absolutely stunning, and I am so loving this lip color.  I can already predict this color combination is going to be a must have for the summer!  And, I've got the scoop!

Check out the color story, reviews and swatches, for Chanel's Aqualumiere Lip Gloss.

FEATURED - Wednesday, April 16th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Dress Camp Launches Online

MAC Cosmetics launches the Asian Exclusive, Dress Camp.  While I was out enjoying the gorgeous weather yesterday here in KY, this collection was selling out right under my nose!  Dress Camp Collection is completely sold out online! Yikes!  Maybe it's the hot pink colors or the sexy animal print packaging that we just can't resist.  Luckily, I was able to pick up a few things before it sold out.  

Stay tuned for swatches and reviews.

FEATURED - Thursday, April 17th 2008

Product Review: Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss

Product: Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss

Price: $26.00

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Chanel, Nordies, NM

Let's start off by saying, my venture to the Chanel counter was quite frustrating.  I had all my swatches ready for their photo shoot, and come to realize, I left my memory stick in my laptop at home.  Argh!  I think any beauty blogger can relate to the frustration I was feeling at that exact moment. But, no worries, I was able to go back and get swatches for ya'll. 

I was pretty excited to try these new glosses, knowing Glossimer is my HG.  I visited a few Chanel counters and only found one counter that received their shipment in super early.  So, if your counter doesn't have them yet, keep and eye out, they should be arriving this week or next.

Candy Glow was the only gloss I purchased yesterday.  It is a gorgeous, peachy-pink color, that was featured in the Chanel Promo Ad.  After swatching every color, this was the only color that caught my attention because they are pretty sheer.  However, Candy Glow is going to be a cameleon color much like it's cousin, Gazelle.  It's more peachy on me, but you can certainly see the pink shimmer to it.  This is a fabulous color for summer, espically to replace your lipstick.

Aqualumiere has much more shine to it and less shimmers and sparkle compared to Glossimer.  The applicator is different, much like Dior's Addict, but with a longer handle.  I found it very easy to apply, and liked the longer applicator much better than Dior's.  The only drawbacks I noticed is Aqualumiere didn't have the staying power as Glossimers and was much more sheer, espically the lighter colors.  But, the texture was just as good; not sticky and very smooth.  Candy Glow, is definetly a must have out of the bunch, espically if you love the coral trend.

Steph's Rating.  Their is two reasons why I only gave this gloss 4 kisses.  When I look for a quality lip gloss there is two things I look for; color pay-off and lasting power.  In which, Chanel Aqualumiere gloss lacked both.  However, for a shiny sheer lip gloss, the texture and lasting power is much improved from most brands I've tried.  I think if you like sheer lip glosses, you will love this!  

 Check out some more photo swatches below......

 And a little bit more........

 

FEATURED - Saturday, May 24th 2008

CVS Drugstore Haul: Revlon Summer Collection

Revlon Beyond Natural is a new makeup collection, which includes eight products that create a naturally glamorous look, and works with all skin tones. The collection for face, eye and lip includes a smoothing primer, a unique skin matching makeup, a concealer and highlighter in a single compact, a cream-to-powder eye shadow, a defining eye pencil, a defining mascara with a molded brush, a cream lipgloss and a protective liptint.

Revlon ColorStay Mineral Lipglaze is the first mineral lip gloss with longwearing ColorStay technology that lasts up to eight hours and is an extension of the Revlon ColorStay mineral face and eye collection launched in the first half of 2008.  So, I defintely wanted to put this to the test!

Drugstores should seriously have beware signs ya'll.  I just can't seem to stay away.  The ladies at CVS were just setting up the Revlon summer displays and I was really drawn into this collection mostly due to the name, Beyond Natural.  A summer collection based around the natural, no makeup look.  Beyond Natural consists of two different displays: Cool and Warmer color shades.  The cooler collection colors are mostly based around pinks and the warmer shades are browns, and peach shades.

 

Protective Liptint in Spice Epice 050.  The protective liptint was my favorite out of my CVS haul.  An moisturizing lip tint with SPF 15 + 6 different colors = Cha-ching!  Spice Epice is a gorgeous bronzey peach color that was featured in the promo ad.  I have been sporting around this lovely liptint for the last few days and I'm really loving it!  Revlon's liptint reminds me of alot MAC's strobe collection.  The color Spice Epice had excellent color pay-off!  I didn't try any of the pinks colors because they looked fairly sheer.

Creme Lipgloss.  Described as a creamy peach shade.  Lipgloss is a must have accessory for summer.  The texture was very smooth, moisturizing, and non-sticky.  The color pay-off and staying power was much better when used in conjuction with the protective liptint.

 

Creme to Shadow Quad.  I usually don't splurge on drugstore eyeshadows because MAC is the best.  However, the colors always seems to pull me in.  The natural brown shades in this quad automatically caught my attention.  But, if your looking for color pay-off, perhaps this isn't the product for you.  Revlon's really going for that natural look, and that is exactly what this collection delievers. A very natural, no-makeup look.  The texture was very smooth and easy to apply with your fingers.  I had no luck whatsoever with makeup brushes and was much easier with my fingers.  However, there was some creasing but, I caked on several layers which may have been a factor.  Clearly this creme to shadow isn't meant to be layered upon layer but, I wanted to put it to the test.  Overall, I liked this creme to shadow quad.  It's easy, quick and pefect for the beach or anywhere you want to look all nat-ur-al!

Colorstay Mineral Lipglaze in Natural Raisin. The claim: A Mineral Lipglaze that supposed to last up to 8 hours with Revlon's colorstay technology.  I haven't purchased a revlon colorstory lip product in lord knows how many years!  Probably when they first introduced the line.  The color pay-off was outstanding and the texture was a tad on the sticky side.  The staying power wasn't quite 8 hours, but did last for quite sometime.  The shine was still there after an hour, which is one of the things I really liked.

FEATURED - Monday, June 9th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Cool Heat Launched Online

MAC launched the Cool Heat collection online today.  Don't let the "sold-out" fool you for Gulf Stream eyeshadow.  It's just an production issue.  The color should be available within the next day or so.  Check out the online swatches below.

Cool Heat eyeshadow swatches.

Cool Heat Slimshine swatches.

This collection will be available at MAC stores on Thursday, June 12th.  Stay tuned for the photo swatches and reviews.

FEATURED - Monday, June 23rd 2008

MAC Future Earth: Volcanic Ash and Lip Review

Usually, I don't get into different skincare products mainly due to the upkeep and not knowing how my sensitive skin is going to react.  MAC introduced a Volcanic Ash Exfoliator in the recent Future Earth collection launch -  A highly effective, dual-purpose, foaming and exfoliating scrub blending natural Volcanic Ash with fine sugar crystals from the islands of Vanuatu. Originally, my store didn't have this stocked nor did the shipment.

After hearing the all the rave reviews from fellow beauty bloggers, my interest was intrigued. Luckily, some were available online at Macy's before they completely sold out.  After placing my order, I debated about purchasing a backup and totally regret it now!  I had a big smile was on my face when I first opened this jet black, oohy-gooey stuff.  How cool is that, a black granulated sugar from vanutu volcano right on your body!  I'll admit I just googled Vanutu, had no clue where the hell it was - it's an active volcano east of northeast austrailia if you guys are wondering.   It's not as thick as St. Ives scrub which is nice.  I really liked the feel of the sugar crystals and how easily the water washed it off.  My skin felt refreshed and extremely smooth after using this product and gladly didn't have any skin reactions (yippie).  Check out some pictures below.

 More pictures below..

The volcanic ash exfoliator retails for $19.00 for 4.5 oz.  Unfortantely, this is sold out everywhere.  But, you may be able to check your MAC store or ebay for last resort.

Being my first lip exfoliator, I didn't know what to expect from MAC's Prep and Prime lip refinisher - a two-in-one lip-conditioning and exfoliating stick. On one side, a botanically-derived natural exfoliator, on the other a lip conditioner that moisturizes, nourishes, and soothes lips.  After using this product, my lips felt very smooth, moisturized and I didn't even feel the grains after application.

Overall, I was impressed with the Future Earth collection.  The ash exfoliator is the head-turner out of two and would definitely recommend it.  The prep and prime was nice but, being my first one it's hard to compare to other brands.  One thing I did love is my lips stayed nice and smooth for hours!

FEATURED - Wednesday, July 16th 2008

MAC Cosmetics Sonic Chic: Review, Swatches

MAC introduces the Sonic Chic Collection that includes nine mineralized blushes and a small buffer brush.  The mineralized blush is baked minerals refined into a powder formula to provide exceptionally sheer and lightweight application. Color builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage. Veils and enhances the cheekbones with a luminous, pearlized shimmer.

Overall, Sonic Chic offers a good variety of nine wearable shades to suite anyone. The blushes offer good pigmentation but, fairly sheer at the same time.  The texture is somewhat similar to the sheertones blushes from Neo, Sci Fi collection but with more shimmer and pay-off.  Nuance, a gorgeous peach with gold shimmer, is the shade that came home with me.  Warm Soul, a beige bronzy version of Nuance, is another color that's been on my lemmings list.  A few universal colors are: Nuance (peach), Warm Soul (beige bronze) and Danity (mauvey pink).

Check out the photo swatches below.

The Sonic Chic collection is available at MAC and retails for $21.00 each.

FEATURED - Tuesday, July 22nd 2008

Pedi of the Day: Chanel Rodeo Drive

My pedi of the day is the beautiful, Rodeo Drive from Chanel's Robertson Blvd Collection and is my favorite shade out of the collection.  A very pretty lilac purple color with subtle silver shimmer makes this color quite unique in my nail polish collection.

There's been quite a few mixed reviews regarding the new Robertson Blvd collection - some bad, and some good.  Overall, most of the polishes applied flawlessly for me with two easy coats.  The yellow shade was the only color I had application problems but, every yellow shade is difficult in my opinion.  I'll be elborating a little more when LA Sunrise is featured as my pedi.

Check out some comparisons below.

I don't own many lilac purple colors because this shade is quite new to the fashion industry and was just introduced last year.  The most obvious comparisons are Chanel Rodeo Drive and Rescue Beauty Lounge's Purple Haze which are completely different in their own way.  Purple Haze is navy blue based violet/purple compared to a true lilac purple.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous day! 

