China Glaze Passion In the Pacific

 China Glaze Passion in the Pacific is an older China Glaze polish that has been sitting in my untrieds drawer for quite awhile now. It was originally from the Fiji Fling collection. Fiji Fling also included Coconut Kiss, a polish that keep "almost buying" every time I'm at Ulta or Sally. Really, I need to just buy it and stop contemplating.

My bottle of China Glaze Passion in the Pacific is not new, and you can see there were some lumps and bumps in the polish when I applied it. I was really irritated by this, but maybe it was just a temporary problem caused by letting an old polish sit around unused for awhile. I hope so because this color is gorgeous!! This is three coats.

Passion in the Pacific has that gorgeous. very obvious, shimmer that I really love. For some reason, I feel like we haven't seen a lot of polishes with this kind of shimmer. The shimmer polishes out right now seem to be the ones where you can see all of the individual particles of shimmer (don't get me wrong, I love this kind!). But I also love polishes like this one that has that smooth shimmer flowing through all of the polish.

China Glaze Passion in the Pacific is available now at 8ty8beauty.com

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eyeshadows

Left to right: Fierce and Tangy, Tough As Taupe, Audacious Asphalt

I've already mentioned a few days ago that I don't buy much drugstrore make-up, so I personally found it interesting how excited I was for these Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eye Shadows. My relationship with the Color Tattoos was very similar to my typical relationship with a new NARS collection. The first stage is called "stalking" and that may include: reading every review of the product that I can find on various blogs, tweeting about how much I want said product, Googling the name of the product at least once a day to see if any new swatches or reviews have been posted, and making a list of exactly which shades of the product I want to buy.

Left to right: Fierce and Tangy, Tough As Taupe, Audacious Asphalt

The second stage of the relationship is "buying". I don't know about you, but I plan my beauty purchases. Last week, I knew I would be getting paid on Wednesday, and I also happen to get out of work a bit early on Wednesdays. Thus, the plot to stop at CVS on my way home from work began! Sadly, this turned into stopping at CVS, Walgreens AND Rite Aid because CVS was sold out of these babies, and Walgreens didn't even have a display for them. Rite Aid FTW.

Left to right: Fierce and Tangy, Tough As Taupe, Audacious Asphalt

Naturally, being that I am a blogger, the third step is "reviewing". Maybelline's claim that these shadows last 24 hours is a big one. I did not test these for 24 hours yet. I have no need to wear eye shadow for 24 hours normally, EXCEPT when I fly overseas. When I fly overseas, I usually put my make-up on at around 11:30 a.m. at my house. My flight normally departs around 9 p.m. I don't arrive in Europe until approximately 3 or 4 a.m. our time, and normally then have quite a journey to my hotel. So, I do actually probably wear eye shadows for almost 24 hours in that situation. Next time I fly overseas, I will definitely let you know how it goes!

Left to right: Fierce and Tangy, Tough As Taupe, Audacious Asphalt

OK, onto actual reviewing. The pigmentation of these shadows is excellent. For these swatches, I swirled my finger around in maybe two circles, then swept it on to my arm. When you use these in a look on your eyes, you do need to blend quickly, as they set very fast. Once set, they don't budge! I had to use make-up remover to remove these swatches from my arm. 

Left to right: Fierce and Tangy, Tough As Taupe, Audacious Asphalt, in shade

So far I have worn Fierce and Tangy and Tough As Taupe. I wore Fierce and Tangy for about 8 hours, and Tough As Taupe for about 10. I did choose to give these a difficult test and wear them each to a two hour dance class. I don't know how much Irish dancing you've ever seen, but let me just say that we SWEAT. A LOT. I can do other forms of exercise (running, pilates, Ab Ripper X) and barely break a sweat, but not so with Irish dance. Consequently, eye shadow normally doesn't hold up so well in my dance classes. 

