Lime Crime Lipstick in Countessa Fluorescent - Photos, Review, Swatches

Lime Crime has been on my radar for quite some time but did not join my happy collection family until, funnily enough, I saw it in person, in Jaipur, India, thanks to a lovely Canadian fellow traveller we met! (Incidentally, the last photo in this entry was taken by her!) Typically I'm over the moon for sleek, modern packaging, but I dissolved into a puddle of cooing goo once I laid eyes on the shiny unicorn design and the girly pink. Take a look at how adorable it is -

:3 The color I purchased is called Countessa Fluorescent, and it's a bright neon pink -

Super awesome, no?!? It's a bit brighter in real life as my camera seemed to dampen the color a tad, but hopefully you can tell how lovely it is nevertheless. Besides the amazing, pigmented hue, the formula on this is wonderfully creamy, soft, and hydrating! Countessa Fluorescent smells of vanilla, similar to the MAC scent. 

You can purchase Lime Crime lipstick and other products from the site. Lipsticks are $15.99 each. 

PS - I mentioned Jaipur earlier and I must say, it's one of my favorite cities ever. Great people, beautiful architecture, and perfect weather in winter. We were bummed when we had to leave, and I can't wait to go back <3

Elevation Polish Pic de Sotllo, Street Side NYC - Review, Photos, Swatches

First, a bad joke (you've been warned!) -

Q: Why was Bob Marley disappointed with the donuts in heaven?
A: The didn't have any jammin'!

Get it, jam in? Jammin'? 8D Oh dear... I told this joke at a meeting at work today and was met with reluctant chuckles, face palms, and a chorus of groans. It can't be helped, though; I like my humor as pun-y and lame as possible!

Moving on.. I'm still catching up on both blog stuff and silly life stuff, so thank goodness for a fairly old stock of photos that have been gathering dust on my hard drive! Today I have two lovely lacquers by Elevation Polish. Like the artist, I very much share a love of all things outdoor and rugged. In fact, I just got back from doing some trekking in the Himalayas -

So, I love the inspiration behind this line, as well as the natural, gorgeous color story. First I have Street Side, NYC, a mustard with very fine, subtle gold shimmer -

Are you ready for this next one? It's totally, utterly, completely amazing - Pic de Sotllo, a vibrant blue with a cool semi-matte finish -

sdfahfikk283ulkjgadsfsdjkg. Guys, I can't even. Pic de Sotllo is just too awesome! I love blues in general but this one takes the cake, I think. While I think NYC could do with a topcoat, I'm loving the slightly rubberized finish of Sotllo on its own. Not much else to say, really, other than to recommend that you run, dance, or prance over to the Elevation Polish site to get your paws on this gem!

Don't get me wrong, NYC is really pretty too - such a unique color for which I have no dupe, and it's a yellow that I think is suitable for many skin tones due to its touch of dustiness. I suspect a topcoat would bring the shimmer out a tad more.

The photos show two coats each. The formula was smooth, easy to work with, and pretty darn perfect. I can't wait to purchase more Elevation lacquers!

Elevation Polish is available online here for about $6 to $10.50 each.

Thanks for reading! Please follow me if you like! :)

Sugarpill Sweetheart Palette - Review, Photos, Swatches

I'm back from a looong vacation! Thanks for hanging in there with me :)

Picking up right where I left off, here is the last of my Sugarpill palettes, Sweetheart: 

The shades are Dollipop (hot pink), Afterparty (bright blue), Midori (vibrant green), and Tako (white). As you can tell, the quality, consistency, and pigmentation is (surprise, surprise), SUPERB.

As with all Sugarpill products I have reviewed thus far, I have absolutely no criticisms. Such a lovely brand with an equally lovely line. For a more detailed review, you can check out my Burning Heart palette post. You may also want to check out Heartbreaker!

Aren't these shades gorgeous? You can purchase Sweetheart and other palettes in Sugarpill's online shop for $34 each. For that price you get a very generous amount of high quality eyeshadow; you can't go wrong!

