Just Peachy

Double Wings

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not very talented when it comes to winged liner. But I wanted to do a double liner look and figured it would look best winged. I'm surprised how well this turned out in the pictures..... because in real life it looked pretty bad!

With how small and hooded my eyes are, it is kind of hard to pull off a double liner. If I could get thinner lines it might look okay. But with how thick these lines are, they take up most of my lid!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Three of my pressed shadows
- Starlight Waterproof Liner in Midnight (Mally)
- Gold Gel Liner from a Hazel Glam Set (Physicians Formula)
- black mascara

This was my first time using the Mally liner. This came in one of the New Beauty Test Tubes. I have to say I think I like this liner better than Urban Decay's 24/7 pencils! It applied much easier and I was still able to smudge the lower lashline before it set.

This was also my first time using this gold from one of the Physicians Formulas Gel Liner Trios. This was part of one of the 'glam' sets. I didn't find this liner to be quite as soft/creamy as the other liners I have from one of the regular sets. It was okay to work with, but not nearly as easy as the ones from the regular trios.

Overall, I had fun doing this look and was happy with how it turned out!

Darling Girl Haul

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

This was from almost a month ago! I had placed a small Darling Girl order, mostly because I wanted to check out the Watercolor Paint Pot. But of course I had to pick up a few other things too :)

Blushes!
Doll Face, Man Candy, She-Bop

These aren't the best swatches, but the colors are so pretty! Even though they are bright, they are still wearable! Loving the bluish-purple duo-chrome in the Doll Face blush!

And if you missed it, I did a comparison between She-Bop and Nars Orgasm. You can find it HERE. She-Bop is on the left and Orgasm is on the right.

Shadows!
Indigo, Moon Dust, Texas Tea

Watercolor Paint Pot!
This color is Starry Night. Susan describes it as a black pearl, which I would agree with. The consistency is awesome! It is very creamy and easy to work with.

Have any of you checked out the Watercolor Paint Pots from Darling Girl? Susan has more colors listed now and they all look so great!

Valentines at Solstice Scents!

2012-02-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

I was the lucky winner of the recent Solstice Scents contest! So I have some of the new fragrances to check out! I can't believe how fast this arrived! Thank you so much Angela!

What I received:
Cherry Cordial Whipped Soap
Cherry Cordial perfume sample
Black Forest perfume sample

I literally want to eat this whipped soap! It smells so awesome!

And the perfume samples:

Cherry Cordial.
This smells pretty much as you think it would. It is a fairly sweet scent to begin with, but not overly sweet. The cherry has a nice tanginess to it. There is a slight chocolate note to it. I would say it starts out as a strong cherry fragrance, but then dies down into a nice blend of both the chocolate and cherry. This fragrance is very wearable. It is not too strong or too sweet and really mellows out on your skin.

Black Forest.
This fragrance starts out sweet. I can smell the cherry notes in it, along with something sweet...maybe the chocolate. As it dies down I start to pick up some tobacco and woodsy notes. I'm not sure what else I'm smelling, but I love it!

For any of you worried that this scent may be too dark, it's really not. I like dark tobacco and woodsy fragrances and in my opinion, this one if fairly mild. It has some sweetness to it, but as it dies down it really becomes more of a woodsy scent. I think as it dries down further I am smelling some of the agarwood. I can say that Black Forest is a huge hit for me!

And since I have a full size of Violet Truffle that I bought a while back, I thought I'd give you a quick review!

Violet Truffle.
Starts out strong with both violet and chocolate. As it dries down it becomes more of a violet fragrance. It has a bit of a "powder-y-ness" to it. But the violet is so pretty. The violet almost seems to be juicy, it that makes sense! I really like this fragrance and how it morphs on me!

Anyways, if you need anymore convincing to go check out Solstice Scents, here are links to some of my other posts. I have absolutely loved all of the products I've tried from them. Angela has such a great range of fragrances and does the dark, woodsy scents so well!

SS in my 10 favorites of 2011
Winter at Solstice Scents
Autumn at Solstice Scents
My first journey into Solstice Scents

As always, Angela does a great job describing her fragrances. So if my reviews don't make sense, go check the official listing or see what people have to say about the fragrances in the forum.

So go check out the Valentines Collection now! Its up and ready for ordering!

Snipe Poison

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

This look was from January 16th. I was home because we had a ton of snow.... The drive to my office in the mornings usually takes an hour and ten minutes. I wasn't in the mood to drive that far in bad weather, so I stayed put.

So this is what happens on a snow day!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Prismatic White cream eyeshadow all over eye area (essence)
- Visible Violet Spectrum Pot on lid (Evil Shades)
- Poison Plum on lid and lower lashline (Sugarpill)
- Snipe in crease and lower lashline (Meow)
- Aurora Borealis to highlight (Meow)
- black eyeliner smudged along lower lashline (Mary Kay)
- concealer pencil on water line (Inglot)
- black mascara (Yves Rocher)

Are we having fun yet?! :)

Face:
- BB Cream (Dr. Jart)
- Luminous-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- Entice cream blush (Silk Naturals)
- Skon blush (Evil Shades)
- my pressed bronzer to contour
- my pressed blush/highlight

Lips:
- Snob lipstick (MAC)
- Plumeria lipstick (Morgana)

I took quite a bit of time on my face trying to highlight and contour. Was really happy with how this look turned out.

MAC Snob doesn't seem to work all that well with my skin tone. So I had to add a bit of a darker color to it to make it work for me. I was pondering just using Morgana's Plumeria by itself, but with the dark eye, I thought a lighter lip would look better!

Saturday Randomness....

2012-02-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Whimsy Beading.
When I saw THIS POST on Midnight Posey's blog, I decided to email in a bid. Turns out I was the high bidder! Figured this was a good way to benefit Ghost the cat and check out some Whimsy Beading at the same time. Kelly was wonderful to deal with and her jewelry is beautiful!

Some new stuff.
I picked this stuff up last weekend. Yes, I'm way behind the eight ball on this one! I just got a Wet n Wild 8-pan palette! I picked up another Dream Bouncy Blush because I have really been liking the one I have. I went for a darker one this time because Rose Petal isn't super pigmented. This new one is Pink Frosting and it is a lot more pigmented! And I stumbled across the geoGirl products, so I decided to pick one up. I'll have a review of it up in the future.

Don't you just want to poke this:

Chain Maille.
I made up a bunch of these bracelets last weekend. Once I get a bunch of stuff made up that I don't plan on keeping, I put up a post of stuff I'll sell. Right now this has just been a hobby, but I don't plan on keeping everything I make!

I made this one specifically for my mom. It was her birthday this last week! But she actually decided she like the black/silver/copper one better!

German Chocolate Cake.
This is the first time I ever made a German Chocolate Cake. I followed THIS recipe. I didn't have 8" pans, so I used my 9" pans, I think thats why the frosting is so thin. But overall I was happy with how it turned out!

Pictures from my office.
I haven't shared any pictures from the woods recently. So I hope you enjoy these!

Makeup Detox February!
I'm doing a Makeup Detox February! Anyone else want to participate? Pretty much the same thing as a no-buy, I just like the term makeup detox better :) I'll link to you on my side bar, just leave me a comment! I do have some "new stuff" posts scheduled, but its all stuff I have already purchased. And I do have some stuff that I ordered in January that should be on its way soon. But besides that, I started February 1st and plan to make it through the 29th! This is a good month to be doing this since its the shortest month of the year :)

Day 4: And so far I have made it for four whole days! That isn't too much to brag about. I have been having to avoid browsing some of my favorite shops. And I see there are Valentines collections out :( Oh well! I can do this!

Random Thoughts....
Make sure to chek out what Phyrra had to share with us about hotlinking!
New Blog Alert: Makeup Whore! Go check her out!
Want this blush!
Guy on a buffaloooooo! Gonna punch that cougar in the face!
Did you guys see all the Blix Remixes?!

Nostradamus Prophecy

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am in love with this color! Have you checked out Meow's Nostradamus from the End of Days collection yet?! Such a pretty and complex color!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Nostradamus on lid (Meow)
- Prophecy to highlight (Meow)
- brown liner on lower lashline (Prestige)
- Illegal Length mascara in black (Maybelline)

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- Matte-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)

Cheeks:
- Dream Bouncy Blush in Rose Petal (Maybelline)
- Glow Blush in Hypnotize (Fyrinnae)

Lips:
-Lip Perfection lipstick in Romance (Cover Girl)

Solstice Scents Does Valentines!

2012-02-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

Solstice Scents will be releasing their Valentines Collection on Monday February 6th at 7 p.m. EST. Check out the new fragrances at the Solstice Scents Blog.

As you all know I'm a huge Solstice Scents fan! I already have a full size of Violet Truffle and love it! Make sure and go check out what else is being released on Monday!

Used It! January

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Makeup Detox February!
To start with, I'm going to do another makeup detox! Same thing as a no-buy, I just like the term makeup detox better. I'll give weekly updates in my Saturday Randomness.... posts. If anyone else wants to participate, let me know and I'll link to you in my side bar!

Used It! January!

Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover
Buy Again: Yes
This is the Target brand eye makeup remover. I actually really like it! Not only was it cheap, but it worked well for me. I am now using the Almay eye makeup remover and I hate it! It burns my eyes.

Solstice Scents Body Ganace in Snowshoe Pass
Buy Again: YES!
Love! Love! Love this stuff! Not only in the formula awesome, but Snowshoe Pass is one of my favorite fragrances from SS.

Solstice Scents Creamy Whipped Soap in Dark Giner Spicecake
Buy Again: Yes!
Again, the fragrance is awesome! I literally wanted to eat this stuff! And the formula is so creamy! I didn't think this was going to last me very long, but it really did. You only need a small amount to get a good lather.

Solstice Scents Burnishing Glace in Snowshoe Pass
Buy Again: Yes!
Not only does the Glace work as a body oil, but you can also put it in your bath! I'm not sure which way I prefer more... Love these Glaces from Solstice Scents!

Burt's Bees Milk & Honey Body Lotion
Buy Again: Yes
I did like this stuff. It has a great, light fragrance. And it did moisturize well.

Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream
Buy Again: Maybe
I figured since this stuff was soap bark & chamomile, it was going to be gentle and soothing. It must have menthol in it or something, because it really has a kick to it that surprised me! It was a good creamy cleanser, but whatever it was that gave the tingle, just didn't do it for me.

The Morbid The Merrier Fragrance Oil in 3 Ring
Buy Again: Yes!
This has to be one of my favorite fragrance from TMTM. Just don't ask me to describe it! I'm not even sure if it is still available. Anyways, I ended up using this in a lotion that I spruced up. I have a post scheduled on it in the future.

Philosophy Field of Flowers Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath
Buy Again: No
I'm not a huge Philosophy fan. I don't mind their products, but they aren't anything I'd spend a lot of money on. I prefer using these shampoo/shower gel/bubble bath products as a bubble bath only. I couldn't even imagine using this as a shampoo!

Avon Super Shock Mascara
Buy Again: Yes
Do I even need to say anything about this mascara? If you are a regular follower, you know I love it!

Darling Girl Sweet Cheeks Blush in Glow Baby Glow
Buy Again: Yes!
Love this as a highlighter! Has to be one of the best cream blush consistencies I have used. And this color is awesome!

The Morbid The Merrier Harlot Lip Balm in Funnel Cake
Buy Again: Yes
I think TMTM's lip balms has to be my favorite formulas! And Funnel Cake is this sweet, kind of spicy, yummy flavor!

Joppa Mineral Coffee Butter Lip Balm
Buy Again: Maybe
This lip balm has been sitting on my desk in my office for quite a while now. I have been trying to get it used up, but I don't spend that much time in my office. I do like this lip balm, but the consistency is a little on the "a-little-bit-too-hard" side.

12 things used up! And most of them were all hits!

End of Days Swatches

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else checked out the new End of Days collection from Meow yet? I have eight samples from the collection.

1st row: Prophecy, 2012, Nibiru, Reckoning
2nd row: Rapture, Planet X, Hystria, Nostradamus

I'm really loving Nostradamus and Prophecy!

What do you think: Is 2012 going to be the end of the world?

New Beauty Test Tube

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love coming home to find the pink box from QVC at my door! That means the New Beauty Test Tube is here!

In the box was the Test Tube, the New Beauty magazine, and a pamphlet that describes all of the products that are in the Test Tube:

What was in the Test Tube:
- Philosophy Fleid of Flowers perfumed shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath
- Philosophy Field of Flowers perfumed body lotion
- Calista Tools Achieve 10 styling cream
- First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Therapy cream
- Traditions by Nick Chaves Yucca Root Shampooing Cream
- OleHenriksen Truth Serum Booster
- Kate Sommerville Exfolikate
- Mally Volumizing Mascara
- Tarte Aqua-Gel Eyeliner

A close-up of the mascara and eyeliner:

Haven't tried the mascara yet. Has a pretty standard spoolie/wand:

Not sure if I'm going to like this liner. Way too soft and didn't swatch real evenly:

I'm excited to check out the Truth Serum:

It's a light-weight gel with a citrus-y fragrance that dies down to something more floraly:

The Exfolikate looks interesting:

The Yucca Root Shampooing Cream looks a bit more like a gel to me:

I'm really excited to check out these products!

