January 2011 Favorites!

Boy am I late on this.  But again, I have a legitimate excuse! I had 2 midterms and 1 paper due last week.  Thursday was also the Lunar new year, so I went home last weekend to celebrate with my family.  So without further ado, let's get hopping!

 1. Aeropostale Perfume in "Pour filles."  The name of the perfume means "for girls" in French.  This is currently my FAVORITE perfume.  The scent is suitable for both younger girls and older women.  The scent is light and not terribly complex or strong, but it is just perfect.  Not at all offensive.  I smell notes of flowers, citrus, and vanilla.  It will last all day.

2. I actually left this one out of my December favorites on accident.  My boyfriend picked this out for me with the help of a sales associate.  Of all my Inglot eyeshadows this is probably my favorite grouping as I can use it for flashy and daytime looks.  Just as all of you guys have probably been hearing from the big youtube gurus, the pigmentation and texture are phenomenal.  

3. One of the few foundation brushes that I actually like.  Soft but stiff bristles and no streaking upon application.

4. Quo lip gloss in Pout. DELICIOUS scent.   I love how opaque this gloss is.  The texture is kind of sticky but I don't mind because it lasts a decent amount of time.  I would be happy to only own Quo lipglosses.  Will definitely be grabbing more next time I go back to Canada.

5.  Benefit's Coralista Blush.  This is infamous and I'm not sure why.  It's not even coral.  It's a peachy pink with a fair share of shimmer.  I do love how it just gives a gentle glow to my cheeks.  I don't think this will show up if your skin tone is darker than mine.  If you have this, PLEASE tell me what you think!

That's all for this month folks!

Mini Essie Haul and ChitChat!

Why hello there sexy people~

This will be a short post, but I just wanted to share a mini haul, first impression, and an observation regarding how Essie nail polishes are popping all over the place like daisies.

Last Friday I popped into CVS where I had no business being because I'm supposed to be on a makeup buying ban.  That got kind of forgotten as I spotted an Essie nail polish display in the beauty section.  There was simply no way I could walk out of the store without grabbing some polishes, seeing as I have heard so many good things about the brand but never tried it.  I settled on Coat Azure, Buy Me a Cameo, and Big Spender.  

I've kind of avoided Essie polishes at first because what colors I have seen looked pretty boring.  Boy was I wrong.  I hesitated on buying Coat Azure at first because it looked similar to my Zoya polish in Jo.  Coat Azure is a lot brighter though with less of a shimmery finish.  I have it on right now and I freaking love it.  I'll do pictures of swatches another day because eczema is attacking my hands with a vengeance right now and it's not terribly pretty.  I am VERY impressed by the formula because most polishes chip on me within 2 days.  I've had Coat Azure on my nails for 2 days now and it's still going strong.  While I have not experimented with too many nail polish brands, I think I have found my favorite.

Essie is becoming more accessible now, it seems.  In the past month I've seen a lot of bloggers talking about how it is appearing at Walmart, and now I have seen it at both CVS and Walgreens.  While the color selection is limited, there are still some beautiful shades to choose from.

Essie--you have not seen the last of me.

Meanwhile, do you guys have an suggestions for me?  Either in terms of what Essie nail polishes to get in the future or nail polishes brands you love.  I'd love to hear from you :)

Take care now!

FOTD: Bridal makeup

Happy New Year, everybody!!!  May 2011 bring everybody good health and fortune!  大家好。 新年快樂！恭喜發財！ 身體健康！

Obviously, I was joking about this being bridal makeup.  Hahahaha.  I finished my last midterm today and boy am I just glad that is is OVER.  Marlena of MakeupGeek is hosting a contest right now that actually ends on Friday, Feb 4th.  Since I'm not going to have time tomorrow, I somehow got my exhausted brain to crank out a look that I could submit.  I looked at some of the entries and they are pretty dang amazing.  I have no chance of winning, but it was fun nonethless.  In any case, the challenge was to create a look using ONLY eyeliners.  I was honestly too exhausted to put makeup on both eyes, so I only applied it to one.  Also, rubbing the eyeliners against my eyelid really irritated my skin.  Some of the eyeliners had to be applied heavily in order to get the color opaqueness, and i ended up breaking my beloved UD 24/7 liner in Asphyxia twice =(  Again, since I was super duper tired, I did not apply any face makeup, or any other makeup for that matter, so all you will see is my eye.  Enjoy!

