Lady in a Top Hat

Darling Girl Cosmetics: General Catalogue Swatches

2011-10-30T15:43:00.002-04:00

Hey all! It's been a while since my last swatch post. Things have been hectic especially at work. I also moved into a new apartment so it's been a couple months of non-stop activity. I've finally gotten a week where I could sit down and actually do swatches, read blogs, and just relax. Not that I should since I have so much work to complete but it's still nice to get time to yourself.

There are so many collections to catch up on! In addition, I've got so many swatches to post! Here's all the swatches of the last haul I got from Darling Girl Cosmetics:

Aren't they lovely? These color are all a part of the general catalog over at Susan's store. I absolutely love every single color here - this rarely happens when I purchase en masse at a makeup store. I wish I had the time to do my makeup every single day because I would absolutely love to see what awesome looks could come out with these colors. As always, the texture is fantastic. I swatched them over Pixie Epoxy. I have Glitter Glue coming my way and I can't wait to test it out!

What about you? What lovely looks have you created before with some of these colors?

Darling Girl 200 Follower Giveaway

2011-07-26T00:19:00.001-04:00

Hi all! Susan of Darling Girl Cosmetics is having her 200 Follower Giveaway! Click on the picture below to join:

Blogger Meme

2011-07-24T22:58:00.004-04:00

Hello all! Taking some pictures, typing up some reviews, you should all see something pretty soon (perhaps this upcoming weekend?). In the meantime, I got tagged by the lovely Mng over at I'm Not Skinny, So What? Go and check out her awesome blog!

1. Name your favorite color: Red.

2. Name your favorite song: Currently, it's "One In A Million" by Ne-Yo.

3. Name your favorite dessert: Taro flavored frozen yogurt. Hell yeah, Yogiberry!

4. What is pissing you off? Nothing at all.

5. When you're upset, you... Go to the gym. I do kickboxing at least 3 nights a week so it's a great stress reliever.

6. Your favorite pet: I've never had a pet. :(

7. Black or White? Most definitely black.

8. Your biggest fear is...: Failure. Missing out on things. :)

9. Your best feature is...: My smile! I used to have braces and lazy me didn't wear the retainer so they're not as straight as they were when I first got my braces off.

10. Everyday attitude: Loud and obnoxious. Lol.

11. What is perfection? Boring and seems stressful. Imperfect little me means I can get away with a shit-ton. Haaaaa.

12. Guilty pleasure: Laying in bed with my IPOD on. Seriously, best thing ever.

I tag...whomever! :)

Several Hauls (Picture Heavy)

2011-07-21T00:17:00.006-04:00

Hi all! I got nominated for for Best Swatches over at the Beauty Blog Awards (voting link)! This is a great honor and my first ever so I'm excited. I'm super, duper far behind but that's okay. It's nice to see my blog up there. :D

Also, I just wanted to give you a sneak peak of what is coming up and to let y'all know I am still lurking around. :) I'm sorry I haven't been commenting as often - I've been inundated at work with a lot of projects so I haven't even been responding to my personal emails.

I've been really good about not buying makeup! Not so good with shoes and other luxury items though. :(

Meow Cosmetics: Legal Scandals Collection Swatches

2011-07-10T15:25:00.003-04:00

Wow, I cannot believe how long it took me to finish this set of swatches up. Also, I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up with everyone's awesome blog posts so I'm going to try and get through most of them today. Work has been a bit rough and the weekends haven't left me with much free time either. It's a good thing but sometimes it's also good to have some time to yourself. :)

For me, I use that time to do some pretty, pretty swatches! This post features the Meow Cosmetics collection, Legal Scandals. Take a looksies below!

Easily, my favorites from this collection are Wanda H., Billie H., Lana T., and Martha S. Martha S. came out a bit patchy but the color is really pretty to use for work. I liked Patty H. also but I'm not well-versed enough in make-up application to know how to wear it. Lol. I tend to stick with colors I can swipe on and breeze out the door. Nothing too bright, too bold, just soft and versatile enough to wear for any occasion.

How about you? Any favorites from this collection? What color(s) do you prefer wearing all the time?

Meow Cosmetics: Mysterious Scandals Collection Swatches

2011-06-07T21:57:00.002-04:00

More swatches! This is one of Meow's smaller Scandals set. It's called Mysterious Scandals:

Peg E. looks like it would work wonderfully as a highlighter and Marilyn M. was a big surprise. Nothing exciting in this set but I think it's meant to be a bit more subdued. Great colors for daily wear. :)

What do you think?

In Love With Darling Girl's My Little Pony Look

2011-06-05T11:58:00.002-04:00

Hey all! It's been a while since I've posted an EOTD and here's the true facts: I suck at doing my eye makeup. It's cool. We all need to start somewhere. But what makes it even worse is that I can't take a single decent picture when I do end up putting on eye makeup. It takes about 50 different shots before I find one that's "meh" and decide to post.

Last night I went to see "X-Men: First Class" - fantastic movie. Kind of disappointed they didn't have an extra scene after the credits. Anyway, since going on this no-buy (4th day, woo!), I've started playing with my makeup. Here's a purple look I did last night:

Let me tell you how much I LOVE "My Little Pony" from Darling Girl Cosmetics. It's a beautiful duochrome that shimmers lavender/green when you pat it on. Then if you start blending, a darker lavender color comes out.

What I did was that I primed my eyelid, patted on "My Little Pony" all over my eyelid, then in the crease, I started 'blending' and by blending, I started going back and forth with my brush and MLP. I had the shimmer on the lid and the dark purple on the crease. This one eyeshadow basically completed the look.

I wanted the crease to be a bit more dramatic so I added some of Urban Decay's "Hustle" but I don't think I really needed it. Eyeliner, mascara and whee. It's finished. :)

By the way, those are my eyelashes. "Fairy Drops" mascara is freaking AMAZING.

Products used:
- Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion
- Darling Girl "My Little Pony" eye shadow (lid and crease)
- Urban Decay "Hustle" eye shadow (outer v)
- Avon "Sugar Plum" Glimmerstick eye liner
- Fairy Drops "Scandal Queen" mascara

Have you tried any of these products yet? What do you think of MLP?

Meow Cosmetics: Meow Scandals Collection Swatches

2011-06-03T19:57:00.004-04:00

Hi all! Sorry I've been away for a while. I started a new job this week and I have been trying to get acclimated to the new work culture. My old job gave me a really great farewell and I received this in the mail sent by my (ex)boss the Friday I left:

I almost had a conniption when I saw this. Wrote a thank you to my boss and well, I still haven't taken it out of the plastic packaging because I'm afraid I'll get my fingerprints on it, haha! I'm really going to miss those guys. I hope I do well at this new company. Wish me luck!

I am also going on a month long no buy. It started on June 2nd - not June 1st because I bought something on June 1st and decided June 2nd I needed to stop buying stuff. I hope I can do this! I want to see if I can actually go a whole month without purchasing anything. =X

In the meantime, whenever I feel the 'buying' itch, I just have to remind myself that there are still a lot of swatching to do. :)

Moving onto less boring matters, here's Meow Cosmetics Meow Scandals collection:

Neuter is a really pretty olive green, Jessica R. is a really pretty purple but nothing out of the ordinary, Prissy was super patchy - perhaps the matte pigment didn't work well with PE, and Feral was a gorgeous navy blue.

It's not one of my favorite collections but there are definitely some lovelies in this collection.

Have you tried these colors? What do you think?

ShoeDazzle: April & May Purchases

2011-05-22T12:53:00.005-04:00

I'm still on my shoe purchasing spree and no matter how much I don't really like platforms, they're so in this season and some of the styles are just too cute to pass up. Yes, I have issues with spending. :( Case in point: the amount of money I spent at Express yesterday.

Anyway, onto the shoes! I got these from ShoeDazzle.

For April, I purchased 2 pairs of Michael Antonio shoes and 1 pair of a ShoeDazzle original (I think...):

The nude shoes didn't fit as well as the blue ones did. In fact, it actually felt like it ran 1 size larger. I'm not quite sure how to address the inconsistency issues. :/

These were my fun pair. I've never had something that looked like this and I have a thing for straps so I had to get it. I think it'd look cute with a pair of skinny jeans. :)

I didn't think I was going to purchase anything for May - the selections weren't all that great. Then they came out with this LE and despite the platforms, I think the color is so gorgeous and unique.

Share with me some of you shoes for this season! I'd love to see what your likes are and it's a good way for me to see what I'm missing out on. :) Also, what do you think? Yay or nay?

Darling Girls: What Dreams May Come + Holo-Glosses

2011-05-19T09:52:00.003-04:00

Hey all! So this is the last post of my most recent Darling Girls haul. I just placed a huge order last night for some samples from their general catalog in addition to the new dry oil sprays that they came out with. I'm super excited. :D

Anyway, moving on to the swatches!

First up, from the What Dreams May Come collection:

These were the freebies I received in my package:

And then the gorgeous, gorgeous holo-glosses:

I love the holo-glosses. I have a trouble with glosses/lipsticks drying my lips out so I don't wear them. However, these were not drying at all. The color goes on very sheer so it's best to wear over a color but I used them on their own and I thought they were great. :) I wish the container wasn't so difficult to screw the top on and off though.

Another fantastic purchase! I've loving Pennies from Heaven - it's SO pretty!

Have you guys tried any of these colors? The holo-glosses? What are your thoughts?

Darling Girls: Hello Kitty Collection

2011-05-16T22:32:00.002-04:00

So far, I've posted swatches on two new collections by Darling Girl Cosmetics (see below). Here is the third and what I think is one of the cutest collection an indie company has come out with:

Again, some of the best formulations I've come across. All of these colors applied with a very smooth consistency despite the glitter/shimmer content in them. I love the colors.

Sugar Minuet has some gorgeous blue glitter action going on, Deery Lou is one of the more beautiful mauve shades I've come across, Purin looks like innocent fun, My Melody looks like it can become a daily favorite of mine, Chi Chai looks like the exact color of this one favorite dress of mine, Keroppi, Balletusa...gosh, more full-size must-haves to add to my to-buy list. :D

What are some of your favorites from this collection?

Darling Girls: All The Pretty Little Horses Collection

2011-05-14T09:30:00.005-04:00

Hello! I can't believe Blogger was down for 2 days. I was starting to go through withdrawal. When it finally came back online, lots of great posts were made so I've been going through those. :)

Next up for swatching is the gorgeous collection full of neutrals and browns by Darling Girls named All the Pretty Little Horses. Oh gosh, my list for full-sizes has just gotten even longer!

Just like everything else I've received from DG, the formulation is buttery smooth. I loved how these shadows applied. There's also so many great colors you can choose from to use as a blending color, crease color, or just even day to day wear.

My absolute MUST HAVES are Dapple, Mustang, Unicorn and My Little Pony.

Unicorn had SO much sparkly action going on that I thought using this would be painful. Nope. The glitter is small enough to apply just as smooth as a not so sparkly shadow. I LOVE it. You should all check it out if you get the chance to.

What are your favorite colors from this collection?

Darling Girls: Spring Fling Collection

2011-05-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

Alright, I have been a swatching fiend these last few days because I finally have some time to sit down and play with my Darling Girl haul and I already have a list of full-sizes MUST haves written down. I also just found out through her blog that another new collection will be debuting soon. Whaaaat? I can't wait! I can purchase my full-sizes then also. :D

The next few posts will be all about Darling Girl Cosmetics. I am loving this brand. Before I start raving, let me post the colors so you can see for yourself:

Quick run-down:

1. Shipping is quick as always. It was ridiculous how fast I got these considering Susan had just re-opened the store when I purchased and 4 new collections had debuted.

2. The girl has her formulations down pat. I love how smooth and buttery these shadows swipe on. There is no patching and even the ones with a lot of glitter go on smooth. Hello thur. I <3 you. (Patchy eye shadow is a big irk of mine.)

3. I love how soft the colors are. I can wear these for a night out and just as easily wear them into a conservative work environment.

I wish there were more collections! I want them ALL. Lol. Serious though, no joke, the formulations of the colors I have tried are amazing. With Meow, I love the variety but I always find some colors to be a bit patchy upon application. With DG, I have not had that issue.

From this collection, I have so many favorites! Plum Blossoms, Garden of Weedin', Butterfly Flutterby, Mango Tango...gosh, they're all so pretty!

Have you tried DG Cosmetics yet? If so, what are your favorites?

MAC Cosmetics Swatches & Review

2011-05-08T13:25:00.002-04:00

I know a lot of you have reservations against MAC for many, many good reasons. It was actually one of the many reasons I stopped purchasing MAC products for a good ten years. I was never big into this company anyway; it was super expensive for a tween and that was the age when I bought my first item. I actually STILL have the items I purchased back then and use it from time to time. =X

In any case, I was browsing a few blogs one day and it seemed that the "Rose" pigment was being featured in every look. I love anything that's pink with a gold undertone so I went to the store to check it out. The ladies there were crabby but wasn't so offensive I could never go back. To tell you the truth, I did also help myself to one of their underside drawers - popped it open and grabbed my pigment. Nobody was helping me and I wanted to get in and get out. There was a lot of annoying people in there that day. o_O This was in the MAC store at the Tyson's Corner mall in Virginia.

The second time I went back, I went to the Friendship Heights, DC store and I had a fabulous rep attending me named "Anna". She was so friendly and nice and she actually took the time to listen to my request. I gave her an outfit and she gave me a look. It wasn't over the top dark and dramatic but soft and natural, which I loved. I'm pretty easy to please so I basically bought most of the items she threw at me. This is how I ended up with 2 pigments and a DazzleGlass. I was only going in there for *maybe* one pigment. I would've never bought the DazzleGlass if I didn't think "oh, I really like this girl, might as well!" If you read my previous post on lip items, you'd get a sense for my aversion to lip products. It was after this experience when I purchased Darling Girl's holo-gloss and all those NYX lip products.

Anyway, there you have it. I had a pretty good time at the MAC store.

Moving onto the swatches!

All pigments were swatched over MAC Paint Pot in "Soft Ochre". It's not as bright as PE would have made it look but I love the soft colors. You can see that in levels of chunkiness, it would rate with Rose being the chunkiest, then Tan, then Vanilla. Vanilla is quite fine and in Anna's words, the absolute most perfect highlighter. I love all three colors.

I know a lot of people don't like the tackiness of MAC's DazzleGlass but I LOVE how sticky it is. I know it's going to stay on and won't have to apply as often. Also, it won't bleed past my lip because it sticks so well.

What do you think? What MAC products have you tried and loved? Any pigments or glosses you'd like to recommend?

NYX Cosmetics: Lip Lacquer Pots Review & Swatches

2011-05-07T15:00:00.004-04:00

Hi y'all! I'm going to try posting as many swatches as I can with as much variety as I can while I have the time to do so. I'm going to be entering another busy 2-3 weeks in addition to more grad school applications. Therefore, you'll be seeing a lot of things from me in the next few days (hopefully). I've been practicing with my camera and I think I may have figured out a way to take decent pictures of my lips - yay!

