Obligatory St. Patty's Day Green Look... and a UK Haul

I wore a green top too. Wanna know why? Because EVERY YEAR I forget that it's St. Patrick's Day and I end up wearing red or orange... and people think I'm color blind. So, I decided to wear said green top AND green eyeshadow and go "MWAHAHAHA, I REMEMBERED!"...

Anyway.

I did a slightly different version of this earlier in the week for going out one evening and got a lot of compliments, so I decided to spruce it up a little and here's how it came out:

FACE:
- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base
- Mac Studio Fix Powder in NC20
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light
- Rimmel Pink Rose blush

EYES:
- Inglot 59A eyeshadow
- Mac Juxt eyeshadow
- Mac Lucky Green eyeshadow
- WetnWild I Dream of Greenie Crease and Eyelid eyeshadow
- Ben Nye Ice eyeshadow
- Mac Sassy Grass eyeshadow
- Ulta Olive eyeliner
- Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender Mascara

LIPS:
- NYX round lipstick in Indian Pink
- Mac Springbean lipglass























































































Yep... sometimes I wear glasses...

Onto the haul! I wanted the new Sleek Primer Palette so I had Rachel grab me a few other bits too!





















I almost wish I hadn't asked for some of the stuff -- I did the request before buying my ticket to England in May ;-). Even so, this is probably my last real haul (from anywhere) until then anyway. I'm going to end up having a blog sale to help save up money for the trip and to be able to visit Paris while we're there!

Anyway, onto individual swatches:









































Left to right: MUA Eyeshadow Shade 7, MUA Eye Dust Shade 3 and 5.

Shade 7 is AMAZING. I saw it on some blog and realized I don't have a color like that... I'm excited to use it. Shade 3 is a bit lighter than expected but it would be a good all over lid wash for green looks! Shade 5 is a stunner -- it's a golden taupe that likes to go silver taupe in certain lights. Lovely.



































Left to right: Sleek blush in Scandelous, Barry M Lip Paint #121 (Pillar Box Red) and MUA Lipstick Shade 1.

Loooook at the bluuuuuush. Holy gee, it's pigmented. It turns more orange on the skin -- more akin to Nars Exhibit A which many other bloggers have said this is a dupe for. I don't know why I need a redorange blush, but I do. I'll give it a shot! ;-)
Pillar Box Red is a much needed addition to my teeny, pathetic red lipstick collection. I tend to go for darker, brick reds and this is bright and more orangey.
The MUA shade is SO pigmented. It takes no effort to get full color in one or two swipes! I don't have a red quite like this... even NYX Chaos is much lighter.




















Top to bottom: MUA Glitter Liner Shade 8 and 9, bottom is Collection 2000 Glitter Liner in Night Fever

No UK haul would be complete without glitter liners! I'm slightly obsessed at this point. Shade 8 would be perfect for St. Patty's Day and is quite unique: forest green glitter.
Shade 9 looked darker online but the kicker here is that this is a sky blue with iridescent purple glitter flashes throughout... seriously amazing! I tried to capture it on camera but I failed -- you'll just have to take my word for it.
Night Fever is a darker base with midnight blue and plum glitter throughout... again, lovely. I almost have all of these!

I never noticed that the MUA liners have hexagonal glitter... sweet o_o


















This is Mermaid and Aztec from Accessorize... I have one other of these polishes and they really are awesome! I can't believe the multi-tonal shifts in Aztec... online just didn't do it justice. Mermaid looks like a dupe for Zoya Charla... will have to test that in another post!

That's pretty much it for this post! I will be reviewing the Primer Palette when I've had time to properly test it out for you guys!

February Favorites and Random Rambling...

SO late... I recorded it at the end of February but then thought it was too long so I never loaded it to YouTube... Priscilla convinced me to so here you have it =P

Bright Lips #3 and #4!

Woooo! Continuing on! Sorry I've been AFK from Twitter and the blogging world, I've been really busy at work and having to do things in the evening, so just been so tired when I got home. My husband and I are looking for a place to rent at the moment, so we're out looking all the time.

FACE:
- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base
- CoverGirl NatureLuxe in Flax
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light
- NYX Desert Rose blush

EYES:
- Mac Expensive Pink e/s
- Mac Motif e/s
- Mac Trax e/s
- Mac Cranberry e/s
- Bronze WetnWild liner from Golden Goddess
- Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender Mascara

LIPS:
- WetnWild Mega Last Lipcolor in Stoplight Red
- e.l.f. Minty gloss in San Francisco
















































Today I returned to my old standby: purple lips. My eyes were looking so cruddy and tired today, sorry about that!

