NOTD: Sparkly and "bling-y"?

Yesterday I originally had my nails painted with a duochrome teal polish (Icing nail polish in Peacock), with OPI Silver Shatter layered on my ring finger.  I actually really liked it but late last night I was bored and wanted something just... sparkly.  So around 1am, I took off the teal and gave myself this ultra bling-y manicure that is really unlike me, haha. 

I used an older limited edition Wed n Wild Craze nail polish in Shield, which is one of my most very favorite nail polishes.  I have a hard time wearing golds, but this is more of a cool bronze gold that has the right amount of shimmer and fine glitter (side note, I love love these kinds of shades underneath a black shatter!  So pretty!).  I so wish this was bigger than 0.34oz!  Or that it was part of the permanent WnW collection and not LE. >:(  Anyway, I topped it with the super glittery Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Disco Ball.  If you're looking for a clear nail polish packed with tons of regular glitter, def. get this! :)

Wet n Wild Shield, Sally Hansen Disco Ball

See the glitter?  I love it!

It was kind of hard to capture the blingyness (not a real word, ha) without the flash washing it out- unfortunately we're having the ugliest weather today with lots of rain and thunder!  But I hope you can still get an idea of how it looks!  This would definitely be better suited for a night out, but I don't really care. ;)

What's on your nails?  

Neutral EOTDs featuring Comfort Zone

So, Tuesday night my Macbook decided to give me problems- it wouldn't start up.  I tried going through the troubleshooting options on the Apple Support website but nothing worked.  Half of yesterday was spent calling Apple Support and then in the Apple store downtown, and finally the guys figured out it was my screen backlight that blew out.  Thankfully everything on my hard drive was fine but I still had to either pay $400 to fix it, or just get a new one.  I decided to get a new one- I had been moaning and groaning about the state of my Macbook for the last six months (I dropped it twice off my bed so the CD drive was dysfunctional, and the exterior was wearing off in several places), so this was the perfect excuse. ;)  Anyway, I was without a computer for a couple days but now I'm happily typing away on my new Macbook!  I've done pretty well lately with not spending money, so although I'll still have to scrimp and save for awhile, I think it's worth it.

Now that I have a computer to blog on again, I wanted to post up these EOTDs I've done using the new Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette.  This is seriously my new favorite, guys.  The colors go beautifully together (and really make my green eyes pop!), and there are many different options with the 8 pans.  I knew I would probably love this one, but I didn't realize how much until I used it myself!  I also used the my two Victoria's Secret eyeliners and same mascara for all of these, as noted below the pictures.

Comfort Zone palette for reference:

-Browbone olive/taupe shade all over lid and into crease

-Browbone shimmery cream shade for highlight and inner corners

-Definer duochrome reddish brown/green shade in outer crease

-Crease deep shimmery olive shade smudged on top of eyeliner along upper lash line and outer lower lash line

-Eyelid grassy green shade on lower lash line

-Victoria's Secret eyeliner in Dark Forest 

-L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen mascara in Black

All eyeshadows in look two are from the left side of the palette

-Eyelid shimmery copper shade all over lid and along lower lash line

-Browbone shimmery cream shade as highlight and inner corner

-Crease medium brown shade in crease and on lower lash line

-Definer dark shimmery brown shade on top of eyeliner on upper lash line to smudge

-Victoria's Secret eyeliner in Dark Brown 

-L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen mascara in Black

-Browbone olive/taupe shade on inner half of lid and into crease

-Browbone shimmery cream shade as highlight and inner corner

-Eyelid grassy green shade on outer half of lid

-Crease deep shimmery olive shade in crease and lower lash line

-Definer duochrome reddish brown/green shade in outer corner and lower lash line

-Victoria's Secret eyeliner in Dark Brown

-L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen mascara in Black

I love how you can do a smoky, nighttime eye AND a neutral, daytime eye- and different variations of each!  If you're a lover of wearable neutrals, I definitely recommend this palette.

Thanks for reading!

New! Wet n Wild 8-pan eyeshadow palette in Comfort Zone

I finally found the new Wet n Wild ColorIcon 8-pan eyeshadow palettes!  The Walgreens near haven't had them in stock yet (probably due to the fact that one of them is going out of business), but earlier I found myself in a different part of town and set out to find a Walgreens that did.  From all the swatches I've seen online of these, I knew I only wanted Comfort Zone, the green/brown neutral-toned palette.  So, since I'm sure you all have seen and read about these a million times now, I'll just cut to the chase.
(This isn't an official review, but more of just overall first impressions and comments.)