Let me just preface by saying that I hate wearing things on my lips. I chew on them more than the average person does and most of the time, lip products dry them out so much which just makes me chew on them even more. It was after I tried a MAC product that I realized there was a new world to be explored. Yeah, I'm behind on the times. Haha.

HauteLook had an awesome NYX sale a couple of weeks ago. I snatched up an 11-piece set of their lip lacquer pots and a 13-piece set of their diamond sparkle lip gloss. The lip lacquer pots retail for $6 each and I paid $33 for the set. That comes out to $3 per pot.

According to NYX:

Drench your lips in this high-shine, high-impact lip lacquer in a portable pot. Whether applied over lipstick or worn solo, the results are always ultra-luminous.

Here is a picture of my normal lips:

Now onto the swatches!

Background: I don't usually wear lip products because I like to chew on my lips, smack them together and bite them. It's a hot mess. When I eat, I don't dab at my lips, I dig into my lips and wipe. I'm rather...'indelicate' (is that the right word?) that way. In any case, it never lasts long and I get too lazy to have to continuously re-apply. But I do like using them even if they last for a short while. The problem is, most glosses and lipsticks usually dry my lips out if I don't prep them with some lip balm so I have to be careful about what I pick up.

Formula: I used some lip balm before putting on the lip lacquer. The color pigmentation isn't as great as I thought it would be so a bit of layering is required. It's not as tacky as I thought a product with the word 'lacquer' in it would be. It's stickier than normal gloss would be though. If you just do a single swipe, it goes on pretty sheer. This is great for people who want a touch of color but a lot of shine. If you want it to be opaque on your lips, you may need to layer. It's not too drying - yes, I can usually tell even through lip balm - and there's no scent or flavor to them. This is a plus for those of you who have an aversion to flavored lippies.

Pricing: I would not fork out $6 for this item but $3 is fine with me. Like I said, I don't usually like wearing lippies so I'm not too keen about paying over $5 for cheaper end items. That being said, I think people who love lip products should at least try this out. It's great for daytime wear which is fantastic for me. I can just swipe it on and be off, no worrying about whether or not the color is okay for the occasion.

Use: You definitely need a lip brush. The jars go in a bit deeper than usual so you have to reach in with your finger. This may result in product under the nails which I know is a big no-no for some of you.

Overall: I really liked this product but I wished the product had more pigment in them. I also wished the formula was thicker but c'est la vie. At $3 a pot, I ain't complaining. NYX didn't do too bad of a job. Kudos! Like I said, I would not pay $6 a pot - I am stingy that way but I definitely do not regret this purchase. I LOVE the colors!

Please note that I will continue doing more swatches of this product! I just didn't want to rub my lips raw while taking the product off each time so I thought I'd do them in parts.

What do you think? Have you tried this product yet?

Meow Cosmetics: Wild Child Collection Swatches

2011-05-06T23:51:00.004-04:00

Hello all! Happy, happy weekend! I did not realize the last two weeks were going to be so crazy. I mean, it was month-end but I honestly did not think it would be quite that bad. I am terribly happy it is the weekend now and knew that I had to post something to show that I am alive.

I'm not sure why these swatches turned out not so great. :/ I may redo them in the future. For now, here is a reference point for Meow's Wild Child collection of eye shadows and blushes!

I love how bright this collection is. However, the blushes really aren't my thing. I tend to like just a little bit of shimmer on my cheek. Otherwise, I look like something from outer space and not the pretty kind like Katy Perry in E.T.

Favorite colors are: OMG, My Bad, TTYL, Sexy Time, ROFLMAO, Flixting, GMTA, LOL

I actually did a couple of swatches from this collection in my past. If you dig way, way back, you'll find the crappy pictures I did, haha. I think this time around, the picture quality is a bit better. :)

What are your favorite colors? Anything from this collection that you wear daily?

Meow Cosmetics: ScandalEyes Political Scandals Collection

2011-04-21T12:00:00.001-04:00

I am extremely behind in swatching which is great because this means I will always have pretty colors to post about. :D This was a collection I picked up way back during the 2010 holidays. Yes, I know...it's more than 4 months after the fact and only now am I getting around to swatches. Yikes! Since some time freed up for me, I promise to post a bit more often than I have been.

I picked up a set of their Political Scandals eye shadows which is part of their Scandal Eyes collection. It's one of their permanent collections so no worries on having to snatch these up before they disappear!

I love how soft these colors are. I think the formulas for these are a bit better than some of the other Meow eye shadows I've come across. Sometimes, their colors will come out patchy when swatching/during regular use and tend to be a bit hard to blend. These colors were NOT like that.

My favorite colors are Mata H. and Paula J.

Have you tried out anything from this collection? If so, what have your experiences been? Favorite colors?

Darling Girl: 4 New Collections Haul

2011-04-20T21:44:00.004-04:00

I made my second ever Darling Girl purchase and as always, great customer service and quick shipping! I finally got around to taking pictures of my haul. I picked up the entire eye shadow collection for All the Pretty Little Horses, Hello Kitty, Spring Fling, and What Dreams May Come. I also picked up 3 holo-glosses in Goldfinger, Peaches, and Pennies From Heaven. My choices were made after seeing some beautiful looks Susan posted at her blog using her own products!

So onto the haul:

And the fantastic freebies I got. A sample of "Peep Show" and a full jar of "New Beginnings"! Eee!

I've already tried out a few of the colors and they're absolutely amazing. I LOVE, LOVE the glosses. A more in-depth review of the holo-glosses is to come along with lots and lots of swatching. :)

Have you guys tried Darling Girl Cosmetics yet? Any recommendations?

Have a good night y'all!

BPAL Lupercalia 2011 "Venusta" Series: Nude Woman Reclining Review

2011-04-18T12:00:00.003-04:00

Rundown...I am a hoarder. A BPAL hoarder to be exact. I have perfumes from BPAL's 2009 Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine series that I haven't even sniffed yet. Not to mention all the bottles I got from people selling them on the forum. I just placed another order last night so there are also those to consider. Therefore, I will try to do as many of these as I can here to shake things up a bit. I love swatching but sometimes, a bit of something different is okay. :)

First up is "Nude Woman Reclining" from their Lupercalia 2011 "Venusta" series. I don't think you can get this anymore as it was a part of their Valentine season limited edition series. I think you might be able to find it on the forum.

A tribute to William Etty and the Elegance of the Human Form. - BPAL

Calla lily, honeysuckle, Turkish jasmine, ambrette seed, galbanum, iris, and bourbon vanilla.

My skin chemistry: It loves "Asian" scents. So, jasmine, plum, rice wine, cherry blossoms, tea - these are all very light scents that don't have a great throw or lasts for a very long time. It also loves citrus which, like the other notes, does not stay for long or have a very big throw.

Initial thoughts: Not sure why I got this. There's nothing in the listed notes that really appeal to me except for the calla lily and Turkish jasmine. Everything else - whut?

In the bottle: Smells powdery. There's something incense-y about it. I don't know how different Turkish jasmine smells from just ordinary jasmine (like the jasmine I smell in my tea) but wow, definitely can't pick anything familiar out. It's a bit sharp.

On my skin: Oh gosh, this is sharp. Still a powdery, floral smell. I think this needs to settle a bit. After a few more huffs, I'm starting to pick out some of the complexities of this scent but the incense/soapy smell is still very prevalent. I get a hit of something sweet. Hmm...must be the bourbon vanilla.

1 hr later: Still powdery. I think it's too soft and smells way too much like a powder pot to me.

Have you tried this scent? What do you think?

Fyrinnae: Eye Shadow Pigment Swatches

2011-04-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

I love, love Fyrinnae and I love, love swatching their eye shadow pigments, all the while wishing my camera was able to pick up the complexity of their colors. When their store opened back up, I was able to snatch up a couple of colors I had been eyeballing. This was a haul I'd received about 2 months ago. I know, I'm extremely behind on my swatching. I still have a bunch of Meow collections to get through. :X

Apparently, they had sent me a free sample of Sumatran Tiger before but I had forgotten about it. Haha, well now I've got me 2 of these. While swatching, I realized that I had also gotten a Nijiro as a freebie before but since I cannot locate it, purchasing it was a good idea. I'm hoping I find it because I love the color.

Digital Faerie is such a lovely, shimmery teal. True fact: Dinosaur Plushie is impossible to take a picture of. Sakura is aptly named. It's white in the jar but swatched, it's got a very beautiful pink/lavender duo-chrome going on.

Gosh, it's so hard to pick a favorite!

I have been neglectful.

2011-04-16T00:18:00.005-04:00

Argh. I'm a terrible, terrible blogger. Real-life has been hectic and I think it's going to get even more hectic. Before anything else happens, I figured I'd make a post to let everyone know I am alive. I am going to try my hardest to catch up on all the new posts! Wish there was an Android app for Blogger, haha.

I am going to try and do some Fyrinnae swatches tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some pictures of stuff I will be reviewing and a MAC haul I made.

I can't get enough of BPAL. I have so many perfume oils and they all smell wonderful. Some more than the others. Just about an hour ago, I placed another order for some of their Salon scents.

All the freebies they threw in my order. <3

Ugh. This was expensive. And the box is mighty large because all you get is this:

Have you guys tried it? Apparently, the website has a coupon for a Buy 1 Get 1 Free deal. I turned my coupon in so hopefully, they'll ship my second bottle soon. It's only 3ml but apparently, it lasts a while.

I don't usually buy higher end makeup but for some reason, I really wanted a jar of their "Rose" pigment. I went back last weekend and picked up 2 more jars of pigments plus a lip gloss. The sales lady was really good. >_>

Now to catch up on posts. :) Have a lovely weekend everyone! And a great big HULLO to my new followers!

Face Candy Couture Swatches & Review

2011-03-21T09:00:00.006-04:00

Today's swatches feature some products from Face Candy Couture, a mineral makeup company that was reviewed by Phyrra during the holidays. If you are a blogger, then you are in luck! This company will send free samples as long as you follow a few basic rules listed here.

Since they were having a sale, I just went ahead and purchased the 8 full eyeshadows for $19.99. It's a fantastic bargain.

I received 5 additional free samples with my order. Shipping was quick and didn't cost more than $2.

I accidentally swatched Chill twice because I purchased it in full-size and didn't realize it was one of the colors she had sent as a free sample. Other free samples include Pinecone, Pretty, Cinnamon, and Damask Grey. I really like these colors. They come with a lot of glitter but nothing crazy like Midnight Cowboy from UD. Feuta Marie comes pretty close to it though.

Overall: The only con I have to mention is how tiny the sample bags were. I am not talking about the samples themselves - there was more than enough - but the tiny bags were hard to open and hard to close. However, it seems Shantle (owner) gives these out for free so dang, a little work ain't nothing. :D I enjoyed these colors. I think the formulation is pretty similar to Aromaleigh. Feuta Marie does have a high glitter content but it's such a soft, pretty pink that I think it'd be fine to wear for more conservative situations. The other colors are just as versatile (maybe not Chill but that'd be a great crease color). Shipping and handling was quick. I love the labeling - it's so colorful! I didn't have any issues with my order so I didn't need to contact costumer service.

All in all, I would definitely order again.

What do you think? Any favorite colors? Personal experience?

Anderson Soap Company: A Review

2011-03-19T18:32:00.002-04:00

Hi All! Just got back from my trip out to the West coast (for work) and I am pooped. I took the red-eye flight but since I had a transfer, it took much longer than it should have. It's all good, I got upgraded for my flight so that was some hot stuff. It was even better in addition to the fact that I had been upgraded for my hotel room. Haha, not that I used any of the extra room - usually got back to the hotel late so the only rooms I used were the bathroom and bedroom.

In any case, remember that big post of stuff to come that I did? I'm slowly working through the products. I know I should do more swatches but I thought I'd throw in some personal care items to shake it up. I just got my stuff from Epically Epic Soap along with Herbolution while I was away at work this week. I can't wait to share with y'all what I got!

Back to the point of this post...so like many of you, I follow LeGothique. I love checking out new makeup and body care companies; I think there's always a holy grail item to be found and I'll go to LeGothique whenever I want some suggestions. When I read this review of hers, I knew I had to try Anderson Soap Company out.

I purchased: Creamy Body Butter in "Satsuma", Rice Flower & Shea soap, Tropical Exfoliating Mango soap

Creamy Body Butter in "Satsuma": My skin has a tendency to "eat" up lotion. But sometimes, it's a picky eater so if a body cream/lotion/butter/etc has TOO many butters in it, the product will just sit on top of the skin. If the product has too little butter in it, I will find myself often reapplying, going through the product faster than normal. My skin is sensitive and it can get awfully dry. Anderson's creamy body butter in "Satsuma" has a fresh, citrus, bubbly smell. When I took a sniff, I thought it was a soda pop scent but it's a lot more sophisticated than that.

Satsuma is a clean and zesty refreshing citrus scent it is sweet with the delightful smell of pineapple, grapefruit, oranges, mandarin and plums.

Unfortunately, the texture was a bit odd. It wasn't 'creamy' so much as it was chunky. In any case, this doesn't mean you can't use it. I used it...and a lot. My skin loved it. I wish it had a higher moisturizing content because I found myself reapplying a lot and pretty soon, I went through my entire 2 oz. jar. See?

I kept huffing the jar too. It's such a fresh scent! I'm definitely going to see if I can get it as a perfume. I just checked and no cigar. They do have a room and linen spray though. :D Definitely a repurchase for me.

Rice Flower & Shea Soap: It was still cold when I started using this soap bar. It's got little pieces of exfoliating particles than my skin would've loved in the summer but not with the drying cold. Still, I loved how it cleaned. The shea is definitely present. Unfortunately, the exfoliating was a bit harsher on my skin than it normally would be. The scent is light but beautiful. I wish the scent was stronger because I love the smell of rice flower. I would use this and lop on the creamy body butter - such a lovely combination. I had to stop using this but just until it gets a bit more humid outside. :)

You can see the little exfoliating bits in here:

Seriously though, the smell is awesome. Just needs to be a bit heavier though. I sometimes thought the shea in the soap overpowered the rice flower smell, haha.

Tropical & Exfoliating Mango Soap: Another great soap. It's got olive oil in it so that helps replace some of the moisture lost from the exfoliation the poppy seeds in it provides. This soap also has a wonderful, fresh smell but it's very light and disappears quickly. Not a repurchase or a must-buy, but also not a regrettable buy. :)

Overall Experience: I think it was great. I'm definitely looking to purchase other items from this shop. As you can see from the pictures, I'm already done with my body butter so I'll need another jar. While I am quite happy with my products, I'd love to try out some of their other items! Shipping and handling was fast. You can tell from the pictures that the branding is also well done. Soaps came shrink wrapped and the butter was sealed very well to prevent any leakage. All in all, a fantastic experience.

Have you tried this company out? What were your experiences?

ShoeDazzle: March Purchases

2011-03-14T12:00:00.001-04:00

From my March selection, I have purchased Hazel and BonBon from the "almost made it" portion of my Shoe Dazzle showroom. These are shoes that would have been placed in my primary shoe selection if others hadn't been more to my taste. Since I did not find anything in my primary showroom that I liked, I thought I'd give these two a try.

As always, shipping was uber fast. They shipped the day of me ordering these items.

