I guess I need to make an update! Holoogram love and Glinda Urban Decay Palette!

I feel bad for neglecting to update this frequently. I mean, my last post was in November for crying out loud! :(

I haven't really done anything earth shattering since then. But I am working on my photo studio so I can actually have a nice place to take blog photos and videos soon! ;__; My amazing boyfriend graciously purchased some equipment for me for Christmas

I hope you all had wonderful Christmases if you celebrate it! ;) Here is a pic of our tree, with my BF decorating, hehe.



Click the Read More link to see some shiny new stuff...literally.



Shopping-wise I have somewhat given up on Modcloth. Well, not entirely. But I stopped ordering from them a lot, and now I usually just order from Nasty Gal. I had a bad experience with Dolls Kill, which I will post about hopefully sooner than later but basically they kept sending me broken shit in the mail, arrgh!

I have a new obsession with the holographic trend, though...I usually don't consider myself someone who really closely watches trends to begin with but I just noticed that I have a love for all things shiny and sparkly (JUST noticed? I think I may be lying to myself here a little, hehehe!) and I ended up getting a package from Nasty Gal the other day...



With THESE gems in it!


Holographic dress, tights, and purse! The purse is my absolute fave, material wise because of how beautiful it is but it's a little cheaply made. I have noticed that the Nasty Gal brand stuff is WAY nicer quality than other items, plus most all of the NG brand stuff is Made in the USA! Wooo.

Close up of the awesomeness of this purse:



I am lusting after the Jeffrey Campbell Brazen shoe too. I decided to get a pair, but all they have left are 9.5 so I might have to return them or try to put in a gel insert! I wish I had realized they had these for sale back in November before all the size 9's got wiped out! :(


Now, on to recent makeup purchases!


The Glinda palette. Let me tell you how much I adore this palette! I LOVE IT!!!! And zomg, iridescent shades. ILU, Urban Decay! ;)

Also I could not help but notice the fact that Urban Decay's Glinda pencil looks a hell of a lot like the Naked pencil! So I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of the two shades. See below:



Naked is on the LEFT and Glinda is on the RIGHT. Naked is more pinkish while Glinda is more peachy. It does bug me that I already have such a similar color but I wasn't about to drop 50 bucks just to get the Theodora palette's red pencil too! xD
I used the Glinda palette today and followed the guide with great results but I haven't taken a photo yet....hmmm.

That's all for now...more to come...honest!!

Fyrinnae Comparisons (Rapunzel Had Extensions) + LUSH Dynamic Bonus!

FYRINNAE! So maybe some of you have heard that they have finally released some pretty cool PRESSED eyeshadows, right?

Have you been wondering about any of the shades and what they look like compared to their potted, loose cousins?

Well I have! Specifically the "Rapunzel Had Extensions" color. It is by far my absolute favorite Fyrinnae shade. I decided to go ahead and buy one and compare it to the one I already have.

Also did a much needed comparison of their old Romantique lip lustre to their new one. There is a bit of a different. I confirmed with them that this was on purpose and not an accident in their lab, lol. Click below for comparisons! I also threw in LUSH's "Dynamic" face color just for funzies because it's also a pinkish gold color of awesomeness.

I should just retitle this post as "pinkish gold awesomeness." Hehehehe. ;)








Sorry for this ulta-gross close-up of my face (ew pores!) but I figured I'd show off the shadows. I am wearing both the loose and pressed version, one on each eye. Truth be told, I forgot which eye had which but that's OK... because they are effectively the same, I mean, I can't even tell which is which so that's testimony to the fact that when they pressed it, any additives did not change the formula. I don't think it should (adding dimethicone?) but I am also not a chemist, so yeah. @___@; but I just wanted to shed doubt if anyone had any that the pressed ones would differ in color from the old shadows. It DOES look a little different when swatched next to the loose pigment but once again, I think it has to do with what they added to the formula to make it stay put.