I was most excited for that strange taupe browbone shade, the two crease shades, and the duochrome definer shade (mostly to compare to MAC Club since I've heard talk about it being a potential dupe- it's not really, similar but not exact).  I was not let down!  They have beautiful pigmentation and the staying power is great, from what I can tell from swatches on my arm.  I have yet to fully test these, but they really are just as gorgeous as they look in the pan- both in swatches and on my eyes.  That definer shade is a real reddish-brown in swatches, but on my eyes the duochrome stands out more.  Very cool.  My favorite shade is probably the taupe browbone color (like I thought it would be!).  I have nothing like it in my collection.  I'm hoping to pair this with my MAC Retrospeck eyeshadow- a sparkly light gold.  

Swatches:

(In same order as palette, just on it's side)

The palette is $4.99 and you get a total of 0.3oz.  I only have two initial problems with it:

1) The packaging feels very, very cheap.  It's no different than the other Wet n Wild palettes, but maybe it's the bigger size that makes it different?  Otherwise it's just me.  At any rate, it's plastic, very light, and.... bleh.  I don't place a huge emphasis on packaging if the product is good, so this doesn't affect my opinion too much, but for others it could.  

2)  There isn't any variety in finishes.  One thing I love about the 6-pan eyeshadow palettes is that there are mattes and shimmers- this one only has shimmers.  It would have been nice to at least have one shade with a sheen, or just subtle shimmer, if matte wasn't an option.

Overall, I think the 8-pan palettes are another hit from Wet n Wild.  Although the other palette colors didn't appeal to me, if they suit you they're definitely worth a look.  I can't wait to see what else WnW has to offer this year!

Mini haul on a snowy day & first thoughts!

Today after work, I decided it was time to get myself over to Sephora (inside JCPenney) and use my $25 gift card.  That kind of 'ignited' the shopping bug inside of me, which led to a trip to both Walgreens.  I'm so pleased with the things I got and I hardly made a dent in my wallet!

I was pretty sure I wanted to buy UDPP with my Sephora gift card, but I didn't know what size/type.  I had severe hang-ups about the packaging of the original size (I've read negative review after negative review), so I was going to get the professional size.  What I didn't realize is how HUGE that thing really is!  So inconvenient for traveling, but I was ready to put up with it.  That is, until the SA asked if I was finding everything OK and told her my dilemma.  She showed me the original/sin duo (which I didn't think they'd have in store), and explained that the applicator is 'bent' to help with the awkward packaging (which I also had read in reviews but hearing it from the SA sold me apparently), so I grabbed it.  Two UDPPs, full size, for a little more than the price of one!  Well, $8 more to be exact; the duo is $26.  But with my gift card I only paid $2 and some change out of pocket.  I'm so pleased.

Next, I stopped by the fourth Walgreens I've been to in the last 2 days in search of the new Wet 'n' Wild products.  Success!  I knew what I wanted (Silent Treatment), and the only thing they didn't have in stock was all of the eyeliners (they had Olive and Purple, which I have already).  I got Silent Treatment eyeshadow trio, and Princess bronzer from the regular line.

These eyeshadows are soo buttery and pigmented!  To me, they feel even more so than the old trios.  Get this one, fellow neutral-lovers.  It's the most neutral of the new trios.

I had read good reviews about the Princess bronzer, and since I'm in need of a new bronzer (one that isn't too crazy shimmery), I figured I'd get it now while it's 50% off at Wags.  It's so pretty!

That is one 'heavy' swipe of my finger- this guy is pigmented!  But don't be alarmed, because he's gorgeous used with a light hand and blended in.

Stay tuned for some looks utilizing these products!  I'm especially excited to use the UDPPs- I tried out Sin using the Wet 'n' Wild trio, and I'm loving it so far (except blending was a little hard.  I don't know if it's the UD or WnW yet).

Thanks for reading!