Fierce and Tangy all over the lid, MAC 100 Strokes (burgundy brown) in crease

Both Fierce and Tangy and Tough As Taupe held up admirably. I must mention that there was very very slight creasing in both cases. The creasing occurred in places where I had applied MAC powder shadow over the Maybelline shadows, not where I had the Color Tattoos alone. I have yet to test these on a day that I don't have to be covered in sweat for two hours, but I will be doing that this weekend.

Fierce and Tangy all over the lid, MAC 100 Strokes (burgundy brown) in crease

I think Maybelline did an amazing job with the colors they chose to release these shadows in. I do not own any orange eye shadow like Fierce and Tangy. It is gorgeous!!!! Orange eye shadow may seem scary, but if you have blue or green eyes, you should try it. It will make your eyes REALLY pop. Just use some brown shadow in the crease and lots of black mascara, and it won't look too crazy.

Fierce and Tangy all over the lid, MAC 100 Strokes (burgundy brown) in crease

So far, I am a big fan of these eye shadows! I can't wait to see how they fair in a normal environment, minus the sweating. I want lots of the other colors, including Pomegranate Punk, Bad to the Bronze, and Tenacious Teal. I would have bought them this week if Rite Aid had had them in stock!!

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eye Shadows are available now at a drugstore near you, or online at Ulta.com.

NerdLacquer Hyperspace Bypass

NerdLacquer is definitely winning all kinds of awards in my personal beauty book. The polish I have for you today, Hyperspace Bypass, is one of the most unique polishes in my collection. I dare you to name a dupe for this polish. Double dog dare!!!

Hyperspace Bypass is a golden yellow jelly-ish base packed with medium yellow glitter, maybe some silver/gold glitter, large yellow gold hex pieces, medium silver holo pieces, and of course, that stunning black glitter. It looks like the black glitter is present in at least two sizes. This polish is incredibly unique-looking. I am obsessed!!

I love yellow polish, but very often it's difficult to work with. Hyperspace Bypass is not, possibly due to the jelly-ness of the base. This is three coats and I am quite happy with the result. NerdLacquer's polishes do not seem to have that problem that some glitter polishes have, where you can't get the "good" glitter to come out of the bottle. I didn't use any special application techniques here, just regular strokes of the brush, and I have all kinds of glitter on my nails!!

If the above picture doesn't make you drool/order this immediately, you need to check to see if you are actually a fan of nail polish. I already own this polish, but that picture makes me want like 20 more bottles!!!!!

I cannot stop gushing over these NerdLacquer polishes. I wore All of Space and Time for about 5 days until this morning, when I took it off to swatch Hyperspace Bypass. Now I'm wearing Hyperspace Bypass as a full mani!! I need to order more NerdLacquer polishes STAT.

NerdLacquer polishes, including Hyperspace Bypass, are available on Etsy.com.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush Cancels My Other Spring Blush Orders!

OK so here's the deal: I don't really buy drugstore make-up. I spend all of my make-up money on expensive brands like NARS and Chanel, and I end up with little left over for drugstore brands. I think I was about 12 years old the last time I bought a drugstore blush. However, I was hell bent on getting the new Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Eye Shadows (review coming soon!), and bumped into some reviews of the new Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes. So, last night when I purchased three of the Color Tattoo e/s, I grabbed a Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral. The picture above shows Candy Coral swatched heavily on the top and lighter on the bottom.

Now, please bear with me and the pictures I attempted to take of me wearing this blush. I am adept at nail swatch pictures, and I do OK with arm swatches of make-up, but I can not for the life of me figure out how to take good face pictures of myself without looking like an alien. In these pictures I am wearing Candy Coral on my cheeks. It looked much brighter in person, but still looked natural and pretty.

I think you can see Candy Coral better in this picture taken with flash. However, I look cross-eyed. I promise that I am not, in fact, cross-eyed LOL. But my cheeks are glowing and beautiful, so I had to share this picture!! I'm also wearing Maybelline Color Tattoo e/s in Fierce and Tangy, but more on that later!!

