Not Makeup; So Sue Me!

I know, I'm falling behind on the makeup posts...

But I took cute pictures of my boyfriend's cat! It's allergy season, and we've been using a roll of toilet paper in lieu of tissue. John's cat discovered this fact.

So, where most cats would see this as an opportunity to rip up a roll of toilet paper, my boyfriend's cat saw this as an opportunity to PASS OUT.

Photo shoot ensued.

Snoozin'

 Then he changed his position and slept some more. The flash did not bother him.

Repositioned snoozin'

LJ (Little John- he came with the name John, John wouldn't change it) is a cat of many talents. Luckily, I've managed to capture two of the chiefest in this post; being fat and sleeping. Hope you enjoyed!

Red and Sparkly Nails, Oh My!

Hi Guys!

I love over the top glittery nails, and I love vintage reds. What happens when you combine the two? Sheer wonderment. It's like shiny sparkly sex on my nails. If you ignore the shabby application and ragged cuticles. (Please do.) At any rate, I wanted something over the top for my birthday, so I layered Zoya's Delilah on top of Savvy Femme Couture in Mistletoe, and the result is a great opaque red shimmer with depth. Unfortunately, Mistletoe chips like crazy, so I've had to re-polish the tips and re-apply topcoat daily to maintain these babies. It's basically the nail-polish equivalent of stilleto heels; hot, but a pain in the neck.

Enjoy!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Coral Fever

Hi Dolls!

I bought up a whole slew of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes from the spring collection; I've already reviewed Barracuda, here, but I am slowly getting around to the rest! This is definitely my favorite nail polish that Sally Hansen puts out. I like the formula, I like the brush, and the color range feels on trend without being too teeny bopper. In my search for the perfect coral nail polish, I found Coral fever, a nice pastel coral that definitely leans more orange than corals often do. In some light it looks like a nice balance between orange and pink, and in other light it reads like a pastel orange sherbet color. I prefer the touch of pink myself, since orange isn't too flattering on my skin tone, but to each their own! You can read lots of basic information about the formula and bottle/ brush in my review of Barracuda, but it's worth noting that this formula is much easier to work with; of course, it's not a pastel blue, so this is to be expected. Once again, I got this polish for $6.29, less than retail, from Bed Bath & Beyond; you can often find Sally Hansen polishes on BOGO from drugstores.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Coral Fever

Coral Fever! 

In light and shade! 

A good picture of Coral Fever leaning orange

And with flash! 

Rating: 7 out of 10

I think this is a good polish, especially if you can catch it on sale! I'm really feeling this spring collection, too; if you like any of these shades, catch them while they're still in stores! Coral Fever has a nice, solid formula; it's not streaky, I get average wear time from it, and it's a thicker formula, meaning that it's completely opaque and smooth in two coats and it goes where you put it. Just for reference, I've worn it in the photos with a base coat to keep my nails from being stained, but with no top coat; this polish is supposed to have a "built in" base and top coat, but sometimes I add one or both, depending on if I'm worried about my nail being stained or if I want a glossier effect.

NYX Lipstick in Darling

Hi Darlings!

I still have waaaaay too many posts photographed but not written up from a month or two back; I'm going to do some quickie posts with not a whole lot of commentary specific to the shades themselves in order to get the swatches up here for you guys, since it would take too long for me to go through and try to re-examine every product to have it fresh in my mind, and I'd rather get on to shiny new stuff! My goal from now on is to not photograph more than I can write about at any given time! However, it felt like a shame to just ignore these photos and not throw the swatches up here in case someone was wondering what a particular product looks like, or might find a swatch useful for reference.

I'm showing you another NYX Lipstick today, this one is Darling. I love pale shimmery shades that almost verge on frost. It feels like a guilty pleasure, since I know lips like this can look terribly dated. However, Ulta was having a BOGO sale on NYX awhile back, and I took the opportunity to snag some of their products on sale that I'd been wanting to try. Darling is a light beige pink with lots of shimmer! Are you guys NYX fans? I love the price point, and I've been relatively pleased with the products as well; I think it's some of the "better" drug-store priced makeup, and I like it just as well as some pricier brands, too. However, it's still not as consistent a brand as others I've had experience with, like Illamasqua and NARS; I guess the way I look at it, you pay for that consistency, and you often take a gamble in order to save money. I don't know about you guys, but I get a thrill from that gamble! I love finding a bargain product that I love. NYX lipsticks are A-ok in my book, although they're not my absolute favorites; they are creamy, some shades to the point of being greasy, and while this creaminess prevents the formula from being drying, it also reduces wear time. I also find some of the shimmery shades feel a bit gritty on the mouth, though this is by no means unusual. I've never experienced patchiness or feathering with NYX lipsticks, though, and I'd say they are some of the best drug store brand lipsticks. They retail for $4 with a generous .14 ounces of product.