A few recent purchases (makeup, skincare, fashion)

So, the plan was to do my 2010 favorites post this week.  The problem is I just realized that the majority of my makeup I left at school, and I won't be going back for another two weeks.  That one will have to wait a little while, I apologize, but I will get to it!  I know I've been enjoying reading everyone else's.  For now, I thought I'd do a quick post of a few new things I've gotten (And some much-needed!):

Makeup-

 

I've been REALLY frugal with buying makeup recently, because there are a few more "investment" type things I want and I can't justify buying makeup when I could be saving (Although I really want the new Too Faced Romantic eye palette- so pretty!).  

Victoria's Secret mineral pressed powder- I picked this up in the store last week when we marked a few things 75% off (usually beauty things go on sale a little before Semi-Annual sale starts).  Half of it is glittery and half is just a normal powder.  It's OK, but I'll probably just keep it for when I run out of my Bare Minerals mineral veil.  It's not very pigmented.  

Wet 'n' Wild Morbid nail polish- I picked this up on a whim at Walgreens.  It's so dark compared to what I usually wear!  But pretty, nonetheless.  

Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion- I've wanted this for the longest time!  I loved the way Lash Blast Volume worked for me, so this is a welcome addition to my makeup collection.  Expect a review shortly, as soon as I've had more time to play with it.

Skincare-

Aveeno Clear Complexion daily moisturizer- I got this at Target last weekend, and so far it's not anything amazing.  I'm going to keep it around for the spring, because for now I think I need something heavier (my skin gets so dry in the winter).

(Not pictured:) Aveeno Daily Moisturizing body lotion-  My dad has sworn up and down by this stuff for years, and finally I bought a bottle last week.  It's amazing!  I work out at night, and usually when I get to the gym I notice that my legs are on the dry side.  I applied this around 9am a few days ago, and when I went to the gym that night (around 8pm), my legs still looked moisturized.  I also love the smooth texture/how easy it sinks into my skin.  It's a little pricey at about $8 a bottle, but it's so worth it in my opinion. 

Fashion-

Victoria's Secret cotton t-shirt- Got this for $9.99 on sale yesterday during the Semi-Annual sale.  These are so soft and really flattering.  I got it mainly for sleeping/working out in.

Charlotte Russe tank tops- These were 2/$5 during their after-Christmas sale.  Score!  I really needed some more layering tops.

Forever 21 necklace and scarf- These were purchases made with a Discover gift card I got for Christmas.  The necklace is so girly and pretty, I love it!  And the scarf has this "destroyed" kind of look because of the frayed ends.

American Eagle coat- I needed a new winter coat so badly this season, and I saw this one a few months back when they first got it in stock but I worried it wouldn't be warm enough (it doesn't feel that heavy).  After looking for about three months with no luck (and having tried this one on again two more times), I decided to get it.  Here's the best part:  it was marked down on sale for $99, and then all redline items were an extra 30% off.  I only ended up paying $70 for it!  Awesome deal, especially when I was ready to fork over upwards of $200 for a good coat.  

The North Face hat- I also needed a warm hat, and I didn't want anything too out there or obnoxious-looking.  This was a little more than I wanted to pay ($30), but it has an inner lining around the ears that I know will be nice.  In Chicago I have to walk everywhere, so everyone wears hats, gloves, scarves, the works!

What have you guys purchased recently?  Anything with Christmas money or gift cards?  (Speaking of gift cards, I have to use up my Sephora one still.  I'm thinking of getting UDPP, but I'm unsure of which packaging to get.  I was thinking of seeing if my Sephora-which is inside a JCPenney- has the XL size, and if they do, I'll decide between that or just splurging on the Professional size.  I'm also not sure if I should get the original version or Eden.  I love that Eden conceals areas on the eye as well as primes.  Any thoughts?)

EOTD: Sparkly Peach, Grey, and Black

I finally have an EOTD that I'm (somewhat) satisfied with!  Enough to blog about, anyway.  I've been in such a makeup rut lately that it's almost pathetic.  I think it's time to start buying new products again, because I feel like I don't enjoy using anything I have anymore.  I also would like a good pencil brush- I think that would help me get my crease right.
Anyway, this is a slightly different version of a previous EOTD I did over the summer using the Wet 'n' Wild Greed palette.  I used a little more sparkle, and black eyeshadow as liner to intensify the focus on my eyes.

(Click to enlarge!)

Wet 'n' Wild Greed palette for reference:

What I used:

-Mac Impeccable Brow pencil in Taupe (brows- I actually filled them in today!)