I loved these shoes. They were cute and elegant. Unfortunately, I didn't know these ran a size too small. By the time I received these and realized it, they were out of the next size up. Yes, shoes do go that fast. =X

These shoes definitely looked better on the model than they did on me. My friend said that she thought they looked hooker-ish. Lol, I don't know about it. What I do know is that it would have been difficult to find an outfit that would work with these shoes. Fashionista, I am not. Haaaa.

Will be returning these two. I wish I could have kept Hazel but it almost got stuck on my feet, they were so small. Since I am returning these items for store credit (put towards future purchases), it will not cost me anything.

Also, I just found out that if you ask for a 'shoe explosion' on their Facebook, the employees will add a lot more selections of shoes to your showroom! I did that and got quite the selection. :D

On another note, I wore Gracia the other day. Oh gosh, is it hard to walk in them. Did anyone had a hard time getting these shoes to mold to your feet quickly? My feet kept slipping out of mine, even though I got the smallest size and they're true to size too. Hmm, maybe it requires a bit more wear, haha.

Spring is slowly, but surely, coming! I need a new light jacket. :D

Hopeful wishes and prayers go out to those in Japan.

2011-03-11T10:09:00.003-05:00

By now, you all should have heard of the 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan and the aftershocks that are affecting the entire region.

Hopeful wishes and prayers go out to those affected.

Meow Cosmetics: Egyptian Treasures Swatches

2011-03-08T09:00:00.004-05:00

How is everyone doing today? Finally, some stuff about makeup! First thing on the list, the wonderful and lovely Amanda over at Glitter and Toucans gave me an award - that is so cool! Awe, it made my week. :)

I am slowly but surely responding to comments. In the meantime, I finally did the entire Egyptian Treasures collection by Meow Cosmetics. These are such *beautiful* colors. Take a look:

Thoughts: I love this collection simply because of where they got their inspiration. My major was Financial Economics (plus another, more boring, pre-law one) but I would take whatever Egyptian history classes that I could find and fit into my schedule. I wish I could have taken the Ancient Hieroglyphics class - BAH. I still wish I could have taken it. Grr. In any case, I love, love the colors. I think Meow did a great job with this collection.

I do wish there was more variety. This collection had a lot of shimmery golds. Where are the blues, the purples? I know the Ancient Egyptians used blue. Although, the materials they used to achieve this color was at times, unstable and over the years, changed colors. So that's prob why we don't see much evidence of it, archaeologically. Also, Cleopatra was known to have LOVED purple.

I remember when I was just starting out with my research on indie companies, people had said the colors in this collection were too similar and I agree. Still, they're pretty so I don't mind. :) Great for the lovers of gold eye shadows.

S&H: As always, absolutely no problems on this end. Fast and prompt. :)

Favorites: The blushes are too shimmery and not the right colors for my skin tone but still very gorgeous. My favorite eye shadow colors are Obelisk, Miw, Royal, Sand Dune, and Nile (love the blue-grey color).

What are your thoughts on this collection?

ShoeDazzle: February Purchases & March Selections

2011-03-07T09:13:00.004-05:00

BAH. I had my Meow Egyptian Treasures swatch post all typed up. THEN, I realized I forgot to do the swatches for their glows. Wtf? Haha, I will do those swatches tonight and you will see that post tomorrow.

Hello all! I am so sorry for being gone so long. Things have finally slowed down at work but now I'm being sent across the country for some training. I figured I should at least get a few posts in before things start getting crazy again. In addition, I've sent out my grad applications, got invited back for interviews and completed those interviews so only the worst part is left: waiting. I'm really wishing for the best.

Since I haven't bought any new makeup lately (I gotta get through my large, large stash of unswatched colors), I've had some money to play around with. I was going through my closet the other day and realized that about half my collection of shoes could go. They're out of season and some of them need work that I just don't want to pay for. In any case, they weren't terribly expensive (I am CHEAP) so I'll drop them off at a clothing bin (they have them all over DC) whenever I get the chance.

This leaves me with a shortage of shoes to go out in. Now have any of you heard about Shoe Dazzle?

ShoeDazzle is a monthly style service. Every month, for just $39.95, you receive a personalized selection and one gorgeous pair of shoes or item of your choice. The styles are selected just for you by our fashion experts. There is no obligation to purchase once you register, and you are charged only after you place your first order. In any month, you may select the Skip This Month button in your account section between the 1st and the 5th of the month and you will not be charged.

The way this works is that after you sign up, you do this very short, very basic personality test. It's to give the stylists an idea of your taste in fashion. After 24 hrs, they have a 'showroom' set up in your account. Each month, you get a selection of new shoes based on your style:

And if you don't like it, you have 'shoes that almost made it into your top 5' (or 6, in my case):

And sometimes, they'll bust out 'special deals' and introduce new items to everyone. I suspect that this is just their way of getting more money out of us. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, not so much. :)

You also get a monthly selection of bags:

AND jewelry:

Because an outfit is never complete without it's accessories. ;]

And if you DON'T like your monthly selection, you can always request alternate selections. I already did it for March (you can only do it once per month) because these were my OLD selections:

Nothing here worked for me. Nothing in the new selection worked for me either. Although, I am eye-ing up Jolie and Tierney. I did purchase something from the "almost made it" items.

As you can see in the pictures, these are all my March items. I started back in February. Each item is $39.95. Domestic shipping and handling is FREE and they ship on the DAY of when you order, unless they don't have it in stock at that time in which case, they ship it the next day. UPS takes 3-6 business days to get it to you. I'm expecting my March items here on Tuesday and Wednesday. :)

If the item does not fit, you can ship it back for free and if they still have it in stock, receive the correct size - no extra charge.

For your first order, you can get 20% off your order if you use my link or any affiliate link in general. For the months after that, you can search around on the internet for codes. I found one for my March purchases: styleme20.

These were my February purchases:

Gosh, I LOVE Gracia. As for Primp, animal prints are not a style I usually go for but it was just a small touch, I thought "wow, this is really cute." The shoes really are cute. I find them pretty comfortable to wear - but that's because I've trained my feet to wear tall, tall heels without complaints (it's so bad for you, haha). I can't wait to find an occasion to bust these out in.

Am I obligated to purchase? No. After you make your first purchase, you will continue being billed $39.95 by ShoeDazzle on the 6th day of each month. If you do not use it, it appears as a credit in your account that you can use within 12 months of receiving it. If you collect 5 credits ($39.95 = 1 credit so if you go 5 months without using them), you will not be billed until you've used a credit. If you do not want to be billed, you can skip a month (there's a button for it) but you must do so before the 6th of the month. If you don't want to do that, then you can call them and just cancel your account. :)

In conclusion: I love it. Great selections, great shoes, cheap pricing, and if you see a shoe elsewhere (in someone else's showroom, on ShoeDazzle's Facebook page, etc) that you don't see in your showroom, you can always call them up and order the style. They will send it if they have it in stock. The best part is, is that there is no obligation to purchase. There is no limit to the amount of months you can skip and if you want, you can cancel your account at any time so that you don't have to remember to skip months.

If you did what I did (which was purchasing between the 1st and 5th day of the month - I am so impatient, lol), you will not be billed for that month.

Shipping and handling: The items arrive wrapped in pink tissue paper, in a pink ShoeDazzle box, with a pink shoe bag, all in a cardboard box. I don't have a picture this time around but when March's selections get here, I will get them. If you decide the shoe is not for you for whatever reason, exchanges are completely free. If you want to return it completely, please note there is a restocking fee.

Customer Service: Haven't had any issues where I've needed to contact them. This is only my 2nd month. I will keep you guys updated with my purchases and experience each month. :)

What are your thoughts? Have you tried this out? Are there other services just like this? I'd love to hear what you guys think!

Meow Cosmetics: Ideal Eyes Swatches

2011-02-12T16:02:00.003-05:00

So sorry for the lack of posts; I've been swamped at work, I thought it would let up but it just keeps getting busier. Plus, I've been running around trying to get my grad school applications finished. That's another bit off my time. In any case, today's my birthday so while I'm lounging around, I thought I'd get some swatches in. :D

Here are some colors from Meow's Ideal Eyes collection. I LOVED the colors from this collection. So many neutral and creamy colors I can use everyday.

What are some colors that interest you in this set?

GlamaDazzle 200+ Followers Giveaway!

2011-02-11T09:34:00.003-05:00

You know those contests you always hear about, titled "of epic proportions" and other similar wording?

Well this one is DEFINITELY of epic proportions. See below for the prizes you can win if you join!

The products for the giveaway are:

* Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil Set ($92)
* Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. III ($54)
* Urban Decay Box of Potions ($39)
* Urban Decay Cowboy Junkie Set ($38)
* Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadow Box ($38)
* Urban Decay Eyeshadow Ammo Shadow Box ($36)
* Urban Decay Naked Palette ($44)
* Urban Decay Preen Shadow Box ($30)
* Urban Decay Show Pony Shadow Box ($20)
* Urban Decay Smoke Out Kit ($34)
* Urban Decay Summer of Love Shadow Palette ($15)
* Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box ($36)
* Urban Decay Vegan Palette ($34)
* NARS Tainted Love Set ($59)
* NARS Follow The Boys Lip Gloss Coffret ($40)
* NARS Sweet Disposition Mini Multiple Set ($40)
* NARS Crazy Heart Lip Gloss Coffret ($50)
* NARS Precious Mini Nail Set ($30)
* NARS Trouble Maker Eye Set ($60)
* NARS Hopelessly Devoted Set ($53)
* NARS Midsummers Dream Set ($47)
* NARS Love Thrill Set ($59)
* NARS D. Lovely Lip Gloss Coffret ($49)
* NARS Love Me Set ($49)
* NARS 3 Piece Duo Lip Gloss Set ($49)
* NARS Striptease Lip Gloss/Deep Throat Blush Duo ($45)

Isn't that awesome? You should all head on over for your chance to win!

I promise more swatches are coming! Work hasn't let up unfortunately. :(

Meow Cosmetics: Vandal Eyes Swatches

2011-02-02T10:31:00.003-05:00

Hello all! So I was planning on driving back to New York this weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year's with my family. Due to Upstate NY being the dumping grounds for all that snow, I may need to reschedule. My weekend does not free up for a while after that. :( Cross my fingers for clear weather!

When I first got into mineral makeup, I had trouble finding good swatches. Even more difficult was finding swatches of older collections that were good! So I started this blog in hopes of sharing my own experiences with these shades and hope you guys find it informative as well. :) My old swatches were HORRIBLE. Terrible lighting and some of the shades do not even come close. I will be redoing those once I finish up my current pile of swatches.

Today, it's the very vibrant Vandal Eyes collection set by Meow.

Onwards to the swatches:

Solicitation looks like one of those colors you can wear everyday. I love it. :D

Have you checked out this collection before? What are your favorites?

Meow Cosmetics: Holiday Wishes Swatches

2011-02-01T00:36:00.008-05:00

Hello all! I have having a terrible case of eye sensitivity. They're bright red, stinging, and they won't stop tearing. My coworker thinks I've got pink eye...s. I don't know how I would've gotten it unless it's allergies. It's too cold to be spring yet.

I went to BellaLuxe yesterday for a re-lash. I didn't think I needed it since it's only been 2 weeks but I would've not be eligible for my re-lash after the 3 week period. I'm leaving to go back to NY this upcoming weekend, which would've been my 3rd week so I had to do it this past weekend. Anyways, after getting them done...well, I might not have needed them (only a couple fell out) but I LOVE how lush they look. As always, Dasha did a FANTASTIC job. So very happy with them - yay! :D They also started selling this vitamin supplement called Lash Drops which promotes/targets eyelash growth. More on this later. I can't wait to see if it really works for me. It looks like it worked superbly on Mitzi so I'm hoping for similar results. Right now, I'm on Day 2. :D

So onwards to the fun stuff! Meow's Holiday Wishes collection. Now I know these items are back in the vault but it's never too early to start planning right? :D Besides, I loved these colors so much, I couldn't help but share (along with the other 2,345 blog posts published on this collection xD). Beautiful colors!

Dammit, this should've been one of the first collections I swatched! GARRR. Now I have to wait an entire year before I can purchase full-sized collections. D: D: D: Sadface.

Haha, what are your favorite colors from this collection?

I'm pretty sure I've done this look before.

2011-01-23T02:38:00.001-05:00

Headed out today in the freezing cold to Blackfinn for a birthday celebration. I was going to meet up with more friends afterward but my feet were SCREAMING in agony. Damn heels.

As this post's title says, I am 99% sure I did this look, haha. But not with the new lashes! WOOO.

Please ignore my big pores and overall hairy-ness.

I used...

- UD Primer Potion
- UD Sin
- UD Sidecar
- UD Darkhorse
- Dior Diorshow (bottom lashes)
- Nabi Eyeliner (bottom waterline)

Ugh. My credit card bill looks DISGUSTING.

Living in sin...not really. Just Naked.

2011-01-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

Ever since I got these eyelashes done, I've been completely lazy about my looks. I swipe on primer, one color for eyeshadow, some mascara and liner on the bottom, and out the door I go. Here are some pictures of me in "Sin" from UD's Naked palette.

Oh my!

My tools:

- Urban Decay's "Sin"
- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- Nabi Cosmetics Eyeliner in Black
- Dior's Diorshow Mascara
- BellaLuxe Eyelash Extensions

Just kidding. ;)

A preview of reviews/swatches to come...

2011-01-21T09:00:00.010-05:00

The beautiful, sweet Luna over at Sparkling Luna gave me a blog award so YAY! Thanks so much for the shoutout! *heart*

I came home to a lovely Fyrinnae surprise yesterday with the holy grail of all items - Pixie Epoxy. Anyway, I've been waiting for that to do my shadow swatching. I've also held off on a couple of reviews because I've been swamped at work. But as things start to taper off, here's a preview of things to come:

Fyrinnae Haul:

Anderson Soap Company Haul:

It's been a while since I've purchased these. I originally bought 5 and I'm pissed off I've already lost 1 of them :( Maybelline Haul:

Avon Haul:

Face Candy Couture Haul:

Meow Cosmetics Haul:

Every single Scandals collection.

A few samples from the Ideal Eyes collection.

The entire Wild Child collection.

The entire Vandal Eyes collection.

Even though this isn't available for purchasing anymore...the Holiday Wishes collection.

And the entire Egyptian Treasures collection.

Talk to you all soon!

Nubian Heritage Lotions- iHerb Review

2011-01-20T11:46:00.003-05:00

A lot of product-type reviews this week ladies and gents! After reading a review by the lovely Nea at Fashioned in Finland about Nubian Heritage Olive & Green Tea Lotion, I just had to make an order myself. Right now, I'm using the Satsuma Body Butter by Anderson Soap Co. which seems like it's thick and moisturizing at first but I find myself having to reapply often. I bought a 4oz. jar and it's almost gone. I needed something that was more moisturizing and would last me a while so when Nea posted that lovely review, I knew I had to try it out. The fact that each bottle was less than $8 made me quite happy.

