Turtle Beauty

FOTD: STOP! Hammer Lime.

2012-02-01T09:13:00.000-05:00

The name is totally, 100% because of Robyn.

I'm on a green kick lately, combined with some of the awesome greens that I have from Inglot... I came up with this! Sorry for the wonky liner; the husband had to be to work a little early and I didn't have time to do it at home, so I had to try to line my eyes in the car with the tiny overhead mirror.

FACE:

- Revlon Photo Ready Foundation in Ivory

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream

- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cucumber

-Inglot eyeshadow #59 (lid and lower lashline)

- Inglot eyeshadow #412 (inner tear duct, lower lash, and to blend out crease)

- Inglot eyeshadow #57(outer crease and outer lower lashline)

- Inglot eyeshadow #385 (upper crease and middle lower lashline)

- Wet n Wild Mega Eyes Liquid Liner in Sparkle Black (upper lashline)

- Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara

LIPS:

- MUA Lipstick in Shade 3 (blotted)

- Femme Couture Lip Lustre in Sahara Rose

What I Did This Weekend (Photoshoots, etc)

2012-01-31T13:57:00.002-05:00

I had 2 photoshoots on Sunday with a photographer that I work with often, and I got free reign to do whatever makeup I wanted. We were at an abandoned warehouse near some old railroad tracks, and he intended on having the girls wear gas masks in some of the photos.

The first girl was an adorable goth girl, so I did something dark on her but not overly dramatic as she didn't want to do her usual.

Sorry for the shite photo, it was REALLY sunny and it was sabotaging my photos. I used the purples and highlight from the Sleek Bad Girl palette over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Purple Velvet, and used the black from the palette to smudge along her lashline. The black liner on her waterline was Physician's Formula. Mascara was her tube of The Falsies, and concealer was Hard Candy Glamoflauge. On her cheeks, I used elf's Contouring Blush and Bronzer kit. Lips were Cover Girl Queen lipstick in Girly Pink with Hard Candy Glossaholic in Chill Out over top.

This girl was a similar style, but she was wearing all black so I felt the urge to do brights. Eyes were Inglot (374, 504 and 491) and Jesse's Girl eye dust in Secret Weapon. I used the Physician's Formula liner on her upper lashline and Sephora Waterproof in Blue on her lower waterline. The black glitter is Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in Rock Chick. I don't remember what I used on her cheeks as I had to try a few products before finding something that wasn't too light (I really need blushes for darker skintones in my kit) and on the lips was Cover Girl Siren lipstick applied with a lip brush.

I also recorded a video for The Makeup Heroes... just some January favorites:

For the makeup in that video, see below:

It was a cool concept, but trying to use all cream products didn't quite work out for me. You can see the bald spot, which was invisible to my naked eye. I used the Inglot shadows that Priscilla gave me. The eyeliner was NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cucumber, Sephora Jumbo Waterproof Pencil in Green and NYX Jumbo Pencil in Sparkle Green. On my lips was Cover Girl Darling with NYX Mega Shine Gloss in Lala over top.

As a random side thing, creepy iris is creepy:

That's all for now! Would you like to see some of the professional photos from my photoshoots?

Another Mini Haul: Ulta!

2012-01-30T10:55:00.001-05:00

I picked up some bits at Ulta yesterday as I was nearby and had a $3.50 off coupon. My local Ulta is usually really bad with their selection, and while they still had absolutely no new China Glaze or OPI, or Real Techniques brushes, they had redone the entire NYX section. Here's what I got:

They had a ton of Essence stuff on sale for 50% off as well.

On the left is Essence eyeshadow in #36 Knock Out. It's a matte so I know the pigmentation isn't great, but I tried it over primer and over Milk jumbo pencil and it was pretty good. It was also a buck.

The two right swatches are new shades of NYX Jumbo Pencils. Middle is Sparkle Green and right is Cucumber. I swore these off after how bad Purple Velvet and Lime were for me, but these new colors are different. They actually dry down and when you smudge them, the color doesn't go all patchy. I love love LOVE Cucumber. These were $4.49 each but all NYX was buy one, get one 50% off. The new colors are not listed on the Ulta website yet, unfortunately.

On the left is NYX Retractable Eye Liner in Silky Cashmere. I've looked at this every time I've gone in but never gotten it. This and the next one were also $4.49.

The middle is the Retractable Lip Liner in Nude. I've been needing a "my lips but better" liner for my kit and this is perfect.

On the right is Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Wanted. So dirty -_-. Funny story about this is that after Jerry showed She-Zam dazzleglass from Mac, I wanted it so bad. This isn't as sparkly or quite as silver, but it's good enough for me. This was also... ready for it?... 1 dollar!

That's all for today -- hope you enjoyed!

New Darling Girl Collection (Darling Grrl and Valentine's Day) Swatches!

2012-01-27T14:00:00.002-05:00

I have swatches of some new items from Darling Girl -- first up is Darling Grrl, which is a punk rock inspired collection. This will be expanded with new colors as time goes on.

Left to right: Vicar in a Tutu, Miniature Sun and Die, Die My Darling.

Vicar in a Tutu is a bit like Mac Vex without so much green shift; a really gorgeous color. Miniature Sun changes a little when I use it on my lid. The yellow base lightens and it's more a pale yellow with strong blue glitter on me. Die, Die is a really interesting army green with pink sparkles.

Left to right, top first: Roots Radicals, Rise Above, How Soon Is Now and Wanna Be Sedated

Roots Radicals is a pretty green-teal with gold shift and some pink sparkles. Rise Above is a blackened navy blue; super sparkly! How Soon Is Now is an odd shade -- it's sort of taupe, sort of grey, but has hints of blue. Wanna Be Sedated is one of my favorites, it's a gorgeous chocolatey bronze with tons of sparkle.

Next up is the Valentine's Day mini collection. This has 3 eyeshadows and a blush that is a duochrome but can also be used as an eyeshadow.

Promise Ring is on the left and Cupid's Bow is on the right.

Cupid's Bow is a really soft white with gold sparkles, it's really lovely as a highlighter. Cupid's Bow is a surprise favorite -- it's a peachy pink, again, really soft and girly.

On the left is the blush, Be Still My Heart (swatched over Glitter Glue) and Lovestruck is on the right.

Be Still My Heart, when used as a blush, is a plummy brown. I had a really hard time photographing this without it looking bruise-like (it's my skintone) on the back of my hand, but I would definitely use this as an eyeshadow or as a contour on medium skintones. As an eyeshadow, it's more of a mahogany brown with a hint of plum. Lovestruck is fascinating -- it's similar to Comet from the Darling Deer collection, but it has a strange greenish twinge with pink sparkles. Love this one.

Pictures of the Valentine's Day collection together:

Lastly, just some odds and ends -- a previously unreleased eyeshadow and a blush, specifically, Susan's dupe for NARS Orgasm. I absolutely love the blush, I'm going to need a petit sized as I'm almost out of my sample already. I foiled the eyeshadow to show you the insane metallic-ness!

I love to use Sunshine Daisy Bliss over the Haystack Watercolour, it's such a flattering combo on brown eyes.

See anything you like? Let me know what you haul!

DISCLAIMER: Post contains products sent for review by owner. This does not change my opinion of said products and I received no monetary compensation for this review.

FOTD: Fiery Friday (also Hunger Games Inspired: Katniss)

2012-01-27T10:26:00.000-05:00

So I've finally done one of the more dramatic Hunger Games looks. I didn't want to wear red eyeshadow to work but it is SO dreary here that I had to do something bright and interesting. At least it's warm, right? Can't complain about 67 degrees in January.

Of course, I had to do something fiery like this... she's 'the girl on fire'! (ho ho ho, tacky, I know) I used a really pretty MUA glitter liner on the lower lashline, but it comes up in pictures as looking a bit chunky! I promise it's pretty in person.

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream

- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink (just the highlighter portion)

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

-Inglot eyeshadow #60 (lid and lower lashline)

- Inglot eyeshadow #383 (middle lid and lower lashline)

- Inglot eyeshadow #50 (outer lid and lower lashline)

- Matte, cool highlight shade from Inglot (not sure of the number)

- MUA glitter liner in Shade 3 (inner tear duct)

- Milani Liquif'eye eyeliner in Silver (lower waterline)

- Sephora Waterproof eyeliner in Black (upper lashline)

- Wet n Wild Mega Last Liquid eyeliner in Sparkle Black (over black liner)

- Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- Hard Candy Glossaholic in Fireball

Mini Drugstore Haul (with lip swatches!)

2012-01-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

I got a fair amount of new stuff from various drugstores on Tuesday, so I figured I'd do a swatchfest for you! I will do my best to provide where I got the items from and for how much.

First up, I got two more L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows. I love these! I think I'm going to stop myself at four total though, because none of the other colors really interest me.

On the left is Perpetual Purple, which I used in a look here, and on the right is Midnight Blue. I really love Midnight Blue as it's hard to find a shimmery dark blue that actually looks BLUE. I got these from CVS for $7.99 each, but they were buy one get one 50% off. I will say to go to Walgreens if you want to pick any up this week, as they are $6.99 for a limited time. I'm not sure if the buy one get one 50% off on L'Oreal cosmetics applies to these though, bit confused!

On the left is Milani Liquif'eye in Silver. This is insanely pigmented; I love these liners! I got this at CVS for a mere $1.57 as it's on some sort of clearance.

The middle is Rimmel's new gloss (at least in the US) called Stay Glossy, and the color is Black Diva. A black lipgloss, from the drugstore?! Yes. This was $4.99 from Rite Aid.

The right is Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss in All About Me. I've wanted the Hourglass Siren lipgloss for months now, but I refuse to pay $28 for one lipgloss. I got this feeling like it would be a good substitute and might satiate the need; we'll see. I believe this was $6.99 from Target.

I also picked up some Cover Girl Queen Collection lipsticks (they're basically the Lip Perfections for darker skin tones). Heather got me Regal Raspberry for my birthday and I adore it, so I checked out the display at Target to see if there was anything interesting. These were $5.99 each and the first three swatches left to right are the lipsticks in the following order: Girly Pink, Royal Plum and Burgundelicious. I really struggled on whether I wanted Royal Plum AND Burgundelicious, but ended up getting both (whoops!). All three have a really gorgeous metallic finish. Girly Pink is going in my freelance kit and I may pull Viva Glam V out so that it can stay with me ;-).

The right shade is Milani Color Perfect Lipstick Mandarina. This was also on clearance at CVS for something like $1.79. I love these lipsticks -- they smell nice, are long lasting and not drying at all. This is a creamy orangey coral.

Onto the lip swatches!

Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss in All About Me

Cover Girl Queen Lip Color in Girly Pink

Cover Girl Queen Lip Color in Royal Plum

Cover Girl Queen Lip Color in Burgundelicious - this one was a bit slippery. Lovely color but a pain to apply.

Milani Color Perfect Lipstick in Mandarina

Rimmel Stay Glossy Lipgloss in Black Diva - The first picture is one thin coat, the second is two thin coats. I used a lip brush as this is for my freelance kit, so if you use it straight from the applicator it may be more opaque. It would definitely work over a black base.

Someone asked on Twitter if the black gloss had a scent; I couldn't detect one.

That's it for today, are you lemming anything right now?

FOTD: Haven't We Done This?

2012-01-25T09:05:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so this is practically identical to a FOTD from October. Posting it anyway. /emo whinge

FACE:

- Revlon Photo Ready Foundation in Ivory

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream

- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- BeautyUK Eye Spark in Purple (base at lashline)

- L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Perpetual Purple (lid and lower lashline)

- MUA eyeshadow in Shade 9 (crease and lower lashline)

- MUA eyeshadow in Shade 4 (inner corner and brow bone)

- Sephora Flashy Liner Waterproof in Black

- Maybelline Illegal Length mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- Milani lipstick in Mandarina (sheered)

- BeautyUK Lip Lust in Cocktail

National Protest SOPA Day - Are You Showing Support?

2012-01-18T08:39:00.000-05:00

In case you chanced a look at the main page of my blog, specifically my header, you may notice a bit of a difference. I'm showing my support of the protest of SOPA/PIPA and any other legislation that may censor/limit the internet. I am a firm believer in free internet and information sources, and SOPA would change all of that.

This will affect everyone living in the United States, and I urge you to read up on what SOPA is and what the United States government is attempting to do in the name of protecting its citizens. January 24th is the day they will vote - make them hear us! We don't want censored internet.

