Monday, January 31, 2011
Fyrinnae Velvet Vampire Look
Natural light:
Flash:
This was:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Fyrinnae Velvet Vampire applied wet on lid
The black half of the Hourglass Prism duo in crease and lower lashline
MAC Reflects Blackened Red glitter on top of the black in the crease
Fyrinnae Cheeky to highlight
Black liquid liner (I don't remember which one I used)
Cover Girl Lash Blast
I know I didn't capture the full beauty of this color, but you can at least get an idea of how it looks. It shifts colors when you blink! It's so sparkly and sexy and vampy, it really does look like velvet. I couldn't have picked a more perfect name for this color myself.
On a sidenote, Cheeky is my new favorite highlight color. I'm going to have to order a full size soon. It's close to the color I would normally use on my browbone, but it's special 'cause it has a hint of red shimmer to it. Subtle, but really special. Makes a nice neutral lid color, too.
OPI Black Shatter over Color Club Jackie OH!
OPI Black Shatter over Color Club Jackie OH!. I love the combination of the neon with the black on top, it makes the neon look so much brighter. This reminds me of lava. If you have a neon pink or orange, you have to try this, it looks so cool in real life. I've noticed that my Black Shatter always crackles into vertical stripes... that's odd. I want some more random square chunks to happen when it crackles... The kind that make it look like a giraffe pattern... How do I get it to do that?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
OPI Black Shatter over Nicole My Lifesaver
OPI Black Shatter over Nicole My Lifesaver. Washed out (and my skin looks weirdly red) because of the flash, but this is really more about the Shatter than the base color. Look how perfectly it crackled! I love this stuff so much. It's so much better than the old crackle polishes. It crackles so quickly and doesn't take an hour to remove.
I also think it's quite funny that I'm wearing a Katy Perry nail polish over a Justin Bieber nail polish. Two musicians that I know next to nothing about and would rather eat my mother-in-law's turkey lasagna than listen to even one their songs.... Yet here they are on my nails, their colors joined together in perfect harmony and greatly admired by me.
But, yeah, I really love this combination. Nice contrast between light base color and black crackle effect.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Fusion Beauty Limited Edition Objects of Desire Lip Infatuation Set
It comes in one of the prettiest boxes I've ever seen:
With flash and without. It has a black front with silver sides and the text is embossed in silver metallic. I know it's just a cardboard box, but it's just TOO PRETTY. Check out the detail on the side of the box:
I like pretty packaging. It's obvious that a lot of thought went into this packaging design; it really embodies the 'Objects of Desire' title on the box. It looks enticing and luxurious. Really, if you saw this on a shelf in a store, wouldn't you want to pick it up and take a closer look at it?
It comes with mini tubes in four shades of LipFusion InFATuation:
First Crush, a light chocolate brown nude creme
Screen Siren, a bright red creme
Angelic, a pink based warm nude shimmer
Lollipop, a hot pink/fuchsia shimmer
The scent is the same as normal LipFusion; a slight menthol-tinged sweet citrus scent. They taste sweet also. That's a bonus for me! Sweet and not really minty tasting.
The texture is thick, smooth and only just barely sticky. It's one of the least sticky glosses I've used, but it's not entirely slick. It has a really great texture, in my opinion. It feels thick and protective but not too heavy. It lasts a very long time on the lips as well, you can easily go several hours without having to touch up and the darker shades leave a nice stain after they've worn away.
As for the plumping, I'm still undecided on it. It doesn't give me that slightly numb, fat lip feeling that regular LipFusion does. Instead, it has a cold tingle much like Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips. I don't notice much of a plumping effect, but if it's anything like the regular one, it will take a couple weeks of use before I see the full effect. And, since I'm currently still using regular LipFusion, I'm not sure if I'd be able to tell anyway! But, whether or not it provides a much plumping as the other formula, it's still a good gloss.
The only downside for me is that I can't wear the two nude shades. Since they're so opaque, they completely erase my lips. The shades are too brownish and foundation-like for my skintone. I'm fair and with pretty pigmented lips, so it's no surprise that I can't pull off these colors. Nudes and pale shades rarely, if ever, work on me. The two in this kit would look great on someone with a really dark skintone or possible someone even fairer than me where the colors would create contrast instead of just blending in.