FEATURED - Friday, August 22nd 2008

Product Review: Chocolate Cherry Lip Glaze

 

Product: Lip Glaze in Chocolate Cherry

Price: $4.99

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Drugstores, Grocery

Recommend: Depends

Sally Hansen's comfort shine lip glaze is an vita fruit complex that sores and beautifies distressed lips.  Filled with vitamins, moisturizers and soothing extracts creates a cushion of moisture delivered right to your lips.  A sophisiticated package with no mess applicator.

Ever since MAC released the Cult of Cherry collection, I've been craving chocolate cherries.  So, when I stumbled across Sally Hansen's comfort shine in Chocolate Cherry - I was all over it!  A chocolate cherry flavored lip gloss filled with vitamins, moisturizers and no-mess applicatior - y u m m y!

The Good: Extremely pigmented and excellent color pay-off.  The deep chocolate burgandy shade is filled with gold shimmer and suitable for most.  Trendy color for fall and a great topper for MAC's Cult of Cherry lipsticks/mattenes.  My lips felt completely moisturized and loved.

Check out some pictures below.

The Bad: Now, you know there had to be bad news.  I can't tell you how incredibly disappionting this was because it's such a great product as far as the gloss goes.  My issue is the applicator. It's plastic, small and flimsy - just not practical for me or my lips.  I had trouble accomplishing an even application - very blotchy like.  The chocolate cherry flavor didn't bother me but, I could possibly see a difference of opinion.

One main reason Sally Hansens lip glaze intrigued me was the no-mess applicator.  So, you can see the great disappiontment by my low rating.  That's the main reason MAC's Tendertones and Loreal Jelly Balm didn't go over - who wants to put gloss on with their finger?!  hello, bacteria!

Overall, this is beyond a great gloss as far as texture, color pay-off, vitamins and moisture.  The staying power is your typical gloss but with total hydration your lips will crave.  I've read a couple reviews on this product - some good and some bad.  It might vary between personal preference.

Sally - perfect the applicator and you have a true bread winner here!  Heck, just put it in a regular tube!  As far as my supply, I still plan on using it and applying with an q-tip like applicator or a lip brush because the color's fab.  For my swatch above my good ole pinky finger came in handy.

FEATURED - Sunday, October 5th 2008

Nail Polish of the Day: Loreal Fanatic Fuschia

Hope you guys are having a great weekend.  Today I'm wearing one of Loreal's newest fall colors.  Fanatic Fuschia - a deep fuschia pink shade that's actually more appealing in real life.  This picture didn't turn out quite as I hoped.  Sadly, the color represtentation isn't as accurate for some reason.

In Loreal's new fall display, two limited edition nail colors are featured - Fanatic Fuschia and Plum Pop.  Orignially, I didn't pick up Fanatic Fuschia because it wasn't so unique.  But, after seeing this several times at the store, my mind was changed very easily.  Plum Pop - is another shade I picked up and is more of a black purple color that's featured on Penelope Cruz in the promo display.  I'll be posting that sometime next week.

So, this weekend I was able to check out MAC's Emanuel Ungargo - which was slightly disappionting.  But, don't worry because Chanel's Holiday 08 collection certainly makes up for that!  The true stunner is the gold highlighting powder.  It's truely magnificent and quite different from the Gold Fever highlighter that was featured in the Fall 08 collection.  I'll be posting the holiday swatches and reviews shortly!  Stay Tuned!

FEATURED - Sunday, October 5th 2008

Chanel Holiday 08 Collection: Review, Swatches

Can you hear those sleigh bells ringing yet?!  It's not even fall and the Holidays are hitting most counters.  Actually, Chanel is always the first to release their collection super duper early and the rest seem to follow.  That's Chanel for ya!

Chanel's new holiday collection continues the "gold-theme" carried out through their fall collection as it is with most holiday releases.  Two colors that we continually to see is Red and Gold shades that never get old. 

You may see a couple of familiar items silimiar to their Fall collection but, I assure you they are quite different.  Foremost, the gold highlighting podwer's.  Gold Fever, released back in fall, is a gold beauty powder compared to holiday release.  The Pourde Precieuse Or is absolutely stunning as you'll see in the swatches below.  What's different - it's actually a pigment verses a powder and it's filled with gold and silver glitter - it's breath taking, you guys!

Check out all the swatches below.

The only lipstick that was a stand-out was Audace - a vibrant holiday red.  It's pretty but, not so unique.

Looking at Gold Shine - your probably thinking it's exactly the same as Gold Light.  But, it's not.  What's so unique about Gold Shine is you'll notice a peachy-pink base color which is stunning verses a clearish base.  Red Shine - a pretty red gloss perfect for the holiday.

 Chanel Holiday 08 Quad.

The Quad was prettier than I expected and the color pay-off was good on my NC-30 skin.  The gold highlighting powder looked gorgeous topped over the eye shadow quad.

How many times can I say WOW in a sentence?!  Don't worry, I'll spare you guys from the torture.  The gold highlighter is absolutely amazing and the picture doesn't even justify it.  When I was at the Chanel counter I grabbed the last one of these babies and the makeup artist was showing how multi purpose this stuff is.  You can add this to your lip glosses, eye shadow, nail polishes and even moisturizer.  If you can only get one product - do purchase this because it's truely amazing and beautiful!

Three nail polishes were released with this collection and Haute Chocolat was the only worthy one.  A gorgeous hot chocolate brown filled with gold pearl and very subtle red shimmer.  Check out more photos for Haute Chocolate.

Check out my Chanel makeup haul from the Holiday collection.  This collection should be available in the next weeks to come and on chanel.com.

FEATURED - Monday, October 27th 2008

Product Review: Benefit 24k Sexy Gold Kit

Product: Benefit 24k Sexy Gold Kit

Price: $32.00

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Sephora

Recommend: Yes

What is it?  A gift set which includes a lipstick, loose powder shadow, and small gold embossed clutch.

Description: Benefit 24K Sexy Gold Set contains a lipstick and loose powder that deliver a warm, soft hue to the skin. It also comes with a gold-embossed clutch that can be used to tote makeup or for a night on the town. Once you buy this Sephora-exclusive, limited-edition set, you'll be good to glow.

This past weekend I stopped by my favorite makeup authority, Sephora while visiting the mall.  Benefit's new 24 karat sexy gold kit grabbed my attention foremost, the insanely gorgeous lipstick that's included in this kit.

Check out the swatches below.

My swatch doesn't justify the beauty of the lipstick.  The glossy sparkle and shine made this impossible to capture.  And, the powder is just an added bonus to this kit.  At first, I thought "what in the world am I going to do with gold lipstick?" Well duh, everything.  Since the texture is super shiny, it can act as your lipgloss or lipstick.  Looks fab over any lipstick shade, espically reds.

The powder is a pale gold shade.  Not as shiny as persa, Chanel's Gold highlighting powder, but a toned down gold that's not overboard. This can be used as a highlighter, body powder or even a touch to your gloss.

FEATURED - Monday, November 9th 2009

New Holiday Mini Sets from Borghese

Product: Borghese Holiday Mini Kits, 4 minis per kit, .14 oz/ea

Price: $9.99/per kit

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Rite Aid, Walgreens

When you start to see the Christmas trees, lights and decor - you know the Holidays are right around the corner, which only means, exclusive gift sets! I'll be the first to admit, I'm a sucker for seasonal collections including this one from Borghese.

Each limited edition set includes four, small nail lacquers with Micronized Gemstones or what I'd like to call, Glitter. The mini sized bottle is accompanied with a pint size application brush that I had minor issues with. No biggie, but worth mentioning.

Are you ready for some swatches? Lets start with the first set called, Allegra.

Gold Glitter is a warm toned gold with gold glitter. It's much warmer than Nubar's 24K Nail Polish.

Red Glitter is a fabulous holiday color, it's an opaque red loaded with gold glitter. 

White Glitter is a frosting like white glitter with micro glitter that can be topped over any nail color or worn alone.

Black Glitter is a opaque black with silver glitter.

White glitter layered over Black glitter.

Next is the Serena Collection. 

Brown Glitter is a semi sheer brown/red with gold, red and silver glitter. If you love OPI's Holiday Glow like I do, you'll love this one. 

As soon as I swatched Green Duochrome, I knew we had a winner and a close dupe to Laura Mercier's Caviar Dreams. It's a gorgeous duochrome that switches from Gray, Green and Purple depending on the lighting. Really fabl!

 

Even though Borghese Green is a teensy bit more blue toned or tealish compared to Laura Mercier's, it's great alternative to the fabulous Caviar Dreams. 

Multi Color Glitter is a clear/sheer with blue, purple, gold and red glitter that's a close dupe to Sally Hansen's Rockstar Pink.  

Purple Shimmer is a vampy purple/plum with micro shimmer.

Overall, Great Sets! A perfect holiday gift for any fashionista. Each set includes trendy, up-to-date colors that are fabulous and unlike the typical package sets. Downside, I found the price of $9.99/set a bit high considering each bottle is only .14 oz. The smaller application brush gave me some minor issues. Micronized Gemstones or Glitter? Whatever the case, these are awesome! Borghese, we want full sizes!

My favorites: Green Duochrome, Brown Glitter, Red Glitter, Black Glitter and Gold.

What do you think of miniatures? Love them, Hate them? What's your favorites?

FEATURED - Friday, December 12th 2008

New Colors: Sally Hansen Insta Dri Polishes

Sally Hansen introduces several new Insta-Dri ($4.99) shades this winter.  So, what is Insta-Dri?  Exactly what the name states - instantly drying nail polish.  It may not be instantly, but it's pretty darn close and probably the fasting drying drug store nail polish out there.

There's so much to go over with these Insta-Dri's that I'm just going to list the positives and negatives.  Usually, I don't recommend fast drying nail polish to anyone that has trouble with the three swipe rule. But, with these you dont' have to worry about three swipes, it's meant for one or two and it's easily accomplished with the large manly brush.