Please click on it to see full version of pic with text. :D Here are all of my swatches. I tried to get a good flash on this because the lighting in my bathroom was terrible Friday morning when I was getting ready for work. @__@; But yeah, you can clearly see the difference between their old and new lip lustres and you can see that the eyeshadows remain relatively the same here. Also LUSH swatch in just for fun! :)




The above is a swatch of LUSH's (newish) "Dynamic" pigment. I *think* they market this as an eyeliner but truth be told, I almost never use it as such.... I always use it as a BLUSH or highlighter, to be honest, or even as eyeshadow or lip color. I rarely use it to line my eyes because it's hard to get it all where it should go. It ends up becoming mascara for my bottom lashes if I try to use it as a bottom liner, and if I use it as a top, it's so liquidy that I need to use a hair dryer to seal and dry it else it turns into an eyeshadow when I blink and smudges. ;) This is why I hate liquid and creamy shadows/liners! It's a really gorgeous color, though and I am totally in love with it. It stays put all day as a blush but tends to smudge more and crease more as an eyeshadow unless you use primer. Hope this post was semi-useful! Sorry for my bad photograph as always. ;___;

Happy 4th of July!

Independence day for America....otherwise known as a day off from work for me. ;)

Didn't do too much today. Sad that my boyfriend has work tonight, though. Of course, leave it to the casino to schedule him tonight. Last night I brought him some homemade chocolate chip cookies with red white and blue sugar on top as a surprise! He shared them with the other poker dealers too, hehe so cute. ^^

I decided I'd post some swatches of the new Fyrinnae eyeshadows I got. The photos kinda suck though because it's really hard to get natural light in my photos in this crappy little apartment with south-facing windows. D:

Oh and I should also mention.... I BOUGHT A HOUSE! OMG. It's so exciting!

Here's a photo of the front:


Click here to see photos of the inside. The furniture isn't mine, it's the previous owner, and we're in the process of buying it from him right now, so he's moving his stuff out right now and we'll go furniture shopping for new things soon! ^___^ the garden is gonna be EPIC lemme tell ya! ;)


Click below for makeupy stuff. xD



Fyrinnae New Eyeshadows! I talked about them briefly in this post.

Aye, Captain, Space Kitty, Superstars, When I Grow Up, and Cupcake Frosting.

The jar of white stuff is "fluff" one of their face products. It's a setting powder.
Also I got the golden lip lustre called Isis. See swatches below. xD

And swatches:


OH MY GOD. I think these may be my new favorite eyeshadows from an Indie makeup company. SO gorgeous. The glittery bits in them aren't technically glitter, if I recall correctly, so now I am wondering wtf they actually are? My guess...is magical faerie dust! FO SHO.


I also tried Samples of this Kawaii Set from Shiro Cosmetics. I'd heard a lot of things about them but never really tried them before. It was $7.00 for the sample set plus shipping, I think. I will have to do an actual review sometime soon! LOL.


(WTF, Photobucket...I rotated the photo but it's still displaying vertically... *sigh* I give up, lol!)

Skin79 BB Cream Swatches

Purchased from eBay seller bigclothcraft for $16.90 including shipping. The auction came with both sets. Also came with some Skin79 BB Cleanser samples!

Click jump to see more!






As you can see this is what the sample sized tubes look like in their boxes.

I did a swatch of each one on my hand below, and the order that the swatches are in corresponds to the order the creams are swatched in.




For some reason even though I rotated the image, it is not cooperating with me. >_<;;
So from TOP to BOTTOM, the swatches correspond with the way I have lined up the bottles above.
The first swatch you see on top is corresponding to the GOLD tube (Super BB) and the bottom swatch corresponds to the SILVER tube (Diamond Pearl BB.)

Have I tried these on my face yet, I am sure is the next question? ;)

Well I have been slowly trying them and I think I have tried *almost* each cream. I actually used to have a tube of the pink Skin79 original BB Cream and I honestly did not like it that much. It had too much of a grey undertone.

