OPI Miss Universe Collection - Swatches, Photos, Review

Meh, I've been sitting on these for a while, hesitant to post because the photos were taken during what I call my "helpless camera neophyte" phase where I couldn't figure out why all my pictures were looking blurry and horrid (turns out I had the camera on an ultra-customized, sensitive setting. D'oh!)

That being said, it is with much trepidation (and near on shame) that I present you OPI's Miss Universe Mini Collection (and the reason I did not slate these polishes for photo-retaking is because I have SO much product I want to review, and time is regrettably short!).

L to R - Congeniality is My Middle Name, Swimsuit... Nailed it!, Crown Me Already!, It's My Year

I must say, this is a much more exciting OPI collection than I've seen in quite a while! After the dreary, monochromatic snoozefest that was the Road Trip USA release, this is a welcome departure into gorgeous shimmer, beautifully rich color, and smooth application formula. A win for OPI!

First, Congeniality is My Middle Name -

A berry rouge with a hint of sparkle (which my wonky camera settings didn't capture properly). A lovely red-with-a-twist, and the formula is buttery and wonderful.

It's My Year -

A medium purple with veins of warm gold shimmer running throughout. Stunning, shiny, and very cool. Love the texture and finish!

Swimsuit... Nailed It! -

Fantastic foiled bright cerulean. I have a hard time picking favorites here (all the lacquers are such stars!), but this may be it. Vibrant, bold, and so fun.

Crown Me Already -

On the nail this looks like an explosion of scrapped bits of silver! A nice party or NYE polish. The glitter is denser than I expected it to be, and opaqueness is achievable in just two coats (though I did three in the swatches above). Especially for a 'glitter polish', Crown Me Already is high quality and easy to work with. 

Did you watch this year's Miss Universe contest? I have to admit beauty pageants never really interested me, but these OPI polishes certainly do! :)

Wet n Wild Petal Pusher, Greed, and Pride Eye Palettes - Review, Swatches, Photos

I've been accumulating more and more Wet n Wild palettes, and think it's finally time to stop keeping them to myself and toss them into cyberspace, in one big photographic aspersion! All swatches are over primer.

Petal Pusher -

First Column, Top to Bottom

Second Column, Top to Bottom

Some goooorgeous purples and pinks here! The dark shades (crease and definer from the second column) are surprisingly lush and pigmented, and the only unusable shade was the browbone of the first column-- it's nearly nonexistant!

Greed (very appropriate for Halloween, no?)-

First Column (Top to Bottom), Second Column (Top to Bottom)

Again, lovely color payoff for every pan besides the upper right gray shimmer; it was quite difficult to remove product from the pan - very hard! 

Pride -

I clearly had a major brain lapse when swatching these. The order is the first and second color of the first and second columns, respectively, followed by the bottom two shades.

 This one is my favorite of the three! Don't you just adore the last metallic blue?? (I do!) And the shimmery grass green! The colors are fun, deep, and, with primer, long-lasting. So pretty, so pigmented. Price is a steal, too!

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was brimming with good food, good company, and a very enjoyable evening watching Don Quixote, one of my favorite ballets. But back to the grindstone...

L'Oreal Project Runway Collection Audacious Amazon's Pout, Night's Owl - Swatches, Review, Photos

Do you watch Project Runway?

I watched religiously from the very start, but for the last few seasons I found my interest waning. Design overload! (Or, maybe I simply don't have as much time as I used to...)

Nevertheless, when I heard L'Oreal was developing a new collection inspired by the show I was intrigued, and subsequently disappointed - the only products that piqued my interest were two of the nail polishes and Audacious Amazon's Pout (a lipstick). Since the drugstore was out of one of the lacquers (the Raven one), I took home Night's Owl. (And when I say "took home" I mean only after paying! Don't want to imply that I'm some crazy makeup criminal! D:)

Here's Audacious Amazon's Pout, a vibrant pink-red -

Such a lovely statement color. In my opinion it can be an everyday shade as long as you're not a wilting lily, shrinking violet, wallflower, or any other of the timorous angiospermae! The formula is incredibly smooth and glides on easily.

Now, the gem of the collection, Night's Owl -

Do you see how gorgeous this is?? Do you?!? (You probably do.) Ugh. UGH. So rustic, glowing, deep, shimmery, spectacular. Off the top of my head this is reminiscent of China Glaze's Wagon Trail, but I'll have to pull out the CG shade to do a proper comparison. Regardless, Night's Owl is going to get a lot of play on my nails this season!

That's it for tonight, guys. Thanks for reading and if you enjoy this blog, I would quite love for you to follow me! (No pressure, though ;)

BB Couture Saturday Night Fever - Swatches, Photos, Review

You know you need more sleep when...

1. In the morning, you squirt facial cleanser onto your brush instead of toothpaste.
2. You spend 15 minutes in the car garage looking for your vehicle, ready to report it stolen, before realizing you're on the wrong floor.
3. During a work seminar, where you're fighting to stay conscious, your head lolls for a second onto the shoulder of a stranger next to you. Mortifying! I can't even blame the speaker, who was world class, or a dull topic-- the subject was (roughly) gene transfer as immunotherapy for malignant melanomas. Quite interesting, but also requiring a bit of brainpower for the non-immunologist such as myself. Since my brain was already lagging about three seconds behind, I felt like I was on a tricycle trying to keep up with the fancy lamborghinis. x_o

Anyway, in an attempt to jar myself out of this hazy, lazy state of intellectual stagnancy (and to salvage this FAIL of a day), I'm providing you with some quick, drive-by swatches of one of my favorite nail polishes (yes, my self-imposed lacquer exile is over)! I have a hard time rating my collection, but this lovely is easily in the top 20. Here's the glorious Saturday Night Fever from BB Couture, a deep forest green with holographic glitter -

Yeah, the texture is a tad grainy... Rest assured that a swipe of top coat smoothes and evens out the finish.  My experience with BB Couture's formula has, on the whole, been excellent; opaque coverage is easy to tease out (two coats, occasionally three) and the lacquers are just the ideal consistency (neither too runny nor too thick). The price is, generally, reasonable ($10 for 0.5 oz) and quite good for the quality. The only thing I can find to complain about is availability - I wish the brand were easier to find offline!

