FOTD: Coral Siren

Ok, ok, I'm going to admit it publicly: I absolutely SUCK at thinking of names for Face of the Day looks. Really. I do. Sometimes I don't even make an effort. Sometimes (like today) I do, but still end up with something dumb-sounding. Admitting something is the first step, right? Now we can move past it.

I STILL haven't straightened up where I normally take photos, so no pictures of supplies. Sorry :( If you have questions about anything specific, please let me know and I'll do my best to get pictures/ swatches/ a review up here. I actually  have a post on the lipstick I used here (L'Oreal Sparkling Coral) planned for the next couple of days, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Spoiler Alert: I love the shade and formula on this. It's a new favorite, and has been living in my purse since I first put it on.

As for the look itself, I'll try to remember to the best of my ability what went into it, but this was a few days ago aaaand... Uh... I don't know that I'll remember everything. I will give a conservative guess, meaning I'll only list the products that I know for sure I was wearing. That also means that it is very likely there were a handful of other products that went into this that are not being mentioned.

Face: Clinique Redness Correcting Base, NARS concealer, MUFE Face & Body Makeup, some kind of powder...?, The Body Shop Bronzer in 01. Probably a few other products I do not remember. Hard Candy Blush in Pin Up, Inglot Eyeshadow in D.S. 464 (terracotta orange with shimmer) as blush.

Eyes: Inglot Eyeshadow in D.S. 464, Inglot Eyeshadow in AMC Shine 11, colors from the Naked 1 palette (Half Baked and Virgin definitely, as well as one of the darker browns in the crease), Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Binge on upper lash line, MAC eyeliner in Industrial on lower lashline, Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Half Baked on inner portion of lower lashline, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, Prestige brow pencil, Ulta brow gel.

Lips: L'Oreal Colour Riche lipstick in Sparkling Coral


And here is the resulting look:

What do you guys think? I really like the way this turned out! That Inglot shade works well as a blush, aside from being tricky because of how pigmented it is. I still love brown and gold eyeshadows with blue liner; I think it really makes the copper tones pop! And don't even get me started on this lipstick; I know I'm not traditionally a big fan of the Colour Riche formula, but I love the way this one looks. The smell is still a little weird, but it goes away quickly... Anyway, there will be more on that in a post devoted to reviewing the shade.

FOTD: Winter's Last Stand

I know I've been big into spring colors lately, gravitating towards gold, copper, coral, and turquoise. However, I was itching to wear some cooler colors today, and came up with a look that ended up reminding me of Winter! I've got some royal blue, grey, silver and champagne involved, and even though it doesn't feel like "summer" to me, I'm happy to rock this in the sunshine. Besides, I'm getting sushi for dinner tonight, and the blue and silver seem appropriate, right? Maybe? Like fish scales, a bit?

Just go with it.

Once again, I didn't take pictures of what I used. The area I usually use to lay out my supplies has been taking over with sewing notions... Whoops. I need to straighten up this weekend!

Here's the look:

And here is what I used:

Face: Clinique Redness Solutions Base, Almay Primer, NARS concealer, MUFE Face & Body Makeup, Illamasqua Cream Blush in Laid (on fullest part of cheek), Physician's Formula Youthful Wear Illuminating Pressed Powder, Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana (as cheek highlighter), Hard Candy Blush in Pin Up (top of cheek), NYX blush in Taupe (to contour under cheekbone)

Eyes: NARS Smudgeproof Base, Inglot D.S. 501 (grey with shimmer, from lashline into crease), L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Midnight Blue (in crease, outer corner, and along lashline), Urban Decay Eyeshadow in  Verve (to highlight inner corner and blended above the crease), Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Bootycall (Blended above Verve and up to brow bone), MAC eyeliner in Industrial (on lower lashline),  Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, Stila Majorlash Mascara, Prestige brow pencil, Ulta brow gel

Lips: Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee with NARS lip gloss in Female Trouble on top

Cheeks!

Eyes Open... 

And eyes closed

Lips

So, what do you guys think? Are you ready to kick your cooler colors to the curb just yet? have to say, I love the way this combination of lip colors came out! I'll have to think about coming up with a "summery" look using cool shades; navy, grey, and silver always feel unseasonable to me in April (going into May)! I know I'm talking about the seasons a lot with the looks I've been posting lately... I swear I don't believe in strictly sticking to "seasonable" shades, I've just been so inspired by the warm weather lately, in all the creative aspects of my life... Including the colors I reach for when I'm painting my nails or putting on my makeup!

NOTD: Rimmel Sunset Orange and Sally Hansen Disco Ball

Man, I have been feeling nail polish lately! As you can probably tell by the more-frequent-than-usual nail polish posts... I've been wearing brighter colors on my nails lately, and it's been a lot of fun. This is a manicure I wore a couple of weeks ago for a couple of days; it wasn't my favorite I've ever done, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway!

I picked up Rimmel's Lasting Finish PRO nail polish in Sunset Orange, which is an almost-neon (but not quite) coral, and the formula seems to be a cross between a cream and a jelly. If pressed to decide on one or the other, I'd call it a very pigmented jelly. I used two coats of Sunset Orange, then a coat of Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in Disco Ball (small iridescent glitter in a clear base), and then another thin coat of Sunset Orange to top it, except on my ring finger, where I just used two coats of Disco Ball without topping it with Sunset Orange. As usual, I started with a base coat, and finished with a top coat.


The polishes I used:

Disco Ball and Sunset Orange

And here are the results:

You can kiiiiiind of see Disco Ball under Sunset Orange! 