Is anyone else doing the QVC New Beauty Test Tube yet?

Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Foundation

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

I picked up the new Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Foundation in Medium. The packaging states "cosmeceutical youth-boosting foundation + brush." If you want more info about this foundation, you can check out their website HERE.

Here is some more information from the back of the packaging:

No real information on the back of the tube itself:

This foundation has a creamy, mousse-like consistency:

I would consider this a medium to full coverage foundation:

And yes, it really does melt into your skin like the package claimed. With how thick this was at first, I was concerned it was not going to blend very well, but it really did:

When I first brought this home, I had to do a half face comparison for myself. You can see here it does give great coverage:

Here are a couple different times I wore the foundation:

My Thoughts.
- Easy to blend
- I really like the brush that came with it. It is easy to work with and blend the foundation out.
- Does not feel heavy on your skin at all.
- Will cake in areas if you have really dry skin. Make sure to moisturize before wearing this foundation.
- I was concerned at first that the "Medium" color was going to be too orange, but it did blend nicely.
- There are only three color choices in this foundation, with the medium being the darkest shade.

Rebate.
There is a rebate available on this foundation. I was lucky enough to get a package that had the "Try Me Free" tag on it, so I will be sending in the rebate!

Has anyone else tried this foundation yet? What are your thoughts?

Saturday Randomness....

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Cheap Disappointment.
Why do I keep buying this stuff?! When will I learn my lesson?! I am so used to my mineral makeup, anything else just doesn't have enough color payoff for me.

Here is the Avon Shimmering Dusk eye set:

The colors are nice, but I feel like I had to keep layering it on to get any payoff:

Physician's Formula.
I picked up some new stuff! I'll have a foundation review up soon. And I'm going to do a month long test of the clear 2-in-1 Day & Night Lash Boosting Serum. So I'll have before and after pics in about a month.

More Chain Maille.
Here are my lateset two projects. I love this bracelet! I'm going to have to make some more in different colors! And the necklace is the Full Persian weave. It took me a while to figure out. There are a ton of tutorials out there, but not all of them show how to do the weave very well. I finally found THIS tutorial that was good.

This Cracks Me Up!
I should expect nothing less from the wonderful Kathy Fucking Jacobs! I got in on some of the free stuff she was giving away (Thanks Kathy!). I was mostly interested in the perfume samples. As I was looking through everything and smelling the samples, I came across one that I wasn't familiar with... Etat Libre d'Orange. And the fragrance is called Don't Get Me Wrong Baby, I Don't Swallow. It turns out they have a bunch of other interesting fragrances too! Thanks Kathy for turning me onto this brand!

Random Thoughts....
My husband and I had an interesting conversation about this.
Yay! Heather is back to blogging!
Worth Reading: When an advertising campaign goes wrong....
.... and the followup
.... and another followup
Very well written and thought envoking.

Tiffany and Brown

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am a goofball and like to tie my makeup colors to the colors I'm wearing that day. Does anyone else do this?

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Highlight color from Night Elf palette (WnW)
- Brown color from Night Elf palette (WnW)
- JEP in Milk in center of lid (NYX)
- Tiffany in center of lid (Meow)
- brown eyeliner on lower lashline (Cover Girl)
- concealer pencil on waterline (Inglot)
- black mascara

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- BB Cream to conceal (Dr. Jart)
- Matte-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)

Cheeks:
- my cream highlighter
- my pressed blush (Revlon/High Voltage)

Lips:
- Cocoa Lipstick (Morgana)
- Persephone Gel Lipstick (Morgana)

And I found my barbed-wire earrings! I've had these babies since high school! I figured they would work with the flannel! ;)

Super Flip

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

This was the first time I played around with the colors in the mark Super Flip palette. I do like these colors, even though they still aren't as pigmented and easy to work with as mineral makeup. But this palette would be great for travel!

What I Used:
- Youth Awakening Primer (Avon)
- Four colors from the Super Flip palette (mark)
- concealer pencil on waterline (Inglot)
- black mascara (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- BB Cream to conceal (Dr. Jart)
- Matte-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)

Cheeks:
- my cream highlighter
- Cream Blush in Entice (Silk Naturals)
- Glow Blush in Hypnotize (Fyrinnae)

Lips:
- clear lip liner (Avon)
- 2 colors from the Super Flip palette (mark)

I had mentioned before that I didn't like the tube packaging of the Silk Naturals Cream Blush. However, I found an easy application tip for this!

CREAM BLUSH TIP: If you like applying cream blush with a brush (I prefer a duo-fiber brush for cream blush): simply smear the stick around on the back of your hand to create a large swatch. Not only does it warm the blush up, but you can then take a brush and dab it on the swatch on the back of your hand to pick up the blush with the brush.

And because you guys asked for it.... Swatches!
You can find my initial post about this palette HERE.

If you are interested in mark and are looking for a rep to buy from, Gracie from Grace & Beauty is a rep! I haven't bought through her before, but I really enjoy her blog!

And since I was informed Miss Bekka is a rep too.... you could hit her up also if you are interested in ordering :) Her blog is Glostix. Thanks for letting me know Bekka!

(fairly) Cheap Thrills

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

I placed a small Avon order some time before Christmas. I picked up a Ultra Color Rich White Gold Lipstick for around $4.00, an Avon eyeshadow kit for around $5.00, and a mark palette that was on clearance for $8.00.

Here is the Ultra Color Rich White Gold Lipsticks in Platinum Pink:

This lipstick is interesting.... with the white gold flecks in it, it feels mildly abrasive on your lips. I could see this turning some people off from it. It doesn't bother me all that much.

I wasn't able to photograph the white gold flecks in this lipstick very well, but they are apparent on your lips. But once the lipstick has worn off your lips, the white gold flecks are still there and very apparent!

I picked up this Youth Awakening Eyeshadow & Primer Kit only because it was on clearance and fairly cheap. The color is called Shimmering Dusk:

The base of it has a primer in it and the top has two shadows, along with a mirror:

Swatches: left to right
- primer applied lightly towards the top and heavy on the bottom
- the left/light eyeshadow color
- the right/dark eyeshadow color

I was really shocked by how creamy these shadows are. Both are beautiful colors! The lighter color didn't look like anything exciting at first. After I looked closer at the swatch, it has a beautiful duo-chrome to it!

And onto the mark Super Flip Color Kit:

I was really surprised by how pretty all of these colors are! All of the eyeshadows are very wearable. And the middle row of lip glosses are so pretty! If I was more motivate, I'd swatch this color kit for you.... So far I'm liking this kit. It is very portable and handy!

Anyone tried any of these products? What are your thoughts on them?

Saturday Randomness....

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Which is Which?
From my post HERE showing Darling Girl She-Bop and Nars Orgasm...

Darling Girl She-Bop on LEFT and Nars Orgasm on RIGHT.

Waterlines.
One of the things I have been absolutely loving for a while now is using concealer on my waterline. I believe it was a post quite a while back by Susan from Darling Girl that shared this tip. We have all heard about using white on the waterline to make your eyes look bigger. But I think a beige/concealer looks so much better! I have been using my Inglot concealer pencil. I'm sure any brand of concealer pencil you have would work perfectly fine. If you haven't tried this yet, go do it!

De-stashing & Organizing.
I've been busy organizing and de-stashing! Feels great to get more organized! As part of this I have been doing more pressing. I've actually combined some of the purples that I already pressed, then re-pressed them. I'm happy with how my palettes are starting to come together.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush.
I like this stuff! I don't find it at all "bouncy." I was expecting it to be more like Jell-O, but it is not. I would almost say the consistency is like a soft, memory foam. Either way, this blush applies and blends well. The color I have isn't all that dark, so I have been applying a powder blush over it to make it pop a bit more.

This color is Rose Petal:

You can kind of see the texture after I rubbed my finger over it:

Chain Maille.
Here are my first three complete projects! Not perfect, but I'm happy with how they turned out!

Random Thoughts....
Loving this look! Going to have to try to recreate it sometime!
I love Kathy!
Anyone else pick up some of the new colors?
This is too funny!

Drama.
In light of all the drama that has been going around.... I leave you with this, one of my favorite quotes:

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we first practise to decieve!" ~ Sir Walter Scott

Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

I really need to quit getting sucked into the "latest and greatest" gimmicks. The "fiber extensions" sucked me in this time. I had to check out the new Maybelline Illegal Length mascara. This whole concept of tiny fibers in the formula interested me.

I'm sure you have all seen plenty of reviews on this mascara by now. So I'm going to do a comparison and let the pictures do the talking.

Here is my lashes (and eyes) with nothing on them:

I'm going to show you a comparison between the Maybelline Illegal Length mascara and Avon's Super Shock mascara. Both of these are brand new tubes, both opened on the same day:

In the following pictures, the LEFT is the Maybelline Illegal Length and the RIGHT is Avon Super Shock. I curled the lashes on both of my eyes prior to applying the mascara. Then I applied my mascara as usual, with about two coats, not really letting them dry in between.

This is why I love the Avon mascaras! They provide awesome length and volume!

Overall I'm disappointed in the Maybelline Illegal Length mascara. It does provide some length, but no fullness. In addition, I experienced some flaking/fallout from this mascara. I can't say I've ever experienced flaking from a mascara before.

I'm glad I picked this up with another product on a BOGO1/2, so I didn't pay full price. I'll probably keep using this tube until it is gone, but I will not repurchase it.

Have you tried this mascara? What do you think of it?

Which is Which?

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Susan from Darling Girl did a great job on her new blush She-Bop, which is her take on Nars Orgasm. So of course I had to do some swatches to see how close it is.

Can you tell me which is which?

One of these colors is Darling Girl She-Bop and one is Nars Orgasm. I want to see if guys can figure it out!

I'll let you know on Saturday which one is which :)

Matte: A Four Letter Word

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

No matter how much I try to like matte eyeshadows, I just can't seem to. I guess they do have their place. But I much prefer shadows with a pearl or satin finish over a true matte.

I was inspired by Kathy's post HERE to pull out some of my matte shadows and see what I could do.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk (NYX)
- light brown on inner half of lid (Inglot)
- Smokin' on outer half of lid (AL)
- dark brown in crease (Inglot)
- Foxy to highlight (UD N2)
- 24/7 liner in Whiskey (UD)
- concealer stick on waterline (Inglot)
- black mascara

This look didn't turn out all that bad. I'm kind of wishing I would have went with a different colored liner or no liner at all on my upper lashline.

I have found that a good creamy base is a must for me when it comes to working with mattes. Even when using a primer, I find them dry, chalky and hard to work with.

What are your tips on working with matte eyeshadows?

DIY Blush Pressing (Pic Heavy)

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple blushes in my Z-Palette that I just don't care for and have not been getting used. So I decided it was time to re-purpose them!

Milani Baked Blush. I'm sure all of you Milani Baked Blush fans out there are going to kill me for doing this, but I really don't care for them. I find them not pigmented enough and that they have too much large shimmer/glitter in them.

And for reference, HERE is my post about depoting a Milani Baked Blush and the fact that it does NOT fit into a Z-Palette.

So I started by scraping off all the blush with a knife. Once all the blush was off, this is what is left of the ceramic disk it was on:

Here is what the blush looked like when it was all scrapped off:

I had made this blush when I was doing some eyeshadow making, but never used it. I thought it would go well with this Milani blush.

Here are the two colors in the bowl:

The left is a blush that I created by dumping a bunch of samples together a long time ago. I have worn it from time to time and do like it. The right is Brazen's Perfect 10 blush which I find I don't wear very often.

Swatches below from left to right:
- my blush that I made
- the pot of blush that was random samples
- Brazen's Perfect 10

After adding the pot of blush that was from the samples and just a bit of Brazen's Perfect 10, this is what the color looked like:

I added rubbing alcohol and a few drops of mixing medium, then put it in a pan to press:

And the finished blush:

The Revlon Blush. I picked up this Revlon blush along with a bronzer and was so disappointed by them. You can find my post about them HERE. Needless to say, it has not been getting used. So I decided to do something with it.

The round blush to the left is a High Voltage blush that I pressed a while ago. Since its in such a small pan, I never tend to use it. But I have always liked the color.

Revlon blush out of its pan:

High Voltage blush out of its pan:

I looked through my sample binder to see if I had any other colors that might compliment these. I pulled out a Meow blush and an adorned with Grace eyeshadow:

Here is how everything looked:

After a short time of breaking them up and mixing:

A quick swatch, I do really like this color:

I only added alcohol to this. I figured it had enough binder/mixing medium in it already because the two blushes were already pressed. Into the pan it went:

After I started pressing it, I could tell I had too much product in the pan. So I took a knife and scraped some of the paste out.

Here is how the final blush looked:

So I cleaned up my Z-Palette and got everything re-situated in there:

I'm happy to have to new blushes that will be more wearable for me. In addition, my blush Z-Palette closes again! Yay!

New Beauty Test Tube

2012-01-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let you guys know the QVC New Beauty Test Tube is available for purchase on the QVC website. You can go HERE to find it.

I haven't done the Birchbox or any other monthly boxes. But I did do this last year and really enjoyed it. It comes four times a year, if you sign up for the auto delivery. The test tube plus shipping totals $37.

