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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 - Wednesday, December 12th 2007

David Beckman Bares a Little more than Armani

Holy Hottness!  Victoria Beckham's, Sexy Soccer Star Husband, David Beckham, shows off his pearly whites in the new Emporio Armani underwear ad.  And, were not talking about white teeth here. 

I have to give credit to where it is due.  Emporio Armani is simply brilliant.  Every man and woman will be snatching up these undies!

Want more David?  Check out the 2008-2009 Fall Armani Ad's for this sexy soccer star!

Tuesday, January 15th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: A Mei Review and Swatches

A Mei Amore! Growl!  Can I just say how impressed I am over this collection!  For starters, the details on the eye shadow palettes are incredible!  Beautiful stitching!  And, the packaging is to die for, of course!  The Biggest hit of this collection, that you will hear me raving on about, is the lipstick, Siss!  OMG!  If you love neutrals, you have to have this lipstick!  In my personal opinion, it is the best true "nude" lipstick out there!  But, I knew this lipstick was going to be a hit because it sold out in a matter of hours online.  

LIPSTICKS: Siss, A Muted golden beige (satin).  This is a completely nude lipstick.  When I hear the term "nude," the first thing that comes to mind is Christian Louboutin nude high heel shoes.  And, that is exaclty the color of this lipstick.  It is not sheer whatsoever, it is a matte to satin lipstick.  I have been on a hunt for a true nude beige lipstick for so long, and I am so excited about this!  This literally sold out in a matter of hours when MAC released it online.  Good news is MAC has it back online, and it's only a limited supply, So don't miss out!  Ruby Woo, A Vivid blush red (matte).  This is a very pretty and intense matte red lipstick.  I would almost have to describe it as a Christina Auguilera red.  I love bold red colors, so I was quite pleased with the color also.

LIPGLASS: She's a star, A Lustre-shined light neutral gold (Frost).  This is a must have with the Siss lipstick.  Since the lipstick is a matte to satin, the lipglass gives it a polished look, which is gorgeous.  Love Rules, A Fuchsia with white sparkle pearl.  This is more a a dark fushia pink color with alot of shimmer.  The MAC website swatch looks completely lilac purple, and it's not at all!  It gives Ruby Woo that kick and shine it needs if you don't like matte lipstick.  For those who didn't get a chance at the Malibu Barbie lipglass, from the almost instantly sold out, Barbie loves MAC collection, well Love Rules is VERY VERY similar.  The only difference is Love Rules is just a tad bit darker, but, just as shiny and beautiful as Malibu Barbie Lipglass.  I'm going to try to get a swatch up today comparing Love Rules and Malibu Barbie.

EYE SHADOWS: Bold Eyes. Three shades of Eye Shadow Venus (S), Freshwater (VP), and Carbon in a compact featuring the traditional needlework pattern of A Mei’s native Taiwan embroidered onto a plaque insert.  Venus and Freshwater are MAC standard colors.  Freshwater was my favorite out of these colors.  Neutral Eyes, Three shades of Eye Shadow Vanilla (V), Mulch (V), and Brown Down (VX) in a black compact featuring the traditional needlework pattern of A Mei’s native Taiwan embroidered onto a plaque insert.  All three are MAC standard colors.  Overall, the eye shadows packaging was more impressive than the colors.  But, if you don't have these colors, it's well worth it.  A 213 SE eye brush is included in both palettes.

Overall, I loved this collection.  Buy worthy is the lipsticks and lipglasses.  If you love nude, and I do mean "nude" Siss lipstick is for you.  It can also be spiced up by a pink or peachy lipglass that would look great.  I love this color so much,  that I'm going to order me another one before they are gone!  Update: The Siss lipstick sold out AGAIN, in just hours after MAC recieved some in stock! Ruby Woo lipstick has also sold out.  If you had a chance to get this, please let me know how you like it!

{Photo via: Steph's Closet}

FEATURED - Monday, December 17th 2007

Blue is Back: Chanels 2008 Spring Collection

Chanel's Spring/Summer 2008 collection line is focused around blues, and pastels.  Last week I had a chance to preview the collection early, and picked up some goodies.  Blue is going to be the "IT" color for Spring/Summer 2008, if you haven't already noticed.  I have to say this collection is Smoking Hot!  GRRR

Chanel Nail Polishes for 2008.  Blue Satin (actual pictures above), Azur (actual pictures above), White Satin, and Rose Satin.  My favorite picks are Blue Satin and Azur.  Blue Satin is to die for, and if have read my previous articles, this is already selling out like hotcakes.  Azur is my second pick.  It is more translucent than it actually appears but, looks great over Blue Satin and is definitely buy worthy.  I passed on the Rose Satin and White Satin, they are nice colors, but, nothing spectacular.

Chanel Eye Shadows.  Now, this is where Chanel hit the jackpot.  The Les 4 Ombres in Bleu Cèlestes (actual pictures above), is quite frankly the BEST Blue quad I have seen period!  It is absolutely gorgeous and is definitely a must have for spring.  The 4 Fleurs in Ferries, Camelias quad (actual pictures above), is also very beautiful.  Almost too beautiful to even use!  If I had to pick one, I would definitely go with the Bleu Cèlestes. 

Some of my other favorites that I will be purchasing: Chanel Inimitable mascara in Noir-indigo, and Crayon Lèvres Cardamone.  The Crayon is a great shade of blue, and I know a lot of you have been looking for a good blue pencil, so, here it is!

Overall, I loved this collection.  The definite must haves are Blue Satin nail polish and The Les 4 Ombres in Bleu Cèlestes.  I have a feeling both of these items will be sell-outs.  So, be sure to get an early start!

Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter for a chance to win a bottle of Chanel Blue Satin. What do you guys think of this collection?

Wednesday, January 9th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: A Mei Makeup Collection

A Taiwanese pop sensation, the yin-yang of her personality are celebrated in this iconic signature colour collection. Bold for her rocker side. Low-key and neutral for those soft pop moods. This is A Mei, in all her shades - up close and personal.

A Mei: 3 Neutral Eyes (LE). Three shades of Eye Shadow in a black compact featuring the traditional needlework pattern of A Mei’s native Taiwan embroidered onto a plaque insert. Each colourwave in the collection has its own colour signature: Blue/Fuchsia for Bold, Red/Yellow for Neutral.  Limited Edition.  US $30.00.

A Mei: 3 Bold Eyes (LE).  Three shades of Eye Shadow in a black compact featuring the traditional needlework pattern of A Mei’s native Taiwan embroidered onto a plaque insert. Each colourwave in the collection has its own colour signature: Blue/Fuchsia for Bold, Red/Yellow for Neutral.  Limited Edition.  US $30.00.

MAC For A Mei Lipstick.  MAC Lipstick featuring the traditional needlework pattern of A Mei’s native Taiwan screened onto the case.  Two colors available: Siss, A Muted golden beige (satin), and Ruby Woo, A Vivid blush red (matte).  Ruby Woo is pictured.  I just checked the MAC site and Siss lipstick has already SOLD OUT!  Be sure you grab these quick!

MAC For a Mei Lipglass (LE).  Limited Edition Lipglass featuring the traditional needlework pattern of A Mei's native Taiwan screened onto the cap.  Two colors available: She's A Star, A Lustre-shined light neutral gold (Frost), and Love Rules,  A Fuchsia with white sparkle pearl (Frost).  US $14.00.  Love Rules is pictured.

MAC, you are killing me and my bank account, literally!  The, A Mei Collection, is now available online.  Not only did the A Mei Collection release today, So, did the N Color Collection!  My Wallet just can't take this abuse!  But, I just can't say NO!  Really, there should be a some kind of AAA classes for MAC, because I know there's alot of us out there!

This morning, at 5am to be precise, I was writing an article for my blog, and I saw the MAC Cosmetics email pop up.  It went down hill from that point on!  I knew MAC would be releasing these two collections about the same time.  I ordered the entire, A Mei Collection, as soon as I received my email.  The MAC Sales Associate told me last week that this was limited production collection which basically means, it will sell out super fast.  Siss, A Muted golden beige (satin) lipstick (not pictured), has already SOLD OUT online in a matter hours!  If your a MAC lover, you know never to wait until the last minute on these limited edition collections!   And, I am so glad I snatched these up! Their has been countless times I've debated on something and ended up missing out on it, because I waited to long.  And, I forbid to pay those outrageous prices on Ebay.

One thing I'm really excited to see is the eye shadow palettes (even though most are standard MAC colors), and the Siss lipstick that sold out in a matter of hours online.  "Blue and nudes are definitely the "IT' color for Spring/Summer 2008.  

Check out my review and photo swatches for MAC A Mei Collection.

Tuesday, January 29th 2008

Britney Spears: Mental Breakdown Part Two

According to People, the action packed evening actually got underway much earlier Monday evening, when The Trainwreck and her manager, Sam Lutfi went for a short drive around Beverly Hills, CA.  

When they returned to her home at around 6 p.m., the noticabley upset Trainwreck, who appeared to be fighting with Lutfi, jumped out of the white Mercedes near the gated guardhouse.

Spears, wearing brown heels, cut-off shorts and a plaid fedora as she held her Yorkie puppy London, wondered around in tears and, at one point, sat down on the curb. "She looked completely lost," says an onlooker.

Only Spears seemed to downplay the incident, saying, "I'm fine. I'm having a nice time with my dog."

The singer ended up hopping into a car with photographer Filipe Teixeira, who gave her a lift to a Ralph's supermarket in Studio City before he brought her home, and she invited him and another photographer inside. Ghalib, who'd been noticeably absent from Spears's side in recent days, showed up about half an hour later. 

Later on, Police cars pulled up to the house in response to a call from security at Spears's gated community.  Spears drove through the gates and paparazzi followed her car on foot," said LAPD Officer Mike Lopez. "By the time officers arrived, the paparazzi were off the property, but officers handed out citations for those who were illegally parked.

Around 9 p.m. Monday, Spears's father Jamie and her mother Lynne, who earlier visited Britney's kids Preston, 2, and Jayden, 1 at  Federline's house in Tarzana, arrived at their daughter's home.  Mom to the rescue hopefully! 

Lynne, can you please get this girl some HELP!  We can clearly see how troubled this trainwreck is.  And people, don't feel sorry for Britney.  These are real problems, real people deal with everyday, and we don't get any pity.  She loves the attention and the paparazzi, it's her only true friends.  Why do you think she has a paparazzi boyfriend?!  Live with it Britney, that's LIFE!  Obviously, I do not feel somewhat sorry for her.  Brit, you made your bed, now sleep in it!

{Photo via: People}

FEATURED - Wednesday, January 30th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Fafi Collection Color Story

These pictures clearly speak for themselves!  WOW, was my first expression when seeing these product photos back in December of 2007.   There is always one or two collections that will be a huge hit, and this is going to be one of them!  I'd never thought any collection could top Barbie loves MAC, but, I may be wrong!  So many things I'm looking forward to seeing in these collection.  Paint Pots, Blush, Eye Shadow Palette's, Nail Polish, Lipstick, Lipglass, Fafi Doll's (not pictured but, will sell out super duper fast), and the cosmetics bags.  Which, pretty much sums up the whole collection!  Last year, around the same time as Barbie love MAC was released, the Barbie Dolls sold-out instantly, and were going for $400+ on ebay. 

Fafi, a french Graffiti and Fine Art Graphic Artist, who is known for her images of sexy and liberated girls.  Her drawling and graffiti's are absolutely amazing!  If you've never seen any of her Drawling's or Graffiti's, click here to check them out.

Now, on to business!  This rare, limited edition collection, officially releases on February 13th, 2008.  Be sure to keep up-to-date on the Fafi Collection in your area, by signing up on the MAC website.  Check out the amazing color story below, that leaves me drooling at my desk.

Lipstick
Fun ‘n’ Sexy Blue pink with blue pearl (G)
Not so Innocent Sheer tan with pink and peach pearl (G)
Utterly Frivolous Rosy coral with pink pearl (L)
High Top Grey purple with blue pearl (G)
Flash-n-Dash Intense tangerine red with pink pearl (G)
Strawbaby Coral rose with rainbow pearl (L)

Lipglass
Cult Face Blue mid-tone pink with white pearl (F)
Sugar Trance Creamy soft pink with white and rainbow pearl (F)
Squeeze It Brassy plum (F)
Totally It Sheer bright pink with intense pink pearl (F)

Eye Shadow  Quad's (x4)  Fafi Eyes 1
Howzat Deep grey with silver sparkle (S)
Hey Neutral tan with pearl (VP)
Pink Venus Washed pink (L)
Vanilla Soft pale-peachy-ivory flecked with shimmer (V)

Fafi Eyes 2
Bold as Gold Yellow gold with gold pearl (L)
You’re Fresh Pale green with silver sparkle (L)
Shockwave Intense orange with silver sparkle (V)
Prankster Muted dark blue (S)

Paint Pot
Nice Vice Dirty purple with purple pearl (F)
Girl Friendly Creamy grey pink (C)
Layin’ Low Creamy beige (C)
Cash Flow Green gold with gold pearl (F)
Perky Cream coral with white pearl (S)
Rollickin’ Aqua blue green with white pearl (F)

Fluidline
Blacktrack Solid flat black

Eye Kohl
Smolder Intense black
Fascinating Snake-eyes matte white

Zoom Lash
Zoomblack Rich black

Powder Blush
Hipness Intense coral with soft white pearl
Fashion Frenzy Mid-tone blue pink

Iridescent Pressed Powder
Sassed-up Soft coral pink with gold sparkle
Verve-acaious Intense yellow gold with gold pearl
Belightful Gilded peach bronze

Nail Lacquer
Girls Will Be Girls Pink with coral pearl
Boom! Rich eggplant with purple pearl

Brushes
210 Precise Eye Liner.
129SH Powder/Blush (with decorated pouch).
208 Angled Brow Brush.
182 Buffer Large Brush.

Bags
Rectangle M.A.C/Small/Clearly Fafi
Rectangle M.A.C/Mini/Clearly Fafi

Fafi Dolls
Fafinette

{Source via: Specktra}

Wednesday, February 6th 2008

OPI India Collection: Review and Swatches

OPI India Collection for Spring/Summer 2008 has officially launched today.  I had a chance to get a sneak peek at this collection, and pick up a couple of bottles.  First off, I really love India inspired collections.  This collection has a little bit to offer for any appetite.  Neutrals: Soft Grey and Opal colors.  Dark: A gorgeous blue that no-one should overlook, and a deep burgandy with red shimmer.  Metallics: Sheer Gold and Bronze perfect for summer. Brights: A beautiful fuschia magenta (pictured on model), Bright Pink .     

If you haven't been locked up and living as a hermit, then you know by now,, that blue is the "IT" color for Spring/Summer 2008.  Most nail collections this season have featured some kind of blue shade.  Chanel Blue Satin, is one of my personal favorite nail colors this season, but, something was just missing.  As much as I love Blue Satin, it's just too darn dark without putting a topcoat of Azur.  Don't get me wrong, I still love the color and will continue to wear it.  But, it was hyped up so much, that I already had high expectations and the vision in my head didn't match up with actual color.  Maybe if the formulation wasn't as thick, it would have an potential of being a 10.

 

Charmed by a Snake.  A bronzed color that is perfect for any anybody.  This is a great color and much approiate for warm and cool tones.  This is definitely tied with MoonSoon or Later as my second favorites.  "Bronzed" and "Goldened" are one of the color trends for this summer, which brings me to the next color.

 

Curry Up Don't Be Late.  A sheer gold color with yellow undertones. I think this color is more appealing to the warm tone crowd.  A Metallic Yellowish-Gold is a tricky color to pull off.  But, I'm really liking yellow this spring/summer.  If your feet get really tan in the summer, this is a must for pedi's!  Check out the OPI India Collection Promo Ad, featuring this color.  I'll be honest, I love this color but, it was really hard to paint my nails.  It's very sheer, and I certainly needed 3 heavy coats to cover completely.  But, it's defintely worth the hassle, the color payoff is a gorgeous metallic yellow-gold.

Lunch at Delhi.  Described as a soft coral shade with pink-undertones.  I honestly don't see the pink undertones in this one.  It defitnely has more reddish undertones which makes it dark coral color which is really pretty.  Coral is going to be an "IT" color this spring/summer 2008. 

I'm Ind-ia Mood for Love.  Described as a Fushia-Magenta color.  A Magenta Fushia creme color that is a must have for pedi's this summer!  Take a look at the model in the picture above.  She is wearing this color.  How cute would that be on your toes, white flip-flops, and a toe ring.

 

Yoga-Ta Get This Blue.  So true to the name.  Yoga-Ta Get this Blue!  What are you waiting for!  WOW!  This color is exactly what Chanel Blue Satin lacked and is amazing.  It is exactly the blue I have been looking for.  If you love the blue nail polish trend, well, this is going to be your holy grail color.  So, what makes this blue different from all the hundreds out there?  Well, OPI for one, secondly the beautiful aqua and blue shimmer that makes this perfect!  And, one more thing, it LOOKS blue! Unlike Blue Satin and many others, where it looks black-ish in different lighting.  Russian Navy fans, get ready, your going to love this color!  Same type of texture, instead of the purple-ish pink shimmers, it's aqua and blue.  This is my favorite color of this collection, and think it's going to be a HUGE hit.

 

MoonSoon or Later.  I absolutely LOVE this color!  Described as a bright reddish-organish color.  I think this is one of the colors that most people will overlook.  And, if you love orangey-red's, this defintely shouldn't be overlooked!  It's not as bright and orangey as you might think.  Described as a creamy tomato red.  At first, I honestly overlooked this color.  Two days later, I saw this color and messed with it a little bit, and ended up loving it and purchasing it.  If your attracted to reds as I am, you'll love this!  This color is my second favorite, right under the blue.  Coral and Oranges are going to be a Hot color this summer!

Moon over Mumbai.  Descirbed as a gray shade.  I was really hoping I would like this color.  I'm honestly seeing more pink in this shade.  I would describe it as a very light pink shimmer with gray undertones.  It is a very pretty shade, but, I was hoping for more gray.  Essie's, Body Language is by far the best gray color I have seen this spring.  This color is much like Essie's 2008 Spring Collection.