Based on the swatch alone on my skin tone, I would say that the two pinkish tubes in the middle look the best on me. ("The Oriental" and "The Prestige.") But nothing about any of these gives me excitement. I did wear the pearl one the other day (silver tube) and I looked SO ridiculous in natural light. @___@; It looked like I had been sweating or had a really greasy/oily face because of all the shine the pearl gave me. I don't think shimmering pearl BB Creams or Foundations or even Tinted Moisturizers (Eyeko Glow Cream, I'm lookin' at you!) look that great on me, sadly. It just causes me to look sweaty, maybe I am using too much? LOL. I guess I could always MIX these BB Creams to get the best result but that's a little crazy, huh? Hehe.

All in all, I wouldn't bother purchasing again, since the point was to try small ones before getting a big one. I have some doubles now, of course, but I might give those to my friends or send them to people who read my blog if you are interested in trying them. Just pay the postage fee and I will send you a tube! ^_^


....Annnnd I leave you with a pic of my makeup from last night! xD Even though a shitty one...my camera and bedroom lighting were a lethal combo... ;___;



I was reading The Hunger Games all freaking day yesterday, practically, and so at night I somehow managed to put the book down and go out with my friends. I wore gyaru even though they aren't gyaru and didn't know what it was probably but hey whatever! It was fun though. :)

Jelly Pong Pong Reviews and Swatches Part I!

Greetings my wonderful readers!

A while ago you may have read about my experiences with Jelly Pong Pong, a British makeup brand. Well today I am going to do a more in depth review of some of their newer products/products I have yet to try!

So please click the Read More button to see photos and explanations. :D





http://www.jellypongpong.com/

Ordering: Ordering from their webstore is not super confusing however I will note the fact that a lot of their "Fabled Dreams and Beautiful Things" collection seems to be out of stock. BUMMER! (Including the Gourmet Lip Therapy which is a product I've been wanting to buy for ages now!)

What to order? I ALWAYS order gift sets from this brand. Why? It's a wayyy better deal than ordering a la carte. Trust me! I got four different gift sets in my order: Giddy With Love Giftset in L'Amour, BOTH of their Lavish Gift Bags, and their Petal Perfection Gift Set.

Major issue?: The biggest problem I had with Jelly Pong Pong is the fact that when I ordered from them, they somehow managed to screw up my order and send it to my BILLING address, not my SHIPPING address. They did not even offer a refund, unlike Lime Crime, who offered a full refund for the cost of shipping from my billing address to my shipping address. What gives, Jelly Pong Pong? In their e-mail to me, they stated it was "for security purposes"......and they didn't respond to any of my messages after that. Way to be flakes and not admit when you've cleared fucked up? Jeez. Maybe they don't give a damn about me because I'm not a UK customer? Either way I was pissed. I was just thankful I didn't pay $30 to have my order mailed to me, so I must say the shipping costs are affordable but it's still annoying!

Overall ordering experience: Since I've ordered from them once before and they shipped my order to the correct address that time, I'd like to believe this was just a fluke and won't happen if I order again...which probably won't be anytime soon mostly due to the exchange rate (ick!) plus the fact that I now own the major of their cosmetics line (!!) so unless they release new stuff... lololol. But their silly e-mail response trying to cover up a mistake really turns me off to them in terms of customer service. After reading some yelp.com reviews for their actual store in London, I've decided a bunch of snooty women work there. :/

So...LOOT pics! :D

Box O' Loot!


Loot lined up on my desk. (Ick my desk needs repainted...sorry!) :-S


And now some reviews! Since I got 12 Products in total, I will do roughly six in this post, and the rest in the next post! :x Only so many hours in the day, folks! :3


Product Review 1: Gourmet Lip Therapy

What is it?

According to their website:
"Real Liquorice: This age-old herb has anti-inflammatory properties for calming inflamed areas of the skin. Acting as a demulcent, it soothes & coats your lips as well as leaving behind a warm herbal flavour & cosy tingle.
Packaged in a secret recipe book, lovingly hand-bound in cloth & printed in gold.