You can find my posts about the test tubes I received last year HERE, HERE, and HERE.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has done this one before or is planning on signing up for it this year!

Saturday Randomness....

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Maybelline Illegal Lenght Mascara.
Pass on it! I am not impressed with this mascara at all. Provided marginal length and no volume. I'm going to give it a few more chances, but it was a complete disappointment on the first few uses. I have a comparison post scheduled between this mascara and an Avon mascara to show you my disappointment int the new Maybelline mascara.

The Makeup Gods are Going to Kill Me!
After seeing Cait from Swatch Stom's post about depotting Wet n Wild eyeshadows, I was motivated to give it a try. I only have a few palettes and never reach for any of them.

After getting all the shadows out, I wanted to put them into a small palette that came from TKB. But it turns out, no matter how hard I tried and rearranged them, they all would not fit.

So I decided to modify the one pan that I couldn't get to fit. I broke out some of the shadow, then found the closest pair of pliers and folded the end of the pan up to make it fit!

Yay! I got them all in one compact! And I've actually been using some of the colors now!

I did decide not to depot the red and black shadow from the Night Elf palette. I really don't care for these shadows. I actually tossed them, but dug them back out of the garbage. I'm going to keep them to franken with in the future!

A Few Comments on Comments.
1. Just wanted to say that I haven't been getting around to responding to comments on my blog. I do read them all and appreciate them! If someone leaves a question, I do respond to them. I hope it doesn't bother people I don't respond to individual comments. I'm just a lazy blogger!

2. People using Disqus: Disqus hates me for some reason. Sometimes it kind of "freezes" up and says "Please wait...." and it won't ever let me type a comment. So often I give up on waiting and won't leave a comment. Just wanted to let you guys know that it's not that I don't want to comment on your blogs, its sometimes I can'!

Finger Paints Flakies.
I think I like the new Finger Paints flakies better than Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure! This is Flecked over an OPI polish from the 2010 Go Goth collection.

Random Thoughts....
The E-Girl has moved! Make sure and check out her new site!
I've started making chain maille jewelry!
TKB has some larger palettes available now!
The Tubcat is having a giveaway! Go check it out!

Fun With Meow

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Since this post is scheduled for Friday the 13th, I'm guessing if you stop over at the Meow Cosmetics website today, they will have their Friday the 13th Collection available today! So if you haven't checked that collection out or want to go buy more from it, go now!

The fun I have for you today is two different looks I did with samples from the Christmas Collections. I was trying to figure out what colors I wanted to order before the collections retired for the season. I'm super excited about how both of these looks turned out!

Green & Gold
- TFSI
- Glitter Glue on lid (DG)
- Santa Honey on lid (Meow)
- Fraser Fir in crease & lower lashline (Meow)
- Aurora Australis to highlight (Meow)
- 24/7 liner in Zero smudged along lower lashline (UD)
- concealer pencil on waterline (Inglot)

Black & Silver
- TFSI
- black cream base
- Aurora Borealis on lid (Meow)
- Duplex in crease & lower lashline (Meow)
- Frost Castle to highlight (Meow)
- 24/7 liner in Zero smudged along lower lashline (UD)
- 24/7 liner in Flipside on waterline (UD)

Loved how both of these looks turned out! I decided to get both Aurora Australis and Aurora Borealis in full sizes. And look how pretty Santa Honey is! I literally want to eat it! I saw Phyrra raving over it, but didn't realize how beautiful it was until I actually wore it!

Hope you enjoyed these two completely different looks!

DIY Candles & Lip Balm

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Candles. When I originally sat down to write this post, it was going to be about making another batch of lip balm. But how easily I got distracted from my intended purpose. I have been on a huge kick of trying to get things used up.

When I went into the kitchen, I found three candle jars that I had sat on the counter. The candles had been burned and the wicks were gone. But all three of them didn't burn down evenly, so there was still usable wax in them. I put a pot on the stove with a couple inches of water, then placed all three candle jars in it to melt down the remaining wax. Sorry I didn't take pictures of the process!

Once the one jar I wanted to put the wax back into was liquefied, I pulled it out and put a new wick in it. You can get packages of wicks at any craft store. I happen to have a bunch of them because I have made candles in the past.

When the other two jars were all liquefied, I poured the wax into the first jar. I did add a bit of a fragrance to it, just because I had some. And look what I now have:

A whole new useable candle! With just the wax from three already burnt candles! A great way to eliminate waste and not throw out wax! I'm guessing I'm not the only one who does this, but I thought I'd share :)

Lip Balm. I have been making a good effort to use up all the lip balms I have hanging around. Isn't it funny how many of these we tend to collect?! With only having a few partial lip balms remaining, I decided it was time to make up another batch of lip balm. But when I started digging into my supplies, I realized that I actually still had some lip balms still sitting around that I didn't care for. Plus some of the remaining lip balm that I made from scratch HERE, but never got it put in a tube.

Picture below left to right:
Pot my caramel balm was in
Tube some Bramble Berry melt and pour balm was in
Yes to Carrots lip balm
Tube from TMTM lip balm that was empty
The container I put everything in to melt it down

I decided I wanted to add some other things to it:
- honey
- avocado butter
- Vitamin E
- tea tree oil
- caramel flavoring

I really like the consistency of avocado butter, so I decided to add a bit of it. I have never added honey to a lip balm before. I have seen a lot of recipes that include honey, so I thought I would give it a try. Vitamin E for added moisturization. Tea tree oil is said to be good for cold sore and other skin issues. I have never added it to a lip balm before, but I have used lip balms with tea tree oil in it. And the caramel flavoring was to try to add some sweetness and bring all the flavors together! Haha! Hope it works!

Once everything was melted down and combined, I had three new tubes of lip balm. Plus some remaining balm that I put back in the original jar for future use.

Once all of these are used up, I should be ready to make a fresh batch of lip balm! But for now I have been enjoying my "modified" lip balms!

Magenta Mediterranean

2012-01-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

I think this was the first real time I used the Sleek Monaco Palette from the Mediterranean Collection. This look was from December 21st. I think all the darkness was catching up to me and I needed something to brighten me up! In addition, I'd been reaching for the Urban Decay Naked2 Palette so I needed something besides neutrals!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Lotus Flower on inner 1/3 of lid (Sleek)
- Bromelaid on middle 1/3 of lid (Meow)
- Magenta Madness on outer 1/3 and crease (Sleek)
- Spellbinding to highlight (Meow)
- 24/7 Eyeliner in Ransom on upper lashline (Urban Decay)
- 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero on lower lashline (Urban Decay)
- black mascara (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Catrice)
- Luminous-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed powder
- my pressed face highlighter

Cheeks:
- my pressed blush (I believe this blush was mostly bright colors from Meow)

Lips:
- Lip Perfection Lipstick in Romance (Cover Girl)

The Lip Perfection Lipstick. I picked up this lipstick after seeing THIS review done by Sari at Bower of Blisse. at I'm having mixed feelings about the Lip Perfection Lipstick. I checked Makeup Alley and some of the reviews nailed my feeling exactly. It is moisturizing at first, but it does dry down. It then leaves a 'stain' on your lips. I don't feel it hold up to the claim that it improves your lips after seven days. But the packaging is nice and it is a decent for a drugstore lipstick. I also really like 265 Romance. I think it is a great color that is easy to wear.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the Lip Perfection Lipstick?

Naked2 Winner!

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

I decided since I had time to do an old-fashioned drawing!

Everyone's names went into the bowl:

And the winner is:

Dee!

I know Dee from Miss Prissypants. But when I was linking up to her blog, I see she now has a second/new blog Year of the Tight Arse. Make sure and check out her blogs!

Congrats Dee!

I will drop you an email today. Please get back to me within 48 hours.

Saturday Randomness....

2012-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Gem Crush.
Did Sally Hansen miss the mark on the branding of these new polishes? I honestly thought this was a Milani polish when I was looking at them and purchased it. The bottle shape and because Milani does the one-coat glitters, I figured this was a Milani polish.

It wasn't until I went to put it on and thought "Huh, Milani is doing the wide brushes now!"

Then I looked again at the bottle and it was actually Sally Hansen. Which I do like Sally Hansen products, I was just confused! Love this glitter polish! This is "Big Money"

Sample Storage.
Pages and pages of samples..... How do you guys store all of your sample baggies?

Other things.
I joined Makeup Bee. Still not sure what its all about. But I'm there. Hopefully I get the hang of it. But with the blog, it seems a bit redundant to me..... But on a more positive note, I finally joined Never Too Much Sparkle! Yay! Happy I did. Lots of my favorite bloggers are on there. It's fun to have another place to interact. Thanks for the prodding Wendi :)

Giveaways.
Anyone know what happened to Peack, Love and Sparkles? I was getting ready to link to her second giveaway and found her blog is gone. Hope she is doing ok!
Peace, Love and Sparkles Giveaway #1 (non-indie)
Don't forget my Naked2 giveaway closes tonight!

Random Thoughts....
Yay! Darling Girl is back open!
I've been pondering a RABB order ever since I saw this review
I want some of these!
Very powerful post about resolutions

Small Silk Naturals Haul & Thoughts

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Shortly before Christmas I placed a small Silk Naturals order. I wanted to try out their Cleansing Conditioner. Since I was placing an order, I decided to check out some of their other products also.

What I Ordered:
- Cranberry Passion Fruit Cleansing Conditioner
- Cream Blush in Entice
- Eyeshadow Wand in Deviant
- GWP: Eyeshadow in Rewire

Cranberry Passion Fruit Cleansing Conditioner. After I figured out how to best use Wen to work with my hair, I actually like using it in rotation with my regular shampoo during the week. I decided to check out Silk Naturals Cleansing Conditioner because I like supporting indie businesses and because their price is better than Wen. In addition, the Cranberry Passion Fruit Cleansing Conditioner is a 'lighter' cleansing condition that it supposed to work better for fine hair. That was one of my problems with Wen, it was too heavy and left my hair greasy.

My initial thoughts on the cleansing conditioner is that it smelled nice and has a good consistency. It is definitely not as thick or heavy as Wen. Like any cleansing conditioner, it does not create a lather. Instead you just massage it into your hair and scalp. After my first use I was very impressed with how soft it left my hair, without weighing it down or leaving it feeling greasy.

My thoughts after continued use of this cleansing condition is that I really like it! This stuff works great for my hair type. I can use it for about three days straight without my hair feeling greasy. It also leaves my hair super soft. I also like the fact that it is a mild cleanser and not harsh on my color treated hair.

If you like the idea of a cleansing conditioner and Wen doesn't work for you, I would absolutely recommend checking out Silk Naturals Cleansing Conditioners! I can say the Cranberry Passion Fruit Cleansing conditioner does work great for fine, limp hair!

Onto the color products:

Eyeshadow in Rewire. This beautiful shimmery color was a gift with purchase.

Eyeshadow Wand in Deviant. I picked this up because I was curious as to how the eyeshadow wand would function. I like the concept, I just don't feel like it performs all that well. My initial reaction to it is that there is a lot of waste. As you can see on the tissue paper below, there is a lot of fallout/waste just from removing the want from the tube.

But I decided to give it a fair chance to see how it would perform. After testing it out, I can see how convenient this shadow wand can be. It's great for travel and you don't have to have a brush to use it. While the wand may not be ideal for shadow application, it does do a good job. If you are in a hurry, you can grab one of these, put some shadow on and go. The wand actually does a really good job of smudging shadow along the lower lashline.

Here are some pictures of testing out the shadow wand. This is just the single color, applied only with the wand, and smudged just a bit with my fingers.

Left: over TFSI
Right: over TFSI and Darling Girl Glitter Glue

I do like the color and consistency of the shadow. But I probably won't be picking anymore of these up. I would recommend checking them out if you travel a lot and prefer mineral makeup to pressed shadows or if you are just looking for something quick and easy. With some practice you can also manage to pull the wand out of the tube with minimal fallout/waste of the product.

Cream Blush in Entice. I have become a huge fan of cream blush. I thought I'd check out Silk Naturals cream blush to see how I liked it compared to other cream blushes I use.

The color and consistency of the blush are great. This cream blush reminds me a bit of Darling Girl's Sweet Cheeks blushes. I am finding that indie cream blushes seem be be 'glossier' and lighter than commercial cream blushes. In comparison I would refer to my Inglot cream blush as 'creamier' and more opaque. This difference does not matter at all to me. The indie cream blushes still apply nicely and look great on my skin.

The one thing I don't care for about this blush is the packaging. To get cream blush placement on my cheeks right, I really have to apply it with a duo-fiber brush. This tube packaging does not facilitate that very well. I have to apply it either directly to my skin and blend it out or apply it with my fingers.

Blush swatches:
- swatched heavy on left
- blended out on right

Anyone else tried anything new from Silk Naturals recently? What are your thoughts?

Used It! December

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the month again.... for a Used It! post :) It always makes me feel good to see what I have actually got used up!

Pond's Evening Soothe Wet Cleansing Towlettes
Buy Again: Yes
I have had these for quite a while. They did manage to stay moist until almost the last one. I don't use them very often, just those evening I come home and don't have time to wash my face, but want to get my makeup off.