For more information on how you can support the strike, please visit http://sopastrike.com/

Flash Favorite: Femme Couture Lip Lusters

2012-01-17T11:46:00.000-05:00

I finally figured out a way to get these reviews out of products that don't merit a full review, but are items that I'm enjoying using! So here's a new series: Flash Favorites.

I found these Lip Lusters at Sally's earlier this week, on clearance for $3.99. Their normal price is $5.99. It seemed like the store had a lot of holiday items on sale (I also nabbed some Ardell rhinestone lashes for $1.99) so I'm assuming that these were from some kind of limited edition collection.

What caught my eye about these were the flakies. The top one reminded me of Mac Club and the bottom was like those Finger Paints polishes that everyone is after. The top brownish one is named Sahara Rose and the bottom one is Angel Kisses.

Uuuuuugh, so pretty, right? I love Angel Kisses. These glosses are quite thin, akin to the NYX Mega Shine glosses, but have an amazing creme brulee/custard scent (no taste). They're really slick initially but once they dry down, they stick around for 3-4 hours. I can't wait to try Sahara Rose over a red lipstick.

You can just barely catch the hint of orange flakies on the right corner of the picture. I can't find much other info on this brand -- they don't even have a website and Sally's seems to be the only retailer, BUT these colors (including the clearance ones) are available on Sally's website here.

Green with Envy Weekly Showcase (using new 'Darling Grrl' products!)

2012-01-17T09:32:00.000-05:00

I wanted to use some new Darling Girl products that Susan sent me recently, but I also wanted to try my hand at the 'Green with Envy' challenge on Never Too Much Sparkle. I'm absolutely in love with Susan's dupe of NARS Orgasm. Here's what I came up with!

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream

- Darling Girl Cosmetics blush in She-Bop

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Darling Girl Glitter Glue

- Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in Vicar in a Tutu (lid)

- Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in Sunshine Daisy Bliss (outer crease)

- Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadow in I Wanna Be Sedated (to darken crease)

- NYX eyeliner in Teal (base for lower lashline)

- L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Golden Sage (lower lashline)

- Ben Nye eyeshadow in Ice (inner corner)

- Wet n Wild Mega Liner in 863 Turquoise (upper lashline)

- Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- Femme Couture Lip Lustre in Angel Kisses

Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow Review + Swatches

2012-01-12T09:41:00.004-05:00

Next in review-a-thon... the new Maybelline cream eyeshadows! This was another heavily buzzed about product as it reminded many people of the MUFE Aqua Creams.

I paid $6.99 for each of these from Walgreens, but they are now showing up in Target for $5.99, so you may want to check there instead. The range currently has 10 colors from brights to neutrals and the pots contain 4g/0.14oz of product.

As you can see, I picked up Bold Gold, Fierce & Tangy, Painted Purple and Pomegranate Punk. I have to apologize in advance for the varying lighting conditions in this post -- I purchased two of these and then the lovely Heather CPed the other two for me, by the time I got the last two, we hadn't had a sunny day in a while!).

For the swatches, I used my finger in the jar and swatched them on bare skin.

These swatch really nicely and even when blended out, have a decent color payoff. Pomegranate Punk is the most pigmented while Bold Gold contains a lot of shimmer, so it tends to blend out to nothing but gold glitter. It's similar to the Mac Paint Pots that came out with the Glitter & Ice holiday collection. A note: Fierce & Tangy stained my arm when I swatched it, so be wary of that.

I set off to begin testing these in a few ways. The first was to apply them from the jar with a clean finger directly to my eyelid with no primer. This garnered really messy and uneven results, observe:

Even though my fingers are small, these creams dry down quickly so if you get any in your tear duct or under your eye, or really anywhere you don't want them to be, you have to move fast to remove it. After applying, I actually slept in the shadows to see how they would hold up. When I woke up in the morning, I had no creasing but had a little bit of fading... pretty impressive as these claim 24 hour wear with no primer.

My tests over primer garnered great results -- no fading or creasing and I could easily get 14-15 hours of wear before needing to remove my makeup. These creams are similar to Mac Paint Pots in that you can wear them on their own (with a little work to get them even) or you can layer powder shadows over them. I saw no difference in the wear time by wearing them alone or with powder over top.

Next I set out to figure out the best way to apply them. Fingers gave messy results so I decided to try a small, flat shader brush. This gave me a much more even, smooth and opaque result. I think that this option is probably going to give you the most even and opaque coverage versus using a finger or a fluffy brush. The most noticeable difference was in using Bold Gold -- it didn't blend out to nothing but gold glitter if I used a brush.

My last test was as a cream eyeliner. I tested Pomegranate Punk and found that in one layer, I got a decent liner, but after letting that layer set and then going back over top one more time, I got a really gorgeous burgundy liner. I took some photos (I am wearing Bold Gold on the lid packed on with that shader brush):

You can see just above the center of my crease that I've got a little bit of unevenness going on from the flat brush. I think that if you move quickly and blend the color into the crease with a fluffier brush, you wouldn't have this issue like I did. I even got a little mascara smudge on my lid and flaked it off with my fingernail, and had no residue from where the shadow scraped off. Once these shadows dry, they are on there for good. This eye look had no primer or base, not even foundation on my lids. I'm about 3 hours into wearing it and I've had no creasing... color me impressed!

Overall, absolutely in love with these and I NEED the rest. I think these would be a great addition to someone's makeup kit if they freelanced or whatnot, and would be great for the average user that wants colored bases that don't crease! These knock NYX Jumbo Pencils out of the park.

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow Swatches + Review

2012-01-11T10:40:00.002-05:00

The blogging world has been abuzz about these arriving on US shores and I was curious to try some out! I found a display and I have to say that I had a really hard time choosing colors. I decided I was only getting 2 but the color selection was quite interesting, so choosing was difficult. Here's what I ended up with:

As you can see, I picked up 892 Amber Rush and 333 Golden Sage. I knew I wanted Golden Sage from the start as so many people had said the color was gorgeous, and I wanted another color to test that I didn't have a ton of dupes for... so I chose the bronze.

I got these at Walgreens for $7.99 each, which I find to be a bit expensive. They are 3.5g/0.12oz though, so you get a lot of eyeshadow for your money. For reference, a Mac eyeshadow is 1.5g/0.05oz. I'm just not a huge L'Oreal fan, so I feel like $8 for a single eyeshadow is SO much, even though it's really not.

Swatches, shall we? Both eyeshadows are done over bare skin.

The texture of these shadows is extremely strange. They are spongy like and almost like a cream eyeshadow, but they have loose pigment when you touch them with a brush. They are extremely pigmented and smooth and I had virtually no fallout when using both shades. Even with the creamier texture, I had no issues with fading or creasing either. I wore Amber Rush on my lids over primer for around 13 hours, and it still looked fab when I went to take it off before bed. These give an interesting finish to the lid -- almost like you've foiled a loose eyeshadow with so much less work!

There's not much to say about these other than that I really like them! I want to get a few more shades while hoping that they are in fact permanent, so that I can wait for a good drugstore sale to nab some. When swatching them in the store, I felt like the sparkling black was a bit sooty and weird, but others may love it for a classic black smokey eye.

Just to show you them on the eye, I used both for this EOTD. The only additional shadows I used were Jesse's Girl Eye Dust in Pixie Dust to highlight my brow and inner eye, and a little bit of a dark taupe to give the illusion of having eyeliner on.

Do you have any of these? What do you think?

New Shades of Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks + Comparison

2012-01-10T09:25:00.000-05:00

I spotted a big display of new Wet n Wild items at my local Walgreens the other day and decided to pick up a few things. The main items I wanted were the new Megalast lipsticks -- I love the formula on these so seeing new shades was exciting! They also reminded me of the Mac lipsticks that released with the Iris Apfel collection, so if you're on a budget, you may want to check these out!

Left to right: 967 Dollhouse Pink, 966 Don't Blink Pink, 970 Purty Persimmon and 965 Cherry Picking.

One thing I need to note about these is something I forgot to take a picture of: the number AND the name are now on the bottom of these! I really love that as trying to figure out what '905D' is was getting ridiculous.

I paid $1.99 each for these... and here are swatches (same order as above):

All four of the shades have fantastic pigmentation, even for them being nearly matte. What I love about these lipsticks is that they don't contain 80s frost or shimmer, but they aren't dry like many satins. They have a glossiness about them that is really flattering. The picture is one swipe down my arm, for reference.

I pulled out a few of my Mac lipsticks and another Wet n Wild lipstick I have to compare the colors so that you have a better idea of the shades:

On the left is Dollhouse Pink and on the right is Mac Viva Glam Gaga. Gaga is much paler. I would say Dollhouse Pink may be more akin to Snob or Pink Nouveau.

On the left is Don't Blink Pink, on the right is Megalast Lipstick in 905D (Smokin' Hot Pink) and on the bottom is Mac Impassioned. 905D isn't similar at all so let's ignore that one. Impassioned is in the same color family but is slightly more neon and red toned compared to Don't Blink Pink. If you weren't too concerned about having an exact dupe of Impassioned, this will do.

On the left is Purty Persimmon and on the right is Mac Morange. I'd say that these are pretty close... Morange is slightly less red toned, but you're talking a VERY minor difference. Again, if you're wanting Morange and on a budget, check out Purty Persimmon.

I didn't have any Mac lipsticks similar to Cherry Picking in my collection, but I would say that it's nearly identical to Girl About Town, if you're wondering.

Overall, really excited about these! I've only worn Cherry Picking and got about 4 hours of wear from it. You'll see some FOTDs with these for sure :).

Since You Like to Troll My Blog, Come and Read This

2012-01-10T09:16:00.001-05:00

I received a comment on my Black Radiance palettes post that not only disturbed me due to the complete and utter misunderstanding of what this blog is, disgusted me by the rudeness of the person involved, made me angry, and made me even angrier because this person has now 'trolled' my blog twice. First was to comment on what she felt was a bad decision to dye my hair pink. Well, sorry honey, but you've ticked me off for the last time, and now you're going on blast. Enjoy.

Let's start off with the obvious: I make no money on this blog. Do you see any ads? Do you see anything cluttering up my page? No. Why? Because I HAVE NONE. I don't make a single fucking penny from this site and I don't ever plan on doing so. I'm not partner on my Youtube channel nor on The Makeup Heroes. I write this blog because I enjoy it as a hobby, not because I'm doing it for a living. So, you're assumption that I'm "making money off of a blog for review" is not only ridiculous, rude, and preposterous, but it's also stupid. If you took five seconds to look around my blog other than to make rude comments and troll me, you'd see that I have nothing to MAKE money on. You are sorely misunderstanding how the blogging world works, apparently.

Beyond that, why do you feel the need to cast hate on my little corner of the internet? Do you not have anything else better to do? Apparently not. You've never commented on my blog previously until the pink hair post. So... why should I give two shits about your opinion? The only reason you're on blast is because I want to make it clear and obvious to everyone who reads this blog what my intentions are. I don't want anyone thinking that I'm trying to misguide or dupe you into anything, because I'm not. I'm here, I'm me, I make no money off of the things I post (in fact I hurt my wallet quite a bit going out and buying all of these things to review, so you can go and do one, frankly.)

I'm gonna leave you be for the time being because I'm curious to see if you bother responding to this post. After that, buh-bye, see ya, because you're going to be BANNED.

Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara Review

2012-01-09T14:00:00.002-05:00

I decided to test out the newest Maybelline mascara -- Illegal Length, and now that I've used it for about a week, I have a review for you!

I got this at Walgreens for $7.99 but it's showing up in Target now for $6.99, so you may want to try there instead.

The packaging and the brush both reminded me of Maybelline Lash Stiletto, which is a favorite of mine, so I was interested to try this one out. The silver and pink writing is also unique; Maybelline always has nice mascara packaging. Unfortunately, I don't have a tube of Lash Stiletto at the moment to compare with this, so you'll just be seeing Illegal Length in this post.

This is a fiber extensions mascara, meaning that there are tiny little fibers inside of the cream of the mascara that attach to your lashes to lengthen them. This is one of the only fiberized mascaras I've tried so I don't have anything to compare this with. I did notice that you don't get that gloopy blob of mascara on the tip of this wand, which is appreciated.