I've already tried some of Nubian's other products such as their Coconut and Papaya Soap and Carrot & Pomegranate Soap w/ Calendula Extract & Cranberries. Both are fabulous soaps. The carrot one had tiny bits of sand in it which helps wonderfully with exfoliation. My skin gets super dry during the winter so that was not the right soap to use. I switched over to the coconut one and have been using it quite diligently over these last few cold months.

I was super excited to try the lotions:

Nea was right. Nubian does not water down their products. It was REALLY difficult trying to squeeze the Olive & Green Tea lotion out because it was so thick. The Mango Butter lotion was a bit better to handle. It's still thick but not so much that you'll get carpal tunnel from squeezing so hard. It's also very moisturizing and has a fantastic, light smell. Check out the pictures below for how thick they are.

Conclusion:

-Shipping-

- iHerb has fantastic shipping. I ordered and the DAY that I ordered, they shipped my products. I ordered these on Thursday and got them on Saturday. I paid $4.12 in USPS Priority Mail shipping. For 2 bottles of 8oz each, that's very reasonable.

-Payment-

- I had a bit of a problem getting the $5 discount but after contacting them, they responded within the hour and had the credit applied. YAY!

-Overall Product-

- I've only used it one day thus far and I love it. I am definitely going to be ordering more products from this line.
- I apply the Olive & Green Tea lotion to my body after I leave the shower. Unlike Satsuma, I do not have to reapply. It's fantastic. It also doesn't leave an oily residue. For my skin type, I feel as though it moisturizes very well.
- If you don't like the thickity thickness of the above-mentioned lotion, the Mango lotion is a good step down. It's still VERY thick but it moisturizes just as well. You know that feeling when some lotions where your hands are oily but they don't feel moisturized? It's happened to me with a lot of generic lotions and homemade lotions. Haus of Gloi lotions do that to me so I've stopped using it. However, Nubian Heritage lotions don't do that to me. They settle easily upon my skin and leaves it feeling moisturized without that nasty oily surface.

-Ingredients-

- It has a "Certified Organic Ingredients" stamp on it. I took a look at the ingredients and I can't find any animal products either. Neither of these things really matter to me but for others, I thought this would be good to know.

If you shop at iHerb for the first time, don't forget to put in this code: JOT305. It's an extra $5 off your order!

Have you tried Nubian Heritage products? What did you think?

Playing with my new lashes - another pink look!

2011-01-19T10:13:00.006-05:00

Nothing big today. I just wanted to post my millionth pink look with my new lashes. I can't wait to go out this weekend with a crazy colorful look! (Probably pink and purple again. xD)

Nothing too fancy. I can be super lazy with these eyelashes, haha.

Items used for the top lid:

- UD Primer Potion
- Fyrinnae's "Nijiro"
- Meow's "Glacial Grove: Brisk"

Items used for my bottom waterline:

- Dior's Diorshow
- Basic black eyeliner

I used my phone's camera because it has a really good focus feature that my camera does not have. The lighting isn't as good though.

BellaLuxe Eyelash Extensions with Dasha

2011-01-16T09:25:00.018-05:00

Hi all! I'm so sorry for the lack of posts lately. I ran out of Pixie Epoxy for swatches and had to order some. I actually thought I submitted my order but it turns out that I didn't complete my order by finalizing the payment. HAAA. I are so smart. Anyway, while I'm waiting for that to come in, I've been on a no-buy/low-buy. With makeup.

Not with food.

I can't look at my credit card. Makes me realize how much of a glutton I truly am. FOOD. How I love thee.

Anyway, I did do something pretty fantastic the other day. For a while now, my friend Lisa and I have been talking about getting eyelash extensions. I don't know why she needs them because I think hers look fantastic. Mine on the other hand, not so fantastic. I would love to have long, luxurious lashes and I hesitate to use falsies because they always look like...falsies. So then when BuyWithMe sent me this email:

I just had to get it. These type of appointments for your first full-set of lashes generally range in the $275-$300+ area depending on how you want your lashes done (full set, longer, thicker, etc). Some places actually charge you by the lashes - the cheapest I've seen has been $2 a lash. This is definitely not an inexpensive hobby.

BellaLuxe in Falls Church, VA on the other hand, does a set fee which is originally priced at $275. With this deal, you can get an entirely full-set of lashes for only $99. THAT is a steal.

I guess people would question whether or not these ladies do a good job if it's priced so cheap. Honestly, that thought never entered my mind. I guess it should've because it was such bargain but I think I was just super excited that I could get this done and it was less expensive than I would've paid. So I went to their website and scheduled an appointment. They have 4 stylists - Mitzi (owner), Dasha, Kirsten, and Lauren. Dasha and Kirsten were the only ones that showed up as being available on Saturday. I picked Dasha because that sounded like the most fantastic name ever.

I got lost trying to find the place but I still found it! Upon entering 10 minutes late for my appointment, I was greeted so very warmly by all the ladies. They are the bubbliest people I've ever met and seriously, how can you not love that sort of introduction?

I was severely hungover that morning too, having drank heavily the night before.

The way it works is that each extension is painstakingly adhered/bonded to each one of your eyelashes. If your stylist knows what she is doing, she will never attach more than 1 extension to one of your eyelashes. By the time they finish, the extensions should look like YOU'VE been growing them.

Anyway, they got me signed in, set up a file for me, and got to work. Dasha asked me what length I was looking for and she spoke with Mitzi as to how thick they would make it. Dasha suggested 0.20 thickness and Mitzi suggested a 0.15 and 0.20 mixture to keep my natural lashes from being weighed down by them. Dasha also asked me if I wanted them longer on the end or in the middle. I said middle since that's how natural lashes look. The process takes a good 2-3 hrs. Mine took 4 hrs and I found out that it was because even though my lashes are short and fine, I have a *lot* of them.

Turns out Dasha is a perfectionist. She wanted to make sure that she got every single lash and was worried she was delaying me for something. Mitzi kept singing praises about Dasha which only cemented my feelings that I had chose really well.

Those praises were not for nothing.

Before picture of my lashes:

After:

I cannot sing enough praises about Dasha's work. She really is an artist. My eyelashes look super long and you can't tell that they're extensions.

I love them. BellaLuxe last extensions can last up to 2 months depending on the natural growth cycle of your eyelashes and how well you maintain them. The life cycle of an eyelash is 60-90 days. Lashes will shed naturally at the end of their life cycle and re-lashes will be necessarily every 2-4 weeks to replace the fallen lashes and re-growth. Some final thoughts:

- Initial cost is $99 if you get in on this deal. Otherwise, you'd be paying $275 at this location and much more at other locations.
- They have a policy that if you don't do your touch-ups within 3 weeks, you will need to pay for the full-set. Touch-ups are $85.
- I purchased their special oil-free makeup remover ($35) and their serum ($25) which helps preserve the bonding. You don't have to but I did because I wanted to keep these bad boys in line. :)

Conclusion:

- The cost can be a bit heftier than what most of you want to spend (if this is the procedure for you) but honestly, even if you don't do the deal and you pay $175 full price, I think it's well-worth it. I love how my eyes look. No more curling, mascara, etc. I wake up, I look in the mirror, and I'm even more narcissistic than ever. Upkeep can also be pricey. For me, it's something I will have to work at budgeting. :)

- Location is a bit difficult to find. You have to pull in to this driveway (there will be a sign that says "282" on N. Washington St. in Falls Church, VA which is where they're located) that leads you to this back parking lot. When you get out of your car, you take the stone path leading to N. Washington St. and you'll see BellaLuxe sign on the bottom floor of this building (beige building, I think?).

- There are a few rules about maintenance. You can't get your new lashes wet for 24 hrs, don't sleep on them (aka sleep on your back), avoid hot steam from showers/saunas, don't use curlers unless it's one specifically made for the lashes (honestly, you don't need curlers), etc. No worries! They will go over EVERYTHING with you while you're there.

- Make sure that when you schedule your appointment, you are SERIOUS about it. Do not cancel. These stylists are busy ladies who need to set aside a serious amount of time for your lashes. If you cancel, not only are you doing a great disservice to their business but you're also being entirely disrespectful. They will also charge you 50% of your appointment (so if you're getting a full-set of lashes, that's $275 divided by 2). Rescheduling costs $10.

- I cannot go on enough about the sort of service I got here. I loved them, especially Dasha.

Would I go back again?

- HELL YES. I am definitely sticking with Dasha. I loved her work, I loved how meticulous she was, she had no qualms consulting the other ladies to make sure that my lashes turned out the way I wanted at the most optimal setting, and she kept making sure that she wasn't delaying me from anything. You WANT a perfectionist to be doing this procedure for you. A perfectionist with steady hands. That's what Dasha is. She kept on telling me how great things were going to look once we were finished which only fueled my excitement. Trust me, I was like a little kid in a toy store after mommy and daddy said I could have all the toys in the world. THAT'S how excited I was. I never felt like just another customer either - she was so warm and welcoming (same with all the other girls) that I couldn't help but drag her into a hug at the end.

- All in all, I feel beautiful and confident and hell if I wasn't vain enough before, I most definitely am now. I am so jealous of those of you who have naturally long, beautiful lashes. I do not but this is a great substitute for me. :)

One hundred million stars out of five.

What do you guys think? :) Let me know if you decide to do this! I would love to hear about your experiences!

Edited to say that if you want to take advantage of this deal, click on the BellaLuxe picture (or any other links in this blog post), then click on "Other Deals" at the top of the page. BellaLuxe should be the 6th option down. As of 1/17, you've still got 1 day left to purchase this special!

Urban Decay: Smoke Out Eye Pencils & Pigments Swatches

2011-01-05T20:16:00.005-05:00

Right before Christmas, Haute Look had a fantastic bargain going on with Urban Decay. I got 4 powder eye pencils from their "Smoke Out Eye Pencil" collection and 2 loose pigments. I've only used gel and cream eyeliners before so I was interested to see how different powder pencils were. At $2 each, you can't beat it, especially since I spend around $6-$8 for ones from the drugstore.

I love both pigments. X and Shag are definitely going to become a part of my regular routine. There's very little fly-away, the color pay-off is fantastic and it glides on. The only complaint I have is the containers they come in. Why is UD so fond of inconvenient/inefficient containers?

The pencils are a lot of fun to play with too! They also go on quite smooth and after taking pictures, I ran my finger across the lines. You can definitely draw these on your eyelids and smudge them. It'd be the same as wearing eyeshadow. :)

The other day, I went to the National Botanic Gardens. It was the last day of their Holiday Train display which was basically Thomas the Steam Engine trains traveling all over the world - or at least, scale model versions of world monuments.

The fantastic Great Wall of China.

I also wandered around and checked out some beautiful flowers. This one didn't have a name plaque and I had to climb on top of a fountain to take a picture of it. It's SO gorgeous. I wish I knew what it was!

Also, thank you to the lovely Liquored on Lacquer for the awesome blog tag! It means so much to be mentioned!

Anyway, have you shopped at Haute Look and/or Urban Decay lately?

EDITED TO SAY that you should all head over to Glitter and Toucans as she is hosting a contest to give away an entire sample set of Aromaleigh's Ciao Italia collection!

Meow Cosmetics: Ghosts of Xmas Past Swatches

2011-01-02T13:44:00.003-05:00

I swear I thought I had did these already. That was not the case. In any case, here's another Christmas collection by Meow. It's not one of my favorites (Glacial Groves and Holiday Wishes - wut wut) but Ghosts of Xmas Past definitely has some very lovely colors. :D

Midnight Kiss has some awesome glitter action going on. Yeahhhh!

What are your favorites in this collection? :)

Meow Cosmetics: Xmas Rant Swatches

2010-12-31T10:03:00.003-05:00

Hello all! It's been a long time since I've posted any swatches. I will try to make it up by posting Meow's Holiday Wishes and Ghosts of Xmas Past as fast as I can. I've got plenty more swatches coming so it'll be a while before I have to go purchasing again. :D

Speaking of purchasing, I REALLY need some PE. I'm running super, duper low.

Onwards to Meow's Xmas Rant swatches!

I can see why so many people love Drunken Relatives. I didn't get the purple as much as everyone seems to have. I saw it more as a deep, deep blue. You know if you draw on yourself with a blue pen and keep going over the same area with a blue pen? No? Just me? LOL. Well, that's the color Drunken Relatives reminds me of. It's gorgeous but I'm not quite sure how I'd ever use it. Oooo, what about as a liner? :D

My favorites are: Bustle (such a gorgeous color shift), Office Party (gorgeous teal with gold sparkles), and Grab Bag (drool).

Which colors do you like the most? :)

Supersize Me! - Message Lost

2010-12-28T11:02:00.002-05:00

Hey all! Just popping in real fast to say that I'm so very sorry about the lack of updates! Last week was hectic at work and even though I brought the eye shadows back with me to do swatches of, I realized 2 things:

1. The light sucks. It doesn't compare to the one in my DC apartment kitchen.
2. I am in dire need of Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

I am going to put in an order with the men over at Fyrinnae and then I'm going to try and use whatever I have left to do some swatches. I am also back in my apartment so swatches will be coming. I have several collections to swatch - most are Meow themed. I've also got a couple of reviews coming up from Etsy stores recommended by LeGothique (The Anderson Soap Company) and a new company by Phyrra (Face Candy Coutre).

In the mean time, here are some pictures following my second time watching "Supersize Me." I know that movie is supposed to make you NOT want to eat fast food. This is what happened to me instead:

Note: I have not eaten at McDonald's in over a year now. I used to work there and stopped eating from that place for about 6 years. Then I ate a carton of fries and was reminded of why I didn't like eating there anymore. The breakfast wasn't so bad though. :D

And who doesn't like Chik-Fil-A?

Meow Cosmetics: Winter Spirits Swatches

2010-12-20T00:00:00.004-05:00

Ergh, I think the light bulb in my kitchen is dying or something because the auto-adjustment on my camera is going crazy. I also think I caught a cold from my co-worker. It's stupid. I know people get sick but I rarely get sick. When I do, it's usually pretty severe, but it's only once and then I don't catch anything for the next year or so. Last year, I didn't catch anything. This year? I've already gotten really, really sick once and now, I'm pretty sure I'm sick again.

Not cool. Wtf, body. Is it because I'm getting old? Lame.

I'll be heading home in 2 days and my dad will have delicious spicy soup waiting for me. Whee! :D It's the best cure for me when I'm sick. I don't do over-the-counter medicines because I find that they are temporary and only suppress the sickness. This is fine since that's what they are designed for. However, suppressing the cold also causes me from getting better sooner. So generally, I just let my body handle the virus with the help of super spicy soup (like, Satan's ass spicy). It usually helps me get better in 2 days. Now, my body only gets hit if there's an especially violent strand going around. Apparently, this season has been really bad or my body is just degenerating.

Grr.

Alright alright, enough griping! As promised, here's a set from one of Meow's holiday collections, Winter Spirits!

I think this collection is a lot of love for the reds and purples fans out there. My favorites are: Port, Rose, Shiraz, and Merlot.

What are your thoughts on this collection?

