Nail of the week

Please ignore the excess polish, I took the picture before I cleaned it off. This polish is one of the Butter London polishes in Chimney Sweep. I got it during Ulta's 21 days of beauty sale yesterday as part of a buy one, get one free. I'd been a bit apprehensive to buy these before, admittedly because of their price. At $14 each, I was a bit uncomfortable. Mind you, when I was a teenager, and my mom bought all my makeup, I wore Lancome polishes almost exclusively, because when it wasn't my money, I had no problem blowing her money on high end expensive nail polish. Then, I moved out, and after she quit bankrolling my cosmetics addiction, I had to buy my own. Suddenly, Wet'N'Wild's $1 polishes didn't look too bad on my nails. But regardless, at $14 for two, I felt much more comfortable with the Butter London polishes. The review is forthcoming, but for the moment, I'm having a bit of a love affair with this color. 

Product Review: Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer- Tropics

Ever wanted to be the shiniest person alive? Want a fake tan so bold that you make the cast of Jersey Shore look like they've been hiding in a basement for years? This is the product for you then! My god, this bronzer is the shimmeriest product I've ever seen, let alone for your face. Who would wear this as a face product? Who would do this? Tell me!

Behold the shimmery glory!

Now, in all seriousness, I can't actually imagine what this would look like on ones face in any conventional sense. Maybe if you were really dark skinned, but even then, I think the shimmer would be too much.

That being said, this product isn't entirely worthless... It does make a really nice, heavily pigmented gold eyeshadow! So while it utterly fails as a bronzer, It isn't a bad eyeshadow.

Product Review: Maybelline The Falsies- Flared Mascara

If you read my review of the waterproof version of this mascara, you're probably thinking I'm positively insane for spending my money on the regular formula of this particular mascara. Maybe I am, but this made its way into my collection regardless.

For the record, I'm glad it did. When I bought the waterproof version, it was so horrifyingly terrible that I was actually a bit upset that I'd even bought it, and that Maybelline was marketing this product, and that people were saying it was even remotely okay. Then I bought the regular formula. Now, I'm not going to say that it completely changed my mind, but it is definitely an improvement. The mascara doesn't add heaps of volume, it doesn't lengthen your lashes remarkably, but the one thing it does well is that you can shape your lashes, and they stay in place. So if you want your lashes to be shaped a certain way, you can use this to your advantage. That being said, I use it with a primer, and another mascara over it to get the full look that I want, but it does do that one thing well enough to almost make it worthwhile.

So I will still not give this product a great review, but if you can get it on sale, and want to sculpt your lashes instead of wearing false ones, I guess you could probably find some merit in this.

Product Review- Studio M Blushes

Disclaimer: I am a paid employee of Meijer, but this product review is not supported by, encouraged by, or in any way involving my job at Meijer. I do not even work in a department in which it would be part of my job to endorse Studio M Cosmetics. While I receive wages from Meijer for my work I do in the store, this review has no relation to my job I did not receive any free samples of the product, and both of these (and any other Studio M products I use) were paid for out of my own money.

For those of you who have no idea what Meijer is, it is a regional chain of grocery/superstores in the Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois area. Basically think Wal-Mart, but privately owned. I've been a lifelong Meijer shopper, and it is where I've always gotten the majority of my drugstore cosmetics. When Meijer released their own line of cosmetics, I was pretty interested. They started out with a line of brushes and tools, which were modestly priced, and pretty decent quality. Then, they started adding the cosmetics. This week, all the Studio M cosmetics were buy one get one free, so I figured this would be a good time to try them out, so I picked up two of the blushes, which retail for $5.99 each

Wish- this is a shimmery rose color with a silver shimmer. The consistency is nice on it. It's not super chalky, and it's really well pigmented, as well as going on smooth. The only downside to these blushes is that they are a bit on the small side, so it makes the particular brush you use important.

Blushin'- This one is a peachy blush with a sizeable gold-toned shimmer to it. Like the other one, this blush is a pretty decent quality with a good payoff. It's not the most unique colored blush, and I probably own a dozen like it, but it's definitely a good color.