Positive                                                     Negative

A Variety Rich, Pigmented Colors  Fast Drying for quick on-the-go Mani's  One or two coats to be Opaque  Lasts a good 5 days, esp with a topcoat

Some colors are Thick and Goopey  Tapered, wide shaped manly brush  May not be mistake proof for some  $4.99 - $5.99 for .31oz

Jumpin' Jade - darkened green with subtle shimmer much like Misa's Toxic Seduction, Blazing Blue - navy blue with subtle aqua shimmer, Uptempo Plum - darkened plum with purple shimmer, Pronto Purple - violet purple red and purple shimmer. 

Toxic seduction isn't quite an exact dupe, but it's the closest color in my collection to compare.  Jumpin Jade is much more pigmented and has a tiny bit more blue.

The tapered, odd size brush is mainly the downside of these insta-dri's.  My nail beds are fairly small, so you can imagine my disappiontment when I first laid eyes on this brush. But, there's a upside to this story. Looks can be deceiving. 

I can understand what the folks at Sally Hansen were going for when they designed this brush.  "Since it's super fast drying, you'll need a wide brush that can coverage in less than three swipes.

At first, I thought my small nail beds were going to be the disadvantage, but they actual ended up being the advantage in my case.  The brush was a little tricky to figure out at first, but I was able to swipe in two coats since my beds are small (center swipe then swirl from right then left - try to swirl with the shape of the tapered brush). That's how I apply mine.        

The Insta-Dri polishes is a pernament Sally Hansen procut and is available at most stores. What do ya'll think?

Love these? Click here to check out some Limited Edition summer 09 bright shades.

FEATURED - Sunday, December 28th 2008

Product Review: Cover Girl Outlast Lipstain

Product: Covergirl Outlast Lipstain Pen

Price: $7.99

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Most Stores

Recommend: Maybe - personal preference

Covergirl introduces a new lip product called Outlast Lipstain.  Constructed in a pen like applicator to give you precise lining with no messy hassles, which you'll run into with most brands.

Description: The water-based colorants of Outlast Lipstain gives lips a beautiful, lightweight flush of color that won't come off, lasting for hours without the heavy look or feel of an ordinary lipstick.

Lipstain is becoming the new lipstick in the fashion and beauty world.  From your hollywood celebrities to your average beauty buyers - everyone's getting a piece of the action.

Although the lipstain process has yet to be perfected by any manufacture, Covergirl's new outlast does have some positive aspects.

Check out some pictures below. 

  

Pros:  In a pen like applicator for easy use and precise lining on the lips, so you don't have to worry about applying with your finger or dealing with the stain in your skin.  Offers a huge variety of 10 colorful shades ranging from light pink to dark reds.  If applied evenly, the color does last for quite sometime.  For a natural look, pick out a shade that's closest to your lip color. 

Cons: The darker shades like Wild Berry may encounter some feathering issues on your lips. (Recommened: Dry lips?  Try preping or pre-treating with an exfoliation balm such as MAC's lip refinisher or Fresh's sugar lip treatment).  If not applied evenly, the color will settle towards the outer line of your lips.

With most "color stay or lip drying products" moisturization is the main key to eliminate that "dry cracked lip look".  At night, before bedtime, I'm always loading up on my carmex, vaseline or chapstick.  And when I'm not in a lipstick or gloss mood, you can count on chapstick almost always being on my lips.

 

For me, the red cherry color of Wild Berry was intensely dark for my skintone.  Red is a hard shade to pull off in general, so I should've known to pick one that resembled my natural lip color more so.

The pen like applicator is the best part of Covergirl's new Outlast lipstain.  Now only if they could perfect the formula a little better - we'd have a winner.

Outlast lipstains are now available at most stores and retail around $7.99/ea.

FEATURED - Thursday, August 20th 2009

OPI Fall Matte collection: Review, Swatches

This Fall, OPI introduces the Matte collection, a release of six current OPI shades available in a non glossy, matte finish. Each bottle is included with an instruction tag that states the following:

• Matte by OPI does not wear as long as original OPI Nail Lacquer.
• Do not use base coat, top coat, drying products, or hand lotion when wearing matte.
• Do an all Matte nail. Or do a Matte nail with matching Glossy tip.

Before we get to the details, let's discuss what this means. It's time to toss that rule book out the window because skipping a base coat would be a bad idea. You don't want your nails super stained. If you can hunt down a no shine base coat, that would be best. I've had better luck using a ridge filler for my base.

As far as hand lotion, just be sure to wipe your nails off with a tissue or cotton pad to avoid that shiny, satin finish.

Application is the challenging part. Every matte polish I've tested is super fast drying, which may create problems for the habitual coater. The good news, OPI's wide brush makes it easier to accomplish three brush strokes. Anymore than that, you'll notice streak lines in your application.

Ready for some swatches guys?

Alpine Snow, a white chalky flatte matte. This reminds me of a winter snowy morning when the snow is intensely bright to look at.  

As much as Gargantuan Grape looks minty green in my swatches, it's not. It's a tad bit more yellow based and has that chalky texture.

La-Pazatively Hot is true to the name! A gorgeous hot pink matte with shimmer that's one of my faves from the collection.

 You Don't Know Jacques, a mushroom brown taupe chalky matte.

Lincoln Park after Dark, a vampy blackish purple matte. 

As much as I'd wish Russian Navy was a shimmer like the original, I still love it. A flatte navy blue  matte.

The matte collection is now available at Professional Salons and online at the E-tailers. Have a wonderful night!

FEATURED - Saturday, May 16th 2009

Spring 09: Sally Hansen Tracy Reese Collection

This Spring, Sally Hansen collaborates with fashion designer, Tracy Reese for the six season in a row with seven fabulous shades.

Each limited edition color is inspired from Tracy Reese's Spring fashion show held back in Sept 08'.

Overall, what a fabulous Spring collaboration from Tracy Reese and Sally Hansen and a big two thumbs up! Every color has excellent pigmentation and requires around two or three coats.

Check out all the swatches.

 

Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon? The best way to describe Forsythia is a little slice of Honey Mustard heaven. More cool toned than most yellows I own, yet very peculiar at the same rate.  

 

 

Honeydew is a gorgeous mermaid teal shimmer. Click here for your chance to win this shade.

Tassel is a gorgeous gold metallic with a pinch of bronze that looks so much prettier on, and the application was a breeze.

Nasturtium - a perfect spring and summer coral orange creme.

Azalea is a medium pink toned creme.

Night Hydrangea, is truely the gem of the collection, a blueish purple with shimmer. Click here for your chance to win this shade. 

Beet Satin, a beet berry red creme. The Tracy Reese collection is now available at stores and retails around $5.99/ea.

FEATURED - Wednesday, May 13th 2009

Wet n Wild Chrome Polishes: Swatches

Happy Wednesday! Today I'm bringing you five new colors from Wet n Wild's tarnished chrome collection.

The Tarnished collection introduces seven limited edition chrome shades that have a metallic feel to them, but aren't entirely a true chrome, tarnished finish.

Application: Most shades I found to be on the semi sheer side and needed at least three coats or more to achieve bottle color.

True chrome and metallic shades are known for excellent color pigmentation and application issues, so I wouldn't necessarily put these in that category. There were a few that applied like a metallic, but for the most part these are more shimmer like.

Check em' out! 

Steel - a light silver with silver shimmer.

Brass - brassy gold with gold shimmer.

Pewter, the sheerest one of the group, is a coral orange with gold shimmer.

Cobalt, one of my faves from the collection, a darkened teal with shimmer. You can't really see the darkened side from my pics, but it sorta resembles MAC Whirlwind's base color.

Patina, the only one that pulled off a two coat application, a vibrant purple with pink and blue shimmer.

The chrome collection should be popping up in stores and retails for $1.89/ea. Have a wonderful day! 

FEATURED - Thursday, May 14th 2009

OPI Summer Brights: Bright Pair Paige Denim

This Summer, color meets fashion when you pair OPI's brightest new shades for nails "pair up" with the bright new shades of paige Premium Denim.

Bright Pair includes six trend setting new Brights by OPI lacquer choices, which coordinate with six new shades of shorts and crops by Paige, one of today's hottest brands of designer jeans.

Overall, a nice colorful summer collection for any creme lover. Although, I wouldn't really classify these as being bright. Most colors are very wearable for summer. All six shades applied perfectly in two or three coats. All my swatches were done with two coats, even though some could have used three.

On to the swatches.

Shorts Story - is a cool pink creme.

On the Same Paige - reddish orange creme. 

In my Back Pocket - bright orange creme.

No Room for the Blues, the brightest color of the bunch, bright sky blue creme. 

Over the Taupe - a mushroom taupey brown creme.

A Grape Fit, my favorite from this collection, is a deep lavender purple creme.

The Bright Pair Paige Denim collection is now available online at TransDesign or any salon that carries OPI. Each bottle retails between $4.50-$8.50.  

FEATURED - Wednesday, May 20th 2009

Dolce and Gabbana Nail Lacquer: Stromboli

Happy Wednesday ya'll! Today I have a really fabulous shade to show you. Brand spankin' new, from the long awaited Dolce & Gabbana makeup line, Strombolio.

Described as a gorgeous black base with gold semi chunky glitter, packaged in a sleek and slim bottle with silver cap. The removeable caps are just like Dior's and Chanel's. I really loved the glitter texture in this one. It's not too over powering - yet not to mild at the same rate. Perfecto!

Application: Coming from Dolce & Gabbana, I expect nothing but the best and Strombolio surely pulled through. The formula was very rich and pigmented with only two smooth applications. Although, if you wanted to add a third coat for that ultra bling, it's just as fabulous. You know, I'm all for that!

The Wear: Today is my second day of testing and so good, so far! I'll keep reporting back.

Negative: The only issue I see is the price. At $20 (.37 oz) each, you'll want to stock up one by one - that's what I'll be doing. Saks often has free shipping, so make sure you take advantage of those if your interested.

One more swatch below. 

In this swatch, it's not completely sun - about half and half. I wanted to show you guys how much visible the glitter is compared to China Glaze's Wagon Trail. One thing I love about Stromboli, you can actually see the glitter.

You can find the Dolce & Gabbana makeup line at Saks Fifth Ave. The nail polishes retail for $20.00/ea. What do you guys think?

FEATURED - Saturday, May 23rd 2009

MAC Style Warrior: Nail Polish Swatches

This summer, MAC introduces three new nail polishes to the Style Warrior collection. Peaceable - a light champange metallic frost, Violet Fire - a purple with pink and blue subtle shimmer and Mercenary - a gorgeous bronze with gold shimmer.