And here's a better shot of the different colors that Disco Ball flashes:

BLING

What do you guys think? This wasn't my favorite combination, for a number of reasons. First off, the combination of Disco Ball's glitter and the color looks a little "young" to my eyes, like something I'd expect to see on a teeny-bopper. Not a bad thing, just not my style! Secondly, I like that you can see just a hint of Disco Ball through Sunset Orange, but Sunset Orange is a bit too opaque for this kind of treatment. Lastly, accent nails aren't my thing. I thought I would give it a try by using the same colors in a different way, but it still isn't my speed. Oh well, at least I tried it out, right?

FOTD: Spring is (finally) Coming!

Hi guys!

Sorry that my posting has been as regular lately; I've been getting busy with some other projects. Some are fun, some are not, and some are things I do not mind doing, and simply must be done. You all know how that goes...

However, I managed to snap a few pictures of the look I wore yesterday! No photograph of the products I used this time around, but I'm pretty sure I remember everything I used! I've been feeling like using more color lately, since we've been getting some warmer weather. For some reason that always makes me want to branch out from neutrals and head for teal, gold, and coral hues!

The Look 

Face: Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Protective base, Almay primer, NARS concealer, MUFE Face & Body Makeup, Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion in Flash, NYC Loose Powder, Benefit Georgia (on center of face), The Body Shop Bronzer in 01 (around edges of face), Hard Candy Bombshell (as highlighter on cheek), NYX Taupe (to contour cheek), Benefit Coralista (on fullest part of cheek). 

Eyes: NYX Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base, Inglot AMC Shine 11 eyeshadow (light gold) packed onto lid and into crease, Urban Decay Sin from crease to eyebrow, Urban Decay Virgin under eyebrow and on inner corner, Urban Decay Flipside in crease, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Smog in outer crease, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner in Binge on top lashline, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eyeliner in Baked on inner lower lashline, MAC eyeliner in Industrial on outer lower lashline, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, Prestige brow pencil, Ulta brow gel. 

Lips: Smashbox lipstick in Melondrama, bareMinerals lip gloss in Cassis

Cheeks! 

Eyes

You can see the three shades of blue better here

Lips

I have to say, I am always disappointed by how sheer Flipside ends up looking on the lid if you are layering it on top of other shades, or trying to blend it. I used to wear it all the time, but I got frustrated with the sheerness. Maybe if I used it wet? Or maybe I need to add it last and not blend at all... It ended up just giving the gold on my lid a bit of an olive hue. If it's a shade you want, you'd better act now; Urban Decay is discontinuing it with the launch of their new eyeshadow formula!   I really liked Melondrama with a gloss over it; it toned down the coral a bit (which is what I wanted for this look!) and added a lot of depth.

Have you guys been switching up the shades you use as we go into warmer weather? If you don't change your shades seasonally, do you get inspired by the seasons? I don't think anyone should feel restricted to a certain color palette because of the season, but I know weather often puts me in the mood for different shades, and I take inspiration from the seasons.

NOTD: Hauling polish!

I went to Bed Bath & Beyond the other day and they had a bunch of new Spring displays out, plus I found a couple of Color Club shades that called to me... I ended up using three of my new polishes in the manicure I'm about to show you. It's not the type of manicure I generally go for, but I LOVE this combination! I don't ever want to take it off...

To do this manicure, I used a basecoat, two layers of Color Club's Wild Orchid (a slate blue/ periwinkle with silver, teal, and fuchsia shimmer), two layers of Color Club's Covered in Diamonds (iridescent flakies in a clear base), two layers of Revlon's Sheer Seafoam (a very sheer stormy teal), and a top coat. Too many layers? Maybe, but it was so worth it! Sheer Seafoam is really and truly VERY sheer, but I like how subtly it alters shades you put it on top of. I used to have a very sheer red top coat from L'Oreal that I had so much fun playing around with in the same way; in this manicure, it adds just a hint of milkiness on top of Covered in Diamonds, which keeps things from being too crazy. I'm going to go ahead and say that it classes things up, making this manicure look a little more expensive and refined than it did when Covered in Diamonds was allowed to shine at its full wattage. Is that a vague, unfounded statement? Yes. But it's my blog :) Which is the same excuse I am using for showing you gratuitous pictures of this mani:

That's my corset fabric in the background, FYI; I think I was crazy to put nail polish on top of silk, but it did not leak so I'm not sorry. Wild Orchid is a similar color, and I thought the fabric was too pretty not to show off just a little!

Left to right: Wild Orchid, Covered in Diamonds, Sheer Seafoam 

 Indoor light:

Natural light:

Holding Wild Orchid

Holding Covered in Diamonds; check out that glitz! 

Holding Sheer Seafoam

And here's a picture that shows off the sparkle:

Summary: I haven't worked with these enough to feel comfortable giving a review, but I'm on my third day of this manicure with only one real chip, which is good for me! My initial impressions are that Wild Orchid is gorgeous on its own; Covered in Diamonds' flakes are a bit sparse, and Sheer Seafoam is VERY sheer; this is not a true "jelly" level opacity. That being said, I like the look of all three of these polishes, and I can see myself using these a lot in a bunch of different combinations.

What do you guys think? Do you like layering polishes, or do you tend to just wear one at a time? Have you hauled anything exciting recently? I picked up a couple of lip and eye products from the LE displays along with Sheer Seafoam, I'll be showing those off in the coming weeks...