Applying this mascara is pretty easy. The wand isn't so skinny that you get no volume from it, but it's not so big that you feel like you're going to poke your eye out. It wiggles through the lashes easily and gives them a really effortless curl (I don't normally curl my lashes but I can definitely skip it with this) without clumpiness. I've gone up to 3 coats of this and still had no thick clumps to speak of. Applying to the bottom lashes is also easy. I will occasionally bump my eyelid with the very end of the wand but that's usually me being in a rush. If I take my time, I can get really nice lashes with this.

Pictures, shall we? Naked lashes:

Lashes with 1 solid coat of the mascara:

For lasting power, I had no issues with flaking or smudging with this at all. I expected the fibers to fall off of my eyes throughout the day but sans -maybe- one or two stray ones on my cheek (that could have be an eyelash, to be honest!), I haven't had any issues.

Overall, I am really loving this mascara. I was a huge fan of Lash Stiletto and I feel like the fibers in this give me a little more body and length. If you liked LS, I would highly recommend this. As usual, mascaras will really perform differently on everyone depending on your lashes. If your lashes are sparse (as in volume wise), I wouldn't recommend this as you may end up with spider lashes due to how much lengthening this does.

What do you think of this one? Would you try it? Have you already tried it? Let me know!

Black Radiance Eye Appeal 8-Pan Palette Review + Swatches

2012-01-09T09:16:00.006-05:00

The makeup blogging world did a little squeal when promo pics of these new palettes started showing up everywhere, because they looked like the fabulous Wet n Wild 8 pan palettes with new colors! Joy! I know I got sucked into the hype and quickly began pursuing these at various Walgreens in my area.

I came across a display unexpectedly while waiting for the photographer for my shoot on Saturday, and decided to pick up two of the three. I skipped the purple palette because I have so many of them!

I picked up Urban Jungle and Downtown Browns for $6.99 per palette. They are pretty much identical to the Wet n Wild 8 pans in size, shape, style of the shadows and weight. They just have different branding on the front (which is actually quite minimal).

We'll look at Urban Jungle first. Preliminary sightings of these palettes claimed that there were matte shades (and we again went hallelujah!) but I can tell you that there are in fact no matte shades in these palettes. The closest you'll get is a satin. (Each palette is swatched from left column top to bottom, then right column top to bottom.)

I swatched these over bare skin as the Wet n Wild palettes don't need primer to be vibrant, and I was unimpressed. The pale yellow and the grass green were pretty but I had to swatch over them twice to get this amount of pigmentation. The dark green was a huge let down as it came out patchy and much darker than it appeared in the pan. The two darkest browns are also patchy and not very interesting as so many brands do nice browns!

I figured that maybe this one was just a dud, and decided to move on to the Downtown Browns palette and see if these lovely purples and taupes would swatch better.

Hmm... yeah, not much better. The matte looking purple had the worst pigmentation of any eyeshadow I've tried in a long time; this swatch is five swipes. The burgundy-purple shades on the right came out as muddled blackish shades. I can't even really find redeeming shadows in this palette -- maybe the taupe but it still required two swipes to get to the opacity shown here.

I sat staring at the palettes, baffled as to how the same parent company who created such wonderful palettes for Wet n Wild could do such letdown ones for Black Radiance! I put primer on my lids and tried a quick look with the Downtown Browns one to see if maybe they did in fact need primer:

The colors are just lackluster in my opinion. This eye look took me entirely too long to complete for being so basic. The shadows had to be packed on over and over again and blended away to nothing but a stain of color (especially those darker shades on the right column) and the fallout was INSANE. I had so much gunk underneath my eyes. I guess the eye look is pretty, but when you look at the palette and look at my eye -- the colors just aren't 'wow', they're sort of bland and bleh.

Beyond using them on myself, I feel that these would really suffer on someone with a darker skintone, which is who is targeted by this brand. It really makes no sense to me why this brand would put out such poor colors aimed at a skintone that already has trouble finding suitable shades. The top two shades in Downtown Browns would be awful on anyone darker than NC35-ish. Even if the performance were good, I still think the selection of colors is severely lacking.

Bottom line for the performance of the shadows: I would equate them to the e.l.f. 4 pans where you get that one slightly chalky, slightly shimmery shade that just isn't that good and doesn't have the smooth, buttery quality that some of their shades will. For $7, I don't think these palettes are worth it. I can get a Wet n Wild palette that has much superior quality... for $2 less. I actually returned these to Walgreens because I felt that they weren't worth my $14. No bueno Black Radiance, no bueno.

FOTD/OOTD: Film Noir

2012-01-08T14:01:00.003-05:00

I had a really quick photoshoot yesterday and was feeling very vintage for some reason. I had a new lipstick from Rimmel that I hadn't worn (bit work inappropriate) so I decided to wear it plus an appropriate outfit. Makeup first:

FACE:

- MUFE HD foundation in #120

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Mousse concealer in Light

- Maybelline Dream Mousse blush in Peach Satin

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Physician's Formula Eye Candy palette for Hazel Eyes

- Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero (waterline)

- Maybelline Illegal Length mascara (in blackest black, review to come)

LIPS:

- Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate in #04

- Essence Holografics Collection gloss in #1 Lilac

I also wore one of my favorite hair pieces:

For my outfit, it was a little eclectic. I didn't have a plain black skirt so a flower print one had to do. I also had on strapped slightly-wedge-but-not-quite boots.

Top: Old Navy

Skirt: Forever21

Tights: Target

Boots: Rack Room

Necklace: Charming Charlie

Hair piece: Forever21? Possibly Charming Charlie

Lastly, just a quick image of the model at the photoshoot. I used my neutral Inglot palette, Sleek Rose Gold blush and Mac Viva Glam V on the lips.

Hope you enjoyed! I have a TON of swatches and reviews coming so stay tuned :)

FOTD: The Smörgåsboard

2012-01-06T09:35:00.000-05:00

I have a confession: I have a load of lovely things that people have sent me that I haven't reviewed or haven't posted about and I feel guilty! I use them but I've never sat down and done reviews for the bits and bobs. I am going to start doing little capsule/mini reviews soon but for now, I decided to do a FOTD with some of the items.

Another thing -- I've noticed that there are certain items that many beauty bloggers lust over and go on a quest to find. One of them is mint green eyeshadow. It's hard to come by and if you do find one, it's often not very pigmented or chalky. I managed to aide my quest by finding a minty eyeliner from NYX that I could use as a base, and then Lillian sent me a lovely Kiko shadow that is just perfect over it. So, that is the focus of this FOTD!

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in No. 23

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Mousse concealer in Light

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- NYX eyeliner in Teal (as an eyeshadow base)

- Kiko eyeshadow #108 (pale, gold shimmering mint green on lid)

- e.l.f. Brightening Eye Quad in Ethereal (two far right shades mixed in the crease)

- Mac eyeshadow in Marvel smudged along the upper lashline as liner

- Jessie's Girl Eye Dust in Pixie Dust (inner corner)

- Kiko eyeliner in #102 Pearly Lilac (lower lashline)

- Maybelline Illegal Length mascara (in blackest black, review to come)

LIPS:

- LA Colors lipgloss in Blazing Violet (sheered)

Hunger Games Inspired: Peeta

2012-01-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

Next up is Peeta :)

I really struggled with a look for Peeta. They don't really talk about his clothes in the books and there wasn't much to take inspiration from on a superficial level. I thought about his character and personality and tried again. Katniss is "the girl on fire" and as he's her lover (on screen anyway), he has a bit of fire in him too. You see it later on in the series (I don't want to spoiler anyone). Thus, I wanted a look that incorporated fire without being obvious... a 'hidden' fire, so to speak. I used red eyeshadow mixed with brown to keep it more neutral and easy to wear. The orange/reds I used shimmer as the light shifts, sort of looking like fire (see bottom photo)... this is so much prettier in person!

I was also inspired by the use of the berry eyeliner in this look by Robyn: http://eyelinerandspraypaint.blogspot.com/2011/11/swatches-review-and-lotd-sleek-berry.html

FACE:

- Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in BR10

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Mousse concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Revlon matte eyeshadow in Vintage Lace (lid)

- Mac eyeshadow in Amber Lights (crease)

- Mac eyeshadow in Coppering (outer crease)

- Red from 88 matte palette mixed with Mac GlamourCheck! (liner and crease)

- Jesse's Girl eye dust in Pixie Dust (inner tear duct)

- Maybelline One by One Mascara (black)

LIPS:

- Hard Candy Glossaholic in Fireball

Are you enjoying this series? Do you have any requests?

Inglot Eyeshadow Overview

2012-01-03T12:26:00.002-05:00

Just a warning: This is going to be a VERY long post! My husband got me a 20 pan Inglot palette for Christmas along with 15 eyeshadows, so I rearranged my new bits with eyeshadows I already had and came up with this setup:

And the winner of the e.l.f. giveaway is...

2012-01-02T17:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay on this! With the holidays around, I genuinely forgot! I've also been sick twice in the last two and a half weeks. Without further ado...

The winner is...

Liza!

Please email me your mailing address to turtlebeauty at yahoo dot com :)

2011 Post Round-Up: My Most Popular Posts!

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of 2011 and I thought it would be nice to round up my most popular posts in terms of hits and comments... and some of my favorites! I figured this would give new followers a chance to read some of my older posts and avid readers a chance to catch ones they may have missed! Let's go, shall we?

To access the post, click on the image!

1) My First Inglot Haul:

2) Finding a dupe for Mac's Candy Yum Yum Lipstick:

3) Cover Girl Lip Perfection Overview:

4) Remember when Wet n Wild shocked the blogger world? I do!

5) The tome of Mac lipsticks:

Hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane! Would you be interested in a products roundup?

Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara Review

2011-12-30T09:10:00.003-05:00

I picked up the new Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara recently and thought I'd do a review! I've only used this mascara a couple of times. One was a test overnight to see how it held up, and the other was a normal application in the morning.

This was $7.29 at Walgreens, which I find to be a little pricey for Rimmel, but I wanted to be able to test it now instead of waiting until cheaper stores finally decide to stock it. The tube is certainly cute and eyecatching with it's bright orange color! It's also HUGE. I mean, seriously huge. I'll do a quick comparison in another post of it to Maybelline The Colossal. Scandaleyes literally dwarfs the tube of Colossal.

It doesn't look that large here, but trust me, it is. A small issue with the brush itself is that the mascara collects on the edge of the wand, as it often does with many mascaras. I've found very few that don't do this, and it's usually because they've put bristles on the tip of the wand as well. It's sort of a standard 'fat' bristle brush, not like Lash Blast as those are more synthetic/plastic spikes, but these are actual bristles like you'd find on a hair brush. It's slightly wider at the base than at the tip.

Application is a little bit of a doozy. The wand is very large, as I've said, so it makes it difficult to apply for someone that has small eyes, such as myself. I found it hard to get the outer edges of my lashes (you'll see it in the photos) and I bumped my lid a few times with the tip, so I ended up with mascara on my eyelid.

For reference, here are my naked lashes:

Then here are my lashes after 1 coat of Scandaleyes:

As you can see, the mascara made my lashes noticeably darker and fuller, and added a lot of length. My lashes are decently long but are thin, light colored, and tend to stick straight out and curl at the ends. A good mascara will lift my lashes from the base and I won't need to use a lash curler. This one is no exception -- I get good lift and definition.

This is after 2 coats:

I got a bit of clumping this time because I let the first coat dry a little too long. Adding the second coat provided more volume, but I feel like it weighed down my lashes a little more. I would personally go for one coat with this mascara and be done. The 2nd also gave an opportunity for more mascara to end up on my lids, as you can see. I still had a problem on the 2nd coat with accessing the outer edge of my lashes due to the size of the brush.

Overall, this mascara is good, but not spectacular. It may grow on me as I use it (and it dries out a little more; the formula on mascara almost always changes in the first week or two) but right now, I feel like The Colossal is easier to use. It merits similar results but with a smaller brush that is easier to manage. I love the packaging and the formula is quite nice (I haven't had any bleeding, rundown or fading), but I feel like the mascara suffers overall from the oversized brush. Check this out if you like mascaras like Big Fake from Collection 2000 or Cover Girl Lash Blast.

Grade: B-, grade pushed up because Rimmel needed a 'fat' wand mascara in their line! It's a good addition in that sense.

PINK

2011-12-28T20:59:00.000-05:00

Yep. It's pink!

