are bad pics better than no pics?

So, I thought about it and decided--what the hell,  I'll post all my bad cell phone pics of the manis I've done over the past few months. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK. In addition to being shot by inferior equipment in inadequate lighting, these pics feature work that was never intended to see the light of day--that means there's all kinds of ragged, dry cuticles, sloppy application & little to no clean-up. Think you can stomach it?

Orly Pre-amp stamped with Konad special white. This was sometime in late December...

Zoya Fei Fei stamped with Wet N Wild Black Creme. Mid December, maybe??

Purple ruffle mani done with more purples than I can remember and a dotting tool. 

My New Year's nails. China Glaze Blonde Bombshell stamped with Wet n Wild black creme with some decals thrown in for good measure. 

Icicle nails! The baby blue base  is a new for 2013 New York Color polish (I can't remember the name for the life of me and I can't find the bottle--arrgh!). The icicles were done with a Kiss nail art striper and then I topped it with a subtle teal blue glitter polish by Confetti (which I also can't remember and can't find...doh!)

Wacky acid trip nails! I started by making a bullseye pattern with all the bright colors from the China Glaze Cirque de Soliel collection, then I stamped over all that crazyness with Konad Special white. Utterly headache-inducing!

More colors from China Glaze Cirque du Soliel (my husband got me the entire collection for Christmas--told ya he was awesome!!). This is a base of Hanging in the Balance, dotted with Def Defying. The smaller dots inside the bigger dots are Hanging in the Balance again, which ended up taking on a dark green hue over top of the chartreuse--unintended but I still liked it!

So that's just a little glimpse of what I've been up to nail-wise over the past few months & what I thought was unworthy of blogging about. Ugh I cry just looking at those poor dry cuticles!! ::::rubs Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle cream feverishly into fingertips:::: I promise, cuticles, as God as my witness, you shall never go thirsty again!!

some "Hooray I survived Sandy" swatch spam

WOOOHOOOO! Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you heard about Superstorm Sandy and how shizz for us east coasters was all like:

well, I am happy to say my family and I made it through the storm. We lost power for a while and saw some trees out back come down (NONE of which came down ON us, thankmyeverlovingod), but we're good now. So, in celebration of our new lease on life, and also because I desperately need to clean out my "to post" folder, howzabout a ton of pics of lots of awesome recently released polishes? You down? Ok sweet. Let 'er rip!

First up, lets all admire the gorgeousness that is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Twist of Lime, from the Fall 2012 Limited Edition Collection that started popping up about a month ago. This is 2 coats of Twist of Lime layered over 2 coats of Zoya Midori. On its own, this polish is really sheer so I definitely  recommend layering it and BELIEVE me, it is worth the layering. Freakin beau-dee-ful!! Gorgeous glass fleck yellow green that flashes either kelly green and gold depending on your angle of view. 

Next, we have another shade from the limited edition Diamond Strength collection. This one is called Blue Frosting and it is another multichromatic stunner. This one shifts from sky blue to lavender to a deeper purple and blue. I have2 coats of Blue Frosting layered over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Lacey Lilac. Like Twist of Lime, Blue Frosting is painfully sheer on its own and definitely needs underwear to bring out its true awesomeness.

Moving on we have YET ANOTHER limited edition Diamond Strength shade (yea, I admit, I bought the whole damn collection when I saw it). This one is Moonlit Dance--gorgeous gold-flashing orange glass fleck amazingness. This is 2 coats layered over Sinful Colors Courtney Orange.

Here's the 4th Diamond Strength shade I have to show you today (I haven't gotten a chance to try the others yet). This one is called All Aglow. This one lacks the color shift that the others have but it is still a beautiful glass fleck finish polish. This one requires no layering--this is 2 coats of All Aglow on its own. Oh Sally Hansen, why you do spoil us so?!

(nail decals courtesy of Kiss)

Here we have Nicole by OPI If the Blue Fits, which is from ANOTHER amazing fall collection--this one Target Exclusive. Beautiful sapphire blue and purple flecks in a navy blue base. I am seriously loving the ubiquitousness (not sure if that's a word or not--meh...) of this polish finish this season as it is one of my absolute favorites. I love the depth & multi-dimensional shimmer  it lends. This is 2 coats of If the Blue Fits on its own--seriously glossy even without topcoat!

 Lastly, we have Python from New York Color. This polish is from their limited edition fall 2012 Fashion Predator collection. This is the only polish in this post I am "meh" about. It's pretty enough--nice olive green glass fleck polish but I've seen it done better. Also, the formula on this one was thin and runny. I'm wearing 4 coats in the pic. C'mon, NYC, I know you are capable of better!