Keys to my Karma.  Described as a rich tomato red color.  Honestly, I see this color being more like a cherry red opposed to a rich tomato red, which I have plenty of similar colors.

Elphantastic Pink.  Described as a bold carnation pink.  Much talk was going on about this color.  So, I was really looking forward to it.  But, I was quite disappionted.  My skin tone is warm and this color stands out like a sore thumb.  It's just too bright for me.  This color may look more appealing on cooler skin tones.

Here are some other colors I didn't get, but, would be more appealing for me in the fall.  Spring and Summer is almost here so, I'm ready for some colors.  Royal Rajah Ruby, a burgandy with reddish shimmer.  If the shimmer were light pink, this would be an huge it color.  This is more of a burgandy-blackish color.  Black Cherry Chutney, a dark black cherry red.  

Below are some photo swatches I took from my salon.  

The first picture was taken with a flash, the second without a flash. 

Overall, I really liked this collection.  Yoga-ta get this Blue!  Go get this stuff now!  That was the best color hands down.  Followed by Curry up Don't Be Late, Charmed by a Snake, and MoonerSooner or Later.  

What do you think of this collection?  Are you planning to purchase any colors?

Check out the ultimate summer accessory featuring two colors from the OPI India Collection.

Saturday, February 16th 2008

Fafi for MAC: Display Photos

 

I love this!  A real-life giant Fafinette!  This was on display at my store's launch.  If you go to your local MAC store make sure you take advantage of the Fafi white bag, and poster along with CD with purchase!

FEATURED - Wednesday, February 27th 2008

MAC Cosmetics Fafi: Review and Swatches Part Two

Eye Shadow Quads. I purchased both of these eye shadow quads.  I honestly, did not expect to like Quad 2, but, that ended up being my favorite.

Quad 1.  Vanilla, a white color witha a velvet finish, that is good for highlighting.  Hey Neutral, a shimmery tan color, that is very pretty nude color.  Pink Venus, bright pink frosted color, that has great color payoff and texture.  Howzat, a dark gray-ish black color, good for crease lines.  

Quad 2.  Bold as Gold, a gorgeous shade of shimmery yellow-gold.  I really loved this color, perfect amout of shimmer that isn't over powering.  Shockwave, more of a shimmery tangerine color, that isn't as bright as it looks.  You're Fresh, as it looks green in the quad, it's quite sheer.  More of a greenish-yellowish shimmer.  Prankster, it may look navy blue, but, comes out more dark blue-blackish.

If you tend to play it safe, I would go for the Quad 1. If you are daring enough, I would definitely recommend purchasing Quad 2.  The colors may look funky, but, appear more sheerer than they actually look.

Paint Pots.  I absolutely love MAC's paint pots.  I purchased Cash Flow, and Perky.  I am planning to pick up Rollickin soon.  My favorite by far is Perky.

Perky, a coral-peach shimmer color, that is truely gorgeous, and the color pay-off is great.  This is a must have base for Quad 2.  Cash Flow, a goldish-brownish color, that is great with browns and neutral colors.  Rollickin, a tealish shimmery color, that looks great espically paired up with Parrot eyeshadow.  Nice Vice, a purplish brownish color, that was way too dark and purplish for my skintone (NC25).  Layin Low, a creamy flat brown beige color.  Girl Friendly, a very flat pink color.

 

 

Powder Blushes.   The powder blushes were something I didn't even look at twice until I saw in person.  They may appear "very bright" in their Fafi cases, but, that is not the case whatsoever.  The blushes have very  "build-able color".  I initially only purchased Hipness but, later purchased Fashion Frenzy.  It's really hard to choose between the two, because they are both equally beautiful.  

Fashion Frenzy, a medium cool pink matte color that is very buildable.  Just be careful with the blush brush, you can easily get outta control  with the blushes, which might reflect the brightness of the color.  Fashion Frenzy looks great with Quad 1, Sexy n Fun lipstick paired up with Totally It lipglass.  Hipness, a warm peach matte color with a small hint of pink.  Hipness looks great with Quad 2, Strawbaby lipstick, paired up with Sugar Trance lipglass.

Iridescent Mineralized Powders.  These powders are just gorgeous, and by far the best out of the Fafi collection.  If you love to sparkle and shine, then these powders are for you.  Unfortanetly, I could not get a good picture to justify the beauties of these powders with them being so sheer.  I purchased Verve-vacious, more of a golden bronzed color. 

Verve-vacious, a goldish bronzed powder with several pigmented gold flecks.  This is gorgeous, and can be used as a bronzing powder for summer also.  Sassed-Up, a soft golden peach-pinkish color.  I believe this color will be more appealing for everyone and the most popular.  Sassed-up is another one I would like to purchase, only if my bank account wasn't depleted by Fafi!  Belightful, a cooler brownish powder with gold specks.  Verve-vacious and Belightful were very similar in colors.  I opt for Verve-vacious because it's more becoming, and it's a limited edition color.

Nail Lacquer.  I purchased both of these colors, because I'm a nail polish freak!  However, I do think Girls will be Girl is more appealing than Boom.  Girls Will Be Girls, a pink with a specks of gold that makes it somewhat coral-ish.  The coral color is not very noticable to the naked eye.  If you prefer the sheerness, you will only need two coats.  However, In the picture above, I had to use 3 coats to cover my nail completely.  Boom, a burgandy color with specks of pink shimmer.  This metallic like color is very pretty, and looks great on nails.

Overall, Fafi is truely a great collection.  It offers alot of bright pink/corals, girly colors that are going to be "it" colors for spring/summer 2008.  Definite stand out items: Strawbaby and Fun n Sexy Lipstick, Sugar Trance and Totally It lipglass, Perky Paint Pot, and Sassed-Up mineralized powder.  The only items that are sold out nationwide is Fun n Sexy and Strawbaby lipstick.  But, they may still be available at your local MAC Store.

Wednesday, March 12th 2008

Married to the MOB: Fafi T-shirt

I wasn't so crazy about the MAC cosmetics Fafi T-shirt but, when I came across these Fafi t-shirts I had to post them, espically for those Fafi lovers out there!  These are so adorable, now, why couldn't MAC and Fafi create a t-shirt like this.  This shirt retails for $40 and you can purchase it online at Married to the MOB (most official bitches).

FEATURED - Sunday, March 9th 2008

Free Stuff: Beauty Sample Giveaway

Stay tuned for the details on this giveaway.  In the meantine, check out all the sample details below.

1. Philosophy Inner Grace -  3 in 1 shampoo, bath, and shower gel .5 oz.  2.  Philosophy Inner Grace - 3 in 1 shampoo, bath, and shower gel .5 oz.  3. Fresh Sugar Lychee - Bath & Shower Gel .34 oz.  Body Lotion .34 oz.  4. Cargo Bronzer - Medium Color Bronzer.  5. Tarte Bronzer - Mineral Powder Bronzer.  6. Go Smile - Teeth Whitening, One Application.  7. Md skincare - Hydra-Pure Oil-Free Moisturize.  8. Fresh Sugar Lychee - Bath & Shower Gel .34 oz.  Body Lotion .34 oz.   9. Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze - Illuminating Face Tint .3 oz.  10. Victoria's Secret Spa -Whipped Body Cream .35 oz.  11. Kiehl's - Drawing Paste .17 oz.  12. Kiehl's - Ultra Facial Toner .17 oz.  13. Juicy Beauty - Cleansing Gez .07 oz and Oil-Free Moisturizer .07 oz  14.  Dr. Brandt - Microdermabrasion 2 ml.  15. Philosophy - When Hope is not enough spf 20 3ml  16. Caudalie - Night Infusion Creme 2ml.  17. Aquolina Chocolovers - Body Scrub Creme .5 oz.  18. DKNY - Red Delicious Fragrance .5 oz  19. Bliss - Body Butter 30 ml 20. Jonathon - Silky Dirt Creme .40 oz.  21. Smackers Glimmer Dust - Pink Prism "full size."  22. Guerlain - Aqua Allegoria .25 oz.  23. Duwop - Lip Venom .05 oz.  24. Anastasia Brow Gel - One Application.  25. (Lot of 9) fragrance samples. Incanto Shine, Chanel-Chance, Dior-Miss Dior Cherie, Hilary Duff-with Love, Armani Code, Hanae Mori, Stella-In Two Peony, and two unknown fragrances.  (sorry there is no labels, arggh). 

Thursday, March 13th 2008

My Current Obsession: Dior Pretty Charms

So, I was on my way to my local Dillards in Kenwood Mall.  I had one goal, to get a bottle of Chanel white satin nail polish and then run out as fast as I can!  Well, as ya'll can see that did not happen whatsoever.  As I was running outta there, the Dior makeup artist caught me, and when it comes to beauty I can't resist, you had me at hello!  Anyway, the makeup artist was great and I learned alot about Dior that I had never known before.  The only thing that really make me look twice was the limited edition Dior Pretty Charms, which retails for $40.  Keep in mind this is not a new product.  I beleive it made it's first debut back in 2006, and sold out instantly.  So, it's back by popular demand and only for a limited time!

What is it?  A couture inspired style with a heart shape locket that opens to two lip shades and a mirror. This locket contains one shade of lipstick in matte pink, and a shimmery bubblegum lip gloss.

What I like about it?  I love when I find a product that's not only fashionable and stylish but, is also versatile in so many ways.  Everything about this locket is so girly and feminine.  The crystals, the heart shape, and lip shades.  I love couture style, so this is defintely a must have is my book.  Now, I'll tell you how versatile this is!  A lipstick, lipgloss, mirror, charm bracelet, and a purse charm for $40!  5 uses, 1 product, equals Fabulous.  Overall, for what you get, it's truely a great deal.  The best to come is yet!  Check out the picture below.

Above is a picture of my holy grail Balenciaga bag I carry year-round (PS: I only have about 5 handbags total). If you love bag charms this is an absolute MUST!  I can't even count how many people have stopped me, complimenting on Dior pretty charms!  It's truely fabulous, espically when used as a bag charm!  And, the lippies are easily accessed so you don't have to dig around in your purse!  Check out the picture below being used as a charm bracelet.

Above is a picture demostrates Dior pretty charms being used as a charm bracelet.  It's a little heavy on the wrist, but, wouldn't be any heavier if you were stacking bracelets or bangles.  I'll probably be using this as a bag charm mostly, but, looks super hot paired up with a chunky watch, so who knows.

What do you guys think?  Is this something you would wear?

FEATURED - Thursday, May 14th 2009

Gray Nail Polish Comparisons: Swatches

 

Happy Thursday lovelies! Hope your having a wonderful afternoon or morning, wherever you are. It's another rainy day in the neighborhood and a perfect time for some gray nail polish comparisons.

Just a little over a year ago, this stormy color was scarce to find, and today - I'm happy to report we have a few great picks to choose from.

My Most Memorable Gray: Although there are many fabulous shades of gray, I have to my give props to one that broke my gray virginity, China Glaze's Recycle from the E-Collection.

Back in Spring 08', when the E-collection was originally released, I had a completely different view of Recycle. It's defintitely a shade you have to warm up to. And, now I love it. 

Some other favorites: Zoya Harley, Essie Body Language, LA Girls Flare Saharan Sand, RBL Concrete Jungle, MAC on the Prowl.

(C) Creme (S) Shimmer  Check em' out!

 

The Light Gray's (pictured above). Body Language and Saharan Sand are two of my favorites. It's a mix between gray, nude and white that looks really fabulous on. It's light, crisp and opaque.

The Medium Gray's. RBL's grays have just a pinch of stormy blue that makes them different from the others.  

The Dark Gray's. Have a wonderful day! What's everyone's favorite shade of gray?

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 - Wednesday, May 21st 2008

Neo Sci Fi: Swatches, Review, and Product Photos

 

Overall, the Neo Sci Fi is everything I expected.  I think this collection offers a little bit for everyone.  Most shades are very wearable and neutral toned, which many of us will find appealing.  However, there is quite a bit of repromotes in this collection.  But, this may be a good thing, espically if you didn't have chance to grab these in previous collections.  If the color swatches didn't grab your attention, well be prepared, the packaging is sure to "wake" up your day!

It don't take a brain scientist to figure out summer collections are all about the traditional Sun Godess.  So, if you think your seeing deja vu here, you probably are!  The color shades range in Golds, Bronze, Peach, and Browns.  And, I think Sci Fi will be more popular with warmer skin tones.  I really had fun playing with all the colors and chatting it up with the MA's today.  Espically, about the nail polishes.

So, do you notice what's missing in this collection?  Pinks!  The fact that there's not many pink color shades in this collection really tickles my fancy.  I know, I know.... A girl cannot have enough pinks, right?  Well, Pink "RULEZ" in my makeup collection, so, this is definitely a move in the right direction.

Of course, I didn't leave the MAC store empty handed. Take a sneak peek at my haulin pictures.  Some items I picked up were: Sci Fi Delity, Astral, Pink Grapefruit, and Supreme.  For the complete run-down, check out my haul.

Check out all the photo swatches below.

 

Neo Sci Fi Lipsticks  Astral - A mid-tone warm brown lustre with red and gold pigments. The red pearlized pigments are barely noticeable, and the gold shimmer makes this really pretty. Sci Fi Delity - A burnt red frost with gold pigments. As soon as I swatched this, I knew this was love at first site.  It's a perfect color that isn't to bold that everyone can rock. Electro - A very very bright neon orange.  As much as I love to look at gawk at this color, I need to get back to reality.  Because, I know electo would just sit their all lonley with her other sisters.  She has tons of sisters! Pleasureseeker - A sheer creamy peach glaze.  I really wanted to love this color (it was on my haulin list), but, sadly, it was extremely sheer.  My lips are fairly pigmented, so, it took about 5 applications to get good color.  Sunsonic - A light beige gold frost.  So, before you go, uggh... This is suprisingly, a very gorgeous color when paired up MAC's lipglass.  I felt like I was in one of those "Got Milk" advetisments.  umm, yeah, it was basically like a white frosted ring around my lips.  I think ya'll can image what that resembled!  However, I topped off with supreme lipglass = an oh so dreamy choclate creation.

Electro....your so electrifying....

 

Lipglass Naked Space  - is a nude peach with gold shimmer.  Naked Space is fairly light but,  a nice color, espically if your into nude colored glosses. Soft & Slow - is a mid-tone creamy plum with gold shimmer.  A nice pink that has good color pay-off. Pink Grapefruit - is a "must have" beautiful orange with gold pearl.  The swatches do not lie, it's absolultey amazing.  I plan on picking up a back-up this week.  Supreme - a rich milk choclate bronze with white pearl.  This is another color that just popped out to me, it's so rich.  It's also my first brown lipglass purchase.

 

I'm hypnotized by Pink Grapefruit...

Eyeshadows Magenetic Fields - is a brown black with silver pearl.  The color is much more brownish than black.  It's a great darker brown, espically for crease lines. Evening Aura -  is a frosty golden peach velux pearl.  Evening Aura was one of my favorite eyeshadows.  A very beautiful peach golden color for a softer look. Femme Fi - A frosty golden creme pearl velux.  A great highlighting that has awesome color pay-off. Time & Space - A rich copper brown that is highly pigmented.  The color pay-off is beyond excellent.  Expensive Pink - a pink with gold duochrome.  Although this is a permanent color, it is stunning.  I've owned this color for quite sometime and is one of my all-time fav's.

I know there's been alot of confusion about Expensive Pink.  This is a MAC permanent color.  So, don't let the bright orange packaging throw you off.  It's only being promoted with the orange packaging through the Neo Sci Fi collection.  However, the black packaging is available in their regular stock.

Some more pics below....

Powder Blush X-Rocks - A shimmery dirty mauve with great color pay-off and pigmentation. Spaced Out - A shimmery peach with good color pay-off.

I have a fancy with powder blushes, so this was a must have for me.  Spaced Out wasn't as highly pigmented compared to X-Rocks.  But, I may be back to my MAC store to pick up X-Rocks because it was just as gorgeous.

Cremestick Lip Liner 80% - is a Deep cocoa brown Beurre - is a dirted plum Summerfruit - a pale coral

Nail polishes are my major weaknesses.  I literally own about every color in the rainbow.  So, these color were a no brainer for me.  Check out the Neo Sci Fi photo swatches. 

Nail Polish Metalist - A soft light sand shimmer.  I think more of us will flock to this color because it's the safe route.  I passed on this color because it was boring and not unique.  In fact, it reminds me alot of Chanel Antilope and Dior's new summer one.  Plasma Blu - is an bright turquoise shimmer.   This is a pretty bright turquoise that will look fab on toes. Neon 8 - is a coral orange shimmer.  Neon 8 is my favorite color out of the four colors.  The color isn't as bright as you think.  And, is a great orange shade. Phosphor - a bright taxi cab yellow frost.

Check out MAC's Solar Field Review, Swatches, and Product Photos.

FEATURED - Sunday, April 13th 2008

Product Review: Dior Sky Glow 5 Color Eyeshadow

Product: Dior 5 Couleurs in Sky Glow

Price: $54.00

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Sephora

Recommend: Yes

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to learn alot about Dior Cosmetics.  One thing learned, Dior focuses highly on skin care.  And, I have to say they have alot of great skin care products.  But, I wasn't interested at the time.  I had my eyes set on one thing, the Sky Glow 5 Colour Eyeshadow Quint.  I've passed the Dior counter on a numerous occassions, and just couldn't resist this time.  The gorgeous teal blue color was just calling out my name.  And, if you're a reader of mine, you know I'm pretty obsessed when it comes blues.

It's not very often I find a Quint (he he it's so fun saying Quint) that is absolutely amazing!  And, of course, the pictures do not justify the beautiful colors.  So, I decided pulled out my husbands professional Nikon D200 to try to get a true-to-color close up photo.  Check out the eyeshadow colors below.