Peaceable was nothing special nor unique, and you could probably skip out on this one. Plus, it was a metallic frost, which I don't do well with anyways.

Check out some swatches below. 

The end result of Violet Purple is really pretty. But, the issue is getting to that point. The formula applied like a sheer jelly. Looking at the bottle, I would have never guessed it's sheerness. It took four coats to even out. Either way I applied this one, I couldn't get away from four coats. 

There's only one way to describe Mercenary, super duper hotness! A bronze loaded down with gold shimmer that's absolultey stunning and the bread winner from the Style Warrior collection.

Check out a comparison swatch below.

For those who missed out on Dior's Gold Nugget last summer, now is the perfect time to stock up on a great alternative. Mercenary, not an exact dupe to Gold Nugget, but close. Dior's is just a tinge more gold compared to MAC's. Both equally gorgeous.

The Style Warrior collection is now available for a limited time online and at MAC stores.

FEATURED - Thursday, June 4th 2009

It's Tiki Time: Orly Summer 09 Tiki Collection

With summer almost being here, it's time to get out the tiki torches and party it down with Orly's new Summer Tiki Collection.

Introducing four new bright shades sure to get you noticed this summer. When I say bright, it's not your typical neon bright. Just enough to get some worthy attention.

Application. Overall, some of the formula's fall on the semi sheer side, but nothing that three coats can't fix. I was able to get by with two coats on most, with the exception of Mint Mojito, which is definitley worth the three coat application.

My Favorites: Mint Mojito and Calypso Blue. Check out the swatches. 

Mint Mojito, is a little piece of mint great heaven sure to please your sweet tooth. A must have for any green lover.

Check out a comparison picture below.

As you can see, Mint Mojito is certainly special amoung the others. 

Calyspo Blue is pretty special indeed. Nothing like Essie's Mesmerize or Sephora's Blue Grotto. A medium to light blue that definitley stands out amoung the rest. Although, this one could have used an additional coat. Loves it!

Sol Cabanna, is a orange creme that's more toned down.

Teeny Bikini, ultra bright red creme. Orly's Tiki Collection is now available and retails around $3.20 - $4.99. Online, you can purchase this collection at Head2Toe and Transdesign.

Have a wonderful day!

FEATURED - Thursday, June 11th 2009

Nail Polish of the Day: CG He's going in Circles

Happy Thursday! Hope your having a fabulous week so far. I just returned from my camping trip yesterday. It  was fun, but I'm glad to be back to reality. Today I'm bringing you some holo nail spam from China Glaze.

Going in Circles, is a cross between a silver and light green holographic from China Glaze's older Kaleidoscope collection.

The Kaleidoscope collection seriously kicks butt. I'm sure most of you already know that! And, if you love holograhic nail polishes, it's a collection you don't wanna miss. You can still find this collection online at Head2Toe and TransDesign.

Have a fantastic Thursday!   

FEATURED - Friday, June 12th 2009

Summer LE Brights: Sally Hansen Insta Dri

This Summer, Sally Hansen introduces a new limited edition collection of brights to the Insta Dri nail polish line.

With a variety of eight colorful shades to choose from, ranging from yellow, green, blue, orange and pinks. Most textures being all cremes with the exception of one shimmer, Instant Iris.

I've blogged a few times about the Insta Dri line and I've really grown to love them. The tapered one coater brush is a little awkward at first and may take some time to get used to.

Check out all the swatches below.

Lickety - Split Lime, a lime green creme.

Lemon Dash - a bright sunny yellow creme. As far as the application, just like any yellow creme. You'll need three coats to even it all out, although I only used two in my swatch above.

The burning question: are these dupes? Well, pretty much. It's really hard to tell a differece in general. Lemon Dash may be slightly lighter, but brighter at the same rate. If you already own Lightening, I don't really see a need for Lemon Dash.

For some reason, Brisk Blue turned out ultra bright in my swatches. A fabulous sky blue creme. I really loved this one.  

Instant Iris, is way more pink than it looks in the bottle. A fuchsia pink with flashes of blue and pink shimmer.

Orange You Fast, a deep orange with reddish undertones.

These next three pinks are all related, and not very far off from each other color wise.

Rapidly Rosy, a mid tone pink rosy creme.

Coral Rush, a bright coral pink that is just a tad darker than Rapidly Rosy.

Flyin Fuchsia, is a bright hot pink creme. For some reason, my swatch went MIA. I'll be posting this one in the next couple days.

The brights collection is now available for a limited time only and retails around $4.99/ea. Have a wonderful Friday!

FEATURED - Tuesday, June 16th 2009

New LE Colors: Sephora 212, Ocean Love Potion

Sephora introduces two fabulous limited edition nail colors by OPI. First up, Sephora 212. This must have shade was created in celebration of the new Sephora 5 Times Square flagship store. This glamorous variation on black channels the essence of the exclusively fabulous 212 area code.

Before I get to the details, I'm super excited to sport a new black polish. It's been so long..way too long, since a black polish last graced my nails and I'm loving it. Espically since I just cut them ultra short.   

212 has every varation a gal or guy loves - glitter, holo, and flakies. The base is more of a light smokey black with gorgeous gold glitter. You'll need a good three coats if you prefer a darker black base. In my swatches above, I've used three coats, which I prefer. Plus, more bling can't be a bad thing!

With all the different varations of 212, the application dries to a semi gritty finish. But nothing a topcoat can't fix.

Check out Ocean Love Potion below. 

Sephora by OPI Ocean Love Potion is a sensuous shade inspired by the gorgeous meeting of sea and sky in Capri. If you love Misa's Dirty, Sexy, Money and Essie's Greenport you'll love this new ocean green from Sephora.

The application was flawless. Each coat flowed perfectly on my nails.

Here's a comparison to give you an idea where Ocean Love Potion falls. Dirty, Sexy, Money isn't an exact dupe, but similar. Sephora's is just a tad bit darker.

212 and Ocean Love Potion are available online only at Sephora for a limited time only. Hope your having a wonderful Tuesday!

FEATURED - Friday, June 19th 2009

Limited Edition: Zoya Matte Velvet Collection

This Fall, Zoya introduces a limited edition collection of three fabulous matte nail polishes.

Before I get to all the goodies, let's take a minute go over the formula. First off, Matte nail polishes generally require no topcoat or basecoat for best results. One main reason being, matte and glossy textures are two different apples. So, when you mix both together the outcome may be a collision of formula's.

With all the Matte polishes being released this Fall, hopefully we'll see more topcoats and basecoat's becoming readily available.

The Application: Smooth, opaque and dries super fast. All you'll need is two coats to achieve bottle color. No application problems, perfect!

Overall, I'm really impressesd with Zoya's Matte's. I know many of us aren't too keen on a flatte looking polish, but the shimmer in these gives a little boost, which may be a little more practical for some.

Check out the swatches.

Loredana, a steel gray with shimmer. 

Posh couldn't be named better. Classy, elegant and super hot for Fall! Described as a red wine matte with shimmer. 

Domiva, a rich black matte with rainbow shimmer.

Zoya's Matte Velvet collection is a limited edition release and is only available at Art of Beauty.

FEATURED - Monday, June 29th 2009

Maybelline Express Finish Flash of Gold

This Summer, Maybelline introduces nine juicy colors to the Express Finish Line called, The Flash of Gold collection. Each limited editon color is a semi sheer texture that has flecks of gold shimmer in each bottle.

Today I'm bringing you six out of the nine shades from Maybelline. Each color is a gorgeous jelly like texture that has gold flecks and some matching shimmer.

The only downfall to these beauties, they are pretty sheer compared to China Glaze's Summer Days collection.

Most colors needed a good three coats or more to obtain bottle color, with the exception of the reds, which only needed around two.

Check out all the swatches below.

Aqua Electric, one of my favorites, described as an Aqua blue with flecks of gold and blue.

Magenta Shock, a light magenta pinkish purple. This one applied pretty sheer, you'll need four coats for bottle color.

Fuchsia Fire, a light pink with flecks of gold. A much lighter version of China Glaze's Strawberry Fields.

I'll be giving away one bottle of Fuchsia Fire to one of my lucky subscribers this week.

Fiery, a reddish orange with flecks of gold.

 Manadrin Heat, a coral with flecks of gold.

Blazing Berry, a berry pink with flecks of gold.

Maybelline's Flash of Gold collection is now available for a limited time only and retails around $3.99/each. Have a wonderful Monday!

FEATURED - Wednesday, July 1st 2009

BB Couture for Nails: Review and Swatches

Today I'm bringing you a truly fabulous nail polish brand called BB Couture for Nails. If you've been reading the nail blogs, then your somewhat familiar with this one-of-a kind polish that's just phenomenal. The color selection is beyond amazing and my swatches don't do any justice...really!

Each formula contains no hazardous chemicals and is Big 3 free. And the best news yet, you get everything in this little package. Base, Top coat, Nail Color, and Strengther - all in one. What a brilliant idea? Just brilliant. Why didn't anyone think of this sooner?!

The Wear. Since you get everything in this little bottle, you really don't need a base or top coat. But, I have a feeling most of my readers will have trouble skipping this step, which is OK! I still love ya! Plus, you can never be too safe. My average wear was three days with no chipping, which is pretty remarkable with no base or top.

I know, enough of the review, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Opposites Attract, a medium gray with silver glitter and some black. The black was very subtle, but you can look at the bottle pic and see the darker black glitter. 

Blind Love gives Chanel's Kaleidoscope a run for it's money. Described as a pewter silver foiltastic color that's pretty much an exact dupe to Chanel's.

Balboa Beach Bunny, a deep purple with multi colored glitter. All the jellies are amazing! I'm totally crushing on them.

 

 Sea of Cortez, fabulous light blue jelly with glitter.

Moon over Manhattan is one of the best blues I've ever laid eyes on. Described as a mid tone blue with teal undertones and fine glitter.

Here's a comparison swatch of Moon over Manhattan and Sea of Cortez.

Frosty Meadow, gorgeous light green jelly with glitter. 

Zuma Wave Rider didn't quite capture as well as I'd liked. It's a mix between a lavender purple and baby blue pastel. The pastels applied a little streaky, but nothing three coats can't fix.