Overall, these products are very decent. While they aren't widely available, nor are they available online, if you happen to be near a Meijer, and you need cheap, decent makeup, Studio M is a viable option.

Product Review: L'Oreal Color Riche Le Gloss

 

 

 

 

I am a total sucker for new products. These glosses are no exception. When the displays went up, I spent days lusting after them before I finally decided to buy one. I bought Baby Blossom, because I love light, peachy colors on my lips. I don't usually wear crazy pigmented, bright colors, so I thought this one would be something I would actually wear.

The gloss is a thick, slightly sticky formula that smells just like vanilla frosting. It applies easily, and it seems to stay put pretty decently. It's not crazy pigmented though. I'm left with a light, glazed look on my lips.

My overall thought on this gloss is that it's alright, but its way overpriced. For a basic lipgloss, a $6.99 pricetag is way too high. The gloss itself just isn't that remarkable to warrant spending that kind of cash.

Product Review: Covergirl Natureluxe Gloss balms

I admit it.... Advertising totally works on me. After seeing enough ads for these Natureluxe products, I was curious. Then, I got a coupon in the paper for $5 off two, so my curiosity could be satisfied at a reasonable price. It does't get better than that. I decided to go for the gloss balms, because that seems to be the safest product, and with a retail of $5.99 each, it was the least expensive choice too.

I picked up Coral (Left) and Tulip(Right). The balms themselves are a soft stick, with a cherry candy flavor, that thinly covers the classic lipstick taste that most women are accustomed to. I'm indifferent to this, but I must admit, I wish that it was either a stronger cherry flavor, or it had no real flavor, as the cherry isn't strong enough to cover the lipstick taste.


As far as wear goes, these gloss balms go on pretty smooth, with just a very slight touch of color. They leave your lips smooth, and you get a couple hours of wear before you need to reapply, which is nice. Plus, the color doesn't feel too heavy on your lips, which is nice if you're one of those people who doesn't like to feel heavy makeup on their face.

Top- Coral, Bottom- Tulip

Coral is a medium orange color with a slight gold shimmer. On my lips, it is almost unnoticeable, but it does moisturize and even out the pigmentation.
Tulip is a soft pink, with a hint of shimmer. This is a shade lighter than my lips naturally are, and it is a bit more noticeable than Coral.


Overall, These gloss balms are nice, but they don't do anything magical. That being said, if you want a nice lip balm that adds a touch of color without breaking the bank, these are a good option.

Product Review: Kat Von D True Romance Palette- Ludwig

Admittedly, I will not  be posting as many photos with this post as I normally do with product reviews. I've had this palette a long time. It's (barely) survived two flights across the world, and TSA playing catch with my cosmetics bag, which most of my makeup didn't survive. :( So I will be using stock photos, except with the swatches.

This was the first Kat Von D cosmetic purchase I ever made. Actually, it was part of my first Sephora purchase too for that matter. I fell in love with the colors, and decided I needed it in my life. I bought it on my way to Australia, and on the flight, before I even got to do anything with it, Lucifer, the black shade broke! OH NO. I managed to get it out of the palette without it completely destroying any of the other shadows, but I didn't get to use that color until much later, when I got another palette with it in it. The rest of the colors in the palette definitely made it into my daily rotation really quickly though.

Lucifer- a matte black- It's not bad for a matte black, but it's not the most remarkable matte black I've ever used.
Orbi- A darker green with a gold shimmer- I use this color at least 2-3 times a week because of how much I like it. The pigmentation is great, and it's very buildable.
Dimebag- A brighter, lighter green with a gold shimmer- This color is really fun. Admittedly, it's not as pigmented as I'd like, but it is still wearable, although it goes better with a highly pigmented primer.
Tequila- a soft yellow with a slight shimmer- This color makes an excellent highlight color. It has a subtle shimmer to it, so you won't look too shiny with it.
Clay- a soft yellowy tan with a slight shimmer- I like this color. It is a fun highlight, but it would also be a decent candidate for a subtle almost no makeup-type look
Downtown- a pale, shimmery champagne color- Another really pretty color. This shows up similar to Urban Decay's Sin, but with a slight bit more pigmentation
Baroque- A darker, shimmery brown- From a non-utility standpoint, this is my favorite color in the palette. Leather is more useful for me, but this one is prettier.
Leather- A matte chocolate brown- This is the most useful color in the palette for me. It's the color I use for my brows, and it is a good shadow color as well.

