Three Essie Green Nail Polishes

Whew. I've been super lazy these last 2 days.  I got home from a trip to see my family on Sunday and I guess I didn't realize how tired I was, but I've barely deviated from my path of couch, bathroom, computer chair since I've been home.  The best thing about being home from vacation is sleeping in your own bed and being surrounded by your own things. The worst?  Well, everything else, haha.

I could really go for a nap right about now, so this post will be a quick one.  Hey, at least there will be pictures!

First, I want to appologize for how crappily I applied my nail polish in these pictures.  This was my first time swatching after chopping off my nails and it's hard getting used to the new length.  I really wanted to reswatch these, because frankly they are rather embarrassing, but laziness won out.  If you must avert your eyes from my terrible application and dry cuticles I don't blame you.

Similar to my post of three Essie blues, here are three Essie greens.  All are swatched with no base or top coat.

Essie Mint Candy Apple in the sun

 This was 3 coats.

Essie Mint Candy Apple in the shade

Essie Pretty Edgy in the sun

 This was 3 coats.

Essie Pretty Edgy in the shade

Essie Sew Psyched in the sun

This was 2 coats.

Essie Sew Psyched in the shade

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Detrivore Cosmetics Swatches and Review

I'm slowly making my way through my list of indie makeup companies.  Today's post is about Detrivore Cosmetics.  I've seen tons of posts about them around the blogosphere and had compiling a list of eye shadows I wanted.  So, when I noticed Detrivore as having a sale (on top of their already low prices.  Most full size eye shadows are only $3. Their satin collection eyeshadows, which are supposed to be more pigmented, are $5) I decided to make a purchase.

I have yet to be let down by an Indie makeup company, and Detrivore is no different.  Their shadows are AMAZING.  You'll see in my swatches that I swatched them dry and over a sticky base (Pixie Epoxy) and some of them look just as bold and pigmented dry as they do over the base.  I'm really impressed.  I didn't have time to take pictures of me wearing the shadows, but just know they wear extremely well, blend well, and don't fade over time.  I need to buy more!

Know what else is cool? Shipping is free for all US orders, no matter how little or how much you buy.  I can think of another company that does that.  And international shipping is only $5, which is really good, also.

I ordered 10 shadows and I received 2 free samples.  The jars are shrink wrapped and the ingredients are on the shrink wrap so they will get thrown away.  I know many people would prefer that the ingredients were permanently on the jars.  The sample baggies also have ingredient stickers.

The bottom labels are cute.  The satin shadows have a spider on the label while the regular line of shadows has a beetle (a scarab?).  The names are all "dark" or "dirty", which fits in with the theme of the shop.  In other words, not cutesy or pretty names at all.

From left- Vacancy (satin), Faithless (satin), Sacred (satin), Marine, Hemoglobin (satin), Shroud

The top row is dry over bare skin.  The bottom row is patted over Pixie Epoxy.

To be honest, the regular eyeshadows, which are $3, seem just as pigmented as the $5 Satin eyeshadows (which are supposed to be more so).  This isn't a complaint at all, as $3 is a really good price for eyeshadow, as is $5.

From left- Vacancy (satin), Faithless (satin), Sacred (satin)

From left- Marine, Hemoglobin (satin), Shroud

From left- Saprophyte, Abnormal, Sexualis, Scar, Brine, Weaponry

From left- Saprophyte, Abnormal, Sexualis

From left- Scar, Brine, Weaponry

I love all of these eyeshadows and plan to make another order as soon as I can. Hurry and order while you can because the owner is moving and will be shutting her shop down from June 4th until the end of July.  Even if you only get a shadow or two, it's worth it as you don't even have to pay shipping!  And my order arrived very quickly.

Here is the Detrivore Cosmetics website. Satin shadows sell for $5 and the original collection shadows sell for $3.  They also sell matte eyeshadows, highlighters, blushes, an eye shadow primer, and face powders.


Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Giveaway Winner! UPDATE

UPDATE: Okay, here I am posting this again.  This giveaway thing has turned into a big headache!  I went into offering the giveaway with the best of intentions and probably have come off seeming like a jerk, and I'll tell you why.  In my excitement to pick a winner, I emailed them before I checked to see if they followed me via GFC or on Twitter (because they retweeted and that was one of the stipulations).  And it turned out they did not follow me either place.  So I asked them about the GFC thing because I noticed that first, but they told me they probably accidentally unfollowed me when they reached the 300 max following limit.  I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I discovered they weren't following me on Twitter either.  I meant for this giveaway as a thank you to the people who read my blog, and while of course I can't be sure that everyone who enters actually does, it was proven twice to me that the original winner didn't bother to follow the rules and even wait to unfollow me until the giveaway was over (which is still a mean thing to do, I think).

I hate drama and didn't want to create any, but I really feel like I need to pick a new winner.  I don't think it would be fair to the people who actually did play by the rules.

With all that yucky stuff out of the way, here is the winner of my giveaway- Shimmer from http://obsessivecosmetichoardersunite.blogspot.com/

I've said this before, but I'm so grateful to all of you who read my ramblings.  When I first started blogging I was afraid my only follower would my mom because she felt sorry for me!  I have more stuff in my giveaway stash so I'll host another giveaway soon.  Be on the look out!

Week 8: Shopping my Stash for Untried Polish- NYX Girls Collection Noir

Disclaimer: As you are probably aware, there was a big incident involving NYX Cosmetics.  Due to their lack of customer service and questionable business practices I cannot recommend buying directly from them.  If you wish to purchase NYX products I would recommend Cherry Culture, Beauty Joint, or Ulta.

I forgot to bring any untried polishes with me on vacation besides this one. I just got it last week, so it IS an untired, but still sort of cheating for me to use it when I'm trying to go back through all the polishes I've had forever and never used.  See?  I told you guys I buy polishes faster than I can use them.  Next week I'll try and get back on track by showing a polish I've had for at least a year and have never used. I have plenty left. (Look here to see what I've worn previously of my untrieds.)

And look, I chopped off my nails!  I think I have a few more swatch pictures with my longer nails, but they're short now.  And my nails were never super long, but it was getting hard to type with them, so I hacked 'em off.

This was 3 coats of Collection Noir with base and top coat.

NYX Girls Collection Noir in the sun

This a black creme base with primarily gold shimmer, but there is also some green and copper and a few other colors thrown in.

NYX Girls Collection Noir in the shade

My mood has the tendency to change quickly, sometimes instantly after I apply my polish.  This time I put it on and was instantly bored with it.  Sometimes I crave something understated, but now now.  So what did I do?  Why, I slapped some glitter on top of course.

First I use one coat of China Glaze 5 Golden Rings, which is just gold micro glitter in a clear base.  Of course that STILL wasn't blingy enough for me so I used one coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment, which is a sparse gold holographic micro glitter in a clear base.  Okay, now I'm happy. :)


Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

EOTD: Sunrise Over Mars (Orange and Coral)

Here is another quick post.  Sorry about this!  Once I get back home I'll be able to devote more time to blogging again.  Well, until I start my summer classes in a week and a half! Yikes! I forgot about my classes.  I had to drop out of the Spring semester for medical reasons so I really need to take classes this summer to help me get back on track.

ANYWAY, here is an EOTD I did a few weeks ago and barely am getting around to posting.  Oh, and a bonus L(ip)OTD too!

As you may know, I am obsessed (OBSESSED!) with Persephone Minerals' Mars Crystal Power eye shadow.  It feels like I wear it every other time I do my makeup.  This one is just a simple look, but I really like it.

This is Persephone Minerals' Mars Crystal Power on the lid and urban Decay Jones in the crease and a little below the lower lash line.  I used a felt tip eye liner from Physician's Formula on my upper lash line.  Oh, and a random shimmery shadow to highlight.