Made a quick sketch first! I wish I had eyebrows like that hahahaha!

The mess I made on my desk lol

Products used:
-Urban Decay (UD) Primer Potion
-UD 24/7 Liner in Zero, Perversion, Binge, Ransom, Asphyxia, and Rockstar
-Stila Smudgepot in Black, Kitten
-NYC eyeliner in black, sparkly white

Thanks for reading!

Holy Guacamole! (Makeup tutorial using Kat Von D's Eyeshadow Palette in Ludwig)

Hey ladies and gents!

I finally got around to editing my tutorial.  Well not really.  I have a midterm tomorrow and the day after but of course that makes it a great time to edit a video.  In any case, this is sort of a followup on the review I did not too long ago on Kat Von D's True Romance Palette in Ludwig.  These colors are not difficult to find so feel  free to just use what you have and don't feel inclined to buy this palette for the sake of this look.  Enjoy!

Face:
-Smashbox Foundation in Light 3
-Cover FX Setting Powder in Light
-NYC Matte Bronzer in Sunny
-Benefit's Coralista Blush

Eyes:
-UDPP
-KVD Ludwig eyeshadows in Tequila, Dimebag, Orbi, Baroque, and Lucifer
-Korres eyeshadow in 11M Base
-UD 24/7 Liner in Zero
-Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

Lips:
-Vaseline Lip Therapy

CVS Haul 1/29/2011

Hey guys~

I have terrible will power plus I get this insane high when I buy new makeup.  I bent one of my makeup buying ban rules today.  Technically I'm on a buying ban but I went to CVS today and couldn't resist picking up some things.  My local CVS had these free Biore makeup cloth samples so I grabbed one of those.  I also got this gorgeous bright red (well, it says coral) lipstick by Revlon.  I was going to the counter to pay for the things when I decided to print out some coupons (if you scan your Extra Care card at the price check machine, some coupons will print out).  I got one for $5 any two Revlon products so I hurried back o the makeup section to find something else I wanted.  I spotted two Revlon lipglosses that were marked on clearance but did not have the 75% off sticker on them.  I explained to the cashier that there must be a mistake, and she was having a long day so instead of dealing with it like she should have, she just scanned my lipstick 3 times so that I would get a discounted price on glosses as well.  I picked up a pink pigment because I wanted to do some Valentine's Day looks, but I don't wear pink eyeshadow so I don't own any.  Hopefully, I'll have some time to do some tutorials before Valentine's day.

Hope you guys are all having a fab day, and if you're on a makeup buying ban too, best of luck!

Cheers,
Janny

Review: Kat Von D True Romance Palette in Ludwig

Aloha fellow makeup lovers~

Right now I'm deciding which is the best way to review this product: through my constant ramblings or with bullet points.  I'm going to try to do a compromise.

Basic info:
Kat Von D Cosmetics are only available at Sephora or Sephora.com.  The palette I will be reviewing today is one of her True Romance Palettes.  Here is how Sephora describes it:

"A smoky eye adds an instant air of mystery—create your own with the True Romance Eyeshadow Palette. Designed by reality television star Kat Von D especially for Sephora, this artistic spectrum of shades brings an edgy-glam creativity to your makeup. The sleek black eyeshadow palette is stenciled with silver roses and arrives packaged in a silk-screened black and silver box that is itself a work of art—and inspired by Kat's favorite tattoo."

Price:
You can purchase this for $34 USD, but if you're lucky, Sephora may put these on sale again for $24 USD.