Again, heavily swatched on top, lighter on bottom. I love this blush so much that I could go on for hours and sound like a raving loon. So, to try to consolidate my thoughts, I'm going to do bullet points.

blended

• This blush has AMAZING texture. Somewhere between a gel and a creme, but feels light as air on the skin.
• Buildable pigmentation. You can wear this blush really sheer, if you are afraid of too much color, or for a lazy day. You can also seriously pump the color up for lots of color! Just apply a few more layers.
• Ease of use- Apply with your fingers and blend! 
• Price- $8 for 5.6g of product
• THE COLORS, DUKE, THE COLORS!!!! Currently comes in 10 colors, including the awesome-looking Hot Tamale and Orchid Hush.

These are just a few reasons why I am now obsessed with Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes. I will be acquiring the other 9 colors very soon. In fact, all 10 colors are on Ulta.com right now and I have a 20% off code. So I can order all 9 for about $58 + tax!! I paid $50 for just one Chanel spring blush!! I was also intending to order the new YSL Gel blush for $30. But now, I'd rather put that $30 towards almost 4 Dream Bouncy Blushes!

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes are available now at drugstores, or online at Ulta.com!

Sally Hansen x White + Warren for Winter!

Check out this great collaboration between Sally Hansen and White + Warren!

SALLY HANSEN TEAMS UP WITH WHITE + WARREN

 

TO PAMPER AND PROTECT YOUR HANDS THIS WINTER

Frigid weather doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to flawless hands. Nail authority Sally Hansen is teaming up with luxury cashmere designer White + Warran to offer consumers the warmth of beautiful gloves that they can slide their perfectly primped hands into. For a limited time, every consumer who purchases a pair of White + Warren Fingerless Gloves from the White + Warren website will receive a complimentary Sally Hansen Manicure Set filled with manicure must-haves.

Protect your hands against the drying effects of cold winter weather with White + Warren’s luxe cashmere fingerless gloves, and beautify your nails with Sally Hansen’s ultimate manicure kit.  The nail essentials set includes:

• Expert Nail File – to help you achieve the perfect shape for your nails;

• Nailgrowth Miracle Serum – for instantly softened and smoothed cuticles that resist dryness and damage as they grow;

• Complete Salon Manicure in Right Said Red – an all-in-one formula that delivers base coat, vivid color, growth treatment, strengthener and top coat in one smooth polish;

• Dry, Chapped Hand Cream – an ultra-moisturizing, gentle lotion that leaves hands touchably soft all season long

         

NerdLacquer All of Time and Space

You all know by now what a glitter fiend I am, and I do a love unique polishes. Let me tell you, it's hard to get more unique polish than those that NerdLacquer is creating. NerdLacquer is an Etsy store selling custom-blended polish like this beauty, All of Time and Space. All of Time and Space is a seafoam green/blue base filled with very fine silver and purple glitter, medium sized silver glitter, large purple glitter and large silver hex glitter. There might even be more kinds of glitter in there too!

This is three coats of All of Time and Space and you can see a little bit of VNL. You could always layer this over a mint green or pale blue creme, but I like it alone. This applied really well and there was a ton of glitter in every brushstroke.

What sold me on this polish is the unique combination of the pale pastel green with the purple glitter. That's not a combination you see a lot and I love it! NerdLacquer's polishes have very interesting color combinations and I can see myself buying a lot of these. I also ordered Hyperspace Bypass and will be showing you that soon. Gorramit is definitely next on my list, and I think I might order it in this trio, because I want Shiny too!!

Now, it appears that All of Time and Space is currently out of stock, but if you're desperate for it before she officially restocks, I think you can order it in a set of 6 polishes of your choice. There is a note at the top of her page that she is running a little slow on orders, but mine came pretty quickly. NerdLacquers are quite a bit easier to obtain than Lynnderellas, so you should be able to get this polish if you want it!

Let me know if you decide to order anything from NerdLacquer!! I might be obsessed!!

Woohoo!

