Shiseido Lacquer Rouge RD 607 Nocturne + FOTD

Friday, January 31, 2014
 Happy New Year, fellow Chinese and Lunar year celebrators!

I felt well enough today for the first time in a few weeks to don a full face of makeup. I missed it. Not so much covering up imperfections, but the ritual itself of picking up brushes, gently drawing liner and lightly dusting powder.

Shiseido Lacquer Rouge RD 607 Nocturne, my first Shiseido lip product. I have a deluxe mini tube and it is wonderful! Not for the faint of heart, this color is intense. A cool dark red, leaning a bit almost brick red. It's saturated and very striking. In the tube, I can see faint subtle sparkle but luckily it doesn't really show on the lips, other than enhancing shine. Admittedly, I'd be happier if it were completely creme without sparkle, just my preference. The formula is fragrance free (this fills me with joy) and a bit sticky.

I also found Nocturne to be quite long wearing. This shade didn't really feather and bleed when applied straight to my lips without any liner. It also felt quite moisturizing. I'm really happy with this liquid lipstick, it has all the aspects I prefer; moisturizing, rich pigmentation, long wearing and also non bleeding. In other words, near perfection.

I'm also wearing:

Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Duo in Granite
Face: Dolce & Gabbana Luminous The Foundation, NARS Light Reflecting Powder, Chanel Notorious
Eyes: Rock & Republic Fatalistic and Fuel, Femme Fatale Eyeliner Sealer, Andrea Lashes #33

I tried to do a red/gold thing for Chinese New Year but Nocturne was so beautiful, I didn't want to take away from the intensity. So I dabbed a bit of yellow gold shadow under my lower lash line, sketched some winged eyeliner on and called it a day.

Product featured was a GWP. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Three New Wicked Polish Shades

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Good evening! I've got an unfortunate cold that just won't quit at the moment, so I don't have any makeup posts prepared. I do however have a bunch of polish related posts to share. Tonight I want to show you three new Wicked Polishes that will launch with the restock this coming Sunday.

Nail Pattern Boldness A Parliament of Magpies, Part 2


I'm back with Part 2 of my swatches of the Nail Pattern Boldness A Parliament of Magpies Collection! Be sure to check out Part 1 here. Tonight I'm swatching Tiger's Friend, Intoxicated, Flamboyant and Tricky. 

Cult Favorite - Stila Kitten

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Stila Kitten is one of those shades that people mention all the time. It's great, it really is. A pinky champagne in color with incredible pigmentation, creamy texture but also crazy sparkly/frosty and prone to fallout all over neighboring pans.

I've had my pan for close to three, perhaps four years now. Look, pan! Did I actually use up an eyeshadow? No, I tripped and broke it about two years back, but have managed to finish a good portion of the remainder.

Left: bare skin. Right: over primer.

I think the reason why this shade is so popular is because as a sheer wash, it really instantly brightens the eye area. Unfortunately, it can look harsh on eyelids that aren't perfectly smooth as it really drawers attention to wrinkles and textured skin.

My favorite way of wearing it, as pictured above, is with a bit of matte color in the crease so as to not overwhelm the eye with frost.

Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Powder Duo in Granite
Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, LORAC Beige, Stila Kitten, MAC Copperplate, MAC Wedge, Sigma Creme de Colors Palette - Passion Fruit, Ardell Edgy 402 Lashes, CoverGirl LiquidlineBlast in Black

What do you think of this popular shade?

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

A Few Girly Bits Cosmetics Holos

Monday, January 27, 2014


 Good morning! Today I have three holo shades from Girly Bits Cosmetics to show you. They're really different from the other holos shades I've seen (and as a self professed holo lover - I've seen a lot!).


Get Weaponized. Three coats. A scattered teal holo with fuchsia small glitter. It really adds a little something extra to this holo!


Crantini. Three coats. A bright cranberry scattered holo with iridescent blue glitter. This shade seems to have the most "fire" out of the three.


Dash Away All. Three coats. A stunning taupey brown holo! I've never seen anything else like this. It's very unique and the color is just to die for.