This is what my eye shadow looked like after 8 hours.  My mascara smudged a little, but the eye shadow itself looks exactly the same.  Gotta love a good eye shadow primer!

Here is what I wore on my lips with this look:

MAC Ever Hip lipstick under Sleek Sugar May Tinted Lip Conditioner

This is one of new favorite lip combos!


Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

I'm Pretty Happy With Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blushes

I have a confession to make- I really like the way these blushes smell.  Sometimes I bust 'em out of my blush drawer just to smell them.  And I usually don't even like scented makeup.  The concept of these Happy Booster blushes is that they apparently have some magical compound or something that is supposed to induce euphoria.  Or something.  I don't really pay attention to marketing mumbo-jumbo.  I wish I would have know all I needed was a scented blush to make me happy 12 years ago.  I could have saved my poor parents tons of money on therapists and medication!

Snark aside, these are super cute blushes.  I love the multi-colored hearts and the metallic hot pink packaging.  I wish I had a nail polish that looked exactly like it.  I know scent is really subjective, but I love it as well.  To me it smells really girly- flowery and soft and slightly powdery.  This is totally not a scent I would personally wear.  But I think I love it so much because it reminds me of the perfume my terribly cool older cousin used to wear.  Scent memory is a powerful thing.

At 0.24 oz these are quite decently sized blushes.  For example, NARS blushes are only 0.16 oz. They are nicely pigmented with the color being buildable.  There are only two colors in this range right now, and to be honest they look pretty similar on my cheeks.  One is a cooler reddish pink and the other a warmer peachy-pink.  The smell fades pretty quickly once you're wearing it and I think if the smell was too strong for you in the pan just letting it sit with the lid open for awhile would help the smell dissipate some.  These are shimmery blushes but not over-the-top.  You aren't going to end up looking like a disco ball.

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blushes

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blushes

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blushes Rose and Natural

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blushes

 The mirror and the brush are housed in a compartment under the brush.  I always hate the brushes that come with drugstore makeup and while this one is slightly better than usual, it still isn't usable to me.

Rose on the left and Natural on the right

The left swatch for each color is shown heavily applied while the right swatch is blended out.

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in Rose

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in Natural

Pros:

• Buildable pigmentation
• Not chalky; great texture
• Doesn't look powdery
• Packaging is pretty
• Smells great (to me)

Cons:

• Only 2 colors
• Scent might not be everyone's cup of tea
• Colors look a little too similar on the cheeks
• Not the most inexpensive drugstore blushes

Available:

• Retails for $11.95 at drugstores and all places Physician's Formula is sold

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Three Essie Blue Nail Polishes

I'm still in Austin visiting my family, which means I don't have a whole lot of time to write blog posts!  I'm still checking my comments and reading everyones' blogs when I get a chance (aka after my parents go to bed).  Don't be too mad at me that this is pretty much just a swatch post!
These are all swatches with no base or top coats.

Essie Turquoise & Caicos in the sun

This is 3 coats.

Essie Turquoise & Caicos in the sun

New York Summer's Hot Sky Blue (from this post) is nearly a perfect dupe for Essie's Turquoise & Caicos.  It is just slightly darker and greener.  Hot Sky Blue is on my index finger.

Essie Lapis of Luxury in the sun

This is 3 coats.

Essie Lapis of Luxury in the shade

Essie Mesmerize in the sun

This is 2 coats.