Laguna Lagoon, a pastel mint green creme.

 Laguna Lagoon is similar to OPI's Hey get in Lime, but just a tad more lighter and pastel.

Poison Ivy, a medium green creme. One of the best greens on the market.

Iced Olive is insanely gorgeous! Described as a olive green with gold shimmer.

Where do I buy BB Couture? You can purchase BB Couture directly through BB's site or Overall Beauty. I highly recommend Kim at Overall Beauty. Her customer service exceeds excellence and she ships internationally at a pretty reasonable rate. The retail price is around $8.00 - $9.95/ea.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Enjoy peeps!

FEATURED - Sunday, July 5th 2009

Loreal Pro Blooming Brights Collection

This Summer, Loreal Pro introduces a release of six, limited edition pop art colors called, The Blooming Brights collection.

Each shade is packed with loads of color, and most of my swatches were done with a minimum of two coats, excluding Yellow Buzz.

Overall, this is a fabulous collection for summer. What more can you ask for: color, opaqueness and a perfect application with Loreal's flat brush.

Some of my favorites: Purple Pop, Yellow Buzz and Shocking Green. Check out all the swatches below.

Purple Pop, a gorgeous purple creme. 

Yellow Buzz, is a fabulous yellow creme. Not quite OPI  "It" color nor RBL's Yellow fever. A mix inbetween.

Sizzling Tangerine, a tangerine orange creme.

These next shades are all shimmer based.

Rockin' Pink, a coral pink with very subtle shimmer. 

Shocking Green, wow what a great color! Suprisingly, it is shocking to the fact I love it. Described as an apple green with gold and green shimmer. 

Electric Blue, a shimmering mid tone blue.

The Blooming Brights collection is available for a limited time only and retails for $4.99/ea. Have a great Sunday!

FEATURED - Wednesday, July 8th 2009

Sally Hansen HD High Definition Nail Color

Sally Hansen introduces a new nail polish line this summer called HD, High Definition nail color. Each shade has a patented formula with real liquid crystals for multi-dimensional color and iridescent shine.

So what's all this mean? High voltage, electrifying color delivered right to your fingertips. A vivid, and glowing appeal with each shade.

The Review: I've been testing these babies for over a month now, mostly due to my mixed feelings. At first, I'd tell you there's nothing special nor unique. Now, let's just say their definitely growing on me, in a good way, of course. The High voltage glowing effect certainly makes this line stand out from the rest.

The Formula. It's not your average metallic nor shimmer...A mix between both. Each color applied somewhat sheer, with good color payoff. All my swatches were used with two coats.

Check em' out.

Lite, vibrant golden yellow with shimmer. 

Hi-Def, apple green with shimmer. 

Three D, reddish coral with shimmer. 

BLU, vibrant blue with shimmer. 

Cyber, a gorgeous purple with blue and pink shimmer.  

Pixel Pretty, turquoise blue with shimmer.

Sally Hansen's HD Nail color collection is now available and retails for $5.99/ea.

FEATURED - Sunday, July 12th 2009

Blast from the Past: OPI Mod About Brights

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I'm resurrecting one of my favorite collections from last summer, OPI's Mod about Brights.

Each week, I'll be featuring an older  collection that's just as fabulous as the present in a new segment on Steph's Closet.

Mod about brights was released in the Summer of 08, with a colorful selection six ultra hip creme shades perfect for the season - that never goes out of style.

Most of my swatches were used with three thin coats, with the exception of a one or two,  which you'll see noted below.

Check em' out! 

Green-wich Village, a fabulous green creme. 

The "It" Color, may be a little to daring for some of us, described as a dirty mustard yellwow.   

Brights Power, hot orange tangerine. 

That's Hot! Pink, your average hot pink creme. 

Mod-ern Girl, was the problem child for me. My version was ultra sheer for some reason. Described as a reddish coral. 

Nowadays we have an excellent selection of blues, but back in the day Dating A Royal was the blue of all blues. A fabulous royal blue creme. 

Couldn't resist adding some orange polka dots to this fabulous blue.

You can still find the Mod about Brights collection available at etailers. Have a great night!

FEATURED - Wednesday, July 15th 2009

Wet n Wild Craze Nail Polish: Swatches

Now that you've seen a preview of Morbid and Glitz, I'm bringing you the remaining swatches of Wet n Wild's new Craze line.

Brief Description: These unbelievable shades come in a high performance formula in colors specially selected from the season's latest trends. The quick-dry, chip-resistant formula applies smooth and leaves nails with a long-lasting, shiny finish. Formaldehyde, toluene, and phthalate free. Cruelty Free.

Each bottle is packaged in a cute and stylish floral design that averages .34 oz, a little bigger than a mini size. Since these bottles are smaller, I can see the round, short brush may be a problem for some of us when applying color. No biggie, just a little awkward at first.

The formula was smooth and fast drying with no overall application issues.

Check out em out! 

Inferno - burnt orange with shimmer. 

Jade, a semi sheer apple green with shimmer. 

Goldmine, a semi sheer gold with shimmer. 

Lust, bright hot pink with flashes of blue shimmer. 

Rustic, an opaque deep metallic rusty bronze with a foil appeal. 

Shield, a petwer bronze with flecks of copper that has a foil appeal. A close dupe to Covergirl's Bronzed Beauty.

Glitz, a multi colored pink glitter with silver, pink, and light blue in a clear base.  

Both these are similar, but Rockstar pink is a deeper shade of pink with noticeable blue and red glitter.

 Morbid, is a deep, opaque shade of forest green that's amazing.

Morbid and Jasper Jade aren't exact dupes, but close. Jasper Jade is more brighter green and Morid is a deeper forest. 

For some reason, my swatches didn't capture as well for Noctural. It's a deep shade of navy blue, much like Lippmann's Devil in a blue dress. I'll post a new swatch tomorrow.

This collection may be a little hard to track down, but should start popping up in the new couple of weeks. Any takers? Have a fantastic night!

FEATURED - Thursday, July 16th 2009

Fall 09: Orly Once Upon a Time Collection

Orly introduces a new release this Fall called, Once Upon a Time. A collection that's themed around fairly tales, wishes, and making our nail polish dreams come true with six fabulous colors.

If your looking for unique and unusual shades, tune in, because you'll love this new collection from Orly.

This was totally unexpected for fall and I'm digging it. Green, Grays, and Brown - what more can nail polish fanatics ask for!

Application: The formula was pretty good on most of these, packed with color and opaqueness. Pixie Dust was the only shade that needed three coats. 

Check em' out! 

Prince Charming is a brownish taupe creme that resembles another one we've seen this summer, Over the Taupe from OPI's Summer Brights collection. Not being exact dupes, Prince Charming is tad bit more brown. 

Enchanged Forest, a deep forest green creme. Not as dark as some blackened greens we've seen, such as, Zoya's Envy. The slight hint of blue makes this one special from the others. 

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest gray of all, I am, I am! Described as a true light grey creme. This is a perfect light gray, I love it.

Rescue Beauty Lounge's Concrete Jungle is similar, but just a tad more blue than Mirror, Mirror.  

Pixie Dust is one of my faves from the collection, a grayish blue with silver shimmer. Very unique and gorgeous! 

Poison Apple, an apple red with slight orange undertones. I'm not a big fan of reds, but the muted orange gave this a little kick that I liked.  

Happily Ever After, berry pink with subtle hot pink shimmer. The shimmer is extremely subtle, almost non existent if looking directly at it.

Orly's Once Upon a Time collection should be available August 1st at Head2Toe Beauty, Transdesign and Sally Beauty Stores. Have a wonderful day!

FEATURED - Friday, July 17th 2009

Barielle All Lacquered Up Collection: Part I

Shades by Barielle introduces the All Lacquered up collection for Fall. A collaboration between our favorite nail blogger Michelle Mismas, founder of All Lacquered Up, Celebrity Manicurist and creative director for Barielle's Shades, Elle.

Barielle brings us twelve, trend making shades inspired by the latest and greatest fashions we've previously seen on the runway.

Overall, I'm thrilled about this collection and applaud Michelle and Elle's efforts for this awesome spread. Each shade was tastefully created and very wearable for most anyone.

In part one, I'm bringing you the neutral tones, a selection of corporate approved shades with some edge. As always, Barielle shades are cruelty and big 3 free (safe for pregnancies).

Formula and Application: You won't find any sheer formulas here, which I absoultely love. Each shade is thick, opaque and filled with loads of color.

Enough of the chitter chatter, let's move onto the swatches. 

Get Mauve-ing, a muted pink mauve creme that's a great color to sport around the office. 

U-Concrete-Me, my love affair continues with this concrete gray creme.   

 Putt-E-On Me, a unique combination of muddy gray and taupe. 

Falling Star is really cool, a marine blue with copper particles, very different and unique. 

Out-Grey-Geous, a silver metallic with gold shimmer. I particularly love the gold shimmer in this one. 

Slate of Affairs, a denim blue with flashes of blue shimmer. 

In part two, you'll see more vampy colors for Fall. The All Lacquered Up collection will be available online beginning in August and retails for $8.00/ea.

FEATURED - Sunday, July 19th 2009

Blast from the Past: OPI Summer for Shore

It's another Blast from the past and this week I'm taking you way back to OPI's limited edition Summer for Shore 03' collection.

In case you missed last weeks blast from the past, OPI's Mod about Bright, this collection is a mixture of my two favorite things - beaches and holographics! Yes, non DS!

If you're like me, I have no resistance when it comes to holographic nail polish. There's something particularly beautiful when the fine rainbow colored particles reflects off light to create a prismatic effect that has me swooning over every species.

By far, this has to be OPI's best collections of all time. And, we can only hope to see another awesome spread like this.

Let's get onto the swatches. 

Blue Moon Lagoon, a pale shimmery powder blue holo. 

Coral Reef, a deep orange coral holo. This is a three coater (ignore text on image above).

What's Dune, one of the faintest colors of the collection, a pearly silvery white holo. 

Day at the Peach, a light icy peach holo.  

Sand-erella is insanely gorgeous. A pale purple that applied fairly light and needed four coats to achieve bottle color.

Crim-Sun, a red hot sunset holo.