It looks a bit weird in the lighting here, but it's exactly what I wanted. I didn't want vibrant and crazy but instead a more subdued pink that would fade nicely. I do have to touch up a few sections this weekend as some areas got lighter than others, so the dye needed to be left on longer in some parts. I managed to fix the front bits (the front most layers) that refused to dye with a couple of foils and about 15 minutes of dye sitting on them, so that was a test for the rest of it. The color is just Manic Panic's Cotton Candy Pink over slightly gingery blonde hair.

What do you think? Would you rock the ombre hair style?

Current Hair (Ombre) and OOTD!

2011-12-27T18:27:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to talk a bit about my hair and my OOTD :)

Nearly no makeup and looking ragged (SO tired today) but I thought you guys would be interested. I plan on doing the blonde sections in a pale pink. Because my hair is so dark and I don't like damaging it (who does?), me and the girl who does my hair decide to do 2 bleach sessions using 10 volume developer each time, instead of say, 20 or 30. It got pretty light with the first round of 10 under a hair dryer, so we figure the next bleaching should get it pale enough to put the pink on. We'll see... we're bleaching again tomorrow so that I had time to deep condition it twice. It's looking a little worse for the wear right now as I badly need a trim; she's going to do that after the bleaching is done so my ends are frazzled, sorry!

Onto my outfit and a closeup of my tights for today:

Top: Old Navy

Necklace: New York and Company

Skirt: The Limited (a gift from my lovely husband!)

Tights: Unknown, gift

Shoes: Burlington Coat Factory, Mootsies Tootsies brand

That's all I have for now!

FOTD: Christmas!

2011-12-26T18:03:00.000-05:00

You've probably seen a million of these... I'll just add to the pile ;-).

FACE:

- Revlon PhotoReady foundation in Ivory

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Darling Girl Glitter Glue

- Sugarpill eyeshadow in Goldilux

- Sugarpill eyeshadow in Asylum

- Sugarpill eyeshadow in Junebug

- MUA Shimmer Pencil in Green

- Physician's Formula gel liner set for blue eyes (black)

- Jessie's Girl eye dust in Pixie Dust

- Maybelline The Colossal mascara

LIPS:

- Jordana LOL gloss in ASAP

My First Photoshoot - Pics from Behind the Scenes

2011-12-19T13:18:00.003-05:00

My friend from high school, Deanna, contacted me last week about a photoshoot that she was doing this past Sunday. Deanna is a designer and wanted to do a wintery, Nutcracker themed shoot. I got only a little information about it before I accepted, and she was quite busy leading up to it so I went in not knowing what to expect.

I arrived after packing my traincase with what I could, having such little information other than a theme, and found out that we had 10 models... and one makeup artist. Oh, wow. I was suddenly feeling very overwhelmed but I knew that being the only MUA meant that not only was everyone relying on me, but that I'd have a little creative freedom as well.

Here are the pics, I'd expect the pro pics to come out sometime in the next week and I will post them here. I will do my best to remember what I used on everyone but after so many models, it blends together! There was 1 model that I did not work on, so I actually did work on 9 of the 10.

Model #1 had the role of one of the Arabian performers, so I did a 'typical' Arabic eye on her with lots of dark eyeliner. The eyeshadows were gold and copper from the BeautyUK #2 palette, and the black liner was Physician's Formula. It had small flecks of bronze in it and was perfect for the look. I contoured her cheeks with the 88 palette, used Hard Candy Living Doll blush and applied Estee Lauder Radiant Wine on the lips.

Model #2 was one of the Russians. I kept it neutral on her and used the Wet n Wild matte palette with a little bit of the Vanity palette on her eyes, Ulta Halo eyeliner on the waterline, Jessie's Girl Eye Dust in Pixie Dust (I'm going to call this Pixie Dust from now on because it got used a lot) and Sleek Suede blush on the cheeks. I contoured with the 88 palette, including her neck and collarbones. On the lips was MUA lipstick in Shade 9.

Model #3 played the role of the Nutcracker prince and I kept it simple with him. He already had good skin so I just did a little bit of matte skintone eyeshadow on his lids, a shimmery gold on his tear ducts to bring light to his features, dark grey liner on his waterline, and Sleek Scandalous blush on his cheeks. I also added a touch of e.l.f. Ruby Slippers to his lips to give them more definition in photos, and for a rosy look.

Model #4 was the adult Clara, and I wanted something special for her! Her eyes were the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette mixed with the Vanity palette and Smashbox Graphite liner. I patted Pixie Dust all over her lids and cheeks. I contoured with Mac Prism and applied Mac Sakura blush for a rosy glow. On the lips was Jordana Cabernet lipliner with Sephora Crush lipstick over top. By the way, that lipstick has SERIOUS lasting power! I never had to touch her lips up.

Model #5 was the child Clara. I wasn't super happy with my efforts on her makeup; I was distracted and had a lot going on. I used Comfort Zone again on her eyes but darkened the outer edges too much for my liking. Her blush was Hard Candy Living Doll and the usual contour. Her lips were Boots Rose Bud lipstick with e.l.f. Fairy gloss over top.

Model #6 was another Russian. I kept her really simple; similar eyes to #2 but changed to suit her eye shape, more contouring, and MUA Shade 9 lipstick to match the other model.

Model #7 was one of three faeries, namely the 'icy' one! I used a load of shadows on her to give depth... a BeautyUK palette (the rainbow one), Ben Nye Ice eyeshadow, and some shadows from the Sleek Bad Girl palette. Her waterline is Milani Liquif'eye in Blue and the upper lashline is Smashbox Graphite. The cheeks are the usual 88 palette/Hard Candy combo. Lips were Mac Hellraiser lipstick with a little bit of Jessie's Girl Secret Weapon loose powder on the bottom lip.

Model #8 was the Sugar Plum Fairy. She was wearing plum and gold so I reflected that on her eyes. I intensified the makeup later on but this is how it looked initially. The gold was from the #2 Beauty UK palette and the purple was MUA Shade 9. I also used Pixie Dust to give an intense shimmer. On the lips was Boots Rose Bud with clear gloss over top.

Model #9 was my personal favorite for the makeup. I really got to go crazy with her as the hair stylist gave her an awesome punk rocker hair style. I felt she could rock a smokey eye so I used the Sleek Bad Girl palette (mostly the greys) and brought the color to her hair line. I used the Physician's Formula liner on all waterlines and lashlines, and applied Ardell lashes (I'm not sure of the number!). Heavy contouring and Mac Sakura on the cheeks. Milani Black Cherry lipstick on the lips with Jordana Cabernet underneath.

Pfew! I'm tired just trying to remember what I used! What do you guys think?! I am so happy that it went well!

Hunger Games Inspired: Rue

2011-12-13T08:58:00.002-05:00

This look was requested by Robyn so I was much obliged... I mean, how could I not? Rue is awesome!

Rue is from District 11, whose specialty is agriculture -- specifically, orchards, grain and cotton. I went with the orchard theme and did my look with mostly greens. I used a light matte pink on my waterline that you unfortunately can't see in photos, but in person it looks like a flower blossom amongst the green or something. I also used a glowy blush to give a youthful look (Rue is only 12) and a pale pink lipstick, again for a younger look. As a side note, I wore an apple printed shirt, just to be quirky ;-).

The photos really don't do this look justice -- 412P from Inglot is a REALLY intense shimmering green with gold flash and it made the entire look shine.

FACE:

- Cover Girl Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer in Fair to Light

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream

- Hard Candy blush in Living Doll

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Horseradish (quite a thick layer)

- BeautyUK Eyeshadow Palette in Soho, lighter green all over the lid and lower lashline

- Inglot eyeshadow 44AS to darken crease and lower lashline

- Inglot eyeshadow 412P to blend out the crease, and on the inner corner

- Sleek PPQ Palette, eyeshadow in Pink Beret on lower waterline

- e.l.f. Shimmer Pencil in Precious Pink (lower waterline base)

- Wet n Wild Color Icon liner in Green (upper lashline)

- Maybelline One by One mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Silvery Moon

Hunger Games Inspired: Cinna

2011-12-12T09:06:00.001-05:00

Today I did a look inspired by Cinna! He's Katniss' designer and counselor before the Games. There isn't much description for him, other than that he has short brown hair and mentions of gold eyeliner. There's no description on the eyeliner so I did something more subtle than dramatic, maybe even as a guy would wear?

Here's the look, I'm not 100% pleased with it as the gold liner ended up being more silvery and light than I wanted. I used a pale gold as an inner corner highlight and brought it under my eye in an attempt to make my eyes look bigger, but it just look like fallout, haha.

FACE:

- Cover Girl Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer in Fair to Light

- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Revlon matte eyeshadow in Vintage Lace

- Matte medium brown eyeshadow from Wet n Wild Vanity Palette

- Pale gold eyeshadow from Wet n Wild Vanity Palette

- Mac eyeshadow in Espresso

- Physician's Formula Gel Liner Set for Blue Eyes: Brown

- Physician;s Formula Glam Gel Liner Set for Brown Eyes: Gold

- Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara in Black Brown

LIPS:

-Mac Lipglass in Nymphette

Stay tuned for more intense looks -- the "girl on fire", President Snow and a 2nd Katniss look! I will also be doing a look for Rue, as requested by Robyn :)

Top 10 Favorite Lipsticks!

2011-12-10T22:12:00.003-05:00

I recorded a video for The Makeup Heroes on my top-10-cannot-live-without lipsticks. Here's the video:

I also took swatch pictures so that you can see the colors a little easier than in the video.

Cover Girl Lip Perfection in Siren. $5-$8.

Maybelline Color Sensational in Pink Please. $4-$7.

Mac Amplified in Up the Amp. $14.50.

Mac Matte in Lady Danger. $14.50.

Boots Natural Collection in Rose Bud. £1.99.

e.l.f. Matte Lip Color in Coral. $3.

Milani Lip Flash in Hot Flash. $4-$7.

Mac Lipglasses in Nymphette and Sonoran Rain. $14.50.

NYC Lipstain in Forever Mine Wine. $2.99.

All of the lipsticks together now:

Hope you enjoyed! What are your favorites?

Hunger Games Inspired: Effie Trinket

2011-12-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

I decided to take some inspiration from The Hunger Games series as I just finished reading all three books. I have reviews up on Goodreads (if you want to be friends, here's my profile: http://www.goodreads.com/cydonianmu). Anyway, onto the makeup!

Effie Trinket is a bit of an odd character, you never really know who's side she's on. She's characterized by often wearing shades of pink and even having a light pink hue to her hair. I saw some photos from the upcoming movie and didn't want to copy her makeup exactly, but instead take some inspiration from the idea of the character and what I would wear if I happened to have light pink hair. Here's what I came up with:

One more to show the glitter:

FACE:

- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base

- Mac Studio Fix Powder in NC20
- Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance

- Inglot eyeshadow in 14AS (lid and lower lashline)

- Inglot eyeshadow in 441P (outer crease)

- Inglot eyeshadow in 491DS (to darken crease and lower lashline)

- e.l.f. Shimmer Pencil in Precious Pink (lower waterline)

- Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Powerful Purple (smudged on upper lashline)

- MUA Glitter Liner in Shade 6 (hot pink glitter, on the upper liner and inner lower tear ducts)

- Jessie's Girl Eye Dust in Secret Weapon (inner corner)

- Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara in Black

LIPS:

- Cover Girl Lip Perfection in Siren

What do you think of this series? Are there any characters you really want to see? Let me know!

Kat Von D Angeles Palette Review + FOTD

2011-12-04T15:55:00.002-05:00

I picked this palette up during the Sephora Friends and Family sale. It was reduced down to $15, plus the additional 20% off so quite a snag!

I believe this was the most recent palette she launched before the remakes of the original palette. The packaging is really nice -- it's got black rosaries on a white background with the Kat Von D emblem in blue. Kat's makeup line always pays nice attention to detail on the packaging and this is no exception. The white will get dirty relatively easily, but not as badly as those slightly rubberized material palettes.

The names of the shadows and the ingredients appear on the underside of the palette on a sticker.

Inside, you get 8 eyeshadows, each 0.05oz in weight. There's 7 powder eyeshadows and 1 cream shadow. The palette consists of half brown/bronze tones and the other half is blue tones. The cream shadow is on this side.

A closeup of the shades:

I swatched each color over bare skin with no primer:

Venus is a shimmering copper with intense golden undertones.

Leather is a matte warm brown. (The only matte in the palette)

Specimen is a warm taupe.

Rehab is a pale champagne.