These holographic shades are not only unique in color, but are all formulated very well. They are all glossy and apply wonderfully. What I like about Crantini and Get Weaponized is that they contain really pretty glitter that are not intrusive but definitely add interest to the shades.

Girly Bits Cosmetics are purchasable here. Be sure to follow Girly Bits on Facebook and Instagram!

Products featured are press samples. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Laquerlicious V-Day = D-Day Polish for Pitbulls

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Hi folks!

I feel terrible, I honestly thought I published this post already but somehow I discovered it sitting in my drafts folder!





V-Day = D-Day is a LE polish for Valentine's Day made by Laquerlicious. Michelle, the creator, has made a sparkly glitterbomb and the best part is that proceeds are going to a great cause. Each bottle is only $6! $3 of which is going towards the Fresno Bully Rescue. If you're familiar with indie polishes, you'll know that means that basically all the profit is going to the rescue, as glitter, base and bottles can really add up.

V-Day = D-Day is a clear base packed with every sort of glitter imaginable, including hearts, skulls and diamonds. It's also loaded with pinky fuchsia sparkle. I'm wearing it here over nude and black cremes.

What a worthy cause, do you think? Click here to pick up this great polish.

Product featured was a press sample. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Perfume Diary: Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine


The title of this post really should be "Extreme Sadness Over the Lack of Longevity of Citrus Scents on My Body". I bought this mini duo of Atelier Cologne scents mainly for the Vanille Insenee, but was excited for Orange Sanguine which I had not tried before.

These little bottles do not have a spray mechanism head so I poured it into a spare atomizer.

As per the Atelier Cologne website:

Top notes: blood orange from Italy, bitter orange from Spain, red mandarin from Italy

Heart notes :jasmine from Egypt, geranium from South Africa, black pepper from Madagascar

Base notes :tonka bean from Brazil, sandalwood from Indonesia, cedarwood from Texas

What do I get? An insanely large burst of citrus peel. Not quite the sweet aroma of a clementine being peeled just inches away, more like the zesty bitter aroma of the peel's oils left on on your fingers. It is uplifting, refreshing and it awakens me. 

Unfortunately it lasts on me for five minutes. I'm not kidding. Five minutes. My skin has absolutely no ability to hold on to citrus, which angers me greatly because I really adore citrus fragrances. The drydown is lightly floral, barely discernible (on me). I can maybe get 20 minutes of wear if I spray it on my clothes, but I'm still left disappointed. At one point, I sprayed my wrists and offered them almost immediately to my husband to sniff - he couldn't smell anything at all. I can't comment on projection because this fragrance just doesn't exist for me. 

I'm envious of those who can wear this, I won't lie. 

Product featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy. 

Make Up For Ever Pro Finish Multi Use Powder

Saturday, January 25, 2014
Hi folks!

Thanks to Emi from Project Swatch, I was recently able to try the Make Up For Ever Pro Finish Multi Use Powder. I have shade #117, Golden Ivory which is a good but not perfect match (I think 118 might be a little more suitable).

It comes in a compact with a compartment for the sponge and a decent sized mirror. It's seems reasonably sturdy to me, I've tossed it in my purse and had it bounce around for a few days without it breaking.

MUFE Pro Finish is suitable for wet or dry use as both foundation and a setting powder. I've experimented with a bit, and I prefer it as a setting powder. In particular, I like to use it to set tinted moisturizer as additional cover up for blemishes. With wet application, I find that a lot of foundation seems to be wasted caked into the sponge and it can look a bit streaky.

The powder isn't the most finely milled powder I have ever tried but does have pretty good coverage for a powder. My skin is not as oily as it once was and I found that this powder was a bit drying. Though it photographed really well, it wasn't flattering to my dry areas in person. In the picture above, I've applied it wet and then dusted a bit lightly on top to set. I prefer liquid foundation for my t zone, I find that my pores look better that way.

One thing that I liked was that even when used wet, the surface of the foundation didn't change very much. It hardened a little bit but could be brushes away pretty easily.