Pro Advanced Fluoride Nail Strengthener
Buy Again: Maybe
This was actually something that came in one of my New Beauty Test Tubes. I did use it on a regular basis and did see improvement in my nails. However, I have never used any other nail strengtheners before, so I don't know if it is any better than a drugstore product.

Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in Rose
Buy Again: Maybe
I did like this stuff. I also like that it has SPF 15 in it. The tint was only slightly noticable, which is good for me. I used it more as a lip balm than a lip color. It has good consistency and flavor. The one thing I don't like about it is the twist up packaging. It twists up like a lipstick, not a lip balm. The product "wobbles" around a bit when you are applying it. Therefore, the stick of product bumps up against the edge of the tube, creating a slight mess and causing some waste. But that is really my only complaint about it!

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray
Buy Again: No
This was actually my first ever dry shampoo. I wasn't real impressed with it's performance or ability to minimize the oilyness of my hair between shampoos. The only good thing is that it is invisible, which is a plus for my dark hair. I have since tried a Suave dry shampoo. It performs better when it comes to actually minimizing oil, however, you do have to brush it thru well because it does leave a slight "haze" in your hair.

Sharon Marie Skin Care 30% Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Wash
Buy Again: YES!
I'm already on my second bottle. I bought this originally to use on my back. However, I have started using it about three times a week on my whole body. I have found that this, in conjunction with the glycolic acid body lotion, used a day before shaving, gives me a much closer and smoother shave! I strongly recommend checking this body wash out if you are interested in an all over glycolic acid exfoliation.

Supersmile Professional Whitening Toothpaste
Buy Again: No
I wouldn't usually review a toothpaste, but this came in a New Beauty Test Tube. I actually feel like Crest 3D White gives better results than this. I would be interested in hearing what other people think about this toothpaste if they have tried it.

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream
Buy Again: Maybe
I just got this stuff in a Burt's Bees set for Christmas and I've already managed to use it up! I did like this stuff. I'm not sure if I would call it a cream.... to me it is more like a thick gel or a paste. It did feel good massaged into my feel. However, with my stash of butters and oils, I could whip up something comparable at home, myself.

Solstice Scents Dead Sea Salt Oatmeal Milk Bath in Spiced Cranberry & Spruce
Buy Again: Yes!
More than just a bath salt, it has oatmeal and coconut milk powder in it. Creates a wonderful bath experience. This is one of the winter fragrances and it smells so good!

My homemade body butter
Make again: Yes!
I had made a batch of body butter because I gave some to my friends for Christmas presents. The body butters and lotions I make/keep for myself I typically store in a recycled container. That is why you see a margarine container in the picture! This is one of the same recipes I made for my Indie Bath & Body Series. I added some fragrance from TMTM and some Harvest Moon fragrance from Solstice Scents. My friends thought it smelled cinnamon-y and one of their husbands commented that "it smells like breakfast"!

The Morbid The Merrier Sugar Baby Lip Balm in Cherry-Apple
Buy Again: Yes!
I have to say that I think TMTM lip balms are one of my top favorite indie lip balms! I am still working on finishing up a Harlot lip balm in Funnel Cake which is awesome! I would recommend checking out their lip balms!

Total products used up: 10

Make sure and check out Emily's December Used It. She's the one I borrowed/stole this post idea from!

My Ten Favorites of 2011

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

It was really hard for me to come up with my top ten products of the year. But I did manage to put together a list of things that I have been enjoying during the past year.

10. Silk Naturals Cranberry Passion Fruit Cleansing Conditioner
Even though I just started using this product in December, I like it so much, I decided to add it to my list! This stuff works great on my fine, oily hair, without weighing it down or leaving it feeling greasy. I have my review of this coming up within the next week and check out what Silk Naturals has to say about it HERE.

9. My DIY Products
Well, specifically two of them: the pressed finishing powder and the cream highlighter. I like the pressed finishing powder because it is convenient (read: pressed) and it is the perfect combination of finishing powders with just a hint of color. The cream highlighter blends easy and doesn't add too much color or shimmer. In addition, it makes me feel good to be using products that I made myself! You can find my post on the finishing powder HERE and my post on the cream highlighter HERE.

8. Morgana Cryptoria Lipstick
By far the best indie lipsticks! I would have to also say, way better than any drugstore lipstick. Morgana offers a great selection of colors and they wear so well. My favorite color is Cocoa, which is a perfect nude lipstick for me. I also love Gilded Ballerina!

7. Avon Mascara
As I was going through posts to find reviews of products, I see an Avon mascara was on my "Top Ten of 2010." I get a lot of compliments on my lashes. I would have to say part of this is genetics, the other part of it is the mascara I use. Avon mascaras work really well for me. I had been using the Super Magnify Mascara for quite a while. I've been using the Super Shock and Super Shock Max mascaras more recently. You can find my review of the Super Magnify Mascara HERE. I would have to say that currently the Super Shock Max is my favorite. Both the brush and formula work well for me.

6. Darling Girl On The Go Lip Scrub
Susan did an awesome job with this lip scrub. Very effective and convenient to use. In addition, you can order it in multiple different flavors. You can find my review of it HERE.

5. Darling Girl Glitter Glue
Another great product from Susan! Similar to Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, but I find it easier to work with. You can find some of my initial thoughts of it HERE.

4. Inglot Shadows
Does this need any explanation? Great selection of colors and finishes. Palettes are very convenient. Shadows are excellent quality and easy to work with. I feel investing in at least one Inglot palette is worth the money. You can find my reviews of these shadows and swatches HERE and HERE.

3. Sharon Marie Skincare
Sharon Marie Skincare offers great anti-aging and acne products at a reasonable price. Any you know what.... they actually work! The products I have been using from the line have mostly been the glycolic acid products. I started out trying the foaming cleanser and toner. I have expanded to using the body wash, lotion, and even the peels. I would recommend checking them out if you have any skin issues or just want smoother skin. You can find two of my reviews HERE and HERE.

2. Solstice Scents Fragrances
I'm so glad I decided to check out Solstice Scents this last year. I have done a few reviews on them, which you can find HERE and HERE. I think what I like most is the good variety of fragrances without being overwhelming. Two of my favorite fragrances are Manor and Snowshoe Pass.

1. Mary Kay Timewise Luminous-Wear Foundation
I'm positive this is my best find of the year! This foundation works so well for me. And it is by far the best color match I have ever come across. You can find my full review of the Luminous-Wear Foundation HERE. I also did a comparison between the Luminous-Wear and the Matte-Wear Foundations HERE.

What was on your list of favorites from 2011?

A New Year's.....

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

...... GIVEAWAY!

I ordered an extra Naked2 Palette to giveaway to one of my followers!

Rules:

1. Must be a follower and show up under my "Wonderful People."

2. Must NOT already have this palette. Please be honest.

3. Open internationally.

4. Leave me a comment on this post. Make sure to include your email address.

5. Giveaway will close January 7th. Winner announced January 8th.

6. Winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim the palette!

Anyone who is a regular commenter, and enters this giveaway, will be given one additional entry! This is a thank you to all of you who regularly read my blog. This will be up to my discretion, since it is my giveaway.

Good luck to all who enter!

Saturday Randomness...

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Aurora Australis.
I had to do a look with some of my new Meow colors to check them out. This look used Crownbeard (Ice Blossoms), Merriment (Holiday Wishes), Love (Holiday Wishes), and Aurora Australis (Aurora Collection)

Thank You!
I wanted to say thank you to all of you for the sweet comments on my Accident Waiting to Happen post. Since I don't dress super girly very often, I'm not always confident about it. Makes me feel good to know I wasn't a complete disaster!

I was going to share with you the dress I wore. I found this online from JC Penny for under $30! I had ordered two dresses and was happy with both of them, which is amazing! I really like the asymmetrical neckline of this dress and the ruffles that run down the front of it.

Random Thoughts....
This necklace is going to be mine!
Have you seen Brazen Cosmetic's new site yet?!
MPZ is doing nail polish?!
Blog love out to Peace, Love, and Sparkles!

Hope everyone has a great New Years Eve!

Devil of a Plushie

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

I needed some glitter! So of course I turned to Fyrinnae's Dinosaur Plushie!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Saddle Up to highlight (Darling Girl)
- Jersey Devil in crease (Meow)
- Pixie Epoxy on lid (Fyrinnae)
- Dinosaur Plushie on lid (Fyrinnae)
- 24/7 liner in Zero (Urban Decay)
- black mascara (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Catrice)
- Luminous-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- Sweet Cheeks blush in Sweet Coron (Darling Girl)
- Glow Blush in Hypnotize (Fyrinnae)

Lips:
- Lip Enhancing Gloss is Fame (Smashbox)

Of course these pictures do no justice for Dinosaur Plushie. It's such a beautiful, glittery shadow!

DIY: Modified Black Cream Base

2011-12-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have limited experience using black cream bases. While I do use them from time to time, the products I have don't seem to work for me. I would really like to invest in MAC's Blacktrack Fluidline, but don't have any need to place a MAC order right now.

I do have is a NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Black Bean. But this pencil seems too creamy for me and creases. The other black base I have is High Voltage's Cream Eye Shadow in Back in Black. I have been okay using this stuff. However, it seems a bit waxy and is hard for me to apply to my eyelids.

I have been lemming the black Evil Shades' Spectrum Pot, along with Darling Girl's new Watercolor Paint Pots. But I just haven't got around to ordering either of them. In addition, with the few times I really use a black base, I just haven't seen investing in a new products just yet. So for the time being I decided to modify the High Voltage black cream base.

Here is what High Voltage's Cream Eye Shadow in Back in Black looks like. You can see it is fairly waxy:

I decided to pick up a black e.l.f cream eyeliner to see if I could change the consistency of the High Voltage cream base to make it a bit easier to blend. So for $3.00 I decided it would be a cheap option.

Here is what the two products look like:
HV Back in Black on left.
e.l.f black cream eyeliner on the right.

You can see the HV black has a bit of a sheen/gloss to it. This is because it is a waxy product. The e.l.f. cream liner is more matte. It is also a softer product that is easier to apply.

I used a toothpick to get all of the HV black out of it's pot and combined it with about half of the e.l.f. cream liner.

I put them in a small cup and heated them in the microwave to melt them down.

I stirred them well to blend the two products, then put the end result back in the HV pot.

HV Back in Black on left.
e.l.f. black cream eyeliner in middle.
Combined/finished product on right.

You can see that the finished product seems to be less waxy/glossy than the original HV Back in Black cream base. However, it is still not a matte product like the e.l.f. cream eyeliner.

This is what my finished product looked like the next day after it had time to set up in the jar.

Two swatches of the finished product. The swatch on the right is blended out.

And for the fun of it, I thought I would throw in a comparison swatch of the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil in Black Bean.

The finished product applied much easier than original HV Back in Black cream base. However, it is still sticky/waxy enough to "bind" loose shadows onto the skin. Since the e.l.f. product is matte and dries fairly quick, it isn't going to product the desired effect a cream base does.

What I am looking for in a black cream base is:
- applies fairly creamy
- easy to blend on skin
- won't crease
- is sticky enough to hold shadows

What do you look for in a black cream base? What is your favorite black base?

Meow Swatch Madness

2011-12-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

My recent Meow order to check out some of the new colors and limited time Christmas colors. Thought I would get this post up while Meow Cosmetics is still on holiday. I believe you can still place orders, but they won't start shipping until January 9th. So if you see anything here you like, you might place an order soon before the Christmas collections go away!

Everything is swatched over Detrivore Primer. I tried to blend out the blushes and glows as much as possible.

FIRST SWATCH SET:

1st Row: Ghost Stories Glow Collection:
Past, Present, Future

2nd Row: Ice Blossoms Collection:
Silk Ice, Frost Castle, Crownbeard, Ice Blossom, Hoar Frost

3rd Row: Aurora Collection:
Aurora Australis, Aurora Borealis

SECOND SWATCH SET:
All from the Santa Baby Collection

1st Row: Xmas List, Platinum Mine, Tiffany
2nd Row: Sable, Santa Honey, Duplex
3rd Row: Ring, Kisses

THIRD SWATCH SET:

1st Row: Holiday Wishes Collection:
Joy, Love, Serenity

2nd Row: Holiday Wishes Collection:
Holiday Spirit, Meriment, Magic

3rd Row: Winter Spirits Collection:
Rose, Hot Toddy, Sparkling

FOURTH SWATCH SET:

1st Row: Nutcracker (Sugarplums), Fairy (Sugarplums), Fraser Fir (XMAS Trees), Burnt Turkey (12 Pains)

2nd Row: Xmas Ghost Collection:
Winter Coat, Meow Mistletoe, Elf, Midnight Kiss

3rd Row: Winona R. (Scandal Eyes), Hugs & Kitties (Lush Blush)

Obnoxious Christmas Fun!