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed my spam. And hoping all east coast peeps are safe and haven't experienced too much Sandy-induced drama!!

2 recent FOTDs featuring my beloved Sleek iDivine palettes

It's been forever since I posted an FOTD--mostly because I haven't been wearing a whole lot of makeup lately. We all that cosmetics + intense heat = eyes like Tammy Faye Bakker on a crying jag, so I've been opting mostly for either a completely nekkid face or just mascara + lip balm. 

But my hunger for color got the best of me this weekend and I busted out my Sleek i-Divine palettes and went to town. This is what happens when I go on a DVR RuPaul's Drag U viewing binge. I am absolutely endlessly inspired by drag queens, their astounding makeup wizardry & their ability to use color, contour, light, shadow--and of course glitter--to whip up a wholly different persona for themselves to inhabit. Oh if I only had those kinds of skills...

Saturday's Look:

                                          

                                          

                                                  

~~PRODUCTS USED~~

Face:

E.L.F. Translucent Mattifying powder

E.L.F. HD powder

NYC Color Wheel Allover Bronze Glow

NYC Color Wheel Pink Cheek Glow

E.L.F. Golden Bronzer (as highlight)

Eyes:

Garnier Anti-Dark Circle eye roller

NYX HD eyeshadow base

Sleek Curacao i-Divine palette 

Sleek Ultra Matte Vol 1 i-Divine palette

Maybelline Lasting Drama gel liner

Wet N Wild ColorIcon shadow single in Panther

Jordana Extreme Volumizing Mascara

Wet N Wild Acapulco Glow bronzer (to blend out shadow and highlight browbone)

NYC brow kit

Lips:

L'Oreal Colour Riche Audacious Amazon lipstick (from last year's Project Runway LE collection)

 Sunday's Look:

~~PRODUCTS USED~~

Face:

Physicians Formula Healthy Wear Powder foundation in Translucent Light

E.L.F. HD Powder

NYC Colorwheel in Pink Cheek Glow

NYC Colorwheel in Allover Bronze Glow

Wet N Wild Bronzer as highlight

Eyes:

Garnier Anti-dark circle eye roller

NYX HD eyeshadow base

Sleek Curacao & Ultra Matte Vol 2 i-Divine Palettes

Wet N Wild ColorIcon shadow single in Panther

Jordana Extreme Volumizing mascara

NYC brow kit

Lips:

L'Oreal Colour Riche Audacious Amazon

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Decadent

Who are your glam idols & makeup inspirations?

NYC Haunted and Enchanted polishes for Halloween 2012 swatches and review

If you saw my post from yesterday, you know I came across a plethora of brand new Halloween makeup displays at Rite Aid. The New York Color display had some intriguing polishes that I of course snatched up right away & I couldn't wait to try them. 

On the left is Haunted and on the right is Enchanted. Haunted is a black jelly polish with gold hex glitters. Enchanted has the same glitters but in a shimmery white base. 

Click to enlarge. All swatches taken in outdoor sun.

Ok, lets start with Enchanted.

I had such high hopes for this polish. You don't see too many white polishes with glitter in them in the drugstores. When I was in Rite Aid under those whacko flourescent lights, I couldn't tell what kind of base polish I was dealing with. My hopes were that it was some kind of white jelly polish because a white jelly polish with awesome gold hexes suspended in it would be EPIC. 

Alas, when I got home and swatched Enchanted, though, there was no jellyness in sight. Nope. Just a frosted white mess...nasty and dated and brush-strokey (my photos above are actually being very kind to this polish. In real life, every stroke of every brush hair is apparent). And the glitter? Well it gets smothered by the frosted white base and the under layers of glitter end up looking less like glitter and more like bubbles and bumps. Yuck. As far as opacity goes, at 3 coats, there is still some visible nail line. Double yuck.

Haunted had its own set of issues. I actually really love the final look of the polish. The sparse gold glitters against the black background remind me of the starry night sky my boys and I have been spending so much time exploring lately.  Formula-wise, though, Haunted is very problematic. It's thick and it has major dragging and balding issues. You have to wait until each coat is fully dry before you can proceed with the next. Otherwise, you're gonna end up with a streaky, draggy nasty mess. Also, you have to be careful with how you lay down your strokes so the glitters don't get completely eaten up by the black base. Despite the polish's thickness, it still took 3 coats to reach full opacity and it needed a generous coat of Seche Vite to get it completely even. 