Sugarpill Cosmetics Heartbreaker Palette - Review, Photos, Swatches

Woo, I'm on a Sugarpill roll! Today I have another lovely 4-pan palette - Heartbreaker! After you see photos, I hope you realize why it's so hard to pick a favorite; they are all maximally fantastic and full of so much awesome it hurts. Even if you only have the budget for one, you can't possibly go wrong whatever you pick. Without further ado, here's Heartbreaker:

As with Burning Heart, the formula, pigmentation, texture, etc. are stellar. For a more detailed breakdown, you can check out my Burning Heart palette post. This palette and others are available from the online Sugarpill shop for $34 each. Gooo theeeere :D

Thanks so much for reading - I truly appreciate it! :)

Sugarpill Cosmetics Burning Heart Palette - Review, Photos, Swatches

Exhibit #273 that I'm losing my mind: as I was taking photos of today's product last week I started feeling an overwhelming sense of deja vu that I had photographed this palette already, and immediately began berating myself for my absent-mindedness. Well, it turns out I never actually did post this before (for shame!) so who knows what my brain was trying to tell me!. Anyway, today I am showing you the lovely, spectacular, stupendous, astonishing, wondrous (and many other positive adjectives) Sugarpill Burning Heart palette!

All swatches are over Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Look at how gloriously saturated and vibrant the colors are after just one pass of the brush!  The shades are beautiful and the texture of the shadows is soft with minimal fallout (much less than you would expect from such matte, bright hues). With primer they last all day while remaining fresh-looking. I've worn these in looks for a couple of my dance performances, and not only did the eyeshadows stand out under the bright lights, they withstood some serious sweat-age ;) 

The packaging is cute and sturdy, with a magnetic closure and a mirror on the top-side of the flap. The shadow pans are HUGE, so it's safe to say you are getting a mega-value for the price ($34). I highly, highly recommend this palette and can't say enough good things about Sugarpill and her products :) This palette and others are available from the Sugarpill Cosmetics online shop. Also, keep an eye out for the occasional sales!

What do you think? Do you love it or is it too much for you?

New Year's Eve Celebratory Manicure Ideas!

Today I have for you a few New Year's Eve nail ideas! Note that there are no reds or golds featured here; I know some of you ladies love those colors for ringing in the new year, and that's totally cool, but my interest in them fizzled after three or so weeks of Christmas manicures! The shades I gravitate to this time of year are silvers, blues, blacks, and, of course, glitter (which is definitely a color, in my highly esteemed opinion ;).

I'll start with a classic: a shiny silver foil. My favorite, pictured below, is Zoya's Trixie. This is a flashy silver that doesn't veer to 'blindingly bright', and will match most outfits well. Unfortunately, it freaks my camera out a bit, but hopefully you can still make out its beauty -

If Trixie on its own is lacking in shine for you, never fear! Here it is layered with various silver and holographic glitter topcoats:

Pointer to pinkie: OPI Save Me, KB Shimmer Ice Queen, Nail Pattern Boldness Tin Man, Color Club Platinum Record

And if Trixie is too flashy for you (perhaps it's overkill to an already flashy outfit), you can try overlaying the silver with a half-moon manicure using circular binder tape. Shown below is my most favorite, most pigmented, smoothest black, CND's Blackjack. One coat is sufficient for full coverage -

I love deep, vibrant blues, and New Year's Eve is a perfect time to wear them! I picked two from my collection which offered a bit of sparkle in addition to lovely, dark pigmentation. Feast your eyes on these beauts! If I did not love the enough already, the Dr. Who reference is a sure-fire way to steal my heart ;)

Pointer and ring: Nail Pattern Boldness Bigger on the Inside; Middle and pinkie: Revlon Sparkling Midnight  

Another great hue for NYE is a black lacquer with holographic glitter. Here is Zoya Storm, which is stupidly, stupendously gorgeous -

Lastly, you can try the simple but elegant glitter gradient manicure, offering just the right amount of bling for a night out. For the photos below, I used Hungry Asian's Mumbling over one coat of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu -

Of course, this barely scratches a tip of the endless possibilities for a fun New Year's manicure! How are you doing your nails on the 31st? Let me know so that I can live vicariously through you - my nails are currently on a self-imposed detox to repair and restore length, so no nail polish for me for a few weeks. (Sad, but necessary).

Thanks for reading, and I wish you all a happy, healthy, and fun New Year's!