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

So I had this vision of doing an obnoxious Christmas look with red, green, and gold. I knew I wanted to use Darling Girl's Mistletoe'd from the 2010 Christmas Collection. This didn't turn out as bad as I thought it was going to. Why have I never wetlined with Sugarpill's Goldilux before?! It's like liquid gold!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Glitter Glue all over lid (Darling Girl)
- 382 Matte (red matte) on lid (Inglot)
- Mistletoe'd in crease and lower lashline (Darling Girl)
- Light green highlight color from Snow Sprite palette (WnW)
- Gold eye pencil on water line (Yves Rocher)
- Goldilux mixed with Glitter Glue to line (Sugarpill)
- black mascara (Avon)

I didn't wear this out anywhere. But with a different crease color, the red and gold look great together!

And for some more obnoxious Christmas fun.... Merry Christmas from the Christmas Squatch! I caught him lurking around our small Christmas tree field.

My early Christmas present from my husband... a puppy!

The little guy up front is Tucker, my new Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy! I actually got him early, around the first of December. He was just over five months old when we got him, so he is not quite a puppy. But at his six month visit to the vet he was already 51 pounds!

The bigger dog is Trapper, our other Chesapeake Bay Retriever. He has been such a great dog, I wanted another one!

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!

Suffocated to Ashes

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

I wasn't read excited about how this look turned out. This is one of those looks I had been envisioning in my head for days and just didn't turn out as I wanted. I should have used a creamy base under Suffocation to make it pop. But I did get a few compliments on this, so it must not have been too bad.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Ashes in crease and lower lashline (Fyrinnae)
- Suffocation on lid (Evil Shades)
- Spellbinding to highlight (Meow)
- black mascara (Avon)

I kept the rest of this look simple...

Face: Meow foundation
Cheeks: Evil Shades blush in Gossamer
Lips: Smashbox Smile Brightening Lip Gloss

Love Gossamer when you want a little something to perk up your cheeks without too much color. It's one of those barely there colors that adds a nice sheen.

Accident Waiting to Happen

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

That basically sums up what happens when I have to try pulling off actually being a girl! This look was from December 9th for my husbands company Christmas party.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- little bit of JEP in Black Bean (NYX)
- black cream base (High Voltage)
- Bootycall to highlight (UD Naked2)
- Accident on lid and blended into crease (Meow)
- 24/7 liner in Zero (UD)
- black mascara (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Catrice)
- mint color corrector (Darling Girl)
- BB cream (Dr. Jart)
- Luminous-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- cream blush in 94 (Inglot)
- blush in Orgasm (Nars)

Lips:
- Cocoa Lipstick (Morgana)
- Soft Nude lipstick (Revlon)

And here are a few more shots, because I don't get dressed up very often!

It's sometimes fun to be a girl, but it takes a lot of work! And on top of that, I can never stay clean! But was extremely happy with how this overall look turned out!

Winter at Solstice Scents

2011-12-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that I am in love with Solstice Scents? Let me list some of the reasons why...

1. Great Branding. I really like the natural, earthy theme. All of the products are handmade in small batches. All of Angela's packaging is blue with simple labels and look really sharp. They contain the ingredients listed right on the packages. I *really* like the rollerball packaging! A lot of other indie perfumes come in the 'dropper' type bottles. I think the rollerball is so much more convenient to use.

All of the packages I have received come with fun crinkled paper stuffing to keep my items safe. The colors change with the seasons. Fall was black and orange. Winter has been green and black. And she always throws in some fun pumpkins or bells or moss for added decoration, making it fun to open the package!

2. Selection of Fragrances. Solstice Scents offers a good selection of fragrances, without being too intimidating. There are both general catalog fragrances, along with seasonal collections that come out. I really like to seasonal releases. They are on trend with the types of fragrances you would expect for the changing seasons. While I have found that not all of Angela's fragrances are for me, I have found a lot of favorites!

3. Amazing Customer Service. I have emailed Angela once or twice to ask a question. She has promptly responded to all of my emails. In addition, I have asked for sample fragrances in my orders that weren't actually available in perfume form, only soap or bath salt. Angela has immediately emailed me to let me know of my mistake and asked what other fragrances I would like instead. And as part of the customer service, all of my products have always shipped quickly.

4. Solstice Scents Forum. I have recently joined the Solstice Scents forum. Lots of great, fun, and interesting people on there! It has been a good source of reference for the general catalog and seasonal fragrances. I also like to see what products and fragrances other people are liking and why.

5. Samples. The samples offered by Solstice Scents are reasonably priced and ship for under $2. You can get a 10 pack of samples for $20. I have acquired a ton of samples! Of course this is a great way to check out the fragrances. And my sample collection has become my reference for when I'm thinking about placing an order. In addition, you get a free sample of your choice with every order.

6. Fragrance Layering. Once of the best things about Solstice Scents fragrances is that they can be layered together. It has been fun trying out different combinations of fragrance together. By far my favorite is Manor and Foxcroft, which are both from the fall collection. Angela's scents are unique by themselves, but create more depth when you layer them together. I am also liking Outpost and Flintlock worn together!

Winter Collection. So onto the Winter Collection! Of course I ordered samples of the winter fragrances when they were first released. Even though I have found Angela's descriptions to be very accurate, I still need to test out fragrances on my skin to see if I am going to like them.

After receiving my samples, I quickly ordered full size perfumes of Snowshoe Pass, Outpost, and Flintlock.

Snowshoe Pass. By far my favorite fragrance from the Winter Collection is Snowshow Pass. This was really unexpected based on the description. It has peppermint in it and I didn't think I was going to like it. But turns out, you can hardly smell the peppermint. It just adds a nice coolness to the fragrance. To me this is a cool, creamy scent. The vanilla and the amber work so well together and the peppermint really finishes it off. For some reason, I literally want to eat this fragrance! Even though it is not a 'foody' fragrance by any means.

Outpost. This is my second favorite fragrance from the Winter Collection. I didn't think I would like it because of all the 'woodsy' scents in it. The fir, woods, bayberry, and mistletoe sounded like it was going to be too much for me, but it's actually not. Since it is rounded off with the sugar crystals, it is sweetened up just a bit to make it very wearable. Outpost to me is such an ideal winter/holiday fragrance. This is due to the fir and bayberry that make me think of the holidays and Christmas.

Flintlock. I was really excited for this fragrance and it didn't disappoint! I have found that I really like like leather and tobacco-y fragrances. I love wearing more unisex or masculine fragrances. Flintlock is another very wintry/holiday fragrance. The cedar, woods, bayberry, and evergreens do stand out in this, but they blend so nicely with the leather and tobacco. I'm guessing this is not a fragrance for everyone, but I think the uniqueness of it is why I like it so much!

Bath & Body Products. Once Angela got the Snowshoe Pass Glace restocked, I placed another order to check out some of her bath and body products. Up to this point I had only tired the perfumes and burnishing glaces, but everyone on the Solstice Scents Forum has been raving about the bath salts and body ganache, I decided it was time to give some of them a try!

Body Ganache in Snowshoe Pass. The first thing I noticed about the body ganache was how creamy it was. Very thick and not oily at all. At first sniff, I didn't think the Snowshoe Pass fragrance was very strong. All I could smell was a chocolaty fragrance which comes from the natural cocoa butter. But after I applied it and the fragrance had a chance to die down, the Snowshoe Pass fragrance really came through.

Not only does the body ganache smell and feel good, it also has a lot of great ingredients in it! Cocoa butter, shea butter, glycerin, aloe vera, mango butter, sweet almond oil, and sunflower seed extract are all great for the skin. Having made body butters myself, I can tell you that this one is very well done!

Creme de la Creme Creamy Whipped Soap in Dark Ginger Spicecake. I wanted to order the whipped soap in Snowshoe Pass, but it was not available at the time I placed my order. So I settled on Dark Ginger Spicecake. I knew I already liked the fragrance because I had tried a sample of it.

This is another well made product. Very fluffy and creamy. Just a little dollop on a pouf generates a lot of lather. And it smells so good! I'm really happy I gave this whipped soap a try. I have mostly been using bar soap that I made here recently. So this great smelling, creamy whipped soap is a nice change!

Dead Sea Salt Oatmeal Coconut Milk Bath in Spiced Cranberry & Spruce. The first thing I noticed when I received this is that it didn't shake like a bath salt should. The contents didn't appear to be granular. When I opened it, I immediately noticed the attention to detail with the seeds on top of the product. And yes, the salts had 'bound' together due to the nature of the ingredients.

When I went to use this, I was able to gently use my finger to loosen up the bath salts. Unlike a lot of other bath salts I have used, this product almost felt 'soft' if that makes sense. I think it is due to the nature of all the ingredients Angela uses in them. The bath salts dissolved right away in my hot bath water.

The scent is amazing! There is definitely a berry scent to it, but not an overly-sweet berry fragrance. And the spruce definitely comes through also. Another great winter/Christmas fragrance without being too sweet. It is very unique compared to other bath soaks.

Black Christmas Soap. I had to give this a try because so many people in the forum were raving about it. I really didn't think it was going to be worth the hype. But it turns out, this soap smells soooo good! To me it is the quintessential 'Christmas' scent. I think the bayberry, spruce, cedar, and clove come together so nicely and form the perfect Christmas fragrance.

I was also surprised by how large the bar is. I believe most of Solstice Scent's soaps are 4 ounces. This bar just seems a bit thicker than other indie bar soaps I have tried. So I feel like it was a great buy.

I was intimidated by this soap at first because the description reads: "Black Christmas is not a soap full of jovial laughter and merry wishes. It is not tinsel, mulled cider and sweet baked goods. It is the still, miserably cold winter night. Desperate, horrified and vulnerable: your sleigh stuck in an embankment, hungry prowling wolves catch the scent of your fear. A low growl issued from a distance not far away sends you scrambling for cover, yet you can never hope to out run them and survive." But don't let this turn you off! It's a great fragrance. Just not your typical sweet-smelling holiday fragrance!

Final Thoughts. There is definitely going to be more Solstice Scents in my future. I have actually been enjoying using these products, instead of hoarding them and hardly ever using them. Does anyone else ever have that fear of using up a product they love because they don't want it gone?

My overall experience with Angela and Solstice Scents has been awesome. Great products, great price, and great service. I can't help but continue to stalk the site and the forum to see if there is anything new and exciting I need to try!

Anyone else a fan of Solstice Scents? What products and fragrances do you like from them?

Glacial Grove

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

It had been a while since I used any colors from Meow's Glacial Grove collection. So I decided to pull them out to play around with in case I wanted to order more of them while they are available. Boy..... I didn't realize how hard these colors were for me to work with! They have more glitter and fallout then most other Meow shadows. While the colors are pretty, I don't think I'll be ordering any more from the collection!

What I Used:
- UPDD
- Erato to highlight (Meow Sunless Sea)
- Wild on inner 1/2 of lid (Meow Glacial Grove)
- Verdure on outer 1/2 of lid (Meow Glacial Grove)
- Woodlands in crease (Meow Glacial Grove)
- Gel eyeliner in It's Mambo Nr. 2 (Catrice)
- pencil concealer on waterline (Inglot)
- black mascara (Yves Rocher)

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- mint color corrector (Darling Girl)
- Luminous-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)
- Fierce & Flawless finishing powder (Brazen)

Cheeks:
- Cream Blush in 94 (Inglot)
- my cream highlighter

Lips:
- Cocoa Lipstick (Morgana)
- Persephone Gel Lipstick (Morgana)

Verdure seemed to have got blended away in this look. It is more of a deep green-ish color. I don't even think you can see it on me here! Was real happy with how my whole face turned out. I took the time to do quite a bit of blending. It seem like the Inglot cream blush takes quite a bit of blending for me!

Without Clothing?

2011-12-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

....... Naked. Well Naked 2 in this case!

I did this whole look with the new Urban Decay Naked2 Palette.

What I Used:
- UDPP
- Bootycall to highlight
- Pistol on lid
- Busted in crease
- 24/7 liner in Zero along lower lashline
- Busted smudged over the liner

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- mint color corrector (Darling Girl)
- BB cream on chin and nose (Dr. Jart)
- Matte-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- my pressed highlighter
- matte bronzer to contour (Revlon)
- one of my pressed blushes

Lips:
- Lip Junkie in Naked (Urban Decay)

I might have over contoured my cheeks a bit? A little dark in the hollows of my cheeks. I actually took the time to clean up the edge of my shadow with a q-tip. Really like how this overall look turned out!

And I have to say.... really loving the Urban Decay gloss. Thought I'd give it a try since I have it. Great formula and wears quite a while on me.

Making Merry

2011-12-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some fun with some beautiful pink/purple colors. Or are they called magenta? Either way, I did two different looks with these two different colors!

Left: Darling Girl's Making Merry
Right: Fyrinnae's Wake Not the Dead

Wake Not the Dead
- Sakura in crease area (Fyrinnae)
- Spellbinding to highlight (Meow)
- It's Mambo Nr. 2 gel liner (Catrice)

Wake Not the Dead is a very pretty color that leaves glitter all over your face! I had a bit of a hard time working with it actually. I used it over Pixie Epoxy. The base color in Wake Not the Dead almost seemed matte-like to me. A bit hard to blen for some reason. Oh well, still very pretty!

Making Merry
- random highlight shade
- used Glitter Glue on lid for the foiled effect

Making Merry is soooo pretty! I did two things different with this look that you will see better in the comparison picture below. 1) I used teal liner on the waterline 2) I put mascara on my lower lashes, which I never do. For some reason I don't like the look of mascara on my lower lashes.