So my final verdict on these polishes? They're a nail fail unfortunately. If they weren't so cheap ($1.99 each and I got them on a BOGO 50% off), I'd take them back to the store. I guess I'll keep Haunted because I MIGHT wear it again one day;  it looks like it might be an interesting base for galaxy nails. But Enchanted is definitely destined for another home. Oh NYC, WHY couldn't you make that frosted white base a jelly base instead??

Products I'm currently obsessed with

I have made some awesome discoveries of new-to-me products in the past few months that I've been wanting to tell y'all about, so I thought I'd put together one of those "stuff I'm currently obsessed with" posts. In this post, I'll be gushing about:

• Bodycology's new Wild Poppy body product collection. ($3.69 per product at Walmart)
• New York Color's Color Wheel powder mosaics in Pink Cheek Glow and Allover Bronze Glow ($3.99-$4.99--at Walmart, Target, CVS & Rite Aid)
• Ecotools Finishing Kabuki brush ($6.00 at Walgreens)
• Real Colors Hydra Lips Waterproof Gel Lip Liner in  Pinup Pink ($5.00 at Sally Beauty Supply)
• Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Blackest Black ($7.00-$10.00 at Walmart, Walgreens, Target, CVS, Rite Aid....)

Ok, so lets get this show on the road.

Bodycology Wild Poppy Fragrance Mist

First up, Bodycology's new Wild Poppy body stuff. I have the fragrance photographed here because it is the fragrance I fell in love with first and that led me to buy the matching lotion and body wash and they are all awesome! I just happened upon this stuff one day while I was wasting money time in Walmart. I'm not usually one for smells. My signature fragrance for years has been Victoria's Secret Pink and I've been quite happy with that. But  I saw this and thought "hey I dig poppies" so I gave it a  sniff and--omg--LOVE! The bottle says "fresh scents of jasmine and rose transport you to a flower field on a spring day." Ok, I don't know why they site jasmine and rose scents for a fragrance called "poppy" but the rest is true! The scent is fresh and clean and bright and it has an energizing effect. It is precisely the kind of scent I go for (I hate anything too heavy or musky or spicy)!

Like I mentioned, I've been using the body wash and the lotion too and have been loving them as well.  Their scents are identical, the body wash lathers well and doesn't over-dry and the lotion is nice and creamy and sinks into the skin without leaving any nasty greasy feeling behind. And the price point is the best part of this stuff--a little over $3 for each product! Hooray for cheap, aromatherapeutic pampering! 

New York Color Color Wheel Powder Mosaics

All Over Bronze Glow

Pink Cheek Glow

(swatches of all makeup products at bottom of post)

Moving onto NYC's Color Wheels. OMG, how did I not discover these sooner??  Thanks be to CVS for printing me out an Xtra Care NYC coupon one day, because that is what sent me foraging for a new NYC product to try (don't you just love when you spend money JUST so you can use a coupon. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of saving??). I got the All Over Bronze Glow first and then later came back for the Pink Cheek Glow because I loved the bronzer so much. 

All Over Bronze Glow gives a gorgeous subtle sun-kissed look and it is NOT orangey and NOT full of crazy sparkles. It is nicely pigmented but not so overly pigmented that you end up with streaks on your face when you apply it and it blends out beautifully.

Pink Cheek Glow is a gorgeous warm peachy pink color--once again, no sparkles--just a pretty flush of color that brightens up your face. Pigmentation is nice and buildable and again the blendability is amazing. Both powders have a nice texture--fine-milled, not too chalky and not a ton of fall-out. I love when cheapie drugstore brands surprise me with their quality like this!

Ecotools Finishing Kabuki Brush

And what brush do I recommend for application of those awesome NYC Color Wheel powder mosaics?? Well, the Ecotools finishing kabuki brush of course! I thought I pretty much owned every Ecotools brush ever made but one day I spotted this in Walgreens and Ninja grabby hands commenced. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ecotools brushes--each and every one of them. You are simply not going to find better, more well-made brushes at any price point in my opinion. They never shed, the hairs are cruelty free and lush but not too soft as to be totally ineffective and they're green AND cheap--what more can you ask for??

Though this brush is called a 'finishing kabuki,' I use it for blushes and bronzers. The sparser duo-fiber hairs pick up and apply color in a nice, soft, diffused way, leaving the skin looking subtly sunkissed or flushed and NOT over-painted or streaked with color. 

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner

Maybelline Eye Studio gel liner,  I apologize for leaving you out of my list of holy grail eye products for so long! I grabbed this liner one day when I was on my way out of town and realized I forgot my FORMER holy grail E.L.F. Studio cream liner. Let me just say this stuff BLOWS the E.L.F. liner out of the water. Pitch black, smooth, doesn't flake, doesn't transfer, hasn't dried out on me yet and even the little brush it comes with (pictured above) is good! I tend to consider "included" brushes garbage because they usually suck but this one has a nice point and you can get a good fine line or a thicker line depending on how you hold it. It makes the cat eye liner  look a cinch!