NYX Round Lipstick in Darling

Darling! 

Here's the bullet twisted up, giving you an idea of Darling's color

And this is the color swatch in the base of the lipstick

NYX's Darling, swatched on my arm! It pulls a little bit salmon on me. 

NYX's Darling on my lips, no flash

NYX's Darling, no flash

And here's Darling with flash! 

Rating: 6 out of 10 

I like NYX's lipstick formulas a lot! They're a great, inexpensive choice, and their shade range is great. I think the formula can easily compete with many more expensive lipsticks. That being said, there's nothing that puts this formula heads and shoulders above others, barring it from a higher rating. NYX runs sales on their website, and you can find them on sale at Ulta, although they don't carry the entire range there. I've also seen NYX at some beauty supply stores, so if you're having trouble tracking the brand down and want to see things in person, it might be worth hunting!

Aveeno Positively Nourishing Body Wash

Hello!

I don't know about you, but I'm always on the hunt for the next, better product; I jump around between skincare, cleansers, and beauty products alike. This has its pluses and minuses. On the one hand, I get to try a lot of neat things. On the other hand, not only do I get some misses from time to time, but sometimes I stop using some really great products in search for "the next great thing". I liked Aveeno's Positively Nourishing Body Wash quite a lot, but in my constant search for something new, I got sick of the scent and moved on to a new body wash when I finished this one off. However, I was really happy with it while I was using it!

The Positively Nourishing line of body washes come in several varieties; I bought the Hydrating one, which is scented like fig and shea butter, which I think is a fairly accurate description of the scent; it's sweet and earthy/fruity. The body wash itself is creamy and thick, and lathers easily, which is a must for me since I use my body wash as a shave cream as well. It's not so perfumed that it irritates my sensitive skin like some varieties do, and it doesn't linger long past my shower, which may be a plus or minus depending on your preferences. As for its hydrating properties, my skin didn't feel tight after getting out of a hot shower, but I definitely still needed a post-shower body moisturizer. It retails for $6.99 for 16 ounces of product; it lasted me about two months of VERY generous use; if you're just using it for cleansing (and not a shave cream as well!), it would probably last twice that amount of time.

Aveeno Positively Nourishing Hydrating Body Wash

The description! 

The claims!

Directions and Ingredients! 

Yup, Aveeno is both Dermatologist Recommended and owned by Johnson & Johnson

Rating: 8 out of 10 

I was really happy with this body wash, and it's become one of my favorite drug store options; it feels nice on the skin, and the scent doesn't get cloying, even after a couple of months of use. It doesn't lather quite as well as Bath & Body Works' formula, but its creaminess makes up for that so it still spreads well on the skin and cushions for shaving.  I'm looking forward to trying some of the other varieties once I get through the body wash I'm currently working on. While this isn't as luxurious feeling as other washes I've tried (I'm looking at you, Korres!), it's a great option that's also not nearly as pricey. 

Smoky Eyes and Red Lips Look!

Hi Everyone!

I am back from my trip, and trying to get back into a regular posting routine. Wish me luck! Now, I have a bunch of backlogged posts that I didn't get around to writing up when I took photos. I feel bad about putting up incomplete descriptions, but I'd rather share than not! Here's a look I photographed, and while I can tell you what I used, I can't tell you where I put what! At any rate, enjoy!

I did this look awhile ago for a date night; smoky eyes and red lips! Here goes nothing...

Everything I used! 

 Face: I used MUFE face and body makeup foundation, and Hard Candy Glamoflage concealer, set with L'Oreal Infallible powder.

Cheeks: I used Benefit High Beam to highlight and NARS blush in Sin.