The colors include: teal/aqua blue (top left), bronze greyish-taupe (top right) this is an amazing color, white pearl (middle), gunmetal gray (bottom left), and silver (bottom right).  Sky glow, is becoming one of my all-time favorite eyeshadow combinations.  It may be on the pricey side but, when you break it down, it's $10.80/per color, which isn't bad.  The eyeshadow colors are gorgeous (not too shimmery), and when combined together, delivers a knock-out.  The colors lasted forever, just as long, as any MAC eyeshadow.

Check out some of my looks using all the colors from this Quad.

 

 

My mascara is the wonders of Diorshow Blackout and cetaphil creme.  Diorshow Black Out works miracles, espically if you have already have a good amount of eyelashes.

FEATURED - Wednesday, April 23rd 2008

MAC Dress Camp: Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC released The Dress camp collection early and very unexpectantly, and while this collection was literally selling out under my nose, I was out enjoying the gorgeous weather here in KY.  If it wasn't for Temptalia's google alert, I would of missed out on this completely!  So, a huge shout out to you girl!  The only thing I missed out on was too fab lipstick, which was a total bummer, because it's a really fab color.  Check out the photo swatches below.

Dress Camp Lipglass.  She Gold, described as a sheer yellow-gold with gold shimmer.  This color is very pretty, and the best out of the collection.  I prefer She Gold worn alone, it brings out the natural color in your lips and makes them shine like She Gold.  Fashion, described as a bright-midtone pink with white pearl frost.  The color isn't as bright as the described.  The white pearl frost tones it down quite a bit which makes it a lighter pink.  Check out the Dress Camp Palette swatches below.

Dress Camp Face X4 Palette.  One thing I love about MAC's limited edition face palette's is their so convenient, espically for over night stays or touch-ups.  DressCamp Pink Powder (a blue mid-tone pink with white pearlized pigments).  The Dress Camp pink powder is a light pink with shimmer and it's my favorite color out of the palette.  It can be used as a beauty powder blush or an eye shadow.  Sunny Girl (a pretty yellow gold), Golden Gold (a deep golden bronze), Trend (a light Neutral tan with gold pearlized pigments, perfect for highlighting).

Overall, I really loved MAC's Dress Camp collection.  And, not just for the hot packaging, ok maybe a little!  Bright Pinks, gold's, bronze, all colors that are right up my alley.  My favorites out of the collection, She Gold lipglass and Dress Camp Pink beauty powder.

FEATURED - Thursday, April 24th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Naughty Nauticals Color Story

Get ready to set sail to MAC Cosmetics for the Naughty Nauticals Collection, set to release on May 1st.  Get your haulin list ready and your checkbook!  Check out the color story and promo images.

Lipstick

• Buoy-o-buoy - Sheer light pink with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (glaze)
• Party Mate - Creamy neutral pink brown (lustre)
• Ahoy, There - Sheer midtone pink (lustre)
• Port Red - Yellow red with gold pearlized pigments (frost)

Lustreglass

• Hey Sailor - Blue plum pink with white pearlized particles (lustre)
• Ensign - Peachy pink with white and gold pearlized pigments (lustre)
• Love Knot - Sheer pink with blue and white duochrome (lustre)
• Bateaux - Neutral brown peach with white frost (lustre)

Eyeshadow

• Shore Leave - Pale frosty cream (veluxe pearl)
• Illegal Cargo - Mid-tone frosty greyed plum (frost)
• Submarine - Mid-tone frosty clear blue (frost)
• Meet the Fleet - Matte midnight blue (matte)
• Pandamonium - Frosty gunmetal with whtie pearlized pigments (lustre)

Pigment

• Lark About - Sheer frosty white blue (frost)
• Mutiny - Sky blue with gold pearlized pigments (frost)
• Lovely Lily - Lilac with red pearlized pigments (frost)
• Bell-bottom Blue - Frosty blue with white pearlized pigments (frost)

Technakohl

• Smoothblue - Ocean blue wtih frost
• Greyprint - Rich pewter grey with frost

Pro Lash

• Coal Black - Black Mascara

Nail Lacquer

• Shirelle - Classic red (cream)
• Naughty Nautical - Dark royal blue (frost)

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

FEATURED - Friday, April 25th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Cool Heat Collection For Summer

MAC introduces Cool Heat Collection for Summer 2008.  This collection should be arriving at stores and online around June 12, 2008 and International July 2008.  Check out the Product Images and Color Story Below.

Perfumes (Creations): $22.50 USD

• Turquatic Crisp and energizing! A splash of clear, sparkling mineral water brought to a chill through an infusion of fresh lotus leaves and Corsican cedrat, then finished with a warm blend of anemone, orris and blue cedar. (Repromote)
  
• Turquatic Heat - Turquatic heat is a warm, floral, woody fragrance, with a sultry modern sensuality. Inspired by the original turquatic scent, this new edition delivers a unique and strong personality, delivered thru a contrasting heated sweetness. (LE)

Eye Shadows: $14.00 USD

• Solar White - Frosted muted white-gold ((Frost) (LE)
• Warming Trend - Frosty light taupe (Veluxe Pearl) (LE)
• Warm Chill - Frosty seafoam green with gold pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Gulf Stream - Frosty mid-tone blue-green with green pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Cool Heat - Frosty teal with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Climate Blue- Midtone violet-blue with pink pearlized pigments (Velvet) (LE)
• Blue Flame - Metallic navy-blue (Veluxe Pearl) (LE)

Slimshines: $14.00  USD

• Tropic Glow - Blue-pink with silver pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• By Degrees - Neutral brown-pink (Frost) (LE)
• Gentle Summer - Light clean yellow-pink with white pearlized pigments (Frost) (New perm shade)
• High 90s - Pink-orange (Frost) (LE)
• Swelter - Sheer red (Frost) (LE)

Cool Heat offers some stunning eyeshadow colors in this collection.  Lust haves for me are Warm Chill (a seafoam green),  Cool Heat (Frosty Teal), and Golf Stream (blue green frost).

{Source: Specktra}

FEATURED - Saturday, April 26th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Neo Sci Fi Color Story

MAC Cosmetics introduces Neo Sci Fi for Summer 2008.  This future earth collection is due to release May 29, 2008 and International June 2008.  Check out the promo pictures and color story below.

Lipsticks: $14.00 USD

• Sci-Fi-Delity - (Frost) Burnt red with golden pearl (LE)
• Pleasureseeker - (Glaze) Creamy peach colour (LE)
• Astral - (Lustre) Mid-tone brown with red pearl (LE)
• Electro - (Lustre) Brilliant orange (LE)
• Sunsonic - (Frost) Gold with white pearl (LE)

Lipglass: $14.00 USD

• Supreme - (Frost) Bronze brown with white pearl (LE)
• Naked Space - (Frost) Frosted creamy natural peach (LE)
• Pink Grapefruit - (Frost) Pink-orange with gold pearl (LE) (Repromote)
• Soft and Slow - (Cream) Pale beige with gold pearl (LE) (Repromote)

Cremestick Lip Liner $14.00 USD

• Beurre - Dirtied plum (Repromote)
• 80% - Deep, deep cocoa (Repromote)
• Summerfruit - Pale coral (Repromote)

Eye Shadows: $14.00 USD

• Magnetic Fields - (Lustre) (LE)
• Femme Fi - (Veluxe Pearl) (LE)
• Evening Aura - (Veluxe Pearl) (LE)
• Time and Space - (Frost) (LE)
• Expensive Pink - Pink with gold duochrome (Veluxe Pearl) (Repromote)

Sheertone Shimmer Blush: $17.50 USD

• Space Out
• X-Rocks

Mascara: $11.00 USD

• Plushblack - A mascara formulated to instantly plump up lashes for extreme voluptuous effect. Volumizing, lengthening, curling, lifting. (Repromote)

Nail Lacquers: $10.00 USD

• Metalist - (Frost) Copper with white pearl
• Plasma Blu - (Frost) Turquoise with white pearl
• Neon 8 - (Frost) Brilliant orange with orange pearl
• Phosphor - (Frost) Buzzing bright yellow

This collection has my name all over it!  Neo Sci Fi features more warmer colors in this collection.  I can't wait to see the actual colors in person.  I'm loving everything, including the hot trendy nail polish colors!  Get your haulin list ready for May 29, and your checkbook!

{Source: Specktra}

FEATURED - Thursday, May 1st 2008

Naughty Nauticals: Review, Swatches, Photos

 

Check out all the Naughty Nauticals collection swatches.  I will be writing up the review shortly, along with more photos!

Party Mate - A semi-sheer mid-tone pink lustre color that has light buildable coverage.  This has more color pay-off than Ahoy, There and is a tad bit darker. Ahoy, There! - A sheer dirty pink color with multi-dimensionel pearl that makes this a glaze.  This is the lightest color of the bunch. Port Red - A must have for red lipstick lovers!  A gorgeous ruby red with gold pearl which makes this a frost.  This is my favorite out of the bunch, and is very pretty. Buoy-O-Buoy - A creamy neutral beige color with pink undertones, that has buildable color.

 

The only color that really stood out to me was the gorgeous, Port Red.  The other colors have more of a " neutral-pink" pay-off, which I'm so over pink right now.  My makeup collection is heavily out numbered by pinks.

Ensign - A peachy pink with white and gold pearl.  This color appears more peachy than pink.  And, is a great all around color. Hey Sailor - A mauvey plum pink with white pearl.  Hey Sailor has the best color pay-off out of all the lustreglasses. Love Knot - A sheer pink with blue and white duochrome.  Love Knot is the sheerest of all the colors. Bateaux - A neutral brown peach with white frost.  Bateaux is my favorite color of the bunch.  It's a nice neutral color with a hint of peach.

The two colors I purchased were Hey Sailor and Bateaux.  Hey Sailor has good color pay-off and looks fab combined with Port Red lipstick.  Ensign is also a pretty color, but, Bateaux had more of a peach color pay-off which I opted for Bateaux.  Love Knot was very sheer on me but, I absoultey loved the blue and white duochrome, just wished it had better color pay-off.

Lark About - A sheer white frost pigment with blue undertones.  Bell Bottom Blue - A navy blue color with white pearl.  The white pearl gave this color more of a blue color with purple undertones. Lovely Lily - A soft lilac color with pink undertones.  The pink undertones gave this more of a softer color. Mutiny - A clean sky blue with gold pearl.  The gold pearl makes Mutiny not as bold, and less color pay-off.  This is my favorite out of the pigments.

Mutiny was the only pigment I purchased from the Naughty Nauticals collection.  I think this is a great color in general that everyone can wear.  It's not to bold or daring, it's a nice soft aqua color.

Shore Leave - A pale frosty ivory color with pink undertones, that has quite a bit of shimmer to it.  I really liked this color, it looks fab as a highlighter paired up with Illegal Cargo. Pandanonium - A frosty gunmetal color with white pearl. Illegal Cargo - A frost grey plum color that has more mavey-plum color pay-off.  Meet the Fleet - Midnight blue matte color.  I really did not like this color nor texture at all.  It was very blotchy when playing with the colors, and I was not impressed at all. Submarine - A beautiful mid tone blue color with frost that almost looks like a darker teal color.

I wasn't nearly as impressed with the eye shadows.  I felt Meet the Fleet and Pandanonium were very dull and boring to me.  The texture was very blocthy and hard to work with when I was swatching.  I purchased Shore Leave, Illegal Cargo and Submarine.  My favorite out of the eye shadows is Illegal Cargo.

Pigments vs Eye shadows.  I had a hard time deciding between the pigments and eye shadow colors, because they are somewhat similar.  But, I decided to go with the eye shadows because of the better color pay-off.  Illegal Cargo is much prettier and bolder purple than Lovely Lily.  And, Shore Leave is a pretty ivory white frost comparted to Lark About, which is more of a sheer white-blue pigment.

FEATURED - Friday, May 2nd 2008

A Colorful Storybook to a Happy Ending

Product: Sephora Colorful Story Palette

Price: $35.00   (an $80.00 value)

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Sephora, Limited Edition

Recommend: Yes

Nobody can tell a colorful story like Sephora!  Sephora introduces a limited edition palette feauting 16 of their best selling eye shadow colors.

This is such an fantastic deal!  I originally only purchased this because I needed an item for free shipping!  Sephora always gets ya with that free shipping!  I was automatically drawn to this colorful storybook palette.  But, hesitated for a minute because I've never tried Sephora's eyeshadows.  I knew it couldn't be too bad because they are my #1 beauty authority.  Plus, this would be a perfect Mother's Day gift also.

Overall, this limited edition palette has some great colors choices.  And, is the perfect palette to travel or take on-the-go.  What's great about this palette is the colors are all seasons appropriate which makes this a fab deal!  The only drawback I had is the quality (hey, I'm a MAC girl, I have high expectations).  It is fairly good quality, that is why I rated this 4 kisses but, not the best.  I found that the shadows worked best with a good base such as Urban Decay or my personal fav MAC Paint Pots.

Check out the palette colors below.

The colors featured in this palette include: Strass 7 (charcoral black with silver glitter), 9 (taupe shimmer with gold glitter), 3 (gold shimmer with gold glitter), 2 (silver shimmer with silver glitter); Pearl 8 (champagne beige pearl), 1 (white pearl), 9 (coral pearl), 7 (soft bronze pearl); Chrome 4 (vibrant iridescent teal-turquoise sheen), 3 (brown-green iridescent sheen), 6 (pale opalescent sheen), 2 (rich plum sheen); Mat 6 (matte white), 3 (matte chocolate brown), 7 (matte deep burgundy), 1 (matte charcoal black).

Check out the photo swatches below.  The photo swatches are in the same order as displayed in the picture above.

 Wowza!!!  Chrome No. 4 is my absolute favorite out of the palette....

Chrome No. 3 is a very unique color.  A brown-green iridescent color, that tops off at my second favorite.

 A little more pictures below....

FEATURED - Wednesday, May 14th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Overrich Collection

MAC introduces Overrich Collection for late summer.  A colorful range of 8 new metallic pigments that's inspired by the new Cult of the Cherry collection.  These are filled with stunning oxidized pigments in glamorous colors.  Check out the photo swatches below. 

Pigments

Blonde's Gold - Light Tan with Gold and White pearl  Antique Green - Turquoise Green with Gold pearl  Vintage Gold - Tarnished Green with Green pearl  Museum bronze - Rich Taupe with Gold pearl Mauvemnet - (Repromote) Cool Taupe with Gold Pearl  Mega-Rich - Frosty burnt Orange with Gold pearl  Copperbeam - Rusted Brown with Red pearl  Heritage Rouge - Deep Burgundy with Red and Brown pearl

The Overrich collection should be available end of August/Sept 2008.  Stay tuned for more infomation as it become available.

Check out the review and photo swatches for this luxurious overrichness collection.

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

A big thanks to Kiss and Makeup for this great info!

FEATURED - Sunday, May 18th 2008

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz Tie The Knot

US Magazine reports Ashlee Simpson, 23, and Pete Wentz, 28, marry in an intimate ceremony in the backyard of her parents' Encino California home Saturday, May, 17th 2008.

Around 150 guests gathered under white tents on the Simpson property to witness the non denominational ceremony which was officiated by Joe Simpson himself.  Some of the guests included Nicole Richie, who wore a long flowing purple dress, and Joel Madden. Inside the tents the decor was goth rocker: black rugs, white couches with red pillows, black chandeliers and lots of red roses.

The four months pregnant bride wore an ivory lace Monique Lhuillier dress and a diamond necklace with matching earrings by Neil Lane. Wentz wore a Dior Homme tuxedo. Wentz's English bulldog, Hemingway, was the ring-bearer.

At the request of Ashlee and Pete, all of the guests wore dark colors, such as blue, black or grey.

Big sis and maid of honor Jessica Simpson brought Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo Tony Romo as her date. On Friday, a source told US magazine that "Joe called Tony and asked him to show support for the wedding."  Romo arrived many hours ahead of anyone guests or family... Do we see an reconciliation here? hmmm....

I didn't know I'd be getting married right now, but I'm so happy to be!" she said. "I'm a lucky girl."

Wentz told US of marriage, "When you find someone you think is your soulmate, it's inevitable."

Ashlee Simpson, who is pregnant with the couple's first child, and Wentz, the bassist for Fall Out Boy, have been linked together since the fall of 2006.  This is their first marriage for both.

FEATURED - Wednesday, May 21st 2008

MAC Solar Field: Review, Swatches, Product Images

 

Overall, the Solar Field Collection was very, hmm.... interesting!  Solar bits, was a little (alot) tricky to start off with.  The good ole saying "practice makes perfect" certainly applies to MAC's solar bits.  As I was swatching these little bits, I was overtaken by the beauty of the pigmentation and shimmer.  But, good looks are always deceiving as they say.  I had the pigments all over the place (shirt, face, hands, floor, everywhere) at my MAC store.  Just swatching these four colors took time.  The bits are fully pigmented and very chunky in a ball like form.  But, delivers quite the knock-out when the application is perfected.  I haven't had a chance to mess with them personally, but, I highly recommend using mixing medium or they'll be everywhere.

Bronzing Powder Refined Golden - is a light golden peach color.  This color was fairly sheer, and didn't have "as much" color pay-off.  This shade would be ideal for fair skin complexions. Solar Riche -  a mid-tone deep bronze orange color.  Solar Riche has much more pigmentation compared to Refined Golden.  This color is more ideal for darker skin tones, or can be used as a blush.

Check out some more pics below....

Solar Bits  Black Ore - is described as a rich black with gold pearl.  Initially, I was completely pulled in and dramatized by this color.  But, after dealing with the mess, I wanted a color that I could get some good use out of.  So, I passed on it for now, but, just for now.  The gold pigmentation is so rich that gives almost an dark olive green appearance.  Sunpower - is a light metallic tan with gold shimmer.  Bronzescape - is yellow brown with gold pearl.  It's a rich copper brown that has excellent color pay-off. Scatterrays - decribed as a soft metallic peach with gold pearl.

Bronzescape was the only color I purchased today.  Because, I knew that these highly condensed clusters of pigments wasn't going to be so user-friendly.  I highly recommend purchasing a neutral color that you can multi-task or until you can perfect the application.  Scatterrays and Sunpower were very similar in color due to the gold pigmentation.  Sunpower is more gold and Scatterrays has more of a white color pay-off. 