A comparison of the two looks:
Left: Wake Not the Dead
Right: Making Merry

Hope you enjoyed these pretty colors!

Naked 2

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

When I saw there was a new Naked palette being released by Urban Decay, I actually jumped on ordering it. I don't have the original one, so I thought I'd check out the new one. I took advantage of ordering from Urban Decay and decided to order some gifts for my girlfriends. One will be getting the original Naked Palette, the other will be getting the 15 Year Anniversary Palette.

Here is a quick comparison of the boxes of the two palettes:

Naked 2. Couldn't they have come up with something a little bit better? Naked Again. Flesh. Exposed. Bare. Stripped. I guess they are wanting to stick with the whole "naked" theme and line. But Naked 2 isn't all that exciting of a name.

The packaging is very sturdy. The tin cover is nice. Mine did come with a slight scratch on the lid, inside the upper portion of the "D."

The palette itself has very beautiful colors in it:

On to the swatches:

1st row: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper
2nd row: Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol
3rd row: Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

I'm really liking Bootycall, Tease, Snakebite, and Busted! I think my favorite in the palette is Pistol!

All of the colors are very pretty and wearable. They are all smooth and apply easily. I'm used to mineral pigments and I don't feel like these are quite as pigmented as what I'm used to working with. I had to go over the swatch with the color a few times to get them to show up good.

Here is the brush that came with it. Even branded with Naked 2:

And the lipgloss, named Naked:

And lastly was the free pencil that came with my order.

Did anyone else jump on ordering the Naked 2 palette? Or do you girls feel like the new palette is over-hyped?

Used It! November

2011-12-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

More stuff used up during November. And I'd have to say, most of these products were hits!

Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer
Buy Again: Maybe
This was a deluxe sample size I received as part of the QVC New Beauty Test Tube. I really liked it. This mositurizer left my skin very soft and smooth. It has a thick, cream like consistency. It is great for winter months when your skin is drier. It has a bit of an odd smell to it that is kind of hard to describe, kind of earthy almost sour smelling. Not a bad smell, just odd. The reason this product is only a "maybe" is because of the price! $90 for 2 oz! Yeah, I'm not going to be paying that much for a moisturizer any time soon.

Mary Kay Timewise Age-Fighting Moisturizer
Buy Again: Yes
This was something that had been in the bathroom cabinet for a while that I wanted to get used up. It is a thin lotion, so it is better for a summer time moisturizer. I have always liked Mary Kay products and would definitely recommend their skincare line.

Sharon Marie Skin Care Alpha Hydroxy Foaming Facial Cleanser
Buy Again: Yes
I love Sharon Marie skin care products! This cleanser is awesome! So it the toner and body wash! I'm already on my second bottle of this foaming cleanser! I would definitely recommend checking her products out if you have aging skin or acne. These alpha hydroxy products have saved my skin.

Solstice Scents Burnishing Glace Bath & Body Oil in Harvest Moon
Buy Again: YES!
I can not get enough Solstice Scents! By far my favorite indie fragrance company! This is the first Burnishing Glace I tried from Solstice Scents. I used it at first as a body mist, but once I tried it in the bath tub, that was it for me! These are awesome as a bath oil! Harvest Moon to me is the perfect fall fragrance, when you think of what a fall fragrance should be. I had been eagerly waiting for Snowshoe Pass Burnishing Glace to be restocked, because I am in love with that new winter fragrance!

Wen Cleansing Conditioner in Winter Vanilla Mint
Buy Again: Yes
While I wasn't a huge fan of Wen when I first tried it, I realized it does have a place in my personal hair care routine. I don't use this as a "cleansing conditioner" as it is recommended to use. I found that if I rotated it during the week with my regular shampoo, that I would get good results. I have fine hair and using Wen alone tended to make it greasy. The Winter Vanilla Mint fragrance is awesome! A sweet mint scent, that almost has a hint of chocolate to it!

The Morbid The Merrier fragrance in Rosemary's Baby
Buy Again: Yes
Love this fragrance! This was from Halloween 2010. It is a creamy fragrance that has some sort of a sharpness to it. I actually added this fragrance to a body butter I made, that is how it got used up. I really do like TMTM, but have been loving Solstice Scents right now. I don't care as much for TMTM's packaging as I do Solstice Scents. But still, if you are looking for a unique indie fragrance, do check out TMTM. 3 Ring is one of my favorites!

Lypsyl LypMoisturizer
Buy Again: Maybe
I have been working so hard on getting some of my lip balms used up! Hopefully at the end of December I'll have another one or two gone! I bought this a while back because I wanted a lip balm with SPF in it for summer. I like this lip balm much better than say Chapstick or Blistex. But it wasn't anything special. The honey-berry fragrance was nice.

Joppa Minerals Pure Australian Emu Oil
Buy Again: No
I have had this stuff for ever. I finally got it used up by adding it to the body butter I made. Emu oil is okay, I just never really got into using it that much. And if I ever did repurchase it, I would buy from a supplier like Organic Creations where I could get it at a better price, than a repackaged one from an indie company.

And that is it for November.

8 products gone!

Morgana Cryptoria Gel Lipstick

2011-12-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

I had placed an order from Morgana Cryptoria a while back. I wanted to check out the new Gel Lipsticks. I received these last week, but haven't had a chance to test them out yet. So this is just some swatches and my initial thoughts!

I ordered two colors:
- Aphrodite (I'd call it a bright pink with a blue sheen)
- Persephone (This looks to me like a warm, peachy, nude color)

Here is Aphrodite:

And Persephone: (sorry, I'd swatched it already so its not all nice an pretty like it came!)

Swatches. For some reason I had a very hard time photographing these. Not sure if these pictures do either of them justice!

With flash:

My Thoughts. The Gel Lipstick seems to me to be a cross between almost a lipgloss and a balm. I don't really know how to describe it. As you can tell, it has a pretty glossy finish. But it has the pigmentation and staying power of something more like a balm or lipstick.

They both apply easily. For some reason Persephone seems a little bit "thicker" and took me a few extra swipes with my finger to get it smoothed out. It seems to me like they warm up a bit with your body temperature and smooth out nicely.

Just from a couple times testing these out, and from the swatches, they seem to have great staying power. Not quite as good as a lipstick, but definitely longer than any gloss!

Has anyone else tried the new Gel Lipsticks out yet? What are your thoughts?

A BONUS FOR YOU!

A quick swatch of the Lip Balm I ordered:

All I have to say about the balm: the color and staying power of a Morgana lipstick, but in a more moisturizing balm! Awesome!

Civil War!

2011-11-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

The Civil War football game between the Oregon State Beavers and the University of Oregon Ducks was last Saturday. Having two degrees from Oregon State, of course I'm a huge Beavers fan! And to show my school spirit, I did an orange and black look.

I know a lot of people are intimidate by orange eyeshadow, but I wear it with pride!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Telekenesis to highlight (Meow)
- Pumpkin Pie (I think thats the name!) on lid (Morgana)
- Pumpkin Eater in center of lid and lower lashline (Darling Girl)
- black gel/cream liner from green eyes trio (PF)
- black mascara (Avon)

Kept the rest of my face simple. Sleek Rose Gold blush and clear Evil Shades Wicked Gloss.

Sorry!

2011-11-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

I took the blog down for a day or so. I was planning on doing some re-organizing, but haven't got around to it!

I'm alive and well! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn't go too crazy on Black Friday shopping!

I Hate Snow

2011-11-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

I woke up Saturday morning to snow on the ground. It luckily didn't last long! And even though I absolutely hate snow, I decided to do a snow inspired look for the fun of it.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Spellbinding to highlight (Meow)
- Ghost Light Spectral Shifts to highlight (DG)
- Pretty Plasma in crease (DG)
- Eyesicles Eye Color in Silver on lid (Mary Kay)
- Pixie Epoxy on lid (Fyrinnae)
- Dinosaur Plushie on lid (Fyrinnae)
- Glitter Eyeliner in Magical (Fantasy Makers)
- Slate Gray eyeliner on lower lashline (Maybelline)
- Ghost Light Spectral Shifts over liner on lower lashline (DG)
- Silver eyeliner on waterline (WnW)
- black mascara (Yves Rocher)

Face:
- primer (Catrice)
- BB cream (Dr. Jart)
- Luminous-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- my pressed highlighter
- Gossamer blush (Evil Shades)

Lips:
- Lip liner in Natural (Rimmel)
- Lip Lustre in Ultra Phantom (Fyrinnae)
- Wicked Gloss in Banshee (Evil Shades)

That was a ton of products for this look! I hope the horses enjoyed it, because I went and cleaned stalls after I did this :)

5 Things I'm Loving

2011-11-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a few of the things I have been loving right now.

1. Wen Cleansing Conditioner in Winter Vanilla Mint

I received this in the QVC New Beauty Test Tube. I use it as a conditioner, not a "cleanser" like you are supposed to. This fragrance is amazing! While the fragrance is vanilla mint, it almost has a chocolatey scent to it. The fragrance is very sweet, rich, minty, and intoxicating! And it is a great moisturizing conditioner.

2. NYX Girl Nail Polish in Bronze Goddess

I believe I acquired this polish from Chris at Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes. This is such a great fall color! Love how rich and beautiful this brown-bronze color is. Great color for a fall pedicure. I'm betting it would look awesome with Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure over it too!

3. Sharon Marie Skincare Body Wash

This stuff has saved my back! I have been getting some back acne which I'm starting to connect to being sweaty during my work day. My field vest hit a few spots on my back and holds the sweat on my body, thus causing me some breakouts. I have been using this body wash every other day and it has finally been clearing up my skin! It is the first product that I have had any luck with in getting my back to clear up. If you haven't tried any Sharon Marie Skincare products, I highly recommend checking them out.

4. Solstice Scents fragrance in Manor

I love this fragrance! Such a great fall/winter fragrance. To me it is a sweet and creamy fragrance with an edge. Its also one of those fragrances that is so easy to wear. I have been wearing it with a little bit of Foxcroft layered over it. Love how the combination of the two fragrances work for me as a perfect fall fragrance.

I also love Solstice Scents' packaging. The blue bottles are so pretty and the roller ball packaging is makes the fragrance easy to apply.

5. TKB Micas

I've been busy mixing colors and making eyeshadows for Christmas presents! What's better than making gifts for friends and family?! Some of my girlfriends are going to come over in next weekend for an eyeshadow making party too!

I have acquired quite a collection of micas and other supplies over the past year. TKB has a great selection of colors and supplies. They also ship quickly. If you are interested in any DIY stuff, I would highly recommend checking them out.

What products or stuff have you been loving right now?

Book of the Fire Opal

2011-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

This was pretty much an all Fyrinnae eye. I'm really loving Book of the Dead right now. It's a beautiful sparkly gold. Fire Opal is one of the most unique colors ever. It can look so different depending on how it is applied and blended.

What I Used:

- TFSI
- Nijiro to highlight (Fyrinnae)
- Book of the Dead on inner half of lid (Fyrinnae)
- Book of the Dead and Fire Opal mixed together on outer half and in crease
- brown eyeliner on lower lashline (Prestige)
- black mascara (Yves Rocher)

You can see how dark my hair is now:

Love how this picture turned out!

Face:
- primer (Catrice)
- Luminous-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- matte bronzer to contour (Revlon)
- shimmery bronzer on cheeks (Mary Kay)

Lips:
- Ver-Beige gloss (Darling Girl)
- Twig lipstick over the gloss (Avon)

Was really pleased with this overall look. I wanted to keep my face neutral, so I stuck to just some bronzer instead of a blush.

I'm really loving this hair color right now. My stylist put some violet highlights in it too! I have been finding that dark hair color is hard for me to maintain. I have been using sulfate free shampoo. But we have hard water and it is very hard on my hair color! I found that when I had this same color done eight weeks ago, it faded fast.

Soft Pink Cheeks

2011-11-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by a look in one of the Avon brochures to do a neutral look with a soft pink cheek. I just happened to get a sample of Meow's Flirt blush with my recent order. It was the perfect pink for this look.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- 2 neutral colors from the Monaco palette (Sleek)
- brown eyeliner on lower lashline (Prestige)
- black mascara (Yves Rocher)

This didn't photograph real well, but you get the point!

Face:
- primer (Catrice)
- BB cream (Dr. Jart)
- Luminous-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)

Cheeks: Flirt blush applied heavy (Meow)

Lips: clear gloss

Love this look! I'm going to have to do this again. I usually focus on my eyes, but it was a nice change to focus on a soft, girly blush!

Fall Eyes

2011-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Of course I had to play around with my new Fyrinnae colors right away! So I decided to do a fall colors inspired look.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Hallucination to highlight (Meow)
- Pixie Epoxy on lid (Fyrinnae)
- Book of the Dead on inner 1/3 of lid (Fyrinnae)
- Pumpkin Eater on center of lid (Darling Ghoul)
- Purgatory on outer 1/3 of lid (Fyrinnae)
- Steampunk (Fyrinnae) wetlined on lower lashline with Glitter Glue (DG)
- Black mascara

Face:
- primer (catrice)
- Matte-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)

Cheeks:
- Phantoma glow (Meow)
- Rose Gold blush (Sleek)

Lips:
- Strapless lippie (Stardust)
- Buttercream Lip Glaze in Mango (Silk Naturals)

Love how this overall look turned out! Rose Gold blush is so beautiful! I don't think these pictures do it any justice! I may actually like it better than Nars Orgasm... :)

I also had my hair dyed last week. It's darker than it was with some red and violet in it! Really happy how it turned out! My hairdresser is awesome!