Eyes: MUFE Aqua Cream in 13 as a base, Kat Von D Sixxshooter duo, Perversion and Virgin from UD's Naked Palette, NARS' Lola Lola, Bare Escentual's in Unforgettable, the blue side of MAC's She Who Dares (from Venomous Villains), Benefit's Brow Zings in Medium, Stila Smudgepot in Black (as a liner), Buxom mascara in black and Diorshow Blackout Mascara.

Lips: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam

The whole look, no flash

The look, with flash!

The eye, no flash

The eye, flash!

Sorry I can't give you guys a blow by blow, but maybe if you have any of these products you'll be inspired to try out a new look with them! Any of these your favorite or something you use regularly?

Thanks Dolls!

Zoya Nail Polish in Lillith

Hello!

Still away, but I've got another scheduled post for you guys! Today I'm showing you Lillith, a fantastic, crazy, hot pink/fuchsia by Zoya. It's a hard shade to classify; not quite a frost, a shimmer, or a duochrome, it borrows elements from each to make a really neat, complex shade. Zoya polishes are 3-free and are available through http://www.zoya.com. They are $8 for a .5 ounce bottle, although I got my Zoya polishes through an earth day promotional trade-in, where you mail them old polishes that they'll dispose of for you, and just pay for shipping. This was 2 earth days ago, and I think they may have modified the deal to make it even better, so keep your eyes open for this! They last a couple of days on me without chipping, which is average; I have heard that they do better with their own Color Lock system, as opposed to random base and top coats, so some of the problem could be that I use Seche Vite on top of them (which is not 3-free, and sometimes doesn't play nice with polishes that are)! At any rate, Zoya has a fabulous selection of shades; the website can be a little bit overwhelming. Lillith isn't a color that I consider to be very representative of the types of polish colors I generally gravitate towards, but it is beautiful.

The bottles are a distinct shape, and the cap is easy to grip and unscrew; I only wish the wand were a teensy bit longer to help with manuevering. I tend to bump my thumbnail up against the cap when I try to paint my nails! The formulas are comparable to Essie, a little on the thick side, but still workable. They go where you put them, although I wouldn't go so far as to say they apply themselves like some of the very best polishes to work with do. However, they're certainly not a frustration! However, I do notice a lot of drip off the wand of the brush, so make sure that you hold it over the bottle and get rid of the excess before you start applying the lacquer to your nail.

Zoya's Lillith

Lillith with two "l"'s! 

See that flash of purple and flash of frost?? Lillith is multifacted! 

Lillith: This one gets bigger and is a good example of this shade's depth and the shimmer! (The lumpiness is from my old Seche Vite, not Lillith!)

Zoya's Lillith under flash! 

Rating: 7 out of 10

Nothing amazing about this polish, but it's a lot of pretty good things coming together in one package with no real deterrent! I know Ulta has begun carrying a few of Zoya's polishes in the store, but Zoya's website has a huge collection! If you've never ordered from them, I urge you to keep them on your radar, or maybe sign up for their mailing list so you'll get notified when they do a promotion or sale. I'm always nervous about ordering things online without being able to sample them in person, but the deal I got this haul for was so worth it, and I've really enjoyed these polishes.

MUFE HD Blush in Innuendo (1)

Hi All!

If all goes off as planned, I am on a plane right now! But through the magic of technology (and scheduled postings), this should be coming to you anyway! Now, I hauled waaaay too much crap when Sephora was running their VIB sale, and I meant to take a picture of the pile of makeup, but that didn't happen. Suffice it to say, this was a result of that gigantic and ill-advised shopping trip. However, don't write this product off as an impulse buy! The MUFE HD blushes are a long-wearing cream blush that come packaged in a pump container, which I love; I always get fuzz in my pots of cream products, so this is a great way to keep everything sanitary. And, you can just tap the pump lightly to get a little bit out; a little goes a really long way with this product, I can't imagine ever using a full pump of this in one application! These will run you $25 for .33 ounces of product, but I assure you, that .33 ounces will last you a very long time!

