Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Casual Eyes Custom Eye Enhancing Palette Photos

(Sent for review.)

Jordana 7" Eyeliner Pencils - Swatches and Review

Here's another Jordana item I've never tried before. It's their 7" Eyeliner Pencil. The have a pretty wide variety of eye pencils, but this is the biggest and the cheapest at only $1.29 each. But, is cheaper really better?


In this case, no. Cheaper is not better. Cheaper is very much not better.

Jordana's website makes these claims about the 7" Eyeliner Pencils:
• Rich, Dense Color Resists Fading
• Smudge-Proof
• Lines, Defines, Accentuates
• Smooth-Glide Formula
• Stays Put in All Weather
• Made In USA

Only one of those claims is true. Can you guess which one?

I don't have much else to say about these, so I'll just give a quick rundown.

What I liked:

• Low price.

What I didn't like:

• Terrible pigmentation.
• Hard, sharp pencils can really hurt the eyes.
• No color payoff.
• Severe tugging on the lid occurs when applying.
• Sticky, waxy formula once you have enough on your eye for the color to show up.
• Not blendable or smudgeable, very sticky and stiff feeling.
• Cheap wood barrel splinters and can harm eyes.
• Nearly impossible to use.

In all honesty, these are not good at all. They're unusable. I actually really irritated the skin on my arm from swatching these hard, sharp, scratchy, pigment-less pencils. I don't recommend them and despite the super low $1.29 price tag, I would not even pay that little amount for these.

If you're looking for an inexpensive drugstore eyeliner pencil, my favorite is the Milani Liquif'Eye line. They're soft and silky, never tug, are waterproof when dry, are super pigmented and absolutely a steal at $8. I know that $8 is much higher than $1.29, but those are truly worth every cent.


(These were sent to me for review.)

Layering with Nubar Polka Dots

Just playing around with the two Nubar Polka Dots topcoats.  I love them.

(Polka Dots were sent for review.)

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Swatches and Review

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Achiote

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Blushing Bride

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed

What I liked:

• The packaging matches the color of the product inside!  I love that.  The packaging also has a really pretty design.
• The blush is pigmented and long lasting.
• Easy to blend.
• Minimal shimmer (shimmer blushes don't always work on my skin).

What I didn't like:

• The colors oxidize after a very short while on my skin.  They're also not true to pan color when applied.
• The pans are magnetic (you can remove them to put them in your own palette), but mine are all loose and they spin and rattle.

I love Blushing Bride the most, but Exposed also works really well on my skin color.  They both look very natural.  Achiote is pretty but it's much brighter and more noticeable than the other two.  I like the Amazonian Clay blush formula a lot, I'd definitely buy more of these.

Eyeko Skinny Brush Long and Tall Mascara Pictures and Review

Mini review from my drafts folder while I'm finishing up holiday polish swatching...






What I liked:

• Gives excellent volume.
• Nice and dark.
• Comes in a squishy tube so you can get every last bit of mascara out.
• Feels soft on the lashes, not hard and chunky.
• Packaging is attractive.
• Comes with an Eyeko guitar pick!  Uh, I mean... mascara shield.

What I didn't like:

• Clumps my lashes together something fierce.  Lash comb is a must.
• Hard to remove; very thick and waxy and leaves dark circles under my eyes even after washing with facial cleanser and water.
• Price is high: $19.
• The guitar pick/mascara shield was difficult to use, I thought it was a neat touch but not as useful as I'd hoped. 

Available at Sephora.

(This was sent for review.)

Stila Online Warehouse Sale

Thought you might want to check this out!

Click on the photo or follow this link to shop.  I've done reviews of a few of the items that are on sale in case you wanted to see a swatch or two.

I'm back!

Yep.  I took off a little more time than I originally planned, but I think it was worth it.

It was an interesting vacation.  My original plans fell through (seriously, this always happens, why do I ever bother planning anything?) but there was an unexpected silver lining to it all.  On one hand I feel like it was a waste of a vacation since I don't feel any more rested or refreshed than I did before I left and I didn't end up going where I wanted to go, but on the other hand, the time off seemed to flip some sort of switch in my brain that turned my creativity back on.

I've been writing purely for my own enjoyment, working on some old projects that have been gathering dust for years, learning to play a couple instruments I've never tried playing before, creating and imagining, and I've even scratched a few things off my bucket list.

Want to hear something else crazy about my vacation?  I didn't wear nail polish for almost two weeks straight!  I know!  It wasn't intentional.  I started off with an awesome Color Club glitter on my nails, but that chipped off on the second day.  I put on another glitter which also chipped, and after that my nails stayed naked because I was just too absorbed with other activities to pick out another color.

So, yeah, I guess it was nice to take an extended amount of time off from my usual routine even if things didn't go as planned.  The creative mental shift was both unexpected and very welcome.  We'll see how long it lasts.

But, now I'm rambling.  No one wants to read that.  So.... here's this picture I took of a duck scratching itself.