Let's start with the bad news, most of these colors are discontinued and hard to find. But you could still seek them out on Ebay if need be.

Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend!

FEATURED - Sunday, July 19th 2009

Barielle All Lacquered Up Collection: Part II

Now that you've seen the neutral tones in Part I, it's time for some vampylicious fun with darker, richer shades.

In Part II, we have more fall appropriate colors that are loaded with the luxuries of fabulous glitter, pearls and shimmer in each one - no cremes to be seen!

Each color is exceptionally pigmented with only two coats and applied to perfection.

Check out all the swatches.

Polished Princess is a safari green with golden and green shimmer. I applied this one with three coats, even though it's only a two coater. I wanted to stretch the limits of this gorgeous green.

Pin Up Girl is your classic, sexy tomato red with subtle gold shimmer.

Make it Latte is a little slice of chocolate heaven with some subtle gold shimmer. Gorgeous!

Lava Rock, black base with red pearl that looks more plummy.

These next two are infused with a gorgeous fleck like glitter that's absolutely stunning! Glammed out Garnet, a ruby red with gorgeous glitter. 

As I mentioned above, Blackened Bleu has flecks of glitter that's gorgeous. A black base with sapphire glitter that sparkles, sparkles and sparkles! Loves it.

The All Lacquered Up collection will be available online at Barielle starting in August. The shades retails $8.00/ea, but always has a buy 2, get 1 free promo going on.

FEATURED - Monday, July 20th 2009

New Icing nail colors: I'm seeing Green

Happy Monday everyone! Hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend! Today I'm bringing you four new colors from Icing by Claire's and two of them being my favorite color, Green!

You've probably heard me say this a thousand times and I'll continue to say it, Icing's nail polish seriously rocks!

The unique shades are unbelievable. I just wish they'd work on improving the application brush a bit. Besides that, this would be a kick ass brand!

Everytime I visit my Icing store in the mall, it never ceases to amaze me that I come home with four bottles, at least. They always have updated colors, I love it! 

Check em' out! 

I can see why this is Laura's Fave, it's gorgeous. A bright seafoam green or minty green with fine subtle blue and silver shimmer. The blue shimmer makes this a tad bit more blue toned compared to Essie's Greenport. 

Bad Apple is by far an amazing green and quickly becoming one of my favorites. A semi sheer jelly that's darker than Essie's Dominica Green, but equally beautiful. Green Lovers, this is a must have! Run, hike or drive to your nearest Icing, it's well worth it.

Paparazzi is a rustic orange with silver and holographic glitter. You know I'm all for bling, so I couldn't pass this one up.

I passed up Taylor at least four times before I actually snatched her up. The unique blend of light pink and slight lavender undertones kept pulling me in.

You can find these at Icing stores (USA, Canada) usually located in your local Mall. The nail polishes retail for $4.50/ea and they have buy one, get one half of deals going on regularly. 

Have a great Monday!

FEATURED - Monday, July 27th 2009

Sephora by OPI Dark Room: Swatches

Happy Monday! Hopefully ya'll had a wonderful weekend! Today I'm bringing you a scrumptious treat from Sephora By OPI called, Dark Room. It's described as a darkened forest green creme with blue undertones and a slight glimpse of shimmer that makes this unique in my collection.

Let's start off by saying, this was totally unexpected! And I hate to disappoint you ladies (including myself), no Nars Zulu dupe here. Looking at the promo images, I envisioned Dark Room as a deep forest green creme. Instead, we get a deep forest blue - if there's such a thing! It's definitely on the blackened teal side, but with green and even a bit of gray.

Overall, I think some of us might be a little disappointed because it's not your true "forest green" as we imagined. But at the same rate it's a great color that you can add to your unique stash.

Check out a comparison below.

 

As you can see in the comparison swatch above, Dark Room is much different from other forest green shades on the market. 

The verdict's in, what ya'll think of this new shade?

FEATURED - Friday, July 31st 2009

Summer 09: Essie Cute as a Button Swatches

Happy Friday, woot woot! Can you believe we only have one month of summer left? Yep! Vampies look out, here we come. But, before we step over to the dark side, I wanted to bring you two last Summer collections that were hiding under my fall excitement.

This Summer, Essie's given us a variety of color to choose from. North Folk gave us a reason to sail our blues away with three oceanic shades, The Neons - rock out with four brights perfect for those tootsies and Cute as a Button, a mixture of six flirty hues perfect for your feminine side.

Overall, a nice selection of six, soft and cute colors that are surprisingly wearable! The application was perfect. Most colors are three coaters, with the exception of a couple.

Check out the swatches. 

 

Not Just a Pretty Face, a semi sheer nude with a dash of pink. A lighter, more beige version of Essie's sister, Eternal Optimist. I was worried that Not just a Pretty Face would clash with my skintone, but it didn't!   

Lovie Dovie is a fun, bubblegum pink creme that's opaque in two coats. Girls, If you don't own a classic candy colored pink, go grab you some Lovie Dovie.

Lucious Lips reminds me of another semi sheer pink that I love, Orly's Confetti. Although, Lucious Lips may be a tad bit pinker with better pay-off.  

Cute as a button is a creamy mixture of coral, pink and orange that's really pretty! An excellent summer color, especially for your tootsies!

Funny Face isn't your typical hot pink cream. It's mixed with a tad of purple, which makes this a deeper hue of pink - slighty magenta! Loves it! 

Chubby Cheeks is a pumpkin spice creme with a dash of pink undertones. Sally Hansen's Nasturtium is just a tad bit more orange compared to Chubby Cheeks. A great fall color heading into October!

Essie's Cute as a Button collection is now available at Essie, professional salons and E-tailers! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

FEATURED - Monday, August 3rd 2009

OPI Summer 09: Sunbelievable Collection

Happy Monday! I have one last Summer collection to bring ya'll before I get into the Fall goodies.

OPI's Sunbeleiveable collection is a small release of four summertastic colors ranging from coral, yellow, pink and blue.

The application: I found most colors to be semi sheer with a jelly consistency. You'll need a minimum of three coats or more. My swatches were done with three, with the exception of one. Let's get down to business, shall we?

Check out the swatches. 

I'm his Coral Friend is a semi sheer coral jelly that's similar to her sister, Modern Girl.

 

Sea I told You, a gorgeous aquamarine with blue micro-glitter that's really stunning. A little different than Sephora's Skinny Jeans, which is a bit more teal. Must have for any blue lover!

 

If the Fushcia Fits, your standard hot pink shimmer. Not so much unique, but certainly pretty!

 I love Banana Bandanna! The application may be somewhat streaky, but definitely worth the hassle of this soft, buttercup color. So pretty!

OPI's Sunbelieveable collection is now available at Professional Salons and E-tailers. Hope you have an awesome day! 

FEATURED - Tuesday, August 4th 2009

LA Girls Flare: New Nail Polish Colors

It's a dreary, rainy Tuesday and hopefully your day is fabulous as ever! And if it's not, maybe these new L.A. Girls Flare nail polishes will cheer you up a bit!

Recap: L.A. Girls Flare is a nail polish brand you can find at Urban Outfitters or Forever 21 usually located in your mall. Personally, I prefer going to F21 because the retail cost is half the price from Urban Outfitters.

Most shades are full of life, loaded with opaque color and no true applications issues. The brush is small and thin like Essie's, but I don't mind - my petite nail beds love them!

Check em' out! 

 

Nostalgia, a mustard creme. Yellows are on fire this summer, so it don't suprise me that this unique color pulls me in. A bit more yellow than OPI's the it color. 

 

Celestial is a dose of foilstastic heaven...A light purplish silver that's definitely unique in my collection.

Magnetism, a great mid tone blue that's along the lines of Sephora's Blue Grotto and Misa's On the Edge.

It's Glitter time!! Fame, a purple, blue and pink glitter in a clear base. Pretty much the same version as L.A. Girl Rock Star in Overdose.

We have another L.A. Girl Rockstar look alike to Supernova. Rockstar is a semi sheer, gray jelly with holographic silver confetti.

Sunset, a peachy orange with flashes green shimmer. A lighter version than Maybelline's Sunset Prisms, love those peaches!

Eureka, a gold glitter in a clear base.

Spicy Salmon is actually really pretty! The subtle pink and gold shimmer isn't to noticeable in this Salmon orange, but still a great color!

Ravishing, rose colored pink glitter in a clear base.

You can find these in store at Urban Outfitters, Forever21 and online at Cherry Culture. Have a great day!

FEATURED - Friday, August 7th 2009

New Colors: Sally Hansen Insta Dri Fall

It's Friday and what gal doesn't love that!!  Since you've worked long and hard this week, girlfriend... You deserve a much needed treat from Sally Hansen's Insta Dri line. Your totally worth it!

This Fall, Sally introduces a variety of eight, limited edition colors to the Insta Dri line. The collection ranges from reds, pink, white (sheer), violet (ooh la, la), teal and blue.

Application: I'm not entirely convinced with Sally's wide, tapered brush. It's a love, hate relationship. Love the opaque colors, but my petite nail beds say no, no, no to this large, oversized brush. But, I'll deal. The formula itself is perfecto.

On your mark, get set, go... Grab your kicks, it's time to head over Walgreen's and let the stalking begin!   

Check out the three I snatched up.

Violet VOOM has that boom, boom Pow! A vivacious, blurple with pink and blue shimmer. Oh my, this is really fabulous and unique! More purple than OPI's Play til Midnight and not as blue as OPI's Blue my Mind. I'll post comparison swatches tomorrow.

Ink-a-Blink-Blue is another great shade from this collection. A deep sky blue with bright aqua shimmer.

It don't suprise me I fell for this blue green shade. Teal Takeoff is a gorgeous shimmering teal.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! This collection is now available, keep your eyes peeled.

FEATURED - Sunday, August 9th 2009

Sephora by OPI Matte Nail Colour Collection

Happy Sunday! Hope your having a fantabulous weekend! Are you ready for some Mattene this week, Diva's? I have a few collections to show you, starting off with Sephora's newest one.

This Fall, Sephora introduces a limited edition collection of fashion forward, matte nail colours available in three of Sephora by OPI's most popular shades.