Meow Cosmetics: Sugarplums and Ghost Stories Swatches

2010-12-19T12:06:00.003-05:00

Accck. I was so busy running around yesterday, I didn't get a chance to do swatches. That's okay, I will do another set later on tonight - for today - as this post counts for yesterday. I'm still trying to do a collection a day until I run through all the Meow ones I ordered. :D

Since these collections are much smaller than the other ones, I decided to combine them. As always, eye shadows are swatched over Pixie Epoxy and both the blushes and glows are swatched over generic lotion. These were a bit more difficult to get pictures of but I tried my best. I'm not too happy about how these swatches turned out. Grrr.

First up, Meow's Sugarplums collection:

Second, Meow's Ghost Stories collection (these are all glows):

I love the Sugarplum blush and the Present glow. I am definitely going to attempt wearing Sugarplum today. We'll see how it looks with my skintone. :D

Don't you love purples??

Meow Cosmetics: Merry Mayhem Swatches

2010-12-18T01:10:00.003-05:00

Just got home from a office holiday dinner and man, I am pooped. Not pooped enough to do swatches though! I'm about over an hour too late for the whole "one collection a day" thing I promised earlier on but the night is still young, I say!

From Meow's Merry Mayhem collection...

My biggest issue was that Jingle and Ho Ho Ho looked exactly alike. Then I read the color descriptions over at Meow and they're meant to look alike. Ho Ho Ho is just sans some of the sparkles Jingle has. I tried to swatch colors in similar color groups for easier comparison on the reader's side, but I feel like that makes these swatches very hohum. Hmmm...may need to mix it up next time, haha!

Have you guys checked out this collection yet? Either way, what are your favorites?

Meow Cosmetics: 12 Pains Swatches

2010-12-16T23:14:00.003-05:00

Goodness gracious, it's been a pretty fantastic day. I woke up to a happy message in my inbox, then got a free lunch at work, came home to meet our new roomie who dropped off the check for her holding fee, and oh yeah, I also got paid today. Yay!

Not that I will see that money...darned holidays. :/

It snowed about an inch today. Urgh. I miss Upstate NY and lake effect snow. It's always so pretty. I think I'm on shoveling duty when I go home for the holidays though. Haha.

Enough of my rambling, onto today's swatches! From Meow's 12 Pains of Xmas collection, here are the pretty, pretty colors:

I tried to group the colors together in case there were any similarities; it was for easy comparing. I was really surprised at "Lights Out" since it looked so blue in the bag and it came out more of a black-blue color. I would love, LOVE to see a look with Party Crashers and Hangover. Both are fantastic colors.

As always, what are your favorites? :D

Meow Cosmetics: Reindeer Swatches

2010-12-15T21:47:00.003-05:00

Good evening all! Hope your day has been going well. :) I've had a really busy week at work and it's nice that we're getting close to the weekend. I still need to do my Christmas shopping and hopefully, start on some of the b-school application essays. I also need to make an order at Fyrinnae soon because I'm running dangerously low on Pixie Epoxy.

Enough rambling! Per the lovely Amy's (at Amyy's Addiction - seriously, check it out for some fantastic eotds/fotds) request, next up is Meow's Reindeer collection:

I think this collection is super fun. The colors are bright, happy, and definitely in line with their namesake and the holiday spirit. In the baggie, Rudolph looked like a darker fuchsia but it comes out a brilliant pretty red. Blitzen had some color shift action going on; I was seriously mesmerized. Comet has got to be my favorite of them all and I'm not even fond of greens!

What are your thoughts on this collection?

Meow Cosmetics: Glacial Grove Swatches

2010-12-14T22:39:00.003-05:00

I busted out some hot pot tonight and man, I'm super full right now. I'm not quite sure what I should do with the remaining ingredients (we didn't finish it all) but at least I don't have to cook dinner tomorrow night. Work has been a little bit more stressful than usual. Budget season is here and it seems like my entire team is on edge.

I've got makeup to distract me from all that hullabaloo! :)

This collection is definitely a top favorite of mine. I love all the colors and I can definitely see myself purchasing some full-sizes of these babies. From Meow's Glacial Grove collection, here are the swatches:

I can't pick a favorite. I seriously love all these colors and can definitely see myself wearing them at some point or another. I also love how they compliment each other so well! The last picture of swatches I took was kind of a poor picture but I promise the colors do not disappoint.

The quality is smooth with very little flyaway. I'm absolutely digging Meow's holiday collections so far. What do you think?

Meow Cosmetics: Snowflakes Swatches

2010-12-13T22:59:00.003-05:00

CUE BRAGGING - I got an inordinately fantastic score on my GMATs this time around. I passed the range for Georgetown and killed the range for George Washington. I wish there were more school choices to pick from in the DC area (closer to where I live at least) because I'm so happy that I got a score where I don't have to worry (as much) about getting into my top choice(s) for my MBA.

That being said, the only things I have to stress about now are applications - okay, it's a big thing to worry about. I will get around to it, I promise!

In the meantime, here are some pretty swatches from Meow's Snowflakes collection!

Meow's got the bluuuues. I love these colors! My favorites are Avalanche, Blizzard, Ice Storm, and Blustery. Honestly, they're all such fantastic colors. Much learn how to use blue! I am still stuck on mauves and taupes and neutrals (oh my!).

What colors do you like? :)

Meow Cosmetics: Christmas Trees Swatches

2010-12-11T12:09:00.003-05:00

Hello all! So sorry for the lack of posts. I have been stressing over my exam a lot for the past few days so that's why I haven't been on blogger. I have tried commenting where I can though so at least that aspect hasn't been neglected. I got the first part of my Meow Christmas order. In it, I got the Holiday Wishes, 12 Pains, Christmas Rants, Glacial Grove, Snowflake, and Christmas Trees collections. There are definitely lots of swatches to come! First up...Christmas Trees!

I LOVE themed collections and this is no exception. My favorite is definitely Cypress. It's such a pretty color!

What other mineral makeup companies have come out with holiday-themed collections?

Various Aromaleigh Collections Swatches

2010-12-06T20:46:00.007-05:00

I've been meaning to do these swatches for a while now but held off because I knew I wasn't going to have much to post until my next order came in. I should be studying right now but procrastination is the only thing on my mind.

As always, these swatches are done over Pixie Epoxy, in my kitchen, without flash. The light is bright enough in there that if I did take a picture with flash, it'd just be a big white blob. D:

Here's a bunch of swatches from various Aromaleigh collections:

Holiday (Vault): Butterscotch
Holiday (Vault): Gingerbread
Holiday Blast: High Heels

Valentine 2009: Sweet Nothings
Spring Solstice 2009: Mallow
Ciao Italia: Lampone (camera didn't pick up the pretty sparklies)

Hot In The City: Girl's Night Out
Hot In The City: Return to Tiffany's
Holiday Blast: Champagne Toast

L'Orchidee: Pixie Cup
L'Orchidee: Unicorn
L'Orchidee: Seed Pearl

I'm super in love with Pixie Cup. :)

Anyway, since I'm participating in Meow's 12 Days of Meow Giveaways, I've been purchasing something everyday now. This means to keep an eye out for their holiday collections swatches. I haven't received my orders yet but I'm super excited to swatch them because it looks like there are so many gorgeous colors this year. :D

Check out these fantastic Meow swatches over at Painted's blog!

EOTD: Playing Apartment Sales Agent (Purple look x8,927)

2010-12-05T19:47:00.007-05:00

So the creepy girl moved out of our apartment - yay! I put the notice up on Craigslist (stop that wincing, it's not that bad) and we had a bevy of really nice girls come through yesterday. There's one more coming in a few minutes and then after that, my current roommate and I are going to make a decision.

Anyway, I figured I should probably look presentable. I was able to get some decent pictures of my eye. It's another purple look - I know, I know. Super boring. For some reason, these are the only pictures that come out looking alright.

Stuff used:

- UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- Fyrinnae Sequined Master (lid)
- Fyrinnae Freya (outer corners)
- Aromaleigh Butterscotch (inner corners)
- CG Perfect Point Plus in Black Onyx
- L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black
- Dior's Diorshow

Seriously, how do you ladies take such good pictures of your eyes? Teach me, please. :3

EDIT: OMG LMFAO!! My roommate just found this odd crystal shaped thing in the refrigerator. We didn't know what it was so we Googled it. Turns out it was a refrigerator deodorizer. HAHA shit, I guess my Asian foods and roomie's Italian cooking was stinking up the fridge. :)

Big giveaway at Beauty Crazed!

2010-12-05T10:04:00.002-05:00

In the words of someone much, much more elegant than I...

"Beauty Crazed has really lost their minds this time and is giving away over $500 worth of cosmetics! Treat yourself to a fabulous holiday present and enter now!"

Isn't that fantastic?? Here's an idea of what they're giving away...

- Chanel Rouge Coco in 05 Mademoiselle
- Pür Minerals Earthly Treasures and Heavenly Delights
- mark. on the dot Eye Color Compact & lip to be square Lip Tint
- LuMESH Lipgloss Magaly
- etc.

Check it out for a list of all prizes and enter to win it all! :)

Fusion Sweets: 8 Flavor Sampler

2010-12-03T20:14:00.008-05:00

Hello all! I've got my first foodie review ever...here's presenting Fusion Sweets, a sample box of 8 different flavored caramels:

I first came across these on Phyrra's blog and what a fantastic recommendation. I clicked on her link, went to the Etsy store, and placed my first order. I got:

1. Star Anise, Saffron, Cardamom, Peach - tasted strongly of Star Anise, didn't get much peach. It was like licorice caramel.

2. Spiced Apple Cider - I come from Upstate NY and we make the best (biased) apple anything. I just had a cup of Spiced Apple Cider; this caramel tasted just like it! Except, you get to avoid burning your tongue and you don't need to warm it up to eat (or in the other case, drink) it.

3. Appleless Caramel Pie - Eeek. Tasted like buttery caramel.

4. Roasted Black Sesame - I LOVED IT. I love sesame anything so I was glad they pulled this flavor off so well. I already ate the entire piece, if that's any indication...

5. Pumpkin Pie - This was one of Phyrra's pick and I can totally understand why. There's lots of spices but not so much that one overpowers another. It's nicely balanced and it keeps the candy from getting too sweet. I know, strange that I could make that complaint about candy right? Well, that's why I'm not usually fond of sweets - they're TOO sweet. This was a really nice balance.

6. Maple Syrup - Omg, too sweet. It tasted like maple syrup so fans of that will love this caramel.

7. Taro - I think taro is one of the hardest flavors to pull off. Fusion Sweets did it. Not only did they do it but it's so well done that you cannot mistake it for anything else but taro. I LOVE taro so I loved this. I've been eyeing it ever since I took my last bit of the sesame caramel (like...2 seconds ago).

8. Matcha Green - Another wonderful flavor. I can taste the tea and not just any tea, matcha green tea. If you like green tea ice cream or just green tea anything, you will love this.

Aren't they the purties? So my picks are: Roasted Black Sesame, Taro, Pumpkin Pie, and Matcha Green Tea.

Let me preface by saying that one of the foods I hate the most are marshmallows. It's the texture that gets me. I love roasted marshmallows and I love those tiny, teensy ones you get in hot chocolate. Normal-sized marshmallows? Nothing makes my gag reflex react faster. Anyway, they gave me marshmallows as freebies so I figured, to hell with it, why not!? I got to try out four different types:

1. Chocolate Orange Cointreau - Yum. This is good freaking chocolate. I can even taste the orange in here! Great combination.

2. So Not Boring Vanilla Bean - Oh my...this is good. It's kind of nutty for some reason but it's nice.

3. Maple Syrup - Not as strong as the caramel so it made it pretty tasty. My roommate had a bite and she said it was pretty delish.

4. Zesty Orange Cream - Definitely get this if you love orange cream anything. Tasted just like the ice cream/sherbet. Yummers. :)

They got me to like marshmallows. The texture was nice - it was soft and melted in your mouth after a few minutes. Maybe it was because of the sizes or whatever but I actually enjoyed trying these out.

Have you tried anything from Fushion Sweets? If so, what are your thoughts? :)

Astoria Boulevard: The Chipmunk Song (I want a hula hoop!)

2010-12-02T14:00:00.005-05:00

My classmate from school just posted this in Facebook. I love this song so I immediately listened to his and his group's rendition. I gotta say, it's fantastic. I've been listening to it non-stop now. Haha, I love good music.

There's also a free download available on their band camp page so go download! :)

Shiro Cosmetics: Kawaiishadow Collection Set Contest

2010-12-02T09:11:00.002-05:00

Hello all! Lipsticks & Lightsabers is holding a contest for Shiro Cosmetics' new collection, Kawaiishadow!

I know there's a lot of coverage on these (much better than I can type up) so I'll keep this post short. Enter for your chance to win this beautiful, beautiful set!

Persephone Minerals: Sailor Moon Collection Swatches

2010-11-30T09:37:00.006-05:00

Hey all! So sorry I haven't posted in a while - Thanksgiving was muy busy and when it wasn't, I was doing some serious vegging. I had a great vacation. I left Wednesday night (one of the busiest traveling days, second to Sunday, which is the day people return from Thanksgiving) and just cruised all the way back to the NE coast. For the first time in many years, my parents took off from work to celebrate with my brother and I. I mean, we don't normally celebrate Thanksgiving so I guess this was really just a reason for the four of us to veg together. :D

Not only that, my dad put together a hot pot dinner. He doesn't like doing it because it's not very filling for him but I *love* it. :D So happy! He even prepared a bunch of items (ie: ingredients, the pot <-- COME TO MAMA) so that I could do hot pot back here.

I miss those guys. :(

I'm currently trying to make it through all the food my dad prepared for me. The mean is a beast in the kitchen. I wish I had his mad skills.

ANYWAY. Onto the much-awaited Persephone Minerals Sailor Moon swatches!

She even sent me a sample of their new Rock 'N Roll Reindeers collection:

In addition, I got me some non-beauty items. From Tempting Tart, here is a sampler set of their awesome soy wax tarts. I've never used wax tarts before so I figured samples were the best way to go. Plus, it's SOY:

I actually got 17 tarts - they sent me a freebie, Warm Orange Gingerbread. Before taking a picture, I wanted to use one. So while I was packing (yes, I pack rather quickly; 1 hr tops is all that's needed), I lit the raspberry pomegranate one:

I was originally searching around for the store Painted blogged about once but I couldn't find the post again, nor could I remember what the store was. Then, a few days after I ordered from Tempting Tarts, she tweeted about them. I was all "YAY!" and got me ANOTHER set:

I don't think these guys are soy-based but nevertheless, they smelled awesome in the box. I guess the melting temperature must be really low because the wax is super soft. I will post a review of these babies once I've got through all the scents.

On Persephone Minerals...what are your favorite colors?

Mine are Moon Cosmic Power, Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss, and Moon Crystal Power. I experienced quite a bit of fall-out with the first three colors I swatched even though I used Pixie Epoxy. Eternal Sailor Moon has some serious glitter-age going on.

On Tempting Tarts and Country Home Scents, have you tried them before? What do you think about wax tarts? Are they better/worse than scented candles? Include anything else you can tell me.

Shipping was moderately quick for Tempting Tart. I ordered on 11/14 and received my package 11/24. Shipping for Country Home Scents was supah fast. I ordered 11/21 and received these on 11/26 - 11/27.