-Almay Bright Eyes eye base (primer)

-Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush chubby eye stick in Glampagne (base)

-ELF mineral eyeshadow in Natural

-shimmery peach (inner lid), shimmery grey (crease), matte cream (browbone), matte black (liner) eyeshadows from WnW Greed

-shimmer cream eyeshadow from WnW Walking On Eggshells trio (browbone highlight and inner corners)

-Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express mascara in Black

Because I had this peach theme going on with my eyes, I decided to bring the party down to my cheeks! I dusted the bronzing shade from ELF Studio contouring blush/bronzing powder all over my cheeks/temples, and then used Jane Blushing Earth Sheer blush on the apples of my cheeks.  I love how glow-y it looks!  (Excuse the awkward facial expression I have, though)

That's it, guys.  Thanks for reading!  Have a great Monday.  <3

Review: Wet 'n' Wild Silk Finish lipstick in Dark Wine

Finally, I have a new review for you all today.  It feels like it's been forever and a day since I've done one of these, so I truly respect your patience and understanding.
I've been meaning to talk about this product for a long time.  I bought it probably a month ago now, when select Wet 'n' Wild lip products were randomly 50% off at my Walgreens.  I had been looking to try out a dark lip color for fall, so this seemed like the perfect chance (How can you say no to a $0.49 lipstick?).

Wet 'n' Wild Silk Finish lipstick in Dark Wine #522A

(My flash washed out the color a bit, I'm sorry!  The truer color is noticeable in the swatch)

Price: About $0.99 at Walgreens (They often have Wet 'n' Wild on sale, though, so you can easily score it for 50 cents like I did!)

Quality/formula: For being not even a dollar, these lipsticks are golden.  Now, I'm not too familiar with lipstick formulas and describing them, but this one is creamy and not overly drying.  It does dry down to almost a stain-like finish, though, which is great for people like me who dislike the feeling of product on their lips.  I totally forget I have lipstick on!  

The creaminess of this lipstick makes it easy to apply.  I get a good 3-4 hours of wear until the color begins to fade.  This is perfect for me, because usually by that time I've been eating and drinking.  When it starts to fade, it's not splotchy, either.  A little lip gloss on top would make it wearable without re-touching for another hour or so.

Color/finish: I'm adding in this category because I'm so particular about the color and finish of my lipsticks.  I typically stray far away from dark, even red colors, but this one was a cream finish so it seemed less intimidating.  This is a beautiful shade of red/berry.  A lot of the other colors in this line are really frosty or too brown looking, so I was pleasantly surprised when I swatched Dark Wine.

Unfortunately, there aren't many other cream finishes (From the looks of it anyway.  I could be wrong!). I don't do frosty lipstick, so this is a con for me.

Packaging: Lastly, the packaging.  Unfortunately this is where the cheap price is most obvious.  The container snaps shut just fine, which is good, but it just feels cheaply made and inexpensive.  However, this wouldn't bother me so much if the lipstick just screwed all the way down into the tube.  I hate when companies do this.  Look:

The Mega Last lipsticks do the same thing, it's so annoying!  But that's what you get for $0.50, so I don't hold it against Wet 'n' Wild too much.

Pros:

-Inexpensive, easily available

-Good formula

-Decent wear time

Cons:

-Poorly packaged

-Limited color/finish selection

I'm really impressed with this purchase.   I really didn't expect much coming out of it, but I'm happy I ended up trying this!  Do you own any of these lipsticks?  I'd love to hear if you like any of the other colors!  

Wet 'n' Wild LE Holiday Craze eyeshadow palettes (I FINALLY found them!)

Oh man you guys, I've been looking for these Wet 'n' Wild Color Icon palettes ever since the very first pictures went around (When there was word they were only at Meijer grocery stores- which are in my area but not close enough for me to access).  Ever since then, my sole purpose of going to Walgreens and CVS was to find them!  They were part of the only LE display I was really interested in.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw the WnW 'Holiday Craze' display at my local Walgreens this afternoon.  These two palettes, Snow Sprite and Sugar Plum Fairy, were the only ones left- and conveniently the ones I wanted most.
I took a picture of the barren display.  Hopefully you can see these two sitting by their lonesome:

But anyway, here are a few pictures/swatches for you to refer to incase you've been searching high and low like I have.