Packaging: 
As mentioned above, this palette comes in a sleek black case, perfect for travel.  There's a nice honking big mirror which is pretty useful until the eyeshadow dust dirties it up.  The case is fairly sturdy, and the feel of it reminds me a bit of the packaging of NARS cosmetics.  There are 8 eyeshadows, each with 0.05 ounces of product, and 2 double ended mini brushes.  The shades include:

- Lucifer (matte charcoal black)
- Orbi (golden green shimmer)
- Dimebag (metallic lime green)
- Clay (beige with gold glitter)
- Tequila (metallic cornsilk shimmer)
- Downtown (metallic light copper shimmer)
- Baroque (golden bronze shimmer)
- Leather (matte deep chocolate brown sheen)

No flash

With flash

Quality 
Overall, these eyeshadows are soft and blendable.  The pigmentation is decent, but certainly not impressive.  The lighter colors (dimebag, tequila, and clay) are quite sheer, so use a colored or extra sticky base under these colors.  Otherwise, it may end up like this:

Yeah, just bad.  In this picture I used Stila's One Step Primecolor in Kitten, and I didn't really pack the color as I should have.  UDPP actually isn't much better.  You can definitely make the lighter colors work but just takes some effort.  The darker colors are decent, and the black is fabulous, but for the majority of the palette, they probably won't show up on your skin if your complexion is any darker than mine.  I'll let these swatches speak for themselves.  These are swatched on bare skin with no primer.

With flash

No flash

Clay just kinda blends into my skin so you can't really see it that well.

I want to say that the quality is similar to Maybelline eyeshadows.  They're slightly powdery and delivers decent pigment, but again, they're not amazing.


Final Verdict:
If you're looking for a palette with fairly wearable colors, and you want to break into color, this palette is for you.  While the site describes it as "edgy-glam," I honestly don't think the eyeshadows deliver this promise.  I do love the packaging, inside and out, and I will reach for this palette when I want to do a day look.  I don't particularly like the neutral colors in this palette, because they're too shimmy, and I would have much preferred some taupes or rich chocolate browns as opposed to coppers.  Even though my skin is not particularly dark, I think I'll have to use a paint pot under these eyeshadows.  Definitely not worth the $34, and I would not buy it again.




I think one of the best ways to judge a product a product is through application, so look forward to a tutorial using this palette.  Here's a sneak peak:

I've actually heard some pretty positive reviews on the other True Romance Palettes, so maybe Ludwig is just not up to par?  Any thoughts?

My Free Zoya Polishes are Here!

Hey ladies and gents~

At the beginning of the month, Zoya had a promotion to celebrate their 20,000 fans on Facebook, and decided to give away 3 nail polishes free (just pay shipping)!  I only ordered one order, but I really regret not making another one because they are absolutely gorgeous.  They just came into the mail today!

Marry, Jo, and Ki

As usual, Zoya delivers beautiful nail polishes that I really think are unique to other brands.  Just one tiny problem with this order: They sent me the wrong color.  I had ordered MarryJ, which is a gorgeous purple, but they sent me Marry instead.  Easy mistake to make.  I do love this color and I already have a purple (Ki is purple, more on in a second!), but I don't think warm colors look too good on me.  So I'm going to contact Zoya and see how that turns out.

I fell in love with Jo (the nail polish, mind you) when I saw it on the website, but I'm not sure how I feel about it now. I thought it would be more duochrome, perhaps with gold shimmer in it, so Jo is brighter than I expected.

Ki....I don't remember why I ordered this one.  But it sure looks complex, almost similar to Edyta, which you can see a swatch of in my last post on Zoya.  It looks purple, but if you tilt it, it can look green or brown.  Crazy sauce.

I promise I'll do swatches later, but for now I have two papers to do.  I just got so excited to share these that I jumped on my computer right after I got my mail.  I hope everyone one else is having a less stressful day!

Cheers,
Janny