Thanks for reading! :) Do you like BB Couture's polishes?

Chanel Lagons Eye Shadow Palette - Review, Swatches, Photos

Ah, those iconic double C's. Synonymous with elegance. Opulence. Luxury. Extravagance. Quality. ...Bankruptcy?

If no one has gone homeless on account of an insatiable desire for Chanel (Chanelomania?), I may become the first; you'll find me wandering outside aimlessly in orthopedic shoes, clutching the fashion house's palettes to my chest like a lifeline.

I can console myself in the fact that if my life does take that dramatic downward turn, it won't be for a while yet - this is my first experience with Chanel's eye palettes (not counting playing with my mother's collection as a child. Why would she let my clumsy, irreverent nine-year-old self do that?!) and it's enough of a splurge that I hemmed and hawed, left and came back, circled the counter like a hawk, and changed my mind about forty-six times before finally slapping down my credit card.

I came away with Lagons, a quad palette in lovely hues of blue.

I don't have a decisive favorite color (it changes on whim, with no real rhyme or reason), but currently I'm infatuated with all variations on blue!

Gorgeous! I desperately wanted to show you pristine pans, but as soon as I bought it I had to use it! :p

These were swatched over primer. I love how pigmented, soft, and classic these shades are - even for someone who doesn't utilize color often, I think you'll find these quite wearable and workable. Smooth and blendable, it's easy-peasy to do a complete eye using only this palette that will, with a base, last you beautifully all day. This is a Lagons look I posted previously -

(More info and products used here)

I don't regret this Chanel purchase, but it is definitely not to be repeated often (gotta save those pennies!). Lagons nevertheless has my wholehearted approval, especially if it fits within your budget or if you're looking to give yourself an extra special treat. Chanel's quality is nearly always tops :)

NYX Black Label Lipstick Swatches, Review - Poem, Citrine, Nude, Sweet Prawn, Sparkling Flamingo

How's everyone's Monday? Did you greet the start of the work or school week with a smile, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed? If yes, I am a lesser mortal than you; Mondays are always problematic and somehow still manage to catch me off guard, even though they have followed Sundays since at least the 6th century BC. (You'd think a couple of thousand years is enough for humans to adapt..)

To combat the Monday blues, I offer you some random NYX Black Label Lipsticks (as well as the one odd Diamond Sparkle Lipstick).

NYX is and always will be near and dear to my heart as one of the first brands I bought when I started experimenting with makeup but couldn't afford anything beyond the drugstore. These Black Label lipsticks are solid, dependable, and continue to get regular rotation in my makeup bag.

Poem -

Poem is one of my favorite lip colors ever -- such a perfect, vibrant-but-not-obnoxious Barbie pink.

Citrine -

Citrine is a bit of a muted orange-red. Ideal for a flirty summer's kiss :)

Nude -

Skin tone leaning slightly warm. Though you may not be able to discern from the photo Nude is a little patchy and quite slippery, refusing to dry down onto the lips. Weird! This is the only NYX lipstick with which I've had this problem.

Sweet Prawn -

Lovely coral. Another of my NYX favorites!

Sparkling Flamingo -

So shimmery! Even more glistening in person! I'm not big on these types of finishes but they do have their place, and this is a very pretty pink indeed.

The formula on all of these (excepting Nude) is nice, smooth, and not drying. I get about three hours of wear from the Black Labels, which is fine for the perpetual re-applier that I am. As far as I can tell Cherry Culture offers the best price - $5.25 for the Black Label and $4.50 for the Sparkling Diamond.

What are your favorite NYX products?

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow is Tuesday, which means we are slowly inching towards the weekend! ;)

Head2Toe Beauty Nail Polish Haul + Blue Eye Look

Disney can keep its silly little fairy castles with its silly little giant mice because as far as I'm concerned, the Head2ToeBeauty store has taken over reign as The Happiest Place on Earth!

Last weekend my BFF and I made the roughly hour-long trek to South Elgin, where H2T's brick-and-mortar showroom is located. The shop is in a small, unassuming strip mall, nearly lost among the surrounding assortment of asian markets and restaurants. Inside, however... it's nail polish nirvana! Prepare to be bombarded by shelf after shelf of glorious lacquer bottles, placed with no real rhyme or reason, organized in no discernible order. Part of the experience is sifting through the chaos until something catches your eye and, if you're looking for something particular, know that the owners are absolute MAGIC at finding what you're seeking.

Here's my final haul, and note that this is me exercising an ungodly amount of self-restraint -

:D Some more photos -

How gorgeous is Alias? Reminds me of the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of our closest neighboring galaxies at a mere 200,000 light years away! 8D

I can't wait to start trying some of these lacquers after my polish detox (gotta heal those nails :)!

In the meantime, here's a quick and easy blue look I did the other day primarily using Chanel's lovely Lagons palette -

List of products used --
-Too Faced Shadow Insurance
-All four colors of Chanel Lagons
-Armani Eyes to Kill Blast of Blue Eyeshadow
-Nyx Ultra Chic palette
-Buxom Insider Eyeliner in Pearl (lower waterline)
-Lancome Artliner Eyeliner in Noir
-Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara

Hope everyone is having a fun, relaxing weekend, and thanks for reading!