FACE:
- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base
- CoverGirl NatureLuxe in Flax
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light
- e.l.f. Candid Coral blush

EYES:
- NYX jumbo pencil in Milk
- Sleek Acid palette: Light and dark blues, charcoal grey, white
- Merle Norman navy eyeliner
- Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender mascara

LIPS:
- NYX Castle lipstick
- Milani Movie Star lipgloss

















































Are you enjoying this series? Want me to do more? Let me know!

Paranoia's a bitch, isn't it, Lela?

You guys know the Glittersniffer drama, I won't go into it here. Countless other bloggers have gone on about it and if you want more info, go to this website: http://glittersniffercomplaints.blogspot.com/

Lillian did a master post of links and an overall summation of the situation here: http://lillianfunnyface.blogspot.com/2011/03/glittersniffer-aka-most-disgusting.html

I wandered onto the Glittersniffer Cosmetics Facebook page, out of curiousity. I'll be open here... I follow Glittersniffer Complaints on Facebook. I'm not going to lie about it. It's an informational blog and the crap she's pulled deserves for her ass to be thrown in jail.

I noticed a customer having issues with getting their package and then asking why the company was under fire for it's products. She also said about people being allergic to some of the pigments and sort of defended Lela and the company. I sent her a private Facebook message, which I'm posting the entirety of below (removed her name, obviously) just as an "FYI" tool:

(click to make it full size)

















She sounded okay, right?

About 3 minutes later, THIS happens:

















Is she serious? You reported my Facebook? You've got some serious paranoia issues that you need to get sorted out, love. Maybe you shouldn't be running a business.

Go on, shut my Facebook down. BTW: I work for an attorney and can have your company shut down in a week. Try me.

EDIT 4:47PM: The following was posted:




















Someone requested that she be given my name so that she can block me. You know that Lela probably did this on her personal account. There is now a heated debate going on the Glittersniffer page regarding this. Screenshots to come.

Bright Lips Week #1 and #2

You'll have to excuse me for posting these back to back. I wanted to do daily posts but I forgot my SD card, blah blah blah... last thing before we get into this: seriously, excuse my eyebrows. I have misplaced my holy grail tweezers and I want to cry. I went back to Rite Aid to find a replacement and they no longer sell them. I will tear my room apart and find them... I swear! Until then, no eye closeups!

Robyn did a look on her blog with the Sleek Bohemian palette that I LOVED. I hadn't used a matte yellow in ages and was feeling tropical.

Maybelline Color Sensational is always awesome and this shade is no different. It takes a bit of layering but your lips won't feel goopy or weird after you do. It's like Mac's Vegas Volt but not quite so neon. I returned that lippie ages ago but I think I'd wear it now!

FACE:
- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base
- CoverGirl NatureLuxe in Flax
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light
- Mac blush in Breezy (to be reviewed... amazing!)

EYES:
- NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
- Inglot e/s #60A
- Mac e/s in Going Bananas
- Revlon e/s in Vintage Lace
- Mac e/s in Sassy Grass
- Mac e/s in Lucky Green
- Smashbox Limitless liner in Black
- Maybelline One by One mascara in Blackest Black

LIPS:
- Maybelline Color Sensational in Coral Crush
















































To prove how cheeky I was feeling, here's my outfit from that day:

























Cardigan: Target
Dress: H&M
Necklace: Lia Sophia
Belt: Target
Tights: Target
Shoes: Target

Okay so this outfit was sponsored by Target... no, just kidding! I didn't think the leopard print tights would work with the oxfords, but the rest of the outfit was simple enough that it did! I did get some strange looks in the elevator... but then again, I work in a ritzy office building containing some pretty big, snobby companies.

Today's look involved me wanting to use my new WetnWild Mega Last Lipstick. I wanted the one that looks like Mac Up The Amp, but somehow I ended up with this one, Sugar Plum Fairy. WTF? I have no idea what I did. I think I maybe looked at Ravin' Raisin (similar to Up the Amp) and grabbed this, which was in Ravin' Raisin's bin by accident. Either way, pretty color! Quite comfortable to wear as well. The shape of the lipstick isn't awesome though... I'm realizing I like pointed applicators in order to get a good lip shape. I had to use a brush and you can see I didn't do such a good job!