Check out MAC's Neo Sci Fi Review, Swatches, and Product Photo's.

FEATURED - Thursday, May 29th 2008

MAC Colour Form: Color Story, Promo Images

Nordstrom introduces MAC Colour Form as their Anniversary collection this year.  This collection will be available on July 18th, 2008.  Only available at Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com.  Check out all the promo images below courtesy of Bjooti.net.

Eyeshadow Palettes:

5 Warm Eyes (LE) $38.00 USD Fertile - blackened brown (S) Chillproof - Frosty creamy white (F) Tancentic - Frosty beige pink (VP) Rolled Gold - Frosty golden olive (L) Rustic - Frosted copper red (VP) 213 SE Application Brush

5 Cool Eyes (LE) $38.00 USD Radial Pink - Frosty white pink (V) Brown Border - Frosty plum(VP) Spot Colour - Mid-tone blue purple w/ white pearlized pigments (L) Blue Spill - Mid-tone cornflower blue w/ gold pearlized pigments (F) Slate- Smoke grey (S) 213 SE Application Brush

Lip Palettes:

Cool Lips (LE) $22.50 USD Miss Rose Lipstick - Creamy mid-tone blue pink (L) Cassis Royale Lipstick - Sheer mid-tone plum (L) Virginity Lipglass - Sheer mid-tone pink w/ pink pearlized pigments 316 SE Application Brush

Warm Lips (LE) $22.50 USD Fresh and Fun - Creamy neutral coral (F) Oh Garnet - Creamy mid-tone red (A) (Repromote) Flash of Flesh - Sheer peach pink w/ multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Repromote) 316 SE Application Brush

Neutral Lips (LE) $22.50 USD Altered Beige - Creamy yellow beige (L) Square Root - Mid-tone burnt bronze (F) Lunar - Sheer creamy yellow beige w/ white pearlized pigments 316 SE Application Brush

Brush Sets:

Red Nylon Bag - 5 Basic Brush Set  (LE) $49.50 USD 129 SE 190 SE 224 SE 242 SE 266 SE

Green Nylon Bag - 5 Advanced Brush Set (LE) $49.50 USD 187 SE 168 SE 212 SE 219 SE 275 SE

Purple Nylon Bag - 5 Advanced Brush Set (LE) $49.50 USD 187 SE 168 SE 212 SE 219 SE 275 SE

 

Lipsticks (LE) $14.00 USD Naked to the Core - Creamy soft neutral pink outer w/ sheer beige pearlized core (L) Pop Circle - Creamy bright blue pink outer w/ sheer pale pink pearlized core (L) Inner Hue - Creamy mid-tone coral outter w/ sheer golden peach pearlized core (L) Rose Go Round - Creamy burgundy outer w/ sheer golden pink pearlized core (L)

 

Richmetal Hightlighers (LE) $16.50 Female - Frosty pale pink w/ green gold pearlized pigments Deep Deposit - Frosty deep blackened burgundy Quick Flash - Frosty warm gold Rose Bullion - Frosty mid-tone pink w/ gold pearlized pigments Dark Influence - Frosty purple w/ pink pearlized pigments Positive Charge - Frosty copper w/ gold pearlized pigments

 

Pigments (LE) $19.50 Royal Flush - Frosty mid-tone red Gilded Green - Frosty mid-tone green w/ gold pearlized pigments Tea Time - Bronzed brown w/ multi-dimensional pearlized pigments Jardin Aires - Tan w/ gold pearlized pigments (Repromote) Circa Plum - Frosty mid-tone lavender Steel Blue - Rich deep turquoise greenblue w/ small pearlized pigments (PRO item)

Colour Form Powder:

Sun Centered (LE) $24.50 Coral w/ gold pearlized pigments Mid-tone bronze Soft wheat w/ gold & silver pearlized pigments Soft peach w/ white pearlized pigments

Play Around Pink (LE) $24.50 Intense blue mid-tone pink w/pearlized pigments Plum Soft pink w/ pink & white pearlized pigments Light pink

{Info: Specktra}

FEATURED - Sunday, June 1st 2008

Gold Member Baby: Chanel Fall 2008 Makeup

Chanel strikes it rich this Fall with jaw-dropping gold and bronze shades.  With the rising cost of gold, it's no wonder Chanel would be at the top of their game.  Facettes D'or nail color in gold fiction, delivers an massive 18 karats of illiminating gold right to your fingertips.  But, this gold rush nail candy don't come cheap.  This hyptonizing nail color will be retailing for $30.00. Chanel is also introducing Gold Fever, an finely milled golden powder that delivers a sheer glow of gold.  Gold Fever will be retailing for $50.00.  Two must-have products you don't want to over-look.  This new fall collection should hit most Chanel stores mid July. Check out the color story and info below.  

Lips

• Rouge Hydrabase Creme Lipstick.  Simply Pink (coral pink), Fantastic Plum (deep purple) and Great Copper (bronze). $26.00 USD. 
• Rouge Allure Luminous Satin Lip Colour. Enthusiast (deep red creme). $30.00 USD.
• Aqualumière Sheer Colour Lipshine with SPF 15. Formentera (beigey rose) and Papeete (cranberry).
• Glossimer Lipgloss. Amberlight (bronze), Delight (lilac), and Gold Light, (shimmery gold). $26.00 USD.
• Precision Lip Definer.  Pretty Pink (medium nude pink). $28.00 USD.

 

Eyes

• Eye Shadow Quad in Reflets d’Ombre.  An eyeshadow palette with four shades in coffee, dark green, ivory, and gold. $55.00 USD.
• Soft Touch Eyeshadow.  Bronze, (metallic brown) on one side and Bois Bleu (dark teal) on the other. $27.50 USD.
• Silky Eyeshadow Duo. Cristal-Dusk contains two shadows in white and brown. $40.00 USD.
• Precision Eye Definer. Denim is a gray-blue shade. $27.50 USD.

Face

Powder Blush. Rose Dust is a pinky, plum shade. $42.00 USD. Soft Pressed Powder. Almond is a shimmery beige. $50.00 USD

Nails

Le Vernis in Kaléidoscope - is a greenish-gold shade Le Vernis in Fantastic - is a deep, plummy wine shade

The Chanel Fall Collection has arrived.  Check out the review, swatches, product photos and nail polish swatches for this brand new collection.

A little gold member for your viewing pleasures!

FEATURED - Friday, June 13th 2008

MAC Cool Heat: Photo Swatches, Review

Overall, the cool heat collection is exhilarating - with a refreshing burst of color.  Warming Trend  - a taupe frosty color and Solar White - white frost are great colors for you neutral loving gals out there.   Gulf Stream, Cool Heat, Blue Flame and Climate Blue were some of my favorite colors out of the collection.  Cool Heat is a cross between steamy and parrot.  Although, cool heat is an gorgeous color, it may not be nessecary if you own many teal colors.  MAC has a wide variety of teal shades.  I saw a little bit of Big T (from the c-shock) in this collection also.

I also picked up a couple of my favorite green shades: swimming and humid.  If you've been to the MAC store you'll notice "green shades" are extremely limited.  I can only think of three stock colors off the top: juxt, humid, and swimming.  Which, are all gorgeous shades of green.  So, needless to say I was pretty excited to see green in the cool heat collections. Check out all the photo swatches below.

 

  

 

 

 

 

      

FEATURED - Wednesday, June 18th 2008

Lippmann Summer Collection: Review, Swatches

Product: Lippmann Nail Polish

Colors: Shut up and Drive,  Lady Marmalade

Buy it: Lippmann, Nordies

Price: $15.00

Recommend: Yes, if you like shimmers

The lippmann collection introduces two gorgeous shimmery shades for summer.  I wanted to start off my nail polish swatches with a little glitz and glam delivered right to your nails.  Which, is exaclty what these two shades delivers.

Lady Marmalade, a sizzling coral strawberry shade named after the classic disco song and Shut up and Drive, is a drop-dead gorgeous magenta with Tons of silver shimmer named after Rihanna's top 40 hit.  We all know how much our girl , Rihanna love those magenta based shades!  And, Deborah Lippmann did an excellent job creating this color to fit Rihannas style. 

I'm not going to spend much time on this review because the photo's pretty much explain everything.  However, these polishes are semi-sheer, glossy and take serveral coats to accomplish a good color pay-off.  Shut up and Drive required three heavy applications and Lady Marmalade four.  Personally, I dread applying more than two coats of polish because I'm not patient enough to sit still.  But, after seeing the end result - it's worth the wait.  Keep in mind my nail tips are extremely white (almost french manicure white).  It does take a little more than average to completely cover my nail and the heavy coating may have contributed to that factor.  Check out the all photo swatches below.

Lady Marmalade is much more sheer and has the least amount of shimmer compared to Shut up and Drive.  Four heavy applications were used in the swatch above.  And, to be honest, I could probably use an additional coat.  Lady Marmalade is a great shade, espically if you don't fancy too much shimmer or glitter. 

Hello...., gorgeous!  Aren't you going to look so fab on my hand and toes! I am completely speechless and hyptonized by this gorgeous magenta shade!  Shut up and drive is absolutley beautiful and the photos don't justify the true color pay-off.  Now, when I say this color has lots of shimmer - I'm talking about TONS.  The silver glitter is so overpowering it takes over the nail polish and you'll start to notice an metallic sheen. 

The metallic sheen is really hard to capture digitally.  But, you can start to see some metallic in the photo above.

Shut up and Drive and Lady Marmalade are great shades for summer.  Super glittery, fun, and perfect for those nights out with the girls or just some good ole fun.

Are you guys feeling these colors? 

FEATURED - Thursday, June 19th 2008

Givenchy Fall Makeup 2008: Sweet Dandy Collection

The Autumn and Winter 2008 makeup collections promo pictures are starting to surface.  Most fall collections are slated for the end of July to mid August.  Random fact: my beauty wardrobe completely lacks any givenchy makeup.  I'm looking to change that soon - starting off by the gorgeous, Le Vernis nail polish and smokey eyeshadow quad.  Check out the color story and promo pictures below.

Pocket Beauty Case Accessory for Glowing Lips and Cheeks $55.00 (Sweet Dandy)

Prisme Again! Shimmer Eyes Mat & Shimmering Eyeshadow Quartet $49.50 in Smoky Shimmer and 44 Precious Shimmer

Prisme Libre Loose Powder Quartet Air Sensation $63.00 in Dandy Beige

Captiv’Eyes Intense Volume Mascara Magnetic Eyes $25.00 in Dandy Black

Magic Khôl Eye Liner Pencil $21.50 in Dandy Blue

Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick Irresistible Color $26.50 in Romantic Dandy and Fatal Dandy

Pop Gloss Crystal Crystal Lip Gloss $23.50 in Romantic Dandy and Fatal Dandy

Polka dots dress up! These two customized harmonies are reminiscent of a dandy’s basic deconstructed three-piece suit. A matte texture and three complementary glowing shades offer two ways of creating sophisticated, smoky eyes.  Smoky Shimmer: three dense, shiny black shades softened by a matte white base for grey tones coloured with blue, white and purple pearlescent particles.

Rouge Interdit lets you show off two sides of your charm with two different languages to express your femininity: Romantic Dandy pinkish beige for a naturally flushed look, and pure, intense Fatal Dandy red, the most dangerous lipstick around! Matching Pop Gloss Crystal in pinkish beige or intense red can be used alone for glossy, transparent colour or as a top coat to accentuate shine.

Nail polish addicts - saving the best for last...

Le Vernis. Limited Edition
The nails look as if they have been dipped in a starry night. Male codes meet female codes in luminous Dandy Moiré navy-blue varnish.

This beautiful green-blue shimmer nail polish is what orginially pulled me into this collection.  Looking at the promo picture, it looks very familiar to one of my all time polishes, MAC whirlwind.  Needless to say, I haven't found an worthwhile comparison to MAC's color.  So, I'm pretty excited to see this color in real life.

{Source: Temptalia, Kiss and Makeup}

FEATURED - Tuesday, June 24th 2008

Allure Free Stuff: Huge Beauty Giveaway in July

Allure's having a huge Beauty Giveaway for the month of July.  Starting July 1st, you could win Molton Brown's new hair collection of 14 amazing shampoos, conditioners, and treatments such as the Depth Charge Seednoir prewash Hair-Therapy, plus the re-Charge Black Pepper and White Mulberry Sets of body washes, lotions, secnted candles, and more worth more than $800.00.

Remember you can't enter until July 1st.  Click here to enter the huge beauty giveaway.

Check out some more giveaways below in July from Allure.

 

FEATURED - Monday, July 7th 2008

Chanel Fall Makeup Collection: Review, Swatches

 

The new Chanel Fall makeup collection debuts at most stores this week. Overall, some key players in this collection: Gold Fever highlighter is a beautiful gold highlighter that looks absolutely flawless on any skin type.  Glossimer lovers - Gold Light and Delight are must have lip glosses drenched in glistening shimmer.  My first thoughts on the lilac (Delight) lip gloss "What in the world am I going to do with it"?  Oh my gosh, Everything!  Words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of this sparkling gloss.  It's definitely meant to be a topper and not to be wore alone.  The Glossimer were my fav's besides the Kaleidoscope nail polish. 

Kaleidoscope nail polish sold-out online within two days of release on Chanel.com.  But, you can find this limited edition color at most Chanel counters as the Fall collection just debuted.  If your thinking, is it really all that?  Yes, Yes and double yes!  Don't miss out on this very unique shade!

I was pretty disappionted in the eye shadows and quad but, my wallet was oh so happy!  The colors were just blah to me - brown, white, gold, dark teal?   Come on Chanel, you can do better than that.  I was more impressed with HiP's new metallic shadows rather than these.  Also, the shades had poor pigmentation as it took quite a few swipes to get some good color on my NC30/35 skin.

Check out all the pic spam below.

 

Want more Chanel?  Check out my Haul from the Fall 08 collection. 

FEATURED - Tuesday, July 15th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Lustre Twins Collection

I'm seriously backed up on all my upcoming MAC Collection releases.  Here are the prelimanries details of the new Lustre Twins collection according to our friends at Specktra.

Pro Longwear Lustres - A two-step application of lightweight colour + mirror-finished top coat. Apply the colour. Let it dry. Apply the top coat! Provides sheer to medium coverage with a rich, lustrous, moisturizing finish. Longwearing, comfortable on the lips. Won’t shift, transfer, feather or smudge. $20.00 USD

• Coco Lust /Sweet Sexy - Deep red brown/copper brown with gold pearlized pigments
• Red Flame / Orange Flicker - Intense bright yellow red/bright yellow red with gold pearlized pigments
• Red Reflection / Mirror - Deep berry magenta with pearlized pigments/clear with white pearlized pigments
• Pink Air / White Top - Light pink with pearlized pigments/clear white with red and pink pearlized pigments
• Ripe and Ready / Soft and Lush - Bright pink coral with gold pearlized/yellow pink with gold pearlized pigments
• Gypsy Rose / Shimmer it - Berry red with gold pearlized pigments/white gold with multi-coloured pearlized pigments
• Custom Rose / Pink Virtue - Berry plum with pearlized pigments/light blue pink with silver pearlized pigments
• Boss brown / Slave to Pink - Chocolate bronze with pearlized pigments/champagne neutral with pearlized pigments
• Alta Moda / Hip Love - Deep blackened red/deep plum with red pearlized pigments

Nail Lacquer - $11.00 USD

• $$$$$ Yes - Metallic silver foil (frost)(Repromote from Heatherette) 
• Perplexing - Deep blue purple (frost)(New and PERM)
• Firehouse - Bright chrome red (frost)(New and PERM)

This collection should be available at MAC stores on July 31, 2008.  I'll defintely be passing on this release.  If your not familiar Pro Longwear Lustres, the lipstick combo dries out your lips to the extreme and two of the nail polishes will be perm.

{Source: Specktra}

FEATURED - Tuesday, July 15th 2008

MAC Cosmetics: Cult of Cherry Collection

I've had the color information for months now.  It was one of those releases that just got lost in translation because their are so many upcoming MAC collections!  Check out the color and product information below.

Available at MAC stores August 21st

Eyeshadow Quad: Spiced Chocolate $36.00 USD (LE)

• Nanogold - Sheer yellow beige with pink pearl (Lustre) (Repromote from N Collection)
• Brash - Frosty reddish copper (Veluxe Pearl)
• Spiced Chocolate - Deep reddish brown (Matte)
• Sweet Chestnut - Frosted cranberry (Frost)

Eyeshadow Quad: Tempting Quad $36.00 USD (LE)

• Next to Nothing - Next to Nothing - Cream white with pink pearl (Frost) (Repromote from Smoke Signals)
• Sharp - Frosty bright yellow-green (Satin)
• Dark Edge - Dirty chocolate brown (Matte) (Repromote from N Collection) 
• Tempting - Sinfully rich coco (Lustre) (Repromote)

Eyeshadow Quad: Shadowy Lady Quad $36.00 USD (LE)

• Light Fall - Light Pink (Satin)
• Smudged Violet - Frosty blackened lavender with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost)
• Deep Truth - Dark blue (Frost) (Repromote)
• Shadowy Lady - Darkly veiled plum (Matte) (Repromote)

Lipsticks: $14.00 USD

• Creme Cerise - Sheer yellow taupe (Lustre) (LE)
• Lightly Ripe - Sheer mid-tone pink (Lustre) (LE)
• Russian Red - Intense bluish-red (Matte) (Repromote)
• O - Intense purplish-red with metallic golden shimmer (Frost) (Repromote)
• So Scarlet - Grape burgundy (Amplified Creme) (LE)

Lipglass: $14.00 USD

• Cherry Blossom - Sheer light pink with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Rich & Ripe - Mid-tone pinkish red with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Cult of Cherry - Red with red pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Liquor - Neutral brownish mauve with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost)(LE)
• Jampacked - Sheer grape with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)

Mattenes: $14.50 USD

• Rapturous - Deep berry red (LE) (Repromote from Mattene)
• Kirsch - Blackened cranberry (Mattene) (LE)
• Chock-ful - Blackened brown (Mattene) (LE)
• Bing - Blackened eggplant (Mattene) (LE)

Nail Lacquer: $11.00 USD

• Silverstruck - Frosted greyed taupe with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Frost)(LE)
• Illegal Purple - Creamy blackened eggplant (Cream) (LE).