Peggy is is a medium teal with slight hints of gold.

Bukowski is a sea blue, very shimmery.

Bellbottom is a violet-blue duochrome; this has some pigmentation issues.

Morphine is the cream shadow, it's a shimmering white with blue shift. Think Sugarpill Lumi in cream form.

The shadows all have a nice consistency, even the matte brown. They are smooth and pigmented without being gritty. The only problem child was Bellbottom, and I think that would work best over a violet or blue base to bring out the color, anyway, or to blend out the other 2 blues from the crease. I think some may be disappointed in the single matte shade, but the other colors are not over the top shimmery. Venus and Bukowski are the most shimmery out of the group, and even they aren't as over the top as say, Urban Decay shadows. The others are more like a satin texture. The cream shadow is a bit thick and awkward to use. It doesn't show up much on my tear duct but it does work decently as a cheek highlight. I would say that excluding these creams from future shadows would be a good idea, especially with the idea of contamination from the other powders.

Overall, I think that this is a nice little palette and I've been using it for quick, every day looks. The original price of $34 puts me off a little as it doesn't come with anything additional other than a few tiny plastic brushes that are essentially useless. But for $15? Sold.

For this look, I used Rehab on the lid, Specimen and Leather mixed into the crease and Peggy to blend out the crease. I also used Sephora's Waterproof Liner in Flashy Brown on my lower waterline. I don't remember what else was used on my face, unfortunately.

A Darling Deer Christmas! (Swatches)

2011-11-29T09:54:00.003-05:00

Susan sent me some bits from her Darling Deer Christmas collection, which is available on the website right now. Petit sizes (1/4 tsp.) of these shadows are $2.25 and full sizes (3/4 tsp.) are $5.50. She's also got a blush, glitters (which I will show you), and lip products.

I want to start off by showing you a new product from her that isn't part of the Christmas collection, but that I received along with it. It's called Watercolor, and is a cream eyeshadow/eyeshadow base product. These sell for $4.75 and come in a 3 gram jar. The color I received is Haystacks, and boy is it gorgeous!

The product is really soft and creamy, but not to where it feels thin or watery. It reminds me in appearance of the Big Bounce shadows from Mac, but this is much better in consistency. Haystacks is a bronzey brown with a slight copper sheen.

On the left it is swatched lightly and blended out, while the right it is more heavily done with less blending and more packing on. Either way results in a smooth and opaque finish, which is impressive for a cream shadow. I've come to expect some sheerness when you begin to blend a cream out, but this product doesn't suffer from that at all. This color would look amazing on blue eyes as a wash of color!

Onto the eyeshadows... this collection was inspired by and named after Santa's reindeer, which is totally adorable. I like the range of colors and also that they are all sparkly, which is very Christmas-ey.

Dasher is a shimmery white with pink sheen and light blue sparkles.

Blitzen is a pale peach with gold sparkles.

Donner is a pale golden taupe. It's a bit like Urban Decay Sin in some lights.

Rudolph is a plummy brown with gold sparks.

Prancer is a olivey brown with pink sparks (and maybe a little silver lurking in there?)

Comet is a plum brown with strong teal and gold duochrome. This shadow is AMAZING and my photos couldn't even begin to capture it.

Cupid is a mauve toned pink with pink sparkles. Really unique.

Dancer is a forest green with gold and pink sparkles. I love how jewel toned this is.

Vixen is a deep blue-violet with teal sparkles. Another gorgeous shade.

Now we have the new Pixie Sprinkles, which is a densely packed loose glitter.

White Christmas is a mixture of pale blue and holographic like sparkles like shimmering snow.

Jingle Bells is mostly gold glitter but I also see bits of red and green.

Reindeer Kiss is a cool-toned red glitter with gold and other multicoloured sparkle (it's really hard to tell as it flashes so many different colors at once).

The lighting in my house wasn't great when I did these so I apologize if any of them are too dark! My camera definitely couldn't handle the outrageous sparkliness of the Pixie Sprinkles, either.

Overall, really cute little collection. I love Comet, Vixen, Cupid and Dancer the most... what can I say? I love jewel tones!

I am going to order some of the lip products and the berry blush so I will post swatches of them when I've received them! Special note: Susan will be closing the shop around 12/4 to make sure that all orders are out before she goes on vacation, so keep that in mind if you'd like to order!

DISCLAIMER: Post contains products sent for review by owner. This does not change my opinion of said products and I received no monetary compensation for this review.

FOTD: Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-11-28T09:06:00.001-05:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we're down to under a month until Christmas! I still don't have any wrapping paper (but stockings are on their way from Target.com) and I need a wreath. Everyone in my condo complex has one hanging up and I feel left out.

I did this look and was really happy with how it came out. It's using the Darling Girl Christmas items (affectionately called Darling Deer Christmas) that I will be reviewing in a later post, probably tomorrow. So this is not only a look for you but a bit of a preview!

Don't forget to enter my e.l.f. giveaway here, it ends on December 3: http://cydonianmakeup.blogspot.com/2011/11/huge-elf-giveaway.html

FACE:

- Mac Studio Fix Powder in NC20
- Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- Darling Girl Glitter Glue

- Darling Girl eyeshadows in Dasher (inner corner), Comet (lid and inner lower lashline) and Vixen (outer crease and outer lower lashline)

- e.l.f. Shimmer Pencil in Grassy Green (upper lashline)

- Sephora Nano Liner in Azur Blue (lower waterline)
- Maybelline One by One Mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- Darling Girl Kiss You Off: Color Rich Balm in Poisoned Plum

Huge e.l.f. giveaway! CLOSED

2011-11-25T15:05:00.001-05:00

*This giveaway is now CLOSED, thanks to all who entered!*

I've had this giveaway planned for months but haven't gotten around to posting it... so here we go! These are some of my favorite items from e.l.f.!

You have a chance to win the following:

- All Over Cover Sticks in Spotlight and Pink Lemonade
- Cream Eyeshadow in Dawn
- Glitter Gloss in Crystal Cranberry
- Blush in Mellow Mauve
- Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder
- Hypershine Lipgloss Set
- Stipple Brush
- Radiance Enhancer in Sunrise
- Pout Perfecter Lip Gloss
- Brightening Eyeshadow Quad in Luxe, Butternut, Ethereal and Day 2 Night
- Shimmer Pencils in Grassy Green, Precious Pink and Twinkle Teal
- Lipsticks in Sociable, Posh, Captivating and Gypsy

Rules for the giveaway:
* This is open worldwide.
* Giveaway starts on November 25, 2011 and ends on December 3, 2011.
* You must be a subscriber via Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs.
* The winner will be posted on this blog on December 3 and will have 48 hours to email me at the email provided on that post.
* You must leave a comment on this post telling me what your top item on your Christmas list is (or whatever you want to say!)

Additional entries:
* You can follow me on Twitter @CydonianMU and tweet a link to this giveaway for 2 additional entries.
* You can blog about this giveaway for 3 additional entries (blogs made solely for giveaways will NOT be counted).
* You can 'like' my Turtle Beauty Page on Facebook for 2 additional entries: https://www.facebook.com/turtlebeauty

Good luck and Happy Holidays!

FOTD/OOTD/NOTD: Deja Vu

2011-11-23T09:23:00.002-05:00

I haven't been doing much in the way of interesting makeup lately. Well, it's interesting to me, but not worth blogging about. Does anyone else have that weird tendency? As in, it comes out pretty but is it worth putting on the blog? Hmmm...

I pulled out my Sleek Circus palette thanks to looks from Azure and Phlox at Eye Graffiti and Robyn as well. They were using bits from the palette and coming up with fantastic looks. I opened the palette and was immediately drawn to green and purple for today. I went to edit the pics and realized that this FOTD is grotesquely similar to one I did in September (here). I actually prefer today's version, but hopefully you don't hate me too much for doing the same thing!

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

- Sleek Circus Palette: Matte white (inner corner), shimmery green (crease), matte lilac (lid), shimmering plum (outer crease)

- Wet n Wild Vanity Palette: pale gold (inner corner)

- Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner in Fierce Blue (lower waterline)

- Physician's Formula cream eyeliner set for blue eyes (black with blue sparks on the upper lashline)

- Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- Clinique Lipstick in Silvery Moon

For my OOTD, it's the day before Thanksgiving here and I will likely be let out early, so I wore something casual to work (yes, it's Pikachu):

Blazer: Candie's brand, from Kohl's

T-Shirt: Kohl's

Dress Pants: New York & Company

Shoes: Rack Room? Not sure

Lastly, my nails, which I painted yesterday. Macro makes everything look terrible, but what can you do? The base polish is 'Jade' from Forever21 (I put that in quotes because there's a ton of their polishes named Jade) with China Glaze Snow Globe over top. I really love this combo but the F21 polish was taking FOREVER to dry, so much so that 4 hours after I painted it, I managed to smudge an entire nail off! (You can see where some of the tips smudged in the picture, boo.)

Things I Want, Volume 1,000.

2011-11-21T16:47:00.002-05:00

I'm bored, so I'm putting up a list of things I want but won't/can't buy.

Neutral Deco Colourblock Dress, £42. Dorothy Perkins.

Buckled Low Wedge Boot, $30.80, shown in Taupe. GoJane.com.

Color Block Oxford Heels, $19.70, shown in Black. GoJane.com.

Madam Rage Lace Dress, £30, New Look.

Lepidoptera Dress, $79.95, Anthropologie.

Lilly Matte Sequin Blouse, £18, Boohoo. Not necessarily this top, but something like it. I love the bow around the top and the slight sheer factor.

Peplum Rosette Top, $22.80, Forever21. Same thing with this as the above top. I've been wanting a sheer-ish long sleeve top for ages but many of them are very oversized, which doesn't suit my shape. This is nice but the bust would be bad on me.

Wide Waistband Pencil Skirt, $34.99, The Limited. Been really into pencil skirts lately.

Merona Essential Cardigan, $22.99, Target. These are some of my favorite cardigans and I've got them in all different sleeve lengths. The only problem is that I wear an XS and they NEVER have my size in store. Ever.

Peter Pan Dress, £23, Primark. I want this so badly but A) they don't have an online store and B) I never know what size I am there; I can be 3 different ones.

Too Faced Sweet Dreams Collection, $52, Sephora.

Inglot 10 Pan Palette, $50, Inglot. I am still debating on colors for this as I wanted to go neutral but then started picking brights and now am up to 7 brights and 1 neutral. -_-

Make Up Store Lipstick in shade Magic, $35.00. Jerry showed me this and UNF. But god, so expensive!

I think that's it for now, and I've fulfilled my boredom.

FOTD: Pulling Out The Dazzledusts

2011-11-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I can't even tell you the last time I used my Barry M Dazzledusts! I pulled 3 at random and came up with this look (which worked surprisingly well for how randomly I picked them!). I used Glitter Glue with these and found that I didn't have the fading issue that I was having with my Meow/Sugarpill shadows so I'm not really sure what the problem is. I probably should have used an inner corner highlight on this -- meh. I'll stop complaining now ;-)

The photos for this look a little weird and I'm not sure why. I just thought I'd mention that I never photoshop my pictures at all. The most I ever do is adjust the gamma/brightness slightly if it's too dark.

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Hard Candy blush in Living Doll

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- Darling Girl Glitter Glue

- Barry M Dazzledust #24 Old Gold

- Barry M Dazzledust #89 Oyster Grey

- Barry M Dazzledust #98 Petrol Black (over liner)

- Smashbox eyeliner in Graphite (lower waterline and lid)

- Maybelline One by One Mascara (Black)

LIPS:

- NYX Mega Shine gloss in Chestnut

FOTD: Winter is Apparently Hiding

2011-11-16T09:48:00.001-05:00

Lady Winter seems to be feeling a bit shy this year as it's mid November and we are in near 80 degree temperatures! I'm not complaining but we keep switching between FREEZING cold (like yelling obscenities the second you go outside) to these lovely warm, humid days. I wish it would just make up its mind.

We had a particularly warm day yesterday so I felt like using some tropical, fun colors. I used my NYX shadows, which I haven't pulled out in forever.

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Hard Candy blush in Living Doll

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

-NYX eyeshadow in Kiwi

-NYX eyeshadow in Wildfire

- NYX eyeshadow in Red Bean Pie

- Jessie's Girl eye dust in Pixie Dust

- MUA Shimmer pencil in Green

- Wet n Wild Color Icon eyeliner in Green (over top)

- Smashbox eyeliner in Onyx

LIPS:
- Mac Lipglass in Perky

Reader Input Time! Help Me Choose Between 2 Dresses

2011-11-15T08:30:00.002-05:00

Here's the video:

I'd love to hear your opinion!