Other products also used in this photo:
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Powder Duo in Granite, Essence Brow & Lash Mascara
Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, NARS All About Eve, Cargo Yukon, Covergirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara, NYX Chocolate Pencil Liner
Cheeks: Catrice Lip and Cheek Colour in Blossom Me, Blossom You
Lips: Revlon Matte Balm Mischievous

Have you tried this particular MUFE Pro Finish Powder? What did you think? Have you used any other powder recently that you really liked?

Product featured was given to me by a friend. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Nubar Spring in the City Collection: Swatches & Review


Hello! On a happier note, today I have a gorgeous spring collection to show you.

I immediately loved the Nubar Spring in the City Collection as soon as it arrived at my door. The colors are interesting and compliment each other quite well. There are eight shades total, all creme finish.

 Fashion is Forward. Two coats. A cool navy grey shade.

 New Mood. Four thin coats. A muted pastel purple, with cool undertones.

Succulent. Three coats. A bright neon coral pastel. Hard to capture, it's more vivid in real life. 

Dreamy Moss. Three coats. A minty aqua shade, on the softer, muted side. 

Wildflower Blooming. Three coats. More peachy orange than Succulent, a similar neon pastel. 

Spring in Her Step. Three coats. A sort of 70's pink. Not shocking but still stands out. 

Sleek in the City. Three coats. A really great unusual color! A mauve shade that reminds me of red mung bean paste inside mochi. 

City Self. Three coats. Light pastel purple, warmer than New Mood. 

One thing that I have to point out that you may have noticed is that the pigments settle a bit in quite a few of these shades. Four of the shades have whiteish pigment at the bottom (Spring in Her Step, Sleek in the City, City Self, Fashion is Forward). If you're intent on shaking the bottle until they fully mix, you'll be at it for a while. The bit of white doesn't really change the shade too much, other than it looking perhaps a bit darker than intended. The two neon pastel shades, Succulent and Wildflower Blooming have the opposite problem; the neon pigments seem to be sinking. They look lighter than intended.

Formula was pretty good on the whole, though definitely pair these with a good base like Nubar Foundation. I used another one just for quick swatching and they popped right off my nail.

I really adore these colors. I've already done two manicures featuring some of the shades.
This is my first successful splatter manicure, featuring Fashion is Forward, Dreamy Moss and New Mood. Topped off with Nubar Matt.

Here we have my first stamping decal. I used New Mood, Dreamy Moss, Succulent plus XL C stamping plate along with black and white cremes.

The colors are interesting, not tired in the least bit. I like that while there are pastel shades, they're re-imagined, not the same boring pastels that resurface every spring.

Nubar is Big-3 free and vegan! Nubar shades can be purchased here. This collection isn't available quite yet, but you can bet it'll be on the website shorty.

Products featured were press samples. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy. 

Sephora VIB Rouge Disappointment

When I heard about the "free" Dior lipstick for Sephora VIB Rouge members, I was overjoyed! It sounded like Sephora was really stepping up their game for status members. However, my happiness was short lived, let me tell you why. My intention is not to sound like I'm whining that I missed out on this "gift" (well maybe a bit, it can't be helped) but to question the purpose of VIB Rouge by examining the so called perks, the recent VIB Rouge gift disaster.

I never intended to reach this status, but after doing a few CPs I was pretty close at the end of the year. The aspect of VIB Rouge that was most enticing to me was the free shipping for the next calendar year. Sounds great, doesn't it? OH, BUT WAIT. If you're a regular on the BeautyTalk Rouge boards, one of the recent topics has been about canceled orders due to smaller order totals. This seems extremely underhanded to me. I can understand why a company wouldn't want customers to be constantly placing small $1 orders; not only is it not environmentally sound but it is indicative of individuals taking advantage of their status. However, it was very clearly stated that the free shipping perk had no minimum.  I'm not a business savvy individual but the very first thing that popped into my head when I first heard about the free Rouge shipping was wondering how Sephora was going to handle seemingly pointless small orders. If I thought of this flaw, why couldn't a big beauty company? I could even understand if Rouge members had a lower minimum instead of the standard $50. No, Sephora stated that "Free Shipping" applied to all orders, without a minimum purchase. I have a strong suspicion my account has been flagged - my orders have suddenly been canceled. I haven't placed any tiny orders but I did make multiple orders last week, all over $25 though.  If a business is attempting to entice clients with this perk, they should stand by it - like Nordstrom!