Blush: $17.50 USD

• Plum du Bois - Frosted deep pink bronze with gold pearlized pigments (Frost) (LE)
• Blooming - Frosted deep peach (Frost) (LE).

Mascara: - $12.00 USD

• Zoomblack - Rich Black (Permanent)

The eyeshadow quads look amazing only if the colors weren't repromotes.  The Tempting quad has three repromotes (are you kidding me) along with a gorgeous new yellow shade that's in between Eyepopping and Going Bananas.  This kinda frustrates me knowing I have one, two and even three shades of each quad.

Check out the Cult of Cherry invitation for the launch party held on August 12th.  Craving cherries? take a peek at the photo swatches, review, lip looks using cult of cherry lipstick colors, nail polish swatches and my makeup haul.

{Source: Kiss and Makeup, Specktra}

FEATURED - Friday, August 29th 2008

Product Review: Sephora by OPI Remover

Product: Sephora by OPI Polish Remover

Price: $5.00

Steph's Rating:

Buy it: Sephora

Recommend: Yes

Summary: A non-drying nail color remover that quickly and effectively removes even the darkest shades of nail lacquer.

Sephora by OPI Nail Colour Remover is a fast, gentle nail polish remover without harsh, drying effects or the tell-tale white residue left behind by traditional acetone nail polish removers. The superior formula contains grape seed oil, vitamin E, and extracts of sea kelp and aloe vera, making it more effective than traditional formulas.

A few weeks ago, I was placing a Sephora order online and need five bucks to meet the free shipping requirement and Sephora by OPI nail polish remover was the lucky winner.  Finding a high quality nail polish remover is extremely important to me.   I'm not a hard core swatcher like some of my fabulous fellow beauty blogger gals - Steph, Scrangie, Michelle - but, I do find myself removing polish quite frequently at least more than I'd like.

Let's start with the negative and the only downside - the price.  Wow, this remover goes awfully fast when your constantly using it.  $5.00 for 2oz, doesn't go a long way.  But, it's so wonderful, I'm willing to overlook that part.  If you tend to use remover one or twice a week this will last for sometime.  Now, if your like me this could end up being a costly nail polish remover in the long run. 

Now, the good and there's so much of it!  The light fragrant scent is perfect - it don't fill up the room with those "gag-like" nasty fumes.  Vitamin E and the other added benefits kept my nails and cuticles heavily moisturized from drying out which was amazing.

My two biggest complaints about nail polish remover is the dryness and strong toxic fumes.  And,  Sephora by OPI passed with flying colors. 

The result - my nails are as hard as a rock - not soft and brittle!

FEATURED - Thursday, September 4th 2008

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Fall Collection Preview

Rescue Beauty Lounge introduces three drool worthy shades this fall.  Bruised - a moody deep plum brown cream, that's the new black to coordinate with your best outfits.  Teal - a deep green navy blue shade, that's a must have for any green and blue lover.  No more war - an edgy pure olive green grunge shade perfect for that metro chic look.  And, with the return of winter whites Ja Baek reintroduces, Plie - a opaque neutral beige with a hint of blush.

The fall shades are now available for pre-order at Rescue Beauty Lounge ($19).

Check out the swatches & review for the Fall o8 collection. 

FEATURED - Friday, October 31st 2008

Holiday 08: Dior Pure Diamonds Nail Polish

Dior's nordstrom exclusive, Pure Diamonds ($19.00) is decribed as a "true diamond" glitter polish shade.   Trying to take a picture of this baby in the sunlight was like putting reynolds wrap directly on my nails, it was that blinding.

Pure Diamonds isn't your typical silver glitter polish.  There's alot of "white" mixed with the silver glittler to make this totally blinged for the holidays.

Check out more swatches below. 

The first comparison that comes to mind is China Glaze's, Tinsel, which has chunkier silver glitter compared to Dior's fine texture.  All in all, this probably isn't going to be the most unique shade out there, but definitely a great choice for New Years Eve.

Since the Holidays are right around the corner, I expect to see more silvers/white glitter polish out and about.

I'll be sorting through my silvers this week for some photo comparisons. Stay tuned.

FEATURED - Monday, September 22nd 2008

Fall 08 Swatches: Nicole By OPI

While I was shopping at my local grocery store the other day - I stumbled upon a new Nicole by OPI display that caught my attention. Pictured above,  On Nicole's Wish List,. a translucent milky clear loaded with white and silver shimmer.  On my swatch, I just applied two coats on my natural nail.  You can also use this over a off white or a silver polish that would look fab.

The next three swatches below are all black based polishes loaded with shimmer - that are simply divine.   

Black to the Future - a black with purple shimmer.  Two coats gives you good coverage and three gives you more of a purple shades.

Blue's in the Night is my favorite shade I purchased.  A black with navy and aqua blue shimmer.

Midnight Madness - Although this may look similar to Blue's in the Night but, it's a little different.  A black with turquoise shimmer.  Later, I'll be comparions side by side swatches of these two.

The new fall and holiday colors should be available now or within the new week.  Keep your eyes out because these are truely unique shades for black lovers.

FEATURED - Friday, October 10th 2008

Sally Hansen Fall 08: Tracy Reese Collection

Year after Year Sally Hansen collaborates with fashion designer, Tracy Reese to bring us the latest and greatest nail trends right from the Runway.  For Fall 2008, Sally Hansen and Tracy Resse introduces 10 limited edition shades directly from Tracy's Fall 2008 Fashion Runway show.

The fall collection includes 10 new shades sure to please any appetite.  The shades range from your basic nude colors to vampy and edgy - perfect for fall trends.  Sally's best selling formula provides full coverage with two easy applications.  Some colors used three applications just to even everything out.  But, overall, two coats was the average for me.

Check out all the photo swatches below.

I'll be the first to admit - nude colors aren't my thang but, Divinity - a true nude with gold shimmer and slight pink undertones ended up being one of my favorite shades from the Fall collection.

 

Quartz Chameleon - a soft pink with gold shimmer.

Moonstone was my least favorite shade from the Tracy Reese collection.  Despite the grey bottle color, it's more of an white frost with silver shimmer. 

If it wasn't for Sally Hansen's previous release in Gunmetal, I would be all over this color.  Stormy Blue was slightly disappionting just because Gunmetal is pretty much an exact dupe.

 For the swatch above, three coats were applied on each nail.

Raven's Wing - a black loaded down with black, gold, and silver shimmer that's very blingy.  I absolutely love black nail polish colors for Fall - it's the new blue baby.  What makes Raven's Wing different from any other black is the beautiful gold base shimmer.

The Good Earth - a dark brown coffee shade with gold and red shimmer.  Good Earth is a darker brown than Chanel's new one, Haute Chocolat.  Check out the brown nail polish comparisons.

Alchemy, another favorite from the collection, a magenta purple with red and pink shimmer.

Cruel Heart - a ruby red with matching shimmer.  Just your standard red, nothing special.

Night Lily - a deep berry purple pink creme.  Unfortanetly, my swatch isn't an accurate color respresentation for some reason.  It's a much deeper purple berry shade that's very pretty. Check out an example below.

Night Lily has the same base color as Massini's Purple Medallion.  Just to give you an idea how off my swatch is above.

The Tracy Reese collection should be available now at most stores reatailing ($4.99 and up).

FEATURED - Monday, October 27th 2008

Winter 2008: China Glaze Bahama Blues

Escape this winter with China Glaze and the Bahama Blues collection.  Sure, it's not the white sand  or the crystal clear waters, but maybe the closest thing I'll get to the Caribbean.  Introducing six new shades sure to please any blues.

First off, I love this collection and it's probably not the reason your thinking.  If there's a collection I can relate to, this would totally be it.  Back in December of 2006, Scott (my hubbie) and I were married on the beach in the Bahamas.  The setting was absolutely amazing along with the town decked our in christmas lights and decor.

Winter (starting in Dec) is a great time to visit the Caribbean.  The hurricane season is just ending and the prices are fairly reasonable.  I highly recommend a visit in the winter.

Let's gettie on to the good stuff.

Bahaman Escape, a light baby blue cream that applied very smooth within two coats.  Although, I dreaded applying this because the formula was rather thick it turned out to be fairly easy.

Caribbean Blue, a baby blue glitter polish that's darker than your average baby blue shade.  This was definitely an interesting and different color.  However, it just didn't flow with my skintone for some reason.  I think this will be a hard color pull off.  

Blue Paradise, a medium blue with shimmer that applied rather streaky with any number of coats.  This was the only shade I had any true problems with. 

Don't Blue Island Iced Tea sound like a yummy cocktail drink?  A blingtastic light blue filled with matching glitter.  Two coats will give you good coverage.  I used three in my swatches just to see how blinged out this baby could get.  My thrid favorite.

These next two shades looked very simliar in the bottle but are different.

Bermuda Breakaway, a navy purple creme that applied smooth in two coats that was my favorite.  The violet base makes this blue stunning espically on your pedi's. 

Calypso Blue, a lighter navy blue creme that applied smooth in two applications..  This isn't your typically deep navy blue color.  I'd say there's just a splash of violet that makes this "not so blue" and fab.

Despite the actual color on my nail, the bottles looked completely alike but are very different.  Both gorgeous colors.

The Bahama Blues collection is now available at Head2Toe or 8ty8 retailing $2.99 each.

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 - Tuesday, November 4th 2008

Nail Polish of the Day: Rock the Vote

Can you believe Election Day is finally here, whohoo!  Today I decided to go a little patriot considering this being a history making day with either a black president or a woman vice president.  If your wondering who I voted for?  Obama all the way baby, even though my heart will always be with Hil.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not an "Nail Art" girl, but polka dots are one of the easiest designs you can do.  The colors that were used are OPI Blue my Mind (two coats), China Glaze High Roller (two coats) and Sally Hansen White Patent leather for the polka dots.

Sometimes I resort to an white acrylic paint for the polka dots because it's thicker and much easier to deal with.  In this case, I just used Sally Hansen's White Patent Leather along with a old MAC 203 lip brush to paint the dots.  When working with polka dots, a fine pointed tip brush seems to work best for me.   

Hope your having a great election day!  Get out there and vote, Change is coming!

FEATURED - Monday, November 24th 2008

MAC and Hello Kitty: Let the Insanity Begin

You've heard the rumors for months now.  WWD sets the records straight for this highly anticipated collection we've all been waiting for.  Seriously, do you know how insane the demand is going to be for this collection?  Read more details below.

MAC has teamed up with Sanrio Global Consumer Products to create a Hello Kitty color cosmetics collection.  This new collection will arrive on MAC’s Web site Feb. 10, in North American stores on Feb. 12 and into overseas stores in March.

“We are thrilled to partner with a brand that shares the vision of offering an innovative, authentic and transforming experience to our loyal fan base,” said Janet Hsu, president of Sanrio. Sanrio’s worldwide retail sales of licensed products for 2007 is estimated at $5 billion.

While the 34-year-old Hello Kitty character is usually assumed to be a cat, she is actually a girl, according to Sanrio. And a girl without a mouth, so she “speaks from the heart,” the company said. “She may not have a mouth, but she’s going to sell a lot of lipstick,” cracked Demsey, noting that a waiting list for the items will go live on Jan. 7 at maccosmetics.com.

“To me, MAC Hello Kitty embodies the ultimate beauty icon,” said Jennifer Balbier, senior vice president of product development for MAC Worldwide. “She’s sweet and sexy, slightly edgy, and appeals to a wide range of customers. We wanted to reflect that through a sweet side, but also something slightly mischievous when it came to the colors. I started out by creating a palette of pinks, since they fit and always trend well in the spring. And this look is so much about the eyes that we did two eye shadow quads.” The Lucky Tom quad has violet blue, brown, gold and pink-coral shades, while the Too Dolly palette has mint, blue-silver, pale pink and magenta shades.

“We incorporated glitter eyeliners because she loves anything that twinkles, and we took the coral and hot pink theme and did pretty, poppy [colored] blush,” added Balbier.

While this collection is intended to have a sophisticated presentation, MAC hopes to appeal to younger fans with two shades of lip conditioners.

The Hello Kitty offerings fall into two collections: the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and the more high-end Hello Kitty Kouture. The bulk of the items are in the former category: six shades of lipstick with names like Fashion Mews and Strayin’, each $14; six Lipglass shades, each $14; and two tinted lip conditioners, $14.50 each; two eye shadow palettes, which each contain four shades and retail for $38; two shades of pigment are $19.50 each, and two Reflects Glitter stockkeeping units — one blue, one pink — are $17.50 each. Four Glitter Eye Liners, each $16.50, two shades of Beauty Powder, each $22; three shades of nail polish, each $11; a black mascara, $12, and false lashes, $12, round out the color offerings. Shades range from pinks and turquoises to lavenders and greens.

Hello Kitty Kouture is intended to be the high end of the collection. Two shades of Dazzleglass, each $28, each feature a reusable silver chain pendant with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals on black with a pink crystal bow. Sheer Mystery Powder, $90 and available in three shades, is packaged in a silver powder compact with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals with a pink crystal bow on a black background.

“We wanted to have affordable luxury and a high-low aspect, so it made sense to do the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and Hello Kitty Kouture,” said Demsey.

The Hello Kitty Colour items, a Petite Makeup Bag, $22, and a medium Makeup Bag, $35, will be in all doors, currently about 581 department and specialty stores in North America including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, as well as MAC’s 138 freestanding stores in North America and at maccosmetics.com. Internationally, the items will be in 1,307 doors in 69 countries, including 296 MAC freestanding stores outside North America. Hello Kitty Kouture will be available at MAC stores and maccosmetics.com only. At the maximum, the collection will be available for eight weeks.

A plush doll, $42; purse mirror, $22, and three-brush collection, $49.50, will be available at MAC stores, Nordstrom doors and maccosmetics.com only. A mirrored key clip, $16; beaded bracelet, $34, will be sold in MAC retail stores and at maccosmetics.com only, and a tote, $45 and soft vanity kit, $55, will be exclusive to maccosmetics.com. These items are intended to animate the counter presentation and create an entire Hello Kitty world at retail, Gager noted.

While none of the executives would discuss sales projections, industry sources estimated that the limited edition MAC Hello Kitty collection could do upwards of $12 million in North American retail sales. That projection is slightly larger than that of the hit Barbie collection.

In-store visuals, shot by Nick Knight, show the polar opposite aspects of the collection. One is an image of a blonde model holding a black vinyl Hello Kitty doll, which will be part of the accessory line. The other visual is what Gager terms “more of a dominatrix creature.” The point, said Gager, is to show that makeup can be transformative. Makeup was done by Val Garland, with hair by Sam McKnight.

And Demsey promises the surprises aren’t over yet. “There will be more products to come in the next three months with this partnership,” he said.

Ladies - start saving up!

FEATURED - Monday, December 8th 2008

Nail Trends: Loreal Goes White for Winter

 

Loreal's latest Winter makeup display, Your Golden Moment featuring the gorgeous Beyonce is a collection of gold and brown eye shadow quads, peachy lipstick and glosses and two winter white nail polishes.

First up Satin Starlet, a crisper and brighter white compared to Chanel's white satin and a great alternative to the limited edition shade.  Suprisingly, I was able to get this accomplished with three coats and hardly streaking for a sheer.

See more swatches below.

    

Premiere Pearl was my favorite from this collection.  A white with pinkish - green iridescent pearl that dried to a satin texture and had fairly good color pay-off. 

Both these shades are now available at stores and retail around $4.99 each.

FEATURED - Wednesday, December 24th 2008

New Line: NYC introduces quick dry nail polish

 

Out with the old and in with the new is NYC's resolution.  You may have noticed stores clearing out the NYC glossies only to make room for these hip new colors.  I've seen that Meijer and some other stores have marked down the glossies to clearance.  Make sure you take advantage of those clearance items and stock up because their bye, bye, bye!

Details: NYC introduces a quick drying nail polish in under 60 seconds called, New York color in a minute.  A vast variety of 24 new colorful shades and one clear fast dry topcoat.

Overall, these are fab.  Most colors are exceptionally pigmented and only requires two coats with the exception of a few lighter shades.  The variety of colors are endless and priced at $1.99 is a steal.

Who has time to sit and wait around for polish to dry?  I certainly don't.  That's why these are perfect for me.  A quick drying polish that stays put for days. 

The nail polish names represent street and popular places you'll see in New York City.

 

Chelsea (first two pics above) 228B - deep candy apple shimmer.  Two coats, no topcoat.

Lincoln Center 232B - dark burgandy red-brown creme.  Two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added  Manhattan 248B - a deep burgandy magenta-purple creme that could be Lincoln Center's cous.

New* Just Added  It was hard capturing the true colors of both these shades.  Manhattan is much prettier with the magenta purplish undertones.  

Canal Street 220B - a dark brown red shimmer. Two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added  Broadway 238B- a red- brown cinnamon with red, gold and silver micro shimmer. Two coats.  No topcoat.

 

Fifth Avenue 218B (above) - a rusty copper orange shimmer.  Two coats, no topcoat.

Mulberry Street 212B - a white sand beige with shimmer.  Coverage was really good for light toned shade.  You could even get away with two coats on this one.  Swatch (above) three coats, no topcoat.

Update: After wearing this Creme Bruele shade (Mulberry Street) a few times, I ended up really liking it.  Possibly a mix between NYC's Little Italy and Bryant Park into a shimmer version.  

Little Italy - A crisp white or french white creme.  It's really hard to find a white opaque shade and sometimes I even resort to a french white such as Little Italy.  Swatch (above) two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added   Wall Street 234B - a mid tone pink with shimmer.  Three coats no topcoat. 

 

Soho 222B - A light pink feminine shade with shimmer.  Three coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added   Uptown 242B - a barbie pink with shimmer.