Essie Mesmerize in the shade

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Sephora's Lip Attitude Glamour Lipstick Rivals High End Lippies

There seem to be a lot of high end, sheer, glossy lipsticks coming out lately, for Example Dior's Addict line.  These seem right up my alley as I'm still in the begining processes of wearing brighter/more opaque colors on my lips.  A few weeks ago when I was at Sephora I almost bought one of the Addict lipsticks, but just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for one.
AND, I found something cheaper I liked just as much- Sephora's Lip Attitude Glamour lipsticks. I've bought a lot of stuff from Sephora, but hardly any of it has been from their house brand.  Now I'm thinking I need to pay more attention to it!  At just $12 and coming in 20 different shades, these lipsticks are perfect for those of us who like sheerer lip colors sometimes (and don't want to pay over $30 for the high end ones).  $12 seems like a really good price for this lipstick seeing as some drugstore lippies approach that price.  And if you love opaque lipsticks, Sephora has a formula for that, although I haven't tried it. My Sephora never has these in stock, or has a very limited selection.  I'm not sure if they sell out quickly or if it's just that they never restock them.  As I have never heard much buzz about these, I'm going to assume the latter.

Here is what Sephora has to say about them:

"What it is:
Hydrating, semi-sheer lipstick.

What it does:
Rich color can still be natural looking. This unique formula combines long-lasting wear, vibrant color, and moist, see-through color. The effect is nothing short of naturally glamorous." 

Well, I can say that not ALL the colors are vibrant, as the one I got isn't.  It's a light pinky nude. But I don't think a pinky nude is supposed to be vibrant.

Sephora's Lip Attitude Glamour Lipstick in Light Candy 01

Sephora's Lip Attitude Glamour Lipstick in Light Candy 01

I love the packaging of this lipstick.  It's hard to tell but it's a sleek dark silvery grey gunmetal color tube.  It's really pretty, although as you can see it attracts fingerprints like crazy.

Sephora's Lip Attitude Glamour Lipstick in Light Candy 01

 You can tell from my arm swatch that this is a sheer color.  But it's so pale that I think it would look weird if it were any more opaque.  It is also really glossy, almost like a light lipgloss in lipstick form.  The texture is thin, slick, and emollient.  It feels really moisturizing on my lips.  Of course you can probably guess that due to these qualities this is hardly a long wearing lipstick.  The wear time is really short, but I don't mind reapply my lip products, in fact I really like to do it.  I'm weird.

Sephora's Lip Attitude Glamour Lipstick in Light Candy 01

Ahh, I love this lipstick so much!  I can't wait to try some of the brighter, bolder colors.  I bet they probably wear longer, too.  

Available:

• $12 at Sephora's website and in some Sephora stores (the Sephora in JCPenny near me doesn't carry these)

Kiss My Sass Cosmetics Swatches and Review

I have a very long "to try" list of indie makeup companies.  Kiss My Sass (formerly Suds n Sass) is one of the first I've bought from off that list.  I'm really glad I did!
Before I get to the pictures, I just wanted to mention that I LOVE the website.  There isn't one thing I would complain about or would change to make it work better. It's really professional looking and has all the same features of the websites of bigger, non-indie brands.  My favorite feature is that you can log in and see the status of your order and whether it has shipped or not and what the tracking number is if it has.  I wish all indie web stores had this!

Everything came in this cute bag and she also included a personal handwritten note, which was a nice touch.

I ordered 7 eyeshadow samples in jars and 2 custom Lip Glazes.  I received free samples of Pink Swear eyeshadow and Red Velvet Jelly Balm.

 I love the labels and the jars.  They look very professional.  Everything, even the samples, has a plastic safety band thingy (I totally forgot what they are called!).

The bottom labels are equally as impressive as the top. They say what the product is, how much product is in the jar. If it's a sample it says "SAMPLE" instead of the amount.  It then says the name of the shade followed by the flavor (if it is a lip product). What is really impressive is that insteado having a "may contain" each product has their own specific ingredient label. At the bottom the labels list what applications they are safe for (lip, all, etc) and whether they are vegan or not.  Around the edge is the company's website, email address, city, and zip code.  That's a lot of information for one label!

In addition to the safety seal, each jar has a sticker over the sifter.  Oh, and the sifters!  I thought it was pretty neat that even the sample shadows came with sifters.