Darling Girl Cosmetics Swatches

2010-11-22T10:14:00.003-05:00

I ordered these samples from DGE after seeing Just Pretty post a couple of swatches from their Autumn collection. I originally went to purchase samples of that same collection but got sidetracked by the other colors.

While doing these swatches, I tried to stick family colors together so that you guys could see the differences.

Favorite colors: Oceania, Mardis Gras, Stolen Kisses, Palm Springs, BFF, Fireside, Cider, Ginger, Princess Peach, Falling Leaves, Ardor

I got a free sample of their lip balm, "Butter Rum". It's really moisturizing with just a bit of shimmer. I love it!

Hi-Fi Cosmetics Art Saves! Collection

2010-11-20T17:30:00.004-05:00

I love fast shipping. I start to get worried if I haven't received my product by the 2 week mark. Hi-Fi arrived in my mailbox just 1 day short of that 2 week mark. I'm so glad I got to try this product because the quality is great, colors are great, and there's just SO much product. They give you 3/4tsp at roughly $1 a pop. I bought the entire Art Saves! collection - sample sizes - for only $8.99 (+ S&H). That's 10 colors and I got 4 freebies!

Check out these awesome colors:

And the beautiful colors they sent as freebies:

Must have: Don't Forget The Violence

There are so many colors I want to try out from this store. The pricing and the amount of product you receive is such a great bargain. Nothing really stood out in this particular collection but I have checked out the other colors at the store and I've already got my eye on some of them. I didn't have any issues with the transaction so I didn't have to call up their customer service. That's the best kind of transaction.

Can't wait to make another purchase. :D

See any colors you like? What do you think?

Persephone Minerals Sailor Moon and Aromaleigh Preview

2010-11-20T00:11:00.004-05:00

I got these goodies in the mail Thursday:

My gosh, Persephone Minerals has really fast shipping! Those of you familiar with Aromaleigh know that it too, has quick shipping. I'm so excited to swatch these items!

I'm going to go watch Harry Potter again. Urgh. I can't wait. I think I was in such a stupor the first time around that I need to go see it a second time. Or maybe I'm just giving myself reasons to see it again in theaters. :)

Harry Potter DH1

2010-11-18T23:07:00.002-05:00

Just got back from a private screening for Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1.

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.

Say No to Rite-Aid Makeup Remover

2010-11-16T22:48:00.006-05:00

I was looking around for some makeup remover because I thought, "hey, don't be cheap, stop using olive oil and scrubbing your face with soap." So I ran to a Rite-Aid near work and picked up this substitute:

It's comparable to L'Oreal Eye Makeup Remover. I have never used L'Oreal's makeup remover so I don't know how comparable it really is. All I know is that it's not effective...at all. Here is me trying to take off CG Perfect Point Plus in "Midnight Blue":

I doused that sucker of a cotton ball with the makeup remover. You have to scrub pretty hard to get any of your product off. Considering this is an eye makeup remover, that's not at all good for the most sensitive area of your face. In addition, it's even HARDER to wipe off your eyeliner if you've been wearing it all day and it's set into your skin.

It works alright when taking off mineral eye shadows. I haven't tried any other types but I know if the color is especially dark, you can't just go over your eyelid once or twice - a little bit more and it'll come off. It's not the amount of scrubbing you'd need to do with eyeliner, so there is that. In addition, if you're using waterproof products? HA. Don't even try.

I'm throwing my bottle of this out. I'm not quite sure why I wasted the money since using olive oil is always a better choice than a store-brand item. All natural, cheap, and works just as well, if not better. Olive oil is a natural emollient. Instead of soap, they used to use this back in the ancient times. They'd rub themselves with olive oil, let it set in, take a wooden flat-piece, and scrape off the entire day's worth of grime. Then they would hop into the bath.

I just have to be extra careful when washing off all the oil and nastiness it takes with it. I tend to get lazy with my skincare and rush through it. You should never rush your skincare.

Darling Girl Cosmetics and Hi-Fi Cosmetics Haul

2010-11-16T00:00:00.004-05:00

I've got some swatches for y'all this week! I figured if I didn't have any swatches, you'd all just have to bear with my looks. I don't mind doing them - it's just that I haven't figured out how to take pictures of my eye without them coming out blurry. :( Still learning to use this damn camera!

I saw some beautiful, beautiful swatches from Just Peachy! for an Autumn collection by Darling Girl Cosmetics and I just had to purchase. I set out to purchase the same collection but urgh, got side-tracked by the other pretty, pretty colors!

At $0.60 per sample, it was quite the steal! DGC also did not hold back on their samples. I received a tube of their LE Butter Rum lip balm, sample of Frolic, and a sample of Kiss Me tinted lip balm in Sassy. I am using the lip balm first thing, tomorrow morning. :D I ordered these 11/10 and received them 11/15. Holy jeepers, that's fast!

Wrapped with pretty polka dot tissue paper, protected by bubble mail, here is a picture of the samples I ordered along with the freebies they gifted:

So my Hi-Fi Cosmetics haul was ordered on 11/02 and I received it today, 11/15. I got their Art Saves! collection after seeing some beautiful swatches posted by Tianne Marie:

And the always generous freebies!

Will attempt to swatch as soon as I can. :)

Morgana Cryptoria Cleopatra Collection Swatches

2010-11-13T10:35:00.002-05:00

I wanted to get these out before I left to do some heavy cooking with me friends. I love anything to do with the ancient civilizations - the Phoenicians, Akkadians, Babylonians, China, Greece, Rome, Egypt (and many more) - I love learning about the rich cultures. I think cultures were so fascinating back then. I wonder if they'd say the same about us, lol. That's why when I heard there was a Cleopatra-themed collection coming out, I just had to have it.

From Morgana Cryptoria, here is the beautiful Cleopatra Collection.

Favorites: Anubis, Selene, Pyramid Scheme, Isis

What are your favorites from this collection?

P.S. Ack, it looks like I may need to restock my Pixie Epoxy soon!

Evil Shades Mythology Collection Swatches

2010-11-12T21:01:00.004-05:00

I ate 2 full-sized lunches and should not be hungry. I'm actually not hungry but my roommate (the non-weird one) made something that is making the apartment smell oh-so-delicious, my saliva glands are going hog wild.

Moving on, here is the Mythology Collection by Evil Shades!

And the freebies!

Must haves from this collection: Moirae, Dryad, Drakon, Gryphon, Succubus. I'm not usually fond of cooler pinks but Succubus is an exception.

What are your favorites? :)

Edit: Dull_Flame asked a fantastic question about the similarities between Drakon and Moirae. Since I'm absolutely horrible at describing colors, here are the swatches side-by-side:

Hope this helps y'all out!

Morgana Cryptoria and Shower Treat Soap Haul

2010-11-12T19:34:00.005-05:00

When I found out that Morgana Cryptoria was debuting a Cleopatra-themed set, I immediately thought: MUST HAVE. I ordered 11/7 and it arrived 11/10. Now that is fast shipping!

Through a rec from LeGothique, I ordered from Shower Treat Soap also on 11/7, got a refund for extra monies in S&H, and received my order today (11/12)!

As you can see, I got the sampler pack. Each bag contains enough detergent for 5 loads each for a top loader washer. Apparently, it's so effective, you only need 1 tbsp for each super-size load. You can also pick your own scents or if you're feeling creative, mix and match. My picks were:

1. Lily of the valley
2. Rose, hyacinth
3. Mandarin, cranberry, almond

Once I have some laundry to do (just did a load last week!), I will let you all know the results.

I still need to finish re-swatching the Mythos collection from Aromaleigh, the Mythology collection by Evil Shades, and then I can swatch my Morgana Cryptoria haul. I am also waiting on orders from Hi-Fi Cosmetics and Darling Girl Cosmetics (because Just Peachy had some awesome swatches of their fall collection). I already received my shipping notification for DGC which is fantastic!

I will be cooking tomorrow so if I'm unable to post swatches, I will definitely post some pictures of the foods we cool. :)

Evil Shades LE Halloween 2010 Swatches

2010-11-09T23:27:00.006-05:00

Good evening, y'all. I hope the week has been treating you well! Headed out to a restaurant this evening and grabbed some Mexican fare - I LOVE Tamal de Elote. I could eat that stuff all day with sour cream - it's so delicious.

In other news, I am totally not happy with the third roommie. She creeps me out. Reminds me of that chick from Paranormal Activity. Particularly, that scene where she's just standing over the bed watching her man sleep.

Yeah, it's that sort of creepy. Even my friend told me that's how he feels.

So I have swatches to share! This always puts me in a better mood. From Evil Shades LE Halloween 2010 Collection...bam! Unfortunately, these shades are no longer available but it's never too early to start planning. ;)

I love how well-blended these shadows are. Other Worldly and Witching swatched on so smoothly, Raven's Song is something I've seen before but it's still bewitching, and I want to use All Hallows Night for something, anything, because I love that crimson shade.

What are your favorites from this collection?

News, awards, and contests

2010-11-09T00:15:00.004-05:00

I needed to share this first because I think it's something y'all should be aware of.

You know, it's sometimes really hard not to wish ill upon a person when they do shit like this. Painted's friends were attacked in their home the other night for standing up to their beliefs - they're anti-racist activists. Now, they're being called liars and people think they staged the attack to garner sympathy. WTF. Who would do such a thing? People. Please think. He had kids in that home, company, he suffered contusions and concussions, his friend even got a broken arm - nobody would stage that. Now child services are threatening to take their kids away from two very strong people because apparently, their beliefs are endangering their lives?

Come on. Just. Come. On.

I had a lot more to say but I'm afraid it's just not suitable stuff for public consumption. These sorts of things just anger me so much. Please visit the link and show your support.

On another note...

I have never won an award in my life so when both Makeup Zombie and Painted gave me an award, I was super duper psyched. You ladies made my day!! I have way too many blogs I love and follow so I'll just say y'all should visit my profile page. Every single blog on there is recommended. :)

I know you've all probably seen this but hey, just in case, I don't want y'all to miss out on this fantastic giveaway going on over at Glitter is my crack...

Here are the goodies:

#1 Haunted Eyes Collection
#2 Cleopatra Collection
#3 Victorian Zombie Earrings
#4 Victorian Zombie Necklace

Go on over there and check out the lovelies!

Aromaleigh Spring Solstice, Holiday Blast Vault Swatches

2010-11-07T22:17:00.004-05:00

Here is a small swatch post for the vault colors I ordered from Aromaleigh the other day. Urgh, such gorgeous colors! You guys should all head over to the website because the clearance sale just got even better. They updated inventory, added some colors that were sold out, and have huge discounts going on. Full-sized eye shadows are going for $2.75 a pop, $25 for 10, etc. There are some colors I never got a chance to purchase before so I totally jumped on that. Not gonna let this second chance pass by. :)

Urgh, I should NOT be spending money. Should not. But I won money gambling on Friday so that makes up for it, right? Lol.

Onwards!

From the Holiday Blast Vault: Eggnog, Mulberry, Mistletoe

From the Spring Solstice Vault: Candytuft

Eeee. Speaking of vault items, they have Gingerbread and Butterscotch from the Holiday Blast available again! I've already snatched up my jars. :D

Fyrinnae Swatches

2010-11-06T13:14:00.003-04:00

Good afternoon! I had been meaning to do these swatches for a while now and I knew it was gonna be dangerous! There's not a single color I don't like. I've already got my shopping list made out for my next Fyrinnae haul. I was going to go on a low-buy but psh. Who am I kidding? You get so much with a mini-jar of product which for me just means, I somehow rationalize that that gives me even more reason to purchase more colors.

You logicians would hate me, haha.

I speak truths, yes. What are your favorites? Mine is all of them. I don't want to choose.

Persephone Minerals: Sailor Senshi Collection Swatches

2010-11-05T00:06:00.005-04:00

Hello all! I was originally going to do the Sailor Senshi Collection by Persephone Minerals senshi-by-senshi (which would've made for a total of 4 posts) but I was having way too much fun to stop swatching. These colors are absolutely amazing. Bonus points for the inspiration - Sailor Moon was one of my first loves.

Here are the Inner Senshi:

Freebies included in my order:

My favorite colors have got to be any and all of the Crystal Powers, Ami, Jupiter Oak Evolution, Sailor Mars, and Rei. Honestly, this entire collection was made of win. You do have to pat, not swipe, the 'attacks' on (ie: Mars Crystal Power, Venus Love & Beauty Shock, etc) because of the high glitter content but the formulation is still very good quality. Mars Crystal Power looks absolutely amazing. Mercury Crystal Power is like a blue version of Fyrinnae's Rapunzel Had Extensions.

I will definitely be purchasing some full-size sets from this collection. Also, the owner revealed in her blog that Sailor Moon's set will consist of 12 colors. How freaking amazing is that!?

Anyhoo, what do you guys think about Persephone Minerals? :)

P.S. I've been playing with my new toy. I was so against smart phones (I feel you only truly need one when your work is willing to pay for it) but then I saw this beauty. My will collapsed and I'm pretty sure that when my eyes and its screen connected, the phone and I had this once-in-a-lifetime moment:

Glamour Doll Eyes Swatches

2010-11-03T23:17:00.008-04:00

I really wanted to do the Persephone swatches but I figured I'd get these out of the way since it's a much smaller collection. :)

Here is a bunch of colors I ordered from Glamour Eye Dolls. I've heard about them through Phyrra and decided to purchase when they were having a sale. I had a hard time meeting the minimum purchase amount because there weren't that many original colors that interested me. The unblended colors interested me more.

Unblended colors are basically straight mica mixed with GDE's base.

These are the lovelies:

The last 2 colors were unblended colors. They were also my favorites. Love Affair was a pretty color and I think I would've liked it more had it not been a cool pink. I don't look good with cool pinks so I tend to be all "hiss! boo!" at them. Lol.

I know a lot of people like this store but considering how many unblended colors there were and the fact that GDE's original colors didn't really appeal to me much, I think I might just pass on a return purchase. I already shop a lot at TKB (love that store) so when I purchase from indie companies, I do it to support them and to also get my hands on colors no other stores have. Summer Skies did swatch on very creamy (which means GDE's base seems to be very well-formulated).

What do you think of this store?

Persephone Minerals, Glamour Doll Eyes, Evil Shades, + Aromaleigh

2010-11-01T23:33:00.009-04:00

Back from my weekend of less than a day with my family and then running around going to a wedding and preparing to come back to my apartment so that I could work today. I miss my mommy and daddy already. :(

I did come home to some fantastic lovelies though. These two came in on Saturday and I picked them up from my apartment concierge late Sunday night.

I heard about their specials through Phyrra and figured now was a good time to take advantage. I ordered these from Glamour Doll Eyes 10/27 and received them 10/30.

I was most excited about these eye shadows from Persephone Minerals based off of Naoko Takeushi's popular manga (and anime) series, Sailor Moon. These are the full sets (each) for Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. I'm loving Sailor Mars' collection especially. Still, they ALL look gorgeous in the little baggies, I can't imagine how they must look swatched. I am super excited. :D Shipping was also super fast. Ordered 10/27, received 10/30.