Overall, this palette is pretty fabulous. There are a couple colors that are a bit less standout than others, but it's a favorite of mine because it has a great multitude of looks that can be done with it.

Swatches (primer on top, no primer on bottom):

Left to right- Lucifer, Orbi, Dimebag, Tequila

Left to right- Clay, Downtown, Baroque, Leather

Product Review: Kat Von D True Romance Palette- True Love

I got this palette as part of the Look in a Box from Sephora. I was curious about the other products, but mostly I just wanted this palette. So much so, actually that I spent days Weeks lusting after it. Finally, on my birthday, I decided to buy it. (Happy Birthday to me!) Here's what I think about it.

It's no secret that I shamelessly love pretty much everything from the Kat Von D makeup line, and this is no exception. In fact, I think this one might actually be my favorite so far. The colors in this palette are so fabulous, and I have found dozens of ways to wear them that I love.

Here's the rundown of the colors:
Peanut- Soft, shimmery gold- the shadow itself is very soft, and a bit crumbly actually, but it's really, really pretty!
Benji- A very bold gold with a hint of copper- This is a cream shadow with a lot of pigmentation. The only downside is that it did dry out pretty quickly, which did make it a bit harder to work with, but even when it's a bit drier, it does still work, it's just a bit trickier.
Rebekah- Medium chocolate brown, with gold glitter- Really pretty, with a lot of pigmentation. The glitter is pretty fine in it, but it doesn't have tons of glitter fallout, which is awesome!
Lucifer- a matte black- As far as matte blacks go, this one isn't the best matte black on the face of the planet, but it really isn't bad. Nothing too remarkable though, just a matte black.
Cholita- a reddish burgundy- This is definitely my favorite color in this palette... Actually, for that matter, I think this is my favorite in all the Kat Von D Palettes. It's so pretty! The pigmentation is nice, and it's very buildable, which makes it even nicer.
Skiba- A medium purple with gold glitter- It's not super bright, but the gold glitter adds a certain level of boldness to it, which makes it really pretty
Babe- A bold, bright, light purple with a subtle blue duochrome- I really like this one as well. It reminds me a bit of Flash by Urban Decay, but a bit prettier.
Missy- A bright shimmery white, with a subtle purple duochrome- This color is really pretty. I use it mostly for highlighting under my brows.


Swatches:

Top row- with primer, bottom row- no primer. (Left to right- Peanut, Benji, Rebekah, Lucifer. Second set- Left to Right- Cholita, Skiba, Babe, Missy)

Product Review: Kat Von D True Romance Palette- Angeles

I got this palette during the Kat Von D sale a couple weeks ago at Sephora. I'd bought a few other KVD palettes, and I liked them, and the colors on this looked really pretty so I figured for $24, it was worth a shot.

                                           (Left to right- Venus, Leather. Specimen, Rehab, Peggy, Bukowski, Bellbottom, Morphine) 

It comes with 8 shadows- 7 powder, and one cream. One half is warm tones and the other half is cool.
Venus- Shimmery coppery brown with hints of orange. Very pretty and pigmented
Leather- Matte chocolate brown- I use this color to do my brows in.
Specimen- shimmery light brown- not crazy pigmented, but pretty
Rehab- a shimmery peach- pretty, but rather similar to my skintone, just shimmery
Peggy- light teal with a gold duochrome- nice pigmentation, and a really pretty shade
Bukowski- medium teal with a blue duochrome- a bold color with a lot of pigmentation.
Bellbottom- Medium blue with a darker blue duochrome
Morphine- White cream shadow with a blue and green duochrome- makes an excellent base and highlight color

Swatches: (first row is without primer, second one is with the Kat Von D High Voltage Eye Primer in Skin)

                                                        (Left to right- Venus, Leather, Specimen, Rehab)

                                                        (Left to right- Peggy, Bukowski, Bellbottom, Morphine)

Overall thoughts: This palette has some pretty colors, but most of them aren't ones that I'd wear every day. That being said, there are enough different looks you can get out of this particular palette that it is worth the price. With a lot of the Kat Von D Palettes, each half doesn't really mix together very well, but most of these colors look very good together.