Fyrinnae....

2011-11-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

......randomness......

Please tell me I'm not the only one who immediately swatches colors like this as soon as they arrive! Just thought I'd share some randomness with you girls!

Top Two: Shinigami, Kola
Far Left: Raven's Prophecy
"Middle" Row: Steampunk, Wake Not The Dead, Alchemist's Curse
Bottom Row: Purgatory, Book of the Dead, Are You My Mummy?, Dorian Grey

L to R: Raven's Prophecy, Steampunk, Wake Not the Dead, Alchemist's Curse:

This jar is full of beautiful, sparkly, awesomness:

Hope you enjoyed the randomness! :)

Rose Gold Blush

2011-11-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

The lovely Luna from Sparkling Luna sent me this Sleek blush as part of a swap we did. I was so excited for more Sleek and then I saw this color and almost died! It is so pretty!

Sleek Rose Gold Blush:

It is such a beautiful color!

I thought it may be a dupe for Nars Orgasm, so I thought I would do a comparison since I do have Orgasm. And while I was at it, I pulled out a few of my other favorite peachy-pinky blushes to swatch also.

Left to Right:
Rococo (Aromaleigh)
Rose Gold (Sleek)
Orgasm (Nars)
Fantasia (Darling Girl)
Atomic (Evil Shades)

You can tell a few of them are pretty similar, but different in their own way. And they all can look so different depending on the lighting and angle.

Rococo has the most shimmer to it. Orgasm and Rose Gold are similar, but I think Orgasm is more pink with slightly less gold shimmer to it. Fantasia is one of my all time favorite blushes. Its this pinkish-orange with a purpley-blue shift to it. Atomic looks intimidating before you put it on. Its definitely an orange color, but has a beautiful blue shift and sparkle to it.

What do you think? Own any of these colors? Have a favorite?

Used It! Sep & Oct

2011-11-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have accumulated more empties! Yay! I've got a bit behind on my Used It! posts. So here are two months together. I'm not going to do quick reviews of everything like I usually do. But I do want to highlight some of the stuff I really loved!

Here is all the empties:

And the stuff I really loved:

Josie Maran Argan Oil
I know argan oil has been pretty popular these day, but I hadn't ever got around to trying it. This sample bottle came with my recent New Beauty Test Tube. I actually have been using it on my hair and have been liking the results. I have been growing my hair out for a while and it is getting pretty long. The argan oil has been making it soft and smooth without feeling greasy. I think I am actually going to purchase some of this!

Sharon Marie Skin Care Super Eye Serum 3000
I absolutely love all of the Sharon Marie Skin Care products I have. I am now on my second bottle of this serum. It actually makes my eye are feel tighter and firmer. I try to remember to use it twice a day, but will at least use it once a day. The nature of this serum feels cool on my skin and really refreshes my eyes. I was surprised to find that I actually like a serum better than an eye cream.

Yves Rocher Oriental Velvety-Skin Scrub
This came in a package from Luna at Sparkling Luna. I have been impressed with all of the Yves Rocher products that I have acquired from her. I used this scrub on my body and loved the silky results. It has a nice scent to it and just enough exfoliation without being too harsh.

Brazen Cosmetics Sugar Lips Lip Scrub
I really like Brazen's lip scrubs. Great flavors and consistency. Even though I do have a love for Darling Girl's new On-the-Go Lip Scrub, I would still recommend Brazen's if you are looking for a great lip exfoliant.

Avon Super Shock Max Mascara
I really like Avon's mascaras. They work well for me. I had been using the Super Magnify mascara, but gave this one a try. It has worked wonders for my lashes. I know a some people don't care for the plastic, comb-like wands, but I actually prefer them. This mascara gives me volume and length without being clumpy.

Lea Journo Hydra-Riche Hydrating Conditioner
I had never heard of this brand before. I received this in one of my New Beauty Test Tubes. This is a great, hydrating conditioner. I have been using a Neutrogena condition that I really like, but actually prefer this one. I also really like this packaging. It is more environmentally friendly and it is easier to get the product out of, in my opinion. I didn't check the price on this, but it should be available through QVC if anyone is interested.

That's all I have for now. Lots of products gone, but I have acquired more new stuff to get used up!

26 products gone!

Snipe Hunting

2011-11-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Playing around with some more of my new colors!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Spectrum Pot in Visible Violet (Evil Shades)
- Snipe on lid and lower lashline (Meow)
- Sordid in crease (Detrivore)
- Corpse Candle Spectral Shift to highlight (Darling Ghoul)
- 24/7 liner in Ransom on lower lashline (Urban Decay)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Face: Luminous-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay) with my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks: Exhibitionist blush (Meow)

Lips: So Sakura (Darling Girl)

I've decided I need to play around more with my Detrivore colors. For some reason Detrivore is one of those great companies that doesn't get enough love. So I pulled all of my Detrivore out and have it sitting on my vanity for me to start using more!

Bat's In The Belfry

2011-10-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

More fun with Halloween collections! This time, Darling Girl!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Intense Eye Pencil gold color as base (Yves Rocher)
- Dream Scream to highlight (Darling Ghoul)
- Bat's In the Belfry on lid (Darling Ghoul)
- Jack's Lantern in crease and wetlined on lower lashline (Darling Ghoul)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- Timewise Luminous-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)

Cheeks:
- My cream highlighter
- Sweet Cheeks blush in Just Bitten (Darling Ghoul)
- Enchanting Body Crayon in Glitter (Fantasy Makers)

Lips:
- AMC Matte Lip Pencil in 24 (Inglot)
- Sweet Cheeks in Just Bitten (Darling Ghoul)
- Alchemy lip gloss (Brazen)

Love how this turned out! Between the Luminous-Wear foundation and the Just Bitten blush, my skin had a nice and dewy finish. I added a bit of glitter that didn't show up to well in the pics. This was my first time using the Yves Rocher pencil. Really like how it applied. Much easier for me to work with than the NYX jumbo pencils. This was a lot smoother.

I also attempted a slight winged liner. I only did liner on my lower lashline. I just carried the line up as kind of an "edge" for my eyeshadow.

Smokey Sasquatch

2011-10-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to play around with Sasquatch from Meow's X collection. I decided to do a dark smokey look with it. Love how this turned out! So you are getting a picture overload of this look!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- JEP in Black Bean as a base (NYX)
- Vex to highlight (MAC)
- Sasquatch on lid (Meow)
- Bulletproof in crease and lower lashline (Sugarpill)
- 24/7 eyeliner in Zero (Urban Decay)
- black mascara (essence)

Natural Light:

This was my first time using the Urban Decay 24/7 liner. I can completely see why people love these liners! I'm definitely going to have to get some more! Thanks Luna for sending them to me!

And because I'm obsessed with Sasquatch, I leave you with a picture of another Smokey Sasquatch!

This was me hanging out by the campfire in my Sasquatch costume. We went camping earlier this summer over on the coast. I sat around the campfire for a few hours like this. It was so funny to see people's reactions as they drove or walked by! Yes, I'm a goofball!

Laura Geller Unearthed EOTD

2011-10-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

This is the first Laura Geller product I have ever tried. It came in my recent New Beauty Test Tube. I have to say I really like these colors and the convenience of this duo. The formula and pigmentation seem very good. I really don't have any complaints about it!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Vex to highlight (MAC)
- Unearthed on lid (Laura Geller)
- Dutch Chocolate in crease and lower lashline (Laura Geller)
- Total Intensity Eyeliner in Bold Brown (Prestige)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Face:
- Timewise Luminous-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)
- My pressed finishing powder

Cheeks: Taboo Blush in Exhibitonist (Meow)

Lips: Sangria lipstick (Morgana)

I'm finally back to my MK Luminous-Wear Foundation! Love this stuff so much! I forgot how much I love Meow's blushes too! This one was a free sample with a recent order. It was sitting on my vanity, so I thought I would wear it. But I still have to say my all time favorite blush is Evil Shades Skon! :)

I didn't intend on such a bright lippie. I started digging thru my indie lipstick basket for a neutral color, but stumbled upon this one. So I decided to wear it. I actually like how it looks with the simple neutral eye!

Darling Girl On The Go Lip Scrub

2011-10-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited to put this review together! As soon as I started using this lip scrub, I realized how much I loved it!

Darling Girl Sweet Lips On The Go Sugar'd Lip Scrub
A bit of a long name, but that doesn't matter. Here is what Darling Girl says about it:

"A sweet treat for your lips! Sweet Lips On The Go is a beautiful marriage of super moisturizing lip balm loaded with Organic Cane Sugar and the flavor of your choice for a sweet mess free exfoliation experience."

You can find a link to it HERE. It sells for $5.50 and is definitely worth it! Susan offers a whole selection of flavors. I didn't count all of the available flavors, but there are a lot of them! I ordered mine in Apple Jacks which is Red McIntosh Apples, Cinnamon, and Vanilla. It is a wonderful combination!

It comes in a standard oval lip balm tube:

The top was very full and rounded with plenty of sugar on top:

My Thoughts. The first time I used this, I didn't think I was going to like it. It felt a bit too abrasive on my lips. But once the sugar was worn down off the top a bit and the "balm" part of it was exposed more, I really fell in love!

It is extremely convenient to use! I have used other sugar scrubs in the past and have found them effective, but a bit on the messy side. This lip scrub has minimal mess. When you massage this over your lips and decent amount of sugar is "released" and exfoliates. It also has a good combination of the "balm" or oils to moisturize as it is scrubbing away dead skin.

When I'm done scrubbing my lips, I have found a piece of tissue easily wipes away the sugar. And your lips are left feeling nice and smooth! Even though I always follow up with a balm. And the best part.... no mess or fuss!

Here is a close up of the product after I used it quite a few times:

I twisted it up a bit so you can see what it looks like:

Applied to the back of my hand:

Overall. I would definitely recommend checking out this lip scrub! I don't use it in the sense of "on-the-go" as something I would throw in my purse with me. I prefer to leave it sitting on the bathroom counter so I can use it quickly after I'm done brushing my teeth or before I go to bed. It is very convenient!

Has anyone else checked out Darling Girl's Sweet Lips On The Go Sugar'd Lip Scrub? What are your thoughts? And what flavor did you try?

Green Glitter Franken

2011-10-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to get to buy a "franken kit" from the wonderful Chris at Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes when she decided to finally give up frankening and blogging. When the package arrived from her, one of the red glitters had leaked in transit. It actually made opening the package sparkly and magical! But since the glitter had leaked, I decided to get what was remaining of it used up right away.

I started with this green that came from Chris. It is a Hema polish and says it is from the Netherlands. To it I added the red glitter, some green glitter, and a little bit of holo glitter. And to top it off, I decided to add some of China Glaze's Party Hearty from last years Christmas collection!

But before it was all said and done, I ended up adding a bit of China Glaze's Cha Cha Cha and a touch of some clear polish to thin the franken down a bit.

Here is the end result, a green glittery franken that will be a perfect Christmas color!

A real quick swatch:

Look at all that glittery goodness!

It was fun to sit down and franken again because I hadn't done it in a long time! I'm really glad I was able to get some of Chris' frankening supplies! I sure miss her blog, but I know what it's like to be ready for a new phase in life!

Candy Corn Glitter Bomb

2011-10-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun fall look to put together and wear!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Highlight shade from Never Let Me Go! palette (Catrice)
- Pumpkin Eater in crease (Darling Ghoul)
- JEP in Dark Brown on lid (NYX)
- Witch & Famous on lid (Darling Ghoul)
- Glitter Glue mixed with Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles patted all over lid (Darling Girl)
- Brown eyeliner (Prestige)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- BB cream (Dr. Jart)
- Matte-Wear foundation (Mary Kay)
- Tinted Moisturizer to contour (Physicians Formula)

Cheeks:
- my pressed bronzer to contour
- Cream Blush in 06 (Bourjois)
- Atomic blush (Evil Shades)

Lips:
- BB Cream to conceal (Dr. Jart)
- Clear lip liner (Avon)
- Soft Nude lipstick (Revlon)
- Balmstick in Flawless (Brazen)

I was overall really happy how this look turned out. It was game day and I was headed to town, so I had to wear my team colors which are black and orange! I thought this was a great orange look without being too over the top.

The orange shadow in the crease doesn't look quite as goofy in real life as it does in the pictures. For some reason the line between the orange and the highlight shade looks real defined in these pictures :(

Another Test Tube

2011-10-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

This showed up on my door step last week! Wasn't expecting my new one so soon, but glad its here!

The New Beauty Test Tube never ceases to amaze me! Love all the fun stuff! And for $36 every three months, thats not too bad. Especially considering the Birchbox is $10 a month and it seems like products tend to be hit and miss.