FACE:
- Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Base
- CoverGirl NatureLuxe in Flax
- Maybelline SuperStay Concealer in Cream
- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Light
- Rimmel Pink Rose blush

EYES:
- Inglot e/s #420P
- Inglot e/s #441P
- Inglot e/s #14AS
- MUA e/s Shade 9
- Lorac e/s in Rhapsody
- Prestige Total Intensity liner in Perfect Plum
- Maybelline One by One mascara in Blackest Black

LIPS:
- WetnWild Mega Last Lipstick in 908B (Sugar Plum Fairy)
- Estee Lauder Cherry Kiss lipgloss

New Shades of Milani Liquif'eye! (Review + Swatches)

Remember when Milani's Liquif'eye pencils came out and everyone was all "ooooh" and "aaaah" over them? Well, rightfully so! They are fantastic.

One of the only complaints was that there weren't enough colors. Milani has remedied that with an addition to their Liquif'eye line -- a dark blue, a purple and a green.

I spotted these at Walgreens and nabbed the purple and green, and while inspecting them at the checkout I realized that they were the retractable type. You may recall that the original Liquif'eyes were regular pencils. No issue, I was curious to see the difference, if any.

Prices:
Milani website: $5.49
Cherry Culture: $5.49
Walgreens (in store): $7.49

I got home and immediately noticed that the pencil Liquif'eyes were 0.04g while the retractable were 0.01g. I was a bit concerned until I dug through my stash and realized that all of my retractables are that weight. I'm assuming it's because you do lose some product when sharpening a pencil... but who knows. Either way, you get the same amount of product as you would any other retractable liner.

I eagerly opened the green liner and went to twist up... and nothing happened. I could hear a distinct click, click, click... but no product was rolling up. I twisted a few more times and finally product came up, but it was a large chunk that if placed against the eye, would break off. I figured I may have gotten a dud, so I tried the purple one. Same thing happened. The product was rolling up very unsmoothly and was lifting too much product to prevent any breakage.

I contacted customer service and got a response that said that these are propel pencils only.

... Wut?

Apparently I am uncultured in the makeup world and some companies make products that you can twist up, but not twist back down. I guess I wouldn't have too much of an issue with this except that these particular pencils do not twist up smoothly so you are forced to push up too much product. This will end in a huge waste down the road.

At some point, what I had twisted up of the green pencil had broken off. I said, okay, let me try this again. The part that was broken was about 1/2 of an inch worth of product... and no more would twist up. I checked my other push up liners and had easily 4x the amount of product than the Milani was trying to twist up.



















This is another retractable liner pushed out to full length... mind you this has been pretty heavily used:



















I've emailed customer service again, but I do not know what they will say. I have a feeling these liners are just bad. I'm pretty sure my green one is completely defective, as there has to be more product in there than what broke off of the top.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm making such a big deal out of this. Here's the thing: I paid $7.49 for my liners at Walgreens, and for $1.99 I could have bought an Essence brand liner from Ulta that is actually retractable. Even Ulta brand liners like this are fully retractable... and around $7.00 (and often on special, mind you, for 3 for 2 or whatnot... Milani is pretty much never on sale).

I just don't understand why Milani would drop the ball like this. To make matters worse, they have eyeliners that are retractable. What?? Why would you even make one of these and not have the ability to push it back down? It's just a huge waste, to me anyway. Unless mine actually are defective, which I doubt, these may as well just go in the trash can. I don't like the twisting action and I don't like that they couldn't pay a little extra for the retractable patent for these, as they've apparently done in the past! It's just stupid to me.

I'll stick to my Ulta and Essence liners, thanks.

Anyway, here are swatches:























The colors are quite nice, but I've had them for a few weeks and the tip was already dried out (they were kept capped, so that's not an issue). The cap doesn't seem very secure. To be honest, there are a lot of problems with this liner.






















This is after letting them "set" for about 30 seconds and then lightly running my finger over the top. They just don't have the staying power of their pencil counterparts! The pencils aren't even waterproof but are seriously long lasting.

Overall, a fail for me. I'm going to email these pics to Milani so that maybe their customer service can fix the issues: propel only, cap doesn't close securely, and lasting power.

... That's pretty much a completely redone liner, sigh.

Z Palette Review (Video)

Here you go!