Freebies! Can I tell you how much I love being able to try out different colors than what I ordered? It's always so unexpected. :)

And what might this ominous looking baggie be?

GASPERS. It's my elusive Evil Shades order! I ordered 10/20, received my shipping notification 10/25, then received my package 11/1. I got the entire Halloween LE collection along with the very much raved about, Mythology collection. Fun times swatching ahead.

And last but not least...

My Aromaleigh order consisting of Eggnog, Mistletoe, Mulberry, Candytuft, Rule 42, Hearts A' Plenty, Frumious. I purchased so I could take part in their contest. Results were revealed here and dagnabbit! I was #6. Sadface! Congrats to #1-#4 though. :)

I am getting slammed at work this week but hopefully I'll find some time to get away and do some swatching. :D

P.S. In reference to this post here...It wasn't the blush. I think it was because of me touching my face like crazy that week. Lol.

P.P.S. That red/black Gothic backdrop for some of the photos is my awesomely awesome bedspread. I was chatting with my friend when I was opening my mail and didn't want to move to take the pictures. :D

Previews! Plus some stuff on skincare...

2010-10-26T23:46:00.013-04:00

So sorry for the lack of posts! It's quarter end so things at the job have been heating up. Working long hours and there's a wedding to attend this weekend. Still sore about missing Halloween and dressing up as a zombie for it. Gonna have to look respectable. Booo. But happy nuptials to the the couple, of course!

I wanted to swatch the Urban Decay Naked Palette but considering so many people have done it already with very thorough reviews, I figured I was just being redundant. Okay, the real reason was that I paid a lot of money for it and it hurt to use it for swatching which I always, always do with a heavy hand. Haha, I'm such a cheapo. Plus, the colors came out looking pretty crappy on camera. :/

I DID order some Evil Shades loose eye shadows and I just got the shipping confirmation today (so fast!). So once I get them, you will be seeing some new swatches. I still have my Fyrinnae swatches to complete.

Also, check out this blast from the past (okay, it was definitely in my childhood memories):

Persephone Minerals: Sailor Senshi - Sailor Venus

Persephone Minerals: Sailor Senshi - Sailor Mars

I need to get the complete Inner Senshi set. Just gotta be patient for Sailor Moon!

Also, I broke out pretty heavily last week. This was worrisome because I NEVER break out. I will get at most 1 large pimple during my monthly. Other than that, nothing. My skin-care routine is super basic too. I use generic facial washes (the ones that always say "comparable to...") and I also use Merlot's Grapeseed Night Cream and SPF 15 Moisturizer.

I don't know what happened but my skin SPAZZED. Red bumps like hives but were in fact, tiny pimples. It looked like I was suffering an allergic reaction. I was not happy and had no idea on how to deal. It is definitely one of these:

- Started using a new blush
- Touching my chin with my hands, mainly to rest my chin on my hands
- Eating potato chips
- Heat getting turned on in my apartment

Since Monday, I stopped using the new blush, am VERY aware of NOT touching my face with my hands, and I also threw away the potato chips. Once my skin cleared up, I will use the new blush again and see if that's the culprit. I actually think it might be the blush but I am hoping it isn't. I also called management to get my air filter replaced. Obviously, junk food consumption should be kept to a minimum. Second, y'all should never touch your face with your hands unless they're clean.

Also, this is now my new skincare routine. I used them in the past and got great results. Then I became cheap and got drugstore stuff. Clearly, it has not been working. I went all out and purchased these puppies Sunday evening:

It's been 2 days. My skin is completely clear. I will begin experimenting (using the blush, replacing air filter) and let you all know the results in my next post (which will hopefully be more swatches!).

Good night for now!

EOTD: Urban Decay Naked Palette

2010-10-23T16:02:00.006-04:00

My new roomie is moving in tonight and my current roomie is organizing a bunch of stuff in her room, yelling at me to move my stuff and make room for the new roomie. I did what any logically minded person would do. Ignore her for the time being and play with my makeup. :D

I'm horrible at EOTDs and I still haven't figured out how to take good pictures of my eyes. I can see why UD has such a large following though and why this palette sold out. The colors are very pigmented and the formula is super creamy.

This was also my first time using UD's primer. Yeah, I can see why people are so faithful to that too.

Ingredients used:
- UD Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- UD "Virgin" (browbone)
- UD "Sin" (lid)
- UD "Darkhorse" (crease)
- Dior's "Diorshow"
- UD Eye Pencil "Zero"

Right eye.

Left eye. I think I like my left eye more than my right eye, haha.

I'm so glad I got this set.

Shiro Cosmetics: The Legends Collection Swatches

2010-10-23T03:15:00.005-04:00

Hello all! I should be sleeping seeing as how it's quarter after 3 here in the East Coast. But I wanted to play with my cosmetics and well, what's sleep when you got makeup?

...Actually, in order to reduce fine lines, wrinkles, baggies underneath your eyes - you really should go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Don't do stuff like this, lol.

I started swatching my Shiro haul earlier but I had to take a break. After watching Paranormal Activity (I don't understand the hype), I finished the swatches. I even redid a few because I couldn't stand how they came out in pictures.

Anyway, if you haven't already, I suggest you guys check out Shiro Cosmetics! They already have one collection out based on Pokemon and this latest one is based off of the very popular (and awesome) video game, The Legend of Zelda.

Of course I had to get it. With these colors, why not?

Favorites: Temple of Time, Moosh, Ganondorf, Farore's Wind, Veran, Zora, Oshus, Master Sword, Zelda (love this color!)

Had issues with: Majora's Mask and Puzzle Cube. I had to reswatch these twice because I didn't get decent pictures either time. I thought I was using too much/too little Pixie Epoxy. I don't have a solution but basically, if you're using PE, you need to pat these shadows on. I think Puzzle Cube would probably work better as a veil over your eye shadows (it's got some awesome color interference going on) but as for being just eye shadow, I wouldn't know how to go applying it. You would also have to pat, not swipe, with Majora's Mask. It was a beautiful deep purple color with all this glitter but you had to pat it on because even with Pixie Epoxy, it was difficult to get a consistent swatch without patches.

These came as freebies. I love Team Rock and Gengar. How did they know I love purple?? Lol.

Would I buy from them again? DEFINITELY. I really need to mention that each sample size comes with 1/4th tsp worth of product which is more than enough to full-fill your sampling needs. It's very competitive at $1 each. Many indie mineral makeup companies sell their samples for the same price but they only provide 1/16th tsp worth of products. Fyrinnae offers 1/3rd tsp and 1/4th tsp (depending on the color) per color for $2. But they don't call them samples so much as minis. You're getting minis with Shiro. :)

Shipping was uber fast. I ordered either Thursday or Friday and it arrived in less than a week. The colors are gorgeous, the quality is obviously well-formulated, the labeling and packaging are so very cute and neat, not to mention their customer service is definitely not lacking. :)

I'm definitely loving these colors. Hope you're loving them too!

Urban Decay: Naked Palette Haul + Primer

2010-10-22T19:47:00.005-04:00

I went to get my eyes examined today and the prognosis is: there's some sort of inflammation or infection or whatever wherein I am to stop wearing my contacts for a week, use eye drops 6 times a day, and then go back in for a check up. They don't know what's causing it, it could be the cold I had last week or something worse.

In any case, I came home and saw with my diseased eyes this magnificence.

Holy hippogriffs, Batman. Your Professional Primer size is mighty large!

Shiro Cosmetics: The Legends Collection Haul

2010-10-21T22:34:00.005-04:00

This arrived in the mail today. Oh my gosh, shipping is fast! Yippers! Thanks Shiro Cosmetics!

The Legends Collection. It looks so cute in the little red organza bag.

So many different colors! I already saw swatches for Zelda and I want to use it for work tomorrow. :D

Freebies!

Thank goodness it's almost the weekend. I can't wait to sit down and start swatching for these lovelies.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab: Beaver Moon + Yule 2010 Preview

2010-10-21T11:00:00.009-04:00

I haven't purchased from Black Phoenix for about...7 months now. I have so many bottles and imps that it just didn't seem responsible to purchase more especially since I haven't even tried half the bottles I did buy from the last Halloween/Yuletide seasonal collections.

Oh wait, that's a lie. I did purchase a couple of oil blends from Twilight Alchemy, a subsidiary of BPAL.

I usually don't purchase Lunacies (with each full moon, they come out with a different scent to represent their definition of that moon) but urgh, this one has me salivating.

Beaver Moon - Strawberry and peach cheesecake, heavy on the sticky glaze.

I'm friggin' lactose-intolerant yo. I don't even know how it'd work as a scent (not big on foody scents) but I am seriously enticed.

Go here to check out the rest of their seasonal collections. They've even got a pack of scents up based off of The Last Unicorn. :D

My favorite of theirs still remains to be, Jingu. It's the best plum scent I've ever come across.

Meow Cosmetics: Zombies Swatches

2010-10-20T22:05:00.002-04:00

I am so tired. I got back from the office really late tonight (we're entering budgeting season), took a shower, cooked a pot of ginger and crab fried rice, and then rolled to my computer to start swatching. Again, I am really loving Meow right now. Check out these awesome-rific colors from their Zombies collection:

Favorites: Sinister, Spider Web, Jack-O-Lantern, Macabre, Goblin, Full Moon, Ghoul, Blood Lust, Coven, Evil Eye

What appeals to you? :D

Meow Cosmetics: Dance of Death Swatches

2010-10-20T00:00:00.008-04:00

Hello all! Hope your day is going well. I buckled and bought Urban Decay's Naked Palette after much inner monologue. I also attached a Eyeshadow Primer Potion - Professional Size because I've been meaning to try it out. What better time than when I can use it to take advantage of their free shipping? Woo. I can't wait until they both come in.

Caitlin of Shiro Cosmetics also sent me a shipping notification. Eee! I've been watching it like a mad rabbit.

Anyway, today I finally got around to doing my Meow Cosmetics Dance of Death collection. The colors are phenomenal. There's a wide variety of items (eye shadow, veil, liner) and the loose powder goes on quite creamy. As always, everything is swatched over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy in my little kitchen.

The mixing medium I used for the liners was Visine. Haha, I don't have any other mixing medium aside from that and water.

Favorites: Can I say the entire collection? I mean I tried picking out favorites but it was practically every single color. Meow is definitely a favorite in general. <3

Also, Persephone Minerals just debuted another part of their Sailor Senshi Collection:

The Sailor Jupiter Set

The photo was taken from the Etsy store. I put in names so that the colors were easier to separate. Hope I got them all right! I've been stalking the blog and I guess Sailor Venus is coming out next. Wooo! I'm so excited to see what colors are coming.

Arrrgh, was gonna do Zombies next but I'm so tired and I've got work in the mornin'. Night y'all.

Meow Cosmetics Haul

2010-10-18T19:40:00.004-04:00

Just received the last of my Meow Cosmetics order!

I love the wrapping paper they use. Branding is everything!

So much variety. :D Zooooombies.

Will be swatching this as soon as I complete a few redo swatches. :)

Persephone Minerals and Urban Decay "Naked" Palette

2010-10-18T14:36:00.011-04:00

Just found out by way of Phyrra that Persephone Minerals has just started a Sailor Senshi collection. WHUT. I AM SO EXCITED. I used to run home from school every weekday to watch the dubbed versions on Cartoon Network. Then when I discovered the subtitles on Ebay, I immediately purchased the entire set plus all three movies.

Hated Rini. Seriously, she was freaking irritating, yo.

Anyway, I've been meaning to purchase from this company for a while now. This company has just been pushed it all the way to the top of my to-buy list.

First up in the collection:

The Sailor Mercury Set

The image belongs solely to Persephone Minerals. I just added color names to make it easy.

5 beautiful shades of blue all based off of of Ami. From the Etsy store:

PRINCESS MERCURY - Princess Mercury is just the faintest touch of super shimmering blue. Very light & soft. It is inspired by the dress of Princess Mercury.

AMI - Ami is a deeper, black based blue with blue microfine glitters. Makes a lovely liner as well! It is inspired by Ami's haircolor ;)

MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER! - Mercury Crystal Power is an amazing DUOCHROME shift from gold to bright blue. It is chock full of sparkles of gold and pink. Mercury Crystal Power is inspired by the pink & gold of the her wand, and the transformation sequence that turns Ami into Sailor Mercury!

SAILOR MERCURY - Sailor Mercury is a nice medium-dark blue with sparkles of aqua and gold. Sailor Mercury is inspired by the costume of Sailor Mercury. The main color being a medium blue with accents of aqua(her bows) and gold(tiara).

MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY! - Blue with various shades of blue sparkles,white sparkles, & aqua sparkles!! Sparkles, sparkles and more sparkles! ;) I recommend this as either wetlined or used with a sticky primer for the most dramatic effect! It can be used dry but it has those slightly bigger pieces of glitter that can have a bit more fall out than the microfines. This super sparkly shade is inspired by her attack in the form of Super Sailor Mercury!

Ingredients and eye/lip-safe information is listed at the store. Go forth and colorize.

And then there was...

Urban. Decay. NAKED. Bow. Chicka. WOW. WOW.

I need your opinions. Should I get the Urban Decay "Naked" Palette or no? I just got a notification in the email that UD was stocked with the palette again. The only reason I'm hesitating is because my horoscope said:

"Try not to go over any spending limits today, no matter how tempted you may be."

WHUT do you mean, oh wise Astrology.Com horoscope??

(Yes. I'm aware I am being irrational.)

So...should I? What are your thoughts? I've read a lot of positive reviews but I'm wondering if there's anything that maybe kept you guys from purchasing it?

(I may actually wait the full 48 hrs - it's the time period they've given for you to purchase the product - so that I can see what tomorrow's horoscopes says. Haaaaaa. I will beat you Astrology.Com.)

Edit: Turns out Astrology.Com is being vuuury persistent about this no spending thing. It says this today: "You shouldn't trust your ATM receipt -- or even your online balance -- for the time being. Something may be pending, or you might just have an unexpected expense coming up in the very near future." Assholes. Well it's not like I can purchase it anyway being that when I tried this morning, UD's website gave me an error message. Boo.

Edit #2: Okay. I finally ordered it. This is how I beat you, Astrology.Com.

Whaaarrrllbllaargh. Stupid.

2010-10-18T08:51:00.005-04:00

Let me preface by saying I'm new to mineral makeup and this scene y'all have going. I decided to only start posting because I wanted somewhere to muse about makeup on. I'm fairly easy going. Unless you send me cigarette ashes in a sealed baggie and call it "Smokey Eyes", I'm probably not going to complain about the product and/or color. What this means is that there rarely will be ANYTHING negative on this blog. I see enough negative things that I should be able to have one place where I don't have to deal with it.

When I made my first order from Miss K's blog, my Ciao Italia! and Lost in Faerie came wrapped in purple tissue paper with a "Dormant Dream" sticker. From then on, I just took everything from the blog as Dormant Dream products, not Aromaleigh because you can't order from the Aromaleigh site, you have to order from the blog etc etc. I found out this morning that this was not the case.

Ooooops. I feels stooopid.

