Make Up Store swatches

Make Up Store Charmaine. Two coats.

Make Up Store Kaja. Two coats. I love this one!

Sally Hansen Silver Lining over Kaja. One coat.

One coat of Icing Written In The Stars over Silver Lining.

Make Up Store Lava. Two coats over black.

Make Up Store Linnea. Two coats over black.

Make Up Store Sophie. Two coats over black.

MUS Madeleine and more color shifting pigment :)

Today's main objective was to swatch 2 things. Jan wanted me to make a video using the color shifting pigments. So I did one of them today over black, Copper Red to Green. I also used my other hand to show you another one of my untrieds, Make Up Store's Madeleine. I have to be honest, I'm loving both of these. I usually remove right after swatching and then put something else on, but as of right now, I'm still wearing both of these. I'm mesmerized by the pretty!

But enough chatter, let's start with Madeleine simply because there's less pictures. All of these were taken in direct sunlight without flash. I used 2 very thin coats of Madeleine over 1 thin coat of Make Up Store's Aqua Fix base (it really does make a lot of difference) and no topcoat. Just one picture as a teaser. I'm placing the rest behind a jump so that this post isn't hogging your dashboard :(

Reminders!!!

We all need reminders of stuff every now and then! So here's a post full of them!

Just a heads up, I know I didn't mention it before. But today expires a discount code for the new Lippmann polishes on the What She Buys website. Just to throw it out there, I am not affiliated with them in any way, shape or form. I get my Lippmanns (which aren't many) from them because they offer free shipping with no minimum, they don't charge tax outside of CA and their turn around time is super fast! Sometimes they ship the same day or next day after placing an order. Plus, they use USPS if it's small/light enough.

So please don't think I'm trying to shill anything here. The code ends tonight and I was told by the sales associate that it may not work for everyone. But I figured I'd post anyway since it's worth a shot, right? The code is newjuly2011 and is good for 15% off on the following polishes:

Get This Party Started Set
Billionaire
Brick House
Single Ladies
Stormy Weather

I ordered the Get This Party Started Set and the code worked just fine. But this is a pre-order of sorts as they don't have the product in stock yet. But they expect to have it and ship it out on or around the 23rd of this month.

Now, another reminder! Don't forget that on the 24th of this month (next Wednesday), all polishes from the Make Up Store in CO will be 40% off! If you haven't called to reserve your polishes yet, you should! I heard they've received over 8,000 orders in just one day! I myself have already ordered Siw, Aqua Fix Base Coat, Greta, Britta, Madeleine, Marcus and Paula! So take advantage of the low price while you can :D

You can read more info about how to contact them and where they're located, etc. on the post directly two below this one. Or you can just click here to go there!

And finally, my last reminder for the day. Please do not make the same mistake I do! When purchasing polish in person that is not sealed like the $OPIs are, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK TO SEE THAT THE NECK OF THE BOTTLE IS INTACT! If not before you leave the store, then before the store's refund/exchange policy is up!

Why do I remind you to do this? It's simple. About 4 weeks ago I purchased a few OPIs and never checked them or tried them on. Until just a few days ago. It was then that I noticed one bottle had a broken neck :( What the heck am I talking about, you may be asking? THIS! This is what I'm talking about:


As you can see, even where it's not broken, there's cracks. Which makes me think it's only a matter of time before it breaks more.

Of course, it's right there on the receipt, I had 14 days from the date of purchase to return or exchange any products and we're going on 40 days here. So, too late for anything :( My only plan of action now is to transfer this poor baby into an intact bottle.

Oh well. Learn from my mistake! Check it before it's too late....or, just try to remember, 'Check yourself before your wreck yourself' :p

Well, that's it from me for today. Next time I'll show you a couple of my latest frankens! I hope you're having a wonderful beginning of the week and I hope to see you later!

Good news at the Zoo!!!

We tried to surprise the kids with a fun thing to do before school starts for them. So we took them to the Zoo. Sadly the eldest is a bit of a sneak and he already knew from overhearing our conversation last night when he should have been asleep! So, it wasn't that much of a surprise when we pulled in at 9 this morning and they just couldn't wait to tell us they already knew. Next time we'll need to be sure they're really asleep before we discuss any Top Secret plans we have.

Either way, thinking about the Zoo animals made me remember a line my Dad used to ask me when I was little. Are Zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes?? As a kid, I always had the answers and I always told him with certainty that they were both. Some were black with white stripes and some were white with black stripes. Everyone's different and that rule applies to the animals. Of course, everything is so simple when you're a child. So I asked my kids today and they said it didn't matter, they're all the same. Not the answer I was looking for, but atleast they have their own minds, right?

So in honor of their answer, I decided to try something with crackle. I alternated colors on my nails with black and grey, then putting grey crackle over black and black crackle over grey. The result, well, here it is:

I used OPI's Black Shatter, OPI Black Onyx, China Glaze Recycle and China Glaze Cracked Concrete. Sorry it's a bit washed out, I used my phone for that picture and the flash is super powerful!