New* Just Added   Here are some pink comparisons from the NYC line. Uptown is my favorite out of the three. 

Bryant Park 214B - a much lighter version of OPI's Charmed by a snake.  Described as a sand color beige with shimmer.  Bryant Park kinda blended in with my skintone.  Meh for me, but pretty on someone else.   Two coats, no topcoat.

New* Just Added   Park Avenue (two pics above) 246B - a unique duochrome shade that switches between taupe, lilac and pink.  Three coats.  No topcoat.

Central Park 216B - a light peach shimmer with some pink undertones.

New* Just Added   Midtown 240B - a vibrant hot pink with blueish-purple shimmer.  

New* Just Added   Downtown 244B - a dusty pomegranate pink creme. 

Times Square 224B - Perhaps the brighest color from this collection.  A bright coral with hints of tomato red creme.  Although my pictures may look tomato orange, Times Square also has distinct hints of coral pink.

 

 Penn Sation (two pics above) 230B - a magenta pink-red with shimmer.

 

East Village (two pics above) 206B - Turquoise blue shimmer that was somewhat sheer.  Three coats to acheive bottle color.  Swatch (above) Three coats, no topcoat.

West Village 204B - a navy blue base wiith pink and purple shimmer. Maybe not the most unique, but very pretty.  Two coats, no topcoat. 

 

Chinatown (two pics above) 210B - Saving the best for last.  Not quite black but not quite purple.  A unique ink  colored shade loaded with some duochrome micro shimmer that looks blue, silver, and mint green at different angles.  It was hard distinguishing the colors.  Talk about gorgeous, whoa!  I highly recommend Chinatown - a definite must have from this collection.

The NYC New York in a mintue quick dry is going to be a permanent line and should be hitting stores in the next couple weeks which retails for $1.89/ea.  So, get on over there and pick you up some Chinatown.

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 - Sunday, December 28th 2008

Sneak Peek: Dior Spring 2009 Nail Colors

For Spring 2009 Dior introduces two new lovely colors right on track with the Whites, Pink, and Nude upcoming nail trends.  When Dior's promo images surfaced on the net a few weeks ago, I was thinking "oh more pink and nudes" how boring.  So, to make a long story short - I'm totally biting my tongue on this one you guys.

Porcelaine is decribed as a feminine porcelain pink nail color with fine white/silver shimmer that was surprising pretty.  It reminds me of a perfected version Chanel's Allegoria with added shimmer and less the hassle.  Porcelain also resembles Chanel's new one, Django but with more pink undertones.

Dior's Porcelain has it going on because it's actually opaque in a non streaky way.  While swatching, it wasn't like I had time to paint three and four coats.  So, my nail swatches below are all done with a firm two coats.  Which is one of the reasons it sold me!  

All swatches are done with two coats including the MAC Colors. 

Now let's talk about Dior's Nude Chic.  A true to color nude beige jelly with no visible shimmer.  Slighty sheerer than Porcelain, but still good color pay-off for a nude.  Application was perfect with no streaking.

Picture Above: Dior 189 Porcelaine/Porcelain.

 

The Dior 09 Makeup collection should be available online and at counters mid Janurary.

FEATURED - Thursday, January 1st 2009

Spring 09: Chanel Django Nail Polish

Happy New Years Day!  It's officially Janurary 1st 2009 - can you guys believe that?  And I was just getting used to writing 2008. Django is the second installment from the new spring 09 nail polishes.  Described as a soft pink with peach undertones and subtle shimmer.

We first saw Django make an appearance at Chanel's Spring 09 Fashion show last September.  This fabulous spring shade looked stunning on the runway models.  It was definitely a shade I had to see in person since I'm not so keen on light colors.

I'm impressed.  Django is the perfect shade for Spring.  Not pink, peach, or white.  Very different and perhaps a mix of the three.  The shimmer is very subtle and hardly noticeable for you creme lovers out there.  

Since the formula was a tad on the thick side, you may able to get by with two coats.  All my swatches were done with three coats.  Brush strokes were slighty visible in bright sunlight - rarely noticable though.  But, I'm also pretty critical when testing out my polishes.

 

Dior's Porcelain is similar to Django, but not an exact dupe when paired next to each other.  

Django is available online and at Chanel counters.

FEATURED - Thursday, January 1st 2009

New From Sally: Easy to Use Nail Art Pens

 

Along with the Insta-dri polishes, Sally Hansen introduces eight new nail art pens ($7.99). A variety in white, black, light pink, hot pink, blue, red, silver and gold. An easy-to-use fine tip pen filled with different shades of lacquer in each one.

The mistake proof formula can be removed or corrected with a moist cotton swab without damaging dry nail polish. Water based formula is environmental friendly. Possibilities are endless.

I'm really excited about these new nail art pens from Sally Hansen. Mistake proof indeed. Since the formula is water-based, it's such a breeze removing when you make a mistake. Just take a moistened tissue or cotton ball and wipe without disturbing your base coat.

Check out swatches and a video tutorial. 

My swatches may be a little messy, but I wanted to show you guys how super easy this was.  It literally took me all of 1 second per nail.

 

Potential Negatives: As much as I love these nail art pens, $7.99 is expensive. Especially if you wanted to pick up a couple different colors like myself. Try choosing a shade such as white, silver or gold that you can alternate with any nail color in your collection. Your initial clear or colored base must be completely dry before applying the nail art colors.

Tips: Apply SV (Seche Vite) or any fast dry top coat to your colored base to avoid ruining your mani. Make sure SH's nail art color is completely dry before sealing with a topcoat. And, just remember the formula is water based so it must be completely dry.

Sally Hansen's Nail Art Pens are now available in stores and retail around $7.99/ea.

Check out some fun I did with Light Pink, Hot Pink, Black and Silver Nail Art Pens. What do you guys think? Do you love them? Hate them? Spill the beans.

FEATURED - Tuesday, January 6th 2009

Carolyn New York Nail Polish Swatches

Happy Tuesday everyone.  It's rainy and cold here in Nati (cincinnati, OH).  So, hopefully everyone's keeping nice and warm.  With Carolyn's current New Years Promo going on, I thought it would be a perfect time to post some of my favorite shades.

Greenwich Ave,  (pictured above) is described as a apple green creme pefect for the upcoming Spring and Summer months.

Check out more swatches below.

Handball Courts, a must have shade for any gray lover, that's described as a light gray with subtle white-silver shimmer that's hardly noticeable expect in sunlight or bright light. 

Handball Courts - Natural Light. 

Hangin on the Stoop, another must have shade, espically if you love China Glaze's Recycle.  Described as a stormy gray creme that coordinates perfectly with the winter season. 

Subway Surfin, a dark gunmetal gray with rainbow color shimmer that's hardly noticeable except in sunlight or bright light. 

Good News guys!  MAC's discontinued shade in Nightfall is an exact dupe for Carolyn's Subway Surfin.  And, I do mean exact with very little differences.

All these shades are availabe at Carolyn New York and are 50% off retail plus free shipping until Janurary 10th.  Don't miss out.

Here's some other shades from Carolyn New York. 

FEATURED - Wednesday, January 14th 2009

More Fun with Sally Hansens Nail Art Pen

 

Nail Art isn't a new thing.  It's actually been around for years now, but just not practical or simplified for the average person, espically with our crazy work schedules. 

This year, I see Nail Art is becoming one the hottest nail trends.  From your Celebrities to polished professionals - everyones doing it.  And, Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens makes it so much easier without the high cost of salon services.

Hopefully, you guys were able to snatch these up when Walgreens had their Buy One Get One Free Sale last week. 

Check out some designs with the light pink pen. 

OPI Alpine Snow base color plus Fast Dry top coat. Make sure you apply a topcoat before playing with the nail art pens.  Picture taken before applying SH Light Pink Nail Art Pen.

Picture taken after applying Sally Hansen light pink Nail Art Pen.  Wait until the nail art is completely dry before applying a base coat.

See how easy this is?  I wanted to mess around with some simple designs.  The half moon mani on my pinky finger was really easy.

Here's the low down.  I've only seen these available at Walgreens and they retail for $7.99 (.96 oz).  Expensive, Yes.  But, that's your call.  If you can find these on BOGO sales, that's fabulous.

Are these available in Canada?  Have no Clue.  Sally Hansen lacks good customer service.  So, sorry guys I can't answer that for you.  I tried, gals :)  If anyone sees these in Canada, can you please let me know for my readers? 

Some colors I've tested are red, pink, white, gold, silver.  The red pen gave me all kinds of problems.  The formula was orangey and watered down.  I'm not sure if mine was defective or if all are like that.  It just didn't have good coverage as the white and pink pens.

FEATURED - Monday, January 19th 2009

Nail Polish of the Day: CNY Summer in the City

Happy MLK Day Ya'll! Today the UPS came a knockin with sweet little package from Carolyn New York.  And, I was most excited to try out Summer in the City because of two reasons.

First off, there was no online swatches of this perfect pastel yellow shade.  Secondly, I've been totally obsessed with yellow ever since the debut of Yellow Fever by Rescue Beauty Lounge.  So, I had to see it!

Boy oh Boy, is this a beauty!  Infact, Summer in the City is creeping up to be one of my favorite yellows.  A light yellow pastel creme that has white undertones and is fairly opaque.  The white base is what makes Summer in the City so unique compared to all the other contenders.

Check out more pics below. 

 Pic taken outside in Natural Light. 

Summer in the City is truely unique.  The closest competitior I own is Square Pants.  As you can see their still way off.

The application was perfect for a yellow.  No streaking and you could possibly get away with two thick coats.  With cremes, I find it much easier to apply heavier coats.

Summer in the City retails for $7.99 and is available at Carolyn New York.

FEATURED - Tuesday, February 3rd 2009

Milani Valentines: Illustrations of Love

The month of February marks the season of love and Milani gives you six reasons to celebrate the holiday in style.

The Illustrations of love collection is a new valentine's day release that includes: red and pinks for those passionate lovers, black and purple's for those wanting to vamp it up and grey's and whites for that laid back lover.

Overall, this is a great collection that offers a range of different shades to pick from!  The application was amazing and most colors only required two coats for bottle coverage.

Milani's nail polish has it goin' on.  Their quality is just as good as Sally Hansen or Borghese and other high end brands. 

Day Dreaming - a true medium gray creme.  Hands down, the best gray creme I've seen.  Not to dark nor too light.  Perfecto!

Spring has officially kicked the gray nail polish trend into high gear!  So, don't miss out on this perfect shade of gray.

It's official!  Milani's Day Dreaming is an exact dupe for MAC's On the Prowl from their latest Hello Kitty Collection. 

While digging through my small stash of grays, I came across two close contenders.  RBL's, Concrete Jungle is more blue based and Carolyn's, Handball Courts is much lighter with added shimmer.

Having some fun with Milani's Day Dreaming and black tips with SH's black nail art pen. 

Fond of You is the perfect off white creme that's a great alternative to Chanel's White Satin.  Actually, we might have an close dupe here.  I'll have to check later today and let you guys know.

The application was simply amazing for a white.  Only three coats to achieve bottle color. 

 

Sweetheart - a bright hot pink creme.  Not as vibrant as a neon.

Milani Sweetheart.

 

Sweet Love - a reddish pink with subtle pink and purple shimmer.  The actual shade was hard to caputre for some reason.

 Sweet Love.

My Darling - a charcoal black with mint green shimmer. 

Devoted - a deep black purple with subtle pink and purple shimmer.

The valentines day collection should be hitting stores this week.  Keep an eye out for Day Dreaming!

FEATURED - Wednesday, February 4th 2009

Nail Polish of the Day: Fingerpaints Lilac Love

Hope ya'll are having a fabulous Tuesday.  I'm trying to keep my head high but it's hard.  Everytime I turn on the Tube - helloo " bad news."  Think positive though and stay away from that TV!  Lets gettie on to some good news folks.

Ever since the gray plum trend took off this winter, I've been intrigued by any lilac gray color like this one.  I stumbled across Fingepaint's spring collection at Sally's and Lilac Love was the only color out of six that caught my attention.

Described as a pink lilac with subtle white rainbow micro shimmer that has grayish undertones.  This was interesting, very interesting...  Infact, I didn't like it until the third coat.  Lilac Love applied as a pastel pink lilac but after the third coat become more of a grayish lilac pink. 

Three coats to achieve bottle color.  If you wanted to apply a fourth coat (which I forbid to do) the grayish undertones would probably shine through better.

Fingerpaint retails for $6.99 and is available at Sally's beauty store.  Have a great day.

FEATURED - Saturday, February 7th 2009

Pedi of the Day: Black and White French

Hope ya'll are having an enjoyable day.  In the Cincy region, it's about 60 degrees and cloudy.  Heck, I'm not complaining though.  I'll take anything other than snow these days.

With warm weather and Spring creeping up, I thought now would be a perfect time to do a pedi post.  All feet are ugly.  There's nothing pretty about them.  And, what's even worse is giving yourself a home pedicure.

Usually I don't recommend salon services, but in this case it's definitely worth the splurge.  It's a perfect time to relax and treat your tooties to some pampering.  You deserve it!

For my pedicure, I used wet n wild black creme and the Sally Hansen nail art pen in white.  Wet n Wild's black polish is the best hands down.  It's opaque in one coat and super glossy.  Milani's Black Magic is another great black.

Have a fabulous night!

FEATURED - Sunday, February 8th 2009

MAC Hello Kitty: Let the Craziness Begin

Can you believe it's almost here.  Only two more days until the collection officially launches online and the Hello Kitty madness sets in.  To celebrate the excitement, today's post is geared towards that little Kitty we all love!

For my HK manicure, I wanted to mix it up without going over the top.  Sometimes just the littlest change can make the biggest difference.  Try adding a different colored shade to your manicure - it just may give you that flair.

My oh my, where do I start!  First, lets venture through the makeup side of MAC's Hello Kitty.

Neither of the eye shadow palettes are appealing to me, but can I really pass up the cute Hello Kitty packaging?

Eye Shadow Palettes X 4 (LE) - $38.00 USD/$46.00.  Lucky Tom (right) and Too Dolly (left) eye shadow palettes.

Hello Kitty Lipstick (LE) - $14.00 USD/$16.50 CDN.

Lipglass (LE) - $14.00 USD/$16.50 CDN.

Beauty Powders (left two) (LE) - $22.00 USD/$26.50 CDN.  Beauty Powder Blushes (right two) are must haves for me. (LE) - $18.00 USD/$22.00 CDN.   

 

All three are a must have for this nail addict - no brainer.  Nail Lacquers (LE) - $11.00 USD/$13.00 CDN.

 

Some of the accessories I'll be picking up is the small size makeup bag and the stretchy charm bracelet.  I'm obsessed with bracelets period.  So, this is a must! 

HK Soft Vanity Case (Traincase) (LE) - $55.00 USD/$66.00 CDN.  Available online.

HK Tote (LE) - $45.00 USD/$54.00 CDN. Available online.

HK Makeup Bags : Petite Makeup Bag - $22.00 USD/$26.50 CDN, Medium Makeup Bag - $35.00 USD/$42.00 CDN. (Available at MAC stores, Nordstrom and online).

HK Brush collection (LE) $49.50 USD $58.00 CDN (Available at MAC stores, Nordstrom and online).

Purse Mirror (LE) - $22.00 USD/$26.00 CDN (Available online).

HK Plush Doll (LE) - $42.00 USD/$50.00 CDN (Available at MAC stores, Nordstrom doors and online).

Beaded Bracelet (LE) - $34.00 USD/$40.00 CDN (Available online).

Mirrored Key Clip (LE) - $16.00 USD/$19.50CDN (Available online).

Bling, Bling and more bling...Seriously who can pass this up?! 

Dazzleglass (LE) $28.00 USD
Each feature a reusable silver chain pendant with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals on black with a pink crystal bow.

Sheer Mystery Powder (LE) - $90.00 USD
These will be available in three shades and are packaged in a silver powder compact with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals with a pink crystal bow on a black background. These come with a refill powder.

So, I wanna hear!! What's everyone gettting?!

FEATURED - Friday, February 13th 2009

Spring 09: MAC Hello Kitty Nail Swatches

Hello Kitty has arrived and MAC introduces two new lovely nail lacquers and one repromote to the Spring collection.  If the mixture of pink, gray and white doesn't catch your attention, the heavenly bottles with the hello kitty signature logo surely will.

First off, I'm super excited that MAC when out on a limb for us nail polish addicts to match the Hello Kitty line with the nail polish bottles.  Bravo, Bravo!  The bottles will have you at Hello!

All the polishes were exceptionally pigmented and only needed two coats on most colors with the exception of Vestral White.  You may need three coats to even out everything.

What I wasn't thrilled about is Something about Pink's brush.  It looks like MAC may be testing out the water with this new brush or I just received a defective batch.

Something about Pink's brush is slightly angled and tapered kinda like SH's Insta-dri (see pic below).  Immediately, I noticed brush differences when I was swatching the colors.  Thumbs down on the funky brush.

Check out the swatches below. 

Vestral White can be described as a french white that was opaque in two coats, but needed three to even out the streaks.

Pretty, but not a must have if you want to skip.  It's just your typical french white shade. 

On the Prowl, a must have color from the Hello Kitty collection.  The perfect mid tone gray creme that you'll want to sport around this spring and summer.  Her twin sister isn't as cute, but definitely worth checking out.

Gray's are on the rise big time, this is definitely worth picking up.

 

Something about Pink was the only polish that had an angled tapered brush that I found difficult to navigate on my nails.  Described as a girly vibrant hot pink that fit in perfectly with the Hello Kitty theme.  

Here's a picture comparison of On the Prowl and Something about Pink.  There could be two problems with this picture.

Number one, the most obvious, MAC produced a bad batch of polishes with defective brushes.  If you ordered from the site (which i did), you may be getting a defective brush like mine.  Secondly, they may be switching over all their brushes.  And, let's just hope it's not that. 

The Hello Kitty polishes sold out rather quickly online, but you can still find them at Nordstrom, Macy's and MAC freestanding stores which retail for $11.00/ea.  Don't wait a minute if you have any interest in Hello Kitty.  They will go super fast!