Makeup photos added 11/15:

I think the eyes were a bit of a 'use your stash' day. I used Accessorize's Merged Shadow in Caramel, Mac Patina, Ulta Eyeshadow in Flirty. I think I used Wet n Wild's Color Icon liner in olive on the upper lash line as well. I honestly couldn't tell you what the lips are -- it might be Maybelline's Pink Please with NYX Chestnut gloss over top.

Hope you enjoyed!

FOTD: Feeling Blue

2011-11-14T13:26:00.001-05:00

In case you guys haven't noticed, I've not been posting much lately. I've been a little down and I also pulled my hamstring a few weeks ago, so I've had to go on anti-inflammatories that were making me like a zombie. I was doing makeup but felt like it was shite so I wasn't posting it. I did this look on Saturday before going out shopping for a dress to wear to a wedding, and then for some people to come over in the afternoon, followed by a birthday party in the evening. Yes, I am wearing a cat print dress.

This was my first day of trying out BB cream and I think I'm in love. I'll do a review soon. I'm also pretty sure I've done this same look before, minus the glitter on the lower tear duct that you can't even see. Le sigh.

FACE:

- Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light

- Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

-Wet n Wild Blue Had Me at Hello Palette (eyelid and crease shades on the right side)

- Inglot Shine eyeshadow in #31

- Smashbox Limitless eyeliner in Graphite

- Wet n Wild Shimmer eyeliner in Blue
- Urban Decay glitter liner in Distortion

- Clinique Lash Building Mascara (black)

LIPS:
- Mac lipstick in Ever Hip

- Jordana LOL lipgloss in ASAP

Callooh and Callay: Amazing Jewelry!

2011-11-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

One of my dear friends Lillian recently opened a shop with her (adorable) girlfriend Claire called Callooh and Callay. It is a jewelry shop containing an array of different items. Most of them are inspired by pop culture, but they also had a Halloween collection with bats and pumpkins and other spooky things.

As you know, Lillian is part of The Makeup Heroes collab so I naturally wanted to try a few things. I ordered through their website: http://calloohandcallay.storenvy.com/. I was able to checkout with Paypal and my credit card and had no issues receiving my receipt or a shipping notice.

I ordered the 'Jareth the Owl' necklace and the 'Balloon Heart' necklace. Jareth the Owl was $16.00 and the heart was $14.00. I find those prices to be insanely reasonable, and I'll tell you why.

The branding of this company is strong, and I absolutely love it. I know Lillian is my friend but because she is my friend, I feel the need to be even more honest! I love the circus theme and their banner, and even the small touches like the red and white striped paper that my necklaces came in. This isn't just a randomized start up company by people looking to make money. They had an idea, they went with it, and they've created a strong brand around their name. I look forward to seeing what they put out in the future!

Both of my items came in little black boxes (which is great for storing the necklaces or using for other things) and a few business cards. The charms are made of cut acrylic, while the chain is a fine grade silver. Neither of these necklaces are particularly long; they will sit at the middle of your chest. The balloon heart did have a slightly longer chain.

There's not much else to say here other than the fact that I love my necklaces! I'm a huge Labyrinth fan and the heart is unique and fun. I've gotten compliments each time I've worn them and I'm proud to report that even with my sensitive skin, I've had no allergic reactions to the metals or materials used... so I'll do a bit of a model for you:

Do check out Callooh and Callay (and let me know what you order!). Their Christmas collection should be out soon!

15 Questions Tag Video - with my husband!

2011-11-10T13:19:00.002-05:00

I uploaded it a while ago, but here you go!

Video Tutorial: Belle Inspired (Beauty and the Beast)

2011-11-07T13:46:00.002-05:00

I did a look for The Makeup Heroes recently and did a video tutorial for the Disney series. I choose Belle from Beauty and the Beast... check out the video below to see the finished look (and follow along with my instructions!)

It's been a while since I did this look (it took me forever to edit the video!)... but from what I remember: The black liner was Mac's Blacktrack Fluidline, the blue was Sephora's Flashy Liner in Blue, and the mascara was Rimmel Sexy Curves. The eyeshadows were from the Wet n Wild Vanity Palette (both the pale gold and the darker gold), Urban Decay Honey, Mac Patina and Mac Hocus Pocus. The contour blush was Mac Prism and the pinky blush was probably Milani Dolce Pink. I'm not sure what was on the lips!

Sleek PPQ Me Myself and Eye Palette Review + FOTD (+ OOTD!)

2011-11-04T13:36:00.000-04:00

Lillian was lovely enough to send me the limited edition PPQ palette recently and I've had a chance to swatch and play with it... so here's a quick review!

This won't be too in depth as honestly, a lot of the Sleek palettes are similar in quality. This one is no exception. It was only available online, for £6.49 (about $11). You get 12 shades of varying finishes and textures.

Upon first glance, I sort of went "Wha?!" at this palette... there's a really interesting mix of cool and warm tones, shimmery and matte, and neutrals and brights. Nothing is insanely bright, but that shimmery lilac does stand out in the bottom there. I will say, before we even get to swatches that there are some similar colors from prior palettes:

Barry White: Standard shimmery white as seen in Circus (this version is more pigmented) and Bad Girl, to name a few.
Black Box: Their standard matte black that is in virtually every palette.
Salt 'n Peppermint: Unique, as far as I'm aware.
Simply Red: Similar to Bloody Mary from Curacao, this may be SLIGHTLY lighter.
Pink Beret: Like Pamper from Oh So Special without the shimmer.
Primal Green: Unique as far as I can tell. They've done olives, but not in this same tone.
Fade to Grey: Pretty unique, though they've done other greys in Bad Girl.
Blue Monday: Unique.
Supernova: Like Wrapped Up from Oh So Special, but this may be lighter. Maybe more like Sand Walker from Monaco.
Chris De Burgundy: Unique.
Lilac Allen: Identical to Lotus Flower from Monaco.
Golden Silvers: I can't find a match but I swear I've had a pale yellow from them before!

Left to right: Barry White, Black Box, Salt 'n Peppermint and Simply Red.

Salt 'n Peppermint is nice, no? I like the red of course, as well.

Left to right: Pink Beret, Primal Green, Fade to Grey and Blue Monday.

Blue Monday is a really lovely blackened green. Primal Green has a really pretty gold undertone.

Left to right: Supernova, Chris de Burgundy, Lilac Allen and Golden Silvers.

CHRIS DE BURGUNDY OMG. Love it.

Top is natural light and the bottom is flash.

All of the colors were insanely pigmented and smooth. Even the mattes were superior quality to what you find in a higher end brand. Supernova and Pink Beret were the least pigmented, if I had to pick one. The burgundy is just amazing and was worth the $11 price tag just on it's own! I thought the color array was odd at first but now that I've used it a few times, I really like it. I like the odd combinations and the fun you can have by doing a bit of experimentation.

For my look, I tried a cut crease and sort of liked how it came out. I like it in photos but I'm not sure if it works on my eye! I think in person, it makes my face look strange. Anyway, here you go:

FACE:

- Cover Girl Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer in Fair to Light
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

- Sleek PPQ Palette: Barry White (lid and inner corner), Pink Beret (inner crease and lower lashline), Chris de Burgundy (cut crease and lower lashline), Simply Red (to blend out crease)

- Revlon Matte eyeshadow in Vintage Lace (brow)

- Smashbox Limitless eyeliner in Onyx

- Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara (Black)

LIPS:
- Boots Natural Collection in Rose Bud

- Essence gloss, unknown name (it's a purpley green duochrome)

I decided to go really casual for work today. I didn't feel like wearing tights so I wore my new knee high socks instead with my favorite boots. I think they're really cute, even though they make me look like I'm 10.

Outfit:

Necklace - Accessorize

Top - Old Navy

Skirt - Levi's brand

Socks - Forever21

Boots - Olsenboye

Guest Post: Janna from Clever and Colorful

2011-11-03T09:00:00.004-04:00

*I would like everyone to welcome Janna as my guest poster for today! She runs an amazing nail blog (be sure to check that out) and has some of the loveliest nails I've ever seen. Hope you enjoy! -Wendy *

Hey everyone! I'm Janna from the Clever and Colorful blog, here today with a guest post. My blog is primarily a nail blog, so I'm going to show Wendy's readers some really awesome polishes that you can use for layering.

First up is a gorgeous polish from Zoya called Breezi from their Summertime collection of Summer '11. It's a really pretty blue cream. Here it is solo:

And here it is with one layer of Nubar 2010, a "flakie" polish that shifts from red to green. This polish is awesome!

And just for fun, here it is with a matte finish using Essie's Matte About You topcoat.

And my next and last layering experiment starts with OPI Manicurist of Seville from the Fall 2009 Spain Collection, which is a wine- or maroon-colored cream....

And on top, I added one layer of Kleancolor Chunky Holo Fuchsia, which is a glitter that shifts from fuchsia to green. Check it out:

So which of these layering experiments is your favorite?

Thank you so much for reading! And thanks to Wendy for letting me guest post on one of my favorite blogs =]

Janna

The Obligatory Halloween Post

2011-11-02T09:49:00.005-04:00

Totally late in posting this but I had to sort through all of the pictures! We went to a Halloween dinner on Saturday followed by a party in the evening. My husband and I choose steampunk as our theme this year as he had some ideas to build a mask out of parts. My costume was less exciting in my opinion, so I spiced it up with a wig and of course, crazy makeup.

Makeup first:

I did my brows with a mixture of a dark purple and a bright blue from my 88 matte palette. The lid is a lot of products: NYX Jumbo Pencil in Pure Gold, Amber Lights eyeshadow by Mac, Espresso eyeshadow by Mac, Jesse's Girl eye dust in Pixie Dust... the brow highlight is the pale gold from the Wet n Wild Vanity Palette (A LOT of it) and I also used the matte medium brown to blend out the cut crease. I used Candy Corn loose glitter from Darling Girl all over the lid. I believe that the lashes are Ardell Invisiband Lacies (they are HUGE). The black liner is from ELF (the kind in the pot, not the pen). I think I also used a Sephora liner in Bronze or Brown on the lower lashline as well.

I didn't have much on my face -- I used Mac blush in Prism as a contour and Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink as a blush and highlight. On the lips, I used Jordana's lipliner in Cabernet and put Illamasqua's Hermetic lipgloss over top (which I just got recently!). I loved the look but the gloss is SUPER sticky, so my wig hair kept wanting to get up in it all night, haha.

This makeup turned out good but it was a huge pain! I had major trouble with the false lashes. They look like they're falling off even though they weren't -- the problem was that they were SO long that it made it impossible to do my liquid liner over top to cover the band. I forgot that these were Invisibands so I could have done the liner first and then they would have blended right in, minus a tiny bit of clear banding to cover. I ended up getting ink all over the tips of the lashes and it went everywhere the first time I blinked. 'RAWR' doesn't even begin to cover it.

Outfit pic:

Wig: Available here. I didn't do much to it except fluff it and use a little hairspray to maintain it.
Hat headband: Claire's.
Steampunk cogs: Underground Asylum, but sold in many places
Shirt: H&M, old
Corset top: Thrift store... for $1. No joke and probably the best find I've had in years.
Gloves: The Icing? They're from my Lady Gaga costume from a few years ago.
Belts: Various, some are thrifted and one was from Burlington Coat Factory.
Skirt: Forever21
Boots (you can't see them :( ): Rack Room Shoes

The costume barely cost me anything except the cost of the headband (it was like $12) and the wig... but I wanted a blue wig anyway. I'm pretty impressed with how it turned out considering everything was thrown together.

My husband went for a much more complicated look:

He made the mask from a white Phantom of the Opera/Jason mask for $3. The paint is acrylics that we bought in a set and a few individual colors to add depth. The glasses were labeled as 'nerd glasses' at some Halloween store, but were actually Harry Potter glasses, for $2. The cogs are from the same place I got mine, they sell them in bags. He also added nuts and bolts to the edges of the mask to look like it was part of his face. Everything else, he already had in his closet. He made the cog cufflinks with a bit of superglue, and well, some cogs.