All in all, they don't look exactly the same to me. Especially hard for me since I can never get an even crackle effect. Plus, the colors weren't exact matches of grey. But still, I presented my hand to the kids and asked what color they were. I was a bit disappointed when they said they were all the same. Oh well. Here's a picture of the Zebras today!


Now on to the good news! I received a phone call while at the Zoo today, so I didn't answer cause I couldn't hear my phone over all the noise. But listening to the voicemail just made my day that much sweeter.

It was a call from Renee at the Make Up Store in Colorado. I placed an order with them a couple of months ago for some of their polishes. Just a recap, here's what I got from them:

From L-R: Alma, Britta, Greta, Madeleine, Siw and the Aqua Fix Base Coat.

And you can see when I used Siw on my underwater makeup look if you click here.

Well apparently, she called to notify me that on the 24th of this month their nail polishes will be 40% off. That's right, 40% off. So instead of $14 each, they'll be $8.40 a pop. Plus, it's free shipping over $50. Considering I loved their holo polishes and their aqua fix base coat for the holos, I am for sure planning to get another bottle of each of the holos, plus an aqua fix and a couple of others. You can google search their nail polishes for swatches on other blogs or you can just look at what they have to offer on their website.

If you'd be interested in placing an order, you can call ahead to see if they can hold the items for you or just call on the 24th and place the order, although there's no guarantee that the item you want may be in stock by then. Just in case you're interested, their info is as follows:

Phone #: (303) 708-0086

Located at the Park Meadows Mall
8425 Park Meadows Center Drive, Suite 105
Lone Tree, CO 80124

Please note, I am in no way affiliated with the Make Up Store. If you order, I don't receive any sort of compensation or free items or anything. Any items of theirs I have, I either purchased from them or were gifted in a swap. I am only trying to pass along the savings here! :D With that said, are you planning on getting anything? I plan to also get Marcus and Paula. Asun looked interesting but a bit boring in a swatch I saw online. Some of them look promising, so if I like their cremes, hopefully I'll venture some more into their other colors.

That's it from me for today. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you guys are doing well and have a great day!

What the flip?

ADVENTURE TIME!

Yes, I do watch cartoons. This is one of my favorites. Plus, lately I've been enjoying spending time with my boys as they watch me draw their favorite cartoon characters onto my nails! As promised yesterday, I finished my Adventure Time mani lastnight. Of course I could not get a good enough Princess Bubblegum or Lumpy Space Princess. I even tried Tree Trunks. I failed miserably. So I kept the 3 characters that came out decently imo. Finn, Lady Rainicorn and Jake.

A video in my lightbox

Underneath I alternated black layered with Ozotic Pro 506 and Makeup Store Linnea. Just in case you wanted to see those by themselves, I have a few pictures.

This is my first Ozotic Pro polish. I received it in a swap and now I'm thinking I need more. The multi-chrome effect is amazing! I just can't stop staring at my nails at different angles because it's so beautiful :) Too bad I don't have family in Australia, otherwise I'd be pestering them into sending me more all the time :p

Well that's it from me for today. Next my kids want me to do a Spongebob theme. After my epic failing sessions lastnight I honestly don't want to attempt to draw anymore characters. So I may just do a simple bikini bottom look. Who knows, I may even just do a regular non fancy, non artsy manicure. We shall see. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful evening!

Makeup Store Siw and some underwater fun!

Hello! Well today I finally gave into an idea I had a couple of weeks ago. I all of a sudden wanted to try to do an ocean themed mani. Of course I tried to resist as long as possible, because I truly suck at nail art. But today when I put on Siw, I thought, wow, this would be a perfect water/background color for fishie critters! So, on with it, right? Here is the AMAZINGness that is Siw with all it's linear blue holo hotness. This is 2 coats over the Aqua fix base coat, without any top coat!

Indoors with flash

Outdoors in direct sunlight without flash

An out of focus video. My camera seriously could not focus for this one. I tried zooming in and out and it was just too much awesome sauce for the power of my camera :p

Isn't that gorgeous?! So of course I chose this to be my canvas for an underwater theme. Please excuse my funky nail art. I know I need lots more practice, but I'm very artistically challenged. So, believe me when I say this was really, really good for me :p

In the shade without flash

In direct sunlight without flash

Video!

Just in case you're wondering what I used for everything else. Here it is:

Rainbow's End (Nic's Stick) for the sand
OPI Hot & Spicy with OPI DS Treasure for the orange fish
American Apparel Peacock with Zoya Ivanka for the sea weed
American Apparel Peacock with Orly Halley's Comet for the green fish
American Apparel Peacock for the Octopus
American Apparel Downtown L.A. for the crab
American Apparel Hassid for all the eyes, mouths and octopus tentacle lines
OPI Pinking of You with OPI DS Divine for the coral
OPI Over the Taupe with Chanel Trapeze for the rock

I think that's everything! Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed the underwater theme and have a safe and fun weekend!

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!