Bonus : Formulated with active ingredients of Sweet Almond Oil, Peach Kernel Oil & Jojoba Oil to further protect & moisturize dry lips. Also contains UVA & UVB Filters"

Photos:

Swatch


Worn

The verdict?
*****/*****
5/5 Stars!

I really love this product. From the cute/clever/whimsical packaging to the wonderfully soothing formula. I am a fan!! It applies clear, though, which is kind of drab and not so great for layering but because it's supposed to be a restorative product, I use it before bed at night on clean lips....

The only thing that sort of disappointed me? I absolutely HATE licorice. And when I ordered this L'Amour giftset, I thought for sure I would be getting the MILK version b/c the little book they have pictured on the product page for the giftset is the yellow one. Maybe it's just random and I just happened to get unlucky and got stuck with the flavor I didn't want? Either way.... you can't really *taste* licorice or even really smell it...so I guess that's why I still <3 this product! The formula leaves my lip really soft the next day so no complaints. I am just sad that they no longer have these available for individual purchase. I'd e-mail them and ask but their customer service seems....MEH. lol.

Product Review 2: Gossamer

What is it?

According to their website:
"Gossamer is our unique froth-in-a-jar that has been formulated with incandescent lights to give a delicate, ethereal look to your complexion. Tap just below the brow bone to emphasise the eyes. Glide onto temples or cheeks to contour your features. Blend with your favourite cream blusher to give light to your skin. Apply on top of your daytime eye shadow to instantly transform it into a glistening evening look!

Bonus : Formulated with Vitamin E and 10 powerful plant extracts and waxes for the ultimate skin treat. Includes horse chestnut seed extract, sage leaf extract, nettle extract, chamomile flower extract , horsetail extract , coltsfoot leaf extract, rosemary leaf extract , lemon balm leaf extract , candelilla wax and carnauba wax."

Awesome. So. Photos!


Box
















The verdict?
***/*****
3/5 Stars


It goes on pretty smooth but, like most Jelly PP products, has this unfortunate greasy quality to it. =/ It's pretty sparkly but it's almost too yellowy. It does look pretty nice as a highlight but it's uber sparkly-ness almost sort of makes it look awfully unnatural. I am not wearing foundation now or else I would have uploaded a photo of me wearing it. I will do that later on, I swear! :P It's a nice product but nothing to write home about. I do appreciate the fact that it has all sorts of crazy herbal stuff in it to make my skin better. I am kinda dubious about how effective all of those bizarro ingredients are...but yeah...I'll take their word for it, lol. I may be more tempted to reach for this product due to the herbal benefits but I honestly prefer my UD highlighter/illuminator.



Product Review 3: Flower Cream

What is it?

According to their website:

"Let your cheeks blossom with our creamy cheek stain. It mimics your natural flush so you can look effortlessly healthy all day. Use fingers or a small sponge to gently glide onto the apples of your cheeks and blend till it’s dry. Alternatively, mix it with clear gloss and apply onto lips for a burst of fresh colour. “Pretty” is now in full bloom!

Bonus : Formulated with Vitamin E and 10 powerful plant extracts and waxes for the ultimate skin treat. Includes horse chestnut seed extract, sage leaf extract, nettle extract, chamomile flower extract , horsetail extract , coltsfoot leaf extract, rosemary leaf extract , lemon balm leaf extract , candelilla wax and carnauba wax."

Photos:

Box


















Worn


The verdict?
****/*****
3.5 / 5 Stars

At first this product freaked me out because of how greasy/slimy it appeared when I swatched it onto my hand. Then I rubbed it around a bit and smeared it, and it does sort of...stain! I guess that's what it's supposed to be anyway, a cheek stain. I actually prefer this much more to their Cheek Puff product because it doesn't seem to rub off too easily. I had to SCRUB to get it off my cheek! So points there. It is unscented and it's sort of an orange color. Perfect for spring. Love the little jar it comes in too...definitely a travel-sized product...!

Product Review 3: Pillow Pout

What is it?