Left: Sugar Plum Fairy, Right: Snow Sprite

They all come with a matching Color Icon eyeliner (I have the full-sized purple one- these seem to be the same as the ones that were 'released' this summer with a new formula and colors)

Sugar Plum Fairy:

Swatches: (far right is bottom row, middle is middle row, far left is top row)

The lighter colors didn't show up too well for me, especially the top right cream-colored shade.  It's almost identical to my skin tone.

Snow Sprite:

Swatches:

This palette showed up much nicer for me than Sugar Plum Fairy did.  They're both equally pretty, though!

Eyeliners: Purple, Silver

Have you guys seen these popping up around your area?  I'm interested to see the other two in person, even though from swatches I've seen online I don't know if I'm in love with the colors.  

Off to take a test now :/  Have a good evening!

My Birthday Makeup- Purples with Wet 'n' Wild

I just want to thank all of you so much for the kind birthday wishes again!  You're incredibly sweet and reading them has made my day even better.  It was pretty low-key, nothing too eventful, but for dinner 15 of my friends and I went out to dinner- definitely the most fun thing I did!  They're all people from my floor, so it was overall just a great time.
I also really appreciate all the ideas you guys had for me on how to do my makeup.  I loved the idea of doing something retro-inspired, but I don't know, I really fail at applying liquid/gel liner and I wanted to do something I could easily pull off.  So I went with a look I've actually done before, using my Wet 'n' Wild palette in Lust (You can see my original look using it HERE).

It was pretty dark especially for something I was planning to wear during the day as well as evening, but I think it worked out fine.

What I used:

- VS Pro eyeshadow primer

- Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow palette in Lust (I did the same application as I did in the original post I featured this in, link above)

- L'Oreal Bare Naturale mascara, L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen mascara on top

It's awesome that a 6-color eyeshadow palette can serve as your entire look!  I first applied the light matte pink as my all over color, then the shimmery cream as my highlight.  Then I applied the dark shimmery purple/gray in my outer crease.  Over that I applied the medium matte purple and blended it onto my lid. On top of those two, I lightly dusted the shimmery gray to add some sparkle.  With the dark matte purple I lined my upper and lower lash lines.  Finally, I went in my inner corners and applied the shimmery cream color, and then dusted the light matte pink over the entire eyelid to lighten up the colors a bit.

I have a small haul post coming soon.  :)  I went to ULTA today and saw that they have a TON of clearance/sale items- I purchased one thing, but I'm going back tomorrow with my $3.50/$10.00 coupon so I can buy more!  

Have a good night everyone.  <3

FOTD: Girly Pink and Purple

Happy Saturday, guys!  This is a look I did yesterday.  I actually ended up with red lips before heading out the door, but I wanted to do something a little more fun and "girly" since I haven't been experimenting with looks much.  I had a few errands to run yesterday, including stopping by the MAC counter several blocks north and testing out Viva Glam Gaga lipglass (I don't know why I didn't just buy it, don't ask)!  So this lip combination is tiding me over until I get myself back to the counter and purchase it.  I think it has a very similar, bubblegum-pink effect- something I don't normally love on myself but do at the moment.
Anyway, onto the pictures.  (FYI: I'm still getting used to the difference in lighting in my dorm, and these pictures reflect that.  Thanks for bearing with me!)

(LOL, weird angle)

Face:

- Maybelline Mineral Power powder foundation, light #2

- Revlon Colorstay blemish concealer, fair

- ELF Studio Golden bronzer 

- ELF Studio blush in Blushing Rose (my current favorite blush!)

Eyes:

- VS Pro eyeshadow primer

- ELF eyeshadow quad in Nouveau Neutrals, light champagne color all over lids and browbone, light brown color on outer crease

- ELF mineral eyeshadow in Royal (deep purple), used damp as eyeliner using EcoTools eyeliner brush

- L'Oreal Bare Naturale mascara in Black

Lips:

- EOS lip balm

- Wet 'n' Wild Mega Last lip color in Think Pink

- Revlon Super Lustrous lip gloss in Peach Petal

I've been doing some kind of purple on my eyes pretty much daily since I got here last week.  I love this ELF mineral eyeshadow for lining!

Thanks for reading, everyone- have a great day.  <3