Product Review: Hard Candy Fox in a Box- Smooth Talker

I bought this on a whim when I was at wal-mart, because it looked really pretty. I am never too sure about Hard Candy products, because they're either really awesome, or really terrible. I decided to take a chance on it because I liked the colors in it.

 The product comes in a box (Obviously, with a name like "fox in a box"), and it has a little brush on the inside. I threw the brush out, because it's tiny, and it's kind of stiff.

The consistency is smooth, but when you put it on the brush, you get a ton of product. It looks nice on, but there is a lot of fallout, so make sure you tap the brush off first!

 

The end result is a subtle orangey-peachy glow.

Product Review: Maybelline Great Lash- Colors

Maybelline Great Lash mascara has been around for a long time. In fact, it's one of the best-selling mascaras of all time. I've been a longtime fan of it, even though it's not necessarily the best mascara out there, because it does everything well, and for $4, with enough coats of it, you'll end up with some pretty awesome lashes. So when Maybelline released two limited edition colors, Green Envy and Teal Appeal, I had to try them out.




Formula-wise, they both have the exact same formula as all the other Great Lash mascara, which is nice. It gives decent volume, holds a curl reasonably well, and adds some length, all without giving you crunchy, spidery lashes.

As far as the colors go, the color is pretty subtle. If you were looking for a very noticeable, bright pigment, you won't find it here, but you will get a nice, decent subtle pop of color. Green Envy is a foresty green, and Teal Appeal is a bold, but not fluorescent teal.

                                               (Left- Green Envy, Right- Teal Appeal)
Overall, if you're already a fan of Great Lash, you'll like the colors, but if you're not, these probably aren't spectacular enough to change your mind. At the low price of $4, they're the best colored mascaras you could probably get. 

Product Review: Tokidoki Prisma Lip Gloss

First off, let me say, these are the most difficult products on the face of the earth to photograph, so these will not do it justice whatsoever, they're really pretty!

I bought Bullets (left) and Rocketeer (right) online for $5 each from Sephora. I had never tried any Tokidoki lip products, but I positively love all their other products that I'd tried, and these were too cute for me to pass up.

The glosses feature a tokidoki character in a snowglobe-like top without the water. Seriously, Tokidoki, why must you make such irresistibly adorable products?!?

Bullets

 Rocketeer

 The formula is a lightly pigmented sheer blueberry flavored gloss. It goes on smooth, but it has a slight bit of stickiness to it, although not enough to bother most of the sticky gloss haters out there. The flavor is pleasant without being overpowering. The main difference between this and other glosses is the applicator. It's a flexible almost silicone-like paddle. It's kind of a different transition from the typical brush tips or sponges, but it doesn't bother me.

Bullets:
this one goes on almost completely clear on me, so there's not much to write about. It's a nice clear-ish gloss, but that's about it.

Rocketeer
This one looks like it would be super dark, but it goes on sheer, so it just has a bit of what Sephora describes as a "sheer deep black red" tone to it. It's pretty, but again, nothing terribly remarkable. The gloss formula is pretty long lasting, so you'll get a quality color, but if you have strongly pigmented lips, it probably will come out pretty clear on you.

Overall, These glosses weren't bad for the $5 I paid for them. If I'd paid their original $15 retail, I probably would have been disappointed though. I'd say pass on them, unless you're a serious Tokidoki collector like I am.

Product Review: Kat Von D High Voltage Eye Primer

I bought one of the Kat Von D "Get the look" kits from Sephora on my epic birthday trip that Kaye Eh and I went on. I'd been coveting it for awhile, because I really wanted the palette, and I was curious about these primers. Finally, I broke down and bought it as a birthday gift. The kit came with both the "skin" and "smoky" colors (there is also a shimmery beige called "stellar" which I don't have).
Here's my thoughts on them in general:

The formulas on both are kind of thick, and it makes it a bit hard to work with. The wand also pulls out a lot of product. If you put it on with the wand, and don't blend it, it will take forever to dry, or you will end up with smudges or creases, so you definitely want to blend it with a brush or a sponge, or even your finger.