Matte Finishes may not be for everyone, especially die hard glossy lovers. It's trendy and gives us Manicure Mavens an alternative to shiny polish. But until the formula is perfected, I don't think this fad will be catching on quite yet...we'll see! 

Before I get to the goodies, let's talk about application and formula. Like most non glossy nail polishes these are fast drying, which might usher problems when applying mattes all together.

On all my swatches I used three thin coats. But I've found applying thicker coats may deliver a smoother application with less stroke lines.

Shall we check out the swatches?

Domestic Goddess, a flatte vibrant purple grape matte. 

Metro Chic, a flatte smokey brown, gray, purple, muddy matte. 

I'm excited to add another flatte black to my collection. What's a Tire Jack, a flatte jet black matte. I really loved this one, not as dull as the other two.

The matte collection is now available online at Sephora for a limited time and retails for $9.00/ea. What do you guys think? Love or hate the Matte trend?

FEATURED - Monday, August 10th 2009

Go Green this Summer with Nubar

Happy Monday, Ladies! It's August and Summer has offically kicked in high gear with blazing temperatures. And what better way to cool off with Nubar's fabulous Going Green Collection.

If you've been reading the nail blogs, you know this collection is hot, sweet and just plain incredible for us green nail polish fanatics! Thank you Nubar for making our nail polish dreams come true!

The going green collection is a limited edition release consisting of six bodacious greens from crème to shimmer - to holographic to duochrome; whatever your preference.

A litte Nubar History, if your not familar with the brand. In 2000, Nubar was founded as the healthy alternative for beautiful nails. After being affected by cancer within his own family, Nubar’s creative force, Noubar Abrahamian, was uniquely committed to his role as a pioneer in producing the highest quality nail care products that were free of formaldehyde, toluene, and DBP (phthalate). These common ingredients are included in California’s Proposition 65, which lists chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm, and nubar’s exclusive formula omits these components as well as their derivatives without sacrificing quality.

You guys ready for some swatches?

Introducing the first true green holo on the market, Reclaim. A light grassy green holo that screams hotness.

Forest, a rich forest green creme that's a tad bit lighter than RBL's Recycle.

Conserve, a gorgeous green teal loaded with glitter. A bit more green than blue. 

Nubar has some amazing duochrome shades and Wildlife being one of them. A mossy green when applied at first that flashes bronze, pink and green at the same time. Wowzers! 

Earth is a more blue version of Conserve loaded with glitter.

Greener is a rich, dark emerald green shimmer that's absolutely stunning!

Now let's talk about application...Perfecto, every single one of them! Even though I'm a die hard three coater, you could get by with two coats on each color.

The Going Green collection is still available online at ByNubar, don't miss out on this fabulous release. Have a wonderful night! 

FEATURED - Tuesday, August 25th 2009

Limited Edition: Damone Roberts 1968

Happy Tuesday! How was everyone's weekend? Besides by the fact it flew by, it was great! Today I have a delicious mint dessert to show you guys and it's all thanks to my favorite nail blogger, Michelle for enabling this lemming.

Damone Roberts, known as the Eyebrow Queen, teams up with OPI to create this gorgeous, green shade inspired by the walls of Damone Roberts' studio. "It's not your typical mint green. It has a little touch of gray in it and a little touch brown," says Roberts.

Damone Roberts 1968 is a pastel mint green creme that applied beautifully in two coats. This past weekend, I've sported this dreamy color and couldn't stop starring at my nails. It's perfect shade of mint green that pops!

You didn't think I would leave you without comparisons?!

It might be hard distinguishing the differences of these mint greens, but my camera did one heck of a job trying! If you look back from the computer screen, you may notice a deeper green in Damone Roberts compared to the other two.

Don't miss out on this limited edition nail color guys and gals, you'll love it. It's simple to order. Just call the NY salon at 212.764.4755 or the Beverly Hills location at 310.271.2100.  The retail cost is $9.00 plus $3.95 for shipping.

What do y'all think? I wanna hear from my mint green lovers! Have a great night!

FEATURED - Thursday, August 27th 2009

Fall Collection: Color Club Wild At Heart

Trust your impulses! Color Club introduces Wild at Heart, a Scintillating collection of high quality lacquers in the sexiest colors that go from Dark to Light and Dazzle with Seductive Sparkle.

Take a Walk on the Wild side with Color Club's newest fall release. A collection of holographic, shimmer and glitter polishes.

Season after season Color Club seems to impress and leaves me anxiously waiting for more. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, it does! In Spring we saw an introduction to the fabulous holographic shades, Summer blew our socks off with electrifying neon nail candy and now, they totally nailed it again!

Overall, every single color is fabulous as the next. Even the oddball grew on me! The holos had excellent coverage along with most shades being two or three coaters.

Let's get down to business, shall we? 

Oh my freakin' holo goodness! What more can I say? Wild at Heart is absolutely incredible. A gorgeous purple filled with a kaleidoscope of colors. Wow, just Wow! And to make things even better, I'm talking one coater here. The opaqueness is fabulous.

Love 'Em Leave 'Em is a gold holographic shade that also has good coverage.

Wild and Willing is a shade you'll have to see in person to appreciate. My swatches don't justify the intense sparkle and shine. It's a duochrome glitter that flashes gold, pink and copper. 

 

Oh yes, what would fall be without a gorgeous green. Rule Breaker is a greenish blue shimmer that leans more towards the green family.

With Abandon is a black jelly with bronze-y, brown fine glitter. It's a little streaky when applied at first, like most jellies. But no worries, three coats will do the trick. The glitter is more noticeable with two coats: whereas, with three the black takes over.

Want to add some flair? Try topping Wild and Willing over With Abandon for that extra bling. Can you see the duochrome effect in the second picture? Love this!

 

As soon as I saw that On the Wild Side was a frosty charcoal metallic, my hopes were let down a bit. You see, me and metallics aren't too friendly these days. But all things put aside, I was instantly drawn into the shiny, steel look.

The Wild at Heart collection should be available within the next month or so. Stay tuned, I have more Color Club goodies to share with you guys.

Have a wonderful day!

FEATURED - Friday, September 4th 2009

MAC Cosmetics: Nail Trend FW 09 by Jin Soon

Collection: MAC Nail Trend F/W 09, Nail Lacquer .34 oz

Price: $12.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: MAC Cosmetics, MAC Stores

More than a colour statement, an of-the-moment approach that dazzles with innovation and style. How to do it? Enter Jin Soon, much-sought-after nail guru who has worked the shows, collaborating with us to create nail colours exclusively for M∙A∙C.

I’m excited to bring you MAC’s latest collaboration called Nail Trend, created by professional nail artist, Jin Soon Choi. In this new collection, we have a variety of six falltastic runway colors ranging from luscious chocolate to blackened teal, army green to party purple and cool lavender to brick house red.

A little Jin Soon Choi  Aside from Jin’s incredible talent, she owns a Natural Hand and Foot Spa located in New York City where you’ll find the best nail art around - even the celebrities are taking notice. Known for her “No Airbrush” rule, you’ll walk out with a Choi masterpiece.

Are you ready for some swatches?

Cool Reserve is one cool Cat and I have nothing close to compare. It's a grayed out lavender creme that coordinates perfectly with the ongoing gray trend.

Dry Martini, not quite olive nor army green - perhaps a mix of both rolled around in the mud. As much as I raise my eyebrows with Dry Martini, I find myself drawn to the strange and unusual color.  

Beyond Jealous, a blackened Teal and just in case you're wondering, Beyond Jealous is a bit greener compared to Sephora's Dark Room. But, both are similar. 

Dance All Night, A red brick house creme. 

Rich, Dark, Delicous is one of my faves from the collection, a blackened chocolate with very subtle shimmer that dries to a creamy texture.  

 

For Fun is a fun party purple, and paired up with MAC's Peppermint Patti makes one sassy combination. Don't you love how the mint green polka dots pop on this purple grape?

All in All, Nail Trends F/W 09 hit the spot. Each cream shade flowed perfectly on my nails with minor application issues. And, not to mention the fabulous color selection to choose from.

What do you guys think? Love this, hate this? Favorites? 

FEATURED - Tuesday, September 8th 2009

Halloween Collection: Milani Black Magic

Collection: Milani Black Magic, Nail Lacquer 0.45 oz

Price: $3.49/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Meijer, CVS or other Stores

Hope y'all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend! It's dreary and rainy on this Tuesday afternoon. The good news, it's a short week for us work-goers. Let's ring in the new season with a drugstore favorite of mine, Milani.

Halloween is undoubtedly one of my favorite holidays of the year, so it's no surprise I fell over heels for Milani's new Black Magic Collection. Aside from this new Fall collection, Milani hit the scene with two more limited edition releases sure to love, Vintage and Welcome Back Color.

In Black Magic, you'll find two qualities I adore: Black and Glitter, Yes Glittah! Each color is based in a thin, semi-sheer black jelly loaded with sparkling glitter. My Application was like most Milani's - smooth, excellent and dries to a non gritty finish. Noted below, you'll find the average coat-age on my swatches.

Let's down to biz-nass, shall we?

Magical - A Black jelly loaded with brown glitter.

Fairy Tale - A Black loaded with blue glitter. 

Charmed - A Black with loaded silver glitter. 

Enchantment - A Black with "ink" blue glitter. 

Whimsical - A Black jelly loaded with purple glitter. 

Spellbinding - A Black jelly loaded with red glitter.

Before you ask about dupes, I haven't pulled out any glitters to officially compare. But, I can probably think of around 20 look-alikes off the top of my head.

Milani's Black Magic Collection should be available at stores for a limited time only.

Do we have any Milani fans? What's your favorite drugstore brand? 

FEATURED - Friday, September 11th 2009

NOTD: Sally Hansen HD Opulent Cloud

Happy Friday! Hope you've had an excellent day so far! Today I have a goodie to show you, and if your following me on Twitter you've already seen a sneak peek of this one-of-a-kind shade created by fashion designer, Tracy Reese.

Without further ado, introducing Opulent Cloud. I thought the time would never come. You first made an appearance back in Feb 09' at New York Fashion Week and I've been thinking about you ever since. You are amazing!

Amazing is an understatement. Opulent Cloud is a shade you'll have to see in person to appreciate. A somewhat duochrome-y charcoal that flashes distinctly purple and steel with an overlay of gold shimmer that's so pretty! I don't have another like her!