If you are interested in checking out the Test Tube, make sure and keeping checking in on the QVC website. It doesn't look like it is currently available for order and I don't know when it will be available to order again :(

What came this month:
- Laura Geller shadow/liner duo in Unearthed/Dutch Chocolate
- Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer
- Mally Evercolor Starlight Waterproof Liner in Midnight
- Perricone MD Firming Neck Therapy
- Wen Cleansing Conditioner in Winter Vanilla Mint
- Supersmile Professional Whitening Toothpaste
- Philosophy Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath in Snow Angel
- Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil

Here is what the shadow looks like:

And the liner:

This is the second time I have received a Philosophy body wash and Wen cleansing conditioner. I'm not complaining! I'm excited to get to try some Laura Geller and Mally!

I'm going to have to make sure I am still on auto-delivery for this! I have enjoyed getting it!

Sasquatch!? Mothman?! YES!

2011-10-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

You guessed it! Some of the new Meow colors! I placed a fairly small sample order to check out some of the new collections.

So to start with, I have to tell you have have this weird obsession with Sasquatch/Bigfoot. I actually bought a Bigfoot costume earlier this year. It has got a lot of use! And it was definitely the best $85 I ever spent!

Along these lines, I absolutely love these YouTube videos made by ButchyKid. So if you are up for some stupid, adult humor, check out this video on the MOTHMAN and this one about BIGFOOT.

Ok, on to swatches!

X Collection

Top: Yeti, Boogie Man, Chupacabra, Snipe
Bottow: Mothman, Jersey Devil, Grim Reaper, Sasquatch

The colors in this collection may be some of my favorites since The Lost Rainforest Collection! So many pretty colors! On initial swatching, I thought Chupacabra and Snipe looked almost identical. But you can see they are slightly different.

Zombie Apocalypse

Top: Brains Over Beauty, Rising
Bottom: Infection, Sepulcher, Post Apocalyptic

Randoms

The first two are my free samples with my order. I also ordered two of the Four Horseman colors, some colors from the Pandoras Box collection, and a few from Neptune's Grotto.

1st row: Exhibitionist blush (Taboo), Neurotic (Feliner), Death (Horseman), Famine (Horseman)
2nd row: Mortal Sin (Pandora), Mayhem (Pandora), Indecency (Pandora)
3rd row: Saltwater (Neptune), Seaspray (Neptune), Cocytus (Neptune)

So many great new colors from Meow! I'm never disappointed when my Meow order arrives!

Has anyone else been loving Meow's new collections?

Darling Girl X2

2011-10-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for a couple of Darling Girl hauls?! I think most of you know by now Darling Girl is one of my top favorite indie companies. If you haven't check out Susan's shop yet, go do it now!

HAUL 1
I placed a small order because I wanted to check out the new Sweet Lips On The Go Lip Scrub. And because I wanted to get the Sparkling Luna gift-with-purchase! And if you haven't checked out Sparkling Luna's blog yet, go do that also!

Here are the goods:

Isn't Sparkling Luna a beautiful color?!

I'm sure you guys have seen a lot of swatches of these colors, so I'm not going to do any. And quite frankly I haven't had time to do a lot of swatching :(

And here is the new on the go lip scrub:

I'm planning on doing a full review of it after I get a chance to use it more!

HAUL 2
Of course I had to get some stuff from the Darling Ghoul Halloween Collection!

I absolutly love the "Darling Girl" branding! So fun!

Of course fun packaging from Susan!

Here is what came as gifts with purchase:

Another beautiful GWP color:

And the Halloween stuff! Yay for candy and fun rings!

I love Darling Girl's Sweet Cheeks blushes. So of course I had to get the Just Bitten Sweet Cheeks:

So pretty!

And some swatches. Blended on left, heavy on right:

The beautiful Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles:

I debated over which one of the lippies I wanted from this collection. I finally settled on Poison Plum and I'm glad I did!

Look at how pretty Poison Plum is!

Susan nailed this color! Love it!

And last but not least I got the sample set of the shadows:

I haven't had time to swatches these yet. So I would like to refer you to check out Wendy's swatches over at Turtle Beauty. She did some amazing swatches of the whole collection!

Is anyone else loving Darling Girl right now? I know I am!

Diva

2011-10-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Some more of my new colors in action! This was the palette I received from Anna at Shorty Legs Beauty. I love these colors! And they are so wearable for me!

Lumene Natural Code Trio in Diva

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Diva trio (Lumene)
- Brown eyeliner
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Love how this turned out! And I really like the highlight shade in this trio!

Thanks again Anna!

Never Let Me Go!

2011-10-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw this palette, I knew I had to wear it! These are such beautiful and wearable shades!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Never Let Me Go! palette (Catrice)
- It's Mambo Nr. 2 gel eye liner (Catrice)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Face:
- primer (Mary Kay)
- Luminous-Wear and Matte-Wear foundation mixed (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks: Skon blush (Evil Shades)

Lips: Plumeria lipstick (Morgana) and Snob lipstick (MAC)

Was so please with this look! Love these colors!

I Almost Freaked...

2011-10-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

......when I opened this package from Luna at Sparkling Luna! I couldn't believe all the stuff she sent me! Thank you so much Luna!

This is almost everything. There was an Urban Decay Primer Potion that I sent with one of my girlfriends. She is getting married at the end of the month. I sent a bunch of makeup home with her to find some colors to wear on her wedding day. I was going to send my TFSI with her, but decided to send the UDPP with her instead!

I love the Catrice packaging!

This is a Catrice Gel Liner, I already used it :)

Some Yves Rocher jumbo pencils:

My first ever Urban Decay pencils! Was so excited for these!

Love ALL of these polish colors!

Some Yves Rocher perfume and moisturizer!

And some more Yves Rocher skincare!

I literally freaked when I was a Sleek palette in the package! This is Mediterranean Collection Monaco palette. Can't wait to use it!

Thanks again for all the goodies Luna! Love getting to do makeup swaps!

New Stuff!

2011-10-05T14:00:00.002-07:00

I've been acquiring a lot of new and fun stuff recently! Thought I'd share.

Makeup Swap
I sent some stuff to Anna from Beauty by Shortylegs and she was sweet enough to send stuff over to me! Yay! Thanks so much Anna!

There was a note in the package that it was opened up by customs and some stuff was removed :( But here is what did make it to me:

Love all these colors! Especially this shadow trio from Lumene!

How pretty are these purples?! Thanks again Anna! Love my new stuff! Can't wait to try out the polish!

Drugstore Polish
Of course I have a hard time turning down Halloween stuff. There are so many fun colors and collections out right now!

Below are two of the pumpkin polishes and two of the Fantasy Makers polishes:

These don't have names. The one on the left is an awesome glitter that I can't really describe. I still can't tell if the larger silver glitter is supposed to be half moons or ghosts. Either way, its awesome! The one on the right is a black jelly base with orange bar glitter in it!

And of course.... Black Magic and Purple Potion!

I'm sure you guys have seen plenty of pics of these babies already! Both are awesome colors!

On the Prowl
I was lucky enough to find a display with the new Wet n Wild "On the Prowl" collection. Lots of great colors, but I only picked up two of them.

Ready to Pounce is a deep purpley color. Yeah, I'm good at describing things!

And Tangled in My Web is a black glittery top coat.

I actually thought it was in a black base. But I swatched in to find that it is a clear base with black glitter!

I'm so excited for all my new goodies! Anybody else been getting fun stuff recently?

Glittery Jeweled Taupe

2011-10-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

I did this look right after I received my latest Darling Girl order. I had to wear Jeweled Taupe! Such a pretty color! This look was literally a glitter bomb, but I loved it!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Copper from Rising Star palette (Fantasy Makers)
- Jeweled Taupe on lid (Darling Girl)
- Chimera to highlight (Darling Girl)
- brown eyeliner (Prestige)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

I don't remember what I used on my face. If I remember right, it was just primer and my pressed powder.

The Fantasy Makers cream actually worked very well as a base. I didn't experience any bad creasing from it. I actually used the sponge applicator to apply a light layer of it. I then patted Jeweled Taupe all over it. Was really pleased with the overall results.

Polish

2011-09-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Some of the polish colors I've been wearing. I'm ready to transition into fall and winter colors. So I'll definitely be reaching for my dark colors more often!

Zoya Kelly & essence Gagalectric

So hard to capture how this combo tuned out! Was not what I expected! I figured it would be more purple, but the blue duochrome really took over!

Revlon Carbonite

I am so in love with this color! It is a beautiful metallic, smokey, goldish taupe color that I can't really describe. Such a perfect color for fall! I anyone else loving this color right now?

Fantasy Makers Purple Potion

This is a very pretty blackened purple. In the bottle it looks more purple than it does when you are wearing it. I put on three coats and it really looks black unless you look at it closely.

What color polishes have your girls been wearing? Anyone else ready for fall and winter shades?!

Purple and Blue

2011-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Another purple look!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Spectrum Pot in Visible Violet (Evil Shades)
- Dazzle Dust in 90 on lid (Barry M)
- Blue from Earth Looks Small From Down Here palette (WnW)
- Chimera to highlight (Darling Girl)
- Black eyeliner on lower lashline (Mary Kay)
- Super Shock Max mascara in black (Avon)

Face: primer (Mary Kay) and my pressed powder

Cheeks: Skon (Evil Shades)

Lips: Gilded Ballerina lipstick (Morgana)

You can tell the area above the crease, just before where it transitions to highlight, is kind of patchy. I was trying to blend and I think I over blended it. It really needed some more color added so it didn't look so patchy and flat.

But besides that, was pleased with how this turned out. These colors work well with my eye color and make the green come out!

Pink!

2011-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

This was a look I did with some of the colors I made.

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Glitter Glue all over eye area (Darling Girl)
- 3 colors I had made
- Illusion to highlight (Meow)
- brown eyeliner
- black mascara

Face:
- PF Tinted Moisutrizer
- My pressed bronzer

Cheeks: My pressed blush

Lips: Clear lipliner with my pink gloss

This was a fun pink look! Was really happy with how it turned out! But I think I had a bit too much bronzer on!

adorned with Grace Look

2011-09-27T14:00:00.001-07:00

My adorned with Grace shadows have always been my go-to colors for easy, wearable looks. I hadn't used them for a while, so I decided to pull some of them out!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Vex to highlight (MAC)
- Instinctive on inner 1/2 of lid (awG)
- Exceptional on outer 1/2 of lid (awG)
- Intriguing in crease and lower lashline (awg)
- black eyeliner on lower lashline
- black mascara

This pic was taken later in the day in natural light. The lip color has worn off at this point:

Face:
- Tinted moisturizer (PF) mixed with Matte-Wear Foundation (Mary Kay)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks:
- Glow Baby Glow on cheekbones (Darling Girl)
- Skon blush (Evil Shades)

Lips: Lip Enhancing Gloss in Fame (Smashbox)

This was my first time wearing the Smashbox lip gloss that came in my New Beauty Test Tube. It actually wears really well for a gloss! I was impressed! I'm always happy with how my eyes turn out when I wear awG shadows. They are so easy to work with! And the colors are always so natural for me!

Polaris

2011-09-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

This was a really quick look! Love the complexity of Darling Girl's Polaris shadow!

What I Used:
- TFSI
- Vex to highlight (MAC)
- Polaris on lid, crease, and lower lashline (Darling Girl)
- Brown eyeliner on lower lashline (Prestige)
- Black mascara (essence)

Face:
- BB Cream (Dr. Jart)
- Bronzer to contour (Revlon)
- my pressed finishing powder

Cheeks: my pressed blush/highlighter/bronzer

Lips: Inglot lipstick

This is about a 5 minute makeup look for me. My skin was really funky this day (August 31) and I wanted a bit of coverage and a simple eye that would distract from my face. The BB cream definitely helps even out my skin, but its just a bit light in color for me.

Winged Liner

2011-09-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Why is winged liner so difficult for me? I think its because it takes a little skill to get the wing just right. Plus patience. Which I don't have a lot of! But I thought I would practice a bit.

First Look:
- TFSI
- Shadow & Liner Eye Duo in Frosted Fig (Mary Kay)
- Holographic Eyeshadow in Prismatic White (essence)
- Liquid Eyeliner (Catrice)

Not perfect by any means, but its a start! I think my biggest problem is right at the corner of the eye. I have a hard time connecting the liner from the lower lashline with the upper lashline.

For my second look I decided to use to wetline. I prefer a thin liner brush for wetlining. I know there are multiple types of liner brushes out there, but this one seems the easiest for me to work with:

Second Look:
- TFSI
- Glitter Glue on lid (Darling Girl)
- Alexandria on lid (Morgana)
- Chimera to highlight (Darling Girl)
- Beige to highlight (Inglot)
- Glitter Glue to wetline (Darling Girl)
- Pumpkinfire to wetline (Fyrinnae)

I think this one turned out good! I think the brown liner is less harsh and conceals mistakes easier than a sharp black. The liner brush seemed easier for me to work with than the liquid liner brush. The consistency of wet lining with Darling Girl Glitter Glue is a bit "thicker" than the liquid liner. I think a thicker, less wet liner was easier for me to line with.

The other thing that is hard for me is tapering the wing to a fine point. The right pressue is key and it just seems to take practice!

Anyone else still not completely down with winged liner like I am?