The one thing I have to say about this liner is DO NOT buy it in CVS or Walgreens. It is nearly $10.00 there. Buy it at Target or Walmart where it is nearly $4 cheaper!

Real Colors Hydra Lips Waterproof Gel Lip Liner

And we have come to the final product I've chosen to rave about today. What is this you ask? THIS is a TRUE hot pink lip liner--gasp! True bright pink lip liners are SO hard to come by--whether you are shopping high end or drugstore. I know NYX makes a few but I don't have easy access to NYX since NOBODY anywhere near me carries their products (sob!!). So one day, I was in Sally Beauty Supply checking out their makeup (they have some seriously under-rated makeup products in that store) and this little gem caught my eye. I was a little wary because it had the word 'gel' in it and I was afraid it would be too soft. I actually LIKE my lip liners slightly dry with just a touch of 'tug' to them. If they are too wet, then they're really nothing more than a seriously anorexic lipstick & they defeat the purpose of a lipliner, which is to define the lips and help lipstick last and stay put (read NO FEATHERING) by giving it a slightly sticky base to cling to. 

But this stuff is NOT just a lipstick masquerading as a pencil. It has a great consistency, it lasts, it keeps my lipstick from wearing off and feathering (I have always had issues with feathering even when I was a teenager...damn wrinkly ass lips) and it is a bright, slightly cool & blue based pink that goes perfectly with all the fuschia lipcolors I love! Instant holy grail status for me!

Product Swatches

indoor, no flash

indoor, flash

outdoor natural light

the 2 round spots are top to bottom: NYC Color Wheel Pink Cheek Glow and All Over Bronze Glow

and I think it is obvious which is the lip liner and which is the eye liner ;) 

Well, thanks for sticking with me! Somehow these posts always end up WAY wordier than I ever expected them to be. I never did know when to shut up...

Oops I hauled again...

broke out my charge card/ got lots of polish/ ooh baby baby...

Ok, enough horrible reworkings of already horrible pop songs.

So, um, yea. I went out looking for 1 polish and this happened:

(click pics to enlarge)

What the WHAT? I was only intending to buy the NYC Golden Glam polish (center polish on bottom row) from their new limited edition 'Summer in the City' collection....

but then I also found the new Sinful shades I read about on Nouveau Cheap , Leap Flog, Rain Storm, Ocean Side and a few 'new to me' shades, Lavender and a stunning glass fleck blue shade called Ciao Bella (gorgeous AND the name is Italian so I HAD to have it), so those ended up in my basket too).

..And when I turned the corner, I squeeled aloud as I finally laid eyes on the Diamond Strength Jewel overcoat polishes I've been hunting down forever (what took you so long, local Rite Aid?)...

 As if that weren't enough, I turned yet another corner and POW! BAM! I found these AMAZE-BAWLS brand new Limited Edition Sally Hansen Insta-dris. Check these out:

This one is called Purple Haste and it's got this gorgeous violet and blue micro-glitter in it. There was NO WAY that wasn't coming home with me. 

And THIS amazing galaxy-in-a-bottle is called In a Flurry. It is this forest green polish with tons of multi-colored micro-glitters in it. I spot blue, green, gold, purple...every time I look at it, I see another color. Oh hell to the yea....

I also swung by 5 Below and nabbed a few of the ever-present Funky Fingers neon crackles (aka, Color Club neon crackles but in a different shaped bottle and for a much cheaper price--thanks be to their parent company, Forsythe. I love when polish companies manufacture cheapie labels for cheapie stores and just re-use the same shades they market under their more expensive label. I guess they think we won't notice. They clearly underestimate the observational prowess of all the polish-hoarders out there...)...I didn't realize I wanted those crackles until I saw somebody post pics of them on an online polish message board. After that, they suddenly HAD to be mine.

Oh yea, I can't end this post without showing this off:

Pink lipstick-shaped lamp?!?!? I nearly fainted today in the middle of Target when I saw this...but then I collected myself and ninja grabby-handed that baby off the shelf, actively fighting the urge to say "my pweeeeciouuus" outloud as I snatched it up. It looks perfectly at home next to my light-up magnifying mirror. Yay for matching chrome finishes! Now if they only made a nail-polish shaped lamp to go with it, my life would be complete... 

Expect lots of pretties to drool over in the future!

Any recent hauls of shame you need to confess?