The colors are from left- Get Ur Freak On, Metamorphosis, Meteor, Reign Over Me, Sleepy Hollow, Spellbound, Tea Rose, and Pinky Swear

The top row of swatches are dry over bare skin.  The bottom row are patted over Pixie Epoxy.  All except Pinky Swear that is.  Mattes don't look that great over PE.

From the left- Get Ur Freak On, Metamorphosis, Meteor, Reign Over Me

From the left- Sleepy Hollow, Spellbound, Tea Rose, and Pinky Swear

 I love ALL of these colors, even the matte, which usually isn't my thing.  I can't wait to order some more.

From left- Peach Petal Custom Lip Glaze, Sugared Violets Custom Lip Glaze, and Red Velvet Jelly Balm

From left- Peach Petal Custom Lip Glaze, Sugared Violets Custom Lip Glaze, and Red Velvet Jelly Balm

From left- Peach Petal Custom Lip Glaze, Sugared Violets Custom Lip Glaze, and Red Velvet Jelly Balm

 For the custom Lip Glazes you pick any eye shadow or blush from the shop, or a combination of them, and they will make them into a custom gloss.  You can choose the name, if you want extra sparkles and what color, a hilite/sheen and what color, and the flavor of your gloss.  There are 8 sparkle colors to choose from, 7 sheen colors, and 21 flavors.  The only thing I wish is that there was an option for unflavored.

From left- Peach Petal Custom Lip Glaze, Sugared Violets Custom Lip Glaze, and Red Velvet Jelly Balm

I really like the colors I got, I just have a few issues.  First, the texture of the Lip Glazes is REALLY thick.  I like thick glosses, but not when it impedes the application and the way it wears.  These feel... gloopy... on my lips and I had a really hard time evening them out on my lips, especially Peach Petal.  Sugared Violets applied slightly better.  And then the gloss had a tendency to build up in the corners and inside of my lips.  It was weird, I have never had that happen with a gloss before.  I don't find these particularly sticky, just extremely thick.  Second, I wish these were in a lip gloss tube with a wand applicator instead of a jar.  Kiss My Sass does have glosses with a different formula in tubes and I'm guessing they wanted to keep these two products distinct from each other.  But I just think these would work a lot better in a tube.  For their credit, they do claim the Lip Glazes are thick, and I don't mind it, but it just feels like you can't even rub your lips together or it will all squish to the corners.  That was even applying the thinnest coat I could manage.

I LOVE the Jelly Balm formula.  It feels emollient and moisturizing, like a really good balm, but glossier.  I just really don't like lip products in jars, but this one goes a little better.  I wish it was in a traditional lip balm style packaging, but the formula may be too soft the keep it's shape in a tube.

Peach Petal Custom Lip Glaze

This is a mix of Kiss My Sass' Blossom and Zinnia matte eyeshadows with not extra sparkle or sheen.  The scent I chose is honey, and while a bit strong for me, it does smell exactly like honey.  The smell is a dupe for Urban Decay's new honey lip glosses.

You can sort of see where the gloss is gooping towards the inside of my upper lip.

Sugared Violets Custom Lip Glaze

This color is made with their Cotton Candy blush and violet sheen added.

Red Velvet Jelly Balm

So would I order from Kiss My Sass again?  Most definitely.  I love the eyeshadows and the Jelly Balm. I want to try her lip glosses in the tubes next.  I wish she offered custom colors with those because I really liked the colors I picked for the glazes.  I want to try the blushes also.

The eyeshadows are here and come in 55 shades. The sample baggies hold 1/8th tsp and are $1.50. Sample jars hold 1/4 tsp and are $2.50. 5 gram jars are $6 and 10 gram jars are $10.

The custom Lip Glazes are here and come in a 5 gram jar for $7 and a 10 gram jar for $10. (Regular Lip Glazes are $6 and $9).

Jelly Balms are here are a 5 grams jar is $6 and a 10 gram jar is $9.


Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!