I didn't work on any blog stuff at all during my break so I'm way behind on swatches.  I might just do a few posts with either just photos or photos plus very, very brief reviews so I can catch up.  And it goes without saying that my inbox is completely insane right now (even more than usual), so if you emailed me something urgent while I was gone, you might want to re-send it because I haven't been monitoring my inbox.  Sorry about that :(

Vacation!

I know I've been fairly absent for the past couple weeks, but starting today, I'm officially on my annual fall vacation.  I'll be back to blogging in a week or two, but for now I'm going to be relaxing and enjoying the rest of this surprisingly short autumn.

If you hate off-topic posts, please skip past this one!  The tl;dr is that I'm on vacation and I really freakin' love Halloween.

So... I didn't really get a chance to do any Halloween nails this year, but I still enjoyed the hell out of the rest of my Halloween traditions.  Carved pumpkins, had everyone over for dinner, listened to Type O Negative, had a sweet costume and even did a little bit of trick-or-treating (okay, so it was only three houses and they were all friends, but still... there was candy and doorbell ringing involved).

Did any of you do anything cool for Halloween?  I know it was last week, but I wasn't around to see what you were all up to then!  I'm positively dying to see what your costumes were.  Please, please, please send me a picture (linking to your blog in the comments is perfectly fine if you've posted your Halloween pics there!) of your costume and the pumpkins you carved!

This was my costume this year.  Not exactly how I wanted it to turn out, but really not bad for the tiny budget!  It gets the point across, right?  I think I'll have the same one next year, but I'll work on trying to make it better.  I think the goggles are all wrong, and the angle of the beak on the mask is off.  My nails were just boring plain black, but no one saw them anyway because I was wearing gloves the whole time.

And, of course, this year's pumpkins. Can't have Halloween without pumpkins! Mine's the second from the left.  I carve the same face every year.  My Dad pointed out that the eyes and the nose together look like the radiation symbol.  Sweet.

 

 (image credit)

 On another off-topic note (what, I'm on vacation, can't I take a vacation from being on-topic too?), did anyone else catch Hatch Fever this weekend?  I think I did.

I mean, sure, I miss The Jon, but I rather like what I've seen of Hatchworth so far.  Maybe I'm just reading the character completely the wrong way, but I love the whole innocent/evil thing he seems to have going on (like with the little "simple loveable robot" personality but with subtle 'off' comments ["I will burn this whole place down!"]).  Really looking forward to seeing more of the new robot.

Anyway, I'll be back soon.  Probably won't be checking my email or Twitter much while I'm gone, but I'll miss you all :)  ♥

Butter London Friends and Family Sale

OPI Euro Centrale Collection Spring/Summer 2013 Official Announcement

One more announcement from OPI: Spring 2013!

OPI Announces the Launch of Euro Centrale for Spring/Summer 2013

 Classic meets contemporary with Euro Centrale by OPI for Spring/Summer 2013. Celebrating a region where history meets modern design, the collection’s twelve new nail lacquers offer a mixture of glamorous metallic hues; playful bright shades in periwinkle, aqua and pink; and creamy blues in indigo, midnight and aubergine. 

“Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania make up an exciting new fashion hotspot,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director.  “When visiting these countries, you’ll view Gothic churches alongside vibrant graffiti murals, blending two very different aesthetics. This fusion of old and new was also seen in runway looks during New York Fashion Week, where classic styles were reinvented with modern silhouettes and patterns.

“Euro Centrale boasts a wide variety of shades, ranging from pale nude to deep blue – and featuring everything from shimmering copper to aqua in between!,” continues Weiss-Fischmann. “Whether you’re looking to spice up a black and white print, or add neutrality to a vivid brocade, these lacquers are designed to accessorize spring’s hottest looks.”

Euro Centrale by OPI includes the following shades:

 

Polka.com

Blue and violet are dancing partners in this glittery combo.

OPI…Eurso Euro

This deep blue cream is very continental.

 

Suzi’s Hungary AGAIN!

Thank goodness there are zero calories in this warm and yummy pink!

 

You’re Such a BudaPest

If I let you borrow this periwinkle-purple, will you go away?

Can’t Find My Czechbook

I hope you take credit, because I must have this aqua!

 

My Paprika is Hotter than Yours!

Get the extinguisher...this fiery red is sizzling!

Hands Off My Kielbasa!

Get your own...this bronzy tan is all mine!

OY–Another Polish Joke!

So this shimmery-gold walks into a bar...

A Woman’s Prague-ative

I’m changing this shimmery copper for...never mind!

Vant to Bite My Neck?

You know you want to...wear this deep eggplant.

I Saw…U Saw…We Saw…Warsaw

Be seen in this deep midnight blue.

My Vampire is Buff

Creamy, pale and nude...just how I like my vampires.

 

Euro Centrale Collection nail lacquer shades contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each includes OPI’s exclusive ProWide^™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

Euro Centrale by OPI will be available February 6, 2013, at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. 

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!