Is it too early for July 4th Nails?

Well, I'll not be updating for the 4 day weekend and wanted to show you guys my weak attempt at nail art. I'm not very good at it, which is why I don't do much of it. But to help get into the spirit of Independence Day, I tried to do something more creative than I normally would have.

I present to you, red, white and blue stars. Tadaaaa!

Yeah, so that's it from me for today! Please have a safe and wonderful weekend and I'll see you guys next week!

Epic Winning and Ulta Exclusives Shimmer Into Summer

Today I have a bit of a peek at the OPI Ulta Exclusives for the Summer collection, Shimmer Into Summer. I say peek, because I didn't buy them all. I only bought one of the 4.

I do however, have some craptacular cell phone pics for you! So let's start with that :)

The Display

My thoughts: While I do think they're very pretty, they look very familiar to me. Sort of like a Deja Vu of the Nicole by OPI Gossip Girl collection. Am I right??? Now, I actually skipped on all of the Gossip Girl collection because I only wanted Too Rich For You and it was gone by the time I got to my Ulta.

So this was sort of a chance for me to get it, in OPI bottle form. Now, are these exact dupes to the Gossip Girl collection? I honestly can't tell you yes or no with any certainty. But I think they're very similar if not the same.

So of course, I got 2 other things while there today. Here are some better pictures now of How You Blue-in? along with I Lily Love You and Essence Irreplaceable.

From L-R: I Lily Love You, Irreplaceable and How You Blue-in?

Quick comparison, the only thing I have similar to How You Blue-in in my stash is China Glaze's Blk-Bila-Bong. But they're not really that similar.

And look at how beautiful I Lily Love You is close up. You can click this to make it huge cause I didn't shrink it very much!
Last thing! My NOTD is Icing's Epic winning over American Apparel Hassid. I did 2 coats of the glitter over 1 coat of the black.

In the shade

Direct sunlight

Video! So you can see the holo and blue sparklies!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're all having a lovely evening!

So I'm being lazy today!

Why so lazy? Because I want to show you guys some stuff, to include the new Tarte for True Blood Palette. But I don't want to change the watermarks on the photos. So, I guess now you will know my super secret MUA username :p I hope you don't mind, I just know that if I don't post them with these watermarks, I probably won't get around to doing it.

The Tarte for True Blood palette, the Tokidoki Devil Girl palette and the free birthday gift :)



The card in the back of the palette inside the packaging is a booklet.

The Front

The inside has look ideas:

and the back has all the information:

This is the outside. I thought it would be drawn on, but it's actual eyelets with elasticy bands in between. It's pretty, actually!


When you open the drawer that says 'Open After Dark', there is an eyeliner, an eye primer and a mascara inside.

The eyeshadows:


With the plastic insert on top of them, you can see their names:


Now swatches. I took these in different lights without flash so that you can get a good idea of what they look like. I also swatched with a brush and without any primer. So this is on my bare arm! I'm NC40 for reference.

Lightbox
from L-R: The Light, Fairy, Dusk, Dawn


As you can see, The Light and Fairy are very very pale colors. You can barely see them on my skin. I think a good primer and they will be good to go on the eyes. They'd make nice highlight colors imo.

Dusk is a very light caramel brown color. Dawn is a pale gold color. It's very shimmery although it didn't translate well in my pictures.

Lightbox
from L-R: Werewolf, Waitress, Nocturnal, Charmer

Of these, Nocturnal is misspelled on my plastic insert, it's spelled 'Noctural'. LOL But it's probably the most unique color in the palette. It's packed with blue glitter and gorgeous.

Werewolf is a matte brown, Waitress is a very glittery, very golden light brown. It turned just plain gold on my skin. The texture on this reminds me of a soft MAC lustre. Not as chunky as say Honeylust or the old Kitschmas formula. I'm sure it'll look pretty foiled, but not too fond of it. Charmer is a pretty pinky peachy copper color. Very pretty and very shimmery as well.

Lightbox
from L-R: Glamour Me, Stake, Bayou, Telepath, The True Death

Of these, Stake is probably my favorite. It's a very pretty matte grey. Telepath sort of reminds me of UD Grifter. I got rid of it a few years ago so I can't compare, but from what I remember of Grifter, this makes me think of it. Very glittery, too. Bayou is a gorgeous gold color. Very smooth and the True Death is one of the most pigmented pressed silver eyeshadows I've ever swatched. Seriously. I couldn't believe how silver it looked on my skin when I first swatched it. It reminds me of the Kryolan Aquacolor Silver. The only difference being that this is dry and the Aquacolor had to be wet to be applied.

Lightbox
from L-R:The True Death, Immortal, Moss, Legend, "V"

Moss and "V" are the standouts in this group. Moss has to be my favorite color in this palette. I am a huge green fan, so I am biased. But this green is just so beautiful, I'd buy the palette again just for this. Immortal is just a black with silver glitter and Legend is a matte charcoaley black. Nothing too special.

Overall, despite the different finishes and textures in this palette, they all have a couple of things in common.

1.) They're highly pigmented.
2.) They're very powdery. I guess they're finely milled?

I can't really describe what I mean, but I can show you what I mean.


Lots of powder 'fall out' I guess you could call it. It accumulates around the brush and in the pan. I can imagine fall out would be a definite when applying these eyeshadows as there was tons of it while I was swatching. But overall, I like the palette. I'm happy with the color range. There are some colors I can't see myself using, but for the most part, this will be something I can use and enjoy.

Now, the Tokidoki Palette. I haven't swatched it yet. I just think it's the cutest thing!

Now, how about some swatches of MAC's Hocus Pocus? Jealousy Wakes? I guess so, since I'm being lazy and all! :p

Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus surrounded by Smoke & Diamonds, Copperplate, Surf USA and Groundcover.From L-R: Groundcover, Copperplate, Hocus Pocus, Smoke & Diamonds and R&R Nailed over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

Jealousy Wakes
(Haha, my LJ name! Now you know me everywhere :p)

This looks more blue in the pot than expected. This is the most color accurate photo.
It even swatches more blue than green. But on the eyes, it's more green :D

And last for the day, Make Up Store, anyone? I have none near me, but they do have free shipping on orders over $50! I phone ordered from the store in Colorado. It was awesome! The customer service was awesome and they shipped one day after I ordered! Can't really ask for anything else imo.

From L-R: Alma, Britta, Greta, Madeleine, Siw and the Aqua Fix base

Well, that is it from me for today! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the pics and swatches and have a great evening!