According to their website:

"Coat your lips with Pillow Pout, a decadent buttery formulation that doubles as a powerful lip treatment.

Bonus : Includes a concoction of 8 plant-based extracts such as horse chestnut seed extract, sage leaf extract, nettle extract, chamomile flower extract , horsetail extract , coltsfoot leaf extract, rosemary leaf extract and lemon balm leaf extract."

Photos:


Box

















The verdict?

****/*****
4/5 Stars!

Not bad! I love the feeling of this gloss. Not too sticky and not too slimy either. Just right. Buttery, like they say. It also has the crazy witch's brew of concocted herbs in it like some of the other JPP products I've been reviewing. It smells AMAZING, and the color is SO beautiful! Perfect for spring and summer, it's sort of almost a neon pinkish red with some light sparkles. It's very nourishing and hydrating, but if the wind blows your hair, be prepare to have to remove it piece wise from your lips! The tube is sort of boring which I was surprised about considering this is JPP we're talking about here lol.

Product Review 4: Shoe Palette in Vertigo Stiletto

What is it?

According to their website:

"Dedicated to shoe fanatics, Shoe Palette is a quirky twist to the classic lip-and-eye kit. We love that it comes in 2 wearable combinations to be layered, and a mirror in silent testament to women on the go. This shoe-themed palette, printed with a witty poem, contains complimenting cream shadow, lip shimmer and heaps of glamour.

Bonus : Long-lasting product gives a luminous & brilliant finish, without the stickiness."

Photos:








Eyeshadow


Worn


Lipgloss


Worn


Swatches on hand


Lipgloss leakage through packaging.


The verdict?
**/*****
2/5 Stars

This product is very lacking in many ways. Yes the packaging is cute, but the formulas for the makeup inside are just...terrible. The eyeshadow is a shimmery bronze cream and it will NOT stay on your eye unless you have some type of primer on there first...and even then...it creases like mad! =( Sorry JPP...I am not a fan. The glossy is supposed to be not sticky...but it is sticky. And it LEAKS. It leaked all the way through the packaging even when it was still in the shrink wrap. I included a photo above of the leakage. Ick. =( I think they seriously need to reformulate this. It's not as terrible as I thought it would be though esp after reading other beauty bloggers' reviews of this palette so I gave it 2/5 instead of 1 or 0 stars. =(

Product Review 5: Wide Awake Palette (formerly called "Wakeup Makeup" palette)

What is it?

According to their website:

"An ingenious, portable kit that wakes you up and refreshes your entire complexion. Tap the Eye Brightener onto any dark circles you see, on brow bone & outer corner of eyes. Follow it up with Face Brightener, apply a small amount on your face & neck to invigorate dull complexions. Finally ensure your eyebrows are well-groomed with any of our 3 superior eyebrow shades, using tweezers & brow brush that we have included in the kit.

Bonus : The brighteners are infused with candelilla wax & beeswax to add moisture & suppleness to skin. The eyebrow shades are formulated with aloe vera to enable the powders to glide smoothly."

Photos:


Packaging














Swatches


Worn ....you can see creasing after I've only worn the shadow for about < 1 minute!! :(

The verdict?
**/*****
2.5/5 stars

I wanted to like this so hard. But unfortunately the cream shadows fall prey to the same unfortunate circumstances as the rest of the cream shadows I've used from JPP: they crease too easily! The colors are veryyy nice, yes! But sadly unless you're wearing some type of primer underneath, you won't have much luck. The palette comes with some tools which I found to be convenient yet not the best... the brow powder was a nice surprise b/c of how pigmented it was. I was not expected that at all! I also love the shades of brown. Not helpful if you have very light blonde hair or very dark black hair, or hell, even red hair...but yeah... I guess they still blend well/work for those hair colors. Sad that there is no brow setting wax but that's OK...I use my Too Faced brow box for that. (running low, tho!)
If the shadows weren't so crappy, this would have more stars IMHO.

That's all for now! Come back tomorrow for more reviews. :)