Want more Hello Kitty?  Check out all the makeup swtaches or my black and hot pink polka dot mani for this release. 

FEATURED - Tuesday, February 24th 2009

Spring 09: Color Club Femme Fatale

Color Club Springs forward this season with two new collections, Femme Fatale and Catwalk Queen.  Each release consists of six new shades of holographic and pearlized textures.  First up is the Femme Fatale collection.

Ooh, la, la...Femme Fatale is a mysterious women of great seductive charm that lives life dangerously.  

Color Club gave us all a reason to look forward to spring by introducing new Holoographic shades to the line!  And, what gal doesn't love sport around holo's.

Check out all the swatches below.

Worth the Risque is a silver holographic shade that applied perfectly in two coats.  Wow, gorgeous, speechless!  The pictures pretty much justify the gorgeousness of this stunner.

As you can see in the photo comparisons that Worth the Risque texture is completely different from Diamond and OMG.  A def must have! 

Revvvolution is a black hologrpahic shade that applied perfectly in two coats.  Another break-taking shade.  Wow, amazing!

Revvvolution's coverage is just amazing compared to OPI's MPJ. 

Oui Oui Oui is a sheer white pearlized iridescent that has greenish shimmer that needs three full coats to achieve the bottle color.

 

Femme Fatale is a clear base loaded with pinkish shimmer.

 

Ooooo La La is a white pearl that needs a good three coats for bottle color.  My swatches could have used an additional coat to even out everything.

Where's the Soiree, the outcast of the group, is a black creme that dried watery to a satin like finish.

The Femme Fatale collection is now available at Head2toe and retails for $2.50/ea. 

FEATURED - Thursday, March 5th 2009

Going Green: Green Nail Pic Spam Part One

This is a great image of the actual color representation.  For Audrey's unique shade can be rather difficult to capture digitally. 

Happy Thursday!  Today is the first little segment of my "Go Green" theme this March at Steph's Closet.  Since I have so many greens to show you, I'll be breaking my posts into four seperate parts and featuring each part once a week.  

I wanted to start off with a french mani, because you guys know how much I love those funky colors.  

What I used:  Two coats of China Glaze For Audrey and two coats of my favorite Sally Hansen Nail art pens for the white tips.  The color combination just look stunning and only can image how hot this would look on those tootsies!

China Glaze, For Audrey a tiffany colored green - blue. 

Claire's, Blue for you is a seafoam green with fine shimmer.  Very pretty and feminine for spring.

 

Nars, Mash is a gorgeous deep olive bronze with gold shimmer.  A stunning color, espically for summer.  Looks fab on olive and darker skin tones.

Max Factor, Momentum Moss is dollar store gem, a olive gray metallic with shimmer.

Claire's, Green Confetti is a light green jelly glitter with subtle holographic effects.

Have you guys been in Claire's lately?  They have some pretty spectacular shades for spring.  I have a whole segment planned for those too!

Sally Hansen's, Jumpin Jade screams riches and luxury.  A deep, rich green that's seriously gorgeous!  A great drug store pick.

Maybelline's, Jade Flash is a green with blue undertones, but still falls in the green category.

And here's the two I posted a few days ago.

Icing, Awkward is a mid tone green with gold and subtle blue shimmer.  A great alternative to OPI's, Rainforest.

LA Flairs Girl, Green is a deep green with blue undertones. 

I'll be adding more to this post later this evening!  Have a great one!

FEATURED - Sunday, March 8th 2009

Summer Nail Trends: Nail Art Goes Retro

Last Thursday, when I was sitting at the salon waiting for my hair to dry, I stumbled across some interesting Nail Art designs from Jin Soon Choi in the March issue of Teen Vogue.

Trends come and go, we all know that.  All in all, it's the same trends - really.  And, this summer were flashing back to the 80's with bright neon colors, graffiti nail art along with black and white retro lines.

Tip from Choi: Experiment with different polish colors.  High Contrast shades will look best! 

 

Tip from Choi:  This look is Bold.  Rather than spelling out your name, use random letters.  It's cooler. 

This is one of my favorite designs.  The bold white stripes on black immediately caught my attention. 

Tip from Choi: Visit a beauty supply store to buy white striping tape used in nail art.  That way, the lines on the black polish will be perfectly straight.

Tip from Steph: My favorite nail art pens are super easy when creating this look.  As long as you have a steady hand for straight lines, you'll have no problems with the pens.  Otherwise, the striping tape Choi suggests works out great also. 

In a few days, I'll be recreating a few of these looks.  So, make sure you stay tuned.

What do you guys think?  Which ones would you like to see?

FEATURED - Monday, March 9th 2009

Spring 09: Orly Prepster Collection Swatches

The Prepster collection from Orly is the second edition to the Spring 09' round up.  In the Carnivale Collection, we saw bright pops of orange, purple and pink. This collection is the soft side of spring that offers six nex shades ranging from pastel pink, blue and nudes.

It's time to get your tennis rackets and polo sticks out while you get ready for Orly's Prepster spring collection.  A mixture of shades you'll see at the country club or on the tennis courts with names like Cashmere Cardigan, Polo Princess and Prim & Proper.

Some must haves: Cashmere Cardigan, Polo Princess and Country Club Khaki.

Check out all the swatches below. 

Cashmere Cardigan is a gorgeous periwinkle blue creme that applied perfectly in two coats. This color just pops, loves it! 

Tennis Anyone is a off white sheer creme that applied with three coats.  In all honestly, this could have used a fourth coat. 

Prim & Proper is a light metallic purple with pink undertones.  A much lighter and version of Deborah Lippmann's, Purple Rain.

If you don't mind the hassle of metallics, you'll like this one.  The application is much like any metallic really, including Purple Rain.

Country Club Khaki is a fantastic color all around.  Described as a khaki nude creme perfect for any season.  A great alternative to Rescue Beauty Lounge's, Grunge. 

Polo Princess is a pastel pink creme that applied a tad streaky, but not terribly.  I needed three coats to even everything out.

OMG is a bright hot pink coral creme that applied fairly sheer.  I needed three coats to achieve bottle color.

The Prepster collection is now available at Head2Toe and retails for $3.50/ea.

FEATURED - Wednesday, March 11th 2009

Limited Edition Nail Polish Sets from Icing

Happy Hump day!  Hope your having an excellent Wednesday morning.  Today I'm bringing you some fabulous limited edition sets from Icing by Claire's.

Last December during Christmas time, I discovered these nail polish sets at the mall. Unimpressed by the brush quality, I neglected to post my photo swatches.  Having brush imperfections can make your application a nightmare to deal with. 

When I saw the new spring colors at Icing, I just gasped and decided to give them another go around.  And, I'm happy to report - No brush difficulties. Yay!

Confession time.  So, the only reason I intitally picked up this set was due to the unqiueness of Ocean View and Retro Girl, but ended up loving them all!  Good thing, a? 

All five shades are loaded down with hot pink, gold, and purple micro shimmer.  Although, the only shimmer you'll see is hot pink.  Actually, I didn't even realize the various colors until I was swatching in the sun.  

Some of the formulas were a littlle more sheer than I preferred, but that's ok - I'll deal because their super pretty.  With any semi sheer nail polish, I pack the color on pretty thick - that way I won't be bothered with four coats.  The drying time may be a little longer than usual, but it beats four coats. 

 

Pure is a semi sheer white with hot pink shimmer that had better coverage than Icing's, Oceanview and China Glaze's, Kwik Silvr.

Ocean View, one of my favorites, a semi sheer seafoam green with pink shimmer.

 Ocean View and Pure.

 Tickled Pink is a light to medium pink with hot pink shimmer.

In Bloom is a lavendar purple with hot pink shimmer.

Retro Girl is beyond amazing and highly unique!  Described as a muddy olive green brown with purple, gold and pink shimmer that had good pigmentation all around. My pictures may look brown, but there's defintely olive green in there.  Take a peek at the product picture above.

Now, on to the bling bling. The glitters have an light tinted based and are filled with glitter and micro shimmer.  I debated on whether posting my swatches because it's next to impossible to capture the actual colors. 

 

Goldie Locks has a golden champagne base with gold, green and blue shimmer.

 

 Sparklin Girl has a silvery purple base with gold, purple and silver shimmer.

Starry Eyes has a light blue base with silver and blue shimmer.

 

Oscar has a light lime green base with gold and silver shimmer.

 

Passion has a light pink base with pink, gold and silver shimmer.

Here's some other colors from Icing.

Blackout is a greyish black base loaded with silver and holographic glitter.

 Luv U 2 Much is a clearish sandy base with silver and tan glitter.  Super blingy.

 Jem is a pink red loaded with silver shimmer.

Icing's Electrified reminds me of Misa's, Fatal Affair with a little bit more blue.  A blueish purple base with an overlay of blue shimmer.

Hellooo Foil goodness!  Oh my, I've never seen a foil polish this pigmented.  Wow, almost looks like Minx foils!

Maggie is described as a silver foil that's packed with pigmentation you'll only need one coat. 

 A Girl Like You, another foil goodness, is a pink and silver foil.  Excellent pigmentation, another one coater.

Here's a blurred pic just to show you how foily they just are!

Icing by Claire's nail polish is only available at Icing stores usually located in Malls.  Pricing as follows: miniature bottles $2.50, Large bottles $4.50, LE colored set $14.99 and Glitter set $10.99.  They always have buy one, get second half off specials.

So, I wanna hear - What's everyones favorites?  

FEATURED - Saturday, March 14th 2009

Color Club Catwalk Queen Spring Collection

Color Club's, Catwalk Queen is the second installment to the Spring 2009 collection.

Just like the Femme Fatale, in this release we see pearlized textures, gorgeous holographic and glitters.

Let the world be your runway this Spring as Club Color introduces six new runway approved shades.

The sheer iridescent textues look much better topped over a complimentary base color or just a simple black shade.  Check out some swatches Scrangie used with black.

Some of my favorites: Catwalk Queen, Fashion Addict and Vintage Couture.  The holo's from both spring collections are absolute must haves.

Check out all the swatches below.

Front Row Diva is a dove white gray pearl iridescent that needs a good three coats to even out the streaks. 

Runway Muse is a sheer teal based with pink, teal, silver shimmer.  All different kinds of colors in this one.  Although, you'll definitely want to start with a colored base coat because it's pretty sheer.

Ready to Wear is a sheer light pink base with pink shimmer.

Fashion Addict is another fantastic holo from Color Club, a light pink silver holo. 

 

 Vintage Couture is a milky pastel pink creme.

Catwalk Queen is a vampy plum purple with shimmer that's very pretty.

The Catwalk Queen is available at Head2Toe and retails for $2.50/ea.

FEATURED - Monday, March 16th 2009

St Pattys Day: Mani and Pedi of the Day

Happy Monday Ya'll! It's not officially St. Patty's Day yet, but I wanted to be ahead of the game because it's going to be a jam packed day tomorrow. So, how in the heck do you go about choosing a green for St. Patty's Day? It's virtually impossible because greens rock.

The verdict - Claire's 3 in 1 Mixables in Technopop because it's cool and I just like it!  Knowing me, I'll probably change my mani before St. Patrick's Day.

Claire's 3 in 1 mixables are pretty neato.  You get three different colors in one bottle. No shaking or mixing required.  Do you know how hard it is to not shake the bottle? I guess it's just habit, but it's pretty darn H A R D.

What I love about Claire's 3 in 1 mixable's - their mostly duochrome colors.  You'll see various colors in different angles of lighting.

Technpop is describled aa a bright minty green duo that changes from green, purple and blue.  And, has added holographic glitter for that ultra flair.

I have a boat load of Claire's swatches I'll be posting in the next weeks to come. 

I really loved how my pedicure turned out.  The black polka dots just pop on a neon base. What I used: Massini's Neon Greenlight and for the polka dots, Sally Hansen's Nail art pen in black.

The neon green is much brighter in real life compared to my swatches above.  I really like Massini's neons because their opaque and you don't have to worrry about a white basecoat.

Hope you have a wonderful night and St. Patty's Day!

What's everyone wearing for tomorrow? Be safe!

FEATURED - Thursday, March 19th 2009

Sneak Peek: Chanel Summer 09 Nail Polishes

This summer, Chanel introduces two new warm tones to the Cote D'Azure collection.  A resort destination collection featuring, Golden Sands - a shimmery brown metallic and Orange Fizz - a cool orange coral creme.

Today I had the oppurtunity to play around with Chanel's new summer 09 collection and overall, I'm a little bit disappointed. I found the eye shadow colors to be dark and way too orangey for my liking, even for my warmed toned skin.  And the nail colors - were safe and "typical" summer shades.

As soon as I laid eyes on Orange Fizz in person, I knew it was a close dupe to L.A. Sunset.  Orange Fizz is more dull and has pink undertones compared to L.A. Sunset. And honestly, L.A. Sunset is much prettier & brighter in my opinion. Bottom line - if you have L.A Sunset, I'd pass on this one.

On a side note, Orange Fizz is selling like hotcakes at most of the Chanel counters.

Yep, Golden Sands is a metallic. Man, was I bummed or what.  Me and metallics just don't get along and the same goes for this one. Although, the application was a tad better than Antilope - it's still a metallic. Described as a darker copper sand compared to Antilope's white sand color.

 

Here's a pedicure picture of L.A Sunset from last year. In a couple days, I'll be posting more pics of Orange Fizz in this blog post.

To break it down, Orange Fizz is pretty - but not unqiue. There are several alternatives (some of mine shown above) that are just as good.

Any takers?

FEATURED - Saturday, March 21st 2009

Nail Art: Jin Soon Choi Recreations

A couple weeks ago, I posted some interesting nail art designs by Jin Soon Choi that I stumbled across in the Teen Vogue's March issue.

Most of these designs were super easy and didn't require any special nail art tools except a dotting tool for the polka dots (which aren't shown).

Check out some pics below.

This was one of my least favoirte designs at first, but ended up loving it.  There's something about a neon base that makes both orange and black pop against my skin.

What you'll need (any brand): Neon yellow, Opaque french white, Halloween Orange creme and Black creme.

How to: Start with any yellow neon base color. Most neons I've seen are matte and pretty sheer. Tip: use a white opaque color (such as a french white) before applying the neon base. You'll have better color pay-off and you'll avoid numerous applications.

When the base is completely dry, take your orange creme polish and make some creative brush stroke swipes on the neon. It's pretty easy - just dab and swirl you brush creatively. Once dry, repeat the same steps but with the black polish. Finish with a fast dry topcoat and go.

This design was super easy using Sally Hanen's nail art pen in white. You could also try a navy blue background that would look fab.

What you'll need: Black Opaque creme polish (my fave is Wet n Wild) and SH nail art pen in white.

How to: Start with a black basecoat. Once dry, seal with a fast dry topcoat. Make sure your base and topcoat is completely dry before you start with SH's nail art pens. Then draw vertically and horizontal lines on your nails. Seal with a topcoat and go.

Another super easy design. On this one, you can use basically any nail polish colors. Just make sure both colors are pretty opaque.

What you'll need: Any two colors really.

How to: Apply the first color about 2/3 on the nail (one or two coats). You want to make sure you make steady straight lines. Once dry, apply the other color to 1/3 of nail. Finish wiht a topcoat and go.

I'll be posting a few more designs in the next few days. What do you guys think? Easy enough?

FEATURED - Tuesday, March 24th 2009

OPI Limited Edition: Breathe Life for a Good Cause

The facts will leave you breatheless:

• Lung Cancer is the #1 cancer killer of women, more deadly than the 6 next largest cancer killers combined.
• 60% of new lung cancer victims will be non-smokers
• 85% of those diagnosed with lung cancer will die in 5 years of less.

OPI's Breathe Life Nail Lacquer was created exclusively to help the Lung Cancer Foundation of America in its efforts to find a cure. OPI has also made a donation to the Lung Cancer Foundation. Lung Cancer has stopped our breathing long enough. Now, let's cure it.

Breathe Life is a limited editon, cool silvery blue shade that will be available April 1st at Professional Salons and Ulta locations.

See swatches below.

Breathe Life - is a sheer milky white opalescent loaded blue and shimmer. To achieve bottle color and complete coverage, you'll need around four coats.

Be sure to pick up a bottle for yourself and your mom or friends. It's for a great cause!

FEATURED - Monday, March 30th 2009

Matte Nail Polish: A Total Knockout

KO (Knockout Cosmetics) was created by makeup artist Mike Potter, best known for creating the hair and makeup for the groundbreaking stage and film versions of Hedwig & the Angry Inchfor. Along with fellow KO leader Aaron McCann, are very excited to welcome you to the beauty and glamour of KO.

Knockout introduces four new glamourous shades of Flatte Matte nail polish.  Karen - a virbrant red (OMG yes red), Calamine - pink powder, Black Flatte - black flatte and Powder - milky white powder along with a matte topcoat.

The quality was superb. Each coat applied smooth like a matte and dried to a silky satin finish with two applications. Although, I did use three coats due to my errors - not the actual formula or brand.

Let's break it down. Priced at $22 a pop, may be the only drawback to these beauties. But, you get what you pay for and so much more! The bottles are huge-normous (.56 oz). Biggie size me up please - no kidding!

My Issues. The extra large bottle accompanies an even longer handle. For me, the handle wasn't practical at all. I felt like I was painting with a oversized sharpie marker. Mostly, it's that I'm not used to a longer handle. 

Calamine is exactly that  - a calmine creme pink powder with no visible shimmer that's perfect for Spring. The pink creme looked so elegant on my nails - I just loved it!

Next week, I'll be featuring the gorgeous, Karen - a red flatte matte. Make sure you stay tuned! In the meantime, check out Scrangie's black and white swatches.

FEATURED - Wednesday, April 1st 2009

Spring Nail Colors from Nina Ultra Pro

Happy Hump Day Ya'll! Today I'm bringing you some flirty spring colors from Nina Ulta Pro ($3.99). You can find Nina Ultra Pro at Sally Beauty Supply stores or online. Most colors were opaque in only two coats with the exception of Mermaid.