So I'm making this post to those of you who read it that I'm sorry for any confusion. I have edited the posts but the pictures will remain until I can redo the pictures and change it from "Dormant Dream" to "Aromaleigh". Since I did not save the stock photos, I will have to redo the swatches again so it will take some time. That's fine since I didn't really like the way my Wonderstruck swatches came out. Haha.

Anyway, for those of you who pay attention to my blabberings - if you see something off in a post, let me know. Preferably not under anonymity because I will immediately think there is something shady about you. Shiiiiiifty. I try to stay informed but again, don't really know all the nooks and crannies to keep myself completely informed just quite yet.

OH YEAH - just wanna reiterate that I can't wait for my Shiro's Legend samples. SQUEE. :D :D

Edit: Wonderstruck - Finished!

Aromaleigh: Spells! Swatches

2010-10-17T23:20:00.008-04:00

Based off of the ever-so-popular books, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, here's Aromaleigh's/Miss K's Blog Spells! collection. Whew, after this, all I have left are the rest of my Fyrinnae swatches and Meow Halloween collections. :D

Must haves: Nox, Diffindo, Tarantellegra, Protego, Imperio, Silencio, Serpensortia, Finite, Morsmordre, Fidelius, Stupefy, Wingardium Leviosa, Expecto Patronum, Crucio

What are your favorites?

Aromaleigh: Wonderstruck Swatches

2010-10-17T14:24:00.008-04:00

Part 2 of Aromaleigh's going away with a bang collection set...Wonderstruck!

You can purchase sample sets for $18, each jar for $5, or a full-sized set for $125.

Must haves: Spot of Tea, Just A-Head, Mimsy, Tunnel Vision, Melancholy Maiden, Opiate Advice, Frumious, Pass the Tarts, Tattered & Grown, Fiddlesticks, Wonderous, But This Is My Room, Hearts A' Plenty, Temper Temper

Maybes: Flamingo-Go, Rule Forty Two, Impossible Things, Looking Glass, Curious Dream

What are your favorites? :)

Edit: Reswatching finished!

Meow Cosmetics: Alien Abduction Swatches

2010-10-17T10:38:00.004-04:00

Good mornin' everyone. :) I can't believe it's Sunday already! Urrrgh, I do not want to go back to work tomorrow. I really like vegging around on the weekends.

Anyway, here are swatches from Meow's Alien Abduction collection. Lots of green shades for you green lovers. :D

I loved how Vivisection looked. I swatched it on without reading the name and then when I looked to see what it was, there was sort of this "oh my" reaction before I continued happily swatching. Haha, it's pretty eye shadow.

My favorites: Vivisection, Extraterrestrial, Abductee, Contact, Xenophobe, UFO, and Gray Matter. What are your favorites? :)

Craig Ferguson at the Walter Theater

2010-10-16T22:53:00.005-04:00

I saw Craig Ferguson tonight. The man is hilarious. Some great phrases that I think you guys should know and incorporate into your daily lives: "magic baby door", "shame branch"

Here's a picture of the Warner Theater where we were at:

Here's a picture of him and his men doing a hilariously bad dance to "Oops I Did It Again". Unfortunately, our seats were not conducive to good photos so you might have to use your imagination...

And the EOTD I wore to the show:

Items used:

- MAC Paint Pot "Soft Ochre"
- Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
- Meow "Erato" (inner v)
- Meow "Calliope (outer v and crease)
- Meow "Terpischore" (lid)
- Dior's "Diorshow"
- CG Perfect Point Plus "Black Onyx"

The Other Magdalene: All is Vanity Arrives

2010-10-16T17:04:00.004-04:00

Guess what I got in my mailbox today?

I love this necklace. I think it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm so happy with my purchase that I'm imploring y'all to at least check out the other beautiful treasures at Lunalelle's store: The Other Magdalene. Everything is hand-crafted and one-of-a-kind.

Here are some more shots of the necklace. I'm no photographer but this necklace is so pretty, it doesn't need much help.

I would love to make future purchases of: Lepidoptera, Dragon Lady Melusine, Draconian Fighting, Griffin Pride, Boyar Dracula, Ephmeral Blue Flower, Red Tooth & Claw (reminded me so much of Harry Potter), Wilhelmina Earrings, The Darkest Night

Let me know what you saw in the store that caught your eye!

Meow Cosmetics: Friday 13th Swatches

2010-10-16T12:35:00.003-04:00

So it looks like I'll be getting a 3rd roommate come Monday evening. Never met her before, my other roomie found her off of her university wanted ads, originally wanted new girl to move in next week instead of this week - all in all, I can't help but be a bit wary. But I must remain positive!

Which isn't hard to do considering I just swatched Friday 13th's collection from Meow. These pigments are utterly eerie.

Most of these colors looked nothing like what they did in their baggies. I think it makes the experience that much more fun. :D

Aromaleigh: Mythos Swatches

2010-10-16T10:23:00.010-04:00

I'm not taking the rest of that antibiotic medicine the doctor prescribed. I am so done with prescription and over the counter medicines. From now on, it's just holistic approaches. At least they don't make me nauseous and headache-y.

So on my GMAT exam, I wrote about zombies. I got a 5.5 out of 6.0 on the essays. Granted, I'm sure there are many who scored 6.0 out of 6.0 but did you write about zombies? I don't think so siiiiiiirs.

Anyway, onto Aromaleigh's new (and good-bye) collection swatches: MYTHOS!

I may need to get full-sized jars of Hermes, Gaia, Hera, and Artemis.

I thought I didn't get a full-sized jar of Neptune and was kicking myself for it because it's such a pretty color. But then I realized that I did and I was just being stupid. >_> Yeah. I am extra.

What are your favorite colors? :)

Edit: I originally stated these were also part of Dormant Dream because I thought that was the name of Kristen's blog. Dormant Dream is actually not a part of the collection name at all...this is all a part of Aromaleigh. Unless I do the swatches over, I am unable to change the name on the photos so...hopefully this note will suffice. :) Sorry for the confusion all!

Fyrinnae: Dia De Los Muertos Swatches

2010-10-16T00:47:00.008-04:00

It's almost 1am here so this is my last post for the night. I know I've been spamming your blog notifications, my bad!

Celebrating All Hallow's Eve in their own way, Fyrinnae's newest collection, Dia De Los Muertos are definitely colors to die for.

HA. I tried really hard with that pun.

I can see why people have been raving about them. Take a look at these complex shades.

All swatched over Pixie Epoxy, of course.

Madame & Eve's sounds like a swanky bordello name. If I ever own a bordello, I will name it Madame & Eve. This was a particularly difficult picture to take due to all the magnificent aqua sparkles.

Sugar Skulls is gorgeous. Is there anyway we can implore the men to make us a lip lustre? Lol, probably not. It's really pretty though. By the way, Danse Macabre is a total conundrum. It's such a cheerful color, so spring-like and not...dance of death (which is what "Danse Macabre" translates to right?). But what if it is a cheerful thing? Hmmm, ponder ponder ponder.

These guys are super generous with their mini-jars. For $2, you have 20-30 applications worth. For me, it's more like 40-50 applications. I use so very little. Also, whichever one of the guys filled up my Te Amo - many thanks! There's so much product!

Edited: The lovely PrettyBottles just notified me (many thanks!) that some of the pictures weren't loading. Are you guys getting an error message? A broken link? Let me know. I may have need to have words with Photobucket.

Aromaleigh, Fyrinnae, Meow Cosmetics, Dormant Dream Haul

2010-10-15T23:23:00.006-04:00

Here's an idea of swatches to come your way.

My Mythos, Wonderstruck, and Spells collections finally came in from Dormant Dreams/Aromaleigh!

Spells collection based off of the ever-so-popular Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Mythos, the first of the Adieu collection to debut.

Wonderstruck, based off of the classic literary novel, Alice In Wonderland.

My full-sized jars from the Mythos collection that I splurged on. I couldn't possibly wait. I've already started using Eos. It's such a pretty color.

Freebies. :D

Fyrinnae's "Dia de los Muertos" collection, Arcane Magic, and a couple of random eye shadows here and there. Aren't the stickers adorable?

The remaining three eye shadows of Meow's "Alien Abduction" collection.

Release of a previous collection from earlier this year: Friday the 13th.

Older collection called "Dance of Death." Vampire looks stunning.

Yay, freebies!

I have been waiting for you Verve, my love. I keep hearing a ton of fabulous things and finally, I got you all to myself...*end creep* Of course I had to throw in some Victoria's Revenge in thuuur.

Oo, I've never tried the Rocks collection before. More Perle powders, yay!

Swatches to come, I promise. :)

LARGE-ASS Giveaway by Crow & the Powder Puff

2010-10-15T22:27:00.005-04:00

You guys should all head on over to The Crow & the Powder Puff for her very, very LARGE giveaway. Here's a blurb from her blog that will give you guys an idea of what's in store for the very, very LUCKY winner:

I have included 23 pigment samples most are MAC which I purchased the original jars myself from the CCO or MAC Cosmetics Online. I've also thrown in Sugarpill samples as well a Sugarpill Sticker which I think is cute as well as one of Shrinkle's business cards which is equally cute. :) I also threw in some Temptu Adorn temporary tattoos, Urban Decay Primer Potion sample, Urban Decay Doug lipgloss sample, and Smashbox Photo Finish Light Foundation Primer. I also have a Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy sample, mini shadows in, La Noche, Parental Advisory, Rapunzel Had Extensions, Boytoy, Digital Faerie, and Chaotic Evil which should be coming shortly. I plan to try and throw some more in possibly going to purchase 1-2 of my favorite Sonia Kashuk brushes as well as some other random items. :)

So head on over now, ladies and gents!

Shiro Cosmetics: The Legends Collection + Haul

2010-10-15T22:08:00.006-04:00

By way of Painted, I saw that Shiro Cosmetics has just come out with a new collection based off of the video game cult classic: Legend of Zelda.

I love this game. I sucked at it. Had to ask my brother to play it for me so that I could see what happened. I know, I'm lazy and weird. But he did it and we both got enjoyment out of it. Win-win, I say.

Anyway, I've been meaning to try out this company for a while. Every blog I visit has been raving about the awesome that is Caitlin. After a brief interaction with her through customer service myself, I can say that she's super friendly and has a very warm personality. :)

I can't wait to receive my samples!

I got home at 8:30pm today and checked my mailbox. There was nothing. I was perplexed because I got a shipping notification that some packages were coming my way. Usually mail gets sorted out by 4pm at the latest. They must have been super behind today because when my roommate got home (which was 9:30pm), she brought me mail:

*squee*

Meow Cosmetics: Shattered Equinox Swatches

2010-10-15T21:59:00.004-04:00

I was extremely sick. Finally went to the doctor yesterday, he prescribed me some antibiotics (turns out I have upper respiratory infection, which is just a fancy term for a cold), had a HORRIBLE reaction to the antibiotics (got all three side effects), had a severe migraine brought on by sinus congestion, did the neti pot, took some Zicam (unsettled my stomach even further), and blah blah blah.

Anyway, today, I am feeling much better. The migraine-of-doom is still knocking away but it's not blinding like it was yesterday. I come bearing gifts: Meow's Shattered Equinox collection!

My favorite colors are: Morose, Purpuraceous, Melancholy, Grandiloquent, Deranged, and really, all of the colors are just lovely. Livid Lilac would be great as a day-to-day blush and Rhetorical Ruin looks like super-duper-fun in powder form.

Lovin' the collection. :)

Package Notification Key

2010-10-12T22:56:00.009-04:00

At my apartment complex, if you have a package at the front desk, they put this key in your mailbox.

I had a key in my mailbox today. And WHARRRRRRLLLBBLLLLAAARRRGHHH!

I jizzed my shorts.

Also, I am taking a big test tomorrow. I really need to get a certain score because the test is extremely expensive to take and I can't afford to take it again. Plus, if I get a certain score and get into a school, my boss is willing to pay for classes.

Please send me whatever luck you can pass along. :)

The Other Magdalene: All is Vanity

2010-10-10T20:11:00.008-04:00

I am splurging so much lately. I need to control myself because I really shouldn't be spending money like this.

I can't help it though! I needs shoppers anonymous!

But how could you not get this?

All Is Vanity

My friend, Lunalelle, makes these gorgeous jewelry pieces. Her store, The Other Magdalene has a large variety of all very beautiful pieces you can wear or just look at (because that's prob what I'd do - stare in stupified wonder). Her genres include Gothic and fantasy elements. Some even have whispers of the Victorian Era. I've been promising myself that I would purchase some of these items but I never had the budget to. Now that I'm feeling that shopper's itch, I figured to just purchase without giving it another thought. I'll deal with my credit card bill later.

>_> Heh.

I rarely buy jewelry. I think it would be better if I had shopper's regret but since my latest purchases have been makeup and now, a BEAUTIFUL necklace...I'm just not feeling it.

Meow Cosmetics: Sunless Sea Swatches

2010-10-10T12:56:00.003-04:00

I decided to take a break from studying by doing some swatches. Originally, I didn't think I'd like these colors because they looked so opaque in the pictures. After swatching, I think they've become some of my favorite colors and versatile. You can use these as highlights, for work, etc. The formula was also very buttery. I loved it.

I especially love the last three as a trio. Terpischore is vurrrrrry pretty.

Meow Cosmetics Haul: Sunless Sea, Shattered Equinox, Alien Abduction

2010-10-09T17:23:00.004-04:00

Yay! My Meow Cosmetics haul arrived today! Now all I'm waiting for are the collections from Aromaleigh and Fyrinnae.

Alien colors. *cue X-Files music*

Ooo...more work colors?

Probably my favorite collection so far of these three, just from looking at it. Lots of variety in colors, not to mention the very pretty blushes.

Freebies!

Currently, Meow is offering 15% in celebration of Columbus Day. This is valid for ALL products. In addition, you can also get free shipping! Guess who's taking advantage? Apparently, between when I ordered and when I received my order, Meow released 3 new colors (Xenophobe, Area 51, Gray Matter) for their Alien Abduction collection. In addition, I still need to pick up the entire collection of Dance of Death, Friday the 13th, and Halloween Zombies. With a name like Halloween Zombies, how could I not? I might also try to complete my Lost Rainforest collection. The colors are just too gorgeous not too. :)

I'm going to be a good student and study for the rest of this weekend so no ETA on swatches. Super stressed = bad swatches which really isn't useful to anyone. >_>

Edit: I are idiot. I didn't realize that Lost Rainforest was no longer being sold. Dagnabbit.

Horrible attempt at an EOTD

2010-10-09T13:07:00.005-04:00

I tried to do a blue/green/purple look today. Didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. D:

Using these ingredients:

MAC Paint Pot "Soft Ochre"
Fyrinnae "Pixie Epoxy"
Aromaleigh Ciao Italia! "Puffo" (inner corners)
Aromaleigh Ciao Italia! "Mela" (lid)
Aromaleigh Ciao Italia! "Frutti di Bosco" (outer corners)
Aromaleigh Ciao Italia! "Fior di Latte" (highlight)
CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus "Midnight Blue"
MUFE Smoky Lash

On the flip side, I really liked how long my eyelashes looked. Here is the best closeup I could manage with my crap camera-taking skills.