800 followers, thanks everyone!! Stay tuned for an 800 follower giveaway in the next week or so!

SinfulColors Why Not? (do a crazy dance?)

SinfulColors Why Not? is a gorgeous swimming pool blue creme. Why Not? is very bright, but not neon, and nicely pigmented. It also has an extra benefit.

 The name reminds me of this song from Hilary Duff's excellent Disney film The Lizzie McGuire movie. Cinematic brilliance, I tell you. Man, I loved that movie. I think I watched it like a month ago (ok, probably kidding with that last bit) (no, I really did watch it about 5 months ago).

Anyway, back to SinfulColors Why Not?. This polish was pretty pigmented, this is two coats. It also applied pretty nicely. It was a tad streaky on the first coat, but evened out with the second. Like I say every time I review a SinfulColors polish, how can you beat $1.99 polish that applies well, only needs two coats, and is a beautiful color?? You can't!!!

So... whyyyy not? Take a crazy chance! Whyyyy not? Do a crazy dance!!! 

SinfulColors polishes are available at a Walgreens near you!

Have a Fleck Festival with Zoya!!!

I was in the mood to sport some flakies over a neutral, and what better way to do so than to sport Zoya's new spring collections?? For my neutral polish, I picked Zoya Cho, a pale vanilla shimmer from the True collection. I applied two coats of Cho for my base.

So then I went to pick out which of the three Zoya Fleck Effects polishes I would use and naturally, I decided to use ALL THREE! I layered on one coat of Zoya Opal, one coat of Zoya Maisie, and finally, one coat of Zoya Chloe.

The final look is super pretty and interesting to look at, but also very soft and subtle. By the way, the sun was shining when I took these, and it looked spring-like, but MAN, it was freezing!!!!!!!!

The Zoya Fleck Effects and True collections are available now online at Zoya.com.

Products provided for review. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

Irish Dance Nails!!!

Hey guys, my post on the Irish dance fashion blog, Feisionista, is up!! Check it out here!! You can even see actual pictures of me in my Irish dance costumes!! Woohoo!!! But don't worry, there are several nail polish looks in the post too, including two Essie polishes, the Irish flag on my nails, Swarovski crystals, and more!

More OPI On The Red Carpet!!

Former wrestler and actress Stacy Keibler walked the 69^th Annual Golden Globe Awards red carpet with George Clooney on her arm and OPI nail lacquer in Did You ‘Ear About Van Gogh? on her hands. This new nude, which complemented Keibler’s classic look, is part of the Holland collection, launching in February for Spring/Summer 2012.

Laura Linney, nominated for Best Actress in a TV series for her role in The Big C, paired her purple-hued dress with the jewel-tonedOPI nail lacquer Congeniality is My Middle Name, a limited edition shade from the Miss Universe partnership.

China Glaze GR8 from the OMG Collection!

Every now and then, blogsales feature amazing treasures for dirt cheap prices. I am always on the lookout for China Glaze OMG and Kaleidoscope polishes. I found China Glaze GR8 at Strych from Pretty in Dayton's blogsale for the low low price of.... FREE!!!!!!  She was including GR8 as a throw in if you purchased another polish!! Gasp! I obviously found something else to purchase immediately and requested GR8 as my throw in.

direct sun

GR8 is a gold holo that actually isn't overwhelmingly holographic, but pretty nonetheless. I just really am still mad at myself for not buying the entire OMG and Kaleidoscope collections when I had the chance. I thought mainstream companies would make lots more holos, but obviously, they haven't really. Indoors and in low light, GR8 is only a little bit holo. The holo effect shows up more in sunlight, but it's still pretty subtle.

shade

GR8 applied well, not streaky or difficult at all. I used three coats. It was actually more opaque than I thought it would be. I almost got away with two coats. The formula was a little bit thin, but not runny.

If you have the chance to pick up this polish at a low price, I would recommend getting it. I like gold polish and gold holo polish is always very pretty. I do wish China Glaze would do a collection of real holos again.