                                                       look at all the product that comes out!






Skin:
This is the one I would use most often. It is a bit of a strong color, so one downside is that with light  shadow colors, you have to be a bit heavy-handed to cover it up- at least on me, because I'm pale, and it's definitely more yellow-toned than my skin is.  The upside is, it brings out the subtleties and duochromes in a lot of the lighter shadow colors. It has a lot of coverage, so it definitely makes your shadows look very bold, which is nice. 

Smoky:
I like the idea of this primer, but in practice, it has a couple downsides. First is, you can't use it all over your eye, unless you want to look like you have a black eye. So because of that, when I use it, I have to also use another primer color for the highlight area under my brows. That is slightly inconvenient. The other problem is that it's a lot more noticeable when you make mistakes. You have to take care to make sure you have the same shape of it on both eyes, or you'll end up with Very different eyes. What I do like about it is that it brings a whole new layer of depth to colors. Lighter colors instantly turn sultry, and dark colors just get richer and have more depth. 

Swatches:

  (top- skin, Middle- no primer, bottom- smoky... Left to right KVD in Rehab, KVD in Bellbottom, KVD in Babe, KVD  in Cholita, Smashbox eye brightening quad orange color)

Overall:
While these primers aren't the best primers I've ever used, I do think they're pretty good quality products. They're good it you wear a lot of bold colors. If you do a lot of neutrals and more demure looks, you could probably skip these for a different brand, but the formulas on these are long-lasting, and are overall pretty good, but just a bit harder to work with than some other primers on the market.  

Product Review: Tokidoki Sodashop Palette

I've been drooling over this palette since the first time I saw it at Sephora, and I've been doing an excellent job of restraining myself (for once). Well, I was at Sephora the other day, and it was $10, and I couldn't resist it any longer. It was a total steal. 12 shadows, an eyeliner, a super adorable nail file and a magnet set (Which I already covered my refrigerator with) in a collectable tin. Sold.

Initial thoughts: I really try not to get suckered by cute packaging, but sometimes it's really hard, and this was no exception. That being said, I positively love all the other tokidoki products I have, (Robbery palette, various shadows and glosses, makeup bags, plus the iPhone case and a couple charms) so I feel like it's not just me being all "ZOMG! It's cute!"

On to the shadows:
Skull donut is a light, shimmery gold-ish color, that I would definitely use for a highlight color.
Patatino is a light mustardy color with a soft gold shimmer. Pretty, but probably not one I'll use a ton as it will make my skin look washed out.
Riposino is a glittery and shimmery light brown. Very pretty for a jazzed up neutral look.
Ciccio is a shimmery coppery brown.
Mummetto is a matte medium brown. Perfect for a liner or for brows.
Mozzarella is a darker brown with lots of shimmer and glitter
Tulipano is a matte bright mauve. Very pretty
Nancy Rocks is a bold, shimmery bright purple. Kind of like Urban Decay's Flash, but prettier.
Romeo is another Urban Decay dupe, as it is a bold, shimmery burgundy like UD's Last Call. (I like the formula and pigmentation better on Romeo though!)
Ciotolina is a shimmery green.
Arrosto is a shimmery dark grey that is almost black. Very versatile.
Furbina is a very dark purple with light purple glitter in it. It's a very familiar color, but I can't think of what brand makes it, but it's definitely a dupe of something.

The tokidoki formulas are really nice. The shadow is dry and not crumbly, but it isn't so dry that it's hard to get even color and pigmentation. They have a nice color payoff, and they stay looking nice, although you definitely want a primer to get their full pigmentation.

(with primer)

(without primer)



Liner- Perfetto Eyeliner in SANDy
I like tokidoki's liners, and this one is no exception. The color is nice, and so is the formula. It stays put, and it has a decent tip. not too thin, and not too thick, so it allows you a variety of thicknesses. This is definitely one of the better felt-tip liquid liner pens I've tried.

If you can find this palette for the same price, I'd definitely say grab it while you can, but honestly, it's worth the $30 that Sephora has it listed for on its webstore as well.