In addition to this shipping perk, one of the touted features of the new Rouge status were supposed warehouse sales and gifts. It's generally well known and widely perceived that the regular VIB status is a bit of a sham, not nearly fulfilling as it was hyped to be. The first few months of VIB Rouge seemed pretty abyssal, I didn't hear of anyone receiving anything other than their welcome kit (if you received extra gifts - please let me know!). What exclusive warehouse sales? Warehouse sales are generally considered to have rock bottom prices on past seasonal merchandise and even products in regular lines at great discount. Please don't insult me by offering a day of early access to a clearance sale and chalking that up to an exclusive warehouse sale. The wares were disappointing, there were a few gems but most of the items were products that quite frankly had been on sale for a long time already.

 Ah, Sephora "gifts". As elusive as a unicorn! Yesterday morning, I received the following info:

I noted the foreboding "while supplies last" text and quickly went to make an order to take advantage of this
"gift". You'll note that I used quotations - is it really a gift if you have to spend $35? Is a present not something that is given freely, instead of paid for? I actually couldn't complete my transaction online so I called Rouge Concierge. For some reason, my orders were being canceled. By the time I went to reorder with an alternate form of payment, the Dior lipstick was already gone. That happened within 20 minutes. As it turns out, this lipstick was one of four "gifts", the other three were a deluxe NARS Illuminator, Caudalie skincare product and deluxe vials of Cartier fragrance. Many VIB Rouge members received their emails too late to order while others never received emails at all. The interesting thing was that different emails were sent out (Sephora mentioned on FB that purchase history may have influenced which gift you were offered), but seeing as how fragrance and skincare are definitely not once size fits all products, this seems to have been rather ill conceived. I think it was great that Sephora wanted to cater to their clients' personal preferences, but an email that mentioned the other gifts in case you wanted something different would have been more customer friendly. One other tidbit worth mentioning - many people on Sephora's Facebook are mentioning that BIs and regular VIBs were able to use this code, perhaps why it went out of stock so quickly. However, any comments verifying this were quickly deleted (if you check out the posts, you can see Sephora vehemently denying it).

In short, I'm sorely disappointed in the Sephora VIB Rouge experience. It seems like instead of a fun reward system that gives loyal customer perks, I feel like it's just more hype and trouble than it's worth. I'm more inclined to shop at Nordstrom, I consider their customer service to be stellar and they always have free shipping for every customer. True, Sephora may carry many fantastic brands but customer service is a more important aspect of shopping for me.

Nail Pattern Boldness A Parliament of Magpies, Pt. 1

Thursday, January 23, 2014


Good evening! I've been sitting on these wonderful new Nail Pattern Boldness shades for a month now, trying to get the swatches to turn out exactly how I wanted them to look. There are 12 shades in the new A Parliament of Magpies Collection and they are so very wonderfully sparkly that they'll bring out anyone's inner magpie. 

I've broken it down to three posts. Today we'll be looking at Lucky, Chatty, Covetous and Lusty. All of these glitters are small in size and are so dense that they can easily be worn by themselves, in just two generous coats. The following pictures have two coats on the inner fingers and used as accents over black on the outer fingers. 


 Lucky. A bright green glitter accented by red and gold.


 Chatty. A periwinkle accented with fuchsia and purple.


Covetous. A navy accented with yellow and fuchsia glitter. 


Lusty. A bright red with copper and black glitter.

All four shades are very densely packed and can be perfectly smooth with one coat of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food and one coat of topcoat. These are really unusual mixes of glitters - I really can't think of any other shades quite like them out there!

Here's a peak at the whole collection:

Nail Pattern Boldness shades can be purchased here. Don't forget, shipping is free over $45, to both US and Canada.

Products featured were sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.