Sweet Nothings (pictured above) - a blue based muted pink lavendar creme with no shimmer. Not your typical pink or purple. Very pretty.

In a Tiff - one of my favorites, is an opaque tiffany blue loaded down with white micro shimmer that's gorgeous. Love!

Tangerine Dream - an opaque tangerine coral orange creme with no shimmer.

I only wished Mermaid had the opaqeness that the others did. A sheer lime green loaded with bright minty green micro shimmer. 

You can find Nina Ultra Pro nail polish at Sally Beauty Supply stores that retail around $3.99/ea. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

FEATURED - Friday, April 3rd 2009

Celeb Nail Art Icon: Solange Knowles

Along with her gorgeous looks, talented voice, and keen sense of style - Solange Knowles and I share something in common, an obsession for Nail Art! Last year, she opened up about her current addiction in the Hadley St Journal:

"For about the last 2 years I’ve had an addicting obsession with nail art and design…Call it “Ghetto-fab” of me but yo, I’ve seen some artists who need to have their ish in museums."

Ever since Sally Hansen released my favorite nail art pens, I've been hooked and expanding my creative horizons. Like the old saying goes, "practice makes perfect." Once you get the hang of it, you'll be addicted.

There's nothing like a good design to catch my eye and Solange's polka dot/domino effect design did just that. It's fairly easy for beginner to intermediate, using just a few simple tools.

Here's my try at it: 

What I used: Any black or white nail polish, acrylic paint or thick nail polish, SH nail art pen and dual sided dotting tool. 

Before you start, make sure you practice on either your nails or artificial ones. There's been numerous occasions I've jumped the gun and ended up ruining my mani.

If you don't fancy nail art, the black and white alone is hot! This could be a great look for a night on the town with a hot little red number.

Here she is, my pride and joy. I haven't blogged much about my new Holy Grail dotting tool, but it's the best thing since, well, Nail Art Pens!

Sure, you can use toothpicks or SH's nail art pen for the polka dots, but you won't get a perfect & precise circle like using a dotting tool. A cheap investment initially ($4.99) at Sallly Beauty or any other beauty store. You'll wonder how you lived without it!

Polka Dots: If your using a dotting tool, just dab the end in acrylic paint or nail polish and dot on your nails. Repeat steps if necessary. You can also use a tooth pick or nail art pen.

The white lines were the hardest part about this design, particularly the horizontal one on my ring finger. You may need to practice a few times with SH nail art pen before starting. It was much easier with the art pen verses a detailing brush. 

And the finished result. I really loved this design - so cute and girly. Hope you have a great weekend all! What do you guys think?

FEATURED - Saturday, April 4th 2009

Revlon Fruitful Temptations: Scented Nail Polish

Just when you think you've seen it all, BOOM! Revlon drops a fruit sensation delivered right to you fingertips - you'll be sniffin all the way home. These are addicting. No, let me put this clear - these are obsessively addicting!

Revlon introduces eight new scented shades inspired by the freshness of exotic fruits and infused with succulent tropical scents.

Before I get to the review, check out my favorite shade from the collection.

Not So Blue-berry is insanely gorgeous! The color is well worth the purchase alone. Described as a duochrome shimmer that switches from a blue (sunlight) to frosty silver violet (inside) pic below. It's loaded down with silver and rainbow like shimmer.

The scent is a blueberry grape that's quite yummy! You'll be craving your nails and sniffing like a mad man.

To really appreciate the unique shade, you'll have to see in person.

Here's some quick swatches below. All were used with two coats. 

Coconut Crush - white frosty shimmer with a coconut scent.

Mad About Mango - coral orange creme with a mango scent.

Pretty in Papaya, featured in the promo ad, a coral red cream with a papaya scent.

Sublime Strawberry - a mid tone pink with white micro shimmer and a strawberry scent.

Passionate Fruit - magenta purple creme with a berry scent.

Mon Cherry - cherry red creme with a cherry scent.

Raspberry Rapture - raspberry pink creme with a raspberry scent.

Overall, I absolutely loved these and think they'll be a huge hit. What's the one complaint we make about nail polish? The nasty intoxicating fumes. So why not make a nail polish that actually smells good?! Just brilliant!

Once completely dried, you'll notice a light tropical scent in each shade. At first, it's just like any other nail polish when you apply.

Can I use a topcoat? Yep. In my experience, when a topcoat is used the scent wasn't nearly as strong - but it doesn't destroy the smell at the same time. If you feel the smell is a tad overwhelming, it may be a good idea to use a topcoat.

Personally, I skip a clear topcoat because I want to smell the strong fruity scent - that's the benefit! 

How long does the scent last? Suprisingly a long time! For the first 8-12 hours the fruity scent is strong and even after a day or two, you'll notice a faint smell.

When the scent does start to die down, all you have to do is reapply one coat and go!

Are they safe? Of Course!

Fruitful Temptations is a limited edition collection and retails around $4.50/ea. I wanna hear everyone's thoughts? Have a wonderful weekend!

FEATURED - Friday, April 10th 2009

MAC Colour Ready Collection: Swatches, Review

Get increased mileage from makeup! A start-to-finish collection that revs up Prep + Prime: three new products plus the essential colour palette. Everything you need to be picture perfect.

Introducing the Colour Ready collection from MAC. A fairly small release that our pocket books will be thanking us. I really love these small collections. If you want to splurge on the whole thing, it's not going to cost ya an arm and a leg.

Overall, a nice collection, but I see alot of us passing. With most products being permanent items, you don't have to stock up right away. One of the standout products, the lipsticks - smooth, creamy and packed with tons of color.

I didn't get to fully test Prep & Prime filler, but noticed a huge difference when testing a small area on my hand. My skin was extremely smooth & even with the filler.

Here's some swatches below.

Eyeshadows. Bitter, a yellow green and White Frost, a frosty white, both took several swipes to get good a color pay off.

Lipsticks. Show Orchid, vivid hot pink creme, and Impassioned a fuschia red that are very pretty and packed with tons of color.

MAC's Colour Ready collection is available online and at MAC stores. 

FEATURED - Tuesday, April 14th 2009

Sephora by OPI Summer: Mermaid in the Shade

This Summer is all about the blues, and Sephora introduces six limited edition shades to the Mermaid in the shade collection. A mixture of grays, blue and teals that takes you back to the lazy days at the beach.

Before I get to the official review, all my swatches were taken in two different types of lighting: direct and indirect sunlight.

The application. Most shades I found to be rather sheer and required a minimum of three thick coats or four to achieve bottle color. Other than being mostly sheer, no visible formula problems and a nice collection for any blue lover.

And, here they are!

Water Baby - a semi sheer, mix between white and light gray with fine silver and turquoise blue shimmer. The texture isn't quite a metallic nor a shimmer.

Lagoon a Beach - a semi sheer, light powder blue base with silver and turquoise blue shimmer.

Underwater Fantasy - a semi sheer, light cornflower blue with silver and turquoise blue shimmer.

Just a Fairy Tail - a sheer silver blue base with silver and turquoise blue shimmer that's really pretty. After three thick coats or more, you'll notice Fairy Tail takes on a blue silver foil effect.

Suprisingly, this was one of my favorites. I just love that foil look. 

 

Blue Grotto - is actual only a two coater (ignore my swatch) and the only creme of the bunch. A mixture between a navy blue and royal that applied perfectly in two coats.

We have a few close comparisons to Blue Grotto: OPI's Dating a Royal, China Glaze's Bermuda Breakaway and Misa On the Edge.  Misa's Living on the edge being the closest dupe.

There's always a shade you have high expectations for, and this was it. Mermaid to Order, a blue green frosty metallic with shimmer and yellow undertones.

I was seriously bummed when I found out that Mermaid to Order was a metallic frosty shade. Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous shade, but I had my heart set on a blinged out shimmer. And, if you've been reading my blog, you know me and metallics are on a non-speaking basis right now.

The closest comparison I have to Mermaid to order is China Glaze's, Adore from the Romantiques collection. Not exact dupes, China Glaze's is much more blue and Sephora's is more green with yellow undertones.

As far as the application, yes, you can slight stroke lines but it's not as bad as other metallics.

The Mermaid in the Shade collection is now available at Sephora for a limited time only and retails for $9.00/ea.

FEATURED - Wednesday, April 22nd 2009

Essie Summer 09: Neon Collection Swatches

Have fun, rock out and play with color on toes and tips.  Essie brings color intensity back with the Neon Collection – a new crop of bright shades that pop!

Along with North Folk this summer,  Essie introduces four electrifying shades to the Neon collection sure to grab your attention.

Turn off the lights indeed - You'll surely get noticed with Essies new intense neons that glow. With four new colors from pinks, purple and shockingly yellow.

Like most neon colors, Essie's dries to a matte finish and you'll need a topcoat if you want that shiny look.  Most colors applied in three coats, with the exception of Funky Limelight and no true application problems.

All my swatches were captured in direct sunlight and just a reminder, neons never capture true to life. Here's some other swatches from Scrangie and The Nailphile to give you an idea where the colors fall.

Here they are!

Funky Limelight - an intense glowing yellow neon that is uber bright. My swatches don't justify the intensity of this baby.

This was the only problem child of the bunch, in which I did apply one coat of white underneath. My application was a tad on the streaky side and required a total of four coats including the white.

TIP: I had better luck applying a base, such as any opaque white nail polish to avoid the excessive coat-age. Otherwise, you'll be coating Funky Limelight in the 5 range.

Flirty Fuchsia - hot neon pink that's darker than Punchy Pink.

Perky Purple - a neon purple that's a close match to Essie's Bermuda Shorts. In real life, Perky Purple is much more purple. Very Pretty!

 

Punchy Pink - is a lighter pink version of Flirty Fuchsia and ranks as my favorite from the neon collection.

A great color all around, not too dull or shocking bright like Funky Limelight. I'm not usually big on pinks, but this pops with my skintone. Love! 

The essie Neon Color Collection is a limited-edition collection, available beginning May 2009 at www.essie.com and fine spas, salons and beauty stores nationwide. SRP $9.00 USD.

FEATURED - Saturday, May 9th 2009

Limited Edition Mini Sets From Icing by Claires

Hope your having a wonderful Saturday afternoon. It actually turned out to be a beautiful day here in Kentucky ya'll.  Today I'm bringing you another fabulous limited edition set from Icing that had me at "green glitter," hello.

Each set comes with five miniature nail polish bottles that retails for $10.99/set. The glitters are pretty spectacular, I'm just bummed that these are Limited Edition and not available in full sized bottles. Oh, how can you do this to us Icing?!

Oddly, every single glitter set that was stocked, didn't have a sticker at the bottom with the name?? Hmm, so that must mean their extra special!

On to the swatches.

Green Glitter is the one held repsonsible for my impulsive buy, a bright (not neon) grass green with sliver glitter. A bit semi sheer that needed four coats for bottle color. Very pretty.

Purple Glitter is a gorgeous deep purple with blue undertones and silver glitter. Great coverage in two coats.

Green and Purple glitter together. Two of my favorites.

Black Glitter is a rich black with silver glitter that had great coverage in two coats.

Red Glitter is a cherry red with silver glitter. Two coats for bottle coverage.

Ms. Red and Black. 

White Glitter is a clearish base with white and blue chunkier glitter compared to the others. Three coats on each nail.

The Neon set was kinda my pity buy for the Buy one, get on half off deal. Most of these colors are available in full sized bottles, if you only wanted one or two. On all my neon swatches I used, one coat of white polish as a base and one without.

Neon Yellow always seems to be the problem child of neons, regardless of the brand. And, using a french white as a base cuts out half of my application time. Anymore, I amost always use a white base for yellow and green neons.

The next three really didn't need a white base coat, the color pigmentation was pretty good. 

Orange and Purple Neon that had good coverage.

Pink Neon that also had good coverage. Have a great weekend!

FEATURED - Wednesday, May 27th 2009

Nail Polish of the Day: Maybelline Purple Party

Happy Wednesday! Hope you guys had a great memorial day weekend. Since it's been raining for the last several days, I've spent most of the weekend finishing up painting.

Purple Party, a dollar tree gem I picked up a while ago, described as a gorgeous magenta pink - purple jelly loaded down with silver and pink shimmer. This one applied pretty sheer, but it's definitely worth the four coat application.

Here's some more eye candy for ya. These are my past NOTD's from the weekend that I neglected to post.

When it comes to sheer's, I run away as far as possible...but I just can't help staying away from this one. Satin Sheets, a sheer white loaded down with gold/pink shimmer.

 

Allure's June issue (pg 131) inspired this classic vampy shade from Chanel. Vamp, a dark blood red with shimmer. Have a wonderful day!

FEATURED - Friday, May 29th 2009

OPI Jumps on the Matte Bandwagon this Fall

“OPI Matte is cutting edge for nails in terms of sophistication and style,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI executive vice president and artistic director. “An all-matte nail is fresh, confident, and very fashion runway, and OPI Matte is meant for those moments when you want to make a major fashion statement.OPI Matte does not wear as long as original OPI Nail Lacquer – but its impact is long remembered!”

I'm sure most of you already heard about OPI's newest matte collection slated this Fall. To my undertstanding, OPI is releasing six duo shades, available in two finishes: matte and glossy - take your pick!  All six shades are standard OPI colors that are readily available, not new ones.

Alpine Snow - french white creme, You don't know Jacques - mushrooom taupey creme, Russian Navy - Navy blue shimmer, La Paz-itively Hot - hot pink creme, Lincolon Park after Dark - midnight purple and Gargantuan Grape - greenish yellow lime.

The Matte collection will be available beginning July 1st. In the meantime, here's a few examples that I added a matte topcoat, just to give us an idea.

Note: these are not actual OPI matte shades. Just recreations using a matte topcoat. In most cases, Matte shades usually aren't the same as topcoats.

Check out the swatches. 

The Matte collection will be available starting July 1st. Check out the official swatches and review. 

FEATURED - Thursday, June 25th 2009

Nail Art of the Day: White with Navy Blue Tips

Happy Thursday! Hope your morning is off to a wonderful start. It's creeping closer to Friday, which makes me a happy little camper. I was thinking, it's been a while since I last dragged out my favorite Sally Hansen nail art pens.

This is one of my favorite combinations that was featured in the promo ad last January, and I just love it! This would also look fab on your tootsies - I may need to try that soon.

What I used: Orly White out nail polish for base or any french white cream, Sally Hansen's nail art pen in blue and SH Insta Dri for topcoat.

Hope you have a fantastic day - think positive thoughts!

FEATURED - Thursday, July 2nd 2009

Nail Art of the Day: French with Black Tips

Happy Thursday, or shall I say Friday for some of us. Woot, Woot! Today I'm bringing you another design using my favorite Sally Hansen's nail art pen in Black. It's very rare...well, next to never that you'd see me sport a french with my natural nail. But, I wanted to mix it up a bit and try one with black tips.

Today I learned something about these nail art pens that I never knew. Don't EVER attempt to use these on your natural nails without a base coat, they will severly stain your nails.

Check out one more swatch below. 

You know me and my polka dot fetish, I just couldn't resist. And, I really love the pink polka dots versus the black tips alone.

Have a great 4th of July weekend! And, please be safe!

FEATURED - Saturday, July 11th 2009

Pedi of the Day: Black with White Polka Dots

Hope your having a fabulous Saturday peeps! Tonight, me and the hubb are hitting a local bar for some Karaoke fun at our favorite wing place! Not that you would catch me singing or anything, but my husband can sure carry a tune. It's always entertaining watching everyone else!

Originally, when I started this classic Black and white polka dot design, it was full force dots. Now, as you see, it's only half that.

The best thing about acrylic paint, you can wipe or pick the dots right off, as long as you haven't sealed with a topcoat. That's exactly what happened in my case (I picked the suckers right off with my nail lol), and I really like the subtle effect of the dots.

Check out one more picture below.

 Have a great weekend! You guys have any Saturday plans?

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 - Thursday, July 23rd 2009

My First Holographic Franken: Peacock Hour

Happy Thursday everyone! Today I put on my white lab coat, grabbed a flask and started mixing nail polish colors like a mad chemist! And boy was it fun! Drum roll please...Introducing my first holographic Franken (of course I named my own), Peacock Hour!

Check out the swatches below.

If your not familiar with the term franken, it's the process of blending multiple colors to create your own personal shade, which can be quite the experiment. Think first grade art class, the basics of mixing colors.

For my first holographic polish I used: OPI Blue Lagoon, OPI DS Fantasy, China Glaze GR8 and an empty Revlon bottle. You can buy empty nail polish bottles at beauty supply stores and online at Head2Toe or 8ty8Beauty. 

Since I'm a newbie at mixing colors and still learning, I neglected to write down the exact measurements. But you shouldn't any problems if you wanted to duplicate this look.

Overall, I'm happy with the end result. I was hoping for more of a peacock blue, which the name "Peacock Hour" is inspired from my Thursday night cocktail hour.

Love Frankening? Check out Dr. Frakenpolish, an awesome blog dedicated to frankening your own polish. 

What do ya'll think? Have you mastered the art of Frankens?

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 16th 2009

NOTD: RBL Yellow Fever Matte, OPI Ink

Happy Sunday! Hope y'all are having a fantastic weekend! Today I'm bringing you a few Nail polish of the day swatches to make up for my absence this past week. Let's start with the gorgeous OPI Ink.

Ink was my favorite color released in the Summer 07 Night Brights collection. It's a gorgeous mixture between blue and puple with pink shimmer that's really fabulous! If your a blue and purple fanatic, Ink is a must have.

On Saturday, I met up with two lovely bloggers from the Ohio Region, Michelle from All Lacquered Up, Sarah from Pretty in Dayton and sported this sunny color. We had a great time chatting and shopping at the Fashion Place in Cleveland, OH.

It's been a while since I've pulled out my Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes and I forgot how fabulous the quality is! The horse of all nail polishes that's superior, really?! And I just couldn't resist adding a matte coat to Yellow Fever. Totally loved this mattified!

Surprise! One more pedi swatch to end the day. This was really simple and quick using Sally Hansen's nail art pen and my dotting tool.

How was everyone's weekend? Have a great night!