The other two shades, Screen Siren and Lollipop, are great. The colors work with my skin and they're nice and bright. They are very. very. very. colorful. No joke. Super opaque bright color. Extremely bold.
I'm going to continue using these and see if I notice any lip enhancement from them, but so far I can't really tell! It's supposed to increase body fat where you apply it. That sounds... bizarre. Here's the info on the InFATuation formula from Sephora.com:
LipFusion Infatuation
What it is:
A shining, liquid, multi-action lip fattener.
What it is formulated to do:
Discover the first liquid lip color with extraordinary Amplifat™ technology to increase and maintain body fat just where you need it most!
What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
What else you need to know:
This groundbreaking plumper boosts natural lip fat without surgery or injections. It does not contain irritants or silicone.
-AmpliFat™ Concentrate (Perennial Sea Fern Derivative): Works with the skin's triggers to increase two key, naturally occurring proteins (ADFP and FABP5) that induce diffusion and storage of fatty acids.-Lip Vantage: Creates instant and sustained plumping effects using dual-encapsulated plumping technology; promotes cellular renewal for a more youthful-looking pout.
-Peptides: Enhance collagen synthesis for naturally lush, youthful, healthy lips.
-Dehydrated Marine Collagen Filling Spheres: Penetrate skin's surface on contact, then seek out body's natural water, and rehydrate to instantly plump and smooth lips.
All shades contain:
Polybutane, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer, Octyldodecanol, Methyl Diisopropyl Propionamide, Ethyl Methane Carboximide, Menthyl Lactate, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Tribehenin, Sorbitan Isostearate , Lauryl Laurate, Zea Mais (Corn) Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch Octenylsuccinate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Butylene Glycol, Gamma Aminobutyric Acid, Sodium Chonodroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dictyopteris Membraneacea Extract, Flavor (aroma), Phenoxyethanol, Glyceryl Behenate/Eicosadioate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Methol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl, Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Sodium Saccharin, Tocopherol, Limonene, Linalool, Citral.
So... if I put it on my boobs, will it store more fat there and make them bigger?! Actually, no, I don't think I want that, but think of the possibilities! O_O
I got mine from Sephora for $29, which is reasonable because one full size (0.19 oz) is $29 and there are four .09oz glosses in this set. I like being able to try a variety of colors in smaller sizes more than buying full sizes.
But I'm curious, am I the only one who uses this stuff? I want to hear your experience with it, if you've ever used it.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Peace and Love Nail Kit from TJ Maxx!
Yeah... it looks pretty dorky. That's why I initially didn't grab it off the shelf. But then the light hit it just right and I noticed something sparkly inside...
Oooooh! A light purple toned holo glitter!
There's a few really nice colors in the set, and it was only $7, so not a bad deal.
All of the best colors are in the top row. A sheer green/gold/red duochrome that's the most amazing thing ever, a fine silver glitter, a sheer glass fleck blue/purple/grey duochrome sparkle and a black/silver sparkly color.
The bottom row has a sorta ugly warm brown shimmer, a purple holo glitter, a hot pink shimmer and a purple shimmer. There's also some purple press-on nails, purple toe separators with peace signs and some little stick on nail gems.
Man, look at these, they're so hot:
It's a little hard to tell in this picture, but it's a bit like OPI Fireflies. It's very sheer and it looks white, but at one angle it's a crazy strong green and gold and at another angle it's red and orange. I can't get over this. I love it SO MUCH.
Here's the periwinkle-slate-lavender-purple-grey whatever duochrome shimmer. Again, hard to tell how sparkly and pretty it is in the picture, but it's gorgeous in real life.
Plus, they're made in China and smell like crazy awesome chemicals, hooray!