I picked up shade 1, listed as "Innuendo" on the Sephora website. It's described there as "Vibrant Plum", which does a little to describe the shade, but I would add that it is definitely a berry color; it's got a lot of purple as well as bright pink tones, and it's very true to color; no brown or beige muddying this up or softening it. Now, why did pale me go for a shade this dark and bright? Who knows! I love color. However, this blends beautifully, and after I set it with powder, it's bold but not clownish. It sets quickly, so make sure that you blend as soon as you put it on; I pat a couple of very small dots on my cheekbones and then blend them out quickly, working on cheek at a time so it can't dry down. I always use fingers to apply. Once it's on, it stays all day; I wear it on top of foundation and under my powder, and haven't noticed it adversely affecting the textures of either. It sits on top of my foundation without rubbing it off, and powder doesn't get "sticky" or clumpy on top of it, since it dries to a nice natural matte finish with no tackiness.

The package!

MUFE's description of their HD Blush

Ingredients of MUFE HD Blush

Innuendo is no. 1

MUFE HD blush in Innuendo, in the pump

Swatch of MUFE HD Blush in Innuendo; blended out on the left, a dallop on the right! 

MUFE HD blush in Innuendo, no flash

MUFE HD Blush Innuendo, flash!

Rating: 8 out of 10

I hate that you have to move so quickly to blend this, and I wish it were a little cheaper, but this is a really  neat advancement in the world of cream blushes! It blends really well, stays on, and is incredibly pigmented. I'm planning on trying a more subtle color once I have the funds to do so; I bet this would be a great formula for contouring, too, for those of you who do a lot of that! It's definitely buildable, although don't expect to be able to use it much sheerer than I have here; it's a really pigment-heavy product, and it might look patchy and not cover evenly if you tried using too little product for the surface area you're trying to cover (if that makes sense). However, with a pretty generous shade range, even if Innuendo isn't for you, there's sure to be a shade that you'll love, and the formula is really great. With this kind of staying power, this is going to be a summer staple!

Back! Ish. With Barracuda!

Hey Guys!

Sorry I was gone for so long, I had finals and then got really sick, and had to eliminate as much stress from my life as possible. As much as I love blogging about makeup and checking out what all of you guys are doing on your blogs, it was one more thing weighing on me that I felt guilty about not doing, so I had to give myself a "pass" on that until I finished up some other things! I wish I could say I'm back to regular scheduling, but I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so it'll be another week or two before I get back on track! In the meantime, I figured I'd show you a little of what I've been up to. I have way too many posts photographed and backlogged to go through them all now, but I'm loving what I have on my nails right now, Barracuda, part of Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure spring line! It's a light blue that leans turquoise, but definitely isn't even close to being part of the green family! Which is great for me, because polishes that are green or yellow do not look flattering on my skin tone, but I find myself lusting after these cool, springy pastels. These polishes retail for ~ $7.99, depending on where you get them, and come with .5 ounces of polish; I bought mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $6.29, and I know that some drugstores often offer BOGO's.

This is my third day with Barracuda on my fingernails, and there has been absolutely  no chipping or peeling, and very minimal tip wear. This is practically a miracle for me, since I manage to screw up my nails the first day I paint them, or maybe the second if I'm being extra careful. I used Sally Hansen Nail Nutrition Green Tea + Olive Growth as a base coat (I think it's helping my weak nails!) and Seche Vite as a top coat. My only complaint was with application; while I like the design of the brush and the formula of other polishes I've tried in this line, this one was a beast to try to get on! It was thick and gloppy on the nail, and pooled in my cuticles. I know that pastels can do this, which is why I wrestled through it, but it's still unpleasant, even if I know it's not exclusive to this line of polishes! As for the line in general, though, I have had good luck with the formula, and I really like the bottle; the brush is easy to hold, and the shape of the brush is nice for avoiding your cuticle but covering the entire nail precisely.

The bottle! No flash. 

Barracuda! (Who else has the Heart song stuck in their head right now?) 

Barracuda on my nails with flash! This is what it looks like outdoors, too. 

The Complete Salon Manicure brush; I rather like it! 

And a good shot of Barracuda on the nails, no flash! 

Rating: 7 out of 10

This one is losing points for the formula and application! I know that this is the price I pay for wanting a pastel color, but it's still a pain! Other than that, the bottle and brush are a great design, and the color is fabulous! A sky blue with a hint of depth in drab lighting, and a true blue turquoise in sunlight, it's a winner for summer! I am so infatuated with this color right now, I hate to take it off; I might put it right back on my toes as soon as it comes off my fingers!