Check out a comparison below.  

What's so unique about Opulent Cloud, it's more purple toned compared to other charcoal grays out there. And Barielle's Out-Grey-Geous is a bit more blue than OPI's Brand New Skates.

Opulent Cloud is a limited editon color and will available at Meijer and other stores that carry Tracy Reese displays. The retail cost is $5.99/ea.

I'm crossing my fingers you guys can find this! Have a wonderful weekend!

FEATURED - Tuesday, September 15th 2009

Chanel Jade Collection: Swatches, Review

Product: Chanel Jade Collection, LE Vernis Nail Colour 0.4 oz

Price: $25.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Chanel, Boutiques

The time is here Ladies and Gents! Ever since the debut of Jade at Chanel's Fall 09' Fashion Runway Show, I couldn't wait to get my grubby little hands on this gorgeous minty green shade.

In this new collection, we have two limited edition shades from Chanel, Jade and Jade Rose. Both shades are lightly sprinkled with a dose of shimmer. I'm talking very subtle, almost non existent shimmer. My application required three full coats to achieve bottle color. 

Let's move on to the swatches! 

This year, mint green hit the scene bigger than ever and Jade fits the bill perfectly. A gorgeous mint green with a dash of faint shimmer that makes this different from most greens I own.  

Jade Rose is a soft pink beige with extremely subtle pink shimmer. With my skin tone, Jade Rose turned out very "neutral-ish" on me. It's a cross between Essie's Eternal Optimist and Not Just a Pretty Face minus the shimmer, which isn't very noticeable anyways.

And for the polka dot lover in all of us!

All in All, the superstar in this collection is clearly the beautiful Jade. Although I'd hope the shimmer would be more visible, I'm happy with the overall color.

The Jade collection is only available online at Chanel or Chanel Boutiques and retails for $25/ea.

FEATURED - Friday, September 18th 2009

Product Review: Hot Topic Press on Nail Polish

Product: Hot Topic Press on Nail Polish

Price: $4.99

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Hot Topic Stores

Happy Friday Divas! If you're following me on twitter you've already seen a sneak peek of my uber cool mani from last weekend. Let's break it down and see what this Press on nail polish is all about!

Press on Nail Polish you say? Yes! If you'd ask this Addict about Press on Nail Polish a few months ago, I'd just roll my eyes and shake my head in shame. Because fact of the matter, I can paint my nails faster than fooling around with this little package. But, Hot Topic had me at Leopard!

This isn't your typical Press on Nail Polish...It's a gradient of neon colors with a Leopard style design! The nail art is a huge bonus. For me, it would be next to impossible to replicate this look without Minxing it. If your not familiar with Minx, it's a polymer nail covering that uses heat to adhere to the nail.

Think stickers for your nails. While Minx uses a heating process, these don't. Each package includes a total of 16 stickers, 8 different nail sizes. With the misfortune of my small nail beds, any pre-sized artificial nail or sticker usually runs ten times bigger. Needless to say, I had to customize each one with my handy cosmetic scissors.

Application is the most important step. The true enemy is air. When applying the sticker to your nail, make sure it's completely sealed with no air gaps. Flatten and finish edges with a nail file to take off remaining excess.

If applied correctly, the nail polish stickers may last a good 3+ days. To remove, remove gently by peeling from edge.

Check out one more swatch below.

Easy enough? Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

FEATURED - Wednesday, September 23rd 2009

Halloween: Color Club Master of Disguise

Collection: Color Club Master of Disguise,    4 minis per box, 0.25 oz. ea

Price: $5.95 and up

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Head2Toe Beauty, VNS

Summer has officially kicked the bucket this season, and I couldn't be happier to celebrate Fall. Football, Sweatshirts & Long Pants, Bonfires - All things I love! And don't forget, Halloween!

Today let's start with a wickedly cool collection from Color Club called, Master of Disguise. In this new boxed set, you'll find four halloween mini polishes averaging .25 oz/ea. All colors applied fairy well not exceeding three coats.

Check out the swatches! 

 

Abracadabra is a thin orange jelly with chunky round gold glitter that has a slight matte texture.  

Abracadabra layered over black screams Halloween.

Taboo is absolutely gorgeous and one of my faves. It's a blue purple shimmer that's certainly pretty. Just a tad bit blue compared to her sister, Electronica.

Ghost of Chance is a opaque french white creme.

Witchy Woman or Master of Disguise, you pick? On the original press release both names are mentioned, but I'm going with Witchy Woman. It's more fitting. Described as a black creme that has the same satin/matte texture as Where's the Soiree.

All in All, great collection! Price is right and the small mini bottles are ideal for travel and everyday use. The only downfall, Abracadabra and Taboo aren't sold seperately.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

FEATURED - Tuesday, September 29th 2009

MAC Style Black Nail Lacquers: Swatches, Review

Product: MAC Style Black Collection, Nail Lacquers .34 oz

Price: $12.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: MAC, MAC Stores

From '80s Sprouse-in-the-House kohl and fringe to London New Goth, going back to black changes the mood, deepens the drama. Eyeliner, beehives and beyond, this is a celebration of going madly, deliriously noir. Don't wait 'til midnight.

Black is back Divas and I'm excited bring you MAC's latest Fall release called, Style Black. An edgy, yet wearable collection inspired by the gothic lovin' shade, Black! In this review, I'll be covering the nail lacquer portion only, but you can check out additional swatches from Style Black and Dazzleglass Creme Collection in my Photo Gallery.

MAC introduces three nail polishes to the dark side. Nocturnelle is a classic black jelly that's a frequent repromote, along with two bodacious new colors, Seriously Hip and Baby Goth Girl.

The formula is rich, opaque and a bit on the thick side, but no biggie. All polishes applied smooth with two or three applications depending on the thickness of your coats.

Are you guys ready for some swatches?

Baby Goth Girl is a blackened red toned purple with shimmer and chunky gold copper-y flakies. It's a great vampy color that's Fall-tastic!

And just for the fun of it, here's an oldie - perhaps a distant cousin of Baby Goth Girl called, Vin Goth. A gorgeous vampy purple with silver glitter.

Seriously Hip is Seriously cool! It's a blackened olive-gold with shimmer and chunky glitter much like Baby Goth, but more visible.

And for my dupe lovin' gals. Let's break it down. It's a cross between Wagon Trail and Stromboli. More chunky than China Glaze and less pricey than D&G. You choose!

All in All, nice collection! Application is smooth and full of opaqueness. The deepened shades coordinate perfectly with MAC's Style Black Fall collection. And not to mention Halloween right around the corner. Right on!

Who's loving MAC's Style Black Collection? Did you pick up goodies? Please share!

FEATURED - Friday, October 2nd 2009

Hard Candy Just Nails: Swatches, Review

Collection: Hard Candy Just Nails, Nail Color 0.35 oz

Price: $5.00/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Walmart Stores

Now that you've seen a preview of Hard Candy's new makeup line, are you ready for some yummy eye confection? If you're not familiar with the brand, Hard Candy was founded in the mid 90's, best known for their sky blue and pastel colored nail polishes. They've recently teamed up with the largest retailer in the world, Walmart to bring you cost effective, higher-end cosmetics.

Just Nails is a range of 16 new nail colors. Each shade is included with an oversized plastic ring, similar to older bottles. And the formula is just as wonderful as I remember. Although some of us might find the opaque colors are bit more thicker than usual, but no big deal. Just apply in thin coats.

Let's get to swatches! 

 

Mr. Wrong is anything but wrong, it's a bad-to-the-bone amazing shade that you have to see in person! A smokey purple with silver and gold glitter! Just fabulous!

Click here to check out a comparison swatch of smokey purples. 

Envy is a gorgeous, deep blackened green shimmer.

Sweet P is a yellow green pea colored glitter.

 Date Night is a pink glitter in a clear base.

Hot Pants is a sheer pink jelly with large hexagon shaped glitter. It makes a great topper over any nail polish.

Break Up is a clear glitter with smaller hexagon shaped glitter that shifts different colors depending on the lighting and base color. Another great topper over any nail polish. 

Oh, yeah Frenzy is uber hot! An opaque sky blue creme that's a classic Hard Candy color.

Splendid is a soft buttery yellow.

 

Lava is a red orange loaded with an insane amount of glitter. Similar to Mr. Wrong's texture.

   

Mr. Right is an opaque Navy Blue with shimmer. 

Sugar Daddy is pretty spectacular when used as a topper. It's similar to CND's Colour and Effects line. A sparkly sugar topping that coordinates with any nail polish. Check out one more example below.

Don't you just love the gold over green? Hard Candy's Evny would also look super hot!

Hypnotic is another candy topper similar to Sugar Daddy. A sheer pink loaded with gold, pink and subtle purple glitter. 

Overall, great collection! Price is right and budget friendly. The application and formula is right on. A variety of 16 colors ranging from shimmers, glitters and cremes. Readily available at most Walmarts.

Make sure you bookmark this page; I'll be adding more Hard Candy nail swatches soon. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

FEATURED - Tuesday, October 6th 2009

Fall 09 Collection: Nubar Royal Gems

Product: Nubar Royal Gems Collection, Nail Lacquer .5 oz

Price: $49.95/set or $7.49/ea

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Nubar

After the spectacular summer collection, Going Green, Nubar swings forward into Autumn with seven new shades inspired from the richness and luxuries of the finest jewels around.

The Royal Gems consists of Platinum, Gold, Sapphires, Rubies, Emerald, Amethyst, Tiger's Eyes and the queen of the crop, Tiara - a dazzling multi faceted glitter that can be worn alone or layered over any nail polish for that extra sparkle, bling baby!

With the exception of Tiara, most polishes from this collection are shimmer based with glitter.  The application is like most Nubar shades, full of opaqueness and only requires two to three coats for bottle color.

Let's get down to business! 

24K is a semi sheer, vivid gold with gold glitter.

Tiger's Eye is a brown red with shimmer.

Platinum is a white silver with silver glitter.

Ruby is a ruby red with red glitter.

Emerald is a gorgeous green with glitter.

Sapphire makes this virgo proud! A gorgeous blue with glitter.

Amethyst is a royal purple, almost blurple with glitter.

Tiara&nb