I love stumbling across random unexpected inexpensive gems like this.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Press Release for Orly Precious Collection Spring 2011
ORLY Spring 2011 Collection
Luxurious, Sophisticated Hues to Covet
For centuries, people around the globe have been enamored with lush fabrics, rare stones and extravagant finishes. ORLY celebrates the refined glamour of porcelain, the vibrant sheen of silk, and the lush sparkle of priceless gems with Precious. Lend a sense of romance and richness to every spring ensemble by sporting lavish shades on fingertips and toes. The six lacquers in the Precious Collection signal a fresh approach to spring fashion and a renewed appreciation for the exotic workmanship, ornamental engravings, and sumptuous fabrics known to accompany the luxe life.
The six Lacquers in the Precious Collection include:
Pure Porcelain: Beige Crème
Gilded Coral: Coral Gold Shimmer
Fancy Fuchsia: Pink Crème
Ancient Jade: Green Crème
Sapphire Silk: Deep Teal Crème
Royal Velvet: Purple Blue Shimmer
All ORLY Nail Lacquers including the Precious Collection are free of DBP, Toluene and all traces of Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Resin.
The Precious Collection Lacquers will be available starting March 2011 for $7.50 each. ORLY Nail Lacquers and Treatment products are available at orlybeauty.com, Sally Beauty, Ulta and other purveyors of beauty throughout the U.S. and in over 70 countries worldwide.
Too Faced Cheap Thrills Kit
Look at all this full sized stuff you get for $20! A full sized Lash Injection Pinpoint Mascara, Mirror Mirror gloss, Chocolate Galaxy Glam Shadows in Amber Asteroid and Magenta Moon plus mini Pink Leopard bronzer and lipstick in Free Love.
Here are the Chocolate Galaxy Glam shadows in Amber Asteriod (left) and Magenta Moon (right). I keep wanting to type Andy Asteroids. Whooaaaa nelly!
Here's where my first disappointment is: Look at my pathetic Magenta Moon! Barely any pink veining at all. What's the point? :(
The Lash Injection Pinpoint brush. In case you can't tell the scale from this picture, let me describe it: TINY. It's super super tiny. It's designed to define every single lash, but it doesn't add any volume. For me it's essentially worthless as I don't want definition, I want volume.
The mini Pink Leopard bronzer. Look how pretty that is. I love it. It's a little bit on the shimmery side when used as bronzer, but I just really love looking at it. The mini size makes it even cuter. Not the least bit disappointed with this, I adore it.
The Lip of Luxury lipstick (shade: Free Love). The color looks nice enough in the tube, but on the lips it's a frosty nightmare. It's unwearable. And the smell, oh good gravy, the smell is horrible. Super perfumed but not a nice perfume, a bad old lipstick perfume. This doesn't resemble the Too Faced Lip of Luxury formula with its subtle sweet perfume scent. It doesn't seem like a Too Faced product at all, actually. I have a full sized Lip of Luxury in Cupcake and it's nothing like this.
Here are the items swatched:
I didn't swatch the gloss because it's clear. The Mirror Mirror formula is actually really nice. I have a set of the minis from a few years ago and I really enjoy them. The shade included in this kit is I Know You Want Me. It's clear and it's heavily scented with apple. The Mirror Mirror glosses are all essentially clear (some with slight tints but very sheer) and super strongly scented. They're some of the shiniest gloss I've ever used. Very thick and very glossy. Really nice for a clear gloss.
If I didn't use my Sephora money on this (you know, that $20 they sent all the Beauty Insiders a while back?) I would return it. I don't think I'll ever use those Galaxy Glam shadows, the lipstick is awful, and the mascara isn't right for my needs. I like the Leopard bronzer and the gloss, but I already have a mini size of that gloss so it was basically $20 for me to get a mini Pink Leopard bronzer.
This makes me sad. I normally love Too Faced! I'm devoted to their Shadow Insurance eye primer, their Sun Bunny bronzer is quite possibly the best bronzer ever made and I've recently fallen in love with their Enchanted Glamourland palette. Seeing that sad, nearly non-existent veining on my Magenta Moon was so disappointing. I wonder if I could do an exchange? I'd much rather have one of the Naked/Natural/Smoky/Romantic palettes.