So he had the mad scientist look and I just looked... like Katy Perry apparently (I got asked that a lot, really?). Here's a pic of us together:

Complete with creepy dolls in the background... thanks Chris! For the evening, I also did makeup on my friend Chris (he wanted to be a zombie) and my friend Brandie (she was a fairy). Here's how that turned out:

His skin was done with Ben Nye's Death Wheel cream palette (I used the grey, skin tone colors, and a little burgundy and green). I also contoured with the matte purple from the Wet n Wild Lust palette and some browns and burgundies from the 88 matte palette. His eyes were also the 88 palette. The fake blood is Ben Nye's stage blood and the bullet wound was using their brand of clear liquid latex as well. I think that's everything!

I mostly used the Sleek Acid palette on Brandie with some glitter liners that I had with me. She had a Micabella loose glitter with her and we sprinkled it EVERYWHERE, including all over her face. I'm unsure of what is on her lips as she brought something with her. Sorry for the bad picture, it was inside and dark, I had to use the flash!

That's pretty much it -- I've got a couple of other photos from the party but nothing terribly exciting, here you go anyway!

Darling Girl: Diamond Dusts, Spectral Shifts and Rainbow Brite!

2011-11-01T19:48:00.002-04:00

Susan was kind enough to send me some new items that will be up in her shop next week (probably around November 7th). There's three parts to this post: Diamond Dusts, which are a new formula, new Spectral Shifts, which came out around Halloween and can be used all over the face, and the Rainbow Brite collection, which is a series of highlight shades that turn 'magical' over black.

I had a lot of fun photographing these, though a lot of them wouldn't play nice with my camera! Spectral Shifts can be used anywhere on the face; the most common uses would be as an eyeshadow or as a cheek highlight. They shift color depending on the light and have very fine sparkle in them.

Everything is swatched over Darling Girl's Glitter Glue.

You'll want to blow these up because you can see the color shift much easier!

Mystique is a pale sky blue with subtle pink shift.

Morbid Angel is a charcoal-taupe-purple with a slight green shift. Really unique.

Little Miss Sunshine is a very pale orange-y grey with pink shift, similar to the shift in Ramblin' Rose.

Ramblin' Rose is probably my favorite of the Spectral Shifts that she's done. It would be an amazing blush -- it's a rosey-grey-pink with subtle red sparkle and a bit of green as well.

Hare is a subtle purple with slight brown tint. This one is hard to describe.

Diamond Dusts are a very smooth eyeshadow base with a ton of sparkle. The formula is interesting because the glitter adheres well to the base, even when you blend them out. I'm really, really impressed with these. I did some odd lighting conditions to show the sparkle, color shift, and the texture. Some of the photos will seem dark for that reason, and I blurred a few to help show the crazy amount of glitter in these!

Flare is a burnt red with red and green sparks. One word: amazing!

Sushi Flower is a beautiful medium purple with bits of pink and green, maybe even a little red sparkle. I love that this doesn't turn grey or blue like a lot of purples do... it's just -purple-.

Moon Dust is a light brown with hints of taupe; the sparkle in this is varied -- green, pink, even a little blue. Gorgeous.

Lucy in the Sky is a medium blue with pink and green sparkle. I had some minor coverage issues with this one, but it could have been where the Glitter Glue didn't get sticky enough.

Wood Sprite may be my favorite of the collection, and is a deep burgundy brown with crazy light green sparkle.

Verdant Green is a seafoam green, reminds me of mermaids. This has a subtle fuchsia sparkle, a little green as well. It isn't as sparkly as the other ones but the color shift from a light teal to seafoam is really pretty.

Just a pic to show the crazy amounts of sparkle:

Totally Teal is another contender for my favorite in the collection, and is a strong metallic teal with pink and blue sparkle. Absolutely love this.

Dark Crystal is fascinating -- it's black in some lights but under flash, you see more of the purple base. I'd say it's a blackened purple. The truly stunning part of this is the sparkle -- it's got the same green sparkle as Wood Sprite but it's also got fuchsia, brown and some purple sparks too.

The last portion of this post is another new line of shadows, called Rainbow Brite. These are 'highlights', per se, that shift over a darker base. I became obsessed with Sugarpill's Lumi and Pixie Dust from Jessie's Girl, and wanted one in every color. So, Susan came up with an array of colors. I did these in natural light and flash. I also did it over Glitter Glue on the top and over a black eyeliner on the bottom.

Buddy Blue is just as the name states!

Indigo is a blue tinged purple.

Canary is a golden yellow with a bit of a burnished finish.

La La Orange is a sherbet orange with slight red shimmer.

Sky Violet is a blue with a little bit of a purple tinge.

Red Butler (thanks Mandy!) is a purpley-red.

Lucky is a deep emerald green with a shift to teal.

Patty O Green is a chartreuse green with gold shift.

Rainbow Brite is a pink-burgundy.

On-X is a charcoal grey on it's own, but it transforms over a black base to create a sparkly black. This color is really interesting -- it has orange flecks in it, but also grey, blue and even brown. It's not much on it's own but over a darker base, it's gorgeous. I want to try this over a metallic red base to see what happens!

For my FOTD, I used Totally Teal and Wood Sprite Diamond Dusts, and used Buddy Blue to highlight the inner corners of my eyes. I really like this look, but I wished I had used Buddy Blue as a brow highlight as well. I used a bronze eyeliner on my waterline (Sephora waterproof pencil in Flashy Brown), Mac MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink on the cheeks, and Maybelline Pink Please lipstick with NYX gloss in Chestnut over top.

Pfew, that's all I have for you today! What do you think of the new collections? Is there anything you MUST have? (Hint: I love all of it!)

DISCLAIMER: Post contains products sent for review by owner. This does not change my opinion of said products and I received no monetary compensation for this review.

FOTD: Sugarpill Bit 'O Fail (and OOTD)

2011-10-28T09:32:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't been posting much! I've been using my Meow shadows and I seem to have a major problem with creasing and fading for some reason. I'm not sure why. I thought it was the shadows, so today I used Sugarpill instead but I've already got a tiny bit of fading on my left eye and it's been about 2 hours since I applied the shadows. I'm really at a loss -- I don't understand why I'm having issues. I use Too Faced Shadow Insurance, let it dry, then apply Darling Girl Glitter Glue (a tiny amount), let it get tacky, then the shadows. I've never had this many issues before.

As for this being a bit of a fail, I realized after I did the look that on the last Sugarpill look I did, I used blue on the lower lashline. Probably the same color. Ugh... I need some inspiration on different shapes to do. I'm feeling a little boring. It doesn't help that I'm very annoyed with my camera... it just takes shite pictures of my looks!

FACE:

- Cover Girl Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer in Fair to Light
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Sleek blush in Suede

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- Darling Girl Glitter Glue

- Sugarpill eyeshadow in Asylum (all over lid)

- Sugarpill eyeshadow in Hysteric (crease)

- Sugarpill eyeshadow in Starling (lower lashline)

- Jesse's Girl eye dust in Pixie Dust (inner corner)

- Smashbox Limitless eyeliner in Onyx

- Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara (Black)

LIPS:
- Clinique Lipstick in Silvery Moon

Outfit:

Top - The Limited

Skirt - Forever21

Belt - Unkown

Tights - Forever21

Boots - Rack Room, Limelight brand

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Meow Cosmetics Swatches + FOTD

2011-10-25T14:50:00.003-04:00

I placed an order with Meow Cosmetics recently as they were having a 20% off sale, and I managed to get free shipping as well. I saw swatches of the Pandora's Box collection and knew I wanted everything, but I limited myself to sample orders from X, Pandora's Box, Zombie Apocalypse and Four Horsemen.

I ordered on October 5, 2011 and received my order on October 14, 2011, so the turn around time was amazingly fast. Everything was neatly packaged in a bubble mailer, and wrapped in a cheetah print tissue... which is adorable.

I ordered samples of the following: (X Collection) Wendigo, Jersey Devil, Grim Reaper, Hidebehind, Mothman, Yeti. (Four Horsemen) Violence, Pestilence. (Pandora's Box) Malevolence, Debauchery, Poison, Indecency, Anathema, Plague, Sorrow. (Zombie Apocalypse) Datura, Brains Over Beauty, Living Dead, Head Shot.

The owner included samples of the eyeshadow Feliner and a blush called Cadillac from their Pink Inc. collection.

As for the website, I found it relatively easy to navigate. The color swatches were clear (I'll get to what was accurate in the swatch listings) and the touches of cat related images were nice. However, I went back today to try and find these collections and could not locate them easily. The "new" sections is stuff from Fall 2010, which is a bit off-putting. I ended up having to find a blog with links to each collection, and getting to them that way, which is annoying.

Samples were $1.00 each, for 1/16 of a teaspoon. I can't tell you much about shipping as I got it for free.

Let's get right into swatches! As always, top is natural light and bottom is flash, colors are from left to right.

Wendigo: This is a blackened teal that leans heavily towards dark green. The website describes it as a 'deep metallic duochrome teal,' and I'm not sure I can get on board with that. I was slightly disappointed with this one as I got none of the teal from it that many people have raved about.

Mothman: This one is quite lovely. It's a medium brown with strong green flash. It looks taupe in some lights but it's really not.

Hidebehind: This is a silvery blue; the website describes it as 'platinum grey with metallic blue fire'. I'd say that's pretty accurate!

Yeti: A gorgeous pale blue with icy teal flash. Very shimmery and quite pretty.

Grim Reaper: This is a deep grey with a hint of red and purple. Initially, it semed like it would be like Fyrinnae Mephisto, but it's way darker.

Jersey Devil: Quite a cool shade -- sort of a lavender pink with purple flash. I did have some minor issues with coverage on this one.

Plague: An amazing olive green with flashes of gold and red. I think this might be my favorite of all of them!

Debauchery: A gold that is nearly olive. I say nearly because the description called it 'olive', when it's definitely more yellow/gold. Bit confused on that, just like with Wendigo. Still very pretty as it's got some pink/red bits in it.

Poison: YOW, this is gorgeous... a very rich, inky blue. It's got a hint of pink as well, but just barely. This is insanely pigmented.

Sorrow: A brilliant sparkling teal... REALLY nice. Another favorite.

Anathema: Another very metallic shade, this is an orange that has a little bit of copper/rust to it. Reminds me of molten lava.

Indency: A silvery taupe with a hint of purple. This is quite a pale taupe and reminds me a little of the lightest shade from the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette. Gorgeous.

Malevolence: Intense red with iridescent bits. Quite pretty, though I have a few other colors like it... I still love it.

Brains Over Beauty: RAWR, this color hates me. I wiped off the swatch numerous times and redid it but each time it looked like this. I can only assume it's something with the formulation. This is a grey with a hint of purpley pink.

Datura: Meow says this is a 'copper infused lime pearl'. I don't quite get the copper out of it, but lime pearl, yes. This one also had some adherence issues, unfortunately.

Headshot: What an awesome name... especially for something the color of dried blood. One word: amazing.

Living Dead: Definitely a blue-tinged platinum, Meow says it's got a "lame-like green iridescent sheen." I'm not getting much else out of it though except for a slight green hint and a bit of pink? Weird.

Violence: Yum. Quite similar to Malevolence, honestly.

Pestilence: Even more YUM. I've been after a rich green for quite some time... most of them go black. Absolutely love this.

Feliner: Free sample, but holy pretty! This is one that I'm fascinated by. It's got a teal like base with an overlay of olive, green and gold. Stunning, and nearly my favorite of the whole lot.

This is the Pink Inc. blush in Cadillac. Quite pretty, and it has a bit of a blue sheen. It's definitely a cool pink.

Overall, I'm really enjoying what I got. I haven't had much time to create looks, but I've got some combinations in mind. I was a wee bit disappointed with some of the colors versus their shade descriptions, as I felt they fell a bit flat. However, the rest of the shades were just gorgeous and Meow has some unique colors. I would definitely order again!

Here is a quick look that I came up with using Indency, Mothman and Headshot. (Teehee!) On my lips is Estee Lauder's Radiant Wine lipstick, and NARS Sin blush on my cheeks.

You'll have to excuse the terrible photos -- these were taken most of the way through the day and I've got a bit of creasing going on unfortunately!

As one last quick thing, because I haven't done it in a while -- my outfit:

Outfit:

Dress - Forever 21

Tights - Unknown, a gift

Flats - Target

Earrings - Forever 21

Creating Burgundy Jeans: The Process

2011-10-24T19:25:00.003-04:00

I decided about a month ago that I wanted some coloured jeans. No problem, right? They're all around in the stores these days...

Ugh, wrong. I have a hard enough finding jeans that properly fit but now we're narrowing down to color? I found some awesome black jeggings recently so I went on a quest to find some grey jeans as well. Once those were acquired, I thought about the coloured ones once again (purple, red, etc.). My husband suggested buying a 2nd pair of the grey and dyeing them whatever color I wanted. Hmmm...

The grey jeans I used looked like this at first:

These are the Sweetheart Skinnies from Old Navy, if you're interested. They do run big so you could go down a size.

I debated stripping the grey from the jeans first, but decided against it and picked up RIT's dye in Wine instead.

This is the powder version. Basically, you open up the packet inside and add it to 2 cups of hot water. I would recommend using a bucket or a metal bowl, as this will stain easily (especially plastic). You add in 1 cup of salt to the mixture and stir.

Yes, that is a straw. See how the bowl is stained?

Next, you fill your washer with hot water. I have the option of load sizes, so I choose small. As it filled, I added the dye mixture and then a tablespoon of detergent (I use liquid). I soaked the jeans first as it was filling, then added them into the washer water. You set this to agitate for at least 30 minutes -- my washer will only go for 14, so be sure to keep a timer nearby and be ready to reset it backwards. You don't want it to rinse before 30 minutes are up! Once the 30 minute agitation is done, you set the water to cold and rinse the item. You can either do this in the washer or in the bathtub, but again be wary that this will stain. Rinse until the water runs clear. It took about 5 minutes for me.

Run your washer on an empty cycle after you're done to ensure that any remaining dye is rinsed out. Don't forget to wipe the lid and the lip -- it gets everywhere, as you can see.

Let the item hang dry or pop them in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet -- up to you. My results...

Pretty cool, huh? The burgundy mixed with the grey and created a duochrome effect. The jeans shift color depending on the light..

I'm really pleased with them. They aren't solid burgundy by any means, but I think these look a little more adult versus having solid coloured jeans (and a bit less 80s...).

It even dyed the pockets, which is cool as hell.

I'm addicted to dyeing now! My next task is creating a kelly green cardigan. Would you want to see a post on that?

For anyone curious -- how WOULD one style burgundy jeans? Well...

A leather jacket and a statement necklace of course! (NOT this top ;-) )

FOTD: Smokey Eyes, My Way

2011-10-24T09:35:00.002-04:00

I know nude lips and smokey eyes are the classic combo, but I just can't get on board with nude lips. I feel like they wash me out and I just don't like the look of them. I'd rather slick on some pinkish gloss and be ready to go. Anyway, I did this purple smokey eye wanting to play with some of my new Mac stuff from the CCO... and here's what I came up with:

FACE:

- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base

- Make Up For Ever HD foundation in #120
- Mac MSF Natural in Light Medium
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Milani Blush in Luminous

EYES:

- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Purple Velvet

- Mac eyeshadow in Marvel all over the lid and lower lashline

- Inglot eyeshadow in 441P to blend out Marvel and lightly on the lid

- Revlon matte eyeshadow in Vintage Lace on the brow
- Jesse's Girl eye dust in Pixie Dust as inner tear duct highlight
- Smashbox Limitless Eyeliner in Onyx
- Maybelline One by One Mascara (Black)

LIPS:
- Mac lipstick in Vegas Volt

- Jordana Lip Out Loud gloss in ASAP

I'm getting back into the swing of blogging again, so you'll see most posts from me soon. I had a chance to swatch a lot of stuff this weekend, so I'll be cranking out those posts over the next week or so. Thank you for sticking with me!

Photography Post: Recent Pictures

2011-10-20T13:44:00.001-04:00

As some of you may know, my mother in law and her boyfriend have been here for the last two weeks. They unfortunately leave today but over the course of the time they've been here, some excellent photos were taken! Her boyfriend has an absolutely amazing camera so I figured I'd share a few of the photos with you. Please click on them to make them full size!

We went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg on the first weekend they visited. It was INSANELY crowded and we unfortunately couldn't go into any of the haunted houses. Walking around and seeing the decorations at night was nice though. Above are a few shots of the different coasters. My favorite is the bottom -- Loch Ness Monster. The reflection is so neat!

My parents and I about to ride the skyline.

My husband and I riding Loch Ness. Can you find us? (Hint: blow it up)

Riding Griffon. This is SUCH a cool shot as we were in the first drop when he got it. We're on the 2nd row back, towards the middle (Rob, me, my dad and my mom from left to right). My legs look weird.

A really stupid looking me, with my mother in law on the carousel.

After riding Apollo's Chariot, I'm like "DWEE".

Mid teacups. Did I mention I get motion sick? Well, I get motion sick. Hence the "dear god" hand-over-face expression.

Bit overexposed but a nice group shot! Left to right is my mother in law, my dad, my mom, my husband and me in the front all short and shit.

They spent the day up in Williamsburg and got this lovely shot. The tree on the left is just gorgeous!

The following weekend, we went down near the water to view the USS Wisconsin and a naval museum. He got some amazing shots of the water and the ship.

The USS Wisconsin.

The mermaid is the 'mascot' of Norfolk, and these are all around the city. This one is quite interestingly decorated!

The last shot I have for you is quite an amusing one -- this is inside the naval museum. My husband is playing with this toy boat experiment where you set up walls to allow the plastic tugboats to move about. I'm running around going 'uhhh...' and my mom is absently staring at the camera.

Anyway, that's all I have for you! I hope you enjoyed -- I wish I had a camera like this. My makeup shots would be amazing!

Depression Awareness Look for The Makeup Heroes

2011-10-17T11:01:00.005-04:00

October is a month of awareness for many diseases, but today I've done a look for one where many suffer in silence. This affliction is Depression. With October being Depression Awareness Month, we all wanted to do a look and help to pass on information for those that are affected by this or have family and loved ones that may be affected. For more information, read: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/complete-index.shtml

There are increasing amounts of information out there on what depression is and where you can get help for yourself or someone you love. Don't feel embarrassed or too shy to ask for help; depression is treatable and you can overcome it and live a healthy life. Here are some statistics for you:

- Major Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States.
- It is estimated that over 15 million people in the United States alone are suffering from depression.
- During their lifetime, 10%-25% of women and 5%-12% of men will become clinically depressed.
- Nearly 12% of women reported being moderately depressed after they delivered a child, and 6% reported being very depressed after delivery.
- 80%-90% of those who seek treatment for Depression can feel better within just a few weeks.

If you suffer from this and struggle every day, know that there are many out there wanting to support and help you through it. For anyone who may not be suffering -- this is still important! Remember to look at your family and friends and make sure that they are okay. Don't just assume; ask and try to be supportive.

As green is the color of the Depression Awareness ribbon, we all wanted to show our support by rocking green makeup for the cause!

I used Graffiti from Urban Decay on the lids and lower lashline over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk. I blended a little of Inglot 412P into the crease. The liner is Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Mildew, and the mascara is Maybelline One by One. On the cheeks, I used Mac's MSF in Semi Precious Crystal Pink and on the lips is NYX gloss in Chandelier.

I hope that this helps to make people aware of a very underexposed topic around the world! Please be sure to check out the other Makeup Heroes' looks:

Robyn (Stay Beautiful): http://eyelinerandspraypaint.blogspot.com/2011/10/makeup-heroes-october-is-depression.html
Priscilla (Makeup Junkie): http://t.co/oMHiFQk
Kathy (Kathy Effing Jacobs): http://kathyfuckingjacobs.com/2011/10/17/depression-awareness-month/
Helen (Faeries Stole My Lipstick): http://lipstickonmyteacup.blogspot.com/2011/10/depression-awareness-month-make-up.html
Jerry (Silhouette Screams): http://silhouettescreams.blogspot.com/2011/10/depression-awareness-month.html

For now, be happy, be safe and be healthy! xx

Guest Post: Flying Purple People Eater (With Kat Von D's True Love Palette)

2011-10-15T10:00:00.050-04:00

Hi, guys. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Vijaya from Fierce Nerditude, and for those of you who do, hola! Bet you weren't expecting me here!

In any case, Wendy's blog is one of my favorites, full stop, so I was really excited to get to do a guest post. I really hope you all love it as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3

For those of you who know me, you'll know that there are few things I love more than purple, so I did an all purple FoTD! I used some shadows from the True Love Palette by Kat Von D!

Tools:

Medium shader (MAC 239)
Fluffy, oval shaped blending brush (MAC 217)

Cosmetics:

Kat Von D Eyeshadow in Cholita (Matte black with red-purple glitter)
Kat Von D Eyeshadow in Skiba (Medium soft purple)
Kat Von D Eyeshadow in Missy (White with purple iridescence)
Urban Decay 24/7 Liner Pencil in Perversion (SUPER black)
Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara in Onyx
Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in Zicke (Silvery purple)

Eyes:
I primed my eyes and patted Cholita all over the lid with the 239. I took Missy on the 217 and highlighted the browbone and then took Skiba on the same brush and blended it into the crease. I lined all around with Perversion and then used the Hourglass Fim Noir Full Spectrum Mascara.

Lips:
Zicke is a nice color, but it isn't pigmented at all. To get the level of pigmentation I had in the picture I had to scrape some of the lipstick out of the tube, melt it onto my lips by pressing them together, then use my finger to spread it out. Twice. If you have a better silvery purple/lavender, I'd recommend that instead!

Face:
I skipped blush for this one. If you're curious about what I did for foundation: I primed my face with MAC Prep+Prime Face Protect and then buffed MAC's Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NC50 all over my face with the Too Faced Retractable Kabuki.

One more picture for good measure!

My lips look a little raisin-y in that picture. Oh, well! Hope you all enjoyed!

Turtle Beauty

FOTD: STOP! Hammer Lime.

What I Did This Weekend (Photoshoots, etc)

Another Mini Haul: Ulta!

New Darling Girl Collection (Darling Grrl and Valentine's Day) Swatches!

FOTD: Fiery Friday (also Hunger Games Inspired: Katniss)

Mini Drugstore Haul (with lip swatches!)

FOTD: Haven't We Done This?

National Protest SOPA Day - Are You Showing Support?

Flash Favorite: Femme Couture Lip Lusters

Green with Envy Weekly Showcase (using new 'Darling Grrl' products!)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow Review + Swatches

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow Swatches + Review

New Shades of Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks + Comparison

Since You Like to Troll My Blog, Come and Read This

Maybelline Illegal Length Mascara Review

Black Radiance Eye Appeal 8-Pan Palette Review + Swatches

FOTD/OOTD: Film Noir

FOTD: The Smörgåsboard

Hunger Games Inspired: Peeta

Inglot Eyeshadow Overview

And the winner of the e.l.f. giveaway is...

2011 Post Round-Up: My Most Popular Posts!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara Review

PINK

Current Hair (Ombre) and OOTD!

FOTD: Christmas!

My First Photoshoot - Pics from Behind the Scenes

Hunger Games Inspired: Rue

Hunger Games Inspired: Cinna

Top 10 Favorite Lipsticks!

Hunger Games Inspired: Effie Trinket

Kat Von D Angeles Palette Review + FOTD

A Darling Deer Christmas! (Swatches)

FOTD: Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Huge e.l.f. giveaway! *CLOSED*

FOTD/OOTD/NOTD: Deja Vu

Things I Want, Volume 1,000.

FOTD: Pulling Out The Dazzledusts

FOTD: Winter is Apparently Hiding

Reader Input Time! Help Me Choose Between 2 Dresses

FOTD: Feeling Blue

Callooh and Callay: Amazing Jewelry!

15 Questions Tag Video - with my husband!

Video Tutorial: Belle Inspired (Beauty and the Beast)

Sleek PPQ Me Myself and Eye Palette Review + FOTD (+ OOTD!)

Guest Post: Janna from Clever and Colorful

The Obligatory Halloween Post

Darling Girl: Diamond Dusts, Spectral Shifts and Rainbow Brite!

FOTD: Sugarpill Bit 'O Fail (and OOTD)

Meow Cosmetics Swatches + FOTD

Creating Burgundy Jeans: The Process

FOTD: Smokey Eyes, My Way

Photography Post: Recent Pictures

Depression Awareness Look for The Makeup Heroes

Guest Post: Flying Purple People Eater (With Kat Von D's True Love Palette)

Huge e.l.f. giveaway! CLOSED